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Vanessie posted:small question....There is a good chance i will be going to court if my previous employer does not settle. Its a workers comp case, and my ex-employer has had a history of stretching out legal battles, so I guess Im in for a new crappy experience if this goes to court. Do you have a lawyer?
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Aug 1, 2013 22:40
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yes, I do. I believe hes working on contingency.
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Aug 1, 2013 23:19
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I have a question. I'm a 3rd year student in a online PhD program at an australian university, however, I'm an american student. Up until a year ago, I was able to pay out of pocket for my classes. Due to cuts and work we basically lost most of our bonuses, which I was using to pay for school. My program originally was at school A, which decided to eliminate said program. School B picked up the program from school A, including the students and the faculty. That said, school A accepted Sallie Mae loans so I applied for one and was approved. When the program cut was announced, a month or so after I was approved for the loan, the school basically denied everyone's tuition and pushed them at school B. Here's the issue. School B didn't accept Sallie Mae loans. I pushed school B to accept them, they went through whatever accreditation process they go through with Sallie Mae, and I was sent an email "yay we accept them now." I had to re-apply for a SM loan, was accepted after yet another credit check, and I am having 0 luck getting the school and SM to talk so they can get the money. The bottleneck appears to be at Sallie Mae, and I have a sneaking suspicion that tomorrow I am going to get a phone call from them saying that they just can't give money now to the school and too bad, so sorry. I basically have taken a year off of graduate school to resolve this issue. It took a semester for them to get things "ironed out" and now, this semester, they can't seem to be bothered to pay my tuition so I'll miss this one as well. I'm over $30k out of pocket into this degree and no way to pay for it now, and I have a paper trail showing that the school takes the loans, SM approved them, and I was approved. Is this something worth talking to a lawyer about?
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Aug 1, 2013 23:22
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Vanessie posted:small question....There is a good chance i will be going to court if my previous employer does not settle. Its a workers comp case, and my ex-employer has had a history of stretching out legal battles, so I guess Im in for a new crappy experience if this goes to court. You're fine. Don't sweat it.
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Aug 1, 2013 23:26
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Vanessie posted:yes, I do. I believe hes working on contingency. You should ask him. Trial strategy may want you there every day. Or not. Also depends on length of trial. For comparison: I had a patent infringement trial go for three weeks last year. That is fairly long even for large scale civil litigation. For a worker's comp case I can't imagine it getting more than a week, and probably only a day or two. Ask your lawyer. But probably it'll be fine.
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Aug 1, 2013 23:28
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My girlfriend is looking for an apartment for us to live in together in the state of Indiana. She has already paid the rent/deposit to the landlord, and we just received the lease agreement. We're very worried about this section:quote:INSPECTION: The Lessor or his agent may at any reasonable time enter demises premises for the purpose of inspecting the same to see the Lessee is complying with the terms of said lease. The last few leases I've signed have had a similar section, but with an added clause of "with reasonable notice". Indiana Code 32-31-5-6 states (sorry for the big quote): pre: (e) A tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent to the tenant's landlord to
enter the tenant's dwelling unit in order to:
(1) inspect the dwelling unit;
(2) make necessary or agreed to:
(A) repairs;
(B) decorations;
(C) alterations; or
(D) improvements;
(3) supply necessary or agreed to services; or
(4) exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual:
(A) purchasers;
(B) mortgagees;
(C) tenants;
(D) workers; or
(E) contractors.
(f) A landlord may enter the dwelling unit:
(1) without notice to the tenant in the case of an emergency that threatens the safety
of the occupants or the landlord's property; and
(2) without the consent of the tenant:
(A) under a court order; or
(B) if the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the dwelling unit.
(g) A landlord:
(1) shall not abuse the right of entry or use a right of entry to harass a tenant;
(2) shall give a tenant reasonable written or oral notice of the landlord's
intent to enter the dwelling unit; and
(3) may enter a tenant's dwelling unit only at reasonable times.Furthermore, how do I frame this to our landlord? We meet tomorrow to formally sign the lease and etc. Do I reference this as Indiana Code 32-31-5-6... clause G? Section G? Part G? Is there someone I can call at my city's courthouse or something to have this verified to me before I go in, or will bringing a copy of the law in question be enough? We're definitely not signing any loving checks without reading the lease ever again. I feel Goddamn stupid.
