Birds Landing is a small rural community in Solano County, about 39 miles from our Sacramento office. It isn't a city, and it isn't one of the places the Census Bureau counts, so there's no official population figure for it. Solano County provides its local services. We serve summonses, subpoenas and every other legal document at Birds Landing homes and businesses.
A small place with a large ZIP Code area
The Census Bureau's 2020 relationship file gives ZIP Code area 94512 about 22.2 square miles of land, and all of it is in Solano County. Unlike several ZIP Codes nearby, this one doesn't cross a county line, so a 94512 address is a Solano County address.
With no town center and about 22 square miles to cover, finding the right door can take more than a street number. In the Letter of Instruction, tell us:
- the full physical address, plus any parcel number or ranch name you have
- the nearest cross road and any landmark at the turnoff
- whether there's a gate, and the code if you have it
- the name on the mailbox, which may not match the person you're serving
- a workplace and its hours, in case the home attempts don't work
Our Rush and Standard terms both say remote areas are subject to different timelines. If the Birds Landing address is well off a paved road or behind a locked gate, call 855-582-5776 before choosing Rush so we can tell you what to expect. Each update comes to you by email.
If the person works at Travis Air Force Base, base access is controlled; give us an off-base address. The Travis Air Force Base page explains more.
Two Fairfield courthouses
Solano's civil and family courts sit side by side in downtown Fairfield, about 12.3 miles northwest of Birds Landing in a straight line. Which building you need depends on the case:
| Case type | Where it's filed |
|---|---|
| Civil, small claims, unlawful detainer | Old Solano Courthouse, 580 Texas Street |
| Family law | Hall of Justice, 600 Union Avenue |
At the Old Solano Courthouse, the civil and small claims clerk takes drop-in visits from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., answers the phone from 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., and offers appointments. At the Hall of Justice, the clerk's offices take drop-ins from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. or appointments until 3:00 p.m. The buildings themselves are open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Getting there without a car is possible. The court says the Suisun/Fairfield Amtrak station, at 177 Main Street in Suisun City, is less than a ten-minute walk from every Fairfield court building. Drivers can use the garage next to the Solano County Government Center at Delaware and Jefferson Streets. The court asks visitors not to park in the private merchant lots downtown. Disabled parking, with a state placard, is on Union Avenue and in the Old Courthouse lot at 501 Texas Street. The Old Courthouse also has free public Wi-Fi on the network "Court Public."
Our Solano County court filing service files Birds Landing cases at either building or electronically. The Solano County hub covers the rest of the county.
Deadlines for serving a Birds Landing defendant
Solano's Local Rule 4.3 adopts the state deadline. Under Rule 3.110 of the California Rules of Court, the complaint must be served on every named defendant, and the proofs of service filed, within 60 days after the complaint is filed. A defendant added by amendment must be served within 30 days. A request to extend that time has to be made before it runs out, with a declaration showing what's been tried.
For a rural defendant, those 60 days can go quickly. Send the papers as soon as the case is filed, and tell us the filing date so we can plan around it. Our proof of service guide shows which form goes with which papers, and the who can serve papers guide covers the server rules.
Filing rules under Local Rule 20
Solano's Local Rule 20.2, adopted effective January 1, 2025, makes e-filing mandatory for attorneys in civil, family and probate cases. A few details matter for a Birds Landing case:
- Everything is filed and served electronically, except where a statute or rule requires personal service and except ex parte applications. A summons still has to be served in person or by another method the law allows.
- A document received by 11:59 p.m. on a court day is filed that day, and the court's confirmation serves as proof of filing.
- A party with a fee waiver doesn't pay court filing fees, but the e-filing provider may still charge its processing fee.
- One document for several cases must be e-filed separately in each case; the clerk won't copy it across.
- Some papers can't be e-filed, including orders with a judge's original signature, civil harassment and workplace violence restraining orders, original wills, exhibits for hearings and subpoenaed documents.
Self-represented parties, non-parties and government entities are exempt from the mandate but may still e-file. An attorney who wants an exemption files form EFS-007 with a proposed order on EFS-008; inability to pay e-filing fees doesn't qualify. See our post on California court e-filing.
Papers to serve in Birds Landing?
