Remember the dog-poop case in Algonquin?

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.