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Re: Business idea, and a few questions

4/18/2003 11:32 PM
LFOscalator	Re: Business idea, and a few questions I like your question: "Could I get sued if someone gets injured by one of my amps?" I've been sued twice in my life reated to my own business affairs and it is absolutely no fun. It feels like pure terror as a matter of fact. What I found is that people can sue you for just about anything where even the most remote connection to negligence or tort can be construed. Some states protect against nusaince lawsuits by having laws against them. In these states, you have the ability to counter sue if the lawsuit against you is considered trivial by the courts. Nice to know because sometimes the best defense can be a good offense. Such a countersuit may be necessary to force a quick settlement out of court, eventhough it may be an additional expense for you to do this. The most important thing to realize is that once you are being sued, you have to respond to the legal Complaint against you within a specified timeframe, usually 30 days, plus or minus depending on the state you are being sued in. The response requires your attorney to draft a legal document called an Answer that details the basic defense you will use to counter the claims against you, or a legal motion such as a "motion to dismiss" to stop or stall the case. From there, the case will progress into numerous legal filings called motions and counter motions that will be be reviewed by a judge to determine the next step in the legal process to resolve the legal dispute against you. These motions can literally go on for several years before your case is either dismissed, settled out of court, settled by a judge, or settled buy a jury. And each motion will need to be completed within a specified timeframe and will require, guess what -- an attorney! In other words, you don't have the option of calling up City Hall at that point and explaining to the Clerk of Court that what you did is not a sueable offense in civil court and therefore the case should be dropped. Instead you have to immediately hire an expensive attorney and anticipate spending tens of thousands of dollars on your defense, even if you feel that you are as right as right can be. There are legal manuevers such as a "motion to dismiss" or a "motion for summary judgement" that can bring your case to quicker closure, without needing a jury to decide your fate, but these actions will usually require an attorney and expense. Did I mention that hiring an attorney can be very expensive? If I didn't say this yet, let me repeat this to you a few thousand times -- attorneys can be very expensive. Some people are smart enough to act as their own attorney, but I would not recommend it unless you are exceptionally sharp and capable of assimulating very large amounts of complex information in a very short time. As my own disclaimer, I hereby state unequivically that none of the above information is provided as legal advice. For the record, I'm not a lawyer and don't practice law. Rather, my statements are just some recollections concerning some things I've had to deal with in my own travels up to this point in my life. Be advised to consult with your own attorney before assuming anything I said to be true. We live in a world of CYA, legal disclaimers, and proactive liability protection strategies. Never forget this if you go into business for yourself. LFO

4/18/2003 11:32 PM

LFOscalator

Re: Business idea, and a few questions

I like your question:

"Could I get sued if someone gets injured by one of my amps?"

I've been sued twice in my life reated to my own business affairs and it is absolutely no fun. It feels like pure terror as a matter of fact. What I found is that people can sue you for just about anything where even the most remote connection to negligence or tort can be construed. Some states protect against nusaince lawsuits by having laws against them. In these states, you have the ability to counter sue if the lawsuit against you is considered trivial by the courts. Nice to know because sometimes the best defense can be a good offense. Such a countersuit may be necessary to force a quick settlement out of court, eventhough it may be an additional expense for you to do this.

The most important thing to realize is that once you are being sued, you have to respond to the legal Complaint against you within a specified timeframe, usually 30 days, plus or minus depending on the state you are being sued in. The response requires your attorney to draft a legal document called an Answer that details the basic defense you will use to counter the claims against you, or a legal motion such as a "motion to dismiss" to stop or stall the case.

From there, the case will progress into numerous legal filings called motions and counter motions that will be be reviewed by a judge to determine the next step in the legal process to resolve the legal dispute against you. These motions can literally go on for several years before your case is either dismissed, settled out of court, settled by a judge, or settled buy a jury. And each motion will need to be completed within a specified timeframe and will require, guess what -- an attorney!

In other words, you don't have the option of calling up City Hall at that point and explaining to the Clerk of Court that what you did is not a sueable offense in civil court and therefore the case should be dropped. Instead you have to immediately hire an expensive attorney and anticipate spending tens of thousands of dollars on your defense, even if you feel that you are as right as right can be. There are legal manuevers such as a "motion to dismiss" or a "motion for summary judgement" that can bring your case to quicker closure, without needing a jury to decide your fate, but these actions will usually require an attorney and expense.

Did I mention that hiring an attorney can be very expensive? If I didn't say this yet, let me repeat this to you a few thousand times -- attorneys can be very expensive. Some people are smart enough to act as their own attorney, but I would not recommend it unless you are exceptionally sharp and capable of assimulating very large amounts of complex information in a very short time.

As my own disclaimer, I hereby state unequivically that none of the above information is provided as legal advice. For the record, I'm not a lawyer and don't practice law. Rather, my statements are just some recollections concerning some things I've had to deal with in my own travels up to this point in my life. Be advised to consult with your own attorney before assuming anything I said to be true.

We live in a world of CYA, legal disclaimers, and proactive liability protection strategies. Never forget this if you go into business for yourself.

LFO

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