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Cobalt Chloride posted:I just need some general advice before I proceed with a situation. I've been renting an apartment in Ontario since November. In December, I started renting a makeshift bedroom in the apartment to an acquaintance. Because it was a fairly casual agreement, nothing was signed at all. Only my name and my father's name (the landlord required someone to have steady, full time employment to sign and I only had a part-time job at the time) is on the lease. Since then he and his girlfriend have been doing all their fighting here, involving me in everything, and basically making my life a living hell. I also found out that he gave said girlfriend a key. I have another prospective roommate who is willing to pay me more money, and who I've lived with before no problem. So, obviously, I want to kick this loser out and bring the good one in. Call the Landlord-Tenant Board: http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/About_Us/STEL02_111278.html I am pretty sure the answer to your question is here -- http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/Law/STDPROD_092361.html -- and that you're probably fine to tell him to get out. But really, call them, they can refer you to whatever documentation you need, if that isn't it.
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Apr 18, 2013 07:47
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Good evening goons. Jurisdiction: California, Orange County, Huntington Beach I am located in Seattle and the question is in regards to a friend of mine who is 21. Last March or so he received a ticket for having expired license plates. At the time he didn't have a job so he basically tossed aside the ticket. Several months later he obtained a job and said that he had completely forgotten about the ticket until he received a notice saying his license had been suspended and that he now had a large fine for missing the court date (something like $1000 plus $645 as a late fee for the original ticket). I wasn't made aware of this until this past December or else I would have told him he had to get his rear end down to the courthouse and plea forgiveness, heh. So for the past four months he has been driving around with tags that are still expired (because his license is suspended) and I'm assuming a warrant on his name. He cannot get a loan and doesn't know what to do. What are his options outside of accepting arrest? Can he go down to the courthouse and plea ignorance/fear? Will he get arrested when they find out who he is at the courthouse? If he does get arrested, what then? Any help would be appreciated and thank you very much in advance, I am quite worried about him. GeekyManatee fucked around with this message at 07:49 on Apr 18, 2013 |
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Apr 18, 2013 07:47
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Sir John Falstaff posted:Generally yes, but they have to be reasonable, and usually limited in geographic scope and duration. A veterinarian who worked for a veterinary practice in a small town, for example, might be forbidden from practicing within a certain radius of that town for a couple years after leaving, maybe. But a non-compete that covered the United States, or was in perpetuity, or something like that, would not be upheld. Thanks for the answer. So, if it is enforceable, and the judge finds against the employee, what happens then? You have to quit your job?
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Apr 18, 2013 09:48
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Arglebargle III posted:Thanks for the answer. So, if it is enforceable, and the judge finds against the employee, what happens then? You have to quit your job? The judge could order whatever relief he deems appropriate, so he could issue an injunction preventing you from working at a particular place. It almost never gets that far though, typically if the former employer bothers to pursue it the current employer either fires the employee or negotiates a settlement. IBM v. Papermaster is probably the most widely cited case about this issue.
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Apr 18, 2013 12:19
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Arglebargle III posted:Hi lawgoons, I have a general question about the force of non-compete clauses in employment contracts. At least, that's what I think they're called. They're clauses that state the employee basically can't leave and work for the competition. Not laying out any penalties or anything, just flat-out stating that they can't do it. There's a surprising amount of information available on non-competes in the PRC through Google
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Apr 18, 2013 15:30
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I'm in Lackawanna County, PA, and I was planning on bringing civil suit against my former landlord for non-return of security deposit. I've sent a 30-day demand letter about a month ago, but I was hoping to consult with a lawyer before I confidently spend $150 in filing fees. I just thought it made more sense to pay for a short consultation first. I called my county bar assoc. and mentioned landlord-tentant law, but two of the three names they provided only represent landlords according to their receptionists. The third said he would only be interested in handling the entire case and mentioned a $500-600 retainer. Any suggestions about what I must show to the magistrate to demonstrate that no, he never sent the deposit or itemized bill within 30 days as required? Any local legal goons in my area interested in meeting or providing a reference? I'll come prepared and be hygienic and relatively well-groomed. goku chewbacca fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Apr 19, 2013 |
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Apr 19, 2013 21:59
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I assume you're filing in small claims, but for a security deposit I imagine this suit can't be for more than a few grand, so small claims makes sense. This is a non-comprehensive list, but bring everything you have, as organized as possible. The lease, any communications between you and the landlord (e-mails, texts, letters, phone logs if you kept those), any receipts for things like certified mail (on the demand letter), and anything else you can think of. Then sub-divide that into a few groups. You could try having one binder for each category. First are the things you absolutely want the magistrate to see. The lease, any photos you took before moving out, copies of move-in condition forms, any admissions by the landlord that he owes you the security deposit or that you did no damage to the premises, documentation about the day you moved out to establish the timeline, and the demand letter stuff. Second are the miscellaneous things you might need if pressed. Your bank statements, copies of communications (text, email, mail) telling the landlord about your new address, mail forwarding stuff you did with the post office, whatever else. Third are the random crap that you feel like is relevant but don't know where it fits. This stuff is useless to you, but it'll make you feel better to have it with you, so gently caress it, bring it. Have an index for each of those things, provide the magistrate with the indices and walk through your case, giving copies of things in the first binder to the magistrate as you do. Let them know about the stuff in the second binder if they want it, or if you need it to respond to one of the landlord's claims. Oh! Bring copies of everything, one for you/the magistrate, one for the landlord, and a third just because you never know. :EDIT: Also, assume you're never seeing the money again. He's not going to show, you're not going to be able to execute the judgement, and you've already lost the cash. The suit is a way to make yourself feel better about things and roll the dice on getting things back.
