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what does it mean is a case is "disposed"

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kinderton

Junior Member
"disposed" case, then contacted by the court 4 years later

What is the name of your state? texas

in 2001, I was living in the midwest and randomly received a summons to appear in a San Antonio court for a paternity hearing in which I was named the father to a child from a mother whose name I'd never heard before. I hired a lawyer to appear in court for me and to get the details of the case. He told me that no prosecutor appeared in court regarding my case (only clerks were present) and that no new information about the case was available. About three months after the court date, my lawyer told me the case had been dismissed (I still received no details about the plaintiff) and I received a document in which the top half read "notice of non-suit" and was signed by the asst district attorney. The bottom half of the document read "approval of non-suit" and was left unsigned. It appears that a judge was supposed to sign off on that section. This document was sent to my attorney via certified mail from the district attorney's office. Two days ago, an employer for whom I haven't worked for in over a year received a fax from the dist atty's office asking him if he knew my whereabouts. Why are they doing this? I checked public records for my case and found that it had been "disposed." Is there a problem with my dismissal? What's happening here?

Thanks for the responses.
 
Last edited:


Happy Trails

Senior Member
kinderton said:
What is the name of your state? texas

please see the question in the title.
I can give you some reasons a case is disposed.

A case can be disposed for various reasons such as:

Some cases get disposed through an agreed settlement or voluntary dismissal.

Some get disposed because they are uncontested, (the defendant did not file an answer to the complaint).

Some because they get dismissed by plaintiff.

Some get ordered for dismissal for want of prosecution.

etc...
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
kinderton said:
What is the name of your state? texas

in 2001, I was living in the midwest and randomly received a summons to appear in a San Antonio court for a paternity hearing in which I was named the father to a child from a mother whose name I'd never heard before. I hired a lawyer to appear in court for me and to get the details of the case. He told me that no prosecutor appeared in court regarding my case (only clerks were present) and that no new information about the case was available. About three months after the court date, my lawyer told me the case had been dismissed (I still received no details about the plaintiff) and I received a document in which the top half read "notice of non-suit" and was signed by the asst district attorney. The bottom half of the document read "approval of non-suit" and was left unsigned. It appears that a judge was supposed to sign off on that section. This document was sent to my attorney via certified mail from the district attorney's office. Two days ago, an employer for whom I haven't worked for in over a year received a fax from the dist atty's office asking him if he knew my whereabouts. Why are they doing this? I checked public records for my case and found that it had been "disposed." Is there a problem with my dismissal? What's happening here?

Thanks for the responses.
Well...apparently the case is rearing its head again. It would probably be wise to get back in touch with your original attorney.
 

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