Big money goes around the world, Big money give and take, Big money done a power of good,
Big money make mistakes, Big money got a heavy hand, Big money take control,
Big money got a mean streak, Big money got no soul.. The Big Money by Rush. Album: 1981-87 Retrospective II. Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson.
This blog post is mostly about Big Money. And how true that Rush song really is. That really says something when you consider that Rush were big fans of Ayn Rand. I believe in free enterprise as much as the next person but many of the things I have seen are unbelievable. Big Money, and even Medium Money try to get away with stuff that should land them in jail for god’s sake! If I tried to pull this crap I would wind up cracking rocks for the next few years! Of course I am not rich and politically connected.
As I mentioned in my earlier blog posts, I have worked in the legal field in the State of California for a long time. And I have seen some things that would curdle your blood.
I am currently working on a case where a large property management company (“big money”) leased a very large commercial building, it is over 90,000 square feet, to a much smaller corporation back in 2008. The problem is that big money had submitted a general plan to build over 200 condominium units at least one month before they leased the building to the smaller corporation. In fact the general plan had been approved by the County Regional Planning Commission before the lease was signed! Now that is proof positive that Big Money got no soul.
So big money knew that they planned to demolish the commercial building even BEFORE they leased it. When I reviewed the lease it was interesting. ALL of one paragraph and most of another paragraph relating to the condition of the property, and the compliance of the property will all applicable building codes had been lined out completely. You could read certain words but it was very hard to do so.
The company that leased the building eventually lost over seventy percent (70%) of the parking spaces as a result of zoning changes and fire safety codes. And they transported cars! So obviously they needed parking spaces. The lease even said at one point, “Lessee transports cars.” Talk about getting royally screwed by big money. Big Money got a mean streak for sure.
And by the way big money is a California Limited Liability Company that is managed at least partly by a its parent company, which is a Delaware corporation. I should probably keep following the trail and see where it leads. It might prove interesting. And if you think I am some kind of anti-capitalist you are sorely mistaken. I have no problem with capitalism. It is the way that the system is run that upsets me.
And for those “progressives” and “Liberal democrats” who would like to pull their “Huffington Post” crap I just want to point out that Delaware is a blue state, at least since 2000, and even before then it was a swing state. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_Delaware_a_red_or_a_blue_state
So why does almost every large corporation pick that state. You want the plain English language explanation. So they can screw over the small shareholders, or in the case of Big Money, they can screw over every one else that they can. Give me a break. Screwing people over is not a partisan thing. It never has been. I have been screwed over by both Democrats and Republicans so I know it has nothing to do with politics.
Okay. Enough digressions for now.
The small company finally moved out after they found another place. Big money has filed a lawsuit and is seeking what is called an “attachment” against them which means if they win they can attach their assets, bank accounts, etc., even before the case goes to trial. And get this, they tried to include the unpaid rent until early 2014 in their application for an attachment.
The lease had been amended twice. When I checked the second lease amendment I found that because only one authorized person from the small company had signed it, that the second lease amendment was invalid as one of the paragraphs specifically stated that two authorized persons had to sign. Talk about Big Money make mistakes, lol. Gotcha Big Money! I may not have a fancy sheepskin but I know how to read bull**** lease verbiage in my sleep!
And Big Money had not even tried to find another tenant. So I had them there as well. Gotcha again Big Money!
I prepared the opposition to the application for attachment. The attorney I prepared it for sent me an e-mail earlier today and told me the Judge had taken it under submission. The bad thing for the small company is that they owed over $200,000 in unpaid rent from when they occupied the building. Unfortunately we did not find out about their plan to build condo units until after we had submitted the opposition to the application for attachment. I am now working with that attorney on preparing a cross-complaint against Big Money to rescind the original lease agreement, fraud, and a lot of other complaints. So do stay tuned.
I just finished up working on another case for the same attorney. I had prepared some discovery questions to the opposing attorney who responded by objecting to almost all of the questions. I read his objections and then proceeded to read the cases that he cited in support of his objections. The first case involved something totally different from the case we were involved in, and the second case actually favored our position, not his! Can you believe that. This guy had most likely never even read either case. He just had his “assistant” look up the citations and they used it without even bothering to read it. Too busy, or too lazy to do their job right. The opposing attorney sounds like he is only a “figurehead” which means that his name is on the law firm but he is a “lawyer in name only.” To put it another way, the only time this guy wants to be an attorney is when it is time to collect the money! I have seen plenty of that type before.
It is unbelievable the things that I have seen in my many years of working in the legal field here in California. As I have said before, I have seen the legal system here in California up close and personal, and let me tell you what I have seen has horrified me at times.
Stay tuned. More to come on Boobus Americanus and the legal system.
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