Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

can i file a motion to set aside judgement in my U.I Case? I have a lot of mold in my apt and its making me sick, and when i went to court, it was a fast and i didnt have the opportunity to say what i wanted to say. Can i file this motion? please let me know. thank you!!


Asked on 12/30/09, 3:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

David Gibbs The Gibbs Law Firm, APC

It depends. If the matter went to trial, and you attended the hearing, discussed what you felt was relevant and the judge ruled against you, then you will have to appeal the decision to avoid eviction. That must happen very quickly post-judgment, and you must post a bond to avoid being evicted in the interim. To be honest with you, appeals of Unlawful Detainer lawsuits are generally not very successful if you attended the original trial and told your story about the mold. If you did not attend the trial, and your case went by default, you may be able to move to set aside the default judgment, however, there are again very short time-frames in which to do so, AND you must demonstrate some rational basis for the default being set aside. "Too little time" is not a valid basis - everyone who is a defendant in a UD lawsuit gets the same five days to file a response, and most people do, so you'll have to come up with a better reason why you did not defend the lawsuit in the first place. You definitely need to consult with an attorney if you plan to either appeal or set aside the default.

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Answered on 1/11/10, 9:03 am


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