tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974991224593585372024-02-22T11:47:57.758-05:00Donning and DoffingJim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-55928395681192320632017-03-29T08:56:00.000-04:002017-03-29T09:07:26.035-04:00Meet the Government Watcher in Your Computer. If you were awake yesterday, then you heard that the Washington branch of the Politburo, aka the House of Representatives agreed with their comrades in the Senate to block the fair, American made rules that protected your internet privacy.<br />
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When asked why they, the party of closet pedophiles, infidelity and corruption, would vote to end this important protection, the GOP/New Russia lemmings said "Oh pish posh, big advertisers and search engines are watching all the time. This is no change."<br />
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That partially true lie-answer masks the reality that search engines don't follow you if you don't use them. On the other hand, Congress placed your right to not be watched on a platter and handed it to the Internet providers. <br />
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This is a HUGE change. Unlike a search engine or website, the provider has to know where you visit online, everywhere, always, because you have to ask them to take you there. When you type in a website address or click on a link, you tell your provider where you want to go, no matter how awful or innocent it is. <br />
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By ending your privacy yesterday, it was as if Congress bugged your car or hired your Uber driver to report back to some government agency your every trip. The ISPs have all your web surfing information and, ironically and comically, all of Congress's. Every one of those bone-heads is now subject to a hack on an ISP that will reveal just how awful and perverted many of them are. <br />
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What used to be their little secrets, hidden by using a fake name, will now be flayed open. And that is what they thought they wanted for you. But they use the internet too. I bet they didn't even think about that risk. In addition the ISPs now can interfere with your internet banking, legal research, searches about your medical symptoms, and see your emails to your girlfriend you hide from your wife? Tinder? Ashley Madison? All your searches will be available to the feds, all the time, for all of us. <br />
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"Her emails" are nothing. The Golden Age of Wikileaks is on us now. Though as I write, I think it may be wise to simply stop using the web. Period. <br />
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And make no mistake, the providers who can now spy on you freely, AT&T, Verizon, T Mobile, Spectrum, Comcast; they absolutely will. Why? Because in exchange for this new ability to get into your business, those providers promised Congress they would always hand over the information to any government agency without a court order. <br />
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"You want what officer? Sure, here you go." <br />
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Apple fought in court to protect your privacy. Microsoft too. What's-App and others also refuse to give up your privacy. But they aren't regulated utilities. AT&T? Verizon? A different story. They'll serve you up like a nicely broiled salmon. <br />
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Another bonus from Congress to their new phone and cable company spies is that a pending merger in telecommunications or cable, or both, will now move forward unfettered by the federal government. The new behemoths will essentially become State internet. Oh yeah. This is America getting great alright. <br />
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If you voted for these guys, who are like trash-bag searching identity thieves, then you are getting what you deserved. <br />
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If you thought losing your health insurance was okay when you elected these wise-guys, then how about revealing your internet history, and everything you look at from here on out? Will your embarrassing or potentially illegal interests or affairs be laid bare at the worst possible time? It is now entirely possible. <br />
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It takes a crisis to make people see the truth. Maybe you see it now. This is a crisis with a savage effect. Demand that congress immediately make a law, not a regulation, denying ISPs the ability to track your life. <br />
<br />Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-41435750586252515602016-12-28T15:50:00.000-05:002016-12-28T16:07:36.274-05:00Cops Kill Dog For Getting Off the Couch. Federal Court Says That's Cool.So you have some dogs. They love you, you love them. They spend most of their days curled up on your couch, dreaming about when you might spend some time with them. What a life.<br />
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But if a cop, in uniform or otherwise, bangs your door down, or shows up, gun drawn, screaming "Warrant, get the fuck down!" and your dog understandably notes this fearful intrusion and dares bark, or take a stance to protect its home, the cop can kill the dog. It's just a dog. Property, right? <br />
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Let's see, who can cops kill at will, in their own homes or on the street? Dogs, black men, submissive girls, handcuffed naked guys, drunk or mentally ill women and men, children. Well that covers it. Killing without cost or repercussion. Quite the work if you can stomach it. <br />
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What the holy hell were these robed wrecks thinking? In this boneheaded, civil right-stealing decision, captioned <a href="http://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/16a0293p-06.pdf" target="_blank">Brown v. Battle Creek Michigan Police </a>, the borks on the panel said the officer's "safety," not his life, his safety, was more important than the dog owner's innocent canine family members. Yes, members. Plural. Because in this dank, disturbing case, the trigger-happy jackbooted dipshits with badges killed TWO dogs. Their crime? Being dogs. <a href="http://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/12/28/federal-court-rules-police-can-shoot-a-dog-if-it-moves-or-barks/21643443/" target="_blank">AOL Article here. </a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcQge6C-PuVHBmvV7BMggzlErzRRKIHd6OMk5twa6wVTAAof0JDRb7JD5xc3vrV9pJBs9s2oclL_HpRrKsxArTQTxQctSAiwssY5j0muPRH7Fo3irD4wskFe0NvAk6z2vdVi4RZR__-Nr/s1600/pitties.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcQge6C-PuVHBmvV7BMggzlErzRRKIHd6OMk5twa6wVTAAof0JDRb7JD5xc3vrV9pJBs9s2oclL_HpRrKsxArTQTxQctSAiwssY5j0muPRH7Fo3irD4wskFe0NvAk6z2vdVi4RZR__-Nr/s1600/pitties.jpg" /></a></div>
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The owner of the house told the police there were dogs inside. The cops saw the "beware of dogs" sign at the house. THE COPS SAW THE DOGS INSIDE BARKING AND JUMPING AROUND WHILE THEY GATHERED ON THE PORCH GETTING READY TO TEAR DOWN THE DOOR. <br />
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Even before they got to the house, these ninja-jammy clad idiots had actually been briefed about the dogs. If justice really did prevail in Michigan, then the killers would have brought meat with tranquilizers, a tranquilizer gun, animal control officers, or just waited. But nooo, <br />
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"Gotta go gets me some drugs and bad guys! Boo-Ya motherfucker!" <br />
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If they had reason to bust the door down, they had time to wait for a better moment. <br />
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Ugh.<br />
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This decision is another jagged nail in the decimated body of American civil rights. It is the epitome of anti-populace-slanted laws. With this opinion the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals continued the creeping and insidious judicial destruction of freedom from police overreach and violence toward American citizens - and their loved ones.<br />
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May the judges' dogs never meet a cowardly, stupid cop. <br />
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<br />Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-89837443610167028862016-10-05T16:55:00.000-04:002016-10-05T16:55:16.348-04:00Brutal Bad Cops Have to PayI don't think I can sit idly by complaining and ranting on Twitter about bad cops savagely violating the civil and human rights of plainly innocent people. <br />
