Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Top of the hour.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
And I tell you over and over and over and
over again that the top of the hour is always
the best time to call and ask for some legal advice.
Miserable though it is. And the number is eight hundred
five two zero one five three four, eight hundred five
two zero one five three four, And the rules always
(00:25):
are the same, and that if you have a particularly
good question, I'll sort of take it now.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
If you are not particularly smart, you're at the top
of the list.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
If you are in a facility, for example, and nurse
Ratchet has before Nurse Ratchet comes and gives you your medication,
always first. If somehow you can get to a lockdown facility,
always first. If you have some really severe handicap, for example,
the quadruple amputee, no arms, no legs, I don't know
(00:55):
how you get it down the phone, but you will
be able to call in and you'll get up to
the top of the list. The number eight hundred five
two zero one five three four eight hundred five to
two zero one five three four is the number. And
as I said, lines happen to be open. This is
(01:15):
handle on the law marginal legal advice, where I tell
you you have absolutely no case. Now this is a
real interesting one. This is a guy out of.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
England.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
He lives in Northeast England, an American, and he's been
there for years and years. And what he has done, Oh,
this is fascinating. This is my wheelhouse because this is
sperm donor lot, et cetera. He claims he has fathered
sperm donated and fathered one hundred and eighty kids.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You know, how is that possible because there's no law
against it.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
There's no law that says you can only father, you
can only don't and four x number of kids. And
by the way, there's no database where one sperm bank
tells another sperm bank about who is in who is not,
because you've got hippolaws. Well I don't know if they
do in England, but I'm assuming they have much the same.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
And so there he is. He's fathered a bunch of kids.
So he chooses.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
One and says, I'm not a sperm donor, I'm a dad.
And the mom, the actual mom, unfortunately he had, I
guess the bad luck or out of the goodness of
her heart, allowed him to see the child once for
ten minutes. Well, he comes back and says, I am
(02:48):
the father. Now if he falls within the sperm donor law,
he's not the father.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
But he goes, oh no, no, I had sex with
the woman who makes him the father.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Secret sex with the mother in the backseat of a car.
Now a lot of us have done that, and it's
not particularly comfortable.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
I don't know why. In movies they do that all
the time.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
And so what he wanted to do was claim parental responsibility,
which he did, and then have his name put on
the birth certificate.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
And the judge said absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Why would he do that, because then he is the
father of a child born in England and he then,
on that basis can get a their version of a
green card and stay in England. And the judge said, no,
absolutely not. You are dreaming. I'm not going to buy that.
In the backseat of a car, that's where you had
(03:42):
quote secret sex, because obviously the child had been with
mom the whole time.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
And it was just a stupid case.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
But what makes the case interesting is the claim that
he fathered that. Well, actually, no, what makes Kate interesting.
Let me go back to that. That's the legal issue,
which is of fun. What really is fun is he says,
one hundred and eighty kids.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Is that possible? You know, most responsible sperm bank will
let you do it. I don't know. Three four times.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
It's been a while since I've been in the sperm
bank industry part of my surrogacy practice when I was practicing,
and I can't see how that's possible unless there's an
unlimited number. But no, I can't think of any sperm
bank that we do that. And there just aren't that
many sperm banks out there, so I doubt that interesting.
(04:34):
I mean, that just makes it even more ridiculous what
his claim is. One hundred and eighty kids. Now, I've
been involved with cases in which they're sperm donors, not dads.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Three or four they let him do that. All right,
let's go ahead and take some phone calls. Let's start
with you, Roger.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Welcome morning, Bill. My sister passed away recently and and
I was notified by the metal examiner, and uh, she's single,
no kids, never married. I'm the sole survivor of the family.
When into her home was unable to find a will
(05:15):
or trust, I called the La County Department of Records.
She owns the property outright, and I also called the
La County Courthouse and they said she has no will
on file. I'm assuming this goes to probate. Do I
need a lawyer? And how much?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
How much?
Speaker 1 (05:35):
What kind of property are we talking about? What's the value?
Speaker 3 (05:38):
It's about six hundred thousand.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
It's a chunk of money. Now do you need a lawyer?
Speaker 3 (05:42):
No?
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Would you get a lawyer?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
I would for six hundred grand only because it's easier
unless you want to play lawyer and follow all the
rules and.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Grand in the house plus another eight hundred grand in cash.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Why would you not hire lawyer for one point two
million dollars? Just hey, just take care of it and
pay a couple thousand dollars. I mean, I don't know
why you would not. But can you do it your own?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (06:09):
You can.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
You are the only beneficiary, so you file a probate
in intestacy, it's called an intestate probate where.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
There's nobody else out there and.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
They have to look for other people, and there are
some things you have to do, and just you know,
why why hassle it for one point two million dollars?
You want it done as quickly as possible. You pay
two three thousand dollars. I mean, you're going to get
eight hundred grand in cash plus six hundred thousand dollars
in property. Now you don't have to have a lawyer.
(06:41):
If you don't, why wouldn't you With that kind of money, You're.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Gonna get it.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
You're gonna you're gonna get all the property. Because that's
the way the law works.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
How much does probate take out of out of the settlement.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
They don't take anything out of the settlement.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
It's a lawyer who takes it unless there are taxes
that are owed. And I mean someone has to be
the executor, and usually it can be with the court assigns.
If there is nothing, then it's the lawyer figures something out.
That's why that part gets a little tricky. And generally
the court will assign a probate attorney to handle it
(07:20):
the executor and it's whatever.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
He or she charges. But you know, it's minuscule relative
to what you're going to get.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
That's why I would get it. There's some things you
have to follow. I mean, you got jump through some hoops.
You really want to know how you want to learn
how to jump through hoops?
Speaker 1 (07:36):
You plan on doing that.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Forever and that's your career. No, so yes, you get
a probate lawyer, especially with numbers that high. I mean,
if it's forty thousand, if it's fifty thousand or twenty thousand,
which I've gotten phone calls to gotten phone calls about.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Then you do a summary probation, which is pretty easy.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
You fill out some forms, the court just okays it
because it's under whatever statutory limitation there is. I don't
even know what those are. Forty thousand maybe in La County,
so no idea of that number. Now I want to
talk to you about chronic pain. If you live in
chronic pain or know someone who does hurts all the time,
(08:19):
I'm going to suggest you listen to the Pain Game podcast.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
This really helps people.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And I've talked to people who have listened, and boy,
this really is truly helpful. Guests have dealt with, have
treated people with living in pain. The host, who I
know very well, Lindsay Soprano, she deals with chronic pain
herself twenty four to seven, and boy does she do
it heroically. Every episode ends with a message of hope,
(08:46):
and you'll understand the show is about giving pain purpose
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what it does.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Listen to the show wherever you listen to podcasts, The.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Pain Game podcast, the Pain Game podcast as Highland.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Eh, yes, ma'am, Yes.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
About two years ago and they got away with about
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Whoa, whoa what what was it? What to whoaha? Wall
Wait a second?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of what they
got away with jewelry?
