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Thanatosian posted:IANAL, however, as someone who does work for the insurance industry: it is highly unlikely that it is "unclear if the policy holder can just neglect to respond." Check the policy, and there is almost certainly some sort of clause in there about the policy holder being responsible for cooperating in any sort of investigation by the insurance company. Additionally, keep in mind that making a material misrepresentation is grounds for flat denial in many jurisdictions (they generally do not need to prove fraud for this sort of denial). Related Fact Concerning Litigation: Many states have a Fair Insurance Settlement Practices statute somewhere about timely investigation and settlement of claims, as well as cooperation with adjusters and parties. In my state, you can accrue a cause of action (Tie-in under DTPA) against an insurance company for failing to timely resolve a claim, or resolve a claim where liability has become reasonably clear. In other words, if not handled correctly, an insured or their insurance company can give rise to another lawsuit against themselves by the insured by not handling the claims process correctly. You can sue them for the damages, and also sue them for not paying you the damages soon enough.
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Apr 21, 2014 22:40
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Tenant/landlord compliant: what should I expect from a free consultation? Simply put, we owe our landlord some back rent and I mainly want to go in and ask some questions about rules to avoid eviction here. Among those are to be prepared in case any funny business occurs on the landlord's part. Besides timeline and how the eviction process works here, are there any questions I should ask regarding the attorney's/firm's service, e.g. cost of litigation, drafting official letters, etc? Anything worthy of note in Pittsburgh, PA?
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Apr 22, 2014 21:31
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Do not expect legal advice in a free consultation. Expect more of: What I can do for you and how much it will cost. General Observations: Tenants get hosed in Pennsylvania. if the LL follows the rules, which are minimal and basic, a defaulting tenant is going to get reamed. However, LLs are generally stupid and lazy and do not follow the rules. More General Observations: Judgments against poor people in Pennsylvania are quite worthless and Plaintiffs are usually willing to settle for 50% or less of judgment amount. euphronius fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Apr 22, 2014 |
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Apr 22, 2014 21:32
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poo poo. In that case, just two general PA tenant/landlord questions: What happens if the LL lies about how much we owe? Like, when asked, says we owe less than the amount of the judgement or lies and says we're all paid up. Also, they can't file for eviction until 15 days after the judgement is issued, correct? This one I'm not so sure on as I read it in a guide about Harrisburg and don't know if that's statewide or Harrisburg-only.
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Apr 22, 2014 21:47
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BirdOfPlay posted:lies and says we're all paid up. ... wha?
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Apr 22, 2014 21:50
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BirdOfPlay posted:What happens if the LL lies about how much we owe? Like, when asked, says we owe less than the amount of the judgement or lies and says we're all paid up. Then...he's not very good at this whole suing thing?  I guess you could turn it back on him and claim you owe MORE than you do, and demand to pay it in full, with interest?
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Apr 22, 2014 21:52
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As an excuse to follow through with an eviction. The LL has basically told me that they want us out to raise the rent. Theoretical: Judgement owing $40 in back rent  :You owe $30. : Well then, here you go.Several days later:  : Oh, looks like you never paid up. You need to leave.Yes, I'm a little paranoid, especially because the hearing didn't go smoothly.
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Apr 22, 2014 22:02
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Are you not capable of tracking how much you've paid? If there's a judgement, pay that, and get a receipt.
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Apr 22, 2014 22:04
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I mean I'm not a lawyer but if you have a judgement from an irl judge that says to pay $40 you would be the dumbest person on the planet to not do so
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Apr 22, 2014 22:04
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Bad Munki posted:Are you not capable of tracking how much you've paid? If there's a judgement, pay that, and get a receipt. I know how much I've paid and have all the receipts. The problem is the judgement is for more than should be owed and ignores a payment I made week before. The amount the LL says I owe squares up with the back rent and court costs. I should be able to manage what we owe but not the judgement amount which is several hundred more. EAT THE EGGS RICOLA posted:I mean I'm not a lawyer but if you have a judgement from an irl judge that says to pay $40 you would be the dumbest person on the planet to not do so Yeah, but that's  I could spend on my waifu! ( for some of the suggested items. Also, because it's a loving anime body pillow)
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Apr 22, 2014 22:24
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Pay the judgement, ya dingus.
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Apr 22, 2014 22:30
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How did a judgment get entered against you in an erroneous amount if you have receipts? Was it a default judgment? The easy way out is to pay the judgment and move on. You would need a lawyer to attack the original judgment if that's even possible, and if you can't afford the judgment you probably can't afford a retainer.
