Texas Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

There is a presumption that The husband of a woman who gives birth to a child during that marriage is the legally presumed father. You would need to file a paternity action in court and request child custody or visitation rights in the county where the mother and child reside. Once the action is filed and served on the mother, the judge will order all three of you to undergo DNA testing. If the results of the test determine that you are the biological father, you will be awarded custody or visitation. ... Read More

Absolutely. You could have been in absorption, meaning that your bac at time of driving was lower than when thr test was taken - later, and after driving had stopped. Also, when its that close, you can't trust a machine like that to be that precise and reliable on a breath test. Hire a dwi lawyer that knows how to win dwi cases, and yes, a low bac, even over .08, can be won.... Read More

There could be a pending motion to revoke parole. If there are pending criminal charges, that os very likely the case. The parole board will wait until thr new cases resolve to make a decision on the motion to revoke parole. He could be sentenced to time in prison on the new cases, or, if his parole is revoked. He should hire an attorney to represent him on both the cases and the revocation if he has the means to. Felony cases can be won, and parole can be reinstated, in many circumstances.... Read More

Situations in which spouses are separated in immigration marriage cases usually raise more questions concerning the bona fides of the marriage. That being said, if your husband comes home to you very frequently, you could both say that his residence is in your state. In such case, you should keep documentary evidence of his trips back to you such as bus and train tickets, toll and gas receipts, credit card charges along the way, etc. 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

Whether you can work for your LLC while receiving Short-Term Disability (STD) from your primary employer depends on the specific terms of your STD policy. STD Policy: The key factor is the definition of "disability" within your STD policy. It might specify that you cannot be engaged in any work activity (including self-employment) while receiving benefits. Review your STD policy documents carefully. Look for the definition of disability and any clauses regarding work activity during the benefit period. Contact your HR department or the benefits provider. They can clarify the specific terms of your policy and answer your questions about working for your LLC while receiving STD. One alternative is that you can get the copy of your policy and hire our services to review it and go over it with you in a premium consultation to protect you and your job from potential abuse and violations. If you violate the terms of your STD policy by working for your LLC, your employer or the benefits provider might deny or terminate your benefits. You might also be required to repay any benefits received if it's determined you weren't eligible due to working for your LLC. This is why it's best to have a  lawyer review and evaluate your policies in a consultation. Consultations are cheaper and more affordable than to hire an attorney for a full case.  pen_spark... Read More

FMLA and workers' compensation are two completely different things.  FMLA is unpaid leave for certain specific health conditions.  This can include a work-related injury, but usually is an other health condition, and may be a health condition of another member of your family. Workers' compensation pays medical expenses, temporary income benefits (TIBs), and impairment income benefits (IIBs) caused by a work-related injury.  If your health care provider has not released you to return to work after a work-related injury, your employer cannot terminate you.  If your health care provider has released you to return to work without restrictions after a work-related injury, your employer can only terminate you if you fail to report to work.  ... Read More

You need a personal injury lawyer, if you can find one willing to accept your case.Most people with salmonella infection only develop minor symptoms like diarrhea and stomach cramps and most healthy people recover within a few days without any specific medical treatment.  Accordingly, most people with salmonella have very little in the way of damages; so most personal injury attorneys would not accept such a case on a contingency fee.In the meantime, keep whatever uncooked chicken remains for testing.  While improperly undercooked poultry is one possible source for salmonella infection, it isn't the only one.  If you decide to pursue litigation, you will need to prove that you got your salmonella infection from the uncooked chiken you ate from a gas station.  Moreover, be prepared for the defense of contributory fault.  Most people would not eat uncooked chicken from any source for a variety of health reasons.  Your decision to eat uncooked chicken will likely be used against you.... Read More

With respect to your treatment by police, you need an attorney who specilizes in civil rights lawsuits.  I highly recommend S. Lee Merritt.  Mr. Merritt is not only a top-notch attorney, but also a "true believer" and advocate for civil rights.  You may also need a criminal defense attorney with respect to the public intoxication charge.  The failure to read you your Miranda rights means that anything you may have said during a custodial interrogation cannot be used against you in your criminal case.  ... Read More

The scenario that you describe is feasible that you can work on OPT for one employer, and if that employer is unwilling to sponsor, another employer can do the sponsoring and you would move on to that employer at some time thereafter, and at the latest 30 days after October 1 if the H-1B is approved prior to that time, or 30 days following the approval of the H-1B if approved after October 1. I do not see that there would be a higher risk of your being petition being rejected or revoked by being sponsored for H-1B by another employer where your present employer is unwilling to sponsor and you will move on to the sponsoring employer. 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

