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Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

Yuji posted:

She has never received a citation for this.

That said, she did get a speeding ticket last year and the officer asked her whether the address on her license was current. She doesn't remember what she said, but the officer let it go. When this happened the address on her license was technically wrong: at that time she had moved out of her parent's house (the listed address on the license) and was living full time with a friend.

The above was the only incident having anything to do with the address on her license.

She should just go to the DMV and change her address. I'm assuming she got the summons that was sent to her parents' house in re: the ticket a year ago.

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Solomon Grundy
Feb 10, 2007

Born on a Monday

ODC posted:

but $175 is still a lot of money

$175 is not a lot of money. The filing fee for any lawsuit anywhere is likely more than that. Forget it and move on. The rest of the responses are law-school hypothetical nonsense.

hobbesmaster
Jan 28, 2008

Solomon Grundy posted:

$175 is not a lot of money. The filing fee for any lawsuit anywhere is likely more than that. Forget it and move on. The rest of the responses are law-school hypothetical nonsense.

The lesson I got out of stories of contracting like this is that you need to charge more so people take your seriously.

I mean, $175 is like an hour of billed work. More like 30 minutes for you lawyer types.

Wyatt
Jul 7, 2009

NOOOOOOOOOO.

Solomon Grundy posted:

$175 is not a lot of money. The filing fee for any lawsuit anywhere is likely more than that. Forget it and move on. The rest of the responses are law-school hypothetical nonsense.

This. Once you factor in the filing fees and the time you will spend fighting this, $175 hardly seems worth it. Next time, don't use a vendor service that allows take-backs.

TheBestDeception
Nov 28, 2007

Solomon Grundy posted:

$175 is not a lot of money. The filing fee for any lawsuit anywhere is likely more than that. Forget it and move on. The rest of the responses are law-school hypothetical nonsense.

Maybe, Mr. Solomon Grundy, ODC wants justice, even if said justice might come at a price to him. Isn't that worth fighting for?

BTW I could probably find a lawyer who would work for 33% of the recovery + fees.

Yuji
Feb 25, 2006
Only you can set you free

Incredulous Red posted:

She should just go to the DMV and change her address. I'm assuming she got the summons that was sent to her parents' house in re: the ticket a year ago.
I don't remember if she got anything in the mail from the speeding ticket. She just went to the court house the officer told her about and paid the fine.

Would the consensus be to just mail the Change of Address form with all the information and leave it at that?

Wyatt
Jul 7, 2009

NOOOOOOOOOO.

TheBestDeception posted:

Maybe, Mr. Solomon Grundy, ODC wants justice, even if said justice might come at a price to him. Isn't that worth fighting for?

But the OP's question was "Do I have any options that don't entail spending more money than the $175 I'm owed?" And unless the filing fees are uncommonly low in the court that would hear the case, the answer is "No."

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

Yuji posted:

I don't remember if she got anything in the mail from the speeding ticket. She just went to the court house the officer told her about and paid the fine.

Would the consensus be to just mail the Change of Address form with all the information and leave it at that?

Just mail the Change of Address form. Basically she'd only have gotten in trouble if she didn't respond to a summons (ticket) sent to her old address. They don't want to disincentivize you from keeping your correct address on file.

E: Or she could just DO IT ONLINE

Incredulous Red fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Feb 18, 2010

GamingHyena
Jul 25, 2003

Devil's Advocate

JudicialRestraints posted:

For laughs sake, could he get diversity on this?

Nope, he's about $74,826 short of diversity jurisdiction.

entris posted:

And even if she defends in Florida, and he wins, he still has to get his judgment lien attached to some of her assets. Although I guess if she shows up in person, the judge could make her write out a check or something. But who is stupid enough to fly down to Florida to defend a $175 suit?
The judge isn't going to force the defendant to write a check to the plaintiff at the conclusion of the trial (what if she wanted to appeal?) - the court isn't a collection agency. He'd have to send out post-judgment discovery to determine what non-exempt assets she had and then attempt to collect from them.*

*Not licensed in New Jersey or Florida, but that's what we'd have to do in my state.

TheBestDeception posted:

BTW I could probably find a lawyer who would work for 33% of the recovery + fees.

Hutz: Mr. Simpson, I was just going through your garbage, and I couldn't help overhearing that you need a babysitter. Of course, being a highly-skilled attorney, my fee is $175 an hour.
Homer: We pay eight dollars for the night, and you can take two popsicles out of the freezer.
Hutz: Three.
Homer: Two.
Hutz: OK, two. And I get to keep this old bird cage.
Homer: Done!
Hutz: [proudly] Still got it.