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Did you have it in a safe?
Speaker 5 (09:26):
Well, no, we have some stuff out. We had most
of our stuff in the safe, but yeah, we had
still on the floor.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Wow. Okay.
Speaker 6 (09:33):
So our alarm never went off and the guy came
in through the back and then.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
He smashed our unit with a sledgehammer, and the backup
never went off.
Speaker 6 (09:45):
So we hired an attorney.
Speaker 5 (09:47):
And the attorney took the alarm company to court and
the judge threw it out. So my question is can
I still pursue a lawsuit or is.
Speaker 6 (09:57):
It final once the judge throws it out.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Well, you can appe the judge's ruling. That's it. That's
basically it.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
And if the judge throws it out, there wasn't enough
evidence clearly or there was some procedural mistake.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Hopefully it was a procedural mistake that was made, and
that's all you can do.
Speaker 7 (10:15):
It.
Speaker 6 (10:16):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 5 (10:17):
There was fine print in the contract that said they
are not responsible with the backup for someone.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Well here's the argument. Yeah, I know, I get that.
How fine a print? That is really the question, because
the argument is you don't argue that you signed it.
You can't argue that it's there. You can't argue that
g I should have read it or it was you know,
it's pretty blatant, it's pretty obvious.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
This is me thinking. The argument I would think works
is one of two.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Number one implied contract that it was implied that the
damn thing goes off when someone breaks in, and number two,
the print is so small or it's so convoluted.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Then.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
You're going to argue that that provision is not enforceable.
I mean, there have been cases where print has been
so ridiculous that the judge said, some insurance cases where
insurance policies were so ridiculous the judge said, I've been
a judge for twenty years.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
I don't understand this. And so that's your argument.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
It's time for this kind of money, is trying to
get another lawyer and maybe file.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Let me ask you, how about insurance on this.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
Well, we had to cancel our insurance probably a month
prior because the premiums just got so high.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
All right, So you're well, I tell you what, they
weren't two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
My homeowner's doubled. My homeowners bolt.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I lost my policy where they wouldn't renew and they said,
now not interested anymore, and I had to go out
and get a policy. I was there for two and
a half weeks. We're talking about fire insurance. The place
burned down. I'm out completely, and so they doubled. I
mean that's you know, I mean, it's all you can
do is appeal it for those reasons. But it's worth
(12:22):
seeing a lawyer about that. It is worth spending a
few hundred bucks just to see if you have anything.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Matt II.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Matt welcome, Hey, good morning, chair, Thanks for taking my call. Sure,
I've been a government contractor for a long time. I
was working on an island in the in the middle
of one of our oceans, and I got hurt on
the job and basically, they turned my workman's camp claim down.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Who is they?
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Okay, Department of I guess it was the Department of
Industrial Relations. Uh.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
And why did they turn it down? What was the reason?
Speaker 4 (13:04):
Well, I really don't know. I I they thought the
guys there, the safety officer said, I wasn't hurt, and
I said, I am hurt. And uh so I left
the island. And you know, I've worked with guys all
my life that I've been through the same thing. And
you know, after two weeks you start getting paid.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Yeah. No, I understand they got it and you didn't.
For some reason you didn't.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
And the administrative logize or first of all, the Department
Workers Comp department said no, which happens all the time.
And then you instantly appeal it because that's what happened.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
By the way, most appeals win. Uh And this is
uh is it? What are you talking about? Workers Comp?
Which agency did you sign under?
Speaker 4 (13:47):
Well, I worked for the Department of Defense.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
I was okay, So they have their Okay, they have
their they have.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
Their own system. I was a government contractor and that
we sell under the Uh.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Okay, do you sorry? But that doesn't matter if they're
a government contractor if you work for a private company.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Correct, I worked for a government contract private company, yes.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Okay, So it doesn't matter that there's a government contract.
You have a claim against your company for workers comp
and you're and your company is based.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Where, Uh in Texas?
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Okay? In Texas? Uh?
Speaker 2 (14:24):
And I don't know what the Texas rules about workers
comp but usually when you are turned down, you instantly
appeal it. And do you have a work comp attorney?
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Bill? I did? I, but Monsieur, I was working overseas
for this company.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Yeah, I know, I get it.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
What you weren't for example, you weren't Okay, you weren't
working in the Gulf of America for example, right, I was.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
Working in an ocean and uh for a company that
is very very popular.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Okay, it's a big company.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
I get it, attorney, and you know I have an attorney.
But I just was wonder, in your opinion, is this
a common practice?
Speaker 8 (15:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:04):
It is?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Yeah, Yeah it is, Yeah it is. And where was
the workers camp comp filed? Was it filed in Texas? Uh?
Speaker 4 (15:13):
Well, the I really don't know that. The company, you know,
they're they're obligated to file right when you get hurt
on the job.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yeah, you have to find out where where they filed.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
I mean some administrative agency said no thank you, or
they said no thank you. But I don't know how
they can because you're filing with the government entity. And
if they just ignore it, you're going forward. It's not
as if they have okay, then you're doing everything right.
Then you're There's nothing more I can add, Matt, you're
(15:41):
doing everything right.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Your attorney will appeal it.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
And on the basis of if the administrative law attorney,
the workers comp and the administrative law judge.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Who hears workers comp cases have I don't believe it.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
And you bring forward your your.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Evident that is your doctor saying yes, and they, by
the way, the company has right say now you have
to see our doctors. And then you have you a
match going on between the two of you. But that's
what happens in workers comp.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
What do you do? What do you do?
Speaker 2 (16:13):
You appeal it? It's administrative law. There's not much you
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Speaker 1 (17:56):
Mary Hi, Mary Hi Well.
Speaker 9 (18:02):
I went to small claim's court and I I was
playing I pronounced super.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
Twelve thousand, five hundred, and this guy, I.
Speaker 9 (18:10):
Said, and time fact, I talked to you about got
my case befere away. He legally locked me out of
the house.
Speaker 6 (18:15):
I was there twenty five years.
Speaker 9 (18:17):
He threw my step away. So you know all this
stuff that I have, all this proof I had. I
had the hotel receives I had, I brought a witness,
I had bank statements, I had voice messages that he
admitted he threw my step away.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
I have all this crucial evidence.
Speaker 9 (18:30):
Easy case.
Speaker 6 (18:31):
I know I was going to win.
