Latest / Weekly Docket / Bitcoin Mining Health Risks, TNT Sues NBA, Digital Estate Planning, and Venmo Ruining Friendships

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Bitcoin Mining Health Risks, TNT Sues NBA, Digital Estate Planning, and Venmo Ruining Friendships · Weekly Docket

• 0:04
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Welcome to the Silberman Law Firm's Weekly Docket, Episode 29, where we talk legal news and practical law.
• 0:10
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Today is August 2nd, 2024.
• 0:14
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I'm your host, Phil Silberman, owner of the firm, and I'm joined by my co host, Austin Black, who works in our Dallas office.
• 0:21
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Austin, tell me about this Asian ping pong player you're obsessed with.
• 0:24
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Asian ping pong player I'm obsessed with.
• 0:27
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: So that is a very interesting characterization of the conversation we just had.
• 0:31
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I was talking about how I was very excited that the U S was doing well in fencing because I used to do fencing competitively and recreationally, the women's foil team secured gold.
• 0:46
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: And then we also got individual gold in women's foil.
• 0:49
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: and the joke about Lily Zhang, I.
• 0:52
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I think I'm pronouncing her last name, who is the ping pong star for the U.
• 0:56
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: S.
• 0:57
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Is that her mom has told her that she doesn't think being a ping pong athlete is a stable job.
• 1:05
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: And everyone's saying, yeah, why can't you be a gold medal Olympic athlete?
• 1:11
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: And in medical school, like Leigh Kiefer, who secured gold in women's individual foil and is at, I believe, Duke Medical School at the same time,
• 1:19
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Okay, that, that sounds maybe like something my mother would say as well, but, she has an amazing, she has an amazingly interesting ping pong serve,
• 1:29
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: She like, hides the ball when she hits it.
• 1:31
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: It's very interesting.
• 1:31
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I would not score a single point on her.
• 1:34
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah, she should become a lawyer if she wants to hide the ball, though.
• 1:37
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: There's a lot of that going on in lawyering,
• 1:40
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: ha, yes.
• 1:41
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Fair warning to our listeners, I'm shooting in a hotel room in New York City just off Fifth Avenue, and if you hear horns and crazy things going on, that's what's happening on this podcast, but, fair warning there.
• 1:53
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: What's on our docket today, Mr.
• 1:55
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Black?
• 1:56
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah, so first in our legal news section, we're going to be talking about Bitcoin miners causing major health problems in Texas, and we don't just mean for themselves becoming increasingly more unhealthy by sitting in front of their computers all day, actually causing health problems for other people to, and then we'll be talking about, Warner's, subsidiary now TNT suing the NBA over a media rights contract.
• 2:21
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: be going through that lawsuit and sort of its implications here.
• 2:24
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Then we'll be moving on to our legal questions section, specifically focusing on how digital assets are handled in estate planning in Texas.
• 2:33
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: So keeping with the cryptocurrency theme and then our rant and rave section, we will be talking about Venmo requests.
• 2:40
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Are they ruining friendships?
• 2:43
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Is this a legal question?
• 2:44
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Probably not.
• 2:45
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Probably doesn't have anything to do with it, but you're going to hear our opinion on that.
• 2:49
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: so that's our show for today.
• 2:51
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: We actually do have a legal angle on that Venmo piece.
• 2:54
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So when we get there, you'll see it come to fruition, Austin.
• 2:58
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Alright, let's kick off our legal news section talking about Bitcoin miners causing major health problems in Texas.
• 3:06
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: This is in Granbury, Texas, just outside the DFW area.
• 3:10
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And you've got A Bitcoin mining facility.
• 3:15
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And if you're gonna mine Bitcoin, you need a lot of computers.
• 3:19
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And if you have a lot of computers, you need a lot of fans to keep the computers cool.
• 3:23
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And the fans make a huge amount of noise.
• 3:28
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And the noise is allegedly causing health problems to residents of the town.
• 3:33
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And we're not just talking about, minor health problems This is a huge facility, thousands of fans to cool this equipment.
• 3:42
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Residents have reported symptoms such as migraines.
• 3:45
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: increased blood pressure, vertigo, ringing of the ears, all this kind of stuff.
• 3:51
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: There's even one person whose family alleges that he died in his sleep because his heart can no longer take the stress of the constant humming of the fans.
