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89 Comments
cate said on October 5, 2010 at 4:08 pm #
My comments and recommendations are based on Pennsylvania State law for landlord/tenants. Before anyone takes any action on purchasing rental properties KNOW your state laws inside and out! Play every angle to protect yourself. You will still have problems, I am only giving you some ideas on how to minimize them. For all of you tenants, it comes back to bite you in the form of higher rents and other costs. (such as insurance). If you misuse the legal system, it hurts everyone. The idea of going after these people and denying them housing is perfect. I would love to know the names of people who do this – because I know that their lives would be terrible having their friends and neighbors know that they are liars and THIEVES!
McGillicutty said on October 5, 2010 at 5:58 pm #
Can we really stop it? My brother and I own an apartment and have for 3 years. We’ve never put one dime in our pocket yet, so don’t think we’re getting rich by any means. Maybe some day it will pay off. There’s a handicapped attorney that makes his living by going around to small businesses and sending them a letter informing them that they are not in compliance with ADA and since there is NO government resource for one to find out what is required to be compliant, your choices are to PAY a certified consulting firm to inform you and make the modifications, PAY to go to court and hope they guy doesn’t win a huge settlement or get this, he will drop the proceedings for $5K! What a scumbag. Because he’s successful in these cases it’s not considered frivolous and our laws allow ANYONE to file suit even if they’re not a customer or impacted by the lack of compliance. It needs to stop!
Karl said on October 8, 2010 at 4:38 pm #
You people know that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is an insurance company funded propaganda machine, right? It’s not in any way like your friendly community chamber of commerce, although that’s what they want you to believe.
Answer me this: If his INSURANCE COMPANY settled, then why is HE forced to pay out of pocket? Is he not a party to the lawsuit? Is he bound by his insurance company……especially if HE has to pay for the Insurance company’s decision? Sorry, gang, but I have to cry bullshit here.
Open your eyes and stop spouting off insane conspiracy theories.
Avenger said on October 9, 2010 at 8:58 am #
Most state court judges are cowards and refuse to grant summary judgment for fear of being overruled. Their philosophy is “If I let a jury decide the matter, I personally won’t be criticized, no matter how ridiculous the jury decision – or better yet , the matter will settle and I’ll be done with it”
Joseph J. Neuschatz said on November 15, 2010 at 9:56 am #
I am a retired anesthesiologist.
Many years ago I discovered that the next-of-kin of a unexplainable O. R. demise was allowed to refuse, (for religious reasons), a diagnosis making post-mortem examination, but maintained the right to sue for “Anesthetic Death.”
This was followed, of course, by an out-of-court settlement and a raise in my Medical Liability Insurance rates.
It inspired my timely novel “terrO.R.”
GOD BLESS THE RETIREMENT FROM THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONS !
Joseph J. Neuschatz said on November 15, 2010 at 8:33 pm #
I forgot to add:
Statistically speaking, the most unsafe place in the US of A is a hospital bed. More American die in a hospital bed than in any other location.
All citizens apprehensive about their statistical safety and most people paranoid about “medical malpractice” should stay home in their own beds, each and every time they get sick.
I am 100% sure that fewer patients kicked the bucket at this location.
AL said on November 23, 2010 at 10:37 am #
OK, First, if he has an insurance company and they decided to settle, why is Vitas paying “out of his own pocket”? Second, if there is no case, there is no case, and it would be tossed out of court. Third, why not post the Plaintiff’s complaint, Defendant’s Answer, and the deposition transcripts so we can judge for ourselves what really happened here. This story, as told here, just doesn’t make any sense.
Why not tell all the stories of people who have been injured through others’ negligence, but have recovered little or no money, sometimes because jurors have been so brainwashed into believing all this “frivolous lawsuit” stuff.
David said on December 20, 2010 at 6:02 pm #
Citizens of the USA listen up: Your job, your lifestyle, your freedoms, your liberties, your happiness, is being stolen by a few, not all in the legal profession. There is an over supply of lawyers and not enough legitimate work to keep food on the table of all of those in the business of law. This is why we see these problems and they will continue to get worse as the over supply of lawyers to legitimate work ratio will continue to get worse.
There is only one solution that will stop and reverse the trend. Reduce the over supply of lawyers. This will not happen however because the lawyer mills are cranking out JDs at a faster and faster rate with no end in sight.
Ultimately this problem will destroy the USA.
Susan said on December 21, 2010 at 12:50 pm #
I lived in Europe for many years and the people I met there still laugh over the stupidity of the Americans and awarding the “McDonald’s Coffee Woman” so much money. The case would not have even been THOUGHT of in Europe, let alone brought to trial AND won. America is a joke to so many who do not live here and it’s beginning to be a joke to many of us who do live here!
