If one was to, hypothetically speaking, hire a lawyer to send a letterhead nastygram to a multinational restaurant corporation when one’s property was damaged by a foreign object in their food in Louisiana, but one lives in Illinois…where should one start looking for a lawyer?
(Still hoping we won’t have to lawyer up over a $600 denture repair, but they’ve stopped answering their phone, after saying they’d take care of it in a previous conversation…)
Louisiana. You need them to be familiar with Louisiana law if it has any chance of going to court which would likely be in LA.
I’m not sure how it will work with a multinational chain, you may want to go with a larger firm that also has lawyers available in that chains home state and/or your home state. A lot of times it’s not about where the law is because if they are willing to settle it’s more about getting people in the same room to do so.
Ugh, that’s what I was afraid of. It just doesn’t make sense to bring it to an actual lawsuit for such a low sum of money, and I’m afraid they know that. I’m considering just taking it to Facebook and trying it in the court of popular opinion. Bad idea?
IANAL, but chances are this restaurant is owned by a franchisee, which is who you want to talk to about compensation.
We talked to the manager on duty (when it happened) as well as the person she referred us to, and were told that repair would be covered, of course, and we’re so sorry that happened. Went to the dentist on Tuesday to get the cost in writing, and now they’re not answering the phone or returning phone calls. :dubious:
So, the next step is sending something in writing (certified, so they can’t pretend it never arrived). One option for that letter – but not necessary-- is to have a lawyer send it, which shows that you’re serious enough (and have enough resources) to take them to court if they don’t more-or-less satisfy you. Only well after this first letter would you take any real legal actions (such as actually filing a lawsuit).
I’m just saying, you’d probably need a Louisiana lawyer for the filing a lawsuit step, but, should you decide to go that route, an Illinois lawyer can write a vaguely threatening legal-y letter just as well as a Louisiana one.
Me, I’d probably write the first certified letter myself, just saying (in slightly politer and longer form) "Here’s what you agreed to over the phone. It would work out better for all of us if you followed through now, before I had to drag lawyers into this. (Seriously, you’re going to pay ten times the denture repair just to have your lawyer read the first letter from my lawyer.) "
Only if that didn’t work would I go and get someone who signs “Esq.” after their name to put the next letter on their law firm stationery.
I, a Canadian lawyer, sent a nasty letter on behalf of my client to an outfit in Louisiana, and Katrina struck when it arrived. Never underestimate the force of a lawyer’s demand letter.
(More seriously, ask a lawyer to figure out whom to sue and in which jurisdiction the matter would be litigated, and then hire a lawyer in that jurisdiction to carry the matter.) Of course for $600, it most likely would not be worth it.
As far as I know, there is no requirement that you hire a lawyer who is licensed to practice in the location that you expect a lawsuit to be filed, that is assuming you are
simply writing a letter to lay out the circumstances around what happened and why you believe they are liable and what compensation will satisfy you. You could write that letter yourself, though a lot of people hire a lawyer because the lawyers may make better choices of language and have impressive letterhead.
If you go farther and file papers and proceed with a suit, you will need a local counsel.
Thanks everyone. My husband (in whose mouth said dentures generally reside) has decided to try to find a lawyer. Not the way I would go, but it’s out of my hands.
Are you saying the dentures were damaged in LA, the suspect food was manufactured in LA, or the restaurant company is based in LA? And is it a franchise and, if so, where is the franchise company based? Which may be different from where the parent company is based?
Dentures were damaged by food served in LA at a franchise type restaurant. Whether the key in the food came from that kitchen or a central supply that makes the food for reheating at the restaurant site, I have no idea.
But husband called a LA lawyer, who suggested he try emailing or faxing a letter himself with a proposed settlement something more than the cost of the denture repair, for being a pain in the ass, and see what they say. If no acceptable response in 2 business days, the lawyer will take it on contingency, which shocked the hell outta me. We couldn’t get a lawyer to take a $4000 vehicle damage case on contingency two years ago! But this guy will ask for *substantially *more than the denture repair if he gets involved.
At this point, I guess I’m okay with that. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. If nothing else, he’s been unable to follow his physician ordered cardiac/diabetes diet for a week and counting because of this delay, which might well lead to unfortunate effects far beyond the inconvenience, pain and shock of biting into a freaking key in his sandwich and breaking his dentures, and the embarrassment of walking around with no teeth. :mad:
One note: if this is a large corporation, you might want to make sure that your letter doesn’t specifically threaten a lawsuit (keep threats vague like “we would prefer to settle this quickly, without long and potentially expensive disputes.”). In some large organizations, any correspondence that mentions potential lawsuits goes immediately to the legal office.
Now, the legal office might be more amenable to paying up quickly than regular management, but then again they might not, so it makes sense to see if the regular management is willing to pay up first.
I used to work for McDonald’s Corporate. As soon as a customer mentioned lawyer, the policy was to stop talking to them and tell them their lawyer had to contact our legal department.