Advertisers: Avoid the Crunchy Frog Defense

Business owners often make difficult decisions that affect sales and revenues. This is especially true whenever a law that applies to the business will hit the owner in the pocketbook. The owners must decide whether to comply with it or not. Obviously, the overwhelming percentage do opt for compliance, but those who don't often defend their actions by arguing how much their sales would drop as a result.

I call this the "Crunchy Frog" defense, and unfortunately, it just doesn't work. "Crunchy Frog" was the name of a sketch featured on the great TV show, "Monty Python's Flying Circus." In it, the police are questioning Mr. Milton, the owner of a candy company that manufactures a box of chocolates, one of which is called Crunchy Frog. The officers inquire about it, which results in the following exchange:

Policeman: Am I right in thinking there's a real frog in here?

Milton: Yes. A little one.

Policeman: What sort of frog?

Milton: A dead frog.

Policeman: Is it cooked?

Milton: No.

Policeman: What, a raw frog?

Milton: We use only the finest baby frogs, dew picked and flown from Iraq, cleansed in finest quality spring water, lightly killed, and then sealed in a succulent Swiss quintuple smooth treble cream milk chocolate envelope and lovingly frosted with glucose.

Policeman: That's as maybe, it's still a frog.

Milton: What else?

Policeman: Well don't you even take the bones out?

Milton: If we took the bones out it wouldn't be crunchy would it?

Mr. Milton is then told that he must delete the words 'crunchy frog', and replace them with the legend 'CRUNCHY RAW UNBONED REAL DEAD FROG.' He is then asked about the ingredients of chocolate called "Ram's Bladder Cup":

Milton: We use choicest juicy chunks of fresh Cornish ram's bladder, emptied, steamed, flavoured with sesame seeds whipped into a fondue and garnished with lark's vomit.

Policeman: Lark's vomit?

Milton: Correct.

Policeman: Well it don't say nothing about that here.

Milton: Oh yes it does, on the bottom of the box, after monosodium glutamate.

Mr. Milton was then informed that the box should bear a large red label saying "WARNING: LARK'S VOMIT." He responded to both directives by arguing: But our sales would plummet! He was then hauled off to jail.

For advertisers, the lesson of the Crunchy Frog sketch should be abundantly clear. Although it may be tempting to avoid describing a less savory aspect of your product, if the law requires it, you need to do so, regardless of how it may affect your sales. The FTC and class action attorneys are quick to jump on anyone who fails to accurately describe material aspects of their product. The word "material" in this context means a description that, if included, would directly affect a consumer's decision to purchase the product.

Just as a consumer would be less likely to purchase a chocolate if they were told it contained a raw unboned dead frog, the fact that they will be charged $90.00 per month for something unless they cancel within ten days is also likely to affect their decision. If you leave that part out for the sake of your sales, you'll probably wind up answering for it in court.

The litigation in this area revolves around whether the description that was left out was material or not. If it isn't material, it becomes a case of "buyer beware." As the policeman stated at the end of the sketch:

"If only the general public would take more care when buying its sweeties, it would reduce the number of man-hours lost to the nation and they would spend less time having their stomachs pumped and sitting around in public lavatories."

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Frequently Asked Questions About Bail Bonds

Helping someone post bail, or being arrested yourself, is a tedious and dramatic situation that requires legal and financial actions as well as a lot of patience. Once a person is taken in, there are common questions that initially arise about bail bonds and how to get bailed out of jail. Here are five frequently asked questions about bail bonds and the bail bond process.

How much is My Bail Going to Cost?

This all depends on the state you are in and the charge you have been arrested on. The typical amount of bail is 10 to 15 percent of the original bond amount. So if a person's bond amount is 5,000 dollars, then their bail cost would be $500. That is if the bond is ten percent. If the rate is 15%, then the bond amount would be $750. These percentage rates are mandated by State Law, which is why they may differ from state to state.

How Long Will I Be in Jail Before I Can Post Bail?