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

GamingHyena posted:

Hutz: Mr. Simpson, I was just going through your garbage, and I couldn't help overhearing that you need a babysitter. Of course, being a highly-skilled attorney, my fee is $175 an hour.
Homer: We pay eight dollars for the night, and you can take two popsicles out of the freezer.
Hutz: Three.
Homer: Two.
Hutz: OK, two. And I get to keep this old bird cage.
Homer: Done!
Hutz: [proudly] Still got it.

Ainsley. This is Ainsley.

Solomon Grundy
Feb 10, 2007

Born on a Monday

TheBestDeception posted:

Maybe, Mr. Solomon Grundy, ODC wants justice, even if said justice might come at a price to him. Isn't that worth fighting for?


No.

Nomex
Jul 17, 2002

Flame retarded.
I have a question about some of the medical Marijuana dispensary DEA raids that have been happening:

Attorney General Eric Holder stated that medical Marijuana dispensaries would no longer be raided as long as they were compliant with local laws. Over the past few weeks there's been several DEA raids in Colorado. As the AG said that raids would stop, if the dispensaries in question are found to be compliant with local laws, could the owners argue entrapment against the DEA?

Thanks.

JudicialRestraints
Oct 26, 2007

Are you a LAWYER? Because I'll have you know I got GOOD GRADES in LAW SCHOOL last semester. Don't even try to argue THE LAW with me.

Nomex posted:

I have a question about some of the medical Marijuana dispensary DEA raids that have been happening:

Attorney General Eric Holder stated that medical Marijuana dispensaries would no longer be raided as long as they were compliant with local laws. Over the past few weeks there's been several DEA raids in Colorado. As the AG said that raids would stop, if the dispensaries in question are found to be compliant with local laws, could the owners argue entrapment against the DEA?

Thanks.

No. Entrapment involves the police doing something to induce you to do something you otherwise would not do.

Mega Shark
Oct 4, 2004
Yeah, justice sounds nice and all. For me its more about financial feasibility. Will the amount I potentially collect be more than the amount spent attempting to collect it.

What I'm hearing is that the number isn't necessarily $175, but the fair market value of the work I performed. That number is probably closer to ~$1500.

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

ODC posted:

Yeah, justice sounds nice and all. For me its more about financial feasibility. Will the amount I potentially collect be more than the amount spent attempting to collect it.

What I'm hearing is that the number isn't necessarily $175, but the fair market value of the work I performed. That number is probably closer to ~$1500.

If you had a contract for $175, I wouldn't count on collecting $1500

JudicialRestraints
Oct 26, 2007

Are you a LAWYER? Because I'll have you know I got GOOD GRADES in LAW SCHOOL last semester. Don't even try to argue THE LAW with me.

Incredulous Red posted:

If you had a contract for $175, I wouldn't count on collecting $1500
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_meruit

E: although you will be able to recover for more, you will be required to prove the actual value of your work (this may get expensive). The defendant will enter into evidence the initial value of the contract as a counter to your claim of $1500, it will be up to the fact finder to determine the actual value.

JudicialRestraints fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Feb 18, 2010

Solomon Grundy
Feb 10, 2007

Born on a Monday

JudicialRestraints posted:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_meruit

E: although you will be able to recover for more, you will be required to prove the actual value of your work (this may get expensive). The defendant will enter into evidence the initial value of the contract as a counter to your claim of $1500, it will be up to the fact finder to determine the actual value.

In my state, if there is an express contract, all quasi-contract theories are barred, so don't get all excited about quantum meruit until you check local laws.

Solomon Grundy fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Feb 18, 2010

Schitzo
Mar 20, 2006

I can't hear it when you talk about John Druce
Perhaps the better question is why you were doing work for an 88% discount. Seems kind of silly to me.

JudicialRestraints
Oct 26, 2007

Are you a LAWYER? Because I'll have you know I got GOOD GRADES in LAW SCHOOL last semester. Don't even try to argue THE LAW with me.

Solomon Grundy posted:

In my state, if there is an express contract, all quasi-contract theories are barred, so don't get all excited about quantum meruit until you check local laws.

He should definitely check his local laws, Quantum Meruit in Wisconsin only comes into play with an express contract when the party that is getting discounted work breaks the contract.

Basically, it's worth looking into but I know nothing about the law in Florida.

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

JudicialRestraints posted:

He should definitely check his local laws, Quantum Meruit in Wisconsin only comes into play with an express contract when the party that is getting discounted work breaks the contract.

Basically, it's worth looking into but I know nothing about the law in Florida.

I just did some casual searching, it looks like an express agreement is a defense to a claim for quantum meruit in Florida.

