Active Benefits – Prepaid Legal

Legal services are provided by

Fagenson & Puglisi. Attorneys at Law at
450 seventh Avenue, Suite 704,
New York, New York 10123
212-268-2128

If you need a lawyer for any of the services listed below call the Plan attorney. This way, all contact is directly between you and the Plan attorney and assures you of a confidential relationship with you lawyer.

WHAT IS THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA COVERED

Legal benefits will be provided by this Plan for legal matters in the five boroughs comprising the City of New York and in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland and Orange Counties. In the following counties in the state of New Jersey: Hudson, Bergen, Passaic (west to a line drawn between Riverdale and Oakland), Essex, Union, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean (south to a line drawn between Trenton and Toms River).

WHAT DOES THE PLAN COVER
The Local 1182 Prepaid Legal Services Plan covers the specific legal services described below:

Basic Benefits

The following benefits are considered “basic benefits” under the Plan:

• Preparation of a simple will, including a joint will with your spouse and one codicil (change) each calendar year. Trusts or continuing estates are not covered.
• Estate administration and proceedings
• Pre-bankruptcy planning, the preparation and filing of a personal bankruptcy petition: bankruptcy proceedings and Chapter 13 wage earner individual payment plans.
• Adoption proceedings
• Change of name
• Real estate transactions involving the purchase, sale or lease of a one or two family dwelling used by you as your principal residence.
• Land purchased for principal residence
• Landlord/tenant proceedings involving a tenant’s personal residence
• Consumer transactions – which include:

– Defense of claims or suits arising from your purchase of personal goods and services

– Claims or suits for automobile deficiency balances or deficiency balances for any repossessed merchandise

– Claims or suits seeking collection of unpaid balance under contracts of purchase or for services rendered.

– Defense against all supplementary legal procedures if judgment is entered

– Prosecution of civil action for damages. This does not include personal injury and property damage actions nor medical, dental or legal malpractice

– Defense of civil actions for damages. This does not include cases where you are entitled to be represented by an insurance company or other source. Defense of personal injury or property damage actions are not covered.

– Divorce, separation or annulment actions, including negotiations for a separation from your spouse (this coverage is not available to spouses of members, except where your spouse is also a member covered by the Fund)*

– Family court proceedings, including prosecution or defense of actions that involve custody, maternity, paternity, nonsupport of modifications of those orders, child abuse and neglect and spousal abuse (this benefit is not available to the dependent of a member)*

– All criminal matters and traffic offenses. Defense of state violations and misdemeanor crimes. You are covered for arraignment, arranging bail hearings, pre-trial motions and trial. Traffic offenses are defended only if conviction mandates loss or suspension of your license to drive. It does not include defense of federal crimes or violations. It also does not include representation in connection with federal or state criminal investigation, subpoenaed and/or pre-indictment proceeding. It also does not include representation in connection with criminal matters arising out of your employment or otherwise involving alleged crimes against the City of New York.

– Criminal assault program including legal representation when a member has been assaulted while performing job related duties or criminal charges arising out of such assaults where a member is a misdemeanor criminal defendant. The Fund does not provide coverage to a member against whom a criminal complaint has been asserted by another member.

– Veterans affairs, including any problems that relate to your rights as a veteran

– Consultation and preparation of documents, including legal advice by telephone (where in the judgment of the Plan attorney, it is possible to do so) or in person on any problem of a legal nature and preparation of related simple documents.

* If both you and your spouse are members of Local 1182 and both file for these benefits, the first one of you to contact the Plan attorney will be represented by that firm. The member who contacts the Plan attorney second will be referred to an attorney from a different law firm, not affiliated with the Plan attorney, from a panel of attorneys established to handle such conflict of interest situations. The attorney who provides legal services to the member who applies for the benefit second will receive legal services on the same prepaid basis as the spouse who contacts the Plan attorney first.

WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY THE PLAN
The local 1182 Prepaid Legal Services Benefit Fund does not provide legal counsel for any business or commercial matters or for the following matters:

