Good Lawyers in Injury Divorce DUI

In the city of Los Angeles, 67 percent of drivers who reported that their cars were hit while parked, said that the other motorist simply left without bothering to leave a note. Los Angeles is not alone in such dishonorable motorist behavior. In fact, the more crowded city is, the more likely it is for a motorists to be a victim of a hit-and-run where the other driver not even bothering to leave a note.

Those statistics come via a report by insurer Allstate this week. The report says that New York City had the highest number of hit-and-run accidents involving parked vehicles. In fact, in the Big Apple, 70% of hit-and-run crashes involved vehicles that were parked. Houston was at the other end of the spectrum, with just 57% of hit-and-run accident involving parked vehicles. In the cities of Chicago and Phoenix, the rate was at 67% much like Los Angeles.

Allstate mentions that those high rates don’t necessarily mean that the culture in the cities lean towards irresponsible or negligent behavior. However, the congested nature of the cities may be conducive to an accident.

Even when you are involved in a hit-and-run accident involving a parked vehicle, you are required to leave a note on the other person’s vehicle explaining exactly what happened. Allstate has advice for victims of parked vehicle hit-and-run accidents.

• Contact your insurance company immediately.
• Take pictures of the damage to your car.
• Look around to see if you can find witnesses to whatever happened. Take down their contact information.

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 37,000 traffic accident fatalities in 2008. Out of these, 447 fatalities involved hit-and-run accidents in which moving vehicles were involved. However, there were 91 fatalities in hit-and-run crashes involving a parked vehicle.

Just because you can’t trace the driver who struck your car while it was parked and fled the scene, doesn’t mean that you have no rights to compensation. This is where Uninsured Motorist Coverage kicks in. Motorists in California are required to maintain Uninsured Motorist Coverage, and this is part of the policy you have with your insurer. Uninsured Motorist Coverage kicks in not just during hit-and-run accidents where you can’t trace the driver, but also in accidents where there is an at-fault driver available, but he or she has no insurance.

Your Uninsured Motorist Coverage should kick in as soon as the accident occurs. Make sure you file a claim with your insurance company. The Uninsured Motorist Coverage must include your medical bills, lost wages and may be even other damages.

It’s important to understand that your Uninsured Motorist Coverage benefits are your rights because you have paid for these. When an insurer refuses to pay out benefits, or delays these, or pays you lesser than you are eligible for, it’s always best to consult with a California car accident lawyer, who specializes in Uninsured Motorist Coverage matters.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of auto accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

On behalf of the staff of the Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review, I am pleased to announce the arrival of the first issue of volume fourteen, available now in print and online. This issue highlights the work of several scholars.  Dr. Dana Beldiman, a partner with the law firm of Carroll, Burdick & McDonough LLP in San Francisco, [...]

The United States Supreme Court granted cert today in the public employee privacy case of NASA v. Nelson, No. 09-530 (petition for cert here). The case will consider whether NASA, a federal agency, violated the informational privacy rights of employees, who worked in non-sensitive contract jobs, by asking certain invasive questions during background investigations. General [...]

Pedestrians and accident lawyers in California have been very concerned at the high number of fatalities and injuries in pedestrian accidents in our state. Every year, hundreds of pedestrians are killed and thousands are seriously injured in on the streets of California. The city of San Francisco is beginning a campaign to promote pedestrian safety in the city.

The city of San Francisco was made for walking. It’s not just the residents who love walking here, but also the thousands of tourists who visit city every year. There are even walking tours that allow the tourists to see most of the city’s most famous landmarks with no stress at all.

Not surprisingly, pedestrian safety is a major concern here, given that so many of the city’s inhabitants prefer to bicycle or walk before driving. The San Francisco Police Department has now kicked off a pedestrian safety campaign that will include both pedestrians and motorists. The focus of the campaign will be twofold:

• Getting motorists to respect the right of way of pedestrians, and engage in safe driving practices
• Educating pedestrians about safe walking and avoiding jaywalking

The pedestrian safety campaign fittingly enough has been kicked off in Chinatown. This area of San Francisco has massive pedestrian traffic. Over the next few days, police officers will be educating both pedestrians and motorists about right-of-way and other pedestrian safety concepts. Accident lawyers in California often notice that many motorists are either completely unaware of their right-of-way duties, or choose to ignore these. Either way, it’s the pedestrian who suffers. Most of the pedestrian accidents that occur in California every year, can be traced to right-of-way violations by motorists. A motorist who fails to yield at a crosswalk places a pedestrian at great danger.

Here are some things that motorists can do to prevent accidents involving pedestrians.

