judge signed plaintiffs order before I could oppose ???

[Mimi-to-8]

Zwicker filed a MTS pending Arb with an Order on 9/13 (I elected arb on 8/5). Their MTS & Order had stipulations for me to initiate arb and to have 30 days to do so or my arbitration rights would be "stricken".

From fantastic advice and much help from skippy, Trueq, and many many others, I had crafted a strong Opposition against portions of their motion. I argued that they should file their own claim -blah blah blah, and the contract does not stipulate time limits -blah blah, and the contract states any delay for arbitration does NOT waive rights -blah blah.

I prepared an Order to grant the Stay but for plaintiff to initiate.

My RCP state:

Rule 6.2. Reply.

Unless otherwise ordered by the judge, each party opposing a motion shall serve and file a response, reply memorandum, affidavits, or other responsive material not later than 30 days after service of the motion.

The date on Zwicker's motion is 9/13 (received 9/14). I mailed my opposition yesterday 9/24(in 10 days) to Zwicker and the judge CMRR. When I went to the courthouse to file a copy, I found out the judge had already signed their order on 9/17! That's in 3 days from receipt!!!

I have not received the signed order yet.

What happened to the 30 days to oppose? Now what do I do? Can the judge cancel their order and sign mine or am I just SOL?

Bottom line I got what I wanted, which was the heck out of court and in arb, but geez I didn't want their terms! 7 days of my 30 to initiate are already gone and I don't have the signed order yet.

PLEASE HELP!!!

[FL4answer58]

Zwicker filed a MTS pending Arb with an Order on 9/13 (I elected arb on 8/5). Their MTS & Order had stipulations for me to initiate arb and to have 30 days to do so or my arbitration rights would be "stricken".

From fantastic advice and much help from skippy, Trueq, and many many others, I had crafted a strong Opposition against portions of their motion. I argued that they should file their own claim -blah blah blah, and the contract does not stipulate time limits -blah blah, and the contract states any delay for arbitration does NOT waive rights -blah blah.

I prepared an Order to grant the Stay but for plaintiff to initiate.

My RCP state:

The date on Zwicker's motion is 9/13 (received 9/14). I mailed my opposition yesterday 9/24(in 10 days) to Zwicker and the judge CMRR. When I went to the courthouse to file a copy, I found out the judge had already signed their order on 9/17! That's in 3 days from receipt!!!

I have not received the signed order yet.

What happened to the 30 days to oppose? Now what do I do? Can the judge cancel their order and sign mine or am I just SOL?

Bottom line I got what I wanted, which was the heck out of court and in arb, but geez I didn't want their terms! 7 days of my 30 to initiate are already gone and I don't have the signed order yet.

PLEASE HELP!!!

File the opposition anyways, get it on record - at least in appeal.

[RebelLady]

Zwicker filed a MTS pending Arb with an Order on 9/13 (I elected arb on 8/5). Their MTS & Order had stipulations for me to initiate arb and to have 30 days to do so or my arbitration rights would be "stricken".

From fantastic advice and much help from skippy, Trueq, and many many others, I had crafted a strong Opposition against portions of their motion. I argued that they should file their own claim -blah blah blah, and the contract does not stipulate time limits -blah blah, and the contract states any delay for arbitration does NOT waive rights -blah blah.

I prepared an Order to grant the Stay but for plaintiff to initiate.

My RCP state:

The date on Zwicker's motion is 9/13 (received 9/14). I mailed my opposition yesterday 9/24(in 10 days) to Zwicker and the judge CMRR. When I went to the courthouse to file a copy, I found out the judge had already signed their order on 9/17! That's in 3 days from receipt!!!

I have not received the signed order yet.

What happened to the 30 days to oppose? Now what do I do? Can the judge cancel their order and sign mine or am I just SOL?

Bottom line I got what I wanted, which was the heck out of court and in arb, but geez I didn't want their terms! 7 days of my 30 to initiate are already gone and I don't have the signed order yet.

