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baquerd posted:Does an entity need to be a lawyer to represent a person (and would civil vs. criminal matter)? A person can go pro se and represent themselves without legal experience, but could another person without credentials represent them? One beep for yes, two beeps for no?
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Feb 17, 2012 06:16
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Incredulous Red posted:One beep for yes, two beeps for no? Semi-live, via skype, it is Leonard J Crabs Esq.
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Feb 17, 2012 06:20
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baquerd posted:Does an entity need to be a lawyer to represent a person (and would civil vs. criminal matter)? A person can go pro se and represent themselves without legal experience, but could another person without credentials represent them? You're making a whole bunch of weird assumptions here. If you have a specific question, ask it. If you're writing science fiction, just make poo poo up.
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Feb 17, 2012 06:36
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baquerd posted:A person can go pro se and represent themselves without legal experience, but could another person without credentials represent them? I am not a lawyer but not in the United States to my knowledge. For example a paralegal cannot file paperwork for you or represent you in court.
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Feb 17, 2012 06:59
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Incredulous Red posted:You're making a whole bunch of weird assumptions here. Basically this. There was a lawsuit about Quicken and Turbo Tax a while back that dealt with similar issues. (and like the guy before me said, no. If you're not a lawyer you don't get to represent people. It's one of the few good things about the legal market these days.
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Feb 17, 2012 07:06
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First of all, thanks to all the lawyer goons who take time to help out with this thread. It's pretty awesome of you guys.  I've a fairly complicated situation that I'm not necessarily looking to sue anyone over I'm just curious about the general legality of it. This is for South Carolina. I hope I can explain it well without bogging it down in the technicalities. I work for a large Pizza Chain, for a large (50+stores) franchise. Back in 2009(?) when minimum wage was raised they decided to go to a split pay system. Where Drivers are minimum wage employees until you clock out a run (that is log in on the computer system and tell it you are taking the pizza out of the store). After you clock it out you become a tip based worker and are making some amount below the minimum wage (it varies employee to employee, I hear new hires are getting $3.00 a hour "on the road"). Until you clock back in from your run, on the system. The problem is the general manager's bonus check is based upon how efficiently they run the store, and our manager frequently "games" the system where in they will tell the computer that someone is taking a run when in fact they are still in store doing (minimum wage)things. And at times the pizza is not in the oven yet. This has been run up the corporate flag pole a few times and they will spin their wheels and say not to do that, but it never affects any change and in fact has been going on since they changed to this system. Is this in fact illegal or just sort of a "well that sucks but it's legal so oh well" type thing?
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Feb 17, 2012 08:11
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Tipped employees still have to be paid minimum wage. If the tips added to the base waitstaff wage doesn't add up to at least that, then the employer is required by federal law to make up the difference.
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Feb 17, 2012 09:03
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ibntumart posted:Tipped employees still have to be paid minimum wage. If the tips added to the base waitstaff wage doesn't add up to at least that, then the employer is required by federal law to make up the difference. It sounds like he isn't the only one who this happens to, and that it has been happening for several years. These ~$5 cut corners really add up in such situations to the point where a plaintiff's attorney may be interested in the dollar-figure attached. Unless someone else pipes up in here, I would call up a plaintiff's firm and explain the situation. They would be able to tell you if you have a case that is worth pursuing (in terms of legitimate legal issue, monetary considerations, and potential for success). If you do have a case, you should be mad as hell people are stealing your money and shouldn't have any qualms with going forward to redress your injury. If you don't know of any attorneys/firms by reputation, Google "South Carolina super lawyers" to find firms (don't expect to grab any specifically listed attorney) in or around your area. Look up their website, make sure they're a plaintiff firm, and give them a ring.
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Feb 17, 2012 15:00
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I am pretty sure a restaurant has to pay minimum wage regardless of tips. Some jurisdictions may have a lower minimum wage for people who get tips. The last time I was a waiter my minimum wage was $1.80 or something when the normal minimum was $5.50. I do not know for certain.