Speaker 9 (18:33):
So anyway, I go into court and before we the
judge came out quick says, by the way, you have
to exchange your evidence to one another suit. If you
don't do it, the judge won't won't read it so
or won't look at it. So I did that. You know,
we booked that he heard his voicemails, messages on my
phone and all that. So then judge comes out and
(18:53):
she asked me why I was suing for twelve thousand,
five hundred and I said, well, I under civil code,
and she goes, I don't want to hear any civil codes.
I want to hear why you're suing him. I said, well, okay,
I said, well, he's what he did to say, So, well,
I don't hear that.
Speaker 6 (19:05):
Why do you sum?
Speaker 1 (19:06):
She chose being rude.
Speaker 9 (19:08):
I mean that I lost this is this is what
it is.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
She was.
Speaker 9 (19:10):
She was cut me off, will let me talk.
Speaker 6 (19:13):
I was the one that, well, let.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Me ask you.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Let me ask you. When she looked at you and
said why are you suing? And you mentioned under the law,
that's for the judge to determine. When you mentioned under
the civil code, probably the judge didn't even know the
civil code, just wanted, why are you suing?
Speaker 1 (19:33):
What did he do to you?
Speaker 2 (19:35):
That's it, okay, that's where you made a huge mistake.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
And keep in mind judges go ahead.
Speaker 9 (19:44):
So she was so she just didn't hear anything. I
had to say. She didn't hear he's what else you had?
What else do you have? I said, well, your honor,
this is like real crucial evidence here and my witness
is right.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Okay, hang on, hang on, this is crucial evidence.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Another legal opinion that you came up with.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Oh yeah, this is a judge.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
These judges a small claims court, for the most part,
are lawyers who volunteer yes, And what they want to.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Do is they feel they want to feel powerful.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
They want to Very few high end lawyers sit on
the small claims court.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
So it's one of those where I will decide what
the law is. I will tell you, don't tell me.
That's probably what happened to you, and the judge got
really angry with you. And there are judges.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
This is what I tell people all the time in
small claims court. Write it down, get to the point
I mean, instantly, no stories, It's just known it.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
I really got hassled.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Here it is, this is what he did, this is
the time he did it. Here's the evidence. Here is
the email that said that where he said this, So
what you did. You pissed off a judge who, by
the way, it doesn't didn't believe you or didn't care.
And that happens all the time in small claims court. Unfortunately,
(21:08):
and judges believe one or the other, and judges ignore
evidence all the time.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
And unfortunately, if.
Speaker 9 (21:13):
You're the audio tape, they have recording in there, and
so their cirt comes out and she says, well, if
you want to copy of the audio tape audio clip
anybody for the for this hearing, try you have to
after you get the city in the mail, then you
could get one. And so so I looked at the
website that follow the steps on there and they denied me.
I went down there to deny me.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Okay, all right, what's your question? What's your question? So
they judge denies you. She hated you.
Speaker 9 (21:40):
An audio clip. I take it audio clipped to the
other hearing and judge says, I.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Don't want to hear it. Now.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Theoretically you can appeal that, except I think that small
Claims court for the plaintiff is a summary judgment, which
means they really don't go up and you can try
to say that the judge ignored evidence, and but I
don't know if that works in small claims court and
superior court.
Speaker 6 (22:00):
Letter.
Speaker 9 (22:01):
I write a letter to they re investigating this stuff,
the Services skill of the Commission, who.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Are going to write who are gonna write a letter
to the.
Speaker 9 (22:08):
Commissions up there the commissioner up there?
Speaker 1 (22:10):
What commissioner? What commissioner?
Speaker 6 (22:13):
I don't know.
Speaker 9 (22:13):
If it's for judicial misconduct?
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yeah, well that is that's a that's an offshoot of
the Supreme Court.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Uh, that's who oversees the court. And let me tell
you what they're going to do with your letter. Yeah, yeah,
that's it. I mean, you just got you, you got
caught up.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
You got caught up. And this is the judge that
didn't want to hear it. And this is why I
always say, man, if you can do your case in
two minutes, do it. The judge is hearing dozens of
cases that day. I mean you imagine if I'm the
judge and I'm going to say to you, Mary, I
want to hear what you have. What what did the
(22:50):
defendant do? Well, you're on her under the law. I
don't want to hear the law. I determine the law.
See that's the problem. Yeah, I am right, And you
know what a lesson you learned. And not a lot
of people do that. But you can't throw that at you.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
You can't at me.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
For example, someone says, well, under the Civil Code, I go,
what the hell do I know?
Speaker 1 (23:09):
You think I have a civil code in front of me. Well,
the law says, hey, I don't care.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
And that's what happens in small claims court, and that
is that's a tough lesson to learn. It's not like
Mary was an idiot here. She really wasn't. And I'm
not saying that Mary didn't have a case. And if
she had been in front of another judge, a judge
could have said to her, you know what, I'd calmly,
you know, Mary, I determine the law.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
I make that decision and so.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
And the other thing is that the defendant, when he
tells his story, can say, and you know, your honor,
it's up to you to determine the law.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Not Mary.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So yeah, not fun didn't just got the wrong wrong judge.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Happens all the time. Mister Luna, is that what your
name is? Yes, mister Luna. What's your first name? We
go by first name. Joel, Joel, okay, Joel. What can
I do for you?
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 8 (24:08):
I've been living in this house for seventeen years, paying
nine to fifty a month, and all of a sudden
I got a letter in the mail at my house
and they raised my rent up to seventeen hundred?
Speaker 7 (24:20):
Can they do that?
Speaker 1 (24:21):
No? Not. In the state of California, they can't. They're entitled.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
They're entitled that ten percent per year, and that is it.
And that's assuming you're in an area that doesn't have rent control.
If you live, for example, in the city of Los Angeles,
you're a two and a half or three percent, and
that's what the rent stabilization comes out with because it's
all rint control and all they care about is inflation.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
What city do you live in, Joel?
Speaker 2 (24:49):
What city?
Speaker 8 (24:49):
Dore is?
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (24:52):
There is no rent control in San Bernardino, so they
can raise it ten percent per year and that's it.
So you say no, no, and you tell them it's
here's the law, ten percent per year, and you want
to pull the law out, by the way, and that's
easy to find out.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
You just pull it and you send them a.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Copy of it and you go, hey, what part of
you can only raise it ten percent? Are we having
a hard time understanding here? By the way, let me
ask you where where do you get a place? And
how big is it? For nine hundred and fifty thousand
dollars or nine hundred and fifty dollars a month in
southern California.
