can some one recomend me an organization that works with the problem of housing court judges who abuse their power and act as lawyer for the landlord (literally)?
i never saw the judge assigned to my landlord' summary procedure face to face. i was never allowed to respond to the landlord's petition, i was coerced into signing a stipulation where i was to pay over four thousand dollars or be evicted the next next day
despite expressing to the judge representative (court clerck) that i was not in agreement with it
i was brought to housing court by my landlord for non payment of rent. his petition was riddled with lies: the apartment was not registered with dhcr, i did not have a lease as he claimed in the petition( no lease, no summary judgment, isn't true?), and other errors.
i asked the court clerck to let me see the judge to express these errors and to petition a trial.
in almost three months of postponements i finally comitted a mistake: was unaware that the date of the next appereance had been changed. immediately i got an eviction notice for failure to appear in court.
well, the judge refused to grant me a stay, not face-to-face. it was all done through the court clerk. of course, i coughed up over four thousand dollards which i did not owe and for which there was no explanation in the stipulation as to for which period i was being charged.
i still can't believe that this happened to me!!!
any suggestions any one?