Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
'At faulf determination
Dear Mr.
Rockefeller, My
daughter tore some
ankle ligaments on a ride at
the Fair.
Can I sue
the Ag
Center for
her inju
ries?
Dear
Reader,
What a
timely
question,
with the
Wm mw
%
T - /
Jim Rockefeller
The “Law” man
Fair having just left town!
I hope your daughter is not
in too much discomfort - I
did a number on my ankle
in college and it was no fun
hobbling around on crutches
during an icy Chicago win
ter.
Your question presents
some interesting questions
about liability or who’s at
Your beliefs, your expectations - Part 2
TT Tour beliefs and expec-
V tations are in control
J. of your life. That
may not seem fair, since you
had little
role in
generat
ing them
your
parents
and early
friends
had that
honor.
Admit
tedly,
they prob-
Dennis Hooper
Leaders Building
Leaders
ably did not understand the
power they would have on
your future!
Without your conscious
awareness, however, the
beliefs and expectations they
installed in you are influenc
ing your every choice!
If you don’t like what
you are creating with your
life, can you change your
beliefs and expectations?
Fortunately, yes! It requires
il Ckvbtmas "
It is that time of year again! We are so excited about this
la m&rA year’s Christmas Parade, which will be held Saturday,
ggßflil December Ist at 2:00 p.m., with the line-up starting at 1:00
■ p.m. Perry has always had a wonderful Christmas spirit, and
with your help, we hope to make this parade a huge success.
Please take a few moments to fill out this
application for the parade.
Fax back to one of the numbers listed below.
JVO ENTRY FEE
Pw y
ie of Group/Business/Unit:
son Responsible/Contact:
Address: '
Daytime Phone: Fax:
Email: j
Type (Float, Queen, Dance Team, VIP, etc.): i
Description of Float (if know): ■
1
— |
If Float, what type of vehicle will be used to pull it?
How many units (floats, vehicles, etc.) will you have?
v Est. number of people in group (including driver):
% WiU your entry include music? Yes No k
Please return this form to Melanie Lewis, Houston Springs Resort, 105 Fairway Oaks Dr., Perry, Georgia
31069 or via fax number (478) 988-8093 no later than November 19th. The rules and requirements will he
sent back to you as soon as the application is received. If you have any questions or concerns, please direct
them to Melanie. Thank you.
Houston Springs
An Active Aduit Resort Community
478-988-8100 ext.llo4
Fax: 478-988-8093_ r
fault. Fault can come from
one of three basic sources:
direct action; inaction; or
a special legal relationship
with a “bad actor,” which is
called “imputed liability.”
On its face, direct action
liability is pretty easy to
understand (the driver of a
car is liable for his/her neg
ligence from crashing into
another car).
In your daughter’s case,
the ride operator would be
directly liable for, say, neg
ligently not having shut the
ride off fast enough.
However, if the ride itself
was also somehow defective,
and a fail-safe measure did
not perform as designed, the
owner of the ride (or even
the manufacturer/distrib
uter) of the ride could be
directly liable for providing
your daughter a negligent
product.
first that you become aware
that your values, your
beliefs, and your expecta
tions are perhaps the most
significant contributors to
your moment-to-moment
behaviors.
Your beliefs and expecta
tions affect the goals you set,
the risks you take, the help
you are willing to request,
and the degree of persis
tence you exhibit.
We all flip-flop between
two worlds of deception.
One is a state of doubt (more
about that below). Where
most of us live most of the
time, however, we believe we
“see” things as they really
are. We act based on what we
consider to be “the truth.”
We think we understand the
motivations and probable
actions of those who work
with us. We think we can
accurately predict the out
comes of our decisions.
When functioning in this
state of confidence, we typi
Mfougtg'tti Mforctgj Hlbur-rxal
478-988-9193
Or whomever serviced/
repaired the ride could be
directly liable for having
been negligent when doing
so.
As the Ag Center, presum
ably, had nothing to do with
any of these issues, it is not
“directly” liable.
Moving on to “inaction”
liability: this most com
monly applies where a third
party commits some terrible
wrongful act (such as a crim
inal act). In these situations,
the law will not ordinarily
impose liability for failing to
anticipate the final wrong
doer’s evil intent.
Consequently, if an
employee goes “postal” on
the job and kills co-workers,
the employer is not typically
liable (this is why Virginia
Tech is probably not liable
for the horrific mass mur
ders from last Spring).
cally have no awareness
that we are actually being
influenced by our biases and
assumptions. Our perspec
tive of reality is really quite
distorted and incomplete.
Yet if we take action and the
outcome is quite different
from what we had predicted,
we are genuinely surprised.
