Miscellaneous
This past LawTalk belonged mostly to the listeners. Among the calls we handled: A follow-up on a previous show about suing Home Improvement Contractors. We taught the caller how he can also get attorney’s fees and punitive damages if he prevails at court – and why attorneys in private practice are more interested in representing the homeowner as a result; An inquiry about the liability of stockholders in a closely-held corporation for the acts and omissions of the corporation itself; Copyrighting , and otherwise protecting, the name and songs of a band; An ugly eviction case; with the tenant causing serious damage to the unit just before he was being put out on the street (and why he tried to have the landlord arrested in the process). Advice given for both landlords and tenants. We also talked about a new decision from a very influential Bankruptcy court in New York regarding the dischargeability in Bankruptcy of Student Loans. The vast majority of people (including lawyers), believe that such debt is not dischargeable. This new decision shows that’s not necessarily the case. If the discharge in that case holds up on appeal, there will be large numbers of Bankruptcy filings by people whose student loans are eating them alive.