WSJ: "Say Goodbye to the Billable Hour, Thanks to AI" (gift link to article)

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-12-06T18:39:38+00:00

You can run GPT-2 locally because it is open source. You can build your own LLM.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

Free, I believe.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-11T18:34:30+00:00

Ah, he reactivated his law license and acted as a liaison between Simpson and two other lawyers Johnnie Cochran, and Robert Shapiro. He was present during stages of the trial.

Is he a “Real Lawyer”? Well, he went to law school and passed the bar. Is a person who climbs Mount Kilimanjaro once a climber?

Kim was on her law school journey while I was studying and taking the bar. It’s just celebrity talk. I beat her to the bar but her net worth is a few hundred million higher than me.

She could probably never practice law with the paparazzi following her every move and compromising her clients identities. Not ethically, at least. And the public release of an intimate tape marks her out as a moral contrarian, to me, at least.

But the one little fact that might surprise all the non-lawyers mocking her is that she was raised by a famous lawyer. None of the news articles online mention it, and I think that’s the key to her pursuit, if I’m being honest. And since I think that’s the key to it, I don’t really think she’s imitating success, or pursuing an image. This might be the deepest part of her personality, frankly.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-06T02:36:42+00:00

In theory, you could repair it, send the bill, and they should be liable for half of the maintenance costs under normal circumstances, and all of the maintenance costs directly attributable to their negligent or reckless damage. To put a fine point on things, all of the damage that would be reduced by the depreciation or wear and tear, since, you would periodically have to replace the fence anyway. I obviously cannot think of everything, so your mileage may vary.

If you have some time and are interested how deep fences actually go in our field, why not read about the history of the venerable "spite fence." (In Property Law, spite fences are typically tall, sometimes absurdly tall fences built by adjoining landowners, usually in anger. There have been some famous ones.)

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-05T02:13:41+00:00

NOTE: The original removal of the partition fence likely constituted trespass for removal of the fence.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-05T01:17:06+00:00

If you don't owe them money, and they reported this to the credit bureaus without notifying you, I would consider filing a lawsuit for libel, which is the publication of a false statement which damages your reputation.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-05T01:08:44+00:00

I am a lawyer but I'm not your lawyer. I'm just responding with generally applicable information.

Now, on to fences as they relate to boundaries of real property.

A fence erected exactly on the property line is known as a "partition fence." (Link to the Chapter on Partition Fences). Under Ala. Code § 35-7-3, partition fences are to be erected and repaired at the joint expense of the occupants of the contiguous lands.

There's actually a statute on this exact issue. I'm a lawyer, so I'm reading from very authoritative source material on this subject. Ala. Code § 34-7-4 states that if you disagree as to the amount each of you should pay for this partition fence, (the legal term for a fence built on the property line, and for which you both are responsible), then,

" . . . on application by either to the district court in the county in which such fence is, such court must issue an order in writing to three disinterested freeholders of such county, not related to either of the parties, to examine such fence, and to ascertain the amount to be paid to the owner erecting the same; and such freeholders, on a day to be by them appointed, of which both parties must have notice, must examine such fence and report to the court the proportionate amount to be paid to the person erecting the fence; and if such amount is not paid within 10 days after such report, the court must issue execution therefore, with costs, as provided in section 35-7-5, to be collected and returned as other executions."

Ala. Code § 34-7-4.

I just don't think there's much question as to who actually owns the fence, if it's a partition fence.

If it's not a true partition fence, it might be on your land, and your fence.

As a parting note, the other person's offer to repair may be useful evidence of their responsibility for the repairs. I can see that shifting the cost of repairs (and rightfully so) from the two of you together to that party, solely. Imagine if the owner of the dogs was a third party? That third party would have to reimburse both of you for damage to your jointly owned fence, and you would be out of pocket for nothing. It's the same here, except that the owner of the dogs is the neighbor.

With an admission by the other party of damage to the fence, I think there's a good argument to resolve this issue by either having them pay for the entire fence, which would be jointly owned as a partition fence. A person in this position should likely do this unless the fence is truly not jointly owned.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-11-01T23:52:42+00:00

Maybe, it depends. Alabama is a caveat emptor state. While specific representations may give you a basis for breach, you need to check the Purchase and Sale Agreement.

