Case dismissed "without prejudice" questions...

[seniorjudge]

Go to the courthouse and get a complete copy of the file.

You have to handle your own case.

You can't blame your emotional problems on the judge or the defendant.

 

[tball]

Go to the courthouse and get a complete copy of the file.

You have to handle your own case.

You can't blame your emotional problems on the judge or the defendant.

You are not aware of the full extent of my case. My emotional and psychological problems are a direct result of the defendants actions. Nothing to do with the judge.

However I did get a copy. Thanks.

 

[tball]

Let us know what the order says.

I picked up the order today and it was indeed "dismissed without prejudice" AND had a 20 day timeframe to file an amended complaint.

Then I filed the response letter and brought it to the judges assistant and asked if a decision had been made on the recent motion to dismiss "with prejudice".


It was already signed but still sitting in his outbox in a pile of orders, not entered. I caught it just in time. The JA brought my letter and the motion to the judge and when she came out she ripped up the order, tossed it out and said he would schedule a hearing on his motion calendar, which will be at least two weeks. In effect giving me the extension of time to re-file, which I'm doing immediately.

I should expect a notice of hearing form the court... correct? (by which time my amended complaint will have been filed, and the hearing no longer necessary)

 

[Quaere]

I know the difference. The confusion is in that in the hearing the judge clearly dismissed without prejudice, nothing more. No statement about filing an amended complaint.

I can believe that. Something seems to happen to them between the actual hearings and writing the order. What they say and what they write are often very different.

I picked up the order today and it was indeed "dismissed without prejudice" AND had a 20 day timeframe to file an amended complaint.

Procedurally, once a claim is dismissed, you CANNOT amend it unless you first get the dismissal order changed. Permission to amend a dismissed complaint would be like getting permission to treat a dead patient.

If your judge dismissed a case and at the same time told you to amend the complaint, you must be in....FLORIDA! It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Florida (it’s in its own little dementia riddled world) does indeed allow such procedure.

Then I filed the response letter and brought it to the judges assistant and asked if a decision had been made on the recent motion to dismiss "with prejudice".

It was already signed but still sitting in his outbox in a pile of orders, not entered. I caught it just in time.

Hmmm. None of this adds up. The only reason the judge would have decided OC’s motion without waiting for your response, is if your failure to amend and the subsequent dismissal was fatal to your claims because the SOL had run. But if the SOL had run, the Court wouldn’t have told you earlier that you could re-file four or five times.

The JA brought my letter and the motion to the judge and when she came out she ripped up the order, tossed it out and said he would schedule a hearing on his motion calendar, which will be at least two weeks. I should expect a notice of hearing form the court... correct? (by which time my amended complaint will have been filed, and the hearing no longer necessary) world)

So, what is the hearing for? If he is going to hear OC’s motion to dismiss w/prejudice, then you still have to overcome that in order to get permission to file an amended complaint.

 

[tball]

I can believe that. Something seems to happen to them between the actual hearings and writing the order. What they say and what they write are often very different.

Indeed. Lesson learned.

Procedurally, once a claim is dismissed, you CANNOT amend it unless you first get the dismissal order changed. Permission to amend a dismissed complaint would be like getting permission to treat a dead patient.

I don't know, but that's what happened, generally, wouldn't me filing again in accordance with the dismissal without prejudice, be the same as filing an amended complaint? (with the exception of a timeframe) Maybe the judge made some kind of error because even in the recent order ( the one thrown out today) The JA said he dismissed it again "without prejudice" for some reason and she was a little confused by it since the OC's motion was for dismissal with prejudice. This confusion, luckily was what made her go in and ask him about it. Although I didn't mind it being dismissed without prejudice again, just need clarification on a time frame this time.

If your judge dismissed a case and at the same time told you to amend the complaint, you must be in....FLORIDA! It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Florida (it’s in its own little dementia riddled world) does indeed allow such procedure.

They don't call us the Banana Republic for nothing! Presidential candidates get elected based on our whacked out courts!! (But I do love it here otherwise! Dementia included....)

Come to think of it the judge was a bit of a showboat in the hearing, definately a New Yorker, kept using sports team analogies and such. It's the same district court (not the judge himself) the whole Anna Nicole Smith drama debacle took place in so I think maybe some of the judges are a little too busy putting on a show and waiting for a TV deal offer after that whole ordeal. It was only few months ago a family court judge in the same court was arrested for smoking pot in a public park....and is still on the bench, so you see what I may be dealing with, it's not Kansas by far.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1174986235614

Hmmm. None of this adds up. The only reason the judge would have decided OC’s motion without waiting for your response, is if your failure to amend and the subsequent dismissal was fatal to your claims because the SOL had run. But if the SOL had run, the Court wouldn’t have told you earlier that you could re-file four or five times.

In the recent motion the OC asked for judgment without a hearing and included two copies of the final judgement order if the judge agreed that just needed to be signed and mailed. Which is why I was panicking. I didn't even know that was possible.

So, what is the hearing for? If he is going to hear OC’s motion to dismiss w/prejudice, then you still have to overcome that in order to get permission to file an amended complaint.

I'm guessing for the motion to dismiss with prejudice. Bu the OC didn't even want a hearing. I asked the JA and she said to file the amended complaint right away, so my guess was that once I have filed it the OC's motion will be moot, unless they still try and push for dismissal since I missed a deadline. Maybe the judge also considered that I didn't get a copy of the order and my medical situation?

All I know is the judgment was almost entered and was stopped, so I am grateful for that. Since the JA said I could and should still file the amended complaint, my guess is this was the judges way of giving me more time? If I don't file by the time of the hearing
I'd imagine he'll decide in their favor by then. But when I do file before the hearing, I may be able to just respond with proof that the amended compaint has already been filed and is in compliance with the courts procedure now showing cause and preempt the need for another hearing to dismiss? I don't know if you live in a major metro area but down here the courts are majorly backlogged. In my first hearing I entered the judges chambers with about 20 other lawyers pleading hearings that morning and another 20 at least were waiting outside. It was like a factory.

I knew it wasn't perfect, but I never knew our legal system was truly such a crap shoot.

 

[Quaere]

It's the same district court (not the judge himself) the whole Anna Nicole Smith

Are you in a U.S. District Court or are you in a Circuit Court?

 

[tball]

Are you in a U.S. District Court or are you in a Circuit Court?

My mistake, circuit, but same court of Anna's trial.