Questions and Professional Answers

• web page

  A child has created a web page to circumvent the Children Online Protection Act. The school has suspended him until he takes down the website. What is our recourse?

  • Re: web page

    I would need to see the website and review the school policy.You may need to file a tRO to obtain judicial relief.

    David Anderson
    Mahoney Anderson LLC
    P.O. Box 44504
    Eden Prairie, MN 55344

• Non Circumvent Agreement

  I have an employee that signed a non circ with me. UI then told him confidential info about a new service we will be providing. Now he is starting a company selling that service. I llive in Oklahoma. Can I sue him for damages?

  • Re: Non Circumvent Agreement

    If properly drafted, you will be able to enforce the agreement or seek injunctive relief.I would need to review the agreement for a conclusive opinion.Call or email for further assistance.

    David Anderson
    Mahoney Anderson LLC
    P.O. Box 44504
    Eden Prairie, MN 55344

• Liens om my inheritance

  The person I lived with is imposing a lien on my inheritance. What I owe her is no where near the amount she is seeking. Can she circumvent me without a judement in court? It is for back child support. Can she seek more than what was in the original court order? Do I have a rebuttle?

  • Re: Liens om my inheritance

    Your ex cannot "impose a lien" without a court judgment. The court order could be sufficient judgment if it states the amount you owe clearly, or if ORS is involved. Even then in most situations, she cannot force the trustee of your inheritance to pay her the money. However, once the money is paid to you, then she can garnish your account. Since you owe the money, it would be wise to make arrangements to pay the debt you owe for your child(ren) and avoid the cost of court procedures.

    Alvin Lundgren
    Alvin R. Lundgren, L.C.
    5015 W. Old Hwy 30 Ste 200
    Mt. Green, UT 84050-9752

• Export Contracts

  How do i get a standard non circumvent contarct for export,with manufactueres/suppliers.As well as on going residual contracts. I am an export agent.

  • Re: Export Contracts

    Standard? Dream on. If there was such a thing, there wouldn't be a need for lawyers, and there wouldn't be frequent lawsuits over disputes and breaches. You need a properly drafted contract for your particular business, detailing all the rights and responsibilities of the parties. A little money spent now on advice, rather than a lot later on litigation. Feel free to contact me if serious about doing it right.

    Terry A. Nelson
    Nelson & Lawless
    2134 Main St., #130
    Huntington Beach, CA 92648

  • Re: Export Contracts

    Trying to get a client to sign something blatantly labeled a non-circumvent contract will be tough; the first reaction of the client or prospective client will likely be, "Hmmmm, this guy wants to tie me up, maybe I'm being ripped off and I should circumvent in the first place and ignore this wannabe middleman."On the other hand, so-called exclusive dealing contracts are recognized by the Uniform Commercial Code (see, in California for example, Commercial Code section 2306(2). Exclusive dealing provisions may be included in distribution agreements between manufacturers and wholesalers or wholesalers and retailers (for example). Often, the agreements will contain territorial restrictions or limitations on the retailer's ability to carry competing product lines. The seller (you) usually agrees to use its best efforts to meet all the buyer's requirements. This provides an element of consideration for the buyer's promise to obtain all of its needs from the seller. The buyer often also agrees to use best efforts to promote resale of the goods to ultimate consumers.Exclusive dealing arrangements raise issues under federal and state franchise and antitrust laws, and if there is any tendency of the agreement to be anticompetitive or monopolistic, it may be illegal.Non-circumvent or exclusive-dealing contracts should be lawyer-drafted for each situation, and ideally should be built into a more general representation or relationship contract between the parties, so that the restrictive provisions are seen as part of a broader agreement to promote and protect an on-going business relationship, and not just as a way to block the buyer's access to lower-cost sources father up the distribution chain. In other words, if you want your buyers to be loyal to you, you must provide them some incentive in return, such as your ongoing assistance with advertising, warehousing, export documentation, transportation arrangements, financing including letters of credit, insurance, and so on. If you want loyalty, don't try to do it with a barefaced contract; give the client a package of services in return that will build loyalty.

    Bryan Whipple
    Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law
    P O Box 318
    Tomales, CA 94971-0318

• Judgement & lein on real estate

  Is there any way a person can get around paying off the judgement & lein on their property. The home is for sale, however, not having much luck. I need to circumvent any tactics that may arise to try to receive my money. Which I've waited for for a long, long time. Please help me!

• debt and collections

  I am engaged to a man who does not have the assets I do. He does not file income tax (I do) and has a history of not paying his bills. I have an AAA credit report and own 2 properties, one with him, that when we refinanced I had to get the mortgage in my name only, since he couldn't provide previous tax filings. I am wondering, if we get married, am I going to be liable for his debts, and can the IRS seize my properties to satisfy his debts? Is there some way that I can circumvent this problem? He owns his own successful business but is not up on bookkeeping. Thank you.

  • Re: debt and collections

    Absent agreement, one spouse is generally not liable for the other spouse's debts. Likewise, a creditor, including the IRS, can not seize one spouse's property to satisfy the debts of the other spouse. Furthermore, if property is owned jointly by husband and wife as tenants by the entireties, a creditor of one spouse can not levy on such jointly owned property. The issue which you need to focus on is that your boyfriend's failure to file tax returns and pay taxes is a federal crime. If he has a successful business, that means he probably owes taxes. Sooner or later, he's going to need a good criminal defense lawyer. Good luck.

