Do all pro se plaintiffs need to show up at hearing?

T

Thankfulinmississippi

New Member
Jurisdiction
Mississippi
I am one of three pro se litigants (wife, mother-in-law, and myself) in an action against a home remodeler. I am about to file several motions and schedule a hearing. I do not want my wife and her mother to have to take off work to attend the hearing, but I also know I cannot represent their interest, because I am not an attorney. Can I avoid them having to be there by making the motion just from me (one of the three plaintiffs)? If not, what are my options for this? Thank you.
 
Thankfulinmississippi said:
I am one of three pro se litigants (wife, mother-in-law, and myself) in an action against a home remodeler. I am about to file several motions and schedule a hearing. I do not want my wife and her mother to have to take off work to attend the hearing, but I also know I cannot represent their interest, because I am not an attorney. Can I avoid them having to be there by making the motion just from me (one of the three plaintiffs)? If not, what are my options for this? Thank you.
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You certainly may file the motion just with respect to yourself, and indeed that's all you can do since you cannot file motions on behalf of the other plaintiffs in the case, nor assist them in filing any motions. But whether your motions will have any benefit for the other plaintiffs depends on the nature of the motions you file. For some motions, every plaintiff who wants that motion is going to need to file their own motion and attend the hearing on the motion they filed.
 
What is the purpose of the motion?

Is the court even holding in person hearings? Even before COVID, a lot of courts were moving to virtual or telephonic hearings or not having hearings at all on a lot of motions.

That said, if you're the only moving party, it is unlikely that the other plaintiffs would need to appear.
 

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