Q: Defendant has developed a strategy to file its Objections to Plaintiff’s pleadings with court on the day before
the hearings and after 3.00 pm, preventing Plaintiff to see and review the objections, file timely responses and be prepared for the hearings.
Could you please advice the best way to handle situation? Will a letter to judge help to resolve the problem?
P.S. Plaintiff knows the deadline for the Oppositions is 9 days before hearing and for Responses to the Oppositions is 5 days before the Hearings. Plaintiff is physically deprived to file any Responses due to it does not see what written in the Oppositions. The court’s clerk office delays to download the submitted files into its electronic system and the office works till 5.00 pm so if the docs have been submitted at 3.00 pm they are not available to Plaintiff to read. This is a reason of question what can be done to stop the CCP violation. Also, it looks like Judge is quite loyal to untimely filing.
Thank you in advance.
A:
It depends on what Defendant is objecting to. Generally, there are civil procedure deadlines for Defendant to file its objections or opposition papers to the plaintiff's filings. These deadlines are usually longer than a day before the hearing. As such, Defendant may be violating these civil procedure deadlines. You can file your objection explaining that the civil limits for Defendant to file its opposition or objections have passed. However, you need to cite the applicable Code of Civil Procedure. See for reference: http://www.nfsesq.com/resources/timelimits/
I suggest you consult an attorney who can help navigate these matters.
Good luck.
Sincerely,
Maya L. Serkova
1 user found this answer helpful
A:
A letter to the judge is NEVER a good strategy. Letters to judges do not get read and it makes you look like you have no idea what you are doing. If there is time, file a formal written objection and serve it on opposing counsel at the same time you file it with the court. If you do not have time, address the issue with the court at the hearing. If you need more time to respond, do so. It may well be that the judge will not consider the objection by the other side because of its late filing.
What your post clearly demonstrates is that you are way over your head in the process, and you need to have an attorney at the very least counseling you, if not representing you. If this is important to you, know that you will likely come out on the wrong side if you continue to try to represent yourself.
Good luck to you.
1 user found this answer helpful
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