Stupid Dick
May 25, 2004

I am designing a (basic) website for a local animal shelter. I would like to use some of their sponsors' logos to thank them for their support and link to each sponsors' site. Do I need written permission from each sponsor to do this, or since they already partner with the organization is it allowed without approval?

Also, the shelter is registered as a 501(c)3 exempt company, so they're legit. I just want to make sure I'm not subjecting them to any legal issues in the future.

Edit: the shelter is in Ohio (in case there are any state laws that apply).

Stupid Dick fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Feb 19, 2010

WhiskeyJuvenile
Feb 15, 2002

by Nyc_Tattoo
As a general rule with charitable organizations, making your donors happy is a good idea, so it doesn't hurt to get permission.

dawiyo
Jul 16, 2007
I own a small web design business and I'm starting to get some bigger name clients. Is it worth the money to hire someone to draft me a simple contract or will a canned one written for companies like mine work just fine?

entris
Oct 22, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post

dawiyo posted:

I own a small web design business and I'm starting to get some bigger name clients. Is it worth the money to hire someone to draft me a simple contract or will a canned one written for companies like mine work just fine?

Given how lovely the legal market is right now, lawyers are starving for work. I'm sure you could find a competent attorney for a reasonable fee, who could help you out with your contracts.

Solomon Grundy
Feb 10, 2007

Born on a Monday

entris posted:

Given how lovely the legal market is right now, lawyers are starving for work. I'm sure you could find a competent attorney for a reasonable fee, who could help you out with your contracts.

You could probably even find a lawyer to review your contract in exchange for web design services. What state are you in?

entris
Oct 22, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post

Solomon Grundy posted:

You could probably even find a lawyer to review your contract in exchange for web design services. What state are you in?

That's an excellent point.

Busy Bee
Jul 13, 2004
A good friend of mine is currently going through some legal trouble. Him and his attorney have finally come to a conclusion with the prosecutors on something they can agree with.

A deferred judgment with a condition of two months in jail. Even though he trusts his lawyer, he has some questions for me and wants a second opinion:

1) The DJ is supposed to be a one year period, where after that period is done and my friend has not been convicted of any crimes, his record is wiped clean. However, according to this site (http://criminal.lawyers.com/Criminal-Law--Procedure-FAQ.html) it says, "While the defendant is free to say he's never been convicted of a crime, the guilty plea could have possible future ramifications. For example, deferred judgments are counted in computing a defendant's criminal history score under the federal sentencing guidelines." What does that mean?

2) If someone does search his record within that year, what will show up? According to him, he says that on his record it will say that these felony charges will be pending, and upon completion of his jail time and a year of being clean, everything will be wiped clean. Is that the case?

3) What are the terms of traveling while you have a deferred judgment?

4) Within that one year period, and if my friend is filing an application where it asks him, "Have you ever been convicted of any crime," will he have to say Yes?

Thank you.

Vander
Aug 16, 2004

I am my own hero.

Busy Bee posted:

1) The DJ is supposed to be a one year period, where after that period is done and my friend has not been convicted of any crimes, his record is wiped clean. However, according to this site (http://criminal.lawyers.com/Criminal-Law--Procedure-FAQ.html) it says, "While the defendant is free to say he's never been convicted of a crime, the guilty plea could have possible future ramifications. For example, deferred judgments are counted in computing a defendant's criminal history score under the federal sentencing guidelines." What does that mean?

2) If someone does search his record within that year, what will show up? According to him, he says that on his record it will say that these felony charges will be pending, and upon completion of his jail time and a year of being clean, everything will be wiped clean. Is that the case?

3) What are the terms of traveling while you have a deferred judgment?

4) Within that one year period, and if my friend is filing an application where it asks him, "Have you ever been convicted of any crime," will he have to say Yes?

Thank you.

1) The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are a system that recommends an increase or decrease of a sentence for a federal crime based on many factors. Prior history is one of them. The CJ is apparently another.

2, 3 & 4) State law issue I think. Have him ask whoever has to supervise him about these.

1830
May 3, 2009
Hey law goons, was wondering if you could come and check this out in D & D about the goongress?
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3270653&pagenumber=1&perpage=40#post372909935

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

Solomon Grundy posted:

You could probably even find a lawyer to review your contract in exchange for web design services. What state are you in?
Pretty much every solo lawyer or small firm could use some decent web design work. Christ, they have some poo poo websites. I haven't designed anything since the early 2000s, and even then my designs were pretty dated and i could do poo poo better than what they have.
So yes, help them, you may even find a niche market, I hope.

