Current Legal Events

People Magazine thread deleted

Angie, Community Moderator (Admin) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:43:03 GMT

It turned ugly, so I deleted it. It seemed just to be an excuse for an argument, and that has no place here.

Should I close my credit card

rad28 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:50:36 GMT

I am currently up to date on cred. card, but cannot afford pymts, I was on a paymt. plan, but it has exp. and they will not help again for 12 mo. I contacted Credit counseling and the payments were too high. Will the interest and late fees keep adding up if I personally close my account. It is currently "suspended" by the cr. card com. but not closed.

Socialism - Round One

adjuster jack — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:14:00 GMT

Senate bill fines people refusing health coverage______________... By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jul 2, 7:03 pm ET__... WASHINGTON – Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a health care overhaul bill unveiled Thursday by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides said the penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage. Under the federal legislation, families would pay higher penalties than individuals.

In a revamped health care system envisioned by lawmakers, people would be required to carry health insurance just like motorists must get auto coverage now. The government would provide subsidies for the poor and many middle-class families, but those who still refuse to sign up would face penalties.

Called "shared responsibility payments," the fines would be set at least half the cost of basic medical coverage, according to the legislation.

In 2008, employer-provided coverage averaged $12,680 a year for a family plan, and $4,704 for individual coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's annual survey. Senate aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the cost of the federal plan would be lower but declined to provide specifics.

The legislation would exempt certain hardship cases from fines. The fines would be collected through the income tax system.

The new proposals were released as Congress neared the end of a weeklong July 4 break, with lawmakers expected to quickly take up health care legislation when they return to Washington. With deepening divisions along partisan and ideological lines, the complex legislation faces an uncertain future.

Obama wants a bill this year that would provide coverage to the nearly 50 million Americans who lack it and reduce medical costs.

In a statement, Obama welcomed the legislation, saying it "reflects many of the principles I've laid out, such as reforms that will prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and the concept of insurance exchanges where individuals can find affordable coverage if they lose their jobs, move or get sick."

The Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions bill also calls for a government-run insurance option to compete with private plans as well as a $750-per-worker annual fee on larger companies that do not offer coverage to employees.

Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said in a letter to colleagues that their revised plan would cost dramatically less than an earlier, incomplete proposal, and help show the way toward coverage for 97 percent of all Americans.

In a conference call with reporters, Dodd said the revised bill had brought "historic reform of health care" closer. He said the bill's public option will bring coverage and benefit decisions driven "not by what generates the biggest profits, but by what works best for American families."

The two senators said the Congressional Budget Office put the cost of the proposal at $611.4 billion over 10 years, down from $1 trillion two weeks ago.

However, the total cost of legislation will rise considerably once provisions are added to subsidize health insurance for the poor through Medicaid. Those additions, needed to ensure coverage for nearly all U.S. residents, are being handled by a separate panel, the Senate Finance Committee. Bipartisan talks on the Finance panel aim to hold the overall price tag to $1 trillion.

The Health Committee could complete its portion of the bill as soon as next week, and the presence of a government health insurance option virtually assures a party-line vote.

In the Senate, the Finance Committee version of the bill is unlikely to include a government-run insurance option. Bipartisan negotiations are centered on a proposal for a nonprofit insurance cooperative as a competitor to private companies.

Three committees are collaborating in the House on legislation expected to come to a vote by the end of July. That measure is certain to include a government-run insurance option.

At their heart, all the bills would require insurance companies to sell coverage to any applicant, without charging higher premiums for pre-existing medical conditions. The poor and some middle-class families would qualify for government subsidies to help with the cost of coverage. The government's costs would be covered by a combination of higher taxes and cuts in projected Medicare and Medicaid spending. ______________________... I can't imagine this getting passed given that last paragraph. The insurance industry won't stand for giving up underwriting surcharges. The middle class won't stand for tax increases to subsidize the poor. And senior citizens won't stand for cuts in Medicare.

