Idaho Law Blog

CRASH IN VALLEY COUNTY IDAHO, 19-YEAR-OLD BOY KILLED

Published on: November 14, 2024 | by Racine Olson

A 19-year-old and his passenger were involved in a rollover involving only their vehicle on Thursday, October 10^th, 2024. The single vehicle crash occurred at 9:06 p.m., on No Business Rd in Valley County in Idaho.

Both the driver and his 20-year-old passenger are from Donnelly, Idaho. They were driving the 19-year-old’s silver Dodge Ram, when the driver failed to follow a curve in the road and exited the roadway. The vehicle began to flip and ran down into a ditch where it hit two trees and stopped.

The driver sustained major injuries and passed at the scene. The passenger sustained no major injuries. Neither the driver nor the passenger was wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.

WOMAN KILLED IN SINGLE CAR ACCIDENT ON I-84 IN PAYETTE COUNTY

Published on: October 23, 2024 | by Racine Olson

On October 12^th at 10:17 a.m., a single vehicle crash occurred in Payette county. The driver was a 54-year-old woman from Garden City. She was driving eastbound near milepost 1 on interstate 84.

According to the report provided by Idaho state police, the woman was driving a white 2014 Kia Sportage. At the time of the accident, she was driving westbound when the vehicle went off the left shoulder of the road. The force caused the car to roll into the opposite lanes of travel where it stopped. The report includes that she was wearing her seatbelt. As a result of the location of the car, lanes of the road heading east were blocked for upwards of three hours.

The resulting injuries were too great, and the woman lost her life at the scene of the crash. The incident is under continued investigation by the Idaho State Police. The woman’s identity has not yet been released.

A CRASH TRAINED ATTORNEY IS YOUR SKILLED ADVOCATE FOR MOTOR VEHICLE PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS.

Published on: October 8, 2024 | by Racine Olson

By Stephen J. Muhonen, Personal Injury Attorney, Racine Olson, PLLP

I have been practicing law for more than 20 years. Prior to becoming an attorney I worked in law enforcement for approximately 8 years, beginning first as a police officer for the city of Pocatello, Idaho and concluding as a Trooper for the Idaho State Police. During my tenure in law enforcement, I was initially trained in basic accident investigations. While serving as a State Trooper, I was fortunate enough to also be trained as an Advanced Crash Investigator. This meant being taught how to really give attention to additional details throughout the course of a motor vehicle collision investigation. As a quick aside, I purposefully do not use the term motor vehicle “accident.” In my training I learned that rarely is the occasion when a motor vehicle collision is truly an accident. Motor vehicle collisions generally occur due to some sort of negligence, perhaps even recklessness. Negligence is not an accident. Advanced Crash Investigators are taught concepts of pre and post- accident vehicle speeds and paths. This includes analyzing a crash scene using physics, algebra, geometry and trigonometry. Investigators are also taught to pay attention to road conditions, including drag factor (friction), investigate vehicle conditions, and how to gather and document supporting evidence. Having learned this information and becoming a trained investigator has been invaluable in my role as a personal injury attorney.

If you have been injured and/or your property damaged in a motor vehicle collision, it is wise to seek the assistance of an attorney. In Idaho, bodily injury claims arising from a motor vehicle collision have a two (2) year statute of limitations from the date of the collision. Property damage claims must be brought within three (3) years. If you miss your statute of limitations deadline, you may have very well said goodbye to any claim for compensation you may have had. Through the assistance of an attorney, the police reports and other investigation materials can be gathered and analyzed in attempt to determine liability. Sometimes, experts such as reconstructionists will be retained to further aid in the determination of liability and/or causation of the crash. The attorney will also help in the gathering and analysis of medical records and billings. It is not unusual for the attorney to have to hire medical experts, too, in determining causation of injuries and what will/may be the long-term effect of those injuries. This can be critically important in determining the injuries sustained because of the collision. There is a direct connection between liability and injuries sustained when it comes time to attempt to determine the value of a particular injury claim. An attorney who is experienced in the dynamics of a motor vehicle collision and who has been trained and is experienced in the law, is who you want when it comes time to work with insurance companies toward a resolution of your personal injury claim. Knowledge is power.

HOW LONG IS MY JUDGMENT AND FOREIGN JUDGMENT GOOD FOR?

Published on: October 8, 2024 | by Racine Olson

By Stephen J. Muhonen, Creditor’s Rights / Collections Attorney, Racine Olson, PLLP

The practice of law has endless highs and lows. Behind every victory, or so it seems, lays another potential legal concern that can take the rug right from under your feet. Due diligence and controlled paranoia, if you will, are part of the territory in the on-going attempt to stay on top of your case. This sentiment holds true even after you have won your case and judgment has been entered in your favor. One may think, “Hey, I won, I have a judgment, all’s well, I’ll just get paid now and ride off into the sunset.” Ha ha, if it were always so easy….

