Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Filed/Dismissed/How long to I have to act

Unless "you" are a corp, do not understand. Need more information. Time limitations info would require more info from you. You must know, however, that time is critical. Pass it, likely no matter the excuse, you may be out of luck.

Re: Filed/Dismissed/How long to I have to act

"Lack of lawyer" is not a reason for dismissing a case. If no one is doing anything to bring the case closer to trial then it can be dismissed for failure to prosecute, but that is a different matter. If the plaintiff is an individual, she can prosecute her case on her own and she is not excused from doing so simply because she doesn't have a lawyer representing her. If the plaintiff is a corporation, then the corporation cannot proceed in pro per and must have a lawyer; lack of a lawyer will prevent the case from going forward, but again the reason for dismissal would be failure to prosecute and not the lack of a lawyer.

Because your question is not specific, I don't know if this is really what happened. Maybe you tried to represent yourself and made a mistake that undermined your case. To you this might seem like a dismissal due to the absence of a lawyer, but in reality it was a dismissal for some other reason. Having a lawyer might have prevented the problem, but the actual basis for the court's decision would not be the absence of a lawyer.

Without knowing more about what happened, I don't know what you need to do and cannot say how much time you have in which to do it.

Re: Filed/Dismissed/How long to I have to act

You don't want to wait. The longer you wait, the more likely a court is going to say you sat on your rights and not be willing to bring it active again.

You should contact an attorney as soon as possible.

I would be happy to discuss the matter with you.

J. Caleb Donner

DONNER & DONNER

LEGAL WARRRIORS (R)

325 E. Hillcrest Drive, Suite 242

Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

Tel: 805-494-6557

Fax: 805-494-0990

email: [email protected]

website: www.legalwarriors.com

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Re: Filed/Dismissed/How long to I have to act

You may get to refile depending on the statute of limitations. If the statute has run, you may have to file a motion to set aside the dismissal. Please contact our office if you need assistance.