Legal Questions: do not communicate with the demon at all except through your genie

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Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

joat mon posted:

1. Have one of the attorneys in your firm send her a demand letter for you.
2. Roll the small claims dice

IANAL, but is there any reason--if the poster didn't want to bug a lawyer at their firm--not to send a small claims demand letter? You know, get the paperwork, fill it out, and just send a letter that says "if you don't pay me X amount due to me by Y date, I'm filing the attached suit?"

# ¿ Apr 16, 2013 16:54

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# ¿ Apr 20, 2024 03:09

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Dogen posted:

So I don't know about TN specifically, but yes I have seen someone else represent themselves in this kind of situation (actually the car was towed) and get out of it by taking pictures showing the lack of proper signage.

It is entirely possible to get out of a parking ticket this way. It is also entirely possible that the judge will tell you to gently caress off and pay the ticket in spite of whatever evidence you produce. It's kind of a crapshoot, but if you've got the time and resources, probably worth it.

# ¿ May 29, 2013 17:22

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

You might want to contact the State Attorney General's Office, too, and/or the City/County Attorney for Los Angeles.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2013 06:49

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Windfall posted:

Woah, those sound pretty serious, and that reminds me of suggestions I've seen that the DA prosecutes cheating landlords in some jurisdictions as well. I'm not familiar with any of these offices, nor the state BAR referral office for that matter. What's the difference / what are they each likely to do for my roommates and I? This sounds really promising, I didn't think there were really tenant advocates since more money is in landlord vs. bank stuff.

They don't just enforce criminal law, they also enforce regulations. Is there a Los Angeles Housing Authority or something similar charged with dealing with things like this you could also contact?

It's certainly not any sort of magic bullet, but is probably worth at least looking into.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2013 17:46

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Venetir posted:

Hey everyone! I have a question about presenting evidence in small claims court. I'm suing my ex-landlord over a whole slew of things. A great deal of evidence supporting my case is in the form of e-mails between the landlord and myself. I'm suing over a number of things we discussed, and due to the incoherent nature of my landlord, conversations about various things appear in replies to several different e-mails. For example, he was to replace some electronics damaged due to his negligence and he responds to this first in the e-mail about those electronics and again in another e-mail about sewage backing up into my apartment. Anyone reading the e-mails would have to read both for it to make any sense and we have a TON of e-mail. How should I present all of this so the judge's head doesn't explode? Should I compile the pertinent parts of each e-mail conversation into a document related to each separate point over which I'm suing him? If I do, should I provide another copy of the e-mails in their original, somewhat incoherent format?

I also received some text messages from the landlord I'd like to use as evidence. I have them backed up to my g-mail account. How exactly should that be presented?

Lastly, the paperwork we have here in good ole Idaho doesn't really provide a way to give a detailed description of the nature of our grievance. I know that's the point of the court hearing; however, should I also write up a short summary of what I'm suing for, what makes me feel justified in doing so, and references as to which parts of the evidence back up each point?

Thanks in advance! I had to ask some questions awhile back and your advice was invaluable.

Not a lawyer, but I organize poo poo for lawyers, and here is how I would do this (it's labor-intensive, but is probably your best bet for an organized presentation):

Take a binder and a bunch of tabs. Take all of the emails, and label them (in chronological order). Now, depending on how many emails there are, you can either tab them individually to make them really easy to reference, or put together a table of contents that tells you what page each email starts on and have that be one tab. Then, for each issue do what you're talking about where you compile all pertinent portions of each conversation, and tag each pertinent portion to the appropriate email.

I would do the same thing with text messages.

Like I said, labor-intensive (especially if you tab every email), but you're going to be able to illustrate exactly what you're talking about. Out of curiousity, when you say "a TON of email," do you mean, like, fifty, or, like, five hundred?

There's a very good possibility I'm going to be filing suit against my old landlord next week, so I've actually been thinking about how to present the same thing (though I only have about twenty emails).

# ¿ Jun 11, 2013 19:02

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Venetir posted:

It's 23 separate subject lines with 10-15 responses apiece, so I'm sitting on a little over 300 e-mails to organize on top of all the other physical paperwork.

Hmmmm... In that case, it might be easiest to tab each separate subject line as a separate section. Try to skip any you don't think are applicable, try not to print quoted text so you don't have the same paragraph in twenty different emails. For reference, I would use the tab and page number. So, say you have a subject line "Electronics," and you put that conversation behind tab "A," and another subject line "Plumbing" and you put that behind tab "B." If you're talking about a stereo in both, you can quote the relevant passages, and refer to them as "B-15" (page 15 of section B) or "A-6" or whatever. If you can get them all converted to PDF, you can use something like the Merge and Footer tools in PDFill Free in order to get them sectioned off and add page numbers. That's gonna be a pain in the rear end, though.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2013 21:55

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

blarzgh posted:

Organize each item into individual "Exhibits". Make at least two copies of each. Go to office depot and buy a set of "Exhibit Stickers" that you can apply to each item as you hand them to the court.

