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Jury Scam alert -

The Santa Barbara Superior Court has received complaints about individuals trying to scam members of the public by pretending to be court officers or officials. The Jury Services office of the Santa Barbara Superior Court does not call citizens to request payments for failing to appear for jury duty. California law does not permit citizens to pay a fine in lieu of jury duty. If you receive such a call simply hang up and, if the scammer persists, call your local law enforcement agency. Learn more about the recent scam warning.

Notice to Jurors:

Jurors summoned for the week of February 18, 2025 and onward can expect to receive their jury summons in postcard form. Please check your mail for a postcard with important instructions to fulfil your jury service. Visit the Jury Services page for more information.

Civil Self-Help

What is a Civil Action?

This section is about general civil cases which typically involve disputes about contracts, damage to property or someone getting hurt. For cases involving an eviction, see the section for Landlord/Tenant actions.

Civil cases are divided into types, depending on how much money is owed:

  • A lawsuit for more than $35,000.00 is called an "unlimited" civil action.
  • A lawsuit for $35,000.00 or less is called a "limited" civil action.
  • You can also file in Small Claims Court for $12,500.00 or less. You can read about this in the Small Claims section of this website. If you are owed more than $12,500.00, you can waive the difference and file in Small Claims Court.
  • A lawsuit that requires exceptional Judicial Management (see Rule 3.400 of the California Rules of Court) is called a "complex" civil action.

Forms

All forms are also available for purchase at court operations.  If you know what form you need you can download them directly from https://www.courts.ca.gov/allforms.htm

For information on other civil case types including Wills, Estates and Probate visit https://www.courts.ca.gov/8865.htm

Ex parte

Ex parte requests must be received by the Court prior to 12:00 p.m. in order for an ex parte matter to appear on the next court day’s calendar.  If the pleadings are received after 12:00 p.m. the matter will not be placed on the court calendar before the date that is two court days from the date of receipt of the pleadings.  This does not apply to Workplace or Civil Harassment Restraining Orders, Lanterman-Petris-Short Act or Riese hearings, or Family Law matters.

Requesting Emergency Stays

Applications for emergency stays or other emergency matters should be submitted with the words “EMERGENCY STAY REQUESTED” in the caption of the document and with a red cover sheet with the words “EMERGENCY STAY REQUESTED.”

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