Joseph Burke said on December 21, 2010 at 6:50 pm #
If it was me, someone would be looking for a new place to live when the lease comes up for renewal.
Sonia Murray said on December 23, 2010 at 4:47 pm #
I’m thankful that we no longer own rental property. We sold the complex in 1984 and our last rental house in1996. Anyone owning rentals today risks everything they have to frivolous lawsuits. The result is less apartments for young families to live in. We welcomed pets until tenants proved irresponsible owners, wrecking units and endangering other tenants with vicious dogs. It’s a shame the insurance company decided to settle for “emotional distress.” Outrageous!
Randall Jones said on December 25, 2010 at 3:15 pm #
Working for an insurance company, I see this every day. Rather than incur $20K in legal fees, settle for $3-5K and be done with it. THis is why insurance companies price this legal theft into their premiums: because the legal system is not about what’s legal or not, its about making money for greedy, overpopulated lawyers, and since most of the judges are lawyers, is gets perpetuated. Check the case of “Mold” in Texas against Farmers Insurance. Mold is specifically NOT COVERED since it defies the definition of insurance” sudden and accidental physical loss to property” yer the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff, causing millions to be spent. Now, all policies in the US either charge for “limited mold coverage” or exclude it altogether SPECIFICALLY.
We must find a way to get away from “junk” litigation, primarily with limitations on damages, and by getting rid of the liberal, bleeding heart judges who go to all means not to UPHOLD the law, but convolute the law in their minds to apply broadly to almost anything they please (legislate from the bench). GO BACK TO THE CONSTITUTION!
Michael Clemmer said on December 25, 2010 at 4:59 pm #
So sick and tired of hearing about the lawsuits that have NO merit. The people that do this sueing Should have thier names published like it was said above. The people that file law suits for a “living” are the ones making this country fall apart. Everyone is terrified to open or invest in business now days because of this EXACT thing. I want the names PUBLISHED period. Public record, Im terrified as a home owner to rent out because of a lawsuit with no merit. I think someone above stated, a slap on the face and repercussions to the judge that LETS this BS happen in the first place. 99% should NOT even go to trial, thown out by the JUDGE, and the person fined for trying to sue because they were emothionally distressed about a notice (that he was compelled and legally suppoted to give the 48 hr notice) $500,000 ??? HOLY hell thats a ton of emotion in my book… I want to see how that person is living NOW and what HER moral values are. Id LOVE to have her name and where she lives so I can fall on her lawn and sue her for the $500,000 and give it back to the company she stold it from to begin with….. MJ
Robert Miller said on December 25, 2010 at 6:12 pm #
One look at this tape and the video the out side of these apartments look OK But, The buildings themselves look like they need total gutting and rebuilt.
Two look at the second building shown the brick building look at the windows above entrance in the court yard they are broken.
Three the room you are sitting in the windows need replaced they are 1950′s windows that are drafty and drive up your tenants Energy cost.
Forth the bath room tile you show tells me what the rest of the bathroom looks like.
Fifth the roof in the photo with the pool that thing looks like it needs replaced to me the tiles look old.
Sixth the repairs being made this actual goes against his case and to me makes the case against him the repairs are half-ass and I would question if they would follow code one the brick exterior wall he only removed the lower portion of plaster and left the top why because he is going to replace the lower portion only instead of doing the job correctly and removing the plaster from the entire wall studding it up and insulating it. The orange wall shows the same thing spotty repair work when the entire wall should have been repaired.
From watching this video I would have concluded that this Guy is a slum lord and he is using the property’s to get rich and has no respect for his tenant and that would make me believe he would have no problem harassing a tenant into leaving instead of making the necessary repairs on the property when they asked.
My conclusion he was asked to make repairs and instead of doing them right he decided to harass the tenant in an afford to get rid of them and it flew back in his face.
I believe the court’s should have more power in this case and force him to sell the property’s and never be able to be a landlord again because he is trying to remove the justice from the justice system.
Robert Miller said on December 25, 2010 at 6:49 pm #
I truthfully believe that in order to get rid of the slum lords in America that all rental property should go through the same inspection process as section 8 housing before being rented and we should make it a criminal offense if housing is rented without the inspection.
David T. Bupp said on December 25, 2010 at 9:04 pm #
I didn’t read every comment, but this issue is obviously a very important one. It is an issue which not only has no political boundaries (conservatives and liberals alike recognize the injustice of frivolous and outright dishonest lawsuits), but is also a major block to growth in the small business economy. How can ANY small business freely expand when the risk of such lawsuits is so high? The obvious answer is that they can’t. For any small business, expansion requires capital. Since every small business is at risk of frivolous and dishonest lawsuits, much of the capital (in some cases all of it) that could be used for expansion ends up being spent on retainer fees, extra insurance, and other such preventive and protective measures. I run a small business, and although my business is somewhat less susceptible to such lawsuits (I operate an electronics retail and service business), I still have to consider, and prepare for, the possibility of such lawsuits.
