Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance

Archive for November, 2010

Being Sued For Downloading Music or Movies

Friday, November 19th, 2010

When we teach our teenagers all about staying out of trouble and respecting the law, we tend to focus on those things we know to be illegal, such as taking drugs and drinking underage. We are completely unconvinced to give in no matter how many other people may be doing it: wrong is wrong—right?

But there is a whole arena of potential trouble for our teens, and it’s an arena in which they are much more familiar than we are: the internet. Every year the music and movie industries are losing significant revenue from consumers illegally downloading copyrighted material from the internet. Rather than buying movie DVD’s or music CD’s, or paying for downloads, users are uploading and downloading the material without permission, and sharing with others.

This may seem like an obvious right and wrong issue for teens. Stealing is wrong, and paying for what you get is right. But for teens today that have grown up in the world of the internet, they are used to being able to access many things for free on the web. There are all kinds of sites that allow them to watch, listen, and play for free. But when they have crossed the line into the illegal use of an artist’s copyright, the penalties are anything but kid’s stuff.

The laws which protect the owners of creative work, the copyright laws, have severe penalties for infringement of those copyrighted works. Both civil and criminal action can be taken. The law allows for large monetary fines, and even jail time of as many as five years. And it does not matter if your child is a minor. They and you can still be held responsible for the unlawful downloading. What is so concerning here, is that with so much on the line, it is not always easy for the teens to know that they are violating the law, and it can be even harder for the less-internet-savvy parent to know as well.

So if you are in doubt, check it out. Discuss with your teens that if they are downloading any digital recordings of music, movies, or other such creative works, they should discuss with you where the downloads are coming from, so you can verify that they have permission either to use or distribute the recordings. File-sharing networks have been huge sources of illegal uploads and downloads. And this is certainly another one of those areas where we need to tell our children that it doesn’t matte if everyone else seems to be doing it. It is still illegal, and the repercussions for violating the law are enormous.

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Posted in Litigation | Comments Off

What Not To Do In An Illinois Divorce

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

1. Don’t rely on promises from your spouse that he/she agrees with you about how you will handle your money, support, custody, and other issues. First, verbal agreements are not enforceable, and though your spouse may have the best of intentions to work it out with you, once the issues unfold, there is no way of knowing how he/she will actually feel about things. Second, often a spouse will say that there is no need for an attorney, or that you can share one attorney. This is a mistake, because an Illinois family attorney can only completely protect one person’s interests, and the decisions that are made could affect you for a very long time into the future.

2. Don’t forget that once a dissolution proceeding has started and the papers are filed, the court has control over most of the important issues between the spouses, including the major decisions about your minor children. Any plans to take a child out of the state, or change any other aspect of the child’s life in

a major way should be cleared with the court.

3. Don’t leave yourself unprotected from your spouse if you are worried for your safety and/or your child’s safety while you are involved in the divorce process. An order can be entered in court restraining your spouse from improper behavior that could harm you or your child.

4. Don’t let your IL divorce attorney drain the financial resources of the family during the divorce proceedings. Be watchful that the issues that are being raised are ones that are important to you and necessary, and not just being raised in order to raise the attorney’s bill. Request regular statements so you can see what is being charged.

5. Don’t forget to make a new will after the dissolution is final. Any interests that a former spouse has in a will become null and void after dissolution. So any provisions in a will that leave money or other roperty to an ex, or that has the ex as an executor or trustee, will be invalid and as if they were not there. So it is important to have a new will drafted after the date of the final dissolution, and which makes your new intentions clear.

Posted in Illinois Family Law | Comments Off

Slip and Falls in Illinois- Owners Beware

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Every Wednesday we provide five tips based on conversations with readers. Today’s tips involve protecting yourself from a possible premises liability lawsuit.

1. Business owners in Illinois generally owe a duty to their patrons to keep the premises safe and free from dangerous conditions. As winter comes, snow and ice can be a problem in this regard. Though there are exceptions, if the proprietor could reasonably anticipate that the condition on the property could injure someone, liability could follow.

2. . The question that is often asked by the courts in Illinois—was the business owner on notice of the condition? Should they have known about it? An important piece of evidence in showing the owner had notice, is whether there had been any complaints or “near misses” in the past. When patrons or employees of your business let you know about issues such as slippery conditions, it is important to follow up and take corrective measures.

3. Generally, a business owner is not required to remove snow and ice that have fallen naturally. When it is a natural accumulation, without some other factor, the attorney representing the business can make a good argument that the business is not responsible. But there are exceptions and gray areas here, including the responsibility of business owners to have a safe way for patrons and employees to come and go. And further, it is often hard to determine whether the snow and ice were in their natural state when someone slipped and fell, and this can lead to a problem for the business. These cases are often complicated, because they can turn on recreating the situation, and trying to guess what may have happened to cause the condition. A slip and fall lawyer in Illinois trying to prove that the business owner is responsible will often support their claims with the expert testimony of architects and engineers.

4. Once you begin to remove the snow or ice, there is then a duty to do it in a reasonable and safe way. Even though there may not be an obligation to start with, once you undertake the obligation voluntarily, do so responsibly without creating an unsafe condition. Issues in this area arise, for example, where it is claimed that snow from a shoveled snow pile melted and refroze, causing the slippery condition.