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This constant flow of police abuse roils my gut and makes me sick with bile and pent up anger. <br />
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No more tweets. It is time for action.<br />
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These malicious abusers have to be stopped. If an un-arrested, un-tried, un-convicted citizen dies or is injured at the hands of police, then the law should PRESUME the police committed a crime, with only narrow and strictly construed defenses allowed.<br />
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Awful, vicious abusers of state power, with <em>ex post facto</em> planted guns and drugs, backed by false reports, protected by their willfully lying coworkers and clueless employers, who quote internal policies as if they were actually law, will have to pay and pay dearly. <br />
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Just look at this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDne0l1fAn0" target="_blank">sickening body cam video</a> of a vicious, power-mad cop brutally assaulting a guy just hanging out on his mom's porch.<br />
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After getting beat down for being black, the cop charged the victim with assaulting an officer. The assault victim was charged! He definitely got his face in the way of the cop's fist. <br />
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This is just so wrong. <br />
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The district prosecutor, Howard Neumann (Alfred E. Neumann's brother?) said a cop can do whatever he wants!? He couldn't see a crime by the cop. Are you kidding? Where can I get some of these beat, taser, and kill people and then get paid leave rules?<br />
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The full story is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/10/04/brutal-video-shows-white-officer-violently-arresting-black-man-sitting-on-his-mothers-porch/?tid=pm_national_pop_b&utm_term=.a713a1836505" target="_blank">here, at the Washington Post.</a><br />
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What rulebook applies to cops? Not the one the rest of us, who are supposed to be presumed innocent, get. That is clear. And it has to change. <br />
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This finally makes me mad enough to sue someone. Hard. And repeatedly. <br />
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<br />Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-41523299429441164552016-10-01T16:43:00.002-04:002016-10-22T10:26:52.792-04:00Boss Steals From His Employees to Line His Own Pockets.Imagine two restaurants. Right next to each other. On the same block.<br />
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Both serve food and alcohol. Both employ cooks, wait staff and dishwashers. <br />
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There is equal foot traffic and signage, and neither restaurant is any worse in any outward way than the other. <br />
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But one of their owners seems to be making a lot more money.<br />
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The other is keeping the lights on, paying the bills, and making a living. But he isn't flashing big stacks. What gives?<br />
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One of them isn't paying his employees even minimum wage. He isn't paying payroll taxes, Social Security contributions, unemployment insurance or workers compensation. He's stealing wages from his employees. Current wages, future benefits, and by failing to pay into the employees' funds, the safety of Social Security.<br />
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If someone working for the wage thief gets fired or laid off, and they apply for unemployment insurance, they'll find they were never recorded as employed. They will discover their boss never paid unemployment insurance taxes.<br />
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"Sorry, no unemployment benefits for you."<br />
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Or pray for good fortune if an employee slices open a finger, or slips down some stairs. No workers compensation for that one. The boss never bothered paying those premiums, either. Better hope no infection sets in. <br />
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It happens. All. The. Time. Here is a real life example, a case my clients brought to recover unpaid wages: <a href="http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/ex-workers-sue-middletown-diner-for-not-paying-min/nshw3/" target="_blank">Hamilton v. Buck's 24-Hour Diner, LP</a><br />
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<br />Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-74498162387430135042016-07-20T11:42:00.000-04:002016-07-20T11:42:12.913-04:00Make More Money – Today.
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">“A penny saved is a penny earned” said Ben Franklin. Today,
$100 a month saved is $1,200 earned over the
course of a year. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">You can shave your monthly bills by asking for reductions. It
is easy and you can do it immediately. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">For example, my office phone bill arrived on Monday. I have
three lines and an internet connection. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">When I first got this service, it was $176.00 a month. Over
the past few years it has slowly crept up. The bill showed that the charge for
July was $236.00!</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">I thought advances in technology were supposed to make
communications less expensive, not more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">After breathing deeply for a moment, I emailed my phone
company’s sales office. I told them I was shocked by the bill and was inclined
to shift to an internet phone system that might cost me only $100.00 a month. I
also said that I’d consider staying with them if they reduced my monthly charge
to $150.00. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">Within a day a phone service representative called to tell
me that VOIP systems are finicky, and that he could help me out. He could reduce
my monthly rate to $159.99 per month for all the same features and internet
speed. Sold. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">A similar savings appeared a month ago. I have had satellite
TV service at home for years. But the same set of channels, as many as half
being shopping and infomercial bandwidth-wasters, had doubled from $39 a month
to $79 a month —with no corresponding increase in value. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">I called the satellite company to tell them that cable
service would be cheaper and that I would like to cancel. All of a sudden, my
long history with them and my (secretly) built up loyalty points got me to
$47.00 per month. Amazing what a call can achieve. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">Finally, my online legal research bill had recently crept up
with services that I did not need or use. A call to that provider got that
monthly bill reduced by nearly $80.00 per month. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">Let’s see, I just saved $76 per month on phones, $32 per
month on TV, and $80.00 per month on fee based research. I am suddenly pocketing
$188.00 more every month. And all it took was an idea, an email and three phone
calls.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Equity Text A;">Look at your bills. Ask your providers to do better. If they
balk, get a new provider, or at least threaten. They’ll move to your demand,
and you’ll be richer for the effort—today. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-49156845124730346492016-03-22T15:46:00.002-04:002016-03-22T15:46:54.313-04:00Class actions in FLSA cases can go forward with estimated damagesIn a 6-2 decision the high Court affirmed a class certification and award to a group of underpaid Tyson Foods employees. In <a data-mce-href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-1146_0pm1.pdf" href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-1146_0pm1.pdf" target="_blank">Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo </a>the plaintiff employees claimed they weren't properly paid for time spent donning and doffing their protective chicken-butchering gear. There was a large class of employees, some with different levels of gear. The plaintiffs had to estimate the time spent dressing. The Supreme Court said that an estimate of the time spent in a common process was sufficient to support an FLSA collective/class action. This case, along with the 6-3 decision for the plaintiffs (and plaintiffs in class and collective actions everywhere) in <a data-mce-href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-857%20-%20new_gfbi.pdf" href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-857%20-%20new_gfbi.pdf" target="_blank">Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez</a>, the Supreme Court answered 2 of 3 pending class action blockbusters in a manner that says class actions are not dead and gone. Not. At. All.Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-73164931282956965992016-02-17T15:15:00.000-05:002016-02-17T15:15:28.165-05:00Family and Medical Leave Act claimsEverything seems to come in cycles. One period is up, the next down. It works that way with employment law claims, too, it seems.<br />