    James Koch
    Law Offices of James P. Koch
    1101 St. Paul St., Suite 403
    Baltimore, MD 21202

  • Re: debt and collections

    Mr. Koch has given extremely sensible advice. Please note that your credit can suffer indirectly if you own property with him and that property is subject to a deed of trust. In particular, if your husband were to find it necessary to file a bankruptcy for any reason, freqently, mortgage lenders will report that fact on credit reports (i.e. because a property in which they have an interest is the subject of a bankruptcy). Although there may be some question about the propriety of this under the fair credit reporting act, it IS done that way and can be extremely difficult to counteract.Lawrence R. Holzman, EsquireJoseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400Greenbelt, MD 20770(301) 220-2200fax (301) 220-1214Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.

    Lawrence Holzman
    Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.
    6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400
    Greenbelt, MD 20770

• Computer Privacy and Spousal Rights

  I am a computer technician. Recently, a man brought a computer to me requesting that I circumvent his wife's password and attempt to recreate a history of her activity. Will I incurr any legal liability if I perform this service? Does this man have any legal right (assuming he is the legal owner of the computer) to this information?Thanks.

  • Re: Computer Privacy and Spousal Rights

    I recommend strongly against this proposed action. There are privacy issues which are not addressed, and it does not matter whether access to this information is attempted by a spouse. It is not ownership of the computer which the law protects in this instance, but ownership of the information. Unless the person whose information it is delivers a written permission to access, you could incur serious liability for an unprivileged disclosure of information which you have no right or permission to divulge.

    Charles Aspinwall
    Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC
    PO Bx 984
    Los Lunas, NM 87031-0984

  • Re: Computer Privacy and Spousal Rights

    This is a controversial issue, best illustrated by the difference between the advice below and another reply that was already posted. The owner of a computer can do whatever he wants with it; no one else has a legitimate expectation of privacy in using a machine that they do not own.Of probably greater value is the practical analysis: who would ever know that you were the one who did the password by-pass? Husband has the legal right to do it himself, could likely do so if he did enough research and/or bought the right utilities, so the precise means of circumvention of the passwords is unlikely to be an issue of contention.Best wishes,LDWG

    Lawrence Graves
    Coolidge & Graves PLLC
    39 Central Square #173
    Keene, NH 03431

  • Re: Computer Privacy and Spousal Rights

    Ask yourself: how do you really know WHOSE computer it is, and what you are getting yourself into?Since the answer is clearly that you DON'T know, that would be answer enough for me. Legally that's the sort of question you don't want to have to answer. It's one thing to repair or wipe a hard-drive, because it's reasonable to assume that someone who brings in a computer owns it. It's another thing entirely to hack into areas which are clearly password-protected, even if the family owns the computer.Does a wife have a privacy interest protected from her husband, especially one clearly expressed by way of a password? I would definitely say she does.He is not allowed to enter her medical, employment or psychological records without permission (or a court-order), so I would, as a precaution, use this policy to guide your own dealings in this area. You can't hack into her medical records, so don't hack into her computer.Two votes for pass up the business.

    Regina Mullen
    Legal Data Services, PLC
    
    Redmond, WA 48103

• Pre-Marital Asset - Ownership in Question

  I am currently refinancing the mortgage to a property I owned prior to getting married. I have been told that the state of Florida requires that my spouse be added the title of property. Is this correct? Is there any way to circumvent this? As far as I was aware, Florida is not a community property state. Is this correct?

  • Re: Pre-Marital Asset - Ownership in Question

    I wouldn't. Find a lender who does not requrie this.

    David Slater
    David P. Slater, Esq.
    5154 Windsor Parke Dr.
    Boca Raton, FL 33496

• Hit and Run damage

  I own a vintage car that was hit by a driver who took off when he thought no one was around. Luckily someone got his license plate number and gave it to me. Unfortunately, I'm not covered for this type of damage and my insurance company has been slow with putting me in touch with his insurance provider. I did, however, file a police report the day it happened. Should I circumvent his insurance carrier, call the police for his information, and sue him in civil court instead? My car has yet to be repaired and, though I can move it, it's not driveable.

  • Re: Hit and Run damage

    Suing the other driver does not "circumvent his insurance carrier", and you should feel free to do so if you want. You will have to find him first, of course, and once you have done so it would at least be good form to try to settle with him before filing suit.

    Edward Hoffman
    Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman
    6171 West Century Boulevard, Suite 200
    Los Angeles, CA 90045

• american disabilities act

  My conservation group would like to erect an observation tower. We have been told that, because the property is municipally owned, we would be required, not only to make the tower handicap accessible, but that we would have to provide handicap accessible access from the road, which is 2/3 of a mile away. Is this the truth? If so, would it be possible to circumvent this requirement by having the municipality lease the property to our private organization?Are there any other methods available to make this project possible? Thankyou.

  • Re: american disabilities act

    You really need to hire local counsel to help you work through the issues. There are both federal requirements, but local requirements unique to your area that must be followed, whether you lease the property or buy it.

    Regina Mullen
    Legal Data Services, PLC
    
    Redmond, WA 48103

  • Re: american disabilities act

    I know of someone in NY who might be able to assist you with this matter. Lemme know if you want the referral.-- Kenneth J. Ashman; www.AshmanLawOffices.comThe information provided by Ashman Law Offices, LLC (“ALO”) is for general educational purposes only. No attorney-client relationship is established by this communication and no privilege attaches to such communication. ALO is not taking and will not take any action on your behalf and will not be considered your attorney until both you and ALO have signed a written retention agreement. There are strict deadlines, called statutes of limitation, within which claims or lawsuits must be filed. Therefore, if you desire the services of an attorney and decide not to retain ALO on terms acceptable to ALO, you should immediately seek the services of another attorney.

    Kenneth J. Ashman
    Ashman Law Offices, LLC
    55 West Monroe Street, Suite 2650
    Chicago, IL 60603