Successful Zoom Trial

We just finished a complete trial in a civil domestic relations protection order entirely by Zoom, including witnesses testifying from remote locations and digital presentation of exhibits.

There were some minor bumps in the Zoom/trial road, but it all went relatively well. Even live trials had (and will always have) proverbial bumps in the road when it comes to lining up witnesses and getting exhibits presented to the trier of fact.

In some ways, Zoom has made this easier. Witnesses are more likely to cooperate if they don’t have to travel to the courthouse and wait outside for their turn – thus their whole day is not ruined.

Lawyers can label and exchange exhibits faster. We think many parts of Zoom trial technology is here to stay.

Fighting to Keep Injured Client's Money

We just had to file a lawsuit last week against a health insurance company on behalf of our personal injury client.

This health insurance company is trying to reach into the settlement proceeds of a serious personal injury case to take what the health insurance company believes they are due – even though an Ohio statute forbids this type of conduct.

That health insurance company takes the position that they do not have to follow that statute.

We had offered them an appropriate amount to resolve their claim, but they rebuffed that offer.

A multi-million dollar company that feels it needs $10,000 of a woman who was run over by a car. A woman who had to stay in the hospital and nursing home for weeks after the accident, and who now has permanent injuries.

Looking forward to their explanation to the Judge.

Major Flaws in Auto Insurance Policies

We just again had another very serious automobile accident case come through our office where the insurance coverage of the at-fault party was seriously lower than the value of the injury claim.

Our client had over $125,000 in medical and rehabilitation bills in just the first few weeks after the accident, and the at-fault party has only $100,000 in coverage.

This rather horrible situation could have easily been avoided if our client had sufficient “un-insurance” and “under-insurance” coverage.

Getting a sufficient amount of this type of coverage is not very expensive. Ask your insurance broker about it.

Our suggestion is that you have at least $500,000 of this type of coverage. You never know if the other driver has any or sufficient insurance to cover your injury and losses.

See our blog post here to learn more about this type of important coverage.

Are All of Your Drivers Insured?

Make sure all of the folks in your household who use your cars covered by the policy are listed drivers on the policy.

We are litigating a case against an insurance company who refuses to provide coverage to our client because the client let his daughter use his car about once per month when the weather was bad (had had an SUV).

The insurance company claims that the SUV was made available to the daughter too often, and since she was not actually listed on the policy, the insurance company will not pay the claim.

We of course disagree with them (which is why we sued them), but it would have never been an issue if the daughter was simply listed on the policy. It would not have affected the premium.

If you need help fighting an insurance claim, contact us today.

Zoom Court Hearings Continue

We are set to complete two full evidentiary hearings on Zoom with two different courts.

One was a motion to suppress, where the Judge was in one place, the police were in another, our client was at home, Michael O’Shea was at home, and the court reporter was somewhere else.

The other hearing involves the pursuit of a private civil protection order. That hearing has also been done entirely with Zoom, with the magistrate at one location, our client at her home, the respondent at his home, the respondent’s lawyer at her office, and the court reporter at another location.

All exhibits were exchanged electronically. This is a large part of our new litigation world.

Successful Zoom Court Hearings

We are proud to have represented clients in both a divorce and criminal matter and we continue to work tirelessly for our clients, even virtually.

Recently we were able to conduct an entire divorce hearing by Zoom, which included swearing in the witnesses and the execution of documents to finalize the divorce decree.

We also had a full four hour Zoom evidentiary hearing in Summit County in a criminal matter which involved swearing in witnesses, taking testimony, showing witnesses digital exhibits and showing witnesses videos – the Judge was in her office, I was at my home, my client was at his home, the police officers were at their police station and the court reporter was at her home.

A few bumps in the road, but it all worked out in the end and we continue to help fight for all of our clients.

Personal Injury Cases Continue Amidst Pandemic

We are still receiving and settling a fair amount of personal injury cases during the COVID crisis.

We are processing claims very effectively through social distancing methods, including electronic case intake (where the client does not even have to come to the office), to e-filing lawsuits in cases we cannot settle.

Zoom-based mediations and pretrials, Zoom depositions, and electronic exchange of discovery materials are also increasing.

Even after the COVID crisis is behind us, we see much of this process remaining because of how effective the time management has become.

Insurance Settlement Reached

We just partially resolved a long-pending piece of litigation involving a homeowner family who had a house-slipping-down-a-hill scenario and an insurance company that thought they did not have to pay for the loss.

Lots of motion practice and last minute settlement negotiations, but in the end the insurance company did what they should have done before the lawsuit was filed – write our clients a big check.

We were very pleased to secure this outcome for our clients.

New Custody Cases

We are currently litigating two family law cases where one of the bigger questions is what impact a medical marijuana card (and medical use of marijuana) has on the custody/parenting issues.

