PROCES PRAWNY-NOWY JORK-ADWOKAT JANUSZ ANDRZEJEWSKI-212-634-4250

Dochodzenia roszczen prawnych w miescie Nowy Jork, jak wszczedzie, dokonuje sie w sposob dwojaki: poprzez pozwy prawne skladane w roznych sadach, i poprzez postepowania arbitrazowe.
Co do arbitrazu, uzywany jest on zazwyczaj kiedy mamy do czynienia ze zlamaniem umowy, ktora zawierala w sobie klauzule o dochodzeniu naruszenia umowy (i szkod z tym zwiazanych) poprzez arbitraz. Dobra strona postepowania arbitrazowgo jest jego szybkosc, nieskomplikowana forma, i mniejsze koszty. Jednakze ostateczna decyzja w postepowaniu arbitrazowym musi zostac zatwierdzona przez wlasciwy sad, by nabrac mocy prawnej.
Jezeli chodzi o procesy w sadach, zaleza one od rodzaju sadow, ktore maja jurysdykcje nad danym rodzajem sprawy. Generalnie, w stanie Nowy Jork mamy sady stanowe, i sady federalne. Jezeli chodzi o sady stanowe, dziela sie one na sady cywilne i sady kryminalne, natomiast te same sady federalne rozpatruja i sprawy cywilne, i sprawy kryminalne.
Na samym dole sadow struktury instytucji prawnych w miescie Nowy Jork znajduja sie Sady Malych Roszczen (Small Claims Court) ktore rozsztrzygaja spory dotyczace roszczen do $5,000.00 wartosci. Sady Malych Roszczen rozstrzygaja jedynie spory o odszkodowania pieniazne. Sady Cywilne (Civil Court of the City of New York) zajmuja sie sprawami roszczen do $25,000.00, a Sady Najwyzsze  (Supreme Court of the State of New York) zajmuja sie sprawami powyzej $25,000.00. Miasto Nowy Jork dzieli sie na 5 powiatow (New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx i Richmond) i kazdy z tych powiatow ma swoj wlasny Sad Malych Roszczen (Small Claims Court), Sad Cywilny (Civil Court) i Sad Najwyzszy (Supreme Court).
Oprocz powyzszych sadow, na terenie kazdego powiatu miasta Nowy Jork znajduja sie takze Sady Rodzinne (Family Court), ktore maja jurysdykcje nad wszelkim sprawami rodzinnymi, za wyjatkiem spraw rozwodowych (ktore sa rozstrzygane wylacznie przez Supreme Court of the State of New York). I tak sady rodzinne zajmuja sie sprawami o ustalenie ojcostwa, alimentami, o opieke prawna nad dziecmi, adopcjami, odebraniem praw rodzicielskich, sprawami kryminalnymi maloletnich, itp.

Janusz Andrzejewski, prowadzacy niniejszy blog, jest adwokatem praktykujacym prawo w miescie i stanie Nowy Jork od 1993 roku. Mozesz skontaktowac sie z nim poprzez tel. (212) 634-4250 albo przez e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

THE RENT LAWS OF 2019 - AMENDMENT TO LANDLORD & TENANT LAW IN NEW YORK

Last summer governor Andrew Cuomo has signed the new package of landlord and tenant laws and regulations, significantly improving the situation of residential tenants in the state of New York, and more importantly, in New York City. Collection of new laws and regulations is known under the name of the Statewide Housing Security and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, or by a short name of the Rent Laws of 2019.

The 2019 Rent Laws lengthens the process of eviction (known as holdover proceedings) as well as recovery of owed rent (known as nonpayment proceedings).

Regarding nonpayment proceedings, instead of 3 or 5 day notice of nonpayment of rent, now landlord has to serve on tenant (by a process server) 14 day notice of nonpayment, warning tenant that in case of nonpayment of the owed rent within the 14 day period, landlord would file a summary nonpayment proceeding with appropriate landlord and tenant court. Besides, prior to service of 14 day notice of nonpayment, landlord has to mail to tenant, by certified mail, a letter advising the tenant about his or her failure to pay the rent for a period of at least 5 day or longer. The rules are unclear whether the notice of failure to pay the rent for 5 or more days should be mailed to tenant prior or after the service of  14 day notice of nonpayment. Like before, in case of tenant's failure to pay the owed rent within 14 days, landlord then has to file nonpayment petition with the clerk of appropriate landlord and tenant court, and then has to serve it by a process server on tenant. However, tenant's time to answer the nonpayment petition has now been lengthened from 5 to 10 days. Also, in case of marshal's eviction notices being served upon tenant, the latter has now a longer period of time to make yet another application to landlord and tenant court to demand stopping of the eviction, provided the tenant has a reasonable basis for the application.

Janusz Andrzejewski is a New York City based attorney writing on the law and other community important topics. You can reach him at (212) 634-4250, or through e-mail: jwandrzejewski@gmail.com or janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

ZMIANA PRAWA MIESZKANIOWEGO W NOWYM JORKU (THE RENT LAWS OF 2019)

W czasie letnich wakacji weszlo w zycie nowe prawo mieszkaniowe w Nowym Jorku, poprawiajace sytuacje lokatorow, a z drugiej strony utrudniajace zycie wlascicielom budynkow mieszkaniowych. Zbior nowych przepisow poprawiajacych prawa lokatorow zawarte sa w akcie prawnym "The Statewide Housing Security and Tenant Protection Act of 2019" a calosc poprawionych praw mieszkaniowych jest znana jako The 2019 Rent Laws.
The 2019 Rent Laws wydluza procesy postepowan w sadzie o ewikcje lokatora (holdover proceedings) jak tez o sciagniecie zaleglego czynszu (nonpayment proceedings).
Jezeli chodzi o postepowanie o sciagniecie zaleglego czynszu, zamiast 3 czy 5 dniowego zawiadomienie o nieplacenie, wlasciciel musi teraz dostarczyc w okreslony prawnie sposob 14-dniowe zawiadomienie o niezaplaconym czynszu (przez dostawce procesowego). Poza tym, przed dostarczeniem tego zawiadomienia, wlasciciel musi takze wyslac innego rodzaju zawiadomienie informujace lokatora o tym ze czynsz jest zalegly co najmniej 5 dni. Przepisy sa niejasne co do tego wstepnego zawiadomienia, i dopiero przyszle orzecznictwo sedziow ma wyjasnic wlasciwe rozumienie tego przepisu (dostarczyc go przed 14 dniowym zawiadomieniem, czy pozniej).
Nastepnie, kiedy lokator nie wywiaze sie z obowiazku zaplacenia czynszu, wedlug 14-dniowego zawaidomienia, wlasciciel sklada w sadzie jak dawnie petycje o nieplacenie (nonpayment petition), i dostarcza ja lokatorowi poprzez dostawce pism procesowych, z tym  ze okres ktory lokator ma na zlozenie odpowiedzi w sadze wydluzyl sie teraz z 5 do 10 dni. Wydluzyly sie takze okresy czasu na ewikcje przez specjalnego urzednika (city marshal), po otrzymaniu wyroku i nakazu ewikcji.