PLEASE HELP!!!

You can continue to concentrate on what has already happened...or you can move forward and see what will happen. These are the exact kinds of things that 'courts' do that cause people to prefer arbitration to facing such inconsistency and lack of adherence to the rules of court. You can file a Motion To Reconsider and at least be on record as having opposed the judge's signing of the lawyer's order. This may be needed in the future should you lose in arbitration and this go to court for confirmation.

Since there's really not much you can do about what the judge has already done...move forward with your arbitration.

Can arbitration be any more subjective or demonstrate any more lack of enforcement than this? I guess the judge thinks pro se litigants are too stupid to read the rules and if they aren’t…who is going to enforce them anyway?

Be sure you read and understand the Rules of Procedure that the arbitration organization will be using to arbitrate your claim. This is vital! You need to be certain that the organization is adhering to ALL of the rules at ALL times. If not, they will be ‘in breach of agreement’ since your cc agreement requires that all disputes be resolved by binding arbitration and that the binding arbitration be conducted according to the ‘rules of procedure’ in effect at the time the claim is made.

RL

Edited September 25, 2010 by RebelLady

[admin]

I read your previous post here:

http://debt-consolidation-credit-repair-service.com/forums/showthread.php?t=304027

I think what may be going on is that you needed to initiate arbitration 30 days from the suit being filed, not their MTC. Have you read your rules of civil procedure for the Georgia courts?

Also, you asked for an oral hearing and basically the lawyers say Georgia law says they don't have to have one - the judge can rule on the current state of the case at a certain point. If this is true - not sure where there is to go, the court procedures were followed properly.

I would read carefully the rules of procedure. If they have not been followed, then I would file an appeal.

[Mimi-to-8]

Admin, just to clarify the whole situation....

Suit was filed 6/23. I filed Answer 7/22 (have 30 days in GA). I filed MTS pending arb and sent arb election letter to Zwicker 1.5 weeks later on 8/3. They ignored & sent Discovery 8/25. I then realized by Ga Uniform Rules that the judge sees nothing until the trial unless you schedule a hearing. If I had a lawyer, I could have easy access to the judge as Zwicker. Given this info I was told by the clerk that I would need to schedule a hearing to have a motion heard. So I filed a MTC arb + my election letter + contract + Order for them to initiate arb and scheduled a hearing for 10/29. Zwicker jumped in front of my MTC/Order by mailing a MTS pending arb and Order straight to the judge with their terms and conditions for me to initiate within 30 days of their Order being signed or my arb rights would be stricken and litigation to continue. There is still no trail date at this point and judge had seen nothing of this case until their MTS/Order was mailed on 9/13 & received 9/14 directly to the judge to sign. They asked for their MTS to be decided upon briefs with no oral hearing. I then checked the Court Rules which state any opposing material to motions should be filed within 30 days of the motion. I then prepared a very strong Opposition to their "terms" with contract launguage and an order to grant the Stay but with plaintiff initiating arb. I mailed this straight to the judge like they did and Zwicker CMRR on 9/24. I then went by court to file a copy and realized the judge did NOT follow court Rules by signing their Order on 9/17 which was in only 3 days of receipt. This gave me NO opportunity to oppose. The judge did not follow court rules. I live in a "Mayberry" town and this is not right, period!

I am preparing my arb claim and will initiate on day 25 of the 30. I am also preparing a MTReconsider along with a letter to the Chief Justice over this judge to use, if for nothing else, to fight an arb award confirmation if it gets that far by arguing my rights to due process per court rules were violated.

[GenX99]

Had the weekend to think about it and I would say the advice to initiate with JAMS is probably the best choice. JAMS was in their contract and the Arbitration clause survives everything...

[GenX99]

Admin, just to clarify the whole situation....

