Uncanny

To update this post:

In June, lawyers for the defendants made a settlement offer (to avoid court) that I considered generous and I told my lawyer I was inclined to accept. My lawyer thought he could get more and we argued back and forth about this. I hemmed and hawed and finally told him to do whatever he thought was best. (I hired him to look after my interests, he's done a standup job, so why would I start micromanaging the process now?).

My lawyer scheduled a mediation hearing for June 29th at which all the lawyers and insurance whatevers would convene and hash out a final settlement. This meeting ended up being cancelled because an agreement was reached in advance. (Law suits are about money and mitigating costs, not justice, and in the end if the losing side can avoid incurring more costs they will. Like court, mediation hearings cost money. It's cheaper to settle without going through all that.)

As I mentioned, whimsically, in a previous post, my June horoscope said, The month ends with an emphasis on money. You may come into quite a bit of cash at this time. You may be paid a substantial sum for a commission, insurance payout, or bonus. It may be money owed to you or an outright gift or prize.

Since the settlement offer, my lawyer discovered he can get another 5 grand on a technicality so he's going for it. This will delay me receiving the money but I've already waited nearly 4 years; another few weeks won't make a difference.

Here's what my July horoscope says (and I know this is totally flaky but it's just so much fun...)

On the last day of June, just hours before the start of July, a full moon arrived in your house of joint finances. You may have been told about a generous commission, court settlement, licensing fee, signing bonus, or other windfall at the time, but if not, that news may still arrive in the first days of July. Indeed, the universe is about to financially reward you in a big, obvious way, dear Gemini.

Please and thank you, universe.

My lawr suit and my horoscope

Writing about matters such as lawr suits on the intertubes is risky so I'll refrain from revealing too much, but Holy Macaroni, Batman, things seem to be coming together for moi!

The defense lawyers have made an offer that I think is reasonable but my lawyer scoffed and advised me to reject it and proceed through mediation. (The companies named in the suit have the ethics of Enron and Halliburton and they've made my life hell so I'm heeding his advice.) I will say that although the defense lawyers - well one of them - tried every way from Sunday to intimidate me in discovery and did at one point bring me to tears, their clients turned out to be a dream for us. One called in sick the day of the hearing and didn't show up. The other one made a huge show of swearing on the bible and then proceeded, under oath, to corroborate all of my testimony. He didn't contradict a thing. In fact, his description of my accident was much more dramatic than mine. He admitted creating a hazard, failing to post warning signs, witnessing the accident and then not lifting a finger to help me for no good reason. (An equivalent scenario: You're crossing on a green light and the defendant runs over you with his vehicle. He stops, gets out of his car and stands over bloody mangled you with cell phone in hand but doesn't dial 911 because your crying offends him. Then he drives away. I'm not even kidding.)

He also described me as "a fat lady" and when my lawyer motioned in my direction and asked him if he recognized me, he said no. (Add another 10 grand to the tab for the slur!)

I launched this out of a need for justice but law suits are about money and mitigating costs (as it's been hammered in to my head). So now we're in the settlement phase where every expense has to be itemized and an amount for pain and suffering is determined.

The mediation hearing is set for the end of June. Like discovery, mediation costs money so the lawyers may agree to settle beforehand.

Here's what my horoscope says for June:

The month ends with an emphasis on money. You may come into quite a bit of cash at this time. You may be paid a substantial sum for a commission, insurance payout, or bonus. It may be money owed to you or an outright gift or prize, or it may be that you get approval for a loan, mortgage, special sponsorship, or venture capital. No matter what it is, it will give you the luxury of choice - and that's sure to be one of life's great pleasures. One way or anther, your fortunes should increase at this full moon, June 30.

I read that and my heart sings.