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Feb 17, 2012 16:51
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baquerd posted:Does an entity need to be a lawyer to represent a person (and would civil vs. criminal matter)? A person can go pro se and represent themselves without legal experience, but could another person without credentials represent them? An article comes out every couple months about how there are people trying, with increasing success, to come up with computer programs capable of giving legal advice I don't think it'd be particularly useful during a trial because trials usually turn on a characterization of the facts or the application of the law to the facts rather than just a simple statement of what the law is But for solicitor's work yeah I imagine there will be a reasonably high degree of automation in the nearish future. It's already happening; lots of stuff that used to be done by articling students or young associates is now done procedurally hypocrite lecteur fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Feb 17, 2012 |
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Feb 17, 2012 17:33
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Green Crayons posted:If you do have a case, you should be mad as hell people are stealing your money and shouldn't have any qualms with going forward to redress your injury. If you don't know of any attorneys/firms by reputation, Google "South Carolina super lawyers" to find firms (don't expect to grab any specifically listed attorney) in or around your area. Look up their website, make sure they're a plaintiff firm, and give them a ring. It does indeed happen across the board to every driver in employ at this store. And it often feels like my manager is cutting corners off my paycheck for the sake of their own bonus. I would not be surprised if this happens at many stores with this same system in place. I only really thought about it recently because in the last few months we got a very extensive security camera system and it would be trivial (if tedious) for someone to make a record of all this stuff happening. I will contact a local law firm about it and see if there is something that can be done about it. Thanks.
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Feb 17, 2012 18:42
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Blooshoo posted:It does indeed happen across the board to every driver in employ at this store. And it often feels like my manager is cutting corners off my paycheck for the sake of their own bonus. Regardless of the legalities you should be writing down the relevant details each time this happens (date, time in store, time clocked in, manager, employee, etc). If anything does happen you want exact details.
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Feb 17, 2012 20:24
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euphronius posted:I am pretty sure a restaurant has to pay minimum wage regardless of tips. Some jurisdictions may have a lower minimum wage for people who get tips. The last time I was a waiter my minimum wage was $1.80 or something when the normal minimum was $5.50. I do not know for certain. Let's assume he works 8 hours, and spends half of that driving. He gets $40 in tips. Right: ($7.25 * 4) + ($3 * 4) + $40 = $81 per day (basically 4 hrs minimum wage, 4 hrs at $13/hr) Wrong: ($3 * 4) + ($3 * 4) + $40 = $64 per day (basically 8 hrs at $8/hr) He is being cheated out of pay to the company's benefit. Edit: Another way to think of it is he loses $4.25 in tips for each hour he's incorrectly paid as a tip-earner, since his tips are offsetting the company's need to pay him $7.25. Choadmaster fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Feb 17, 2012 |
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Feb 17, 2012 22:26
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e:nm
Leopold N. Loeb fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Oct 28, 2013 |
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Feb 17, 2012 23:42
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Last week I had to drive something like 40 miles away for work, and when I went down to the garage of my small apartment building of course the motor to the garage door was busted and thus everybody was trapped inside. I absolutely could not afford to be late, so after calling the landlord and letting him know the situation, I basically had no other choice than to take a taxi, which ended up costing $111 not counting tip (I have a receipt). When I called he said that he couldn't get anybody out for at least a half hour, and I let him know that I was going to have to take the taxi. My question is this: will I be able to deduct the $111 from my next rent payment? This is at least the fifth time that the garage door motor has been busted (the door is clearly too heavy for the motor). If I have the law on my side, should I just send in the rent check minus taxi fare with a copy of the receipt and a few sentences explaining it? It would really irk me to have to call him and ask permission first. For the record, I'm not dealing with some mega faceless apartment rental corporation, its just a guy who owns this building of 15 units (in California, if that makes a difference). Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Feb 18, 2012 01:26
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Not legal advice, but for future reference: Why don't you just pull the string to disconnect the door from the garage door opener mechanism and then open the door by hand? I've never seen a garage door opener without a manual override like that (maybe they use a different kind of opener in apartment buildings though).
