Carrie Fosdale, of Algonquin, was in court again this morning. Only this time, she is the Plaintiff! Carrie is the woman who tried to get her homeowners' association (HOA) to move a doggie poop can from a pole in the front yard of her home and, when she got no response from the HOA, she removed it herself. The HOA charged her with theft, and the Algonquin Police arrested her.
That court case was dismissed by the State's Attorney's office, and the judge said it should have been handled by the HOA as a homeowner's dispute, not as a criminal case.
Carrie filed a claim in Small Claims Court for her lost time and her expenses to defend herself. I met her at the courthouse this morning, and I'm so glad I did. The case was in Judge Caldwell's courtroom. Carrie was to be there at 8:30AM and arrived about 20 minutes early. It turned out not to be on the docket for the 8:30AM Call, and about 8:50AM Judge Caldwell asked if anyone was present for a case that he had not called.
Carrie approached the bench, and at 8:52AM Judge Caldwell called her case. Surprise. Surprise. No defendants appeared. No attorney appeared for the defendants. Judge Caldwell could be seen writing, and then Carrie stepped over to the Clerk's desk. At 8:54AM Judge Caldwell called the next case.
Carrie came back to her seat and said, "I won." I detected a feeling of wonder and surprise. Judge Caldwell granted a default judgement against the Homeowners Association for the sum of her claim, over $4,300.
About a minute later an attorney for the defendants walked up to her and handed her his Motion to Dismiss. By that time it was over, and I told her not to worry about it, but not to leave the courtroom yet.
Then Judge Caldwell began calling cases on the 9:00AM Call. About 20 minutes later the HOA's defense attorney approached the bench, and Carrie hustled right up there. They were told to stand by.
About 20 minutes after that, Judge Caldwell called Carrie's case again. Judge Caldwell denied the attorney's Motion to Dismiss. He explained that cases in Small Claims Court are normally resolved without a lawyer. The defense attorney kept saying that he wanted the case set for trial, and Judge Caldwell set a hearing for March 12, 2010, at 1:30PM and ordered that the Defendants appear. Carrie said the judge set it for trial and had said that Carrie had a valid argument.
The HOA's attorney then wrote up the Order for the judge's signature. On the line where the defendants were ordered to appear "in person/by attorney", he entered his last name. After Judge Caldwell signed it and the attorney gave Carrie her copy, he left the courtroom.
Carrie went back to the judge and pointed out how the attorney had completed the Order. Judge Caldwell wrote out a new Order, including "Defendants shall appear in court in person at trial (as ordered orally by the court)."
We could only guess that the attorney might have misjudged the travel time to the courthouse from Warrenville (46-63 miles, depending on the route), parking problems at the courthouse or delays at the entrance. Did his tardiness eliminate his Motion? Was he prevented from filing it because the Court had already ruled?
His two minutes of tardiness were very expensive (for either him or for his client, if he bills his total time in the courtroom), costing almost another full hour of time in court.
The morale of the story? Don't go to court alone. If you are going into court pro se, take an extra set of eyes with you.
Carrie was very well-prepared to handle her case today. What will happen between now and March 12? If the insurance company for the HOA is smart, they'll settle. Otherwise, they'll spend more than the judgement amount on legal fees and then have to pay the judgement as well.
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8 comments:
I wish I had taken you with me when I went to court. However, I doubt you would have been on my side.
Whitmore2, I don't know you or know your case, but I would have helped you not get taken advantage of (if someone was trying to do so).
Yes, I would sincerely hope that you would at least be objective enough to listen to my side of the story, rather than to blindly believe what the NWH and DH had to report, which unfortunately, is what happened.
I applaud your commitment to help people who are unfamiliar with the court and offer support.
Feel free to contact me directly (see contact information at the end of my Profile), if you'd like to talk about your case and the reporting it received.
Many contact me and ask me not to write about their stories. I honor those requests. Others grant permission for me to write.
I don't write about everything that comes my way. Sometimes, I save it for another day. Some of it will never be written about.
Trust me on this- TMB knows all about dog $hit. I'm glad she won, and will "win again" in March, but good luck on her "collecting" from the HOA. Remember the money your buddy Wayne Beto was owed?
Also, she'll be a "persona non grata" with her HOA. Doh.
After following this outrageous case in the Herald, I applaude Carrie for going after the HOA. I hope she wins all and more that she is seeking. This has reeked from the onset. Pun intended.
Watch for a new article soon on the Beto check.
I want to Thank Gus for meeting me at court! I had all my documents to support my seeking justice. He was so helpful to look over papers, and the extra set of eyes to catch anything that I missed!
As I said to Gus, the 3-person Board ignored me and chose to not follow the Rules & Regulations of Old Oak Terrace. There was a breach of fiduciary duties of the Board members. Rules and Regulations were created for all people to follow...even the Board members. The Illinois Condominium Property Act even states the Powers and Duties of Board of Managers must Adopt and Amend Rules and Regulations. It's not optional. So to all of you following this story, next time a Homeowners Association does not follow the rules...don't tolerate their crap. Pun intended.
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