Because of the decisive
role we are expected to play,
we leaders operate as if we
perceive “the truth” perfect
ly. We speculate as to how
we got to this point, and we
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
-SBS/person
*" * ■
K i
jin
OPINION
comes from 3 sources
The are exceptions. For
instance, if you can show the
employer either negligently
supervised or wrongfully
hired/retained the employee,
knowing that there was a
“bomb” ticking . . . well, the
employer could be liable.
For instance, a store owner
would not be liable for a
patron going “postal” at the
store, killing other patrons.
However, if the store owner
had received direct threats,
an hour before the tragedy,
and did nothing (like call
ing the police), maybe that
would be a basis for liabil
ity.
In another example, the
owner of an apartment
complex (or a hotel) might
need to make sure there are
appropriate security mea
sures (gates, lights, locks,
even a security guard) to
protect tenants and deter
think we know what to do
to get us where we want to
be. We think we know what
will work, as long as every
one cooperates with us. So
we assume the stereotypical
“I’m the boss, so do what I
tell you” dictator approach.
Sometimes we realize that
our perspective in a given
situation is incomplete. At
times like this, we can easily
flip into the other extreme:
we doubt our abilities.
We question our capacity
See HOOPER, page 7A
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237 dhooper2(«r juno.conf
HOMES AS LOW AS $49 SQ^FT.
' itwv, '■ ' .t:Wi -J r
tbe/<rfu2wi>eAs f~lo<yis iPtatv I / Ass o 'Ptaw
4 sului<>+n6,3.s SabLtv 1 f&j aO. Aatbi*
* Offer only available at the Macon Building Center. Offer not valid on existing
contracts. Offer expires 11/30/07, Not valid with any other offer. Final Value
of Upgrades & Options based on Selections by Customots. See your
Ametwa's Home Piece Building Consultant for details.
'* These prices ate under roof, built on your lot prices and do not include
site improvements. Pictures may show upgrades not included in price.
Macon Building Center
6255 Zebulon Road #230
Macon, GA 31210
478-474-9070
1-800-NewHouse
AmericasHomePlace.com ©
f 5 5414
FREE FIREPLACE
$3, W® VALUE
Offer Available Until 11/30/07
Call Today For Free Pre-Qualification
We Find Ways To Approve More Loans Than
Any Other Custom Home Builder
Over 35 Years Of Custom Home Building Experience
900-4,000+ Sq. Ft Floor Plans To Choose From
Featuring Standard Upgrades Including 9' Ceilings,
Low E Glass, 5" Gutters & Downspouts And More...
wrongdoers.
Inaction liability is prob
ably not applicable to your
daughter’s injuries. Absent
knowledge that the ride was
unsafe, outside of the com
munity of the operator and
ride owner, I cannot see any
one else (including the Ag
Center) being liable for your
daughter’s injury for a “fail
ure to act.”
The last theory of liabil
ity is imputed liability; this
flows from legal relation
ships and is almost a con
tractually imposed liability
theory.
Hence, employers are lia
ble for the negligent (but
not intentional) acts of their
employees - this means the
owner of the ride is liable for
any operator negligence.
However, there will be
NO imputed liability to the
Ag Center, because there is
Dinakara B. Shetty, M.D.
“Where Care Is Continuous & You
Will LOVE The Way We Care"
Specialising In:
Heart Disease, Senior Care, Cancer, Stroke
Prevention, Cholesterol Management, Arthritis,
Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Obesity, Physical,
Lung Disease, Minor Surgery, Inhouse Labs,
Stress Tests, Ultrasound, X-Ray, EKG,
& Bone Density Test
1719 McNeal Center • Russell Pkwy • Building 700
Warner Robins, GA * 328-0806
DAVID OVERTON JEWELERS
<^ >
We Buy Gold Scrap!!
Bring It In And Let Us Weigh It.
PAY SANTA WITH SCRAP GOLD!
905 Downtown Carroll St. • Perry
54.1.1 S
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2007 ♦
certainly a lease agreement
stating the ride is an “inde
pendent” operation from the
Ag Center and this relation
ship will be impose liability.
Look to the company
responsible for the ride to
seek just compensation. I
hope your daughter is up
and about very soon! If you
have any other questions,
please feel free to e-mail
them to me.
Local attorney Jim
Rockefeller owns the
Rockefeller Law Center and
is a former Houston County
Chief Assistant District
Attorney, and a former
Miami Prosecutor. E-mail
confidential legal questions
to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.
com.. Visit www.rockefeller
lawcenter.com for Frequently
Asked Questions and
Jim’s blog, The Rockefeller
Report.
•Jewelry Repair & Cleaning
•Watch Repair
•Engraving M^T-lFri.
•Appraisals 9:3oam-si3opm
•Estate Jewelry Sat ‘
9:3oam-2pm
•Class Rings
Custom Home Builders
5A
Dr Dtn.k... B „ D
Board Certified Internal Medicine
155187
L55408_