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I am acting pro se in a civil case concerning a contract. I was served and answered admissions and interrogatories on a timely basis but the plaintiff failed to answer for six months and only when I brought it up at a pr-trial hearing. The plaintiff sent the answers after the hearing and I filed a motion to dismiss for failure to answer. My motion was denied because the plaintiff FINALLY sent the answers. The answers that were sent revealed some good discovery but the time for motions has now expired. How do I (or can I) request an extention for motion deadline to file further motions to dismiss or, if I read the RCP for New Jersey correctly, can I re-issue the motion to dismiss for failure to answer because consent orders are prohibited for interrogatories and the deadline is 60 days after service.
DearCustomer- You are dealing with a very complicated area of the law as civil procedure occupies an entire course in law school. Although the time had passed for answering discovery there are certain procedures that must be followed to enforce the rules. In the case of admissions that are not answered they will be deemed admitted and a motion should be made for summary judgment. In the case of interrogatories a motion to compel should be filed and then a motion for sanctions.
It does not appear you followed the correct procedure by filing a motion to dismiss and therefore gave the plaintiff time to file the answers which would then render any motion moot. It is very difficult to try to win a case on the technicalities of the rules of civil procedure if you don't also follow the correct rules and therein lies the danger of representing yourself in a lawsuit.
You can file another motion if you wish however these are not final appealable orders so if your motion is denied you will have to proceed to trial. If you receive an unfavorable decision you will have the right to appeal at that time. If you want to file now you would have to file a motion for leave to file a motion and if granted then you can file your motion.
Dave Kennett
Mr. Kenneth:
I agree that representing myself is not something I ever wanted to do, but I can't afford an attorney and that is made worse by the fact that I live in Colorado and the case is being heard in New Jersey.( I started out with a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction that was denied but I still think I was correct) Without asking for the cliff notes version of the law course you mentioned, the situation is that I'm expected to show up in person in New Jersey in Sept. (this interrogatories mess bought me an extention) which isn't going to happen, so I need to keep filing motions or whatever to get the court to recognize that the plaintiff has dropped the ball on several occasions and seek a ruling in my favor.
Once again you should have filed a motion for improper venue, not personal jurisdiction. Unless you lived in NJ at the time of the contract or had some other ties to the state the plaintiff should have sued in CO. At some point the plaintiff will obtain a judgment if you fail to appear but then the judgment would have to be certified in CO in order for them to collect.
I cannot tell from the facts you provided whether you have a chance to win on the merits of the case if you went to trial but it is very difficult to actually win a case on technicalities. Even if you obtain a dismissal it would likely be without prejudice so the plaintiff could re file and start all over again.
Dave
I actually did enter a motion for improper venue along with the personal jurisdiction motion, presenting all the relevant case law I could find. I guess I'll just hold that back for appeal. I'll try the motion for leave and see what happens. I'm not sure how this works if I want to reply and accept at the same time so I'll reply and if you send it back to me I'll accept.
I think you have done a fairly good job representing yourself. I know how complicated it can be with so many rules and motions etc. At least you have preserved issues for a possible appeal. Thanks for using our service. - Dave
Lawyer (JD)
25 years experience in general law, including real estate, criminal, traffic, and domestic relations