plaintiff nor defendant shows up

[sapphire]

Oregon

I have an acquaintance who buys portfolios of charged-off credit card debt. He then sues the debtors in small claims court.

He told me that he has won dozens of suits without showing up(the defendant was a no-show, as well).

I have tried reading the Oregon Revised Statutes without success.

I was under the impression, that as a plaintiff, either you or a representative of yours, was required to show up at the small claims hearing. Could someone who has knowledge of this issue, please enlighten me?

Thanks.

 

[JenniferH]

In some states, I don't know if OR is one of them, there are several types of ways to classify and file a judgment. One way is by affidavit and/or confessed judgment. Affidavit is when the plaintiff writes to the court his case. In this type, most often the judge reads it and finds for the plaintiff (after it is shown in the case file that the defendant was in fact properly served) and in this case the plaintiff doesn't need to show in court. The other type is confession in which the defendant writes to the court that in deed he/she owes the money (this could also probably be done if he/she shows up) then the judgment is rendered for the plaintiff.

It would be easy if you just go to the s.c. courthouse in your area and see what types of judgment can be filed and ask some questions.

THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE!

 

[JenniferH]

Oh and one more thing: if a defendant does not show up to court and was found to be properly served it is called a default judgment. Most of the time the plaintiff must show, however the other exceptions I listed in the previous post would most likely apply.

 

[sapphire]

Thanks, Jennifer,

I always look forward to your informed posts. You're a very generous person...sharing so freely of information which took you years to gather.

Steve