Litigation Legal Questions

You do not say if she owns the co-op or if she is renting it.  In general, the co-op's insurance will cover the loss for the structure, but the contents and insurance for alternative housing would be the responsibility of the tenant.  If the fire was someone else's fault, there may be claims that can be made.... Read Answer

You would be engaging in prostitution and pimping. So the answer is that it is illegal.  The police, district attorney, a judge and jury would have no trouble finding that the attachment of a nude photo to a post about dating includes the implied promise that the date will include sex. And they could make that decision beyond a reasonable doubt. The district attorney in our county takes the position that there is no such thing as consensual sex for money. The woman is always being exploited. The customer and any enabler (i.e. pimp) are the real bad guys. Our DA prosecutes the buyers, not the sellers. In order to avoid the possibilty of lawsuits by the women, you must have a signed written consent. Not an electronic consent, an actual hard copy with blue ink signature and a copy of the woman's driver's license or other proof of identification attached. Otherwise, she can claim that the exchange of emails or the record of her clicking ""agree" on your website, were faked by someone else, maybe even you. Without her face, a woman could claim a photo was her and you would be unable to prove it wasn't. As the plaintiff, she would have the burden of proof, but the judge or jury deciding the case is entitled to find that you are lying and she is telling the truth. Since she will be portrayed as the victim of your sexual exploitation and you will be portrayed as a pimp, she might be able to meet that burden. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need.   Dana Sack... Read Answer

Might be considered harassment, defamation of character, and/or interference with business relations or interference with prospective economic business advantage, or intentional infliction of emotional distress. You could file a lawsuit and ask the court to order that these actions stop and that the writing be removed from the internet, and court could award monetary damages.... Read Answer

You have asked whether or not your boyfriend's grandmother could press charges for damage to a room and, if so, what kind of proof she would need to prevail. You have also asked what you would need to contest the charges. First, she could proceed both civilly and criminally. In order to prevail on charges in criminal court, she would need to show the room was in good repair before you moved in and was damaged when you vacated. Your defense would probably be that the room was damaged when you began staying there or that your boyfriend damaged the room and you did not. It is best if you have photographs or the testimony of witnesses to support your position in this regard. If she were to prevail, a court might order restitution as part of a sentence – that is, the court might order you to pay for reasonable repairs. A criminal case has a higher standard of proof than a civil case. Much will depend on your boyfriend’s testimony about the situation. In order to prevail on charges in civil court, she would also need to show the room was in good repair before you moved in and was damaged when you vacated. Your defenses would be the same as above and your best defense would be to have photographs or the testimony of witnesses to support your position in this regard. If she were to prevail, a jury could award her a certain amount of money to pay for reasonable repairs. Again, the outcome may depend on your boyfriend’s testimony about the situation. In communications with the grandmother’s family, make certain you have witnesses present at all times. If the communications from some of these people are as you describe them, they may constitute a crime. If you have witnesses, you should inform your local law enforcement agency and file a complaint. This answer is made available with the understanding that I am not engaged in providing professional legal advice and this does not establish an attorney-client relationship with the questioner. This answer is general and not specific: Precise details of the facts in your matter may have a significant impact on the outcome of your particular matter. Before relying on material on the site users should obtain appropriate professional legal advice as to your particular situation. My comments may include opinions, recommendations or other content from third parties that do not necessarily reflect this author's views. Links to other Web sites are included for the user's convenience and do not constitute this author's endorsement of the material on those sites, or any associated product or service. The listing of a person or company in any part of this site in no way implies any form of endorsement by this author of products or services provided by that person or company. The user is advised to consult an attorney legal advice as to your particular situation. A user may wish to consult his or her own lawyer or another lawyer instead of me. A user may obtain information about other lawyers by consulting the Yellow Pages or by calling the South Carolina Bar Lawyer Referral Service in Columbia, South Carolina. If a user has already engaged a lawyer in connection with the legal matter referred to in a communication, the user should direct any questions to that lawyer. The exact nature of a user's legal situation will depend on many facts not known to me. The advice and information in this communication is general and that the user's situation will vary. ... Read Answer

Before knowing the answer to your question, an attorney would need to research the title and subdivision maps establishing ownership of the land where the tree is located. Is it the city's tree or is it your tree? In many cities, you own the sidewalk and any landscaped area between the sidewalk and the street, and the city just has an easement for the sidewalk. That's how it is in front of my own house. I dedide what to plant there, and if my landscaping causes any injuries, that's my problem, not the city's. But on other streets nearby, the city selects, plants and maintains the trees, and any damage would be its responsibilty. That's on two streets in the same city, in the same neighborhood. Even a small lawsuit costs at least $30,000.00. Cities either have insurance which aggressively defends such lawsuits, or their own in-house city attorneys who do the same. This lawsuit is likely to cost more. For that reason, you might need to call or email quite a few lawyers before you find one willing to take this on. Or you might get lucky with your next one. Keep trying. Do not delay. You must file a formal claim very soon after the occurence. I do not know how soon. If you hired me, that would be the first thing I would look up. If the city rejects the claim or fails to respond within a specified short time, then after that, you will have only a short time to file the actual lawsuit. So get an attorney ASAP. Good luck. Dana Sack  ... Read Answer

