David H. Ricks and Associates Resources, State and Federal Courts

CALIFORNIA LITIGATION SERVICES

Since 1992, David H. Ricks & Associates has been dedicated in providing quality legal services for residents and businesses of Southern California’s Inland Empire. The Inland Empire is filled with individuals, small and medium sized businesses faced with similar legal issues as large businesses, yet they lack the same legal budget and resources as their larger counterparts. Nearly all of those businesses were developed by industrious individuals that know their industries well, but still need legal help to succeed. Lawyers that clearly understand the needs of small businesses can meet those needs and provide quality legal services at a fair price. David H. Ricks & Associates is a California law firm ready to meet the needs of Southern California’s residents and small businesses.

Practice Areas

FEDERAL AND STATE COURTS

Supreme Court of the United States (supremecourtus.gov)

Central District, United States District Court (cacd.uscourts.gov)

California Supreme Court (courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/supreme)

Court of Appeals 4th District (courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/courtsofappeal)

Superior Court, San Bernardino County (co.san-bernardino.ca.us/courts)

Superior Court, Riverside County (riverside.courts.ca.gov)

Superior Court, Los Angeles County (lasuperiorcourt.org)

California Superior Court Links (courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/find.htm)

California Case Decisions (lexisnexis.com/clients/CACourts/)

GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATURE

Gov. Schwarzenegger (gov.ca.gov)

California Legislature (legislature.ca.gov)

PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS

Inland Empire Law Group (www.davidrickslaw.com)

FAQ

What is a mechanic’s lien and how does it work?

Before we get to the mechanic’s lien we have to talk about a 20-day preliminary lien notice. Except for a contractor that is directly contracted with the property owner, this notice must be sent to the property owner to notify him/her of a subcontractor’s or supplier’s contribution to the property. The notice should be sent within 20 days from the time work began by that contractor to secure all the work performed. If it is filed later, it will only reach back 20 days from the date of the notice. If the document has not been sent (whether or not received) no mechanic’s lien can be enforced.

WHAT DO I NEED TO PROVE FOR A BREACH OF CONTRACT CASE?

Civil Code section 1549 provides: “A contract is an agreement to do or not to do a certain thing.” Courts have defined the term as follows: “A contract is a voluntary and lawful agreement, by competent parties, for good consideration, to do or not to do a specified thing.” (Robinson v. Magee (1858) 9 Cal. 81, 83.)

A breach of contract is when one or more parties fail to perform the agreement entered into prior to the performance of the specified thing.

CAN I RECOVER ATTORNEY FEES IF I WIN MY BREACH OF CONTRACT CASE?

This is probably one of the most often asked questions of me when I start my review of a breach of contract case. Whether a case proceeds to litigation often depends on the ability to recover the cost of attorney’s fees from the opposing party. I often see businesses or individuals that are owed $20,000.00 or less from someone that did not pay for the services or did not pay on a loan.

What is a "Preliminary 20-day notice" and as a California contractor, material supplier or subcontractor do I have to serve one to protect my rights?

First, the preliminary 20-day notice is a written notice from a contractor/subcontractor/material supplier that is given to an owner, the general contractor, lender and/or construction financer of a property, advising them that the individual or company is either delivering supplies or performing construction related services on a particular parcel of property or on a building.

If I have a signed purchase contract, and the seller tries to back out and sell the property to another for a higher price, what rights do I have?

This problem was prevalent in the time period when the property values were skyrocketing. In fact, there was a lot of litigation between buyers and sellers because we were seeing property values rise weekly and sellers were trying to capture the highest price regardless of the consequences to the buyer and his or her family.