Is a hold harmless agreement enforceable in situations where the person signing it is not aware of the risks involved?

It is possible to make a hold harmless agreement. It gets a little complicated to enforce when the supplier is outside of the United States.

Hello! Yes. A hold harmless agreement can be an effective tool to limit your liability if someone is injured on your property during an event. When crafted correctly, these agreements require guests or renters to assume responsibility for any risks associated with the event and release you from liability for injuries or damages. However, the protection offered by a hold harmless agreement is NOT absolute, as courts may view them differently depending on the jurisdiction and circumstances surrounding the injury. For example, if an injury occurs due to gross negligence or intentional misconduct on your part, such as ignoring known hazards or failing to address unsafe conditions, courts are likely to find that a hold harmless agreement does not protect you. For instance, if there is a broken step on your property that you knew about but didn’t fix, and someone is injured, the agreement might not shield you from liability. Having guests sign a hold harmless agreement is a smart step, but it should ideally be part of a broader strategy. Best of luck! Dolan

Hello, I can assist you in negotiating to keep the equipment. I would first need to review the agreement and advise of the terms in which we can achieve that based on your contract. I would then call the leasing company and negotiate a settlement if I can. It would be up to the language in the agreement and the parties to decide whether or not to accept the offer. I have negotiated settlements in the past for my clients and have extensive experience with it. If you would like my assistance, you can contact me through the website. Otherwise, you can post your job on the website for other attorneys to bid and apply to the job. All the best Donya Gordon

Generally speaking, we charge for all time spent on a file. If I'm away from my desk for your case, then I can't work on other cases. So, yes, a five-minute hearing in court might result in a two-hour bill, because that was two hours dedicated to your case. That's why lawyers like to schedule multiple cases for the same hearing: we can pro-rate the travel and waiting time over multiple cases. Flat fees do not normally get a charge for travel or waiting time, because that time is included in the flat fee. A lot of judges start their hearings by "calling the docket" (bringing up each case one by one) and getting time estimates; then calling the cases beginning with the shortest time estimates. Some judges leave all the cases without lawyers to the end. This results in (A) the people involved in cases without lawyers see how it's done; and (B) the lawyers spend less time sitting around waiting and go back to being productive.

Your operating agreement should detail who has what responsibilities between the two of you, and it should establish checks and balances for each of your roles.