Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Have her meet you at the court clerk's office with the cash. When she hands it over, she can watch you file the dismissal. If you both were to sign an agreement, the statute of limitations for bringing suit to enforce it would be four years.

You can re-file if you dismiss the case without prejudice, but not if you dismiss with prejudice. You will still have to make sure you don't miss the statute of limitations.

Your best bet is to do as Mr. Cohen suggests, and meet at the courthouse. You don't need to wait until your hearing date to do so. Instead (or in addition), you may want to sign a settlement agreement. That way either of you can sue the other for violating the agreement even after this case is dismissed.

One final note: You say that you (singular) are suing for money owed to you and to another roommate. You can't do that unless the other roommate assigned his claim to you. As a non-lawyer, you can only represent yourself in court. The other roommate may have to sue separately, since he probably can't join the existing lawsuit at this point.

Good luck.

I agree with Mr. Cohen and Mr. Hoffman. If the case is dismissed "with prejudice" you cannot reopen it or refile, as you ask. If the case is dismissed without prejudice, you could refile it, as long as the original statute of limitations has not run in the meantime.

I agree with all of the advise previously set forth.

BARRY BESSER

www.besserlaw.com