Required to attend court.....

godskitchen

Hello all,

I had a quick search for this one but can't find the answer...

I have had a letter from a solicitor informing me of a court hearing on a certain date, and saying I do not need to attend this court. Then they say the case will proceed at a later date that they will inform me of and I will be required to attend.

There is no witness summons, I am not named on the court papers and the solicitor is not my solicitor.

It is a civil case in which the defendant (who's solicitor has now written to me directly) tried to join me as a 3rd party and I went through the process of defending this some 11 months ago.

This all strikes me as a bit suspicious. Informing me of a court date - saying it is not necessary​ for me to attend - they will then inform me when I am required to attend.

Is there something here where they have to inform me of a court date and when I don't show up they attach me as a 3rd party?

I know I'll get the answer, "contact your solicitor" but I'm looking for a heads up before I do and have to pay for it.

Thanks in advance

coylemj

If it's a civil case and you are neither plaintiff nor defendant then there is no obligation on you to attend unless one of the parties subpoenas you as a witness.

You say that ... the defendant (who's solicitor has now written to me directly) tried to join me as a 3rd party and I went through the process of defending this some 11 months ago.

Can you be a bit more clear on this..... are you saying that his application was denied by the judge? If so then the case has nothing to do with you and you need not attend.

godskitchen

coylemj wrote: »

If it's a civil case and you are neither plaintiff nor defendant then there is no obligation on you to attend unless one of the parties subpoenas you as a witness.

You say that ... the defendant (who's solicitor has now written to me directly) tried to join me as a 3rd party and I went through the process of defending this some 11 months ago.

Can you be a bit more clear on this..... are you saying that his application was denied by the judge? If so then the case has nothing to do with you and you need not attend.

Thanks for the reply.

Yes i should make that a bit more clear having read it again.

I filled out the form that I would be defending my position and not accept being a 3rd party and gave my reasoning.

I delivered this to the defendants solicitor and then went to the court on the day in question and the judge adjourned for a future date.

I went to the clerk as i found it difficult to hear what was was said in court.

They said I probably wouldn't hear anything more about it.

Now, I don't know how it was left as I received nothing more until last week.

The previous court papers had me names as a third party. The latest papers have nothing relating to me what so ever.

What i suspect is going on, and I may be extremely paranoid, or wrong, is the date which the defendants solicitor says I do not have to attend will be some preliminary hearing where they will attempt to rejoin me in the action. If i am not there to object the judge will allow it.

It would be extremely sneaky if that is the case. Obliged to inform me of the court date, not tell me what it is and say I don't have to attend.

hullaballoo

I would hope no solicitor would be stupid enough to do that as the net result of such underhanded behaviour would probably be losing whatever relief the defendant is claiming from you as well as a nice set of disciplinary proceedings against the solicitor.

What is FAR more likely is that the solicitor doesn't think whatever issue is before the Court on the day they say you don't need to attend will not be ready to proceed, so they intend to adjourn it for a few weeks to get their ducks in a row.

It would be beneficial for you to have a solicitor of your own involved as s/he will be able to clarify what is going on and, if necessary, take the appropriate steps to defend your position both in advance of and at the hearing of whatever issue the Court will be dealing with insofar as it involves you.

NUTLEY BOY

For clarity, was there a motion to join OP as a third party ?

I - or my solicitor - would be asking the High Court or Circuit office to check what orders, if any, were made.

The issue of whether or not the OP was joined as a third party is not really relevant to the issue of attending as a witness. They are separate matters. As pointed out by coylemj, you must attend if there is a subpoena.

Was the application to join OP as a third party adjourned on the basis of waiting to see what happens in the main action and then possibly deciding to revive the third party notice application ? If so, that should not interfere with OP's obligation to attend as a subpoenaed witness. If the third party application stands adjourned the OP needs to be careful about he says in evidence. As it is not a criminal matter I think that there is no protection from "self incrimination" in the civil sense of talking yourself in to trouble or a potential liability. !

godskitchen

Thanks for all the replies so far, very helpful.

To clarify, I have not been subpoenaed as a witness.

I asked the defendants solicitor to clarify for me why they were writing to me and who requires me in court. They sent me another copy of the application to join me as a 3rd party. They also changed their mind on my attendance for the date to set the hearing. They now tell me it would be in my interest to attend.

I will go to the court house tomorrow and see if any orders were made.

Is the system such, that anyone can name a 3rd party and join them in an action, without the 3rd party having a say as to why they believe they should not be involved, until the main hearing?

Having to go to the expense of engaging a solicitor and taking time off from work to attend a hearing because someone say you should seems wrong.

So, does one need to attend court without a court order (which there could be) or a summons of some description just because a defendant thinks they should?