Organize them in your binder or whatever however works best for your presentation.

When you want to show one to the court, you say the following:

1) "Here is (an email/text message/lease) that says (what it says). "I would like to offer this as Exhibit ____"
a) If no objections, hand it to the Judge and give a copy to the defendant.
b) If defendant says "I've never seen that before, its a fake!", then proceed to 2)
2) "I recognize this and I have personal knowledge of its contents."
3) "I recognize this as a true and correct copy of the original."
4) "I would like to offer this as Exhibit ____"

one by one, and in whatever format that shows the sender, recipient, text of the message, and date/time stamp. same thing for any reply emails you may have sent. If you need to edit, cut, paste, or manipulate the document to make it easier for the judge to read and understand, then feel free so long as the contents of the communications remain unaltered. If there is an issue as to the form of the communication, the onus is on the defendant to object to it. JP courts have wide discretion, generally, and if you garner favor with the judge, you should get the court to accept all the evidence you need.

As a final piece of advice, try to weed out anything that is totally irrelevant or unnecessary. If you start wasting a judge's time with "and heres an email where he called me a butt-head", you're going to try the court's patience. Remember that you are in a room full of humans, with human emotions and human attention spans.

At least in the small claims courts worked in in California (and according to the guide for the local ones here in Seattle) there's no formal exhibit-marking process. Check your local rules, but it's mostly just "I think he owes me $X for a stereo. Here's a receipt, and the relevant excerpts of the email conversations we had that explain why." If there's no information on the website for the local small claims court, ask the small claims clerk (or other relevant court employee) what the process is, exactly.

blarzgh posted:

P.S. there is no way you need 300 emails to prove your case. I honestly can't give you any advice on how to trim the fat, because you don't want to leave out the one email you need, but if you try to present that many emails to a freaking JP judge you're in trouble. I don't know what to tell you. Ask an attorney in your jurisdiction.

I would excerpt them (i.e. copypasta the relevant portions into another document) but have the actual email ready in case the opposition tries to claim "I never said that!" or something similar. This is why having them sorted into binders will help; it's so you can pull out the exact email you need in a timely fashion. But yeah, if you can cut down on the amount of paper you're carrying in with you by eliminating the extraneous stuff, that's for the best.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2013 22:52

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Kalman posted:

A will.

You can talk to a tax lawyer in California, but this is almost certainly your best bet.

From what I understand, property tax in California is basically locked in at the purchase price of the home... until you transfer ownership. Which would mean that you would get hit with a higher property tax once they transferred it to you (there may be a way around this, but I don't know). Additionally, while there is a gift tax limit of $26k a year, the limit in an estate is millions, so unless you're going to be inheriting considerably more than just the house, you won't have to worry about the estate taxes.

# ¿ Jun 12, 2013 08:56

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Subjunctivitis posted:

Hello, all.

I have a thread running in the BFC subsection about a situation I am in. You can find it here: Unpaid invoices! Freelance FTW and breaking working relationships

The rundown:

I recently (Wed June 05) terminated an "internship" with a former client of mine. This client is now a former client because when I quit our "internship," he was upset and decided he wished to no longer make use of the services which I provided and was getting paid for (a photo assistant).

When I terminated the "internship," I received a check from him for an invoice which was due on June 06. I then returned a piece of equipment I was borrowing from him on June 07, when he gave me a check for the expenses I paid for his business out of my own pocket (camera cleaning, rental equipment, lunch, etc.).

On Monday, June 10, he requested a refund from the bank for the checks had written me, which I had deposited on June 07, and which had cleared over the weekend. I now have bank fees for a returned check as well as overdraft fees for this transaction. I intend to charge him for those fees, as well. There are also 4 additional invoices I have with him that are due July 01.

I asked him about this transaction, and if he knew anything about it, to which he responded that he would like to talk at a later date, stating that yesterday June 11 or this morning June 12, would be best so he "could get all his info together."

I find that phrase to be suspicious.

I put the term "internship" in quotations, because, per some responses in my thread, the nature and validity of that internship is in question.

During the internship he was training me on how to edit/retouch wedding photos and I was doing work on projects which still needed to be delivered to his clients. Obviously, given the way things typically work these days, "internship" also means "unpaid." When I quit the "internship," he was upset, because he said that I was bound, by some part agreement we had, to carry out the internship to its full extent. I understood the nature of the internship to be probationary, i.e.,that should I not be performing to his standards, that he could terminate the process. But if it works that way, then it works the other and he cannot indenture me to an indefinite amount of time and effort to do his work for him for free. None of this was written down, which is why there was a conflict upon my termination of the internship.

