How to Withdraw a Judgment in California Small Claims Court
- 1). Determine whether you have a legal basis for withdrawing the judgment. Both judgment creditors and debtors may request that a judgment be withdrawn if the court applied the wrong law to the case. Additionally, if you are the judgment debtor, you may request that the judgment be vacated if you did not appear at the original hearing and you have an acceptable reason for your failure to appear, such as lack of proper service. The court will determine what circumstances are acceptable depending on the facts presented at a subsequent hearing.
- 2). Download the appropriate form from the California Courts Small Claims Self-Help Center. If you contend that the court applied the wrong law to the case, download a Request to Correct or Cancel Judgment form. If you are the judgment debtor and you failed to appear, download a Notice of Motion to Vacate Judgment form.
- 3). Complete the appropriate form. In both cases you must make a statement in support of your filing, under penalty of perjury.
- 4). Submit your form to the clerk in the court in which the judgment was entered. You have 30 days from the entry of judgment to do this. The clerk will notify the second party of your filing. When a hearing date is set, you will be notified by the court. The court will take action to withdraw the judgment if the facts so warrant.