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Apr 19, 2013 22:39
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Let's say a court date is set to bring a very casual email into evidence as a legal promise about financial obligations. The content of the email specifically says "this is all off the top of my head" as an idea of how non-legal the wording was. However both lawyers agreed to work on the agreement terms outside of court and to file a continuance on the court date. The judge refused the continuance so they all have to show up anyway. What are reasons the judge would do that? I'm hoping it's to yell at the lawyer who filed the dumb email but I'm sure there are other reasons I may not be thinking of.
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Apr 19, 2013 23:12
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How long has the case been going on? What kind of case? (e.g. Small claims, criminal, divorce, contract dispute, personal injury)
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Apr 20, 2013 00:13
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joat mon posted:How long has the case been going on? Divorce, it's been going through a master of the court to try to settle pre-court but the master hasn't issued a final suggestion yet and it's never gone in front of a judge.
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Apr 20, 2013 00:19
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There aren't small claims courts in that part of PA. All claims under the Landlord Tenant Act have original jurisdiction in District Court with de novo appeals to the Court of Common Pleas.
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Apr 20, 2013 00:43
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Given the door to door searches performed in Watertown MA today by armed police swat units, what happens if they notice(as they are searching your house) something illegal. Let's pretend its a bong full of pot that you were just about to take a big rip out of. Do they have a right to ticket/fine/arrest? I know MA law says less then an ounce is actually a ticketable offense. How about a line of cocaine on a mirror? Some other "non minor crime". How many non-terrorism related arrests will come out of this event?
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Apr 20, 2013 00:51
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euphronius posted:There aren't small claims courts in that part of PA. Welp, I'm an idiot. Listen to euphronius.
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Apr 20, 2013 01:21
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lord1234 posted:Given the door to door searches performed in Watertown MA today by armed police swat units, what happens if they notice(as they are searching your house) something illegal. Let's pretend its a bong full of pot that you were just about to take a big rip out of. Do they have a right to ticket/fine/arrest? I know MA law says less then an ounce is actually a ticketable offense. How about a line of cocaine on a mirror? Some other "non minor crime". How many non-terrorism related arrests will come out of this event? The "exigent circumstance" (emergency) gets them in the house without a warrant. While they are there, if police are looking where the object of their search might be found (so no looking for gunmen in shoeboxes) and the police see something whose criminal/contraband nature is immediately apparent the search is good. In the case of Watertown, the police probably have more on their minds than MJ or a line of coke so it has a good chance of getting ignored - so I'd say few to none non-terrorism arrests. That is, this may be one of those few cases where there actually is a legitimate exigent circumstance, not a pretext to get around having to get a warrant.
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Apr 20, 2013 01:45
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In general, what can be done about a neighbor's tree causing damage to your property? This thing is planted on the property line, as far as we know. The problem is that according to the plumber my mother had at her house, this tree's roots are the reason her sewer access is repeatedly blocked. These are the same neighbors who have abandoned the home, whose walks I clear when it snows. We can't just cut the roots because if the tree falls, it lands on my mother's house. I have no idea what to do to resolve the situation. Where do we start?
