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« on: July 04, 2011, 08:17:04 PM »
You can click on the blue linked text "RE" next to each docket entry.
This pulls up the "Recorded Entry" information.
Each case on the docket will be at a different stage of the process.
The newest entries will simply have the date that the suit was filed, the parties involved, and that the court fee was paid.
You'll notice that the older entries have been "closed".
That is, a settlement has been made, or the Plaintiff has rescinded its lawsuit (usually called a "discontinuance").
The docket will state whether or not a trial date has been set by the court.
The court will set a date for trial after the plaintiff and defendant have submitted the proper paperwork as follows:
Firstly, the plaintiff will file a claim; it's $50 for a "simplified action". That's for cases involving under $50k.
It's $150 for an "ordinary action". That's a more complicated process for claims over $50k. You can tell which are the "big" lawsuits this way.
Then, the claim must be delivered to the defendant, the defendant must file a defense, next, the plaintiff can go ahead with the case if it chooses.
At each stage, there's a window of time within each party must respond.
MF will often really take its time at each stage to make the process as painful as possible; make people pay just to get it over with.
A plaintiff can back out of a lawsuit at anytime. Or, the suit may simply expire when it's been on the docket too long.
So, a lawsuit is sometimes a bluff to scare people; it only costs $50 to file it, plus a nominal legal fee for boilerplate legal papers.
Obviously, a lawsuit is usually sufficient to make a person call a lawyer.
Some give in and pay when they find out that the hourly cost is of a lawyer is high, and a retainer is required.
You can see the strategy here.
It's interesting reading the court dockets online, but sometimes it's a bit cryptic.
The court normally only posts the final judgments that are of greater interest to the public.
But, you can often tell by reading the dockets who has prevailed in each case.
The kind of hearings that we're concerned with here usually only last 5 minutes to one day, and often don't involve large settlements.
So, the court usually doesn't give much detail as to what was awarded (if anything).
Sometimes, MF gets the details of a settlement 'sealed'.
Note that you can order detailed records from the court by fax at 40 cents a page.
It looks like MF has currently has 6 cases active now.
They seem to like to have about 4 -6 lawsuits going at any one time.
Masterfile does sue sometimes. They're unpredictable in whom they go after, to make everyone think that they might be "next".
If they sue and you produce a really solid defense, there's a chance that they'll drop the suit before it ever goes before a judge.
They won't go through with it just to lose and have to pay your legal fees.
Obviously, if they have everything in order and one doesn't have a strong defense, then it's probably cheaper make deal and settle out of court.
It's quite a cat and mouse game.
One thing that I should mention here is that some folks don't appear for court a scheduled court date, and that's a bad idea as they'll lose immediately.
This constitutes a number of MF court victories.
I just hate to see people pay them money when they don't need to, which happens a lot.
I'm very glad if I have helped you.
S.G.
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