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Non-resident small claims judgement

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MagicJames

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? MO

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible.

I did live in Ohio and had a dispute with a company that provided direct mail. They appeared to drop the issue due to the problems that I had with their company.

I moved to Missouri in early 2006.

I am self employed and was forwarded a small claims notice from a client of mine. The Ohio company had filed a case against me in Ohio and by the time I received the notice, I had 48 hours to appear. I tried to contact the Ohio company by email and phone to no avail.

About a week later, the client was again sent a notice. This time about a default judgement that had been given as there was no way that I could appear. I once again contacted the Ohio company and the attorney listed. They knew I would not be able to appear, due to my location and employment, and I have no doubt that they were counting on a default judgement.

I recently received a Debtor's Exam Notice to appear in Ohio or face contempt charges. Again, I contacted the attorney for the plaintiff, trying to work something out and telling him that it is financially impossible for me to appear in Ohio, almost 1,000 miles away, for the hearing.

Yesterday, I received a notice that if I do not make full payment, or appear at the Debtor's Exam, the attorney will ask for a warrant to be issued.

My questions are:

Is there any issue with being properly served for the initial trial due to my non-resident status?

Is it legal to file the case in Ohio and not my state of residence?

Can I be compelled to appear in Ohio for the exam?

What options do I have other than just making full payment?

Thank you for any advice.
 



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