Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

Re: I have an OLD Girl Friend who is suing me?

Dear Sir

Your girlfriend obtained what is called a "default" judgment against you, apparently after convincing the trial court that she attempted to serve you (or obtained permission to do so by publication in a newspaper). Depending on the time that has elapsed, this may be easy to correct by way of a Motion for Relief from Default.

If you are interested in legal representation, please contact my office. Let me know where you are located, the location of the courthouse where this occurred, and the amount of the judgment. You must act immediately in order to protect your rights.

Re: I have an OLD Girl Friend who is suing me?

If your ex persuaded the court that you were served -- either because she honestly but mistakenly believes you had been or because she falsely said that you were -- then she could obtain a default judgment against you.

If you act quickly you can move to set aside the default and the default judgment. The process is fairly routine for lawyers but is not something a layperson who can afford counsel should try on his own.

Keep in mind that, if your motion is granted, you will still have to litigate the case. Overcoming the default judgment is not the same as winning the case; it just gets the court to say you haven't already lost.

Feel free to contact me directly if you are in southern California and would like to bring such a motion.

Re: I have an OLD Girl Friend who is suing me?

Sometimes people obtain restraining orders on an ex parte basis. I had an ex-girlfriend that obtained a restraining order against me while I was overseas on deployment in the Persian Gulf in 1996. I was not served at the time she applied for the TRO, and was served about three (3) weeks after I got back, and after the TRO had been granted.

Judges hand out domestic violence TRO's to people who claim they need them like people in my neighborhood hand out candy on Halloween. All you need to get one is to be in the right place, in your costume.

Once a TRO is granted, the party only has to deliver it to law enforcement for data entry into a system known as CLETS. This means that any law enforcement officer (sheriff, CHP, police) can pull you over and the TRO will come up on the system when they run your name.

This may be what she means when she claims she got a warrant for you. The only other kind of warrant would be a bench warrant, for failure to appear, and these are rare in any other kind of civil case, unless you have been adjudged to be in contempt of court, and have failed to appear.

If I were you, I would search the court system, using a computer, to determine whether she filed any such application for a domestic violence or civil harassment TRO. I would also contact law enforcement, to find out if your name has been inserted into CLETS, or if there is a warrant outstanding in your name. If she has filed any other papers, it may show up on your court search.

I would highly advise you not to violate any such TRO until the matter is quashed or resolved.

Very truly yours,