Law Suit against a Marine.

[Anonymous]

I am the mother of Megan. She is now at Parris Island, next week starting the Crucible. Today she received a summons to court for a traffic accident that happened 2 years ago. She is listed as the defendant. I know she can't be present during the court case. What does she/I do? How do we get legal help for her. As of yet because of the holidays, she hasn't been notified. I will tell her but a letter will take at least 3 or 4 days to get to her. Should I notify her personally or let a lawyer here do it. What should she/I do? How do we respond to this summons? Thanks for all your help. My e-mail is cculbert@mindspring.com

ayersm18@hotmail.com

[Anonymous]

How do we respond to this summons? Thanks for all


: your help. My e-mail is cculbert@mindspring.com


Get a lawyer locally to handle it for her.

frenchiestm@clds.net

[Anonymous]

: How do we respond to this summons? Thanks for all
:
: Get a lawyer locally to handle it for her.


Nope. First thing you do is notify the court the split second they open and let them know she is on active duty. Technically speaking it is not a legal service of papers if she physically does not reside at that residence, whatever state that may be. Then you get a copy of the accident report. Then you get an attorney. In that order.

Lisa

lilmerc@yahoo.com

[Anonymous]

: Nope. First thing you do is notify the court the split second they open and
: let them know she is on active duty. Technically speaking it is not a
: legal service of papers if she physically does not reside at that
: residence, whatever state that may be. Then you get a copy of the accident
: report. Then you get an attorney. In that order.
:
: Lisa


Not in the state of GA. And not in this county. You had better first get a lawyer to take care of it so when court date comes around they won't even expect her there.

The judge could care less why or where the witness is at. The person that she would be helping could automatically have there case thrown out for witnesses not showing up. And the judge would want to know why his time and the courts is being wasted and why were they not notified before court date. A lawyer could take care of all of that before court so if it truly were necessary for her to be there he could help get the military have her there for it.

You could contact the lawyer of the person whose case your daughter is suppose to testify for and let them handle it. Let them go after the Marine Corps to bring her back if it's that necessary.

frenchiestm@clds.net

[Anonymous]

: Not in the state of GA. And not in this county. You had better first get a
: lawyer to take care of it so when court date comes around they won't even
: expect her there.
:
: The judge could care less why or where the witness is at. The person that she
: would be helping could automatically have there case thrown out for
: witnesses not showing up. And the judge would want to know why his time
: and the courts is being wasted and why were they not notified before court
: date. A lawyer could take care of all of that before court so if it truly
: were necessary for her to be there he could help get the military have her
: there for it.
:
: You could contact the lawyer of the person whose case your daughter is
: suppose to testify for and let them handle it. Let them go after the
: Marine Corps to bring her back if it's that necessary.


You're not reading what I wrote. You must notify the court! - advising them that the defendant does not reside at that residence. That the service of papers was not legal. The court - be Georgia state or commonwealth cuz I can't remember which states are what - cannot go forward with a case if there has not been legal service to a plaintiff or defendant IF AND WHEN the court has been advised. You don't just call the court and say Ok, I called. Doesn't work that way in any state. You get the court persons name, date, and time, and notes of the conversation. Then and only then will a Judge recognize your call. They generally do not take the time to advise people of this proper way because they don't want everyone calling. Most courts could not handle the volume. I have been trained in state and commonwealth law. Traffic, civil and criminal. Why I told her to do this in this order was that I did not want to see a 'trial in absence', is what it is called. While serving as a bailiff I saw many trials in absence. But when "legal" service was proven to be wrong - case overturned. Most of what goes on in court is not etched in stone. But getting this done in this order saves you time and most of all money. Do you want to get the copy of the accident report from the reporting law enforcement agency for a minimal processing fee or do you want to get an attorney to do it for you at the going rate of an attorney 125 to 200 an hour? She is the defendant in the case, therefore her insurance does not pay for her attorney. Don't know of many people that have that kind of money to throw away. Most attorneys will gouge a person even for a five minute phone call. I don't know of many attorneys anywhere that will see a person immediately. If time is of the essence here then she must call the court and would not hurt to call the plaintiffs attorney. Remembering the proper way to call a court. If totally necessary, due to time constraints, the mother can even show up in court and say where the daughter is at, meaning not a legal service of summons. They will have to postpone. Granting time to meet with the attorney.

I did email her and recommend that she get an attorney because I can tell just by the sounds of everyones postings that no one knows the law. Knowing the law is not a big deal, but can save your butt. Her case does not sound complicated. She was the middle car in a pile up and very difficult to prove the middle vehicle was the sole reason of an accident. Additional contributor at best. At least if your attorney doesn't sleep in court. :-} "Legal" service to a "proper" address can toss any case in any civil court in any state. Burden of legal service is upon the plaintiff. Yes they can do a trial in absence but will it stick once illegal service is proven?

