ANY LEGAL CONSULTANTS HERE

[PIMPMYFZR]

Well I've been summoned to show up in court .. I'll break it down best i know how . I own and operate a restaurant in the Metro Detroit area . I't basically in the ghetto but it has it's nice surroundings also . Back in O5' i was working paycheck to paycheck , came across a closed down IHOP in a busy 4 laned street . BTW my family has been in the Restaurant bussiness since the early 70's so i kind of grew into it also , Lost a bussiness in 01 due to fire .. on Devil's Night ... Iknow it sucks but o well life goes on and shit happens .. speeding up to 05'' i put a lowball offer , they accept for property and all .. so Now 2008 I've been running a Restaurant for last 3 years almost and now i GET SUMMONED TO COURT . IM BEING SUED , by a woman who's claiming she fell inside my bussiness and fractured her forearm or wrist .somthing of that nature .. Now i've never had ambulence or police called for this matter or any other Since ive owned the place .. The lady is claiming this happened in aug-07' but i have no recolection of this incident or wasn't informed of it . Now she is suing me , my bussiness , and some other holding who supposedly have interest , but im sole owner .. Im guessing everyone's first words would be call a lawyer .. I just dont know what to make of it , i'm supposed to be in court on the 10th of this month .. damages exceding 25,000 or more .. I am self-employed , am not incorperated and was just told by a friend that my place not being incorperated means that lady can sue me for everything i own to my name including my bussiness .. but i have insurance coverage and pay up the gazoo for it so im figuring whatever the outcome i should be covered if it ever gets that far ..

Man just when things were looking brighter , Now this is all i need in my life .. sorry for rant .. anyone ever owned a bussiness and been sued by a customer because they got hurt inside or on your premises ??

[shawnwon]

Sucks to hear dude. I hope you win. I have a few questions if you don't mind me posing:
Why did she wait so long to file suit, if this being true and if she was hurt (hypothetically speaking) on your premises? Would there not be an ambulance report of them showing up to the place of so called incident? Or a cop report of the incident. What about hospital records or Dr records?
Sorry just curious and maybe theses questions can help you against her.
Best of luck with this situation.

[PAFizzer600]

sounds like she doesn't have shit.

but, if the business if worth saving get a lawyer for sure

[cad600]

The insurance will give her money up to your coverage point. After that, it's your ass. Basically, if you have coverage up to $25,000 and she wins suite for $40,000 you would be responible for the $15,000 after the insurance pays up.

You basically need to find some way to disprove her clame. Just because there was no ambulance or cops, you can still be screwed. The big thing is wether or not there is a medical report and does it state she fell in a place of business? If there is no such report then you should be able to disprove her because it's your word versus her's. If there is a report, your hosed. As long as the report says she fell in a place of business, she could make up any place she wanted to and probably still win.

Sounds like she is out to get something for nothing. Get a really good lawyer. You might be able to settle out of court too as I think a lot of people that do this are looking to settle for a few grand. But I don't think insurance covers that.

But at the same time, I'm no legal mind.

[mszilves]

That really sucks man. Best of luck. In Canada we can't sue for "punitive damages", only for something that you were actually out. I really think this is one of the biggest problems these days... and again it goes back to people taking responsibility for their actions, and being honest. She fell, so what?! Unless you purposefully washed your floors with motor oil in the hopes of making someone take a dive, then so what, sh#t happens. Why are you able to sue someone for something that they have no control over? I wish I could be a judge so I could laugh when some stupid lawyer brings me a case like this, and toss it out of court, and then fine them for wasting the court's time. <End of rant>

[reelrazor]

You need to call your insurance co. ASAP. And retain a lawyer of your own and supply him with a copy of your policy.

I never got sued when I had my shop (bike/sled/atv repair), but I was involved in suit that somone filed against my previous employer (same kind of shop) and watched how it happened to him.

The insurance co. will supply counsel against this suit.,...but they will also shrug it off on you if they can say you didn't comply with all the riders in your policy-that's why you need your own counsel..to make sure they don't screw ya too.

here in Mich it's pretty easy to LLC, and that gives you a bit of protection against personal assets that you don't have as a DBA/sole proprietor

[slayermd]

I have no legal advice for you man. That sucks to hear.

What really ticks me off is she probably is one of those types that sue people/business for a stack every few years. And thats odd that she has waited so long to bring this to court and I bet her wrist or arm is nice and healed to.

[TomGun]

Well I've been summoned to show up in court .. I'll break it down best i know how . I own and operate a restaurant in the Metro Detroit area . I't basically in the ghetto but it has it's nice surroundings also . Back in O5' i was working paycheck to paycheck , came across a closed down IHOP in a busy 4 laned street . BTW my family has been in the Restaurant bussiness since the early 70's so i kind of grew into it also , Lost a bussiness in 01 due to fire .. on Devil's Night ... Iknow it sucks but o well life goes on and shit happens .. speeding up to 05'' i put a lowball offer , they accept for property and all .. so Now 2008 I've been running a Restaurant for last 3 years almost and now i GET SUMMONED TO COURT . IM BEING SUED , by a woman who's claiming she fell inside my bussiness and fractured her forearm or wrist .somthing of that nature .. Now i've never had ambulence or police called for this matter or any other Since ive owned the place .. The lady is claiming this happened in aug-07' but i have no recolection of this incident or wasn't informed of it . Now she is suing me , my bussiness , and some other holding who supposedly have interest , but im sole owner .. Im guessing everyone's first words would be call a lawyer .. I just dont know what to make of it , i'm supposed to be in court on the 10th of this month .. damages exceding 25,000 or more .. I am self-employed , am not incorperated and was just told by a friend that my place not being incorperated means that lady can sue me for everything i own to my name including my bussiness .. but i have insurance coverage and pay up the gazoo for it so im figuring whatever the outcome i should be covered if it ever gets that far ..

Man just when things were looking brighter , Now this is all i need in my life .. sorry for rant .. anyone ever owned a bussiness and been sued by a customer because they got hurt inside or on your premises ??

If you have insurance, the insurance company will deal with it. However I would consult a lawyer as well. My father-in law is an insurance/fraud investigator, he's also a retired NYPD detective. He see's people try this crap all the time, and if you have insurance they will pay up to a certain amount, they will negotiate with the other party and reach an exceptable amount if it is warranted. However, if she is successful, your premiums will go up further. Yes!! and that just sucks!!
Now I would think that she would have to produce, witnesses and a medical records to prove her case. i.e a police report, hospital bill, detail information as to what happened and also have credible witness(s). However on your end, if it fairs well for you, or not, I would look at Incorporating, as to separate your personal assets from the business, so something like this, or some other BS doesn't destroy you financially.

I wish you well, and let us know what happens.

<start of rant> I'm absolutely tired of this BS (sue) mentality. Some people just suck! they don't want to work for a living and take responsibly for their own frigging actions. <end of rant>

[PIMPMYFZR]

Thanks guys ! I really don't have time for this kind of stuff. I don't keep a personal lawyer because other then traffic tickets and juvenile stuff I've never had the need.

[match417]

can you hire someone to look into her past and see if she has a history of doing this stuff? If she does, wouldn't that make the judge think she's just scamming? I don't know much about this stuff. You could try breaking her knee-caps as she walks out of her house the day of court. She'll go to the hospital, not show up for court, and it will be dismissed? maybe , sorry to hear about that though.

[95FZR600]

Hire an attorney. First visit's are free of charge so go talk to a couple of them. Get some advice from them and go from there.