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Archive for the month “February, 2023”

28 Feb 2023
1 Comment

A SIGN FROM ABOVE

                Over the years I have had clients tell me that they have been guided to me for legal services through some sign.  I’m not sure if the guidance emanates from above or below, but I am pleased that I am on the radar of some otherworldly source. Quite often the client tells me that they have been unable to secure an answer to their legal questions until they found me.  Although this is flattering, there are many lawyers in this area, and all of us of have many answers and opinions.

                Yet, many people seem to be unable to get the answers they need to their questions, and not all lawyers are always helpful or have the knowledge needed for a particular matter. As the legal field has become more and more specialized over the years, at least in urban areas, fewer and fewer lawyers know about many areas of the law, as used to be the case when lawyers were general practitioners.  As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, more lawyers are representing themselves as “experts”, and indeed, clients expect them to be “experts”, as that is what they are hearing through various advertising and media sources.  But, lawyers should do their best about educating themselves minimally in other areas of the law, so they can at least determine if the client needs help beyond a narrow area of the law.

                Below are 3 examples of experiences relayed to me by potential clients in seeking legal help:     

  1. A potential client, who had been injured on a bus, and was later incarcerated, asked me to review his file because his previous lawyer had decided not to represent him.  This lawyer represents himself as an expert in personal injury matters and this lawyer’s name and photograph are plastered on the backs of many buses in town, on those sticky things that are placed on the front of telephone books, on TV, and who knows where else. Obviously this lawyer spends a fortune on advertising his expertise.  Yet, I would never recommend anyone to him, because after 6 months of effort, including letters, telephone calls, and speaking with his staff, although never the lawyer, who never returned the messages I left for him, I finally received the file from the lawyer’s office.  The client ultimately had to file a claim with the agency which disciplines lawyers who wrote to the lawyer, before the file, which I had been told was destroyed, was miraculously produced by the lawyer.
  •  A potential client came to see me because she did not appear for a court hearing she was unaware took place. She had been sued by a credit card company. When she didn’t appear the credit card company received a judgment against her for almost $6,000. Although she petitioned the court to reopen the case, it was not approved, because it appeared that she had been properly served with notice of the lawsuit. Yet, when I pointed out that the service form was not completely filled out, she was not aware of this. When I asked her why she didn’t further appeal to a higher court she said she wasn’t aware she could, and she didn’t understand instructions on how to appeal, and even worse, she said she met with a lawyer and she wasn’t given the appeal information.
  •  A potential client stated that he had a lawyer assist his family with having guardians appointed for his grandmother, but that lawyer had not provided any advice about how to handle the grandmother’s finances, or the repercussions of placing the grandmother in a nursing home, which triggered a foreclosure action against the grandmother by a mortgage company the family was not even aware had a mortgage on her property. He stated that he had been trying to elicit information from various sources for the better part of a year and he had not been given the right information.      

Therefore, I suggest that people keep trying to get answers if they suspect that they aren’t getting the right advice, through calling local bar associations, which usually have a referral service, or other means.  It is also very important to give the lawyer you meet with as much information as possible about your matter and to keep that lawyer informed of any changes in circumstances.

__________________________________________________________________

Faye Riva Cohen has provided personalized, creative, and zealous legal representation to clients in the areas of Employment and Labor Law, Civil Rights and Discrimination, Estate Planning and Litigation, Real Estate, and Family Law for more than four decades. She enjoys a well-earned reputation for successfully litigating multi-faceted, complex cases against large and powerful adversaries, often in David and Goliath situations.

Please feel free to get in touch with Faye at: frc@fayerivacohen.com or 215.563.7776

Posted in Reblog: Toughlawyerlady
27 Feb 2023

Parties Cannot Be Forced to Arbitration Over Issues Surrounding Jewish Religious Divorce

This is from religionclause.blogspot.com which you can find here:

In Bierig-Kiejdan v. Kiejdan, (NJ App., Feb. 16, 2023), a New Jersey state appeals court held that a family court judge could not order parties to a divorce to return to arbitration over issues surrounding which religious tribunal should oversee the issuance of a get– Jewish divorce document– when the parties’ original agreement to arbitrate terms of the divorce had expired and they had not entered a new arbitration agreement covering issues that would arise later. JD Supra reports on the decision.

You can learn more about this issue here.

Posted in Reblog: Religion Clause | Leave a comment
24 Feb 2023

Templeton Project:The Lower Yellowstone River Falls

Back in October 2015 I wrote about the inauguration of the Abington Templeton Foundation (see here).  The project is now underway (see here) and I will be posting our writing here.

Check out the latest piece entitled “The Lower Yellowstone River Falls.”

See also:

_____________________________

Power–surging, rushing–power.

Over the brink and down the cliff

To the turbulent water below.

Spray fills the air–obscuring.