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Apr 21, 2013 05:41
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Just had a rather serious immigration issue pop up and I'm hoping to get some advice here before I lawyer up. My wife's spousal green card application was just denied. The reason given was that we did not go to an interview appointment at our local USCIS office. Our issue with this judgement is that we had rescheduled that interview well before the interview date and received confirmation that the rescheduling was granted. They've already given her a deadline to be out of the country (less than 30 days now) unless I (specifically me, she is unable to) appeal. We have a timeline of all the events that have occurred and were assured several times between the rescheduling and the day we got the denial that USCIS was in fact just rescheduling our appointment and that we didn't do anything wrong. So far we've done all of this ourselves and it's worked out fine but this is a huge heartbreaker. If we send in the appeal immediately is it likely she'll be allowed to stay? I have no hope of them admitting fault but we do have documentation proving everything we've done so far. We're in the NYC area if that helps.
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Apr 21, 2013 13:58
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You need to find an immigration lawyer immediately. A good one, recommended by a friend or something if possible. Otherwise call your local bar association and get a few names, talk to some options and pick one. An easy immigration case is not something you necessarily need a lawyer for. You are now past the realm of 'things we can figure out on our own' and into the area of 'poo poo I need a lawyer for'. An initial denial is not an insurmountable problem, especially if it seems to be more of a technical issue rather than a substantive one (ie, that an appointment is recorded as missed rather than her being a war criminal). But it is something you need to have handled by a professional, because if you screw up your response to the appeal and miss something, misunderstand the notice, whatever, it will get much, much harder to solve. If you gently caress up your appeal badly enough, you could also end up in the situation where it can't be fixed at all. Please don't overestimate your ability in this - many people who end up in immigration problems are intelligent and well-educated and successful in their field, and fall foul because they aren't familiar with the immigration service or process and only provide the information or documentation that is specifically requested; often that isn't enough, and if you aren't current on the normal practice you are an immediate disadvantage. Also, if you end up in a situation where you are going to court about this, it is immensely important that you have a lawyer who is familiar with the local courts and judges and knows how to work with them. I am not a lawyer, but I have worked as a legal assistant in immigration firms for six years. If I was in your situation, I would be retaining a lawyer because I don't think that my experience in the field and casual access to immigration attorneys would be sufficient; you need someone to represent you. If you seriously can't afford a lawyer, check if there is an immigrant assistance group or something in your area. I would be really surprised if there wasn't something in NYC that offers advice or assistance. If you can't find one of those, there are two things you can do immediately: 1) Schedule an Infopass appointment at your local office (if possible, try to make it the office you were supposed to be interviewed at). Take all the documentation that you have with you to show that you rescheduled. Talk to the officer politely, and if they can help you, plead to speak to their supervisor. You may be able to reach someone with the ability to influence your case (you may not, too). 2) Contact your Senator. Basically any Senator will have some mechanism for you to request their help with a Federal agency. Here's the page for Kirsten Gillibrand, for instance. Senator intervention is not a magic bullet and does not mean that USCIS is going to reverse their decision, but it can at least get someone to take a second look at your file and if there is a clear error, potentially review it. Also it is better than nothing. I want to stress that these self-help options are the equivalent of bailing out a sinking ship. It is not remotely a replacement for getting a lawyer, because they will know how to get the best out of the above (for instance, an attorney will very likely know the supervisors at the USCIS service center, can request to speak to them by name, and may have a friendly relationship with them).
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Apr 21, 2013 14:32
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Thanks Ashcans, I am now both relieved and more terrified about my situation. Today we shop for lawyers and tomorrow we'll go in for a consultation.
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Apr 21, 2013 15:19
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Hi everyone. Thank you in advance for your help with this question. Back in July I filed a chapter 13 Bankrupcy to get rid of a house that was no longer safe for my family.The bankruptcy was discharged in Dec, with the house being surrendered. I have just received a notice from the banks attorney of dismissal and discharge of lis pendens. Does this mean that the home is now in the banks possesion?
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Apr 22, 2013 02:21
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Roxy Rouge posted:Hi everyone. Thank you in advance for your help with this question. Back in July I filed a chapter 13 Bankrupcy to get rid of a house that was no longer safe for my family.The bankruptcy was discharged in Dec, with the house being surrendered. I have just received a notice from the banks attorney of dismissal and discharge of lis pendens. Does this mean that the home is now in the banks possesion? But to answer your question, it will vary by state. Where I'm at, possession doesn't change over until the actual foreclosure sale date. So if a person files bankruptcy, and the bank drags on taking 18 months to foreclose, the person could still be fined for failure to cut the grass (for example). They won't owe the bank, but they're technically the owners in possession until the sale. But that may vary wildly.