Janusz Andrzejewski  jest nowojorskim adwokatem piszacym na tym blogu tematy prawne i inne wazne (czasem tez blache) tematy spoleczne. Mozesz skontaktowac sie z nim przez telefon: (212) 634-4250,  albo przez e-mail pod adresem JWANDRZEJEWSKI@GMAIL.COM albo JANUSZ@JANUSZANDRZEJEWSKI.COM

EVICTIONS (HOLDOVER PROCEEDINGS) IN NEW YORK CITY

Landlord and tenant matters, in the five boroughs of the City of New York, are handled by Civil Courts, in particular by their landlord & tenant parts. The court proceedings in landlord and tenant  matters are divided into two major groups: non-payment and holdover proceedings. Holdover proceedings deal with a situation when a landlord attempts to remove a tenant based on expiration of a lease or violation of a lease or housing regulations, whereas non-payment proceedings concern all the matters relating to non-payment of rent by tenants. Today I will write a bit on the subject of the holdover proceedings, in which an owner can initiate court proceeding based on expiration of a lease, or upon violation of a lease or landlord and tenant laws by a tenant. In case of violation of a lease or of the law, landlord has to serve on tenant a written "notice to cure" demanding that tenant cease the violation in a certain time period, most often within 10 days. If the tenant fails to cure the violation or to stop illegal conduct, then the landlord can serve a 30 day termination notice, requesting that the tenant move out within the given time period or he or she will be  into dragged into a landlord and tenant court. Frequently, tenant does not move out and landlord has to file with appropriate court and serve on tenant a holdover petition and notice of petition. The service of notice of petition on the tenant is usually accomplished by a licensed process server, who knows all the legal requirements of the proper service. Improper service of notice of petition might cause a dismissal of the court proceedings, and a necessity of restarting the case from scratch. The tenant is obligated to answer the petition, by serving an answer on the landlord (or landlord's attorney) and filing it with the landlord & tenant clerk of the appropriate Civil Court of the City of New York, within certain time limits set forth inn the notice of petition. The court proceedings usually require 2, 3 or 4 court appearances in front of a judge in a resolution part, who attempts to resolve the case amicably, by a written settlement agreement between the parties. If the parties are unable to come to an agreement, and all parties' motions were adjudicated, the resolution part judge will send the case to a trial part, where another judge would conduct a trial, at which the parties can present their case through testimony of their witnesses and documentary evidence. After presentation of the testimony, the trial part would issue a decision, either granting the landlord a judgment and warrant of eviction, or dismissing the case. Even after the warrant of eviction has been issued, landlord cannot remove tenant immediately. First, a marshal or sheriff has to serve the tenant with a notice of eviction. Even after execution of the  service of notice of eviction, the tenant has still 72 hrs for making an application with the court to stop the eviction, provided the tenant has a reasonable basis for such an application. In such a scenario the eviction is being stopped, at least until the adjudication of the tenant's application by the court. In case of denial of such an application, landlord, through marshal or sheriff, can proceed with the eviction of the tenant. Next time, I will write about landlord & tenant proceedings based on non-payment of rent.

Janusz Andrzejewski is a New York City based attorney, writing on legal and other important to community topics. You can reach him through e-mail at jwandrzejewski@gmail.com or janusz@januszandrzejewski.com, by telephone (212) 634-4250.

SPRAWY MIESZKANIOWE: EWIKCJA NA PODSTAWIE WYGASNIECIA ALBO NARUSZENIA UMOWY

Dawno nie pisalem na tematy prawne. Dzisiaj moze troche na temat spraw mieszkaniowych, znanych moim klientom w Nowym Jorku jako sprawy "landlord & tenant". Sprawy te naleza w miescie Nowy Jork do sadow cywilnych (civil courts), a szczegolnie do ich wydzialow znanych jako "landlord and tenant court", albo tez jako "housing court". Wiekszosc spraw dzieli sie na sprawy o nieplacenie czynszu (non-payment proceedings) i sprawy o ewikcje (holdover proceedings).
W sprawach o ewikcje wlasciciel budynku musi miec powod by wszczac sprawe, badz tez umowa lokatora wygasla, a lokator nie ma najmniejszej ochoty na opuszczenie mieszkania. Najczesciej zaczyna sprawe poprzez dostarczenie lokatorowi pisma ktore konczy prawnie umowe, a znane jest jako "notice of termination". W wielu przypadkach, zwlaszcza w przypadku mieszkan podlegajacych prawu "rent control" czy "rent stabilization", zanim wlasciciel moze pomarzyc o wypowiedzeniu umowy wynajmu, najpierw musi dostarczyc lokatorowi ostrzezenie na pismie, informujace ze jezeli lokator nie przestanie postepowac niezgodnie z prawem mieszkaniowym, czy umowa wynajmu, jego umowa zostanie wypowiedziana. Zawiadomienie to jest znane jako tzw. "notice to cure". Jezeli w przewidzianym terminie, najczesciej jest to 10 dni, lokator nie przestanie naruszac prawa czy warunkow swojej umowy, wlasciciel dopiero wtedy moze wypowiedziec pisemnie umowe, najczesciej jest to 30 dniowe wypowiedzenie, ale moze to byc termin krotszy, w zalznosci od statusu danego mieszkania. Jezeli lokator nadal nie chce opuscic mieszkania, nastepnym etapem jest zlozenie petycji o ewikcje w sadzie "landlord & tenant" i dostarczenie jej lokatorowi, zgodnie z odpowiednimi procedurami. Lokator ma prawo do zlozenia pisemnej odpowiedzi, ktora musi byc dostarczona wlascicielowi i zlozona w sadzie w okreslonym przepisami terminie. Postepowanie w sadzie zazwyczaj wymaga kilkakrotnego stawienia sie przed sedzia, ktory usiluje doprowadzic do ugody. Dopiero gdy sedzia dojdzie do wniosku ze nie ma szans na ugode, i wszelkie wnioski procesowe zostaly rozstrzygniete, dochodzi do przekazania sprawy innemu sedziemu, ktory zajmuje sie wylacznie przeprowadzaniem rozpraw. Ten sedzia prowadzi rozprawe z udzialem swiadkow, po ktorej wydaje koncowy wyrok o ewikcji, badz oddala sprawe. Nawet jezeli zostal wydany wyrok o ewikcji, wlasciciel nie moze wyrzucic lokatora od razu. Specjalny urzednik "marshall" musi dostarczyc lokatorowi odpowiednie pismo, i dopiero po 72 godzinach od jego dostarczenia "marshall" moze dokonac ewikcji, pod warunkiem ze lokator nie zlozyl w sadzie zadnej dodatkowej aplikacji. W przypadku jej zlozenia, sad wstrzymuje ewikcje do czasu rozpatrzenia tego dodatkowego wniosku. W nastepnej czesci zajme sie sprawami o nieplacenie.

