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: 3/2 large brick home, with large shop on 1 ac corner lot. $259,900. See pics @ or 576-4069.
Q: My neighbor’s dog dug a hole under my fence, came into my yard and was caught mating with my dog. We now have three puppies that we do not want to keep. Can I ask the neighbor to assume responsibility of the puppies because their dog is responsible? It seems he should be the one who should care for the dogs and find them homes.
A: This is a tough question, but let me answer the easy part first. You cannot force your neighbor to care for the puppies and find them homes. As a general rule, the law does not let you sue to force someone to do something. Court’s award monetary damages, they do not order people to do things. This means that even if the neighbor is legally responsible, all you could sue for would be your costs of caring for the puppies, or the cost of finding someone else to take care of them.
The harder question is whether the neighbor has any liability. Your neighbor is not liable simply because it is his dog. For him to be responsible, you must show some fault on his part, most likely that he was negligent in keeping the dog inside the fence.
For example, if your neighbor saw the dog digging and didn't stop it, my opinion is he could be found negligent. The same would be true if this happened several times in the past and he did not take any steps to prevent it from happening again. On the other hand, if nothing like this ever happened before and the neighbor had no way to prevent it, there probably would be no negligence on his part, and no liability. As they say, dogs will be dogs.
Q. I sued someone in small claims court and got a judgment against him. I know I cannot garnish his wages. Can I get the money in his IRA account?
A. No. In Texas, money in an IRA account is exempt from creditors and cannot be taken to satisfy a judgment. Money in a regular bank account such as a checking or savings account, however, is not exempt and may be subject to garnishment.
Q. I owe a student loan from more than 10 years ago. They now are telling me that if I don’t pay they will garnish my wages. How long do they have to collect? I thought there was no wage garnishment in Texas.
A: Unfortunately for you, there are basically no time limits within which government backed student loans must be collected. Even though the debt is 10 years old, it may still be collected.
Additionally, although wage garnishment is generally prohibited in Texas, wage garnishment for student loans is based on a federal law that pre-empts Texas law. In other words, if you don’t pay, your wages will be garnished.
Under the law you must be given an opportunity to make arrangements to pay before wage garnishment is used. I suggest you take advantage of this opportunity.
Q. My credit card bill has a due date of the 15 of the month. Is this the date I am supposed to mail the check, or the date it must be received? I recently mailed my check five days before the 15 and was charged almost $50 in penalties and interest when it arrived one day late.
A. The due date for your credit card bill is the date by which your check must be received. The credit card company recognizes that the check will take some time to arrive, and that is why there is a period of around twenty days between when your bill is received and when the check is due. Don’t rely on last minute mail delivery. To avoid a late fee and interest you should mail your check in plenty of time to arrive before the due date. Better yet, pay your bills online and know exactly when they are paid.
Do you want to know more about your legal rights? Check out my Web site, www.peopleslawyer.net