Lomita is small enough to sit in a single ZIP Code, yet its cases spread across three courthouses in three different cities. Divorce and restraining orders stay close, in Torrance. Small claims go north to Inglewood. Evictions cross into the court's South District and are filed in Long Beach, even though Lomita's neighbor Torrance sends its own evictions to Inglewood. A landlord who assumes the two cities match will put the wrong courthouse on the summons.
We serve summonses, subpoenas and every other legal document at Lomita homes, apartments and businesses, and we file at whichever building the case needs. Send a Service Request or email the papers to Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Lomita's courthouses, case by case
We ran ZIP Code 90717 through the court's Filing Court Locator on October 29, 2026. Under the community name Lomita, it returned the buildings below. Distances are straight-line from Lomita's Census center point.
| Case type | Courthouse | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Family law and restraining orders | Torrance Courthouse, 825 Maple Ave., Torrance | 3.4 mi |
| Unlawful detainer (limited) | Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, 275 Magnolia Ave., Long Beach | 7.0 mi |
| Unlimited civil (over $35,000) | Torrance Courthouse or Inglewood Courthouse, 1 Regent Street | 3.4 or 12.0 mi |
| Small claims | Inglewood Courthouse | 12.0 mi |
| Limited civil, collection | Norwalk Courthouse, 12720 Norwalk Blvd. | 16.4 mi |
| Limited civil, other | Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill St., Los Angeles | 18.5 mi |
| Probate | Stanley Mosk Courthouse | 18.5 mi |
All of those buildings open at 8:00 a.m., and their civil clerks take filings from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on court days. The street address you file at and the address printed on the tenant's or defendant's papers should match the row above.
Why a Lomita eviction lands in Long Beach
Three kinds of limited cases are assigned by chart, not by district: small claims, limited collection cases and limited unlawful detainers. Local Rule 2.3(a)(2) lays out the method in three steps:
- Find the city or community that contains the location setting venue. For an eviction, that's where the rental sits.
- Find the ZIP Code the Postal Service assigned to that location.
- Look up the pair in the charts attached to the rules, Appendix 2.D for evictions, and file at the courthouse listed.
For the Lomita and 90717 pair, the chart points to the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach. That building is in the South District under Local Rule 2.2, not the Southwest District where Torrance and Inglewood sit. The rule says a case must be filed in, and will be assigned to, the courthouse that serves that pairing.
Filing an eviction at the Long Beach courthouse
The Long Beach directory lists unlawful detainer among the building's divisions and sends eviction filers to the 1st floor, Room 1401. Civil, unlimited civil and small claims filers use the same room. Public parking costs a fee in the structure at 101 South Magnolia Avenue.
Once the summons issues, the tenant's clock depends on how service is made. The Judicial Council's eviction guide gives a tenant who is handed the papers 10 court days to file an answer, not counting Saturdays, Sundays or court holidays. Substituted service or posting, followed by mailing, gives 10 calendar days plus 10 court days after the mailing date.
For a Lomita rental, the request should carry:
- Every adult occupant's name exactly as the summons lists it.
- The unit number and entry details, such as a gate code or a rear unit behind a front house.
- Whether a prejudgment claim of right to possession is part of the packet.
- The notice history: what notice was served, when and by whom.
Check that the summons names Long Beach before it goes out. If it names Torrance or Inglewood, ask whether the property is really in the Lomita community, or whether the case was filed as unlimited.
The Los Angeles slice of 90717
Not every 90717 address is in Lomita. The Census Bureau's 2020 file matching ZIP Code areas to places puts about 94% of the ZIP's land inside Lomita, about 5% inside the City of Los Angeles and a sliver in Torrance.
The court's locator treats that Los Angeles slice very differently. Under the community name Los Angeles with ZIP 90717, it sends unlimited civil, family law, restraining orders, evictions and small claims all to Long Beach. Only probate and non-collection limited cases go downtown, and collection cases to Norwalk.
For a landlord, the eviction answer is the same either way: Long Beach. The gap shows up in the other case types. A small claims case from the Los Angeles slice is heard in Long Beach instead of Inglewood, and a divorce or restraining order is filed there instead of Torrance.
At the Long Beach courthouse, the directory puts the Family Law Clerk's Office on the 1st floor in Room 1201 and the Family Law Facilitator on the 3rd floor in Room 3001. It also says a mediation appointment can be obtained from the clerk at the time a Request for Order is filed. If you're filing that request and need it served quickly, tell us both the mediation date and the hearing date.
