60
votes
Accepted
Would a contract to pay a trillion dollars in damages be valid?
What you're talking about is a liquidated-damages clause, where the contract explicitly spells out the damages to be awarded in the event of a breach.
The law will vary some from state to state, but ...
- 57.2k
17
votes
Accepted
Does Bob have a case if he ends up paying child support due to Alice's deceit?
canada
In Canada it all depends on whether it is Bob or Alice who is female. If it is the male who lies about the use of contraception it results in sexual assault (R. v. Hutchinson), and in the case ...
- 1,154
13
votes
Accepted
Incident with another cyclist, repair costs too expensive
Great job taking the photo at the time, it could end up saving you some money.
I can see an Acera rear derailleur(inexpensive), a seven speed freewheel (cheap), a rusty chain (poorly maintained), a ...
- 289
11
votes
Accepted
Is law enforcement responsible for damages made by a search warrant?
The police officers themselves are covered by Qualified Immunity - to put it briefly, a government official acting in their official capacity in a discretionary act (as in, they have some discretion ...
- 4,821
9
votes
Accepted
Can you be sued for money if your product is released for free?
Yes. Money damages can be awarded in this circumstance and would likely be awarded if the infringement was found to have occurred and not to have been fair use.
Even in the absence of proof that any ...
- 194k
9
votes
Would a contract to pay a trillion dollars in damages be valid?
Such a clause would not generally be enforceable. Penalty clauses are generally not enforceable in common-law jurisdictions, although in some continental law jurisdictions they are (this article gives ...
- 210k
9
votes
Is time spent on litigation recoverable as lost wages?
england-and-wales
Litigants in Person - i.e. litigants not represented by solicitors (= attorneys in US) can recover the cost of their time at a set rate under the Litigants in Person (Costs and ...
- 1,594
8
votes
Accepted
Meaning of uppercase paragraphs in software licenses
Similar to this question and this one, the Uniform Commercial Code requires that exclusion of warranty be conspicuous. While it does not specify the manner in which text should be made conspicuous, ...
- 12.1k
8
votes
Compensation for custody awaiting trial resulting in acquittal?
In all but a few U.S. states the answer is that you are not entitled to any compensation. This is grossly unfair, but is the dominant rule by far in most jurisdictions in the U.S.
As a matter of ...
- 194k
8
votes
Why should one never threaten to sue?
Because threatening a lawsuit is a nuclear option
If you are thinking about a lawsuit then you have a dispute. The best, most efficient, most effective and cheapest way to resolve a dispute is to ...
- 198k
7
votes
What if persons involved in the accident with the same Insurance company?
You have been told that the other person's insurance may not be valid. Why it may not doesn't really matter, perhaps the other person didn't pay premiums or lied on an application. So the situation is ...
- 113k
7
votes
Can ignoring a person on the Internet make me responsible somehow?
The First Amendement of the United States Constitution protects the right of an individual's freedom of association from government interference as one of the five protections in the First Amendment. ...
- 22.7k
7
votes
Would a contract to pay a trillion dollars in damages be valid?
A $1 trillion liquidated damages clause would be held invalid as unconscionable and as clearly intending to punish rather than compensate... unless you can show that $1 trillion is somehow plausible, ...
- 4,244
7
votes
Accepted
Litigating personal injury in Germany due to lack of proper testing
There are none.
Damages against B’s clinic? A does not have a contract with B’s clinic. No duties nor rights without a contract.
Damages against B?
A does not have a contract with B. If there was a ...
- 1,402
7
votes
Does Bob have a case if he ends up paying child support due to Alice's deceit?
Bob may have a case against Alice, but not related to the expenses.
Depending on the jurisdiction, he may have exclusive rights on his genetic material.
This is an important point in in-vitro ...
- 1,271
7
votes
Does Bob have a case if he ends up paying child support due to Alice's deceit?
united-kingdom
In the United Kingdom Bob would likely not have a case, as lying about fertility is not a cause for consent to be vitiated (negated). The leading case in this is from 2020 where Jason ...
- 1,154
7
votes
Accepted
Is misrepresentation a tort or a breach?
What misrepresentation?
Alice said she buried the money there. That the money is not there now is not evidence that she didn’t. it’s evidence that something happened to it between then and now.
...
- 198k
6
votes
Fighting false debt collection
You can sue your cat. The proper question is "Do I have an actionable claim?"
Use your state's consumer protection laws: Namely, send certified return receipt letter to the collection company ...
- 134
6
votes
Accepted
What's the purpose of large judgments against a defendant that clearly can't pay?
When the matter is final (no more appeals), the winner in the suit will request a writ of execution to collect whatever is owed. This may involve seizing a person's cash, car and so on. There are ...
- 210k
6
votes
Is misrepresentation a tort or a breach?
Alice says that she honestly believed the money was there, but agrees
that Bob performed the excavation properly and that nothing was found.
Alice didn't make a negligent misrepresentation, or at ...
- 194k
6
votes
Are there causes of action for which an award can be made without proof of damage?
Yes. Therefore, when assessing a claim, it would be incorrect or premature to conclude simply from lack of actual harm/damage that a wronged party would have no available remedy. In order to make this ...
- 43.2k
5
votes
Would the structural engineer be liable for this?
If he is a professional engineer, then he is almost certainly (supposed to be) licensed and insured. You could probably recover damages simply by reporting them to his insurer. Also, some states ...
- 21.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Coat checks warning
This is called a bailment. There is a pretty general outcome.
First, I will discuss bailments. To get to the meat of the answer skip down to the horizontal break.
Here is some info from a Maryland ...
- 8,646
5
votes
Accepted
Where does the "liquidated" in "liquidated damages" come from?
Black's Law Dictionary (5th edition 1979) states that "Liquidated" means
Ascertained; determined; fixed; settled; made clear or manifest.
This is the sense of the term in which damages are ...
- 194k
5
votes
Is time spent on litigation recoverable as lost wages?
california
Generally, no.
Even in a suit for conversion, only time expended to recovering the converted property definitely, and independently in its purposes from litigation can be recovered; no time ...
- 3,875
5
votes
Is time spent on litigation recoverable as lost wages?
There may be exceptions, but the simple and straightforward answer is no, you can't generally recover for time spent on litigation.
You can often recover the actual costs of litigation -- filing fees, ...
- 57.2k
5
votes
Accepted
How did Dominion justify the 1.6 billion value they're suing Fox News for?
The complaint is available online. In fact, it asks for more than 1.6 billion, because it doesn't suggest any amounts for certain categories. The amounts that are specified include things such as ...
- 35.1k
4
votes
Accepted
Is a public establishment liable for insect stings?
In New Zealand, employers have a duty to take all practicable steps to ensure their workplace is safe for employees and for others who come onto the premises (Health and Safety in Employment Act s6). ...
- 468
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible