Q: Is this grounds for dismissal in federal defamation case?
I’m a pro se defendant in a Federal defamation suit. The case was filed by a former employer who I’ve spoken out against on social media. I’m a college student without money for an attorney so I’m representing myself. I failed to answer the complaint in time & a motion for default judgement was filed against me. I filed a response to the motion prior to the motion hearing. I was unable to attend the hearing in NY as I now live in CA & I don’t know what happened during the hearing- there have been no updates to the docket since. I just found out a that the attorneys representing the plaintiff have been under investigation for fraud & that charges have been filed by the AZ state bar. Here’s the link to an article & complaint
https://goo.gl/szMPmQ
Is this grounds for dismissal in my case? And if so, what procedure rule should I cite as being violated?
A: It is not grounds. Missing a hearing is inexcusable. Either hire a lawyer or do the case, but intentionally defaulting will not be a successful strategy.
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