In my last post about landlords and tenants, I mentioned a few tips on how to make sure you get your security deposit back, and to be wary of bad roommates. Both of those topics come up before and after the lease. Now I'd like to talk about something that you should be aware of during the lease.
What if the landlord doesn't fix something that's broken?
This is something that comes up from time-to-time. A leaky roof, a broken water heater, whatever the case may be, there are times where something in the property just doesn't work. While a good landlord will make every effort to repair it, some landlords won't even bother. Even worse, there are times when a landlord tries to fix the issue repeatedly, but simply can't get it repaired. So what are the tenants options?
First and foremost, these situations don't automatically excuse the tenant from the lease. Make no mistake, if you simply try to walk away from a lease because the stove won't turn on, then you will likely be found in breach, and therefore the landlord will be able to come after you according to the terms of the lease. But, Ohio law provides you with a way to motivate the landlord into fixing the problem, but you must follow the law exactly in order to avoid getting yourself into trouble.
This statute explains how and when a tenant can deposit the rent due to the landlord with the clerk of courts. It also allows for an application to be made to the court in which the rent will be reduced based upon what is wrong with the rental property. Lastly, it allows a tenant to terminate the rental agreement. The important thing to remember is that in order for a tenant to use this particular statute, the landlord must have failed to do something listed under this separate statute.
This can be confusing for the uninitiated and successfully using this law will likely require an attorney. Remember, if you go about it the wrong way or for the wrong reason, you can be held liable for breaching the lease.
There are still a lot more things to be aware of, but I will save those for another post later on.
This post is for informational purposes only and should not be regarded as legal advice or as forming an attorney-client relationship. If you are in the Dayton, Ohio area and feel that you may be in need of legal advice please contact Strain Law Office, LLC for a free consultation.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Thursday, April 7, 2016
There's more to traffic laws than just not getting a ticket...
Have you heard those personal injury attorney commercials? You know the ones, "Have you been injured by a distracted driver?" Once upon a time it was just, "have you been injured." But now? Now they want to know if the other driver was distracted. Ever wondered why that's the thing they want to know?
I was driving back from court today and the commercial for my area came on. Now of course, I had my hands at "10 and 2" because I know the answer to the above question...Negligence Per Se.
In plain English, Negligence Per Se simply means that, under certain circumstances, a defendant will be presumed to be at fault. For instance, in Ohio it became illegal to text and drive when the legislature passed this into law. So if you are caught texting and driving it is a minor misdemeanor. But here is where it gets interesting. If you are in a car accident while you are texting and driving, the law assumes you were negligent and therefore responsible for any resulting injuries or damages, regardless of whether that is the case.
This is important for several reasons. First and foremost, it shifts the burden from the plaintiff to the defendant. Generally speaking, in civil cases the plaintiff has the burden of proving that the defendant was the cause of an injury and therefore responsible for paying any damages. the defendant's goal is to poke holes in the plaintiff's case and try to provide some mitigating factors for why they shouldn't be liable. Once Negligence Per Se enters the picture, the defendant bears the burden of proving that they were not the cause of the injury. This means that the plaintiff can sit back, while the defendant has to do all of the work trying to disprove that their violation of a law was not the reason the accident happened.
Second, it gives personal injury attorneys an incentive to take the case when the doctrine applies. Usually, personal injury cases are very time consuming and require a great deal of resources in order to meet the burden of proof. Due to this aspect of personal injury law, attorneys who practice in it must be very careful in selecting cases that they feel will be successful. However, Negligence Per Se shifts that responsibility to the defendant, making the case very attractive to personal injury attorneys. After all, they get the benefit of the law assuming that their new client was right and the defendant is wrong.
So if a car accident occurs, the two parties will fight over who was at fault, and therefore who is responsible for paying damages. But, if you take that same accident and can show that one of the drivers was texting at the time, well, they are going to have to come up with proof that their violation of the law did not actually cause the car accident. How do you suppose you would go about proving that?
My two cents is simply this: don't text and drive. All legal maneuvering aside, it is dangerous and it could end up getting people seriously injured or killed. There is no information that I have ever received or sent in a text message that couldn't wait until I was parked to read or respond to. Please be safe on the roads, and remember, failure to obey traffic laws could cost you a lot more than a traffic ticket.
I was driving back from court today and the commercial for my area came on. Now of course, I had my hands at "10 and 2" because I know the answer to the above question...Negligence Per Se.
In plain English, Negligence Per Se simply means that, under certain circumstances, a defendant will be presumed to be at fault. For instance, in Ohio it became illegal to text and drive when the legislature passed this into law. So if you are caught texting and driving it is a minor misdemeanor. But here is where it gets interesting. If you are in a car accident while you are texting and driving, the law assumes you were negligent and therefore responsible for any resulting injuries or damages, regardless of whether that is the case.
This is important for several reasons. First and foremost, it shifts the burden from the plaintiff to the defendant. Generally speaking, in civil cases the plaintiff has the burden of proving that the defendant was the cause of an injury and therefore responsible for paying any damages. the defendant's goal is to poke holes in the plaintiff's case and try to provide some mitigating factors for why they shouldn't be liable. Once Negligence Per Se enters the picture, the defendant bears the burden of proving that they were not the cause of the injury. This means that the plaintiff can sit back, while the defendant has to do all of the work trying to disprove that their violation of a law was not the reason the accident happened.
Second, it gives personal injury attorneys an incentive to take the case when the doctrine applies. Usually, personal injury cases are very time consuming and require a great deal of resources in order to meet the burden of proof. Due to this aspect of personal injury law, attorneys who practice in it must be very careful in selecting cases that they feel will be successful. However, Negligence Per Se shifts that responsibility to the defendant, making the case very attractive to personal injury attorneys. After all, they get the benefit of the law assuming that their new client was right and the defendant is wrong.
So if a car accident occurs, the two parties will fight over who was at fault, and therefore who is responsible for paying damages. But, if you take that same accident and can show that one of the drivers was texting at the time, well, they are going to have to come up with proof that their violation of the law did not actually cause the car accident. How do you suppose you would go about proving that?
My two cents is simply this: don't text and drive. All legal maneuvering aside, it is dangerous and it could end up getting people seriously injured or killed. There is no information that I have ever received or sent in a text message that couldn't wait until I was parked to read or respond to. Please be safe on the roads, and remember, failure to obey traffic laws could cost you a lot more than a traffic ticket.
This post is for informational purposes only and should not be regarded as legal advice or as forming an attorney-client relationship. If you are in the Dayton, Ohio area and feel that you may be in need of legal advice please contact Strain Law Office, LLC for a free consultation.
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