Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with lawsuit

Their lovin' don't pay my bills

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:32:22 -0800

I'm a freelance writer who's considering suing a client for nonpayment. Before I go there, please give me the benefit of your experience. I'm being stiffed by a client for almost $10K. After several months of collections efforts, a demand letter from my attorney resulted in assurances of goodwill but nothing more.

Now I'm considering filing suit for breach of contract. The total is too large for small claims, and my attorney tells me it will cost a couple grand up front in legal fees. In the meantime, I fear my former client will soon close their doors and may file for bankruptcy.

I'm looking for experiences from other freelancers or small business owners who have been in similar situations. Did you decide to sue, or walk away? How much did you recover, and what did it end up costing? What do you know now that you wish you'd known then? Thanks for sharing your hard-earned wisdom.

should I sue?

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:27:26 -0800

Should I sue? You are not a lawyer, and if you are, you aren't my lawyer. I've already got a lawyer, so I'm set on that score. What I'm trying to figure out is, from an emotional, spiritual, and economic perspective, will suing be worth it?

Not long ago I was dismissed from an academic program in which I have already invested a tremendous amount of time, energy and money. I feel that my dismissal was unjust, and not only do my fellow students agree with me, but instructors and other program staff have also expressed that they believe it was unjust. My school has a grievance process, but I believe this process has been subverted on multiple levels in such a way as to make it meaningless - my lawyer more or less agrees.

Based on some initial legal research, I believe that I have a case - if not about my actual dismissal - then at the least about the grievance process. However, I've always been very against suing as a way of solving problems. Still, I really think something should happen at my school to make changes in order to make things more fair, and I'm coming to believe that a law suit maybe the only way to make this happen. Also, I have some pretty major costs I have to recoup because of this.

So I'm hoping to talk to other people who have sued - in any context - to help me get a sense of whether this process might be, well, worth it. Did you sue? Are you glad you did?

Thanks

Calling all ex-tenants

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:32:05 -0800

How can I track down former residents of a specific apartment complex? I recently moved out of Remington Grove Apartments in Sunnyvale, CA. The landlord kept a ridiculous amount of my security deposit and is threatening to charge me for much more. I managed to contact a few other ex-tenants, and it sounds like many of them received the same bogus estimates and threatening letters.

We spoke with a lawyer who said she would like to hear from as many former tenants as possible and would consider representing a class action case if there is enough evidence. Unfortunately, I don't know how to track down other former residents. The few that I managed to contact posted email addresses on an apartment review website, but I suspect many other residents of the complex may not be especially internet-savvy. Any ideas?

Baseball Bat lawsuit WTF?

Mitheral — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:24:39 -0800

Is there a rest of the story to the recent award of US$850K to a person hit by a baseball from the bat's manufacturer? The story says the award is because their wasn't sufficient warning labelling on the bat. Which seems crazy on the face of it considering that the bat was 60 feet, give or take, from the person who died and was, I'm assuming, not owned or even handled by the person who died. How would he have ever seen the warning?

Is there a back story like the McDonalds coffee case that isn't making it into the press?

Should I seek a personal injury lawyer after being rear ended?

zzztimbo — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:42:07 -0800

Should I hire a personal injury attorney after being rear ended? I was rear ended while waiting at a freeway off ramp stop light. It was completely the other driver's fault. The driver even admitted fault to me, the other person that I hit (I was pushed forward into the other car) and the CHP that came on to the scene.

My issue is my car is an older BMW with high mileage. My insurance is claiming it will be a total loss. I'm thinking that I won't get much for the car. I don't think this is fair and would like to be give as much money as it takes to find a similarly configured car.

The car I was driving is a BMW wagon with manual transmission. It is pretty difficult to find one of these in my area (SoCal). Should I seek a personal injury lawyer?

How do I sue an abusive step-parent?

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:43:51 -0800

How does an adult find a lawyer to sue an abusive step-parent more than a decade after the fact? I want to sue a step-parent for damages. They've ruined my life and made it a living hell of dysfunction.

