Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Indiana
Civil suit filed against me over jointly-owned property. I answered complaint. Nothing else transpired (over one year), but recently received postcard in mail from court advising that a hearing will be held to dismiss case unless reason is shown to continue.
As defendant, can I show up at hearing, and if plaintiff does not, can I make a motion or act otherwise to win judgment?
2 Answers from Attorneys
The Court is going to dismiss the case if no one shows up. If you show and and the plaintiff (the one who filed the suit) shows up, if the Plaintiff asks the court not to dismiss the suit, it will not likely dismiss the lawsuit. However, just because you show up does not mean you win a judgment against the other person. Have no idea what you filed so it is difficult to say what will happen, but the hearing you are talking about is what is known as a 41E hearing, which is limited to either dimissing a case or not. Period. Nothing else.
Yes, you can make the motion, BUT it is within the court's discretion as to whether or not to grant it. Best bet is to take an attorney along to make sure that it gets done right.
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