California Civil Litigation Legal Questions

That sounds like a horrible experience, but a defamation claim is only valid if the statement(s) made by the teacher were false.  If they are, then you may have a claim.  However, the teacher is not responsible for the actions of a third party (the student), they are liable for your injury.  Let me know if you wish to discuss the details of your claim so that I may better advise you of your options.... Read More

It depends on the statute of limitations for this type of claim in the state in which it took place.  The following is from a website id Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP discussing California law, but other states may be different. Childhood sexual abuse survivors must file a lawsuit by age 40 or within five years of discovering the abuse as an adult. As of January 2020, childhood sexual abuse survivors now have a three-year window to file sexual abuse claims that have previously passed the statute of limitations.   It also may depend on when your stepbrother turned 18, as the limitations period, and the nature of the claims may be different depending on whether he was a minor or an adult at the time of the assault (from what you've written, it seems as if he  was a minor for some of this and an adult for some).  Also, if he was a child at the time of an assault, you may have a claim against his parents/guardians.... Read More

Only defendants to an action need to answer the complaint.  If you are not a defendant, you have no reason to answer, and the plaintiff has no reason to serve you, unless delivery to you was the plaintiff's way of serving the actual defendant.  If, for example, you live with the defendant, delivery of the summons and complaint to you at your shared residence would be good service on the defendant in some cases, and he/she would be obligated to respond to the summons. I just want to add that the above answer applies if you're really not a named defendant, not if you're the defendant but they misspelled your name, forgot to add "Jr.", or something similar.  That kind of excuse for not responding to the summons and  complaint is unlikely to get you far.... Read More

No.  There was probably a time when statutes only referred to "him" or "he" (as in "a person commits burglary in the first degree when he ... "), but it didn't excuse someone who identified as female from being guilty of violating a statute which may have shortsightedly used those pronouns.  I won't pretend to understand gender fluidity, but while I would hope that the law would respect whatever your personal gender situation is, gender fluidity is not an excuse to break a law, even if the statute in question does not use your preferred pronouns.  You are, of course, "allowed" to offer whatever excuse you want to the court, but don't expect this one to get you far.... Read More

Yes, your father could probably be served with documents, but the service may not be effective.  You could immediately contest the service in the court processing.   You should contact your father and tell your father to tell the process server that you do not live there.  The process server will probably not leave the documents with your father if you do not live there.  Does someone live with your father?  Perhaps you should notify that person to refuse service of the documents.  ... Read More

Any California lawyer can write  a simple letter like the one you propose, provided you are willin to pay the attorney for his/her services.  Given that this is s small claims case, and you're not sure the thieves will comply, I'm not sure it's worth it.  You can sue in small claims court, but many small claims courts can only award money damages; you would have to sue in a court of general jurisdiciton to get an order compelling the thieves to return your dog (('m not sure if this is true in California).  If they didn't appear in court, yo9u would almost certainly win by default.  Thereafter, if they were ordered by the court to return the dog and didn't, the court could hold htem in contempt of court, and they could face many penalties, up to and including jail.  Needless to say, this is not as simple as it sounds and you will have to expend a lot of time pursuing this matter before you could ever get them incarcerated for contempt in a case like this, particularly as it would probably be very difficult to locate people who are vagrants.. If the dog is no longer in their possession, the only relief you could obtain from them would be a money judgment.  You would hae to sue the person who now has the dog to get it back, and you might not win, depending onwhehter that person bought the dog having no reason to believe that it was stolen.... Read More

Hello Brad, I am sorry to hear about this ordeal that you are going through. So, if the police have classified the matter as a civil case, you can still attempt to contact the precinct and demand that you talk to the supervisor and tell him that you want to file a theft report, and maybe they will Attempt to contact the Person who allegedly stole your dog and investigate the matter by speaking with him and talking to neighbors. I would continue to try to convince the police to do this. Tell them it is not a big thing to go to their house knock on their door and ask questions of them or their neighbors. They are not going to lie to police, but they will lie to you. If this does not work out, then I would file a court case, and ask the court to demand specific performance in the form of returning the dog to you. Small claims court usually only allows plaintiffs to recover money damages, but they may allow you to sue for specific performance, which is an equitable remedy, when money damages are an inadequate Remedy. I would call the small claims court and ask them if you can sue in that court for specific performance, and if you cannot then you have to go to the Superior Court. If you have to file an action due to police not wanting to get involved, you can serve discovery requests upon the defendant, and ask them point-blank if the dog is in their possession. Keep in mind that they will most likely not lie in their discovery responses because they are under penalty of perjury when they provide their answers. So those are the pathways you can pursue this. I understand the heartbreak that you're going through, because I am a dog owner myself and I couldn't imagine how I would feel if somebody did this to me. I wish you the best of luck sir.... Read More

The Statute of Limitations in California is two years.  You may not be able to file a lawsuit after two years from the date of the accident.  However, you might get around the two-year statute because of the circumstances you've stated.  There is a "discovery" period which in your case would be to find the driver.  You really need a personal injury attorney.... Read More

I assume that when you say you don't have homeowner's insurance, you mean that you alwo don't have renter's or condo insurance, since the way that you describe your living situation it sounds like that would be the type of coverage you would have (in NY anyway).  Therefore, you should defend the lawsuit which will be filed against you, which probably means that you should consult a local attorney.  In the lawsuit, you will contest your neighbor's claim that it was a problem with your unit which caused the flooding.... Read More

You need a civil attorney.  Most attorneys cannot afford to work pro bono; they have a staff, office rent, etc. to pay.  I'm sorry but I don't know any pro bono attorney either.  I'm presuming that you checked with Public Counsel and other low-income services.  You might go to the court and request self-help--sometimes attorneys volunteer there.... Read More

I'm sorry but your fact pattern is hard to follow.  I'm assuming that you are the moving party?  The motions are NOT heard by the clerk but the motions must be FILED in the clerk's office.  After being filed in the Clerk's office, then the Clerk sends the motion to the Judge. I'm shocked at the sanction order for $2,205 -- for what?  Did opposing party file a declaration that attorney's fees were accrued because of the wrongfully-filed motion?   If court reporter showed up, then the court reporter probably reported the hearing.  I'm guessing but it seems that you didn't want to pay for the transcript?  You should check with the Court as to whether a minute order was filed in the case and go from there.  Of course, you always have a right to an appeal.... Read More