I suffered over 10 years of extreme physical and emotional abuse as a child and it has wrecked me, my self confidence, my ability to function. We're not talking about a "I never got my pony" scenario. We're talking about severe physical violence from a grown adult to a child along with very severe psychological/emotional abuse.

I'm not at all interested in hearing anything about "letting bygones be bygones", or "forgive and forget". I've tried that. I'm tired of blaming myself for being broken and damaged like it was somehow my fault I had the shit kicked out of me on a daily basis.

The goals of the lawsuit are,

1. I want punitive, monetary damages to pay for therapy and treatment so I can have what's left of my life as functional as I can manage.

2. I want to help set a legal precedent that abuse isn't tolerated and parents are indeed legally and fiscally responsible for the crimes they committed under the umbrella of "parenting".

3. I want this step-parent to realize that what they did was not ok and that after many attempts at communication and reconciliation they've willfully denied their responsibility and haven't even attempted to offer an apology.

How do I find a lawyer? How do I find a pro-bono lawyer that will consider my case?

Locating a deadbeat

pmaxwell — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:27:22 -0800

Can I triangulate someones location with a cell phone number? After filing at small claims court, I hired a process server to serve the person (company owner) who ripped me off for $2500 (deposit on central AC system install in NY). Server went to his house – wife said he moved out, he went to office, nothing there. he has no employees. Server tried 5 different times to locate. I can't get a court date without serving him. Need a cheap way to find this bastard!

How do I fix my friends kitchen stove issue?

abdulf — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:31:45 -0800

Kitchen appliances: What remedies do you have when an appliance purchase and installation goes wrong? I'm asking this for a friend. He bought a gas Electrolux cooktop stove from a local dealer 2 or 3 weeks ago (this is the model http://www.electroluxappliances.com/node30.aspx?categoryid=1184)

He has 2 problems with the appliance:
1. The knobs look like they are metal, but they're actually plastic, and have melted. They're still usable, but not as aesthetically pleasing. I'm assuming the reason you pay extra for a stove like this is for design and appearance.
2. Half of the burners- whatever - won't light automatically. Seems like a lighter problem. He has to use matches.

Here's what he's tried

1. Working with the dealer/installer (http://www.choiceappliances.net/)

Dealer won't refund or exchange. It's a small business, so no corporate person to write to. Sent a person to his home on a service call. Service repair person concluded nothing is wrong with the stove and suggests contacting the manufacturer

2. Manufacturer (Electrolux)
Says to deal with the dealer since the issue appears to be related to installation. Also, warranty does not cover knobs because it is not a defect - the knobs were designed to be plastic.

3. Credit card company (Chase)
Cannot dispute because it was a face-to-face transaction and buyer had an opportunity to inspect the merchandise.

So how do I help my friend without sinking a great deal of my own time into this?

I think the right customer service person at the manufacturer or credit card company might do it. If not, what legal cause of action exists for a consumer in his position (in Texas)? (I guess something could be done in small claims court, I'm just not sure under what basis)

Courting someone out of state

Lullen — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:51:01 -0800

I paid in advance for services which I never received, and now I'm out nearly $900. This person moved out of state before I got to file in small claims. Is there anything I can do? I have many emails back and forth with this person where she acknowledges that she owes me the money, says she will pay it when she can, etc., so she can't dispute that she owes it to me (without looking like a liar).

She worked for me for about a year, we became fairly good friends, I always paid her a full month in advance. It worked out for the whole year, and then she tells me that this is it, she's not coming back and she doesn't have the money to refund me at that time. About a month after that, she mailed me $200 with a letter stating she'd do the rest when she had it.

I have had intentions of taking her to small claims for it, but part of me believed that she was going to keep her word. I found out last week that she moved 2k miles away. I can't find any reliable information on whether it's possible to do this from a distance. This money means a lot to me right now, as I just lost both my job and my child support in the same week (that's a whole different post...). Is there *anything* I can do from this far away? (she no longer responds to my emails)

Arbitration or bust?

