O/T Civil Court Experiences

[Concourse]

I just finished helping a neighbor through the maze of not one but two collection suits brought against her in the regular (not Housting) session of Civil Court, and in both instances she has gotten the cases 86d.

I think it is fair to say that most collection agency plaintiffs in Civil Court assume that the debtor will fold and/or default. They had NO EVIDENCE and were forced to cave.

While my initial view of the court was fairly upbeat in that it was more pro se friendly than I had expected, my view has since been chastened by a combination of inexperienced clerks and one half-senile judge (or possibly retired judge) at a pretrial conference.

I'd be happy to share our experiences in private. Suffice to say, it is indeed possible to fight a small-sum suit in Civil Court pro se. Anything big -- eviction, obviously -- definitely needs a lawyer. If the plaintiff's attorneys are anywhere near the serial liars that we encountered in the regular part, it underlines the necessity for a lawyer if anything significant is at stake.

Also the procedures in the regular Civil court, even the pro se part, are unbelievably arcane and require a lot of time and effort. I assume it is the same in the Housing part.

[Concourse]

Incidentally, if anyone knows where posting on regular Civil Court by pro se people WOULDN'T be off-topic, do let me know. If pro se people could share there experiences, the way tenants do here, a lot of grief could be avoided.

I was amazed to see people screwing themselves in court! Admitting stuff they didn't have to admit, not knowing their rights. I have seen some "credit forums" but few relate specifically to NYC.

[Cranky Tenant]

There's a reasonable amount of information online at http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/civil/procedural.shtml including a downloadable PDF file which is particularly helpful for those going Pro Se.

I also stumbled across Court Help None of this is comperable to Tenant.net but it should help litigants get a basic understanding of the process and some of their rights.

[TenantNet]

I wouldn't say that Civil Court issues themselves are completely OT in that court procedure and legal principles can often be used in tenant cases.

Other than your post, I can't think of others who have wanted to post such issues. You clearly marked it O/T, which is fine. It would be in this forum or General issues.

Other than an occasional post, is there demand for an OT area? When we started this forum, we had twice as many potential topic areas and quickly realized a simpler structure is better. We even dropped one topic area along the way. It's more to do with traffic. If there's demand (and if it's not completely wacko) we could consider a separate area.

[Concourse]

Thanks Cranky and TN. Actually I think an off-topic area wouldn't be a terrible notion. For example, let's say you're a tenant and thinking of buying a summer home (someone like me, for instance). That is an issue of interest to tenants but kind of off-topic.

Ditto for "my" civil court experiences. Actually it is only barely off topic, as many landlords sue in "regular" civil court over back rent.

[Cranky Tenant]

I also have a friend who was recently in Civil Court over some matter with a collection agency. Apparently in New York County, any case with a Pro Se litigant must go through non-binding arbitration. Corporations must be represented by an attorney but there may be some advantage for individuals to go Pro Se.

http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/ny ... tion.shtml

[Aubergine]

Actually, the arbitration requirement applies to all cases that are only for a sum of money up to $10,000, not just to those with pro se parties. The arbitration program is governed by Part 28 of the Rules of the Chief Judge: http://www.nycourts.gov/rules/chiefjudge/28.shtml