40 The Courier SUN • JUNE 27, 2013 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com SCOTT BARON’S STAR OF QUEENS brought to you by SCOTT BARON & ASSOCICATES, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors at Law 1-866-WAS-HURT (866) 927-4878 718.738.9800 star OF queens Jackie Forrestal Hillcrest Estates Civic Association Community Board 8 COMMUNITY SERVICE: Jackie Forrestal has been active in the Queens community for years. She is a board member of the Central Queens Historical Association. She also served on the St. Joseph’s Advisory Board until the facility closed in 2004. Forrestal is the corresponding secretary for the Hillcrest Estates Civic Association, while her husband Kevin is president. BACKGROUND: A lifelong resident of Queens, Forrestal graduated from Martin Van Buren High School and studied at Queens College. For decades, Forrestal and her husband have volunteered their time and efforts to help countless organizations. Last year, she was honored by the Queens Civic Congress with the Queens Civic Award for Outstanding Community Service. She has also been the recipient of a Woman of Distinction Award from Community Board 8 and was one of 29 women to receive the City Council’s Pacesetter Award in 2006. FAVORITE MEMORY: Forrestal remembers the day she and her husband moved to Hillcrest Estates. “In 1974, we moved into our first home on 164th Place as homeowners and were invited by the neighbors to square dance,” she said. BIGGEST CHALLENGE: “Honestly, my biggest challenge has to be saving Jamaica High School from closure,” she said. “This historic and renowned school should not be closed. The phase-out of Jamaica High School is incredibly unjust and unfair to students.” INSPIRATION: Out of her love for the Queens community, Forrestal has spent decades fighting to preserve programs and institutions to improve the standard of living for residents. “I love people and I find serving them to be very satisfying and fulfilling,” she said. “Hillcrest Estates is a very special place, my civic work is a nurturing pastime.” BY LUKE TABET Legally Speaking By: Scott Baron, Attorney at Law FRAUD AND FAKERY Advertorial Q: We got a package insurance policy covering our apartment and some appliances that were located in it. After a fire occurred, we submitted what looked like store receipts. The insurer denied our claim, saying that we had submitted fraudulent evidence about the original cost of the appliances – that we had breached the ‘concealment and fraud’ provision of our policy. What happened is that I could not find the receipts provided by the stores when I had purchased these appliances. Wanting to simplify my life, I just made up some fake ones, doing my level-best accurately to estimate the prices and dates. As far as I was concerned, I was just innocently trying to communicate the cost. Now, sadder and wiser, I understand that the best course would have been simply to tell the insurer that I did not have the receipts, tendering a ‘proof of loss’ that lacks receipts. The two sides would then have engaged in a more cumbersome, but honest, course of resolving the matter. Do I still have a second chance? A: Key to determining whether a fraud provision of an insurance policy has been breached is whether you acted with fraudulent intent. Generally, there are two circumstances that suggest this intent. One is when you fake the evidence to look like an actual receipt provided by the store on the date of purchase – rather than just purport to give your opinion. The other is when the claimed value of the loss is grossly disproportionate to the actual value – when the price that is stated is significantly exaggerated from the price that you actually paid. Your case presents only one of these two lamentable circumstances: fakery, but not exaggeration. A case like yours is not so frequent, and the applicable precedent is thin. By all means find a well-skilled attorney to try and rescue you. The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice Copyright © 2013 Scott Baron & Associates, P.C. All rights reserved. 159-49 Cross Bay Boulevard, Howard Beach, New York 11414 1750 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10710 718-738-9800, 914-337-9800, 1-866-927-4878 Our job is making sure no longer goes that waste to waste. Find out more at ThinkGreen.com Energy creation. Recycling programs. Closed-loop solutions. Those are just a few of the innovations we’re delivering for customers and communities alike. We live in a world where things can no longer go to waste. That’s why Waste Management is working to get the most from resources. It’s good for business and the environment. ©2012 Waste Management, Inc.
SC06272013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above