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Apr 22, 2013 03:04
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woozle wuzzle posted:Are you sure it wasn't a 7? That timing and purpose sound like a 7. Did you make monthly payments? It was a chapter 13 for sure. We had little outstanding debt except a house that was 75% underwater. The attorney called it a strategic bankruptcy. We had the case confirmed and paid the amount due as soon as was possible. The problem I have now is the discharge and dismissal of lies pendens from the attorney representing the bank.The paperwork I received about this referenced the foreclosure case not the bk case. Does this mean we are done? We have maintained the house waiting for it to foreclose-basic lawn care and power inside to run the ac when humid + insurance. We haven't lived there for almost 2 years due to multiple break ins. We are in Fl if this helps. My fear is that this is a delay to foreclose. I just want to put this behind me. I can and will talk to my attorney tomorrow, just hoped to hear good news. Thanks for responding! Roxy Rouge fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Apr 22, 2013 |
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Apr 22, 2013 03:44
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Is it legal to rent a room out to someone in Pennsylvania in a house that I own/live in? What is a good way to do it to protect both myself and the tenant? What are some common things I should be considering to avoid being burned/sued?
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Apr 22, 2013 09:56
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You first need to contact your borough or township to see if your zone allows it and what code you will have to meet to allow rentals. Then go to a local attorney and have her draw up a lease for you. Also contact your accountant to see what the tax implications will be. If you can't afford a lawyer think twice about renting.
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Apr 22, 2013 14:20
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Jurisdiction: New York City The last job I held was a temp contract where I was paid about 25 an hour for a four day week. I'm looking to seek unemployment but was recently contacted by a company which only wants me to work on contract for one day a week for 25 an hour. I was wondering how this would affect my potential unemployment benefits. So previously I'd have a salary of 800 a week and now it be 200 a week before taxes. Would my unemployment disappear since I'd technically be employed or would it adjust and give me $600 a week to make up the difference since I have a lovely job?
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Apr 22, 2013 22:09
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Jet Ready Go posted:Jurisdiction: New York City Hola Señor Grumpycat, Your question is quite valid. I obtained the answer by googling: "how much can I earn on unemployment in NY". The first hit was the NY state department of labor here. quote:Q: What if I work part-time? The answer will vary by state. It looks like NY uses some kind of proportional scale based on days worked and amount earned.
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Apr 22, 2013 23:24
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woozle wuzzle posted:Hola Señor Grumpycat, Listen DUDE.. I'm Mildly Irritated Feline Companion.. I thought we had that clear! But yes thanks. I didn't think of using that search term because I was too busy trying to be too specific about it. I was worried going to work for a day would gently caress up the benefits and had thought to myself "Jesus gently caress, am I going to be THAT GUY who doesn't go back to work because he'd be paid more to NOT go to work?"
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Apr 23, 2013 01:48
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Figured this would be the best place to ask. Georgia Labor Laws If someone is paid a salary and they don't work a full 40/80 hours for that pay period, do you still pay them their full salary amount?
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Apr 23, 2013 19:11
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Generally, yes. Depends on their contract and the employment agreement, but if they're paid an annual salary (or monthly/biweekly/whatever), they get that amount regardless of how much they actually work. If you're concerned about an employee, either talk to them, change their contract, or fire them.
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Apr 23, 2013 19:19
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What's the recommended way to find an attorney? Just google searching and looking at reviews doesn't seem like the smart way to go.
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Apr 24, 2013 05:39
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Call your state bar association and ask for a referral. As noted in the OP:AreYouIn posted:If you have a question that you want to ask in this thread, you should probably ask a lawyer too, so here is a link to a website that has contact information for the lawyer referral services of all fifty states: http://www.statebarassociations.org/lrs.htm Check that website, find your state, call the phone number and tell the person who answers that you want a referral for an attorney.
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Apr 24, 2013 05:43
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Bro Enlai posted:Call your state bar association and ask for a referral. As noted in the OP: What if it is 3AM and you are sitting in jail?