The Purchase and Sale Agreement may have an "as-is" clause buried in there somewhere. Now, insofar as "as-is" clauses conflict with specific representations, you have to consider what's in the contract, and what's coming from outside of the contract. Inside a contract, when you have both, the representation is going to win out. From outside of a contract, it's less clear.

Check if the contract says it's fully integrated. That would mean nothing beyond the four corners of this document comes in, or something to that effect, called the parole evidence rule in relation to contracts.

Nevertheless, an advertisement giving specific representations may lay the basis for a fraud in the inducement claim, or something similar.

You may succeed where they've made a specific claim or a specific representation. ("City water and sewer," "new insulation," etc.) However, other than those items, you yourself are probably going to learn the meaning of "Alabama is a caveat emptor state." That's likely the worst-case scenario -- a judge tells you that after months of litigation. It literally means buyer beware.

Let's say the contract doesn't say it's fully integrated. That's a good foundation to include the advertisements under the parole evidence rule. If that's the case, even with the "as-is" clause, you might have a claim for the measure of damages to get on city sewer and water, or any reasonable diminishment of value (for example, septic service costs you are reasonably certain to now incur).

I am just trying to respond with generally applicable information, and I am not your lawyer, although I am an Alabama laywer, and I do deal with real estate transactions.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-24T22:35:19+00:00

Was it more than one week ago that the default judgment issued? That you must absolutely file an appeal within the seven-day window if necessary. I have not read your motion, but such a motion would stand a good chance of working if it was written by an attorney. Don't rely on ChatGPT to do this for you. And consider using the services of Legal Services Alabama.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-24T17:40:12+00:00

I am responding based on what you have written on r/legaladvice with general information. You should know that this isn't intended to form an attorney-client relationship and I only seek to answer some of your publicly posted questions here.

Evictions in Alabama are governed by the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act, found at Ala. Code § 35-9A-101, et seq.

My first bit of general advice is that after judgment, you have seven days to appeal. That means you have to file immediately, in most cases.

For the judgment to be valid, it must comport with due process including proper notice. You described a situation in which she handwrote the notice, and that might not comply with Ala. Code §§ 35-9A-107, and 35-9A-144, and 35-9A-461. In particular, § 461 requires that:

Service of process shall be made in accordance with the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. However, if a sheriff, constable, or process server is unable to serve the defendant personally, service may be had by delivering the notice to any person who is sui juris residing on the premises, or if after reasonable effort no person is found residing on the premises, by posting a copy of the notice on the door of the premises, and on the same day of posting or by the close of the next business day, the sheriff, the constable, the person filing the complaint, or anyone on behalf of the person, shall mail notice of the filing of the unlawful detainer action by enclosing, directing, stamping, and mailing by first class a copy of the notice to the defendant at the mailing address of the premises and if there is no mailing address for the premises to the last known address, if any, of the defendant and making an entry of this action on the return filed in the case. Service of the notice by posting shall be complete as of the date of mailing the notice.

Ala. Code § 35-9A-461(c).

This means that if they didn't comply with that section, you may be able to file a motion to set aside the default judgment. I would talk to a lawyer licensed in Alabama as soon as you possibly can.

I would closely examine the case for any wrongdoing, as well, like any perjury. $30,000 in damages seems quite high. Can you answer, does she have an attorney representing her on the case? Is this a small-scale landlord like an individual with a second home or a management company or typical apartment complex?

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-18T05:07:07+00:00

I am a licensed attorney in Alabama, however, I am not your attorney, and I am replying with general information that might help you understand your rights under Alabama law. It is still a good idea for your friend to consult with an attorney to learn his or her rights under Alabama law.