Frozen accounts

tangspark — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:54:31 GMT

I am not quite sure what practice area this would be under or if you can even help me. My problem is that my boyfriend was sued about three years ago. [They] won the case and someone came out to see what we own and said we didn't have anything. Well 06/01/2009 I logged on to my online banking and see that all my funds are gone in both of our checking and savings. I called [the bank] and they told me that the account has been frozen due to a court order and we would have to talk to someone tomorrow. We called the law department and they said that the court issued a subpoena and they were forced to freeze the account and we would have to call the law office who representing [the company]. We called their lawyer and he was a jerk not answering any questions and laughing at the situation and telling us he isn't sure what we owe but it was at least $13,000.00 We finally got sick of dealing with him and called [the company] ourselves and found out they had no idea and nothing was on the record. They showed that we owed $5228.97 and we needed to fax the court order to them. Well since my boyfriend is a captain on a boat in LA for 4 weeks at a time I went to [the bank] to get the order and fax it, which they told me I could pick up. I get there and they tell me that I can't get it because I am not him and he has to come into the bank. There are no [bank] in LA and he is unable to do this so we ask them to fax it to [the company] and they would not. I am at a lost and they have taken everything I have. I am running in circles and no one will answer my question. If you can help me out please let me know! Thank you for your time.

TAA Lease Agreement

Meg1022 — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:18:06 GMT

I live in Texas and I am on a TAA lease. I just found out that the office staff forged my signature to the lease renewal. I filed a police report and there is a pending investigation. How would I go about filing a lawsuit against them. What kind of attorney do I need. And how do us poor people afford legal representation?

Please help...

DateLine Special on Credit Cards and Collection Agencies

Kitty43 — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:51:08 GMT

I have recently been a potential victim of these unscrupulous collection agencies who buy up very old debt and try to collect. They told me I had a utility bill from almost 20 years ago. I knew I didn't, it never showed up on my credit report and I do remember my debts. They tried to bully me and intimidate me. I contacted my State's Attorney General's Office, so hopefully I've heard the last from these guys...until they sell it to another agency and the cycle will start again. They have yet to send me any documentation... this so-called debt.

So, this DateLine special was very timely for me to watch.

How are convicted felons able to open collection agencies and have access to our personal information? Why aren't these agencies shut down after enough complaints and violations? It's very scary. This man had my whole address history going back 20 years, knew my Social Security number. What's next, I now have to keep an eye on my bank account just in case they find that? This particular place has a D- rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Flatbush Avenue MTA Bus Driver Unprofessional matter

shesha — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:40:38 GMT

Hello,

I would like to know if I can sue the MTA Bus Transit for one of there drivers who was very rude to the passengers on the bus. She decided to take a 15 minute break during the busiest rush hours where people are coming home from work and picking up there kids. Due to the fact she was upset because the bus was crowded and there were no room to move. And I decided to speak up because she was insulting us with her tone of voice like we were all kids. So she decided to take her break. She did not have any mechanically problems nor called in her dispatcher to let them know that she had put the bus out of service due to her 15 minute break with a load of passengers on the bus.

Can I sue for her inconvenience me for my traveling and not taking me to my requested stop? Plus, I was traveling with my 16 month old daughter that I just picked up from daycare in which she was tired, crying and frustrated. And the weather man indicated that we was going to have showers which it was drizzling. So she deliberately put me out of my way and I paid my fare. And then I had to pay another fare to get another bus.

Handel on the Law

adjuster jack — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:28:20 GMT

A radio show where people call in and ask questions about legal topics just like here, except you can listen to it instead of read it.

http://radiotime.com/P...

Chicago Wants to Tax Car Rentals Outside of City

concerned_citizen — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:17:21 GMT

A local newspaper reported that Chicago now wants to tax car rental transactions that occur outside of the city at a rate of 8%. The only way to avoid the tax is for renters to sign an affidavit stating that they will drive the rental less than 50% in Chicago.

When I first read this, I was shocked that they could even consider taxing transactions that occur outside of the city limits. Once the shock wore off, it left me with 2 basic questions:

1) Can they legally tax transactions outside the city limits or require renters to sign a sworn statement?

2) If they can do that, then can all of the other cities around them impose a tax on all Chicago rental transactions too by using the same "logic"?

Here's a link to the story I'm talking about....