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Apr 24, 2013 05:45
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^^^^^^^^^^ Anecdotally, a bonds man is not the worst sort of way to go. The caveat is that this can go one of two ways. There's the bonds man who wants repeat business: He will provide a pretty good referral. There's then the bond's man who wants money now who has an arraignment with the next door shitlawyer to kick him $500 on a referral. Hard to tell one from the other unless you're a repeat customer. Attorneys already know who to call. I know who I'd call in 3 regions of California (different people) and in Minneapolis. ChubbyEmoBabe posted:What's the recommended way to find an attorney? Just google searching and looking at reviews doesn't seem like the smart way to go. Best way: Find the richest person you know who didn't inherit and runs some sort of business. Have them ask their general attorney for a a recommendation. This works best if the general attorney doesn't practice the law in question, like if you need a criminal or family law attorney. Local attorneys know who is competent, well good ones do. Back-up (If you can afford expensive lawyers): Figure out who represents your judges when they or their kids get a DUI/divorce or whatever, check the paper. If you're in California or maybe Minnesota, I can help with criminal attorneys. Bro Enlai posted:Call your state bar association and ask for a referral. As noted in the OP: nm fucked around with this message at 05:50 on Apr 24, 2013 |
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Apr 24, 2013 05:46
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nm posted:^^^^^^^^^^ Thanks NM, that was my concern about the bar association option, I highly doubt they rate lawyers on a scale from good to bad as far as client satisfaction (for obvious reasons). The last time I needed an attorney I basically ended up being a paralegal for them. I even have the work benefit thing with legal assistance but it's serious enough that I don't feel comfortable involving them and I have my doubts about them being able to recommend a local attorney that didn't come from the bar association option. I never thought of the ask about general counsel option which is good because I can basically say "I need general counsel because of this leaky pipe at my rental thing" and then explain to the attorney the real issue and be protected, right?
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Apr 24, 2013 06:46
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Yeah I'd caution against asking the State Bar. Sometimes (often?) the attorneys volunteering for the referral lists are the ones struggling to find business. Might depend on the area of law.
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Apr 24, 2013 14:54
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I have no idea why you would hesitate to hire an attorney looking for work. If you go with the most well known attorney in town they will likely be the most expensive and you will likely not even work with them but some associate in their firm. A younger attorney (the ones you find in legal referrals from the bar associations) are less expensive and more energetic in general, able to provide more prompt communication and focus, and eager to build their reputation. The general counsel referral will most likely be his golfing buddy or someone he has a referral arrangement with. That method is no more likely to find you a quality lawyer than the bar association method. 99% of the issues brought up in this thread could be handled and have been handled by any local attorney (within their broad specializations). The exceptions would be immigration and bankruptcy (as far as this thread goes) as those are pretty intense specialties where the local attorney will not really be into that. In summary, warning goons against using bar referral services is dumb and possibly not in their best interest. euphronius fucked around with this message at 15:16 on Apr 24, 2013 |
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Apr 24, 2013 15:05
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euphronius posted:If you go with the most well known attorney in town they will likely be the most expensive and you will likely not even work with them but some associate in their firm. A younger attorney (the ones you find in legal referrals from the bar associations) are less expensive and more energetic in general, able to provide more prompt communication and focus, and eager to build their reputation. The general counsel referral will most likely be his golfing buddy or someone he has a referral arrangement with. That method is no more likely to find you a quality lawyer than the bar association method. This right here, all of it. So many people seem to have the mentality that their legal problem is of the utmost complexity and requires the most expensive, most experienced attorney available. This is like thinking only Herzog and de Meuron are the best choice for adding a patio to your backyard. As reading this thread should demonstrate to anyone, there is a lot of mundane poo poo that comes up over and over that, while it is of extreme importance and anxiety to the person with the issue, is really not a very complex or difficult thing for any competent attorney within the given field to handle.
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Apr 25, 2013 02:03
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euphronius posted:I have no idea why you would hesitate to hire an attorney looking for work. In criminal, at least, I would not agree. Most private criminal lawyers are hacks and thieves though. I'd say the same for PI. Generally, it has been my experience that what you say isn't really true. Good attorneys do not have referral arrangements, at least in California. Further, by staying out of his specialty you avoid using him or his firm, and generally informal referrals will take ability to pay into account. Also, as a younger attorney, I can say while we're eager to please we often don't know poo poo. There are also a lot of older attorneys who don't know poo poo ether, and really the bar referral won't tell you that unless they have been in trouble with the bar. Maybe being in a state that lets persons who went to non-accredited law schools (or even didn't go to law school) be lawyers, but really I feel like a good quarter of lawyers are just poo poo who might steal from you.
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Apr 25, 2013 02:18
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What are the legal terms for the liability incurred when you run over someone's fence with your car? Improper conversion or something like that?
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Apr 25, 2013 17:32
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baquerd posted:What are the legal terms for the liability incurred when you run over someone's fence with your car? Improper conversion or something like that? Negligence.
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Apr 25, 2013 17:48
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baquerd posted:What are the legal terms for the liability incurred when you run over someone's fence with your car? Improper conversion or something like that? Depends on if it was intentional or accidental.
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Apr 25, 2013 17:51
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