Judgement for old apartment--absurd!!!

[jmarie80]

Lawsuit by phone!

What is the name of your state? Florida
My brother was recently taken to court for an old apt he and his roomates were evicted from. The apartment eviction occured back in 2001, and I paid the fees for the eviction at the time to help them out. However, without any prior notification, my brother et al. received a summons to appear in court. He and his friends showed up, confused about what was going on. Not only was the apartment complex suing for lost rent, but also for "damages" that were already there prior to my brother moving in. The complex also included court and attorney fees and somehow beyond all that, they included undefined fees to increase the amount. The day of the appearance, the other party (including their lawyer) didn't bother to show, instead they decided to call in to the courtroom!!! Also they never provided documents for the court so, had the lawyer not called in, my brother would have gone home still clueless about the summons. Rather than throwing the case out, the judge allowed for a extension so that the lawyer could actually show. At the second appearance, the judge ruled for the judgement. Although there were still questionable charges.

Also the "undefined fees" were thrown out by the judge at the second hearing, however when he received paperwork from the other party's lawyer (nothing from the court or judge) the fees were included again along with what additional fees undefined (probably fees for the second appearance??)

My questions are:
1) Is any of the procedures that occured illegal? Shouldn't my brother have been notified of the possible judgement in writing prior to the summons?
2) I was not given the opportunity to provide a statement or any documenation proving expenses were paid in full at the time...is there a way to appeal it?
3) My brother had lost time and wages from work as a result of the absurd lawsuit, is there a way to fight back? He doesn't have a lot of money for a lawyer.

I am still thrown off by the so called suit by phone proceedings...I have never been sued before, but I don't even think I have heard of this on television!

 

[JETX]

"Is any of the procedures that occured illegal?"
*** Based solely on the information in your post, no.

"Shouldn't my brother have been notified of the possible judgement in writing prior to the summons?"
*** There is no obligation for the plaintiff to 'pre-demand' the defendant, other than the summons service.

"I was not given the opportunity to provide a statement or any documenation proving expenses were paid in full at the time...is there a way to appeal it?"
*** Come on!! Do you really expect us to believe that your brother and his roommates were being sued by their landlord and they had "no idea" of the claims??? I doubt that is the case.
As for appeal, from a Florida law cite:
"If you are not satisfied by the judgment of the County Court, you have a right to appeal to the Circuit Court's Appellate Division. There are a number of good reasons not to appeal. The large majority of appeals are unsuccessful. To win an appeal, you must demonstrate that the trial judge committed reversible error. You must show that you gave the trial judge a fair opportunity to avoid the error (that you "preserved" the error). It is almost always a bad idea to appeal if you think the judge decided wrongly only on a factual issue, rather than on a legal issue. Unless there is no competent evidence to support the trial court's factual determination, the appellate court will not overrule the trial judge.

If you did not arrange for a court reporter to attend the trial, it will be extremely difficult to demonstrate reversible error to the appellate court -- the appellate court needs a record."

"My brother had lost time and wages from work as a result of the absurd lawsuit, is there a way to fight back?"
*** Of course he could appeal (see above) if within the allowed time. However, his 'lost time and wages' would not be recoverable anyway.

"I am still thrown off by the so called suit by phone proceedings...I have never been sued before, but I don't even think I have heard of this on television!"
*** Can be done purely at the discretion of the court.