Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Court rules motel owner must pay in drowning

Court rules motel owner must pay in drowning
By Zane Wilson - For The Sun News - Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009

GEORGETOWN -- A Georgetown motel owner or his insurance company must pay for the 2004 drowning death of a Baltimore boy because the hotelier did not answer the lawsuit in time, according to a state Supreme Court ruling Monday.

The next step is a jury trial to find out how much must be paid to compensate for the June 19, 2004, death of Dominick Richardson, said William Walker Jr., the attorney representing the boy's family.

Dwight Hudson, attorney for the motel owner, said he was surprised at some of the wording of the high court's opinion and will ask that the justices reconsider.

Richardson was vacationing with his family when he died in the pool at Harbor Inn on Church Street in Georgetown.

His mother, Leola Richardson, filed suit the following May. She got a default ruling on June 24, 2005, when motel owner Jay Patidar did not reply to the lawsuit in the required 30 days.

Walker said "there were numerous safety violations" at the pool, documented by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. The agency regulates swimming pools open to the public.

He said there was no phone by the pool to call for rescue, and a required safety device to pull the boy up was not readily available. If those rules had not been broken, the boy might have been saved, he said.

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Court rules motel owner must pay in drowning
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Friday, August 21, 2009

Is Legal Service of Process on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter in the Near Future?

Peter Carlson - June 01, 2009 - www.larkinhoffman.com

Recently, courts in Australia and New Zealand have allowed legal documents to be served via Facebook. In Australia, the plaintiff's lawyers had first attempted to serve the documents personally on the defendants, as well as by e-mail. After both methods were unsuccessful, the plaintiff convinced the court that it should be allowed to serve the defendants on their Facebook page. In order to do so, however, the court required that the plaintiff demonstrate that the Facebook profiles found by the plaintiff were in fact those of the defendants. Similarly, in New Zealand, the High Court permitted a plaintiff, who had previously been unsuccessful in determining the defendant's location, to serve the defendant with process by way of the defendant’s presence on Facebook.

This relaxation in the requirements for process serving, however, has not crossed the seas and been implemented in the United States. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide that an individual may be served by leaving a copy of the summons and complaint "at the individual's dwelling or usual place of abode …." It seems unlikely that American courts will interpret this language to mean that an individual's Facebook or MySpace page is deemed their dwelling or usual place of abode.

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Is Legal Service of Process on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter in the Near Future?
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Monday, August 17, 2009

On Demo: Tool Tackles Process Server, Attorney Data Transfer Dilemma

Blog post by Mary Wisniewski - www.collectiontechnology.net - August 17, 2009

Paperwork is a pain, and technology wants to tackle this burden.

Consider Serve-X, which was announced this past spring at NARCA’s Boston conference. The data transferring interface from Service Exchange Network, LLC aims to reduce the paperwork hassle between process servers and attorneys through automation, and exchanges with roughly 800 process servers and 1,000 attorneys.

“It’s an intelligent way to update case files,” says Greg Kellerman, president of Service Exchange Network, LLC.

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On Demo: Tool Tackles Process Server, Attorney Data Transfer Dilemma

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Saturday, August 15, 2009

Judge rules Sprague petition for Essex County DA valid

KIM SMITH DEDAM - Press Republican - August 15, 2009

ELIZABETHTOWN — Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Muller dismissed a legal challenge brought against Essex County Board of Elections and Kristy L. Sprague, ruling petitions filed in her campaign for district attorney are valid.

The decision Friday afternoon says "while she must be a resident of Essex County when the general election takes place on Nov. 3, 2009, there is no requirement that she be a resident of the County now."

The only requirement imposed by Election Law, the judge said, "is that the candidate be a resident at the time of election," citing several legal precedents, among them case brought by Sprague's attorney John Ciampoli last year.

Five registered Republicans — Barbara Kreiger, Gregory Krieger, Judith Martin, Malcolm Martin and Nancy Dawson — filed the lawsuit two weeks ago, listing Julie Garcia as aggrieved candidate on the petition.

