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Georgetown family faces lawsuit over playscape for terminally-ill son


purplepride95

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20 minutes ago, Quagmire said:

 


Just called their office and asked if this is the lawyer who specializes in suing dying kids .

They hung up , dicks

 

Not a bad idea, although I might try a different approach.

"Hello, is this the lawyer's office? Okay, thanks, yes I was referred to you by a friend. I live in a gated community and my neighbors are constantly bothering me with excessive noise. I've not had success getting the police department to do anything as they say the noises are below the legal decibel limit. Nevertheless, our community restrictions say that any noise that may become a nuisance to neighbors is prohibited. Sometimes the noise makes it harder to fall asleep, and enjoying peaceful time in my garden is also much more difficult these days. Unfortunately this neighbor is one of the board members and they are showing preferential treatment by not enforcing that against him.

I did actually try to talk to the neighbor directly about this, as kindly as I could. But he just said he's not really sorry that his kid and now his wife are making these rackets. I mean, sure, it's kind of sad that the kid was dying painfully of cancer and now his mom is wailing in sadness, but rules are rules, amirite? Can you help me sue them?"

Edited by Huckleberry
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8 minutes ago, Cajun said:

These Gottliebs, or whatever their fucking names are, are precisely the kind of people I really enjoy seeing bad things happen to.

You put that kinda shit out there and it's gonna come back.

I'll get my popcorn.

And again, as an attorney, sometimes the most important part of your job is to save your client/potential client from themselves.  

While nothing close to this bad, I have had potential clients come to me with a claim that would have brought them a great deal of collateral headaches.  That is, even if they might be legally "right" on one point, the juice is nowhere near worth the squeeze.  It would have been a hellish process, with no real upside -- certainly not one worth the year of legal fees etc.  So, a good lawyer helps them weigh that calculus, and explain to them that while the court system is the best system we have for this sort of thing, it's far from the perfect place for this kind of fight.

The second part is what to do when you're already in a case (a legit case), and your client throws you a curveball and wants to add a claim like this, or do something else similarly shitty and ill-advised.  You should advise your client against it.  And, if the client refuses to take your advice, you withdraw as counsel.  Any lawyer worth a shit has fired a client or two in his day.

Counsel in this case may well wish to do the same.

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1 hour ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

I live in a "neighborhood" that consists of 10-20 acre lots. No laws or zoning against pretty much anything. THe only thing that keeps my neighbors from pig farming, among other things, is our HOA.

Yeah, my old neighborhood had an HOA.  I was grateful for it, because it was the only thing that kept our trash neighbors from parking their trucks in the front yard. 

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12 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Looks like you forgot to include the phrases "allegedly" or "If I am remembering correctly." Maybe start with a butt plug and work your way up to a three foot piece of rebar? Because these folks seem to like lawsuits.

They want to be litigious, but if they're complaining about being able to pay property taxes, they don't have money to go around suing willy nilly.

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25 minutes ago, Cajun said:

These Gottliebs, or whatever their fucking names are, are precisely the kind of people I really enjoy seeing bad things happen to.

You put that kinda shit out there and it's gonna come back.

I'll get my popcorn.

Anyone remember Dick Gottlieb from Houston?

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But their property value guys! WON'T SOMEBODY PLEEEEASE THINK OF THE PROPERTY VALUE?!?! 

 

Hopefully no one is telling the kid what's going on. How do you explain to a dying kid that his neighbor is suing him because of his playground? Goddammit Doug tell your parents to stop this shit.

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12 minutes ago, HRSchenker said:

But their property value guys! WON'T SOMEBODY PLEEEEASE THINK OF THE PROPERTY VALUE?!?! 

 

Hopefully no one is telling the kid what's going on. How do you explain to a dying kid that his neighbor is suing him because of his playground? Goddammit Doug tell your parents to stop this shit.

There are definitely things that your neighbors can do to decrease your property value. Building a really nice play gym in their back yard isn't one of them. 

Edited by StruggleBus
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Just now, StruggleBus said:

There are definitely things that your neighbors can do to decrease your property. Building a really nice play gym in their back yard isn't one of them. 

 

I don't know man. If I was shopping for a house, a giant play gym in the neighboring yard would definitely go in the "con" column.

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24 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

And again, as an attorney, sometimes the most important part of your job is to save your client/potential client from themselves.  

 

 

My wife once defended an eviction. Grandson was evicting his own grandmother from the house she had lived in for over 70 years two weeks before Christmas. My wife told opposing council she would ask for a jury trail and that she would make sure they knew those facts. Grandson dropped the eviction (on advice of his council perhaps, I don't know) and decided to work things out with his grandmother without involving the courts.

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A halfway decent neighbor would have identified the issue long ago.  Shown their support for the family, and upon learning their intent, rolled up their fucking sleeves and helped them built it (they are a giant PITA, BTW to build).  Then after, god help the family, offered to take it all down and ship it off.  Lord knows they have enough to worry about.  

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20 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Seems like Dick Gottleib is pretty worried about his property taxes, which would seemingly contradict his concern over the value of his home?

 

Quote

Georgetown resident Rich Gottleib, who said he recently moved into the Estrella Crossing neighborhood near the airport, said he is not convinced that the airport’s current use justifies the need for a runway extension. He added that existing operations at the airport are already negatively impacting some of the surrounding neighborhoods.

