Category Archives: Various Off Topic Publications

Post your latest news stories here. We recognize sometimes there will be news stories that are not legal or professionally related. You be the jurist.

Major Real Estate Auction Mistake Creates Legal Dilemma

People make mistakes.
What do you do when a simple error results in the sale of a condo at auction for $21,897 when it was meant to sell for $219,105? That’s exactly the issue the California Supreme Court is struggling with.
Scott Graham wrote about this story in an article titled, “Pondering a $200K Real Estate Mistake,” posted April 4, 2013 for The Recorder on the Law.com website.

Auction Creates Interesting Legal Problem

Graham writes that some things are just too good to be true. Apparently that was the case when David Biancalana found the deal of a lifetime when he saw the three-bedroom, two-bath condominium in Watsonville that sold for $380,000 in 2004. Graham writes that Biancalana checked with the foreclosure service agent, T.D. Service, twice to confirm the price, before bidding and winning the property.
The lender, Greenpoint Mortgage Funding, Graham explains, instructed its foreclosure service agent, T.D. Service, to list its opening credit bid at $219,105. But T.D. unintentionally set the auction figure at the amount of the mortgage delinquency, which was $21,897.
The court now must decide, Graham, for his part contends.

In Related News…

All in all it is a very strange dichotomy indeed: We hear the economy is still weak, and yet big business and in many areas, real estate, seems to be more or less booming. I am sure the low interest rates have a lot to do with that, according to a friend of mine who owns a real estate Big Bear firm.
Take the case in point, Boston.
Ira Kantor tells the story in his report posted on the bostonhearald.com website under the BizSm@rt Column: “Report: Hub commercial real estate market roaring back,” April 9, 2013.
Kantor declares Boston as officially in growth mode. He cites local real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle as saying that it has entirely made up for recession losses, its pace of recovery one of the best in the nation. In places like Big Bear this certainly seems to be true.
The first quarter began with strong leasing activity in several sectors, Kantor notes, from financial to life sciences, technology, biomedical and engineering firms. The vacancy rate in Greater Boston dipped below 15 percent for the second quarter in a row, and surged 27 basis points” because of a number of spaces that were known to be coming to the market, including Monitor’s 196,000 square feet at 2 Canal Park in Cambridge and IBM’s building at 5 Technology Park in Westford.”
Here’s a real surprise: Kantor adds that downtown Boston’s vacancy rate dropped to just 9.6 percent. Rents increased in Downtown Boston 0.4 percent this quarter and 2 percent year-over-year.
Kantor’s note of caution is that even though things are looking up, the effects of sequestration, he warns us, remain to be seen “in this market that relies heavily on NIH funding and federal spending in defense,” according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
Sequestration? We almost forgot about you

In San Ramon Man Suffers Critical Injury Waiting To Cross The Street

Legal News Out Of San Ramon, California

The San Ramon Patch posted a story by Patrick Creaven, February 14, 2013, under the headline, “Man Critically Injured by Falling Traffic Light.”
This is a really good example of a freak accident, of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

More On The Tragic Story

It seems man was driving a tractor-trailer about 1:35 p.m. last Monday evening at the Crow Canyon Road and Camino Ramon intersection when he knocked down a traffic light pole. This caused the traffic light to hit a 23-year-old man’s head.
According to the Patch story, traffic officer Bill Doherty was quoted as saying the man who was hit by the light is in critical condition at John Muir Medical Center. All in all, someone may need a Auto Repair San Ramon for their damaged vehicle and parts after the said collision with the traffic light, even if it is a tractor trailer. It would probably not be too much automotive tech to fix the vehicle in question for a car service or body shop firm, but hey no job too small I suppose.

Further Details On The Accident

Patrick Creaven reported in the piece that the driver of the tractor-trailer was turning too sharply right from Crow Canyon onto Camino Ramon when it hit the traffic light pole. The poor pedestrian “was waiting to cross the street on his way back to work when the traffic light came crashing down and hit him in the head,” wrote Creaven. Wow, you talk about your freak accidents. I bet that has never happened in the golden state of CA roads or highways, much less San Ramon or the bay area before.