Janusz Andrzejewski jest nowojorskim adwokatem piszacym na tematy prawne i inne wazne tematy spoleczne. Mozesz skontaktowac sie z nim pod numerem tel efonu (212) 634-4250  badz poprzez poczte internetowa: jwandrzejewski@gmail.com albo janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

TO FIX ITS LAGGING EDUCATION, THE U.S. SHOULD TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT POLAND'S SUCCESFUL FORMULA

Poland remains a success story not only with its economy, but even more so, with its educational system, which in the past decade has moved sharply forward from the rear of international pack, and beats now the U.S. on most performance measures. Poland's success has not only been noticed by international educational organizations, but also by American newspapers, i.e. by USA Today, which took a close look last August at Polish education's reform. Apparently, Poland has now the fourth-highest number of higher education students in Europe, only behind the U.K., Germany and France. In reading, Poland is ahead of the U.K., Germany or France, and far ahead of the U.S.. Poland surpassed the U.S. even in math, by placing 19th on a survey by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) whereas the U.S. was ranked at 27th place, well below average.
Pursuant to last year's Pearson's Global Education Index,  the U.S. is ranked in 14th place globally in cognitive skills and educational attainment, whereas Poland, which surpassed the U.S., leaped to 10th place in the world. Following are the top 10 countries in the Pearson's ranking: South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland, United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands, Ireland and Poland (Germany, Denmark and Russia are ahead of the U.S., too).
Poland's curriculum is mostly based on the effects of the education - not just what the students know but what they can do, and how they can use their knowledge practically. Poland started the revamping of its educational system only in 1998, approximately 10 years after the fall of communism, when the country already was flying in the aftermath of market reforms, and deregulation and privatization made Poland's economy one of Europe's fastest growing. But Poland's schools in that period of revamping of its economy still continued to rely on old course materials, with education putting emphasis on producing technicians and vocational workers for heavy industries. Miroslaw Handke, then Minister of Education, got a green light, and with remarkable speed, in a year, academia in Poland was unrecognizable. Poland switched its educational system to a new form of general education that resisted specialization. A year later, in 2000, Poland began leap to the international league tables. By 2012, the last time OECD conducted its survey, Poland was one of the best teaching countries in the world. In fact, its the only one to have gone from below average in the charts, to above average, with its GDP ranking only 46th globally. On key indicators - math, science and reading, it came from behind to rank well ahead of the United States. How did Poland manage to do so? Well, under the revamped system, primary school lasts six years, followed by three years of a new comprehensive lower secondary school, before a decision is made on whether to send a student to vocational training. Knowledge - reading, writing, arithmetic - is valued above technical skill. Foreign language, especially English - became a key component. In 2000 only 1 percent of kids received four hours or more of language classes. By 2006 that figure jumped to 76 percent.
Notwithstanding the success in education, Poland spends only around $5,000 per student annually from primary to tertiary education, but outperforms the United States, which spends three times more than Poland on education of one student. Of course, a part of the educational success is based in the socialist past, when Poland's education system went through its first wide and deep modernization.
The economy in Poland continues to be strong. In fact, Poland was the only European country which did not succumb to 2009 recession (in fact, it registered, as the only country in Europe, a 1.6% growth in 2009). January, 2015 indicators show a booming economy, with over 8 percent growth. However, Poland still remains a low payer for teachers, approximately $650 per month, compared with the national average of all workers of $945 per month (of course, one has to remember that education, healthcare and the rest of social safety net are still provided in Poland free of charge). Obviously, Poland will have to upgrade the salaries of their teachers rather sooner than later. There are also some unexpected sides to the educational success of Poland, i.e. Poland's rapid development of foreign language training has a negative side effect. Many Poles are leaving home to gain skills abroad. While it generally helps the technology sector, if they return, many of them never do, preferring to stay in the U.K., Norway, Germany, Netherlands, France or Austria, where they can count on higher wages. But despite the negative effect of losing so many of creative and energetic young people to economies of Western Europe, Poland's educational system is an example to the whole world, and a stellar proof that its not just the money that makes good students.

Janusz Andrzejewski, a New York City based attorney, writes on legal and other important community topics. You can contact him by telephone (212) 634-4250 or, through e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com or jwandrzejewski@gmail.com

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY...

Your eyes, my mysterious and beautiful, are quite haunting.
But mileage, between the two of us, spectacularly daunting.
Perhaps, my dear, we can at least converse right now a bit,
To simply decide who at the other shall spring a sudden hit.

And those mesmerizing and green eyes are truly riveting.
Prolonged looking at you is to me a constant bloodletting.
The thought of seeing you dancing is always spellbinding.
Not having you here with me is to craziness mind driving.

I love your ever present blackness, it reminds me a little bit
Of some dark things, when still young, I lackadaisically did.
I'm kind of, well, enamored, by your every daylight docility,
Even though, I am always scared of your emotional fragility.

J. Andre Jeski,
New York City, November 7, 2014

Warning: Unauthorized use of this material, without consent of the author, constitutes a violation of the author's copyrights and might trigger a legal action.

BLOW TO ZIONISM: YOUNG ISRAELIS EMIGRATE TO BERLIN, OF ALL PLACES IN THE WORLD

Even The New York Times could not stay away this time from reporting on the strange phenomena of emigration of talented young Israelis to Berlin. Of all the places in the world, the capital of Germany appears to be a favorite destination city of the young professional and artistic elite of Israel. Apparently, Berlin's cosmopolitan flair, vibrant arts scene and advanced public transportation are huge draws to the young Israelis, faced with higher and higher costs of living in Israel and no prospects for decent middle class life. In many circles in Tel Aviv the fact of young Israelis happily emigrating to Berlin, the place in which Adolf Hitler designed the final solution of Jews, is met with horror and considered the ultimate failure of Zionism. The Israeli hipsters in Tel Aviv sport now T-shirts with inscriptions: "I love Berlin" or "I also want to go to Germany". While Berlin's Israeli community grows in numbers, in Israel grows the demand for teachers of German language... Strange times, indeed!

Janusz Andrzejewski, New York City based attorney, writes on legal and other community important topics. You can contact him by telephone (212-634-4250), or, through e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

TO THE SIMPLISTIC AMERICAN AND BRITISH MEDIA: POLAND IS NOT A PART OF EASTERN EUROPE

Reading the American or British newspapers or listening to their audio or visual media, one gets very often aggravated by constant description of Poland as an Eastern European nation. Frankly speaking, I'm tired of the media's ignorance, simplifications, shoddy journalism, sloppiness and constant inability to liberate themselves from the shackles of convenient stereotypes.
Even Wikipedia knows better, as describing Poland it properly says: "a country in Central Europe". The truth is Anglo-Saxon media description of present day Poland as an Eastern European nation is groundless and unjustified geographically, politically and culturally.
1) Geographically, Poland lies in the center of Europe and therefore it is a Central European country. If one draws the line between Portugal's Atlantic Coast on the western border of Europe, and the Ural Mountains on the eastern border of Europe, with the line between the northern tip of Scandinavia on the northern border of Europe and the southern tip of Sicily on the southern border of Europe, those lines will cross each other near Lodz in Poland. Therefore, the precise center of Europe is located near Lodz in Poland, which is at the same time the center of Poland, and consequently, Poland lies in Central Europe. Prior to World War II, when Poland was reaching much further to the east as it consisted of major parts of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania, whereas some of the western territories of present day Poland were in Germany, describing Poland as being part of Eastern Europe was almost justified. Not at present though, I must repeat, as Poland is undoubtedly a Central European country.
2) Politically, Poland is in the Western Europe nowadays. Of course, during the Soviet domination of Poland after World War II (domination caused by the sell-out of Poland to Stalin by F.D.R., with weak resistance from Churchill, at Yalta Conference - an unprecedented betrayal of their biggest ally which came up with the 4th biggest allied military forces and military contribution, notwithstanding being occupied by Germany), Poland was politically part of Eastern Europe, however, it is no longer the case as Poland recovered its democratic system structures in 1989, became part of NATO in 1999 and a member of EU in 2004.
3) Culturally, Poland is part of the West for more than a thousand years as it accepted Latin Alphabet and Christianity, in the form of Roman-Catholic religion, in 966. Since then, all its literature, arts and culture otherwise is that of a western nation.
Perhaps it is the time for the managers of the western media to change your manuals of style and usage, with respect to Poland's location, or its description in political, cultural or geographical terms, since your education system is incapable to break out of the stereotypes formed during the cold war and your writers are still ignorant of basic facts concerning one of the big nations of Europe.