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Aug 2, 2013 04:29
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Epsilon Plus posted:Furthermore, how do I frame this to our landlord? We meet tomorrow to formally sign the lease and etc. Do I reference this as Indiana Code 32-31-5-6... clause G? Section G? Part G? Is there someone I can call at my city's courthouse or something to have this verified to me before I go in, or will bringing a copy of the law in question be enough? To the extent that your lease conflicts with state law, state law controls. Does the statute say what your remedy is if the landlord violates it? (Money damages? Right to end the lease early?)
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Aug 2, 2013 11:39
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That is usually a breach of quiet enjoyment which is a breach of the lease. I am not your lawyer Epsilon Plus but what you are asking for has little chance of success. Why don't people ask these questions hypothetically. It should be in big bold italics in the OP. ASK YOUR QUESTIONS AS HYPOTHETICALS.
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Aug 2, 2013 14:07
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Yo Epsilon, if you are home and worried about him barging in, don't you have a top lock that can't be opened from the outside? Rental properties have to in my state, use that. On the other hand dude snooping through your place while you are out without notice is somewhat disconcerting.
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Aug 2, 2013 16:57
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Vanessie posted:Is it possible to juggle a trial and college? Or do I really have no idea what will be in store for me if they do not settle? Kalman posted:Do you have a lawyer? Vanessie posted:yes, I do. I believe hes working on contingency. People having full time jobs and families have managed to juggle trials, you should be fine. But... If your previous employment was "ship boiler operator" or some such then the case involves admiralty law. You may have an issue because some of the proceedings are held at sea.
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Aug 2, 2013 19:12
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patentmagus posted:But... If your previous employment was "ship boiler operator" or some such then the case involves admiralty law. You may have an issue because some of the proceedings are held at sea. Seafarer's employement law is surprisingly straightforward, so even then there's nothing much to worry about.
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Aug 2, 2013 19:50
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Every time I go to the USVI for vacation I see flyers advertising "The Law School of the Sea" and my wife urges me to attend. I wonder if they would teach me how to help ship boiler operators with their employment claims.
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Aug 2, 2013 20:14
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Dogen posted:Every time I go to the USVI for vacation I see flyers advertising "The Law School of the Sea" and my wife urges me to attend. I wonder if they would teach me how to help ship boiler operators with their employment claims. I took their maritime family law CLE "When hot bunks turn cold." Division of assets amongst submariners is rather interesting because it is determined by the vessel's home port and current location. East coast US has anglo-norman derived coveture while most of west coast US has visigothic styled conjugal partnership gains. International and territorial waters are complicate by various Hague convention signatories like the Netherlands. Submarine captains rarely allow couples to split up because location, which determines statutory regime, is a state secret.
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Aug 2, 2013 20:58
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Michigan landlord/tenant question: I'm moving apartments right now. My lease on my old apartment expires at the end of August. They left a note on my door yesterday informing me I had to give 45 days notice to vacate even though it was the end of my lease term. They just called me and said that they will be extending my lease to Sep 15 and I will have to pay those fifteen days to meet their 45-day requirement. Is that legal for them to extend my lease like that and ask me for additional money? What happens if I just don't write them a check for those 15 days that I won't be living there?
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Aug 2, 2013 21:01
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I am not a lawyer, but I know that the lawyers are going to ask you to read your lease and see what it says about notice and automatic extensions.
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Aug 2, 2013 21:17
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In the US, if I hire lawyer(s) to sue people/organizations on their own initiative with the goal of social good, with all proceeds going to costs and to continue suing people for societal good, can I consider all related fees charity for federal tax purposes? Do I need to incorporate as a charity and then have the charity hire the lawyers to sue people, or can I do this without incorporation?
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Aug 2, 2013 21:37
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baquerd posted:In the US, if I hire lawyer(s) to sue people/organizations on their own initiative with the goal of social good, with all proceeds going to costs and to continue suing people for societal good, can I consider all related fees charity for federal tax purposes? Do I need to incorporate as a charity and then have the charity hire the lawyers to sue people, or can I do this without incorporation? This is the kind of thing you want to speak with a good business lawyer about. If you can afford to hire a bunch of lawyers to sue people you can afford to hire a lawyer to advise you. General rule, if you're doing something that involves more that $10K you're an idiot if you think it's too expensive to drop an extra $150 for at least a quick consult with a lawyer to make sure you're not about to stick your balls in a bear trap.
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Aug 2, 2013 22:15
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Do you have standing to become litigious Batman?
