I was cited for having an open container in public over at the beach. The thing is, people often have open containers there. Most of the time the police just ride by or walk by, and do nothing. Don't laws have to be uniformly enforced? Isn't it unjust that one person is ticketed while others go free?
In an ideal world, every law would be enforced with equal application to each person and every violation that occurs. However, we are human beings in an imperfect world.
For example, a person stopped for speeding could ask the state trooper why all the other drivers are whizzing by as the officer is writing up the ticket. They're getting away with it, and for one driver to be singled out does not seem "just." To which the trooper might respond that there are only so many cruisers and thousands of miles of highway. All they can do is pick off as many as they can. That is the practical side of the answer.
Legally, in court, it is no defense that other people are engaged in the same conduct. The only relevant issue for the court to determine is what the defendant's conduct was at the time and place where observations were made that led to the citation.
Over a year ago, I signed a contract to have a website built. The site was supposed to be done a year ago, but I still have not been delivered a fully functioning site. I had a code audit done and the code is horrible.
We missed our window of opportunity with the site and have wasted a lot of money on promotional materials that we could not use. Can I sue for compensatory damages?
No attorney can give a good answer without reading all the terms of the actual contract. For example, if the code to which you refer was simply the code that makes the site work, and this is included in the contract, you can establish breach of contract.
If the code to which you refer is the code required for the search engines to analyze site content, then you would only establish breach if the contract included SEO services beyond the design.
The terms of the contract itself can limit allowable damages, but state law also is important here. Direct damages that would be allowed after you establish breach would likely include some or all of your money back.
If you can establish unfair and deceptive practices in the course of the contract negotiations and performance, then a court might, emphasis on might, award you triple damages, costs of the lawsuit and/or reasonable attorney fees.
Speculative damages are not awarded. For example, if you are a computer hardware specialist claiming that but for the lack of a good website, you would have gotten that billion-dollar contract with Dell to assemble all their computers, you're calling for speculation, which is not allowed.
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Andrew Myers of Derry has law offices in Derry and North Andover. He is a member of the American Association for Justice and the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers Association. Send questions to andrew@attorney-myers.com.
