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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
    Posts
    5

    Question Long-Term Educational International Travel While a Case is Pending

    My question involves court procedures for the state of: Hawaii

    Hi,

    I have a local student housing company trying to sue me for defamation for a tasteful Facebook "Note" (blog/review) due to the random popularity it unexpectedly received. They were more or less just trying to scare me, surely hinted by the mass inactivity (or perhaps the accidental slip of the plaintiff contradicting himself through a press release, indirectly saying they lost no money from my "defamatory comments; oops!).

    The case has been going for 1 year and 10 months and has been idle for 1 year and 5 months. I'm told by two attorneys giving me generic advice that my case should have been dismissed by now and are unsure why it's not (1 suggested lazy clerks of court? no idea).

    I have a significant chance I will get a scholarship to study Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan for 1 year, starting this September; I just got notification that I am a finalist. I was hoping this case would be out of the way by now, but it's still not dismissed. Should I file an official motion to dismiss, or write to the clerk of court? If it's dismissed by the court due to inactivity, surely they would be less resentful compared to me filing a motion to dismiss.

    What would you guys suggest? Also what are the laws about temporarily (but by temporarily being 1 year) leaving the country for such a $10,000 scholarship with an "active" civil case?

    I just want to move on with my life and get this out of the way ASAP. Even if I file a motion to dismiss and not the clerks filing it, I'm sure they will accept it (I showed them all the evidence I had to show my review was true and backed up - no way they'd win a defamation case like this).

    Also, I paid $200 to hire a jury. Any possibility of getting that back? O_o this frivolous case has cost me so much money and time, ugh

    THANK YOU ahead of time for the suggestions!"

    PS -- They have NOT even filed a pretrial statement!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Long-Term Educational International Travel While a Case is Pending

    Talk to your lawyers. You can talk to them about bringing a motion to dismiss the case, if appropriate. If you leave the nation before the case is dismissed, you need to be prepared for the possibility that you will have to return to the U.S. to participate in legal proceedings in order to avoid default.

    If you prevail in the litigation, you can explore the possibility of recovering your taxable costs, such as the jury fee.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    125

    Default Re: Long-Term Educational International Travel While a Case is Pending

    Your comments suggest you have an inadequate understanding of defamation law. HI does acknowledge defamation per se, and depending upon what the Plaintiff specifically pled, actual money or pecuniary damages may not have to be proven.

    The fact your case has not been dismissed is not due to what you suggest are "lazy clerks of court", but rather your own ignorance of civil rules of procedure and the law

    Your safest course of action is to try to have it dismissed by whatever means you can, BEFORE you leave the country. If you cannot do it quickly yourself, RETAIN AN ATTORNEY to do so.

    At this point, and for many valid reasons, dismissal is far from the simple thing you incorrectly assume it is. If the Plaintiff disputes your evidence, the case will NOT be dismissed, and will go to trial on the merits.

    If I was the Plaintiff, and I learned an unrepresented defendant left the country for an extended period, I might be inclined to start moving the case forward and work the defendant into a position of losing by default. And if you did have to fly back to attend hearings or a trial, you would not be able to recover those costs even if you win.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Long-Term Educational International Travel While a Case is Pending

    Gator has made some most excellent points here - in particular, the chance of the plaintiff moving for a default.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
    Posts
    5

    Default Re: Long-Term Educational International Travel While a Case is Pending

    Ok thanks guys -- I'll try to get the ball rolling on this dismissal so that if it fails, I'll have enough time to do something more about it.

    Just a few related questions:

    1) What are the rules about idle activity in regards to dismissing a case?

    2) If they never filed a pretrial statement after almost 2 years, does that give me a significant advantage to dismiss the case?

    3) Is there a certain period of time to be idle to the point when they can't argue a motion for dismissal; where it just dismisses?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Long-Term Educational International Travel While a Case is Pending

    You can inquire with the court administrator about the court's policies for when it deems cases inactive and considers the possibility of involuntary dismissal based upon inactivity. But if the case is now active, the fact that it was formerly inactive is no longer relevant.

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