Filing a lawsuit for such petty things as the wrong type of paint, grass not being green enough, etc, is, from my viewpoint at least, the equivalent of an incredibly spoiled and ill-mannered child throwing a tantrum, or the equivalent of a bank robber putting a gun in the tellers face and yelling “give me the cash, or die!”
Ghost Rider said on December 26, 2010 at 1:15 pm #
The trouble is a lot of Americans are “money hungry” and they’ll do anything to “make a buck”. Example, the woman that sued McDonalds because SHE spilled hot coffee on HERSELF. Another woman sued a store because she fell over a child that was running around the store. This child was HERS. There needs to be fines for people filing stupid lawsuits. Get rid of the garbage lawsuits so the REAL lawsuit and courrt actions can be done in a timely manner. I’ve read of murder cases where the person is let out on bond then has to go to court a year or so later. America is going downhill and the legal system is one of the ways that’s happening. What in the world is “emitional distrress” anyway?
Ghost Rider said on December 26, 2010 at 1:25 pm #
I talked to a lawyer at a party one night and we started talking about cases. He made the comment that “if I watched a man shoot another in cold blood and he hired me to defend him I would.” Someone asked him how he could do that and his reply was “MONEY. I’ll do my best to prove that he’s an A-ONE person and the other one was a scumbag and it was done in self-defense.’ I asked “and you’d do that KNOWING you were wrong?” His reply was “I’d defend Al Capone, and swear he should be a saint if he paid me enough”. Now YOU figure out why the legal system doesn’t work. I already have.
Susie Whitman said on December 29, 2010 at 1:25 am #
I agree that there needs to be tort reform on these kinds of lawsuits. In Texas the tort reform put a “one size fits all” on medical malpractice and that stinks. Especially when you have a mom die because of stupid mistakes and idiot doctors.
Ginny Clem said on December 29, 2010 at 6:40 am #
I hope the lady that sued this guy gets sued herself when she starts her own business. If anyone finds out she has her own business please let me know so I can find a way to sue her.
DigitalBob said on December 29, 2010 at 9:45 am #
Considering the trial lawyers keep liberal politicians in power, don’t expect this to change for 2 years.
Kim said on December 29, 2010 at 1:20 pm #
i would’ve fought it tooth and nail…make her pay your lawyers fees and then not offer her to renew the lease so she has to move. I think you were scammed by everyone here and it’s a damn shame. I believe people or renters who do this should have their names posted and if they filed any absurd lawsuits. Good luck to you and keep your hard earned $$$$ to yourself!!!
lee said on December 30, 2010 at 1:09 am #
I too am in real estate and went through a lawsuit filed by a buyer and seller. When people say there must be more to something or the judge wouldn’t allow it have never been sued. There are unfortunately unscupulous judges that have their own agenda and in a small town, if they don’t like you, watch out! We lost our lawsuit and appealed to the supreme court and they ruled against us too. The facts? Here is just one for you to be shocked at…One of their own witnesses called 1 year later, and this has been going on now for almost 7 years, and wanted to clear their mind from having lied on the stand. We knew it. But no matter how hard we tried, the judge would not let anyone of our witnesses testify. There was at one point in the trial an agreement made that if we let one of their witnesses go they would let ours. Their witness testified,We got ours on the stand, they objected, our witness never got to testify. YES this does happen in our court system here in the United States. I am living proof and am currently writing a book about this case and those involved. Maybe I will get some justice after all. Good luck and yes, there needs to be changes in our court system with better checks and balances throughout the judicial process. EVEN as high as the supreme court!
Hugh McCurdy said on January 1, 2011 at 12:19 pm #
Perhaps for non-small claims lawsuits, the complaint should have to get filtered through a “grand jury” of sorts before the defendant even gets served. The plaintiff would have to prove that there’s at least something. Cases like many auto injury lawsuits that are obvious (person died, boned broken, etc), the grand jury can act very quickly. “We have a broken bone, proceed. Next.” In other cases, they can slow things down “notice? you object to notice? this should be good….exactly what in the notice bothered you? why is this? what proof do you have?”)
Kimberly said on January 1, 2011 at 8:21 pm #
@AL – First: His insurance only covered a certain percentage of the costs. He had to pay the rest out of pocket. Second: In Pollyanna’s world, if there’s no case it would be tossed out of court. In the real world, it depends on the whims of the people entrusted with making these decisions about the case: the whims of the trial lawyer whether to take on a case to bring it to suit (they make the decision based on risk, potential profit, and plaintiff’s ability to pay upfront legal fees); the whims of the judge who determines the merits of the case, ideally based on precedence and justice, but in reality based on personal prejudices and loyalties. Just because a case goes to trial doesn’t make a conviction. If I were on a jury (which I won’t be because I’m posting my opinion here), I would most likely rule against the plaintiff out of my prejudice for the person having the money to afford to pay the lawyer(s). I figure if they have the money, they’re not suffering much. It’s the impoverished people who can’t afford lawyers even when harmed that I would rule in favor of, but their cases never make it to trial because no lawyer will take on a client who can’t pay — especially in New York, where it’s illegal to make the promise “No fees unless you win your case.”