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For a couple of years in the mid-2000s, I represented several clients in family and pregnancy leave related claims. These are cases that arise under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. That law makes employers with more than 50 employees provide the barest amount of leave (up to 12 weeks per year) available to sick employees, pregnant employees, or employees with sick or pregnant family members. Of course the leave is unpaid. But at least the employee is entitled to return to the exact job they had. <br />
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Back then employers were regularly denying leave, demoting people, firing them, and failing to return them to their previous positions. But litigation taught some lessons and it's been quiet on that front for several years. No more. <br />
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I have just filed and settled two FMLA claims. The middle managers out there are not being trained or they are just ignoring the law. They are violating these twenty five year old statutory rights that the employees don't seem to know they have. <br />
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Just a short reminder is in order.<br />
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Common employer violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act:<br />
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● They “point” you for missing a day or more for health reasons and call it a “no fault” system. <br />
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● They write you up or punish you for taking off too much time to care for a sick child, parent, or yourself.<br />
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● When you come back from a medical or pregnancy related leave, they put you in a different job, with lower pay and undesirable working conditions. <br />
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● After you tell them you need time off because you are sick, they don’t bother to ask you why, or tell you about your right to have leave to heal.<br /><br />Not all employers have to follow all the laws in place to protect families from unfair treatment. But if your employer has more than 50 employees in a 75 mile radius, or is a small part of a much bigger company, then you may have more rights than you thought. <br />
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If you have been mistreated, punished, or even fired, for taking medical or family-related leave, then please contact me for more information. You may have rights to reinstatement, back pay, other money damages and attorney’s fees. <br />
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Call or e-mail me now, because there are time limits on claims like these.<br />
<a href="http://www.langendorflaw.com/">www.langendorflaw.com</a> or 513-705-4104.<br />
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Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0Indiana, USA39.417186978315677 -84.37501609325408937.842123478315678 -86.9568030932541 40.992250478315675 -81.793229093254084tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-22647325241223877012015-12-18T11:56:00.000-05:002015-12-18T11:56:39.197-05:00Legal Bliss(mas).<br /><br />
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Lawyering is tough right? Deadlines, demanding partners, judges too busy to rule quickly on motions, not to mention the ever present stress of litigation battles. It’s a wonder anyone does this work.<br />
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Over the past six months I have been vexed by various of these difficulties. It has been draining, to say the least. <br />
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But today I received a settlement check for a client, confirmation of another client’s settlement agreement, and was able to give affirmation to a third lovely client that their important decision made sense. I am beaming with joy. <br />
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I forwarded the check with a hearty Merry Christmas! The second settlement agreement will be signed today and paid soon. The client who got only my honest agreement gave me a hug and a consultation fee, and said I was the bomb. <br />
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Even if nothing else happens today, it’s been a good one. Maybe the best thing for me to do right now, at noon, is head into the weekend on a high note. <br />
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It’s tough, true. But sometimes it is good to be a lawyer. Very good. <br />
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. </span><br />Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-68252619638895492842015-12-13T11:15:00.000-05:002015-12-13T11:15:42.820-05:00Unemployment benefits don't hit your bottom line.A lawyer friend from a nearby firm popped his head in my office door a few days ago. <br />
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He wanted to know how his recently-former employee’s claim for unemployment was going to affect his firm’s finances.<br />
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This question comes up now and then, but not from other lawyers. In talking to him, it became obvious that, even though he was a lawyer, he had no clue about how the unemployment insurance system worked. Of course I have no idea how divorce proceedings work and he would know that process cold. To each their own. <br />
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His employee had been with the firm for years. She quit to take a new job. It didn’t work out, so she left that job and then filed for unemployment compensation. My friend got a notice from the Ohio Dept. Of Job and Family Services telling him that his former employee was going to be collecting benefits. He was worried that he would be paying her directly.<br />
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I assured him that the system doesn’t work that way. When she was working for him, and even now, he pays into the unemployment insurance program at least quarterly. His payments are based on the size of his payroll and the risk that his employees will need to partake in the system. If he laid off or fired more people than other industries or employers, then he was a higher risk, and paid a higher premium. Conversely, by keeping people at work for a long time, he would pay less.<br />
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He wondered aloud, again, if he’d get a bill for her claim. <br />
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No sir, I said. You have already paid your premiums. The DJFS was just letting you know that a claim was being applied to your account. Probably because she had not been with her most recent employer long enough to secure benefits from his policy. Her leaving his office earlier in the year wouldn’t change his risk rating; the DJFS doesn’t hold quits against employers, and her benefits will be paid to her from the insurance pool he had already paid into. Her benefits would not touch his bank account or bottom-line. <br />
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This satisfied my colleague. He bid me thanks and a good afternoon. I did my good deed for the day. Back to work. Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-4766716789894390462015-06-04T16:48:00.002-04:002015-12-12T11:36:23.546-05:00Litigators gotta litigate2014 saw my litigation practice suffer a bit. 2012 and 2013 were banner years, but last year it seemed that nobody was angry or cheated enough to sue. Or they just weren't interested in talking to a lawyer about it. This year? Much different.<br />
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Since January I have filed 4 unpaid overtime cases in federal court, and one, a mortgage loan officer case, is teed up to go. Mortgage loan officers are NOT exempt from minimum wage or overtime coverage. <br />
