Title: Property managing company let renters trespass(?), refusing to do repairs

Question:
So I bought a condo back in June 2018, it had renters in there until August 1st which was fine as they were managed by a property management company that the previous owner used. The tenants were difficult to deal with but I just ignored them because that was the managers job.

The problem is their lease expired 11:59 7/31/18 (the same time date/time as my lease) and they had to be out and turn In the keys to the company before that time. He renters did not do that, so when I went to pick up keys the management company said the condo was not ready and they were still moving/cleaning. The company allowed them to remain in the condo until 5:00pm the following day after the lease expired and I was left on my own with my stuff in a moving truck.
To make it worse the renters left the place in a bad state: mold on walls, banged up walls and doors, scratched paint and the managing company says now that the lease is over its not their job to do repairs anymore.

Any help or advice on how to deal with this managing company/renters? Did they trespass after the lease ended (located in North Carolina) ?

Answer:
 The extra 17 hours aren't really anything you can do anything about. Theoretically you could charge them one day's worth of rent but it's probably not worth it.

The damage you could hold them liable for, but did you ever get the security deposit transferred to you, or whatever happened to it?

Also note the damage would have to be beyond normal wear-and-tear. Scuffed paint is pretty normal, and small scratches/dings are too. Whether the mold requires cleaning depends on where the mold was from; if it came from a fixture or a setup that was causing excess moisture, that's on the owner more than the renter.


Title: Friend forgot to pay for an item and got charged for shoplifting at Walmart. What should she do at court?

Question:
One of my friends who is an international student got charged with shoplifting for forgetting to pay for an item at self checkout.

The cops were called on her and she paid a fine then and there. She has to appear in court this week. This is new to me as well. What should she do in this situation?

Answer:
 She should listen to her lawyer.Answer #2: She needs an attorney.  This could impact her ability to study in this country.

"Forgetting to pay for an item at self-checkout" is a shoplifting trick as old as self-checkout machines.  I'm not saying this isn't GENUINELY what happened to your friend, but she shouldn't expect her story to be taken at face value because just about every shoplifter will claim this to be the case when they are caught in this situation, and judges are well aware of that.  She needs a lawyer to present her case to the court.


Title: [California] Just found a jury summons from 2014 that my mom never gave me. I never heard anything from the court about it. Should I contact them or should I keep my mouth shut?

Question: I just found found a jury summons dated back to 2014. I was out of state but still a CA resident when it came and my mom never told me about it. I have no idea what to do. Am I absolutely fucked or was the case likely dropped?

Answer: Superior Court or Federal Court?


Title: I think someone is taking dirty diapers from my trash, is there anything I can do?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 This is exactly what someone who started taking diapers out of the trash on a whim, and is now addicted to the rush, would ask.Answer #2: I highly suspect that the diapers are NOT the only things missing from your trash. It's not unusual for people to dig through trash looking for "treasure" of some sorts.Answer #3: I can’t think of a single thing someone would want used/dirty diapers for. Like not a single one.Answer #4: I think the only thing you can really do is start putting your trash out in the morning.

It’s definitely creepy though, maybe call your police non emergency line and let them know?Answer #5: Sorry, this isn't legal advice, but look up My Strange Addiction on TLC, they had an episode where a mother-to-be loved smelling dirty diapers. It could be a creepier version of this.Answer #6: I would get a camera with a motion sensor and yell at them, the time after you have them recorded stealing,  like "hey who's there?".  Maybe if you scare them, they will find another house to steal diapers from?  Or you can put a empty box of bullets on top next time.

Edit: extra adviceAnswer #7: Omg.

Is there a market of perverts that want used baby diapers?   Similar to the used panty pervert people but even more perverted?

Do you have access to another trash can ? Parents, in laws, sibling or friends?

This is beyond wacko

I would get a camera to get this nut in film.    The after that I'm not sure.


Title: 15 min parking ticket but the car in front of mine didn’t get one

Question:
I just got a parking ticket outside of my work where it happens to be 15 min parking to make it easy for customers to do pick ups. For over the last two years, not once has a single car ever been given a ticket there.

