Wrong Defendant Dispute Letter

If are incorrectly named on your California Small Claims court lawsuit and you should not have been sued, you may use the below letter template to let the court know that you are not a proper Defendant to the case and the case against you should be dismissed.

Be sure to send a copy of this letter to each of the plaintiffs as well so they are aware that you are requesting to have the case dismissed. After sending the letter, you will receive a response from the court. If you don't hear back confirm with the court (call the court clerk) to confirm if the case has been dismissed. If you are unable to get confirmation that the case is dismissed or postponed, you still need to appear in court on your scheduled date. Failure to appear in court could result in the Plaintiff winning a default judgment against you.

Template

Clerk of Court [INSERT NAME, IF KNOWN]

[COURT NAME]

[COURT ADDRESS] 

Re: [CASE NAME] (FILING DATE OF CASE)  

Dear Clerk of Court, 

I am the Defendant in the referenced case and I am writing because after reviewing the Plaintiff’s Claim Form (SC-100), I have determined that the Plaintiff sued the wrong person.  Therefore, I am writing to respectfully request that the court dismiss this lawsuit against me because I was not involved with the dispute that is the subject of this lawsuit and the Plaintiff improperly named me as the Defendant. 

The Plaintiff sued the wrong person because: [INSERT REASONING]

In light of the above, I respectfully request that the court please dismiss this lawsuit because it should not have been filed against me.

A copy of this letter is being sent to the Plaintiffs in the case.  

Sincerely,

[DEFENDANT NAME]

cc: [PLAINTIFF NAME] 

Sample Letter

The Orange County Superior Court

Small Claims Division

700 Civic Center Drive West

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Re: Adams v. Barker, Case Number: 44-234 (Filed on June 7, 2023)

Dear Clerk of Court,

I am the Defendant in the referenced case and I am writing because after reviewing the Plaintiff’s Claim Form (SC-100), I have determined that the Plaintiff sued the wrong person. Therefore, I am writing to respectfully request that the court dismiss this lawsuit against me because I was not involved with the dispute that is the subject of this lawsuit and the Plaintiff improperly named me as the Defendant.

The Plaintiff sued the wrong person because: (1) I had never heard of the Plaintiff before I was served, and (2) the Plaintiff never loaned me money. Based on these facts, I have no connection to this case and the Plaintiff improperly sued me.

In light of the above, I respectfully request that the court please dismiss this lawsuit because it should not have been filed against me.

A copy of this letter is being sent to the Plaintiff in the case.

Sincerely,

John Barker

cc: Bob Adams