California Breach Of Contract Legal Questions

Dear Car Buyer, You are correct, the dealership indeed breached the agreement according to your comments.  The dealership is now responsible to you for not only reimbursement of your money, but also any foreseeable and consequential damages you suffered, and possibly attorney fees in the event you bring a complaint against the dealership. Here, the dealership breached the contract, and it is foreseeable you would need to purchase a replacement purchase elsewhere.  If the replacement purchase costs more money for the same type vehicle, the dealership is stuck with that increase too.  Also, it was reasonably foreseeable that you would incur travel costs having to come back to the out-of-state dealership to pick up the car.  These costs too are also recoverable. I would promptly renegotiate with the dealership; and if they are non responsive, then you should file a complaint for breach of contract. Mitch Abdallah (916) 446-1974... Read More

When you are served with a summons and complaint, there are a number of things you can do. If service was not proper, then a motion to quash should be filed. If the complaint is objectionable, then you could possibly file a demurrer and have the matter dismissed. Otherwise, you will need to answer the complaint.  Civil litigation is very complicated, and although you stated you cannot afford an attorney, my strongest recommendation is to find a way to hire one. It will make your chance of walking away with a lesser judgment greater. There are so many different ways to handle a civil lawsuit, where it would almost be impossible to answer all of your questions on here.  As for ADR, you can request the Court to assign you a mediator and a completion date. At that point it falls on the parties to schedule a date for mediation.  I hope I have answered your questions. If you would like to talk about your case in person or over the phone, I offer a free consultation. ... Read More

A contract to guarantee the debt or duty of another must be in writing under the Statute of Frauds. This appears to be an unauthorized withdraw by the lender in that regard.  It also appears to be a violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1963e I would recommend disputing this transaction; or better still contact an attorney to act on your behalf. Mitch Abdallah, Esq.... Read More

Yes, you failed to repay the loan and now the creditor will sue you for it.  Whether going to court or a settlement is better depends on what the settement is and what defenses you might have to the claim.  From your question, it doesn't appear that you have any defenses, and your loan contract probably provides that you will have to pay the lender's attorneys' fees if it sues you and wins, so a settlement is probably advisable if you can get a reasonable one.  In the absence of any defense to the claim, the only leverage you have is that if you are  unable to pay the debt you can file bankruptcy, in which case the lender will probably get less than it will if you agree to a payment schedule.  You should try to negotiate a schedule you can live with, and let the lender know that if it insists on an unworkable payment schedule, you'll have no choice but to file bankruptcy.... Read More

Speaking on phone, email, and text can create a contract.  You say you have a reservation.  That can be a contract.  Generally, the hotel, restaurant, or other venue taking the reservation agrees to reserve a spot for the person giving the reservation on a specific date and time, and the person giving the reservation agrees to pay for the reservation if they don't cancel it by a particular time.  From what you write, it appears that the other side will claim there was a contract and you breached it. Without all the facts, I can't opine as to whether their claim has merit.  ... Read More

Hi, Your dad is not required to have an attorney if he was sued individually. If he was sued in the name of a corporate entity than he would be required to have a lawyer. If he is being sued for a significant amount of money though I would strongly advise that he retains an attorney. In this case it sounds like it would be wise to answer the complaint and probably file a cross-complaint against the primary signer on the loan.  You have 30 days to file an answer from the time that you received service, not from when the complaint was filed with the court. Thanks,Jon... Read More

It's impossible to know whether the seller or shipper is responsible unless you know how the package was damaged and what the contractual relationship is between them.  However, unless the terms of shipment were different than in a run of the mill consumer purchase, you have no relationship with the shipper, and it has no duty to you.  Your dealings were with the seller, and since the seller has authorized you to return it, that seems to me to be an acknowledgement that the seller will refund you the money.  Whether the seller tries to get it back from the shipper is between them.  If the seller refuses to refund the money by telling the credit card company that the charge is valid, you would sue the seller for a refund.... Read More