MacGowans Teeth
Aug 13, 2003

How much do traffic attorneys cost these days? I saw in the AI thread that it was $50-150, but that post was from 2007, and in Texas.

I'm in Ohio, I have two other citations in the last 12 months, and a couple of weeks ago, I was driving to work in some snow/slush, lost control as I went down a hill, and ended up in a ditch. I didn't involve anyone else or anyone else's property, and it didn't look like there was much damage to my car, even, so I flagged down a car that came by right after, met them at the bottom of the hill, and borrowed their cell phone to call work and a tow truck. I had a coworker email my wife, because our phone line was down, but our internet wasn't. Since I didn't have a cell phone, and it was cold, I decided to try walking back towards home, mainly to keep warm. I left a note in my window saying where I'd gone. I ended up being offered a ride, met my wife, headed back to meet the tow truck, and a highway patrolman was there with the tow truck. He asked me if I was the driver (yes), and if I wanted a report (no), and why I didn't call 911, which threw me, since I didn't see my situation as an emergency, and wasn't sure if there was any real damage beyond losing my right-side mirror at that point. The highway patrolman stuck around and started taking pictures, so I asked him if he wanted a statement, gave it to him, and he cited me under ORC 4511.202 - failure to maintain reasonable control.

The thing is, I don't know what else I could have done. I had already gone some 10 miles with no problems, the roads were in relatively good shape, and I had seen evidence in the past that the hill I was approaching was always heavily treated, not to mention there was no snow or slush at the top - it was just wet. When I started down, I put my car in first gear so I wouldn't have to brake much, and this has worked on hills in the past. As far as I've read, this is everything you're supposed to do in the snow. Admittedly, though, I'm from California and I've only been in Ohio for about 3.5 years, and this is only the second winter I've needed to drive to any significant degree.

On the report I downloaded, I see that he asked me how fast I was going when I lost control, and I remember thinking about it, since I wasn't exactly looking at my speedometer at the time, and I said 20 mph, tops. But that was when I was already rolling down, and arguably I had already lost control at that point, if my guess was even accurate. Was that why he cited me? I just don't understand what "reasonable control" means in the context. From my point of view, I had exercised caution and done everything my limited experience and my reading had told me to do, and aside from just turning around and taking a different route - which I had no reason to think I should do - I don't know what else I could have done to prevent it. Can someone explain this to me? I don't even think it's fair that I should get cited for loving up my own car and damaging nothing else.

Loopyface
Mar 22, 2003

Sizzler Manager posted:

Can someone explain this to me? I don't even think it's fair that I should get cited for loving up my own car and damaging nothing else.

You didn't get a ticket for damaging your car, you got a ticket for running off the road. You were unable to control your car under the circumstances, and got a ticket for it.

Mega Shark
Oct 4, 2004

Schitzo posted:

Perhaps the better question is why you were doing work for an 88% discount. Seems kind of silly to me.

Her previous contract programmer had joined the military and got deployed. She was unable to contact him and had to start from scratch but only had $350 left in her budget. She also had five more contracts on standby. I told her I would could do the first one at that rate if she would renegotiate the rate on the other five.

Basically, I was taking a hit upfront because of the promise of more lucrative contracts immediately following the first. I made a gamble and lost.

Annakie
Apr 20, 2005

"It's pretty bad, isn't it? I know it's pretty bad. Ever since I can remember..."
Back in October I was involved in an auto accident that is indisputably the other guy's fault. Police cited him and not me, and when his insurance adjuster called me the first thing out of her mouth was "We've already accepted responsibility." My car was totaled and I've already gotten my settlement for that and bought a new car, so I don't need help with that, but I was hurt.

My shoulder got pretty messed up when I hit my airbag so for the last 3.5 months I've had to go to the doctor, go on pain meds / muscle relaxers, had a CAT scan done and just got done with a month of physical therapy, it's about at the point where it's as good as it's going to get. I also have what may be a permanent scar on my chest from the seatbelt.

I haven't consulted a lawyer yet because I've really been hoping that I can settle this whole thing without dragging it out, but I still want to make sure I get treated fairly now that it's time to start really dealing with insurance. I've kept good records on what I've spent, I have all my medical records available and followed all my doctor's advice to the letter. I've kept in touch with the adjuster and we seem to have gotten along fine this whole time.

Any general advice anyone can give me about what I need to do at this point? I've gone through a lot of pain and taken a lot of time out my life to deal with all this and I don't want to get rich off what happened to me, but what can I do at this point to make sure I'm compensated fairly? Even just pointing me in the right direction to other websites would help. Thanks! :)

entris
Oct 22, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post

Annakie posted:

Back in October I was involved in an auto accident that is indisputably the other guy's fault. Police cited him and not me, and when his insurance adjuster called me the first thing out of her mouth was "We've already accepted responsibility." My car was totaled and I've already gotten my settlement for that and bought a new car, so I don't need help with that, but I was hurt.