The amount of time you spend in your county jail is dependent on numerous variables. If you have previous charges on your record or happen to be awaiting trial on pending charges, the jail time will usually increase. If you are arrested while awaiting trial on other charges, then you may be held until your next court date, and bail will be prohibited, however, this varies case to case.

If you are arrested on alcohol charges, bail will be denied for at least 8-9 hours, depending on your state. A person must be sober to be processed, so if 8 or 9 hours is not enough time, a person can be help longer before bail is allowed. You must be processed to be bailed out, but you must be sober to be processed.

If you are arrested on battery charges or resisting arrest charges, a judge can altogether deny your opportunity for bail, and keep you locked up until your court date. Court dates can be scheduled in as soon as one week, or in other common cases, one month. It can even be longer at times depending on the amount of traffic through the jail.

Can I Call Someone From the Jail for Help?

Yes. Many people are misinformed if they think they only get one phone call in jail. The jail will allow you to make as many calls as you like, so long as you are not tying up the line too long. Also, a pay phone is the only phone available, so collect calls are the only option for inmates. Something to take note on, however, is that some cell phone providers do not accept collect calls. It is recommended, when arrested, to call a local number that can accept collect calls, like a family or friend's home phone line. If you do not have anyone with a home phone line, a bail bond company can offer help and accepts collect calls from jail anytime.

If you are attempting to bail a friend or loved one out of jail, and your cell phone provider allows collect calls, they may require you to set up an account with a positive balance to accept more than one call from the jail. This means, third-party companies or your cell phone provider themselves, will mandate an upfront fee of $20 or $30 in order to accept more incoming collect calls from the jail. This is another situation in which a bail bond company can help with collect calls from jail.

Who Can Bail Me Out of Jail?

If you are arrested, a friend, family member, lawyer, or bail bond company can post bail for you. The limitations state that a person must be 18 years or older and have valid photo identification to bail someone out of jail. A person may decline to post bail for someone, or co-sign to bail a person out of jail if they fear the inmate may be a flight risk and skip their court dates. If this were to happen, the co-signer is responsible to appear to all the remaining court dates until they can bring in the defendant and turn them in to the court. They will also be held liable for their remaining bond amount to the bail agency. It is important to be sure you are making a safe decision when posting bail for a person. Ask yourself if they are responsible and if they are likely to show up for their court dates, as well as stay out of trouble in the future. If they are a repeat offender or have a streak of debt and unemployment, it could be irresponsible to co-sign a bail agreement for them. In general, if a person can pay 10-15% of the bond amount, and show proper I.D., they can bail you out of jail.

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Legal Support Services Supply a Dependable Transcription Solution

Legal support services are used inside and outside of a courtroom setting to document a conversation or testimony. Individuals are sometimes required to prepare their testament before the trial. This document, referred to as a deposition, is used in the actual hearing and prior to this event as part of discovery procedures. Deposition services supply an experienced court reporter capable of creating an official document. Lawyers supervise this outside examination process rather than a judge when the service is performed outside of a courtroom. These manuscripts serve as a reference for pre-trial discovery procedures and are made available to both sides as they prepare the case for trial.

The supplied information is checked against the witness's live trial statements to ensure variances do not exist. Outsourced help is acquired when time or staffing is limited within a firm to ensure all necessary information is available for trial. Outside reporting professionals are also used to create official manuscripts of important corporate meetings or to document internal company issues.

Why do Companies Use Deposition Services?

Deposition services are acquired for one of two reasons: to obtain witness information prior to trial or to create an official record of something. In the event of a trial, depositions are taken up front to aid in the creation of each legal party's case. They are taken within an attorney's office or in a conference room at a neutral location. The witness is put under oath just as in court and then directly examined by attending legal counsel. Examination begins with the counsel who the witness is speaking for and then transitions to cross-examination by the opposing counsel. Every spoken word is recorded by audio or visual means as a testimony is given. This information is used to generate an official written script of the conversation. The script is then supplied to both representing counsels to be used as reference. Not every firm has the sufficient work force to generate the necessary depositions for each case. Various companies rely on legal support services to prepare these official documents because they receive a qualified reporter and can easily maintain the validity of each testimony.