Janusz Andrzejewski, a New York City based attorney, writes on the legal and other important community topics. You can contact him by telephone (212-634-4250),  or through e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

CELTIC GLASGOW HIDING BEHIND UEFA'S SHOCKING DISREGARD OF THE SPIRIT OF FAIR PLAY

Poland's football (or soccer, if you prefer) seems to be on the rise. Except for one or two clubs of 16- teams Polish Ekstraklasa, all the clubs play nowadays in either new or renovated stadiums, the money supply is slowly rising, and the Polish footballers are regaining the spotlight they used to enjoy in 1970-s and 1980-s, when Poland's national team twice came 3rd in World Cups (1974 and 1982) and players like Lato, Deyna, Lubanski, Gadocha, Tomaszewski or Zibi Boniek were world-wide renowned stars. The new generation is graced by Robert Lewandowski, Jakub "Kuba" Blaszczykowski, Lukasz Piszczek, Wojciech Szczesny or Artur Boruc. This year Legia Warsaw, the former club of Kazimierz Deyna, the playmaker of 1974 national team of Poland, who was selected as no 3 player of 1974 World Cup (just behind Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer) confirmed the improvement of Polish soccer by destroying Celtic Glasgow in 3rd qualifying round of Champions League by aggregate score of 6:1 (4:1 in Poland, and 2:0 in Scotland), despite wasting two penalty shots and many more occasions. But soon it turned out that not everything is so rosy in the real world and that sun shines at different angles for rich men, and poor men. Before Legia Warsaw players stopped celebrating the fully deserved double victory and qualification to the Champions League playoffs - the final round of qualifications to lucrative group stage of UEFA Champions League - there came a news that Legia might have fielded for the last four minutes of the away game in Scotland, when their win and qualification were already assured, a player who might have been ineligible to play due to earlier suspension. However, Legia Warsaw released in Poland a statement that there should not be a problem of ineligibility of the player, Bartosz Bereszynski, who was suspended for three matches because of a red card from previous season. They were under impression that the player served the suspension fully by abstaining from three matches of Champions League in this very campaign (two matches against St. Patrick of Ireland, in 2nd qualifying round of Champions League, and first match against Celtic in Warsaw, Poland). However, Legia Warsaw forgot about an old and obscure rule requiring that the name of the player serving suspension be placed on match statements, filed with UEFA after each game. The chairman of Legia Warsaw, with all necessary documentation flew on Thursday to Nyon, Switzerland, to the headquarters of UEFA disciplinary body, to prove that Bartosz Bereszynski was Legia Warsaw player throughout those three qualifying games in which he did not play, as he was serving the 3-match suspension, and to prove that the omission of his name on the match statements was just a clerical error. However, Mr. Mioduski wasn't allowed to see the UEFA's disciplinary body whereas Celtic Glasgow was pressing quietly through their allies behind the closed door for walkover decision in the match played in Scotland. When Mr. Mioduski finally saw the UEFA people, the decision of a 3:0 walkover in the match played in Scotland was already made. It is interesting to note that the rate of payments for tv transmission of Celtic Glasgow matches are much higher than for those paid for Legia Warsaw matches, and that UEFA stands to make much more money from the Celtic matches in Champions League group stage than from those of Legia. What is also interesting is that UEFA public announcement did not even mention the fact that Bartosz Bereszynski in fact served the suspension (except for reporting irregularity on the match statements sent to UEFA), instead UEFA just reported to the public that Legia Warsaw fielded ineligible player in the match played in Scotland (Celtic Glasgow v. Legia Warsaw 0:2) and because of that the result was nullified and Celtic was awarded a 3:0 result by walkover. So, not only Legia wasn't allowed to explain anything before the decision was reached,  but also the UEFA statement implies to ignorant readers that Legia Warsaw cheated by fielding ineligible player which is far from the truth. The UEFA announcement does not only fail to mention that player de facto served his full suspension, except for match statements irregularity, it also does not mention that he was fielded for inconsequential 4 minutes, when the result and Legia's qualification was already assured on the pitch. I understand that if one sticks to the letter of the law, UEFA might be right. However, since the offence was unintentional, miniscule and had no bearing on the result on the pitch, the strict adherence to the letter of the law by UEFA was a highway robbery perpetrated on Legia club and players. Also, the same UEFA in 2011, in similar situation, when Debrecen of Hungary fielded for 4 minutes not registered player in match against champion of Bulgaria, UEFA did not disqualify Debrecen - stating that the offence was inconsequential - for obvious reason: Debrecen opponent was from lowly Bulgaria, enjoying almost the same lowly status as the Hungarians. To Legia Warsaw UEFA could not apply the spirit of the law as it did toward Debrecen, as Legia's opponent was the famous Celtic Glasgow, from rich U.K., with people from U.K. sitting on various UEFA committees, and with bigger television rights piece of pie from the lucrative U.K. market. So, the reason for double standard is quite clear. Legia Warsaw will of course appeal as soon as UEFA issues its facts and findings in support of the decision, however, the participation of Celtic in the final qualification round to Champions League will go on, and it will jeopardize Legia's chances on appeal. Therefore, chairman of Legia, Mr. Mioduski, attempted to contact Celtic people by telephone to discuss the Celtic's position, but Celtic didn't answer any communication from Legia. Mr. Mioduski decided then to publish an open letter to Celtic, reminding them the fair play traditions of famous Celtic Glasgow, and asking for a meeting to work out a joint statement to UEFA. Predictably, Celtic people refused any meeting and hide themselves behind the UEFA decision. What's more, they have audacity to claim that they are furious at Legia and otherwise disappointed! It appears that official UEFA delegate for the match in Scotland saw Bereszynski's name on the match statement prior to the match, and did not voice his objections until the match was over. I reckon he must have winked to Celtic officials to assure them that everything will end up well for the Bhoys, notwithstanding the result on the pitch. From the little irregularity on the paper, notwithstanding the resounding success of Legia on the pitch (without using the questionably ineligible player), the latter, although growing and with modern new stadium, is still a poor club comparing to the famous Celtic. The more acute will be their loss of approximately $30,000,000.00 should they have qualified to the group stage, whereas Celtic might undeservedly reap the same $30,000,000 amount thanks to shady dealings by UEFA and people supporting Celtic in UEFA committees. The decision by UEFA is so shocking, that even the New York Times jumped on Legia Warsaw wagon, expressing the outrage the decision caused all over Europe, and even across the big pond, in the United States. So much for transparency and fair play concepts, so vociferously espoused by British media when it suits their purposes and interests. I wonder why those U.K. defenders of those high concepts are not crying foul now? They were much louder when they screamed: do not go to Euro 2012 if you do not want to come back in a coffin! So much for equality. After all, double standards do not disappear from this world. Its the eternal rich men, poor men!  