• 4:02
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So not saying that's medically supported, but it's certainly a good story painted by a plaintiff's attorney.
• 4:10
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I know a lot of Koreans who would, Hold to that, that, medical diagnosis that he died because of the fans.
• 4:17
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: it's a superstition in Korea is that if you go to sleep with a fan on in your room, you can die.
• 4:22
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Is that right?
• 4:23
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Okay.
• 4:24
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I'll remember when I have a case like this to maybe hire a Korean doctor as an expert who's going to testify that because you're going to need medical,
• 4:33
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: fans of Bitcoin mining.
• 4:34
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: right?
• 4:35
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: That's probably true.
• 4:36
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: We're good.
• 4:36
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: You're going to need some sort of expert testimony to support and connect the causal connection between cardiac arrest and the fan humming.
• 4:46
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: the residents of Granbury, have you been to Granbury?
• 4:49
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: You've heard of Granbury Austin.
• 4:50
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: It's near up where you.
• 4:52
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: not to spend a huge amount of time there because there's not much there, but yeah,
• 4:55
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: and you don't want to have sudden cardiac arrest from the fans from.
• 4:59
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: fan of sudden cardiac arrest as a result of fans.
• 5:02
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yes
• 5:03
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: All right.
• 5:03
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So what's the legal framework on this Austin?
• 5:05
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: What's the cause of action here against the Bitcoin miners?
• 5:09
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: It would be nuisance, basically though, if someone is interfering with your use, normal use and enjoyment of your property, you may have a nuisance claim.
• 5:22
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Now, please do not call us.
• 5:25
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: It's like something minor, like your neighbor is playing music one night, it's not a constant thing and you just don't like them and you want to sue them for nuisance.
• 5:35
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Please don't call us for that.
• 5:36
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Okay?
• 5:36
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: That's not a nuisance.
• 5:37
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Now, if your neighbor is constantly playing like screamo death metal every single night at 2 a.
• 5:43
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: m.
• 5:44
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: in the morning for five hours, yeah, that's probably going to be a nuisance,
• 5:47
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah.
• 5:48
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Most of these nuisance cases in Texas, emanated from these big natural gas compressor stations.
• 5:54
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I don't know if you've seen these things, but if you drive out to a rural area, You've got this piece of equipment that's a compressor.
• 6:01
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: It's related to natural gas production.
• 6:03
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: It makes a huge amount of noise and the courts have come out and said, that noise is a type of nuisance and the courts use the term substantial interference.
• 6:13
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: This has to be some major stuff here.
• 6:15
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Okay.
• 6:17
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Now, the other thing I'll mention is we've done a lot of nuisance cases and they sound a little crazy on the face of it, but we've had clients come to us like with barking dogs.
• 6:27
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I think they're losing sleep.
• 6:28
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: They're manifesting physical ailments.
• 6:32
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: We had one guy talking about fans is sort of related.
• 6:35
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: There was an air conditioner on a balcony and we did an entire nuisance case on this loud air conditioner unit.
• 6:41
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: on a balcony in a condominium complex.
• 6:44
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And generally speaking, the municipalities in Texas, really cities all over the country, have these decibel level ordinances.
• 6:53
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And I think I want to say that 85 is the number.
• 6:56
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: If you have a
• 6:57
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Usually, yes.
• 6:58
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I,
• 6:59
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: 85 decibels or higher, you potentially have a violation of a city ordinance, and that's pretty good evidence that you've got a nuisance claim there.
• 7:08
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Bitcoin miners, beware, there may be a legal precedent for some of these fans causing a noise nuisance, and nuisance is a tort in Texas, and you could have a case there.
• 7:19
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I don't know if there's going to be.
• 7:21
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Austin, do you buy all the medical stuff?
• 7:23
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: does that sound plausible to you?
• 7:26
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I think drawing a connection between like sudden cardiac arrest in fans might be a little bit difficult.
• 7:33
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: but if he has medical records showing like some gradual, decline in health and it could be attributed to not getting sleep, things like that.
• 7:41
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Maybe I'm not sure, one.
• 7:44
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: important thing to consider, though, whenever someone is talking about a potential nuisance lawsuit, right?
• 7:50
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Is that similar to a breach of contract or other kinds of towards there have to be damages?