Thanks again

4ensic15

godskitchen wrote: »

Is the system such, that anyone can name a 3rd party and join them in an action, without the 3rd party having a say as to why they believe they should not be involved, until the main hearing?

The system is that a defendant can apply to join a third party without the Third party knowing about it. The Third party can apply to set aside being joined. What often happens is that the Plaintiff decides to make the Third party a co-defendant. You need to check the relevant court file and see what happened.
You should have insisted on knowing what was happening when you were in court.

percy212

If he was clear on the procedures, and what to do, he wouldn't be posting here.

4ensic15 wrote: »

You should have insisted on knowing what was happening when you were in court.

4ensic15

percy212 wrote: »

If he was clear on the procedures, and what to do, he wouldn't be posting here.

He says he didn't hear what was being said. He should have made that known. The failure to do so is why he is posting here.

maestroamado

You say the case was adjourned which possibly means the letter you gave to the defendants solicitor may or may not have being entered in the proceedings.
An adjournment is just saying that the case will be heard at a future date, it is my belief that if you were required to be there the first day it be in your interest to be there for the adjournment.
I be of the opinion any correspondence you have with any solicitor other than your own be in writing only, if you do have a telephone conversation and are unclear send a short note or an email and the solicitor will clarify.
If i was in your position i would write a polite letter in reply to the letter.
Say because the situation has not being clarified you will be attending court and you will be claiming expenses as you need to take the day off work, you also be likely to be able to claim travel expenses.
The solicitor will very quickly clarify the situation, if you do not get a written reply go to the court and present your bill for loss of earnings etc to the court.

percy212

You realize you are not in a court room at the moment don't you? The OP is asking for advice, not for someone to poke holes in his posts, or castigate him for not behaving like a lawyer.'

4ensic15 wrote: »

He says he didn't hear what was being said. He should have made that known. The failure to do so is why he is posting here.

godskitchen

Thanks again for the answers.

In court, when it was hard to hear what was going on, I would have said something if at any stage the judge had asked if I was there or if I had representation in the room.

It was over extremely quickly.

I then went to the clerk later in the day who said "you probably won't hear anything about this again"

I will return to the court house today to see what's going on.

Thanks again

NUTLEY BOY

4ensic15 wrote: »

The system is that a defendant can apply to join a third party without the Third party knowing about it. The Third party can apply to set aside being joined. What often happens is that the Plaintiff decides to make the Third party a co-defendant. You need to check the relevant court file and see what happened.
You should have insisted on knowing what was happening when you were in court.

Quite so.

In relation to converting a third party in to a co-defendant I assume that the plaintiff still has to be in proper time to issue proceedings against that third party ?

maestroamado

I asked the defendants solicitor to clarify for me why they were writing to me and who requires me in court. They sent me another copy of the application to join me as a 3rd party. They also changed their mind on my attendance for the date to set the hearing. They now tell me it would be in my interest to attend.


Godskitchen,

Will you lets us know the result of this, i am just curious to know if they were thinking of adding you as a defendant in your absence.

godskitchen

Hello all,

Just a quick update

There were no orders made on the day I was in court to try and listen to proceedings.

I have had that clarified by the court clerk.

The notice I received from the defendants solicitor is an appearance to fix a date for the trial.

Am I too late at this stage to lodge against being a 3rd party? Will I now have to defend myself in this case?

Many thanks

kjbsrah1

[Will I now have to defend myself in this case? [/QUOTE]

You should only have to defend yourself if you have been accused of something. If you are a witness to an incident, if you no longer wish to give evidence you become a hostile witness before the court.

I have to say I find this thread confusing but am compelled to see how it ends up as it does not make a lot of sense (to me). I should have thought you should speak with a solicitor or the Gardaí (if they are involved) to see what role you are to play, as you seem unsure.

godskitchen

kjbsrah1 wrote: »

[Will I now have to defend myself in this case?

You should only have to defend yourself if you have been accused of something. If you are a witness to an incident, if you no longer wish to give evidence you become a hostile witness before the court.

I have to say I find this thread confusing but am compelled to see how it ends up as it does not make a lot of sense (to me). I should have thought you should speak with a solicitor or the Gardaí (if they are involved) to see what role you are to play, as you seem unsure.[/quote]

It is a civil matter, no gards involved.

Person A is suing person B

Person B thinks it is me (person C) that is liable

Person A has no case against person C and does not wish to take one.

Person B has joined person C as a 3rd party

I understand it is hard to follow and fathom but as you all understand I can't get into too much more detail on a public forum.

nuac

Mod
Solicitor time here.
Sorry legal advice here against forum rules
Closed