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How you can sue telemarketers:

How would you like to pick up an extra $1,000 in cash the next time an annoying telemarketer disrupts your dinner? Steve Ostrow, business attorney, celebrity impersonator and author of the new book How To Sue A Telemarketer: A Manual For Restoring Peace On Earth One Phone Call At A Time, can show you a step-by-step process for suing telemarketers and turning telemarketing harassment into cold, hard cash.

Using his knowledge of the small-claims court system and drawing on over 30 years of legal practice, including serving as a small claims judge in Los Angeles and San Diego counties, Steve has successfully sued, or settled, and won judgments against 10 telemarketers to the tune of $3,500. “I wrote this book to show the ordinary person how to sue telemarketers who are interrupting their quiet dinner at home,” says Ostrow.

What every homeowner needs to know about the foreclosure process:

“Just because the law says that the foreclosure process takes about four months, that does not mean that it does,” says Steve Ostrow, an attorney with over 30 years’ experience in real estate law. “These days it often takes much longer, and home owners can put up a successful fight.”

With over 30 years’ experience as a real estate and business attorney, Ostrow can offer insights into what consumers need to know about the foreclosure process, best strategies borrowers can use to stay in their houses and tips for how to work out a deal with lenders.

Surviving and thriving in small claims court:

Your tenant won’t pony up and pay the rent, your landlord shuts off the utilities, a minor traffic accident leaves you with a repair bill, your neighbor’s palm tree is pushing up your driveway, a telemarketer keeps calling and harassing you. According to Steve Ostrow, a business and real estate lawyer in practice for over 30 years, these are the situations that small-claims courts were meant for.

“Everyone loves to watch a jury trial on Law and Order,” says Ostrow, “but that’s less than 2 percent of what goes on.” Ostrow says that what you want to avoid is the stress and bureaucracy of ending up in Superior Court, where a lawyer represents you. Instead, he suggests using the option of small-claims court — where lawyers are prohibited — to resolve disputes. Ostrow warns, however, that even in small-claims court, being prepared and presenting your case factually is critical to a successful outcome. Ostrow is available to discuss the situations in which small-claims court can be useful, best practices during the process and how to prepare and present your case in small-claims court.

What every buyer needs to know about purchasing a home:

“In the past, the realtor association forms a buyer would fill out to purchase a home were two pages long,” says Steve Ostrow, business and real estate attorney. “Today, they are ten pages long.” The reason, says Ostrow, is that the forms get reviewed every year based on cases that end up in court and get adjusted to reflect the real issues that can conceivably come up when buying a house.

According to Ostrow, most realtors view the forms as a necessary inconvenience, and they just want to focus on the essential terms, but buyers today need to understand the finer points of the boxes they are checking on the form. Ostrow can speak on the 5 critical things buyers need to be aware of that realtors don’t properly explain, including: What “as is” really means, different levels of termite damage and how they impact both the buyer and seller, how contingencies work, and what your responsibility is as the buyer once the deal is signed.

Making the most of mediation in legal disputes:

“Being in trial is like being at war,” says Steve Ostrow, a formal trial lawyer and 30-year business and real estate attorney. “Most people tell me that, looking back, if they had known the emotional cost and financial expense it took to go to court, they would have done it differently.”

Ostrow says that for the ordinary man on the street, ADR (alternative dispute resolution) methods — such as mediation and arbitration— are a far better path to protecting their rights. Ostrow can discuss in what circumstances a citizen should choose mediation or arbitration over a lawsuit, how to locate mediation services and how to successfully use mediation and/or arbitration to resolve legal disputes.

Interview Questions

If a telemarketer calls you from Ohio but you live in San Diego, do you have to go to court in Ohio?

How long does it take on average from filing an action to getting a judgment?

What are the 5 main steps to suing a telemarketer?

Can you expand on each of the five main steps you say it takes to sue a telemarketer? Gathering info, demand letter, file complaint, serve complaint and go to court.

What’s the average upfront cost to sue a telemarketer?

What’s the key to winning a judgement against a telemarketer?

You say you should take notes during the telemarketing call, not after, why?

Does this apply to a business phone line as well as a home phone line?

What is the average amount of money a consumer can expect to collection from suing a telemarketer?

Who else is suing telemarketers?

Does any of this apply to the junk faxes people receive?

Do I need a lawyer to sue a telemarketer?

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