• 7:55
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: There have to be actual damages, right?
• 7:57
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: And so if you Are alleging, issues related to noise or light pollution or things like that and saying that they may be a nuisance One of the first questions i'm going to ask you if i'm talking to you about that potential claim You Is like, how is this damaging?
• 8:12
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: What are your damages?
• 8:13
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: has a doctor said this could be a result of the noise that you've been experienced or is or the light coming in from your window?
• 8:19
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Things like that.
• 8:21
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: If the answer is no, and you don't have any damages aside from you're just annoyed by this noise or something like that, and you can't show any, Damage is either real, like in, in terms of, things coming on and actually affecting your property or lack of sleep, medical things.
• 8:36
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: It's probably not a great nuisance claim.
• 8:37
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: and another thing frequently, and I'm sure anyone who has a nuisance action in the past, has come to find that typically police departments are not helpful with these at all.
• 8:49
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: They'll come out on your noise complaint and they will be super annoyed with you.
• 8:53
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: they might tell someone to stop, but that's all they're going to do.
• 8:57
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I've never ever seen a police officer arrest anyone for a noise complaint.
• 9:01
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Never even heard of that.
• 9:02
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I'm sure it's happened before, but I've never heard of it personally.
• 9:06
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: if you are having an issue like this, it's a much better idea to threaten a nuisance lawsuit than to really involve like local police.
• 9:15
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah, so in order to connect nuisance, the fan blowing with damages, you're gonna need a doctor that's an Asian and a ping pong player to testify.
• 9:26
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: yeah, that's exactly.
• 9:27
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yep.
• 9:27
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: That's right.
• 9:28
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah, you're going to need that kind of expert.
• 9:31
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Okay, let's go ahead and get started with our next legal news topic.
• 9:35
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: It's Warner's TNT sues the NBA over media rights contracts.
• 9:40
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: the NBA is big business, obviously, and the way this works is the networks like ESPN and TNT, who's now owned by Warner, they bid on A certain number of NBA games to broadcast and the streaming services like Amazon are getting in on live events and Amazon bid some number of money and the NBA wanted to go with that deal likely because it was more lucrative.
• 10:05
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: if you're just an average.
• 10:07
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: watcher or user of television out there or streaming services, and you like to watch the NBA or any sporting events, it's becoming really hard to figure out which events are broadcast where and how you can watch them.
• 10:21
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So in the old days, Austin, we would have a cable box and you'd have a cable subscription and you have it all there and you'd have a sports package and you'd have all your channels and you can see what you want.
• 10:33
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I have experienced this.
• 10:35
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Okay.
• 10:36
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I'm not 20 years old.
• 10:39
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I know you were homeschooled and you told me your parents did not have cable, so I wanted to, okay, well.
• 10:45
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: That's right.
• 10:46
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: for the most of the time growing up, but no, I have experienced the sports channels and having to try to remember what channel is ESPN looking at the card and all.
• 10:55
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yes, I've got all that.
• 10:57
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: so if you're looking for stuff now in the era of streaming, you can't just go to your typical, cable package anymore.
• 11:05
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: it could be on Amazon, it could be on Netflix, it could be, on Peacock streaming, but not on NBC, so who knows where it is.
• 11:13
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: and, that's kind of annoying if you're a sports fan as a sidebar.
• 11:17
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: But what's going on is Warner TNT had a deal to broadcast the games, and if anybody ever made a bid for the games, then Warner's media contract alleges that there was the opportunity to match that bid.
• 11:37
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So that's called a right of first refusal.
• 11:40
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Austin, have you come across any right of first refusals in real estate contracts at all?
• 11:45
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: they're pretty typical in real estate contracts.
• 11:47
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah.
• 11:47
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: if you're,
• 11:49
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: it's the
• 11:49
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: yeah,
• 11:49
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: they're talking about here,
• 11:50
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah, absolutely.
• 11:51
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: if you're, you know, buy a property and maybe there's an adjacent property and if that adjacent property were to ever sell you contract for a right to match that bid, that's what Warner is alleging that NBA negotiated with Amazon, Amazon did a deal and the NBA, the National Basketball Association, did not give Warner the right to match that bid per their right of first refusal in their immediate contract.
• 12:20
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: That's how right of first refusals work.