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Aug 2, 2013 22:20
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baquerd posted:In the US, if I hire lawyer(s) to sue people/organizations on their own initiative with the goal of social good, with all proceeds going to costs and to continue suing people for societal good, can I consider all related fees charity for federal tax purposes? Do I need to incorporate as a charity and then have the charity hire the lawyers to sue people, or can I do this without incorporation? You only pay taxes on monies received, sometimes not even on that. If the lawyers are working on a 100% contingency fee basis then you will not be receiving any money. I don't know if you can write off any fees you pay to further the lawsuit. Also note that non-taxable charitable contributions are subject to limitations that may keep you from writing off anything. Also, be careful that the entity bringing suit has the rights to do so. For example, the RightHaven copyright troll was granted the right to sue but had no other interest in the copyrighted works. From faulty memory, the court found that that was not sufficient and dismissed suits for lack of standing amongst various other technicalities such as improper jurisdiction and venue.
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Aug 2, 2013 22:28
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ashgromnies posted:Michigan landlord/tenant question: Not a lawyer. This is pretty standard, you have to provide a notice to vacate or your lease continues in some way (likewise, they have to provide notice if they don't want you to continue living there). The clock doesn't start until you give notice and it looks like they started it yesterday. Good apartment companies will give you renewal notices and reminders that you need to provide notice to vacate before that window expires, shady ones will ignore it because they can charge you higher rent in the period not covered by the initial lease. If you don't pay them they'll send you to collections and it will be difficult to rent another apartment.
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Aug 3, 2013 00:05
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ashgromnies posted:Michigan landlord/tenant question: What's your lease say?
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Aug 3, 2013 01:16
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So as a Canadian, I have a friend who had recently had to ban someone from his establishment, so what can the guy get in trouble for if he decides to hire a third party group to be a general nuisance for him? Sounds weird but some people can hold some serious grudges.
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Aug 3, 2013 03:08
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gyrobot posted:So as a Canadian, I have a friend who had recently had to ban someone from his establishment, so what can the guy get in trouble for if he decides to hire a third party group to be a general nuisance for him? Sounds weird but some people can hold some serious grudges. Be a nuisance how? Like he's hiring random people to cause scenes in your friend's bar or something? Will he be posting ads on craigslist for the position of "poo poo-disturber"? How much does that pay?
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Aug 3, 2013 22:53
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DuckConference posted:Be a nuisance how? Like he's hiring random people to cause scenes in your friend's bar or something? Will he be posting ads on craigslist for the position of "poo poo-disturber"? How much does that pay? Yep that is the guy would threaten to do which is hire random people to cause a scene. As one cop said the best they can do is shoo them off
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Aug 4, 2013 01:15
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I live in BC (Canada) and this is not a court case, I don't have a lawyer, I'm not being sued or suing. To put things simply, for "blah blah blah" reasons my landlord is late to returning cheques to a me after I moved out of the his units. All paperwork is properly filed, notices given etc. I moved out on July 28th and on the 30th the walkthrough is done, keys are given, etc. Yesterday he cashed my August 2nd post dated rent cheque even though our agreement is over and I am moved out. He told me they had been mailed with my rental compensation (eviction due to selling) on Thursday. Is this considered theft or fraud or anything I should be aware of? I will call our tenancy board here soon as possible but it is a long weekend so in the meantime I have tried to contact him and I'm not sure if I should be doing anything else. Thank you in advance, folks!
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Aug 4, 2013 04:53
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gyrobot posted:Yep that is the guy would threaten to do which is hire random people to cause a scene. As one cop said the best they can do is shoo them off Then they get thrown out too. Conspiracy to commit mischief is a real charge that could theoretically happen but it's not worth anyone's time. Extortion might work if the threat had a condition attached to it, but again, probably not worth the effort to prevent "a scene".
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Aug 4, 2013 14:23
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pomme posted:I live in BC (Canada) and this is not a court case, I don't have a lawyer, I'm not being sued or suing. To put things simply, for "blah blah blah" reasons my landlord is late to returning cheques to a me after I moved out of the his units. All paperwork is properly filed, notices given etc. I moved out on July 28th and on the 30th the walkthrough is done, keys are given, etc. Yesterday he cashed my August 2nd post dated rent cheque even though our agreement is over and I am moved out. He told me they had been mailed with my rental compensation (eviction due to selling) on Thursday. Is this considered theft or fraud or anything I should be aware of? I will call our tenancy board here soon as possible but it is a long weekend so in the meantime I have tried to contact him and I'm not sure if I should be doing anything else. Thank you in advance, folks! Don't attribute to malice what could be explained by laziness. He probably stuffed the envelope in a big envelope marked "AUGUST" and didn't pull it out in time - or he's already taken them to the bank and deposited them (some banks will hold postdated cheques until they're valid, or just cash them anyway).
