Q: civil case, filed answer & affirmative defenses. Plaintiff lawyer says I must speak to him before it’s heard is that tru

A: It's is very possible that the attorney intends to file a motion striking one or more of your affirmative defenses. Local rules require that an effort be made to resolve the matter before filing a motion. You are not required to talk to him, but he is required to make the effort to resolve the matter.

A: I agree with Mr. Kaufman except would add but that for issues in which the Court requires an effort to confer in good faith before attending a hearing, if the opposing attorney were to tell the Judge that he requested to confer with you, and you refused to speak to him, the Judge will probably not like that. Also, while for some issues, the Court requires one party to attempt to confer in good faith with the other party, with it usually not being a big deal if the first party simply cannot reach the other party, for other particular issues, the Court will the parties to confer with each other - such as mutually drafting a joint pretrial stipulation as a trial date approaches. You are in BIG trouble on a number of future issues if you do not seek legal counseling. Many pro se parties end up losing their case at the summary judgment stage simply because they don't comply with some technical rules, even though they are on the "right" side of the case.

If you cannot afford representation, you should at least consult an attorney for advice on self-representation, which may cost you a few hundred bucks per consultation. In some circumstances such as yours, the option of filing for bankruptcy to prevent a money judgment from being entered against you is sometimes a good option. Also, the Fla. Bar Lawyer Referral Service has a low-fee attorney's panel with attorneys who will take cases for lower than average fees.

A: Sorry, had a typo in my posted answer. Correction to my second sentence: "...for other particular issues, the Court will REQUIRE the parties to confer with each other - such as mutually drafting ...."

A: It’s difficult to determine exactly what is happening in your litigation. However, if the opposing party is bringing any pre trial motion to be heard by the judge, Florida requires that the parties meet and confer before the motion is heard by the judge. This is commonly referred to as the “meet and confer” rule, which does require that both parties discuss the issues that the motion raises.