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Also in the just-about-to-be-filed pipeline is a clear failure-to-notify FMLA case. It amazes me how often the employers in these cases are health care providers. There is another FMLA case right behind this one, but its major claim is failure to reinstate. Either way, back wages, liquidated damages and attorney's fees are all available. <br />
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I haven't seen this much action in years and am grateful for my tax dollars being used to support a dispute resolution system for people who have few resources and little power. <br />
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If employers make employees angry enough or treat them unfairly long enough, then those employees will act. Employment laws passed by Congresses not so deeply in corporate pockets serve these underpaid or mistreated workers well. <br />
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Don't take it anymore. Call a lawyer. <br />
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Update:<br />
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Favorably settled the mortgage loan officer overtime case and both FMLA cases this year. Still two more in play and I am looking for more. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. <br />
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<br />Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-8996308425138514742015-01-25T14:30:00.001-05:002015-12-13T11:24:34.036-05:00Your advice is always worth somethingLook, friends, colleagues and others, a licensed, practicing lawyer knows a lot of valuable information. Sure, much of what they know is freely available on the Internet, at Legalzoom, Justia or Google. But how that information affects a person's life, business or money can't usually be determined by the average person.<br />
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Legal training makes it possible for a lawyer to determine what information actually matters in a situation, and how to make that info work. That skill is worth paying for and, above all, charging for.</div>
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All the information knowable about the workings of a modern automobile is published in shop manuals. Does that mean getting a car problem diagnosed or repaired is, or should be, free? Of course not. How about a pain in the back? There are diagnostic websites, anatomy texts, all the substance of modern medicine available to anyone with an internet connection. Does that mean a medical diagnosis should be had for nothing? Again, the answer is obvious.</div>
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The same is true for legal problems. Any person who has ever had a cold can tell if someone else has one. How many people can suggest a case of adverse possession off the top of their head? Only a lawyer would know.</div>
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Please value your education, experience and training. If attorneys keep giving away "free initial consultations" they devalue every other piece of advice they may give, as well as the advice and effort of other lawyers, everywhere.</div>
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Good legal advice is worth paying for, and price tells clients that they are getting something of value. Be valuable from the moment you start listening to a set of facts. </div>
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Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-61955219731868436612015-01-12T11:17:00.000-05:002015-01-12T11:17:51.884-05:00ServiceTony Robbins is a globally recognized author and motivational speaker. He has risen to, and has access to, the highest echelons of society. He appears as avid a student as he is a teacher. More than that, he seems to be a decent, sincere man.<br />
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In his recent book "Money: Master the Game" he infrequently and obliquely discusses his own path to success. It is in those passages one finds little nuggets of wisdom. There is no doubt that the success Robbins has had came with some difficulty and challenges. His offhand remarks in that book provide some useful insight on how to become more valuable. One observation of his was particularly resonant with me as a seeker of success in life, and in the practice of law.<br />
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"How do I serve the greatest number of people?" he asked himself. That is the question that woke me in the wee hours this morning. How can I serve more people as a lawyer? <br />
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I have been actively searching for opportunities to make money in my law practice and in other areas of business. It is a difficult challenge to look for these "opportunities." They are like the fabled jackalopes. There are no obvious markers and they are not easily seen. They take on varying colors and are as wispy as smoke---until you understand what they are at their source. That is where Robbins made the connection and asked the right question: How do I serve the most people? <br />
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That is the heart of opportunity. It is providing a service to those in need of a solution. <br />
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This focus point makes it far easier to actively seek out opportunities and even stumble upon some. As you look around your practice and the needs of your clients,and those who could be your clients, ask yourself how can you best <strong>serve</strong> them. That may be all that you need to focus your advice, your marketing efforts and your capital. With this insight in mind, I am going to focus on casting all of my efforts as service. In this mindset, I will be providing value as a matter of course.<br />
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It is not enough to ask how can I make money from this contract, dispute or transaction. It is the epitome of value to provide a useful service. If what you provide does not serve your client or customer, then it has little value and will likely be wasted time, or the source of dissatisfaction.<br />
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Serve first and serve many.<br />
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Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-28310500129215713112015-01-12T11:14:00.002-05:002015-01-12T11:14:39.138-05:00The low hanging fruit of the FLSA is gone.I filed my first FLSA collective action in 2001. That was the boom time. The previously unsexy wage and hour claim had come to life. Plaintiffs' counsel were recognizing the great value of statutory attorney fees under a remedial statute coupled with a whole lot of unsuspecting employers. Life was good and lucrative for more than a decade. <br />
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Now though, most employers of any size or sophistication are aware of the risks from unpaid OT or misclassification. Plaintiffs are relegated to rooting around in the cast-off theories of recovery. Big, valuable defendants are mostly gone. <br />
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This well has been worked. Until there is a fracking analogue for FLSA claims, something that can pull more recoveries out of old theories, it is probably time to pull in the pipes and move on. <br />
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I know, I know. More than 8,400 FLSA cases were filed in 2012. It's popular. It's booming. How many were filed in 2001? Less than a 1,850. See, <a href="http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/660319.txt">http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/660319.txt</a>. A 450% gain in a decade is quite a run. <br />
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But borrowing a phrase from the investment world: When everyone goes to one side of the ship, it's time to go to the other side. The Johnny-come-lately staffing by employer defense firms over the past two or three years seals it for me. By the time the Ogletree Deakins of the legal world got on board big time, the top in FLSA claims was near. <br />
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For lawyers looking for valuable practice areas, and I am speaking only from personal experience and my own observation-based opinion, the FLSA is played out. There are better opportunities elsewhere. Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-20222528449409778532014-12-04T11:43:00.003-05:002014-12-04T11:43:20.700-05:00Seasons Greetings; and don't forget the time.Seasons Greetings! I hope that during this holiday season you, your families, and your businesses are doing well. Here at Langendorf Law Firm we are all looking forward to 2015.<br />
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Often at the end of the year, when we are sitting around sipping egg nog and counting our blessings, we are reminded of events that make us wonder, “What if...?”.<br />
