Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.63 · Article 2. Initial Pleadings
Request for order to quash proceeding or responsive relief
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
(a) Use of terms
In a family law proceeding, the term "request for order" has the same meaning as the terms "motion" or "notice of motion" when they are used in the Code of Civil Procedure.
(b) Respondent's application
Within the time permitted to file a response, the respondent may move to quash the proceeding, in whole or in part, for any of the following reasons:
(1) Lack of legal capacity to sue;
(2) Prior judgment or another action pending between the same parties for the same cause;
(3) Failure to meet the residence requirement of Family Code section 2320; or
(4) Statute of limitations in Family Code section 2211.
(c) Service of respondent's request for order to quash
The request for order to quash must be served in compliance with Code of Civil Procedure section 1005(b). If the respondent files a request for order to quash, no default may be entered, and the time to file a response will be extended until 15 days after service of the court's order denying the request for order to quash.
(d) Petitioner's application
Within 15 days after the filing of the response, the petitioner may move to quash, in whole or in part, any request for affirmative relief in the response for the grounds set forth in (a).
(e) Waiver
The parties are deemed to have waived the grounds set forth in (b) if they do not file a request for order to quash within the time frame set forth.
(f) Relief
When a request for order to quash is granted, the court may grant leave to amend the petition or response and set a date for filing the amended pleadings. The court may also dismiss the action without leave to amend. The action may also be dismissed if the request for order has been sustained with leave to amend and the amendment is not made within the time permitted by the court.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
(Subd (a) adopted effective July 1, 2016.)
(Subd (b) relettered effective July 1, 2016; adopted as subd (a).)
(Subd (c) amended and relettered effective July 1, 2016; adopted as subd (b).)
(Subd (d) relettered effective July 1, 2016; adopted as subd (c).)
(Subd (e) amended and relettered effective July 1, 2016; adopted as subd (d).)
(Subd (f) amended and relettered effective July 1, 2016; adopted as subd (e).)
Rule 5.63 amended effective July 1, 2016; adopted effective January 1, 2013.
Title 5, Family and Juvenile Rules-Division 1, Family Rules-Chapter 4, Starting and Responding to a Family Law Case; Service of Papers-Article 3, Service of Papers; adopted January 1, 2013.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/five/rule5_63
- Text hash
- sha256 77e99498a3a882b39a2fa419a8b8bed8d0785081fd09f4dca128138e9e55fa43
- Composed by
- compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.