D.C. Superior Court Hearing Notice sine Latin Legal Jargon
On June 1, D.C. Superior Court is scheduled to roll out new “ex parte proof” hearing notices in response to a 2016 D.C. Court of Appeals’ opinion criticizing the court’s continued use of legal jargon.
It has been almost three years since the Court of Appeals issued its decision in Wylie v. Glenncrest, reversing and remanding an eviction case where the trial court declined to vacate a default judgment entered against an unrepresented tenant after her landlord told her she did not need to come back to court. Ms. Wylie had come to court on her first court date, where she met her landlord’s attorney. The two of them agreed to a one-month continuance. The landlord’s attorney later told Ms. Wylie that she did not need to return to court if she caught up on her payments and, so Ms. Wylie did not show up for the further initial hearing. Unbeknownst to Ms. Wylie, that hearing went forward, and a default was entered against her. The court then scheduled an “ex-parte proof” hearing. Read more →