One of the reasons I quit the "internship" was because the extent of the "internship" was unclear to me -- what the timeline was or how many projects I would complete for him. Another reason I quit the internship was because I was doing his job for him without pay. And lastly, I quit the internship because, frankly, I am not very interested in weddings, wedding photography, and the fact that working with him in this structure was tedious and time-consuming (to the point where I would take time off or work shorter shifts at my regular place of employment). Also, I was not receiving any college credit for this internship since I have been out of school for a number of years.

I feel like he has asked for a refund for the checks from the bank on the basis of him retaliating against me for quitting the internship and wants to get something out of me, which I have yet to discover.

A more complete story of my situation is in that thread, and if anyone has any insight into this or further questions of the matter, please let me know in that thread.

-----------

A few more notes:

I am on my way out the door to my job right now, and will be calling the Department of Labor for clarification on the nature of internships when I get back home this afternoon.

I have contacted a couple friends of mine to poll them for their basic interpretation of the situation (one is in Seattle, one is in Los Angeles) and they both believe his stance to be, for lack of a better term, bullshit.

He left me a voicemail last night telling me that he wants to speak with me over the phone and then work out an agreement in writing, that he "has spoken with his attorney," and that he thinks it would be best if I comply with him, but implied that he would resort to legal measures if need be. I am aware that photographers often posture and flex when they feel threatened (sending strongly-worded e-mails and threatening legal action, but usually in the case of potential copyright violation), and I think that is exactly what he is doing right now (as do my lawyer friends). I, however, am not (though, I have not yet informed him of this, in the hopes of resolving this matter ourselves). If it does come to that point, I will take legal steps to the fullest extent I can. I have enough time to take out of my schedule to do that, and I know his business can't afford it.

IANAL, but I wouldn't speak with him over the phone. All communication should be via email, so you've got a written record of everything said from here on out. If you've got a way to do it, I would save that voicemail, too.

What city/state are you located in?

Ham Equity fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Jun 12, 2013

# ¿ Jun 12, 2013 19:28

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

blarzgh posted:

A statement, made outside the courtroom, offered in court, to prove the truth of the matter asserted.

unless it falls under one of the bajillion exceptions, or the evidence is offered without objection.

This is the weird thing about this one, because it's possible to offer up literally the same statement two different ways, one of which is hearsay and one is not.

Witness: Larry killed Daryl.
Attorney: And how do you know Larry killed Daryl?
Witness: Because he told him "I'm going to kill you!"

is hearsay.

Witness: Larry killed Daryl.
Attorney: And what makes you think that?
Witness: Because Larry was very angry with Daryl right before he was murdered.
Attorney: And how do you know that?
Witness: Because he told him "I'm going to kill you!"

is not hearsay, because it's offered to illustrate the state of mind of the defendant.

The one I've never understood is last words falling under "excited utterance." I mean, if I knew I was gonna die, and could gently caress over some people I didn't like, I'd say all sorts of poo poo about them just to get it entered into the court record.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2013 07:16

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Devor posted:

That's a good point - if you give two weeks' notice, and as a result you are fired (obviously without any subsequent pay for the 2 weeks), it seems like you would be eligible.

I wonder if calling your old HR department to confirm that you're not being paid and mentioning filing for unemployment would light a fire for them to pay those 2 weeks, to keep their rates from going up.

Although for professionals, where they know you'll be working again shortly and probably not filing for unemployment for that small gap, they probably think they're not taking much risk.

I don't know about other states, but Washington has a one-month "gap" between when you become unemployed and when you're allowed to start collecting unemployment.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2013 20:15

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Jastiger posted:

Oh boy I get to put this one in front of the Law Goons. I'm lighthearted about this now because I don't think they have a case, but wanted to put this in front of a lot of other peoples' eyes to see if I should be lighthearted.

So in April 2011 in the state of Iowa, I was involved in a car accident, if you want to call it that. Exiting the highway onto a busy road was where this occurred. The off ramp has 3 lanes and a stop light, the center one you can turn right OR left from onto the busy road. The light was red, I was 3rd in line in the center lane set to turn right. In front of me is a car, and 1st in line is a van. The light turns green and the van moves into the intersection to turn left, then SLAMS on the brakes to turn right in the middle of the intersection. The car in front of me slams on his brakes, I slam on mine and *bump* I hit his car. His car then bumps into her car. This is all at about 7 Mph or so.

The guy looked back and waved me off. It was my "fault" since I was the rear vehicle, but he wasn't worried about it. Then the lady in the van gets out and we both decide we should pull off and exchange information. We do so, laughs were had, and the lady was cool about it. She said she "wasn't worried about it, but should just do what we ought to do", and it would "set a good example for her kids" of which she had two in the vehicle. The damage to my car and the guys car was a scuff, and the van had no real visible damage. No big deal, no worries. The guy later tells me after she leaves that he wasn't going to file anything since it was her "fault" anyways and there was no damage to any vehicles. His words, not mine.

I do find out later that she filed a claim with the insurance company for some unspecified amount, I figured maybe to buff out any scuffs we didn't see.

