Ohio Civil Litigation Legal Questions

You might have a civil claim for damages on behalf of your son for negligent infliction of emotional distress.  However, even if you win, it seems possible if not likely that the heroin addict thief would not have the financial wherewithall to satisfy the judgment.  Also, your son would be questioned by the other side in a deposition, and possibly also at trial, which might be very stressful for him. ... Read More

As far as what your criminal options are, you should go to the police.  They will know what charges can be pursued.  While you would be a witness, and a plea arrangement may include restitution to you, you would not be prosecuting a criminal claim, the government would.   You can also sue your sister for trespass and conversion.  These are civil claims that you (or your lawyer on your behelf) would prosecute, not the government.... Read More

Yes, you forged your exwife's name in order to appropriate money to which she may have had a claim.  If the facts are as you represent, then she has no claim to this money and should have signed had you asked.  If she refused, you could go to Court and have the Court compel her to sign.  However, she may have claimed something different than you, and it would be for the court, not you, to sort out who is right.  Again, if the facts are as you say, your ex has suffered no damages and therefore has no civil claim, and for this reason I think any prosecutor would probably not be interested in pursuing any criminal charge, but that is assuming that you ex agrees with your version of the facts.... Read More

Anyone can sue, but your chances of winning depend on whether you have any basis to invalidate the releases  you signed in consideration of receiving severance pay.  If you were not coerced or defrauded into signing, and assuming that all the necessary language needed for a release of employment discrimination claims was included in the releases, your chances of overtuning the releases are very slim.  If you did manage to rescind the releases, you would have to return the severance pay you received, and would still, in order to win, need to prove that, by letting you go, your employers discriminated against for an illegal reason.... Read More

Your ex can sue you (anybody can sue anybody for anything), but, depending on when you were supposed (or he claims that you were supposed) to repay him, his claim may be barred by limitations.  The statute of limitations on breach of contract runs from the date of the breach, so it would run from the date you were supposed to repay him but failed to do so.  Also, you don't mention whether your move was out of state; in some jurisdictions, the statute of limitations is extended when a party moves out of the jurisdiction. A lot depends on the exact facts, or what he claims are the facts, which you should probably explore with an Ohio lawyer.  Generally, your local bar association may help you get a free legal consultation with a local attorney.... Read More

There are quite a few questions I have regarding the timing of the events, evidence of the events, etc. If your property is worth a substanial amount to you either in monetary or personal value, you should speak with a lawyer. I would be happy to speak with you relative to your matter.  Please call.   Nicholas Froning... Read More

Assuming that the statute of limitations has not run on the civil claim (it probably has not) you would file a civil suit against the attacker.  Unless Ohio has very different laws regarding sovereign immunity and governmental privilege than the jurisdictions in which I practice, you have no claim against the government employees who screwed up unless you can show that they acted intentionally, and even then I'm not sure you would have a claim, and you would likely face a much shorter statute of limitations and various statutory notice requirements.... Read More

He will not win if his claim is based on the facts you describe above, but it won't be.  He will claim that the money he paid for the Keurig was a loan, or that it was his and he was just keeping it at your apartment because he spent a lot of time there while you were together, or some other claim other than that the Keurig wa a gift.  There is no guaranty that a court or jury won't believe his story rather than yours, but if you can show that you received the Keuring at Christmas, that you gave him a gift, that the gifts he gave you other than the Keurig (if any) were not commensurate with what you gave  him or with previous gifts on other occasions, I think it is likely that you will be believed.  Obviously, it would be even more helpful if you had a witness, somebody who say him give it to you, or whom he told that he was giving you a coffeemaker for Christmas.... Read More

All states have collection procedures for collecting on judgments, but they vary with each jurisdiction.  Basically the procedures are (a) to depose or send interrogatories to the debtor to locate his/her/its assets; (b) to get information on the debtor's assets from his bank or people who owe him money; (c) to garnish the debtor's wages or other sources of income, i.e. to cause them to be paid to you until the judgment is satisfied; (d) to impose a judgment lien against the debtor's property; and/or (e) to cause the debtor's assets to be sold to pay the judgment.  If you don't want to engage an Ohio attorney to help you collect, a Court may be able to help you follow the applicable Ohio procedures.... Read More

Unless the original communication is with someone who is required to keep it confidential (attorney, clergyman, doctor), or the recipient has agreed that he/she will not disclose the communication to others, the recipient can share it.  By altering it, however, the recipient may have committed a variety of torts depending on the facts - defamation, fraud, tortious interference with contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, etc.... Read More