• 12:21
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So we don't know all the facts.
• 12:23
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: that's a pretty black and white law.
• 12:25
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: of first refusals have been upheld for many years in our American judicial system.
• 12:31
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So I haven't seen the language in the contract.
• 12:34
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I don't know the facts that would happen, but, Warner may have a good case and if they want to match Amazon, if they think the NBA deal is that valuable, there's enough people watching the NBA, then maybe it's worth all the money out there, but certainly big business.
• 12:49
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: TNT has been broadcasting games for three decades.
• 12:53
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Charles Barkley has been.
• 12:55
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: their famous announcer.
• 12:56
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And then they had Shaquille O'Neal as well.
• 12:58
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And that announcing crew has done very well with NBA games for quite a bit, TNT still going to have the games for the 24, 25 seasons.
• 13:07
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So there won't be any changes made until after that.
• 13:10
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: you'll see some games on NBC as well.
• 13:12
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: They're paying 2.
• 13:13
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: 5 billion for.
• 13:15
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: 100 games.
• 13:17
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Okay.
• 13:18
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I'm a lawyer, so I don't do math that well, it's 25 million.
• 13:23
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: 25 million a game.
• 13:24
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah.
• 13:24
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: wait, but what I'm interested in is how much are they paying for the WNBA games?
• 13:30
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Oh, yes, from an equality, is that considered diversity and inclusion?
• 13:34
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: yeah.
• 13:34
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I think so.
• 13:35
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: But they wanna bring the pay gaps together, so they must be paying 25 million for each WNBA game too, right?
• 13:42
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I, I don't know.
• 13:43
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: 25 million, times 100 that's a lot of money.
• 13:48
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: A lot of money.
• 13:49
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: for the games, I guess they can sell the ads.
• 13:51
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Well, there you have it on that.
• 13:53
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Warner's gonna maybe match that bid if they prevail.
• 13:56
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: We'll see what shakes out.
• 13:58
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: All right, let's answer some legal questions.
• 14:00
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And we're talking about how our digital assets handled in a state planning.
• 14:03
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: all over the country, digital assets are becoming a very big deal, especially in the light of AI development.
• 14:10
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: You remember we did that George, Carlin piece where there, someone ripped off George Carlin with the AI voice and someone, they're doing these dead celebrities and comedians, there was the Tupac deal where Tupac's AI voice was inserted in a song, so everyone is finally coming to the realization that your voice, your image, your social media accounts, all of these are digital assets that are valued.
• 14:36
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Your old
• 14:36
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Austin,
• 14:37
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: all of that.
• 14:40
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: so Austin, what are you going to do?
• 14:41
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: you're an estate planning attorney.
• 14:43
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: You do wills.
• 14:44
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: You've got to start protecting our clients digital assets, right?
• 14:47
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And, uh, there's some cryptocurrency, another example, talking about Bitcoin mining.
• 14:54
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: If we've had people die and the executors have come to us, And they know that the deceased loved one had a crypto account, but they can't get the Bitcoin because they don't have the passcodes.
• 15:05
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: You know, I mean, even an attorney at our firm and I won't say what attorney this is, an attorney in our firm, just this last week spilled water on their laptop, their personal laptop, not the work one.
• 15:19
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: So no
• 15:20
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: oh, good.
• 15:20
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: are lost.
• 15:21
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah, good.
• 15:22
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: but, and the laptop was destroyed.
• 15:26
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: And this person took, the laptop to try to get it repaired, but they couldn't, everything was lost.
• 15:33
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: on that laptop were keys for certain cryptocurrency wads.
• 15:39
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: And this person did not have them physically written down anywhere.
• 15:43
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: So I have some cryptocurrency and the keys, they tell you not to write it down anywhere.
• 15:48
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I have it written down.
• 15:50
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Cause I'm not, I don't trust that my computer is going to always have its files at hand.
• 15:56
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: this person probably lost around 10, 000 worth of cryptocurrency because of not having those keys written down pretty crazy.
• 16:03
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: So
• 16:04
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah, so it's like losing cash in a way.
• 16:06
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: you have this digital asset, but it's tied to a key.
• 16:09
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And if you lose the key and you just lose it.
• 16:12
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I'm not sure that's the way I want to go with it.