Yes, but it is probably not worth the legal fees it would cost or the hassle.  Your damages are the discounted present value of the difference in the amount of the monthly payments you will make under either a new loan now or under the loan you still have, whichever is lower. A year ago, home loans got as low as 3.50%. Now they are approaching 4.50%. So you could sue them for the difference. If that amount turns out to be not more than than $10,000.00, then you could sue them in small claims court. If it was only a little more, you could sue them for $10,000.00 and waive the rest.  We charge $300.00 per hour. A case like this could easily cost $20,000.00 or more in legal fees. So small claims court might be your best option. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack... Read Answer

I live in a gated community with an exit gate and it shuts very slowly. If his gate shuts very slowly I am perplexed as to how your fiance' got caught in the gate unless he was at fault in some manner.  As to how to make the office move quicker, I have no advice to give you except to keep hounding them to make a decision.... Read Answer

The district attorney decides whether or not to prosetute a crime. You cannot force the D.A. to prosecute. Given the D.A.'s load of murders, physical attacks and drugs, you might have trouble persuading the D.A. to devote resources to this case. The civil court system is not set up to punish wrongdoers. It provides monetary compensation to victims of wrongful conduct. The law recognizes the emotional distress associated with the loss of a pet. The law does not require that you experienced physical symptoms of the emotional distress or even that you experienced the need for professional counseling or medication. However, in order to convince a judge or jury that your emotional distress injury was severe enough to justify compensation or substantial compensation, most juries are going to want to hear that kind of evidence. Your claim also requires proof of severe wrongful behavior by the defendant. Your neighbor might claim that your dog jumped out in front of his car and there was no time for the driver to avoid the collision, or even that he never saw the dog and did not know that he had hit the dog until you or a neighbor came down the street and told him. This could be a difficult defense to overcome. As the plaintiff, you would have the burden of proof. Lawsuits are expensive. For the reasons listed above, it might be hard to find an attorney wiling to take this case on a contingent fee basis. That is where the attorney does not get paid unless and until he collects something from the other side, usually 30%-40%. Meanwhile, your neighbor's car insurance or homeowners insurance will be paying for his defense. So if you are paying your lawyer by the hour, it will be expensive for you and not so much for the other side. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust.  We set up such trusts and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need.   Dana Sack... Read Answer

You need to do several things.  For your illness, contact a personal injury lawyer.  Mold cases can be very good.  For the mold, contact the buildings department in your town.  They can cite a violation.  Lastly, stop paying rent and tell your landlord in writing you are doing so until mold is corrected.... Read Answer

1. you cannot sue the online booking website. It did not steal your money or post your passport. Federal law protects referal websites like booking.com against such websites. 2. You cannot sue the Thailand hotel or its owners, unless they have substantial contacts with the United States. Listing the hotel on booking.com is not enough. Doing business with Americans who come to stay in the hotel in Thailand is not enough. Does the hotel or its owner have any other contacts here 3. Are you claiming that it is the hotel's fault that your money was stolen? Proving that a property owner is liable for a crime committed by an unknown third-party, is very difficult. Under California law, a hotel does not guaranty the safety of your property. I don't know about Thai law.  4. You should get a new passport, change the passwords on all your financial accounts, such as bank accounts, credit cards and investment accounts, and maybe even replace your credit cards, and maybe even your bank accounts and investment accounts. Bad guys on the internet have your name, address, birth day and place of birth. 5. If bad guys were to use the personal information posted by the hotel to steal money from your accounts, you might be able to collect from the Thai hotel for that, but not for sure. It is a new legal idea. However, you would still have to prove that the Thai hotel or its owner had enough connections with the US that a court would hear the case. See item 2. above. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Dana Sack... Read Answer

As a general rule, the answer is YES. The court has great deal of discretion and there is no inherent right to delay a legal proceeding simply due to health or mentation issues. If you are not competent to proceed, the court may need to appoint a guardian, but then you will be out of that decison making loop. You would be well served to hire a lawyer here as they can also mitigate your involvement in the legal proceedings by attending hearings your behalf and acting as the contact point for resolving issues. ... Read Answer