Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
My friend and I live in California. My friend was a defendant in an Unlawful Detainer court case in Feb 2009. I was in court to help my disabled friend as well as to provide moral support. The court hearing was rescheduled for 3 weeks later in March 2009. The judge inquired if all there could be at court on the rescheduled date. When the rescheduled date was approaching I informed my friend that I could not be there because I could not afford the cost of renting a car or for the cost to buy gas ( I live a 6 hr one way drive from the court). My friend has told me: " that the judge was very angry that I wasn't in court and was prepared to take court action against me, but my friend interceded. She lost the case because I wasn't there to testify regarding a phone call I had made to the plaintiff. She says the judge told her that if I had testified that she would have won." In Jan 2010 my friend has told me that the judge has made a judgement (or all the paper work is ready for him to make a judgement) against me to the extent that I must provide financial support to my friend (who has severe health and financial needs) and that she has held off this judgement by indicating to the judge that I am providing her with financial support. However, she continues to tell me that unless I continue to help her finacially, then she will have to be honest with the judge and tell him that I am not helping her. My question is: Can a judge in a Unlawful Detainer case make a judgement against me as I have described above?
2 Answers from Attorneys
I think your friend is usuing your remorse in an attempt to manipulate you. Unless there's another lawsuit against you, the UD matter was completed when the judgment was entered. Of course, without seeing any of the court documents or having been there, that's only speculation on my part.
No. You were just a witness in the unlawful detainer case, not a party. Since you did not come to court and were not under subpoena, the court has no authority over you at all. And even if you had been subpoenaed and/or come to court, entering a judgment against you and in the defendant's favor would have far exceeded his authority.
The only way your "friend" could get a judgment against you would be by filing a new lawsuit naming you as the defendant. Even then, she would have to serve you before the court could have jurisdiction over you.
It sounds like this woman is lying in an effort to extract money from you. I suggest demanding that she show you some paperwork to back up her claims. She almost certainly won't have any.
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