My shoulder got pretty messed up when I hit my airbag so for the last 3.5 months I've had to go to the doctor, go on pain meds / muscle relaxers, had a CAT scan done and just got done with a month of physical therapy, it's about at the point where it's as good as it's going to get. I also have what may be a permanent scar on my chest from the seatbelt.

I haven't consulted a lawyer yet because I've really been hoping that I can settle this whole thing without dragging it out, but I still want to make sure I get treated fairly now that it's time to start really dealing with insurance. I've kept good records on what I've spent, I have all my medical records available and followed all my doctor's advice to the letter. I've kept in touch with the adjuster and we seem to have gotten along fine this whole time.

Any general advice anyone can give me about what I need to do at this point? I've gone through a lot of pain and taken a lot of time out my life to deal with all this and I don't want to get rich off what happened to me, but what can I do at this point to make sure I'm compensated fairly? Even just pointing me in the right direction to other websites would help. Thanks! :)

When you accepted the settlement money for your car, did you have to sign any paperwork? I am specifically wondering whether you signed away your right to sue for additional compensation when you accepted that money? It sounds like you didn't agree to anything like that, but it's important to know.

Annakie
Apr 20, 2005

"It's pretty bad, isn't it? I know it's pretty bad. Ever since I can remember..."

entris posted:

When you accepted the settlement money for your car, did you have to sign any paperwork? I am specifically wondering whether you signed away your right to sue for additional compensation when you accepted that money? It sounds like you didn't agree to anything like that, but it's important to know.

I did do a quick read through of everything I signed, and I'm sure I didn't sign anything like that.

Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

Annakie posted:

Back in October I was involved in an auto accident that is indisputably the other guy's fault. Police cited him and not me, and when his insurance adjuster called me the first thing out of her mouth was "We've already accepted responsibility." My car was totaled and I've already gotten my settlement for that and bought a new car, so I don't need help with that, but I was hurt.

My shoulder got pretty messed up when I hit my airbag so for the last 3.5 months I've had to go to the doctor, go on pain meds / muscle relaxers, had a CAT scan done and just got done with a month of physical therapy, it's about at the point where it's as good as it's going to get. I also have what may be a permanent scar on my chest from the seatbelt.

I haven't consulted a lawyer yet because I've really been hoping that I can settle this whole thing without dragging it out, but I still want to make sure I get treated fairly now that it's time to start really dealing with insurance. I've kept good records on what I've spent, I have all my medical records available and followed all my doctor's advice to the letter. I've kept in touch with the adjuster and we seem to have gotten along fine this whole time.

Any general advice anyone can give me about what I need to do at this point? I've gone through a lot of pain and taken a lot of time out my life to deal with all this and I don't want to get rich off what happened to me, but what can I do at this point to make sure I'm compensated fairly? Even just pointing me in the right direction to other websites would help. Thanks! :)

Talk to a lawyer. It might actually expedite the process for you.

entris
Oct 22, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post
I think that I will second Incredulous Red here. I think that you could negotiate a settlement for your medical injuries without an attorney, but there are many ways for you to screw it up. The insurance people have more experience negotiating these things than you, and they will try to slant the deal in their favor. You need to make sure that the settlement covers all of your past medical costs, and also appropriately deals with the risk of future costs.

I think your best bet is to get an experienced attorney to do this work for you. I'm mainly concerned about the possibility of future costs - you don't want to accept a certain sum now and then find out that your settlement doesn't cover some unforeseen complication. I think a lawyer is probably better at planning for this risk than you will be. You may want to ask your doctors about the probability of future complications. If it's anything above 20% probability, you want a lawyer. If they tell you that "Oh everything is fixed, you won't experience any complications" then maybe you don't need a lawyer. (Doctors never say this, of course, because medicine is never this certain about anything.)

Edit: In essence, I am suggesting that you pay a little now for more security later, if an unforeseen complication should arise.

entris fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Feb 23, 2010

Annakie
Apr 20, 2005

"It's pretty bad, isn't it? I know it's pretty bad. Ever since I can remember..."
You are both right, thanks. :) I went ahead and contacted the local bar association and got a referral. $20 for a consultation is well worth my peace of mind.

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Incredulous Red
Mar 25, 2008

Annakie posted:

You are both right, thanks. :) I went ahead and contacted the local bar association and got a referral. $20 for a consultation is well worth my peace of mind.

They're charging you for a consult?

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