What's wrong with this lawyer?!

So, in legal terms, that's correct, you can't demand punitive damages.

But Old Tang felt this wasn't right; developers needed protection, but so did the interests of the ordinary people!
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He still had a promotional flyer from Yashi in hand, which listed quite a few things, such as how the community was just five hundred meters away from a subway station, how it was contracted with a prestigious school, as well as various landscaping features...

Previously, he had asked a friend in the Jingzhou City educational system about the regulations pertaining to new residential developments and the provision of schools.

His friend told him that, nowadays, schools that are part of new residential developments should in principle be public schools, but there were exceptions.

Why was Old Tang so certain that this case could be resolved through false advertising? It was simple because his friend had also said that even if a public school were provided within that community, it certainly wouldn't be a top school.

After all, the location was too remote; the resources of prestigious elementary schools wouldn't possibly be allocated there.

Thus, Old Tang had an idea; prestigious school, right? Then this time let's properly tease out what kind of school can actually be called prestigious!

First things first, he had to interact with the relevant departments. Old Tang planned to submit an administrative disclosure request to the Jingzhou City education system.

He wanted to request disclosure of exactly which school was designated as the supporting school for that particular community.

This was a necessary step; otherwise, if you just say you asked a friend which school was being supported, the court wouldn't acknowledge your evidence at all.

In any case, Old Tang was already prepared for administrative litigation!

Meanwhile, at another law firm, Wang Dengfeng was replaying the events, considering the statements he had made impulsively in court, and now he had to think carefully to see if there were any loopholes.

After much thought, there really was no way around it; Lv Ziyang had said the planned elementary school actually didn't even exist yet, but through his contacts, he had found out that there indeed were plans!

Never mind when it would be built, as long as there were plans, there was no problem.

He had also checked on the subway station, and there were plans for it too, even though construction for this line was not scheduled until five years later; it was definitely in the pipeline, and the relevant departments had already made disclosures.

As for the rest, things like landscaping or a swimming pool or anything else, those were simply not visible, because it was still two years until the housing complex would be handed over to buyers.

So he truly couldn't think of any way to get the deposit back; the developers had become utterly shameless.

So, just wait; logically speaking, Lv Ziyang would surely seek out Tang Fangjing, and Wang Dengfeng was just looking forward to watching the drama unfold.

Time flew to the next day when Old Tang, carrying the administrative disclosure request, arrived at Changyi District's Education Bureau, consistent with his usual approach.

The staff member, Xiao Ma, looked at Tang Fangjing in front of him with a wry smile, "Lawyer Tang, what are you applying for this for? I'm not even sure if there has been planning carried out by our department."

Xiao Ma truly couldn't imagine why a lawyer like Tang Fangjing would specifically come to the Education Bureau to make such a public request, especially when this kind of disclosure was meaningless.

"Comrade, according to regulations, anyone can file a request for such administrative planning. You don't need to worry about what I'm going to do with it; just respond to my request with your planning results."

"Even if there has been no planning, that's okay too, but I need a written response."

What he wanted was that written response; not having plans was actually even better. The developers were already boasting about a prestigious school contract when there wasn't even a stroke of the pen on paper.

Once that was done, let the developers and the Education Bureau fight it out to see who truly had the final say on the plans.

If there were plans, then it would be time to thoroughly debate whether this school could be considered prestigious. You can't just pick any school and claim it's prestigious.

Xiao Ma nodded and said, "Then, Lawyer Tang, you go back first. I'll inquire for you. That piece of land has been sold a long time ago; there's probably planning involved."

Matters involving interests were always complicated. Planning for what school to place where entailed a web of interests more intricate than many people imagined.

In a normal situation, these matters should be made public, and in other provinces, there were regulations that planning had to be disclosed only after specific contracts had been signed.

Only Han Dong hadn't issued such regulations yet; consider it playing with the timing.

Anyway, Old Tang's point was that whether it's been decided or not, a response was required. If it hasn't been settled, then just say so.

Having got this sorted, Old Tang returned to Tengda, and now all he had to do was wait.

A few days passed, and on the other side, Lv Ziyang didn't know what to say over the phone.

Wang Rui's voice came through the phone, "Mr. Lv, the logistics shows you've received the demand letter. Now, I suggest that you come in to sign the contract as soon as possible."

"There is really no need to delay further. The company also wants to close the deal; after all, the deposit is two hundred thousand. If it comes down to it and you can't get your deposit back, that certainly wouldn't feel good, so better to sign."

After agonizing for quite some time, Lv Ziyang finally said, "Wait a moment, I... I'll give you an answer soon."

After hanging up, his expression was utterly pained. The developers called him every day, just to urge him to sign the contract.

What that old classmate had said about "the other party would proactively seek to cancel the reservation agreement and return the deposit" simply wasn't happening.

After some thought, he decided to make a call.

"Director Tang, the developers call me every day about signing the contract and say that the court has already made a judgment. Today they sent me another letter, saying that if I don't sign within seven days, it would be considered a breach of contract, and the deposit won't be refunded."