Title: January 4, 2006
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 13 years of experience. She operates her law practice from her new office in town, as well her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities. Please forward your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax them to (661)825-8880.
Q. What is a Homestead Declaration and why should we have one recorded with Kern County?
A. If you have a family residence in Kern County and your family resides in it, a Homestead Declaration will help reduce your property taxes because $7,500 will be deducted from the total assessed value of your property before the county assessor will estimate your yearly property taxes due. In addition, should you be sued by a creditor for a debt, $50,000 of your equity will be exempted from the creditor’s grasp if you are a single individual, $75,000 for a husband and wife, and $125,000 if you are over 65 years old. I advise anyone who owns a home to have a homestead declaration prepared and recorded with the county recorder, no matter whether you are single, married or a senior citizen. The Homestead Declaration is only applicable to your “residence”, not a vacation home or a rental.
Q. I am writing about the newspaper article in the Tehachapi news on December 28 regarding the cow that was hit by the people driving a 1997 Buick on the 58 going west. Who is responsible for the damage to their car?
A. Typically, the owner of the cow would be responsible. However, it is my understanding that the owner of the cow leases the land where he grazes his cows. Caltrans is not liable because it is not Caltrans’ job to put fences up to stop cattle from walking onto roadways. It is the property owner’s duty to ensure that the fencing around his property is strong enough to stop cattle from coming onto roadways. If the property owner leases the land to a cattle owner who plans to graze his cattle there, then it is the property owner’s duty to fence his property properly. If cattle escape from the leased land and cause damage to vehicles on the roadway, the property owner is liable for the damage. However, if the property owner has a contract that shifts liability for escaped cattle to the cattle owner and that clause also specifies that the cattle owner is responsible for building strong fencing that will contain cattle within the grazing land, then the cattle owner is liable for the damage(s) caused by any escaped cattle. However, if you happen to hit a deer and it causes a lot of damage to your vehicle, then it is your problem. A deer is not owned by anyone; it is a wild animal. The argument that the State of California is responsible for its wild animals will not hold.
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Monday, March 16, 2009
Legal Eaze #38 Road Accident/ Employer Fired
Title: January 25, 2006
Q. As I was driving my car this past weekend, it was very slippery and in applying my brakes too quickly, my car slid across the road on some black ice and slipped right into someone’s fence. Unfortunately, I severely damaged the fence, in addition to some damage to my car. I rang the bell at the front door, but no one answered. So, I left. What is my liability?
A. You are liable for the repairs to the fence. Your car insurance can take care of the damage. You should return to that residence in the evening or on the weekend when there is a good chance that someone will be home and tell the owner that you damaged his/her fence and give your insurance information. The owner will make a claim with your insurance. You should also call your insurance company and report the accident as soon as possible, if you have not already done so.
Q. I work for a small company in Bakersfield where the employees are all in the same room with no privacy whatsoever. My 14-year old son called me to tell me that he had been arrested by the police after shoplifting at a mall. The police let him make one phone call. I had to leave work to go pick him up. The next day, when I arrived at work, my boss told me I was fired for leaving the day before. What can I do?
A. You are not giving me enough information to give you advice one way or another. What are this employer’s policies as far as emergencies that may arise? Did you have vacation time, personal time, sick leave that could have been used to take care of your son’s problem? How long have you been working there? If you have been working there only for a few days, your employer’s attitude is understandable. It is possible that other employees overhead your telephone conversation and told your boss why you left. Unless you had an employment contract, a typical employer-employee relationship is “at will”. You can get fired anytime or you can quit anytime.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 13 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. As I was driving my car this past weekend, it was very slippery and in applying my brakes too quickly, my car slid across the road on some black ice and slipped right into someone’s fence. Unfortunately, I severely damaged the fence, in addition to some damage to my car. I rang the bell at the front door, but no one answered. So, I left. What is my liability?
A. You are liable for the repairs to the fence. Your car insurance can take care of the damage. You should return to that residence in the evening or on the weekend when there is a good chance that someone will be home and tell the owner that you damaged his/her fence and give your insurance information. The owner will make a claim with your insurance. You should also call your insurance company and report the accident as soon as possible, if you have not already done so.
Q. I work for a small company in Bakersfield where the employees are all in the same room with no privacy whatsoever. My 14-year old son called me to tell me that he had been arrested by the police after shoplifting at a mall. The police let him make one phone call. I had to leave work to go pick him up. The next day, when I arrived at work, my boss told me I was fired for leaving the day before. What can I do?
A. You are not giving me enough information to give you advice one way or another. What are this employer’s policies as far as emergencies that may arise? Did you have vacation time, personal time, sick leave that could have been used to take care of your son’s problem? How long have you been working there? If you have been working there only for a few days, your employer’s attitude is understandable. It is possible that other employees overhead your telephone conversation and told your boss why you left. Unless you had an employment contract, a typical employer-employee relationship is “at will”. You can get fired anytime or you can quit anytime.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 13 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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