Pennsylvania Civil Litigation Legal Questions

Generally, in a case like yours, the jury sets an amount for damages. The injured party sues and has to prove three things: 1. What was said damaged reputation, 2. What was said was untrue, and 3. The untruth caused damages. If that's the situation, then you may have a case. This response is provided as general legal information only and does not form an attorney-client relationship.... Read More

Generally, a person has 2 years from the date of an attorney's malpractice within which to bring a lawsuit against the attorney. However, if you could not have reasonably known of the attorney's malpractice when it occurred, the "discovery rule" will apply, and the statute of limitations will not expire until that date precisely 2 years after the date on which you knew, or could have reasonably discovered, the attorney's negligence or fiduciary misconduct.... Read More

Assuming that the contract was otherwise valid (e.g. he was competent, he received consideration for his promise, there was no duress, you did not defaurd him, etc.), yes.  There is no need for notarized signatures to make this contract valid.  In fact, most contracts do not even require a writing to be valid (although a writing obviously helps provide proof that a contract was made.) One caveat.  Most installment payment contracts contain what is known as an "acceleration clause", which provides that if one installment is missed, the entire amount becomes immediately due and owing.  If you didn't have one in your contract, you can only sue for the amount which is due as of now.  If the whole amount is not yet due, you can either wait until it is and then sue for it, or you can sue for what is owing now and either amend your complaint later (if the court will allow it) or sue again when the rest comes due.... Read More

It was good of you to participate in the study.  I'm certain many of these studies provide valuable information that contributes to more effective treatment for a wide variety of conditions.  Its unfortuate that you had this happen to you.  You might have a claim for the injury but you might first check any paperwork you signed before participating in the study.  You may have waived certain rights to file claims.  If there no such waiver and you are serious about pursuing a claim, I would suggest that you file on your own with your local District Magistrate and see what happens.  An injury of the nature that you describe (it seems relatively minor) would have a modest dollar value and probably within the jurisdicational limits of a Magistrate's court.  You could include your claim for the $125.00 trial participation fee as well.  -- Mike... Read More

There is nothing in the law that allows an attorney to simply place a lien on your home because you did not pay the attorney's bill.  Am I understanding corectly the bill to be one fromt he attorney?  The attorney would need to file suit against you and obtain a judgment against you.  The judgment would be a lien against your home. ... Read More

First of all, let me say that I feel for you and your situation.  I don't have any easy answers for you.  I'll first tell you that unpaid child support can be filed as a judgment against your ex.  That might make a difference if he had assets that can be attached.  The first question I have is whether an estate has been opened following his death.  You can check your local Register of Wills office to see if that's happened.  If it hasn't happened, you can actually file papers with the Register seeking to open his estate and to be appointed as the personal representative of the Estate (an Administrator).  If that happens, then you are in control of "marshalling" his assets.  That means you can find his assets, take possession of them and administer them to pay his debts (your judgment being at the front of the line) and distribute the balance according to the state intestacy laws (likely to his children).  This would help only with assets that are in his name alone.  If he had joint bank accounts, qualified retirement accounts (e.g. IRA, etc.) or any other account that has a "pay on death" designation, you may not be able to get to those assets.  Its complicated.  You really need to sit down with an attorney experienced in administering estates and collecting judgments for a more in-depth consultation.  All the best -- Mike... Read More

The short answer to your questions is "yes".  Whether its likely that your bank accounts will be garnished or you'll lose your house is a different question.  The writ of execution indicates that a judgment was entered against you.  With that judgment, if the creditor knows where you do your banking, it can garnish money from your account.  I would suggest that you consider changing banks if you think the creditor knows where you do your banking.  Depending on the amount of the judgment and if you have other liens on your home, the creditor may seek to have your home sold a sheriff sale.  Its hard to say without more information whether that is likely.  If you are unable to come up with a lump sum of money to pay off the debt or unable to reach an agreement on an affordable payment plan with the creditor, one option would be to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and make payments to the creditor, usually for far less than the amount of the debt owed.  There may also have been a defect in the process leading to the entry of the judgment against you.  If that judgment was entered relatively recently, you might be successful in asking the court to strike the judgment and reopen your case so that you can defend the claim.  These types of debt collectors have difficulty winning cases when the claims are defended because they often have insufficient paperwork to verify the claims or their ownership of the claims.  The one thing I will suggest that you not do at this point is to do nothing.  ... Read More

I would certainly recommend hiring an attorney to represent your interest in this case, especially if the defendant has already obtained an attorney. There are many procedural missteps you can make that the other attorney will almost certainly use to their advantage. While magisterial district courts are slightly less formal than courts of common pleas, the magisterial district rules are seemingly designed for attorneys to prevail over unrepresented parties.... Read More

The pleading process in civil court is very rules-driven and can be very confusing.  If you miss a step, or a portion of a step, it can invalidate what you think you've accomplished.  The first question I would ask is whether what you filed as a complaint sets forth the appropriate claims and request for damages.  It must be served upon the defendant and you must have proof of that service.  Provided that those steps were correctly accomplished, you must send the defendant a notice of your intent to enter a judgment by default (for failure to file a responsive pleading).  That notice must comply with the format set forth in the rules of civil procedure.  You may be able to obtain those form from your local prothonotary or department of court records (but many will not have those forms for the public).  You must wait 10 days after you mailed the notice to the defendant.  Again, assuming you've complied with the rules, after the 10 days have elapsed, if the defendant still has not filed a responsive pleading, you can obtain a default judgment against the defendant.  After that, the collection process (also detailed and rules-driven) can begin.  I strongly encourage you to retain counsel so as to avoid any traps for the unwary.... Read More

You might.  If the terms of your employment were for a particular rate (say $15/hour), then the parent is responsible for you receiving that amount, regardless of who she plans on having contribute toward that.  She may have told you that her uncle would pay you.  If her uncle refuses to pay you, that doesn't relieve her of her obligation to pay the wages due to you.  The Wage Payment and Collection Law likely entitles you to back wages, interest and possibly penalties.  If you can't work it out amicably with the parent (and I encourage you to do so), you could file a complaint with the Pa Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division or retain private counsel to start a dialog with the parent to get you paid what you deserve.... Read More