They claimed because Sprague lives in Plattsburgh, she is not eligible to run for office in Essex County.

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Judge rules Sprague petition for Essex County DA valid
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Judge backs Sprague; Court rejects challenge to DA candidacy

By NATHAN BROWN - Enterprise Staff Writer - August 15, 2009

SARANAC LAKE - A state Supreme Court judge has rejected a challenge to the nomination petitions of Kristy Sprague, who is running for Essex County District Attorney against incumbent Julie Garcia.

The lawsuit, filed by five Elizabethtown residents, was challenging the validity of her candidacy mainly based on her residency in Clinton County. Judge Robert Muller heard the case Thursday, and ruled Friday that Sprague can run.

"They were wrong on the law, wrong on the facts, and as far as my opinion is, it was a publicity stunt and nothing more than that," Sprague said.

"I'm disappointed," said James Walsh, of Schenectady, the lawyer for the five. "I thought we had provided the judge with the necessary information and background."

Walsh had argued that Sprague should legally have to be a county resident to run for Essex County DA; however, Muller ruled she can live in Clinton County for now as long as she is an Essex County resident by Election Day.

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Judge backs Sprague; Court rejects challenge to DA candidacy
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Belize accedes to Hague Convention on service of Legal documents overseas

Homero Ayuso - Staff Reporter www.reporter.bz - Friday, 14.08.2009

The Government of Belize has acceded to the Hague Convention with regard to the service of judicial and extrajudicial documents overseas.

The Senate last Tuesday passed a Resolution to this effect following an Instrument of Accession signed by Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, according to an official press release on the matter.

The Convention applies in all cases in civil or commercial matters, where there is occasion to transmit a judicial or extrajudicial document for service abroad.

Solicitor General of Belize, Oscar Ramjeet, told The Reporter that the adoption creates the appropriate means to ensure that these documents are served abroad, but they must be brought to the notice of the addressee in sufficient time.

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Belize accedes to Hague Convention on service of Legal documents overseas
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FTC Discussion on Process Servers and Legal Collection Issues

by Phil Britt - August 11, 2009 - insideARM.com staff

Improper process serving was a big topic at the FTC's roundtable on legal collections last week. Industry experts and the FTC spoke to insideARM about what came out of the discussion.

A lengthy discussion about process servers was one of the more interesting and unexpected items to come out of last week’s Federal Trade Commission roundtable (“FTC Collection Litigation Roundtable Sees Lively Debate on Legal Issues,” Aug. 7).

The roundtable, held at Northwestern University in Chicago, followed up on the FTC’s February 2009 report Collecting Consumer Debts: The Challenges of Change – A Workshop Report, which recommended that the debt collection regulatory system in the U.S. should be reformed and modernized (“FTC Proposes Significant Changes to FDCPA in Workshop Report,” Feb. 27). The report also announced regional roundtables to further discuss issues surrounding litigation and arbitration practices in the accounts receivable management process, last week’s event in Chicago being the first. The next will be at the end of September at a still undetermined location in northern California.

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FTC Discussion on Process Servers and Legal Collection Issues
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Alden Women Charged in Illegal Debt Scheme

Eileen Buckley - August 11, 2009 - publicbroadcasting.net

Annette Forte of Alden charged with filling false court documents NYS Attorney General's Office

BUFFALO, NY (WBFO) - An Erie County process server has been charged with filling false court documents that led to wrongful judgements.

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announce the indictment against 34-year old Annette Forte of Alden. She was arraigned in Lockport on the charges. The false documents of service were filed with County Clerk offices in Cattaraugus, Olean and Salamanca.

From August 2007 to April of 2008, Forte claimed she served and attempted to serve the legal papers against citizens who allegedly owed money to creditors.

