Sitting and listening to other cases before the judge hearing your case can help you learn a judge’s style and expectations. Recently, I was in court appearing on a client’s behalf to collect unpaid tuition. While waiting for our case to be called, I had the opportunity to listen to more than 29 other debt collection cases where one party was self-represented. Here’s what I learned about how the New York courts settle self-represented debt collection cases
Appearing Pro Se
In the case I was representing, the non-paying guardian, now defendant, did not hire counsel and was self-represented or appearing “pro se.”
When a pro se litigant files an answer to defend a case, the court schedules a conference within 60 days. And so, I appeared with other creditors who had hired counsel or, if not a corporate entity, filed cases on their own behalf. For all of us, at least one party in every case was self-represented.
I have participated in many conferences that are settlement conferences, scheduled with the goal of coming to a resolution. This was a general conference.
In this specific courtroom, SRP (self-represented part), the judge changes daily and/or weekly. The judge who presided on this particular date wanted to resolve as many cases as possible.
Here are some of the comments and scenarios that came up repeatedly:
- “Whether or not you are represented by counsel, I always ask if you can settle the case today.”
- “What would it take to settle the case?”
- “What’s the bottom line, and why can’t we settle this case?”
If an amount was unknown, the judge suggested to “try to put a dollar amount on it and come back today.”
Coming to a Settlement
In some cases, the parties couldn’t agree on a number. And, for many of those cases, the judge suggested a settlement figure.
For the attorneys who appeared without settlement authority, the judge asked counsel to contact their client and convey a message of: “It’s the judge’s idea that the case should settle for X.”
The judge repeatedly stated that everyone must come to court with settlement authority regardless of the reason for their appearance in her courtroom.
For the cases not called immediately, the judge had her law secretary “conference” the case. In our conference with the law secretary, the law secretary made sure to understand the case and asked to look at the evidence each party had to present. The conference was very casual, in the hallway, outside of the courtroom.
Despite best efforts, not every case settles. The judge marked two or three cases for trial. Those may settle on the date of trial. They may not.
For the remaining 27 or so cases, a fair amount settled, including ours.
After conferencing in the hallway with the law secretary and reviewing the evidence in our case, the law secretary asked the defendant how much she would pay to resolve the case. Since a review of the defendant’s document by our client was needed to possibly reduce the balance, our case was adjourned to January 2026. Although our case did not resolve on the date of the appearance, my client agreed to accept the defendant’s settlement offer.
Have questions about debt collection? Contact Frank, Frank, Goldstein and Nager by email or call +1 (212) 686-0100. We have the experience that pays.