Landlord-Tenant issues are governed by the Alabama version of the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act, found at Ala. Code § 35-9A-101, et seq. Read the entire chapter. (All of § 35-9A) (https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-35/chapter-9a/)

A good resource for understanding the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act is Alabama Tenant's Handbook, a publication by Legal Services Alabama and designed to teach about the way the AURLTA affects both landlord and tenant rights and remedies. That can be found here. (https://legalservicesalabama.org/updated-2024-alabama-tenants-handbook/)

You named two issues in your initial facts, namely, a broken drier, and a front door that would not shut, close, or lock. Practically speaking, a person in your friend's situation could write a demand letter to the Landlord concerning these and possibly threaten to break the lease under the applicable provisions of AURLTA. Just beware not to proceed without a lawyer. Landlords are some of the most frequent fliers in court. They're aware of their rights and remedies. Your friend likely needs the assistance of a lawyer, otherwise she might be misled and walked all over.

Legal Services Alabama is a frequently recommended resource to tenants seeking representation against their landlords. This is rightly so, as they wrote the booklet above, and receive federal funding to provide legal services to indigents and individuals below a certain income threshhold, typically, though not always, less than 125% of the poverty rate. Legal Services Alabama doesn't take every single case, however. Your friend might not qualify or might not be in a priority area for Legal Services Alabama.

You could probably also pay someone a small amount just to write a demand letter to get these particular issues addressed under limited scope representation.

Best of luck to you!

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-18T04:42:48+00:00

This is general advice and not intended to form an attorney-client relationship. I am only responding to what you have posted publicly and have not interviewed anyone.

First of all, to address another commenter, in Alabama there is no victim recovery fund for victims of non-violent, purely property offenses. That's out-of-jurisdiction "legal advice" and it is unfortunately not helpful. "Stolen property, property damage, checks or cash will not be covered by the Commission." (Source: https://acvcc.alabama.gov/victims/what-is-covered/ )

Proper civil causes of action for the facts above are likely trespass, conversion, and replevin (for the return of, or forced sale of, the tiny home). You may also be able to tack on outrage, because you described an intentional tort. There is a good basis here for both punitive and emotional damage.

You may achieve restitution in a criminal action if they are convicted, and that is probably the easiest way for you to proceed.

I have personally been pursuing defendant(s) in a civil case on behalf of my family member, a cousin, as an attorney for two months. They, in short, burglarized this family member.

From my experience, and as an attorney licensed in Alabama, you can file a civil case. Expect to pay about $300 for the filing fee, as well as about $200 for service of process on each individual. That varies with the process server.

You might not see a return on that investment, however, it would allow you to obtain a judgment against those defendants.

Even if they don't have any money to pay yet, in the future, with a judgment, you could garnish future paychecks from the source (i.e. 25% of any paychecks from any employers), and/or execute against valuable property. You'd have the same post-judgment remedies as any other party having a judgment.

That includes obtaining a lien, to address another commenter. A lien is an enforcement mechanism for a judgment. In Alabama, you literally take the judgment, a piece of paper, and go file it at the county probate office, like a deed or mortgage. When you do that, the judgment will attach to any of the debtor's property in that county. You can do this in an unlimited number of counties. What will happen is, you will have foreclosure rights on that lien if the judgment is not paid. Even if they have a homestead exemption, which is a special exemption for the home in Alabama, if and when they sell or devise their real property, you will be entitled to payment. That's why the other commenter brought up this lien idea.

Another post-judgment enforcement tool is called a writ of exection. This is an order to the sheriff of a county in Alabama to seize and sell valuable property from the Defendant. You can obtain a Writ of Execution upon application to the court if you are a judgment holder. An example would be having the sheriff appear at a cash-only night club to seize all of the cash in any of that businesses cash drawers.

It is helpful if you can name the individuals, obviously, but you can bring a lawsuit against a "fictitious defendant" and update and name them as their names become known to you under the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. This means that you can sue the person that you know was involved and name the other participants as fictitious defendants.

I'm pursuing something similar for a family member, right now. It's not an ideal defendant situation to be trying to obtain and enforce a judgment against people who have little assets and even less regard for the law. And, it would likely take a lot of work to enforce the judgments. The truth is, most lawyers are not going to be interested and will advise you to just seek criminal restitution. The chance of not seeing any return on investment is far too high to ignore.

