Lea en español A nasty e-mail written about you by a co-worker could be the basis of a case of defamation, or libel, against that person. Libel occurs when 1) someone makes a false statement of fact in writing, 2) someone else reads the statement, and 3) the statement harms your reputation. In the case […]
COLUMN: The Law in Real Life by Linda Holmes, JD April 8, 2009 YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS ON MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK MAY BE LESS THAN YOU THINK Many of us underestimate how much we count on a sort of privacy that relies on others not taking the time or energy to check up on us. It […]
COLUMN: The Law in Real Life by Linda Holmes, J.D. Town Missteps in Ruling Against Dance Classes Sept. 9, 2008 If it’s been a few years since you saw Footloose, you might have lost track of the battle against sexy dancing, but it roared back to life recently when a Pennsylvania dance instructor was denied […]
Computer forensics, the search for “missing” electronic information, locates and restores data from a corrupted, deleted or hidden source. Experts in the field often can go beyond the procedures used by many information technology specialists to find files declared dead. Computer forensics is used most often by corporate defendants during the discovery phase of civil […]
Typically, parents are not liable for their children’s negligent acts. Parents, however, are liable if their negligence caused their child’s act. About half of the states have enacted child liability statutes that make the parents financially liable for the intentional torts of their children. This liability is usually limited to a specified dollar amount.
Problems with barking dogs can be resolved without police or going to court. A judge can be more sympathetic if you and your neighbor have made some type of effort to work out the problem. If a dog tends to bark when its left alone, the owner may not know of the problem and that […]
An employer cannot require an employee to participate in religious observances or activities as a condition of employment. This can extent to mandatory workplace programs that use yoga, mediation, or similar practices, if the program conflicts with an employee’s religious beliefs.
As a general rule, a policyholder may decide to cancel an insurance policy at any time by giving notice to the insurance company. In some cases you may be required to return the original policy or sign a “policy release”, and you will be responsible for any premium earned through the date of cancellation. Sometimes […]
Federal law limits your liability to the first $50 in unauthorized charges made on your credit card. In most cases, if you notify the card issuer within a specified amount of time after you discover the theft or loss of your card, you will not be responsible for any charges made after the notification.
An Order of Protection is an order issued from the civil court to protect an individual from abuse or harassment. Such an order is available to anyone who feels they are being threatened and are in danger of their spouse, blood relatives or previous domestic partners. An order of protection is also available to protect […]
If you do not go to an ATM that is specific to the bank you use, you may be charged a fee to withdrawal money. At many different places, the ATM owner is pays to buy the machine, rent space to put it in, keep it working mechanically and hire people to fill it with […]
The primary insuring document is always the health insurance policy or the health plan service agreement; these are the binding contracts between insurers and their members. If the insurance is obtained by an individual directly, the individual usually has a copy of the policy agreement. In addition, instead of the policy, the insured may also […]
Hospitals can turn away patients, but not when they have a serious medical problem. Private hospitals are not obligated to provide nonemergency medical treatment to people who cannot pay. Treatment can be dropped, in some cases, if the patient is disruptive or defiant.
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