I'm here to testify..........a visit to the courthouse

[mdshunk]

actually my dad named me mule, becuase I was stubborn, but you guys know that...

It wasn't because you're 1/2 jackass? :grin:

 

[Mule]

It wasn't because you're 1/2 jackass? :grin:

watch it, you'll get deleted

 

[kid_stevens]

A horse will walk in a barn and hit it's head on the same beam everytime. A Mule, Jack or Jenny will only hit it once and duck everytime after that.

 

[Mule]

A horse will walk in a barn and hit it's head on the same beam everytime. A Mule, Jack or Jenny will only hit it once and duck everytime after that.

Hey your pretty smart.....

 

[bjp_ne_elec]

Never got called to testify. Hopefully don't have to ever go there.

So the tenant contracted with you to testify? Not following - as with tampering, you'd think the tenant was most likely to do the tampering. Only thing I could think the landlord could do is pull off a tenants meter for the common areas.

 

[ItsHot]

poco investigators

poco investigators

I thought that the poco normally did this in the way of investigators and auditors?

 

[frizbeedog]

I was subpoenaed. I'm required by law to play.

:smile:

So the tenant contracted with you to testify? Not following - as with tampering, you'd think the tenant was most likely to do the tampering.

You got it right....except the tenant's lawyer subpoenaed me....they, being accused of tampering.

Me, to give tesimony about whether or not I found evidence of such.

 

[kid_stevens]

Never got called to testify. Hopefully don't have to ever go there.

So the tenant contracted with you to testify? Not following - as with tampering, you'd think the tenant was most likely to do the tampering. Only thing I could think the landlord could do is pull off a tenants meter for the common areas.

Land Lords will do all sorts of things to get rid of good tenants. Worse things to bad tenants. 12 places I know of here were taken by the City/DEA for moving good tenants out and moving drug dealing gang bangers in.

I went in one time when the Landlord told me to drop one side of 240 so the tenant couldn't cook. Turns out the tenant called housing because the furnace would not stay lit.

Tenant won and was award the rent for every month left on the lease to move with. It took me a year to get my fee from the Landlord. I finally put a lien on one of his properties that he wanted to sell. Can't sell here until all debts and liens are settled

 

[frizbeedog]

I thought that the poco normally did this in the way of investigators and auditors?

I'm assuming they will be there too.

By the time I did my work the meter had peen pulled, and glassed.

Failure to pay bill I assume....or other.

 

[ceknight]

Anthropomorphism.

:smile:

Not quite. Picking out some salient quality from a barnyard critter and mapping that to one's personality is probably more like metonymy than it is anthropomorphism.

 

[frizbeedog]

Land Lords will do all sorts of things to get rid of good tenants. Worse things to bad tenants.

I went in one time when the Landlord told me to drop one side of 240 so the tenant couldn't cook.

Even if a bad tenant, is disabling the power something you should do...and is it even legal?

 

[mdshunk]

Even if a bad tenant, is disabling the power something you should do...and is it even legal?

I know a landlord that took a non-paying tenants front door off for "repairs".

 

[ishium 80439]

I assumed you had pointy ears and a long face.

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says "Hey buddy, why the long face?"

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

 

[ishium 80439]

But seriously. I have never been called into court for any reason [knocks wood furiously]. There was a movie that I don't recall that had a scene that I think sums up who you need to be in court. The lawyer and the witness were talking outside of court. (Obviously paraphrased)

Lawyer: "Do you know what time it is?"

Witness: "2:15"

Lawyer: "Your answer should have been yes. Telling me the actual time was more than I asked for."

 

[quogueelectric]

Cow here to testify. I have been dragged into court to testify as to service latteral required heights and trucking companys max heights. Damage done to a car when a landscaping bucket truck snaged a lateral. Main thouroughfare how many semis drove past yet this one snaged the line I blame the landscaper. Testimony exchanged for free counsul of case I had already won. Hardest part was keeping my mouth shut when it came to my trial. I had already won just had to keep mouth shut through formality. Still have scars on my toungue from that one. Attorney was holding me in my seat. It is funny now.

 

[kid_stevens]

Even if a bad tenant, is disabling the power something you should do...and is it even legal?

