Small claims court will not issue a warrant for your arrest if you fail to come to court. What could happen, though, if you don't call to let them know you can't get there, is that your landlord will ask for a default judgment. In other words, you can lose the case by default.
Once a summons and complaint or summons with notice have been served, a defendant must respond in writing within a limited period of time. The response is sent to the plaintiff's attorney or directly to the plaintiff, if the plaintiff is appearing is self represented.
On a separate page or pages, write a short and plain statement of the answer to the allegations in the complaint. Number the paragraphs. The answer should correspond to each paragraph in the complaint, with paragraph 1 of the answer corresponding to paragraph 1 of the complaint, etc.
In most legal proceedings, if the plaintiff fails to appear in court, the judge may dismiss the case. However, this can vary depending on the jurisdiction and the specific circumstances of the case.
What happens if the Defendant does not appear in court? If the defendant does not come to court, an inquest will likely be held and a decision made in favor of the Claimant (the person who filled the suit in Small Claims court).
In California, when a petitioner seeks to move away with a child and the other parent (respondent) does not show up for the move away hearing or does not respond to the request for order (RFO) regarding the move away, the court will typically evaluate the situation based on the information presented by the petitioner.
If the defendant is not in Court within 1 hour from the time the case is scheduled, the Court will hear your case without the defendant. (This is called an inquest.) If you show enough evidence, you may win your case. If this happens the Court will enter a default judgment against the defendant.
It involves presenting to the person or entity sued (the 'defendant') a Complaint in which the person suing (the 'plaintiff') describes its legal claims and should always be accompanied by a Summons, requiring a defendant to respond in court.
You can either answer the summons in writing or in person. If you answer in person, you must go to the courthouse clerk's office and tell the clerk about your defenses to the plaintiff's claims. The clerk will check off the boxes in a Consumer Credit Transaction Answer In Person form.
The Civil Court has monetary jurisdiction up to $50,000.00, including replevin when the value of the chattel does not exceed that amount.