Chinese Drywall Tax Breaks? IRS Says Yes

October 12th, 2010. By LucyC

As the unfortunate saga of Chinese drywall continues to unfold, a new and welcome twist has emerged. On September 30, 2010, the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) made public its Revenue Procedure 2010-36—which implements tax breaks for people whose homes contain or contained the toxic stuff. In short, the IRS is allowing taxpayers to claim a casualty loss on the repairs of the drywall and any household appliances that were affected—against their taxes. 

Apparently, this tax break is the first large-scale effort by the federal government to provide financial relief to victims of Chinese drywall. The IRS says it will give tax breaks to homeowners who suffered property losses due to bad Chinese drywall installed in their homes between 2001 and 2009. People can file amended tax returns to claim the deduction. 

Deductions are allowed only on amounts that exceed $500. In order to receive the tax break, homeowners must also have started the process of repairing their homes, and the amounts paid for repairs must exceed 10 percent of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income.  

This move could affect thousands, if not tens of thousands of homeowners. The Homeowners Consumer Center in Washington, DC says Chinese Drywall has allegedly been Read the rest of this entry »

Do You Want Me? Don’t Ask Police what You Don’t Want to Know

October 11th, 2010. By LucyC

Welcome to Totally Tortelicious—a review of some of the more bizarre legal stories making news—and there’s certainly no shortage of them. 

I think it must be one of those weeks when the planets are lined up badly…for example…

I Want You to Want Me…? A woman in Cincinnati got herself arrested in an act of, well, sheer stupidity. What the heck, maybe she was having a short-term memory lapse—maybe menopause was exacting its toll on her brain cells, maybe she just wanted a workout, or maybe it was drugs. Whatever the reason, 44-year-old Selma Elmore was apparently overwhelmed by the need to know—was there an outstanding arrest warrant against her? Better find out! And who better to ask than your local neighborhood police officer. Go straight to the source—that ‘a girl! 

So she flagged down a police officer and asked him—am I wanted? (By the police, just to be clear). Well, I don’t know what she said but it’s not hard to imagine the exchange. If I were the police officer I’m not sure I would have believed the woman was genuine. But, this officer did. And when he informed Selma that she was in fact wanted—by the police—she took off on foot. What a surprise. 

But Selma is no armchair athlete. The police officer took off after her, eventually catching her up, but she pushed him into a wall, injuring his elbow. (I think this rules out temporary memory lapses and hormonal fluctuations as probable cause). The officer, realizing that he did not have the upper hand, called in reinforcements who eventually apprehended Selma.  

What was the fuss all about? Selma was originally wanted for allegedly failing to pay a fine as a result of a drug conviction. But her curiosity has only served to increase her rap sheet, as she now faces a charge of resisting arrest. Ignorance is bliss, I say.

No! No! Not the Water! As for this guy—maybe he wanted to re-use his costume for Halloween. Clad in a face mask from the thriller movie “Scream”, a man—shown at left and yet to be identified or caught—tried to hold up a Dunkin Donuts shop in New York’s Long Island.

Apparently, he walked in through the back door of the establishment—waving a silver Read the rest of this entry »

Cross-Dressers: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

October 8th, 2010. By AbiK

Wanna know why cross-dressers continue to fight an uphill battle for acceptance? It’s because of situations like this. Just ask Dayanara Fernandez.

See, a while back, we posted about American Eagle Outfitters agreeing to ditch their rule about cross-dressers. The rule basically banned cross-dressed attire from showing up on AE employees at work. Like it or not, it was a step toward “mainstreaming”, if you will, and recognizing cross-dressers as a group that should not be discriminated against. Baby steps on a long road, but still.

But now, we hear Dayanara’s story. Apparently she had been a guest at the Deerfield, IL Hyatt hotel last June. And, as a hotel guest typically does at some point during their stay, she went back to her room. Only she must’ve felt like she’d just dropped in on scene straight out of Goldilocks and the Three Bears when she realized “someone’s been in my room…and he’s still here!”

Indeed he was—the “he” being a Hyatt employee. And, he was wearing her panties, skirt and high-heeled shoes, according to the complaint that was subsequently filed. He was Read the rest of this entry »

Allstate Insurance Inspires Song – You’re Not in Good Hands

October 8th, 2010. By AbiK

I love our readers at LawyersAndSettlements.com—there’s just no stopping the creativity and passion everyone exhibits when faced with a cause that’s near and dear to their hearts. The above video is from reader Layla Fanucci—it’s about Allstate Insurance.

Now, I don’t really know the full story here on what inspired Layla to go and pen this song—but clearly she’s less than charmed with Allstate. Suffice to say, it’s not the first time we’ve heard Allstate complaints or seen Allstate bad faith insurance lawsuits—and Allstate is certainly not the only insurance company that’s had a litany of bad faith insurance claims against it.

But the fact that she actually sat down, wrote lyrics about Allstate, recorded her song and then posted it pretty much sums up how much Allstate’s gotten under her skin.

If you’ve got a video—or know someone who does—about a legal issue that’s been on your mind, send it in! We’d love to see it, and may even post it to our site…

Asbestos News Roundup: 10.7.10

October 7th, 2010. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of.

Asbestos Lawsuits

St. Clair, IL: Lovell L. Kennard has filed a lawsuit against 27 defendants who he alleges caused the death of his mother, saying she inhaled asbestos fibers after her husband brought them home on his clothes.

Kennard claims his mother, Eula Kennard, suffered secondary or take-home exposure resulting from exposure to asbestos fibers through her late husband, Joseph Kennard, who worked as a box car builder at Pullman Standard, as a laborer at Ceco Steel and as a laborer at American Cast Iron Pipe Company from the 1950s through the 1980s.

As a consequence of this exposure, Mrs. Kennard developed lung cancer, which led to her death Jan. 15, 2009, the complaint states.

Kennard claims that prior to his mother’s death, she incurred medical costs, experienced great physical pain and mental anguish and was hindered and prevented from attending to her normal course of employment. Further, because of Eula Kennard’s death, her family has been deprived of her support, have lost her society and have incurred funeral and burial costs, Kennards claims.

Kennard is seeking $200,000 for economic damages, $50,000 for punitive and exemplary damages, $100,000 in compensatory damages, punitive damages in an amount sufficient to Read the rest of this entry »