Obtaining a judgment does not necessarily mean, “Here is your payment.” It is more common than one may think, for it to take years (perhaps even never) to collect on a judgment. Judgments are not good forever and the judgment creditor needs to stay on top of keeping their judgment current if it has not been satisfied. Idaho Code §10-1111 provides:

COLLECTING FROM AN LLC

Published on: September 18, 2024 | by Racine Olson

By Stephen J. Muhonen, Creditor’s Rights / Collections Attorney, Racine Olson, PLLP

Isn’t it irritating as a creditor when you discover in your contract with a customer/debtor that you don’t have a personal guarantee in the file and your only recourse on a delinquent account is against an entity, such as an LLC? Often for creditors, the lack of a personal guarantee on the promise to pay by the debtor LLC means an account may very well be uncollectable. This can be a common frustration when working with small entities and as a creditor, you are really hoping the LLC has unencumbered assets.

In general, collecting against an LLC is similar to collecting against an individual. However, LLC’s do not have the availability of exemption protections that individuals have. Take the time to research the county assessor’s records to see if the LLC has an ownership interest in any real property located in the county. If it does, record your judgment with the county assessor so as to have a lien on the real property. Now whether you can collect from the real property may be determined by the value of or equity in the real property. The purchase of a lot book or a litigation guaranty from a title company is helpful in this regard and it will show encumbrances on the property.

ABORTION LAW IN IDAHO

Published on: August 3, 2022 | by Racine Olson

By Richard J. Blok, Idaho Criminal Defense Attorney, and Elisheva M. Patterson, Civil Litigation Attorney.

NOTE: This article was written on August 1, 2022, laws in this area are rapidly changing. Before you make any decisions, consult with your attorney.

On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court announced its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning the constitutional right to abortion found in Roe v. Wade and over 50 years of constitutional precedent. Now that the final decision is published, Idaho’s criminal abortion statute will be triggered and abortion in Idaho will be outlawed on August 25, 2022.

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM LARRY KING’S ESTATE

Published on: February 26, 2021 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

As an estate planning attorney, I often review the wills, trusts, and other estate planning documents that are used by celebrities and well-known personalities. I find the doing this helps me illustrate to my clients some of the easy mistakes they can avoid when it comes to creating their own estate plan. This brings us to Larry King, and the estate and mess that he left after his death.

Though we don’t know the precise value it is anticipated that Larry King’s estate is worth about $2 million. Given his success as an interviewer of celebrities and somewhat of a celebrity personality himself, it’s possible that his estate is much larger than this. Whatever the value of his estate it is big enough that his family is fighting over it.

HANDWRITTEN WILLS CREATE SUCH A MESS

Published on: February 23, 2021 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

As an estate planning attorney, I often get questions about wills and how they work in handling a person’s estate. One of the questions I frequently get is whether a person can create their own last will and testament and whether if they do this it will be valid.

To be clear, Idaho does accept holographic wills. A holographic will is a written will that is created by the individual who is signing it. To be holographic, the signature and material provisions of the will must be in the handwriting of the person signing it.

WHAT IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE A PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE?

Published on: February 23, 2021 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

Over the past 22 years while practicing as an estate planning and probate attorney I’ve seen and heard just about everything you can imagine when it comes to estate plans, probates, family interactions, family fights, and distributions from an estate. One of the rare things that comes up every once in a while, is that a person who was appointed through a last will and testament to be a personal representative doesn’t want to do it.

A personal representative is the individual who is named in a written will who will be in charge of the estate when a person passes away. This person has the duty and responsibility of protecting and preserving all the assets in the estate of the deceased person. The personal representative also has a duty to make sure that all legitimate debts and expenses of the decedent are paid. Finally, the personal representative has a responsibility of distributing the estate exactly how the deceased person instructed in their written Will.

PLANNING YOUR ESTATE? FOCUS ON TESTAMENTARY INTENT

Published on: February 4, 2021 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

As an estate planning attorney for more than 20 years I’ve helped numerous clients create their own customized estate plans. These usually include a last will and testament, a durable power of attorney, a living will, and a power of attorney for health care. These estate plans could also include one or more trusts depending on the needs of the client.

Most people I work with know they need an estate plan but many of them don’t know how to begin the process. We do our best to make this as simple and easy as possible. We start by providing our Estate Planning Questionnaire, that we can either email to our clients, mail a hard copy to, or they can download a copy from our web site. This is an easy-to-fill-out pdf document that our clients can type directly into and save to their computer. Once that is done, our clients then either call or e-mail us to schedule a free 30-minute consultation. We use the free consultation to review the Questionnaire, answer questions and discuss the things that are important to our clients when it comes to their own estate plan.