Drunk Driver Allegedly Caused 10 Car Accident Near Buellton, California

In legal automobile accident news from th golden state, My husband and I are traveling by car back from a graduation ceremony in Monterrey California. We made our way back via Big Sur and Santa Barbara: Such gorgeous country! On our way through Buellton, a beautiful little hamlet just north of Santa Barbara, there was a multi-car pile-up on Highway 246. All in all this reminds me of a similiar vehicle crash in Pleasanton. As an aside, this Pleasanton Car Repair and automotive tech body shop is top notch if your automobile has damages that ned to be fixed in Pleasanton, Ca. or the bay area:
Precision Auto Repair
164 Wyoming Street
Pleasanton, California
(925) 462-7440

Apparently 10 people were hurt in an accident involving four cars just west of Buellton. We actually passed through a few days after the accident but read about it when we stopped in Ventura. The media reported that it is suspected that a DUI driver crossed lanes and hit a truck, and one person was struck while trying to route traffic around the scene on the road in question.
The media also reported that emergency crews came to the aid in the accident Tuesday morning that sent 10 people to area hospitals with injuries.

Gina Potthoff, staff writer for Noozhawk, posted a report for the online news outlet on the accident on Dec. 4, 2012, under the headline, “Ten people were injured Tuesday morning in a four-vehicle accident on Highway 246 west of Buellton.”
Potthoff writes that, “According to CHP, 18-year-old Gerardo Torres Jr. of Lompoc was allegedly driving drunk and traveling westbound approaching Tularosa Road when his Honda Civic crossed into the eastbound lane.” ‘she notes that Torres hit an eastbound pickup truck driven by 37-year-old Romualdo Jacinto of Lompoc, which threw it onto its roof.

She reports that Torres, who was allegedly intoxicated as he drove away from the Chumash Casino Resort, suffered a fractured femur and was transported to the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Jacinto had moderate injuries and two of his four passengers were injured.
Sadly, while waiting for the CHP to arrive, 60-year-old Thomas Meade of Buellton was hit by another vehicle after he began directing traffic and helping others. He ended up with serious injuries and was taken to Cottage Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Also, four others were taken to Lompoc Valley Medical Center with minor injuries, according to the article.
I wish our roads, interstates, highways and streets were more safe on the whole, especially here in Pleasanton.

Are You Prepared for Your Associate Attorney Interview?

Establishing Your Law Practice

Congratulations, you’ve done the hard work, and you’ve graduated law school, passed the bar, and you are now looking forward to a bright new career as an attorney. You’ve secured your first interview and you’re nervous, but you’ve got a power suit picked out, so what could go wrong? Plenty could go wrong. Interviews are stressful processes, and most new attorneys are unaware that the Associate attorney interviews can be three part segments, each of which becomes progressively more difficult. How do you prepare for such a stressful situation? Call a Attorney lead generation and attorney SEO firm to help you through the situation.

How a Legal Recruiter Can Help Prepare You

Legal recruiters are in the business of making lasting placements with top tier law firms. They know the ins and outs of placing new Associate attorneys in desirable positions. They’ve seen a million resumes, have contacts in all the top firms, and can quiz you on interviewing techniques in their sleep. Do you have this kind of experience? If not, you may want to contact a skilled legal marketing and lead generation firm to help you present yourself in the best light.

Associate attorney positions are highly competitive. When you’re looking at joining one of big law’s premiere firms, it’s going to take a lot more than a power suit and a smile to make an impression on these people. Like you, they probably all graduated at the top of their class from prestigious and competitive law schools. But unlike you, the people interviewing you have likely got decades of experience reducing new Associate attorney candidates to tears and quivering masses of jello. Do you possess nerves of steel? Can you just wing it and get a highly competitive Associate attorney position?
A legal recruiter can take away the fears you might be feeling and help you to focus. Beyond that, a legal recruiter can really help you to learn how to present yourself by coaching you in the following areas:
• Proper presentation of yourself and personal branding
• Nonverbal communication
• Communicating your unique and highly valuable talents
• Diplomacy
• Separating yourself from the pack by highlighting your unique traits
• Leaving a lasting and positive impression

Let a Legal Recruiter Guide You

Legal recruiters make assisting attorney candidates their bread and butter. Before you start your job search, consult a skilled legal recruiter to determine what you may be overlooking. Learn how to best present yourself to discerning attorneys. Let a legal recruiter mentor you through the process and take you every step of the way from resume to interview and negotiating your salary. Enhance your chances today with a legal recruiter.

