Florida Civil Litigation Legal Questions

Dear Ms. Gillen: Unfortunatey, you have no legal right to the property, because, as you noted, your name was never on the deed.  You might have a claim for what is called an equitabe lien because of your contribution to property taxes for the past 7 years. An equitable lien usually involves someone engaging in egregious or fraudulent conduct, which does not seem to be the sitution you described.  On the other hand, such a lien can be imposed when there has been unjust enrichment(i.e. you've paid the taxes to benefit someone else). However, your claim was probably stronger when your boyfried died, or at least when his mother died before the sister inherited the property.   This is really a civil matter and not a family law matter, but you should at least consult with an attorney to determine if you have a claim and the value of same. It is likely that, at best, you might be able to recover some of the property taxes you paid.   Best of luck, Cindy S Vova Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Miami-Dade: 954-316-3496 Boca Raton/Palm Beach:  561-962-2785... Read More

A lawyer in a civil matter cannot threaten criminal prosecution.  It is an ethical violation.  More specifically, since you are in Florida, the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar specifcally state "A lawyer must not...present, participate in presenting, or threaten to present criminal charges solely to obtain an advantage in a civil matter" (Rule 4-3.4(g)). A lawyer can be, and should be subject to discipline up to suspension or even (in eggregious cases) disbarment for such tactics. I would report the attorney's actions to the State Bar. Attorneys Pike & Lustig have a good web page on this subject: How to File a Bar Complaint Against A Florida Lawyer For Unprofessional Or Unethical Conduct? (turnpikelaw.com).... Read More

More facts are needed. Depends on case details. Be aware that all potential cases have deadlines, requirements and are subject to statutes of limitations/repose. Do not delay consulting with an experienced professional, so as not to prejudice any rights to bring a potential claim(s). ... Read More

This post makes no sense as it seems to pe preparing for a confrontation that hasn't started yet and based upon claims that are untenable. By exanple, NOW you expect to claim you paid a cash extra months rent despite getting a receipt that says otherwise - as if that will carry any weight in court. The remedy here is terminate the tenancy and move to place with a better landlord.... Read More

I am presuming its because you are the same person that has posted this fact pattern repreated with various changing claims of the cashier having a gun, a dark object, now a butchers knife and now claiming he was arrested for aggravated assault, when before there was no arrest so there is a credibility issue. That stated, this revolves around whether there are actual damages you suffered and thats up in the air. ... Read More

Sorry there isno family ownership of property. If the title owner says you have to go and sells the place, there is little you can do or have to say about it. Equally, they have no obligation to find you a place to live nor to support you. Period. You need to find a new place to live and contact shelters or charitable organizations to make arranagements ASAP before you are rendered homeless. ... Read More

This is a CARMACK case. They are very expensive and very complicated to pursue. You need to focus on finding a consumer lawyer that handles such cases. WHaving handled some in the past, you will likely find yourself in federal court based on your damages claim, and your case will revolve around the waivers and damages elections you made and paid for with the shipping company on the bill of lading. ... Read More

You used settled and paid off in the same reference and they are different concepts. If you settled by paying less than you owed as they claim, then you need to have written confirmation from them that you settled the account and paid it off. Otherwise, unless you have evidence that you paid in full and they are wrong calculating what you owe, then your documents for the payment history of the account will carry the day - but understand that if you lost this or that - the banks records showing NON-PAYMENT will carry the day if all you have is "I am pretty sure that was paid that month". If this is an Italked to the guy on the phone and made a deal case - those generally don't get far from the consumer side. ... Read More

No practical means. No lawyer will pursue a resident LL, usually elderly or poor, renting rooms for violation of Fla. Stat. 83.67 for a variety of reasons starting with being uncollectable. Your best bet is to use a friends compuer or public library. You can try legal aid, but they are swamped with COVID eviction issues. ... Read More

Not likely as your story is not credible. Starting with the "I don't know who it was" story - when if they have your car, you darn skippy know who it was if not you, or can find out easily. Unlike a criminal case, you have no 5th amendment privilege in a civil case and can be charged with perjury if you play dumb and it turns out it IS someone you know or can ID. Obvioiusly, the State Atorney is not so convinced if the case is still pending and the Shaggy defense is not carrying the day. If you are convicted or plea to the charges, you will likely eliminate any claim you might have, as you would at least need the charges dropped and preferably an acquital at trial. ... Read More

Nope - not how that works. As a co-signor you essentially vouch for the other person with your wallet. If they default  - YOU pay. That does nothing to entitle you to own or take the vehicle from the prinicpal debtor. What you did was ridiculously foolish and now you see why. At best you can try to have the buyer sell you the car and transfer title to you and then try to refinance. ... Read More

Well unless YOU own the house at all, the only person NOT having a legal right to be there is you, so your best bet is to move out immediately. That stated, they should not be addressing anything with the personal property other than to secure what is the dedecents for adminstration by the probabte court. If they are on the deed and you are not, they may well own the house already so you will need to retain a probate lawyer to address any rights you may try to claim to stay there etc.  ... Read More

Hi Kyle if your wife's grandmother owned property, and her negligence resulted at least partially in the damages that your wife suffered, then technically her homeowners policy, at the time period the incidents happened, could be a source of potential recovery. There are statute of limitations issues that would need to be researched, but some counsel including myself do look at these cases from a contingency fee standpoint. Specifically, how old was your wife when the last incident regarding sexual abuse by her uncle happened to her? And how many years ago was that.? And how old is your wife currently?... Read More

If you sue someone in small claims court and represent yourself, the  out of pocket costs are minimal.  If you engage an attorney to represent you, there's really no way to answer that becasue the  plaintiff is not in control of the costs.  If you start a lawsuit, the defendant may default, or may just answer the complaint, or may make motion after motion and take deposition after deposition, all of which drives up both side's attorneys' fees to a point well above $1600.  For that reason, the defendant in a $1,600 case normally won't defend that vigorously, but just go to trial and take their chances, but they could decide to do more.... Read More

an arb award or a judgement is not an order to pay. Its simply a court ruling that you are owed the money and you are left with enforcing it at your expense. You may find that by doing this on your own you were just "tilting at windmills". You can read Fla. Stat. 682 but you will likely need to retain a lawyer at some point to try to collect the money... Read More