Title: November 21, 2007
Q. I have a neighbor who leaves his three dogs alone in his house for days at a time. I don’t believe these dogs are fed or given sufficient water during the time that he is gone. The dogs are very skinny, their ribs are showing and the house smells very bad during the summer when the windows are open. I feel terrible about these animals not being taken care of properly. What can I do?
A. Lately, Kern County has seen more than its share of animal abuse cases. You can call the Animal Regulation inspector and this owner will be cited, if indeed, his animals are abused. Not feeding your animals and not providing sufficient water is a form of abuse. Obviously, the dogs are relieving themselves in the house because they have no place else to go, hence the bad smell emanating from the house. However, if the dogs have no food and water, the house should not smell so bad since they would not be relieving themselves because they would have nothing to relieve themselves of. Kern County’s Dept. of Animal Regulation, despite its officers’ over the top reaction in certain cases, is a fairly efficient organization. They respond quickly to complaints or reports of abuse. If necessary, your neighbor’s dogs will be taken away from him if the abuse continues. It will be investigated thoroughly, you can be sure of that. Thank you for your concerns about helpless animals.
Q. I live in Stallion Springs and I take the 202 to go home every night around 6:30 PM. Now that it is dark so early, I see people walking along the 202 in the dark, with dark clothes on. What if I hit someone and I did not see that person until the accident happens. What will happen?
A. When you are driving a car, you must be ready for any and all conditions on the road. You might bear some responsibility for the accident depending on the conditions at the scene of the accident. Obviously an investigation would need to be conducted by the police to ascertain whether the pedestrian was at fault. A pedestrian has a duty of due care and must take precautions to avoid an accident. There are numerous statutes and municipal ordinances that provide guidance with regards to this. Violation of a statute or ordinance is evidence of negligence in virtually every jurisdiction. If the law is in your favor, the more power to you.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 14 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661) 825-8880
Showing posts with label statutes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label statutes. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Legal Eaze #51 Garnishments/Car Service Delay
Title: August 2, 2006
Q. My paychecks are being garnished every month for child support I owed. My boss has expressed his frustration overt that, because extra work has to be done by his bookkeeper. He threatened to fire me if I did not deal with this myself. I do not have a choice about these garnishments because the court ordered it to be done this way. But I do not want to get fired over this. I remember when I was called for jury duty, he made the same threat, stating that he could not afford to have any of his employees out for jury duty. What can I do?
A. Your employer cannot punish you because a court has garnished your wages or is threatening you to do so as part of a court order. In other words, if a court takes money out of your paycheck because it ordered you to pay for past debt, unfulfilled child support or alimony, it is illegal for your boss to fire you or to punish you in any way for the garnishment. Such matters are considered separate from workplace disputes. As for jury duty, you cannot be fired for taking time off of work to serve on a jury or appear as a witness in a case, as long as you give your employer reasonable advance notice. There are also a variety of federal law offering similar protections to you in the workplace (Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights, Act, for instance). More often than not, California statutes prove to have even broader protections than the federal laws. However, any who feels that they were wrongfully terminated, would still be wise to consider statutes under California and federal law.
Q. I bought a brand new car in January 2006. The air conditioner in the car stopped functioning last week in this heat and I am totally miserable. I called the dealer where I bought the car to make an appointment with the service department. I have only driven the car 8,500 miles so far. Their service department is extremely busy and I can’t get an appointment until the end of next week. What should I do?
A. I would attempt to make an appointment with the service department of another dealer that sells the same kind of car, in order to get your car repaired sooner. You can go to any dealer you want, as long as that dealer sells the kind of vehicle you own. You can also rent a car (that has working air conditioning) and present the rent-a-car bill to your dealer who could not service your car in a timely manner. However, make sure to notify that dealer of your intentions. .
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 14 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880
Q. My paychecks are being garnished every month for child support I owed. My boss has expressed his frustration overt that, because extra work has to be done by his bookkeeper. He threatened to fire me if I did not deal with this myself. I do not have a choice about these garnishments because the court ordered it to be done this way. But I do not want to get fired over this. I remember when I was called for jury duty, he made the same threat, stating that he could not afford to have any of his employees out for jury duty. What can I do?
A. Your employer cannot punish you because a court has garnished your wages or is threatening you to do so as part of a court order. In other words, if a court takes money out of your paycheck because it ordered you to pay for past debt, unfulfilled child support or alimony, it is illegal for your boss to fire you or to punish you in any way for the garnishment. Such matters are considered separate from workplace disputes. As for jury duty, you cannot be fired for taking time off of work to serve on a jury or appear as a witness in a case, as long as you give your employer reasonable advance notice. There are also a variety of federal law offering similar protections to you in the workplace (Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights, Act, for instance). More often than not, California statutes prove to have even broader protections than the federal laws. However, any who feels that they were wrongfully terminated, would still be wise to consider statutes under California and federal law.
Q. I bought a brand new car in January 2006. The air conditioner in the car stopped functioning last week in this heat and I am totally miserable. I called the dealer where I bought the car to make an appointment with the service department. I have only driven the car 8,500 miles so far. Their service department is extremely busy and I can’t get an appointment until the end of next week. What should I do?
A. I would attempt to make an appointment with the service department of another dealer that sells the same kind of car, in order to get your car repaired sooner. You can go to any dealer you want, as long as that dealer sells the kind of vehicle you own. You can also rent a car (that has working air conditioning) and present the rent-a-car bill to your dealer who could not service your car in a timely manner. However, make sure to notify that dealer of your intentions. .
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 14 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880
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