This is unlikely to be a cost-effective way of reducing liability.  A more effective way would be providing workers' compensation insurance for your own workers and requiring any of your subcontractors to provide workers' compensation for their workers and to defend and indemnify you for any claims made by their workers against you for any injuries they sustain while working on a jobsite for you.  ... Read More

You should hire an attorney who practices in the area of family law in or near the county where you live to file a divorce action.  Unless your case is unusually complicated, you should be able to find an attorney who is willing to accept your case for an initial retainer of $5,000-10,000 depending upon your particular facts and circumstances.  That attorney may be able to secure child support for you as well as reimbursement for attorney fees if you lack control of sufficient community funds to pay your attorney and have to borrow or charge the retainer on a credit card if your wife does have control of community funds.... Read More

This is exactly what your retainage is for.  The retainage is that part of the contract price that every owner retains from any contract for construction work until all work is completed and approved.  By law, an owner is required to retain at least ten percent, but your contract with your contractor can allow you to retain more.Hire another contractor to fix/finish the work the original company was hired to do.  Pay the new contractor out of the retainage.  Send the original contractor the itemization of what the new contractor had to do and what it charged you for doing it, showing you deducted that from the retainage.  Then, either send the original contractor the balance of the retainage or, if the new contractor charged more than your retainage, a bill for the difference.... Read More

There are attorneys who specifically handle property tax disputes.  You should hire one in or near Montgomery County as they will most likely know the officials and attorneys who handle such cases for the taxing entities in that county.  In this type of case, taxing entities usually just want their money.  They may have some flexibility in working out installment plans to avoid the cost of a tax foreclosure sale.  If you cannot make reasonable payments and want to avod a tax foreclosure, you can usually sell the property privately and use part of the proceeds to pay off the taxes.  You can then keep any additional proceeds.  This is usually better than what will happen if the property is sold at a tax foreclosure sale.... Read More

If the conduct of the hospital staff fell below the standard of care for health care providers in their particular field of medicine and their acts or omissions proximately caused you damages, you may be able to recover for medical malpractice.  Only another medical expert can tell you if that is the case.The circumstances you describe would likely be a significant part of any medical history which health care providers often use in making a diagnosis.  This type of case tends to be expensive and, unless you suffered very serious health consequences as a result of the hospital's conduct, you should not think that an attorney will accept your case on a contingency fee.  You should presume that your mandatory expert report will cost you $5,000-10,000 out of pocket and, if you have to go to trial, your expert will likely demand at least another $10,000 to testify on your behalf.Some of your complaints--1) being told not to vomit over the rail; 2) having security accompany you to the restroom to collect a urine sample; and 3) a nurse saying something rude to you--do not constitute actual torts which would support a cause of action but may be peripherally relevant.... Read More

Yes, you have a case, albeit not a very lucrative one. When a merchant sells you a product that is non-conforming (for example, raw chicken instead of properly cooked chicken), you can reject the product, give the seller a reasonable opportunity to cure the non-conformity (for example, by replacing the meal), and then if the seller refuses, you can sue to reclaim the price you paid for the non-conforming good (i.e. the raw chicken).... Read More

It doesn't sould like there is anything "illegal"; however, if the scope of the work has changed, you need to prepare and secure approval of a change order reflecting the change in the scope of work and any increase (or decrease) in price as a result.For example, if you bid included $500 to remove carpeting, but it will cost $1,000 to remove laminate, your change order should indicate that instead of removing existing carpet, you will now be removing existing laminate and that the price for your services will increase $500. You should postpone your work until the change order has been signed and approved by the owner.  I strongly recommend not accepting a verbal approval, email, or text message, and instead require an authorized signature on a change order.This is a common process in construction work.... Read More

If the divorce case is still pending (usually cases are dismissed for want of prosecution after 3-6 months if the Respondent has not been served), and you and your husband can reach an agreement on the division of your marital estate, you can probably get an attorney in or near the county where the case is pending to prepare a final decree and the ancillary documents and to prove up the divorce for $5,000 or less.  A simple divorce with no kids and limited assets shouldn't cost more than this in Texas unless you and your husband disagree on the division of your marital estate.... Read More

New York is the only US state to recognize a Mexican divorce decree and only under certain circumstances.Most Mexican courts no longer grant divorces to non-residents.  So unless you move to and established residency in Mexico, you may not be able to get divorced in Mexico.The safest and simplest thing to do is to get a simple divorce here in Texas if you reside here.... Read More