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/1446302,CST-NWS-carrental24.article

Covina CA murders and rent

kileyjae — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:09:09 GMT

I read today that the ex-husband of one of the people murdered in the Covina CA Christmas Eve killings was 'demanded' to pay the rent of his ex-wife due to 'insufficient notice to vacate'.

Really???

First..is the EX husband responsible for this rent?

Second...I havent leased anything in years and years...isnt there some kind of clause or something in the contract about death and what happens?

Third..I honestly do not think the EX husband is responsible..and, if the Landlord really wants their money..wouldnt they sue the Estate?

I realize this is 'business' but...it just seems so cold-hearted and unnecessary.

[Phone company] overcharges By: orefa

Angie, Community Moderator (Admin) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:54:51 GMT

(Consumer)
Date: 2/2/2009 6:16:29 PM
Member Since: 2/2/2009
State: NY

[My phone company] has been over charging me for two years. My contract starts my minutes at 6pm, for an extra $10 a month, yet all minutes between 6-9pm M-f have been counted against my minutes. The reason for the overcharges has just been discovered and they refuse to go back and correct their mistake. They calculated over $700 over the ast 12 months. I estimae that they owe me close to $1500. Yet they will only go back 3 months. I am planning to file a class action suite. Any recommedations? Thanks

RICO laws used against ins.cos.

Qball — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:37:16 GMT

Recently read an article about an attorney using RICO law to proceed with lawsuit against an ins. carrier in a work comp case. It has passed the first round of appeal. I was wondering what circumstances would have to be involved to allow the case to go forward. It seems that it might be useful to consumers fighting ins. cos. Any thoughts?

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act...

gotarugrat — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:05:03 GMT

While watching the local news last night I was mortified to learn about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act going into effect in February.

I am a single mother with two children. As you can guess we're on a pretty tight budget. To help make ends meet I purchase the bulk of their clothing at second hand stores and garage sales. Instead of throwing clothing away after it is outgrown I also have a yearly garage sale which I include my children's clothes and toys.

Now, due to this new law all children's clothing and toys must be tested and certified as 'lead free' before they can be resold. This testing will take an extended period of time. Along with cost of shipment to a testing facility, it will, more importantly, cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars depending on the amount of items to be tested.

Any clothing or toys not tested by the deadline will be deemed 'hazardous material' and must be discarded as such.

I would like to know if anyone has any information on petitions asking to refine this law or any information on who I can get in touch with to voice my concerns.
I live in Illinois.

Thanks for your information.

Contractor Agreement

timlab — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:59:27 GMT

I live close to Lebanon, PA. I hired a contractor and enter into an agreement. One part of this agreement states that "if the project isn't completed by (Date), that he (the contractor) will be held responible to pay another contractor to finish the job." The date was 2 months in order to complete the job. In addition to this, I'm doing a journal of day to day on his process and saving all phone messages of why he says one thing and does something else (i.e. says he will be here at 8:30 in the morning and doesn't show up until 11:30 or later). What type of lawyer do I need in order to make him hold up his part of the agreement? Thanks.

IL AG Lawsuit to Remove Blagojevich From Office

concerned_citizen — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:19:19 GMT

Now you may have heard about IL governor Blagojevich recently being charged with defrauding the state of IL out of honest service and other corrupt activities.

As a result of these charges, our AG (Lisa Madigan) has filed a lawsuit with the IL Supreme Court to have Blagojevich temporarily removed from office.

My question is, in your opinion, do you think that she has any reasonable chance of removing him from office in this manner?

I understand her point that our state is no longer able to conduct business with our current governor. And I agree 100% that he needs to be out of office now.

But does she have much chance for success with this lawsuit? Does the law support an action such as this? Or is this case really in such uncharted territory that no one will even have a good guess as to how it will work out?

Are cases like this interesting for lawyers to follow?

I think it will be fascinating to see what other corruption is brought into the spotlight as a result of all this. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has an AMAZING track record in his quest against corruption in IL.

His dedication (and his staff of course) to this cause has been nothing short of heroic. And his conviction batting average is very, very high. I strongly believe that he will prevail in court.

