default judgment hearing

[jracom]

I filed a paternity action in Missouri 13 mos. ago
I am a wh/male 37 yrs. old.My sons mother has failed to appear at 3 court dates her pleadings have been stricken
and she has been declared in default.
There is a default hearing Jan. 31
Her first Atty. withdrew for non-payment and lack of communication,she recently hired a second.
My questions are:What can I expect to happen at the Jan. 31
hearing, and what will her atty. do to try to block a default judgment?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I filed a paternity action in Missouri 13 mos. ago
I am a wh/male 37 yrs. old.My sons mother has failed to appear at 3 court dates her pleadings have been stricken
and she has been declared in default.
There is a default hearing Jan. 31
Her first Atty. withdrew for non-payment and lack of communication,she recently hired a second.
My questions are:What can I expect to happen at the Jan. 31
hearing, and what will her atty. do to try to block a default judgment?

My response:

The law favors litigation "on the merits" and dislikes "defaults".

Therefore, you can expect her new attorney to file and serve a "Motion to Set Aside Default Judgment". These motions are routinely granted, and unless you can demonstrate some "extreme prejudice" to your end of the case that would cause a court to keep your ex from being able to exercise her Constitutional Rights, then there's nothing you can do.

The court will, therefore, set aside the default and the litigation will continue as per usual.

IAAL

 

[jracom]

default judgment

Dear I am always liable,
I understand your response,can't say its what i wanted
to hear!
Is this still the case considering she's missed 3 court dates, i.e. pre-trial conf., trial date,motion to hear santions?
She also informed the courts that she was aware of these
dates!
Also, what does it mean and how will it affect my case that
her pleadings have been stricken

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Re: default judgment

Dear I am always liable,
I understand your response,can't say its what i wanted
to hear!
Is this still the case considering she's missed 3 court dates, i.e. pre-trial conf., trial date,motion to hear santions?
She also informed the courts that she was aware of these
dates!
Also, what does it mean and how will it affect my case that
her pleadings have been stricken

My response:

Well, I didn't say it was going to be easy for her, and she's got some "'splaining to do, Lucy". But, the court has a Constitutional duty to allow litigation on the merits where Constitutionally possible. If you are unable to oppose her Motion, by showing "extreme prejudice" to your end of the case; e.g., evidence is lost, witnesses have died, etc., etc., then the case will, in all likelihood, be placed back on the Civil Active list.

She will get heavy fines imposed upon her, and will be under court order to pay those fines. No doubt about that. But, the case will continue - - believe me. I see this happen all the time.

Her pleadings, right now, have been stricken; however, that's what a Motion to Set Aside Default is all about. Once she pleads her Motion to the court, and wins, and pays her monetary sanctions, the pleadings will be "reactivated" and the litigation will continue as if nothing happened.

IAAL

 

[jracom]

another question

Dear I am always liable,
Explain these fines, you mentioned monetary,and heavy
penalties.
Are they actually going to fine her ( is this for missing
court dates )and if so what might be typical.
I have spoken with my atty. since the default date was set
this was also after the ex had hired a second atty.
My atty. said that if the ex had missed one court date, getting some sympathy from the judge would be easy. But
since there were three this would be much more difficult.
My atty. also never said anything to me about O.C. possibly filing motion to set aside.
What are your thoughts as to why she would not mention this?
Also what might some of the reasons be for her leading me to feel confident about this upcoming hearing?
One more:if a motion to set aside is filed will it be granted before our next date, or will it be heard in court with all parties present?

I WANT TO THANK YOU NOW FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS, AND
TAKING YOUR VALUBLE TIME! jracom

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Your attorney can explain all this in greater detail to you over the phone. Your attorney is closer to the situation, and knows all of the facts of your file and the current situation in greater detail.

Good luck to you.

IAAL