The reporters supplied to assist with the deposition process create the written testimony, prepare all other necessary documentation, and certify the transcripts. The testimony serves as evidence for case building before procedures begin and serves as the physical testament in instances where the individual is unable to make the hearing. Deposition services are acquired today to meet the video, audio, and manuscript needs of law firms. Countless attorneys combine video media with traditional audio recordings in order to receive increased insight to a witness's testimony. Video creation requires high-end equipment that many law firms do not have on hand. A professional service can be used to record by these means and ensure video quality as a testimony is taken. Video recording allows counselors to review facial expressions or other witness features that are otherwise unknown with traditional transcription methods. These legal support services are additionally applicable for translation, general transcription, closed captioning, or corporate purposes.

Tips for Selecting the Best Legal Staffing Agency   Judgment Debtor Exemptions And Timelines   Should You Outsource Your Judgments?   How A Wireless Expert Witness Can Help You   Legal Placement Services: The Difference Between Court Reporters and Paralegals   When Should You Contact a Litigation Lawyer?   

Skiptracing Your Judgment Debtor

Finding your judgment debtor, is the first step to serve them notice of your lawsuit, and later to try to recover your judgment against them. Nobody else can pay your judgment off. If you know where your judgment debtor lives, that is often the first hint toward finding their assets, which could eventually lead to recovering your judgment. My articles are my opinions, and not legal advice. I am a Judgment Broker, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

If your judgment debtor was served at their residence or work, that is the first place to look for them. If your judgment is not recent, the judgment debtor may not live or work there any more, however those are good places to start.

Some judgment debtors try to evade creditors. Often, creditors can still find them. Start with what you know, and investigate further. For example, you may already know the address that your judgment debtor used to be at. You may be able to contact people that probably know something about them.

If you talk to your judgment debtor's current or former neighbors, family, roommates, or co-workers; do not come across in a way that might arouse their suspicions. Especially with the judgment debtor's family members, try not to arouse any suspicions, about whether or not they should talk to you, a stranger, about their family member.

The usual method to get free and informal information from those that know your judgment debtor, is to lie a little. An example lie might be "I'm a long time friend of Dan Debtor from... and I want to catch up with him, do you how I can contact him, or where he moved to?" Never lie to find a judgment debtor's banking information, however it is usually OK to find out where they live, their email address or telephone number, or workplace.

Some people might tell you a lot about someone they know, and some will even tell you about people they do not know. Listen carefully, to detect whether there are any bad feelings about your debtor. If they have negative feelings, they may tell you more useful information. Listen carefully, and gently ask them probing questions.

When you are trying to find out where a person (e.g., your judgment debtor) moved to, you are skip tracing them. The skip is the person you are trying to find. Do not try to act like a bill collector or a private investigator, or even tell them that you own a judgment against your debtor.

Often, the best source of information about a judgment debtor, is their ex-spouse or a former boy or girl friend. The next best is the debtor's friends or co-workers. Contact one or more of them, and see if you can find a sympathetic ear. Some of them may give you some valuable information.

At the same court where you got your judgment, there may be other judgments against your debtor. Finding and contacting other judgment creditors could be helpful. They might be glad to share information. Sometimes other creditors will not want to share any information, because the first judgment creditor to figure out where their debtor works or banks, gets to pay the Sheriff to levy the debtor's assets. The first to get paid usually wins.

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Find Out How You Can Check Who Is Calling Me

If you have those prank calls that you worry about, why don't you put a stop on them and go on living a peaceful life? That is not difficult to achieve. You should know that anyone can surely obtain the information they need without having to go through so much hassle. As a matter of fact, they can conduct the search without having to feel ripped off. That means that you don't have to spend all your savings just for you to obtain the information about your mysterious caller. Not only that, you will also love the fact that you wouldn't have to wait for a very long time just for you to find out the truth about those prank and anonymous calls. Within a few clicks, you won't have to wait for the information you need. So before you dismiss the idea, why don't you check out first how you can possibly find out who is calling you?

