Evidence

[Ricardolopes]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ

About BREACH OF CONTRACT, all my evidence, including the contract, are emails in Portuguese exchanged by me and the other party. Do I need to translate everything to English or only those paragraphs that I need to show to the judge?

 

[racer72]

You need to supply a lot more info to answer your question.

 

[quincy]

Everything should be translated AND you need to show that the understanding of the contract terms in English to the English-speaking person is the same as the understanding of the contract terms in Portugese to the Portugese-speaking person.

Not all words will translate to mean the same thing, and this is especially the case with legal terms. For example, there is no word for "shoplifting" in most languages, so a translation of shoplifting from English into another language will make no sense to those who do not know English and the term's application in law here. Therefore, the words as well as the concept must be included in a contract.

When a contract is between two parties with different languages, the contract must be worded so that there is a clear understanding in both languages as to the terms agreed upon.

In other words, it may be harder to show a breach of contract than through the mere translation of the words of the contract from Portugese into English. You must also be able to show that there was a "meeting of the minds" as to what the terms of the contract meant.

 

[Ricardolopes]

In plain Englis, that means: I LOST THE CASE!!!
As I explained, all my evidence is written in Portuguese and I have over 30 emails and photos with text. Around here it costs $20.00 to translate every page and I do not have the money.
One more question: Can I translate it myself or have to be some official translator?

 

[racer72]

As stated, we need more info, not a wild guess like the one Quincy gave you.

1. Why is this contract in a different language?
2. I the contract with someone in a different country?
3. If the answer to #2 is no, is it another state.

This info is needed to give you the answer you need.

 

[Ricardolopes]

We are a large Brazilian and Portuguese community in Newark / New Jersey and 70% of the population speaks only Portuguese, all business is conducted in Portuguese. When we need to go to court is that we remember that we live here in the U.S. and the language is English.
The contract says that I would trade my job for being a sponsor, when my job was ready the event producer canceled the contract before put my logo in promotional material.
All the time he says: Good job, great, I love it, go ahead, keep going.... When I finished, he says: I never asked you for anything, then I have nothing to give you.
It's just $1,000.00 too little to afford a lawyer. All the people says that existing laws in the U.S. and I agree, but if you do not have money to pay attorney you are alone. All lawyers that I spoke says: I can not waste time with that value.
Any help I get here, will be very welcome.

 

[quincy]

Why is it a wild guess, racer? ALL terms discussed must be reviewed, which means that if there were back-and-forth emails, all emails must be translated. You cannot pick and choose the ones that you want to present. Taking just a portion of a contract for review will not cut it.

You have a few options, Ricardolopes. If both you and the event producer have Portugese as a common language, then you do not have to worry about a misunderstanding of the terms of the contract. You both would understand what the meanings of the words were and you would understand what was communicated.

But you will need a translator. These can potentially be available through a university or, if your community speaks primarily Portugese, you can potentially find a translator in your community, for little or no cost. Even the court may have a translator available, if there is a large Portugese-speaking population in your area. The goal is to make the contract terms readable and understandable in court to someone not fluent in the language.

Then you can initiate a small claims action on your own against the event producer. Complaint forms are available from the court and there is a small filing fee. You can go to njcourtsonline.com (http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/) for information on how to proceed. You can also seek further assistance with a small claims action through a free legal aid clinic in your area.

Good luck.

 

[Ricardolopes]

Thank you racer72 and quincy, your advice was very valuable.
The court in Newark/NJ has a lot of translators who speak Portuguese and I believe that the photos that I have will be enough to win.
Anyway, I'm using the google translator, are you well understanding what the texts are written or terribly wrong?

 

[quincy]

I am happy to hear that the court has a translator available, Ricardolopes. That will simplify matters for you.

You will need to take both the Portugese versions of the communications between you and the event producer and the English translations of these communications into court with you when you go. In case there is a dispute over what exactly was communicated, the court translator can review both versions.

You may wish to have an attorney review everything prior to your court hearing, to ensure you present the best case possible. Again, a free legal aid clinic may be of assistance to you on this.

Good luck.

 

[davidmcbeth3]

its small claims, you can simply tell the judge the terms & if the other party objects then show the translation ... if the other party objects and they are wrong on the terms then the judge will not be happy with them playing games with the judge; maybe the judge knows portugese??

 

[Ricardolopes]

Today I file for my case and davidmcbeth3 is more or less right.
I ask for information at the court and they say that I can translate myself or choose any translator, it's just must be accurate. If the other part do not agree, he must prove it or the Judge will say that he is playing games.

The Judge do not speak Portuguese, but I request a Court Interpreter.