Monetary sanctions due to missing a hearing

[harmloves]

Jurisdiction

California

For reasons I won't go into here unless necessary, I filed a legal malpractice claim in pro per over a year ago. Unbeknownst to me there was a hearing about a week and a half ago (a "post-arbitration status conference) that I didn't attend. I vaguely remember one of the attorneys who was helping me telling me at the Case Management Conference that all I had to do was not show up to the next hearing and the claim would be dismissed. (I do want it to be dismissed at this point). Now I've received an order to file a declaration explaining my failure to appear at the hearing I missed and apparently am risk for being liable for monetary sanctions.

• If I dismiss the case at this point, will the possibility of monetary sanctions go away?
  • If I dismiss the case, will I then be opening myself up to being a case of malicious prosecution? In that sense is it better to just allow the court to dismiss the case?
• What kind of monetary sanctions am I looking at? (e.g. what is the ballpark amount)?
• I did not receive notice of the hearing that I missed. Is this a valid reason for missing it?

Thanks.

 

[adjusterjack]

If I dismiss the case at this point, will the possibility of monetary sanctions go away?

I'll bet that the defendant won't let it go away.

If I dismiss the case, will I then be opening myself up to being a case of malicious prosecution?

Possibly.

In that sense is it better to just allow the court to dismiss the case?

That's kind of a "between a rock and a hard place" question.

What kind of monetary sanctions am I looking at? (e.g. what is the ballpark amount)?

How much has your defendant spent on attorney fees? That's your ball park if the court imposes sanctions.

I did not receive notice of the hearing that I missed. Is this a valid reason for missing it?

How would you prove you didn't receive it? My guess is that the court has a record of sending it to you. It will be in the case file. Check it.

Understand that your defendant has spent over a year devoting his time to the case and incurring litigation costs.

He's going to want to recover those costs if you back out now.

 

[harmloves]

The attorneys I was suing for legal practice might have violated ethics. Would reporting them to the state bar at this point be of any use? Thanks.

 

[harmloves]

How much has your defendant spent on attorney fees? That's your ball park if the court imposes sanctions.

They filed a motion to compel to arbitration, and showed up at the case management conference. So I'm guessing I might be liable for something like 10k, max?

 

[adjusterjack]

Impossible to answer either of your last two posts without knowing anything about why you sued them, how much money you sued them for, and what court level you sued them in.

 

[zddoodah]

If I dismiss the case at this point, will the possibility of monetary sanctions go away?

Yes (and, in regard to response #2, the sanctions would be court-imposed, and the defendant would have nothing to do with it).

If I dismiss the case, will I then be opening myself up to being a case of malicious prosecution?

Possibly. However, it's unlikely - particularly because various court rulings over the last couple decades have made it almost impossible to prosecute a malicious prosecution action successfully.

In that sense is it better to just allow the court to dismiss the case?

As concerns the possibility of malicious prosecution, it makes no difference.

What kind of monetary sanctions am I looking at? (e.g. what is the ballpark amount)?

Likely, none. The theoretical range depends on what county your case is in and who the judge is (note, however, that the amount of money the defendant spent on attorney fees would be of no relevance).

I did not receive notice of the hearing that I missed. Is this a valid reason for missing it?

If the court believes you, yes.

You may want to consider contacting the defendant's lawyer and proposing that you will dismiss the lawsuit in exchange for a waiver of any rights the defendant might have arising out of your filing the lawsuit.

Understand that your defendant has spent over a year devoting his time to the case and incurring litigation costs.

He's going to want to recover those costs if you back out now.

The only mechanism for recovering those fees and costs in a tort lawsuit would be a malicious prosecution suit.

The attorneys I was suing for legal practice might have violated ethics. Would reporting them to the state bar at this point be of any use?

It won't help in connection with your pending malpractice suit, if that's what you're asking.