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If one of your “what if” events might require a trip to a court in Ohio, please remember these time limits:<br />
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● If you were hurt in an accident outside of work, you have 2 years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit;<br />
● If you had a written contract or agreement with someone and they broke the deal, then you have eight years to file;<br />
● If you had an unwritten deal with someone and they broke it, then you have only six years;<br />
● If someone tarnished your reputation publicly, causing you embarrassment, lost wages or other pain, you have only one year to file your suit;<br />
● If you were harassed at work, or intimidated or retaliated against for reporting harassment, then you have 180 days to officially report that harassment;<br />
● If you didn’t get paid overtime for weekly hours that you worked you worked in excess of forty, because your employer said you were a contractor, or were on salary, or were exempt, then you have a rolling two year limit on the period for which you can collect unpaid or underpaid wages. <br />
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THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF TIME LIMITS FOR BRINGING LAWSUITS. There are other limits in state and federal law, specific to the states, or to the legal claims. If in doubt, then please call me at 513-705-4104. <br />
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If you miss a time limit, then your claim can never go forward. Don’t let a “what if” turn into an “If only I would have....”<br />
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<i>When you think lawsuit, think Langendorf.</i> <br />
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www.langendorflaw.comJim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-22931300613890741232014-09-08T16:37:00.000-04:002014-09-08T16:44:44.842-04:00WAGE AND HOUR LAWSUITS ARE GOOD FOR ETHICAL BUSINESSES<br />
In my business, I help employees get paid what they were due by filing lawsuits against bad employers. Cases range in value from a few thousand to a few million dollars.<br />
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That being said, I am NOT an enemy to all businesses. Just to the bad ones.<br />
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When I file a lawsuit against a company for not paying overtime or minimum wages, a side effect on business is a leveling of the playing field for law abiding companies that pay legally acceptable wages.<br />
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By making bad employers responsible for underpaying their employees, I help the good employers do better. How? Well, if a weak company survives only by cheating its employees out of their wages, then my lawsuit will either make it go out of business, or make it less of a competitive threat when it has to pay up for past failures and pay legal wages in the future.<br />
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More often though, my efforts result in a positive change. It may be impossible for an employer to pay lawful wages and still sell products or services at the prices it was charging before it got caught cheating. Labor is usually a primary or secondary expense to a company. If the bad company’s labor costs were artificially low as a result of unlawful pay practices, then the new requirement of lawfully paid overtime and benefits will require a company to make a better product more cheaply, or to charge a price more in line with that charged by law abiding competitors.<br />
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My lawsuits provide another benefit to ethical companies: I cause the disclosure of the bad actors in the industry. If a company mistreats and underpays its employees, one can be almost certain that the cheater is chiseling or cheating its suppliers and customers. Potential customers take note too.<br />
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Nobody learns anything from silent, poisonous success. It is only when the ill effects of wage theft are revealed does an industry or custom change in a meaningful way, usually for the better.<br />
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By making sure employees are properly paid, I make bad businesses change or close, and I make good businesses look better. If you know anyone who is being unpaid or underpaid, either minimum wage or overtime, then let them know they can contact me. If they take action, then the business world gets better for every business. <br />
Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-25427602143897885252014-08-28T15:32:00.001-04:002014-08-28T19:35:37.475-04:00Process to settle a filed FLSA claim.Lawsuits claiming unpaid minimum wages and unpaid overtime are bread and butter for many attorneys. Nonetheless, the process for settling them seems clumsy and unnecessarily unique each time. <div><br></div><div> Under the FLSA and a growing volume of case law, the presiding judge has to approve any settlement of an FLSA claim, be it individual, collective under §216(b) of the Act, or as a class. A failure to get judicial approval can lead to the settlement being busted and unenforceable. It is rare, but not unheard of. </div><div><br></div><div> Usually when a judge has to okay something, it is public and viewable. This is particularly true when the statute upon which the claims and settlement are based is a remedial statute intended to protect the public. Judges tend to honor the spirit of the FLSA with some fidelity and the case law is similarly positive toward that spirit of remediation.
However, many judges are willing to allow parties in FLSA unpaid wage cases to settle confidentially. After all a settlement is good for parties and courts alike. The matter is concluded satisfactorily and it is off the judge's docket. A win-win. </div><div><br></div><div>Whether the settlement approved by the court is kept confidential really depends where the case is situated.
Normal practice in federal court is to advise the court when a case has been settled before trial. The court will gratefully put on a conditional dismissal entry to the effect that the case is settled and dismissed without prejudice for sixty days. After that time has elapsed, the dismissal is converted to one with prejudice, i.e., never to be filed again. If in the sixty day period a party advises the court that an agreement was not finalized, or won't be, then the case is renewed on the court's docket. </div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> This is usually a fine way to proceed. A deal is reached in principle, and the parties tell the court. Court is happy to delete the matter from its crowded calendar. Lawyers breathe easier knowing they will be getting paid after a short time haggling over release agreement details.
In FLSA cases though, reporting a settlement before an agreement is approved can be a disaster. Not an end of the world disaster, but one that is fraught with procedural hiccups and a general cart before the horse vibe. It causes delays and uncertainty that nobody wants. I know. Trust me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> It is error for parties to an FLSA case report to the court that a matter is settled when that settlement is based only on an agreement between counsel. To be SETTLED, the terms of the settlement have to be approved by the court. So telling the court that the matter is resolved and can be taken off the docket, before the judge has approved the terms of the agreement, puts the parties in the painful position of having a dismissed case, but an unapproved settlement. Now the parties have a case that reads as terminated on a federal judge's docket. And you know how intensely they pay attention to terminated cases. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Now the parties have to attract the judge's attention (and not their ire) to the settlement agreement. And even if the matter was well negotiated and all the parties are on board, the judge may not approve.
Don't report an FLSA case as settled to the court based on counsel's agreement alone.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> If counsel reach an agreement in principle, but have to hammer out a confidential release agreement, then just wait. Do it like this:
1) Reach an agreement in principle; 2) file a joint motion to stay proceedings pending release agreement negotiations; 3) after reaching agreement on the release details, file a joint motion to approve the release/settlement agreement at the same time you present it to court confidentially, e.g., judge's chambers email; then 4) on judicial approval of the agreement and upon receipt of the settlement payment(s), the plaintiffs file their voluntary dismissal with prejudice.