If you wish to find out who is calling me, you can first visit all those public offices and government agencies in your area. Why would you have to go far if there are offices that you check? What makes this search more ideal is the fact that you don't have to pay significant amount of money since they only charge people the administrative fee which is only minimal. You should also bear in mind that these offices are the best places to visit because they have this large database where they could easily check, verify and even retrieve people information. You should now that this tool would make things easy. In order to get started, you must first speak with the person in charge and let him know what you wish to accomplish. Without having to wait for a few hours or so, you would be able to obtain the information you need.

In case you need to bend a little because you do have a tight budget, you should know that you can always conduct the search through those online search engines. You should be ready with the information because these search engines would ask you to type in correct phone number you wish to check. You don't have to worry about obtaining accurate information because they have been tested by many individuals. As for the cost, you don't have to reconsider as well because utilizing those search engines won't cost you that much.

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Vacating A Judgment Is Not A Game

In my job, I talk with many judgment enforcers. Recently some told me about an article they saw, about vacating judgments as a recovery strategy; and wanted my feedback. That article promoted a flawed concept of offering to help vacate a judgment, to get it paid quickly.

This article explains why vacating a judgment to get it paid, is not a good idea. My articles are my opinions, and not legal advice. I am a Judgment Broker, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

What does it mean to vacate a judgment? Vacating a judgment is when a court voids, or sets aside their previous decision to issue it. The court makes a "Nunc Pro Tunc" (now for then) decision to make the previous judgment disappear. If it is vacated, that means it is like it never existed.

In theory, a creditor could bring a motion to vacate a judgment. However, it is almost always the debtor that files motions to vacate. The laws and rules covering vacating them vary by state and court. There are time limits, and courts require a logical reason to vacate a judgment. The most common valid reasons judgments get vacated are:

1) Defective service. This only works with default judgments, when the debtor claims they were not served properly, notice of the lawsuit.

2) Mistake. When a person understands the facts to be other than they are. This is not easy to prove, because ignorance of the law or negligence in researching the law, is not an excusable mistake.

3) Surprise. When a party is placed in an injurious legal situation, through no fault or negligence of their own. This is very rare.

4) Inadvertence or excusable neglect. Examples would be illness, relying on a flaky attorney, or when a court officer makes a serious mistake.

5) Void judgments. These are very rare, these are based on a lack of jurisdiction, fraud on the court, mistakes of the court, etc.

Judgments are not vacated for trivial reasons, including the convenience or wishes of the parties, or merely to settle them.

The silly strategy promoted on a few judgment-related blogs is basically, that vacating a judgment is a motivation for a debtor to pay you. "You suggest to the debtor if they pay you, a motion to vacate it can be filed with the court."

The incentive for the debtor for this flawed strategy, is that debtors want to get judgments off their credit reports. "No judgment on a credit report is better than a satisfied judgment on their credit report. Judgment owners and enforcers can make a deal to cooperate in vacating it, in exchange for getting paid."

There are four reasons why cooperating to vacate a judgment as an incentive for a debtor to pay it, is a bad idea for an enforcer especially, and also for original judgment owners:

1) Enforcers are the assignees of record, and have no standing or relation to the circumstances that caused the judgment.

2) Vacating a judgment requires a proof of service to be filed and a court hearing. Judgment satisfaction requires neither of those. The court will not appreciate any frivolous reasons to vacate it, and may wonder why the parties are wasting the court's time, when satisfying it is the correct way to settle and close the court case file. Imagine if a judge hears the debtor paid the enforcer and they conspired to vacate it instead of satisfying the judgment.

3) There are strict time limits and requirements on the causes of action to vacate judgments. This means there is a slim chance of this strategy even being possible.

4) Assignees of record, recommending and cooperating to vacate judgments might be bad policy, that could cause negative attention from government regulators, judges, etc.

The reasons and opportunity to vacate judgments is limited, and vacating them is a serious matter; and should not be used a bargaining tool.

Tips for Selecting the Best Legal Staffing Agency   Judgment Debtor Exemptions And Timelines   Should You Outsource Your Judgments?   How A Wireless Expert Witness Can Help You