As for Judges, they have stated more than once that they don't care much about anything. They don't have to. But they do have to follow the law. Presenting each law in a case is not their job either and they don't hesitate to state that either. Heard them say it too many times.

Lisa



lilmerc@yahoo.com

[Anonymous]

: I am the mother of Megan. She is now at Parris Island, next week starting the
: Crucible. Today she received a summons to court for a traffic accident
: that happened 2 years ago. She is listed as the defendant. I know she
: can't be present during the court case. What does she/I do? How do we get
: legal help for her. As of yet because of the holidays, she hasn't been
: notified. I will tell her but a letter will take at least 3 or 4 days to
: get to her. Should I notify her personally or let a lawyer here do it.
: What should she/I do? How do we respond to this summons? Thanks for all
: your help. My e-mail is cculbert@mindspring.com


Could this also affect her career? I thought that when you enlisted you had to be completely free of any legal obligations. They must have asked her if she had any possible legal matters that would take her away from basic training. She probably had no idea that this could happen, but as the defendant might the MC discharge her because of this?

[Anonymous]

: A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU, THIS IS MEG'S MOTHER. TO KEEP YOU POSTED, TODAY FIRST WORK DAY. I CALLED A LAWYER. HE ADVISED TO TURN OVER TO INSURANCE COMPANY. THEY WERE CLOSED TODAY. TOMORROW I GO TO THE COURT HOUSE AND INSURANCE COMPANY AND FILE FOR A COPY OF ACCIDENT REPORT. LAWYER SAID IF INSURANCE COMPANY WOULDN'T HANDLE IT TO CALL HIM BACK. he is a real pit bull from the sound of it. The recruiter also told me the same thing but said as soon as she comes home on leave he will get her an appointment with legal to see if they could help. Thank you all for your support and advice especially Lisa who has been so kind as to take the time to walk me thru the legal system and pitfalls. she seems to know her stuff. What would we do without you WM behind us, these guys just don't know how lucky they are to have a woman there. Thank you again, I really appreciate the help and advice. Mom


ayersm18@hotmail.com

[Anonymous]

You're welcome. I hate to see a woman trying to make it in the Corps and someone trying to mess them up. The court will tell you that you need to go to the reporting law enforcement agency that worked the accident for the accident report, ie: state police, police dept, whatever. But it's also a good thing to just see if you can get a copy of the court file on the accident case. They will want to know the court case number and should be on the summons. You may find the copy of the accident report already in there. This again, will save you time and money in dealing with this case and have a better picture of where exactly, your daughter stands. As a middle car in this accident they can only find your daughter additional contributor at best. But trust me, get a copy of the court file. They should let you, being as though you are the mother and you are acting on your daughters behalf.

Wish they had the Crucible when I was in. We didn't even get to qualify with the M-16 (A1's at the time). That's ok, made up for it in law enforcement though. Best part was getting to demonstrate the use of the Asp baton on the male sergeant that hated women. He cried after I hit him. Limped off the field too. You know that broke my iddie biddie widdle heart. :-} It was his idea that we had to hit him to be certified. Was his idea to demonstrate the Peper-mace on us too. I told all the guys it was a good thing we didn't have to demonstrate the Barretta 92-F!

Lisa

Semper Fi

lilmerc@yahoo.com

[Anonymous]

We didn't even get to qualify with


: the M-16 (A1's at the time).


I had to qualify with a 45 because of the secured area I worked in at Pendleton and also had to do it in Okinawa. Those Marines were terrified of me at the range because I maimed the figure on my target first before killing it, than I'd reload and fire at their target before they could. The fella on the right of me did #1 in his pants and the fellow on the left of me told them I was a crazie. Hee!Hee!

They admonished me and told me to stick to my targets and shoot to kill and not maime and make my enemy suffer first. :-)

Yeah after that I shot them dead right in the center of the head. Hee!Hee!

frenchiestm@clds.net

[Anonymous]

: We didn't even get to qualify with
:
: I had to qualify with a 45 because of the secured area I worked in at
: Pendleton and also had to do it in Okinawa. Those Marines were terrified
: of me at the range because I maimed the figure on my target first before
: killing it, than I'd reload and fire at their target before they could.
: The fella on the right of me did #1 in his pants and the fellow on the
: left of me told them I was a crazie. Hee!Hee!
:
: They admonished me and told me to stick to my targets and shoot to kill and
: not maime and make my enemy suffer first. :-)
:
: Yeah after that I shot them dead right in the center of the head. Hee!Hee!