And how about the bugging of Blagojevich's office? They must have had quite a bit on him to be able to get a warrant for that.

Hopefully, Blagojevich will step aside on his own (he can do so w/o officially resigning), or he will resign. But I don't expect him to fully resign - he will go on leave and keep the paychecks coming.

Insurance Company Solvency

concerned_citizen — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:38:54 GMT

With all of the corporate financial uncertainty occurring now, we have been wondering if there is a reason to be concerned about our insurance company's solvency. Is there a way to research that?

Do states impose any financial requirements on insurance companies to be sure that financial solvency is not an issue?

It would be bad to be insured by a company if that company could go bankrupt when you need them most. A major one was just bailed out, so it seems like it could happen to any of them.

Our state is IL.

Thanks!

home security contract

rmtz_2000 — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:11:32 GMT

I was just wondering how i can get out of a home security system contract. they upgraded to digital last year and someone came over to upgrade it for us. a few days later it started beeping i called in for assistance and someone was supposed to call me back; that was may of 2007 i just notified them and was wondering if this was neglegence on their part. i have been paying for no service. Is there anything that can legally get me out of this contract and save me over $600.00

Hurricane Rescues

concerned_citizen — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:15:49 GMT

Due to hurricane Ike, the evacuation warnings have been very severe. They even warn of a likely death in some areas if you don't leave.

Now news reports mention people that did not and will not leave.

My question is, do authorities have an obligation to rescue such people? Or can they let Darwin's theory run its course?

Personally, I find it offensive that rescuers will now be sent into harms way to rescue people like that. Why should rescuers be forced to rescue people that absolutely did not heed the warnings?

Also, can those that foolishly stayed behind be billed for rescue services provided.

I think I recall that the mayor of New Orleans told people that they would not be rescued if they didn't leave when Gustav was on its way. Although I personally think that is the right policy, is it legal?

Thank you.

PA concludes than to be paid is to be gratis!.

Drew — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:47:47 GMT

PA Appeals Court May 19, Velazquez v East Stroudsburg reversed the English language meaning of "gratis" and held that to be privately paid to care for anothers child is nontheless gratis.

PA School Law Sec 1302 says I can enroll your kid in my district if I take him in gratis as if he were my own and affirm that such is the case. In the instant case Mom clearly paid grandmom to take in Jose in anything but a gratis arrangement, there was a court order to pay grandmom! Most certainly not a deal out of goodness of ones heart either. But hey I never studied the Latin meaning of gratis I used common sense.

Grandmom is NOT guardian and expressely refused to seek said role so don't go there---if she were guardian there would be no case.
Has statewide impact,

I can now solicit to get paid to be address of convenience to have your kid attend my better PA school as if he were mine.

A professional acquaintance in a Maryland school system, which believe it or not actually has a pretty tight definition of residency, says the unofficial estimate of nonresidents in her system is 14,000!
(One common way to beat the rules is to claim one is homeless in Md)

Private pay is important to know as by PA Code if one recieves public funds to take in somebody elses child the public funds are not to be counted and such a person may enroll the child locally as one who is kept "gratis".

Essentially theft or deceptive acquisition of educational services is not a crime? Now we might as well throw in a towel and let the ship sink?

Man Beats Up His Own Lawyer

mw2 — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:13:26 GMT

I thought this one was interesting. I enjoyed the judge's response.

http://www.startribune.com/local/18958394.html?location_refer=Homepage

- Mark

Question About Ongoing IP Case in the News

LegalSecy — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:39:54 GMT

There is an Intellectual Property case/drama has been ongoing for over 2 years (and still continues). It is generating a lot of interest in some circles, but apparently very little interest elsewhere.

I wish I could post the case title so people could google it ("X vs. Y") but I'm afraid that would violate the terms of this site.

Basically, this is the drama to date:

In 2005 Company "X" filed a patent application for certain aspects of some software it was selling.

This patent application was widely criticized by many as being much too broad and encompassing a whole entire class of software that is widely used, but oh well, the patent office granted a patent anyway.

The very next day after the patent was granted, Company "X" filed suit against its primary competitor, Company "Y", for patent infringement.

