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Landlord Seminars
"How to Survive Legally as a Landlord" will be presented
by attorney/author Robert Friedman from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. on the following
two dates: (1) Monday, September 27, 1999 at Williamsville North High
School (1595 Hopkins Road, Williamsville, New York 14221. Telephone:
(716) 626-8080); and (2) Thursday, November 4, 1999 at Erie Community
College, North Campus (6265 Main Street, Williamsville, New York
14221. Telephone: (716) 851-1800). Mr. Friedman will discuss evictions,
leases, Small Claims Court, discrimination laws, civil liability, insurance,
security deposits, elderly tenants, drugs, debt collection, and lead paint
regulations. There is a registration and book fee. To register, call the
telephone number at the location where you wish to attend.
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Newly Released Books by Robert Friedman
How to Survive Legally as a Landlord (Fourth Edition, Victoria Square Publishing) and How to Form Your Own "S" Corporation and Avoid Double Taxation (Second Edition, Dearborn) by Robert Friedman were released this summer. For further information, see the insert in this newsletter or visit the Legal Survival Bookstore.
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What's New in Consumer Law?
Car dealer must pay $669,000 for threatening repo notice. A
Navajo couple purchased a 1985 Chevy Blazer with an odometer reading of
67,000 miles. The salesperson told them that the engine had been overhauled
and the four-wheel drive worked, which proved to be untrue. The four-wheel
drive shaft was missing, the engine had been overhauled and the vehicle
actually had at least 167,000 miles. The dealer knew the vehicles history
and true condition as well as the odometer situation because he had bought
and sold the Blazer several times. When the couple was delinquent $705 in
car payments, they received a collection notice in the mail containing a
cartoon drawing of two unshaven thugs, labeled "Repo Man J and Repo Man K",
standing next to a trash can stuffed with a person, presumably a customer. Only
the person's legs stick out of the trash can. A pool of blood is on the
ground. One of the repo men is putting a gun back into his jacket. The
other one is holding a club.
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What's New in Debtor/Creditor Law?
Collection agency must report oral dispute. A debtor
notified a collection agency by telephone that he was disputing a debt
for unpaid rent. The U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, held that the
agency was required under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
to inform credit reporting agencies of the dispute. The FDCPA prohibits
a debt collector from communicating any credit information which is known
or which should be known to be false, including the failure to communicate
that a debt is disputed. The agency argued that it had not violated the
Act because the tenant never disputed the debt in writing. However, the
court ruled that the plain language of the FDCPA requires debt collectors
to communicate the disputed status of a debt if the debt collector "knows
or should know that the debt is disputed". This standard requires no
notification by the consumer, written or oral. Instead, it depends solely
on the debt collector's knowledge that a debt is disputed, regardless of
how or when the knowledge is acquired.
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What's New in Divorce/Family Law?
Adoption agency sued for not disclosing abuse. A couple
that was not told that their adopted child had been sexually abused can
sue the agency for "wrongful adoption". Before the adoption, the couple
specifically asked if there was anything about the child that they should
know. The agency failed to reveal the abuse. After the adoption, the
child sexually abused two of her siblings. At least twelve other states
have allowed similar claims (New York Appellate Division).
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What's New in Estate Planning/Elder Law?
Assets may be transferred to qualify for Medicaid. A
wife served as her husband's court-appointed guardian. He had been in a
coma since 1996. The New York Appellate Division, Second Department, held
that she can transfer his assets to herself, refuse to use them for his
care and thus make him eligible for Medicaid. The court ruled that the
husband "...who had the unrestricted right to give his assets to his wife,
or to his children, or to anyone else for that matter, at all times, up
until the moment of his terrible injury did not...lose that fundamental
right merely because he is now incapacitated and financial decisions on
his behalf must necessarily be made by a surrogate". The court added that
"no agency of the government has any right to complain about the fact
middle-class people confronted with desperate circumstances choose
voluntarily to inflict poverty upon themselves when it is the government
itself which has established the rule that poverty is a prerequisite to
the receipt of government assistance in the defraying of the costs of
ruinously expensive, but absolutely essential, medical treatment".
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What's New in Health Law?
Couple deceived about "in vitro" success rate. An "in
vitro" fertilization program that misled a couple about its success rate
can be sued under a state deceptive trade practices statute. The wife
underwent seven treatments, but did not get pregnant. The couple claimed
that the program's promotional materials and advertisements contained
misrepresentations that had the affect of deceiving and misleading members
of the public. The program claimed that women who underwent four "in
vitro" treatments had a 50 percent chance of getting pregnant (New York
Court of Appeals).
