Please Stop this Eviction

The call came in 2 days before the Sheriff was scheduled to show up on their doorstep and forcefully remove them and their belongings.  They had already been to court and tried to explain everything to the judge.  But they didn’t know the law…and it was now right down  to the wire.  I advised that I could try to help, but the odds were against them at such a late stage in the legal proceedings.  I might be able to delay their eviction if the landlord had failed to follow proper procedures, but it was unlikely I could stop the eviction altogether.

Within the next day I researched the law and investigated their case and indeed found that the other party’s lawyer had failed to properly serve my clients with the Complaint and Summons.  The court granted my clients a 1 week Stay and a new hearing.  As predicted, the court granted a new “eviction” after the landlord’s lawyer corrected his mistake, but my clients were very appreciative they had gained extra time… and learned some valuable lessons about checking with a lawyer, sooner, not later, to avoid unnecessary legal problems.