I live in Middlesex County, New Jersey. I am involved in a small claims case against my current landlord regarding the return of a security deposit for a recently-vacated apt in the same complex. However, the security deposit was not for an apt I had leased myself, so I am not the plaintiff in the case. However, all the payments in question (which were misapplied or lost by the landlord) came from my bank accts, and I have done all the prep work for the lawsuit. We are trying to get our current court date (the second such date so far) rescheduled since the plaintiff used his last vacation day of the year to attend a 9:00 a.m. hearing that had been suddenly adjourned by the judge after hours the evening before (at the request of the defense atty ... does not inspire confidence in the small claims system, but I digress). My question: will a power of atty allow me to represent him in small claims court WITHOUT him present? There is no real "testimony" involved; all the evidence is in the form of cleared checks, certified letters, and emails, all of which were drawn on my bank accts or written/emailed by me. There’s nothing even to dispute -- there's no disagreements about the date we vacated or the amount of the final rent payment or any deductions from the deposit or anything else that would require oral testimony -- they just didn’t respond to our efforts to credit our payments properly and give us an accurate, written statement of our account (and the plaintiff's security deposit, of course). Still, they appear to be fighting it rather than working with us, which makes me nervous since I am not a lawyer. And finally, if we ARE able to use a power of atty so that the plaintiff does not need to be present, what are our obligations as far as informing the defense atty and the court that I will be present at the hearing, not the plaintiff? Finally, can we (and how do we) “cancel” that power of atty immediately after?
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