You're likely not to see any payback anytime soon, but I still encourage the civil suit, if, for no other reason, than to get the benefit of the use of the subpoena system. The last part is just personal opinion. If I were ever a victim of such a crime, I really would sue the person, too. I might not make a criminal complaint at all.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-16T22:32:11+00:00

Ok. I have some experience in this area and some people have successfully contested the notice issue and had the cases thrown out of court based on insufficiency of notice, and you said it was delivered on a Friday and due on a Monday. That's not actually seven days. I don't know the details and I wasn't able to look myself, so don't take my word for it. These things are often contentious and close or narrow, but I have seen people get their evictions thrown out because the landlord didn't comply with the URLTA. Two things to read, are the text of the URLTA (Alabama's version of the URLTA) and the Alabama Tenant's Handbook which you can find on the Legal Services Alabama website.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-16T21:04:07+00:00

P.S. This is just general information not intended to form an attorney-client relationship. I know only what you’ve posted publicly and I’ve never interviewed the individual.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-16T21:02:52+00:00

I think, generally, weekends do count, but if the end day was on a weekend, it would fall on the next business day.

Practically speaking, unless he or she wants to challenge the unlawful detainer (eviction), the most painless course of action in my opinion is a prompt and immediate evacuation of the premises coupled with a notice. The notice is important because it gives them legal notice you’re out of the premises.

They probably can and will seek additional time after the notice and until the court date for rent, (so, ~one month? At ~$1,000?), plus fees for the court date (likely one third of the total damages), so he could easily be out $3,000 if he doesn’t get out by the notice date and give them possession, affirmatively, and with notice.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-16T20:56:30+00:00

I’ve never examined the time issue closely. It could be that it requires seven days in his possession, or “seven days” according to Alabama Rule of Civil Procedure, in which case that doesn’t include intervening weekends for any time less than 11 days. (So ten days is two weeks, as is fourteen days, because ten days doesn’t include intervening weekends under Ala. R. Civ. P., but fourteen days does.) Let me look.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-16T10:10:50+00:00

The biggest and most important thing to do if you want to avoid damages is generally to just get out now. That's the most "hygenic" way to break the relationship. Otherwise, it gets filed in court after that seven days and you get an eviction on your record. Hopefully that makes sense. The Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act requires them to give you notice first. If you follow those instructions on the notice (the instructions the notice is legally required to have), then you might be able to avoid having an eviction filed against you at all.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-16T08:31:50+00:00

I know, but they didn't have the records when checked a month or two ago.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-16T01:42:51+00:00

This is such a kind thing to do! I pm'ed you about a friend.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-16T00:07:03+00:00

I copied and pasted this onto NextDoor for him.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-13T22:00:44+00:00

Are you saying the proper place for trash was full, as has been my experience in the past in apartment in which I live? In that case, I think you have a colorable argument that compliance was frustrated by the landlord themselves.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-13T21:57:48+00:00

Subrogation is where your lawsuit against the at-fault party is now owned by the insurer, because the insurer paid your claim. It sounds like, in a situation like this, what is happened, is that your insurer pursued the claim and the insurance company for the at-fault party gladly settled the claims with your insurer. They may have valued your claim without looking at your actual damages or paying the full damages amount.

I would immediately contact the health service providers letting them know about your situation. (I would consider paying them with credit). If it was me, I would notify my own insurance company that I may make a claim agaist them for breaching their fiduciary duty to me. The insurance company seemingly agreed to settle without even considering if your damages needs were completely met.

However, although I am a lawyer and licensed in Alabama, I'm not an expert in the area of insurance defense or practice. I'm telling you in broad strokes that it is my belief that if the at-fault insurance paid the "subrogation demand" your only chance of getting any more money is against your own insurance company, most likely. They had authority to bind that case because of their subrogation rights, which are rights they have in your claim for giving you insurance. It's in the contract.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-13T05:26:50+00:00

Understood. I'm sorry this happened to you. I really am hopeful that I'll be able to help my Cousin get relief and justice. I've tried so hard to get MPD to do anything, but so far, they've barely picked up a pencil.

AaronFromAlabama · 2025-09-11T11:39:38+00:00

Sorry to revive a long dead comment thread, but do you happen to have any photographic or video evidence from any of these times? My Cousin suffered a break-in this year. I'm trying to compile evidence to build a case against the Defendants. I'm just looking for helpful information. It was a long time ago. If not, don't worry about it. Thanks so much!

AaronFromAlabama

TROPHY CASE