Civil Litigation Legal Questions

Sorry for your loss.  You may want to consider hiring a trusts and estates attorney to sort through this.  Designating someone as a beneficiary is supposed to avoid the headaches associated with probating a will, etc. but his use of your incorrect last name muddied the waters so to speak.  Hopefully you can provide sufficient documentation to prove that you are, in fact, the individual identified as the beneficiary.   Hope this helps. Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/     ... Read Answer

You would sue the university to compel it to honor your contract by providing you with a diploma.  The university will claim that you breached the contract by not paying, you will argue that you fully performed, and that the university screwed up.  From whaq you've written, however, the breach occurred four years ago, and you may be beyond the statute of limitations, depending on which jurisdiction's laws apply.... Read Answer

Assuming that you are sued for something for which your husband had no part, it's not really a matter of protecting your husband's money, it's a matter of making sure that your husband's money is recognized as his and not yours.  If you've already committed, or are already contemplating,  the act for which you are facing liability, this may be difficult, because any transfer of assets from your name or joint names to his name alone may be viewed as a fraudulent conveyance designed to defraul creditors.  Nevertheless, to protect his assets, you should maintain separate bank accounts, and avoid being joint owners of assets.  But first consider how certain you are of your relationship with your husband, because you will be handling over control of assets to him, which could come back to bite you if, for example, you get divorced.  If you start taking the position that certain assets are his alone, you may not be able to change your position at a later time when you may want to claim an interest in those assets.... Read Answer

First let me say that I'm sorry you have had to endure such abuse and that his family is piling on to add insult to injury. How horrible!  To answer your question about how to go about suing your ex-husband I can only say that you really need to hire a lawyer to do this. I would not recommend that you try to handle this yourself.  However, if you are unable to afford a lawyer or can't find one who will do it on contingency then you could file a Warrant in Debt in the General District Court.  This is something you could do yourself -it is just a form you fill out, which is available online or at the courthouse.  However, if your ex-husband is incarcerated then he would have to have a guardian ad litem appointed to represent his interests and getting the GAL appointed could be difficult for you.  Again, you would probalby want to hire a lawyer to help you.  ... Read Answer

It really depends on the nature of the litigation.  In personal injury litigation the attorney works on a contingency fee whereby the attorney does not get paid unless there is a recovery for the client.  In your case, however, it is unlikely any attorney would accept the case on a contingency fee as it's unclear what type of recovery, if any, you would make.  In that case, they would probably charge you on an hourly basis.  Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read Answer

Are you the Plaintiff or the Defendant? Obviously you should have been made aware of the adjournment. What is your attorney's explanation for not informing you? If he/she is billing you for the time they spent going to Court, I think you should be credited that amount back based on the information that you provided. Even as a coutesy, whatever travel expenses you incurred could be deducted from the bill. That's what I would do.... Read Answer

I'm sorry for your orderal.  I'm not an expert in banking law, but I don't believe that you are legally responsible for the unauthorized charges.   Anybody can sue anybody for anything, but you haven't mentioned anything in your email which wuld impose liability on the Holdiay Inn.  In order to hold the hotel responsible, you will have to demonstrate that the hotel was in some way negligent and that its negligence led to the robbery.  Secuity cameras didn't work and hadn't been repaired for weeks.  Hotel employees had reports of suspicious individuals knocking on guest doors and had done nothing about it.  Hotel employees saw the robbers enter with guns in violation of hotel rules but did ntohirng about it.   Etc.... Read Answer

You can sue him for breach of contract.  Whether you win depends on whether the judge or jury believes  you when you claim the money was a loan, or whether he is believed when he says it was a gift.  A promissory note would help you prove your case that it was a loan, but  you may be able to win without it.... Read Answer

No and no.  No lawyer would ever pay any settlement amount without an agreement that it was in full settlement of all claims and probably obtaining a release.  As for using his offer against him, in order to encourage settlements the law in every state that I know and under the federal rules as well, although I don't know specifically about Texas, makes settlement offers inadmissible to prove liability.... Read Answer

If you convince the court that you bought the dog for yourself, and either using your ex's money was a gift to you from her or a loan which you repaid, the court will rule that the dog is yours.  I assume, however, that your ex disputes this, and claims that either she bought the dog for herself, or that you gifted it to her.  It depends on who the judge (or jury if you have a jury trial) believes.... Read Answer

Not sure how you got in this position but you will need to retain a lawyer before paying any more money to these people. You also need to get AMEX involved if there were duplicate payents etc. Unfortuntately, hiring a lawyer will cost you money also, but it will at least get you in the right direction.... Read Answer

I will need to see the pertinent documents.  Is there a will or a trust?  From what I can tell so far, if your sibs are not willing to cooperate, yes, you will have to go to court.  There could be a fraud cause of action or a request for an accounting if you are a beneficiary.  If no trust, the property will have to be probated.  Give me (free) call on my cell 949-295-3281 and we can discuss   Jeffery J. Czech CZECH & HOWELL, APC ... Read Answer