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:18:07 -0800

The company I work for has announced the adoption of a "alternative dispute resolution" program. HQ is telling us that by continuing to work there after a certain date, I agree to be covered by this ADR and forfeit my right to take them to court. What are my options, beside quitting? I work for a large, well-known multi-national corporation. Recently, said company announced the adoption of an "alternative dispute resolution" program to address employee complaints and disputes.

By and large, this new program doesn't appear much different than the current process--except that if the dispute in question can't be resolved in the normal process, it goes to binding arbitration via an external mediator.

The training material is specific: "...by choosing to continue to work for the Company aftey July 1, 2009, you are agreeing to be covered by [the new alternative dispute resolution system] after July 1, 2009." It goes on to point out that all covered claims that advance to a certain point must go to arbitration, they cannot be brought to court and will not be heard by a jury, and no class or collective actions are permitted.

"Covered claims" are those claims that a court would have authority under applicable law to resolve, such as employment discrimination & harassment claims, tort claims such as defamation or privacy invasion, wage-hour claims, claims under employment contracts, and trade secret or unfair competition claims.

I've been more-or-less happily employed by this company for nearly two decades. I don't have any beef with my employer, though who knows what may happen between now and retirement? I want to keep my options open, and arbitration seems designed to make sure I don't have options.

Between the current economy and some family health issues, I'm extremely reluctant to leave my job right now. At the same time, being told I have to give up my constitutional right to a jury trial raises my red flags. In addition, from what I know about arbitration in consumer products, it's always heavily stacked against the consumer. So here are my questions:

(1) What, if any, recourse do I have here? Should I go to our HR rep and express my concerns about this new dispute procedure? Can I just tell them, "Sorry, I do not agree to this"? (I suppose I should add that I am a full-time salaried employee; my department is non-union).

(2) Is arbitration in the workplace as bad as it is in the retail sales environment? I've seen articles in the CivilRights.org archives that lead me to believe this is the case, but if anyone else has experience or information that demonstrates otherwise I would appreciate hearing it. I'm trying to remain open-minded here and not let my emotions get in the way of any relevant data. Thanks in advance!

My friend's fractal artwork was stolen from DeviantArt and is being sold as a photo backdrop by photographyprops.com. He needs helping with going about this issue, what type of lawyers handle this?

cheero — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:50:27 -0800

My friend's fractal artwork was stolen from DeviantArt and is being sold as a photo backdrop by photographyprops.com. He needs helping with going about this issue, what type of lawyers handle this? Where should he turn to next? His piece is being sold for $150 bucks and he was never contacted nor has he drawn any type of agreement with him.

Source for Medical Malpractice Insurance Quotes for Doctors/Hospitals?

Quarter Pincher — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:28:59 -0800

Do you know of any reasonably credible sources that list the premiums and deductibles that hospitals/doctors (of any kind, but largely medical surgeons for intensive-care/emergency/surgical hospitals) pay for medical malpractice insurance? I'm researching figures for a malpractice reform idea. The idea is based on a rumor that medical malpractice insurance is an absurdly burdensome expense for hospitals/doctors who must pay it in order to legitimately practice. If there were a way to eliminate that particular burden, the massive periodic (monthly/etc) savings would gradually equal lesser medical expenses for Billy and Susie down the line.

My idea was to eliminate the need for malpractice insurance by enacting legislation requiring the hospital in question to add the malpracticed-against as simply a new employee, paid out of the standard payroll expenses, at a comfort-offering rate (variable according to terms of the suit and local standards of living) instead of having to lop over this giant sum (and pay insurance for the dark cloud of a giant sum to loom over them, waiting to be dished out). Does this idea hold much water?

Paying IL Taxes on a CA judgment?

Ignatius J. Reilly — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:56:31 -0800

Taxfilter. What is the correct course of action given my current tax situation? I spent the entirety of 2008 living and working in Chicago, IL. I did not spend one minute residing or working in another state.

Five years ago, in 2004, I worked for a very shady California company that regularly abused and exploited their workers in violation of CA wage and hour law. In 2007, I opted into a class-action lawsuit against this company.

