New York Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

There's not nearly enough information in your post. Believe it or not, not all harassment is actually illegal. It's generally illegal when one is targeting protected classifications (race, age, sex, orientation, disability, religion, etc.) or conduct (whistleblower complaints, discrimination reports, wage & hour complaints, safety or work conditions complaints, union activity, etc.).  Get a consutlation to assess your rights. ... Read More

I typically advise client’s not to leave the country while their adjustment of status application is pending. However, I recognize that family emergencies can happen, so not departing the country might not be an acceptable option.  Yes, you are allowed to travel with your advance parole document.  That being said, I recommend you talk to an immigration attorney to identify any issues that might make traveling outside the country ill-advised. Most immigration attorneys offer a free consultation so you can get your questions answered for free. --- Greg Dann, Esq., MBA Immigration Attorney   GAD Legal, LLC www.gadlegal.com Gdann@gadlegal.com Office: (888) 315-4828 Fax: (412) 847-5885... Read More

Did this person touch or harm you physically? If yes, did you retain and/or consult with a workers compensation lawyer if those physical injuries resulted in some type of permanent scarring whether emotional or physical or both? Assault and battery is also criminal if the employee had the state of mind to harm you or place you in a position where physical injury was imminent or physical injuries were likely to result and foreseeably cause you emotional distress. Did you report this to the police? What is your goal? It looks like the employer took action. The employer is now much more likely to be personally liable should this employee harm anyone else in the future since the employer is on notice that the employee has a history with you. Are you seeking an apology? Either a workers compensation lawyer or an assistant district attorney can provide you with better suggestions. Most of us do not sue individuals because collecting damages could be a process even if you secure a judgment on paper. Workers compensation claims are the exclusive remedy for physical injuries which occur within the course and scope of employment in the majority of scenarios and emotional distress alone is usually insufficient in most scenarios, barring exceptional circumstances. Of course you made no reference to discrimination associated with any of the above which might be a complaint for filing with New York State's Division of Human Rights but only if the last discriminatory act (causing an adverse employment action - often with termination or denied pay raises, promotions or inferior terms and conditions of employment) occurred within the past 12 months. Go to the police if the person retaliates against you and/or places you in reasonable fear for your safety. Not legal advice and no lawyer client relationship. Good luck.... Read More

ESTA in my understanding does not apply to Canadians. The question to a CBP officer is whether you would be a bona fide visitor. Usually, a bona fide visitor spends less than six months per 365 days in the US. Having been in TN status for six months (presumably within the past 365 days) could raise concerns on the purpose of your stay. If you have a legitimate reason for coming back so soon as a visitor, you can attempt entry visa free since six months is not a hard and fast rule. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

Probably, but it starts with the language of the NDA. Must settlement-based NDA's allow disclosure to the spouse but the spouse's disclosure will void the settlement. The spouse may not be personally liable but i would expect the sigining spouse to be. if you want the cash, keep mum. If you want to fight over recovery with an NDA, don't sign and keep fighting. ... Read More

I looked up the docket. The Court granted defeault judgment against you (the only party who didn't appear) on June 15, 2021. On July 15, 2022, the Court appears to have dismissed the case against the remaining defendants. You need to engage counsel to move to vacate the default judgment. To succeed on this motion, you need to demonstrate that you: (1) have a reasonable excuse for not answering and (2) a meritorious defense. The plaintiff's attorneys contend they served you by proxy on Feb. 18, 2020 at 401 NE 1st St. (in Hallandale Beach) by giving a copy of the lawsuit to Klaudjak Kosilov and, on March 12, 2020, by taping a copy to the apartment door and mailing a copy to that address. You'll need to explain how its possible you never received notice in some detail.  Second, the Court notes in the decision dismissing the complaint against the remaming defendants that plaintiff testified you allegedly struck him with a barstool. I do not have access to anything but the docket and electronically filed papers, but the court notes that someone had photographs, you were terminated after the incident, and my guess is everyone was more than happy to throw you under the bus. Engage counsel to assess your rights, defenses, likelihood of success and whether you had any personal liability insurance coverage in place at the time of the incident. Insurance will not defend assault claims and will not pick up claims after default judgment is entered but if you can get the default vacated based on a contrary version of the incident that does not include you assaulting plaintiff, insurance coverage may be available (such as personal liability coverage in a homeowners policy). Westchester County is a reasonably strict court. The presiding Justice who defaulted you is a new to the bench. My conclusion is that your motion will be scrutnized meaning this is not a lay-up. It will cost several thousand dollars to make the motion but the alternative is having judgment entered against you.... Read More

Opinions are not actionable in New York. Our state law only allows a defamation claim to proceed against a statement of objective fact that is probably false. Moreover, our long-arm jurisdiction statute exludes defamation so jurisdiction in New York courts over out-of-state defendants for statements made online is highly questionable. Finally, our Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation protects all online statements on matters of public interest, which typically includes consumer rights or complaints.  So next steps: a notice of apperance means somebody filed a summons in New York Supreme Court and is presumably trying to serve your friend. I'd collect a copy of your social media post, your friend's repost (mere republication is not actionable even if the original post is), the cease and desist letters, and the court papers your friend recieved and get a consult from a New York attorney to develop an action plan. Look for a free consult and get started. Delay doesn't help you. The action plan is probably a demand letter to withdraw any action and pointing out further legal proceedings will likely result in the company paying your attorneys' fees. There's no law against the New York Company coming to your state and suing you there, though. Whatever state that is, I suspect they'll have similar problems under any state defamation law.... Read More