Speaker 8 (25:29):
We got lucky.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
You're no kidding, You got lucky.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
So they can raise it a big ninety five dollars
a year or per month, and then the next year
whatever ten percent is of that.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
So you're fine, don't pay it. Don't pay it.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Pull pull, pull the statute. It's there and just send
it to them.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Easy pas. Hello, Lonnie, what can I do for you? Hello, Lonny.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Lonnie will probably get on the phone in just a
moment because we have a delay, and she's listening to
the radio, even after being told don't listen to the radio,
listen on the.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Telephone, going once, going twice.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Sold to the next caller, Chris, Hi, Chris, welcome.
Speaker 7 (26:25):
Good morning Bill.
Speaker 6 (26:27):
Yeah, can you hear me?
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I can?
Speaker 7 (26:31):
Okay? So I own a property management company up in
Ventura County and we collect rent, we pay the owners,
blah blah blah. Back in November, we made a deposit
to an account and the account number was missing a digit.
(26:55):
The account it was a Chase account.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
Okay, is that your wait? Wait wait, you made the mistake?
Is that correct?
Speaker 7 (27:02):
Yes? Okay, we caught the mistake within you know the
owner call said, hey, where's my money. I'm like, heck,
I don't know. So we've looked into it and realized, okay,
there was only nine digits, not ten. Most accounts have
ten digits. So we we he went to Chase himself
at our customer and they said, sorry, we can't help
(27:24):
you out. You got to go to the company that
they had paid. Well. Back and forth and back and forth,
and you know, wells Fargo is our main bank that
made the initial withdrawal from our account, but it was
like two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, so a piece
of that went into the Chase account incorrectly. So we'd
(27:45):
just been going round and round with Chase on a
local level to no avail. So at this point I'm
out the money. I had to make it good to
my car?
Speaker 1 (27:57):
How much? How much are you out, Chris? How much
are you out?
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (28:02):
And they're not cooperating at all. Where where did that
three thousand dollars go? Any idea?
Speaker 7 (28:08):
Yeah, oh yeah, we know the account number, but of
course for privacy laws, they can't tell me the name
on the account. But they said they.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
They admit they put it into an account that had
nine numbers or ten numbers, and it was simply the
wrong account night. So there are there are accounts that
have nine numbers apparently okay, and.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
They're and they're not willing to pay you, all right?
And how far up the food chain have you gone.
Speaker 7 (28:41):
After going to local branches? You know, I'm getting mixed opinions.
I went to a local branch in the end of
December and the lady said, oh, how do you start
this process? A month ago we could have helped you.
I'm like, we tried, and they said no, So okay,
I actually did. I emailed the corporate office. I said, look,
(29:02):
I need this to be resolved, and they quickly open
up a case and said, yeah, yeah, well look into it.
And then after about two more weeks, they said, no,
we can't. We can't help you. There's non sufficient funds
in the account. I'm like, well, that's not my problem.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Right, that's not okay. So here's what you get to do. Obviously,
you take them to court.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I just don't know the rules about taking a bank
to court because the bank is under all kinds of
federal laws and those you know, can you sue them
a small claims court?
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Hell?
Speaker 1 (29:38):
I don't know, and it could be that's the way
to go at this point.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
You also can complain to the FDIIC and you can
complain to the California banking authorities.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Have you done any of that?
Speaker 8 (29:51):
I haven't done that.
Speaker 7 (29:52):
I did look into small planes.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
At this point, do them both?
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Do them both go after both of those avenues? And
then and then I don't know where to go at
this point, I really don't all right, Yeah, all right, Michael, Hi, Michael.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Welcome, Yes, hello, Yes, what can I do for you?
Speaker 6 (30:15):
I have a quick question.
Speaker 10 (30:17):
So I had a worker's comp case that closed two
and a half years ago, which I got fourteen percent
life of time disability in case my injury reaggravated.
Speaker 6 (30:30):
Before I can go.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
Back, about a month ago, I got a letter for
a deposition, and I'm trying to figure out why would
I get a letter?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
No idea?
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Have you contacted the lawyer who is asking to depose you?
Speaker 4 (30:45):
Yes?
Speaker 10 (30:45):
I contacted my old lawyer and they said they don't know.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
So they don't know why they asked you to sit
for a deposition.
Speaker 10 (30:56):
Correct, My old workers lawyer has no idea.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Okay, how about the lawyer.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
There's a lawyer that is sending you a demand for
a deposition?
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Have you contacted that lawyer.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Or have you contacted who is asking for the deposition?
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Whose name is on them?
Speaker 10 (31:18):
The lawyer and my old workplace.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Okay, the lawyer, four year old workplace. Well do they
know that the case is closed?
Speaker 10 (31:30):
I have told them that numerous signs. And then when
I called the other law firm that sent me the deposition,
they wouldn't talk to me.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Okay, send an email out to everybody saying this case
was closed two years ago.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Why do you want to me go under? Why do
you want me to be deposed?
Speaker 2 (31:50):
And if they ignore it and they keep on going,
I'd go with a complaint with the state Bar.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
I mean, they're going forward with a legal issue that
has already.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Been disposed of, just to why. I mean, that's abusive process.
I would argue that's harassment. So put it in an
email because they're gonna ignore the phone calls and just
ask why am I being deposed? And if they refuse
to answer, you immediately file with the state bar saying
I am now being harassed.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
This case was closed two years ago. I can't think
of anything else. Yeah, that's weird. That's weird, okay. I
when the end, I want to end the hour talking
about that's great news, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Your horrible, disgusting bad breath which happens after you eat
a lot of food, including garlic and onions, which I do.
You wake up in the morning and good god, what
do you smell like? You can even smell your own
bad breath when that happens. So let me suggest, as
I have suggested, Zelman's minty Mouth mints clinically tested against
(32:55):
even the toughest offenders, including garlic and onions.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
You pop two or three in your mouth.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
There's a MINTI coding around these little capsules, and then
when the mint is gone, you swallow the capsule where
you bite into them, and you now have fresh, clean
breath that lasts four hours.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
You know, if you feel have to.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Brush your teeth to get that wonderful flick, you get
the wonderful feeling of fresh breath.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
This goes for hours.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
It also cleans your breath in a way that other
men simply can't.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
I use them all the time.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Obviously, I love them because after the mint is gone,
they go down to your gut where they really get
to work. And no other mint does any of that.
So if you order a three pack, you're gonna get
a fifteen percent discount automatically, no codes or anything. Fifteen
percent off right there when you order a three pack.
(33:46):
Go to Zelmans dot com, zelm I n s. Zelmans
dot com, slash kfi, Zelmans dot com slash kfi.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
That's Zelman's. I love this company.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Zelmans dot com slash kfi. This is handle on the
Law
Top of the hour.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
And I tell you over and over and over and
over again that the top of the hour is always
the best time to call and ask for some legal advice.
