Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
reversed decision
I am a plaintiff in pro per.
A defendant in my case refuses to obey a single court order, attend
hearings or participate in discovery.
When they wouldn't answer interrogatories , I filed a motion to
compel and asked for monetary sanctions. They of course did not
answer nor pay up.
Then I had an OSC hearing for contempt. They did not appear. The
court signed an order for contempt and ordered them to be
arrested until they cooperate.
Unfortunately it does no real good to file for default (just yet). They
have important information and went into deep hiding after they
answered my complaint.
Today I went to court to request the previous order be enforced.
Instead I found the judge was ill (he won't be back) and a tempory
judge in his place. The new judge reversed the previous judge's
order for contempt. He said the defendant ''has the right to not
participate in discovery'' , ignoring that parties have rights TO
discovery. He said monetary sanctions were the only sanction for
not answering interrogatories. Told me he had made his decision
and didn't want arguments.
Trial is Oct. How do I appeal or what should I do? Can you go to
appeals before trial?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: reversed decision
The message is clear. You are to move to default or a terminating sanction. When you file suit you have an obligation to pursue the case to judgment, not just rack up sanction upon sanction. Take it to judgment, like you are supposed to before some judge decides to dismiss your case for failure to prosecute it.
Re: reversed decision
You should consider a Motion for Reconsideration, and you can bring a Writ (it is a type of appeal during a case). You may have other options for other discovery and other actions but I do not see everything I would need to know without going through the case and file.
Joel
JOEL SELIK Attorney at Law
800-894-2889 760-479-1515 702-243-1930
www.SelikLaw.com
Licensed to Practice Law in California and Nevada Only CA Licensed Real Estate Broker
CONCENTRATING IN LITIGATION: REAL ESTATE, ELDER ABUSE, APPEALS, AND COLLECTIONS Personal Injury, Contracts, Tax Matters, Business, Malpractice, Appeals, Elder Neglect/Abuse/Nursing Home Malpractice Real Estate, and Other Legal Matters
This is just general information. No representations are made and no attorney client relationship is established by this communication. In most matters there are strict time limitations within which actions may be taken or your rights will be compromised. We are not taking any action on your matter and will not be considered your attorney or tax representative until both you and we have signed a fee agreement.
We, therefore will take no action on your behalf unless a written retainer agreement is signed. There are strict deadlines, called statutes of limitation, within which claims or lawsuits must be filed. Therefore, if you do not retain SELIKLAW, you should immediately seek the services of another attorney or other advisor.
If you send a lawyer or law firm email, your email will not create an attorney-client relationship and will not necessarily be treated as privileged or confidential. You should not send sensitive or confidential information via email. The lawyer or law firm to whom you are writing may not choose to accept you as a client. Moreover, as the Internet is not necessarily a secure environment it is possible that your email sent via the Internet might be intercepted and read by third parties.
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.
