Perlman Law v. Hart CA2/3

BACKGROUND

I. Service on the Harts

According to the allegations of the operative pleading, Sara and Guy retained Perlman in 2014 to sue Don Hart, who is Sara’s son and Guy’s brother. When the Harts failed to pay Perlman, Perlman withdrew from representing the Harts and sued them for breach of contract and common counts. In March 2017, two proofs of service of the summons and first amended complaint were filed, one as to Sara and one as to Guy. The first page of the first proof of service identified Sara as the person to be served at an address on Via Medici in Northridge.2 However, the process server’s declaration stated that Guy was the person served at that address. The process

1 We refer to the Harts by their first names to avoid confusion, and we also refer to them collectively as the Harts. 2 As the trial court later noted, the proofs of service contain

errors, primarily that the declaration for Sara’s proof of service appears to have been attached to Guy’s proof of service and vice versa.

2 server further declared that she had tried to serve Guy twice in January 2017, and both times the security guard allowed the process server to go to Guy’s unit, which was dark.…