Miserable though it is. And the number is eight hundred
five two zero one five three four, eight hundred five
two zero one five three four, And the rules always
(00:25):
are the same, and that if you have a particularly
good question, I'll sort of take it now.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
If you are not particularly smart, you're at the top
of the list.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
If you are in a facility, for example, and nurse
Ratchet has before Nurse Ratchet comes and gives you your medication,
always first. If somehow you can get to a lockdown facility,
always first. If you have some really severe handicap, for example,
the quadruple amputee, no arms, no legs, I don't know
(00:55):
how you get it down the phone, but you will
be able to call in and you'll get up to
the top of the list. The number eight hundred five
two zero one five three four eight hundred five to
two zero one five three four is the number. And
as I said, lines happen to be open. This is
(01:15):
handle on the law marginal legal advice, where I tell
you you have absolutely no case. Now this is a
real interesting one. This is a guy out of.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
England.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
He lives in Northeast England, an American, and he's been
there for years and years. And what he has done, Oh,
this is fascinating. This is my wheelhouse because this is
sperm donor lot, et cetera. He claims he has fathered
sperm donated and fathered one hundred and eighty kids.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You know, how is that possible because there's no law
against it.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
There's no law that says you can only father, you
can only don't and four x number of kids. And
by the way, there's no database where one sperm bank
tells another sperm bank about who is in who is not,
because you've got hippolaws. Well I don't know if they
do in England, but I'm assuming they have much the same.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
And so there he is. He's fathered a bunch of kids.
So he chooses.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
One and says, I'm not a sperm donor, I'm a dad.
And the mom, the actual mom, unfortunately he had, I
guess the bad luck or out of the goodness of
her heart, allowed him to see the child once for
ten minutes. Well, he comes back and says, I am
(02:48):
the father. Now if he falls within the sperm donor law,
he's not the father.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
But he goes, oh no, no, I had sex with
the woman who makes him the father.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Secret sex with the mother in the backseat of a car.
Now a lot of us have done that, and it's
not particularly comfortable.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
I don't know why. In movies they do that all
the time.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
And so what he wanted to do was claim parental responsibility,
which he did, and then have his name put on
the birth certificate.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
And the judge said absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Why would he do that, because then he is the
father of a child born in England and he then,
on that basis can get a their version of a
green card and stay in England. And the judge said, no,
absolutely not. You are dreaming. I'm not going to buy that.
In the backseat of a car, that's where you had
(03:42):
quote secret sex, because obviously the child had been with
mom the whole time.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
And it was just a stupid case.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
But what makes the case interesting is the claim that
he fathered that. Well, actually, no, what makes Kate interesting.
Let me go back to that. That's the legal issue,
which is of fun. What really is fun is he says,
one hundred and eighty kids.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Is that possible? You know, most responsible sperm bank will
let you do it. I don't know. Three four times.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
It's been a while since I've been in the sperm
bank industry part of my surrogacy practice when I was practicing,
and I can't see how that's possible unless there's an
unlimited number. But no, I can't think of any sperm
bank that we do that. And there just aren't that
many sperm banks out there, so I doubt that interesting.
(04:34):
I mean, that just makes it even more ridiculous what
his claim is. One hundred and eighty kids. Now, I've
been involved with cases in which they're sperm donors, not dads.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Three or four they let him do that. All right,
let's go ahead and take some phone calls. Let's start
with you, Roger.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Welcome morning, Bill. My sister passed away recently and and
I was notified by the metal examiner, and uh, she's single,
no kids, never married. I'm the sole survivor of the family.
When into her home was unable to find a will
(05:15):
or trust, I called the La County Department of Records.
She owns the property outright, and I also called the
La County Courthouse and they said she has no will
on file. I'm assuming this goes to probate. Do I
need a lawyer? And how much?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
How much?
Speaker 1 (05:35):
What kind of property are we talking about? What's the value?
Speaker 3 (05:38):
It's about six hundred thousand.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
It's a chunk of money. Now do you need a lawyer?
Speaker 3 (05:42):
No?
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Would you get a lawyer?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
I would for six hundred grand only because it's easier
unless you want to play lawyer and follow all the
rules and.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Grand in the house plus another eight hundred grand in cash.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Why would you not hire lawyer for one point two
million dollars? Just hey, just take care of it and
pay a couple thousand dollars. I mean, I don't know
why you would not. But can you do it your own?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (06:09):
You can.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
You are the only beneficiary, so you file a probate
in intestacy, it's called an intestate probate where.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
There's nobody else out there and.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
They have to look for other people, and there are
some things you have to do, and just you know,
why why hassle it for one point two million dollars?
You want it done as quickly as possible. You pay
two three thousand dollars. I mean, you're going to get
eight hundred grand in cash plus six hundred thousand dollars
in property. Now you don't have to have a lawyer.
(06:41):
If you don't, why wouldn't you With that kind of money, You're.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Gonna get it.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
You're gonna you're gonna get all the property. Because that's
the way the law works.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
How much does probate take out of out of the settlement.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
They don't take anything out of the settlement.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
It's a lawyer who takes it unless there are taxes
that are owed. And I mean someone has to be
the executor, and usually it can be with the court assigns.
If there is nothing, then it's the lawyer figures something out.
That's why that part gets a little tricky. And generally
the court will assign a probate attorney to handle it
(07:20):
the executor and it's whatever.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
He or she charges. But you know, it's minuscule relative
to what you're going to get.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
That's why I would get it. There's some things you
have to follow. I mean, you got jump through some hoops.
You really want to know how you want to learn
how to jump through hoops?
Speaker 1 (07:36):
You plan on doing that.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Forever and that's your career. No, so yes, you get
a probate lawyer, especially with numbers that high. I mean,
if it's forty thousand, if it's fifty thousand or twenty thousand,
which I've gotten phone calls to gotten phone calls about.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Then you do a summary probation, which is pretty easy.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
You fill out some forms, the court just okays it
because it's under whatever statutory limitation there is. I don't
even know what those are. Forty thousand maybe in La County,
so no idea of that number. Now I want to
talk to you about chronic pain. If you live in
chronic pain or know someone who does hurts all the time,
(08:19):
I'm going to suggest you listen to the Pain Game podcast.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
This really helps people.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And I've talked to people who have listened, and boy,
this really is truly helpful. Guests have dealt with, have
treated people with living in pain. The host, who I
know very well, Lindsay Soprano, she deals with chronic pain
herself twenty four to seven, and boy does she do
it heroically. Every episode ends with a message of hope,
(08:46):
and you'll understand the show is about giving pain purpose
as counter and two of it as that sounds, that's
what it does.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Listen to the show wherever you listen to podcasts, The.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Pain Game podcast, the Pain Game podcast as Highland.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Eh, yes, ma'am, Yes.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
About two years ago and they got away with about
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Whoa, whoa what what was it? What to whoaha? Wall
Wait a second?
