(1) If the plaintiff appears and the defendant fails to appear at the first appearance, a default judgment shall be entered in favor of the plaintiff for possession of the premises and costs and disbursements.

(2) If the defendant appears and the plaintiff fails to appear at the first appearance, a default judgment shall be entered in favor of the defendant dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint and awarding costs and disbursements.

(3) An attorney at law shall be entitled to appear on behalf of any party, but attorney fees may not be awarded to the plaintiff if the defendant does not contest the action.

(4) If the plaintiff dismisses the action before the first appearance, a judgment of dismissal shall be entered in favor of the defendant dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint and awarding costs and disbursements. The defendant may not recover attorney fees for prejudgment legal services provided after the delivery of written notice of the dismissal by the plaintiff to the defendant, or to an attorney for the defendant, in the manner provided under ORS 90.155.

(5) The plaintiff or an agent of the plaintiff may obtain a continuance of the action for as long as the plaintiff or the agent of the plaintiff deems necessary to obtain the services of an attorney at law.

(6) If both parties appear in court on the date contained in the summons, the court shall set the matter for trial as soon as practicable, unless the court is advised by the parties that the matter has been settled. The trial shall be scheduled no later than 15 days from the date of such appearance. If the matter is not tried within the 15-day period, and the delay in trial is not attributable to the landlord, the court shall order the defendant to pay rent that is accruing into court, provided the court finds after hearing that entry of such an order is just and equitable.

(7)(a) The court shall permit an unrepresented defendant to proceed to trial by directing the defendant to file an answer in writing on a form which shall be available from the court clerk, and to serve a copy upon the plaintiff on the same day as first appearance.

(b) The answer shall be in substantially the following form:

______________________________________________________________________________

IN THE _________ COURT FOR

THE COUNTY OF ____________

)

Plaintiff(s), )

)

vs. ) No.___

)

)

Defendant(s). )

ANSWER

I (we) deny that the plaintiff(s) is (are) entitled to possession because:

__The landlord did not make repairs.

List any repair problems: ________

________________________

________________________

__The landlord is attempting to evict me (us) because of my (our) complaints (or the eviction is otherwise retaliatory).

__The landlord is attempting to evict me because of my status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

__The eviction notice is wrong.

__List any other defenses: _________

________________________

________________________

________________________

________________________

I (we) may be entitled as the prevailing party to recover attorney fees from plaintiff(s) if I (we) obtain legal services to defend this action pursuant to ORS 90.255.

I (we) ask that the plaintiff(s) not be awarded possession of the premises and that I (we) be awarded my (our) costs and disbursements and attorney fees, if applicable, or a prevailing party fee.

________ ______________

Date Signature of defendant(s)

______________________________________________________________________________

(8) If an unrepresented defendant files an answer as provided in subsection (7) of this section, the answer may not limit the defenses available to the defendant at trial under ORS chapter 90. If such a defendant seeks to assert at trial a defense not fairly raised by the answer, the plaintiff shall be entitled to a reasonable continuance for the purposes of preparing to meet the defense. [1975 c.256 §13; 1979 c.765 §5; 1979 c.854 §3; 1981 c.753 §12; 1989 c.506 §19; 1997 c.577 §34; 2005 c.391 §33; 2007 c.508 §14]