“It’s not just inconvenience and the noise; it’s going to be a loss in property value,” Gottleib said.

https://communityimpact.com/austin/georgetown/city-county/2017/12/11/georgetown-municipal-airport-master-plan-update-explores-possible-expansion-upgrades/

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4 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

It's simple really. He wants his house to go way up in value while his property taxes go down. 

In short he's a grumpy dumbass who just wants to complain. 

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20 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

How was he supposed to know that moving near a busy commercial airport would mean loud planes overhead?

my guess is he bought over there because it’s the only area he could afford, and it’s affordable precisely because it’s near the airport. 

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2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

There's an issue here with their lawyer.  Someone with some professional perspective should have had the "well, you can do that, but you're suing a family with a terminally ill child for building what looks like a pretty nice playscape.  The whole world will hate you" conversation with them.  Seriously, the fallout OUTSIDE OF COURT should be a conversation that a decent lawyer has with his client.

Either this guy didn't do so, or he didn't do a good job of it.  And as a result, he too is caught up in a shitstorm of unwise decisions.

Or, as a solo, he really needed to bill that $2500.  I note he has a lawyer Dad.  Wouldn't surprise me if der gottleibs went to pops first, he advised against it and sent them to his lower-rate kid who needs the dough.

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I suspect that it's not "playscapes" specifically that are regulated, but any construction or appurtenance in the yard:  gazebos, pergolas, playground sets, sand boxes, sex swings, what-have-you.

Also, Callo is right, it appears the Costas are north of der Gottleibs.  Der Gottleib's house seems to be set back further and on a cul de sac such that chunks of the Costa's back yard are more visible than they otherwise might be.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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3 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Capture.jpg

So that is the Gottleib's house on top, and I guess that rectangular fenced area behind the house below is where the playscape is now.

What I find amusing - the back of Gottleibs' house (presumably kitchen, living room, and probably master bedroom) faces the neighbor behind that has a garage right up against the fence and what appears to be a boat and an enclosed trailer parked close to the fence.  That neighbor is in a different neighborhood and not governed by the same deed restrictions, thus Gottleibs can't do shit about it.

Playscape house is on the side of Gottleibs' garage, not even visible from inside the Gottleib house (at least not directly).

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Gottlieb likes to stay involved in community activities.

Quote

Georgetown resident Richard Gottlieb said Thursday that he didn’t see wind and solar as viable sources of energy for the city. He said he was surprised the city would sign 20- to 25-year contracts for renewable energy and not hedge on them to limit the losses. Hedging is a strategy that protects an investment against loss.

Gottlieb also said he didn’t see why the renewable energy companies that the city contracted with would want to renegotiate their contracts. “Why would you negotiate? You have the city over a barrel,” he said.

https://www.statesman.com/news/20181216/georgetown-renegotiating-solar-wind-power-contracts

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4 minutes ago, Lou said:

Just to refresh my memory, we are discussing Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib in Georgetown, Texas? 

Yes, we are discussing Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib in Georgetown, Texas. Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib in Georgetown, Texas are whom we are discussing. Actually, is whom or who the appropriate pronoun to use when discussing Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib of Georgetown, Texas. I wouldn't want to use the wrong pronoun when discussing Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib of Georgetown, Texas. 

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2 minutes ago, Zombie said:

Yes, we are discussing Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib in Georgetown, Texas. Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib in Georgetown, Texas are whom we are discussing. Actually, is whom or who the appropriate pronoun to use when discussing Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib of Georgetown, Texas. I wouldn't want to use the wrong pronoun when discussing Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib of Georgetown, Texas. 

Thank you for the confirmation that it is Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib in Georgetown, Texas.  I would have hated to have been incorrect and not had the correct names of Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib in Georgetown, Texas.  If I'm not incorrect, I believe there has been some recent news reports containing information about Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib in Georgetown, Texas.  I'll have to keep my eyes open about new concerning Richard Gottleib and Carole Gottleib in Georgetown, Texas.

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3 hours ago, High Plains Drifter said:

I don't know man. If I was shopping for a house, a giant play gym in the neighboring yard would definitely go in the "con" column.

Meanwhile, my wife and I would be high-fiving and saying "Kids, make sure and become good friends with the family next door, so that mommy and daddy don't have to buy you a playscape!"

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From the court filing:

Plaintiff Gottleib, Carole     Kenneth A Richey, Jr.
  Retained
512-275-6059(W)
 
 
Plaintiff Gottleib, Richard     Kenneth A Richey, Jr.
  Retained
512-275-6059(W)
 
Events & Orders of the Court
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11 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

What's the proper spelling - Google is saying Carol Gottlieb

 

Gottlieb is far the far more common spelling so that's why Google suggests that, but the two monsters suing their neighbors because they built a playscape for their terminally ill child are Richard and Carol Gottleib of 1000 Lucinda Terrace, Georgetown, TX, 78628.

And yes, local news stories screwed up the spelling, but it's not like Richard Gottleib or Carol Gottleib are going to correct them.

Edited by Huckleberry
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19 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Gottlieb is far the far more common spelling so that's why Google suggests that, but the two monsters suing their neighbors because they built a playscape for their terminally ill child are Richard and Carol Gottleib of 1000 Lucinda Terrace, Georgetown, TX, 78628.

And yes, local news stories screwed up the spelling, but it's not like Richard Gottleib or Carol Gottleib are going to correct them.

*Carole

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