New Law Should End Long Waits for Deliveries
Q I am really sick and tired of sitting at home waiting for delivery people to show up. It always seems that when you buy something and need to have it delivered, the store can never tell you what time the delivery will be made. In this day of two-income families, it is a great hardship to have someone sitting at home all day waiting for a delivery. I think it’s about time something be done about this.
W.S.,
Irvine
A A new law has been enacted to deal with this exact problem. It provides that any retailer with 25 or more employees dealing with the sale of merchandise must specify a four-hour time period within which delivery must be made when the buyer’s presence is required for delivery. If the merchandise is not delivered within this period, the buyer may sue in small claims court for such items as lost wages and expenses incurred. The maximum amount which a buyer may recover is $500. The buyer will not recover anything, however, if the failure to deliver was due to reasons beyond the retailer’s control or the buyer was absent during the time the retailer tried to make delivery. This new law also applies to cable television companies and utilities companies in regards to service or repairs.
Q My father recently passed away and left his entire estate to my sister and me. One of the things which he had was a gun. My sister and I don’t know anything about guns, but we heard that there may be a new law which would prevent us from selling it.
C.E.,
Fullerton
A The law to which you may be referring deals with assault weapons. If your father’s gun is an assault weapon, you must, within 90 days of obtaining title to it, make the weapon permanently inoperable; sell it to a licensed gun dealer; obtain a special permit from the Department of Justice; or remove it from this state. You should know that this law prohibits you from selling an assault weapon to anyone but a licensed gun dealer. It is a felony to sell an assault weapon in violation of this law. Punishment ranges from four to eight years in prison. If you are unsure whether your father’s gun is an assault weapon which falls within this law, you should contact a licensed gun dealer or the Department of Justice for information. The law specifies the trade names of those weapons covered by it.
Q My car registration is due again, but I have a problem. I have a number of parking tickets that I never paid, and I’m wondering if this is something I should be worried about. Can DMV do anything to me?
B.D.,
Tustin
A DMV may withhold renewal of your registration for unpaid and delinquent parking tickets unless, at the time of renewal, you pay all of the outstanding parking penalties and administrative fees. If you pay off the parking tickets in court, the court will provide you with an Abstract or Notice of Disposition of Parking Violation for you to show DMV that the tickets have been cleared. DMV must then renew your registration.
B. Tam Nomoto, an Orange County Municipal Court judge, answers readers’ questions about the law. Ask the Judge runs every other Saturday in Orange County Life. Got a question for Judge Nomoto? Write to: Ask the Judge, Orange County Life, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626. Questions of broadest interest will be answered in her column.