A rainbow arches over all,

A sign of promise–promising

Us God’s faithfulness and strength.

Michael G. Tavella

Posted in Templeton Project | Leave a comment
23 Feb 2023
2 Comments

YesSource: Yes Tribute – 11/9/18 – Yesterday and Today – A 50th Anniversary Tribute To Yes

Here are my latest uploads to YesSource, my Yes rarities youtube page (about which you can read here).  This post is another addition to my series of Yes music posts and a collection of all my Yes-related posts is here.  Yes, of course, is a, if not the, premier progressive rock band, and I am an enormous fan of it.

You can see all of my Yessource uploads here.

My latest YesSource uploads can be found here:

Posted in YesSource
17 Feb 2023
5 Comments

Templeton Project: Mysterium Tremendum–A Day at Hawk Mountain

Back in October 2015 I wrote about the inauguration of the Abington Templeton Foundation (see here).  The project is now underway (see here) and I will be posting our writing here.

Check out the latest piece entitled “Mysterium Tremendum–A Day at Hawk Mountain.”

See also:

_____________________________

The perch gave such a view of the dale

That I held my breath for a moment’s time

In fear that I would miss the subtler of nature’s art

And fail to heed important matters of the heart.

It was in that high and lofty place

That I beheld up in the sky

A soaring falcon dark against the sun

That glided on the breeze of Another One.

I felt the wind and heard its sound

That sang the mystery of the world.

And then a chill went up and down my spine,

As I perceived the giving of a sign.

I looked upon the sandstone ridge

And then to the distant woodland hills.

My sight continued to the far, blue rim

That roused in me the yearning to sing a hymn.

And so I joined the mighty wind

In singing the song of love and peace.

The heavens and earth to my mortal joy and delight

Did lift and inspire this poor and simple wight.

And then the moon arose in the east,

As the greater light was setting in the west.

Deep shadows, cast upon the uneven ground,

Grew long upon the rugged, bouldery mound.

I ceased my song in wonder at the sight

And asked myself, what god attends?

That Other One, whom I that day discerned,

Revealed His Word to a prophet Israel spurned.

What fear and love Elijah knew

On that holy mount where he stood.

The Lord, not in the wind, came passing by;

But, in a low whisper did the Lord draw nigh.

As crystal clear night began to fall,

I rested ecstatic in that tranquil place.

The Lord of All said, “Know I am God and be still.”

And so I abode all night on that holy hill.

Michael G. Tavella

The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany,  2023

Posted in Templeton Project
16 Feb 2023
1 Comment

A Collection of Yes Tribute Albums

Here are my latest uploads to YesSource, my Yes rarities youtube page (about which you can read here).  This post is another addition to my series of Yes music posts and a collection of all my Yes-related posts is here.  Yes, of course, is a, if not the, premier progressive rock band, and I am an enormous fan of it.

You can see all of my Yessource uploads here.

My latest YesSource uploads can be found here:

Posted in YesSource
16 Feb 2023
2 Comments

YesSource: Yes Tribute – Envision – Live @ The Tralf

Here are my latest uploads to YesSource, my Yes rarities youtube page (about which you can read here).  This post is another addition to my series of Yes music posts and a collection of all my Yes-related posts is here.  Yes, of course, is a, if not the, premier progressive rock band, and I am an enormous fan of it.

You can see all of my Yessource uploads here.

My latest YesSource uploads can be found here:

Posted in YesSource
15 Feb 2023
1 Comment

YesSource: 11/10/22 – live in Wabash

Here are my latest uploads to YesSource, my Yes rarities youtube page (about which you can read here).  This post is another addition to my series of Yes music posts and a collection of all my Yes-related posts is here.  Yes, of course, is a, if not the, premier progressive rock band, and I am an enormous fan of it.

You can see all of my Yessource uploads here.

My latest YesSource uploads can be found here:

Posted in YesSource
14 Feb 2023
1 Comment

THE LAW WILL HUNT YOU DOWN

                Each year my Firm receives hundreds of telephone calls from people and company owners who are seeking advice or representation for their legal issues, and our lawyers spend considerable time discussing their issues and legal options with them. Yet many of those telephone calls end with the callers simply fading away, or deciding to postpone action for another day. My questions to them are “where do you think you can go where the law will not find you?” or “how is something going to happen if you don’t take some action?”       

Perhaps it is human nature to procrastinate, but it is mindboggling to me that people do not undertake the legal action they should be taking in a timely fashion to protect themselves and their families from future problems.  Some examples follow of my experiences:

Real Estate: 

Husband and wife divorced 10 years ago. Wife could not afford a lawyer so there was not a property settlement agreement negotiated or determined by a judge. The property was purchased while the parties were married, but the deed is only in Husband’s name. Wife wants to know what she can do about placing the property in joint names with Husband, or forcing a sale of the property so she can claim a share. When I advised Wife what she can do and what she should do, her response was “okay,” and that was it!