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What's New in Landlord/Tenant Law?
Landlord's liability for rape. A tenant who was raped
in her Florida apartment was awarded almost $350,000 by a jury that found
the 392 unit apartment complex negligent for not providing adequate
security. Three weeks after moving into the apartment, an intruder
slashed the screen on her porch, broke the light next to her sliding
glass door and raped her. She sued the landlord claiming that the
apartment complex manager failed to install adequate outdoor lighting,
security jams in the sliding glass doors and a guard gate. She also
claimed that the thick foliage throughout the complex, the dim lighting
and the lack of security guards invited the perpetrator...An Iowa tenant
was raped by an intruder who used a set of master keys which he obtained
from an unlocked cabinet in the manager's office to get into her apartment. An
employee previously used one of the keys to enter another tenant's
apartment and tried to rape her. However, the landlord never changed the
locks or moved the keys to a more secure location. The court ruled that
the landlord owes a duty of care to protect tenants from reasonably
foreseeable harm.
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What's New in Municipal Law?
Municipalities may reject cellular towers. The town
planning board denied an application to build three 150' cellular phone
towers because of the affect on property values and aesthetics. The U.S.
Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, ruled that the denial did not violate
the federal Telecommunications Act. However, a city or town must allow
gaps in coverage to be filled-in with additional towers if current service
is inadequate. An application can still be denied where: (a) there are
less intrusive means to fill such gaps; (b) fewer towers would still
provide the minimum coverage necessary to fill such gaps; or (c) the
community is already sufficiently serviced by a wireless service
provider.
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What's New in Personal Injury Law?
Football helmet manufacturer must pay $14.62 million. A
football helmet manufacturer was ordered by a Texas jury to pay $14.62
million for a severe brain injury suffered by an 18-year-old boy. During
a high school scrimmage, the boy tackled the ball carrier and struck the
side of his head on the ground. He tried to return to the huddle, but
felt dizzy and walked to the sidelines. Moments later, he collapsed and
fell into a coma. Doctors predict that he will only live to be about
42-years-old at the most. His medical costs are estimated to be $125,000
a year. The lawsuit alleged that the manufacturer, which makes most of
the helmets used by high school, college and professional football
players, provided a defective helmet. The company lined the inside of
the helmet with foam that it knew was sub-standard. It left more
protective helmet-lining foam, which would have prevented the injury, on
its shelves.
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What's New in Real Estate Law?
Deductibility of home mortgage points. Home buyers now
have the option to deduct "points" paid on a mortgage over the life of the
loan. An IRS private letter ruling gives taxpayers more flexibility in
cases where they cannot use the full deduction in the current year. A
couple paid 1.25 points to buy a house. Because their total itemized
deductions for the year, including the points, were less than the standard
deduction available to them, they wanted to take the standard deduction
and spread the points out over the life of the loan. Points are prepaid
interest payments that are paid to the lender when buying or refinancing
a home. Each point equals one percent of the total loan.
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What's New in Small Business Law?
Corporate formalities checklist. Corporations must
maintain proper formalities to safeguard limited liability and proper
tax treatment. A corporation needs to be treated as a separate entity
in order for the shareholders to avoid potential business liabilities
and tax problems. Many of the important "arm's length" indicia that
are evaluated by courts and the IRS include the 14 items discussed in
this three-part series. Items one through five were discussed in the
Spring 1999 issue and items six through ten were discussed in the Summer
1999 issue.
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Injured Victims' Rights
The Friedman & Ranzenhofer, P.C. Ten Point Pledge to Accident/Injury Clients is:
- To communicate with you in plain language that is easy to understand.
- To promptly return your telephone calls.
- To quickly and thoroughly investigate and analyze your case. Friedman & Ranzenhofer, P.C. does not accept every accident case.
- To have your case personally handled by an attorney.
- To keep you informed of the progress of your case at all times.
- To show you the personal care, concern and attention which has been the hallmark of our law firm since 1955.
- To not handle your case in an "assembly line" fashion.
- To accommodate the needs of you and your family during the handling of your case.
- To vigorously protect your legal rights.
- To never release your name to the media after your case has been completed, except with your written permission.
Attorney Michael H. Ranzenhofer limits his practice to automobile accident, slip and fall, dog bite and defective product cases. He is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Western New York Trial Lawyers Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and the Erie County Bar Association Negligence Committee.
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