Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Washington

Notice to Appear in Civil Court

I received a notice to appear in court to release a lien I had filed agaisnt a person. I received this notice on Dec. 13, 2003 and was to appear in court on December 23, 2003. I had only 6 business days to find an attorney. Because of the Christmas holiday I was unable to find an attorney who could take my case. I was told by the opposing attorney that if I dropped the lien and paid him $250 he would cancel the court date. I did as he asked. I later found out that I was not given proper notice. Do I have any recourse for this action?


Asked on 1/19/05, 9:17 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elizabeth Powell ELizabeth Powell PS Inc

Re: Notice to Appear in Civil Court

Generally, courts are required to sign agreed orders. So if you agreed to waive the notice, you waived your right to recourse because of the short notice.

Also, you had 10 actual days notice and six judicial days is the most an attorney can require another attorney to provide. So if you were representing yourself, you are acting as your own attorney and six judicial days is adequate notice.

Lien law in WA is getting problematic right now. Had you appeared with counsel and argued, you may well have been required to pay significantly more in attorney's fees and also to drop the lien.

So, no, based on the information you provided, I don't think it was a bad bargain.

Should this ever happen again, consult the civil rules regarding notice, don't agree to sign anything, and always show up, even to say, "Your Honor, I need time to get a lawyer." You'll get the benefit of the doubt from the Court.

Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell

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Answered on 1/19/05, 11:31 am


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