In Rupp v. Moffo, LeBaron & Jensen defended the rights of a single mom against the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee who was trying to stick her with a debt that she did not owe. See Summary below. Stephen W. RUPP, Trustee, Appellee, v. Angie MOFFO, Appellant. Case No. 20130377. Decided: August 14, 2015 Angie Moffo lived rent free for eight years in a home owned by her brother-in-law, Doug Rich. After Rich filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the appointed bankruptcy trustee, Stephen Rupp, filed suit against Moffo for back rent under Utah’s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, asserting that Rich had defrauded his creditors by allowing Moffo to live in the house rent free after he became insolvent. The district court concluded that Moffo was the recipient of a fraudulent transfer and entered a $34,200 judgment against Moffo. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment entered against Moffo, holding that Rich did not transfer an asset to Moffo within the scope of the Act because the home was fully encumbered by a mortgage, and any rents were not the property of Rich. Remanded with instructions to enter summary judgment in favor of Moffo.
Not every legal matter requires the use of an attorney. Fighting a speeding ticket and going to small claims courts are two examples. However, in many other situations involving a legal dispute, challenge, or deal, you may not wish to chance the risks of going it alone without the advice of an experienced lawyer who can help you out. In fact, while good legal representation may not be cheap, it can help get you out of a number of sticky situations – such as a bad divorce, lost job, or DUI violation – not to mention the potential alternatives for not using an attorney — including broken agreements, lost claims, or worse, jail time. While each person’s legal situation is different, there are times when you really should hire a lawyer.
Below are the top ten reasons.
1. The law is complicated. If you are not a lawyer you probably have no business acting like one in certain instances. Even experienced lawyers typically do not represent themselves in court. A solid case can quickly unravel without the help of a trained and emotionally detached attorney. Similarly, failing to hire a lawyer when starting a business, reviewing a contract or embarking on other endeavors with potential legal ramifications can result in otherwise avoidable pitfalls.
2. Not having a lawyer may actually cost you more. What is at stake? A criminal case may determine whether or not you spend time behind bars, while a civil case could hurt you financially. Besides, many civil attorneys don’t collect a dime unless they win your case. Also, you may be able to claim legal fees as a plaintiff in a civil case, so hiring a lawyer can actually save or make you money.
3. Lawyers know how to challenge (and sometimes suppress) evidence. You may not even know that a key piece of evidence against you was improperly obtained or that the testimony of a witness contradicts an earlier statement. And did the crime lab properly handle the evidence every step of the way? Your attorney will find out.
4. Attorneys understand how to properly file court documents and handle other legal procedures. If you’re not an attorney, you may struggle with the deadlines and protocol for properly filling out and filing certain legal documents. One late or incorrect filing could derail your case, delay a given legal procedure or worse – have the case thrown out altogether (and not in your favor).
5. Because you don’t know any expert witnesses or private detectives. Attorneys depend on an extended network of professionals to help their clients’ cases. Most non-attorneys do not personally know the types of professionals who can help with discovery or challenge evidence or testimony by the opposing party.
6. You’re not sure how to plead — or what a ‘pleading’ is? Pleading guilty is not the only choice, even if there is evidence pointing directly at you. An attorney who understands the law will be best situated to explain your options and can help you avoid potentially severe penalties even before a criminal trial begins.
7. Because it is probably better to avoid problems in the first place rather than try to fix them once they arise. You may have heard the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” Well, hiring a lawyer in many instances will help you avoid potential legal headaches down the road. Do you really understand the fine print of that contract you are signing? A lawyer will.
8. A good lawyer can strike up a good settlement offer or plea bargain, if necessary. An experienced lawyer probably has seen cases similar to yours or at least knows enough to make a calculated guess about how it might resolve at trial. Sometimes a settlement is the best choice, while other times it makes more sense to see your case through to trial. An attorney also can help negotiate a fair settlement with the opposing party.
9. The other party has legal representation. Non-attorneys are generally at a disadvantage when squaring off against opposing counsel or doing business with another party that has legal counsel. As explained above, the law is complicated and an attorney representing your adversary (or even a non-adversarial party entering into a legal agreement with you) will take advantage of this inequity.
10. Lawyers often provide a free initial consultation. Since many attorneys will meet with you for free during a face-to-face consultation, there is really no harm in talking with one. Not only will a free consultation give you an idea of the type of case you have, it will help you decide whether you actually need to hire a lawyer.
– See more at: http://hirealawyer.findlaw.com/do-you-need-a-lawyer/top-ten-reasons-to-hire-a-lawyer.html#sthash.uGdH3GBB.dpuf
GETTING SUED
What’s your biggest fear as a business owner? Bankruptcy? Bad reviews? Lack of control? If you answered ‘lawsuits‘, you are not alone. Nothing is quite as terrifying for a business owner than receiving a summons or subpoena — you’ve been sued. Aside from being a tremendous distraction to your business, lawsuits are very expensive and emotionally draining– even if you win! Often, a lawsuit can disable or completely wipe-out a business if that business doesn’t have the proper insurance to cover the claim or cause of action. While there is no surefire method for how to avoid a lawsuit, taking precautions can save you big in the long run.
AVOIDING LAWSUITS
Even though you may be struggling to just meet payroll as a small business owner, you owe it to yourself to take precautions against getting sued. Thankfully, said precautions can be effective without taking all your time. They simply require you to (perhaps) do things a bit differently, or set slightly different standards on who you hire and how you conduct business.
PRECAUTIONS
First, consider the employee-employer relationship. When hiring, remember you aren’t just looking for someone who can just do the job but someone who is the right fit for you, your business and the WAY you conduct business. Finding the right employee(s) will help reduce lawsuits from misunderstandings with employees and will lead to happier employees with higher morale. In turn, employees with high morale deliver higher-quality work for your business, therefore reducing the chance of potential lawsuits with customers and vendors.
Second, it may seem obvious, but be careful with you who chose to go into business with. Think of a business partnership like a marriage. The stakes (and emotions) are high and dissolving the relationship can be costly and messy. You need to be in business with people you can trust implicitly.
Third, it’s much harder to accomplish day-to-day operations without having goals to reach. By employing SMART goals for both your business processes and your goals as a business owner, you will become more effective and more efficient. In short, setting goals will help lower costs and reduce errors—thus reducing the possibility of lawsuits.
Fourth, trust is a precious commodity often overlooked by business leaders. Simply put, businesses and people like to do business with someone they can trust. If you have trust, it can reduce costs and decrease friction in everything you do. Without trust, costs increase and there is friction to everything. A lack of trust significantly increases the chance of a lawsuit when something goes wrong.
Fifth, cash is king. Ensuring you have a ready source of cash in an emergency is absolutely critical to avoiding an expensive lawsuit. If you can get out of a lawsuit by paying someone off (versus paying your lawyer) you will not only save money in the long run, but maintain your emotional sanity and limit the distractions from the needs of your business.
Finally, don’t be afraid to seek advice in those areas you are not strong in. Just because it is your business does not mean you have to be all-knowing. There is no shame in seeking advice from your banker, accountant, lawyer or consultant. Following the advice of experts will not only help you avoid lawsuits, their advice can potentially reduce the potential damages in a lawsuit or completely deflate a cause of action in court. At the very least seek advice, and then ignore said advice at your peril.
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