Legal issues- representing yourself in court?

[KYErik]

I know there are some legal experts here and I have always wondered about this- especially after reading much of the insurance thread.

If you are being sued by a wealthy person for what seems like the purpose of bankrupting you (example- a rich neighbor who is coming up with a weak lawsuit so you will go bankrupt with legal fees and lose your land and they can buy up your property when you default on your mortgage)- why not represent/defend yourself?



I'm sure there are tons of forms to file, witnesses to contact, laws to research, etc. But, could the average Joe possibly get through a frivolous civil lawsuit with less that $1K in legal expenses by defending themselves?


Might this be an appropriate tactic to use on someone that is threatening a frivolous and baseless lawsuit- "Go right ahead, I'll be representing myself in court so I won't be spending any of my money on legal fees"


I am not bashing lawyers here and I would definitely hire a lawyer if I was involved in a situation in which someone was injured or killed, or if I thought a reasonable jury member might think I was at fault in something I did.


But- if you are talking to a jury of your peers, it seems like a person with decent public speaking skills could make their own case for what they did/didn't do and why. They might need to hire an expert witness to testify but I assume if they said something improper during teh trial, teh judge would call them on it right?

FYI- In case anyone is wondering- I hope to never be involved in a court case and I am not currently involved in one nor have I ever been involved in a court case.

So please walk me through the process of defending ones self in a civil suit (I know the court can appoint a pro bono lawyer in a criminal trial):

Situation- I get a letter in the mail that says that I am being sued by my neighbor because my dog is so ugly that it is hurting his eyes/damaging his emotions when he looks across the fence at it and he was so distracted by it that he drove his riding mower into the side of his new BMW.

What could I do- just show up in the court room with a picture and ask the jury if their eyes hurt when they look at it? Can a simple citizen sign all the forms etc. or do they have to hire a lawyer to file the forms?

Just curious...

 

[sseelhoff]

I know there are some legal experts here and I have always wondered about this- especially after reading much of the insurance thread.

If you are being sued by a wealthy person for what seems like the purpose of bankrupting you (example- a rich neighbor who is coming up with a weak lawsuit so you will go bankrupt with legal fees and lose your land and they can buy up your property when you default on your mortgage)- why not represent/defend yourself?



I'm sure there are tons of forms to file, witnesses to contact, laws to research, etc. But, could the average Joe possibly get through a frivolous civil lawsuit with less that $1K in legal expenses by defending themselves?


Might this be an appropriate tactic to use on someone that is threatening a frivolous and baseless lawsuit- "Go right ahead, I'll be representing myself in court so I won't be spending any of my money on legal fees"


I am not bashing lawyers here and I would definitely hire a lawyer if I was involved in a situation in which someone was injured or killed, or if I thought a reasonable jury member might think I was at fault in something I did.


But- if you are talking to a jury of your peers, it seems like a person with decent public speaking skills could make their own case for what they did/didn't do and why. They might need to hire an expert witness to testify but I assume if they said something improper during teh trial, teh judge would call them on it right?

FYI- In case anyone is wondering- I hope to never be involved in a court case and I am not currently involved in one nor have I ever been involved in a court case.

So please walk me through the process of defending ones self in a civil suit (I know the court can appoint a pro bono lawyer in a criminal trial):

Situation- I get a letter in the mail that says that I am being sued by my neighbor because my dog is so ugly that it is hurting his eyes/damaging his emotions when he looks across the fence at it and he was so distracted by it that he drove his riding mower into the side of his new BMW.

What could I do- just show up in the court room with a picture and ask the jury if their eyes hurt when they look at it? Can a simple citizen sign all the forms etc. or do they have to hire a lawyer to file the forms?

Just curious...

I would not recommend attempting to defend yourself. First of all, there are way too many procedural traps you can run into that may in fact end the suit against you before you get to the trial stage. Miss a deadline, and you may be hosed. Court's are not going to do anything to save you, especially if it gets a case off of their docket. (Their number of files and disposition times are tracked by court adminstration-they have an interest in getting rid of cases)

Once you get to Court, you will figure out in a hurry that the Judge is not your friend, and most (but not all) will not bail you out if/when you get in over your head. They won't make objections to improper evidence for you, and may jump your case if you do anything wrong.

The best defense is a good offense. If you get hit with a b.s. suit, file a counterclaim for filing a frivilous lawsuit (some states call it malicious prosecution-different states, different names-same concept.). As part of your damages, the jury can award the costs of defense (i.e. your lawyer's fee). Note I said part of your damages. They can also award punitive damages against the Plaintiff if it is egregious enough, depending upon the state.

 

[lopezian]

IANAL, but I recall hearing of a case in the SF bay area where a homeowner was hit with a SLAPP suit by a large corporation. The purpose was to silence a vocal critic of some development project under the assuption that they could not afford to mount a defense. The homeowner invoked a clause in their homeowners insurance to force his insurance company (with very deep pockets) to defend the suit. They then used discovery to go after the corporation aggressively during discovery.

So maybe your homeowner's insurance can be used to mount a defense, and as a defendant you have wide latitude in the discovery process to make the plaintiff's life miserable.

 

[orezok]

I wouldn't recommend attempting to perform a professional task without training. Remember the saying "a doctor that treats himself has an idiot for a patient!"

No offence intended.

 

[ray66v]

Even though Sseelhoff is a lawyer, I have to agree, I had one experience that illustrated many of his points. Particularly the fact that judges do not want to have you wasting their time. Though I had very little at stake, I felt the pressure. If you have anything to loose, get a GOOD lawyer. Who ever has the best lawyer wins! I know thats not always true but, it seems like it is.

 

[sseelhoff]

Even though Sseelhoff is a lawyer, I have to agree, I had one experience that illustrated many of his points. Particularly the fact that judges do not want to have you wasting their time. Though I had very little at stake, I felt the pressure. If you have anything to loose, get a GOOD lawyer. Who ever has the best lawyer wins! I know thats not always true but, it seems like it is.

I practice law because it's the only skill I have that will keep me in tractors and horses. And shoveling horse @#$# is an excellent way to practice up for my day job, if you get what I'm sayin'.

 

[MikeD74T]

KYEric, In your hypothetical case I'd start by defending myself over the suit & if I lost I'd hire a lawyer to defend me after I put the guy in the hospital for longer than I'd spend in jail for doing it. MikeD74T

 

[keeney]

If you do make a claim on your homeowners insurance, they are likely to raise your rates even if they win. As an isurance guy said to me once "A claim is a claim".

A lot depends on how much they are suing you for. If its a small amount of money (fixing the guys car?), it becomes less viable to pay a lawyer to defend the case and if you lose, its not that much money. If its $1M claim, well then you probably should get a lawyer or have your homeowners insurance pay to defend it.

If its just a letter and not a "Summons & Complaint", I don't think they have actually sued you yet.

Does the other side have a lawyer ? Was the letter from a lawyer?

You could get a lawyer to just give you an hour of two of advice without actually representing you. If they do file such a frivolous suit, a lawyer should also be able to write up a motion for dismissal that would likely make it go away for under $1000 (assuming the case is not more complex than you state).

Did you try talking to your neighbor? Maybe if you just apologize for having an ugly dog, they will drop the issue (but it sounds unlikely).

- Rick

 

[Wayne County Hose]

A man who represents himself has a fool for a client.

 

[Defective]

You could go into court with a picture of the dog & a picture of his wife. Then, just ask the judge which he'd rather live beside...