Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
I am being sued for breach of contract, but I believe the plaintiff was the one who breached the contract (I argue constructive eviction, the landlord turned it over to a collections attorney). Because the amount is small, it is unreasonable to hire an attorney. I have an upcoming case management conference, for which I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate any advice.
1. Neither party has met/conferred about the case, though I see we were supposed to do that 30 days before the CMC. Is this a problem and how should I answer this question on the case management statement form? I was trying to get legal help about how to proceed after completing the plaintiff's discovery request, but I was unsuccessful and now the form is due.
2. I do not believe that I owe any money to the plaintiff, so should I put that I agree to arbitration or not? If so, what kind of arbitration would be best?
3. Do I need to fill in the estimated length of trial? I presume it would only last a couple of hours at most, but I have no basis for this estimation.
Thank you so much for any help you have to offer.
1 Answer from Attorneys
1. File the form with the explanation you gave above and state yuou will contact opposing counsel. Contact the plaintiff's attorney and discuss the case. Many attorneys fail to have such pre-CMC discussions and the judge normally ignores it.
2. No one should ever go to trial if they can avoid it. If the other side appears some what reasonable, agree to mediation through the court alternative dilspute resolution system which may give you 2-3 hours of free hearing/preparation time. Binding arbitration means both sides are stuck with the arbitrator's declsion; often their decisions are sloppy and wrong, but if there is not much money involved it might be the cheapest way out of the problem. If you lose, unless you have an agreement beforehand with the other side that the award willl not be filed if you pay within X number of days, it will be recorded as a judgment against you and effect your credilt record and background search when you apply to live at a new place. With non-binding arbitration, you can make a side agreement with the landlord that both parties will actually accept the decison [can establish a range beyond which not required to accept] and the case will be dismissed with prejudice so as not to effect your credit rating, etc.
3. Yes, a non-jury trial will be only about 2 hours, but a jury trial will be at least one day. You may want a jury as they will be more favorable to you than a judge, but if the other slde does not have request a jury you will have to pay a non-refundable jury fee of $100-200, depending on the county you are in.
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