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Alden Women Charged in Illegal Debt Scheme
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Process server accused of fraud in Cattauraugus County case

By Donna Snyder - CATTARAUGUS CORRESPONDENT - August 08, 2009

LITTLE VALLEY — An Erie County woman has been charged by a Cattaraugus County grand jury with 21 counts of filing false affidavits in Cattaraugus and Erie counties.

The charges are part of an ongoing investigation by State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has sued 35 law firms and two debt collectors and has moved to have nearly 100,000 default judgments thrown out, including 11,428 in Western New York.

Annette Forte, 34, of Alden and Rochester, was indicted on charges of first-degree falsifying business records, including 10 actions in Cattaraugus County between Oct. 15, 2007, and April 9, 2008, and 10 actions in Erie County of offering a false instrument for filing between Oct. 15, 2007, and April 9, 2008; also a charge of scheming to defraud between Feb. 9, 2007, and April 11, 2008, also in Erie County.

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Process server accused of fraud in Cattauraugus County case
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Harassment charge against Watertown businessman to be dismissed

newswatch50.com - August 15, 2009

Harassment and stalking charges will be dropped against two Watertown men, including downtown computer-repair businessman Michael DeFranco.

In Pierrepont Town Court Wednesday evening, Judge Robert Camp granted both men - DeFranco and Joseph Sweet - an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.

That means if they don't get into any trouble for the next six months, the charges will be dismissed.

The charges were brought by Colton resident Jon Sabin, who accused the two men of posting information about him, including his photo, on the internet.

The dispute was an outgrowth of a lengthy feud between Sabin and members of the Jefferson County Web Board.

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Harassment charge against Watertown businessman to be dismissed
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Tow truck operators to stand trial

Sara Suddes - Gilroy Dispatch - Aug 6, 2009
San Jose, California

A family of tow truck operators accused of using local courts to defraud hundreds of motorists will be held to answer for their alleged crimes.

"I'm very pleased," said Deputy District Attorney Dale Lohman outside the courtroom minutes after Superior Court Judge Gilbert Brown announced his decision to hold the family over for trial.

Although Brown dismissed a handful of minor charges, Vincent Cardinalli Sr., 66, Paul Greer, 32 - formerly Vincent Cardinalli Jr. - Cardinalli's daughter, Rosemary Ball, 34, and her husband, Michael Ball, 39, will stand trial for 158 counts of conspiracy, forgery, perjury, attempted grand theft and other felony charges.

"I'm not upset about these," Lohman said of the eight dropped charges against Greer - the majority of which were for alleged perjury. "You pick your battles."

Greer's attorney, Eben Kurtzman, said the dropped charges "probably aren't going to make a difference in the grand scheme of things."

With more than 100 counts against his client alone, Kurtzman said the judges decision was not a surprise.

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Tow truck operators to stand trial
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Process server creates headaches for court system, law firms

Process server creates headaches for court system, law firms
by Michelle Lore - www.finance-commerce.com - August 6, 2009

Angus McEachern faces 13 counts of perjury.

The case of a Hennepin County process server who allegedly falsified multiple affidavits of service has created a tremendous amount of work for the District Court and for the three law firms that used him to serve debtors with summonses and complaints.

The 23-year-old process server has been charged with multiple counts of perjury. A criminal complaint filed in May says the defendant admitted to signing approximately 200 false affidavits during the six months he worked for Edina-based Major Legal Professional Process Serving.

After the issue came to light, the Hennepin County District Court had to vacate more than 180 default judgments for which proper service of process could not be verified.

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Process server creates headaches for court system, law firms
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St. Cloud lawyer faces possible action

By Lawrence Schumacher • lschumacher@stcloudtimes.com • August 7, 2009

Former St. Cloud Mayor John Ellenbecker faces the possibility of suspension by the Minnesota Supreme Court, after a state office that oversees lawyers accused him of unprofessional conduct.
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The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility said in a three-part petition to the court that Ellenbecker, a criminal defense lawyer based in St. Cloud, failed in 2007 to return material to a former client, failed that same year to pay a process server he employed, and failed to cooperate with the office in its investigation of those allegations.