In fall, 2008, I received a check in the mail for around $1400, which was my share of a settlement on the lawsuit. This check was processed by a CA law firm and already had CA and federal taxes withheld (all properly, as far as I can tell).

Here is my question: Do I need to pay IL income taxes on this money? I can't find and information that speaks to this question without the built-in assumption that actual work was done during the relevant tax year. Obviously, it would be shitty and irrational to have to pay IL taxes on this money, but I recently lived in Oregon (unrelated to this question) where state tax law indeed required just that.

Does anyone have the familiarity with IL taxes to steer my in the right direction here?

Other random tax facts: I am married, filing jointly. My wife was a full-time student for most of 2008, but did have some taxable income. All of our income is from regular-old W-2-producing jobs.

How to formalize an agreement with a lawyer?

mateuslee — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:45:31 -0800

My cousin needs some legal advice about how to formalize an agreement with a lawyer, also this lawyer has agreed to work for free in exchange for 1/3 of any winnings. Is this fair? If so, is there a specific contract he should request? Briefly (please excuse the vague explanation) he found out recently that a hospital lost some of his medical records years ago – he requested the records and they could not be found. A mutual friend has an uncle who is a lawyer and said that this may be a lawsuit. The lawyer asked for 1/3 of any win and, if nothing ever comes of the suit, than he won't charge anything. This informal agreement leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, though maybe I'm too concerned.

Maybe some of you guys can recommend some sort of document to request from the lawyer that can protect my cousin. For example, it’d be good to be sure that this 1/3 includes legal expenses or other hidden costs. I just want to know the best way to protect everyone and keep this as streamlined as possible. Incidentally, is 1/3 fair?
Thanks!

Suing in the UK while based abroad?

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:53:41 -0800

Have you ever sued someone for libel in the UK, while you yourself were based in another country? If so, what was your experience? I'm very interested in a top-to-bottom view of what the process is like. How did you find a lawyer? How much time did you have to spend in the UK? What was your overall impression with the way things worked out?

I have Googled quite a bit -- but there's a lot of noise and I'd like a first-person perspective. Any information you could share would be most appreciated.

No ambulance to chase

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:23:00 -0800

My car was rearended hard today by someone who has no insurance. I'm physically fine so far. Assuming I stay that way, should I consider suing him? I am in Connecticut, which is also where the accident took place. I also understand that you are not and will never be my lawyer, and you're not giving me legal advice.

I myself have insurance. I'm out my $300 deductible and won't have my car back for at least a month, possibly longer -- my own policy does not include a rental for myself (yeah, I may rethink that for later...). I have not been told yet whether this accident will affect my premiums. While these expenses won't put me on the street, they will be felt.

I'm not sure it's relevant, but I'll mention it in case it is: The guy who hit me fled the scene, and was arrested about 20 minutes later. There were solid witnesses, and I've been told he will likely plead guilty to leaving the scene when charged.

I'm still pretty shaken up -- it was a scary scenario -- so if you're tempted to give me a hard time for pondering what I'm guessing would be a small claims case at best, please don't. Today has sucked enough already.

Thanks.

How do I practice law?

hal_c_on — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:14:36 -0800

How do I practice law...without a law degree? (WAY more inside...sorry) I really need to elaborate:

I have a lot of time on my hands for the next 6-8 months. I'm talking lots! In the past when I had tons of time, I have:
*become a watchmaker (making an automatic watch from scratch)
*become a licensed pharmacist technician
*learned so much HR that I sat for the senior PHR test (and failed by 1 question...darn)

Thats just to show my dedication, and the amount of time I actually have on my hands.

So now another big bulk of time is coming up and I've been toying with the idea of practicing law. I'm not talking about working at a firm, having clients, or even advising people. Heck no. I'm talking about representing myself in court.

Over the past year (in Los Angeles County), I've encountered TONS of people who take advantage of consumers like me.

I had a landlord that took my rent and deposit but never paid the bank. They foreclosed the property, sold it, and told me to get the heck out.

I had my cable company charge me for equipment I returned (and had a receipt for). They stuck some debt collectors on me who swore at me, and harassed me on the phone. Seriously!