5. Similar to the outdoor precipitation problems, proprietors may have issues where there is water accumulating inside the premises that has been tracked in from wet shoes. Generally, as with outdoor water, if it is a wet day outside, and the water is close to the door, Illinois courts can determine that it is a natural condition and not the responsibility of the owner. However, if Plaintiffs’ lawyers can show that the business owner created or aggravated the condition, then there may be a problem for the business.

Posted in Five Tips | Comments Off

How much will it cost to collect a debt?

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

It depends. There are two main ways an Illinois debt collection attorney or firm will charge you: hourly or contingency.

An hourly rate is just that. You will pay anywhere from $150 to $400 an hour for the attorney to review your case and start the process of collecting the debt. When attorneys charge by the hour, they typically require a retainer up front. This is a lump sum – say $3,000 – from which they deduct their fee as they do the work.

A contingency fee is contingent upon the outcome. It’s a portion of what is recovered, usually around a third. It’s a good chunk of your money, but if you can’t afford a retainer, then it’s a good option for you. Attorneys usually cover all the costs upfront in this arrangement.

The type of fee depends on the attorney, what you’re comfortable with, and the amount of the debt. If you are collecting a small sum, an attorney may not be interested in a contingency fee arrangement. It won’t be worth it to them if the fee at the end is only $1,000. Attorneys generally charge hourly for smaller cases.

An attorney also will consider the likelihood of success. If the case is going to require dozens of hours or work, they may want to charge hourly. A contingency fee is a risk – if they don’t win your case, they get nothing.

It can be confusing, and there is no best way to set it up. It depends on each individual case. The key is to talk at length with your attorney (or a potential attorney) about a fee agreement. Make sure you understand how and when you will be charged. If it’s hourly, ask for detailed and frequent bills. Ask about additional fees and costs, if any. Don’t be afraid to keep asking questions until you understand. A good attorney should be willing to answer and do so in a way that makes sense to you.

Posted in Litigation | Comments Off

Vet malpractice exists, but it’s usually not worth it

Monday, November 15th, 2010

People do file lawsuits for veterinary malpractice – when a vet is negligent and that negligence causes injury or death to an animal. It sounds similar to medical malpractice against doctors and other health care providers, but it’s more limited.

In vet malpractice, you are not going to be able to recover a large sum of money. Damages (what you suffer and get compensated for in a lawsuit) are limited. If you are suing a vet, you can only sue for the cost of the pet (not what you value them at, but what they actually cost) and medical bills. You cannot recover any money for pain and suffering.

The law in Illinois treats pets as property. So even though Spot may be a member of your family, in the eyes of the law, he’s more like a television. This can be devastating news to a pet owner who loses a pet because of a medical error or careless mistake.

Like any malpractice lawsuit, these are difficult to prove. It will cost a lot in attorney’s fees, if you can even find an attorney willing to take your case. The bottom line is that it just doesn’t make sense to pursue most of these lawsuits, despite how wronged you may feel.

Posted in Injury Cases | Comments Off

Dropping the charges – it isn’t up to you

Friday, November 12th, 2010

We hear from a lot of people who want to “drop the charges” against someone who allegedly harmed them. As you can guess, this usually comes up in domestic abuse situations, which is one of the most common types of criminal cases in Cook County.

Once charges are filed, it’s up to the prosecutor whether they are dropped. The victim, for better or worse, doesn’t have a say. In fact, they aren’t even a party to the case. It’s the state vs. the accused.

If you call the police and have someone arrested, you can’t just take it back. And if you don’t cooperate with the police, prosecutor, etc., after that, you could be in trouble yourself. We’ve seen cases where someone was charged with filing a false police report. Similarly, an alleged victim who doesn’t show up to testify can end up facing charges.

In some cases you may be able to get a defense attorney to help you. If you find someone with good connections (meaning they know the prosecutor), then it’s possible the charges could be dropped. The prosecutor probably won’t listen to you if you want to drop the charges. They hear it all the time. But they may listen to your attorney.

You’re probably thinking this isn’t right. We tend to agree. It’s not exactly fair. But we want to tell it like it is, and this is what we’ve seen happen.

Posted in Did You Know? | Comments Off

The magic of an attorney letter

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

I would say it’s mostly a myth that having a lawyer write a strongly worded letter will solve your problem. There definitely are situations where it can work. But I think the reason it works is because a written letter shows that you’re serious, not necessarily because it’s from a scary lawyer.

If the facts are on your side, or if it was a misunderstanding or mis-communication, a non-lawyer letter can work. For example, there was a woman who was promised an extra car key when she bought her car (one of those remote keys that cost about $800 to replace), but when she picked up the car they told her they would not give her an extra. After several phone calls that got her nowhere, she wrote a strong but polite letter to a manager. And she got her key.

If your issue is serious and you’re headed toward a possible lawsuit, getting a lawyer involved is a good idea. But many times it’s worth giving it a shot on your own first. Coming on too strong – with a lawyer letter – could make the other party defensive and make things worse.

If you need help figuring out a possible legal issue, you can always call for our opinion. If we don’t think you need a lawyer, we’ll tell you.