Ellenbecker, who has no record of prior discipline with the office, said the matters were “a misunderstanding” that were compounded when he “procrastinated” in responding to the office’s concerns.

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St. Cloud lawyer faces possible action
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Browning gets served

Rick Brand - newsday.com - August 7, 2009

Suffolk Legis. Kate Browning was going door-to-door handling out a letter, but when she stopped at Victor Zalaney’s house she got something in return — court papers.

It turns out that Zalaney is is not only a local civic leader but a process server, and he handed the Shirley lawmaker court papers for giving her notice of a lawsuit aiming to knock her off the September Democratic primary ballot.

Browning on July 31 was giving out a letter to alert the dozen homeowners on the street that she had succeeded in removing troublesome tenants from a badly rundown house on the block. “I know Victor doesn’t support me,” said Browning, “but he’s still a constituent and I have to treat him like anyone else.”

Of the legal notice she said: “It was kind of funny.”

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Browning gets served
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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Jeffco man arrested after insurance contractor fired on

By Kieran Nicholson - The Denver Post - August 5, 2009

A Jefferson County man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide after he fired shots at a man investigating an insurance claim, authorities said.

The incident happened at about 6 p.m. Tuesday in the 11300 block of South Deer Creek Road, according to a media release from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

The victim told deputies he was in the area investigating an insurance claim involving the suspect when the man came out of his home and yelled at him.

A short time later, the homeowner began shooting at the insurance-company contractor with a "small-caliber firearm," the Sheriff's Office said.

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http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12998297
Jeffco man arrested after insurance contractor fired on
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Saturday, August 1, 2009

Process server charged with falsifying affidavits causes big headaches

Michelle Lore Associate Editor - Minnlawyer.com - July 31, 2009

The case of a Hennepin County process server who allegedly falsified multiple affidavits of service has created a tremendous amount of work for the District Court and for the three law firms that used him to serve debtors with summonses and complaints.

The 23-year-old process server has been charged with multiple counts of perjury. A criminal complaint filed last May says the defendant admitted to signing approximately 200 false affidavits during the six months he worked for Edina-based Major Legal Professional Process Serving.

After the issue came to light, the Hennepin County District Court had to vacate more than 180 default judgments for which proper service of process could not be verified. (The court has brought in retired Judge Dennis Murphy from the 9th Judicial District to preside over the case. “We will not hear [the case] because we are one of the victims,” explained Hennepin County District Court Judge Robert Blaeser, head of the court’s civil division.)

The law firms that used the process server in debt collection cases have also suffered, spending hundreds of hours reviewing all potentially affected matters and re-serving defendants in the vacated cases.

“It’s unfortunate that one unseasoned guy with poor judgment … can cost reputable firms and the court system such significant time and effort,” said Heidi Staloch, an attorney with Gurstel Staloch & Chargo, one of the firms for which the defendant served process.

Blaeser said that he’s never seen anything like this before.

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Process server charged with falsifying affidavits causes big headaches

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Baby J's survives legal torpedo

Baby J's survives legal torpedo: Judge doesn't like the smell' of city's attempt to shut down harbor restaurant

Aug 01, 2009 - Destin Log - McClatchy-Tribune Information - TMCnet.com

If it took Destin two months to take Baby J's Water Cafe to court, the city can't expect a judge to make a decision to close the restaurant in one afternoon, Judge Keith Brace says.

"It took you from May to today to figure out this is not a vessel," Brace said at a Wednesday hearing, "yet you expect the court to convene an emergency hearing and in a half a day or less put this person out of business?" The city had requested a temporary injunction closing the restaurant over alleged safety violations. Instead, Brace granted Baby J's attorney Dana Matthews' request to continue the hearing at a later date, doing so before any of the witnesses -- Baby J's owners, City Manager Greg Kisela and others -- had testified, or any evidence had been submitted.

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Baby J's survives legal torpedo: Judge doesn't like the smell' of city's attempt to shut down harbor restaurant
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