Fast forward to today, and I received a summons that she is suing me and my insurance company to the tune of $75,000. Included in the summons is a claim of medical bills, pain and suffering, and the like. There is a mention that another vehicle is involved, but it's all about how evil Jastiger hit her car wrecklessly and the like. I would expect this in any kind of summons, but its really throwing me for a loop.

I get ahold of my insurance company, Progressive, and they are all about helping me out. The legal lady there assures me that there is no worries, they have no case, and that $75,000 is ridiculous. She offered $600 per person in the car and they turned it down, pressing for a jury trial. I asked about the guy in the car and she said he had no interest in filing anything because there was no damage to anyone or anything. He is filing no case.

I do have insurance and she said I'm covered here, but if the damages exceed my insurance limit, do I have reason to be worried? To me this seems like a silly cash grab from a lady that wants to take me for a ride. Does the fact that the guy isn't also citing anything a point for or against my chances of defense here? Could I be called back to Iowa for this case or is it completely out of my hands and in the insurance company's?

IANAL, but here is what typically happens in a case like this:

Progressive has a "duty to defend" you. They are going to hire a law firm to represent you (not them, but you). That law firm will work extensively with the insurance company. They're going to request things like photos of the damage, medical records, etc. Any damages the lady receives above your policy limits can be recovered from you, though the lawyers will do their best to keep it within the policy limits (are your policy limits $75,000 or less? If so, you almost certainly have nothing to worry about, but talk to your lawyers to make sure).

While I cannot guarantee you won't be called to testify or lose any money, given that you had a car between you and her with no damage and no injuries, it's pretty unlikely. $600 per occupant is basically a "this is cheaper than paying the lawyers" fee. And since liability isn't an issue (i.e. the "accident" was your fault), there's probably not much of a reason to call you to testify at trial; they may depose you, and will almost certainly take a recorded statement (if they haven't already).

So, did this summons and complaint come from her, personally, or did it come from a law firm representing her? If what you've said is accurate and complete, it's unlikely she would be able to get a law firm to represent her unless they were super-shady, or she lied to them. Have you talked to the lawyers the insurance company retained yet? Or was this something you, like, just got in the mail?

# ¿ Jun 18, 2013 21:42

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

blarzgh posted:

3) Your insurance company has a duty to Defend and Indemnify you. If you ever have to testify, or be deposed (i assume they're called depositions everywhere), then yea, you'll probably have to drive back to IA.

At least in Washington, we are big fans of video depositions for deposing out-of-state witnesses. You'd have to drive to a room with a laptop, Skype, and a court reporter, but if you ask, your insurance-hired attorneys should be able to arrange it with opposing counsel, save you the cross-state drive.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2013 21:48

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

So, does anyone have any experience with small claims court in Seattle?

I'm suing my landlord. I've got most of the legal poo poo covered, just two questions:

1) Dress code. I know it's a little more casual than regular court; I'm not wearing a suit. Is a button-down short-sleeve plaid shirt okay, or do I need something solid with a tie?

2) According to the RCW I'm suing under, I can recover expenses. Do I include expenses in the amount I'm suing for, or is that awarded additionally? Further, if I'm awarded expenses, does that count towards the award amount for the purposes of appeal (I'm suing for $4 less than the minimum for the case to be appealable, so it matters)?

# ¿ Jun 18, 2013 22:09

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

I'm referring to court costs; I'm actually just suing for my double my deposit back. I'll put those in along with it, then.

As for the suit, I don't own one, and am unlikely to get back the amount one would cost in the suit, so I'm disinclined to buy one just for this.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2013 22:22

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Jastiger posted:

I had JUST gotten it in the mail, but was kind of aware of it before hand. The legal lady at Progressive had told me that I MIGHT be getting a summons back in like May or late April, and sure enough here it is. She says it is something to do with chiropractic bills or some such. One person they were filing for like $1200, the other was like $10,000 and the last person was for like $65,000.

I just faxed off a copy of the summons a few minutes, ago so no lawyer retained yet. Should I be expecting a phone call from the lawyer they hire, or is it all on me to get in touch with them?

The summons DID have a lawyer's name on it. I'm not sure if its a group or not, but its been two years if that means anything as far as retention goes.

They will hire a lawyer, and that lawyer will get in touch with you. And it does not surprise me in the least that that is all chiropractic bills; chiropractic is mostly a form of semi-legalized fraud. You can count on the fact that the lawyers Progressive will get are experienced in dealing with exactly this sort of case. It's way more common than you'd hope (and one of the reasons auto insurance is so expensive).

Odds are this is going to take a long-rear end time to get sorted (like, expect at least several months, and possibly upwards of two years), so don't get impatient. They have to request (or subpoena, if the plaintiff is uncooperative) medical records, review them, probably get a doctor to look at the plaintiffs for an Independent Medical Examination, arrange for and hold depositions, reschedule said depositions when the plaintiffs inevitably don't show up for them, etc. And there will sometimes be weeks or months when nothing happens at all.