An airline at LAX refused to seat me because "all our seats are filled". The same supervisor seated the nice white lady who was after me in line though...too bad for them she's my wife.

My new landlord claims I am responsible for any costs incurred in replacing their 5 year old carpet because their washing machine broke and flooded the entire kitchen and leaked into the living room. What really sucks is that their maintenance crew had just "repaired" the washing machine the day before.

I was tackled by a security guard at a horrible horrible store that spreads sprawl everywhere (hint hint). When nothing was found on me (being tackled from behind TOTALLY stunned me and I consented to all sorts of garbage..."sure sure, you can search my pockets"). When nothing was found on me (I don't even know what they were looking for), the dude apologized by saying "hmmm...you looked like you were doing something wrong...like terrorrists". Awesome. Thank you, have a nice day.

Seriously...do you see that? And its not like I have a "kick me" sign on my back or something. Not at all. This happens to a LOT of people. They often feel they have no recourse...and thats that. End of story.

Anyways, I know a lot of these are small claims court things. Yeah, I can handle that. What about other stuff? It wouldn't be cost-effective to go to an attorney to handle some things.

How can I do this myself? The ONLY thing I know about law in LA County is how to file a small claims case on my own.

I KNOW a lot of these people would be willing to settle if I was able to send them a letter. Like an "intent to sue" letter or something. I know about the NOLO books, but they don't have a "I am suing you for tackling me in a store" letter.

Where do I get a set of attorney-type letters that I can customize to scare the bejeezus out of these bastards?

Where to best look up the law online (besides CAL state code)? Books? Library? Some super-duper website all lawyers use to talk about secret stuff?

I'm NOT looking for ANY kind of legal advice besides:

How can I best represent myself legally for all the wrongs that have been done against me?

Sure, money is ALWAYS nice...but better than money is knowledge. I don't want to feel as if I need to first find a lawyer who won't charge me $300 to listen to me, and then decide if my case is worth his time. I don't blame the attorneys. They are running a business. Ordinarily, they would assess a case by its potential revenue; if its not high enough...no dice. I understand and accept that.

The next time I'm tackled by some horrible company (figuratively and literally), I don't want to be stunned. I don't want to feel as if this is what happens and there's nothing I can do about it. I want to KNOW that they can't get away with this, and that I'm NOT a second class citizen. I want to be a citizen that knows his rights.

Including the right to represent myself in court.

ANY advice would be appreciated. ANY tips. Anything.

I know I've been kinda rambling. And this is what happens when I stay up till 1am, getting angry about this stuff...then writing it up in askmefi. Thanks mefites...you guys are awesome.

How much should I pay my lawyer to settle a wrongful death claim?

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:38:11 -0800

I'm going to hire an attorney to settle a wrongful death claim in the state of Ohio, USA. I hope to reach a settlement rather than going to court. What percentage of my settlement should the attorney get? A law firm offered to represent me for either 20% of whatever is gained by reaching a settlement, or 35% of whatever is awarded by a jury if the case goes to trial. Does this sound reasonable? Should I try to negotiate a lower percentage in either case, and if so, what is the lowest percentage I might reasonably expect them to accept?

We've already had a free consultation with the lawyers who will be involved. If I wish to negotiate the contract further, what protocol should I follow - ask for another meeting (and more of their time), call them up or send an email?

Anything else I should know before signing up with a law firm? The claim is against an estate, so a personal injury lawyer and an estate lawyer will both be involved. Their contract seems fairly straightforward and includes their expenses plus the percentage.

