California limited civil litigation cases

California limited civil litigation cases are the topic of this blog post. The statutes in California that govern limited civil litigation are found in Sections 85 through 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Code of Civil Procedure section 86 lists several different types of cases which are considered limited civil cases in California. However except for a few exceptions, a limited civil case is a civil case in which the principal demand does not exceed $25,000.00, NOT including attorney’s fees, interest and costs.

In limited civil cases in California the pleadings that are allowed are complaints, answers, cross-complaints, answers to cross-complaints and general demurrers. Special demurrers are not allowed. Motions to strike are only allowed on the ground that the damages or relief sought are not supported by the allegations of the complaint. See Code of Civil Procedure § 92.

The law in California severely limits the number of discovery requests allowed in limited civil litigation. 

Code of Civil Procedure § 94 states that, "Discovery is permitted only to the extent provided by this section and Section 95. This discovery shall comply with the notice and format requirements of the particular method of discovery, as provided in Title 4 (commencing with Section 2016.010) of Part 4.

As to each adverse party, a party may use the following forms of discovery: (a) Any combination of 35 of the following:

(1) Interrogatories (with no subparts) under Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 2030.010) of Title 4 of Part 4.

(2) Demands to produce documents or things under Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 2031.010) of Title 4 of Part 4.

(3) Requests for admission (with no subparts) under Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 2033.010) of Title 4 of Part 4.

(b) One oral or written deposition under Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 2025.010), Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2026.010), or Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 2028.010) of Title 4 of Part 4. For purposes of this subdivision, a deposition of an organization shall be treated as a single deposition even though more than one person may be designated or required to testify pursuant to Section 2025.230.

(c) Any party may serve on any person a deposition subpoena duces tecum requiring the person served to mail copies of documents, books, or records to the party's counsel at a specified address, along with an affidavit complying with Section 1561 of the Evidence Code. The party who issued the deposition subpoena shall mail a copy of the response to any other party who tenders the reasonable cost of copying it.

(d) Physical and mental examinations under Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 2032.010) of Title 4 of Part 4.

(e) The identity of expert witnesses under Chapter 18 (commencing with Section 2034.010) of Title 4 of Part 4."

Note that form interrogatories do count towards the limit of 35, and that Judicial Council Form DISC-004, titled form interrogatories-limited civil cases must be used as they do not contain subparts.  A fillable PDF version of Judicial Council Form DISC-004 can be viewed or downloaded by using the link shown below.

http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/disc004.pdf

It should also be noted that the limit of 35 applies to each adverse party so a defendant who is being sued by several plaintiffs may propound a total of 35 discovery requests to each plaintiff and vice versa.

Supplemental interrogatories and supplemental demands to produce documents may still be utilized as I have not found any code section that states that they cannot be used in limited civil litigation.

Any party involved in limited civil litigation in California should carefully review Sections 85 through 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure to ensure that both they and the opposing party are complying with the requirements that are specific to limited civil litigation.

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The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, is an entrepreneur and freelance paralegal who has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995 and has created over 300 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation.

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DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.