Well, I checked the court record yesterday evening and lo and behold a default judgment shows up on the record!!! Amazing!!! How can someone get a default judgment against him after fighting with the creditor and it's attorneys for months now? Well, it just didn't make no sense so I went to the clerk of the court and asked to see the file in the case. They pulled it and I asked where is the order of the court granting judgment. The reply was that since it was just entered last night the judge hadn't sent the order down to the records department yet. I'd have to go see the judge. So off to the judge's office I go. I told the bailiff I wanted a copy of the judgment order that had been entered in my case yesterday. We don't have it. The plaintiff's attorney must have it. Well, what I don't understand is how it is that after we have been fighting the case for months now the judge can just up and grant a default judgment. The response was that the bailiff didn't know but would find out and let me know. So I came home and I had a voice mail telling me that the whole thing was a mistake and it would be corrected today. They said the judge did not make any such ruling in the case. So now there is the same statement left in the record but also a judges minute order stating that no decision had been rendered in the case. So there is a valuable lesson for all. I knew that if I had entered a response and demanded discovery and sanctions against the attorney as well as other motions back and forth the judge could not legally enter a default judgment so I went and started digging until I got the right answer. If I had not done that then I would have believed the report and then failed to show up in court for my next hearing set for the 30th of September. I would have allowed somebody else's goof up to cause me to lose the case. But also a greater danger was that since I would not have allowed that to stand without a fight and I went in starting another ruckus over nothing it would have made me look like a fool indeed. I was all ready to take it to appeals last night knowing I could win. (LOL) That would have been a huge mistake. Better by far to always check things out very thoroughly before jumping off the deep end as I might have done if I had not chased it down.