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Feb 18, 2012 01:46
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Choadmaster posted:Not legal advice, but for future reference: Why don't you just pull the string to disconnect the door from the garage door opener mechanism and then open the door by hand? I've never seen a garage door opener without a manual override like that (maybe they use a different kind of opener in apartment buildings though). I would need a ladder to get to this motor, and it is definitely different from what I can tell from a standard household garage door motor. There's nothing that looks like an override to the naked eye, especially anything hanging down to pull. The last time it happened I tried prodding at anything I could see with a broom handle and nothing worked. Edit: Plus the last thing I want to do is destroy the motor by trying to get the door open, thus opening myself up to footing the repair/replacement bill. Rawk Hawk fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Feb 18, 2012 |
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Feb 18, 2012 01:57
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Rawk Hawk, will your work reimburse you for the taxi? That might be the easiest way to go. As to your question, I doubt you can withhold rent over this, but I don't know poo poo about California law, so I'll defer to those who do.
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Feb 18, 2012 02:14
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Leopold N. Loeb posted:Also, my sister is estranged from the family, and may wish to forfeit all or some of her inheritance. Can she do this? And if so, what happens to her share of the estate? She'd need to sign a disclaimer and it would fall into the residuary and be distributed like she didn't exist. So between you and your step-mother.
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Feb 18, 2012 03:45
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e:nm
Leopold N. Loeb fucked around with this message at 01:22 on Nov 1, 2013 |
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Feb 18, 2012 07:15
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CaptainScraps posted:She'd need to sign a disclaimer and it would fall into the residuary and be distributed like she didn't exist. So between you and your step-mother. Also, for everyone's sake, she should have her own lawyer and independant legal advice. You don't need her coming back later saying she didn't understand what she was signing.
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Feb 18, 2012 10:16
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Leopold N. Loeb posted:Given that the property and home I mentioned were already listed by a realtor for sale(my lawyer put the kibosh on the deal), is it possible that there was some fraud? Or would the realty company not yet have reached the point at which they needed to determine ownership of the home and property? It seems like they would have to know who really owned the property before listing it for sale? I mean, they must have known that my father died, because he obviously didn't sign any paperwork? I am not a realtor, obviously, and am very confused by this. Depends on what the Will actually said. It's possible that it left instructions to sell all the assets and split the cash. The executor would be within his/her authority to carry that out. With that said, however (and I can't speak to your state), in this jurisdiction the title to land cannot be transferred without a grant of probate confirming the executor's authority to act. I would think about popping by the courthouse and searching to see if the new wife had applied for a grant. If so, the Will was likely attached and is now public record.
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Feb 18, 2012 10:20
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baquerd posted:Does an entity need to be a lawyer to represent a person (and would civil vs. criminal matter)? A person can go pro se and represent themselves without legal experience, but could another person without credentials represent them? Generally speaking, some lower level courts (i.e. small claims court, criminal docket court) may permit an agent to act. The agent can be any individual, no law degree required. Higher levels of court generally require a lawyer, although (at least in this jurisdiction) the court has the discretion to permit an agent to act. This actually comes up a lot when a small business gets sued - the sole shareholder of the corporation shows up to state his side of things and doesn't realize that the corporation is its own entity and requires counsel to act on its behalf.
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Feb 18, 2012 10:23
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hypocrite lecteur posted:But for solicitor's work yeah I imagine there will be a reasonably high degree of automation in the nearish future. It's already happening; lots of stuff that used to be done by articling students or young associates is now done procedurally A lot of this has to do with the field of discovery. In any large lawsuit, both sides typically trade huge amounts of documents that need to be reviewed, this is the majority of the cost associated with suing people. In the largest cases, it can easily run into millions of documents. This is complicated by the fact that a lot of these text documents are turned into image files so the information can't be modified. People are using more and more automated search tools to find the relevant documents in this flood, rather than having a ton of junior attorneys or contractors look at each and every one.
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Feb 19, 2012 12:07
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Here's a weird one: My wife and I currently live in North Carolina. My wife immigrated from Peru in 2006 and she is currently 33. When she was a child she was essentially abandoned by both her parents when she was only 9 months old (left with grandma), who both immigrated to the United States. When my wife was a child her father sent her money until she was four but the payments eventually ceased. She currently has no relationship with either parent, we've been together for over 4 years now and I have never met either parent. Her father became somewhat wealthy in New York. When my wife decided she wanted to immigrate to the United States (When she was 21) she got in contact with her father in order to help her with the process. He helped with the paper-work and sent her a little bit of money to help her out with a few things. When she was 28 my wife finally immigrated to the United States (legally) and was going to stay with her dad for a few weeks and was going to give him another chance. Things didn't work out and after only fifteen days she left and moved to Virginia to stay with her aunt. What we're wondering if there is anything my wife can do to get what we both feel is unpaid child-support and restitution for the neglect and all the suffering she endured in her life because of her abandonment.
