Courthouse background with informational bubbles over. Your Court Appearance - Evictions. It’s an unfortunate fact of life that eviction court in WNY is always busy, so in an effort to improve efficiency, eviction matters are held at regular times/days. Because of this, you’ll find that as many as up to 50 other cases can be scheduled at the same time as yours. So while your time in front of the judge/magistrate/clerk may be quick, you’ll want to prepare to be there all morning/all afternoon (whenever your case is scheduled). IMPORTANT NOTE
Remember, your landlord cannot simply tell you to leave or lock you out - only the court has the power to evict you. Your landlord MUST serve you with court papers, take you to court, and get a warrant of eviction. At your first court appearance, you or your attorney may request an “adjournment” to have more time to put together your case and to possibly explore settlemwent options. The adjournment will usually be 2 weeks. At your second appearance, the attorneys may talk outside the courtroom to try and reach an agreement. If there is no agreement, you may have a hearing that day OR have a hearing scheduled for another day.
We all have busy lives these days, so rearranging our schedules for a court appearance can take some maneuvering - taking off work, finding childcare, arranging transportation. How much time do you really need?
#CourtPrep #Housing #Eviction