Contracts Legal Questions

This is rather interesting.  First, an alias summons means that your former landlord tried to serve but was unsuccessful.  A new summons had to be issued since the first summons was not successfully served. What makes this interesting, is that you said you went to court and they entered jugdement against you.  It appears you may not have been properly served with the first summons and the judgement could have been vacated.  You need to pull up your court docket, on-line, to see if the judgement was vacated.  If so, they are starting from scratch.   The next question, if your case has been vacated, are you past the statute of limitations?  You will need to do a little research in order to make a sound decision as how to proceed.      ... Read More

The answer depends on the contract that you entered into when you purchased the ticket. That contract will govern the terms of a refund or chage of date request. A careful review of the relevant contract is required to answer your question. You may want a lawyer to review the contract because sometimes the contract seems logical but there can be many overlapping issues to consider depending on how the contract is worded. You can look for the contract on the company's website if you did not sign anything when purchasing the ticket. Many times the contract will be in the form of "terms and conditions" or "policies" governing your use of the ticket.  Sometimes this language is even printed on the ticket iteslf.  If the contract for the ticket or the ticket itself states that you must give 48 hours prior notice to change the date or get a refund then the company you contracted with should honor that contract.  Be careful though as there can be many conflicting provisions in such a contract even if it seems straightforward.  Even if you determine you have a right to a refund or to change the date of the ticket, you may then need to enforce your rights in court (small claims or district court) in order to force the company you bought the ticket from to comply with the contract. There is no other way to force the corporation to act or to settle such a dispute with them without their agreement.   Right now, it is very difficult to say if this is illegal or not without a careful and detailed review of the relevant contract terms and conditions and the particular facts of your case.  If you want to send it to me I can review it for you and give you a more definite answer. Good luck!   ... Read More

I don't know specifically about Arkansas, but in most states a minor can back out of any contract he enters.  I doubt the dealership would be willing to take the chance.  Of course, if you bought the car, you could sell it to your son, as long as you realize that you will still be on the hook for payment.... Read More

Generally, you are not required to sign or purchase any warranty when purchasing a used car. Warranty companies are independent and are separate businesses from the dealership selling you the car.  The warranty will have specific terms and conditions that you must adhere to in order to receive the warranty coverage. If you have purchased a warranty, the detailed terms and conditions of that particular warranty will govern whether or not you have warranty coverage for the vehicle.  If you or someone else altered the vehicle after the warranty was purchased, or if the warranty was purchased and the warranty company did not know about the non-conforming 'lift' when the warranty was purchased, the warranty company might still honor the warranty this time to avoid a legal problem with you, but it is likely that the warranty you signed and purchased is invalid and would not be applicable to any future warranty claims or warranty issues for this car. This may be why the warranty company wants you to sign a new warranty contract - in order to to make sure that the warranty you purchased matches the vehicle you have and the warranty will cover you going forward.  Eithe way, it is crucial to read both warranties very carefully, in extreme detail, to determine the differences in the two warranties.  A lawyer can help you with this review and analysis.  It may be that the warranty company agreed to fix the car this one time due to the short two week time period from purchase and the mistake in selling the warranty to you when the car had  a "lift", but the warranty company is likely not required to honor the warranty again in the future. The new warranty they are asking you to sign may be what you need to ensure full warranty coverage in the future with the 'lift' remaining in/on the car.  However, without talking to the warranty company, reviewing both warranties in detail, or talking with you, it is difficult for me to say for sure. Generally, though, they want to make sure the car is and remains conforming to the warranty they sold to you. A detailed comparison of the two warranties is essential, but you are never required to sign anything if you dont want to. The qusetion is whether you have coverage in the future if you dont sign the new warranty.  ... Read More

Individuals do not prosecute criminal cases.  They are brought by the local prosecutor (usually a Distict Attorney acting on a citizen's complaint) and will probably have to be brought in the state in which the moving company operates.  Assuming that you suffered damages from the forgery, you can bring a civil case against the moving company in Virginia if the moving company has sufficient contacts with that state to allow the state to exercise jurisdiciton over it.  If the moving company moved  you to Va., you can probably sue in VA.  However, you should look at the contract you signed with the moving compalny to see if it has a mandatory arbitration provision or a provision specifying the court in which any litigation could be brought.... Read More

If the lease was for a year, it ended.  There is no need for you to have your name removed from a document which is no longer in force.  Assuming that the lease or any guarantee you signed does not provide for any continued responsibility after its initial term expires, like a holdover (read it carefully to make sure it doesn't), and that you are not occupying the leased premises, you are no longer liable.  You agreed to the lease.  Any arrangement for occupancy beyond the lease's term is between the landlord and the tenant, i.e. your grandson.  .... Read More