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Aug 4, 2013 14:25
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ashgromnies posted:Michigan landlord/tenant question: IANAML. I am a Michigan landlord, however. First, read your lease. It certainly has language regarding the type of tenancy you have (fixed term vs. periodic) and probably has language regarding termination of the lease. Read this. Download this. The second link is to a Tenant/Landlord guide put out by the state that does a incredibly good job spelling out what is legal and not regarding leases, deposits, evictions, etc. I supply this to my more ignorant tenants and ones that I can tell are going to be trouble. The guide sez this: Fixed-Term Tenancy This type of tenancy is created when the lease agreement specifies when the tenancy begins and when it ends. It terminates automatically at the end of the period specified. A fixed-term lease ends on its own without further action. However, many leases include the provision that the lease converts to a month-to-month tenancy at the end of the fixed term. Other leases state a sky-high increase in rent—sometimes double—if the tenant stays beyond the fixed term. Periodic Tenancy OR Tenancy at Will This type of tenancy is indefinite in duration. It is created by actual or implied consent. Usually a month-to-month tenancy, the lease is considered renewed at the end of each rental period (month-to-month or week-to-week, depending on how often rent must be paid). Termination procedure is governed by statute and requires notice. It sounds like you have a fixed term tenancy and unless you had a totally perverted 45-day lease period, the notice your landlord is requesting is illegal, IMO. I have lease language that specifies one calendar month notice (by the first for the end of the month) which does not run afoul of state law. Absent language in your lease defining notice to terminate, you are free at the end of August. In case there is language, did you serve written notice to your landlord saying you were terminating the lease August 31 (prior to August 1)? If not, the notice to terminate from the landlord might be legal, but the length of the notice required very well might not be. In the absence of any lease language containing this 45-day notice, you might notify your landlord IN WRITING AND VIA CERTIFIED MAIL that you consider their letter to be legal notice to terminate and that you are vacating by August 31. Include your forwarding address for return of any remaining security deposit. Excerpt language from the T/L Guide about legal notice and let them decide if it's worth going after you for 15 days rent in Chancery Court. Unless they're retarded, it is not.
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Aug 4, 2013 17:27
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flakeloaf posted:Don't attribute to malice what could be explained by laziness. He probably stuffed the envelope in a big envelope marked "AUGUST" and didn't pull it out in time - or he's already taken them to the bank and deposited them (some banks will hold postdated cheques until they're valid, or just cash them anyway). He previously told me his bank already had the postdated cheques I had given him. It still could be laziness, though I really think he is just a liar since he had told me this week all cheques (money he owed me and my post-dated) were mailed.
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Aug 4, 2013 17:40
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Bojanglesworth posted:Quick summary: I have been divorced about six months now. In my divorce agreement it is stated there is no mutual debt or assets, because at the time there wasn't (to my knowledge.) A little update on this. I just spoke to the attorney that handled my divorce and he informed me that I can actually request that the court reopens my case in order to allow me to make changes to my separation agreement. In that separation agreement is where it is stated that there is no mutual debt. It seems the only issue with that will be that I will be back to chasing my ex around trying to get her to sign these documents, and I have a feeling that it will be ten times the nightmare this time around than it was when I had her signing off on no mutual debt. Do you guys feel like I would have better luck taking her to small claims court, or would a judge just throw that out because of what the current separation agreement states?
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Aug 5, 2013 19:40
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I don't know enough about separation agreements to give advice about it (though reopening the agreement sounds, to someone with no clue about it, like a better idea), but note that either small claims or the separation agreement route will NOT stop the creditors from coming after you. If your name is on the account, or you signed up for the account, you're on the hook. You can go after your ex, either via the separation agreement or small claims route, to get her to pay you back for what you paid to them, but it doesn't stop them from going after you first.
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Aug 5, 2013 19:53
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Arcturas posted:I don't know enough about separation agreements to give advice about it (though reopening the agreement sounds, to someone with no clue about it, like a better idea), but note that either small claims or the separation agreement route will NOT stop the creditors from coming after you. If your name is on the account, or you signed up for the account, you're on the hook. You can go after your ex, either via the separation agreement or small claims route, to get her to pay you back for what you paid to them, but it doesn't stop them from going after you first. Yeah, and I am OK with that. I have been paying things at least to the point where they aren't reported as being in collections, or fully paying them off. I just don't think its fair for me to be responsible for debt that we obtained together just because they came up out of the woodwork after our divorce was final. I am more concerned about the potential of recouping some of the money back that I have paid on these debts.