Totally illegal and I did not do it. He told me something was wrong and they wanted the service dropped to 120. I thought it was a little fishy he did not want me to go to the apartment. The Service entrance, MDP and group service panels were 1/2 a block from the apartment. So before I did anything I went to the apartment to tell whom ever was supposed to be working that the power was dropping to the 120V and found tenants. I called the jerk and he told me that he wanted them to move out and wanted the range to not work.

So I told the Tenants and we went to court. It would not have worked any way the group panels went to a Sub group distribution panel at each group of 8 apartments then to the internal sub panels. So I would have had to go to the group distribution before I could pull the red leg or in the apartment.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Tomorrow I go to the courthouse to give testimony about the condition of the electric service, and whether or not there was any evidence of tampering with the metering equipment....a dispute between management and a tennant, that I suspect goes deeper than mere tampering.

This is the third time I've had to go to the courthouse to give testimony, for various reasons, since I've been in the trade.

Care to share any stories about having to do such a thing?

For whatever reason.

:smile:

i ended up giving doing the expert witness dance in front of a grand
jury in 1995. they had me back 3 times to see if i answered the same
questions the same way. everything got covered, from ohm's law to
voltage drop, and i ended up doing voltage drop calculations on the
blackboard, and trying to remember the circular mils of #12 wire from
memory. just like passing your journeyman's test on a pop quiz, 13
years after you break out.

it was about electrocution. swimming pool. led to manslaughter 2 degree
indictment and conviction for landlord, and 2.5 million wrongful death
lawsuit for same.

it's even more interesting from a personal standpoint when the difference
between expert witness, and defendant, depends on the accuracy and
integrity of your answers, and you aren't allowed to have an attorney
present in grand jury chambers.

based on my experience, there is nothing worth cutting corners with
regarding what we do for a living that is worth having to explain it
to a district attorney.


randy

 

[charlie b]

I once worked on a project on behalf of the tenant association in a dispute with the utility over the adequacy of the building’s service. My role was only to gather information and to perform calculations that might be used in preparation for a trial. It would have been my boss who would have served in the role of “expert witness.” He had served in that way several times in the past. He told me that the opposing attorney will always try to discredit your testimony by proving that you are not the expert that you claim to be. They do that by asking you questions designed to force you to say things like, “I need to think about that a moment” (and they don’t allow you that moment) or “I need to look that up in the book” (to which they will respond that you are supposed to be an expert so why can’t you just answer).

Not having been in this role myself, my advice can be of only limited value. But here it is anyway:
(1) Remain calm and professional at all times,
(2) Do not react to any accusation or suggestion that you don’t know what you are talking about, other than to assert your confidence in the accuracy and completeness of your testimony,
(3) Listen to the questions,
(4) Ask for clarification if the question is long and complex,
(5) Answer only the question that is asked, and
(6) Do not hesitate to say, when this is indeed the truth, that members of your profession do not commonly perform that task (for example, to perform a service calculation) without having ready reference to the book, that you would therefore need to have the book in front of you if they wish you to answer that question, and that you have the book with you (at your seat or in your truck) if they want you to fetch it.

 

[celtic]

I know a landlord that took a non-paying tenants front door off for "repairs".

I thought we agreed to not talk about that



j/k


Seriously though....a few years back I had a deadbeat tenent in a rental property I owned. The paperwork was filed with the courts, date was a week or so away. So I'm talking to my neighbor and I mention this deadbeat's "money issues"....the first thing out of my neighbor's mouth:
"Want me to call Vinny and have him fix the front door?"
It was January too
Say me to the neighbor: "I got this one...you can get the next one"

 

[zbang]

There's a great book out there called Why Buildings Fall Down, which has some excerpts from cases the author did. One of them has the exchange:

lawyer: So, how much are they paying you do say that Mr Jones jumped?
expert: Not a cent.
lawyer: You're working for free?
expert: No, I'm being paid to say whether Mr Jones jumped.
(laughter in the court follows)

I've testified in some patent-related cases. It can actually be fun to "work" the opposing council when they obvously don't know what they're asking about. Do not try this often, though.