If you advanced the information without a contract, I think you'd be out of luck.  However, I believe that you can compromise by reaching an agreement to disclose the information on condition that the company not use it unless it, after seeing the information, decides to engage your company.  These types of agreements are used all the time when businesses are discussing merger or the acquisition of one by the other.  The buyer needs to see all sorts of private information in order to do due diligence, but the seller doesn't want the buyer to back out and then use the proprietary info to the seller's detriment.  As for e-signatures, they are normally sufficient to show acceptance, but acceptance of what?  Just requiring an esignature for access would not give me comfort that you had an enforceable contract, but I think it would be ok if you provided prominent notice that the act of esigning and accessing will constitute consent to the proposed contract. As an aside, there are sometimes good reasons why people will not avail them selves of the types of services you provide, even though they can recover money.  For example, one of my clients, a beneficiary of a will, was approached by a firm such as yours claiming to have information about $10,000 in unclaimed assets of the decedent.  The problem was that $10,000 would have pushed the estate beyond the federal estate tax threshhold, and the tax consequences would have been well more than $10,000. ... Read More

Sorry to hear your attorney was injured. I hope this doesn't affect your case.  To answer your question, it depends. It depends on whether the retainer you mentioned is a true retainer or simply a deposit used for services rendered. A true retainer is usually used to confirm the attorney will take your case over another’s. The true retainer is usually earned when paid, meaning non refundable. However, any deposits made in the attorney’s client trust account is refundable. Once your attorney accounts for all services rendered and any costs and expenses associated with your case, the remaining balance from your client trust account should be returned to you. But please not, I am stating this without reading the retainer agreement you singed with your current attorney. Without reading the agreement, I can only speculate as to what was agreed upon. I hope I have answered your question. If you would like to discuss this matter in more detail, please feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience. ... Read More

The court can enter a default judgment in a quiet title suit, but a prove up hearing is generally required in front of the judge. If the judgment was just entered on February 24th I would suggest that you immediately move to set aside the default judgment. If you don't bring a motion to do so soon you will most likely be stuck with it. Thanks,Jon... Read More

Even if you believe that you have been wrongly served it is still probably wise to go ahead and respond to the lawsuit, assuming that the court has personal jurisdiction over you, which would certainly be the case if you live in the same state where the lawsuit was filed.  If you believe service was improper you can file a motion to quash service or you can simply repond to the complaint by way of an answer or demurrer. More often than not a motion to quash would simply end up being a waste of time and money. Let me know if you have any further questions. Good luck! Jon Howell... Read More

To answer your first question if payment on the 32nd day would constitute a breach of contract. The answer is yes. The agreement was to make a full payment within 30 days. Any deviation from that constitutes as a breach. However, although the other party technically breached the contract, they ended up making a full payment after 2 days. Thus, minimizing your damages. I believe you indicated that you had to pay for the overnight delivery of their payment. If so, that can go towards your damages. To answer your second question regarding the other party deducting from their payment for the following month, this question is a bit harder to answer. I am confused of whether they are claiming the contract is null and void or if you are. If you are claiming they breached the contract and therefore the contract is now null and void, by accepting any payment, you are implying the contract still stands. However, if the other party is claiming the contract is null and void and they are still sending you a payment, I don’t understand why they would do that. Perhaps more facts will help. But one thing I would like to state is that any modification to any agreement cannot be done by only one side, most of the time. Contracts usually contain a clause that states that if a modification of the current agreement is to be made it can only be made if all parties agree. Further, usually the modification must be in writing. I hope I have helped. I don’t think I was able to answer your question to my fullest ability due to the confusion that arose. If you would like to discuss your situation in more detail, feel free to contact me. ... Read More

If your ex-wife has quit claimed the property to you, she no longer has any interest. Thus is unable to receive a favorable outcome in court. Also, since the ownership of the property was resolved during your divorce, that should also help you in defending against these false accusations. I strongly encourage you to consult an attorney as to defending yourself in a civil lawsuit. There are a number of tools we can use to make the lawsuit end quickly, or even possibly to have some award be rule din your favor. I hope I have answered your question. If you would like to discuss your case in more detail, feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience. ... Read More