Should you present "surprise evidence" before or during the court hearing?

All evidence must be entered into the record beforehand, AND be shared with the other side.
You can not just whip out some new evidence in the middle of a trial, and it will almost certainly be rejected immediately.

Yes you should send him copies. I can’t believe he is suing you. You were acting in his best interest and may have saved his life. The cops must have had some reason for what they did other than what you said. They are the ones who are ultimately responsible. It seems to me that if anyone should be sued, it is the cops.

I would talk to a lawyer.

Wow, I can’t believe he is taking you to court for saving his life. What a jerk. I would definitely talk to a lawyer.

@chyna Maybe Bruce was doing a prank call to his (now former) friend.
Not my cup of tea, but pranksters think this kind of humor is fun.
Until they have to pay 10K ,that is.

I believe there are Good Samaritan laws in place that could protect you from lawsuits such as this. Do get a lawyers advice here.

See above. First and foremost you need an attorney.
But having said that, there are some folks that, if they say I am going to kill myself, you should simply say, Sounds stupid to me, but to each his own.

Not to be too negative, but this could give him reason, carry out the act.

There is no easy solution. Usually, a public display of this action, is a cry for help..

In any case, texts can be evidence, against someone. Drop the bombshell now. But, realize that this person will probably be institutionalized. That will either help, or make the situation worse…

I don’t suggest giving him the copies,as McGrimm888 stated above ..yes it may trigger him to do something regrettable.
Perhaps the Courts will send him for counselling and perhaps on a Social program to assist with the bills.
I don’t think that he is in anyway able to pay that huge amount, and the courts will recognize that.
So your friend would be better to go to court and all will fall into place for him without to much stress on finances if any?
This will be a wake up call for him as well.
He cried “Wolf” and got the consequences.
Hope that he gets better help in the Courts.

That’s not how trials work. You must supply all evidence before trial starts. Don’t believe the TV shows.

What I meant to ask was: Should send him screenshots of his incriminating texts BEFORE the day of the trial (which is this Thursday, BTW), or should I wait until THE DAY OF COURT to show him and the judge the screenshots? It might not make a difference either way. I am just trying to determine if showing him the screenshots before the actual day of the trial would give me an advantage (because Bruce might realize the futility of suing me and possibly drop the lawsuit) or if it would be a disadvantage because that would give him time to come up with a plausible explanation for the texts.

Lawyer requied so you don’t get thrown out or court with $10,000 payment required

GET A LAWYER because you don’t know the law !

I WON! THE CASE WAS DISMISSED! Thanks for your input.

Congratulations!!!

Good for you!

Congratulations! You did the right thing, helping your friend.

Though that a suicidal person can be billed 10k is incredible to me. The US is seriously weird.

We can all add legal consul to our resume’s! Congrats on your victory!
https://giphy.com/gifs/xT77XWum9yH7zNkFW0/html5

Not surprised by the dismissal, but congratulations anyway. I am with @longgone about the guy having to pay 10k to the hospital.

UGH, he appealed. It’s not over yet. Just shoot me.

@furious_rose appeal on what grounds, they didn’t ike the outcome of the first trial?

Bruce is only allowed to appeal if he can prove the judge made a “clerical error” in rendering her verdict. I’m pretty sure that even he knows he’s full of BS! He just thinks that his life will improve if he can make my life a living hell. He’s a sore loser who is trying to get a do-over. Anyway, by the end of next week, I should be getting something in the mail notifying me if there’s going to be a retrial. Keep your fingers crossed for me, friends! I can’t take much more of this nonsense. Jeez.

How did work out for you and Bruce? “Enquiring minds want to know.”