Company "Y" filed a challenge with the patent office, asking for a review of the patent and claiming that there was "prior art" which made the software that was patented not the rightful IP of Company "X".

Meanwhile, Company "Y" also had to defend itself against the lawsuit, because apparently the patent office is extremely slow in getting around to patent reviews.

In February, Company "Y" lost the lawsuit and was ordered to stop selling or supporting the supposedly infringing software, plus pay royalties and damages to Company "X".

The court stayed the Order for 60 days to allow Company "Y" to work out a royalty agreement with Company "X" and/or to replace its customers' software that supposedly infringed with software that didn't infringe.

THEN the patent office (finally) got around to reviewing the patent, and issued a preliminary finding in April that Company "X" was not entitled to that patent. It has not issued a final ruling yet.

Company "Y" went back to the Civil court where it had been sued and asked the judge to vacate or stay the order (to stop infringing and/or pay royalties) based on the fact that the patent office's review had resulted in a preliminary ruling that Company "X" was not entitled to the patent in question in the first place.

The judge declined, and is enforcing the Order.

So ... what happens next? Company "Y" is now under court order to avoid infringing on a patent that may not even exist, and (worse) is under a court order to pay royalties to Company "X" for a patent that it may not even own.

How does this all get resolved? Does Company "Y" have to appeal? Or do they have to wait for the patent office's final ruling? Or what?

The Red Sox Jersey

dennis_nj — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 13:36:39 GMT

I'm sure many of you have read about the die-hard Red Sox fan / construction worker who buried a Red Sox jersey in concrete at the site of the new Yankee Stadium in NY.

This jersey is now up for auction on *the* popular auction website, and is currently bid up to over $57,000, and there's still a few days of bidding left to go. I wouldn't be surprised if it went over the $100k mark.

Apparently, the Yankees organization "gave" it to the Red Sox organization, who donated it to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute so they could auction it off, and the proceeds would go to that charity.

My question is, did the Yankees (or Red Sox, for that matter) actually "own" that jersey in the first place? Couldn't the construction worker sue (not quite sure who though) for either the return of the jersey, or the proceeds from this auction?

Just from all of the publicity this has garnered, I'm going to have to assume that the construction worker was fired for this.

I would also have to assume that the construction worker would be liable for any costs associated with the "digging up" and replacement of that concrete, but I'd tend to think that those costs wouldn't be all that much, since this construction project is in the early phases, i.e., there's going to be concrete trucks and workers there for a long time to come.

What "charges" (criminal or otherwise) could this construction worker be looking at?

Walmart v. Shanks

Fxston — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:41:50 GMT

What I don't hear a whole lot of in this case is what the heck the attorney was thinking not addressing the reimbursement issue during the case. He "believed" Walmart after three years (from when, I don't know) wouldn't want reimbursement? Huh??

I haven't seen the actual case docs and don't know if they settled this case or whether the court awarded them this amount, but I also wouldn't have settled for policy limit given her condition and her damages. I'd at least have bankrupted the trucking company if it was too dumb to have more than $1 million coverage.

Less than a decade later, evidently her special needs trust only has $277k left in it anyway, which I also gather a court ruled is all Walmart can get from her now ... despite its award being more than she received in the first place.

... so now we taxpayers will, once again, foot the bills so that Walmart can keep $11 billion (net last year?) plus $277k.

Nice.

Disbarred

Dawn — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:52:21 GMT

Given the problems of the former Governor of NYS is it likely that he will be disbarred from practicing law in NYS? Will he be able to practice law in any other state??

If someone gives up his/her license to practice law voluntarily they can not be disbarred, right? Therefore, if that were to happen, would he be able to start up a practice and get his license reinstated at some point down the road??

We need even tougher BK laws for people like this:

adjuster jack — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:42:55 GMT

"I have stopped paying my credit cards Jan. 1st 2008 about 23k worth because I could not make ends meet with the income I have. Since then, I spent about 25k from my home equity line on various nonsense, living expenses, gambling, bad business opportunities, etc. wasteful spending. I have come to my wits end and will now need to file bancruptcy."