Introduction to Colorado’s Dog Bite Statutes

The general overview of dog bite laws in Colorado is crucial for anyone who has been affected by these unfortunate but common incidents. Colorado’s dog bite law, outlined in the revised Colorado Revised Statutes as C.R.S. 13-21-124, puts the onus of responsibility on the dog owner, and pet owners must be well advised of their responsibilities to prevent tragic events. They must also be aware of the full financial implications they could face if their dog becomes aggressive and bites someone.
Dog bite laws in Colorado are important in understanding how liability is determined after an incident. They apply to owners of all breeds of dogs regardless of size, breed or color. But these dog bite laws do not apply to people who are bit by a dog while committing criminal acts or people who are trespassing.
Dog bite laws can have financial ramifications in the form of liability under the premises or strict liability laws. This means the dog owner may be subject to paying for medical expenses and other expenses that arise from a dog bite incident. The dog owner could also have additional financial responsibility to cover property damage that results from a dog bite, such as if the person who was bitten needs a new headlight in a vehicle or a new fence around a yard .
Dog bite laws based on liability require that the plaintiff prove there was a proximate cause for the dog biting the person and that the dog owner was negligent in helping the cause continue, such as by letting the dog run unleashed in public where it could bite another person or an animal.
These laws also mean that when a dog is provoked it is difficult to prove a dog bite incident was caused by negligence of the dog owner. It is also difficult to prove there was no risk to the dog in the provocation. If a dog bites during training, medical examination, grooming or nails being clipped, the dog could be acting out defensively. In practice, the dog’s owner will likely be held responsible for the actions of the dog.
Another way this can play out is if a dog biter causes injury to a domestic animal, the dog owner could also be subject to fines or liability due to a negligent bite that harms a domestic animal. With C.R.S. 13-21-124, this could mean a significant and possibly even life-altering bite for one who is responsible for the actions of the animal.

What is a Joinder Agreement?

A joinder agreement is a legal document that acts as an attachment to an existing legal agreement or contract to incorporate an additional party and obligates them to its terms. It essentially extends the initial contract’s obligations and benefits to another entity.
More particularly, a joinder agreement or "joinder of agreement" is an agreement to join in an existing agreement by a party that is not already a direct signatory to the existing agreement. For intent and clarity purposes , the replicated phrase "under the terms of this Joinder Agreement" or its equivalent should appear at the end of each relevant paragraph of the existing agreement. If the joinder agreement includes additional terms, the phrases "in addition, it is agreed" or "furthermore" can be added at the beginning of the new paragraph.
A joinder agreement is not a standalone agreement, but a supplementary document that incorporates or references an existing agreement to which a new party wishes to be bound. It is often used in business transactions where multiple parties are involved and one of the parties wants to bring in another party into the scope of the contract.

What is considered shoplifting in Indiana?

Under Indiana law, when a person enters an establishment and they intend to permanently deprive the owner of their property, they have committed shoplifting and it is a crime. If you put one of the items into your bag and attempt to leave the store without paying for it, it is illegal under IC 35-43-4-2.
Under Indiana Code 35-43-4-2, shoplifting occurs when a person:
-enter[s] an entity that hosts items for sale; -intentionally causes or attempts to cause the entity a loss of revenue by taking items of property without the intent to pay for or otherwise compensate for the property; or -permanently deprive[s] the entity of the item of property.
Basically, if you walk into a store, take an item without paying for it and leave the store, you have committed shoplifting. Even if the item(s) you intended to leave the store with was not expensive, if the store catches you and presses charges then you will be charged with the crime of shoplifting, or criminal conversion.
Criminal conversion is when a person:
"-knowingly or intentionally exerts unauthorized control or knowingly or intentionally exerts control over the property of the other person; [and] -with intent to deprive the other person of its value or use."
If you are caught shoplifting or committing criminal conversion you can even be charged with theft. Under Indiana Code 35-43-4-2(a)(2) , the Crime of Theft occurs when you "obtain property or services by any false or misleading conduct or statement[.]"
This means that if you walk into a store, select items you want to purchase and go to the counter to pay but the cashier does not ring up the items you have selected, and you know that this is happening and decide to go ahead with the transaction, then you have committed theft. If you intentionally commit these crimes you can face serious penalties, both civil and criminal.
Because shoplifting specifies that the goods are taken from a store, there are other code sections that define similar acts committed outside a store. Such as robbery under Indiana Code 35-42-5-1(a) which states that robbery occurs when "a person knowingly or intentionally takes property from another person or from a position of immediate control of the other person by making a request or demand for the property and: (1) drawing or using a deadly weapon or a firearm; (2) pulling, putting, or pointing a firearm or other deadly weapon on the other person; (3) threatening the use of a deadly weapon or firearm; (4) causing bodily injury to any person; or (5) threatening to obtain property or a service by putting any person in fear."
And, Burglary under Indiana Code 35-43-2-1 which states that burglary occurs when a person "breaks and enters the dwelling of another person with the intent to commit a felony in it, commission of a felony in the dwelling or possession of a deadly weapon on the premises."