The upside is that like most everyone else is saying, your involvement will probably be minimal. You will talk to the lawyers at least once, and they'll give you a better idea of what to expect than most of us can (since we don't work in Iowa), but you really won't need to do much. This is why you have insurance, and why your insurance has lawyers they favor.

Ham Equity fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Jun 18, 2013

# ¿ Jun 18, 2013 22:31

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

blarzgh posted:

"The party who files a claim or counterclaim cannot appeal unless the amount claimed exceeds $1,000. No party may appeal a judgment where the amount claimed is less than $250."

http://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/DistrictCourt/SmallClaims.aspx

If your security deposit was only $125.00, you must be doing this just for fun. If your question is in regards to the $1,000.00 limit, that means you can only appeal if you sued for more than $1,000.00, and lost.

Good catch, I totally misread that, thought it was $1000 for either party to appeal (the portion of my deposit that they're withholding is $498). Thank you.

Ham Equity fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Jun 18, 2013

# ¿ Jun 18, 2013 22:40

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

blarzgh posted:

Over here, in JP court and Small Claims court, a suit almost works against you. The judges aren't licensed attorneys, the claimed amounts cannot exceed $5-$10K in varying jurisdictions, and quite frankly people who do show up in suits are looked at as "uppity", as we like to say here in the south.

I've been to JP court in 7 different counties, and I have never seen someone (besides myself) in a full suit.

Yeah, this is why I'm kind of torn on the dress code issue. On the one hand, the small claims judges in Seattle are all attorneys. On the flip side, the culture out here is substantially more relaxed than the culture on the East Coast or Midwest, and I don't want to overdo it, come off like an rear end in a top hat.

Also, I'm lazy, so if I can get away with the button-down plaid I usually wear to work, that would be great.

At this point, though, I'm leaning towards dockers, button-down long-sleeve shirt, tie, dress-y shoes.

Ham Equity fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Jun 18, 2013

# ¿ Jun 18, 2013 22:47

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Bro Enlai posted:

"Dumb down" the suit by wearing a tie with naked ladies on it

Hmmmm... you think naked ladies over piano tie, or video game tie?

# ¿ Jun 18, 2013 23:01

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

HUGE SPACEKABLOOIE posted:

Hello thread. I've got a question in regards to CA and medical marijuana. I was not aware of this but apparently it is a crime for MMJ patient A to sell to MMJ patient B. I was informed that the seller had to be a licensed supplier, so my question is what sort of a crime is this? Infraction, Misdemeanor? I can't imagine it's a felony. What is the range of punishment one might expect, my guess would be a fine of some sort?

Lets say hypothetically over the course of the dealings of these two patients the supplier opts to take the money and run, and in the process runs over the foot of the buyer with his car. Would it be worth filing a report given the fact that one would have to incriminate oneself in order to file the report? More or less what is the cost/benefit in this scenario that didn't at all actually happen because it would be really stupid?

You should not just be talking to an attorney about this, but to a local attorney about it, because the practices for this sort of thing vary widely from county to county.

What would happen to you for reporting this in Orange County is going to be entirely different from what would happen to you for reporting it in Mendocino County.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2013 09:35

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

AcidRonin posted:

So I recently decided to rent a house and the listing said it had gas heat/water heater you know the deal. I sighed the lease not really looking into the truth and when I went to call the gas company they never had a hookup, and when i called the women she said oh no it doesn�t have gas it�s all electric. Now it's a really nice house and i still plan on renting it as i don�t really care but when i retold this (i thought at the time) humorous anecdote at the bar the other night a bunch of my friends said that was super illegal and how dare she and i should do something about it blah blah blah. So SHOULD i actually do something about this or just not worry about it since it TO ME doesn�t seem like that big of an issue? I am in Hampton VA USA.

I would only pitch a fit about it if you feel like the place isn't a good deal without the gas heat/water.

Recognize that that is going to mean a significantly higher utility bill.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2013 19:29

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

RapturesoftheDeep posted:

For anyone who's tracking my anti-Comcast jihad, it seems like my legal mumbo-jumbo actually got them to pay UPS to pick it up from me! If anyone is looking for a fake lawyer who specializes in cable boxes, I may just be hanging out a shingle.

Also, the only other option for ISPs around here is Verizon, and my housemate hates them way worse than I hate Comcast, so it looks like I'm stuck.

Wait, regular Verizon, or Verizon FIOS?

If it's Verizon FIOS, find yourself a new roommate and sign yourself up for an amazing fat pipe.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2013 01:21

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

baquerd posted:

Why don't high schools offer basic education in law? It seems that grasping the basics wouldn't take up any more time than geometry and trigonometry which are much less useful for most people.

Because the first thing any minimally competent course in legal basics is going to tell you is "don't loving talk to the cops."

