Legal Eaze
Legal Eaze
By: Maxine de Villefranche, Tehachapi News Columnist
Topics:
Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 260 times
0 responses 1 comment Q: My ex-wife remarried a man from New Zealand and she is moving there with our 9-year-old son. I spend a lot of time with my son, at least 2 full weeks per month, or sometimes more and I am totally opposed to being separated from my son forever. I have a dissolution judgment that gives both of us joint legal and physical custody over our son. What can I do to stop this move?
A: You need to file an Order to Show Cause (OSC) in the original court to stop the move-away. If you have joint legal and physical custody of the child, it is possible that you would get full custody of this child at the OSC, or later, after a Child Custody Evaluation is performed, which can be costly and is a lengthy process. She will have to justify separating you from your son forever. Move away cases are filling the Courts right now. The law is changing constantly regarding this issue. Obviously a move to New Zealand would change the dynamics of your relationship with your son forever, and such a change requires serious justification. Various Courts apply the law differently, depending on which county you obtained your judgment from. You need to do this as soon as possible, as you are not telling me how quickly your ex-wife plans her move away.
Q: I bought a used car from a car dealership a couple of weeks ago and paid $15,000. Already the brakes are shot and I need to change the tires because they are threadbare. Isn't it against the law to sell a vehicle without good brakes and good tires?
A: Yes, it is. However, when you buy a used vehicle, it is your responsibility to make sure you are not buying a vehicle in disrepair or that will fall apart the minute you drive it off the lot. You should have consulted a mechanic to look the car over before purchasing it. Nevertheless, it is against the law for a dealership to sell you a car that is dangerous to drive. You must go back to the dealership and make a complaint that they sold you a car without good brakes and good tires and they need to fix the bad brakes and put better tires on the car. $15,000 is not a measly sum of money to pay for a used car. There is a lot of information you can obtain from the Deptartement of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Automotive Repair about this subject.
Maxine de Villefranche has been an attorney for 14 years and is practicing law in Tehachapi and Lancaster. Send your questions via fax to 825-8880 or e-mail maxinedev@msn.com. She will answer your questions to the best of her abilities.
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Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:44:09 PDT
On the used car issue: Give me a break! "Already the tires are thread bare" sounds a bit irrational. Maxine's "buyer beware" advice that one should check the vehicle goes without saying. The brakes are one, potentially, hidden (but easily verifiable) issue, but the tire issue is ridiculous. If the vehicle was just purchased, the tires were "threadbare" to start with--what the heck is the person complaining about? The burden of their own lack of diligence should not be placed on someone else. Again, things that are "hidden" are a different story. Oh well, just MHO.