This Nightmare of Listening Freedom is Almost Over!

tmcw — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:09:16 -0800

So which P2P networks garner the most RIAA lawsuits? The lawsuits are, of course, a sort of cloak and dagger affair, but isn't there some data on this kind of thing? (disclosure: my school just got reamed by the supreme court. I #1 live off-campus, #2 don't download much)

Help with complicated problem

CollectiveMind — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:37:17 -0800

I have a curbside mailbox and mail theft is common in Utah (http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600129714,00.html). Big Credit Card Company (BCCC) sends me convenience checks that can be stolen and cashed by anybody. The post office won’t let me move my mailbox to my house. Local politicians sided with the Postmaster. A rental box or a new security mailbox are impractical. From early 2005 through late 2007, I consistently received unwanted convenience checks from a BCCC address in Virginia. Requests to that address to stop to the convenience checks were replied to from a post office box in Utah. The USPS identified that box as belonging to the company acting as BCCC's agent in Utah (The Agent), but The Agent did not identify itself as the sender. Rather, the replies were sent on behalf on BCCC, using letterhead and envelopes bearing the BCCC logotype.

But the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, says neither BCCC Finance or any of its forms are explicitly listed as able to conduct commercial transactions in the state.

After more than a dozen certified letters to the BCCC address in Virginia and the The Agent address in Utah, and promises by respondents at the Utah address to stop the delivery of the checks (they did not stop), I sued The Agent and BCCC in 2007. In Utah, an entity being sued must be served through its state registered agent. Because I could find no explicit listing for BCCC Finance or any of its sub-entities in the UCC database (and therefore, not find its registered agent), and because the USPS showed both BCCC and The Agent as sharing a mailing address and correspondence, I served the entity whose registered agent was listed with the UCC, The Agent . Neither The Agent or BCCC appeared at a September 2007 hearing, and after fifteen plus thirty days, a judgment was awarded my favor.

Neither The Agent or BCCC have contested the facts of the judgment. A BCCC representative called me in January 2008 offering a settlement with no promise that the checks would not continue. I declined. In a hearing requested by BCCC on April 24, 2008, its attorney asked the court to set aside the judgment saying it had not been properly served and that it and The Agent are separate entities. The Agent did not appear at the hearing.

The court did not set aside the judgment, but instead granted a continuance to allow me the chance to show a more than circumstantial connection between BCCC and The Agent. Its central question; is The Agent an agent of BCCC in Utah, and/or, is BCCC operating through The Agent in Utah? If so, the judgment stands. If not, the judgment does not stand.

If BCCC and The Agent are separate entities, The Agent should have no effect on credit granting policies of BCCC; monthly payments to my BCCC account were made to BCCC addresses not in Utah. Yet, The Agent promised in writing on four separate occasions to stop sending me credit card account based convenience checks. Later, The Agent required personal and identical account information regarding my BCCC account four separate times before it said it could “grant” my request to stop receiving the checks. It did not.

I am looking for ways, tools and methods available to a non-attorney to establish a more than circumstantial connection between Affiliated Computer Services and BCCC as the court requests, be they websites, research techniques or reference material.

PIT me, baby

boosh — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:38:17 -0800

Enthusiastic police pursuits + litigious society = lawyer's fantasy? A glut of American police chase video shows have been appearing on UK digital TV channels lately (stuff like 'Cops on Camera' or 'World's Wildest Police Chases', mostly presented by orange overlord Sheriff John Bunnell). Alongside them are the British variety of road policing clip-shows (like 'Police, Camera, Action', presented by equally orange serial drunk-driver Alastair Stewart). The American programs make the British stuff look laughably tame, and the American road policing methods make for great, exciting TV, if you're in the mood for that sort of thing. But how do these (apparently) gung-ho tactics gel with (what I'm led to believe is) the world's most litigious nation?

Firstly, the American police seem to love shooting out tyres. This never happens in the British versions of the show - obviously, because most of the police are unarmed; the few UK officers that are armed, IIRC, are suspended from duty pending investigation if they discharge their firearm for any reason. But US police seem happy to fire shotguns out of car windows in moderate traffic and blaze away with handguns in populated areas. Surely blowing out a tyre like this could cause a major crash? Surely bullets could ricochet and hit the cop, the suspect or innocent bystanders? These actions don't appear to be exceptional events (in one episode an officer happens upon a guy burgling a cell phone store. Guy takes fright and attempts to drive away, so the officer's first instinct is to fire repeatedly at his tyres before getting into his own car to give chase). Are US officers entitled to open fire like this whenever they feel the urge? If an officer returns to the station minus several rounds of ammo, is there an investigation where he has to justify or explain his actions, or is it just all in the line of duty? What happens if a civilian later turns up claiming that they or their property have been hit by a stray bullet or similar?

