That's a so-called "bait and switch." It violates the New York False Advertising laws, General Business Law 350 and 350-a. It also may violate the Unlawful Selling Practices law, General Business Law 396, if it was intentional, though only the Attorney General can sue under that... View More

If this was for work on your home, then possibly. If the contractor promised to do work, took money, and then disappeared, there may be a strong case for consumer deception under General Business Law section 349, which prohibits deceptive acts or practices in any business; or for common law fraud.... View More

I'm not sure I understand the question. Generally for legal research to identify cases on some topic, Westlaw and Lexis are the most comprehensive and commonly used databases of case law among attorneys, but they are pay services to which you may not have access. Google Scholar has a large... View More

To get summary judgment, a moving party has to submit enough admissible evidence to the court to show that the party is entitled to win the case so that there is no issue of material fact to be decided at a trial. A fact is material if its truth or falsity affects whether the plaintiff wins or... View More

Generally it doesn't mean anything. It means no specific judge has been assigned to the case. Whether one will be in the future depends on the case posture. You should still attend any pending court appearance and meet any pending deadline such as for a motion.

I assume you saw this... View More

Generally if you win an award in arbitration, you can file a lawsuit in a court with jurisdiction over the Bank (often the contract that contained the arbitration clause also says the Bank consents to the jurisdiction of certain courts) to confirm the award. Once the award is confirmed in a court,... View More

It's an unusual question. In Cherokee Nation v. Georgia the Cherokee sued Georgia seeking release of a Cherokee citizen being tried for a murder committed on the Cherokee territory, taking the position that Georgia lacked jurisdiction over that territory. While the suit was pending, Georgia... View More

It sounds likely that you are thinking of the Indian Civil Rights Act, which is at 25 USC 1301-03. The tribe itself may also have something akin to a bill of rights that it has itself enacted, or customary laws or doctrines recognizing additional or different rights than those in the ICRA. But in... View More

Sure. You can sue them for breach of a contract for a sale of goods. The evidentiary requirements for such a suit and the cost of pursuing it will depend in part on how much is owed. If only a small amount, a small-claims suit may be the most efficient option. If a really small amount, it may... View More

Very carefully. Seriously, the answer depends on what kind of lawsuit and what the grounds are for the motion.

An affidavit is a written sworn statement. At the top, under the case caption and document title (Affidavit of John Smith) it should contain a "scilicet" that... View More

Not as a general matter, though you haven't really provided enough information to be sure. It seems pretty clear that there would be no jurisdiction obtained to compel attendance through merely sending mail to the person in another state assuming they're a nonparty to the suit. The... View More

Not necessarily. Often the OTSC will itself say how it is to be served and if you are preparing one it would behoove you to specify a preferred manner of service. Otherwise, if the OTSC is not an initiating paper in the lawsuit but a subsequent paper then it should be served on counsel and can be... View More

If you have grounds to do so, you would first have to file a motion to vacate the judgment, which would then reopen the lawsuit.

The grounds to vacate that most commonly apply are (a) an excuse for defaulting, (b) no personal notice of the lawsuit, or (c) no jurisdiction over you.... View More

Assuming this relates to a contract executed in New York, the short answer is that there is none. Under the "time price doctrine" a retail installment sale has for hundreds of years been deemed not to be a loan of money subject to the usury laws. New York's Retail Installment Sales... View More

If you were personally sued, you are allowed to represent yourself. I believe in most counties the county clerk or self-help desk, if one exists, should be able to provide you a form answer that you can fill out essentially by checking boxes, and file. You should take care of this promptly to... View More

Depending on where you are and whether you qualify, there may be such services. In New York City and a few other places throughout the state, there is something called CLARO (the Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office) which holds free self-help sessions at the courthouse to assist defendants in... View More