I heard by paying rent, a tenant becomes tenant at will automatically regardless if a landlord gives a mo by m....
First of all, if you are a new landlord, do yourself a HUGE favor and ....
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6/11/2013 23:11 by mall |
My wife wants to keep the house but she is on disability and what she makes monthly will barely pay the mortga....
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6/11/2013 15:24 by trulystuck |
We are not happy with the way our painting contractor is doing the work.
he insist the the work is done right....
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6/10/2013 14:02 by hagit |
I have a lease that ends on July 31 that specified that the tenants must give 60 days notice to renew or move ....
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6/10/2013 12:02 by renterfornotmuchlonger |
My little dog attacked a neighbor's large dog. The large dog lifted my dog up at the neck, leaving a single bi....
I can see that point of view. Is that because my dog (and hence I) wa....
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6/8/2013 03:17 by Pou |
The company I use to work for had only been recently paying overtime pay. For a long time I wasn't even going ....
You should speak with a Massachusetts Wage & Hour attorney. A Massachu....
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6/7/2013 22:26 by rainperimeter |
Can an executor sell or transfer property from an estate without having all beneficiaries of the estate sign o....
Unfortunately, we have reached a critical point in this matter.
It'....
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6/6/2013 13:30 by executor428 |
I'm single mother of a child with autism, and I'm not happy with my district's educational plan for my son. ....
First, sorry about your frustration regarding your son and about your ....
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6/3/2013 08:04 by Angrymom2 |
As plaintiff in SC case, where a lis pendens has been issued against properties that the acting trustee will n....
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5/27/2013 20:56 by ackman |
Hi. Hopefully someone can give me some good information because I'm finding this all confusing. I was workin....
Yes, In Massachusetts, the attorney who handles your workers compensat....
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5/21/2013 10:30 by Timer88 |
If I am co-owner of our 2 family home and have agreed to pay the entire mortgage as part of the divorce settle....
Dear Fool-in-love: The divorce settlement requires you to pay the full....
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1/29/2013 20:41 by Fool-for-love |
Several of my colleagues will dictate consultation notes in which they state they don't have the complete hist....
The question probably boils down to whether or not such practice is wi....
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10/2/2011 18:37 by Anonymous |
Editor's Response
You didn't give a lot of specifics, so I will give you a general answer. First year law students learn that, for an injured party to recover on a negligence claim, they must show that the defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff, that she breached that duty and, as a result, the plaintiff suffered damages. Essentially, in this context, a duty is a legal obligation that the law places on one party toward another to act in a certain way (or to refrain from doing something). So, to your original question, when we are performing some action (like driving a car), we all owe a duty to those around us to act as a reasonably prudent person would under similar circumstances.
However, that does not mean that a duty exists in all situations. If there is no duty, there can be no liability, even if a different action by the person in question would have lead to a far better result. As an example, in most jurisdictions there was no common law duty for an bystander to assist an accident victim. Accordingly, the victim (or surviving family members) could not sue the bystander for failing to give assistance.
So, whatever the fact pattern, your brother will need to convince the finder of fact that the defendant breached his duty of acting like a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances. It sounds complex, but it really comes down to common sense. Follow this link for more information about the elements of a personal injury claim in MA.