Law Office of Richard Koman ← Civil Litigation – Bankruptcy

California eviction basics

Dec

2012

I wrote this step by step for Avvo a while back, called How to Evict a Tenant in California. It’s not just the basic procedures, but also gives a sense of the negotiation and settlement process that is key to working out a good deal.

Thinking about college? Did you know student loan debt is nondischargeable?

Sep

2012

Created by: CollegeAtHome.com

What happens when creditor calls continue after bankruptcy? Santa Rosa attorney explains

Aug

2012

This morning, my clients and I are going into the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Rosa, California, on a mottion for contempt against a medical creditor and their collection agency. The medical provider is Chase Dennis Medical Emergency Medical Group Inc., which, as this Medicare.gov search shows, operates throughout California and Arizona. The collection agency ...

Santa Rosa attorney: What Vallejo teaches consumers about bankrupcty

Jul

2012

It seems bankruptcy is the best thing to have happened to Vallejo, California, according to the Huffington Post. With bankruptcy looming, city employees were depressed and the prospects seemed dire. “You go through a bankruptcy, you lose half your staff, do you really run out to your engine?” explained the fire chief. And the city ...

Santa Rosa attorney: Why you need a lawyer for bankruptcy

Jul

2012

I just answered this question over at Avvo.com: When filling chap. 7 do I have to to give a secured debt such as a car an exemption? My answer was basically, you need to hire a lawyer! Why? Because, as the question shows, bankruptcy concepts are not intuitive. I see lay people get in trouble ...

Santa Rosa attorney: Feds targeting California landlords over marijuana stores

Jul

2012

This doesn’t come as a surprise to any landlord-tenant attorney operating in California, but the details are interesting: The Federal Government is targeting commercial landlords who rent to California medical marijuana shops, according to Reuters. The government uses its power to grab assets used in drug trafficking to threaten to seize landlords’ real estate if ...

Santa Rosa attorney on eviction basics

Jul

2012

I get calls from time to time from people asking if they have to move out because they were served with a notice. So I thought it would be a good idea to run down some of the basics of California eviction procedure. Written Notice Eviction is a two-step process: first, the landlord has to ...

Mets great Len Dykstra pleads guilty to bankruptcy fraud

Jun

2012

Just a reminder of the importance of playing it straight if you are filing bankruptcy. Lenny Dykstra just pled guilty to several charges of bankruptcy fraud, The Wall Street Journal reports. Dykstra, who bought a mansion once owned by hockey star Wayne Gretzky, filed for bankruptcy three years ago, claiming he owed more than $31 ...

The warranty of habitability: Santa Rosa attorney explains tenants’ rights for habitable premises

Jun

2012

I just answered this question”> on Avvo.com, in which a tenant reported that her toilet has flooded half a dozen times and the landlord does nothing to even clean it up, much less repair the problem. Tenant wondered whose responsibility it is to clean it up. In light of this, it’s worth restating some basic ...

Santa Rosa attorney: Owe taxes? Make sure to file return on time

Apr

2012

Federal income tax returns are due on Monday, April 17, 2012. If your return’s not ready, have you filed for an extension? If you’re thinking about filing for bankruptcy protection this year, it’s critically important that your return is filed on time. That’s because back taxes that are more than three years old can be ...