Redwood City has its share of auto accidents

All in all, the California cities of San Mateo, Hayward and Kansas City have seen their fair its share of auto accident tragedies in recent years. I cannot believe it’s been four years since one of the more famous Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, a man named David Halberstam, died in an auto accident in the said region.
As an aside, this San Mateo, as well as car accident attorney Kansas City
is top drawer personal injury plus automobile accident lawyer in Kansas City overall:

As I recall, it was a graduate student who was ferrying Halbertam to an interview and ran a red light, causing the great man’s death. I think the judge let him off lightly because he was extremely remorseful about what had happened and probably had a pretty good record to that time.

Another auto accident that sticks with me is the one just a few months ago when a Redwood City or Hayward man died after he was rear-ended by a big rig. That one happened in Indio, I believe, however. In that one a tractor-trailer that jackknifed caused a chain reaction that involved another big rig and three cars. In addition to the fatality there were also victims of the crash who suffered major injuries. Someon also must have needed a good Hayward or possibly San Mateo auto repair for your vehicle such as: Holland Car Care
22 South Claremont Street,
San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 344-8815
In 2009, by the way, there were 4 pedestrians involved in fatal auto accidents in Redwood City, and 7 vehicles involved in fatal accidents. That year there were no fatal accidents caused by drunken drivers.
It could have been worse but it’s bad enough. Be careful out there.

Traffic accident reported sixty-five years ago in The Santa Cruz Sentinel still haunts

Good to be back to Fullerton from Mountain View…Santa Cruz traffic is terrible. That little town just buzzes with hyperactivity. It’s easy to get nostalgic for the days when it, and the whole area, was just a sleepy little hamlet. But the reality is that every time has struggle and tragedy. Mountain View can be quite busy as well. By the way this is atop Mountain View auto repair service overall.
The Santacruzmah.org blog, under Forum Home; Law & Order; COLLISION COURSE: THE DELUCCA ACCIDENT – INTERSECTION OF SWA carried a poignant story by blogger Ivano Comelli, posted Sun Jan 18, 2009, out of Morgan Hill, Ca. Comelli writes that he and his wife saw the movie, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and how a series of events lead to an accident. That reminded him of an article that he wrote on another blog about an auto accident reported in the Santa Cruz Sentinel in 1947. I am not sure the auto repair costs on that one though. All in all, Fullerton as well as Mountain View car traffic can be touph. As an aside this is a great Fullerton auto repair service overall.
The August 3, 1947, edition of the Santa Cruz Sentinel describes a violent the collision, Comelli writes. The front end of the DeLuccafamily car was “’smashed back into the front seat, completely demolishing the sedan; the fire truck was a total wreck, with its strong, reinforced steel frame bent and the cab knocked right off the frame, smashing wheels and axle.’ Comelli says the year-end edition of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, dated 10/31/47, re-published a photo of the accident. The text with the photo said that it “’was probably the worst traffic accident in the history of Santa Cruz County.’” Comelli says the only identifying item clearly distinguishable was the California licenses plate, number 35 H 170.
A series of events that night led to the DeLucca car passing through an intersection at the very moment when a fire truck was racing to fight a wildfire. There were eight passengers in the car, including children, in the Black, 1941 Buick, recently purchased by the DeLuccas, who had stopped to pick up friends, thus delaying their trip and placing them at the intersection at just the time when the fire truck was also racing through.

Divorce and Generation X

Last night I sat in my friend’s living room here in Milwaukee and listened to her rail against joint custody arrangements. Although she has no children, she has strong opinions and health concerns about shuttling kids between households. She said she’s always thought it must be terrible for kids to be dragged back and forth, with no one, permanent home.
I thought about an article I saw last month in the Saturday Essay column of the Wall Street Journal, posted July 9, 2011, under the title, “The Divorce Generation,” by Susan Gregory Thomas.
Thomas says that each generation has its defining moment, and for Generation X-ers, it’s “When did your parents get divorced?”
Thomas wrote an exceedingly eloquent memoir called, “In Spite of Everything.” Thomas writes: “When my dad left in the spring of 1981 and moved 5 states away (it basically all ended for me) and altered my world completely)….” Oh by the way should you happen to live in Milwaukee or West Bend and need a Milwaukee divorce lawyer who also includes family law and workers comp insurance in addition to the said divorce coverage in Milwaukee, this firm can help you in Germantown.
I can really relate to her description of growing up as a latch-key kid. I read and re-read her poetic passages about her suburb being littered with, “sad-eyed, bruised nomads, who wandered (around between the two)….”
My childhood as a baby-boomer was similar, in that I was a neglected latchkey kid in the drug-ridden, Vietnam nightmare quagmire-haunted, generation. I was lucky that my parents stayed together, and that stability made all the difference in my health and overall care.
Thomas says now, according to U.S. Census data published last May, almost eight percent of couples who married since 1990 have reached their 10-year anniversaries, and they are marrying later in life—if at all; the average marrying age in 1950 was 23 for men and 20 for women; in 2009, it was 28 for men and 26 for women. Here in Milwaukee this has really been a huge issue overall and will probably continue to be as well on the whole. Make sure to get health insurance if not though.

