To All Do-It-Yourselfers: Call Before Going To Conciliation Court After a Car Crash
July 25, 2011 | John T. BuchmanWith the internet and so many resources available, many people are doing things on their own without hiring others in order to save money. Conciliation Court is actually set up for the “Do-It-Yourself-er” to resolve legal disputes involving up to $7,500.00. However, a person involved in a car crash that uses Conciliation Court can unwittingly lose other rights arising form that same crash. A recent Minnesota Supreme Court case highlights the danger. The Court ruled on July 20, 2011, that the injured party who had previously won a judgment in Conciliation Court for damages to her car could continue for her claim with physical injuries but had to forfeit her Conciliation Court judgment and repay the defendant. The Supreme Court overturned a Court of Appeals decision that threw out her personal injury claim. Plaintiff ran into a little-known doctrine which prevents “splitting a cause of action.” This generally means that you can’t sue the same defendant or an agent of the defendant more than once for different claims arising from the same injury. Plaintiff, at first brought a Conciliation Court claim for property damage when the defendant’s insured failed to pay for all of the damage to her car. She hadn’t hired a lawyer yet but had talked to one briefly. She tried…
Read MoreMN Ignition Interlock Program
July 1, 2011 | Jon P. EricksonMinnesota now has an ignition interlock program for those people who lose their drivers licenses because of various levels of DWI convictions, or the loss of their driver’s license because of an over .08 blood alcohol reading or a refusal to give a test. The program is voluntary so no Judge or Driver’s License Bureau can force one into the program. The program is somewhat expensive and intrusive so it won’t work for all who find their drivers license taken away from them by state for an alcohol related matter. It can be a workable option, however, because one can get a license after only 30 days of cancellation regardless of why one lost their license. These licenses can have limitations or restrictions depending on the driver’s circumstances. In the past it could be even one year or more before one could get a license of any kind. There is a good explanation of the program at www.minnesotaignitioninterlock.org. While the website has a lot of good information to help someone who wants to look into this program, I would suggest that one should also contact his/her attorney because of how the ignition interlock interplays with other punishments and sanctions for a DUI related matter. Any person faced with this license problem needs to…
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