Unpaid wages are taken very seriously in New York. There may be DOL notice violations also. You may be entitled to liquidated damages, often double the amount you are owed, and your own attorney's fees and the costs of filing can be court-ordered for payment by that employer. Plus the individual business owner should be personally on the hook for unpaid wages in most cases, if your lawsuit names them individually, so liquidation or bankruptcy of the owner does not leave you high and dry. However, the amount in controversy appears small. You may not have sufficient revenues by the business to file in federal court. And even a federal court may be reluctant to award the amount of attorney's fees which may be necessary for collection. Remember that litigation takes time and effort regardless of the amount pursued. And the restaurant could fight payment requiring you to retain a collections lawyer in the end. Overall your best option might be filing in small claims court in the county where that restaurant does or has a business operation. A small claims court judge will review your documentation and hear from both sides, assuming the restaurant responds. If it doesn't even show up you could have a default judgement entered in your favor and then collecting on it will be a separate matter. It's a process and if you wish to learn about the legal system yours may be an excellent one in which to do so. Gather your documentation and good luck!... Read More

You should not be too worried about your income. It seems you have been the primary caregiver of your two children, so there is a good chance that the court would award you primary custody of your kids. Courts look at the best interest of the children when awarding custody, not the income of the parent. Your ex would then have to pay a substantial amount of child support - I take it you are not married?  Child support for 2 children is 25% of the non-custodial parent's adjusted gross income (to oversimplify). That would mean you should get close to 2k a month, plus certain additional expenses.  You can surely agree to 50/50 custody but these arrangements are difficult in practice. You could agree to physical custody for you (with liberal visitation) and joint legal custody.  You really should c onsutl with a lawyer in New York though. Bottom line, don't be afraid because you are just getting back into the workforce and don't make a lot of money.     ... Read More

The court usually looks at what his risk of flight is. The stronger the ties to the community, the less the flight risk. So if he has a job, then get a letter from his employer showing how long his employment has been with the company, and that he is a faithful and loyal employee that will most likely continue on into the future, tax return showing stability of income, any property ownership also is helpful. ... Read More

Possibly but I'm not sure you have monetary damage to recover. The denial of the club probably isn't what we call an "adverse employment action," such as a demotion, pay reduction, termination, denial of raise, or forfeiting benefits. (It didn't cause you any monetary loss.) A court may consider injunctive relief to compel the employer to allow a social club, but the employer would have the opportunity to explain itself and defend its position. Absent monetary damage, getting an attorney to sue on contingency is unlikely unless you have identified several (no specific number but more than a handful) coworkers who are interested in the club to bring a class action under state law.... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to your friend. He should speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.  Many excellent personal injury lawyers can be found using the search tool on the Lawyers.com homepage. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com  ... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to you.  You have a right to discharge your lawyer at any time.  My office regularly handles pedestrian knockdowns / motor vehicle crashes.  Would be happy to speak with you about your case.  Feel free to call me at 212-226-6662.  You can also find many excellent personal injury lawyers using the search tool on the Lawyers.com homepage. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Sorry to hear what happend to you.  Here's a link to the Notice of Claim form for the MTA / New York City Transit Authority, https://new.mta.info/document/29871  Keep in mind that a Notice of Claim must be filed within ninety (90) days of the date of incident or you will not be able to file a lawsuit (which must be filed within one year and ninety days of the date of incident).  In any slip and fall case, you must demonstrate that the NYCTA either created the condition on which you slipped, knew about the condition (actual notice), or that the condition existed for a sufficient length of time before your fall such that the NYCTA should have discovered it and corrected it / cleaned it up (constructive notice). Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com  ... Read More

No, the executor of the Will cannot keep your inheritance.  Just the opposite.  The exector of the Will has to distribute a decdedent's property in accordance with terms of the decedent's Last Will & Testament.  Here's an article I found online which you might find helpful, https://www.findlaw.com/estate/estate-administration/what-does-an-executor-do.html#:~:text=The%20executor%20is%20the%20person,taxes%20comes%20from%20the%20estate. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com  ... Read More

Workers compensation is a specialty area. I moved your question to attorneys handling workers compensation. Those attorneys are specialists in workers compensation claims. Some of them also handle personal injury and/or social security disability claims. For those of us who handle employment discrimination cases most all of our clients are currently looking for work and able to work if a position became available. This applies even when it looks like a potential employee might not be offered work because that prospective employee is perceived or regarded as disabled. Good luck.... Read More

Each DA's Office in NYC has different plea policies, however, speaking generally if this is your first offense it is likely that you'll be able to resolve it with a non-criminal resolution to your case. With that being said, the weapon component will probably play a large role in the DA's offer on your case - as you can imagine menacing with a stick is treated much less seriously than menacing with a gun for instance. With that being said, your best bet is to go through all of the specifics of your case with your attorney and he/she will be able to best advise as to their expectations for the resolution of your case. ... Read More