Arizona Breach Of Contract Legal Questions

First, it sounds as if you did everything by the book.  Second, it sounds as if the flipper was trying to scam you.  We you rejected his counteroffer, there was no longer any valid offer on the table.  When the vlipper came back to you with the original offer, you were not obligated to accept his offer, since you rejected the counteroffer. For some reason, I really don't believe this flipper is going to cloud your title.  He knows he has no right to do so.  But, to answer your question, if he clouds your title or theathens to cloud your title, you can tell him that you will take court action to Quiet Title and he will be responsible for your legal fees when you prevail.  A Quite Title action can help clear up issues on a property's title.  You can also tell them that, if you prevail and he doesn't pay your legal fees, you will file a Lis Pendens on one of his flipped properties.  With a Lis Pendens, the flipper will be uanble to sell his property without paying you off.  This will get his attention.  ... Read More

Are you saying that the statute of limitations was up on your personal injury action or your malpractice claim against the attorney?  If only the former, sue the attorney for malpractice.  Malpractice actions are difficult because you have to prove that you would have won your case if the attorney had not scriewed up, but you have a chance.... Read More

Yes, although some small claims courts transfer cases  to other courts if a party has an attorney representing him/her/it.  If your local small claims court is one of these, the case could be transferred to another court since an llc can't represent itself, but must use an attorney.  From what you've written though, I would guess that the llc has no money with which to pay you. ... Read More

On the facts presented,it appears that the title to the property continues in the person who is renting the house to you, unless you are aware that he may have sold the home to someone else either before or since you have been living in the house and paying rent; until paid off, the mortgage lien remains an encumbrance on the property. If he still holds title, he will not lose that title to the mortgage company until such time as the trustee's foreclosure sale takes place. If the mortgage company is the successful bidder at the trustee's sale with a credit bid of its debt, then it will receive a trustee's deed putting it in title to the property, otherwise, whoever is the successful bidder will take title and seek to have you removed, if that is their decision. We are unable to render legal advice on this matter until such time as we are retained pursuant to an engagement letter. Hopefully, the foregoing has been helpful. Thanks you. Franklin D. Dodge, Esq.  ... Read More

I think your text is probably too indefinite (i.e. omits critical terms) for it to be considered a valid contract.  You will use her services - at what price/commission? for how long? is it an exclusive listing? what authority does she have to negotiate on your behelf?  what are you asking for your house?  etc.  Of course, if these terms were agreed upon orally, that's a different story.  Also, if the parties did not intend to be bound until you had a formal signed contract, the text would not create a binding contract, but the question of intent is not open and shut.... Read More

By accepted deal, I assume you mean a signed contract.  An agreement to sell real estate normally must be in writing to be enforceabel.  Assuming you have a written contract, you would sue the seller for breach of contract and seek the remedy of specific performance of the contract.  However, delaying the closing is normally not considered a breach until and unless one or the other side has made time of the essence for closing.  Have you done so yet?... Read More

This depends on (a) whether you had a binding agreement in the first place; and (b) if you did, whether your wife had authority to change it.  Assuming you had a binding agreement (which depends on numerous factors, including whether all necessary parties signed it, whether all parties were of an age and capacity to be bound, whether it complied with the statute of frauds, whether there was any fraud in the inducement, whether valid consideration was exchanged between the parties, etc.), and based upon what you wrote in your question, your wife did not have actual authority to change the agreement.  However, she may have had what is known as "apparent authority" to do so.  When a principal (you) puts an agent (your wife) in a position that a third party will reasonably believe that the agent has authority to do something on the principal's behalf, the principal can be bound by the agent's actions.  For example, if you have a shop and you ask a friend to watch it for a few minutes but not to sell anything without your permission, someone coming in the shop and seeing your friend in charge can buy something from your friend and you will be stuck with the deal, even if you wouldn't have approved the price if you had been there.  You can sue the agent for any damages, but between you and the customer, there is a valid contract.  Here, without knowing all the facts in much more detail than can be provided in an email, I can't tell you whether your wife had apparent authority to act for you, but even if she did not, while you may have no recourse against the seller, you may have a valid claim against your wife.  One caveat - since this is a situation between spouses, there may be some wrinkles in the local (Arizona) law, with which I'm not familiar, which could affect the authority of one spouse to act for the other, and/or the right of one spouse to sue the other.... Read More

