Motion to Vacate Judgement on a Lien
Date: Wed, 04/04/2007 - 16:16
My mother got severely injured on the job while working in an assembly line at a t-shirt factory in 1993. A products liability case was filed against the manufacturers of the t-shirt bagging machine that caused her accident. The case was heard in front of a jury at superior court in 2002. After almost a month-long trial, the jury and judge decided in favor of the defendants (the manufacturers of the machine). Soon after one of the defendants filed a judgement against my mother and my family in the form of a lien on our home for court and legal fees in the amount of $7,000.00.
First off, as the saying goes, the insurance companies have lawyers working hard on their side,.... 'pulling every trick in the book' while our lawyers stood idly by. My mother will be totally and permanently disabled.. yet not only do we have to suffer both the losses of the case and especially her physical well-being but now they, the defendents, want their fees to be paid as well?! What justice is this?!
In the meantime, my family hired a different law firm to handle the appeal for the case she had lost. After all court proceedings and paying this firm over $25,000 to handle the appeal, we lost again! Our new lawyers argued that my mother never had a fair trial the first time around due to lack of an interpreter since English is my parents second language...they speak very broken English. The problem with that argument is that that was the only point being emphasized. However, there were many other points that were only lightly mentioned...for example the machine involved in my mother's accident had certain pressure, speed, and heat settings. During the defendents' testimony, they had brought in a bagging machine that was not like said machine. It had been demonstrated to the jury at very low settings unlike the ones that caused my mother's crush injury to her arms and hands.
Now, my parents can't remortgage their home due to this lien messing up their credit. They also cannot afford a lawyer to fight this lien so we are trying to do everything pro se. The problem is that since i'm the oldest child, i would have to do the paperwork for them however, I do not know how to go about the 1st step. I just got a copy of the lien at the registry of deeds. Then as soon as i went to superior court I was told that there are no forms that I need to fill to file the complaint and that what I need to do is file a Motion to Vacate the Judgement. I'm no lawyer so how do i do that? What do I write? Please let me know!
First off, as the saying goes, the insurance companies have lawyers working hard on their side,.... 'pulling every trick in the book' while our lawyers stood idly by. My mother will be totally and permanently disabled.. yet not only do we have to suffer both the losses of the case and especially her physical well-being but now they, the defendents, want their fees to be paid as well?! What justice is this?!
In the meantime, my family hired a different law firm to handle the appeal for the case she had lost. After all court proceedings and paying this firm over $25,000 to handle the appeal, we lost again! Our new lawyers argued that my mother never had a fair trial the first time around due to lack of an interpreter since English is my parents second language...they speak very broken English. The problem with that argument is that that was the only point being emphasized. However, there were many other points that were only lightly mentioned...for example the machine involved in my mother's accident had certain pressure, speed, and heat settings. During the defendents' testimony, they had brought in a bagging machine that was not like said machine. It had been demonstrated to the jury at very low settings unlike the ones that caused my mother's crush injury to her arms and hands.
Now, my parents can't remortgage their home due to this lien messing up their credit. They also cannot afford a lawyer to fight this lien so we are trying to do everything pro se. The problem is that since i'm the oldest child, i would have to do the paperwork for them however, I do not know how to go about the 1st step. I just got a copy of the lien at the registry of deeds. Then as soon as i went to superior court I was told that there are no forms that I need to fill to file the complaint and that what I need to do is file a Motion to Vacate the Judgement. I'm no lawyer so how do i do that? What do I write? Please let me know!
I would suggest contacting the legal aid office in your area/sta
I would suggest contacting the legal aid office in your area/state and see if they can advise you. Obviously, this is not something the average person has experience with, and considering what you and your family have been through with legal fees, the legal aid office won't add to those expenses.
