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I was sued in Federal Court and lost and a judgment was issued. Prior to that action I had been sued in state court for the same issue. The state action was put on hold until the completion of the federal.Since I have already lost in federal court and the judgment entered, what do I file in state court to end the second court case that is a duplicate?
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): California Already Tried: Searching on the internet
Hello there.
Thank you for your question. Does the plaintiff acknowledge that the state case should be dismissed?
The plaintiff had two different attorneys so my guess is that this local attorney does not know that the federal case ended with a judgement against me in favor of the plaintiff for the amount which was a personal guarantee. The federal action was a bankruptcy action. I am sure the plaintiff knows they were successful but maybe did not communicate to the other attorney.
Ok, I would start by contacting the local attorney and alerting him/her to the status of the federal case; fax over a copy of the judgment, then follow-up after s/he has had a chance to review and ask if there is agreement that it needs to be dismissed. Assuming it is, you would use form CIV-110 and ask the opposing attorney to sign as well. That form can be found here: http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/civ110.pdf .
What if the local attorney says he will not agree to drop the case, he is a bit of a hot head. Is there an action that I can bring to the court to compel them to drop the action?
If there is no agreement, the plaintiff still has a right to argue their case... they can just expect to lose if they can't justify the requested outcome.
If there is no agreement, the plaintiff still has a right to argue the case. But it would just be decided in court, and they can explain to the court why they have a right to win when a judgment was already entered in another court.
I understood that I could not be sued twice for the same thing since I already lost and the judgment entered, this just costs me legal fees and wastes my time. I was told there was some legal wording or law that I could bring up in court, I just can not remember what it was called.
You cannot be successfully sued twice for the same thing. That is not the same as not being able to be sued twice for the same thing.
As for legal fees and costs, those can generally be recovered under Cal. Civ. Proc. sec. 128.5.
The phrase you are probably thinking of is res judicata.
I see your point. I am just at a point where I have no money and no job, and have spent thousands for nothing so far so I am just trying to end all this the least costly way. I will try what you say, maybe the attorney will stop the action.
If you are correct about the status of the case, I would fully expect that to happen. There is no function for the attorney to let it continue; it just costs the client money, it gets nothing extra, and it would expose them to sanctions.
Does that make sense?
Yes, it does make sense. I guess my apprehension is that the attorney has been difficult from the beginning which is about two years now. He pursued the lawsuit for hundreds of thousands when I had almost no money at the time, maybe $20,000 or so but have spent that all on attorneys trying to defend my case... various errors caused me to lose a case that I should have prevailed on. The plaintiff is a company with lots of money so my guess was he was making money by continuing the case and billing the plaintiff.
I will do as you suggest and see where it goes. Thanks
Very good. Did you have any other questions?
No, not at the moment I have court meeting on Monday so I guess it is too late to fax things to the other attorney. I had an attorney but am not able to pay him anymore so he may or may not come to court...
Ok. Well, please remember to leave positive feedback once you are finished; it does not cost anything extra to leave positive feedback, and it is the only way I may receive compensation for my time. Thanks.
I will, thanks
Experience: Attorney experienced in numerous areas of law.