[Acadian]

I just read on MTBR that Lake Forest got plowed??? Is this true? if so that's really sad since that place was so much fun - I've only been there once, but was planning on going again this winter

I've also read that they have fenced off Calabazas park in San Jose because of this lawsuit of a fellow biker (well his dad) against the city?

WTF....

 

[Instigator]

Welcome to the USA Luc

If it is fun than someone will ruin it.

 

[Freddy]

Hi.

I`m norwegian so i`m not all to familiar with your legal practice but WTF!
Is it actually possible for someone to file a lawsuit against a city because his son got injured riding his bike in the woods?!!

 

[mack]

yes, it is very legal, and it happens all the time. For example, i own a pool, and it has to be fenced off by law, but if some kid got onto my property, climbed the fence, and then drowned in my pool, i could be sued, and i would probably loose. or if a kid came and used the rope swing on my property i could also be sued.

I really dont get, we have a problem with lawyers in this country, like John Edwards. pisses me off.

 

[Ratfink]

I'm not sure if it got plowed or not. If nothing is posted by 12:00 I'll cruz over at lunch and see. Here's a good photo of Andrew Neethling jumping the big pack at Lake Forest.

 

[biggins]

it is all part of residing within a very litigious society.

 

[Westy]

This thread depresses me. I am going to sue RM for limiting my positive mood potential. The rest of you will be subpoenad as witnesses.

 

[Fury]

If that news is true that really sucks for you guys - those trails looked awesome.

We're in the process of getting a part of Crown land (Toronto city owned) designated as a "skills park" for bikers. The main problem is the risk management lawyers for the city. At the last meeting a member of Toronto's park's department told us about a woman who ignored "Dangerous Construction Area" signage, got into the construction area by squeezing between 2 fences, and hit another rolled up fence laying on the ground which caused her to endo over the bars. Her tooth went through her lower lip and shes suing the city for negligence... WTF!!!! Canada isn't nearly as bad as the U.S. but Ontario is well on it's way to getting there.

 

[Fury]

This thread depresses me. I am going to sue RM for limiting my positive mood potential. The rest of you will be subpoenad as witnesses.

No no no, you sue everyone here and hold RideMonkey vicariously liable

 

[SirChomps-a-Lot]

Hey, it wasn't me suing calabazas...

I sent the city an email assuring them that bikers are mature and responsible and deal with the consequences of their actions... Guess I was wrong.

PS: it's never the rider that sues... it's always the rider's DAD... makes me so angry. SO ANGRY.

 

[Westy]

No no no, you sue everyone here and hold RideMonkey vicariously liable

Now don't send me a bill for $150/hr for that advice.

 

[bizutch]

yes, it is very legal, and it happens all the time. For example, i own a pool, and it has to be fenced off by law, but if some kid got onto my property, climbed the fence, and then drowned in my pool, i could be sued, and i would probably loose. or if a kid came and used the rope swing on my property i could also be sued.

I really dont get, we have a problem with lawyers in this country, like John Edwards. pisses me off.

But, ironicly....if you spot him on the rope swing and take out your AK47 Assault rifle and blow the little Folker away, it's considered trespassing and you're protecting your rights as a property owner to defend it.

Gotta love this place...where else can you NOT be responsible for someone's death...so long as you cause their death intentionally.....

 

[oly]

Lame.... hope its not true.....

 

[biggins]

Hey, it wasn't me suing calabazas...

I sent the city an email assuring them that bikers are mature and responsible and deal with the consequences of their actions... Guess I was wrong.

PS: it's never the rider that sues... it's always the rider's DAD... makes me so angry. SO ANGRY.

like that kid that ruptured his spleen a few years back on the shore. his parents sued and they tore a bunch of stuff down if i remember correctly. i wish for once someone would take responsibility for their own decisions and actions.

 

[MikeD]

I really dont get, we have a problem with lawyers in this country, like John Edwards. pisses me off.

Careful, Mack, this might end up like one of your threads in the politics forum.

And yes, people who sue others for things that are their own goddamned fault should rot. But we love to throw up 'the McDonald's hot coffee case' and 'John Edwards' jacuzzi case' as examples without really knowing the facts about these.

MD

 

[Jeremy R]

Last night on the local news, there was this breaking story where
some old man answered a knock at his door, and some dude sprayed pepper spray all in his eyes. So, the old man walked to his bedroom pulled a gun, walked back, and blew the guy away.
They said no charges were filed.
I like this story.
Guns > Pepper spray.

 

[ssaddict]

PS: it's never the rider that sues... it's always the rider's DAD... makes me so angry. SO ANGRY.