This process avoids the cart before the horse problem that rears up in FLSA cases prematurely reported as settled.</span></div>Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-40233728522657926162014-07-06T11:38:00.000-04:002014-07-06T11:38:25.644-04:00Some possible Constitutional Amendments <div>Proposed Constitutional Amendments</div><div><br></div><div>As I pondered Independence Day and saw that American approval of Congress and the Supreme Court had fallen to all time lows, I thought of some changes that may make the institutions less intolerable. In no particular order:</div><div><br></div><div>Any two adults may marry as they choose and no legal benefit or privilege of that </div><div>Marriage can be denied by any state, the federal government, or any agency.</div><div><br></div><div>Congress shall pass no law limiting the natural right of the People to procure, grow, cultivate manufacture or physically ingest any substance derived primarily from vegetation.</div><div><br></div><div>Congress may pass no law in respect of religion, and no court, judge, justice of the Supreme Court, agency, administrator, President, or Congressional body may accept any non-secular or religious belief, faith, opinion, teaching, rule or dogma as fact or evidence for any purpose whatsoever.</div><div><br></div><div>A person may serve as a member of congress, meaning either the House of Representatives or the senate, for no more than eight cumulative years in the member's lifetime.</div><div>Justices of the US Supreme Court may serve on the court for no more than eight cumulative years in a lifetime. </div><div><br></div><div>From the effective date of this Amendment, Justices of the Supreme Court, Senators and Representatives alike shall receive from the US treasury an annual salary equal to the per capita income in the United States as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the year that member of Congress is elected to office, or the Justice is appointed. Adjustments to the calculated pay up or down shall be made every two years during the member's or Justice's 's service. The human constituents of a representative's district, or in the case of a Senator or Justice, his or her resident state's human residents, may pay the member additional compensation, but only upon full, unlimited, contemporaneous public disclosure of the payor, the dates of payment and the amount of payment. No other payment or consideration of any kind can be made to any member of congress by any other person or corporation, and the District of Columbia shall not be considered a state. </div><div><br></div><div>In response to the decisions by the US Supreme Court in Citizens United and Hobby Lobby, the People say that those decisions were wrong, are wholly rejected, and retroactively to the date of the Citizens United decision corporations are neither people nor human, and shall not be considered as such under any law, Constitutional provision or judicial decision.</div><div><br></div><div>No Federal or state government may expend any cash or credit of the United States or any of the several states to directly or indirectly fund any military force or the procurement of any materials that are not required to actually defend any part of the United States or any Territory thereof from an attack or invasion by foreign forces. If there is no actual attack or invasion, or imminent threat of attack or invasion of US borders by foreign forces, with imminent to mean more likely than not within twelve months, by physical, electronic or cyber forces, then no expenditure shall be made. No US citizen or assembly of US citizens, no matter where they are located, shall be considered a foreign force.</div><div><br></div><div>Terrorism is a tactic and not a sovereign nation or territory. From the effective date of this amendment Congress shall pass no law nor fund any action to conduct a war on terror, terrorists or terrorism.</div><div><br></div><div>No American citizen shall be deprived of any Constitutionally protected right. There are no exceptions to this clause. Violations of this clause by any government or police agent shall be considered acts of treason punishable by imprisonment and fines.</div><div><br></div><div>No person may be executed as a penalty for the commission of any crime. </div><div><br></div><div>No US military force may be directly or indirectly funded, equipped, located or stationed, temporarily or otherwise, outside the United States or its territories and within the borders of any sovereign nation or territory unless it is during the conduct of a war on a sovereign nation that was declared by the President and approved by a 2/3 majority of both the House of Representatives and the senate. There are no exceptions to this clause.</div><div><br></div><div>A fella can dream of a Constitutional convention...</div><div><br></div>Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-68260467029134470032014-01-24T09:32:00.005-05:002014-01-24T09:36:57.248-05:00Spittle spraying jackasses do not win cases"Again you accuse me of not dealing in good faith. This reflects not on me but rather on your poor judgment and your ethics."<br />
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This came to me from a lawyer with whom I'd had prior dealings. It was not the first time that he had put himself in the shoes of his client and insulted me personally despite my super conscious efforts to refer only to his client's settlement offers. <br />
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He has ranted to me about how my case is frivolous, how he has rock solid evidence in defense, and how he'll seek attorney's fees for my poorly conceived and frivolous litigation. <br />
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This attorney has a penchant for throwing stones from the windows of his glass home.<br />
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In reality, my opposing counsel has a website indicating he has a license to practice in three states. He is only able to practice in one. He tells me my judgment is questionable, but he went to court in a recent case seeking attorney's fees of eighty eight thousand dollars for his client's dubious ERISA claim. He had so much great evidence, he got fifteen hundred. I'll keep this to myself for now.<br />
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It is a disservice to a client and to your professional reputation to become so wrapped up in your client's representation that you forget that legal representation of a client is a job. A job that requires some passion, some doggedness and some toughness, no doubt. But that passion must be tempered with an underlying sense of detachment and an always obvious measure of respect. <br />
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But for their fees, lawyers should not have an emotional or personal attachment to the outcome of a typical damages lawsuit. It is a mistake to be hostile and disrespectful to your opposing counsel in any event. This is particularly true if they are detached and capable in their own right. Cooler heads always prevail in front of a judge. Even if they are only relatively cooler than the head on the spittle spraying jackass at the other table.<br />
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Be the cooler head.<br />
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As a final note, be respectful in all communications. Every email, every text and every voice mail can be used as an exhibit in a motion or memorandum to the Court. It is doubly painful to be taken down by your own hostile words. Don't let that happen to you. <br />
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<span id="goog_1779178378"></span><span id="goog_1779178379"></span><br />Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-92066070029214851752013-12-05T23:01:00.000-05:002013-12-05T23:01:59.291-05:00Subpoena PowerWhenever a civil lawsuit commences in state or federal court, the parties to the lawsuit gain subpoena power. The power is found in Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This means that they can use court authority to direct witnesses to testify or produce documents that may be, or may lead to, admissible evidence. <br />
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This power does not apply to other parties. They are obligated under different rules to make facts and documents available. (Rules 26, 33, 34 and 36 for example).<br />
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A subpoena also acts as a tool allowing a party to obtain confirmation that the opposing party is producing all that is requested of it. For instance, in a prevailing wage case by a former employee of a subcontracting construction company, a subpoena to the general contractor for proof of all prevailing wage contracts with the sub in the relevant time period forces the construction company to diligently produce accurate records. <br />
