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During the August 3 edition of Free Legal Advice Monday on WFMJ Today, BK Managing Shareholder David Betras nearly lost his voice but not his ability to dispense sage legal advice.

Let’s check out the questions Daivd raspily answered during the show.

Question 1: A woman and her husband inherited a piece of property 15 years ago along with my husband’s brother. They don’t want the property, but they want our fair share from the sale. The brother, however, is holding off because he says he might want the property at some point. In the meantime, they’re kind of stuck paying half the taxes for 15 years. Do they have any sort of legal way to force the sale of the property?

David’s response: Yes, they can by filing a lawsuit asking that the brother eithers buys them out or sells the property.

Question 2: My 24-year-old son unfortunately passed away back in January. Who is responsible then for any debt that he had at the time?

David’s response: Unless someone signed on something with him, only the son is. And if he didn’t have any money, he has bankrupt estate and his creditors are out the money.

Question 3: A viewer says  that on the morning after the Fourth of July they discovered that their neighbor’s firework debris was all over their yard, their walkway, their porch, their deck, and their brand-new roof. They took pictures and cleaned it up.

They had asked their neighbor if could move the spot from which they launched the fireworks back 150 feet but the neighbor did not.

asked if they could just

The viewer wants to know if there is anything they can do now?

David’s response: Are there regulations about setting fireworks close to aproperty line? Well, they would need to check with the township or city they live in.  But there’s nothing more they can do. But if fireworks debris sets a neighbor’s roof on fire that’s a different story. There’s a lot you can do in that situation.

But let’s face it, everyone is celebrating the Fourth so there’s lots of debris all over neighborhoods.
One thing they could do is check to see if there’s a local ordinance and have a government official send the neighbor a letter before the Fourth next year that informs them of the residence. They should also check the zoning code and make a complaint to the zoning inspector if setting off fireworks violates the code.

Question 4: This viewer say her landlord hasn’t fixed the air conditioning unit in her apartment for more than a month. She wants to know if she can withhold her rent until he fixes it and if not what can she do?

David’s response: No, she’s not allowed to

withhold her rent. The proper procedure is to put your rent into escrow via the court that has jurisdiction over the city or township in which the apartment is located. he court holds the rent until he fixes the air conditioning.

Question 5: This viewer said they put in a pool 15 years ago and were given a variance by the city to have a shorter fence surrounding the pool than is legally required. Their neighbors at the time signed off on the variance.

Now they have a neighbor who has asked fi they would consider putting in a fence at the regular height. The neighbor hasn’t tried to force them, but the viewer wants to know if they can be made to install a new, higher fence.

David’s response: Probably not. They’ve already been granted the variance—that’s locked in.  I don’t know why their new neighbors are asking them to erect a taller fence, maybe they have young kids. But because they have an established variance, they can leave the fence at its current height.

Question 6: The viewer bought house with a driveway that is partially on the neighbor’s property. The previous owners of the property gave them verbal approval for the driveway. That owner sold the property and moved. What do they do now?

David’s response: They need to get approval from the new owners but they’re in a pickle.

This is tough because they’re using a piece of property that’s not theirs. They don’t have it by adverse possession. So, technically, if the neighbors wanted to kick you off that part of the driveway, they could.

But when you sit back and think about it, if they are using part of the neighbor’s driveway and say, hey, I’m going to make this real nice, the neighbors may not complain about it. Yeah. But if it comes down to a dispute and you build a

driveway or part of your driveway or part of your fence on a neighbor’s property, that’s not allowed. Which means the people who own it can ask a court to order you to get off.

Question 7 asked by a caller: We recently had a court hearing on a judgement case. Can I call the judge and give them information that wasn’t presented during the hearing?

David’s response: Did you represent yourself or did you have a lawyer?

Caller: I had a lawyer.

David: Well, if he didn’t enter evidence during the hearing you’re out of luck. Neither he nor you can call the judge. That is called an ex parte conversation, and it is not permitted. The lawyer made the mistake, but you suffer the consequences. You should call your attorney.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Free Legal Advice Monday. David will be back on the set of WFMJ Today on the first Monday in September. If you have a legal question, you may call 330-744-8821 during the show, email your query to wfmjtoday@wfmj.com or message WFMJ Today on Facebook.

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BetrasKopp, one of the nation’s leading peronal injury, catastrohpic medical malpractice, and complex business litiagtion law firms has an immediate opening for an Associate Attorney in our Tampa, Florida office. If you are interested and meet our qualfications and criteria, please submit a resume, writing sample, and cover letter describing your relevant experience and interest in joining our firm to kstehura@bk-laws.com

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Managing Parner David Betras

In this enthralling episode of Legally Speaking on WFMJ Today, BetrasKopp Managing Shareholder David Betras examines the heartbreaking case of Tiffany Score and Steven Mills the Florida couple who discovered Ms. Score was implanted with the wrong embryo by the Fertility Center of Florida in 2025.

