Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Oklahoma

Re: court summons

Thank you for your question. If the purpose of the postponement is to obtain an attorney, I think the judge will give that to you. The Summons sounds like it would be defective in giving an incorrect date. If you fail to appear, the judge may throw the case out based on the defective date or he may not notice it and enter judgment against you. You should check with the court clerk for the correct date and appear and ask for a postponement. However, if you appear on the correct date, the court can find that the defect was cured by your appearance and proceed to hear the case. The law requires that you be served the Summons at least 5 days before the scheduled court date. Therefore, if the Small Claims Affidavit was issued on May 27 you would have to have been served on May 30th in order to have 5 clear days of service. (if the court date is actually 6-4-03) The Judge will usually check to make sure that the 5 day notice is correct and if not he will dismiss the case. If you show up however, he may treat the defect as cured and go on to hold a trial.