Janusz Andrzejewski is a New York City based attorney, writing on legal and other community important subjects. You can contact him by telephone (212-634-4250),  or, by e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

THE OLD MAN FROM TEL AVIV, PART 2

He resumed his story again, still standing against the window, with his back toward me behind the conference table.
"You know, all my life I heard this phrase in at least couple of languages: do not ever burn the bridges down behind you. Like a mantra, various phony and not phony advisers, in my professional as well as in personal life, were either whispering or shouting this phrase to my ears, as if its content carried some taboo-like messages, passed on verbally from generation to generation of faithful followers. But guess what, I did burn the bridges down and now, at the end of my life I do feel cleaner and better, which does not mean I'm free of dirt... My life acquired some structure and compass; I do not have to deal with false well-wishers and self-interested associates, attempting to build around me their net of connections, entrapments, hidden doors and tunnels in the sphere of my social circles; I have shaken off of my back the little helpers ready to push me further down the road of consumerism and cheep materialistic distractions. After having gotten rid of them, I wasn't distracted any longer by their voices tempting me with a great future lying ahead of us, with fulfillment of goals which never were mine, with betterment of supposedly our station in life, which was on the crossroads of railroad tracks none of which led to desired by my inner life places and destinations."
He stopped for a moment, still looking into the New York night behind the windows of the conference room. (To be continued or, perhaps not?)

The above story is a creation of fiction, not based on any real life story or set of facts, and any resemblance to anybody's life or any resemblance of any character in the story to any real person(s) is accidental.

WARNING: Unauthorized use of the above material, without consent of the author, is a violation of author's copyrights and will trigger a legal action. 

Janusz Andrzejewski is a New York City based attorney, writing on legal and other important community topics. You may contact him by telephone (212-634-4250) or by e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

DON'T MISS THE SHOW FOR A DOG DAY AFTERNOON: A TRADE UNION TO STAGE A PEACEFUL OCCUPATION OF GIBRALTAR

It is quite funny, if not shocking, that in the politically correct 21st century various states still cling to their foreign territories, having no connection whatsoever to their main masses of land. The most notorious seem to be two pieces of land still being held by Great Britain: the Falklands, islands off the coast of Argentina (known better in Spanish as Malvinas),  and Gibraltar, strategic rock at the entry from Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, at the base of Iberian Peninsula. Both these territories remain a bone of disagreement between, respectively, Great Britain and Argentina, and Great Britain and Spain. Both Argentina and Spain have placed the retaking, or taking over of these territories, pursuant to the Brits, high on the list of their foreign policies, and the subject of Malvinas and Gibraltar is quite hot in the media. Gibraltar is again in the news today, this time in a funny way, which hopefully should not produce major tensions between Spain and Great Britain, otherwise allies in NATO and members od the European Union. Pursuant to the U.K. newspaper, the Telegraph, a leftist Spanish trade union called Andalusian Workers Union (SAT), which has 20,000 members, announced plans to occupy  the most famous rock in the world on August 29, 2014. SAT is known for its Robin Hood style activities like supermarkets raid for the poor to collect food and school supplies for the poverty-stricken families or "expropriation" of a disused luxury hotel. The SAT spokesman Diego Canamero announced plans to reclaim Gibraltar not for Spain, but as he stated, "for the people of Andalusia". Mr. Canamero stated that SAT "wants to reinstate Gibraltar's Andalusian sovereignty, dismantle the British military base and protect small scale fishing in those waters". When asked about the plans to "carry the invasion of Gibraltar, Mr. Canamero resolutely answered: "We haven't decided yet, we are aware that there's a large security presence at the border but we'll find a way round it". The Telegraph reminds about the history of Gibraltar, and that it has been ceded by Spain to Britain under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, and since then it has been a thorn in relations between these two countries. Apparently, since the start of 2013 there were approximately 600 incidents of encroachments of Spanish vessels on territorial waters of Gibraltar. Eventually, both allies - who incidentally never showed much love towards each other - should resolve the matter between themselves, however, a great number of people will sit on the fence comes August 29, awaiting with curiosity how SAT will carry on its Robin Hood-style invasion against the British tax heaven and the famous fortress of Gibraltar.

Janusz Andrzejewski is a New York City based attorney, who writes on legal and other community important subjects. You may contact him by telephone (212-634-4250) or, by e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com 

PROPAGANDA WAR ONLINE SUFFOCATES FREE DISCUSSION

For a long time I have been a reader, or sometimes a participant,  of various online discussion forums, such as Guardian, Telegraph, CNN, El Pais, and sometimes Le Figaro or Le Monde. Recently, however, it appears that majority of those forums are now battlefields of propaganda war between Kremlin and CIA trolls. From what I can see, the Kremlin trolls appear to be winning the propaganda war. They are quite knowledgeable, sophisticated, persistent and tenacious. Sometimes I have a feeling they never sleep. What is almost frightening, the trolls provide their own threads in online discussions which are often being followed by idealistic yet unsophisticated westerners who cannot differentiate between a troll or a bone fide reader, and are quite lost among the sophisticated army of Russian trolls. Initially, it was difficult to tell whether it has been a spontaneous rush of various Russian bloggers to legitimate discussions of the red hot contested issues, caused by the events in Kiev, during Yanukovich's last days in power, and then, by the Crimea and the rebellion in South-Eastern Ukraine. Recently though, after MH17 tragedy, it has become quite clear that the Russian trolls never sleep, are organized as they attack in groups and appear to have some training regarding how to steer and/or hijack the discussion forums of the most prestigious western newspapers. It is no longer a pleasure to be involved in the discussions, when it becomes quite clear that they are being hijacked by the professionals with their own agenda. As far as I can tell, upon even a cursory review of various online newspapers and blogs, another propaganda war is being fought between Jews and the Muslims regarding Israeli invasion on Gaza. Its a tough world out there, online, when one no longer can enjoy a stimulating intellectual discussion or an exchange of ideas, instead one has to constantly be on the lookout for various trolls or various shades of online propaganda warriors, looking to slaughter intellectually innocent and not so sophisticated surfers, or to hijack any meaningful geopolitical discussion.

Janusz Andrzejewski is a New York City based attorney, writing on legal and other community important topics. You may contact him by telephone (212-634-4250)or, by e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com 

ROZWODY W STANIE NOWY JORK: ROZWODY KONTESTOWANE (SPORNE)