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Aug 5, 2013 20:02
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Because I was dumb and poor, I took out more credit cards than I could handle a couple years ago. I ended up defaulting and it went to collections. I got a court summons from one this morning and I have twenty days to fill out the question form (I have no idea what that's about) and send it in... I absolutely owe the money, I have nothing to contest. The bill is $650 but I'm more worried about court costs on top of that. Any ballpark range what I'm going to owe? How do they let you pay this stuff? I feel like I'm a little more than screwed. Anyone have any advice? I'm in Arizona. I know, I'm never getting a credit card again either.
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Aug 5, 2013 21:30
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Scathach posted:Because I was dumb and poor, I took out more credit cards than I could handle a couple years ago. I ended up defaulting and it went to collections. I got a court summons from one this morning and I have twenty days to fill out the question form (I have no idea what that's about) and send it in... I absolutely owe the money, I have nothing to contest. The bill is $650 but I'm more worried about court costs on top of that. Any ballpark range what I'm going to owe? How do they let you pay this stuff? I feel like I'm a little more than screwed. Anyone have any advice? In general, if it went to collections then you probably received something called a "Fact Information Sheet" or something similarly named. This is what happens when someone already has a court judgment against you and is seeking to collect. It probably has a bunch of questions asking about your assets, bank accounts, jobs, and things like that. If it is this kind of form basically the court ordering you to give them your financial info so they can decide if they want to garnish your wages or put a lien on your property or something else as a way of getting payment. You still have the option of calling them and trying to negotiate a payment plan. If you decide that is a good idea under your circumstances, be sure to get whatever you negotiate in writing. There may be legal avenues to fight this, especially because some of the shadier agencies don't comply with all the requirements, but at least in my area you'd spend at least twice the $650 in legal fees hiring a lawyer to fight it.
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Aug 5, 2013 21:44
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I just looked at the questionnaire and it's this: http://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/34/Forms/Civil/Civil_Answer.pdf I'd rather settle it out of court. How do I go about that? I'm already very worried about paying the attorney fees they already have for this, I can't stop imagining that it's going to be a huge chunk of money. Thanks for the advice. Definitely whatever is negotiated will be in writing, I'll keep that in mind. Edit: And it's $122 to even file the questionnaire paper. vvv thanks! Scathach fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Aug 5, 2013 |
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Aug 5, 2013 21:52
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There's a specific thread about dealing with debt collection in BFC that might help you out. Seems to be pretty active.
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Aug 5, 2013 22:10
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One of the guys I work with pointed out that he thinks our position should not be exempt from OT here in Utah. I've been looking at the FLSA but I'm basically confused, and HR is taking some time in giving me any details on the specifics of why my position is exempt. I don't care one way or the other, but I feel like whatever decision is made we should be able to at least explain it. We work in a network operations center and most of our job is watching for alerts and fixing things. Occasionally big things have issues which if we don't fix can cause huge issues and lead to financial loss. The FLSA site states that just because doing your job wrong can cost a bunch of money doesn't mean you're exempt. The majority of our job is devoted to monitoring and management - maintaining the status quo. About the largest discretion we have is what repair actions to take, and this is largely based on the quality and availability of documentation and training. The administrative exemption mentions DBAs, Internet, and Network management, but it seems like they're intending that to cover the development and design along with specific hardware choices and things like that, not keeping the lights on once it's set up. Am I on drugs here or would a job largely revolving around maintaining the status quo 70%+ of the time not qualify for the exemptions either Computer or Administrative? I don't want to file suit over it, I'm just interested in having the right classification. (It wouldn't matter for me personally since I'm exempt for other reasons.) Mulloy fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Aug 5, 2013 |
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Aug 5, 2013 22:22
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IANAL, and based on my limited reading of the FLSA exemptions, and your descriptions, I think the more likely reason would be under the Computer-Related Occupations exemption. I agree that the administrative exemption seems like it would be a bit of a stretch. The administrative exemption also becomes more likely to apply if you make more than $100k per year. But none of these are hard-and-fast. http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17c_administrative.pdf http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17e_computer.pdf
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Aug 5, 2013 23:06
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So I'm in Illinois and I've been having a back and forth with an auto repair garage. My Jeep will not start, They've replaced several parts over the course of three visits, all with in a month. This last time we went on vacation for about a week, left them the car for 8 days, they replaced another part and still the same exact problem. Is it possible to take them to small claims court?
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Aug 5, 2013 23:26
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Finding a new mechanic would be a vastly more efficient use of your time and money.
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Aug 5, 2013 23:29
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