You can request anythng, but the venue may not honor your request.  Frankly, given the current situation, the venue may not be able to afford a refund.  Assuming that you can't reach agreement with the venue, you could sue to seek to rescind your agreement, arguing that the covid pandemic has frustrated the central purpose of the agreement and/or has made the contract impossible to perform.  Before you do so, however, you should review the contract to see if it contains a "hell or high water" or "force majeure" provision which would provide something along the lines that the risk of any event occurring which prevents the wedding from taking place is on you.... Read More

On its face, it appears that you have an enforceable contract, but of course I have no way of knowing what basis your ex might have to claim that it is invalid.  Were you both of age and competent?  Was there any fraud, duress, or undue influence involved?  Did you fulfill all of your obligations under the contract?  Was the contract ever modified? ... Read More

Codicils can range from a simple matter of changing the name of a beneficiary to redoing an entire estate plan, meaning that drafting them can take 10 minutes or 50 hours.  It isn't one size fits all.  Either way they have to be executed as formally as the will itself.  If you were overcharged, you may be able to recover the overage, if only because the attorney is afraid of having you accuse him/her of wrongdloing.  However, while rates vary considerably across the country (and some attorneys charge a flat rate for a will or codicil), where I practice in NYC most attorneys charge more than $400 per hour, and it is unlikely that drafting the codicil and supervising its execution (whcih I assume the attorney handled) took much less than an hour.... Read More

You can argue frustration of purpose, as many have due to covid.  In New York, at least, these arguments have rarely prevailed, but your facts are better than most.  You should review the contract, however, to see if it contains a "hell or high water"and/ or "force majeure" clause which would contractually pace the risk of some unforeseen event, such as the pandemic, on you.... Read More

You need to make sure you are keeping a papre trail for all offenses.  It seems like despite the contract, the employee is treated like an "at will" employee.  So dismissing them is not the problem. You don't want to pay unemployment.  I don't think you will succeed.  Not in this climate, not with those reasons. I think you want to bite the bullet and fire her and deal with those consequences.... Read More

I'm very sorry for your situation, but as a general rule contractual performance isn't excused becauew one party to it dies, and certainly not because that party's spouse dies.   Generally, if you enter into a contract and die before you perform it (in this case, pay), your estate is liable on the contract.  Without getting too technical, there are situations where a court could find that complete forfeiture of the deposit is unenforceable, but the purchaser would still be liable for the actual damages the seller sustained by reason of the breach of contract.  In this case, this would likely be the difference between the price you contracted to pay and the price the seller was able to seel the puppy for to someone else.... Read More

Probably.  Presumably the contract requries you to pay for the services provided by the school, and nowhere provides that your obligation to pay was contingent on your child liking the school.  In order to avoid that obligation, you would have to prove that the school didn't perform its obligation, which you may be able to do if you can prove that the teacher ws incompetent and/or a bully, but it's an uphill climb.... Read More

So wait, you had a work project that if not done cost your business $4,000,000.00 dollars, and this was handled by you and your wife? Without a lawyer that would have cost a tiny fraction of that? And that put you out of business separate and apart from the COVID issues? There is plainly a whole lot more story to this and that unforunately will likely entail you retaining a lawyer now, at greater expense than if you hired them at the beginning, so start sorting all this out. This is NOT a DIY issue as you can plainly see the results of that on this issue already. ... Read More

No, if the judge or jury believes you that it was an unconditional gift, you don't have to return it.  If, however, your relative testifies that it was a loan, or payment for something you were supposed to do (i.e. payment for doing his/her landscaping for the next year) or some sort of conditional gift (i.e. $2,000 if you enrol in college and get your degree), you could lose.  ... Read More

The simple answer to your question is no, if there was no contract to repay the money you would not have to do so.  However, it is not at all clear that in the course of your oral deadlings and/or the emails, you did not create a contract to repay the money.  Contracts of this type are not required to be in writing.... Read More

When it comes to refunds the first source of information is the contract. There is no information on whether you can get a refund or not. Now, if there is a phrase that says all sales are final but at the same time there is a clause that allows for refund, it may be possible the court leave both clauses without effect and interprets the language of the contract to determine whether a refund will be allowed or not. Now as to the "efforts" obligation, it is worth noting that if nothing is said a party is usually obligated to do its commercially reasonable efforts and to act in good faith. In conclusion, a more deep analysis look to the language of the contract is necessary before making any conclusions.    ATTENTION. The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Readers of this website should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.... Read More

When it comes to warranties it is very important to review a contracts closely. Ig a contractor fails to perform under the contract and expresses no intention to restore the situation it might be possible to get someone else to solve a problem. However, it is necessary to review the contract. In this case, the contract should explicitly explain what would happen if a party involves others. In general terms a party could loose the warranty. Nevertheless, it is for the judge to decide that. How it is also important to keep in mind that in the contract was an adhesion contract, one not subject to negotiation and non-drafting party maybe favored when the judge interprets the contract. ATTENTION. This is not legal advice. If you have a matter hire an attorney to advice considering the specific circumstances of your situation. ... Read More