I'm going to court this week

Gary_in_Indiana · Aug 26, 2002

Re: I\'m going to court this week

Bill,

The only thing I can think of in the bed is my snowplow blade (for that truck) and a piece of firewood I dumped over the wood side extensions with my FEL just to see if I could get the bucket over those sides or not.

I have to admit, you've made me about curious enough to go out and look right now. /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif

webbmeister · Aug 26, 2002

Re: I\'m going to court this week

"OR failed to tell the woman who is essentially the complaining witness to my "transgressions.""

Gary:

With all due respect, I have another perspective on this.

You know you are right, and it is possible that this woman - as cantankerous as she may be - just doesn't have a clue about why you might be out there. Worse, she might be a little "off-balance." In either case, outside of some short-lived joy from having successfully retaliated against her, what will you have that handling this with grace and compassion won't get you? She sure doesn't sound like the type who could come up with $$$ in the event you win a judgement against her. I think your attorney had the right idea, and taking care of it with a call to the woman's attorney would be a far more effective and less messy way to deal with the problem.

Best Regards,

Jim

DaveNH · Aug 26, 2002

Re: I\'m going to court this week

Maybe part of my up-bring here, but I always thought it
was part of a lawyers job - to settle and keep you from going to court.
When all else fails, then you go to court.

I maybe totally out in left field regarding this but appears to me that if a simple phone call and maybe some paper swapping would clear the entire issue, why bother with the costs of time and money. I'd followed
the advice of the lawyer, after all that's why you hired him.

Just my opinion, I might be wrong./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

rmorgan · Aug 26, 2002

Re: I\'m going to court this week

Alex--

Not to be too hasty to inject reality into this discussion, non-clients cannot sue a lawyer for malpractice. There are provisions for frivolous litigation, but that ain't one of them.

Gary_in_Indiana · Aug 26, 2002

Re: I\'m going to court this week

Jim,

I should have mentioned earlier that this is part of a larger foreclosure action I have filed against the man from whom I bought my land regarding adjacent property on which I hold a first mortgage. This is not an isolated instance at all. A good part of my goal in this is to show the judge how ridiculous these people can be as he's the same one who'll preside over the foreclosure trial. I would have thought someone on that side of the table would have taken the time to at least look at the public records and see who owns what there.

Lest you think I'm not at all open to what is probably good advice, I'm going to be downtown tomorrow and intend to stop and see my attorney now that some time has passed and I'm not quite so incensed by this.

In point of fact, the part of this that irritates me as much as any is that she could easily have approached me and asked what I was doing there rather than running to file this. I'm actually pretty easily approachable. She could have spoken with me there.

She knows my name. My phone number is in the book. She's been to my office. My office number is on the side of my office building. There were any number of opportunities to handle this without filing that motion.

Quite frankly, I have no problem being enjoined from entering his buildings or property. I do, however, greatly resent the implication that I have done so.

I do intend to seek a similar restraining order against them as they have already admitted to trespassing on my property. It'll be interesting to see them walk through a field to get to their buildings rather than using MY driveway to get there.

They are not landlocked. They have roadfront just like I do. The difference, however, is that I own the driveway, having bought it when I bought my property. I had no problem with them using my drive so long as they were living there. Well, now things have changed, the house is empty and condemned and I no longer want them on my property since they've made it very clear they don't want me on theirs.

I'd be curious to know if I'm required to grant them an easement over my drive when they own property exactly parallel to it on which they could gain ingress and egress. If I'm required to grant that I'll be rather upset. As the drive was at one edge of my land there would have been no point in my buying it if I could have just claimed an easement of convenience ("This drive is already here and I don't want to put in my own").

webbmeister · Aug 26, 2002

Re: I\'m going to court this week

Gary:

Thanks for the reply and for the background. Clearly, what was on the table for us to see before was the "tip of the iceberg."

My wife, a great contract-type, does an awful lot of very heady negotiations. No matter how complex they are, or how inflammatory the other side, she always keeps her cool. She treats them with dignity (that sometimes they clearly don't deserve) and she does what she can to listen to and understand their arguements. Where there is room for compromise, she works hard for a win-win, and where there isn't, she uses her understanding of their arguement to further hers. Whether there is an arbitrator involved or not, this approach almost always ends up with all parties walking away calm and my wife having "won" the major points for her client. Especially where an arbitrator is involved, a less-than-dignified approach always works against the agressor.

And then there's Karma. This woman will "get hers" if it's due her. Surely you don't need to cloud your own Karma with activities you'd hesitate to tell your mother you'd participated in?

I'm glad you're calmed down some, and that you're thinking about letting the attorney handle this. If s/he understands the scope of your problem, perhaps it can all be taken care of with one pass and the least amount of pain - financial and emotional - possible for all involved. I wish you the best!

Jim

Kodiak · Aug 26, 2002

Re: I\'m going to court this week

Gary:

If per say that you do have to Grant them an access easement, Word it for a dedicated number of days 90,120,etc. With provisions that they will then have to file for another temporary right to easement. This will prevent them from obtaining a writ of eminent domain where they might eventually obtain title to the easement. As well as wear them down from the costs of repetitive filings.

mdbarb · Aug 27, 2002

Re: I\'m going to court this week

OOOHHH BOY
It's deja vue all over again
See my thread: "Help! I need legal advice re: easements"
I'm just a few filings ahead of you on a very similar situation.
No final decisions yet but a few things I have learned from my first experience with the legal system.

1. It's gonna cost you, even if your right.
2. What appears totally logical and right can be turned on its ear in a second.
3. See 1. above.
4. Nothing happens quickly
5. See 1. above

JohnMiller3 · Aug 27, 2002

Re: I\'m going to court this week

Hi mdbarb...

This is one of those things where you have to experience first hand...

Years back, I was 110% right and everything was on my side... but my friends told me it's not a "walk in the park"... I just knew they were wrong... but how wrong could I have ever been... /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

The wheels of the justice system turn forever slow... and expensive... but nobody will ever believe it or you... until they are in your boots... and walked your prior path... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

This has got to be the most expensive game of chess... I've ever played in my life.../w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif