Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
Turning a Civil case into a Criminal
I was sued in small claims court but was unable to go so the judge rendered a judgment against me. The plaintif then requested that I appear in court to show an Asset Statment. I was also unable to attend but have told the Plaintif that I would make payments against the original judgement. Since I did not attend the 2nd hearing, the judge cited me for being in contempt of court and I guess issued a bench warrant. The plaintif is telling me that he can issue this warrant to the Sherrif's dept. as his will and have me arrested if I do not compy with his repayment terms. Can the Plaintif really do this? Can the Judge really give him that power? How was this plaintif able to turn a civil case into now I guess a warrant against me. The Plaintif is now making little threatening remarks stating that if I do not comply with his terms he'll have me arrested. What can I do?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Turning a Civil case into a Criminal
You disobeyed a court order to attend a hearing, so the plaintiff can get a bench warrant. It is called a civil contempt and the sheriff can take you into custody, at least in theory. In reality, they usually don't work that way. I've been doing collection work since 1993 and I've only heard of a sheriff taking someone into custody on a civil contempt order once. Even then, it happened because the guy also had a misdemeanor warrant for DUI and I happened to know somebody who served warrants for the sheriff's department.
As I write this, I am attending a bench warrant hearing tomorrow where the debtor failed to show up at the original debtor's exam. The judge will probably fine him and then let me conduct the examination. In this case, like most cases, the debtor was notified of the bench warrant and given a second chance to appear. If he doesn't show up tomorrow, then they MIGHT take him into custody.
Your best option in this case is to either reach an agreement with plaintiff or file a motion with the court to make payments. If you have a valid defense, you still might be able to file a motion to set aside the judgment and have the case heard on the merits if you can come up with a satisfactory reason for now showing up to the original trial.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
