New York Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

If you are not willing to pay the deductible to have your own insurance carrier cover the damage and the other driver's insurance will not cover the damages in full, your only option would be to sue the other driver (either for the full amount or for your deductible if you get your vehicle repaired first)  Keep in mind that if the other driver's insurance will not cover the damages in full, winning a lawsuit against the other driver might leave you with nothing more than a paper judgment (as you'll be left trying to collect against the defendant).  In the end it might be easier to pay the deductible and then sue the other driver in small claims court to recoup your deductible. 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.  In New York, the other driver (and his insurance carrier) would be responsible for the fair market value of your vehicle (or the cost to repair the damage), whichever was less.  With regard to recoveing consequential damages, that gets trickier.  Certainly you would be entitled to the cost of having to temporarily rent a car.  Once you get compensated for the cost of your vehicle, however, you'd arguably have no basis to remain out of work as you could purchase a replacement vehicle (or drive your repaired vehicle).  And depending on the wording of the other driver's insurance policy, it might not even cover any such damages (which means even if you won a lawsuit against the other driver, his insurance carrier would not be required to pay the judgment if you won).   Unfortunately, as you've probbably experienced already, most attorneys are not interested in taking on property damage claims of this nature or for this amount.  You can try your local bar association's legal referral service or attorney directories such as AVVO, Justia or Martindale.  Keep in mind that the jurisdictional limits of small claims court in New York is only $10,000.  If your damages exceed that threshold you'll need to bring your lawsuit in civil court. 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

The NVC like other immigration related agencies has been slowed by the pandemic and revenue problems, and so has many delays. Two months does not seem like an overly long time. You may wish to check back again with the NVC before hiring a lawyer. 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

I do not know your particular situation and so cannot advise you which one is the better opportunity for success. If you have completed a specialized master related to the position, perhaps your chances are as good or even better with your current company than they would be with the new company. If you are really confused, you should speak with the attorney or attorneys who are handling your case for an opinion. Good attorneys will usually give a candid assessment if you request one. 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

Based on your scenario, you should consider speaking with the new owner of the property regarding your payments, your security deposit, and your decision as to whether you wish to remain in the apartment.  You should consider speaking with an attorney regarding your legal options. ... Read More

While criminal contempt is a serious charge, it is not necessarily one that can't be resolved without jail time. Generally speaking your attorney should be negotiating with the District Attorney's Office towards a possible disposition that would not involve you going to jail. Typically these can include violations, adjournments in contemplation of dismissal, or even in a worst case scenario a misdemeanor with a program. Your best bet though is to contact an experienced criminal defense attorney to help you by negotiating with the DA. Good luck!... Read More

Due to the displacement of Ukrainians, many of whom are viewed as refugees, they will likely have to process as refugees unless they already have a non-immigrant visa to visit.  Note that a person who applies for a B1/B2 non-immigrant visitor visa is presumed to have immigrant intent as a matter of law.  The burden of proof to overcome that presumption which is required seems to outweigh the cost of filing for a non-immigrant visitor visa. The U. S. Consulate in Krakow seems to be routinely denying such humanitarian B2 visa requests.  It is unclear, even if unlikely, whether any exceptions are being made or alternatives provided without careful inquiry. There are other options such as humanitarian parole, but the evidence required often outweighs those who are seeking refuge as war victims.  Again, this latter options will take less time for a decision compared with seeking refugee status, but humanitarian parole is used for purposes different from those fleeing the terror of Putin.  This, given the alternatives provided in Europe. If there is interest in seeking or reviewing the facts and the grounds for humanitarian parole, then schedule a consultation with a competent and experienced immigration attorney who has worked with cases involving humanitarian parole, such as my office.  Particularly, an immigration attorney who will take enough time for a reasonable review, but also provide advice. This is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney client relationship.imm ... Read More

Garnishment is by definition a judicial proceeding. That means that a court order would need to be pursued and entered or recorded by some clerk of court. Apparently you have cut and pasted a part of an agreement with your former employer. The language appears to mean business. In other words it looks like no nonsense terms. It would not be unusual to find prevailing party's attorneys' fees and costs awardable as well since you apparently agreed to this remedy. As a side note, if prevailing party attorneys' fees and costs are available you might owe several times the amount you fear being garnished plus interest and possibly other remedies. The wisest option might be to have a skilled employment lawyer review all documents which governed your prior employment relationship. Most of these matters are resolved pre-litigation since employees sometimes lose their former and current jobs if they failed to disclose everything they were obligated to disclose to secure a new position. The worst case scenario might be losing the former job, being let go from your current position, and owing several times the amount you suspect you may have to repay. And if you did not report that money on your tax return, there may be IRS or state or local tax penalties for not doing so as well. Speak with a tax lawyer. Calling a payment "not wages or earned compensation" does not mean that you are not subject to reporting the amount on your taxes or paying taxes on it yourself. Were I facing this scenario I would lawyer up immediately because waiting longer is very likely to cost much more than resolving it pre-litigation. Just a suggestion from New York's Employment Law Reality Check law firm.... Read More

