Request to be removed from civil case

[biglittle]

What is the name of your state? Living in PA, being sued in OH.

I am being sued in the state of OH in civil court. What is the easiest way to go about requesting to be removed from the case? Do I write a letter to the judge stating my request to be removed? Do I need to have a lawyer draft the letter? If I write the letter myself, should it be notarized, sent certified mail, etc?

If you need the details of the case, I can provide them, but didn't think they were necessary for my question.

 

[badapple40]

Assuming they have no basis for jurisdiction in Ohio, you would file a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Of course, that should probably be researched by a lawyer first.

Also, if they do have proper jurisdiction in Ohio, you have to go to Ohio to defend this.

 

[biglittle]

So, I couldn't just write a letter?

The reason I ask is, the County in OH where this case is happening has a system online to view the details of the case. I see a number of other defendants have written letters stating they have nothing to do with this case and have asked to be removed.

The jurisdiction reference was brought up by our lawyer (who unfortunately can't practice in OH).

 

[racer72]

It will take more than a letter. The lawsuit should state you have a specific number of days to answer the summons and who to reply to, usually the court and the plaintiff's counsel. Do it yourself law books (such as those by Nolo Press) will tell you how to answer a lawsuit. The answer must be in a specific format (they are even picky about the fonts you use) and must be submitted in time. If you were to be dropped from the suit, most likely the plaintiff will drop you from the suit prior to the scheduled court date, otherwise you will have to attend. If you don't answer the lawsuit it time, you will have to attend to present a negative reply in the court itself. Do not write the judge, this early in the case it probably hasn't been assigned to a judge yet. And judge's cannot read or take any action prior to the actual hearing. Your answer, if submitted in time, will be answered no later that the scheduled court date.

 

[biglittle]

It will take more than a letter. The lawsuit should state you have a specific number of days to answer the summons and who to reply to, usually the court and the plaintiff's counsel. Do it yourself law books (such as those by Nolo Press) will tell you how to answer a lawsuit. The answer must be in a specific format (they are even picky about the fonts you use) and must be submitted in time. If you were to be dropped from the suit, most likely the plaintiff will drop you from the suit prior to the scheduled court date, otherwise you will have to attend. If you don't answer the lawsuit it time, you will have to attend to present a negative reply in the court itself. Do not write the judge, this early in the case it probably hasn't been assigned to a judge yet. And judge's cannot read or take any action prior to the actual hearing. Your answer, if submitted in time, will be answered no later that the scheduled court date.

Thank you for the information. I will look in to how to file a motion to dismiss. I think we would be better off to just hire a lawyer at this point.

 

[racer72]

I think we would be better off to just hire a lawyer at this point.

Excellent choice.