• 16:16
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: With how I pay for things, but, I think Bitcoin is probably a little more speculative than the, than useful at this point, but who knows how that comes out.
• 16:25
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: there's a, some advice you can give to people.
• 16:28
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: if you're, if you've got digital assets that are valuable, that you care about, you need to create sort of a list of these assets for your executor to be able to deal with it.
• 16:37
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So you do your will, have your digital asset list.
• 16:40
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Be sure your executor knows where it is.
• 16:44
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: you can incorporate digital assets into your power of attorney.
• 16:48
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: We do a statutory durable power of attorney.
• 16:50
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I'm not sure digital assets are yet incorporated as a checkbox in the statute.
• 16:55
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: It's
• 16:56
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Shaking his head.
• 16:57
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: it's not incorporated in a, as a check box, but there obviously are areas for you to write in things.
• 17:03
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: So if you wanted to modify the traditional one, you could do that.
• 17:07
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah, and you need to start thinking about this stuff.
• 17:10
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Texas actually has followed this federal law that I just started learning about.
• 17:16
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: It's called the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act.
• 17:22
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I guess it's RUFATA.
• 17:24
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yes.
• 17:24
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I like that
• 17:25
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Ada, it sound, it sounds like a third world country, but a Rada.
• 17:30
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: and, you tell your executors, your trustees, you are designating who's gonna take care of the digital assets.
• 17:37
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: You're telling them how to access, and they're explicitly authorized under this law.
• 17:43
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: you want to explicitly grant this authority in your estate planning documents, in your will, or if you're using a trust, you want to pay attention to that act and name them in that type of, In that type of way, and this is all very kind of new stuff.
• 17:57
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: The law is always many years behind the technology, but finally, we're seeing the law catch up with some of this stuff.
• 18:03
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: but it's important stuff.
• 18:05
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I mean, obviously, when Tupac was shot up in the car and all that, I don't even know if Tupac had a will because, he was.
• 18:11
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: What, supposed to be hardcore and a gangbanger and all that, I don't know, but he was also Tupac, so maybe he did have a will.
• 18:18
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I don't know if Biggie Smalls had a will either, but I, they were not thinking about their digital assets back then, nor was George Carlin, but celebrities, if you've got digital assets, gotta think about this stuff, so.
• 18:30
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Alright, that brings us to our rant and rave section, always my favorite part of the show.
• 18:37
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And we're talking about Venmo requests ruining friendships.
• 18:40
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I don't know if this would really ruin a friendship, but, I,
• 18:43
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Vimbo request?
• 18:46
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I want to hear your best one that you know
• 18:49
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I
• 18:49
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: tell you the one I heard about.
• 18:52
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: don't have any great stories.
• 18:54
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I just think, it's really weird when friends.
• 18:59
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: It's are always trying to nickel and dime each other and keep tabs on things and then but people harbor resentment like he bought a drink that I didn't buy a drink or dinner or whatever
• 19:09
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Absolutely.
• 19:11
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: and that's
• 19:12
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I think that like the Bible verse about not keeping long accounts is really helpful in this sort of thing.
• 19:18
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: one thing, like if you are people, for first of all, I don't go eat with people, and share a check or pay for one, Venmo me.
• 19:32
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: If I don't know one thing, if I don't know that those people are reliable and will just demo me instantly or something like that, right?
• 19:39
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: If I pay for it outside of being with people I know who are like that, then I'm just never expecting to give the money back, and they're happy to pay for it, but that's the way I approach it.
• 19:48
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: The funniest Venmo request I've heard of, though, and this isn't someone I know, I just read this, it was A mom sent her, daughter, on a play date to someone else's house.
• 19:59
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: And then she got a Vimmo request from the other mom for, things like juice boxes.
• 20:05
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Play time.
• 20:07
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: like, oh my gosh.
• 20:09
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: that is a crazy concept but that There's all kinds of stuff going on like that.
• 20:15
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And the story in the Wall Street Journal, the example they used was like, some guy was seriously ill and he had to go to the hospital and they called a friend to drive him to the hospital.
• 20:25
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And then the friend, did a Venmo request for four bucks or something like that for the hospital visit.
• 20:30
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So I don't.
• 20:32
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: needs enemies when you've got friends like that?
• 20:34
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: What the heck?