After Ms. Score, who was receiving invitro fertilization treatment at the Center, gave birth the white couple noticed the baby appeared to be South Asian. After they had raised the baby for six months genetic testing proved that the baby, named Shea, was indeed 100% South Asian and was not the couple’s biological child.

Since discovering the clinic’s error in January, Score and Mills filed suit against the Center and Dr. Milton McNichol the doctor who implanted the embryo and located Shea’s biological parents. The Fertility Center closed, then reopened under a new name. In addition, Score and Mills will be the baby’s custodial parents under the terms of an agreement worked out with the biological parents.

“Well, can you imagine the bleeding heart, the tears flowing from the parent’s eyes and almost like a very bad cut in their soul to have a child born after IVF treatment who is not theirs,” Atty. Betras said. “It’s unimaginable.”

He observed that people go to IVF clinics because they are having trouble conceiving which is stressful situation to begin with. Learning that the child Ms. Score bore and gave birth to must have been incredibly painful for them and for the biological parents who learned their embryo had been implanted in another woman.

“Both sets of parents would h ave had strong arguments had a custody battle over Shea ensued,” Atty. Betras said. “So I’m happy that the couples were able to reach an amicable agreement. That’s one positive aspect of this disturbing incident.”

But it’s not the end of what should be a cautionary tale for anyone who is considering IVF treatment. “This situation is rare, but people need to be careful. “Don’t select a clinic based solely on it’s success rate,” David advised. “Ask how embryos are tracked. Are they barcoded? What protocols are in place to prevent mistakes? As this case proves, human errors can occur so choose a clinic that minimizes the possibility something can go wrong.”

According to Atty. Betras both the clinic and the doctor are facing serious legal consequences. “This is not a case where the damages are limited to just medical bills,” he said. “You’re talking about a mistake that materially changed the lives of

not one. but two families. I mean, IVF costs, medical expenses, emotional distress, pain and suffering, future fertility treatment, and claims involving the loss of reproductive opportunity. Based on these facts, punitive damages could total millions and millions of dollars.”

In this episode of Legally Speaking on WFMJ Today, BK Shareholder, SuperLawyer, and respected criminal defense attorney Frank Cassese provides perspective on the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the conviction of Alex Murdaugh, the prominent personal injury lawyer found guilty of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul at their home in 2021.

Murdaugh’s 2023 trial garnered worldwide media attention rivaling the O.J. Simpson case. After being found guilty by a jury, Murdaugh was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
But, in a shocking turn of events, South Carolina’ high court, citing jury tampering and misconduct by the court clerk during the original trial, overturned the verdict and ordered that Murdaugh be retried.

According to Attorney Cassese, allegations of jury tampering by the clerk of courts assigned to the case arose during the trial. The Supreme Court found the clerk had improperly attempted to influence the jury during the proceedings. That finding led to the reversal of the Murdaugh’s conviction.

Attorney Cassese explained that jury tampering is the number one “no-no” in criminal and civil cases.

“Jury deliberations are very sacred,” Atty. Cassese said. “So it is an egregious violation to tamper with that process.”

Frank noted that even though his murder conviction has been overturned, Murdaugh has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for financial crimes he committed during his legal career. So even though the Supreme Court has ordered a new trial, Murdaugh won’t be getting out of prison any time soon. “That means he could go back to court, be acquitted of the murder charges and still remain in prison for the rest of his life.”

“As a trial lawyer, someone attempting to improperly influence a jury is one of the biggest concerns you can ever have,” Atty. Cassese continued.

“There were allegations that the court clerk in question had a stake in the outcome of the trial because she had negotiated a deal to write a book about the crime and the trial. That’s what led to the reversal,” he said.

Frank then discussed juries and undue influence in general. “People don’t realize that when they see news and sees snippets of stories about cases they’re not getting the whole picture of the matter being tried.”

“On the other hand, a jury sees all the evidence, and it is the state’s responsibility—whether it is the state of Ohio or the state of South Carolina—to use that evidence to prove the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.

“So sometimes when people are acquitted, it doesn’t necessarily mean a jury thinks they’re innocent. It means that the prosecutors didn’t prove their case,” Atty. Cassese noted.

“And here is a critically important point: the jury is only permitted to consider the evidence that is presented to them. They can’t or watch stories in the media and they can’t Google search for information,” he continued.

“Why?  Because information from outside the proceedings can be illegitimate or inaccurate. That is why judges often give jurors strict orders not to speak to others about the case, not to look up info on their phone, or read about the case on social media.”

Frank also took note of the fact that the Attorney General of South Carolina said the case would be retried as quickly as possible and emphasized that no one was above the law.

“He made those statements because he wanted to assure the public that although Murdaugh was once a prominent and powerful figure in the state he won’t receive special treatment. He wants people to know justice will be served,” Atty. Cassese concluded.