Ask the Law Guy

In August, 2001, I sent a registered letter to my retired (uncooperative) neighbor requesting that he take some action to remove or trim back two maple trees that posed a threat to my property. Both these trees were hollow (estimated height about 50 feet) and had broken limbs from a previous storm that lodged in top of trees. I advised people who visited me not to park in the driveway where the bulk of the tree hung nor to linger there because of the danger of these limbs falling at any moment.

Some of the limbs did fall during high winds. But, yesterday, the largest maple did burst at the base and fell into the second tree. The second tree is presently supporting it and prevents it from totally falling on one end of my mobile home. I have not slept in this end of the mobile home for years in fear that the tree would come crashing down.

Because the power lines, fortunately, escaped being taken down by the initial falling of some of the biggest limbs, I have no resource as far as getting the tree off my property nor getting one of the limbs off my mobile home by the power company.

I am a 68-yr-old retired woman with very little financial resources. I also have COPD with oxygen concentrator in the house and use a nebulizer. I need the security of knowing that the trees will not come crashing on down on top of me. The stress of trying to take of this situation is extremely high in my condition because this illness.

I appealed to this neighbory by phone yesterday when the tree was falling and his response was "I'll talk to your lawyer". He was not even concerned enough to come outside and assess the damage.

What are my rights here and my course of action?

This is going to be a tough problem to solve. I'm not aware of any laws that specifically permit you to force your neighbor to remove the tree, but it might be possible to sue the neighbor and ask that the neighbor be ordered to correct the hazardous condition. You would probably need a lawyer to succeed at this. You might check and see if county or city ordinances could help. It is possible the city or county could order the tree removed.

Since your finances are limited you might see if Legal Aid for your county could help.

A final thought: it would be unlawful to have someone go over and remove the trees while your neighbor was gone. The consequences of that might be unpleasant, but maybe not as bad as having your home crushed by a tree. The neighbor could sue you for trespassing and removing the trees but probably would not get a large judgment if any. He could charge you with trespassing criminally, but I doubt you'd go to jail.

My future son in law was charged with DWI a couple of years ago. He was given a work privilege license. He was recently caught driving late at night with my daughter in the car (she had been drinking), they roughed him up because they accused him of running from a license check, there was one police car on the side of the road they went past him doing 40 mph (on the ticket) in a 45mph zone. They seized his car and took it to Raleigh within a few days and he just learned that they sold it Jan. 3, 2004. He has not been to court and convicted for anything yet. Is this a legal practice that the state can sell your car for something you have yet to be convicted for? What happened to "Innocent until proven Guilty" ? I do not agree with the fact that he was driving late at night and it was irrelevant to work but this is a good kid just made a mistake and has been paying for it by losing his license and made a very bad decision by driving that night to get my daughter home because she had been drinking and he did not want her to drive, but to sell his car? I know that there is alot of worse people out there that need to be punished a whole lot more than this young man. Please help me understand the legality of this. Thank You!

If a person is charged with a DWI offense while driving a vehicle after his license has been suspended or revoked for a DWI, the vehicle is subject to seizure. Ordinarily the vehicle is not to be sold until after the person is convicted. If at trial the person was found not guilty of DWI, the seized vehicle would have to be returned to the owner.

If your son-in-law was not charged with a DWI, but only charged with driving while license revoked (because he was driving at a time where the limited privilege did not apply), the seizure and sale may have been improper.

It's hard to say more, without knowing the basis for the seizure. If your son wants to contest the seizure, he would need to contact an attorney in the county where he was charged. This is not the kind of thing you could expect to handle without a lawyer.

My name is .... I married on July 19, 2003. Fortunately, I have a

great credit history, but my husband does not. Knowing this, I kept my own

bank account and continue to keep our financial dealings separate. I own my home

-- which I accomplished on my own -- before I was married. I went to

Hallmark tonight, wrote a check for my purchase and was told that they could not

accept my check due to Telecheck giving me a code 4. I was shocked to say the

least. I have A+ credit and have money in the bank. I was also surprised

because I had just been to Walmart not even 1 hour earlier and wrote a check with no

problem. Hallmark gave me Telechecks phone number and I was told that I had

an outstanding check from 1996. At this point in time -- I had no idea what

they were talking about. I keep very close track of my financials and would

NEVER allow a check to remain unresolved for this amount of time. As I asked

more questions, they asked if anyone else had access to my account. I let them

know that I am the only person on my checking account, I am the only one

authorized to sign, it is MY account. I asked them if this check was from

me...they would not answer. They told me that since I am now married to my husband, I

am now responsible for his debt. I have a BIG problem with this. I told

them that I didn't even know him in 1996. He was married to someone else in

1996, and living in another state. The kicker is that their outstanding check

from 1996 was to Walmart.

Is this true? I am responsible for my now husband and his ex wife's past bad

debt which occurred 5 years before I even met him?

My answer, as always, assumes you are in North Carolina, however the same principles probably apply in many states.

You have no legal responsibility to pay debts your husband incurred before you married. In fact, generally you are not responsible for debts your husband incurs while you are married unless you co-sign the debt. If Telechecks records show that you have an unpaid check from 1996, then your record with them is incorrect and they are probably obligated to correct it. If their records show that your husband has an unpaid 1996 check, and that information is accurate, then you may have no recourse. Marrying someone with poor credit can affect your credit standing in some circumstances. It is still a good idea to keep your credit clean.

You should contact Telecheck in writing and request all information used to

determine your code. See if Telecheck is a member of the Better Business Bureau, if so, you could ask the BBB to intervene or mediate. You could also contact the consumer protection section of your State Attorney General's Office.

What can I do about my boss? When I deposit my work check it always bounces. The bank keeps on freezing my account. Isn't it illegal to give checks knowing you don't have the funds to pay your workers?

In North Carolina, it is a crime (a misdemeanor, usually) to write a check knowing that there are not enough funds in the account to cover the check. An employee could sue an employer who fails to pay the agreed wage. However it is often a waste of time to sue a person or company that is insolvent.

A bounced payroll check is a clear sign that the employer is in trouble. It is also common for employers in trouble to fail to make withholding payments for taxes or keep up employees insurance premiums. Your best bet is to look for a way off this sinking ship.


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