• 20:36
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah, I know I there is a legal concept here though, Austin, and the legal concept is, are you familiar with the term quantum merit?
• 20:50
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yes, I with the
• 20:51
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: okay.
• 20:52
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: merit.
• 20:52
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Now that's.
• 20:53
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: matter if the lawsuit has anything to do with quantum merit or the defense of quantum merit, people will include it as an affirmative defense.
• 20:59
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Anyways, go on.
• 21:00
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yes.
• 21:02
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: now it's a Latin term.
• 21:04
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I think I can't remember exactly what it literally translates to.
• 21:09
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I also just generally, I generally know the spelling is M.
• 21:13
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: E.
• 21:13
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: R.
• 21:14
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: U.
• 21:14
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I.
• 21:14
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: T.
• 21:15
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: But.
• 21:15
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: You always just say it,
• 21:16
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: in Latin what one has earned.
• 21:20
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: okay, there you go.
• 21:21
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And, hence the term merit, I guess that's where the word merit comes from, but it's got that you in there, which always throws me off, but I call it quantum merit.
• 21:29
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I think that's the correct pronunciation.
• 21:32
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: the idea here is that.
• 21:34
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: The plaintiff must have provided valuable services.
• 21:37
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So if you provide services, and they were specifically for the defendant for someone, and they accept those services, you're owed money, but there has to be a reasonable.
• 21:50
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: expectation of payment.
• 21:53
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So the example we always use if the yard guy comes over and, he's been cutting your yard and you've paid him in the past and he keeps cutting your yard and then all of a sudden you're like, no, I didn't.
• 22:04
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I didn't tell you to cut my yard last week, right?
• 22:08
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: You still owe the yard guy the money for the yard mowing and you don't get, you don't get to say as a, okay, I had an express contract with you to cut my yard for the first 35 times, on the 36th time where I didn't tell you to go do it.
• 22:24
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I know we didn't have an express contract.
• 22:26
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: therefore, you don't, you're not a, that's when quantum Eric comes in and says, I'm No, the yard guy is owed the, is owed the money.
• 22:36
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: he
• 22:36
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So
• 22:37
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: It was a arrangement that you two had going on.
• 22:40
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: You did not say anything to indicate you didn't want the person to come out then.
• 22:45
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: if you had said, don't come out today, I don't want you to mow my lawn anymore.
• 22:48
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: And then he comes out and starts mowing it still.
• 22:50
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Okay.
• 22:51
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: At that point, no, it's not going to work.
• 22:52
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: But if you don't tell them that this arrangement is not continuing, then absolutely that they perform the service.
• 22:58
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: They should get paid for it.
• 23:00
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: another example, have we talked about the roofing issues before Austin?
• 23:04
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I, this is, this actually happened to, to our bookkeeper.
• 23:07
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I think it, yeah, it happened to our bookkeeper.
• 23:10
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: she goes to work one day.
• 23:13
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And this is when we all worked in the office, by the way.
• 23:16
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: She goes to work one day and she comes home to a new roof.
• 23:19
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Nice.
• 23:20
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: yeah.
• 23:20
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And the roofer just, got the address wrong and put a whole new roof on the house in one day.
• 23:27
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And the roofer was like, your roof was old.
• 23:29
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So pay me for that.
• 23:30
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: pay me for that, roof
• 23:32
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah,
• 23:32
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: does quantum merit apply there.
• 23:34
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Austin,
• 23:34
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: so they could file a suit for it if they wanted to, but there is no contract and she had not asked them to do that.
• 23:44
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: the roofer is making their own determination that the roof was old and in need of repair, but that doesn't mean you can go around and just repair every old roof and say, now you owe me money because I repaired your roof.
• 23:57
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: It doesn't work like
• 23:58
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: see, that's why I hired you.
• 24:00
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I know you're a good attorney because you didn't exactly have the a hundred percent correct answer, but you said something that sounded really good, and believable as to why our bookkeeper does not have to pay.
• 24:11
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: quantum merit's an equitable remedy.
• 24:13
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So we're not necessarily talking about, express contracts.
• 24:16
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Yeah,
• 24:17
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: the salient fact here is there has to be a reasonable expectation of payment.
• 24:23
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And there's, when you don't really, you're never dealt with someone before.
• 24:27
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: there's no reasonable expectation of payment on the roof.