Motions and ex parte requests in Fairfield
Solano's civil departments post tentative rulings under Local Rule 3.9. A tentative for a civil law and motion matter is available after 2:00 p.m. on the court day before the hearing, on the court's website or by phone at (707) 207-7331. It becomes the ruling unless a party who wants to argue tells the court and every other party by 4:30 p.m. that day, either through the website's Request for Oral Argument or by calling the department. The rule says tentative rulings aren't posted for unlawful detainer matters.
Ex parte requests run through Local Rule 3.14. Each civil department decides whether and how to set its own ex parte hearings. The underlying motion has to be filed before or with the application. Before the hearing starts, the moving party files a declaration under penalty of perjury describing the notice given: the date, time and manner, and the name of the person told. It also shows proof of service of any papers. When that notice or service has to reach someone in Birds Landing on short timing, choose Rush.
Hearings by video, and the exceptions
Local Rule 19.1 normally allows remote appearances, by simultaneous audio and video, in civil matters. Nobody can be forced to appear remotely, and the judge can still require someone in person. For case management conferences and law and motion hearings, no advance notice filing is needed; a party who gives written notice uses form RA-010, filed at least 5 court days before.
Some proceedings are handled differently. Settlement conferences, trial management conferences and trials are addressed case by case by the assigned judge. Orders of examination, contempt proceedings and bench warrant returns are normally not remote at all. That matters after a judgment: a debtor ordered to appear for examination should expect to come to the courtroom, so plan for an in-person hearing when you have that order served.
Small claims from Birds Landing
An individual can file a small claim in Solano for up to $12,500. The court hears small claims Monday through Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. at the Old Solano Courthouse. A plaintiff can't appeal a small claims judgment on their own claim; a defendant can.
The free Small Claims Advisor takes phone consultations only, Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at (707) 863-1643. For a business defendant, the court's FAQ suggests checking the city's business licensing office or the county clerk's fictitious business name index, and for a corporation, the Secretary of State's record of its agent for service of process. Our serving corporations page explains how we serve that agent.
Service has to be finished in time. California's self-help guide sets the deadline at 15 days before the hearing, or 20 days when the defendant is served in a different county. Substituted service needs to begin 10 days before that deadline, and the proof of service is due at least 5 days before the hearing.
Evictions on Birds Landing property
A Birds Landing eviction is filed at the Old Solano Courthouse. After the tenant is handed the summons, the California Courts self-help guide gives 10 court days to answer, not counting weekends or court holidays. After substituted service or posting plus mailing, it's 10 calendar days from the mailing and then 10 court days. Through Safe at Home, it's 15 court days. This is general information, not legal advice.
Solano's Rule 14 adds eviction-specific rules. Remote appearances in unlawful detainer cases are allowed only as far as Rules 3.670 and 3.672 of the California Rules of Court permit. In a jury case, the court may order a trial management or settlement conference. Under Rule 14.4, demurrers, motions to strike and similar motions are set on the quicker schedule used for motions to quash. And Rule 14.3 fixes the attorney fees allowed on a default, using the percentage schedule in the FAQ above.
For what changes in 2027, see the AB 747 guide.
Family law papers for Birds Landing households
Family law is at the Hall of Justice, where the Family Law Division's clerk is at (707) 207-7340. The Family Law Facilitator's Office, called the Solano Legal Access Center, helps Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to noon; on Fridays it helps only with domestic violence and elder abuse restraining order applications.
The division's FAQ answers questions that bear on service. There's no fee to file a domestic violence restraining order, and ex parte applications and DV requests have to be ready to submit before noon each day. A divorce can't be final until at least 6 months and 1 day after the respondent is served with the summons and petition. After a hearing, the FAQ puts the paperwork on the parties. A self-represented party prepares the Findings and Order After Hearing, form FL-340 or another applicable order, and the minute order from the hearing can be bought for 50 cents a page to help fill it in. New family cases carry filing fees, except domestic violence and elder abuse restraining orders and child support agency cases, and a fee waiver can be requested on forms FW-001 and FW-003. For unmarried parents, the FAQ explains, paternity has to be established by court order before custody, visitation or support can be ordered.
Copies of an old judgment can be requested by mail, with a $15 check for a certified copy or a check marked "not to exceed $20" for plain copies at 50 cents a page.
Places near Birds Landing
Nearby places we serve include Rio Vista, Suisun City and Fairfield in Solano County, and Pittsburg and Antioch in Contra Costa County. If the person has left the Birds Landing address, skip tracing can look for a current one.
Start a Birds Landing Service Request, call 855-582-5776 or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.