If the affidavit discloses the name of any person claiming any interest in or lien upon the property adverse to the plaintiff, a copy of the summons and complaint and affidavit shall also be served upon such person, if he can be found, in the manner provided by law for the service of a summons in a civil action, other than by publication. Service shall be made during the period of the publication of the summons. A copy of the memorandum provided for in Section 751.07 shall be appended to the copy of the summons served upon any such person. If such person cannot, with reasonable diligence, be served as provided above within the period of publication of the summons, a copy of the summons, memorandum, complaint, and affidavit shall be mailed, postage prepaid, addressed to him at the address given in the affidavit, or, if no address is given, at his last address known to the plaintiff, or, if none, at the county seat of the county in which the action is brought, forthwith upon the expiration of the period of publication.
§ 751.10.Service Upon Persons Claiming Interest Adverse to Plaintiff
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 3.5. Actions to Re-establish Destroyed Land Records · Last amended 1969 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 751.10 requires personal service of the summons, complaint, and affidavit on any person the affidavit names as an adverse claimant, if that person can be found, during the publication period, and by mail to the person's known address if personal service proves impossible.
Full Text of § 751.10
Plain-English Summary
Publication and posting reach unknown claimants; this section makes sure known ones get more than that. If the affidavit required by § 751.09 discloses the name of a person claiming an adverse interest or lien, that person has to be personally served with a copy of the summons, complaint, and affidavit, in the manner used for civil summons generally, other than by publication. That service must happen during the publication period itself, and the memorandum listing adverse claimants under § 751.07 has to be attached to the copy served.
If reasonably diligent efforts can't locate that person for personal service before publication ends, the fallback is mail: a copy of the summons, memorandum, complaint, and affidavit mailed, postage prepaid, to the address given in the affidavit, or the person's last known address, or, absent any address, the county seat, sent as soon as the publication period expires.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who must be served beyond the general public reached by publication?
Anyone the plaintiff's § 751.09 affidavit names as claiming an interest in or lien on the property adverse to the plaintiff.
How and when must that named person be served?
In the manner used for serving a civil summons other than by publication, during the period the summons is being published.
What if the named claimant cannot be found for personal service?
A copy of the summons, memorandum, complaint, and affidavit must instead be mailed to the person's known or last known address, or, absent any address, to the county seat, as soon as publication ends.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1969, Ch. 1611.
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: serving adverse claimant destroyed records action california