Plaintiff failed to appear at the default judgment hearing. The judge dismissed. Can this be done again by the plaintiff?

How was the case dismissed? With prejudice or Without Prejudice?

Judge didn't specify. Was in court just yesterday. Neither plaintiff nor his lawyer showed up. Will the court send me something, or can I call?

You can definitely call the Clerk's Office and see just what the Judge Ordered. If he dismissed the case without prejudice, then the Plaintiff can refile the case. But if he dismissed it with prejudice, then no, the case cannot be refiled.

See what the Clerk says and ask her to mail you a copy of the Dismissal Order.

I appreciate the response.
Does the court not automatically send the paperwork? I will call. I hate having things hanging over my head.

You will have to call the court and ask
For a copy of the paperwork that way you will know if it was dismissed with or with out prejudice and you can rest a little eaiser.

I'm just baffled as to why he didn't show. Peaved a little too, since I had a 3.5 hr. drive to the courthouse.

I'm just baffled as to why he didn't show. Peaved a little too, since I had a 3.5 hr. drive to the courthouse.

Why would you be pissed off? You WON!! Who cares how long a drive it was. You'd be more pissed off if he had gotten the judgment against you, now wouldn't you have been? I'd happily drive for a week if it meant that the case was dismissed.

I'm just baffled as to why he didn't show.

I'm not. It was probably a junk debt buyer who did not have the paperwork to get a judgment. As soon as he knew you would fight it, he gave up on it.

Well, in all honesty, that reaction was mostly before the courtroom appearance. I don't feel I've won anything yet. It's like waiting for the other shoe to drop.
In that situation, would the judge listen to anything other than the default motion?
Here's the situation. My name is on a vehicle lease with my stepdaughter for a 2006 chrysler vehicle. She decided to sell it to some guy in 2006, and they had a contract without my name or signature on it. I also had no knowledge of this deal until I got the summons in the mail. Final payment was never made to Chrysler, and he wants the title. He thinks she should pay them, and she says he never made the final deal with them, and I'm caught in the middle. Hence, the lawsuit.
I don't quite understand why I'm on the lawsuit, since I didn't sign this contract between them.

Forgot to mention, the guy's lawyer also named Chrysler on the summons.

Your name is on the orignial lease vehicle right? Maybe they thought since they couldn't get the money out of the others they would bug you for it. Have you looked closely at the vehicle lease papers?

I think that's exactly what is happening, but don't think I should be liable for a contract that doesn't have my name on it.
Would there be some sort of link since I'm on the lease? Doesn't seem right.
Don't have the lease papers.

What's not clear here is who is suing you and why? Is the person she sold the car to suing? Is Chrysler suing or what?

Guy who bought the car from her is suing.

And what is he suing for?

At this point, their goal is to get the title by having someone pay what remains on the car, plus the lawyers fees.

OK, So your step daughter sold him a leased car while there was still something owed on the lease? She's lucky she's not in jail! Since you were listed on the lease I'm surprised Chrysler has not gone after you.

But if the judge dismissed the case, then it depends on whether it was with or without prejudice.

My thought exactly!
If the motion for default is dismissed WITH prejudice, then the whole suit is done?

Yep

Thank you for taking the time with this.
I'll be contacting the court.
I still can't believe they didn't show. The guy lives in the same city and the lawyer's office is near the court where this was held.

Thank you for taking the time with this.
I'll be contacting the court.
I still can't believe they didn't show. The guy lives in the same city and the lawyer's office is near the court where this was held.

I'm also surprised, this is not the usual case of a junk debt buyer. I'm sorry, but I think this guy would have won the case. Your daughter sold him a car she was not legally entitled to sell. A leased car is owned by the leasor, not the leasee. Unless she used the proceeds of the sale to buy out the lease she could be charged with fraud or car theft.

How long ago did this happen?

The sale was in May, 2006.
Chrysler says all but about 3000 was paid off, and according to my stepdaughter, the guy was to have gone to the dealer for the final payment and paperwork to finalize sale. He never showed to do that. At the time of the "sale", she was employed as a salesperson at a dealership. I've gotten a lot of info since this all came to my attention, and most of it is questionable at best.
I'm fully aware that a car is stilled owned by the leasor, that's why I don't understand how she got this whole thing going and almost done.
The guy was gullible enough to hand her a down payment check for $5,000, then another for over $21,000, on the promise (and a signed contract between the two of them) that when the final payment was made, she would get the title and sign over to him. I guess he thought since he had a contract, all was good. Evidently, she did that, then failed to follow through on the final portion of the deal. Her fault, and his, but I got caught in the middle w/o even being aware until recently.
Another reason I'm "peaved".
Scott, I really appreciate your thoughts on this. I got on here looking for answers, because I can't afford a lawyer. This has helped calm me down somewhat, since I've been very worried from the onset of the process.