Business Litigation Legal Questions

Your inquiry does not provide nearly enough information for someone to offer you a helpful suggestion. If the "wrongful attempt to prosecute" involves a criminal proceeding, then you need to be represented by criminal defense counsel immediately. Your attorney can advise you regarding whether, and to what extent, you can use the legal system to "clear your name." Such legal proceedings very rarely succeed. See an attorney.... Read More

Your inquiry seems to raise two separate issues. First, whether you are required to pay for an additional full day if you return the car two hours late depends on the terms of the contract you signed. You need to read the contract you signed to determine whether this is a proper charge to you. The second issue you raise appears to be related to "access" to the vehicle after you returned your car. You do not suggest any reason why you needed or were entitled to access to a rented car after the lease ended.... Read More

These kinds of circumstances happen fairly frequently. Unfortunately, since the offer of employment was to a job from which your wife could have been fired on an "at will" basis, there are no actionable damages that accrue from her not receiving the original job that was offered. I note also that your wife is still employed there and has not lost any wages.... Read More

Many states have special rules that provide for the manner of service on out-of-state residents, including by certified mail and other means that are reasonably calculated to cause the defendant to receive actual notice of the pendency of the lawsuit. In other cases, the plaintiff may apply for and obtain a court order permitting service by other means, which may include email, posting on Facebook, publication in a newspaper, or anything else the court deems sufficient. There is absolutely no reason to assume, as you do, that only in-hand personal service will suffice. In this case, you have actual notice. You will ignore the complaint at your peril.... Read More

Your statement that you "got a restaurant" suggests that you are an owner of the business. Generally, minimum wage and hour requirements do not apply to owners who work in the business. If you have worked for no, or limited, compensation in order to get this business -- of which you are an owner -- off the ground, the business will generally not be liable to you for back pay that you have voluntarily foregone.... Read More

Your post fails to explain anything that your treating physician and hospital did that was wrong. Specifically, in order to prevail in a medical malpractice claim, you must prove something more than that your treatment did not work out properly or that some untreated condition persists. Rather, you must prove, by expert testimony, that the treatment departed from the applicable standard of care. You don't explain what that standard is and what the departure was. More importantly, although it may seem unseemly, it will be nearly impossible to attract the services of a first-class personal injury attorney to take on this claim. This is so because the damages you have suffered are measured primarily in terms of some discomfort and inconvenience, rather than protracted loss of function, disfigurement, loss of income or loss of the enjoyment of life. For that reason, the monetary damages recoverable for this kind of negligence -- assuming that your treating physician and hospital were negligent -- are small. Most attorneys will not take on a matter like this on a contingent-fee basis.  ... Read More

Absolutely not. The consent of all parties is required in California. Unless you put them on notice that you are in fact recording the call and, after such notice, they voluntarily continue in the call, you will be violating Penal Code Section 632(a). This is a crime punishable by jail and fine.... Read More

You have some options. 1. The easiest, cheapest and least likely to produce results is to send a demand letter. This is a letter that demands payment of the account by a stated date (you pick one, generally at least ten days after sending the letter) and threatens litigation if the account is not paid by that date. It adds gravitas to the demand if you send the letter by certified mail, return receipt requested. 2. You can hire an attorney to send the letter referred to in the preceding paragraph. If you already have an attorney working for you on an hourly basis, you can have him send the two letters for at most a few hundred dollars. A letter from an attorney is far more likely to produce results than a letter from the creditor. 3. You can turn the accounts over to a collection agency, which will attempt to collect the accounts on a contingent-fee basis (often 30%). Most of the collection efforts they make will be calls and letters that you or your attorney could also make. 4. You can turn the accounts over to an attorney for collection. Some attorneys take these matters on a contingent-fee basis.  The attorney will sue to recover and remit the net amount recovered, after his fees and disbursements. 5. You can sue in small claims court without an attorney.... Read More

Generally speaking, when somebody from India uses the word property, they mean "real estate" (we use the term "property" in the U.S. to include a variety of different kinds of property, including both moveable property and intangible property). So, assuming you are interested in taking real estate as security for the debts of a Texas business, you have the following steps to complete: 1. You will need to have an appraisal performed of the property by an independent appraiser. An attorney can assist you in doing so. 2. You will need to perform a so-called "title search" to determine whether the debtor owns the property and the status of any prior claims on it. Your attorney can arrange for this, too. 3. You will retain your interest in the property by taking a mortgage or similar "security instrument" on it. Under the terms of the mortgage, the debtor will remain liable for property taxes and will be required either to deposit the property taxes with you or your agent (so that you can be assured of their payment), or you can require him to provide proof of payment. Your attorney will draft the security instrument and a promissory note evidencing the debt. The note will provide for an award to you of all of your expenses, including collection costs, if the debtor does not pay. 4. In the event that the debtor defaults and you need to sell the property, you will, in general, be required to commence a lawsuit to "foreclose" the mortgage and sell the property. Those are steps undertaken by an attorney as well. The process can take several months and cost many thousands of dollars. Those costs are recoverable from the debtor or from the sale proceeds of the property. My office represents lenders worldwide and would be happy to assist you with this matter. You should plan on legal costs of a few thousand dollars to document the loan and security interest. In addition, there may be another few thousand dollars associated with appraising the market value of the property and determining the status of title. You will wish to purchase and pay for, at the debtor's expense, title insurance that guarantees your title. It is strongly recommended that you obtain a cash payment in advance from the debtor in order to defray your transaction costs and that the debtor remain responsible not only for the amounts he already owes you but also for all of your costs in obtaining, perfecting, policing and collecting your debt. My office number is +1 203 399 1320.... Read More

It depends on facts that you do not provide. The real question is whether the plaintiff was able, as a result of the omission or misstatement, to obtain something to which it would not otherwise be entitled. It is not clear from your inquiry whether, or how, anyone was actually harmed by this seemingly minor issue.... Read More

Under the Uniform Commercial Code, as a depositor of the check, you impliedly warranted that the check would be collectible. The burden of the returned check falls on you, not on your bank. Your bank owed you no duty to determine, in advance of your deposit or subsequent withdrawals, that the check would be valid -- that was your duty. You must repay the money.... Read More

The lease is a contract, and you are bound by it -- that means that your security deposit acts as security for all obligations under the lease until after the lease term ends. Only at that point is your compliance with the lease determined and a refund, if you are entitled to one, is made. Your failure to pay rent on a timely basis will be a breach of the lease. The omission of the name of the bank where the security deposit resides is immaterial.... Read More

I routinely defend and settle these cases for a large retail client in California. The problem is that California has a state law that is far more plaintiff-friendly than the federal ADA, and there are virtually no defenses. Nearly all of these cases are settled because the cost of settling with a single plaintiff is modest compared to the costs of engaging an attorney and attempting to defend on the merits. Most of them are settled for payment of under $5,000, including attorneys' fees to the plaintiff's lawyer. You can't do much better than that even if you defend the case and win.... Read More