• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

SCC consolidated w/other action

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

N

NoJustice

Guest
What is the name of your state? California

We have a court order for the neighbor to restrain her dogs. She continues to allow them to run at large on our property and the animal control officer keeps giving her verbal warnings rather than impounding the dogs.

After a Contempt hearing we then filed small claims for damages done to our truck by the neighbor's dog for about $1200.

Rather than allowing us to proceed with the small claims issue the court directed the damages to our truck would be consolidated into a quiet title action that is pending.

Is this legal?

Thanks for your answer..

Nomads
 


I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
Nomads4fun said:
What is the name of your state? California

We have a court order for the neighbor to restrain her dogs. She continues to allow them to run at large on our property and the animal control officer keeps giving her verbal warnings rather than impounding the dogs.

After a Contempt hearing we then filed small claims for damages done to our truck by the neighbor's dog for about $1200.

Rather than allowing us to proceed with the small claims issue the court directed the damages to our truck would be consolidated into a quiet title action that is pending.

Is this legal?

Thanks for your answer..

Nomads
My response:

There are two types of consolidation: a complete consolidation resulting in a single action; and a consolidation of separate actions for trial only. In a consolidation for trial, the pleadings, verdicts, findings and judgments are kept separate; the actions are simply tried together for the sake of convenience and judicial economy.

Now that the two cases have been consolidated in the Superior court, you have the advantage of Pre-Trial Discovery that you wouldn't have had in Small Claims court.

IAAL
 
N

NoJustice

Guest
Consolidation of Small Claim

Thanks for your answer IAAL. The Judge didn't tell us which type of consolidation he was doing...

He waited until we had presented the entire case before he made his ruling. We had no idea he could do this since the matter of the damage done by the dogs is something separate as far as we are concerned.

Rather than being able to deal with this difficult neighbor on a one to one with no lawyer present in small claims, we now have to deal with the matter in front of a prejudiced judge and her attorney after giving them all of our information for the case.

We feel we are being treated unfairly.

NoJustice...
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top