Secondly, the American police seem to be allowed to use the PIT manoeuvre at will to stop a car they are pursuing. I've seen episodes where this has caused the 'bandit' car to be totally wrecked, or to career into other motorists. This is totally verboten for the UK police - they have to use TPAC to box them in and bring them to a controlled stop, or else let them go and hope the helicopter can track them. Do the US officers have to be specially trained and authorised to do this, or can any old neighbourhood cop give it a go? What happens if the car they spin out kills someone?

I appreciate that these events aren't exactly commonplace, but I've seen enough examples to suggest that they're not all that rare. I also appreciate that law enforcement officers in the US potentially face grave danger on every call, what with all the meth, handguns and assault weapons in circulation. But is this thought of as extreme or heavy-handed, or is it standard, acceptable police behaviour? Is there serious concern about this in the US? And what is the situation with the inevitable 'collateral damage'? Do the police have the resources to just pay up, or are there endless court cases and lawsuits?

Contractor telling me outrageous lies. In writing. What are they guilty of? Lots more inside.

AmbroseChapel — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:52:42 -0800

Contractor telling me outrageous lies. In writing. What are they guilty of? Lots more inside. This is Australian property law, and I realise that none of you Are My Australian Property Lawyer; but I'd like to hear from anyone who thinks they have a useful idea, suggestion or example.

I own one of the units in a building. An Act in state law requires every such building to contract a managing agent. We're unhappy with the agency we're currently using and have cancelled the contract. They have replied saying that our cancellation is invalid, quoting Section X, subsection Y of the Act. But the section they quote isn't even relevant*. It's a lie, plain and simple, intended to mislead us into accepting that they retain the contract.

This is not the first time they've done something like this. I have a letter from them stating unequivocally that the phrase "not less than seven days" means "seven days or less". It's pretty outrageous.

More seriously, they currently claim they have a three-year contract with us. But it turns out the three-year contract came about (before my time) when they "renewed" a one-year contract whose provisions state that it can only be renewed for an equal period.

There's no subtlety or room for interpretation in the Act. It's surprisingly simple and straightforward. So, these people are lying to us, in writing. All I can do is write back and say "That's not the case. Your contract is cancelled".

Let's assume that a reasonable person would conclude that they're deliberately attempting to mislead us in order to retain a contract we have legally cancelled; that they've acted unethically and in bad faith.

So ... what are they guilty of?

Is there a criminal offence here? Something like "obtaining money under false pretences"? "Deceptive conduct"? "Misrepresentation"? Or do I have grounds for a civil lawsuit against them, and if so, what could I claim? Their fees are about 50% higher than the industry standard. Could I make a claim against them for the difference in fees -- between what they charged during their unlawful 3-year contract and what we could have paid had we been able to cancel?

My course of action so far is to do all I can for free. To complain to the state board which arbitrates such disagreements. To complain to the state institute of property managers and estate agents. To simply sign a new contract with a new agency when this one runs out and return their bills if they continue sending them.

But as you can tell, I'm pretty pissed off about this. I don't like being lied to. I'd like to make things as hard for them as possible. My dream is to see them on TV with a microphone shoved in their face and some guy asking "aren't you ashamed of yourselves?" as they cover their faces and run for a car. Shortly before they get put out of business for their crimes.

But realistically, what's the worst I can do?

* The boring details are that they quoted a section saying "the Chairman must call a General Meeting when asked to do so in writing by an eligible Member of the Committee". They say the meeting wasn't valid but haven't sighted such a request in writing. That section merely describes the duty of a Chairman to call meetings when required to do so by a third party. The very next clause in the act says the Chairman can call a meeting whenever they like. I'm the Chairman.

Do I risk it?

