Confused with Colorado

[all4Roo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado

First let me say that I do not live in Colorado anymore. My daughter, who is 18 and does live there just sued me. I don't know for what, or anything about the case. At the beginning of October a local process server showed up at my parents house in California looking for me, he said he had papers from Colorado. My parents told him that I don't live with them and offered to try to get the papers to me but the process server said he didn't feel comfortable leaving them with my parents so he left and didn't return. A few days later my parents went on vacation out of state, when they got home a couple of weeks later I was told about the process server showing up so I called the court in Colorado to see if there was a pending case involving me. The court clerk said I was on the docket in 4 days! She gave me their fax number and told me to write a letter to the judge explaining that I know nothing about the case and why, I wrote and faxed the letter.

The hearing was last Friday. Today, Monday, I called the court back to see if I could find out what happened and I was told that the judge ruled against me. I asked if I could get a copy of the order since I still don't know what the case is even about and I was told no, that they had a copy of it sitting there waiting for me to go pick up. I, again, explained that I do not live in the state and asked if they could mail it to me, she never answered me and didn't take my address. She did tell me that they have an affidavit from the California process server stating that I refused the papers and that he left them in a safe, conspicuous place. That is a lie! I have never seen the process server, nor have I ever gotten any papers.

So my questions are...1. what are my options? 2. if the Colorado court won't send me the papers about the case, how do I find out what I was sued for and what penalty/punishment I'm facing? 3. Do I have any recourse against the California process server who submitted false paperwork to the Colorado court?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[racer72]

I would suggest hiring a Colorado attorney to find out what the case was about and the outcome. With that it can be determined if there was proper service and if the lawsuit was valid.

 

[asiny]

My daughter, who is 18 and does live there just sued me. I don't know for what, or anything about the case.

1. what are my options? 2. if the Colorado court won't send me the papers about the case, how do I find out what I was sued for and what penalty/punishment I'm facing? 3. Do I have any recourse against the California process server who submitted false paperwork to the Colorado court?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

1) Ever thought of contacting your daughter? And, if you have, what was said?
2) The fact that your explanation was not accepted by the courts is why they ruled against you. Even if the process server filed an affidavit that they attempted delivery and were unable to deliver at the address available to server at, the court could have still ruled against you as non-responsive (regardless of being served or not).

I would question your parents why they never thought it was important enough to contact you sooner about you being served and sued.
3) Want to attempt recourse? Get an attorney. How do you know what was filed in the servers affidavit if you don't have ANY of the paperwork? The court clerk is not sworn testimony and may have paraphrased or mis-read anything.

The bottom line here is to verify everything before you decided to argue something you have no idea of what is and is not fact.

 

[Captain Picard]

So my questions are...1. what are my options? 2. if the Colorado court won't send me the papers about the case, how do I find out what I was sued for and what penalty/punishment I'm facing? 3. Do I have any recourse against the California process server who submitted false paperwork to the Colorado court?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Answers:

1) you can ask for a new trial, to vacate the default judgment ~ if you are willing to actually go to the trial. I don't know if you can appear via video (call the clerk's office and ask if its possible through motion etc.). Or you can accept the judgment & pay or not pay the judgment (if its a no pay, then your daughter may start collections procedures).

2) Odd that the court will not mail a judgment order to you; but that's small claims. Maybe available on-line? Does it matter? You know you have the judgment against you - having the piece of paper will not alter this fact.

3) Hardly; the time to argue this is at trial. Since you did not appear you waved this objection.

The ball is in your court now, so to speak. What you planning on doing?

 

[Captain Picard]

You can always ask the court for a copy of the case record; you will have to pay for this (like a buck a page or something).

 

[Zigner]

Even if the process server filed an affidavit that they attempted delivery and were unable to deliver at the address available to server at, the court could have still ruled against you as non-responsive (regardless of being served or not).[/QUOTE]

So, it's your contention that a person who was never served (as evidenced by an affidavit in the file from the process server) can be found guilty due to "non-responsiveness"? Really?

I suspect that there IS a proof of service in the file (granted, it may not be valid, but it's there)

 

[asiny]

Even if the process server filed an affidavit that they attempted delivery and were unable to deliver at the address available to server at, the court could have still ruled against you as non-responsive (regardless of being served or not).

So, it's your contention that a person who was never served (as evidenced by an affidavit in the file from the process server) can be found guilty due to "non-responsiveness"? Really?

I suspect that there IS a proof of service in the file (granted, it may not be valid, but it's there)[/QUOTE]

Please be careful with my wording- you seem to be mixing up what I said and what the OP posted regarding the process server affidavit.

Even if the process server filed an affidavit that they attempted delivery and were unable to deliver at the address available to server at, the court could have still ruled against you as non-responsive (regardless of being served or not).

How is it I know this? Because I have done the exact-same thing. The only address, available, that I was aware of was X. The process server attempted delivery to X and was unable to serve the papers. The court imposed they were non-responsive from the known address available and ruled against them.

So, it's your contention that a person who was never served (as evidenced by an affidavit in the file from the process server) can be found guilty due to "non-responsiveness"? Really?

So my answer is YES, really. Based on seeing it happen 1st hand.