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of what they
got away with jewelry?
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Did you have it in a safe?
Speaker 5 (09:26):
Well, no, we have some stuff out. We had most
of our stuff in the safe, but yeah, we had
still on the floor.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Wow. Okay.
Speaker 6 (09:33):
So our alarm never went off and the guy came
in through the back and then.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
He smashed our unit with a sledgehammer, and the backup
never went off.
Speaker 6 (09:45):
So we hired an attorney.
Speaker 5 (09:47):
And the attorney took the alarm company to court and
the judge threw it out. So my question is can
I still pursue a lawsuit or is.
Speaker 6 (09:57):
It final once the judge throws it out.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Well, you can appe the judge's ruling. That's it. That's
basically it.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
And if the judge throws it out, there wasn't enough
evidence clearly or there was some procedural mistake.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Hopefully it was a procedural mistake that was made, and
that's all you can do.
Speaker 7 (10:15):
It.
Speaker 6 (10:16):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 5 (10:17):
There was fine print in the contract that said they
are not responsible with the backup for someone.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Well here's the argument. Yeah, I know, I get that.
How fine a print? That is really the question, because
the argument is you don't argue that you signed it.
You can't argue that it's there. You can't argue that
g I should have read it or it was you know,
it's pretty blatant, it's pretty obvious.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
This is me thinking. The argument I would think works
is one of two.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Number one implied contract that it was implied that the
damn thing goes off when someone breaks in, and number two,
the print is so small or it's so convoluted.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Then.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
You're going to argue that that provision is not enforceable.
I mean, there have been cases where print has been
so ridiculous that the judge said, some insurance cases where
insurance policies were so ridiculous the judge said, I've been
a judge for twenty years.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
I don't understand this. And so that's your argument.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
It's time for this kind of money, is trying to
get another lawyer and maybe file.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Let me ask you, how about insurance on this.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
Well, we had to cancel our insurance probably a month
prior because the premiums just got so high.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
All right, So you're well, I tell you what, they
weren't two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
My homeowner's doubled. My homeowners bolt.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I lost my policy where they wouldn't renew and they said,
now not interested anymore, and I had to go out
and get a policy. I was there for two and
a half weeks. We're talking about fire insurance. The place
burned down. I'm out completely, and so they doubled. I
mean that's you know, I mean, it's all you can
do is appeal it for those reasons. But it's worth
(12:22):
seeing a lawyer about that. It is worth spending a
few hundred bucks just to see if you have anything.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Matt II.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Matt welcome, Hey, good morning, chair, Thanks for taking my call. Sure,
I've been a government contractor for a long time. I
was working on an island in the in the middle
of one of our oceans, and I got hurt on
the job and basically, they turned my workman's camp claim down.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Who is they?
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Okay, Department of I guess it was the Department of
Industrial Relations. Uh.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
And why did they turn it down? What was the reason?
Speaker 4 (13:04):
Well, I really don't know. I I they thought the
guys there, the safety officer said, I wasn't hurt, and
I said, I am hurt. And uh so I left
the island. And you know, I've worked with guys all
my life that I've been through the same thing. And
you know, after two weeks you start getting paid.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Yeah. No, I understand they got it and you didn't.
For some reason you didn't.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
And the administrative logize or first of all, the Department
Workers Comp department said no, which happens all the time.
And then you instantly appeal it because that's what happened.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
By the way, most appeals win. Uh And this is
uh is it? What are you talking about? Workers Comp?
Which agency did you sign under?
Speaker 4 (13:47):
Well, I worked for the Department of Defense.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
I was okay, So they have their Okay, they have
their they have.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
Their own system. I was a government contractor and that
we sell under the Uh.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Okay, do you sorry? But that doesn't matter if they're
a government contractor if you work for a private company.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Correct, I worked for a government contract private company, yes.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Okay, So it doesn't matter that there's a government contract.
You have a claim against your company for workers comp
and you're and your company is based.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Where, Uh in Texas?
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Okay? In Texas? Uh?
Speaker 2 (14:24):
And I don't know what the Texas rules about workers
comp but usually when you are turned down, you instantly
appeal it. And do you have a work comp attorney?
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Bill? I did? I, but Monsieur, I was working overseas
for this company.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Yeah, I know, I get it.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
What you weren't for example, you weren't Okay, you weren't
working in the Gulf of America for example, right, I was.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
Working in an ocean and uh for a company that
is very very popular.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Okay, it's a big company.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
I get it, attorney, and you know I have an attorney.
But I just was wonder, in your opinion, is this
a common practice?
Speaker 8 (15:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:04):
It is?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Yeah, Yeah it is, Yeah it is. And where was
the workers camp comp filed? Was it filed in Texas? Uh?
Speaker 4 (15:13):
Well, the I really don't know that. The company, you know,
they're they're obligated to file right when you get hurt
on the job.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yeah, you have to find out where where they filed.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
I mean some administrative agency said no thank you, or
they said no thank you. But I don't know how
they can because you're filing with the government entity. And
if they just ignore it, you're going forward. It's not
as if they have okay, then you're doing everything right.
Then you're There's nothing more I can add, Matt, you're
(15:41):
doing everything right.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Your attorney will appeal it.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
And on the basis of if the administrative law attorney,
the workers comp and the administrative law judge.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Who hears workers comp cases have I don't believe it.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
And you bring forward your your.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Evident that is your doctor saying yes, and they, by
the way, the company has right say now you have
to see our doctors. And then you have you a
match going on between the two of you. But that's
what happens in workers comp.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
What do you do? What do you do?
Speaker 2 (16:13):
You appeal it? It's administrative law. There's not much you
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Speaker 1 (17:56):
Mary Hi, Mary Hi Well.
Speaker 9 (18:02):
I went to small claim's court and I I was
playing I pronounced super.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
Twelve thousand, five hundred, and this guy, I.
Speaker 9 (18:10):
Said, and time fact, I talked to you about got
my case befere away. He legally locked me out of
the house.
Speaker 6 (18:15):
I was there twenty five years.
Speaker 9 (18:17):
He threw my step away. So you know all this
stuff that I have, all this proof I had. I
had the hotel receives I had, I brought a witness,
I had bank statements, I had voice messages that he
admitted he threw my step away.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
I have all this crucial evidence.
Speaker 9 (18:30):
Easy case.
