Archive for the ‘Legal Tips and Tricks’ Category

Be careful what you say when you go down for jury duty!

Susan Cole thought it would be funny to act like a crazy homeless person so that she wouldn’t have to serve on jury duty. Well, she got out of jury duty. But now she has been arrested and charged with first degree-perjury! See, she didn’t tell the court the truth (and that just seems like common sense!). 

Susan Cole was dumb enough to go on a local radio station and brag about how she got out of jury duty: “I decided not to put my makeup on and I put black eyebrows on. I put bright red lipstick on. I left my hair in my curlers and I put on a t-shirt that said ‘Ask Me About My Best-Seller,’ ” Cole said on KOA radio. “When they asked me about mental issues I got up and said, ‘Yeah, I have some mental issues.’ Then the judge said, ‘Does anyone care if she leaves?’ And everybody else said all at once in a great big voice, ‘No,’” she said.

Jury duty is very important. I know it’s a hassle, but we live in a county that has the greatest judicial system in the world. Sometimes cases don’t turn out the way we want them to, but at least we have a system where a person can be judged by a jury of other people, and specifically people that your lawyer gets to select. The alternative in some countries is a crazy dictator or warlord or some bureaucrat that has nothing in common with you and you don’t stand a chance at a fair hearing.

We all serve on jury duty. Next time you are called, go and be proud you live in a county where we have this right!

For more, check this out.

Do you have a Chaperone Infant Car seat by Britax?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 23,000 of these infant car seats today. If you have one you should stop using it immediately because the harness chest clip can break and cause injury.

Here are the model numbers of the recalled seats: Chaperone infant car seats with model numbers E9L95P2 (Red Mill), E9L95P3, E9L95P5 (Cowmooflage), E9L69N9 (Moonstone) manufactured between April 2009 and May 2010. The white serial label with the seat’s serial number, model number, and manufacture date can be found on the underside of the car seat.  

Consumers should immediately contact Britax for a free repair kit, which includes a replacement chest clip.

Here is the actual lawsuit.

On September 15, 2010 Katherine Jackson, the mother of Michael Jackson, filed a “Complaint for Damages” against AEG LIVE LLC and others claiming they contributed to her son’s death. The complaint contains some very interesting allegations. Here is the actual lawsuit: JACKSON vs. AEG

The complaint was filed by Los Angeles lawyer Brian Panish, known as one of the all time greatest trial lawyers. He is the same lawyer that won a jury verdict in the amount of $4.9 Billion dollars against GM for a defective fuel system that caused a Chevy Malibu to burst into flames when it was rear-ended. This guy is really a great lawyer!

The Michael Jackson case has a lot of interesting allegations in it that you won’t find in the superficial media coverage. Here are just a few of the interesting ones:

• If Michael failed to perform the shows, AEG could seize his Sony song catalog, including the songs by the Beatles,

• When Michael showed up for rehearsal on June 23rd, he was so messed up and freezing cold that his assistants had to give him several shirts to wear under his long heavy coat, even though it was warm in the Staples Center,

• There was a “Riot Act” meeting that was said to be “tough love” for Michael to get him to go to the rehearsals.

For those interested, take a look at the lawsuit yourself. You always find a lot more accurate information when you go to the document itself. I hope you find this interesting.

Sometimes you have to fight for justice on your own.    So how can you get a little do-it-yourself justice? By filing your own case in small claims court.

In this day and age everyone loves to “lawyer up”. Well some cases aren’t big enough for a lawyer to take, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your day in court and your own slice of justice. Having worked my entire career as a personal injury lawyer I understand how difficult it is to get an insurance company to actually pay money for a legitimate claim.  If the insurance company knows your claim isn’t large enough for you to find a lawyer, they will often deny it outright. But don’t give up! Fight them in small claims court.

It is simple to file your very own small claims case and obtain a judgment of up to $7,500. In small claims court the parties must act as their own lawyers, so you won’t be up against a lawyer on the other side, you will be up against the person you feel actually caused your damages. You can file your small claims case and handle the entire case on your own. It’s really not that hard.

Below are the links where you can get all the information you will need:

For Los Angeles County Small Claims

For the Orange County court handbook on how to file a small claims case

For small claims information in Santa Barbara County court

For the Ventura County Superior Court

For the San Bernardino County Court

If you need assistance filling out the forms, or have any questions about how to prepare your small claims case, feel free to email me at info@higherlegal.com.

Good for the State Bar of California!

I just read the notice placed on the California State Bar web site telling sleazy lawyers to stay away from the victims of the tragedy in San Bruno. The State Bar also notifies the victims that they should beware of  the illegal “runners” and “cappers” who may try to approach them to sign them up with a lawyer. State Bar Notice.  The State Bar of California recommends that anyone from this disaster who feels they need to consult with a lawyer should consider contacting a certified lawyer referral service. The notice goes on to state:

“If an injured person or family member believes that they have been improperly solicited by or on behalf of an attorney, they should immediately report the matter to the State Bar at (800) 843-9053″.

In this day and age of ambulance chasers, which unfortunately gives all good and reputable lawyers a bad name, I applaud the State Bar for coming out with this notice to the public.