Pride Explanation - for Non-Lawyers, read Pride below, then this posting.

We were being sued for a lot of money in Federal Court (a bigger deal than being sued in State court.)

Before responding and submitting to the Jurisdiction of the Court, I wrote a motion for the Court, saying "Federal Court, you don't have jurisdiction over us! Even if you do have jurisdiction over us, and you can make us go into Court, the Plaintiff's Complaint for Damages doesn't allege necessary things for you to be able to hear his case or grant him any relief!"

(I.E. the Plaintiff doesn't say that we did anything wrong. Furthermore, when alleging statutory jurisdiction before the Court, Plaintiff sued under a Federal Statute that was repealed 26 years ago. Not only that, the statute dealt wtih certification of Naval Academies. The issue in the case was who lost computer parts that were stolen from a truck or an ocean liner.)

Then I said, "Can we have some money, please, so that our client doesn't have to pay us for defending this suit?"

I filed this motion a looong time ago. Like January. The Plaintiff had like 20 days to respond to my motion. The Plaintiff STILL hasn't responded yet. In early June, I called the Court and said, "What's up with this? Is this motion going to be heard?" It had slipped through the cracks.

The next day, the Judge sent the Plaintiff an order, telling him that if he didn't respond to my motion by the 19th, the Court was going to dismiss the Plaintiff's case, and make the Plaintiff pay my client for having to defend the case.

The Plaintiff never responded.

The Court, sua sponte (on its own initiative, and without being asked) entered an order yesterday, dismissing the Plaintiff's case against us.

Because the Plaintiff didn't respond like it was supposed to, the Court GRANTED my motion to make the Plaintiff stop suing us.

This also acts, I believe, as a dismissal with prejudice (The Plaintiff can't amend his complaint against us and re-file his case. Even if he tried to re-file his case, he can't sue us, because the statute of limitations on his claim ran a year ago in August.) -- since this was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, there is nothing that the Plaintiff can do, EVER, to make the Court have jurisdiction over us -- there is nothing that the Plaintiff can say that will make us have to appear before the Court and defend ourselves in this matter.

Then, the Court said, "Plaintiff, because you never answered, I am entering a judgment against YOU! And now YOU have to pay the DEFENDANT for defending this case! Defendant, please give me an order within 11 days, asking me to enter judgment in your favor, and awarding you fees and costs."

Then, the Court said, "Clerk, take this case off the Docket. It has been dismissed, so it doesn't exist anymore. Everyone else, if you had any business pending before this Court in this case, and had asked me to do anything, tough cookies. I'm not going to do anything else in this case, except make the Plaintiff pay you money."

So, bottom line, the reason I'm happy is:
1) The FEDERAL COURT granted a motion I wrote! I made a big case go away! I'm just a baby lawyer!
2) My client is no longer being sued! And can't be sued in this case, ever again!
3) The Plaintiff now has to pay US, as opposed to us paying it!
4) My boss and I don't have to appear in scary, scary Federal Court and defend a trial!
5) I got like three other Defendants dismissed also! Many other people are going to be very, very pleased with me. My boss already is.

I do, however, feel sort of bad for the Plaintiff's lawyer. He's going to be in some deep shit. Like...malpractice deep.

Pride.

I'm proud to report that hot off the faxes from the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, it has been ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that MY (that I wrote) "Defendant's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, Failure to State a Cause of Action, and for Attorney's Fees and Costs, is hereby GRANTED."

"The Court entered an order directing Plaintiff to respond on or before June 19, 2006. The Order cautioned, "Plaintiff's failure to do so will result in a default judgment entered against it in favor of Defendants. Default judgment is hereby entered against Plaintiff."

"ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Clerk of Court is directed to CLOSE this case for administrative purposes. All pending motions are DENIED AS MOOT." Done and Ordered at Chambers in Miami Florida this 20th Day of June, 2006.

Defendants are instructed to move for entry of final judgment within 11 days of this order. :)