• 24:29
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: in the same way, there's Austin, if you go to a bar or something and you buy your friend a drink and you Venmo request a friend for the four bucks or you ask for a hospital run.
• 24:39
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: There's no reasonable expectation of compensation.
• 24:41
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So
• 24:42
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: no,
• 24:43
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: it.
• 24:43
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: not.
• 24:44
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: here's my rant about this and here's really my advice about this.
• 24:48
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I'm imagining, it's tough out there.
• 24:50
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Inflation is high.
• 24:51
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: we've had 20, 25 percent inflation.
• 24:53
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I, and you've got, a lot of young millennials or Gen Z's old enough to drink, right?
• 24:58
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Whatever.
• 24:59
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: they're, people are like going around and they're just nickel and diming each other.
• 25:04
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And they're, it's a very tit for tat kind of thing.
• 25:08
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And I think the payment systems in Venmo has encouraged this type of behavior because it's so easy now to do the request.
• 25:16
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: and by the way, if you're older, like me, maybe you did lend some money to a friend at one time or something like that with an expectation of paying it back, But in order to get that money back, you've got to look your friend right in the eye, or call them on a phone
• 25:30
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: yeah,
• 25:31
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: and be like, Hey, John.
• 25:33
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: You still owe me 20 bucks, right?
• 25:36
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: that's a lot harder to do in person than it is, in the protection of your own home, on your phone, you just send out the Venmo request in a very cowardly way.
• 25:46
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I agree.
• 25:47
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: It's a more impersonal thing.
• 25:49
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: The way I view that sort of thing is if you communicate, I have no issue with it, right?
• 25:56
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: If it's communicated before the thing is done, hey, do we just want to, do you just want to have me pay this and you guys pay me?
• 26:02
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Pay me back, we just all put it on one thing and you guys pay me back.
• 26:05
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: That's all communicated before it's done.
• 26:07
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: No problem.
• 26:08
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I expect the Venmo request, right?
• 26:10
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: That, that, that's not an issue.
• 26:11
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: You can send me a request.
• 26:12
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: In fact, you shouldn't even need to send me a request.
• 26:14
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: I should just send it to you, right?
• 26:16
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: At that point.
• 26:19
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: but past that, anytime someone sends me a Venmo request for something that wasn't discussed previously, times out of 10, I'm going to pay it.
• 26:27
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: But then I'm going to think much less of that person moving forward.
• 26:30
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: that, that's good advice.
• 26:31
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: be careful of who you're requesting, things for, from Venmo.
• 26:34
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And there's a.
• 26:36
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: if you're really trying to develop, relationships and, friendships, probably better not to do this kind of stuff.
• 26:43
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: There's also, if you've been operating this tit for tat sort of environment and you ever get into a social circle or maybe, they're bosses or superiors, or you're out there networking, if you're a lawyer and you're out there networking and you're developing friendships as a lawyer and.
• 27:01
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: you're gonna rub people the wrong way.
• 27:03
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And you're gonna hurt business.
• 27:05
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: You're gonna hurt referrals, with this kind of stuff.
• 27:07
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: So sometimes you can be penny wise and pound foolish.
• 27:11
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: you may request a 10 or 15 reimbursement for a Drink, but drink, lose a 25,000 referral in, in, in the process.
• 27:20
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: always something to consider.
• 27:22
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Good.
• 27:22
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: that brings our show to a close.
• 27:24
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: This has been a very short show and a noisy show.
• 27:27
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: And that's in, in part because I'm here in Manhattan and, There's noise all over Manhattan and the logistics and the internet and everything in this hotel have been challenging, but we definitely wanted to drop a, an episode today for this week anyway.
• 27:45
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: I've been your host, Phil Silberman.
• 27:46
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Austin Black has been my co host.
• 27:49
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Like us, follow us, review us wherever podcasts.
• 27:53
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: As a reminder, nothing in this show is to be considered legal advice, and this has all been for entertainment purposes only.
• 28:00
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: If you have a legal question, email us at info, I N F O, at silb, S I L, be like boy, lawfirm.
• 28:07
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: com, and say you want it answered publicly in the podcast.
• 28:11
  phil-silberman_4_08-02-2024_111522: Thanks everybody, have a great weekend.
• 28:12
  austin_4_08-02-2024_111522: Thanks guys.