Speaker 6 (18:31):
I know I was going to win.
Speaker 9 (18:33):
So anyway, I go into court and before we the
judge came out quick says, by the way, you have
to exchange your evidence to one another suit. If you
don't do it, the judge won't won't read it so
or won't look at it. So I did that. You know,
we booked that he heard his voicemails, messages on my
phone and all that. So then judge comes out and
(18:53):
she asked me why I was suing for twelve thousand,
five hundred and I said, well, I under civil code,
and she goes, I don't want to hear any civil codes.
I want to hear why you're suing him. I said, well, okay,
I said, well, he's what he did to say, So, well,
I don't hear that.
Speaker 6 (19:05):
Why do you sum?
Speaker 1 (19:06):
She chose being rude.
Speaker 9 (19:08):
I mean that I lost this is this is what
it is.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
She was.
Speaker 9 (19:10):
She was cut me off, will let me talk.
Speaker 6 (19:13):
I was the one that, well, let.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Me ask you.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Let me ask you. When she looked at you and
said why are you suing? And you mentioned under the law,
that's for the judge to determine. When you mentioned under
the civil code, probably the judge didn't even know the
civil code, just wanted, why are you suing?
Speaker 1 (19:33):
What did he do to you?
Speaker 2 (19:35):
That's it, okay, that's where you made a huge mistake.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
And keep in mind judges go ahead.
Speaker 9 (19:44):
So she was so she just didn't hear anything. I
had to say. She didn't hear he's what else you had?
What else do you have? I said, well, your honor,
this is like real crucial evidence here and my witness
is right.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Okay, hang on, hang on, this is crucial evidence.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Another legal opinion that you came up with.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Oh yeah, this is a judge.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
These judges a small claims court, for the most part,
are lawyers who volunteer yes, And what they want to.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Do is they feel they want to feel powerful.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
They want to Very few high end lawyers sit on
the small claims court.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
So it's one of those where I will decide what
the law is. I will tell you, don't tell me.
That's probably what happened to you, and the judge got
really angry with you. And there are judges.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
This is what I tell people all the time in
small claims court. Write it down, get to the point
I mean, instantly, no stories, It's just known it.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
I really got hassled.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Here it is, this is what he did, this is
the time he did it. Here's the evidence. Here is
the email that said that where he said this, So
what you did. You pissed off a judge who, by
the way, it doesn't didn't believe you or didn't care.
And that happens all the time in small claims court. Unfortunately,
(21:08):
and judges believe one or the other, and judges ignore
evidence all the time.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
And unfortunately, if.
Speaker 9 (21:13):
You're the audio tape, they have recording in there, and
so their cirt comes out and she says, well, if
you want to copy of the audio tape audio clip
anybody for the for this hearing, try you have to
after you get the city in the mail, then you
could get one. And so so I looked at the
website that follow the steps on there and they denied me.
I went down there to deny me.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Okay, all right, what's your question? What's your question? So
they judge denies you. She hated you.
Speaker 9 (21:40):
An audio clip. I take it audio clipped to the
other hearing and judge says, I.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Don't want to hear it. Now.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Theoretically you can appeal that, except I think that small
Claims court for the plaintiff is a summary judgment, which
means they really don't go up and you can try
to say that the judge ignored evidence, and but I
don't know if that works in small claims court and
superior court.
Speaker 6 (22:00):
Letter.
Speaker 9 (22:01):
I write a letter to they re investigating this stuff,
the Services skill of the Commission, who.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Are going to write who are gonna write a letter
to the.
Speaker 9 (22:08):
Commissions up there the commissioner up there?
Speaker 1 (22:10):
What commissioner? What commissioner?
Speaker 6 (22:13):
I don't know.
Speaker 9 (22:13):
If it's for judicial misconduct?
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yeah, well that is that's a that's an offshoot of
the Supreme Court.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Uh, that's who oversees the court. And let me tell
you what they're going to do with your letter. Yeah, yeah,
that's it. I mean, you just got you, you got
caught up.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
You got caught up. And this is the judge that
didn't want to hear it. And this is why I
always say, man, if you can do your case in
two minutes, do it. The judge is hearing dozens of
cases that day. I mean you imagine if I'm the
judge and I'm going to say to you, Mary, I
want to hear what you have. What what did the
(22:50):
defendant do? Well, you're on her under the law. I
don't want to hear the law. I determine the law.
See that's the problem. Yeah, I am right, And you
know what a lesson you learned. And not a lot
of people do that. But you can't throw that at you.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
You can't at me.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
For example, someone says, well, under the Civil Code, I go,
what the hell do I know?
Speaker 1 (23:09):
You think I have a civil code in front of me. Well,
the law says, hey, I don't care.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
And that's what happens in small claims court, and that
is that's a tough lesson to learn. It's not like
Mary was an idiot here. She really wasn't. And I'm
not saying that Mary didn't have a case. And if
she had been in front of another judge, a judge
could have said to her, you know what, I'd calmly,
you know, Mary, I determine the law.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
I make that decision and so.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
And the other thing is that the defendant, when he
tells his story, can say, and you know, your honor,
it's up to you to determine the law.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Not Mary.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So yeah, not fun didn't just got the wrong wrong judge.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Happens all the time. Mister Luna, is that what your
name is? Yes, mister Luna. What's your first name? We
go by first name. Joel, Joel, okay, Joel. What can
I do for you?
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 8 (24:08):
I've been living in this house for seventeen years, paying
nine to fifty a month, and all of a sudden
I got a letter in the mail at my house
and they raised my rent up to seventeen hundred?
Speaker 7 (24:20):
Can they do that?
Speaker 1 (24:21):
No? Not. In the state of California, they can't. They're entitled.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
They're entitled that ten percent per year, and that is it.
And that's assuming you're in an area that doesn't have rent control.
If you live, for example, in the city of Los Angeles,
you're a two and a half or three percent, and
that's what the rent stabilization comes out with because it's
all rint control and all they care about is inflation.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
What city do you live in, Joel?
Speaker 2 (24:49):
What city?
Speaker 8 (24:49):
Dore is?
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (24:52):
There is no rent control in San Bernardino, so they
can raise it ten percent per year and that's it.
So you say no, no, and you tell them it's
here's the law, ten percent per year, and you want
to pull the law out, by the way, and that's
easy to find out.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
You just pull it and you send them a.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Copy of it and you go, hey, what part of
you can only raise it ten percent? Are we having
a hard time understanding here? By the way, let me
ask you where where do you get a place? And
how big is it? For nine hundred and fifty thousand
dollars or nine hundred and fifty dollars a month in
southern California.
