legal issues

Estoppel – Wikipedia

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From Wikipedia: Estoppel.

Estoppel in its broadest sense is a legal term referring to a series of legal and equitable doctrines that preclude “a person from denying or asserting anything to the contrary of that which has, in contemplation of law, been established as the truth, either by the acts of judicial or legislative officers, or by his own deed, acts, or representations, either express or implied.”

Because estoppel is so factually dependent, it is perhaps best understood by considering specific examples such as the following:

Example 1: A city entered into a contract with another party. The contract stated that it had been reviewed by the city’s counsel and that the contract was proper. Estoppel applied to estop the city from claiming the contract was invalid.

Example 2: A creditor unofficially informs a debtor that the creditor forgives the debt between them. Even if such forgiveness is not formally documented, the creditor may be estopped from changing its mind and seeking to collect the debt, because that change would be unfair. It is advised to hire a lawyer for filing bankruptcy if you are struggling from unmanageable debt issues.

Example 3: A landlord informs a tenant that rent has been reduced, for example, because there was construction or a lapse in utility services. If the tenant relies on this statement in choosing to remain in the premises, the landlord could be estopped from collecting the full rent.

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Asshole parked in my parking space

Asshole parked in my parking space

I swear, one of these days

Update: This was an over-reaction on my part, and I’m sorry about it. These are new folks who live across the street from us. The condos they moved into are supposed to park in off-street parking behind their building and not on the street, and especially not in front of our house. From what our neighbors say, that information is supposed to be given to new residents, but I don’t know if these folks have that information.

Further Update: No, they knew they shouldn’t be parking there. And they’ve been told repeatedly that they’re not supposed to do so. And they continue. So the law will soon be involved, since they’re violating a city ordinance to park here.

Sec. 621-117. Parking for longer than six hours restricted.

It shall be unlawful for the owner, driver or operator of any vehicle to park such vehicle, or to permit the vehicle to be parked or to stand, for a longer period than six (6) hours upon any street, alley, highway or other public place in the city, other than with the written consent of the owner or tenant of the property abutting the street, alley or place where the vehicle is parked; provided, however, this section shall not be deemed to permit the parking or standing of any vehicle in contravention of any other provision of this chapter or Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the parking or standing of vehicles.

(Code 1975, § 29-263)

Also — let me make it clear, since I got a comment — putting this photo up is NOT a violation of these people’s privacy. You have no expectation of privacy if you park on a public street, whether or not you’re doing something wrong. Photography is not a crime, nor is publishing photographs taken in public spaces. They only place you have an expectation of privacy is in your own home or dwelling place, or places where you have a reasonable expectation of privacy such as a hotel room, gym locker room or store dressing room. It is perfectly legal for me to both take and publish this photography and I don’t have to obscure identifying information, like the license plate.

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Additional Living Will Pointers

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The Onion provides a few Living Will pointers I hadn’t thought of, but will now factor into my surgery preparation plans. Among them:

Leave at least one reasonably flattering photo for the press. This point cannot be emphasized enough.

Explain in no uncertain terms that, should you die and return as a zombie, loved ones must shoot you in the head without hesitation.

Research medical life-support technology and specify whether you’d prefer to be hooked up to a Danninger Continuous Passive Motion device, an Emerson suction unit, or a Slushee machine.

Comatose people have been shown to exhibit a brainstem-level response to music, so prepare a decade’s worth of mix tapes in advance.

One thing I’m actually doing is the last one… I’m putting together a post-recovery playlist of soothing music to listen to in the hospital on my iPod, after reading that soothing music can help relieve pain.

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Living Wills

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Stephanie and I met with an attorney last night to arrange to get living wills. She’ll draw them up and then send them to us next week. She charges $230 an hour (wow!) and it should take her a couple of hours to get it done. Ouch. But it’s better than the alternative.

Here in Indiana, living wills don’t address the condition of persistent vegetative state, which is the situation Terri Schiavo is in. Indiana living wills cover only terminal conditions where extra-ordinary care would be taken to prolong an unquestioned terminal condition.

So I’ll only be able to specify my wishes legally in that case. So let me say it here, so there’s no question or mistake — if I were in a persistent vegetative state where I had no brain activity and a large portion of my brain had atrophied, like in the case of Terri Schiavo, I would rather be taken off life supporting measures and allowed to cross over peacefully into the afterlife, instead of lingering indefinitely.

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