Is there a provision within your agreement that if you resign with good cause that you will not be required to repay a bonus, advance or whatever else your employer calls the money? It appears that we're you fired for good cause, presumably defined within your agreement, that you would be responsible for repayment. Parties are free to enter into agreements. No lawyer can provide you with advice or an opinion you can rely upon without reviewing all documents you may have signed or which were incorporated by reference into the agreement from which you extracted what may or may not control your contractual duties or obligations. If the amount in controversy is substantial pay an employment lawyer to review all documents. Many of us have been doing so remotely for clients for years. Read lawyer reviews online to decide for yourself. Remember that the last sentence you provided with what appears might be prevailing party attorney fees could be multiple times the amount you are considering whether to repay. Good luck!... Read More

Any qualified physician may treat mental health issues. All M.D.s are authorized to prescribe medication including for mental health issues although most will defer to specialists. I am without knowledge of any law or regulation which prohibits your OB practitioner from opining about mental health issues. Although, I suspect that if the employer retained a mental health expert your OB would probably defer to your own mental health expert as well. You should meet with your employer. They have the right to counsel and/or direct you regarding your duties for work. Regardless of what they have done in the past, if you wish to keep this job you may want to consider meeting with them. If for no other reason than to ask them what else they need from you. They could suggest your consulting with an independent medical expert at the employer's expense. If they did so you may wish to prepare your own mental health provider with advance notice of same. This is not legal advice. We have no lawyer client relationship. But if you have been performing your duties well remotely, there appears to be no reason that you will not continue doing so in the future. Some employers feel or presume that some pregnant employees may not return to work after giving birth. Meeting with them may aleviate their concerns. Caring for a newborn is time-consuming and they may suspect that you will no longer devote the hours which most professionals have given during COVID working remotely. They may want assurance from you that you will continue doing the presumably great work you have done so far. I personally know several employees who are much more productive working remotely, partly because their mental health challenges were overwhelming in-person, pre-COVID, when they needed to work in a confined office. If your mental health expert believes that applies to you maybe discussing this now is a good option. If this employer intends to bring everyone back into the office, maybe that's not for you? But you need to assure them why that's necessary for you and how the employer will continue to receive outstanding or acceptable performance from you. If they believe your performance was not what they expected pre-pregnancy maybe this is the time to discuss accommodations which may have nothing or little to do with pregnancy. Good luck. Not legal advice. No lawyer client relationship. Accommodations are all about communication and give and take between employer and employee.... Read More

More facts are required before any lawyer could provide you with a definitive answer.   If you Google the internet for your question there are quite a number of posts which are inaccurate or wrong.   See this attachment:   https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/01/osh-te-2022-2023-rfp-clean-01.31.22-1_0.pdf   I believe your answer may be found on page 5.   The caution here is that if you deny an employee wages to "suffer labor", meaning for your benefit, you do so at your own risk. If, on the other hand, the training is broadly applicable, maybe, depending on the position, a CPR certificate, it might be for the employee's benefit which benefits you as well. Whoever provides you with an opinion, on this issue, which this certainly is not, should charge you because providing the incorrect one could cost you dearly. Good luck. Not legal advice.... Read More

I'm sure you don't want to hear this but you should contact a traffic lawyer in your jurisdiction as soon as possible. Depending on the jurisdiction that you live in, the prosecutor's office may or may not negotiate with dropping points or reducing the ticket, but if they negotiate then your attorney will know best how to negotiate with the prosecutor on your behalf. However, if you live in a jurisdiction like NYC, the traffic violations bureau does NOT negotiate at all. In that case, you would want to take the ticket to trial, and certainly you would want to have the best representation when it comes to conducting a traffic court trial, cross examining the Police Officer, and presenting evidence on your behalf.    I hope this information is helpful. ... Read More