• Watch out for pedestrians when you near crosswalks.
• Look for pedestrians especially carefully when you’re driving in poor weather or in the dark, when it may be difficult to spot them.
• When you see a pedestrian at a crosswalk, wait till the pedestrian has crossed before moving forward again.
• Avoid distractions behind the wheel, like cell phone use or text messaging. Such behaviors cause you to take your eyes off the road, and may cause you to miss a pedestrian.
• Avoid driving at excessive speeds. You may be unable to stop in time even when you do notice a crosswalk ahead.

Pedestrians must also play their part in their own safety.

• Avoid jaywalking.
• Cross only at designated and marked crosswalks.
• Walk only on sidewalks.
• Before crossing, look left, right and then left.
• Before you cross, wait for the car to make a complete stop.
• Make eye contact with the driver. This ensures that he can see you and understands that you are about to cross.
• Even when you cross at a designated crosswalk, look for vehicles that may be speeding, and may not be able to stop in time.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of pedestrian accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows a debtor to repay all or part of their debts over a 3 to 5 year period of time.  However, some debtors who have filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy may find themselves facing new financial difficulties at some point during the repayment period that prevents them from making agreed upon payments.  This reason alone has been major factor is scaring off some debtors from filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  However, while that fear is understandable, it is unnecessary since bankruptcy law states that a debtor may convert their Chapter 13 bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy at any point during their repayment plan.  Below are a few reasons why you may want to convert your Chapter 13 bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy:

1. Your financial situation has changed significantly. Maybe you suffered a job loss that prevents you from making payments to the bankruptcy trustee.  If so, converting to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy may be a simple and of course logical decision.
2. You have suffered an illness that has created medical debt that you can’t pay.  Medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy and converting to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy because of medical debt may be a smart choice.
3. Your household size has changed.  Maybe you just had a child and the increased expenses make it impossible for you to continue your Chapter 13 bankruptcy payments. If this is the case speak with your bankruptcy attorney about how this will impact your ability to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  An increase in household size could place you below the median income for Texas.

It’s also important to note that if you decide to convert your Chapter 13 bankruptcy into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy any assets you acquired after filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy will be exempt from seizure.

Related posts:

1. Job Loss During Chapter 13 Bankruptcy? You Still Have Options
2. Delinquent Mortgage Payments And Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
3. Expecting a Child Soon and Considering Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

Foreclosures in the Dallas-Fort Worth area rose again by 18 percent compared to last month’s foreclosure filings.  But compared to last year’s foreclosure filings in the same month, the foreclosures increased by a whopping 37 percent.  Many analysts believe that many foreclosures that were on hold at the end of 2009 are now being released causing the most recent rise in foreclosures.  Also, many homeowners facing foreclosure who signed up for the 3-month trial HAMP foreclosure prevention program are now disqualifying for the permanent modifications and succumbing to foreclosure.  But it is also noted that many of the new foreclosures continue to be driven job losses which have not abated in the past year.  Many homeowners are facing job losses and are unable to work out reasonable settlements with mortgage servicers which is causing them to fail in their fight against foreclosure.  It’s unfortunate that our legislators and those in the mortgage industry who are mostly responsible for our foreclosure crisis, fail to properly and quickly respond to the foreclosure crisis with adequate measure.  The way the mortgage modification currently works, it will not be very effective in stopping this current wave of foreclosures.  The HAMP program has failed because of a few things: 1) mortgage lenders are not required to participate, 2) most of the mortgage modifications are designed in a way that still make foreclosure inevitable for many homeowners, and 3) there are no adequate options for homeowners facing foreclosure who are unemployed.

If we want to adequately tackle the foreclosure crisis, we must create a forbearance policy for those homeowners who have lost their jobs. Since the average time a person remains unemployed during this recession is around 8 months to a year, we need a forbearance program that at least allows a homeowner to defer their mortgage payments for 12 months.  If the mortgage industry and legislators are truly committed to stopping this foreclosure crisis, they will at least consider this option.

Related posts:

1. Foreclosures Continue To Rise In Dallas-Fort Worth
2. Dallas-Fort Worth Foreclosures Increase By 34 Percent
3. HAMP Foreclosure Prevention Changes Coming Soon

In today's segment of Speaking of Settlements, I review the Allstate Financial structured legal fee, or structure attorney fee, program and several of the elements that make it so unique in the structured settlement industry.

First, Allstate is the originator of the non-qualified structured settlement, which in and of itself is a very unique distinction. Non-qualified refers to the fact that it is for taxable damage cases as opposed to tax free damage cases, or those covered under IRC section 104(a)(2). Several years back Allstate pioneered the development of being able to structure, or spread out, taxable damage awards over time and while they earned interest and remain one of the leaders in this major area of litigation. The Allstate International Assignments special purpose corporation, formed to handle these unique transactions, remains one of the leaders in this area nationally. 

