Civil Litigation Legal Questions

The answer to "can I sue" is always yes, but the question is how strong is your case.  You say the trains were "handed down."  What does that mean?  Did your father leave them to you under his will?  Did he give them to you before he died?  Assuming the latter, can you prove it?  If your father did not give them to you before he died or leave them to you in his will, they would have passed to whoever inherited the residuary of his estate (the part left over after specific bequests are satisfied), presumably your mother.  If so, what if anything did she direct regarding the trains, either in her will or gifting them before she died?  What I'm getting at is that you may not be able to prove that the trains legally belong to you.  Another issue is the statute of limitations.  Your sister has had the train collection for years.  You would have a finite amount of time to sue her to recover them; I don't know the exact period in Pennsylvania, but it sounds as if a great deal of time has passed.  If you had an agreement that your sister could keep them until her kids reached a certain age, and agreement which was only breached a short time ago when the kids reached that age, you would be within the limitations period because her wrongdoing would have occurred only recently, but if her wrongdoing occurred when she took the trains years ago, your claim will probably be barred.... Read More

An attorney will need to review the contract along with how the settlement agreement was entered into the Court records.   Since you are outside of the general statute of limitations for enforcing a contract (4 years), other details of this case become extremely important.  For instance, there could be tolling of the statute of limitations due to the mention of fraud or it could have been entered as an enforceable judgment. I would move quickly to seek legal review regardless. ... Read More

Need more facts, however, it sounds like you need a consultation with a Workers' Compensation attorney.  Choose an experienced professional to guide and advise you and evaluate your claim if injured. However, if you are interested in consulting with one of us, you will have to reach out, as attorneys are unable to directly solicit on this forum.  ... Read More

Using media buzz words like "bullying" simply because you are confronted with someone adversarial to you does NOTHING to make your point, and to the contrary, paints you as being unreasonable or manipulative - as a head up. That stated, absent a written lease, if you are a month to month tenant, the landlord can raise rent or terminate your tenancy with 15 days notice as they choose. If they told you to remove junker cars from the proprerty or pay higher rent, thats a choice, not being bullied, and with your refusal to immediately do either, you risk the filing of an eviction lawsuit if you are not out by the deadline assuming the lawyer provided proper notice. If the landlord won't give you an extra week, same applies, as filing an eviction would not be "bullying" because you woud likely be the wrongdoer if you are a "hold over" tenant after the tenancy is terminated. ... Read More

Oh the promise of "big money" for "just the right lawyer" who is "not afraid" to take on the system. The classic unicorn ploy is NOT a useful way to get "help" on such a case. If you have a discrimination case and lawyers have turned it down over the past 4 years, that should be a sign of the actual quality of the case. That does not mean you can't pursue such an issue - but the expense of the legal fees will typically involve YOU making such payments, not the lawyers looking for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow where you insist there is a Leprechaun. If you don't have those resources, you are left looking to activist organizations to see if they are interested based on the specifics of your case.... Read More

Your insurance company represents you.  A settlement through the insurer is a settlement with you.  Anybody can sue for anything, so nobody can guarantee that you won’t be sued, but a full settlement of all claims with the insurance company would provide a complete defense.  People who don’t settle with the insurer can and would sue you.  Your insurer would be obligated to defend you and pay the damages (assuming that the claim fell within the coverage, and didn’t invoke an unauthorized driver or the line) to the limit of your policy.  If you have already inherited assets, they can be used to collect on any judgment against you and there is no foolproof way of protecting them, but there are many ways of making it more difficult for your creditors, for example liquidating and putting the most net into buying a primary residence, because Texas has an unlimited homestead exemption for primary residences (check this and any other attempts to shelter assets with a Tecas lawyer)... Read More

Start by researching the attorney at the State Bar's website.  Here is the link:  http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/LicenseeSearch/QuickSearch?ResultType=0&SearchType=0&SoundsLike=False Make sure you have his current contact information as listed there.  The attorney is required to keep this information updated if he moves, changes phone numbers, etc. You may also want to initiate a fee dispute with the attorney.  Do you have a written fee agreement?  This should be spelled out in the fee agreement.  If you paid more than $1,000, a written fee agreement is required. You may want to also file a complaint with the State Bar.  Here is a link for filing a complaint:  https://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/Complaints-Claims  Get all your paperwork regarding the attorney in order, including all notes of phone calls, proof of payment, etc.  Anything that will help prove your case. Lastly, you may want to speak to an attorney that handles legal malpractice cases.  These are difficult cases to win, but you might benefit from speaking to someone.  Even if you decided not to pursue legal malpractice, however, you can still file a State Bar Complaint and seek reimbursement of fees you paid if the attorney did not do the work he agreed to do.    ... Read More

Yes there is a statute of limitations on every civil claim, but it differs by cause of action and state.  I don’t know what the Ohio statute of limitations for breach of contract is, but in most states it is either 4 or 6 years from the breach.  In many cases there is no need for a written, contract, an oral one is sufficient, but harder to prove. ... Read More

Yes, but remember that defamation requires a false statement of fact, not opinion.  Something like "he's a slimeball" is an opinion and not actionable.  Also, depending on exactly what statements have been made, you may need to prove actual damages - how these statements cost you money - to succeed on your claim.... Read More