Lawsuit Millionaires | Law Terms S-Z

 Law Terms S-Z

• Law Terms beginning with "S" -
• Settlement:
1. The resolution of a dispute or lawsuit.
2. The distribution of property and wrapping up of a decedent's affairs by the executor.
3. Payment or adjustment. For example, a debtor might settle an account by paying the full amount owed, or an insurance company might settle a property damage claim by paying the insured for the covered damage.
4. The transfer of real property from the seller to the buyer; closing.
• Law Terms beginning with "T" -
• Tax Court: A federal court which hears taxpayers' appeals from decisions of the Internal Revenue Service. Tax courts hear taxpayer appeals "de novo" (as a trial rather than an appeal), and taxpayers do not have to pay the amount claimed by the IRS before their case is heard by the tax court. Tax court decisions may be appealed to the Federal District Court of Appeals.
• Tort Law: A civil wrong other than a breach of contract. Tort usually refers to the causing of damage to property or to a person's reputation, or harm to a person's commercial interests.
• Law Terms beginning with "U" -
• Unbundled Legal Services: The provision of legal services by an attorney who does not represent the client or take over the entire case, but performs specific services such as appearing at one hearing, preparing a legal brief, or negotiating a settlement after the client has prepared the case as a self-represented party. Most common in divorce cases.
• Law Terms beginning with "V" -
• Vigilante: Possibly my favorite form of justice. Someone who takes the law into his or her own hands by seizing someone and attempting to convict and punish the supposed criminal.
• Law Terms beginning with "W" -
• Weight of Evidence: The strength, value, and believability of evidence.
• Wrongful Death: The taking of the life of an individual resulting from the willful or negligent act of another person or persons.

• Law Terms beginning with "X" -
• Law Terms beginning with "Y" -
• Yellow-Dog Contract: It sounds like a "yellow-dog contract" is unenforceable. It's an agreement in which an employer forbids an employee to join a labor union.
• Law Terms beginning with "Z" -
• Zoning Law: Laws issued by local governments to regulate the size, type, structure, and use of land or building in designated areas. These laws divide the cities into district areas according to use. For instance, single-family homes, commercial establishments, and industrial plants.

Law Terms A - F| Law Terms G - L| Law Terms M - R

Lawsuit Millionaires | Wrongful Death

Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Lately, I've been reading articles relating to lawsuits and whatnot, finding topics of interest for me to write about here. Every now and then a word (or term) comes up that I don't know. Or worse yet, sounds like you know, when you don't know exactly what it means. So, starting with this post, I'll be adding a glossary of law terms to this blog. It should prove helpful for me, and for readers. Today's term is (obviously), Wrongful Death.

Wrongful Death - (Also known as Wrongful Death Action or Wrongful Death Claim)

Wrongful Death, is pretty much just like it sounds. One person is at fault (wrongfully - is it ever considered right?) for the death of another. Here's the interesting tidbit: The victim’s survivors are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the improper conduct.


Dictionary.Law.Com says:

Wrongful death is the basis for a lawsuit (wrongful death action) against the party or parties who caused the death filed on behalf of the members of the family who have lost the company and support of the deceased. Thus, a child might be entitled to compensation for the personal loss of a father as well as the amount of financial support the child would have received from the now-dead parent while a minor, a wife would recover damages for loss of her husband's love and companionship and a lifetime of expected support, while a parent would be limited to damages for loss of companionship but not support.

A wrongful death claim generally consists of four elements: (1) the death was caused, in whole or part, by the conduct of the defendant; (2) the defendant was negligent or strictly liable for the victim’s death; (3) there is a surviving spouse, children, beneficiaries or dependents; and (4) monetary damages have resulted from the victim’s death. - FreeAdvice.com

(Back to Law Glossary)

Law School | Yale

Curious About Yale Law Admissions

So I am told Yale is THE school to go to. If you can graduate from Yale, you can write your own ticket. Or so they say. So what if you not only get accepted, then graduate... but graduate with a law degree?

If this is the case with Yale, then what does it take to attend a school of such prestige? They've got be looking for the best of the best right? Maybe they are simply just look for students who's tuition checks clear. I was curious about the Yale law admissions process, so I looked up their website (http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/admissions.htm).

Admissions
Admissions to the Yale law program seems to be at the very least... extremely competitive. According to the "Apply for the J.D." section of the website, Yale Law School has received approximately 3,400 applications for fewer than 200 spots in the first-year class. Staggering numbers huh? Yeah, I know. Applications for the J.D. Program are accepted from late September through February 15, and most applicants will receive a final response by the end of April.

Yale Law Programs:

• The J.D. Program (3 year course study)
• The LL.M. (one-year course of study for students who have completed their law degree and are interested in law teaching)
• The J.S.D. Program (open only to LL.M. graduates)
• The M.S.L. Program (one-year course of study intended for experts in other fields who want to explore how the law relates to their fields)

Financing Law School
So here is the cool part about the Yale law school program, they have loan assistance program. It is set up so that students who participate in nonprofit organizations, public interest, government, academia, or small firms, can receive loan forgiveness. It is called the COAP (Career Options Assistance Program). There are also many grants outside Yale to help students, which are based solely on financial need.

Yale Law Address and Contact

Yale University Law School is located at:

127 Wall Street, New Haven, CT 06511

Phone: (203) 432-4992
or
(203) 432-1660

Admissions Office Email: admissions.law@yale.edu

Jon Gosselin Sues TLC, Then Reaches Settlement

TLC gets hit with $5 Million Lawsuit from Jon Gosselin

Celebrity, reality TV dad Jon Gosselin filed a lawsuit against the television entertainment station TLC. According to the website "The Hollywood Gossip," the $5 million suit was one of two between the star and TLC. The website states:

"That prompted a lawsuit filed by TLC against Gosselin for alleged breach of contract, claiming that he was making paid TV appearances without their consent[...]. TLC sought and won an injunction effectively making Jon STFU. Later, Gosselin filed a $5-million counterclaim, saying that the network damaged his career."