Stated simply, not all magistrates and/or Judges have the same opinion about the use of medical marijuana.

Stay tuned to see where this goes.

Successful DUI Reductions

We were once again able get two unrelated DUI cases in Cleveland Municipal Court reduced to what is called “physical control.”

In each case, we were able to convince the prosecution that there were a number of issues related to the administering of what are called “field sobriety tests,” which are tests police officers use to determine whether there is probable cause for arrest.

Our clients were very pleased with the outcome.

Federal Criminal Plea via Zoom

We recently did a first for our practice. We did an entire federal criminal plea by Zoom.

There were 7 people on the Zoom meeting to do this. Michael O’Shea (attorney for the defendant) from his home, the Defendant (an illegal alien in a federal holding facility), the Judge (in the Courtroom), the Judge’s bailiff (from her home), the probation officer (from the probation department), the interpreter (from her home) and the court reporter (from her home.

We even had a defendant who did not speak English (thus the need for the interpreter). Nevertheless, we were able to complete the plea almost as easily as if we were in the Courtroom.

This could very well be the norm in the future – even after the end of COVID.

Case Goes to Sixth Circuit of Appeals

This past week while working from a home office, we filed a huge 50 page brief with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals – the highest federal court in our part of the nation other than the Supreme Court of the United States.

The transcript alone was almost over 1000 pages long, and one of the issues involved a 37-year federal sentence received by a low level drug dealer because he made the federal government prove their allegations at trial.

This appeal is just getting started.

Legal Zoom Hearings Increasing

We actually had a number of hearings and pretrials over the last two weeks by cell phone and Zoom technology.

Because this ended up being easier than all of the courts and participants expected, we see this technology as something that may indeed stay around even after the end of the Corona virus crisis.

We were pleased with the success of these calls.

DUI Trial Before Jury in Medina

We recently had to try a DUI jury trial in another County.

Most of the trial focused on whether the prosecution proved that our client was “under the influence” when he was driving one night.

The jury determined that the prosecution had not done so.

However, the jury did find that the BAC machine correctly measured our client’s breath, and held that the .092 reading (albeit just slightly over the legal limit) was enough for the blood/breath alcohol count. Thus, a mixed bag for the client.

This DUI case reminds us of how important a DUI conviction can be on someone who travels to Canada. If one travels to Canada (for any reason), they will be denied entry if they have a DUI conviction. Our client often has to work in Canada, so this issue was rather big for him.

We are currently examining his prospects for appeal. There were some pretrial rulings by the Court which may get this case into the Court of Appeals.

Do You Have Vital Automobile Insurance Protection?

We recently had another experience where our client benefited tremendously by having what is called “underinsured” and “uninsured” automobile coverage.

Everyone should have this coverage.

You cannot rely on a presumption that the person who causes your auto accident will have any or sufficient coverage to cover your injuries.

“Underinsured” and “uninsured” coverage does not really cost that much, and many insurance brokers simply do not offer or explain this coverage to their customers.

Call us anytime for more advice on this important issue.

Mandatory Jail Time Reduced to a Fine

We recently had a client who was facing a mandatory 3-day jail sentence for driving under a DUI driver’s license suspension.

After some work with the prosecutor (who was reasonable), we were able to get the charge reduced to what is called a “Failure to Display” charge.

He was fined and served no jail time and was happy to get that experience behind him and get back to work.

Charges Dropped for Our Client

We recently represented a young working man in Akron who was charged with driving under a suspended license.

After we were able to convince the prosecutor that the license suspension was a technicality (there are over 20 ways in Ohio that you can get your driver’s license suspended), the prosecutor agreed to drop the charges altogether.

Our client was very pleased and headed off to work.

Successful Injury Settlement

We recently had a rather successful settlement for a client who was injured in an automobile accident.

Our client had to actually sue his own insurance company to get proper compensation (it is awful when someone has to do this).

It took many months of discovery and settlement discussions to get the client what the they deserved.

We often have to pursue both the tortfeasor’s insurance company as well as our client’s insurance company to make it right and we were pleased with the outcome.

Father Represented in Child Support Hearing

We recently helped a father during a child support hearing that lasted an entire day.

This hearing for our male client focused solely on the proper amount of child support he should pay.

This was largely because of a new child support law that significantly changes how child support in Ohio is to be calculated.

We are waiting for the Court’s decision.

Successful OVI Case

We just resolved a long-standing and somewhat delicate OVI case this week.

Our client’s case went back to 2017 – and involved an allegation that the client had consumed drugs (i.e. not alcohol) when he was originally arrested for an OVI.

The client is now drug free (bad time in his life back in 2017), and we were able to secure a big reduction on the OVI charge, and the client will now have almost unlimited driving privileges to get to work and his other important affairs.

It’s very nice when a client says “thank you” in cases like these.