If you're truly uncomfortable, you should inform the Court and maybe the Court will order that someone from defendants' counsel's office deal with you, rather than the Sheriff himself.  However, I don't find the circumstances unusual.  I would often not be at my client's office if opposing counsel  was going to inspect something there, because my client would not want to pay for my time to do so.  Here, there is no opposing counsel, since you are pro se, but I don't think that changes things much.  Nothing in your questions suggests that the Sheriff is hostille, has tried to intimidate you, or any other reason why he can't handle the copying without an attorney.... Read More

Generally speaking, each party to a civil lawsuit is responsible for his/her own attorney fees and litigation expenses.  However, there are exceptions to the general rule.  One exception is where there is a contract which outlines who pays for attorney fees and expenses if a lawsuit is filed for breach of the contract. Another exception to the general rule is the Court's inherent power to issue sanctions for frivolous conduct.  As part of those sanctions, if a Court were to find that a party engaged in frivolous conduct, the Court can award attorney fees to the other party. Based upon the information in your posting, it appears that the attorney is asking the Court to award sanctions against you for frivolous conduct, to include the attorney fees incurred by the other party resulting from the frivolous conduct.  The burden is on the other party to show that your conduct was frivolous, but it would be in your best interest to have counsel represent you in order to protect your rights. Best of luck.... Read More

You have the right to have your agreement enforced, unless parts of that agreement are types of agreements which must be in writing to be enforceable (and even those are generally enforceable if the other side admits the agreement.)  For example, if you loaned your friend $1,000 and he/she agree to repay you, plust 5% annual interest, at the rate of $200 per month, you can sue your friend for breach of contract if he/she doesn't live up to the agreement.  The problem will be proving that you had an agreement if your friend denies it, or claims different terms (for example, if he/she claimed that he/she only agreed to pay $100 per month with 3% interest.)... Read More

My condolences on your loss. You don't say whether your son was a minor, whether you are the executor or administrator of his estate, or specifically what the woman did.  These facts may affect the types of claims you can assert, and the damages you can seek. You also state that the woman went to jail for 8 years.  If the incident occurred more than 8 years ago, it is lilkely that your claim is barred by the applicable statute of limitations. However, the general answer to your question is yes, the woman can be sued civilly for what she did to your son, although there is a definite possibility that the woman does not have any money to satisfy a judgment even if you win.... Read More

Generally speaking, when injury is the result of intentional conduct (such as assault and battery), then the injured victim must file a lawsuit within one year of the alleged conduct or the claim is forever time-barred.  There are exceptions to every rule, especially if the assault/battery rendered the woman incompetent for any period of time.  If she was incompetent for any period of time after the assault/battery, then the one year period does not begin to run until she is no longer incompetent. If not exception applies, the lawsuit must be filed within a year of the assault/battery, or the claim is not timely and will be barred by the Court. You should consult with an attorney directly concerning this, providing him/her with all the facts of the incident so that they can properly advise you on the statute of limitations. Best of luck.... Read More

I am not familiar with Ohio law specifically, but in the jurisdictions in which I practice, if you have no written lease, or even a verbal agreement that you can rent for a period of time (it would have to be less than a year to be enforceable) you are a month to month tenant, and the landlord is not required to allow you to stay for longer than that one month period.  In practice, however, if your boyfriend didn't leave voluntarily, it would take longer to go through all the proceedings necessary to evict him, but it would eventually get done.  What I don't understand is how your father would have the right to evict your boyfriend when he doesn't own the place, your aunt does.... Read More

Just so I make sure I am understanding your question correctly, you want to know why a mechanic's lien is still showing on a property after the contractor filed a lawsuit and the matter was subsequently settled? Mechanic's Liens will continue to attach to the subject property until a Release of Mechanic's Lien or similar such document is filed with the County Recorder releasing the original Mechanic's Lien.  Simply settling the case does not cause the Mechanic's Lien to be released.  If the underlying matter that is the basis for the Mechanic's Lien has been settled and there are is no money owed under the contract that gave rise to the Mechanic's Lien then the lienholder who filed the Mechanic's Lien has an obligation to release the Mechanic's Lien.  Pursuant to ORC 1311.20 the lienholder must release the Mechanic's Lien within 30 days after the amount of the Mechanic's Lien is satisfied and if it is not released within 30 days the lienholder can be liable for damages to the owner.   For more information visit us at www.Sylkatis-Law.com & www.LorainDivorceAttorney.com... Read More