Legal Question in Family Law in Washington
I live in Island county, washington state. My husband's attorney filed a contempt motion and had me served with an unsigned unstamped copy. It was for a hearing the next morning. I showed up and there was no hearing scheduled. It was fraudulant.
His attorney has now served me with contempt papers again, same issue, but they are once again unsigned and unstamped.
My understanding of the local court rules is that the show cause for the contempt has to be signed then served to me. His attorney told me she does not have to do that.
Please let me know if the papers are valid if they are unsigned by a judge when they are served to me.
1 Answer from Attorneys
The attorney is probably correct. What matters is that the original is signed. As a practical matter, the attorney opens herself to the claim of inadequate notice. You can read for yourself the court rules (CR) and the local rules (LCR) for Island County which supplement the CR.
However, when you show up for court the second time, ask the court to grant you sanctions because you were present and the other attorney was not or had not notified you the hearing was off. You should also complain to the judge that the copy you got was unsigned and unstamped.
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