Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > The Ridge Creek School / Hidden Lake Academy

Court Dismisses Indemnity Clause

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Deborah:
The court issued a ruling regarding HLA's counterclaim against the original named plaintiffs:
 
"The ruling dismisses defendant HLA Inc.'s counterclaim against the original named plaintiffs.  The court held that the contractual clause on which HLA's counterclaim was based violated Georgia public policy."
 
Basically the clause in HLA's contract that tried to contractually indemnify HLA from all costs and attorneys' fees (Parents would have to pay all of HLA's attorneys' fees if the parents sued HLA) is considered a violation of Georgia public policy. Parents will not have to pay HLA costs and attorneys' fees should the parent sue HLA.

RobertBruce:
Awwwww...I'll bet all those legal fees just became a whole lot more pressing.

happyday7:
Good News! This is how it should be. Glad to hear that parents can go ahead with their suits against HLA with a no retaliation problem.  :exclaim:

TheWho:
Great news for the parents, they must be breathing easier!!

I would guess HLA was all ready prepared to have them thrown out? the contract wording was old and outdated
Attorney fee clauses and the like are being more and more thrown out of court especially when an individual or group of individuals are going up against a corporation.  These clauses are put in there to scare people from suing, but have not been successful (in many cases) in recovery unless one corporation is suing another (or landlord/tenant cases).  If the judge allowed this clause to stand then the people would be responsible for not just the attorneys fee but all associated costs that HLA incurred over and above the attorneys fee, including expert witness fees, payments for court reporters, fees for filing documents with the court, as well as costs of travel, printing, photocopying, postage, telephone, and messenger services etc..
This could add up to such a substantial amount that the families could go bankrupt and lose their homes so courts are throwing them out??. What they are writing in contracts now is a attorney fee with a ?Cap? so that people suing would be liable for up to a certain amount of say $100,000 so that families are not wiped out.  Many contracts are responding this way to appease the courts.

Deborah:
When did you read the HLA contract?
According to my source, it doesn't matter what the contract says if you are defrauded, the contract becomes null and void.

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