And for some reason, people don't think it's a good idea to tell that to kids.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2013 06:29

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

jassi007 posted:

IANAL. Tell them they aren't yours. Throw them away if it makes your HOA happy. If they don't believe you, paying the fine is probably going to be the simplest course of action unless its stupid money. If they won't do the nice thing and believe you, if its under $100 I'd pay it to make the problem go away.

IANAL, however, while this would solve the short-term issue, given that you presumably have to continue living in your house under the auspices of this HOA, it seems like a bad idea long-term to establish a precedent of being willing to take the blame/responsibility for other peoples' messes in common areas.

# ¿ Jul 22, 2013 16:47

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

blarzgh posted:

In my experience, failure to give two weeks notice forfeits your right to the last two weeks of pay, as a breach of the terms of the contract. Yours may say something different, or be silent on that specific point, but that's what I would expect the employer to say in its own defense.

IANAL, but that sounds like crazy talk. You are entitled to your pay for the time you worked, pretty much always. At least in the U.S. Two weeks' notice is generally a courtesy, not a requirement.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2013 08:59

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

IANAL, and IANA accountant, but is there really something that makes you think your mom would be like "gently caress you, deceased son, I'm not giving your fish to someone who knows how to take care of them!?"

I mean, the federal gift tax exemption is $14,000; how many of these fish do you have?

Is there any reason you can't just tell your mom and your bro who takes care of/gets the fish if something happens to you?

# ¿ Jul 24, 2013 02:54

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Arcturas posted:

Yes, if it's very simple and he speaks english.

Complicating things (like writing people out of a will, and setting up authority to make medical decisions, though to be honest, these aren't terribly complicated), and requesting an interpreter make things more expensive.

Really your grandfather needs two separate documents. One is a will that leaves everything to your father, and the second is a living will and/or medical power of attorney and/or advanced directive for medical decision. The will shouldn't be that expensive, the second could be.

But language is kinda a problem.

The issue here--especially with probate documents--is that it's necessary to dot your Is and cross your Ts. They're very easy to challenge in court and drag poo poo out if there's even a small question of impropriety. While for most people, a notarized will would be fine, that really doesn't help if someone else has to read it to your grandfather. So, likely the most expensive part of this is a court-certified interpreter, who can notarize the documents that your grandfather signs. Finding a guy who can speak Sicilian can't be easy, unless you're in, like, NYC.

The medical proxy/living will/etc. forms are difficult enough to get enforced when everything is in English; they're frequently ignored by hospitals, especially things like DNR orders.

If there's likely to be a fight over poo poo, you need to make sure everything is done absolutely 100% correctly. LegalZoom ain't gonna do it.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2013 02:56

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

dos4gw posted:

Not a New York lawyer but:

(1) There's may well be a provision for this in your employment contract in which case, yes it probably is legal.

(2) Just don't be late for loving work! You can get angry about how they are 'stealing' your 14 minutes and 59 seconds or you could just acknowledge what time you need to leave to get there on time and make sure you leave by then.

If they want him there on time every day, are they going to pay him for the time he wastes showing up early? No? Then they can loving suck it up.

EDIT: Totally quoted the wrong post, originally.

Ham Equity fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Jul 31, 2013

# ¿ Jul 31, 2013 19:31

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Guy Axlerod posted:

That makes it sound like your company is in the wrong.

But this is incredibly vague.

Seems pretty clear:

quote:

�Rounding� practices. It has been found that in some industries, particularly where time clocks are used, there has been the practice for many years of recording the employees' starting time and stopping time to the nearest 5 minutes, or to the nearest one-tenth or quarter of an hour. Presumably, this arrangement averages out so that the employees are fully compensated for all the time they actually work. For enforcement purposes this practice of computing working time will be accepted, provided that it is used in such a manner that it will not result, over a period of time, in failure to compensate the employees properly for all the time they have actually worked.

Always rounding down would fail to compensate them for all the time they have actually worked. IANAL, but that seems like more of a mathematical truth.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2013 22:20

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

It wouldn't surprise me if this is more common than you think in the People's Republic of Cali.

They are, after all, the state that coined the term "Palimony."

# ¿ Aug 15, 2013 19:13

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Bojanglesworth posted:

Since the subject of security deposits came up I may as well ask a question.

I rented a house for three years with my (at the time) wife, we paid our security deposit of $1,500 (Equal to one months rent) and all was well, when we got separated it got pretty difficult for me to pay my rent and I was constantly behind about a month. Eventually I threw in the towel and let him know that I would be moving out. I kept the house in perfect shape throughout the entire time I lived there. He posted the house up for rent the same day that I told him I was going to be moving out and was trying to show it to people while I Was literally in the process of moving my poo poo out of there. Since I was behind a month on my rent I assumed that he would just keep my deposit to make up for it, since there were no repairs to be done to the house.

