A trial judge who has granted leave to re-open a party's case cannot rescind that leave and proceed to judgment merely because the party requests a short adjournment, without first giving proper notice of the proposed course and an opportunity to be heard. Where a court has indicated costs will be reserved, it cannot determine costs in a party's absence without notice. Submissions by self-represented litigants that raise irrelevant or misconceived matters alongside legitimate procedural requests do not justify refusing to hear the litigant further on the merits.
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