The Power of Affidavits in a Lawsuit

An affidavit is a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, for use as evidence in court. It allows one party to make out of court statements without being challenged. The real danger of affidavits arises when the opposing party ignore it or failed to challenge it with a motion or objection. Unfortunately, most pro se litigants don't understand the rule and fail to challenge an affidavit.

An unchallenged affidavit has more power than any non-sworn document or argument a party may file. So, when the bank schedules a summary judgment hearing, it is likely to win when the homeowner does not object to its affidavits. The judge is pretty much limited as to whether to grant the summary judgment (SJ) or not. All the legal elements for summary judgment are present.
The homeowner will argue with the judge without realizing that he/she has not put a strong legal defense against the SJ.

The most common affidavits filed by the pretender lenders (PL) in a foreclosure are:

• Affidavit of Amount Due & Owing
• Affidavit of Attorney's Fees & Cost
• Affidavit of Reasonable Attorney Fees

 Every single one of these affidavits must be objected to as soon as they are filed. You also have the right to depose the affiants of any affidavit filed with the court.

A homeowner can also use affidavits to his advantage. For instance if the homeowner has personal knowledge of a matter, he can file an affidavit with the court. The pretender lender will have hard time effectively challenging his affidavit because they will have to counter it with statements from someone at the company who has personal knowledge of the case; which is a heavy burden for pretender lenders.

Foreclosure Pro Se

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