Suit was filed 6/23. I filed Answer 7/22 (have 30 days in GA). I filed MTS pending arb and sent arb election letter to Zwicker 1.5 weeks later on 8/3. They ignored & sent Discovery 8/25. I then realized by Ga Uniform Rules that the judge sees nothing until the trial unless you schedule a hearing. If I had a lawyer, I could have easy access to the judge as Zwicker. Given this info I was told by the clerk that I would need to schedule a hearing to have a motion heard. So I filed a MTC arb + my election letter + contract + Order for them to initiate arb and scheduled a hearing for 10/29. Zwicker jumped in front of my MTC/Order by mailing a MTS pending arb and Order straight to the judge with their terms and conditions for me to initiate within 30 days of their Order being signed or my arb rights would be stricken and litigation to continue. There is still no trail date at this point and judge had seen nothing of this case until their MTS/Order was mailed on 9/13 & received 9/14 directly to the judge to sign. They asked for their MTS to be decided upon briefs with no oral hearing. I then checked the Court Rules which state any opposing material to motions should be filed within 30 days of the motion. I then prepared a very strong Opposition to their "terms" with contract launguage and an order to grant the Stay but with plaintiff initiating arb. I mailed this straight to the judge like they did and Zwicker CMRR on 9/24. I then went by court to file a copy and realized the judge did NOT follow court Rules by signing their Order on 9/17 which was in only 3 days of receipt. This gave me NO opportunity to oppose. The judge did not follow court rules. I live in a "Mayberry" town and this is not right, period!

I am preparing my arb claim and will initiate on day 25 of the 30. I am also preparing a MTReconsider along with a letter to the Chief Justice over this judge to use, if for nothing else, to fight an arb award confirmation if it gets that far by arguing my rights to due process per court rules were violated.

LOL (not your post, the fact you had to clarify)

[admin]

Just checking to see what the Georgia laws were. OK - so they didn't follow them. I think it's time to get a lawyer involved to handle all of this mess.

Not sure how this would play out in arbitration since the judge says you can't do arbitration, but should be interesting. I would definitely not ignore the court case while all this is going on or you may find yourself with a judgment.

[Mimi-to-8]

Not sure how this would play out in arbitration since the judge says you can't do arbitration,

When did the judge say I can't do arbitration? Where did you see this?

[RebelLady]

Mimi,

Don't panic. You're moving in the right direction. You're doing the right things.

Someone, somewhere has to start holding judges and law firms accountable for their actions. Actions like attempting, with the blessings of the court apparently, to rewrite contracts when the contract terms and conditions no longer suit them and judges who either aren't aware of their own rules or simply think they're immune from abiding by those rules.

Keep up the good work and know that there are plenty of us cheering for you and wishing you all the best!

RL

[Mimi-to-8]

RebelLady,

Thanks so much for your uplifting & positive comments!

Sometimes I do need help keeping my chin up while fighting the good fight!

It means a lot knowing people care!

[admin]

When did the judge say I can't do arbitration? Where did you see this?

Didn't he sign the order to strike your request for arbitration?

[Mimi-to-8]

Didn't he sign the order to strike your request for arbitration?

Admin, no he signed Zwicker's Order granting a Stay pending arb but under their terms forcing me to initiate within 30 days of judges signature.

That gives me only until Oct 17 to initiate arb and I have not even received the Order yet!

It makes me wonder if Zwicker is holding off as long as possible to send it to me so I will actually have only a couple weeks to initiate. Judge signed the Order on Sept 17 and today is the 27th and I don't have it yet!

[nobk4me]

Admin, no he signed Zwicker's Order granting a Stay pending arb but under their terms forcing me to initiate within 30 days of judges signature.

That gives me only until Oct 17 to initiate arb and I have not even received the Order yet!

It makes me wonder if Zwicker is holding off as long as possible to send it to me so I will actually have only a couple weeks to initiate. Judge signed the Order on Sept 17 and today is the 27th and I don't have it yet!

But, shouldn't an order signed by a judge be sent directly from the court to you? Why would you have to receive it from Zwicker?

