Has anyone sued the government and won?
Absolutely yes. I once sued the US government. It went like this.While I was stationed overseas, I had a lot of exercise equipment the US Marine detachment that guarded the US Embassy wanted to buy from me. So at the end of my tour the Deputy Chief of Mission verbally Ok’d the purchase and agreed to buy them. Before my pack-out, I allowed the US Marines to take possession, but I didn’t receive any payment from the US Embassy before I had to board a plane back to the US.When I got back the the US,and settled in, I made a verbal request for payment, followed up by a written request, but got no response.So I filed a petition in the US District Court nearby —Simon Mouer, Plaintiff versus The United States of America …A week or so later, a US Assistant Attorney General called me on the phone and asked what it was all about. I explained what transpired, and that I had not received compensation. He asked me to give him a week or so to investigate.A week or so later, he had confirmed my claim as legitimate and with merit, and he asked me for a written invoice, and he would authorize the payment.So I gave him a written invoice, and a couple of weeks or so later received payment in full.So there being no issue left, the suit I initiated was non-suited.Now, there were other channels I could have gone through, and met weeks or months of delay. But I suspected a lawsuit might get much more prompt attention and resolution. It doesn’t always work out that way, but this time it did.
Can I sue my home builder or County for violation of code?
I bought my house in a subdivision in 2007. It was built at the end of 2006. My house has been struck by lightning twice this year and has caused thousands of dollars in damages. I had an electrician come out to make sure my home was grounded. According to him the code states you must have 2 grounding poles per this size home. He said we only have 1 and it doesn't even feel like a whole one it feels like a partial one. Since we're not grounded adequately this type of damage will continue to happen. Can/Do I sue my home builder, the subdivision or the county/state (for allowing it to pass inspection without it being up to code)?? Also how do I obtain a copy of what the code was back then?? What type of lawyer would I hire??
Can you sue the federal government?
essentially you can't sue the government or its employes for losses that are incurred in as the result of things that only a government can do. SO if things go very badly and the US became like Nazi Germany, years later you could not sue them (individual employees or the government itself) for damages (including mental anguish( even though they gassed your entire family line to death... as that is a thing that a normal person can't do (just a government). If one of their secretaries screws up your paperwork and it results in your house being demolished (same as if a demolition company got the address wrong) then you can try to prove negligence against that individual (if the government say you can try the law suit). If while in the military (a government only power) something bad happens they are unlikely to let you sue. If they don;t honor your vets insurance then since there are OTHER insurers in the world, they might let you sue.
Civil Case. Can I challenge a plaintiff's claim SERVICE? Never lived at the address where Sheriff came...?
There are some methods you can use to try to have the service be found to be ineffective, but in the end, none of it really matters to you. You borrowed money from the credit card company and you either can't or don't want to pay it back right now. The court will eventually find you liable for the money and a judgement will be filed against you, whether you could be found to file service or not. If you ever desire to borrow money again from a source that checks such things, you'll eventually have to clear the debt or declare bankrupcy. But in the meantime, nothing substantially different will happen to you based on you having been served or not served these papers. You owe the money, the credit card company will get the judgement anyway. And meanwhile, you running around trying to get out of it is causing the costs of collecting on the debt to go up, which means that everyone else has to pay higher rates when they borrow money. Do the right thing and stand up and say you are sorry but you cannot pay much right now, but you will pay what you can and clear up the debt eventually. Or file bankrupcy. The rest of us do not deserve to have costs increase because you are running away from your debts and obligations.
Can I sue my local county for a mistake?
You cannot sue (for money) the government officials in a situation like this for negligence, which is what this appears to be: a mistake. You can only sue them if they violate a clearly established constitutional right. If they had probable cause to arrest you-- even if was based on mistaken information-- then you cannot recover damages. (You can however, get everything taken off of your record, an entirely different issue.) If you can show that there has been a abject failure to maintain an accurate database of license suspensions (as opposed to just a mistake in your case), then the answer might be different. You are getting some really bad answers: You cannot sue courts. They have judicial immunity. Your question does highlight a problem: It is virtually impossible to hold law enforcement officials accountable for negligence. The current supreme court, though, has interpreted civil rights laws and the constitution as permitting recovery only where there is intentional misconduct. You CAN sue for an injunction: ordering them to give you your car back, fix their records, etc. If you prevail, the other side has to pay your attorney fees. This is something to consult with an attorney who does civil rights cases about.
Subdivision roads never dedicated?
The answer is in your county or municipal ordinance, not in Texas state law. I'm a county attorney in one of your neighboring states and we do not require roads within all subdivisions to be dedicated to the public. We require them to be built to county standards, however. (50' road easement; 30' actually paved). They are not dedicated to the county on the plat. First, they don't have to be public roads. From the gov't's point of view they are just more roads to maintain. If the subdivider has submitted proof that maintenance arrangements have been made through a homeowner's association or private contractor, the county/city will not raise the issue unless there are complaints. To have an effective dedication, two steps must occur: 1) the developer or owner must offer the roads to the local government and 2) the government must accept the dedication. Obviously, it's more complicated than that. The sheriff must say he can provide law enforcement; the school district must say the roads are ok for school buses; fire department has to approve; road department has to approve, etc. RULES FOR USING THE ROADS: not sure what you mean, but you may use them for access to and from the subdivision. If I could talk with you or see your plat, I could give you a better answer, but they could be public roads through use, but not government roads. This is a complex issue. Counties can even accept them as public without accepting maintainence and liability.