 Jon's end:

What's going on on Jon Gosselin's end? The gist of the whole thing, is that Jon felt that TLC was stifling his ability to earn income. Mostly by TLC discouraging other media venues from contacting or following through with interviews and appearances with Gosselin. His lawyer, Mark Heller was quoted with saying "Their behavior has caused Jon great anguish and it has caused him financial losses."

Settlement Statement from TLC:
TLC: "TLC has reached a settlement with Jon Gosselin and will be undertaking procedural steps to conclude the litigation. All terms of the settlement are confidential. The whole Gosselin family remain under contract with TLC."

Article Sources:

1. The Hollywood Gossip, Feb. 17 2010: "Jon Gosselin, TLC Agree to Legal Settlement" 
2. People, November 13, 2009: "Jon Gosselin Files $5 Million Lawsuit Against TLC" 
3. Limelife Blog, Feb. 18, 2010: "Jon Gosselin And TLC Reach Private Settlement"

Lady Gaga Sued For More Than $30 Million

Ex-boyfriend and Producer Sues Lady Gaga

The singer is being sued by ex-boyfriend and producer, Rob Fusari, for over $30 million. Last Friday the news broke that Lady Gaga (real name: Stefani Germanotta ) was being sued, but outraged fans wanted to know why. Multiple reports have indicated that Fusari stated that he is the one who co-wrote some of her hit songs, including Gaga’s mega-hit “Paparazzi,” and even came up with her stage name.

The case may be thrown out however, on the grounds of its validity. Lady Gaga (who is counter-suing Fusari) is claiming that she was deceived, as Rob Fusari was never a licensed talent agent.  The claim is that any signed documents or promises made, would then be deemed as an "unlawful arrangement."

Why is Fusari claiming he's entitled to $30 Million?

Here are some the items he feels he is owed money for:

• Claims he is responsible for the discovery and development of  Lady Gaga.
• Rob also contends that he had a hand in the creation of several of Gaga's hit songs, as a co-writer: “Paparazzi,” “Brown Eyes” and “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich” — plus the bonus tracks “Disco Heaven,” “Again Again” and “Retro Dance Freak.” [As was reported by a Rolling Stone Article]
• As some metamorphosis via a cell phone spell checker, the term "Radio Gaga" (originally off of a Queen Album: The Works) was mistakenly converted to "Lady Gaga." Which became the name the singer would be known as.
•  A 20% stake in revenues and merchandising. 

The Rolling Stone article also had this statement from Rob's lawyer: “It’s an age-old story in the music business,” said Fusari’s lawyer Robert Meloni. “You become famous and you turn on the person who discovered you.”

Lawsuit Article Resources:

1. March 20th - NY Daily News [Title: Lady Gaga aims lawsuit at ex-producer Rob Fusari for conning her into signing illegal contract]
2. March 19th - Rolling Stone [Title: Lady Gaga Sued For $30 Million By Producer/Ex-Boyfriend Rob Fusari]

Yelp Lawsuit | Popular Review Site

What is Yelp?

Yelp is a user based website that allows consumers the opportunity to write a personal experience with a business. Whether this review is good or bad, it gets published. The idea being, that other users interested in the goods or services of a business, have a place to go to hear about past customer's personal experiences and feelings about that business.

According to their website, Yelp was founded in 2004. Their number one item in their 10 Things you should know about Yelp section is: "Yelp was founded in 2004 to help people find great local businesses like dentists, hair stylists and mechanics." In another section of the website, the company is described as: "Yelp is an online urban city guide that helps people find cool places to eat, shop, drink, relax and play, based on the informed opinions of a vibrant and active community of locals in the know. Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great — and not so great — in your world."

The Yelp Lawsuit

Why is Yelp involved in a lawsuit? According to Fox News, a suit was filed against the San Francisco-based Yelp website for fraudulent reviews. A lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday, with allegations pertaining to extortion.

The extortion claim is that when Yelp gets a negative review for a business, they then contact that business and inform them that a negative review has been posted. The business owner then is given a chance to purchase an "advertising package" for several hundred dollars, where the website will remove the negative review, and give the business some ad space on the website. On some occasions, it is said that employees of the website will also write negative reviews themselves!

The Tools of an Attorney

The Quagmire

The other day I was thinking about Family Guy, the Fox animated series. I don't remember now... but my thoughts went to the character of Glenn Quagmire. Quagmire is one of my favorite character in Family Guy, and I got to wondering about the origins of his name. I thought, "You know what? His name must mean something... like awkward situation," or something similar.

I came to find out that the definition of Quagmire means:

• a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position : predicament

Sounds about right for an Attorney huh? That's exactly it, the quagmire is one of the most powerful tools a lawyer can have at his disposal. Put your opponent in a quagmire. If you can't argue or defend yourself... how can you win your case?

This becomes especially perplexing when a jury is involved in your case. Why? Because at the point you are rendered speechless by a crafty lawyer, the seed of doubt is planted. If the lawyer can evoke doubt in the jury, then the lawyer can also spin the facts.

I am sure this is one of the fundamental qualities they teach in law school. It would have to be. Mock trials and mock debates would play out like three dimensional mental chess matches. The pivotal move? Put your opponent in Quagmire.

In closing, here is a tip for all you law students out there. If you want to become the best attorney you can possibly be, learn the principals of utilizing the quagmire. Whether you are the defense attorney or the prosecutor, use intelligent and entrapping questions. Then attack (or defend) from a position of strength, on the basis of doubt.