Allstate's expertise in this area has also spilled over to the structured legal fees, where they are one of the very few life insurance companies that are willing to structure fees on both taxable and non-taxable damage cases, a fact that greatly expands the potential cases an attorney can defer and plan around. As you will see in this video, or by visiting the Allstate International Assignments web page, the underwriting restrictions are relatively modest and what you'd expect to see in these transactions, and cover a wide range of structured legal fee cases. A quick summary would include:

1. Allstate will do stand alone structured legal fees on both taxable and non-taxable cases.

2. Allstate requires a hold harmless letter and the beneficiary option selected is irrevocable under current standards, something to keep in mind.

3. Allstate will pay to the individual attorney or a partnership, but will not pay structured legal fees on referral fees for attorney's on a case.

In short, as with all structured legal attorney fees, you need to work with a trained, competent structured settlement expert that has all available markets, current underwriting requirements and is able to match up your needs and situation to the right company. However, for taxable damage cases where lawyers have here to fore not thought of structuring their fee, this program opens up some amazing options for tax deferral, retirement planning and cash flow planning for lawyers and partnerships in a wide range of cases. 

To learn more about structured legal fees or to view more of this series, go to Mark Wahlstrom's web page at www.wahlstromandassociates.com.

The recession is keeping some couples together who might have divorced in more prosperous times, rather than riding out a difficult relationship. In Detroit, especially, where unemployment and a depressed housing market have hit as hard as anywhere in the country, the approach towards divorce is changing to meet the market difficulty. Hiring lawyers can sometimes [...]

Veoh, an online video sharing service plans to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidate its business, according to the company’s founder, Dmitry Shapiro. Shapiro posted a passionate open letter blaming a legal battle with Universal Music Group for the company’s bankruptcy: 

“Two years ago, Universal Music Group (UMG), the largest music company in the world sued Veoh alleging copyright infringement. While we made every effort to convince them that we were not their enemy and had not infringed on their content, they pursued a relentless war of attrition against us in federal court,” Shapiro wrote. ”We eventually prevailed in a decisive summary judgment that has set an important precedent for the entire industry. Unfortunately, great vision, a passionate team, tens of millions of users, millions in revenues and victory in court were not enough. The distraction of the legal battles, and the challenges of the broader macro-economic climate, have led to our Chapter 7 bankruptcy.”

Veoh has already laid off its entire staff in light of the bankruptcy filing.  The lawsuit to which Shapiro referred was where Universal accused Veoh of purposely violating the company’s copyrights by encouraging it’s users to create videos using copyrighted music.  Veoh had already faced issues surrounded its inability to monetize its business and the lawsuit scared off more potential investors.  A Chapter 11 bankruptcy was unlikely because Veoh had already burned through millions in capital and was unable to make a profit.  In Chapter 7 bankruptcy it assets will be liquidated and the proceeds will be distributed to its creditors.

Related posts:

1. Massive Apartment Management Company Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
2. Penton Business Media Holding Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
3. LifeMasters Supported SelfCare Inc. Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

One of the many unusual features of the Electoral College established by Article II, Section 1, of the United States Constitution is the provision that specifies that each state shall have “a Number of Electors equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.” The one [...]

1.  Property taxes – Combined with the new homebuyer tax credit this deduction can save many homeowners a lot on their taxes.  You can add this deduction to your standard deduction if you don’t itemize, or if you choose, you can add it to you itemized deductions. 
2. Sales taxes – Tax law allows you to deduct your local and state sales taxes. I you purchased a big ticket item such as a car, boat or prefabricated home last year, you can add the taxes paid to your itemized tax return to take advantage of the deduction.
3. New car deduction — If you purchased a new car (not used) in 2009 you may be able to deduct the state, local and excise taxes you paid for it.  You don’t need to itemize to take advantage of this deduction on your taxes.
4. Donations To Haiti – If you make a donation to the Haiti earthquake relief efforts between January 11, 2010 and March 31, 2010 those donations can be deducted from your taxes, but only if you itemize.
5. Energy efficiency credit – If you purchased an energy efficient air conditioner, furnace or water heater last year, you may be able to deduct 30 percent of the cost from your taxes.  There is a $1500 cap; but you can include the cost for labor and materials.  If you installed energy efficient window, insulation, sealant and radiant barriers you may also deduct 30 percent of the cost with a $1500 cap, but labor cannot be included.

Also remember, if you are unable to pay your taxes, you may be able to negotiate forbearance with the IRS.  Also, some taxes (depending on the age and other factors) may be dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Related posts:

1. Don’t Forget Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Tax Deductions
2. Uncle Sam Has Some Pleasant Surprises For Homeowners This Year
3. Texas Residents Can Now Deduct Sales Taxes On Federal Income Tax Returns

In Footnote 12 of her dissenting opinion in Ricci v. DeStefano (the controversial New Haven fire-fighters racial discrimination case), United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg makes reference to a 25-year old decision of the First Circuit Court of Appeals known as Boston Chapter, NAACP v. Beecher.  The case is mentioned in the context [...]