Preserve the evidence if you think your injury was caused by a defective tire By: Darrell Castle If you’ve been injured in a car accident and think it was because of a defective tire, contact a personal injury attorney immediately. You can call (901) 327-1212 of fill out one of the contact forms on this page to schedule a FREE consolation. Video Transcript If a defective tire causes your accident, can you sue the manufacturer for your injuries? Hi, I’m Darrell Castle and I’m an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Tennessee and the answer to that question is YES, but there are some very important things to remember. Every year in the United States, thousands of
Recently Memphis Daily News reported two stories in a row, both of which I found interesting: First, they reported the great news that US home prices have risen by over 12% in the last year. According to their report, “Steady price increases, along with stable job gains and historically low mortgage rates, have in turn encouraged more Americans to buy homes.” At the same time, they also revealed that consumer confidence has fallen. Consumer confidence has been at a 5 1/2-year high, and the recent dip in confidence was only slight. But still, what could explain both pieces of news happening together? Why, if everything is so great, are people still nervous? Consumer confidence hasn’t risen to pre-recession levels yet.
Common questions about bankruptcy and marriage Bankruptcy comes with a lot of myths, and some of the biggest involve how it might affect your spouse. Here are some answers to think about in the case of couples who are considering bankruptcy and are not separated or divorced: Do both spouses have to file for bankruptcy? No, it is not required that you file a joint bankruptcy. If one spouse has a lot of debt in his or her name only, it may help to file separately depending on the state in which you’re located. However, if you have assets you want to keep that are under both of your names – like a house, for example – or if you
Transcript: If I file for bankruptcy, what will I lose? If you file for bankruptcy what are you going to lose? Usually you won’t lose anything, because each state has a list of exemptions, and that just means that there’s a list of property that is exempt from creditors. They can’t take it from you [just] because you owe them money. And we can usually fit your bankruptcy within the state exemptions. Now you have two different chapters that you can choose: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. That term’s not as mysterious as it may sound. A Chapter just means it’s a chapter in the bankruptcy code, which is like a book – the law of bankruptcy. Chapter 7 may
If you file for bankruptcy after someone has sued you over a debt, the lawsuit will probably still show up on your credit report. But in my experience as a bankruptcy lawyer in Memphis, people who ask this question are thinking about their credit the wrong way. If you have enough debt to get sued, your credit is probably already bad. And while bankruptcy doesn’t help your credit score, it can get you to a place where you’re able to deal with your finances again, so you’re ready to get your credit score back to a good rating. If you’re worried about how bankruptcy may impact your credit, make sure to hire an attorney who cares about it. Too many bankruptcy lawyers
Last week, the stock market went through some scary moments, and a lot of people lost their investments or were in a state of panic. As a result, Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz told employees all over America to be sensitive to their customers: “Today’s financial market volatility, combined with great political uncertainty both at home and abroad, will undoubtedly have an effect on consumer confidence and perhaps even our customers’ attitudes and behavior. Our customers are likely to experience an increased level of anxiety and concern.” It was a thoughtful response to the crisis, and I wish more people would be so understanding. Unfortunately, debt collectors probably don’t feel that way. They don’t care about how the stock market crash
As a bankruptcy lawyer in Memphis I meet folks all the time who’ve had their cars repossessed. Sometimes they come to see me because they want their cars back and hope it isn’t too late.Sometimes, though, you might not want your car back after it’s been repossessed. Maybe you know you can’t afford it or don’t need it, and you don’t want to put up a fight for it. You might assume after they take your car that your debts are settled. Sadly, that’s not always the case. If the repo company sells your car for less than you owe on it, you can still be held responsible for the difference. If you owe $10,000 and they sell your car
Are you overwhelmed with debt you can’t pay? Are you considering liquidating your retirement accounts to help you get out of the hole? Stop now and seek legal advice. Whether you’ve lost your job or your small business is failing, whatever your situation is, liquidating your retirement accounts to help pay your debt is not the answer. I’ve seen these situations reveal themselves in my office first-hand. I’ve had clients liquidate their entire IRA, 401K, etc, and still have bills they cannot pay. These clients end up filing for bankruptcy when they could’ve simply done so in the first place. I tell those clients if they had just come in to talk to me for an hour (for free),
Tattoos are popular. Not only can you see this when you walk around town, but stats confirm they are. In 2013… $1.65 billion – the annual amount of US spending on tattoos 45 million – the total number of Americans that have at least one tattoo 14% – the total percent of Americans who have at least one tattoo 21,000 – the number of tattoo parlors in the US Tattoos are a way for people to express themselves and way to declare themselves unique from others. People can get tattoos that have a serious meaning, or they can get tattoos because they were drunk one night and thought it would be funny. Whatever the reason is, there’s certainly a known risk
Today marks the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. Memphis has the horrible legacy of being the place where MLK was killed; but we also have the beautiful legacy of being the place where he delivered his final address – the glorious “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” speech, which he gave at the Mason Temple the night before his death. In the speech, MLK called on Memphis to embrace nonviolence in negotiating the sanitation strike, which had escalated and got worse following his death. He said to the people of Memphis, “For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of