Recently my ex told me that he has contacted her "looking for me," which may very well be a lie because she is that type of person who would want to just make me nervous or whatever. I moved out in November and emailed and called him for a couple of months and never heard back. At this point, nearly eight months later, is there anything that he can do really or am I in the clear?

What you're looking for is the statute of limitations on landlord/tenant cases for where you live, if you want to know if he could technically sue you.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2013 17:16

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

joat mon posted:

Call the correct court and find out what happened; tell them what happened.
Get a lawyer.
You should have spoken with a lawyer like 30 days ago when you got the summons.
Get a lawyer to vacate the default judgement. (if that's what happened)
NOW. The faster you act to correct this, the better your chances.
Get a lawyer.

This really depends on what the summons was for. Are we talking small claims court, speeding ticket, or, like, full-fledged lawsuit?

# ¿ Aug 20, 2013 17:51

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

egoslicer posted:

In the state of Tennessee, I was employed as an IT Director of my former employer. I left the job when I found a better position. My former employer is now saying I read an email in which they discussed my performance while I was employed and is suing me for unauthorized access. During the course of my job, I was also the person who setup the exchange server and its administrator. I have hired a lawyer and the outlook is good on my end, however I still am a bit worried. I am unable to find anything similar on Google, to see how such a thing would go. Thoughts?

I should add, that the alleged unauthorized access was while I was an employee there, acting in the capacity as an email server admin and IT Director.

IANAL. Your lawyer is going to know all of the pertinent details regarding your case in particular.

It does seem, however, that arguing that your email server admin isn't authorized to access email is a bit of an uphill battle. You should always be on top of poo poo like this, and the biggest thing is to do everything your lawyer tells you to do. If you're doing everything your lawyer tells you to do, there's not really anything else you can control, so really the best thing you can do is to stop worrying about the poo poo you can't control, and otherwise go about your life normally.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2013 17:56

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

I know in the case of Seattle courts, they have a walkthrough for collecting on a judgment on their website. Check your state/locality's website, maybe?

And if it's not there, like Arcturas said, there is probably someone at the small claims clerk's or sheriff's office who can walk you through it.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2013 18:52

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

front wing flexing posted:

Hey guys,

If someone dies and they have a will from 2006 but in 2010 they had a child, is the child entitled to any of the estate?

The child is not by the deceased person's legal spouse if that makes any difference.

Thanks

The technical term for this is "huge clusterfuck."

Talk to a probate lawyer.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2013 18:26

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Tychtrip posted:

UK goon here, I quit my previous job in February this year, and they mailed me in May saying I owe them �568 or something for holiday pay I supposedly took without being entitled to, which isn't something you can really do in that job. The staffing manager tells you whether you have enough holiday days left and then grants or denies them, and they were accepted. I handed a 4-week notice in when I was quitting, stating to my district manager in the letter to calculate any holidays I may owe them or they may owe me for my last pay check and this was all OK'd at the time. My notice went through fine and I left at the end of the 4 weeks.

I basically ignored the letter (I'm guessing that was stupid now) because I don't believe I owe them money, and today I've received a letter from a debt collecting agency requesting the money by the 10th September. Am I best just calling them and requesting evidence that I actually owe them the money? I honestly don't believe I do, I only ever took holidays I knew I had left. I'm just assuming this is the best course because if it turns out I do owe it then I'll gladly pay it, but I can't really afford to pay it all in one go. Hoping there'll be some form of payment plan or something.

Here's a PDF with a list of contact numbers for government people who can give you some idea what to do. It does say you should let the debt collector know ASAP that you don't think you owe the money, and that they are required to give you proof, but it doesn't really give any details; I'd suggest calling the number appropriate for your country, see what they say.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2013 17:11

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Baja Mofufu posted:

I have a question about an employment issue. I work in a contracted academic position at a major university in California. I was hired on 08/01/12, and was supposed to have my contract renewed on 08/01/13. According to the staff member in my department who handles personnel, my name "somehow slipped through the cracks" when she was processing annual contract renewals, and so I was unknowingly terminated on 07/31/13. I didn't realize until I didn't get a paycheck for August two weeks ago. Apparently I was supposed to have a performance review; I was not aware of that (since it was my first year and hadn't been discussed) but my supervisor took care of that quickly as soon as we found out. That was September 3rd.

As of now, I've been working for 6 weeks (August and 2 weeks of September) and still haven't been paid for August. This isn't ruining me financially (although the staff member has no way of knowing that), but it's screwing with my work life in any number of ways. I can't buy a parking pass (I commute a long distance daily), my library card can't be renewed (I need some ILL material for my research, NOW), and I keep having to deal with being denied services (basically anything I log into with a username and password is getting systematically turned off). Luckily my health insurance remained active because that's on a separate non-payroll list. Normally I would try to be understanding, but every few days I ask for an update and the staff member has no idea when I'll be re-employed/paid, promises to let me know, and doesn't get back to me. I've already contacted HR and my benefits rep; they've said they're waiting on the staff member or "paperwork" (kind of closing ranks a bit, it seems to me).

