in action... The same guy suing us to get out of our house happens to be a debt collecting lawyer. He had a whole table full of cases, at least half of the 100+ docket, and the majority didn't show up. Lawyer: "I'll call that for default judge." Judge: "Unfortunate Debtor. Unfortunate Debtor. Default" Man, that guy must make a killing. My wife said he was really badgering one lady, and the judge even had to tell him to be quiet. (I missed it, having stepped out to make a phone call.) The debt collecting lawyer shouldn't have taken our case though, because he royally forked up the whole thing. Next time I bet he passes it on to an eviction specialist ) The other lawyer there seemed to handle evictions exclusively, with many of them following foreclosure. What a business to be in. There were also two lawyers arguing UCC to the judge. That was actually interesting. I also liked the trial where the Plaintiff didn't show up. If I could BE so lucky! All told, that was an interesting two hours. I'm still not looking forward to our trial next Monday though.
It didn't ( I should not have tried to represent myself on this one I guess. I did consult with a lawyer, and it was his opinion that I had a good position of defense, but this judge wasn't of the same opinion. The plaintiff's lawyer and this judge obviously work together on a regular basis, and that may have affected the trial. What probably made things worse is my not knowing exactly what to do. The judge didn't even bother to look at their petition before holding the trial, and I made a grave error in not preventing evidence from being admitted that would ammend the petition. My motion to dismiss was not heard, and probably was not even looked at, because I failed to set it for a hearing, at least I think that's why. Fortunately, that motion can still be heard, and if I can find a lawyer that feels good about our stand, we can ask for a trial de novo and get a different judge and a new trial. No, associate circuit court.
