"Complaint" includes a cross-complaint.
§ 511.020.Complaint
Title 7. Other Provisional Remedies In Civil Actions · Chapter 2. Claim and Delivery of Personal Property · Article 1. Words and Phrases Defined · Enacted 1973 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 511.020 provides that whenever this chapter uses the word complaint, that word also covers a cross-complaint.
Full Text of § 511.020
Plain-English Summary
This is a one-line drafting shortcut. Rather than writing complaint or cross-complaint every time the chapter refers to the pleading that starts a claim, the statute folds the cross-complaint into the single word complaint.
The effect reaches every section that mentions a complaint — including § 512.010's application for a writ of possession, which can be filed upon the filing of the complaint or at any time after. A defendant who files a cross-complaint seeking possession of property gets the same access to the claim-and-delivery remedy as an original plaintiff would.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a cross-complainant get to use the claim and delivery procedure?
Yes. Because § 511.020 folds a cross-complaint into the term complaint throughout the chapter, a party who asserts a claim by cross-complaint can apply for a writ of possession the same way an original plaintiff can.
Why does the statute bother defining complaint to include cross-complaint?
It saves the drafters from writing both words every time the chapter refers to the pleading, and it makes clear the remedy is available regardless of which pleading raises the claim.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 526.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: cross-complaint claim and delivery californiacomplaint definition ccp