(Photo not that of actual clients.)
While many of us know inherently that is it difficult to navigate the legal system without a lawyer, some may not realize that it is possible to do everything correctly, by yourself, and still lose – and then need the assistance of a lawyer to fix something that never should have happened in the first place.
Take the case of Ms. A, a widowed single mom with an elementary school son. She had been sued for credit card debt, and had properly appeared in Small Claims Court to contest the debt. Unfortunately, even though she appeared on time, denied owing the debt, and wanted to proceed in court, the creditor in her case later provided a Judgment to the court indicating that Ms. A had failed to appear. Relying on this misrepresentation, the Judge entered a Final Judgment against Ms. A, and the creditor then repossessed her car – her only means of transportation to and from work and her son’s school.
Ms. A reached out to JALA, and JALA attorney Ariel Cook took on this last-minute crisis, filing an emergency motion to set aside the incorrectly-entered Judgment. Ariel was able to get the case heard at 3:00 pm the day before the car was to be sold. After walking the Judge through the facts, the Final Judgment was set aside.
Ariel then personally went to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to deliver a copy of the Order, and the Sheriff’s Office was able to cancel the sale. Ms. A was able to pick up her car the next day.
JALA will continue to represent Ms. A, and Ariel hopes to completely resolve this issue.
