Archive for May 2019

From The Sue the Bastards section of How You Can Avoid Legal Land Mines by Joseph S. Lyles (2003). One good effect of the O.J. Simpson trials is that they clearly demonstrated the difference between a criminal prosecution case and a civil damages case. The first O.J. trial was a criminal prosecution, and the second…

From The Sue the Bastards section of How You Can Avoid Legal Land Mines by Joseph S. Lyles (2003). A common mistake people make is giving a record or written statement to an insurance adjuster or law enforcement officer. Both types of statement-takers are only concerned about their own interests. In other words, they are…

From The Sue the Bastards section of How You Can Avoid Legal Land Mines by Joseph S. Lyles (2003) The public image of the legal system and its reality are not the same. Over the years, television and movies have successfully entertained the public with legal dramas. Using actors, not lawyers, the producers of these…

From The Sue the Bastards section of How You Can Avoid Legal Land Mines by Joseph S. Lyles (2003) Jeff, a man living in my home state of South Carolina, was licensed to practice law in New York. That was impressive because the New York bar exam has the reputation of being the most difficult…

From The Sue the Bastards section of How You Can Avoid Legal Land Mines by Joseph S. Lyles (2003) “A man who has himself for a lawyer, has a fool for a client.” – Abraham Lincoln The primary reason you should not act as your own lawyer is that it is very hard to be…

From The Business of Consuming section of How You Can Avoid Legal Land Mines by Joseph S. Lyles (2003) Fortunately, consumers are not solely dependent on makers of products to provide them with warranties for new items they purchase. All purchased goods come with one or more unwritten warranties called implied warranties. There are two…

From The Business of Consuming section of How You Can Avoid Legal Land Mines by Joseph S. Lyles (2003) A lesson from Samuel’s case in Lesson 61 below is that the law considers the signers of business contracts to be on equal standing from the point of view of their knowledge and sophistication. While that…

From The Business of Consuming section of How You Can Avoid Legal Land Mines by Joseph S. Lyles (2003) As the cost of medical care and the cost of health insurance go up, consumers are taking a closer look at what they are getting for their money. Employers who once gladly offered health insurance benefits…

From The Business of Life section of How You Can Avoid Legal Land Mines by Joseph S. Lyles (2003) Having a close relative with a physical or mental disability can be challenging. With senior citizens, the biggest challenge can be determining when they have crossed the line between competence and incompetence. In other words, it…

From The Business of Life section of How You Can Avoid Legal Land Mines by Joseph S. Lyles (2003) Bill’s Case Bill went to answer a knock at his door. When he opened it, he saw a police officer there. “I have a warrant for your arrest,” the officer said. “What for?” asked Bill. “For…