Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California
tentative decision in civil case
The judge recessed the trial for a week and urged us to settle, saying that his hands were tied legally. After we reconvened, he ruled in my favor on every single issue (both complaint and cross-complaint), but refused to award me the damages called for in the contract because he thought it would be unjust. He also declared that I was not the prevailing party so that I could not even recover my costs, even though I was the one who was sued.
Also, for some reason the judge admitted into evidence 3 letters written by opposing counsel. All 3 of these letters were written after the fact and backdated. One even refers to something that happened 3 weeks after it was allegedly written.
I know we have 2 days left to file a response to the judge�s tentative decision. I wrote up a 4-page statement addressing the judge�s misconceptions. It was in the form of statements of fact and references to the testimony or exhibits that supported each of the statements.
I have been unable to reach my attorney. What can I do? At this point I don�t think it can hurt to call the judge�s attention to any evidence that he may have overlooked in reaching his tentative decision, but I think I may be on my own.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: tentative decision in civil case
Unless you are looking to replace your counsel, you need to work everything out through your existing counsel of record unfortunately. However, a tentative ruling is not a final judgment, so you do have time to replace your counsel or get in touch with him/her to address your claims and concerns.
Re: tentative decision in civil case
A tentative decision is nothing to base a costs award on. The time to seek an award of costs is after you have a judgment. Prejudgment costs are awarded pursuant to the scheme set forth in California Rules of Court rule 870, which is the filing of a memorandum of costs within the fifteen day period after notice of the entry of judgment.
A tenative ruling precedes a lawful judgment. It sounds like you are trying to second guess your attorney and are so panicky that you pester your attorney and hinder his or her ability to do their job. If you don't think your attorney knows what they are doing, why did you hang around this long and how do you think the judgment ended up in your favor.
Calm down and work with your attorney instead of against your attorney. You'll make a better team.
Very truly yours,
Re: tentative decision in civil case
So long as you are represented by counsel then the court will neither accept nor consider anything you file on your own. You need to work with your lawyer, even if doing so is logistically difficult.
Because you have a tentative decision and not a final judgment, this question is really about general civil litigation rather than appeals. Please try re-posting it under that category so that more attorneys who can assist you will see it.
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