Usually after the Dad's insurance finds out "what" the kid was doing and decides not to cover the bills. Surely Dad isn't going to be responsible for his own kid's negligence, that's just too much money and he'd have to sell the boat.

Call me crazy, but in most of the lawsuits like these that I have heard of, the people involved are usually doing pretty well financialy in life and don't exactly "need" the money. Maybe i'm alone here?

 

[buildyourown]

Usually after the Dad's insurance finds out "what" the kid was doing and decides not to cover the bills. Surely Dad isn't going to be responsible for his own kid's negligence, that's just too much money and he'd have to sell the boat.

Call me crazy, but in most of the lawsuits like these that I have heard of, the people involved are usually doing pretty well financialy in life and don't exactly "need" the money. Maybe i'm alone here?

The insurance companies have to pay no matter how the kid got hurt. However, they can sue the city/land manager to recoup their losses. It has happened to more than a few of our jump spots.

 

[Dogboy]

Call me crazy, but in most of the lawsuits like these that I have heard of, the people involved are usually doing pretty well financialy in life and don't exactly "need" the money. Maybe i'm alone here?

I don't think you're alone here. Lets face it, litigation requires money that most poor folks don't have.

 

[MikeD]

I don't think you're alone here. Lets face it, litigation requires money that most poor folks don't have.

True, but the costs of litigation can be covered by the lawyer, who recovers the outlay from the settlement...I think it's more of a mental thing, a feeling of powerlessness, on the part of some poor people, that prevents them from suing rampantly. Or, perhaps they just don't feel the sense of entitlement that some more wealthy Americans do when something goes wrong.

MD

 

[ssaddict]

The insurance companies have to pay no matter how the kid got hurt. However, they can sue the city/land manager to recoup their losses. It has happened to more than a few of our jump spots.

Maybe your insurance, but I know pleanty of accidents where Insurance companies have decided not to pay on a claim. If your doing something deemed illegal for instance, like tresspassing.

 

[narlus]

yes, it is very legal, and it happens all the time. For example, i own a pool, and it has to be fenced off by law, but if some kid got onto my property, climbed the fence, and then drowned in my pool, i could be sued, and i would probably loose. or if a kid came and used the rope swing on my property i could also be sued.

I really dont get, we have a problem with lawyers in this country, like John Edwards. pisses me off.

you own a pool? i thought you were like 15 years old?

 

[Rip]

I really hate when crap like this happens. Freaking society has become sue happy.

 

[spookydave]

yes, it is very legal, and it happens all the time. For example, i own a pool, and it has to be fenced off by law, but if some kid got onto my property, climbed the fence, and then drowned in my pool, i could be sued, and i would probably loose. or if a kid came and used the rope swing on my property i could also be sued.

I really dont get, we have a problem with lawyers in this country, like John Edwards. pisses me off.

If your gate was locked you would win that one. But it would cost you to defend yourself for sure.

And for the guy shooting someone for just trespassing. You would go to jail for sure. They have to be threating you with bodly harm before you can defend yourself that way.

 

[spookydave]

that could be true! lol

Yo, my dad and brother are both brokers. Stick with it, it will pay off for sure.

 

[biggins]

If your gate was locked you would win that one. But it would cost you to defend yourself for sure.

And for the guy shooting someone for just trespassing. You would go to jail for sure. They have to be threating you with bodly harm before you can defend yourself that way.

maybe in cali but not in south carolina

 

[-BB-]

that could be true! lol

Yo, my dad and brother are both brokers. Stick with it, it will pay off for sure.

Yeah... Pretty soon, Stoney will OWN us.
He'll have a house in the bay area AND a house in South OC.

 

[spookydave]

BB, that would be ok. We could build dirt jumps on his new lawn!

 

[meatboot]

Lets face it, litigation requires money that most poor folks don't have.

True, but the costs of litigation can be covered by the lawyer, who recovers the outlay from the settlement...I think it's more of a mental thing, a feeling of powerlessness, on the part of some poor people, that prevents them from suing rampantly. Or, perhaps they just don't feel the sense of entitlement that some more wealthy Americans do when something goes wrong.

MD

I've got to side with Dogboy here. Unless you've got a rock solid claim (and most of the type we're discussing aren't by their very nature) any attorney with an ounce of sense is going to make you cover costs. At the very least, the plaintiff will be paying for everything other than the attorney's time, e.g. expert witnesses, which can cost a boatload -- like 10K a pop. From experience, I know that wealthy people win claims that those less well off would never been able to afford to bring. Maybe a sense of entitlement plays into it to an extent, but the "who can I blame other than myself" attitude pretty well penetrates every strata of society. That and cheesy daytime TV ambulance chaser commercials.