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Apr 22, 2014 23:31
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No, I was there and had the receipts; the magistrate just never saw them. When the amount owed was mentioned I contested it saying I had receipts. The landlord said they were the same as his, and the judge never asked me for the receipts I had. Regardless, the only big thing that's over my head is when they can post an eviction notice, since my internet search keeps coming up with different timelines. I'll be talking to them tomorrow to make a payment and see where we stand. Thanks for the tips, Lawgoons.
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Apr 23, 2014 00:48
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BirdOfPlay posted:poo poo. In that case, just two general PA tenant/landlord questions: I'm not giving you specific advice, poor person.
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Apr 23, 2014 00:51
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Oh well I'm hopeless. As for rent paid all you need is copies of your cancelled checks. LT law is the same across all of PA. There is only one Pennsylvania law. Note that I am in no way saying your interpretation of a web page you read is right or not.
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Apr 23, 2014 00:57
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I need some advice. I live in Kentucky, my wife and I have had emergency custody of a relative's child for over two years. Child is now 4 years old. The father is nowhere to be found and has never met the child. The reason the child was removed from their mothers care was due to neglect/abuse/drug abuse. We would like to file for permanent custody but the social services department is committed to allowing the mother to complete a 12 month plan to prove she is stable. (this will be the third time she has attempted to complete the plan) There has been no court hearings since the initial hearing two years ago except for a child support hearing. We have a court appointed attorney but he doesn't seem like he is very interested in our case. I am debating on hiring my own attorney but would like to know what to expect if anyone has experience with these matters.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:02
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Hey look, I'm not even a lawyer or whatever but I can field this one!Swiller of Beer posted:I need some advice.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:03
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You need an attorney. If you walked in my office I'd want a 2000$ retainer, but who knows how much your local area is. Well I mean you could go pro se but you'd likely gently caress it up and be up against attorneys for the mother, father and child.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:05
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Hey guys I have an incredibly complex custody situation where I am trying to apply third party in loco parentis standing against the wishes of the state youth services office do we need an attorney.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:07
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The legal term for your situation is "a clusterfuck"
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Apr 23, 2014 01:09
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Bad Munki posted:Hey look, I'm not even a lawyer or whatever but I can field this one! I know I need a lawyer. I have had a consultation and gotten prices from a couple lawyers. The problem is that I didn't like either of them. The two I talked to seemed like a jack of all trades lawyer and if I'm going to pay for a lawyer I'd at least like a good one instead of one that says give me moneys and I'll let you know what I can do for you. As someone who hasn't had many dealings with lawyers it seemed kinda shifty to me.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:15
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They probably instantly sized you up as someone who will not pay the amount of money necessary to do what you want. Also "jack of all trades" lawyer is what lawyers are. We are only very rarely specialists. There is no need to specialize except for extremely competitive or lucrative areas one of which is NOT family law, haha.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:19
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euphronius posted:They probably instantly sized you up as someone who will not pay the amount of money necessary to do what you want. This is the kind of advice I wanted. I have no previous experience on how to size up an attorney and if I'm going to pay thousands to tens of thousands of dollars for ones services I'd like to know I'm getting the best I can for what I'm paying. I live way out in a rural area and if I need to drive the 150 miles or so to get to Lexington to get a good lawyer so be it.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:32
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Read the paragraph in the OP about getting a referral for an attorney. That won't get you the best lawyer, but it's better than flipping through the phone book.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:35
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Swiller of Beer posted:This is the kind of advice I wanted. I have no previous experience on how to size up an attorney and if I'm going to pay thousands to tens of thousands of dollars for ones services I'd like to know I'm getting the best I can for what I'm paying. I live way out in a rural area and if I need to drive the 150 miles or so to get to Lexington to get a good lawyer so be it. Noooooooo Noooooooo!!!! You want an attorney who works in the town the judge is in. IE if the Court is in Jesustown, Kentucky, hire a lawyer in or in the same county as Jesustown, Kentucky. Do not bring a big town attorney out to the sticks. Sadness will follow.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:38
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euphronius posted:Noooooooo This works for me because the court is in Fayette County (Lexington) . So I guess I need to take a long drive regardless. Thank you people for your advice I appreciate it.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:43
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euphronius posted:Noooooooo Agreed, a lot of what you're paying for with an attorney is the knowledge of court-specific and judge-specific practices. Knowing the law is one thing, a great lawyer will know exactly how to formulate a strategy and frame arguments in a way specifically designed to appeal to the specific judge assigned to your case. If a huge company gets involved in a lawsuit in Bumfuck, KY, the national law firm representing them will bring in a contract attorney based out of Bumfuck for exactly this knowledge.