My supervisor thinks the staff member is inept, but we're right in the middle of research and obviously he doesn't think I can/should stop working. I'm really uncomfortable with working and not even being an employee, let alone not getting paid. I guess my questions are, how illegal is this, if it's very illegal what should I do about it, and when should I do it?

Is this a public university or a private university?

# ¿ Sep 14, 2013 01:24

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

VitalSigns posted:

3) My registration is expired. I'd really rather not drive to an area where cops are likely to be (the courthouse) with a big ol' sticker on my car saying "Hey state troopers, please pull me over". I don't want to be arrested over this on my way to the courthouse to clear the warrant, but I don't want to be arrested at the tax office for trying to renew my registration either. Will the warrant prevent me from renewing my vehicle registration? Could I be arrested over these warrants at the tax office for even trying to renew my registration?

Assuming your hypothetical registration wasn't more than six months out of date and that you were a resident of Tarrant County, you would be able to renew your registration online. In fact, it looks like registrations in most of Texas can be renewed online.

# ¿ Sep 23, 2013 21:08

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

Michael Scott posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmTP4xUTqCM

Which driver (or which driver's insurance) would be liable for something like this, or is it 50/50...? Could insurance possibly cover the full damage here?

Lambo driver appeared to be going over the speed limit, but the other driver made a dumbass left turn.

I'd say it's almost certainly just the driver making the left turn, but local laws/rules could affect that, and there could be contributory negligence on the part of the lambo driver if he is determined to have been going hella fast.

There is going to be quite a bit of insurance involved here. Left-turning driver appears to be driving some sort of economy or sedan, so I'm just gonna call it a Civic for ease of use. So, Civic driver probably doesn't have heavy-duty insurance, and the damage to a Lamborghini is almost certainly going to be beyond the level of liability insurance that the Civic driver carries, and the damage to the property in addition to that is probably going to be well beyond his limits. So, Civic driver is going to put in a claim on his insurance for the damage to his car (covered under his collision coverage, assuming he has it), the damage to the Lambo (covered under his liability coverage), and the damage to the building (also covered under his liability coverage). The Lambo owner is going to put in a claim on the Civic's liability insurance, hit the policy limit very quickly, then turn around on his own insurance and put in a claim on his un-/under-insured motorist (UIM) policy, which is not technically mandatory, but you're a complete loving retard if you're driving around in a Lambo without a UIM policy. The property owner is probably just going to put in a claim on his property insurance, but could theoretically go after the Civic's liability policy as well.

If the property owner puts in a claim on his property insurance, they will pay him out for the damages, then do what is called "subrogation," where one insurance company goes after another insurance company for the coverage payout on a different policy. Essentially, property owner's insurance will be making a claim against Civic owner's liability policy in order to get recompense.

Now, in theory, the Lambo's UIM insurance company and the property owner's insurance company could go after the Civic driver for any damages in excess of the liability coverage. If the Civic driver has a house or substantial assets, this could be worthwhile; however, the Civic driver is probably either relatively judgment-proof, or carrying sufficient liability coverage that, at the least, he will be able to settle out of court for policy limits. This is why going around underinsured is dangerous if you're holding a lot of assets. If you don't have a lot of assets, you can generally discharge a civil judgment like that via bankruptcy, and forcing someone into bankruptcy doesn't generally get you much, other than maybe a sense of smug satisfaction, and a nasty bill from a lawyer (most lawyers won't take cases against someone like that, especially not on contingency).

As long as we're talking hypotheticals, it's also possible (if unlikely) that Civic driver has an umbrella policy. An umbrella policy is a "poo poo happens" policy that is an insurer of last resort, usually used by people of substantial means. So, if Civic driver has an umbrella policy, once his liability coverage is exhausted, the insurers for the Lambo and the property owner can totally go after the umbrella policy (up to the limits of the coverage, beyond which the Civic driver would be responsible for).

# ¿ Sep 24, 2013 19:34

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# ¿ Apr 20, 2024 03:09

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar; Grimey Drawer

DumbWhiteGuy posted:

My wife has a teacher's aide position right now (making very little) but has been looking for a new job. She got a new job as a full teacher and was supposed to start Monday so she offered her resignation and tomorrow was going to be her last day with her current aide position. Today (Thursday), the new job called her and told her they could no longer hire her. Thankfully, she got her aide position back but we are disappointed because the full teacher position's salary was going to be like double what she makes right now. Is there a potential for a law suit? She probably won't want to go through with the fuss but I just wanted to be aware of all of our options. Thanks!

e: Location is Ohio, if that matters!

IANAL, but I would think you'd have trouble proving damages.

Also, this is a perfect example of why you shouldn't quit your current job until you have an offer in writing.

# ¿ Sep 26, 2013 21:53

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Legal Questions: do not communicate with the demon at all except through your genie

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