Posts by John Tarley:
- Undefeated and 9-time world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather is being sued by the homeowners association governing his gated community. According to the lawsuit filed by HOA’s attorney, it seems that Floyd has been “threatening the life of a patrol officer, physically accosting a security officer, refusing to provide identity to gate officers.” Among other things, the HOA wants Floyd to stay in his car when he gets to the gate. Seems like good advice.
- Continuing with the sports theme, Newport News, Virginia native and former NFL quarterback Aaron Brooks has signed a deal with construction giant Armada Hoffler to develop the Southeast Community of Newport News. Newport News is trying to redevelop the Southeast Community and hopes are that the venture between Armada Hoffler and Brooks will succeed.
- Mediation is a good idea, and it’s an even better idea to do it early before extensive litigation expenses are incurred. Some confuse “arbitration” with “mediation” but in mediation, an independent third party mediator helps the parties negotiate a resolution. Just like in negotiations, you control the outcome: neither a mediator nor your attorney can negotiate a resolution without your authorization. A mediator helps facilitate the negotiation, but cannot make decisions or rulings on your case. On the other hand, arbitrations are like trials and arbitrators make decisions like judges.
The 2-Minute Drill- Ex-Texas Tech coach Mike Leach sued his former employer. But he does not believe that little fact is impacting his job search. Reality check here Mike, Maryland hired Randy Edsall whose team lost to Oklahoma by 48-20. In your last game against the Sooners, your team beat Oklahoma 41-13. Suing your former employer is usually a bad career move and it makes it less likely a new employer will take a chance on you.
- We represent a number of community associations, but not this one. A blind man, Tim Spencer, is fighting complaints and fines stemming from his guide dog’s barking. The Chicago condominium association where he lives has scheduled a hearing to resolve the $300 in fines. I do not know all the facts, but it does not take a legal genius to figure out that suing a blind man because his guard dog is barking is not going to look good.
- A Virginia judge assessed attorneys’ fees and costs against Westmoreland County officials for holding a closed meeting in violation of the Freedom of Information Act. Ironically, the officials met secretly to discuss a contract with The O’Gara Group, many of whose employees and leaders are former CIA.
Tarley Robinson February 2011 Newsletter
February 9th, 2011February Tarley Robinson Newsletter
Topics include a discussion of email scams. Also, we’re sure that you have already made your diet or exercise New Year’s Resolutions. Hopefully you are still on track! For your homeowners association, here’s a simple, but effective and invaluable list of suggested New Year’s Resolutions.
January 2011 Newsletter
January 18th, 2011
Tarley Robinson January 2011 Newsletter
Catch up on relevant legal information we discussed in our December blogs. Topics include:
In a struggling real estate market, the payment of real estate commissions becomes more contentious. We reviewed two recent cases involving disputes over the payment of real estate broker commissions. In one case, the Virginia Supreme Court reviewed whether it could enforce an oral listing agreement. In the other case, a New Kent County judge reviewed the terms of the listing agreement to determine whether a real estate broker could recover a commission when the closing occurred after the expiration of listing agreement.
Also, we reviewed our discussion regarding raising money or obtaining other property for investment purposes. Learn why anyone raising money or obtaining other property for an investment of any kind from whatever source, perhaps especially from “family and friends,” should take care to obtain competent legal advice from an attorney well versed in securities law.
The 2-Minute Drill – Your (somewhat) Daily Legal Update
January 7th, 2011
Tarley's compilation of articles he has been reading about the law
The 2-Minute Drill – Your (somewhat) daily legal update
January 5th, 2011Today’s collection of notable legal stories we tracked.
The 2-Minute Drill – Your daily legal update
January 3rd, 2011The 2-Minute Drill
We continue to warn about the dangers of email scams, safe emailing, and protecting the attorney-client privilege. Here are a few more reasons why.
1. In this litigation, in-house counsel for defendant received inadvertent emails from plaintiffs. In-house counsel passed them onto attorneys representing the defendant. The court ruled that act tainted the defendant’s attorneys and ordered them replaced.
2. Mom’s children shared an email account with mom. Mom communicated with her attorneys on that account. Court said that sharing waived her attorney-client privilege.
3. Finally, in what seems a nonsensical decision, a man suspected his wife of an affair. On their shared laptop, he logged into her Google gmail account and found, what he considered incriminating evidence. He turned over the emails. Now he is being prosecuted under an anti-hacking statute.
The 2-Minute Drill – Your daily legal update
December 31st, 2010The 2-Minute Drill
The 2-Minute Drill – Your daily legal update
December 30th, 2010
The 2-Minute Drill
1. Governor McDonnell takes Virginia attorneys’ money, still doesn’t fund vacant judge positions. York County will continue to be without a full-time judge.
2. Shocking. A bill has been proposed to limit car title lending interest rate to 36%. Think about it, that means the lending rate is regularly higher than that!
3. I think I’ll do a post on all the lawyer references in “True Grit.” Some other day. In one scene, Rooster mentions reading Daniel’s treatise on Negotiable Instruments. I looked it up and found this link showing that Daniel may have been a Lynchburg, Va. attorney. How about that?
4. We represent many homeowners associations. Not this one, though. The HOA says inflatable Mickey Mouse is ok, but the “Happy Birthday Jesus” sign, no.
December 2010 Newsletter
December 9th, 2010