Your Business Was Served With a Class Action Complaint in California: What to Do First

Last updated: November 2026. Reviewed by Pavel Kolmogorov, California business litigation attorney (State Bar No. 321018).

A class action complaint is one plaintiff's lawsuit asking the court for permission to represent everyone in a similar position. No class has been certified yet, and the California summons still gives your business 30 days to respond under Code of Civil Procedure section 412.20. First, preserve records, notify your insurer, and check your customer terms for an arbitration clause. Do not contact the plaintiff or quietly change the website. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. defends businesses in Orange County, Los Angeles, and across California against class claims.

Call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online to discuss a class action complaint served on your business.

What "on behalf of all others similarly situated" means

California lets one or more people sue for the benefit of all when the question is of common or general interest to many persons. The same is true when the parties are so numerous that bringing them all before the court is impracticable. (Code Civ. Proc., § 382.) The Consumers Legal Remedies Act has its own class provision. (Civ. Code, § 1781.)

The phrase on the caption is a request. At filing, the case is one customer's claim plus a proposal to expand it.

Against smaller companies, the most common claims concern the website itself. Tracking tools and chat widgets draw suits under the California Invasion of Privacy Act. Subscription renewals and advertised prices draw others, often after a notice like the one described on our CLRA demand letter page.

Two clocks start when you are served

The summons directs a written response within 30 days after service. (Code Civ. Proc., § 412.20, subd. (a)(3).) Miss it and the plaintiff can ask for a default.

The second clock is federal. If the case can be moved to federal court, the notice of removal is generally due within 30 days after the defendant is formally served with the complaint. (28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(1).)

Plaintiffs' lawyers will often agree to extend the response date. I treat the removal date as fixed, because a federal statute sets it.

What to do first, and what not to do

Start with four tasks.

Preserve the evidence: the site as it existed, vendor contracts for any tracking or chat tools, and customer records. Our litigation hold page explains the duty.
Send the complaint to your insurance broker, since some policies pay for a defense. See our page on whether business insurance covers a lawsuit.
Find the named plaintiff in your own records. Did this person buy, subscribe, or only visit?
Pull every version of your customer terms.

The list of things to avoid is shorter. Do not call or email the plaintiff. Do not redesign the page before the old version is saved. Do not discuss the suit with customers or on social media.

The fuller checklist for any new lawsuit is in our first 30 days guide.

Certification is the main event

A case goes forward as a class action only if the court certifies a class. In general, the plaintiff must show a class that can be identified and is large enough, common questions that predominate over individual ones, and a representative whose claims are typical and who can adequately represent the group. The Consumers Legal Remedies Act writes similar conditions into the statute itself. (Civ. Code, § 1781, subd. (b).)

That ruling is procedural. It does not decide whether the business did anything wrong.

Defense work at this stage looks for differences. Customers saw different screens, bought at different times, agreed to different terms, or were not harmed at all. When individual questions predominate, the defense argues that no class can be certified, and a case reduced to one plaintiff's claim is a much smaller case.

Early moves that can shrink or end the case

Arbitration comes first. The United States Supreme Court has held that the Federal Arbitration Act overrides California's former rule against class waivers in consumer arbitration agreements. If your customers agreed to arbitrate individually, a motion to compel arbitration may take the named plaintiff out of court before certification is argued. Whether they agreed depends on how the terms were presented, and some requests for relief can remain in court.

The named plaintiff comes second. A class needs a representative with a valid claim of his or her own, so I check standing, timing, and whether this person's experience was typical.

Then the forum. A class action may be removed to federal court when the claims, added together, exceed $5,000,000, the proposed class has at least 100 members, and any class member is a citizen of a different state from any defendant. (28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2), (5)(B), (6).) Any defendant may remove, even one sued in its home state. (28 U.S.C. § 1453(b).) The federal court must decline the case, though, when two-thirds or more of the class members and the primary defendants are citizens of the state where it was filed. (28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(4)(B).) For a California business sued by California customers, that exception can keep the case in superior court.

Why a quick individual settlement needs care

Owners often ask whether they can pay the named plaintiff and be done. Sometimes the case does end that way, but the transaction is not private.

In California state court, dismissing a case pleaded as a class action, or any party or cause of action in it, requires court approval under rule 3.770 of the California Rules of Court. The request must disclose what, if anything, is being paid for the dismissal. A class claim under the Consumers Legal Remedies Act may not be dismissed, settled, or compromised without the court's approval either. (Civ. Code, § 1781, subd. (f).)

An individual settlement also binds only that individual. A different customer can bring the same claim, so the practice at issue usually has to be addressed too.

What to bring to the first meeting

The summons and complaint, with the date and manner of service.
Every version of your customer terms used during the period, including any arbitration clause.
Your records for the named plaintiff.
Your business insurance policies.
For website claims, a list of the tracking, chat, and analytics tools on the site.

Frequently asked questions

My small business was just served with a class action complaint over our website. What should I do first?

Calendar the 30-day response deadline on the California summons, then preserve the website as it existed and the records for the named plaintiff. Send the complaint to your insurance broker and gather every version of your customer terms. Do not contact the plaintiff or alter the site until the evidence is saved. Then have counsel review removal and arbitration options.

Can I just pay the person who sued us and make the class action go away?

Sometimes, but not privately. In California state court, a dismissal of a case pleaded as a class action requires court approval, and the request must disclose any payment made for it. A settlement with one plaintiff binds only that plaintiff. Unless the challenged practice changes, another customer can file the same claim.

How long do I have to respond to a class action complaint in California?

A California summons directs the defendant to file a written response within 30 days after service, and class allegations do not lengthen that period. If the case is removable, the federal deadline to file a notice of removal is also 30 days, generally counted from formal service of the complaint. Extensions of the response date are commonly negotiated.

What is class certification?

Certification is the court order that lets one plaintiff's lawsuit proceed on behalf of a class. In California, the plaintiff must show an ascertainable and sufficiently numerous class, a well-defined community of interest, and that class treatment is superior to the alternatives. Until a judge grants that motion, the class is only a proposed one, though some class rules, such as court approval of a dismissal, already apply.

Can a class action against my business be moved to federal court?

Often, yes. The federal Class Action Fairness Act allows removal when the aggregated claims exceed $5,000,000 and the proposed class has at least 100 members. At least one class member must also be a citizen of a different state from a defendant. Exceptions exist for cases that are mostly local to California.

Talk to a California business litigation attorney

If your business has been served with a class action complaint, call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online before the response and removal deadlines run. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. is located at 327 Magnet, Irvine, CA 92618. We defend these cases in the Orange County and Los Angeles Superior Courts and in the Central District of California.

This page provides general information about California law and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the complaint, the facts, and the court.