Hopefully not a stupid question re: Pro Se

[tallguy201]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Dupage County Illinois

In a civil case (contract dispute) Can a Pro Se Plaintiff represent his/her spouse as well as himself. Both parties are named in the suit as Plaintiffs yet the spouse never shows up for court? Also if a Pro Se Plaintiff can repesent a spouse am I within my rights to ask for proof of Marriage??

 

[Rexlan]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Dupage County Illinois

In a civil case (contract dispute) Can a Pro Se Plaintiff represent his/her spouse as well as himself. Both parties are named in the suit as Plaintiffs yet the spouse never shows up for court? Also if a Pro Se Plaintiff can repesent a spouse am I within my rights to ask for proof of Marriage??

Certainly you can. You can also demand an appearance by all the parties to the action or have one dismissed. Do that at a hearing.

One party would generally do the "talking"; however, each party (pro se) must represent themselves. An attorney can represent both.

 

[Zigner]

Let's carry this through...

If you get the wife removed and only the husband remains, will that change the nature/validity of the case?


EDIT: Is this Small Claims Court?

 

[tallguy201]

Reply

This started as a small claims case however the Plaintiff is attempting to amend the complaint to a total of over $35,000.00. I assume this will bump it out of small claims and he will have to refile in a different court.

Is there anywhere I can find something stating that a Pro Se Plaintiff cannot represent his wife or that both parties must be present in court for my dismissal documents.

 

[Zigner]

This started as a small claims case however the Plaintiff is attempting to amend the complaint to a total of over $35,000.00. I assume this will bump it out of small claims and he will have to refile in a different court.

Is there anywhere I can find something stating that a Pro Se Plaintiff cannot represent his wife or that both parties must be present in court for my dismissal documents.

Again - if the husband is there representing his own interests and you are successful in having the wife removed, you will STILL have to deal with the suit from the HUSBAND. Furthermore, I'll bet that once this gets to a higher court which doesn't have the "relaxed" rules of SCC, you'll be seeing a lot of the wife.

 

[tallguy201]

Sounds Good

Thank you for the advice. This Plaintiff files lawsuits because he has nothing else to do (no Job) his wife does work.

The only thing I need now is a written rule, statute or court case to show.

Can anyone help there.
My google search has not come up with anything.

 

[The_Saint]

If the info is not easy to find, i would just pay an attorney to tell you (how much does 15 minutes of an attorney's time cost?). How much time have you spent trying to find an answer? How much is your time worth?

Generally, info like that is hard to find online unless a knowledgable soul here is willing to give you that info.

Good luck with your case. Seems like too many people like to sue for anything these days. Its a real shame. Reading in this forum has spooked me a little thinking that anyone can file a suit and cause you stress and expense just because they can.

 

[Zigner]

Thank you for the advice. This Plaintiff files lawsuits because he has nothing else to do (no Job) his wife does work.

So, he filed a lawsuit seeking $35,000.00 because he's bored and threw a dart at his phone book to get your name?


Somehow I'm just not buying that.

Again - you will not get the case dismissed and whether you have the wife removed or not will likely have no bearing on the outcome of the case.

 

[tallguy201]

Reply

Dear Saint,

I appreciate your reply and I do have an attorney that I will meet with next week.
Just figured I'd do some research on my own as it is good to know my way around as well.
My time is actually quite valuable although I do have a healthy thirst for knowledge and have spent a numerous hours searching for answers.

Might try Westlaw for research. If you have any other suggestions I would certainly appreciate it.



DEAR ZIGNER:

He has filed a lawsuit against 6 defendants all of whom (with the exception of myself) have lived in (leased) the apartment he rents at some time over the last year.
This guy is a maggot to say the least and is currently involved in two (2) lawsuits against some of the same people. He is attempting to sue me for $8,000.00 because I offered to have repairs made to a bathroom floor and after this maggot wanted me to pay his time to watch the repairs being made I revoked my offer. The cost of the work was under $800.00.

My intention is to force his wife to appear every time he does so they can share in the loss of wages like the people he is impacting with his rediculious lawsuits.

And nobody is asking you to buy anything. I was only asking for help here, not trying to sell anything. I'll save that for the Court.

 

[Zigner]

My intention is to force his wife to appear every time he does so they can share in the loss of wages like the people he is impacting with his rediculious lawsuits.

Again - you will not get the case dismissed and whether you have the wife removed or not will likely have no bearing on the outcome of the case.

 

[Rexlan]

I agree with Zigner ... your issue about the wife is meaningless. He can not technically represent the wife because he is not an attorney. However, as Zigner has repeatedly said, it really doesn't matter and it certainly will not stop him. The court will never dismiss the case because of this and it is very unlikely they would dismiss the wife or force them to have an attorney unless they are incorporated somehow.

You best bet may be to go after him for a frivolous suit and get sanctions. Your attorney can evaluate that option.

Yes, it will definitely have to be removed from small claims.

 

[tranquility]

Westlaw is expensive, kinda hard to use and probably too much for what you want. A good, fairly inexpensive, case law database is at:

TheLaw.net Case Law And Legal Research Software - Justice starts here.

 

[Willlyjo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Dupage County Illinois

In a civil case (contract dispute) Can a Pro Se Plaintiff represent his/her spouse as well as himself. Both parties are named in the suit as Plaintiffs yet the spouse never shows up for court? Also if a Pro Se Plaintiff can repesent a spouse am I within my rights to ask for proof of Marriage??

I'm not sure about Illinois, but in California, a married couple is as one so if the husband files a lawsuit and the husband and wife are plaintiffs, only one (the one with the legal knowledge regarding litigation of such suit) need show up at Hearings. Your lawyer would be able to clarify whether a married couple in Illinois is regarded as one as far as litigation practices.

 

[Zigner]

I'm not sure about Illinois, but in California, a married couple is as one so if the husband files a lawsuit and the husband and wife are plaintiffs, only one (the one with the legal knowledge regarding litigation of such suit) need show up at Hearings. Your lawyer would be able to clarify whether a married couple in Illinois is regarded as one as far as litigation practices.

You don't know much about California either.

 

[Willlyjo]

I agree with Zigner ... your issue about the wife is meaningless. He can not technically represent the wife because he is not an attorney. However, as Zigner has repeatedly said, it really doesn't matter and it certainly will not stop him. The court will never dismiss the case because of this and it is very unlikely they would dismiss the wife or force them to have an attorney unless they are incorporated somehow.

You best bet may be to go after him for a frivolous suit and get sanctions. Your attorney can evaluate that option.

Yes, it will definitely have to be removed from small claims.

Show me any law in any state that says a husband cannot represent his wife in a matter in which they are both Plaintiffs. You are wrong here!