Jak napisalem we wczesniejszym artykule, rozwody kontestowane czyli sporne, sa rozwodami ktore wymagaja udzialu stron w konferencjach i na rozprawach w sadzie, i sa one skomplikowane w porownaniu z rozwodami ugodowymi (nienontestowanymi). Rozwody sporne wystepuja gdy strony spieraja sie w jakims aspekcie ich rozwodu i w zwiazku ze sporem, taki rozwod trwa duzo dluzej, i wiaze sie z dozu wiekszym stresem. W takim rozwodzie malzonkowie musza przejsc przez duzo wiecej etapow niz w rozwodzie ugodowym, wlaczajac w to nastepujace etapy:
-przygotowanie przez powoda pozwu (pisma zawierajacego faktyczne i prawne podstawy do otrzymania rozwodu, razem z zadaniem by sad przyznal rozwod), zlozenie go w sadzie i dostarczenie drugiemu malzonkowi w zgodzie z wymogami proceduralnymi;
-drugi malzonek, pozwany, musi o odpowiednim terminie przygotowac odpowiedz i dostarczyc ja powodowi, i zlozyc w sadzie razem z oswiadczeniem o prawidlowym dostarczeniu;
-Znalezienie adwokata i przeprowadzenie z nim interview wstepnego;
-Przeprowadzenie wymiany informacji i dokumentow, i przesluchanie drugiej strony przy udziale reportera sadowego, adwokatow i stron (discovery) wedlug odpowiednich regul proceduralnych, za pomoca pisemnych pytan i zadan przedstawienia dokumentow, oszacowanie aktywow finansowych malzonkow przez odpowiedniego eksperta, a takze przesluchanie drugiej strony przy udziale reportera sadowego i adwokatow (deposition);
-Przedprocesowe wnioski pisemne i przesluchania w sadzie;
-Propozycje ugody i negocjacje miedzy adwokatami;
-W przypadku niemoznosci ugody przed rozprawa, przygotowanie do rozprawy (dokumentow, swiadkow i stron);
-Przeprowadzenie rozprawy - W czasie rozprawy strony, poprzez adwokatow przedstawiaja swoje zeznania, zeznania swiadkow i ewentualnie zeznania swiadkow ekspertow (np. ksiegowego, wyceniajacego biznes, eksperta od planow emerytalnych, eksperta od wyceny nieruchomosci, itd.) i poprzez swoich adwokatow przesluchuja takze przeciwna strone poprzez zadawanie pytan krzyzowych. Poza tym strony przedstawiaja dowody, najczescie w postaci roznych pism, dokumentow, raportow finansowych zeznan podatkowych, wycen, itp.)
-Zlozenie kosztownego apelu, w przypadku gdy ktoras ze stron nie zgadza sie z decyzja sedziego. Oczywiscie, artykul ten jest tylko naszkicowaniem glownych etapow rozwodu kontestowanego, majacym na celu zorientowanie sie czytelnika z procesem rozwodowym w stanie Nowy Jork. Jednakze w przypadku rozwodu kontestowanego niezbedna jest pomoc adwokata i nie doradzam nikomu przebrniecia przez rozwod kontestowany bez reprezentacji prawnej.

Janusz Andrzejewski, nowojorski adwokat, prowadzi blog na tematy prawne, i inne. Mozesz sie z nim skontaktowac telefonicznie (212-634-4250),  albo poprzez e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

MY AFTERNOON PROBLEMS WITH LIPITOR

My recent problem is how to stay alert at my work at 4 p.m. when all the excitements of courts are gone for the day and levels of energy are drained of me, while coffee seems not to help anymore in keeping me from falling asleep. For a long time I thought it has something to do with getting older, but it turned out to be a premature trail. Accidentally though, I have uncovered the real reason of my constant losses with the afternoon slumber: it's my cholesterol medication in the form of atorvastatin, known more widely under the name of lipitor. It seems there are many people online exchanging the problems caused by the usage of statins, of which atorvastatin, the medication invented by Bruce Roth, is the most widely used. Atorvastatin, or Lipitor, was acquired by the company Warner-Lambert, who in 2000 was purchased by Pfizer. Pfizer in 2013 had total assets of $172 billion and total equity of over $76 billion, whereas its 2013 revenues reached the figure of over $51 billion, and net income reached $22 billion. On November 30, 2011, Pfizer's patent expired and Watson Pharmaceuticals and Ranbaxy Laboratories started to produce the generic atorvastatin, but the prices did not fall considerably. Only in May,2012 when other companies started to supply the generic form of the drug, the prices of atorvastatin fell down to the level of $10. Many people suffer from various side effects of atorvastatin, supposedly some people even develop heart attacks or have strokes. Mine problems, at present time, seem to be limited to falling asleep in late afternoon and to headaches, although I have to admit that my liver has been in much better shape before I started to use atorvastatin, more than 10 years ago. I wonder what and when can be done about almost absolute power the big pharmaceutical companies have with respect to approval of new drugs by FDA. How is it that the research of the side effects of the new drugs, by the doctors and scientists on the payroll of the pharmaceutical giants, can decide about the certification of the new drugs by FDA?

Janusz Andrzejewski, an attorney based in New York City, writes on legal and other community important topics. You may contact him through telephone (212-634-4250

or, by e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

REFORMA IMIGRACYJNA PREZYDENTA OBAMY JUZ Z KONCEM LATA

Waszyngton juz zyje zapowiedziami reformy imigracyjnej, ktora prezydent Obama zamierza zrealizowac za pomoca prezydenckich zarzadzen wykonawczych juz z koncem tego lata. Przypominam, ze prawo w USA jest uchwalane w drodze ustaw, przeglosowanych przez obie izby kongresu (Senat i Izbe Reprezentantow), a nastepnie podpisanych przez prezydenta. W zwiazku z odmowa przez Izbe Reprezentantow (kontrolowana przez majaca wiekszosc Partie Republikanska) glosowania nad przyjetym rok temu przez Senat projektem reform imigracyjnej, prezydent Obama zapowiedzial reforme systemu imigracyjnego USA w drodze akcji wykonawczej. Wedlug ostatnich doniesien, prezydent Obama szykuje sie z wydaniem prezydenckich zarzadzen wykonawczych w sferze reform imigracyjnej z koncem tego lata, zanim congress powroci z wakacji. Republikanie juz zapowiadaja pozwy sadowe zaskarzajace legalnosc i konstytucyjnosc zmian prawa za pomoca zarzadzen prezydenckich. Dodatkowo, Republikanie zapowiadaje usuniecie prezydenta Obamy z urzedu prezydenta USA poprzez zastosowanie procedury "impeachment", czyli oskarzenia prezydenta o zlamanie prawa przez kongres. Obama twierdzi ze uzycie przez niego zarzadzen prezydenckich, czyli instrumentow akcji wykonawczej, nie rozni sie niczym od tego co robili jego poprzednicy na fotelu prezydenta USA. I tak kiedy Obama uzyl akcji wykonawczej 147 razy w czasie jego pierwszej kadencji, prezydent Gerge W. Bush uzyl akcji wykonawczej 173 razy, Bill Clinton 200 razy a Ronald Reagan, 213 razy. W zwiazku z tym ze ani prezydent Obama i Partia Demokratyczna, ani Partia Republikanska nie zamierzaja zrezygnowac ze swoich stanowisk w kwesti akcji wykonawczej i reform system imigracyjnego USA, zapowiada sie goraca jesien w Waszyngtonie, zwlaszcza ze jest ona polaczona z wyborami do kongresu.