So for a 90717 property near the edge of town, find out which city it's in before filing. The county assessor's records or the property tax bill will show it. For service, the difference doesn't matter, since the server goes to the street address you provide.
Papers to serve in Lomita?
Family law and restraining orders in Torrance
Lomita family cases go to the Torrance Courthouse on Maple Avenue, 3.4 miles from the city's center point. The directory places Family Court Services mediation on the 3rd floor in Room 330. Public and juror parking is in the lot on Maple Avenue north of the building. The directory lists civil, criminal, family law and traffic at Torrance, with no small claims or eviction division, which is why those Lomita cases are filed elsewhere.
A family law summons served on a Lomita spouse is usually proved on Judicial Council form FL-115. A civil harassment restraining order needs the restrained person personally handed the papers, proved on form CH-200. For any restraining order, give us the hearing date first, then a photo, a vehicle and the places the person spends a weekday.
Small claims are heard in Inglewood
Lomita small claims go to the Inglewood Courthouse, about 12 miles north. The directory lists a Small Claims Clerk's Office there and a Small Claims Advisor run by the County of Los Angeles. Parking is in the east garage for a fee.
The Judicial Council's self-help guide sets the service deadline by counting back from the trial date on page 1 of the claim. Personal service must be done at least 15 days before trial, or 20 days if the defendant is in a different county from the court. Substituted service has to happen 10 days earlier than that. If the deadline lands on a weekend or court holiday, it moves back to the last open court day.
The plaintiff can't serve the claim. Any adult who isn't part of the case can, and that person signs form SC-104. If one defendant is served and a second can't be found in time, form SC-150 asks the court to postpone the trial, and it has to be filed at least 10 days before the court date.
Larger civil cases: two Southwest District buildings
For unlimited civil, the locator lists both Torrance and Inglewood. Local Rule 2.3 sets case-type tests for choosing a district. A contract case may be filed where performance is due or where the defendant lives. A real property case goes where the property is. A personal injury case must be filed in the district where the incident happened, so a crash on a Lomita street is a Southwest District case.
Whatever the choice, every new civil filing needs form LACIV 109, the Civil Case Cover Sheet Addendum and Statement of Location. The rule requires a copy of it to be served with the summons and complaint, so include it in the packet you send us.
Inglewood's Civil Clerk's Office is on the 2nd floor in Room 202, and its directory lists restraining orders in the same room.
Collections and probate outside the South Bay
A limited collection case from Lomita goes to the Norwalk Courthouse, more than 16 miles east. Other limited civil cases, along with probate, go to Stanley Mosk downtown. Local Rule 2.3 keeps probate, trust, conservatorship and guardianship work in the Central District unless the North District exception applies, and that exception covers only the district around Lancaster.
For an estate with heirs in several cities, list every person and address on one Service Request. We plan the attempts together and report each one on the same request.
Serving a Lomita business
A shop's sign doesn't always show who owns it. The Judicial Council's guide for finding a business suggests checking fictitious business name records at the county clerk-recorder to learn who owns a shop or restaurant. For a corporation, LLC or limited partnership, the Secretary of State's business search shows the agent for service of process, who accepts legal papers for the company.
If the agent can't be found, the guide notes that an officer of a corporation can be served instead. Our serving corporations guide covers the options, including agents that are registered agent companies.
Getting the first attempt right
A Lomita request goes further with a few details in the Letter of Instruction:
- The full address, including any rear house, unit letter or mobile home space number.
- When the person is home, or the hours they work.
- A second place to try, such as a job in Torrance or Carson.
- A photo or description, with a vehicle and plate if known.
- Past attempts, with who answered and what they said.
- The hearing or response date, so the attempts can be spaced to finish before it.
If the person has moved, skip tracing searches for a current address and sends it to you before the papers go back out. The updates come to you by email. We make no guarantees for service.
Filing and serving on one request
We file Lomita cases at Torrance, Long Beach, Inglewood or downtown, at the counter or by eFiling, then move the same request to service when the summons issues. The court's civil e-filing FAQ says represented parties must e-file in civil cases unless they have an exemption order. Our Los Angeles County court filing page explains how that works, and the proof of service guide covers the form you get back.
Places near Lomita
Rolling Hills Estates is 1.2 miles from Lomita and Rolling Hills 2.9. Torrance is 3.4 miles away, Rancho Palos Verdes 4.8 and Carson 5.1. Lomita evictions are filed in Long Beach. The rest of the county is on our Los Angeles County page.