ProSeInDaCourt Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 Hey,The Plaintiff in my case is being nonresponsive. Originally, I had an attorney review my case. When the attorney realized that I needed additional time to file a Response in the case, he called the Plaintiff's attorney to see if I could have an extension in order for him to review my case. The Plaintiff's attorney granted the extension. The Plaintiff's attorney proceeded as if this attorney stated that he was my attorney on record. I filed my Response Pro Se and even after filing Pro Se, the Plaintiff's attorney sent everything to the attorney that I had to review the case and he told them that he was not going to represent me in court. Now, the Plaintiff's attorney even requested a Case Management Hearing which I was of course a no show since I had no idea it was going on. I think that the Plaintiff's attorney is purposely trying to prejudice the judge against me by seeking hearings without telling me. As a matter of fact, we have another hearing coming up within a month, and the Plaintiff has yet to send notice. The Plaintiff's attorney has not produced any evidence of the claims. There is no record of anything. I was wanting to know if anyone has had anything similiar happen. Can I motion for Sanctions against the Plaintiff's attorney for not being responsive with me regarding court dates? For the Case Management Hearing he sent me an email and then mailed me a copy of the hearing request the day the hearing was to occur and then stated in it that he sent it previously to my "attorney" that wasn't on record and that since that attorney did not respond to him, he was sending a copy to me (on the day that we were already suppose to have had a hearing). This seems sleazy and a dirty trick. I want to file a sanction to get him to be more responsive in communicating.Also, they are accusing me (out of the courtroom) of using attorneys that are not on record, because they cannot believe that I wrote my General Denial Response on my own. Are Pro Se people not suppose to know how to Google examples of Responses and are we not suppose to know how to use Wiki to find out what all the legal lingo mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest usctrojanalum Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 The real "sleazy and dirty trick" is having an attorney call the plaintiff to ask for an extension so he can "review your case" and then file the responses pro se. From the information provided in your OP plaintiff attorney has done nothing wrong. Go ahead and file sanctions if your heart desires but it would probably be futile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chapel Hill Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 How much are you being sued for? Do you have that amount in liquid assets? If you're being sued for more than $10K you'd probably want to take time off work to see how the jurist assigned your case conducts his/her courtroom. Where is your case being prosecuted? If you're in LA county versus Sac county your strategy would play very differently. There is of course vast differences between the way you would play this in say a rural area like Stanislaus versus a place like Ventura County. Find a local law library and startt doing legal research on motions. Were you told in writing that the court prefers communications to it's court via email? Have you engaged the clerk of the court assigned to find out where you are in this process? Filing a motions is winnable but won't net you cash in your pocket at this point or the case dismissed with prejudice which is what you'd want if you're actually a resident of california. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calawyer Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 The real "sleazy and dirty trick" is having an attorney call the plaintiff to ask for an extension so he can "review your case" and then file the responses pro se. From the information provided in your OP plaintiff attorney has done nothing wrong. Go ahead and file sanctions if your heart desires but it would probably be futile.Not true in California. A phone call does not constitute an "appearance". Unless there has been an appearance by the attorney, plaintiff should serve YOU with all papers and pleadings in the action. When you filed your answer pro se, that was a clear indication that you would be representing yourself in Court. See, e.g., CCP section 1014.Having said that, I would not seek sanctions because the Court will not likely grant them and you will spend a lot of time preparing the motion. Instead, I would file a notice with the Court stating that plaintiff is erroneously serving you at an attorneys' office, which attorney has not made an appearance in this case on your behalf. Serve the plaintiff with a copy of the notice and show a proof of service on the plaintiff's attorney.You should also check the Court docket to see if the Court issued an Order to Show Cause ("OSC") for your failure to appear at the CMC. If so, you need to file a brief response saying that you did not receive notice because plaintiff's attorney sent it to someone who is not representing you in this action.Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentWA Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 calawyer has a very good approach. When I had something simular happen to me where the lawyer just expected the Electronic Filing system to notify me, when Pro Se's are not allowed to use it. I filed an Ex Parte motion for protective order directing opposing counsel to personally serve me. When I went to the regular Ex Parte hearing room to get the order heard, the judge called the lawyer at his office and yanked him off a call to read him the riot act. Problem solved and the guy looked like an idiot to the court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest usctrojanalum Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Not true in California. A phone call does not constitute an "appearance". Unless there has been an appearance by the attorney, plaintiff should serve YOU with all papers and pleadings in the action. When you filed your answer pro se, that was a clear indication that you would be representing yourself in Court. See, e.g., CCP section 1014.A phone call is not an appearance in NY either, and I never stated that this phone call was. But it's pretty deceptive and sleazy imo to have an attorney call and request an extension for something he is not ultimately not going to be apart of. The extension was likely given as a professional courtesy and would not likely have been granted if the pro se called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calawyer Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 A phone call is not an appearance in NY either, and I never stated that this phone call was. But it's pretty deceptive and sleazy imo to have an attorney call and request an extension for something he is not ultimately not going to be apart of. The extension was likely given as a professional courtesy and would not likely have been granted if the pro se called.I disagree. First of all, attorneys are very careful about how they represent their status to third parties for many reasons. Most likely, the attorney said (s)he was reviewing the file to determine whether to represent the defendant and was asking for an extension on the defendant's behalf. But in any event, courtesies are extended to the litigants and it should not matter whether the request comes from a lawyer or a party in pro per. As every litigator knows, what goes around, comes around..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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