Estate:

A caller’s father, who was a widower, died 10 years ago without a will. The father’s children, including the caller, agreed that one of them could administer the father’s estate, which included real estate. The agreed-upon administrator permitted her son to live in the father’s house rent-free for 10 years, and the other siblings have never received any distribution from the estate. The caller doesn’t think anyone is or has paid real estate taxes for some time because she thinks the house is up for sheriff’s sale. When I told her what she had to do she said she would talk to her siblings, I didn’t hear from her again, and that was it!

Collections:

A caller called to say that her bank account had been frozen. There are only a couple ways in which this can happen. In the private sector in order to execute on a bank account one must have a valid judgment. A valid judgment occurs when one is sued in a court and either did not defend, defended but lost the case and did not appeal, or was not properly served and did not know about the lawsuit. The response to my questions from callers with similar problems is invariably one of the following:

  1. I could not afford an attorney and did not defend the lawsuit.
  2. I don’t remember ever receiving notice of the lawsuit.
  3. I didn’t know they can take funds from my bank account or take my personal possessions.

When a judgment has been taken we would have to investigate if the judgment was appropriately taken or if service of the underlying lawsuit was proper. If we notice a problem we try to open the judgment, which must be agreed to by a judge. Thereafter the case may have to be retried or settled by negotiation. A judgment does not disappear until many years have passed via state statute, or it is marked satisfied by the party bringing the lawsuit.

Sometimes people have paid the judgment but did not request or know that the judgment must be marked satisfied, and it may remain on their record or credit score, or impact their ability to sell real estate in the future.

Landlord/Tenant:

A caller asked what he needs to do to become a legal landlord in Philadelphia. I discussed licensing and lease language with him, and the pros and cons of operating as a corporation, as well as the tax ramifications. He did not even want to spend a small amount to learn the legalities of his future business. If this man does something inappropriately, and runs afoul of the city or taxing authorities, which will likely happen as he is not interested in learning the correct way to operate, it will cost him thousands of dollars to remedy the situation.

Traffic Tickets:

Traffic tickets for moving violations or parking tickets do not disappear. Many years down the road, even after someone has moved to another state, they often find that their license has been suspended because of tickets they have ignored, or in some cases, tickets which have been accrued by others to whom they have loaned their cars or to whom they did not legally transfer title. Many states have reciprocal agreements with each other and will honor action taken to suspend a driver’s license due to tickets in a different state.

The law is a living breathing system. It will not go away just because one closes their eyes or tries to ignore it. Ignoring that one has been sued – or failing to take action in a timely manner within the statutory deadlines required under the law – will only come back to haunt one at a later date.

__________________________________________________________________

Faye Riva Cohen has provided personalized, creative, and zealous legal representation to clients in the areas of Employment and Labor Law, Civil Rights and Discrimination, Estate Planning and Litigation, Real Estate, and Family Law for more than four decades. She enjoys a well-earned reputation for successfully litigating multi-faceted, complex cases against large and powerful adversaries, often in David and Goliath situations.

Please feel free to get in touch with Faye at: frc@fayerivacohen.com or 215.563.7776

Posted in Reblog: Toughlawyerlady
13 Feb 2023

Ministerial Exception Doctrine Requires Dismissal of Jewish Teacher’s Defamation Suit

This is from religionclause.blogspot.com which you can find here:

In Hyman v. Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, (NJ Super., Feb. 8, 2023), a New Jersey state appellate court held that the ministerial exception doctrine required dismissal of a defamation suit brought by a rabbi who was an elementary school Judaic studies teacher at an Orthodox Jewish school. An investigation by an outside law firm employed by the school concluded that the rabbi had inappropriately touched 5th and 6th grade female students in his classes. The school terminated the rabbi’s employment and, after consulting halachic authorities, e-mailed a letter to school parents informing them that the rabbi was terminated because his conduct violated the Orthodox Jewish standards of conduct set out in the school’s Staff Handbook. According to the court:

The letter was spread throughout the entire school community and similar Jewish communities. Additionally, plaintiff’s picture appeared on Jewish websites such as “Frums Follies” and “Lost Messiah,” and the allegations were disseminated by bloggers. As a result, plaintiff was allegedly branded as a pedophile among the Jewish community, which affected any possibility of him obtaining future employment in education.

In affirming the dismissal of the rabbi’s defamation suit, the court concluded that the ministerial exception doctrine applies to more than just employment discrimination lawsuits.  It said in part:

We … conclude that the ministerial exception applies to bar tort claims, provided (1) the injured party is a minister formerly employed by a religious institution and (2) the claims are related to the religious institution’s employment decision.

You can learn more about this issue here.

Posted in Reblog: Religion Clause | Leave a comment

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