Wills are generally not valid unless certain formalities are met, but these formalities do not always include notarization (I don't know the specific formalities Arizona requires, but I'm sure it requires that your mother sign her will, about which your question is silent).  These formalities may have been met here, as you indicate that your brother signed the "will" as a witness.  Also, there are some circumstances (generally invoving imminent death) where many jurisdictions relax the formalities.   Also, what you characterize as a "will" does not sound like one to me, although obviously I don't know the whole story.  From the facts you set forth, the document may reflect a gift (your mother giving your brother the right to live in her home after her death) or a contract (your mother agreeing to let your brother live in the home in exchange for something he gave her or did for her, such as care for her during her life).  A gift or a contract would generally not require the same formalities to be valid as would a will.... Read More

First, you should have received or been given  a website for landlord tenant law.   http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/33/01301.htm&Title=33&DocType=ARS http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp?Title=33 Second, the max deposit a landlord may ask is 1.5 times the rent.   33-1321. Security deposits  Third, the landlord has 14 days to give you an accurate accounting. Fourth, if a realtor was involved, they should be specially licensed with the AZDRE  and a complaint to the license gets results.http://services.azre.gov/publicdatabase/ This is a contract claim and your remedy is in the Courts -- probably Justice Court, possibly small claims.  They have forms, and you sue the home owner, the realtor, the manager, and identify their spouses as john doe spouse or jane doe spouse... Read More

Arizona is a "right to work" state.  Unless you have a written contract for a certain rate of pay over a certain period of time or unless you are covered by a union contract, the employer may cut your pay or fire you at any time - so long as the reason for the cut in pay or termination is not based on some sort of illegal discrimination (e.g., race).... Read More

If you have a residential lease for a certain amount of time and the lease is interrupted (by you being forced to move from the home due to faulty plumbing), you may be able to obtain monies from the landlord for your relocation expenses and any associated damages.  It is unlikely that the landlord's homeowner's insurance would pay such a claim - unless the landlord carries such rental insurance coverage.  If you have your own renter's insurance policy, the policy may cover such relocation expenses.  Coverage will be determined by the terms and conditions of the relevant insurance policies.... Read More

If your employer has failed to pay you wages, then you can proceed one of two ways: First, you can go through the Arizona Industrial Commission to get help making the employer pay you.  Second, you can hire a private attorney to obtain a Judgment against your prior employer.  If you sue the employer, you may be entitled to three times the amount of your wrongfully withheld/unpaid wages, plus attorney's fees and court costs.... Read More

In order to properly evaluate your legal claim for the $100K you say you are owed, a thorough review is needed of the emails and any other documentation you have between you and the company that you say owes you the money.  In addition, the attorney will have to fully be advised of all verbal commitments made by the company.  If the company that owes the money is Arizona-based, then a lawsuit may be filed in Maricopa County Superior Court based on Breach of Contract and Quantum Meruit claims (value of the work provided to the company), as well as the Wage-Claim Act at A.R.S. Sec. 23-355, et seq.  Moreover, if the claims may be considered wages or commissions, then you may be entitled to a treble (triple) damage award, plus attorney's fees and court costs.... Read More

An agreement via text message may or may not be binding under the law.  For example, agreements for transfer of real estate must be in writing, signed by the person selling the real estate.  And there are many other examples of agreements that must be in writing and signed.  However, a text agreement may very well be binding if the law does not specifically require the contactual agreement to be in writing and signed.  An attorney can properly advise you, based on the specific facts of your situation.... Read More

Generally, under normal contract law, once you sign a contract for purchase of a car and take it from the dealer's lot, you own it.  However, some dealer's contracts may have clauses allowing you to return the car within a certain time-frame.  But unless the contract you signed contains such a clause, you own the car.  The fact that you lost your job has nothing to do with the formation and binding nature of the purchase contract.... Read More

A person may invoke his or her 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination at any time, even in a civil case.  However, if the person is under an affirmative obligation to respond to discovery, such as Requests for Admissions, the invocation of the 5th Amendment and refusal to respond to the Requests for Admissions can, in certain situations, be used against you in the civil case.  In other words, if you refuse to respond to the Requests for Admissions, the Court may enter Judgment against you (even if the reason for the refusal to answer is based on the 5th Amendment).  Regarding the husband/wife privilege, I am unaware of any case law which would allow a husband and wife to refuse to respond to Requests for Admissions in a civil case based on the marital (husband/wife) privilege (assuming both the husband and wife are defendants in the case).... Read More

Under Arizona contract law and Arizona consumer fraud statutes, it is a breach of contract and a violation of the law (fraud) to make someone pay any money to the dealership to get your car back (the car you traded in), if the dealership is unable to perform under the sale/purchase contract.  The dealership is the party to the contract who assumes all risk of not being able to get you financed.  This is a common problem in Arizona -- dealerships allowing customers to leave the dealership, then making customers either return the car or contacting customers and forcing the customers to accept a much higher interest rate or different contract terms, under threat of not getting the trade-in back.... Read More