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Feb 19, 2012 15:55
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Orange_Lazarus posted:
Almost definitely not. It's been over fifteen years since she was a minor - any cause of action that she may have had during her childhood would have accrued on the day she turned 18, and I think any statute of limitations would have run by now. In layman speak: if she ever had a legal case, it's probably too late now to do anything about it. And I'm not sure whether she would have had a case in the first place - abandonment while a child in Peru? That involves Peruvian law at the time, and I have no idea how they do things. This is one of those situations where the solution can be found in therapy, not law. lovely childhood for your wife, that really does suck, but I don't think she's going to find a remedy in the U.S. legal system.
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Feb 19, 2012 16:41
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Thanks. This is what I had assumed but I figured it was best to ask just in case. We have been seeking therapy for her but affordable therapy seems to be very difficult to find, it almost comes off as a luxury service or something.
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Feb 19, 2012 19:53
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Orange_Lazarus posted:Thanks. This is what I had assumed but I figured it was best to ask just in case. We have been seeking therapy for her but affordable therapy seems to be very difficult to find, it almost comes off as a luxury service or something. Some universities offer free therapy by grad students.
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Feb 19, 2012 21:01
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I'm fairly embarrassed to be asking this question, but any guidance would be appreciated. We live about an hour outside of a Denver, and a few weeks back an old friend called to let us know he was coming to town, so my wife and I got a hotel downtown so we wouldn't need to worry about driving back home. My friend, bless him, had too much to drink and we offered him the couch at the hotel to sleep it off. We took a cab back to our hotel room he became angry at the front desk attendant, started screaming and punched the wall, causing his hand to bleed profusely. We didn’t know this was going on until he showed up at the door and I noticed he was bleeding from his hand. The hotel attendant had called the police who showed up at the door and saw the blood all over the floor, I was just starting to clean up. He was treated by paramedic and taken to the ED, but not charged with any crime. Due to the blood on the walls and floor of the hotel room, we were moved to a new room. When we checked out the next morning, the concierge informed us that we were being charged an additional $200 because the hotel would need to hire a cleaning service to clean up the blood. I was told the amount was based on the estimate provided by the cleaning service and that that amount should cover it. I received my credit card statement today and found that in addition to the $200 charge, I was charged an additional $515 by the hotel without notification or explanation. When I phoned my friend and told him about the $200 charge he told me it was his fault and he would pay it, but at this point I'm really flustered knowing that it will be very difficult for me to float the $715 to pay amex in the mean time. I'm stuck in the middle of this, and before I pay amex and inform my friend the drunk rear end in a top hat tax went up, I'm wondering if I need to confirm with the hotel that the actual invoice amount was $715 and I wasn't double charged, or if there is any additional action I should take at this point? Am I correct that we are liable for damages since he was a guest? I want to pay what is due but not any more as this is a lot of $ for us.
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Feb 19, 2012 22:07
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jfballin posted:I'm fairly embarrassed to be asking this question, but any guidance would be appreciated. Off the top of my head, I'd say you're probably liable for what your guests do in your hotel room. I'd still contact the hotel and see what the $515 is all about. I'd it's a charge for fixing the hole he punched in the wall, which you might be liable for depending on a couple factors.
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Feb 19, 2012 22:52
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Also your friend is an rear end in a top hat (but I'd like to party with him)
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Feb 19, 2012 22:52
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Dispute the charge, You didn't authorize that payment. As for my own question: I rent a property and it was just sold. Are there any special renters rights relating to a situation like this? I'm primarily concerned with the condition assessment and the deposit. Does that get transferred? Should I go demand my original deposit back since the old management company obviously won't be performing any move out repairs? quote:Sec. 92.105. CESSATION OF OWNER'S INTEREST. (a) If the owner's interest in the premises is terminated by sale, assignment, death, appointment of a receiver, bankruptcy, or otherwise, the new owner is liable for the return of security deposits according to this subchapter from the date title to the premises is acquired, regardless of whether notice is given to the tenant under Subsection (b) of this section. This is the relevant section, as far as I can tell from the Texas Property Code. It seems like the deposit transfers, but I would appreciate if someone could translate it to english and confirm this. Also, we have to mail our rent now, it seems, since the new company is based in a different city. Does our rent have to be in their hands or simply postmarked by the due date? I'm in Texas, if this matters. 30 TO 50 FERAL HOG fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Feb 19, 2012 |
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Feb 19, 2012 22:53
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^^^^^^^^^^^ If your contract says nothing, generally it is the postmark date. BiohazrD posted:Dispute the charge, You didn't authorize that payment.
