Q: What motion can I file when the spouse keeps delaying court proceedings purposely?
Spouse keeps on using delaying tactics in order to avoid our divorce to go to trial. It has been four years of this, what motions can I file so the judge knows what's going on. Spouse keeps switching lawyers and keeps filing false accusations against me in order to avoid the divorce to go to trial and be finalized.
A:
Between the pandemic and the shortage of judges in the New Jersey court system, many counties are experiencing terrible delays in getting divorce matters to trial. In fact, many counties are running about 3 1/2 - 4 years out from the date of the filing of the complaint for divorce for "real trial dates". Conversely, other counties like Middlesex have no shortage of judges and we are seeing judges scheduling trials at the year mark... so im not sure whether the delays in your matter are actually being caused by your spouse's actions or because the court system in your county is simply not ready to proceed with trial in your matter.
The fact that your spouse is dragging his / her feet, does not mean that you cannot proceed with an application to compel mediation or to compel attendance at an Early Settlement Panel or to have the court address summary judgment-type items where there is no factual dispute outstanding.
The best way to figure out how to move your matter forward constructively is to schedule a meeting with a family law specialist ( not a lawyer who handles divorce work along with 10 other areas of practice) to discuss the status of your matter and what actions, if any, he thinks he can undertake on your behalf to move it along.
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