Sarah Palin Joined The Rolling Thunder Bike Ride

May 30, 2011 (by Horatio Algren) According to reports Sarah Palin joined the Rolling Thunder bike ride to honor military veterans and missing soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors in Washington D.C.

Palin, the former Alaska governor was a passenger on a Harley Davidson motorcycle riding among the estimated 400,000 riders on their 24th annual Memorial Day ride to honor veterans and missing service members. Palin’s husband and daughters also took part in the ride from the Pentagon to the Vietnam War Memorial.

Palin posed for pictures with service members, motorcycle riders, families and friends during the Rolling Thunder event. She visited the WWII memorials and the Lincoln Memorial and with her party read the words of President Lincoln.

On her website Palin stated that riding with the bikers that joined in the annual ride made it clear that everyone needs to do everything they can to remind Americans we have our freedom because of these veterans, the missing and fallen service members.

Motorcycle Safety Month Is In May—Learn What the Experts Have to Say

Motorcycle safety month is in May—learn what the experts have to say and for the motorcycle riders in Long Beach the California Highway Patrol has weighed in, the National Safety Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Association.

The one thing that all of the motorcycle accident attorneys agree on is that riding a motorcycle can be dangerous due to drivers of automobiles on the roads that might not be as alert as they should when driving on the roads with bikes. Motorcycles represent three percent of the registered vehicles, but they also represent almost fifteen percent of traffic fatalities. These numbers combined with the Hurt Report that was a large scale motorcycle crash study that showed three quarters of the motorcycle crashes that result in injuries or deaths. The crashes were caused by drivers that were negligent in yielding to the right-of-way to the motorcyclist and other traffic errors.

The motorcyclist in Long Beach California is also in this danger, because during 2009 in the state there were 11,488 motorcycle riders injured an 396 killed, of this number 383 were the operator of the motorcycle. This number while it seems high for the total amount of motorcycle riders in California that were killed, 2008 was even worse for motorcycle riders, with 553 people killed on motorcycles and 529 of them were the operator of the bike. These numbers might be shocking to some motorcyclists that do not realize the dangers they face on the road.
The numbers from California were provided by the California Highway Patrol and the Integrated Traffic Records System.

Motorcycle safety month is in May—learn what the experts have to say and it can help the motorcycle rider know they have to ride more defensively and drivers of automobiles should take the total of these injuries and deaths that have occurred in past years and realize they need to be more alert on the roadways.

The more people that realize the dangers the motorcycle rider faces due to drivers not paying attention in traffic and at intersections are causing motorcycle riders severe injuries and hundreds of deaths in the state of California, including Long Beach. When drivers and motorcycle riders are aware of the dangers and the causes it can lower the amount of motorcycle crashes. The rider that is injured or the family of a rider that has been killed should have the legal benefits that the motorcycle rider can provide against negligent drivers.

Pedestrian Injured When Woman Drives Into 7-Eleven … Doh!

March 30, 2011-According to reports a pedestrian was injured when a woman drove into a 7-Eleven. Doh! More crazy California news. According to Orange Police. Dan Adams the accident occurred at approximately 5:45 p.m. at a 7-Eleven convenience store at the northwest corner of Main Street and Palmyra Avenue.

The woman was driving a GMC Sierra pickup truck and accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, causing the truck to accelerate into a guardrail and then through the stores window. A female pedestrian was injured, when she was struck by the rail and transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. There were no other injuries reported by store employees, customers or the driver of the GMC pickup truck. Looks like they won’t be needing a personal injury lawyer doesn’t it? It really chaps my hide that people drive like such buffoons in California.