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What happens if I go to trial?

Tell the court clerk or the court officer your name and the name of your case. When your case is called, answer "tenant" and go before the Judge. If you need to have the case put off to another day (adjourned) for some serious reason (like to get documents or witnesses) you will need for the trial, you can ask the Trial Part Judge to put off your case, but this may be very hard to do since cases that are sent to the Trial Part are supposed to be ready to go to trial. (See the section "What Should I Bring to Court?")

The Judge will ask you and the landlord or his or her attorney some questions and may again try to settle the case. If you do not settle the case and both sides are ready, the Judge will probably hold a trial of your case that day.

During the trial, you should not argue with or or speak directly to the landlord or his or her attorney. Everything should be said to the Judge to try to convince the Judge to decide in your favor. You should not interrupt the landlord unless you are making an objection during the trial. Remember that shouting or talking in a way that might be seen as disrespectful will not help your case.

At trial, the landlord's case will be presented first. During the landlord's case, you can "object" to questions that are being asked of a witness or to documents the landlord introduces. You can "object" if you think there is a good reason why the testimony or the document should not be allowed by the Judge, not just because you disagree with it. After the landlord's witnesses finish testifying, you can also ask the landlord's witnesses questions about their testimony. That is called "cross examination."

After the landlord puts on his or her case, you will have a chance to present your case. You must bring all evidence and witnesses to court on the day of the trial. (See "What Should I Bring to Court?") The Judge will accept public records if they are certified by the government agency you got them from, for example.

You and your witnesses should simply tell the Judge the facts of your case in a simple, straightforward way. Think of it as trying to tell a story to someone. You can also use photographs to help the Judge understand how bad the problems are.

If the landlord objects to something you say and you do not understand it, ask the Judge to explain it. The Judge cannot give you legal advice about your case, but he or she can explain what is going on, and the procedures and rules that must be followed at a trial. It is important that you try to understand what is going on to the best of your ability. One way to do that is to ask the Judge to explain what is happening.

Here are a few things to pay attention to in a nonpayment or a holdover trial:


In non-payment cases

  • If the Judge finds that you owe any rent, the Judge will issue a judgment in favor of the landlord for that amount of rent and will usually give you only five days to pay that amount. If you pay the full amount to the landlord within that time, the case is over. If you do, be sure to get a receipt IMMEDIATELY. If the landlord refuses to take the rent within those five days, you may pay the judgment amount to the Clerk of the Civil Court.
  • If as part of the nonpayment case the Judge agrees that you are entitled to repairs or services, the Judge may also order the landlord to make repairs or give you services by a certain date. If the landlord fails to make repairs or give you services by the date the Judge ordered, you should go to court and ask for an Order to Show Cause.
  • If you cannot pay the full amount of the judgment within five days, the landlord can have a City Marshal ask for a warrant of eviction. Before your eviction, the City Marshal is required to serve you with a "notice of eviction." However, if you need more time to pay the full judgment amount, DO NOT WAIT until you get the Marshal's Notice of Eviction to go to court to ask for an Order to Show Cause. If the reason you cannot pay the judgment amount on time is because, through no fault of yours, the Department of Social Services has delayed in giving you the money, be sure to put that fact in your Order to Show Cause.

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In holdover cases:

  • If the Judge finds that the landlord has proven his or her case, that is, that you have broken important terms of your lease or that the other reasons stated by the landlord for evicting you are serious, you may be given time to correct the problem. If you correct the problem within the amount of time the Judge gives you (usually ten days), the case is over and you can remain in your apartment.
  • If you do not correct the problem within the time given or if the law does not give you time to correct a problem after trial, the Judge may order you to move out of your apartment. In most cases, the Judge has the power to give you up to six months to move if you pay a fair "use and occupancy" (usually the rent amount) during that time.
  • As described above, during the time that you stay in the apartment, you will probably be ordered to pay rent, but now it is called "use and occupancy" or "U & O." It will usually be the same amount as your rent was. The Judge may allow the landlord to evict you if the "U & O" is not paid on time.

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