Where a party, without a just cause, either fails to appear or refuses the oath or testimony, what may the court then do with the other side's claims?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
For this exercise, the papers to read are the proof of service fixing the hearing date, any written excuse on file explaining why the party did not appear or refused the oath or testimony, the hearing record recording that refusal, and the other side's allegations on the matters inquired.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision as written: where a party, without a just cause, either fails to appear or refuses the oath or testimony, the court may treat as true the opposing party's claims about the matters inquired, so the consequence attaches only to a default that lacks a just cause and reaches only what the other side actually asserted on those matters.
Another reading stresses the discretion and the undefined terms the provision leaves open: it says the court 'may' treat those claims as true rather than must, it does not define what counts as a just cause for either the non-appearance or the refusal, and it does not say whether treating a claim as true settles every point in the case.
Your judgment
What in the record would show whether the party's default had a just cause, and which of the matters inquired the opposing party actually alleged?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We revisit this card if the provision is amended to change who bears the consequence, or what counts as a just cause, or if a court decision explains the scope of the matters inquired or the court's discretion.