Appealing a judgement

[Katelyn Rooney]

Jurisdiction

Mississippi

(For my brother)
2 year divorce battle.
Home was paid with cash. Judgement states ex wife is owed 165,000, lien was placed on house i built and i'm forced to take a loan out to pay her or they will sell my house.

The amount i had in the bank at the time of filing is wrong. It says i had 116k. I had 74k.

My attorney did not bring forth evidence for custody and many other things, i felt misrepresented so i fired her at the hearing. The judge did not allow me to get a new attorney and said i had to represent myself due to no time. Did not allow a continuation. A judgement was not made for 7 more months. In this time my daughter testified to live with me. If i had an attorney or knew what I was doing I would have known my other daughter needed to as well. I thought by the judge asking the oldest what her and her sister wanted, she spoke for both. The one that did not testify, the papers say had no preference, however she does. They both refuse to see their mom. They are 17 and 14.

We were married 6 years. Together off and on 18.

Do I have a chance at an appeal? Or what options do i have? What do i need to know before going to a consultant with an attorney?

 

[Katelyn Rooney]

To add, I have custody of the oldest and they have her custody to the youngest.

 

[adjusterjack]

I've got good reason for asking these questions so don't sidestep.

What was the exact date of the judgment?

How much is the house worth? Put the address in Google and it'll bring up several real estate site (Zillow, Redfin, one or two more) that will give you estimated market values. Provide the highest and lowest figure.

With those two answers I may have some helpful comments.

 

[Katelyn Rooney]

Aug. 29th 2022 is judgement date. House appraised for 192k.

 

[adjusterjack]

The following site came up in a search for family law appeal in Mississippi. It is not an attorney recommendation.

Divorce and Custody Appeals in Mississippi - Jackson Lawyer | Shows Law Firm PLLC - Jackson Lawyer | Shows Law Firm PLLC

Note the time limits for filing an appeal. Your brother will want to jump on this quickly with a new attorney who is experienced with family law appeals.

As for the house. One spouse typically owes the other spouse half the equity. That your brother's judgment debt is for more than half suggests that there are other assets in play.

 

[zddoodah]

Judgement states ex wife is owed 165,000, lien was placed on house i built and i'm forced to take a loan out to pay her or they will sell my house.

I assume that we should assume these statements are being made by your brother (i.e., that your reference to "my house" refers to your brother's house. Was the house built during the marriage?

Who are "they," and why do you think "they" will sell the house?

The amount i had in the bank at the time of filing is wrong. It says i had 116k. I had 74k.

What is "it"? At the time of filing what? I think what you might be saying is that, when the wife filed for divorce, her papers included a schedule of assets and that that schedule alleged $116k in some bank account. However, you claim that amount was in error. Is that what you're saying? If so, when you filed your responsive papers, did you include your own schedule of assets that alleged the correct amount?

My attorney did not bring forth evidence for custody and many other things, i felt misrepresented so i fired her at the hearing.

In the context of any given divorce case, there may be any number of hearings. What was this particular hearing for?

The judge did not allow me to get a new attorney and said i had to represent myself due to no time. Did not allow a continuation.

In all my time practicing law, I've never seen a client fire his/her lawyer at a hearing. I'm not surprised the judge didn't grant a continuance.

A judgement was not made for 7 more months. In this time my daughter testified to live with me. If i had an attorney or knew what I was doing. . . .

Over the course of this seven month period, what was stopping you from hiring a new attorney?

I thought by the judge asking the oldest what her and her sister wanted, she spoke for both.

Sorry, but that's kind of a silly assumption.

Do I have a chance at an appeal?

Nothing in your post suggests any basis for appealing.

Or what options do i have?

No one who hasn't at least reviewed the divorce judgment can answer this question intelligently.

What do i need to know before going to a consultant with an attorney?

Nothing other than that the time to appeal is generally very short. A quick google search suggests it's 30 days in MS. Don't wait.

 

[army judge]

What percentage of appealed court decisions are overturned?

ANSWER:

According to the last examination done by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 15 percent of civil trial decisions were appealed, about half by plaintiffs and half by defendants. Of these appeals, about 43 percent were dismissed or withdrawn, often due to the parties' settling. In the remaining 57 percent, about a third were modified or reversed, either by an intermediate court or a court of last resort. Interestingly, verdicts in favor of plaintiffs were modified or reversed twice as often as judgments favoring defendants. So roughly one in five appealed decisions are invalidated, but most of those cases are sent back for a new trial, some with instructions for modifying an award.

Ask Marilyn: What Percentage of Appealed Court Decisions Are Overturned?
...

 

[Katelyn Rooney]

I assume that we should assume these statements are being made by your brother (i.e., that your reference to "my house" refers to your brother's house. Was the house built during the marriage?

Who are "they," and why do you think "they" will sell the house?



What is "it"? At the time of filing what? I think what you might be saying is that, when the wife filed for divorce, her papers included a schedule of assets and that that schedule alleged $116k in some bank account. However, you claim that amount was in error. Is that what you're saying? If so, when you filed your responsive papers, did you include your own schedule of assets that alleged the correct amount?



In the context of any given divorce case, there may be any number of hearings. What was this particular hearing for?



In all my time practicing law, I've never seen a client fire his/her lawyer at a hearing. I'm not surprised the judge didn't grant a continuance.



Over the course of this seven month period, what was stopping you from hiring a new attorney?



Sorry, but that's kind of a silly assumption.



Nothing in your post suggests any basis for appealing.



No one who hasn't at least reviewed the divorce judgment can answer this question intelligently.



Nothing other than that the time to appeal is generally very short. A quick google search suggests it's 30 days in MS. Don't wait.

Yes, it was in context of my brother speaking. My brothers house, yes.

He fired his attorney at the end of the hearing due to how she represented him and didn't bring in the evidence they discussed. She allowed his ex wife to misconstrue and lie on stand. His attorney had the evidence. He did not hire another attorney because he was not "allowed" by the judge. He told him his options were to keep his attorney or represent himself. He called attorney's and after they reviewed the case they said the judge will not allow him to have any other representation. He had no contempts or in the wrong of any court orders.

The court will appoint someone to come in and sell the house.

He has the statements from his bank proving the amount they said was in THAT account at the date of filing was off by 42k. He did not have 116k it was 74k. That all factors into the amount he is having to owe her.

 

[adjusterjack]

The court will appoint someone to come in and sell the house.

If he wants to save his house he either has to file the appeal and get a stay of the sale or come up with the money to give his ex, knowing that he'll never see that money again.

 

[zddoodah]

He did not hire another attorney because he was not "allowed" by the judge. He told him his options were to keep his attorney or represent himself. He called attorney's and after they reviewed the case they said the judge will not allow him to have any other representation.

You didn't answer the question about what sort of hearing this was (and few of my other questions, and the story has changed from fired "at the hearing" to "at the end of the hearing." Refusing to grant a continuance of an ongoing hearing for firing an attorney "at the hearing" would not be unreasonable. However, a general refusal to allow a party to hire a new attorney could be reversible error.

If he wants to save his house he either has to file the appeal and get a stay of the sale or come up with the money to give his ex, knowing that he'll never see that money again.

Yup, and this is a decision that needs to be made pronto.