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This is so because the former employer does not know what the contracting company will produce. Unless they are colluding. Not very likely that. Companies and people not party to a lawsuit like to keep it that way.<br />
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Subpoenas issued to vendors and customers of a corporate defendant are unnerving to all concerned. Responding or objecting to them can be expensive. The effort to object or the ease of compliance can be telling too. In addition to their discovery value, they increase pressure on parties to more strongly consider the value of settling earlier.<br />
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Use subpoenas early to make sure you are getting a complete picture of the other party and its claims or defenses. If other benefits flow from the effort, then so be it. There is of course the risk that your subpoenas do nothing but irritate otherwise helpful witnesses. This is a real risk, so consider the costs you may incur before flexing your discovery muscles.<br />
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of the completeness of production required of opposing parties. Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-87589005872689174142013-11-28T23:38:00.000-05:002013-11-28T23:38:34.737-05:00Getting Work as a LawyerA recently admitted lawyer in Ohio had gone on the Bar Association's Solo and Small Firm list serv and posted a request for tips on how to get work. This was my response, for what it's worth:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">"Dear Amy:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">While marketing
your services as a lawyer is a process hampered by ethical land mines and a
tradition of waiting to be called, there are some easy, inexpensive ways to get
work. First though, decide what broad kind of work you can do. You can't take
on work that you aren't able to do or aren't reasonably able to get prepared to
do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If you want
criminal work, get on the court's appointment list. It's low paid but filled
with opportunities for experience and exposure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For civil work,
the biggest bang for your buck may be the local bar association's lawyer
referral service. Dayton's is 175 a year plus 10% of fees earned. It is so
worth the cost. Hundreds of times over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Go to bar
association events. Go to the national ABA section events if you can afford it.
If you go, and you introduce yourself and make connections, then you quickly
become a nationally known attorney. Have a quick response to "what do you do?"
Be friendly with other lawyers. Refer work to them. Volunteer in a group or
groups that do something you like. Speak up and take some leadership. It isn't
always quick, but exposure + competence = work. Always be grateful for
referrals. Call or send thank you cards to your referral sources. Refer back and
speak well of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Write a blog,
get a website that links to your blog, and then use a twitter account and a
linkedin profile to mention your blog or website. Write often and be real.
Read blogs by James Altucher. Read his book "Choose Yourself". It's five
bucks on Amazon and it may change your life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Do good work,
bill fairly, and deliver more than you promise. Always, always do what you say
you will. Don't lie or cheat. Lawyers and judges will know, and it will kill
your career. Don't chase low profit work or clients. Analyze your practice
areas for the highest profit for the least amount of time and effort, and then
do that work most of the time. Develop an expertise. Love it. For me that is
FLSA litigation. For you it will likely be something
different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Charge a fee for
consultations too. Make yourself valuable from the very first meeting. If a
potential client balks at 50-100-150 for your initial time, then you don't need
them. Exceptions of course, but charge as a rule. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Finally, go to
Dave Lorenzo's website and follow him on Twitter @TheDaveLorenzo, He is
undoubtedly the best legal marketing mind. Read all that he writes and do just
part of it. You will get work and clients.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I do these
things. I believe in them and I have been successfully self employed, with luck
and gratitude, since 2001. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Good luck Amy.
Contact me if you'd like any more info. Although I think that is all that I
have."</span></div>
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Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-8945277353361218322013-11-20T23:19:00.001-05:002013-11-20T23:19:50.219-05:00Smoke 'em if you got 'emOld movies with soldiers often saw drill sergeants relieve their squads with a jovial "at ease smoke em if you got em".<div>
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The same can be said for affirmative defenses. If you have them as a defendant, then you should use them. Like the cigarettes in those old movies, you might not get to use them if you get killed in a battle.</div>
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For litigators it's more figurative. But the civil rules of civil procedure in some state and all federal trial courts tell defendants that if they fail to raise affirmative defenses (with some substance thank you Iqbal and Twombley) then those defenses are waived and barred from later use.</div>
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Some lawyers may feel that they can "reserve the right to add defenses" in their answers. Don't bet on it. There is no such right to reserve. The civil rules and the case law are fairly clear on this point. Aggressive and unyielding plaintiffs' counsel will not stand by while affirmative defenses like good faith error, or acting on counsel's advice, or the plaintiff was exempt from overtime coverage because they were not performing the duties of an employee are raised well after the answer is filed.</div>
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Factually unsupported affirmative defenses are now just as troublesome as absent defenses. Thanks to the US Supreme Court's decisions in the Iqbal and Twombley cases (search those names and the cases will appear in google or any other halfway competent search engine) a formulaic recitation of elements of a claim or defense will be vulnerable to a motion to strike.</div>
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Use em if you got em. If you don't, then expect my motion for judgment on the pleadings or a tough row to hoe at summary judgment and trial when your defenses are long buried by waiver. </div>
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Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-83560173204511199482013-10-26T16:16:00.001-04:002013-11-20T23:25:09.374-05:00Professional conferences pay for themselvesProfessionals spend years in school learning their trade. Then after they enter their profession they are often required by their professional licensing organization to keep current in their field. Keeping current for lawyers means taking ten to fifteen hours per year of continuing education. It is often expensive and seemingly unproductive. <br />
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It does take time, true. But to those who would call it unproductive, because it can't be billed to a client, I would say think again.<br />
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While taking on my first Fair Labor Standards collective action case more than twelve years ago, I was overwhelmed. Fortunately, the National Employment Lawyers Association was holding an FLSA focused conference that year. Too bad it was in San Francisco. That was a long way from my little shared office space in Middletown, Ohio. It appeared too expensive and risky. I calculated the benefits I hoped for against the clear monetary expense, and got my airline ticket west.<br />
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I met some extraordinary people. Authors of practice guides like Janice Kearns, and nationally known litigators like David Borgen. I also met a super sharp lawyer from NYC named John Bernstein. Nearly a year after that meeting, which gave me more than enough info to powerfully settle my case in Ohio's southern district, I got a call from a class action lawyer from New York. He wanted local counsel in Ohio and Mr. Bernstein referred him to me.<br />
