i'm a chump
Junior Member
California
I was brought into a dispute involving the buyer of a house I sold a couple of years ago and it's neighbor. The fence on the property is not the line, the neighbor is encroaching and refusing to allow the buyer to take possession of the land.
The buyer brought me into the suit. My attorney pleaded with the plantiff to not file suit, but to depose me instead so that I could cooperate with their suit. They filed a breach of contract claim for not disclosing the encroachment without considering if I knew or not. Our agreement specified the following: mandatory arbitration, mandatory mediation (or the party who fails to mediate cannot claim Attorney Fees) and AF for prevailing party.
I spent thousands in fees filing a motion for summary judegement, and compelled them to provide their basis for filing the complaint. We did not compell arbitration.
Only after I spent in excess of $12k in legal fees (and prior to summary judgement being ruled upon) did they drop me from the case without prejudice, effectively preventing me from receiving a favorable judgement and having my legal fees awarded.
I understand that CA law encourages dropping a lawsuit, but this has created a financial hardship on me. Do I have ANY recourse? Does this qualify for malicious prosecution and can I bring it to small claims court and settle for less?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I was brought into a dispute involving the buyer of a house I sold a couple of years ago and it's neighbor. The fence on the property is not the line, the neighbor is encroaching and refusing to allow the buyer to take possession of the land.
The buyer brought me into the suit. My attorney pleaded with the plantiff to not file suit, but to depose me instead so that I could cooperate with their suit. They filed a breach of contract claim for not disclosing the encroachment without considering if I knew or not. Our agreement specified the following: mandatory arbitration, mandatory mediation (or the party who fails to mediate cannot claim Attorney Fees) and AF for prevailing party.
I spent thousands in fees filing a motion for summary judegement, and compelled them to provide their basis for filing the complaint. We did not compell arbitration.
Only after I spent in excess of $12k in legal fees (and prior to summary judgement being ruled upon) did they drop me from the case without prejudice, effectively preventing me from receiving a favorable judgement and having my legal fees awarded.
I understand that CA law encourages dropping a lawsuit, but this has created a financial hardship on me. Do I have ANY recourse? Does this qualify for malicious prosecution and can I bring it to small claims court and settle for less?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?