You made me laugh. At Pendleton we had to 'fan fire' meaning "hear is the rifle you put the rounds in here and aim it down range and pull the trigger." They would pull the trigger as if the woman was blockheaded stupid and then hand it too us. I was not even allowed to sign a rifle out in my name. I had to borrow an M-16 from one of the guys who had already shot.

I remember the gunny in charge of the range that particular day had made a few comments about letting women have a rifle. What he did not know is that I found out that he had been busted from Master Sergeant to gunny. I really didn't care whatever it was he had been busted for. So I got online to fanfire and recall a male Marine that was escorted off the range for accidentally pointing the M-16 at the wrong person and not down range. So the shooting began again, me and my borrowed M-16. I kept wondering why they were sticking something up in front of my target every time I shot. I wanted to shoot whatever it was they were putting in front of my target. Turns out I was shooting dead center bulls eyes at 500 yards and I didn't know the rear sight flipped for distance. The gunny started screaming and told me I was going to qualify. I threw the M-16 back at the guy that let me borrow it and said sure, one day when they let me sign one out. Walked off the field and never got in trouble. I wasn't about to tell them that my step-dad was a Navy Seal in Nam and he taught me how to shoot. Obviously, not with the M-16.

lilmerc@yahoo.com

[Anonymous]

: We didn't even get to qualify with
:
: I had to qualify with a 45 because of the secured area I worked in at
: Pendleton and also had to do it in Okinawa. Those Marines were terrified
: of me at the range because I maimed the figure on my target first before
: killing it, than I'd reload and fire at their target before they could.
: The fella on the right of me did #1 in his pants and the fellow on the
: left of me told them I was a crazie. Hee!Hee!
:
: They admonished me and told me to stick to my targets and shoot to kill and
: not maime and make my enemy suffer first. :-)
:
: Yeah after that I shot them dead right in the center of the head. Hee!Hee!


You made me laugh. There are so many guys in this world that have a problem with women carrying guns or shooting them. You know, if they didn't mess around so much they would not have so much to fear!

It seems that there was always a woman on the law enforcement gun range that would always shoot low on the target at right about the male genitals area. Had to be male cuz the silhouette of the target appeared to everyone to be a male with his right hand on his hip. At least for the poorer departments that could not afford the F.A.T.S. training and real targets. But the guys would always yell and swear it was done on purpose. I would always get in trouble for laughing, as usual. Still makes me laugh. hehehe

Lis

lilmerc@yahoo.com

[Anonymous]

: I am the mother of Megan. She is now at Parris Island, next week starting the
: Crucible. Today she received a summons to court for a traffic accident
: that happened 2 years ago. She is listed as the defendant. I know she
: can't be present during the court case. What does she/I do? How do we get
: legal help for her. As of yet because of the holidays, she hasn't been
: notified. I will tell her but a letter will take at least 3 or 4 days to
: get to her. Should I notify her personally or let a lawyer here do it.
: What should she/I do? How do we respond to this summons? Thanks for all
: your help. My e-mail is cculbert@mindspring.com

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the response to the law suit. The insurance company has it now and says its their problem not my daughters. She is in no trouble, the other party just wants money, they will handle it.

The cruible is an enderence, stamia test at the end of boot camp that all Marines now go thru. As of yesterday my daughter has done it. She can now say she is a Marine. While in boot she developed some stress fractures and had to go back to MRP. She got sick of that real fast and talk about a homesick kid. But today she is walking 10 feet tall. She got to call, what every Mother waits for when our babies are gone from home. She graduates next Friday, 7 January and you bet her Mom will be there. There are some good books out there about the Marines, One specifally on the Cruible "Into the Crucible, Making Marines for the 21st Centry" by James B Woulfe. It explains what they all go thru, male and female. Also "Das Boots" is about Boot Camp but I feel needs to be update but it tells day by day what boot camp is about. No book though can explain or put into words how those DI's treat you. From reading my daughters letters there are a few DI's I would like to punch out. I understand their thinking and actions but that doesn't mean as a mother I have to like it. My daughter didn't at the time but now gives them a big thank you. They were very hard on her but she is determined and she sure showed them. My son is a marine and her sister was army so she felt she had to prove somthing to everyone. Now she realizes she only has to prove to herself and no one else. We are so proud of her though. So Congradualations to my daughter and each and every person who made it and is One of the best. There is nothing like having such a close second family as a Marine.

cculbert@mindspring.com

[Anonymous]

: Thank you all for the response to the law suit. The insurance company has it
: now and says its their problem not my daughters. She is in no trouble, the
: other party just wants money, they will handle it.


--------------------

Big congrats to your daughter!!!!!! (Glad to see the insurance thing not escalate into something formidable.)

nataliet@ccess.net