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Since that time I have done two more class cases with this lawyer, with settlements in the many million dollar range. <br />
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I didn't get those kinds of cases because I was in the fray already. I got them because I took a chance and went to a national lawyers conference and made some friends. That trip has paid for itself hundreds of time over and has been an inspiration to me ever since.<br />
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The American Bar Association's class action and derivative claim committee had its annual class action institute in Boston this past week. I went for the great agenda and to meet up with some friends I made at a litigation conference earlier this year. I was thrilled by the quality of the content, but even better than that, I was fortunate to meet some incredible lawyers who work all over the nation and the world. We may not talk daily or even monthly, but we now have connections built face to face in a forum that allows for real evaluation. Your MarHub profile or website copy is like smoke in comparison to the quick and certain impression you can take, or present, talking about the law or judges or sports teams with your potential co, or opposing counsel.<br />
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Go to your national professional meetings. Join the players on the biggest stage you can manage. They are just like you. It is likely that you will be welcome into the cast just by virtue of showing up with a good attitude. These conferences bring all attendees up. Sometimes in ways you don't see coming. Don't wait. Go to the next one. Do it.<br />
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<br />Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-86249768297998158962013-09-26T21:57:00.000-04:002013-09-26T21:57:54.979-04:00Congress affects choice of forum in FLSA casesI have a couple unpaid overtime cases in the complaint stage. It is my understanding that the federal courts are feeling seriously underfunded. The pending government shutdown is threatening to freeze pay and lead to furloughs. This potential slowdown in my wage and hour forum of choice has me concerned. While the Fair Labor Standards Act provides concurrent jurisdiction to state courts, neither judges, nor counsel who are commonly called to appear in county common pleas courts seem well versed in the procedures and risks presented by FLSA litigation.<br />
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The state courts do allow things to move along more quickly in the early stages of the case, particularly with discovery. Federal rules of procedure prohibit formal discovery prior to the discovery plan conference which may not be for ninety days or more after the complaint is served. Under Ohio rules, interrogatories and other paper discovery can be served with the complaint.<br />
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I think that under the circumstances of threatened funding for federal courts, a diversion to state court may be the way to go. It requires more time spent educating the court and counsel not used to FLSA litigation, but the cases will not be held hostage to congressional foolishness.<br />
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Ironically, my state court is smack in the middle of House Speaker John Boehner's Ohio district. If he were able to do his job, then I could rely on the federal courts. But he can't. So neither can I. Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-73257446843157593222013-09-11T16:03:00.000-04:002013-09-11T16:59:58.598-04:00Personal InjuryPeople get in car accidents all the time. They get hurt, and then they sue the driver of the other car. On a daily basis, thousands of lawyers are looking for the opportunity to represent someone who was injured. They're known as trial lawyers, personal injury lawyers, accident lawyers, wrongful death lawyers, Plaintiff's lawyers, even ambulance chasers and shysters. All are titles attached to those who work, usually on no more than the belief that they will prevail, to recover medical costs, lost wages and an amount of money to compensate an injured client for their pain and suffering.<br />
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I do not work in the personal injury area of law. Almost never. However, in the course of representing people fighting about their pay and employment rights, an occasional car accident affects my employee client and I am asked to help. <br />
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In a car accident, the driver doing the injuring is usually protected by an insurance company. Insurance companies, contrary to their television commercials, are not good hands, problem solving, double check discounting, Aussie geckos. They are businesses with ruthless, bottom line driven employees whose job is literally to keep an injured party's recovery to an absolute minimum. Insurers seem to view every injured person as a fraud, cheat and liar. They are out there, but the generalization has made the process painful. <br />
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Remember, insurance companies take money in from their customers and then invest that money, called a premium. The less they pay out in losses, the more the insurance company and its employees get in profits, bonuses and perks. I don't begrudge a business its profits, but you gotta understand insurance is designed to deny the existence or size of a loss. <br />
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My client was recently reminded of that business purpose. She was injured in a car accident. She had no obvious injuries, but had pain for years. She still does. Sadly, her evidence and the location of the court and its stingy jury pool, along with the costs of medical testimony made the likelihood of her prevailing in a court case very small. The neighborly insurance company that was there with a minimal amount of money and a big smirk knew the cost of litigation would outweigh the likely verdict. So rather than pay a fair amount of compensation for the loss, the company bet the farm that my client would not risk her farm. The insurer was right.<br />
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You can't see the pain of a toothache on an X-ray. Nor can medicine say with certainty whether any other pain is present. Doctors can't test grief and depression with an MRI. Sometimes the pain and suffering and despair from an injury simply cannot be seen by modern medicine. Is it any less real? Is it any less painful for its camouflage? No. But to insurers, their captive and well paid doctors, and to many jury pools, it might as well be a big lie.<br />
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It may be a fight worth having. The battle to show that pain is real even without shattered bones or lost blood. But not by me. I am back to my arena now. Saddened, chastened and glad to not be a PI lawyer. <br />
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<br />Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97499122459358537.post-3163385615795164842013-09-08T21:26:00.000-04:002013-09-08T21:26:01.809-04:00NSA intercepts everything - no privilege is safeWell the National (in)Security Agency has mucked it up. With this revelation <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-06/nsa-code-cracking-puts-google-yahoo-security-under-fire.html">NSA cracks all</a> it is clear that the Internet's most familiar service, i.e., email, is NOT a method of secure communication with clients or other counsel. <br />
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Back to US Mail and Fed Ex. The Internet revolution was just perverted by our friends in Washington. I appreciate a fair and well enforced scheme of laws, rules and regulations. Most lawyers count on that stew to make a living. However, I cannot accept, support or appreciate an unbridled abrogation of my legitimate privacy expectations.<br />
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This delusional and self protecting government madness leaves many frustrated and in despair. I am at a loss myself. The helplessness is unwelcome and unfamiliar. I am unsure how to fix this pervasive problem, but I will be looking for a solution. I hope everyone else is too. Jim Langendorfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15178130700449462185noreply@blogger.com0