Can't you go to the court and obtain a copy?

[Guest usctrojanalum]

But, shouldn't an order signed by a judge be sent directly from the court to you? Why would you have to receive it from Zwicker?

Courts in NY and I'm sure in many other jurisdictions do not like to spend money on postage and often make the opposing party serve orders of the court.

[Mimi-to-8]

The court clerk informed me that the court does not mail out signed orders to all parties. It is up to the party that gets a motion granted and order signed to mail it to their oponent.

[GenX99]

Did you get a chance to see the order when you were talking with the clerk? Did they have a certificate of service attached to it?

[Mimi-to-8]

Did you get a chance to see the order when you were talking with the clerk? Did they have a certificate of service attached to it?

Yes, I actually saw it with the clerk. The judge signed it on 9/17 and it was filed on 9/22. I saw it on 9/24. I did not see a cert of serv for the signed order being sent to me by Zwicker but it could have been there.

The mail only takes one day between us. If I do not receive it today or tomorrow, I will go by court Thursday to see if I can get a copy. At least I actually know about the order so I can be working on my arb claim and initiate in time. I've been told Zwicker is expecting me not to initiate. I'll show them!

[Mimi-to-8]

Ok the judge received my Opposition today. That's in 14 days of receipt of Zwicker's motion. I wonder what, if anything, he will do with it knowing he didn't follow court rules in allowing 30 days for oppositions to be filed???

I still have not received the signed Order from Zwicker.

However, I just got back the green card where Zwicker received my Opposition and guess what; there is NO signature or date on it

Is there anything I can do?

Is this a big deal?

You can tell it was stamped by the postal service and the online tracking states it was delivered. I will print that out.

Is this sufficient to prove they received it?

[LostMind]

You may want to print out the online tracking number conformation of delivery so you have it. That would show the delivered date. Not sure about certified but the Priority mail tracking goes away after 6 months.

Edited September 28, 2010 by LostMind

[RebelLady]

Grief, Mimi...you really got stuck with some winners here...a judge that can't read the calendar, the rules of court or count days...and now an alleged law firm that can't write...lololol What next...lol

I think getting the green card back and printing out the tracking information would be enough proof that the idiots did, in fact, receive your Opposition.

You're doing so good...grief!!

RL

[FL4answer58]

I filed Answer 7/22 (have 30 days in GA). I filed MTS pending arb and sent arb election letter to Zwicker 1.5 weeks later on 8/3. They ignored & sent Discovery 8/25.

So I filed a MTC arb + my election letter + contract + Order for them to initiate arb and scheduled a hearing for 10/29.

Zwicker jumped in front of my MTC/Order by mailing a MTS pending arb and

They asked for their MTS to be decided upon briefs with no oral hearing. I then prepared a very strong Opposition to their "terms" with contract launguage and an order to grant the Stay but with plaintiff initiating arb.

I am preparing my arb claim and will initiate on day 25 of the 30. I am also preparing a MTReconsider along with a letter to the Chief Justice over this judge to use, if for nothing else, to fight an arb award confirmation if it gets that far by arguing my rights to due process per court rules were violated.

I think your on right track, ... Other options on this link for your consideration!

See: MTC Arb Options Part 1 & Part 2

http://www.debt-consolidation-credit-repair-service.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1077563#post1077563

[Guest usctrojanalum]

However, I just got back the green card where Zwicker received my Opposition and guess what; there is NO signature or date on it

Is there anything I can do?

Is this a big deal?

For those people who do not know, this is typically the mail carriers fault not Zwickers.

[RebelLady]

So as long as you get the green card back, even if its unsigned, its okay and still means they received your letter or whatever?

[Guest usctrojanalum]

Yeah happens where I work all the time, mail carrier rips of the green card himself and just shoves it in his pocket and walks out the door forgetting to give it to anyone to sign. I remind him 2-3 times a month like hey I didn't sign that yet.