What are our rights if we missed a court appearance?
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What are our rights if we missed a court appearance?
We received a summons brought by our landlord on a Sunday then, 2 days later, we received another summons delivered by the sheriff’s office. They both had the same case number, however we didn’t realized they had different dates on them. We missed the court appearance. Do we have any recourse at this point?
Asked on September 7, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Missouri
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
From what you have written, it seems as tjough your missing the court appearance for the landlord tenant matter may very well has resulted in a default judgment against you as to the dispute between you and the landlord. In essence, you very well could have lost the lawsuit against you for not showing up in court.
I suggest that you immediately go to the court clerk's ofice and review the file against you to see what the result is. You then should consult with a landlord tenant attorney about filing a motion to set aside the presumed judgment against you based upon mistake, inadvertance or excusable neglect immediately. Failure to do so will result in the presumed judgment remaining against you with likely adverse consequences.
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