And for the guy shooting someone for just trespassing. You would go to jail for sure. They have to be threating you with bodly harm before you can defend yourself that way.

not in texas!

maybe in cali but not in south carolina

It's been a while since I took Crim Law, but I think everybody's right. It's just that in some jurisdictions a trespasser is presumed to be threatening you with the requisite harm if he's inside your house (not just on your property).

 

[s1ngletrack]

This thread depresses me. I am going to sue RM for limiting my positive mood potential. The rest of you will be subpoenad as witnesses.

I smell a class action suit coming on.

 

[s1ngletrack]

Careful, Mack, this might end up like one of your threads in the politics forum.

And yes, people who sue others for things that are their own goddamned fault should rot. But we love to throw up 'the McDonald's hot coffee case' and 'John Edwards' jacuzzi case' as examples without really knowing the facts about these.

MD

That jacuzzi company had it coming - J.E. did it right on that one - whether you like him or not.

 

[ssaddict]

jacuzzi case?

Yeah, I'm wiht stoney. Maybe i've been riding too much, but whatcha talking bout?

 

[narlus]

http://www.kirby-holt.com/Areas_of_Practice/rep_child.htm

 

[MikeD]

That jacuzzi company had it coming - J.E. did it right on that one - whether you like him or not.

Edit: Looks like Narlus beat me to it.

Well, it wasn't even a jacuzzi... (rep. pundits, Tucker Carlson especially, have called Edwards a 'lawyer specializing in jacuzzi cases" by way of demeaning him) It was a valve in a public pool that had malfunctioned several times...Edwards represented a family in a lawsuit against the manufacturer, who failed to recall the valve, which created some kind of whirlpool suction when it broke.

The same suction held this family's daughter on the bottom of the public pool and sucked her intestines out of her body. She lived, almost unfortunately, but is on life support for the rest of her life.

Our society is too litigious, to be sure, but this, the flagship accusation against Edwards as a representative of all the bad lawyering in the country, is bullcrap. He may have done his share of ambulance chasing, for all I know, but that case was legit.

MD

 

[Ratfink]

BAD NEWS, IT'S F*CKING HISTORY!!!​

I just stopped by Lake Forest and it looks like all the jumps are flattened! The ground was too soft to walk all the way up. But the bottom section is destroyed! I'll post the sad photos later.

 

[Homey]

Isn't this a post about Jumps? If you guy's want to talk about class action lawsuits start your own damn thread!

It sucks Lake Forest is gone but I knew it was coming very soon. The entire place was surveyed last year. At least everyone enjoyed it while it was there!

 

[SLAPSHOT]

In almost all personal injury cases, the attorney representing the plaintiff fronts the costs and does not require the client to pay the costs if the case fails. If the case proceeds to a judgment or settlement, then the costs are deducted from that amount.

 

[SHOVEL]

I can't belive it I feel like my heart got ripped out but everthing always comes to end in real OC.And for all the OG'S keep your shovels up we'll find somewere to build so keep your eyes and ears open.And i heard there's A guy
who has land near lake forest that intrested in building a mtb park. So if you know this guy contact him and spread the word.

IT HAD TO BE THE NEGIBORS :angry:

 

[meatboot]

In almost all personal injury cases, the attorney representing the plaintiff fronts the costs and does not require the client to pay the costs if the case fails. If the case proceeds to a judgment or settlement, then the costs are deducted from that amount.

Maybe afternoon TV commercial lawyers. Most good attorneys make clients cover at least some of the costs, because it invests the client in the claim. Since Senator Edwards came up, I can tell you for a fact that K&H makes clients cover the costs for experts out of pocket. In fact, the common law doctrines of champery and maintenance limit the extent to which an attorney can front for a client. Maybe your jurisdiction's difference, but I doubt it. "It doesn't cost anything to sue" is just example of an apocryphal tale made "true" by repetition -- just like "Shivers are flexy" and "Hope's are too finicky."

It sucks that liability and dirt jumps can't be divorced, but it's a fact of life. I build trails too and live in constant fear that some little kid will get hurt and that'll be the end of that.

 

[penguinofdoom]

And for the guy shooting someone for just trespassing. You would go to jail for sure. They have to be threating you with bodly harm before you can defend yourself that way.

hey.. if they're dead, it's your word verses a dead guy's word.

its mostly true that if you do have to defend yourself with a gun, you better shoot to kill, cause if you just injure them, they could sue you for a bunch of $$$, but if you shoot 'em dead, then they cant sue.