Three months or just one?

Getting started

You may have legal options in the eviction lawsuit

against you that could delay your trial by up to 90
days. Filing just an answer to the complaint only
gives you 30 days to find a new place when you
lose your case, and just one chance to avoid
eviction; however, by filing either of the two
alternative legal responses to the eviction
complaint, namely, a Motion to Quash Service of
Summons and/or a Demurrer to Complaint, you
could maintain your current residence for an
additional 60 days, even if you think you cant
win.

More information about your legal options

Trial or no trial?
Filing a demurrer can actually preclude trial,
putting an end to the eviction suit altogether.
Closely examine the three-day notice to pay rent
or quit for compliance with civil codes pertaining
to evictions. Any missing or incorrect information
is grounds for a demurrer. If its is defectiveand
you raise that issue in a pre-trial hearingthen
the eviction case against you will be dismissed.
Your landlord must then prepare and serve
another notice is valid, wait the appropriate
amount of time (e.g., 30 days), and then file
another complaint if the notice is not complied
with (adding an additional 30 days until eviction).

Because you only have five days from the

date of service of summons to file a response,
be sure to call or get help well within that
time.

After completing your answer at the Legal SelfHelp Center, ask your attorney if either of the
legal options described in this pamphlet are
available to you; or, to learn more about them,
visit the Santa Clara County Law Library, located
at 360 North First Street in San Jose, and check
out the California Eviction Defense Manual and
the California Landlord-Tenant Law Practice
Guide.

Free Eviction Legal

Defense Document
Preparation Service
Avoid or delay trial with two legal alternatives
to filing only an answer to an eviction suit, free

LANDLORD
SERVES
NOTICE

Need free help?

Once you have determined to proceed, you can
get free help writing, filing and serving all of the
necessary legal documents by calling or texting
James Alan Bush at (408) 685-4049.

LANDLORD
FILES
COMPLAINT

OPTIONS

MOTION
TO
QUASH
(30 DAYS)

DEMURRER
TO
COMPLAINT
(30 DAYS)

TENANT
FILES
ANSWER
(30 DAYS)

TENANT
MIGHT FILE
ANSWER
(30 DAYS)

TRIAL
IN 30 DAYS

TRIAL
IN 90 DAYS
(OR NONE)

Avoid or delay trial with a

Motion to Quash Service of
Summons or a Demurrer to
Complaintand keep your
apartment up to 90 days

Motion to Quash

Service of Summons

Demurrer to Complaint

Eviction Complaints

Ask your self-help

attorney if the service of
summons was proper; if
not, call for help
preparing the requisite
legal documents to stop
the eviction trial.

Related law: California

Civil Code of Procedure
1161 (Unlawful
Detainer) and California
Civil Code of Procedure
1162 (Notice of
Service)

Ask your self-help

attorney if the eviction
complaint meets code;
if not, call for help
preparing the requisite
legal documents to stop
the eviction suit.

Related law: California

Code of Civil Procedure
1170 and California
Code of Civil Procedure
1177, 1005

Motion to Quash

Demurrer to Complaint

Once landlords file for an unlawful detainer, they must

serve their tenants with a Summons and Complaint.
There are specific requirements a landlord must meet
when providing notice or service; if those
requirements are not met, you can file a Motion to
Quash Service. This motion claims the landlord has
not provided sucient notice or followed legal
requirements when serving the Summons and
Complaint. If the judge grants the motion, the
landlord will have to re-serve the Summons and
Complaint, which will delay the eviction by an
additional 30 days.

Tenants who think their landlords do not have

sucient reasons for an eviction notice or to serve a
complaint can file a Demurrer. A demurrer is a
document questioning the legality of the eviction. If
the judge grants the demurrer motion, the landlord
might have to start the eviction case from the
beginning, which can stall the eviction for several
weeks. As with the motion to quash, a demurrer will
not defeat the eviction outright. But it might delay
the case enough to give tenants the opportunity to
either satisfy their landlords' demands or fight their
claims in court.