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Feb 19, 2012 23:47
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BiohazrD posted:Dispute the charge, You didn't authorize that payment. That was very concerning to me that such a large amount was charged without authorization. If I call the hotel to find out what the charges are for does that prevent me from disputing the charge with the credit card company? I have a really hard time believing it would cost that much to clean up.
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Feb 20, 2012 00:32
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jfballin posted:That was very concerning to me that such a large amount was charged without authorization. If I call the hotel to find out what the charges are for does that prevent me from disputing the charge with the credit card company? I have a really hard time believing it would cost that much to clean up.
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Feb 20, 2012 00:40
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Can someone give me a rundown of how the probate process works? I'm in Maine if it matters. An older man passed away and has one surviving daughter, who is named the beneficiary of all his assets in his will. The estate is small, no property and under 50k in other assets. The way I understand it: 1) She goes to probate court and files some forms + will. 2) A hearing is scheduled 3) The hearing produces some sort of legal document giving her possession of his assets 4) End of story? Is that all there is to it, or am I missing something?
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Feb 20, 2012 03:44
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TacoHavoc posted:Can someone give me a rundown of how the probate process works? I'm in Maine if it matters. An older man passed away and has one surviving daughter, who is named the beneficiary of all his assets in his will. The estate is small, no property and under 50k in other assets. The way I understand it: To completely generalize and without doing any research about Maine whatsoever, I'd be surprised if probate required a hearing. You submit your application and give notice of your application to any beneficiaries or other interested parties (minor children, spouses, etc). Usually the application is fired upstairs for a judge to review at his/her leisure, no personal appearance necessary. The exception would be if the will is disputed - for example, if a disinherited child claims that the deceased was incapacitated and coerced into signing a new will. Maine may also have legislation that permits the court to make provisions for dependants who were not properly considered in the will - i.e. if you don't leave a penny to your badly disabled child, you're not only an rear end in a top hat, but the will can be reviewed. That said, the process is a pain in the rear end - it's a good day if my application is accepted on the first try, as the clerks are very fussy. Your milage will vary, but if she can find a lawyer who will do it for cheap, she may want to think about it. The actual work will all be done by a paralegal, so costs could be reasonably low (especially considering the state of the legal market right now). Finally, and this is not advice in any way, it's important for the executor of the estate to clearly seperate the estate assets from his or her own. If a new beneficiary somehow comes out of the woodwork, the executor can be personally liable for estate assets that have been taken before the probate process is complete. Also, taking estate assets can make the executor liable for estate debts, including income taxes owing. Don't mess with that. Schitzo fucked around with this message at 12:02 on Feb 20, 2012 |
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Feb 20, 2012 11:52
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TacoHavoc posted:Can someone give me a rundown of how the probate process works? I'm in Maine if it matters. An older man passed away and has one surviving daughter, who is named the beneficiary of all his assets in his will. The estate is small, no property and under 50k in other assets. The way I understand it: Besides what was mentioned above there are all types of tax considerations. The daughter should hire a lawyer who will be paid from the estate.
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Feb 20, 2012 15:55
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Hypothetical traffic question in Ohio with crummy drawing. I'm stopped at a red light where it is legal to turn right on red. I notice the other light turning yellow and the cars slowing down. I start to turn right during that second where all lights are red, but a car coming from the left enters the intersection during the red-light and hits me from behind. Who's at fault? 
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Feb 20, 2012 22:31
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Human Tornada posted:Hypothetical traffic question in Ohio with crummy drawing. If you didn't have a green light, you failed to yield during a turn. He may also have ran the red light, but you are still partially at-fault in that situation.
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Feb 21, 2012 01:17
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