I am being sued and am representing myself pro se, can a pro confesso be overcome. can i still win?

Question

I have found a community based lawyer who will help me but, I have had a pro confesso judgment against me, but a motion for summarry judgement was denied.I thought the pre trial conference was the time to present my answer to the suit. and I did not formally answer it in writing. The justice told me I still had rights but I'm not sure what. Any info would be appreciated

obviously i cannot include all details but, i just had a pretrial conference and the plaintiff did not show up.the judge took the case off the court schedule and will set a status hearing in 30 days. if he doesn't show up for this is it all over? and because of a default judgement what is the best i can hope for at the trial?also the plaintiff never answered my interrogetories. i'm sure my new lawyer will answer this but i can't see her for a week or so and this is driving me nuts.

Answer 1

Since the motion for summary judgment was denied and you attended the pre-trial conference, you have put in an appearance, even though you did not file your answer. The 20 days for filing an answer only means that the Plaintiff can file for a default judgment if you do not answer in that time. By all means, file your answer and serve it on the plaintiff, and seek advice from your community-based lawyer.

Answer 2

The lack of clarity in your post demonstrates that you need to hire an attorney. In 13 years of practicing law, I've never heard of a "pro confesson judgment". Furthermore, failure to file a timely written response to the lawsuit with court could result in a default judgment being taken against you. You are clearly in way over your head on this and you need to retain legal counsel right away.

Answer 3

good luck. It won't be easy for you to overcome that. It can be done, but it won't be easy.