Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
An Unlawful Detainer case taken under submission
I was just involved in my 3rd unlawful detainer case with my not so motherly mother! I have won the previous cases which were also taken under submission. However, it's been a month and still no ruling! My real qiustion is her attorney filed a Writ Of Possesion on the property and sent a notice to vacate with the sheriff giving us 4 days to get out! We thought we had lost and went to file an appeal and found out that a judgement hasn;t even been entered yet!! Is this Legal for him to do ? Or did he do something unetheical and shady? This guy was what give atttorneys a bad namer and if he did something wrong I'd take great pleasure in making sure it was known. The Notice to vacate was recalled and we don't have to leave but if I hadn't been so stuborn to appeal , we could've left and lost our house even though we didn't lose the case!! Please give me some direction!! Could I bring this before the Judge and possibly help the case? And also is there anything I can file or do to make it so she can never do this gain? Like I said this is the 3rd time we've done this and it is obviously very stressful and emotionally trying. Can I make it so she is forced to quit torturing myself and my family as well as wasting the courts time?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: An Unlawful Detainer case taken under submission
I can't be the judge here. I merely give my legal opinion based on the facts you present.
Obviously, some one fouled up here. The Writ of Possession is only used at the very end of an eviction, and it tells the tenant to vacate, or the sheriff will forcibly remove him. and anyone else on the premises.
Fortunately, you are lucky, but also to be congratulated for your actions.
However, this is a very long time for a Judge, in a case such as this, to delay his ruling.
It also is rare for the clerk in the Sheriff's department to issue the writ, without a judgment being entered.
Finally, the attorney, or his office, made a grave mistake. The question is whether an accident, or done on purpose.
The State Bar has a hotline for complaints against lawyers, but I am not allowed to list a phone number for the State Bar. You can find it on line, or in your white pages.
There is an old area of the law, which would cover this, called "abuse of legal process". If you can show this is the case on Mom's third unlawful detainer, you can see for damages under this doctrine.
Good luck!
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