Law For The Rest Of Us

Legal Duty. What is it and why do we care about it? This article will explain. This article will explore the basic concept and role of legal duty.  “Duty” is a term of art within the law. Its use is pervasive and it provides a floor or minimum level of legally acceptable behavior within a given set of circumstances. It is a method of imposing a legal obligation upon a person to behave in some manner. Injury occurs on a regular basis through accident, neglect, and even through intent. Not all injury is compensable under the law. It is only when a legal duty arises and has been breached that a person is entitled to legal reparations for that injury. Duty provides the very basic threshold of inquiry into the question of liability. Thus, the question of when a legal duty is owed has occupied courts for some time. The seminal U.S. case on the matter is Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co. [i]  The facts of the case are instructive on the question of duty.  A passe...

Shakespeare said it best. Lawyers get a bad rap for good reasons. They are hugely expensive, they deal in an area of life we either don't want to touch or feel we can't deal with, and sometimes, they are money grubbing scumbags. So why do we need them, or do we. They answer is . .well maybe! I know that isn't what we most want to hear. But law is a complicated business and most of us just don't want to have to go there in our daily lives. Not only that, but legal minutia can drive a person crazy. Have you ever tried looking at a statute? Here is is really good example of statutory construction that is just mind boggling for the non-attorney, California Probate Code Section 13101: 13101. (a) To collect money, receive tangible personal property, or have evidences of a debt, obligation, interest, right, security, or chose in action transferred under this chapter, an affidavit or a declaration under penalty of perjury under the laws of this state shall be furnished to the...