Can I sue county clerk for clerical error?
I was convicted for some traffic matters almost 2 years ago. I should have been eligible to get my restricted license back 7 months ago, but a clerical error made by the court clerk was sent to the DMV causing me to having the restriction pushed to 3 years. I went back to court to get it amended and resent to the DMV 2 months ago (which it was) but the DMV still hasn't received anything. Can I sue the county clerk for making the error in the first place, essentially robbing me of the ability to drive for the past 7 months?
Are you generally happy with the government provided services in your country? Why?
Canadian here, Mississauga, Ontario.Yes, overall excellent.Refuse pickup is prompt, four separate streams. Uses automated trucks with robot arms to empty the city-provided bins, only a truck driver who never leaves the cab. Fast, accurate, efficient.compostable kitchen waste weekly.Relyclable and yard waste bi-weekly, large bins or prepaid bags.Trash bi-weekly alternates with b., large bins or leave at side of road.leaves twice in fall, large vacuum truck.Roads are well plowed and salted in winter. Occasionally more rough spots than I like (snowplows make potholes in asphalt), but they do eventually fix them.Subdivision I’m in is about 60 years old, city spent most of the summer replacing most of the water mains. Done now.County government runs schools quite well. At start of year, grandson’s grade 8 class had 32 students show up. Within a week another grade 8 teacher showed up and split the class, now two classes of 16 students.Provincial government services all consolidated into offices run by a private contract company, quite prompt though often a 15 minute lineup. Only minor grouse is drivers license testing, a shambolic system separately managed.Federal services all consolidated into other offices run by a private contract company, quite prompt, rarely a lineup. Service staff well trained and polite.Mail is delivered door to door at older addresses , or to central boxes in each subdivision in houses built since 1990.Pretty much all other interactions can be done online. Simple tax filings are normally free, takes very little time.Police, fire, ambulance services are prompt, efficient and polite.Province just built two huge new hospitals nearby (Oakville and Brampton).Elections run efficiently, never seen a lineup more than 5 minutes at a polling station, reliable results available very soon after closing.In general, IMHO governments do quite a good job.
Do you have recourse when someone files a frivolous civil lawsuit against you?
First of all, it is up to the courts to ultimately decide whether it is "frivolous". Keep in mind that even if the plaintiff loses, that doesn't make it frivolous.A genuinely frivolous case will not actually make it to trial, but that doesn't mean that you can do without a lawyer. You will need one. But if the plaintiff is clearly nuts and makes a habit of filing nonsense claims, it is possible to seek to have them declared as a "vexatious litigant" (as it is called in Texas; each state will do things differently).But it takes time. My wife was named as one of the defendants in a case in which the suit (well all of the related suits) was dismissed with prejudice (and the plaintiff was eventually declared a vexatious litigant). In some of the filings, the plaintiff described policeman hissing at him and of someone giving him the evil eye. He was clearly delusional, and other than his initial filing, he had no legal representation. Yet the whole process took several years.Although it was frustrating, I was actually impressed with how the the court, and indeed, the defense lawyers, wanted to make it certain that the plaintiff had every opportunity to clarify and explain the basis of his case. So the general routine was plaintiff would submit something. Defense would file saying, "We're sorry, but we simply don't understand what law is relevant here or really even what the accusation is. Can the court ask the plaintiff to clarify?" The judge would tell the plaintiff to get a lawyer,and to state unambiguously what basis in law the whole thing was about. The court, quite correctly, wanted to make sure that if there were some actual sense to the complaint, that it get considered. My point with this is that a case that never even made it to discovery, was dismissed with prejudice, and that had filings from him that were just a notch or two above being submitted in green crayon still took years. This was as frivolous as it gets, but it still took several years for everything to be dismissed.
Can you be sued for not paying taxes?
What most local governments do is put in a lien for back taxes with the IRS and your resident State (assuming your state has income tax) so that any refunds you have due are paid directly to them on the back taxes. Then they put a lien on your property so if it is ever sold they get their money first. If you let this build up for numerous years or they are aggressive at their tax collections, they have the legal right to force a sale of your property to pay the taxes owed. Depending on how aggressive the locality is, they can get debtor judgment against you and try to collect on this with a garnishment on your wages, etc. Bottom-line is that the taxing authorities - IRS, state and local - have more power to collect their money than regular creditors. Therefore, I would advise trying to keep current on all your tax payments. Besides, the penalties and interest are a killer! Tell your friend to try to work out a payment plan. But if they do, be sure to make the payments and keep the new taxes current. They will still owe penalty and interest, but may stop a judgment. With R/E taxes increasing with the last few year R/E boom, more and more people will have this problem of paying their R/E taxes. If she ever refinances her property, try to get an escrow for real estate taxes and insurances. For some of us, paying monthly is easier than a large lump-sum. Good luck!