What is the effect of delay in effecting service of an action?

"Delay in effecting service constitutes a particularly pernicious form of delay in terms of potential prejudice, for the defendant during the period of that delay may be unaware that the action has been filed and thus not alerted to the necessity for making discovery, interviewing witnesses and preserving evidence essential to his defense." (Lopez v. Larson, supra, 91 Cal.App.3d 383, 403, 153 Cal.Rptr. 912.)

In Luti v. Graco (1985) 170 Cal.App.3d 228, 215 Cal.Rptr. 902, the court, while agreeing with the Hurtado court's conclusion that prejudice is required before an action can be dismissed under section 583, subdivision (a) where the complaint has been properly served, held that "a court does not abuse its discretion in presuming prejudice where a delay in service of [176 Cal.App.3d 736] the summons and complaint is prolonged and unjustified and defendants had no actual knowledge of the existence of the action."