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Apr 23, 2014 02:35
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euphronius posted:Noooooooo This is so true. Everyone here in my relatively podunk county here in socal, we (PDs, DAs, judges, clerks, bailiffs, proiates) gang up on all the LA attorneys high on their own farts who come here for misdemeanors. You get lovely offer, leave, I make fun of you and get a good offer. FYI, this also happens to lovely local crim attorneys, though less so. Crim and family law are provincial as gently caress.
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Apr 23, 2014 02:42
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I work in a podunk as gently caress town in central Florida. It's a common occurrence to see big corporate defendant pay for some hotshot Miami attorney to drive up and strut about. Then they lose because the judge went to highschool with the local counsel and the Miami guy seemed like a jerk. Point being local connections can at times trump the legally correct outcome.
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Apr 23, 2014 03:02
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Man, if there's ever a thread that makes you lose complete faith in the court system, it's this one
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Apr 23, 2014 16:45
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tehloki posted:Man, if there's ever a thread that makes you lose complete faith in the court system, it's the one where people talk candidly about said court system
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Apr 23, 2014 16:47
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Soylent Pudding posted:Point being local connections can at times trump the legally correct outcome. Wow. That's incredibly depressing. How often does this sort of thing happen?
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Apr 23, 2014 17:11
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Not all that often, but you remember when it does. I have seen attorneys with strong cases get hammered because they did something to upset the judge and attorneys with weak cases get the benefit of the doubt because they had a good relationship. The fact is that there is a huge degree of subjectivity that a judge has to exercise, and being human they are subject to human prejudices. An attorney that has a good working relationship with the local judges and knows how to present things the way the judges like is going to have a huge advantage that can make up for a shakier legal position. Likewise an attorney from the big city who comes in with an elitist attitude is not going to get any benefit of the doubt from the judge. The judge isn't some LEGALTRON9000 where we feed the facts in and it spits out the correct solution. A judge is a human being and human foibles will affect the decision. If it's close to lunch and your argue too long the judge might make a snap ruling just because she's hungry and cranky. A local attorney will know the people in the courthouse and have an advantage in managing the human side, not just the letter of the law. Of course a few months ago we lost an appeal where the appeals court ruled there was no conflict of interest in a case where our opponent was the trial judge's number one campaign contributor. Welcome to local law. 
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Apr 23, 2014 18:22
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kedo posted:Wow. That's incredibly depressing. How often does this sort of thing happen? As often as any other system of people small enough for the social dynamics and bureaucracy to be on the same scale. It's more a human thing than anything else.
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Apr 23, 2014 18:25
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kedo posted:Wow. That's incredibly depressing. How often does this sort of thing happen? Theres a judge in district court here in one of the northern counties of Texas who was partners with one of the attorneys in town for 20 years before taking the bench; He hears that guy's cases all the time. I've also had a judge who worked for opposing counsel for 10 years look at him and say, "Sorry, Frank. They got you on this one." and grant our motion. We call it "getting welled." Us: "... and that, your honor, is why the law demands you grant us the relief we seek." Judge: "....... Weeeeellllllll, counselahh..."
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Apr 23, 2014 21:28
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blarzgh posted:We call it "getting welled." For some reason when there's a charming Texan drawl involved I have no problem with it.  Still, very interesting though. Thanks for the explanations!
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Apr 23, 2014 21:48
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Part of what you are buying when you buy an attorney is access to power. A 2L could write the motions.
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Apr 23, 2014 22:20
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euphronius posted:Part of what you are buying when you buy an attorney is access to power. Judges don't read them.
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Apr 23, 2014 23:10
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blarzgh posted:Theres a judge in district court here in one of the northern counties of Texas who was partners with one of the attorneys in town for 20 years before taking the bench; He hears that guy's cases all the time. I've also had a judge who worked for opposing counsel for 10 years look at him and say, "Sorry, Frank. They got you on this one." and grant our motion. My small north texas countiy has similar issues. It. Really sucks when you know judge is wrong, but it's within his discretion.
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Apr 23, 2014 23:13
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euphronius posted:Part of what you are buying when you buy an attorney is access to power. And a 1L reads them, so I guess it's fair?
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Apr 24, 2014 02:13
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