Sued by a disgruntled outside person we never heard of

[FaithinGodAlways]

What is the name of your state? California

First, thank you to all of the helpers on this forum. I know you volunteer your time to help others and you're obeying a valuable tenet of 'loving your neighbor' which is the second greatest commandment said Jesus.

Here's our situation: Our company was sued by a disgruntled outside person we never heard of. We filed a demurrer with the Court, but the judge (or her clerk) completely sided with this other party without having addressed anything in our demurrer.

We discovered last week that the party completely lacks standing to sue and lied to the Court about having standing to sue. We have 'smoking-gun' evidence

So what is the best recourse, you think?

1) File an Ex Parte Motion to Dismiss (remember we already did the Demurrer)?

2) File a Motion for Reconsideration of the Demurrer (it's been past 10 days)?

3) Or just file a Motion for Summary Judgment (which will take months)?

Thank you for any help! "God will not forget your work. He's not unjust." Hebrews 6:10

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? California

First, thank you to all of the helpers on this forum. I know you volunteer your time to help others and you're obeying a valuable tenet of 'loving your neighbor' which is the second greatest commandment said Jesus.

Here's our situation: Our company was sued by a disgruntled outside person we never heard of. We filed a demurrer with the Court, but the judge (or her clerk) completely sided with this other party without having addressed anything in our demurrer.

We discovered last week that the party completely lacks standing to sue and lied to the Court about having standing to sue. We have 'smoking-gun' evidence

So what is the best recourse, you think?

1) File an Ex Parte Motion to Dismiss (remember we already did the Demurrer)?

2) File a Motion for Reconsideration of the Demurrer (it's been past 10 days)?

3) Or just file a Motion for Summary Judgment (which will take months)?

Thank you for any help! "God will not forget your work. He's not unjust." Hebrews 6:10

How much money are we talking about? I am leaning towards it being time to get an attorney on board, but if its not much money, that might be counter-productive. If you are absolutely certain that the person does not have standing to sue, then a motion to dismiss might be in order.

 

[Zigner]

Your best recourse would be to hire an attorney to assist you.

 

[FaithinGodAlways]

How much money are we talking about? I am leaning towards it being time to get an attorney on board, but if its not much money, that might be counter-productive. If you are absolutely certain that the person does not have standing to sue, then a motion to dismiss might be in order.

Thanks so much LDiJ, but we already filed a demurrer and lost. Can we file another demurrer based on this new evidence? We're a faith-based ministry so we do not have funds for a lawyer unfortunately. But we've hired and used lawyers many times before! God bless!

 

[zddoodah]

Our company was sued by a disgruntled outside person we never heard of.

Sued for what? What causes of action were alleged in the complaint? What facts are alleged in the complaint that connect your company with the plaintiff.

We filed a demurrer with the Court, but the judge (or her clerk) completely sided with this other party without having addressed anything in our demurrer.

Your characterization of how the court ruled is largely meaningless because no one here has read the papers. What was the basis or bases of the demurrer(s)? Also keep in mind that a demurrer assumes that all facts alleged in the complaint are true and (in the case of a general demurrer) only considers whether, based on those presumably true facts, the plaintiff has alleged a valid cause of action. That the court overruled your company's demurrer(s) means only that the complaint alleged a valid cause of action and has nothing at all to do with the merits of the cause(s) of action alleged in the complaint (again, assuming we're talking about a general demurrer as opposed to a special demurrer).

We discovered last week that the party completely lacks standing to sue and lied to the Court about having standing to sue. We have 'smoking-gun' evidence

So what is the best recourse, you think?

I think the best thing to do is discuss the matter with your company's attorney and follow his/her advice. Anonymous strangers on the internet who have ZERO information about your company or the plaintiff or the lawsuit are in no position to provide reliable suggestions.

File an Ex Parte Motion to Dismiss (remember we already did the Demurrer)?

There's no such thing, and your post suggests no facts that would justify doing anything on an ex parte basis.

File a Motion for Reconsideration of the Demurrer (it's been past 10 days)?

Putting aside the fact that it's too late for a motion for reconsideration, your post suggests no factual basis for making one. Again, a demurrer assumes all factual allegations in the complaint are true. That the defendant later turns up evidence that one or more facts alleged are not true is not a reason to reconsider an order overruling a demurrer.

Or just file a Motion for Summary Judgment (which will take months)?

That's probably the appropriate thing to do, but see my comments above and discuss the matter with the company's attorney.

 

[zddoodah]

Can we file another demurrer based on this new evidence? We're a faith-based ministry so we do not have funds for a lawyer unfortunately.

Hold on...in your original post, you referred to your "company." What sort of "company" is this? Is it a sole proprietorship? A partnership? A corporation? An LLC? Something else?

In any event, no, the company cannot "file another demurrer." The company could file a motion for judgment on the pleadings, but neither a demurrer nor an MJOP are "based on . . . evidence."

 

[Ohiogal]

If this is a company and NOT a sole proprietorship that was sued THEY need an attorney. The owner CANNOT represent the company.

 

[Zigner]

If this is a company and NOT a sole proprietorship that was sued THEY need an attorney. The owner CANNOT represent the company.

The OP later said they are a "faith-based ministry"...

 

[Ohiogal]

The OP later said they are a "faith-based ministry"...

Well that can't go pro se... He needs an attorney if the ministry is being sued.

 

[zddoodah]

The OP later said they are a "faith-based ministry".

"Faith-based ministry" is not a business entity form, so that tells us nothing more than "company."

 

[Zigner]

"Faith-based ministry" is not a business entity form, so that tells us nothing more than "company."

If "faith-base ministry" means "church", does that affect things?

 

[FaithinGodAlways]

Thank you so much for your responses - all very valid! Yes it's a church but we engaged in a non-profit venture (or company that is a sole-proprietorship for the pastor). It was done to help people during this Covid, but there are pathological people at every turn - very sad world we live in - definitely not the 1980's.

 

[Just Blue]

Thank you so much for your responses - all very valid! Yes it's a church but we engaged in a non-profit venture (or company that is a sole-proprietorship for the pastor). It was done to help people during this Covid, but there are pathological people at every turn - very sad world we live in - definitely not the 1980's.

What is the suit about? How much are you being sued for?

 

[zddoodah]

we engaged in a non-profit venture (or company that is a sole-proprietorship for the pastor).

So who exactly was sued? "John Q. Pastor dba Faith Based Ministry"? Don't name actual names, but please provide some clarity about this because it's really important. Who prepared the demurrer(s) and whatever other legal papers that were filed? Also, in what county is the suit pending?

If "faith-base ministry" means "church", does that affect things?

No, because "church" isn't a business entity form any more than "faith-based ministry" is. It's no different than "restaurant." A restaurant could be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, an LLC, etc. Same with a "church." Of course, it would probably be a terrible idea to try and operate a church as a sole proprietorship, but that doesn't mean it's not legally possible.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Of course, it would probably be a terrible idea to try and operate a church as a sole proprietorship, but that doesn't mean it's not legally possible.

And indeed there are some very small groups that make up what are effectively little churches (or whatever that might be called in the religion being practiced) that are run by an individual out their home without being organized as a separate legal entity - basically a sole proprietorship to the extent that business is actually conducted by the group. I agree that operating that way is not wise, but these folks who run these small groups seldom seem to consider the legal implications of how they are organized when starting out.