Domestic Violence cases can be a bit tricky. District Attorney's Offices operate under the impression that a large percentage of the time, victims on DV cases end up forgiving their partners, recanting their statements, and become uncooperative with the DA's office overall.  It sounds to me like you are the complainant on the case you're speaking about. If that's the case, the most important thing for you to do, or rather not do at this point is try to contact your partner if there is an order of protection issued against them in your favor. Even if you don't want the order of protection, that order is a COURT order and cannot be waived by anyone other than the Court. If the defendant on the case is found to be speaking with the complainant, regardless of whether the complainant is the one who initiated the contact, the defendant will be rearrested and charged with Criminal Contempt for violating the order. Additionally, if you have a "family relationship" with the defendant i.e. husband/wife, you have a child in common, etc., you may be able to have the order modified in Family Court to make it easier to speak with the defendant.  With that being said, as far as how you can "withdraw" the case, you should get in contact with the defendant's attorney and let them know that you do not want to proceed with the case, and that you are seeking to sign a dismissal affidavit. His/her attorney should then draw one up for you to sign and have notarized. This can oftentimes be helpful in these types of cases. Additionally, if the ADA contacts you, you should let them know that you will NOT sign a supporting deposition or cooperate because you do not want to continue with the case.  Bearing that in mind, you should be aware that the DA's office may not outright dismiss the case even with a dismissal affidavit. Sometimes, particulary in severe cases, they try to prosecute through alternate means, such as using photographic evidence, 9-1-1 phone calls, hearsay statements that are admissible because they are subject to exceptions to the rule, etc. If you are interested in learning more about domestic violence and orders of protection, I have an article on OOP on my blog that you may find helpful. https://www.michaelschillinger.com/blog/2020/12/understanding-temporary-orders-of-protection-tops/... Read More

The short answer to your question is yes, it could potentially be dismissed based upon those grounds. However, getting to a dismissal can be a difficult road. There are a few different ways that you can get there - 1) Your attorney can negotiate with the district attorney, provide them with this information, provide them with proof that the vehicle belonged to a friend and that you could not have possibly known that the plates were forged. 2) There may be some sort of deficiency in the criminal court complaint that could lead to a dismissal. 3) If all else fails, you may be able to get an acquittal at trial, if the Prosecution is unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you, with the intent to defraud, deceive, or injure another, falsely made, completed, or altered the plates.    With all that being said, your attorney should be in contact with the District Attorney's Office, informing them of this information and negotiating a plea deal on your behalf. It's very unlikely that a case like yours, with your background (no prior arrests and 18 yo) would end up with any type of criminal disposition on a misdemeanor forgery case. However, it may be a situation where the District Attorney isn't willing to outright dismiss the case, but instead would offer you some sort of non-criminal disposition, such as an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal with some community service, or a disorderly conduct violation with a fine. ... Read More

It's difficult to say without speaking with you further, but, just speaking very generally - you may be able to initiate a suit against him for custody of the animal. One thing that would be important to note is that you indicate that you were the one who paid for the dog, and that you paid for vet bills and care of the dog as well, all of which is in your favor. With that being said, he may also have an argument that you purchased the dog as a gift for him. Your best bet though is to speak with an attorney and go over all of the specific details in your case. ... Read More

I moved your question to breach of contract, contracts, chancery and equity. You will or should resolve this in small claims court. All of those courts have mediators who try to help parties negotiate resolutions on these types of claims. Most of the time they succeed. If they don't then a small claims judge will decide the matter. You are describing a scenario which reminds me of a law school exercise we analyzed decades ago. A homeowner looks out his front window and notices a law service mowing his yard. He mows his own lawn. He never hired a lawn service. He thinks the lawn service is making a mistake but just waves to the mower through the window. He thinks he will never owe for the lawn mow that day. He's wrong. A court of chancery or equity will step in to correct the wrong. Had the homeowner not waved or maybe was not home he would owe nothing. But by the homeowner acknowledging that this lawn was being mowed by waving he consented to or ratified an implied agreement that he would pay the reasonable value of the lawn mowing services when he did not stop the lawn service which the homewoner knew was making a mistake. He could have saved himself the lawn mowing bill by yelling out the door or window "wrong house or wrong lawn". By remaining silent he consented to pay a reasonable amount, probably the going rate for lawn mowing in that neighborhood, and the homewoner in this scenario will likely owe the cost of small claims court fees if he chooses to contest what is an open and shut fact scenario. In your case, you have a history or what you normally pay for services. If you paid less than that you will need to prove that the services were not reasonably the same. It's been raining much more and for more months in the past year. In your situation if you normally paid X dollars per mow or knew that was what you paid and the service mowed 30 or 40 percent more weeks this past year because of warm weather and excess rain, there is a possibility that you may owe more money unless you can prove by some documents that your agreement was unchanged regardless of mows. Think of the above example during mediation. If the mower could have stopped mowing mid-September and fully performed services but kept mowing without you informing it to stop you probably owe more money. This is just an example since your specific facts are unknown as is any agreement formalized with your mowing service which often times are absent. It's the mower's word and what they did versus yours and what you did to stop or not stop them from suspectingly continuing. Good luck.... Read More