Sorry! Yesterday morning I had a painful accident. Still have some pain today. I don't have enough time to write three posts today (7/11/12). I should have a post for tomorrow.
My eviction notice called for me and my attorney to appear at the Tazewell County Court House—located in Pekin—room 202 on April 16, 2012 at 2:30PM. Since I didn’t have a lawyer and couldn’t afford one, I would be appearing alone.
Since I don’t have a car, I had to borrow the use of one, rent one, take a taxi from Morton to Pekin and back, or ask someone to chauffer me to and from. A friend from church offered the use of her car. I borrowed the car twice. Once for a dry run to make sure that I knew where the court building is and also where there was a good place to park. And once to actually make the court appearance.
The day of the court hearing, she picked me up about 1:45PM and drove back to her house which is located between Morton and Pekin. Once she entered her house, I drove to the Pekin court house. I found a decent parking place rather easily and was at room 202 by about 2:20PM.
A bailiff was seated in front of the corner court room (the door to the court room was closed) near the door and plaintiffs and defendants with and without lawyers informed the bailiff that they were present. After checking in, I sat in a chair (chairs lined the two sidewalls), opened a book I had brought with me, and began reading. There were numerous people who checked in during the following minutes. It seemed that several defendants failed to appear which I understood resulted in a default judgment for the plaintiff.
At about 2:40-2:45PM, the representative, who was also the attorney who wrote the original Trust Agreement, of the new Trustee met the clerk for the judge at a table located in the lobby across from the court room. After talking for a few minutes, they decided the time for the continuance order and trial and that the trial would be a bench trial. Then, I was called over by the lawyer to agree to their decisions.
I objected since I was not involved in the decisions reached. I first objected to the date selected which was May 9, 2012. I wasn’t going to agree to a date until I knew which day of the week it was. Some days were better than others in relation to borrowing the car from my friend. Since the 9th was a Wednesday and good for her and me, I agreed to that date. Next, I objected to the bench trial stating that I wanted a jury trial.
That caused a problem. We would have to meet with the judge to discuss whether or not I would be granted a jury trial. By about 3:05PM the lobby had cleared out of all of the plaintiffs and defendants except for four people—who seemed to be one case,—the attorney representing the Trust, and me. Finally, we went into the court room to meet with the judge.
After some discussion, the following was decided:
“Continuous Order
By agreement of the parties, it is ordered: Matter is continued to May 9, 2012 at 10AM for bench trial and other appropriate proceedings.
Defendant shall pay the entry/filing fee to the Clerk of the Court or obtain the Court’s order waiving payment of the fee by May 1, 2012; if this deadline is missed, the Court may enter a default judgment, upon the ex parte request of the Plaintiff (without further notice or hearing); the Court’s denial of a request for waiver of fee shall not operate as an extension of the deadline (ergo, Defendant should apply for waiver of fee well in advance of the deadline).
All parties have been given a copy hereof in open court.
Defendant wants a jury trial. He shall file a Jury Trial request, pay filing fee, and respond in writing to the Complaint by 5-1-12.
Enter: 4-16-12” (The Continuance Order was signed by the Judge)
If I was going to file a Jury Trial request, I needed to pay two fees: The entry/filing fee and the Jury Trial fee.
