JCarpenter Law Office PLLC

09/10/2020

Hey folks, today is the last day to publicly comment on the proposed norther corridor, the hcp renewal, and amendment of the red cliffs reserve management plan. Click on this link and there are draft comments to help you out. The fate of moes valley is involved, under the new hcp, the management of the toniquint area will be left to a small board that decides and alproves all development projects with out having to under go normal nepa and Esa review. Moe's is owned by state trust land, so is much of the area under the proposed 4 lane highway. State trust lands have been a party to hcp since 1996 when it was created and they vowed to exchange lands within the reserve as a party to the contract. Just like they propose will happen with toniquent area. However they haven't dont that and now they want to build a 4 lane highway over land that was bought using section 6 e.s.a. funding. The new plan states that the hcp can not control state trust lands and there is no contract that binds state trust lands to actually swap lands on toniquent, the New zone 6, which is much larger than proposed last year but with no certain identification of exactly what will be protected and wide discretion in the hands of a board. Please take 10 min and comment that we don't want the renewal of the hcp, that land management decisions should go through the nepa process and public involvement, there are less than 15 hcp plans approved in the United States that involve over 40 thousand acres of land to be managed by a board. This is not what Washington County wants or needs. Here is the web site with example comments also. Thanks. Have a great day! https://conserveswu.org/ also there is a large well funded conservation organization (besides the one below) who filed a 300 page comment and will take this to court.

Washington County is one of the most scenic areas in the West. The beautiful open spaces and scenic vistas make Washington County a desirable place to visit and call home. Our region is home to many endangered and threatened animals and plants including the Mojave desert tortoise. There is constant....

12/04/2017

This week was good news, I filed my first trade mark "word mark" for a client and received notice that it was approved for publication by the patent and trade mark office. I really enjoyed taking trademark and I.P. in law school but when it comes down to actually doing everything correctly the first time, I basically re-read the trademark office manual and checked every step and every definition. Next - the design mark was filed over the weekend, a bit more technical process but excited to be able to register these two prominent marks in the community and possibly do more of this type of work in the future.

10/23/2017

I had the pleasure of calling a debt collection agency to say, "you're three months late paying me a 6 grand judgment I won against you, do I really have to file for a debtors examination against the biggest collection agency in town to locate your bank account, then garnish your assets." Pretty sad to harass folks for not making payments or even trying then doing exactly the same thing.

03/28/2017

Have you ever had a debt collection agency file for a judgment against you in court for an alleged failure to pay a 5 year old debt without giving you notice for several years? Sometimes all you need to do is file an answer denying the claim. The agency has the burden of proof. This week, after filing an answer and preparing for battle, the agency failed to file ANY initial disclosures, name witnesses, produce evidence or a computation of damages to support claims resulting in the court granting a motion to exclude all evidence and client was awarded over 6 grand in attorney fees on my motion for summary judgment. A collection agency who waits for almost 6 years to bring a breach of contract on an assigned debt might not have the evidence they need to meet their burden of proof; or maybe they seem to have forgotten the rules of civil procedure do in fact apply to them.

*Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result.

05/06/2016

2 mediations this week, 1 is going to trial and today we settled the other in 6 hrs after 2.5 years of litigation. I thought the first would, second would not. Totally opposite. Goes to show u never put any bets on the table when u walk through that door.

05/04/2016

Did u screw up and put your significant others name on the title to your house or land but you didn't make it to the alter before things went bad? Partnership law is your answer. Before you get blackmailed into paying your ex to remove their name from your property for more money than they ever contributed, consider filing an action for judicial dissolution of your partnership. The court performs an accounting and they only get back what the partner contributed.

05/04/2016

Are water rights appurtenant to the land they are used on? If you buy land that includes a water right with the purchase do you have the right to sell the water if the bank has a trust deed encumering your land? Water rights are transferred appurtenant to land unless conveyed in a separate document (water right deed). If you are buying or selling water rights that might be encumbered by a trust deed, you should find out first before warranting title to the water.

03/31/2016

Your trial ended and the other party appeals and ties up ur award and judgement. Today the Judge flat out denied other parties motion to stay pending appeal, it was very rewarding to tell my client we move forward even during the appeal. There are severe penalties for filing an appeal for the purpose of delay which can include damages, attny fees and sanctions.

*Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result.

03/17/2016

Did you try and represent your self and end up with a default judgment for not filing things correctly? You can set aside a default judgment after entry if you act quickly. The Judge granted my motion to set aside default saving client over 20 grand, now we start fresh and do things right. Sometimes not hiring an attorney can end up hurting you. Consider getting an opinion first and act quickly if a default is entered.

*Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result.

02/02/2016

Do grandparents have legal rights to see their grand children. The grandparent rights statute was recently limited in its application by the Utah Court of Appeals. However, certain exceptions remain. My client was denied access to his granddaughter for 5 years by the other grandparent, after the parents of the grandchild died. Very rewarding this week, after 8 months of delay tactics, 3 attnys, to have the judge find my client has a right to frequent regular contact with his granddaughter under the amended Jones ruling.

01/05/2016

Are you stuck with a Divorce Decree paying alimony and child support but your income has dropped, or your spouse is now able to meet her own needs? Consider petitioning the court to change support obligations based on a substantial change in circumstances. The judge issued findings in a trial today, a year and a half after filing the Petition, my client was relieved from his obligations he stipulated to at the time of divorce. Duration of alimony dropped by 7 years, support obligation dropped by $3707 a month, child support dropped by $900 dollars a month. Saved my client $718,000.00 over the next 14 years. It might be worth it to find out what you could change in your Decree of Divorce.

*Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result.

12/31/2015

We received the judges findings from a trial this past month. It's a tough decision to decide on a settlement offer at mediation. Sometimes you have to say no. We said no and went to trial. Turned out my client received 20 grand more than the offer by not folding under pressure, intimidation, personal insults and all manner of fears that sometimes come along with litigation. Very happy for this result.