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:12:14 -0800

I'm receiving a sizable inheritance in the form of stock from a deceased relative. However, there's fairly good evidence that the person who's managed the relative's affairs all these years (due to this relative being incapable of managing their own affairs) has intentionally sold a vast majority of that stock because they didn't want to draw down their own inheritance. If I contest this, though, there's a clause in the will that cuts my inheritance to $1. Do I take the stock that's offered me, or should I risk it on recovering the rest? I'm looking at a large inheritance from a relative who has passed away, let's say $X. But based on conversations with accountants involved with the estate (and some independent advisors), I'm probably looking at receiving more than three times $X that if I can prove malfeasance. And there are tell-tale signs of malfeasance.

The relative had substantial holdings in two companies. I was to receive Y number of shares in company #1. At the time of the will's writing 20 years ago, company #1 and company #2 were about equally represented in the portfolio. A quick glance at the current balance sheet for the estate shows that there are many, many more shares in company #2 than company #1 -- and company #2 is much more valuable per share than company #1 (and has consistently been so). Company #1 stock was apparently sold off over the years while company #2 stock wasn't. The person managing the affairs of the relative (he/she had power of attorney) is listed in the will as receiving the stock in company #2 but none of company #1.

In addition, both stocks paid large dividends, to the point that a person could live very comfortably on just the dividends -- there is little reason for anyone to be selling that much stock to take care of expenses.

The person who had power of attorney over the relative's assets had prior knowledge of the will, and these financial decisions look quite suspicious. This person is also the executor of the will.

There are other signs of malfeasance there as well. We think a forensic audit should be able to build a solid case. But once we move beyond the forensic audit, then we're contesting the will. There's a clause in the will that states any heir who contests the will shall receive $1. If the case went to trial and I won, the ruling would supersede that clause. But if I lose, I lose the original $X.

These numbers are huge for me. I didn't expect to inherit anything from the relative, and now I'm looking at substantial sums of money. I'm not sure what to do. My significant other thinks I should take $X because we would be debt-free, we could build a decent nest egg, and we could have it sooner rather than later -- due to the structure of the estate the stock will not need to be probated. (And honestly, our debts are becoming an increasing drag on our bottom line.)

Others close to me think I should pursue the case and go for the $3X, even though I may be looking at years going in and out of court. The lawyers I've talked to have all said it smells fishy and think there's a case here (and they'd take it on contingency.) I'm just still in shock I'm getting anything. $X is a large amount of money; $3X would satisfy every one of my long-term financial goals. But still, even with the initial evidence, I don't know if it's worth giving up $X to try for $3X.

Should I take $X and walk away, or should I risk $X and sue for the $3X I should be receiving? Lawyer up or cut my losses?

Don't Tase Me, Hasbro

vanoakenfold — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:21:58 -0800

In light of the recent Mattel/Hasbro suit against Facebook's Scrabulous application, what witty sayings can I spell out in Scrabble tiles to voice my perturbation with the suit? So far I've got (using blank tiles for punctuation/etc). Credit will be given to MeFi username and posted blog-ward =P I may reword it slightly to account for a dearth of necessary tiles, although I've got multiple sets. Using obscure OSD-kosher words nets you a triple word score.

Hasbro? Has Broke
Just be happy with the free advertising Hasbro
Imagine a PR nightmare of "pulling a Hasbro"
Don't tase me, Hasbro

IF YOU DO NOT RESOLVE OUR CLAIMS AGAINST YOU WITHIN

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:26:10 -0800

It appears my sister is being sued by the RIAA. My sister showed my a letter she received from [some law firm], via her student email account from her school, stating that they are filing a lawsuit against her, and that she has 20 days to respond in order to settle outside of court, else be sued for everything. I've read that the law firm likes to target college students at schools like hers (on the smaller side, wealthier kids) because of the assumption that the defendant's parents have a lot of money. We do not. We are in debt, massively. She hasn't told my parents yet. Right now, we're trying to figure out what to do.

Does anyone have any experience with something like this? What can she do? What are our options here? Does she settle? Do we fight? Given that they (seemingly) tracked her through Limewire, do they actually have real proof against her?