Susan F said on January 3, 2011 at 3:42 am #
I feel that there should be a law that prevents a person from a second law suit. That way the habitual suers will have to chose their case wisely. For their top dollar. It will give a lawyer a chance to see the creep for what he is. At least I would hope so. I am so against sueing that I feel there should be some new laws put in place that would look at those that are sueing more as wrong doers than as always right. I no our law say a person is right until proven wrong. But I think some people are using this statement for their benifit. Come on Judges were is the justise if the crook always escape with the loot. It makes me afraid to do anything to help others. Don’t miss understand what I am saying. There is something that need to be sued. And you know what I mean. God bless the Judges and guardians of our people. But a end to miss justise now. Sorry about miss spelling errors but I no time to fix. You get the meanings anyhow.
John said on January 3, 2011 at 9:45 am #
ok people, even though his insurance company settled he had to pay a PORTION of the costs out of his own pocket because insurance is a scam. they have limits of thier liabillties and if they say settle then he continues to fight it is in most insurance contracts that at that point you release the insurance company from any and all liabillities in the matter. if he chose to continue fighting he most likely would’ve had to pay entirly out of his own pocket!
John said on January 3, 2011 at 10:05 am #
take auto insurance for example as most people can investigate and confirm this themselves. in your cantract you will find a limmits page, what this decribes is the legal limits of financial liabilty. say its 100,000, and you get in a serrious accident. even if your not at fualt if your medical bills excede that mark you are legally reponsable for the remaining fees. a friend of mine found this out the hard way, after a week in ICU and two weeks in the hospital the bill was in exces of 300k but his insurance contract stated they would only pay the first 50k!!! and that was the best full coverage policy that his company offered, the at fualt drivers company only payed 10k for the medical and 5k for property damages as it was only the legal minimum liabilty required by law…….two years later he settled the lawsuit for 150k up front and just paid the remaining bill. after attorny’s fees total moneies spent=1,178,953.00 including all interest on loans and medical/property bills. i say it wouldve been cheaper to leave it alone, dont you?
Rachel said on January 6, 2011 at 11:54 pm #
Sorry, but excessive notices would get on my nerves too. Why is he always fixing things? If he wants to remodel an apartment, don’t have people live there! This case does sound like it has merit. 24 hour notices can be abusive by landlords and considered harassment. Remodeling an apartment after you have renters is stupid.
Gary Rickner said on February 22, 2011 at 11:45 am #
The real problem with this type of lawsuit and so many more is at the ‘HEART’ of the matter. It’s called covetousness. Not being content with such things that you have, you want more and bigger and better but can’t afford to buy it or save for it. They are just get rich quick schemes for the covetous at ‘HEART’.
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Rental properties Bunbury said on September 1, 2011 at 3:58 am #
Glad to see this information.its very interesting.I would like to hear more information from your side.
Property Management said on December 27, 2011 at 3:49 am #
I agree that there needs to be reform on these kinds of weak legal trails
TSM said on May 31, 2012 at 11:56 am #
“Second, if there is no case, there is no case, and it would be tossed out of court.”
–well there’s a bald-faced lie. Or just an uninformed opinion represented as fact. The fact is, that’s not true at all. Outlandish lawsuits continue to be a problem and it’s not something we can nibble away at with patchwork laws.
We need honest discussion and real action. One of the major drivers for inflation are, at the root cause, caused by these types of lawsuits. There is no conspiracy, only awful people.
D said on September 13, 2012 at 5:52 pm #
Why did you settle the case because you insurance company said so? How much was the case settled for?
steven said on February 19, 2013 at 8:58 pm #
sue her for emotional distress now. The emotional distress from the silly complaints she sent you about the color of the grass, to the emotional distress of having to settle a an outrageous lawsuit for the sole purpose of saving money.
abaconw48026 said on February 19, 2013 at 10:12 pm #
Several things that struck me in all these comments it that so many have apparently never heard of a deductible amount with regard to insurance coverage and limits to what an insurer is liable for. It is often cheaper to settle than to go through a long court battle but in the long run insurers should counter sue for the cost of defending the claims and fight them all the way. The cost to all of us goes up as insurance companies raise rates because of these cases and the person filing the claim only recovers a small percent of the total settlement, to the only winners are the so called “ambulance chasers” who file these claims in hopes of not having a trial and getting a large settlement instead.