All About Service of Process

The general concept of service of process involves notifying the defendant or respondent regarding the contents and existence of a pending lawsuit. A commonly understood purpose behind service of process is that a person involved in a lawsuit has a meaningful opportunity to participate in the lawsuit. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, service of process is defined as "[t]he act of delivering a copy of a summons and of the complaint to a defendant to let him or her know of the pending action and to enable him or her to voice any objection." The Journal of Legal Studies grants some historical sense of nature of process as well as the manner in which it is served in Western civilization in stating: "[T]he institution of process by means of which one the judicial authorities communicates with another which results in a writ being issued in the name of the King , demanding an answer from the party complained of. More especially civil proceedings of the law in the language of the later period. The proceedings by which the cognizance of a suit or claim is brought to the knowledge and to the judicial power of a court, so as to enable that power to act upon the party against whom the suit or claim is made. Quasi-judicial notice taken by a court of its own authority of facts necessary to the exercise of its jurisdiction, the right and cognizance of a cause." Aside from the ability to providers of legal services to bring a lawsuit, there is also a sense that service of process is a matter of convenience. If a potential litigant in Georgia does not reside within a county, then they must rely upon a licensed private process server or sheriff to serve process within a county. Other than these two groups of people, no private citizen is supposed to be able to serve a lawsuit on the plaintiff’s behalf in Georgia.

An Introduction to Contract Analysis

Contract analysis is a critical function for any legal or business team managing a company’s agreements. But, until the advent of contract analysis solutions, deriving true value and insight from a contract was a long and arduous process. Contract analysis allows legal teams to extract key information from agreements, enabling them to make data-driven decisions, mitigate risk, ensure compliance, and ultimately derive greater value from agreements.
When we speak about contract analysis, we mean the process of studying and analyzing the terms of a contract to identify and extract valuable data. This process also includes associating categories and appropriate metadata to each clause to help improve the insight a legal team can learn from their contracts, as contracts rarely stand alone. Instead, they are typically related to other contracts governing things like supply relationships, insurance, purchase orders, licenses, and more, so contextualizing each clause within the appropriate lens is an important part of this process.
Contract analysis is a very important task for any legal team that manages a high volume of contracts. For example, imagine a company in the process of being acquired – due diligence is one of the most important parts of the acquisition process . In order to ensure a successful acquisition, the acquiring company needs full visibility into the contracts being acquired. If the acquiring company has analyzed these contracts, then it will have a complete understanding of its current position and be able to make data-driven decisions as it relates to future strategy. On the other hand, if the acquiring company does not perform adequate due diligence, it could set itself up for costly surprises down the road.
In a recent LexisNexis survey, 87% of in-house counsel stated they need to be more efficient and accurate with contract review and 82% of them agreed that a contract discovery and analysis tool would help them do so. Executing a thorough contract analysis is much more than a set-it-and-forget-it activity – it’s a dynamic, ongoing task that informs many other processes. By performing contract analysis, legal teams can track changes, monitor compliance and anticipate future problems. Contract intelligence, drawn from a detailed analysis of contracts across the organization, enables the legal team to better manage risk and allows business teams to make better, data-driven decisions. It’s a vital step in strategic planning for any organization.