§ 16466 Defendant Appearance Rules

This law says a defendant can only show up in court in a normal (general) way, and any objections must be put in the answer, not elsewhere.

Key Takeaways

•Defendants cannot make a special appearance; any appearance counts as a general one.
•All objections have to be included in the answer to the complaint.
•You can’t raise objections in any other way or at any other time.

Example

A person being sued tries to go to court just to say they don’t think the court has power over them, without filing a full answer.

The law treats that visit as a regular appearance, so the person must file a full answer that includes all their objections, instead of just showing up to make a special claim.

The defendant may not make any special appearance for any purpose except as provided in this article. Any appearance whatever of the defendant or any request to the court by the defendant or his or her attorney shall be entered as a general appearance in the contest. No demurrer or objection may be taken by the parties in any other manner than by answer, and all the objections shall be contained in the answer. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

This law says a defendant can only show up in court in a normal (general) way, and any objections must be put in the answer, not elsewhere.

Key Takeaways

•Defendants cannot make a special appearance; any appearance counts as a general one.
•All objections have to be included in the answer to the complaint.
•You can’t raise objections in any other way or at any other time.

Example

A person being sued tries to go to court just to say they don’t think the court has power over them, without filing a full answer.

The law treats that visit as a regular appearance, so the person must file a full answer that includes all their objections, instead of just showing up to make a special claim.

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

References

§ 16466 Defendant Appearance Rules

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

References

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References