Upland, CA asked in Family Law, Child Custody, Child Support and Civil Litigation for California

Q: Recieved a change of counsel motion from the mothers attorney. Also received dismissal docket notice. Do I ignore it?

I am the respondent in a family court case. I represent myself. 2 years have passed since the case was filed. It is now on the dismissal docket notice for March. Last week I recieved an email with a change of attorney motion from the plaintiff. They said they need me to sign off on it cuz I'm representing myself . The dismissal notice Says if I Agree with the case being dismissed, I don't need to do anything. What's going on here ? What do I need to do to get this dismissed ?

1 Lawyer Answer
Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
Answered
  • Divorce Lawyer
  • Culver City, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: You do not need to consent to the other party's motion to be relieved as counsel. As to your question regarding a dismissal, you have not provided enough information. The court does not ask parties if they want their case to be dismissed. It doesn't work that way. If you do want your case dismissed, you can file a Request for Dismissal. If both parties have appeared in the case, i.e. a Petition was filed AND a Response has been filed, then both parties have to consent to the Dismissal. If the Petition was filed, but you were never served, then the court may have set a hearing called an Order to Show Cause re Dismissal for failure to prosecute (resulting from Petitioner's failure to move the case forward, such as filing a proof of service of Summons and Petition). It's difficult to say what is going on in your particular case without having this additional information. You should consult with an attorney directly -- i.e. pick up the phone and call someone.

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