With the advent of oil replacing coal as the primary home heating fuel, someone had the questionable idea of creating underground storage tanks for the oil. Ultimately metal tanks rust/rot out and develop holes, permitting the oil to get out and water to get in. Not a good situation.
A mom went to the high school ball field to watch her son play baseball. As she walked from the parking lot to the bleachers by the junior varsity field, she lost her balance and broke her ankle. In a subsequent lawsuit against the school district to recover for her personal injury, the court held that the area where she fell was in an unimproved condition.
In a 3-2 decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently barred accident victims from recovering their medical expenses from the negligent driver causing the injury. In this case, the victim had chosen a reduced personal injury protection (PIP) coverage of $15,000 but his medical expenses far exceeded that coverage. He therefore filed suit against the negligent driver to recover the excess unpaid medical expenses.
I was recently retained by a family to file a lawsuit to compel the State of New Jersey to amend their child’s birth certificate. This was a most unusual request. The child, a New Jersey college athlete, wished to establish dual citizenship with his country of origin in order to be eligible to try out for their national team. The country of origin rejected the initial application because the name of the birth mother on her national ID card did not match her name on her son’s birth certificate. The birth certificate would need to be amended.
New Jersey automobile owners receive coverage for medical expenses incurred in the event of injuries sustained in a car accident through the personal injury protection (PIP) portion of their automobile insurance policy.
A company obtained a home through foreclosure and had it inspected. The inspector noted moisture stains but did not note what the stains were. The company contracted to sell the property to buyers who agreed in the contract that the property was being sold in “as is” condition.
In a recent Appellate Division decision, the court considered the claim of an auto accident victim who had caught a ride with a fellow member of a non-profit charitable arts organization. The organization arranged for percussion instrument performances and competitions for its members. It would inform the members of the time, date and location of rehearsals and performances and provided directions.
A creditor seeking to collect a judgment has many options. It can levy on a bank account, garnish the debtor’s wages or seek to sell any real estate owned by the debtor. However, there are rules and limitations on that process.
From our experience, we know that people file for bankruptcy for a number of reasons. Unemployment, death of a spouse, a costly illness or a divorce all may lead people to decide that bankruptcy is their best course of action.
There are a number of fallacies that people have about filing for Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