Speaker 8 (25:29):
We got lucky.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
You're no kidding, You got lucky.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
So they can raise it a big ninety five dollars
a year or per month, and then the next year
whatever ten percent is of that.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
So you're fine, don't pay it. Don't pay it.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Pull pull, pull the statute. It's there and just send
it to them.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Easy pas. Hello, Lonnie, what can I do for you? Hello, Lonny.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Lonnie will probably get on the phone in just a
moment because we have a delay, and she's listening to
the radio, even after being told don't listen to the radio,
listen on the.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Telephone, going once, going twice.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Sold to the next caller, Chris, Hi, Chris, welcome.
Speaker 7 (26:25):
Good morning Bill.
Speaker 6 (26:27):
Yeah, can you hear me?
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I can?
Speaker 7 (26:31):
Okay? So I own a property management company up in
Ventura County and we collect rent, we pay the owners,
blah blah blah. Back in November, we made a deposit
to an account and the account number was missing a digit.
(26:55):
The account it was a Chase account.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
Okay, is that your wait? Wait wait, you made the mistake?
Is that correct?
Speaker 7 (27:02):
Yes? Okay, we caught the mistake within you know the
owner call said, hey, where's my money. I'm like, heck,
I don't know. So we've looked into it and realized, okay,
there was only nine digits, not ten. Most accounts have
ten digits. So we we he went to Chase himself
at our customer and they said, sorry, we can't help
(27:24):
you out. You got to go to the company that
they had paid. Well. Back and forth and back and forth,
and you know, wells Fargo is our main bank that
made the initial withdrawal from our account, but it was
like two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, so a piece
of that went into the Chase account incorrectly. So we'd
(27:45):
just been going round and round with Chase on a
local level to no avail. So at this point I'm
out the money. I had to make it good to
my car?
Speaker 1 (27:57):
How much? How much are you out, Chris? How much
are you out?
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (28:02):
And they're not cooperating at all. Where where did that
three thousand dollars go? Any idea?
Speaker 7 (28:08):
Yeah, oh yeah, we know the account number, but of
course for privacy laws, they can't tell me the name
on the account. But they said they.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
They admit they put it into an account that had
nine numbers or ten numbers, and it was simply the
wrong account night. So there are there are accounts that
have nine numbers apparently okay, and.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
They're and they're not willing to pay you, all right?
And how far up the food chain have you gone.
Speaker 7 (28:41):
After going to local branches? You know, I'm getting mixed opinions.
I went to a local branch in the end of
December and the lady said, oh, how do you start
this process? A month ago we could have helped you.
I'm like, we tried, and they said no, So okay,
I actually did. I emailed the corporate office. I said, look,
(29:02):
I need this to be resolved, and they quickly open
up a case and said, yeah, yeah, well look into it.
And then after about two more weeks, they said, no,
we can't. We can't help you. There's non sufficient funds
in the account. I'm like, well, that's not my problem.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Right, that's not okay. So here's what you get to do. Obviously,
you take them to court.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I just don't know the rules about taking a bank
to court because the bank is under all kinds of
federal laws and those you know, can you sue them
a small claims court?
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Hell?
Speaker 1 (29:38):
I don't know, and it could be that's the way
to go at this point.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
You also can complain to the FDIIC and you can
complain to the California banking authorities.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Have you done any of that?
Speaker 8 (29:51):
I haven't done that.
Speaker 7 (29:52):
I did look into small planes.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
At this point, do them both?
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Do them both go after both of those avenues? And
then and then I don't know where to go at
this point, I really don't all right, Yeah, all right, Michael, Hi, Michael.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Welcome, Yes, hello, Yes, what can I do for you?
Speaker 6 (30:15):
I have a quick question.
Speaker 10 (30:17):
So I had a worker's comp case that closed two
and a half years ago, which I got fourteen percent
life of time disability in case my injury reaggravated.
Speaker 6 (30:30):
Before I can go.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
Back, about a month ago, I got a letter for
a deposition, and I'm trying to figure out why would
I get a letter?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
No idea?
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Have you contacted the lawyer who is asking to depose you?
Speaker 4 (30:45):
Yes?
Speaker 10 (30:45):
I contacted my old lawyer and they said they don't know.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
So they don't know why they asked you to sit
for a deposition.
Speaker 10 (30:56):
Correct, My old workers lawyer has no idea.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Okay, how about the lawyer.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
There's a lawyer that is sending you a demand for
a deposition?
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Have you contacted that lawyer.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Or have you contacted who is asking for the deposition?
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Whose name is on them?
Speaker 10 (31:18):
The lawyer and my old workplace.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Okay, the lawyer, four year old workplace. Well do they
know that the case is closed?
Speaker 10 (31:30):
I have told them that numerous signs. And then when
I called the other law firm that sent me the deposition,
they wouldn't talk to me.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Okay, send an email out to everybody saying this case
was closed two years ago.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Why do you want to me go under? Why do
you want me to be deposed?
Speaker 2 (31:50):
And if they ignore it and they keep on going,
I'd go with a complaint with the state Bar.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
I mean, they're going forward with a legal issue that
has already.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Been disposed of, just to why. I mean, that's abusive process.
I would argue that's harassment. So put it in an
email because they're gonna ignore the phone calls and just
ask why am I being deposed? And if they refuse
to answer, you immediately file with the state bar saying
I am now being harassed.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
This case was closed two years ago. I can't think
of anything else. Yeah, that's weird. That's weird, okay. I
when the end, I want to end the hour talking
about that's great news, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Your horrible, disgusting bad breath which happens after you eat
a lot of food, including garlic and onions, which I do.
You wake up in the morning and good god, what
do you smell like? You can even smell your own
bad breath when that happens. So let me suggest, as
I have suggested, Zelman's minty Mouth mints clinically tested against
(32:55):
even the toughest offenders, including garlic and onions.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
You pop two or three in your mouth.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
There's a MINTI coding around these little capsules, and then
when the mint is gone, you swallow the capsule where
you bite into them, and you now have fresh, clean
breath that lasts four hours.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
You know, if you feel have to.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Brush your teeth to get that wonderful flick, you get
the wonderful feeling of fresh breath.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
This goes for hours.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
It also cleans your breath in a way that other
men simply can't.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
I use them all the time.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Obviously, I love them because after the mint is gone,
they go down to your gut where they really get
to work. And no other mint does any of that.
So if you order a three pack, you're gonna get
a fifteen percent discount automatically, no codes or anything. Fifteen
percent off right there when you order a three pack.
(33:46):
Go to Zelmans dot com, zelm I n s. Zelmans
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Speaker 1 (33:57):
That's Zelman's. I love this company.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Zelmans dot com slash kfi. This is handle on the
Law
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