Janusz Andrzejewski, nowojorski adwokat, pisze na tematy prawne i inne wazne tematy spoleczne. Mozesz skontakotowac sie z nim telefonicznie (212)634-4250) albo przez e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

TOUR DE FRANCE 2014: THE NEXT STAR IS BORN

Tour de France 2014 is one of the most exciting in many years. Prior to the start, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome were all considered as viable contenders for the main prize. After Froome and Contador were eliminated by injuries sustained in crashes during the first week, Vincenzo Nibali has been left as the main contender for the final win, and this Tour is indeed his to lose. After today's seventeenth stage, he is the comfortable leader, ahead of Valverde and  with only one mountain stage left. However, the real hero of the Tour de France 2014 is a young Polish rider of Tinkoof-Saxo team, Rafal Majka, who after placing 6th overall in this year Giro D'Italia, a difficult and long multiple stage race, wasn't even supposed to be in the Tour de France. However, at the last moment he had to take place of Roman Kreziger on the Tinkoff-Saxo team. Since he wasn't prepared for riding in the Tour de France 2014, he sustained losses in the first week of the Tour, particularly that he was brought here with an idea of helping Contador to win the Tour. At the end of the first week, after Contador crashed out, Majka has been liberated, and as soon as the Tour entered the Alps, and now the Pyrenees, the whole world could have finally seen the next great star of cycling in the making. First, on stage 13 from Saint Etienne to Chamrousse, Majka finished second, beaten just by 10 seconds only by Vincenzo Nibali. However, the next day, Majka has left behind his back everybody, including Nibali, and won the most difficult mountain stage in this year Tour from Grenoble to Risoul, at the same time becoming a contender for the polka dot jersey for the best rider in the mountains. Today, Majka repeated his win, by winning 17 stage in the Pyrenees, from Saint-Gaudens to Pla d'Adet. This win was even more impressive than the win in the Alps, as Majka was fighting with Spaniard Joachim Rodriguez for the polka dot jersey, and had to chase the leading group. Smartly, Majka allowed the Spaniard to claim the majority of points on the first three summits (1st category) of the stage, reserving his strength for the last summit (beyond any category) at the finish line of the stage. On the final assent on Pla D'Adet, Majka disposed of Rodriguez, and than chased after Giovanni Visconti, only to leave him behind a couple of kilometers prior to the finish. Eventually, riding impressively on the final assent, Majka won the stage, reaching the finish line 26 seconds ahead of Visconti and 46 seconds ahead of Nibali and Peraud. In general classification, after today's stage, Nibali is in front of Valverde by 5 minutes 26 seconds, whereas French rider, Pinot, trails him by 6 minutes. Rafal Majka, the revelation of this year's Tour de France, leads the Mountain classification with 149 points, ahead of Nibali, 118, and Rodriguez, 112 points. It appears that we are witnessing the birth of the next star of multiple stage cycling - including Tour de France - in the 24-year-old Polish rider, confident and quite ready to deliver, as we could judge by today's performance, and that wink to the cameras on the final ascent. Watch out for him in 2015! In the meantime, let's see how how will he fare tomorrow on the famous Col du Tourmalet and Hautacam...

Janusz Andrzejewski, an attorney practicing in New York City, writes on legal and other community important topics. You may contact him by telephone (212-634-4250) or by e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com 

JAZDA POD WPLYWEM ALKOCHOLU I JEJ KONSEKWENCJE

Zarzut jazdy pod wplywem alkocholu jest bardzo powaznie traktowany przez sady karne w stanie Nowy Jork. Prawnie rzecz biorac, konsekwencje sa powazne i zlozone. Finansowo, koszty sa niesamowicie wysokie. W sferze emocjonalnej, cale doswiadczenie jest ponizajace, bolesne a konsekwencje jego sa dlugotrwale. Jezeli ty, albo twoi bliscy zostali aresztowani, pierwsza czynnoscia jaka musisz wykonac jest skontaktowanie sie z adwokatem ktory zajmuje sie tego typu sprawami i jest dobrze zaznajomiony z prawem dotyczacym prowadzenia pojazdow pod wplywem alkocholu (po angielsku "DWI", skrot od "Driving While Intoxicated"). Nie rozmawiaj z nikim na temat wypadku do czasu skontaktowania sie z adwokatem. Przedstawienie zarzutu o prowadzenie samochodu pod wplywem alkocholu jest powaznym zarzutem i skomplikowanym, skladajacym sie z wielu czynnikow. Jednym z nich jest zawartosc alkocholu we krwi (po angielsku tzw. BAC od Blood Alcohol Content), ktora wskazuje ile alkocholu spozyles, innym poprzednie sprawy karne z tego samego zarzutu. Kolejne czynniki to inne dowody fizycznego uposledzenia spowodowanego spozytym alkocholem, to czy prowadzisz pod wplywem lekarstw albo narkotykow, obecnosc pasazerow w samochodzie i ich wiek, czy ktos stracil zycie badz zostal ranny.
Aby skutecznie bronic swoich interesow, musisz miec doswiadczonego w sprawach DWI adwokata, ktory zna prawo i procedure sadow karnych, i potrafi zabezpieczyc twoje prawa. Sprawy o prowadzenie samochodu pod wplywem alkocholu staly sie w ostatnich latach duzo bardziej skomplikowane i kontrowersyjne, ze wzgledu na nacisk roznych grup spolecznych i organizacji, ktore domagaja sie coraz bardziej surowych kar dla pijanych kierowcow. Ze wzgledu na spoleczne naciski, policjanci, prokuratorzy i sedziowie sa pod ciagla presja wymuszajaca na nich agresywne postepowanie i ostre kary wobec pijanych kierowcow. Konsekwencje oskarzenia o DWI sa bardzo powazne: kary wiezienia, przeszlosc kryminalna ktora ciagnie sie przez cale zycie, wysokie kary pieniezne i rozne oplaty, konfiskata samochodu, zawieszenie badz odebranie prawa jazdy, przymusowe doradztwo, kursy i programy rehabilitacyjne za ktore nalezy zlozyc oplate. Dla imigrantow, powazny wyrok za prowadzenie samochodu pod wplywem alkocholu moze zagrodzic droge do zielonej karty i obywatelstwa, a ktos kto juz ma zielona karte, moze ja utracic i zostac deportowany po odbyciu calosci albo czesci kary. Najlepiej by imigrant oskarzony o DWI byl reprezentowany przez adwokata ktory ma doswiadczenie w prowadzeniu zarowno spraw DWI jak i spraw deportacyjnych w sadach imigracyjnych.  Skazany moze zostac zmuszony do zainstalowania urzadzenia blokujacego zaplon w samochodzie (ignition interlock device), ktore wymaga dmuchniecia w ustnik urzadzenia zanim nastapi uruchomienie silnika, by upewnic sie ze nie spozywales alkocholu. Oczywiscie, musisz zaplacic za zainstalowanie i utrzymywanie takiego urzadzenia w samochodzie. W wypadku skazania mozesz liczyc sie z innymi kosztami, jak utrata mozliwosci dojazdu do pracy, utrata pracy, niemoznosc lub trudnosci w zdobyciu ubezpieczenia na samochod, niemoznosc brania udzialu w wyborach, utrata pozwolenia na bron, itd. Skazani ktorzy spowodowali wypadek i uszczerbek na zdrowiu badz utrate zycia innych osob ponosza powazne konsekwencje takze poprzez odrzucenie ich przez krewnych, sasiadow, przyjaciol, znajomych, i co za tym idzie, zupelna izolacje przez srodowisko.