• Any employment related matters, including but not limited to disputes involving your employer (The City of New York), the Union, The Funds, the Plans or any affiliated bodies, officers, agents or attorneys, or any provider to the Funds
• Class actions, interventions, amicus curiae filings, etc.
• Chases involving your business interests other than personal legal services. This includes, but is not limited to: partnerships, corporations and business or commercial ventures or transactions, including any legal services which would ordinarily be deductible under the Internal Revenue Code as a necessary expense of doing business.
• Any matter where services have previously been provided by another attorney or where the member is currently being represented by another attorney.
• Court actions which arise from an event that occurred before you become eligible for benefits from this Plan (or before the Plan became effective)
• Any proceeding against the Plan attorneys, the Funds, or the Fund’s Trustees, counsel or providers
• Real estate matters involving other than your personal principal residence and on matters involving disputes with other tenants as landlord.
• All court or administrative appeals
• Preparation and filing of tax returns, and appellate-administrative proceedings, litigation before the U.S. Court of Claims or other courts involving tax and other federal matters
• Cases deemed frivolous, without merit or brought for the purpose of harassments
• Claims which can be handled in a Small Claims Court (currently, in NYC, if the amount in controversy in not more than $5,000)
• Immigration proceedings
• Claims for unemployment compensation
• Cases which cannot be handled within the geographic area covered by the Plan
• Matters related to admiralty, patents, trademarks and copyrights or the Federal Employers Liability Act
• Any grievance or arbitration under a contract between the Union and the Employer
• Workers’ Compensation cases
• Any matter not included in basic benefits
• Cases in which your eligible dependents are charged with a felony offense and family court proceedings involving your dependents
• Those matters stated not covered in basics benefit section

OTHER SPECIAL RULES
In addition to the coverage’s listed and the exclusions, there are certain rules which do not fall into either category. Please read this section carefully.

WHAT IF OTHER COVERAGE IS AVAILABLE TO YOU
Depending on the nature of your legal problem, you may be eligible for free legal assistance from an insurance company, a government agency program, your employer or another party. If you are eligible for such assistance, the Plan provides only excess coverage. It does not duplicate the legal services available from the other source.

WHO PAYS FOR COURT COSTS AND RELATED EXPENSES
You are responsible for all court costs and related expenses. These costs include the following whenever applicable:

Court and filing fees, fees for service of summons or other process, deposition and discovery costs, investigative expenses, traveling expenses outside of the five boroughs of NYC, mailing expenses; including certified, registered or express mail, etc., Federal Express, telegrams, messengers, copying and reproduction, publication expenses, long distance telephone, recording fees, translations, interpreters, penalties, fines or damages assessed by a court and other incidental expenses.

WHAT ABOUT FINES OR PENALTIES
The Plan provides no coverage for the payment of any fines, penalties, judgments, damages or other monetary awards assessed against you by a court or governmental administrative agency or tribunal. These payments are your responsibility.

WHAT IF THE COURT AWARDS ATTORNEYS’ FEES AS PART OF A SETTLEMENT
If you are awarded the fees of an attorney and costs as part of a court settlement, the Fund must be repaid from this award to the extent that it paid these fees and costs.

WHAT IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN A LEGAL DISPUTE WITH YOUR DEPENDENTS
If you need legal help in a problem involving your spouse or your children, only your are entitled to representation by the Plan attorney.

WHAT IF YOU DEPENDENT NEEDING LEGAL SERVICES IS A MINOR
If your minor dependent needs legal services, they are provided only if you sign a form required by the Trustees at the time your minor dependent requires benefits authorizing the Plan attorney to proceed on behalf of your minor dependent.

WHAT IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN A LEAGAL DISPUTE WITH ANOTHER AGENT
If you and another agent represented by Local 1182 are covered by this plan and you are involved in a civil action against each other, legal representation is provided as follows:

• The first agent who goes to the Plan attorneys for legal assistance will be represented by an attorney from that firm.
• The other agent is entitled to representation by another attorney designated by Fund counsel on the same prepaid basis as the first agent requesting legal assistance.

Notification and Waiver of Spousal Legal Services Benefit

Where CWA Local 1183 provides expansive legal service benefits to eligible members, their spouses and dependents as outlined in The CWA Local 1182 benefits booklets.

Whereas Fagenson & Puglisi (the Legal Service Provider) has encountered many cases of “Conflict of Interest” where an eligible member’s spouse requests legal representation from Fagenson & Puglisi and then, subsequent thereto, the member requests representation from Fagenson & Puglisi in a divorce, Family Court, Criminal Court, or other legal matter wherein the member’s spouse is the opposing party. Fagenson & Puglisi is then legally barred from representing the eligible member because the law firm had in the past represented the spouse.

Therefore effective November 1, 2009, the legal service benefit is amended as follows:

The CWA Local 1183 member, at the time legal representation is requested for their spouse, must be given a copy of this “Notification and Waiver of Spousal Legal Services Benefit”; and

The member (not the spouse) must choose either:

a. Do not represent my spouse in any legal matter so that I the member can be represented by the legal service provider in all legal actions where my spouse is the opposing party as outlined in the Legal Service Benefit Booklet provided by CWA Local 1182.

b. I request that the legal service provider represent my spouse in all legal matters covered by the CWA Local 1182 legal services benefit and by requesting legal representation for my spouse I waive the right to seek Legal representation for myself in any legal proceeding where my spouse is the opposing party.

For complete coverage information, please download the complete Benefits Plan handbook Here >>