Janusz Andrzejewski, nowojorski adwokat, praktykuje prawo w metropoli nowojorskiej juz 21 lat i pisze na tematy prawne i inne wazne tematy spoleczne. Mozesz skontaktowac sie z nim telefonicznie (212-634-4250) albo poprzez e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

ROZWODY W STANIE NOWY JORK: ROZNICA MIEDZY ROZWODAMI UGODOWYMI I SPORNYMI

Z braku odpowiedniego i krotkiego okreslenia w jezyku polskim, czesto uzywamy polonijnych okreslen: rozwody kontestowane i niekontestowane, pochodzacych od slowa "contested" w jezyku angielskim, oznaczajacego: kwestionowac, zaskarzac, spierac sie. Tak wiec jezeli uzywamy pojecia rozwod niekontestowany, oznacza on rozwod za ugoda stron, i jezeli strony osiagnely ugode pisemna na poczatku sprawy, nie musza one stawiac sie w sadzie. Wystarczy ze podpisza odpowiednie dokumenty przygotowane przez adwokata, ktore je zlozy w sadzie, przygotowany przez adwokata wyrok rozwodowy zostanie podpisany przez sedziego, i nastepnie zostanie wciagniety do rejestru przez urzednika sadu zwanego po angielsku: County Clerk. Natomiast rozwod kontestowany jest postepowaniem rozwodowym gdzie strony tocza spor, i strony wraz z adwokatami musza stawiac sie w sadzie na konferencjach, przesluchaniach i na samym koncu na rozprawie na ktorej decyduje sie o rozwodzie, o podziale majatku (jezeli strony mial majatek), o opiece nad dziecmi, wizytacjach i alimentach (jezeli sa nieletnie dzieci) a takze o alimentach dla malzonka. Sprawy rozwodowe moga zaczac sie jako sporne czy kontestowane, ale czesto strony w czasie konferencji w sadzie moga dojsc do wniosku ze spor nie ma sensu, i moga dojsc do ugody, na pismie badz ustnie przed sedzia w obecnosci reportera sadowego, ktory spisuje warunki ugody, i pozniej sporzadza jej pisemny transkrypt. Taki transkrypt stanowi pozniej czesc wyroku rozwodowego, i moze byc wkomponowany w wyrok, badz istniec niezaleznie od wyroku, co moze miec pewne reperkusje w przyszlosci. Nastepnym razem omowie etapy sprawy rozwodowej kontestowanej czyli spornej. cdn.

Janusz Andrzejewski, nowojorski adwokat, praktykujacy w metropoli nowojorskiej juz 21 lat, pisze takze na tematy prawne i inne wazne tematy spoleczne. Mozesz skontaktowac sie z nim telefonicznie (212) 634-4250 albo przez e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com.

SPRAWY CYWILNE W SADACH NOWOJORSKICH: TYPOWY POZEW O ODSZKODOWANIE POWYPADKOWE

Jak napisalem w poprzednim odcinku, typowa spraw cywilna jest zaczeta poprzez zlozenie pozwu w sadzie. Zlozenie pozwu w Sadzie Najwyzszym Stanu Nowy Jork (Supreme Court of the State of New York), prowadzacym sprawy o wartosci powyzej $25.000, polaczone jest z wykupieniem numeru indeksu, ktory obecnie kosztuje $210. Po wykupieniu indeksu, i dostarczenia pozwu pozwanemu, najczesciej przez licencjonowanego gonca, pozwany, sam badz przez adwokata, musi w terminie 20 dni przeslac adwokatowi powoda odpowiedz (jezeli jest pewny swoich racji, pozwany moze tez w tym samym terminie zamiast odpowiedzi, zlozyc do sadu wniosek o odrzucenie pozwu na podstawie pewnych powodow zawartych w paragrafie 3211 Prawa i Regul Cywilnej Procedury Stanu Nowy Jork, wplacajac oplate $45 za wniosek plus $125 za przydzielenie sedziego do sprawy) na zarzuty przedstawione w pozwie. W odpowiedzi mozna takze zawrzec przeciwpozew pozwanego przeciw powodowi, jezeli mamy sami roszczenia przeciwko powodowi. Jezeli pozwany nie zlozyl wniosku o odrzucenie pozwu (badz wniosek o odrzecenie nie zostal przyznany przez sad), zaczyna sie etap sprawy ktory nazywa sie "discovery", a po polsku, jest to wymiana informacji, i dokumentow, a takze przesluchania stron przez przeciwnych adwokatow, zwane po angielsku "deposition", najczesciej w biurach adwokatow albo w siedzibie kompani skupiajacych reporterow sadowych, ktore najczesciej ulokowane sa w poblizu sadu, w ktorym sprawa jest prowadzona. Etap zbierania i wymiany informacji i dokumentow, jest wazny, bo gromadzi sie w nim dowody i informacji na poparcie tez zawartych w pozwie, badz na poparcie lini obrony, zawartej w odpowiedzi na pozew. Wazne sa takze depozycje, czyli przesluchania stron, jako ze robione sa z nich transkrypty w postaci ksiazek, ktore mozna pozniej wykorzystac we wnioskach pisemnych albo na samej rozprawie. Jezeli sprawa dotyczy wypadku i utraty zdrowia, zbieranie informacji dotyczy przede wszystkim udostepnienia pozwanym autoryzacji medycznych, dostarczenie raportow medycznych, przeprowadzenie badan medycznych powoda przez lekarzy pozwanych i sporzadzenie raportow z tych badan, natomiast przesluchanie pozwanego skierowane jest glownie na trzy element: jak przebiegl wypadek, jaki uszczerbek na zdrowiu powod poniosl i przez jakie leczenie przeszedl.
Ten etap procesu (discovery)  prowadzony jest przez samych adwokatow, ktorzy nadzorowani sa przez sad poprzez stawianie sie na konferencje, na ktorych rozstrzyga sie jakiekolwiek drobne kontrowersje zwiazane z tym jakich dokumentow i informacji strona potrzebuje od przeciwnika, z terminami na udzielenie odpowiedzi, na dostarczenie dokumentow i na przeprowadzenie przesluchan stron. W przypadku powazniejszych kontrowersji polaczonych z wymiana informacji, dokumentow i przesluchan stron, strony maja mozliwosc zlozenia wniosku do sedziego prowadzacego sprawe (sedzia ten jest przydzielony do sprawy po zlozeniu w sadzie tzw. "request for judicial intervention", z ktorym sklada sie oplate $95. Jezeli strony zlozyly wczesniej jakis wniosek, $95 bylo zaplacone wtedy, przy skladaniu wniosku), ktory rozsztrzyga kontrowersje miedzy stronami w postaci zarzadzen sedziowskich. Jezeli strony wywiaza sie ze wszystkich zadan przeciwnika co do wymiany informacji, dokumentow i przesluchan, adwokat powoda w wyznaczonym przez sad terminie musi zlozyc gotowosc do rozprawy, przy okazji wplacajac oplate $125. Niezlozenie w terminie okreslonym przez sad gotowosci do rozprawy moze spowodowac upadek teize sprawy, bez mozliwosci jej ponownego wniesienia, jezeli wygasl juz termin przedawnienia. Nastepnie, czekamy na pojawienie sie sprawy na kalendarzu rozpraw. Jest to kwestia w niektorych powiatach kilku miesiecy, a w innych roku badz i dluzszego terminu. cdn.

Janusz Andrzejewski, nowojorski adwokat, praktykujacy w metropoli nowojorskiej od 26 lat, porusza na tym blogu tematy prawne jak i inne wazne kwestie spoleczne. Mozesz skontaktowac sie z nim telefonicznie (212) 634-4250 albo przez e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com