I know technically i violated the street sign by parking over 15 mins but

1. The car parked directly in front of mine for just as long as I’ve been parked there, didn’t get a ticket

And 2. My tire wasn’t marked like they do in the area to show that you were parked there last time parking enforcement came by

I’m planning on contesting the ticket but not exactly sure what to say or if what I wrote above is sufficient. I know it may not seem like a serious problem but that was a $68 ticket.

Answer:
 >The car parked directly in front of mine for just as long as I’ve been parked there, didn’t get a ticket

So? That doesn't matter at all.

>My tire wasn’t marked like they do in the area to show that you were parked there last time parking enforcement came by

Does anyone still mark tires? This is largely doen electronically now.


Title: House fire caused by roommate - no insurance - getting dragged in

Question:
I'm located in Utah - Last year I woke up to screams from my roommate telling my girlfriend, her son and I to get out due to a house fire. The fire was started by an unattended tea candle which had flipped over due to the wind from the window and caught his bed on fire. The Total damages were estimated to be around $102,000

I recently received a court request for admissions and request for production of documents. My question is how can I completely remove myself from the case as I had absolutely nothing to do with it, nor do I have any money to give to the insurance / landlords. The roommate agrees that I should not be included but the law makes this into a messy situation as we were both under the same roof and did not have renters insurance at the time.

Please help..

Answer: Does your lease specify that you and your roommate are join and severally liable for all damage to the premises?  I'm guessing it does, so you are just as responsible for the damage as your roommate. Answer #2: I am assuming that the landlord is suing you and your roommate for the damages to the house. If you and your roommate are both on the same lease, then you are probably jointly liable for damage to the house. In that case, you're on the hook to the landlord for the damages, but you can sue your roommate if he won't cover the damages.


Title: I striked a channel that stole my YouTube video + thumbnail resulting in the removal of the channel, guy is threatning to sue

Question:
So on my free time I make YouTube videos. I am a very small channel with only 34 subscribers and my videos are not monetized. Basically what I do is, I compile Twitch highlight videos from different streamers playing a game and upload it to YouTube.

I am not alone in making these type of videos, matter of fact it's a pretty popular YouTube idea.

Alright so lets get to the actual event, so a couple of days ago I wake up and naturally grab my phone and check YouTube real quick. The first thing I see is a video with my thumbnail in my recommended feed, at first glance I thought it was my own video that I had released the previous day. That was not the case, a bigger channel with 8k subscribers had literally downloaded my video + the custom thumbnail I made for the video and uploaded it to his own channel, the video had gotten 200k views within 24 hours.

Naturally I decided I would sumbit a copyright infringement claim to YouTube and see what they would do from there.
After 3 hours I get a notification saying that his channel had been removed. (YouTube policy says 3 strikes and your out so im guessing I gave him his last strike)

Fast forward to now the owner of the channel is messaging me on YouTube and threatning to sue me for "wrongfully" striking him. He's saying that since it's not my content (since the video consists of streamers and not me) I have no right to strike him. He's also saying that if I dont retract my strike he's "taking this to court".

so my question is: Does this guy have any ground to stand on?
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 He's completely wrong here. The compilation of other video highlights is your creation and under your copyright. While it's certainly possible that your work also violates copyright of some or all of the videos you are using, it does not give him the ability to just use it.Answer #2: Let me get this straight. You make copyright-infringing videos, someone copies one, and you report him for copyright infringement of your copyright infringement?

In any case, it's unlikely he'll sue you.


Title: If the police raids my place with a warrant for my arrest and there is heroin, they can't charge me for possession, right?

Question:
^

Because if the warrant is for my arrest and not related to heroin, then they can't confiscate anything else other than what is on the warrant. So if I was shooting up and there is heroin and needles and paraphernalia on the table, I can't be charged for any of that.is this right?

So what happens if I was charge for stuff not mentioned on the warrant?

Answer:
 Not right.

Anything the police see in plain sight while lawfully on the premises is fair game.  Here, you would not only be arrested on the warrant, but also charged additionally for the possession of illegal drugs.Answer #2: Wow. Sounds like heroin makes you think the opposite of reality. Imagine that.


Title: Living on my own in canada age 16, want to spend 6 months in usa

Question: I live on a border city and have a group of friends who live in america in the other side of the city. I'm going to help them pay for an apartment and live there for half of the year. Not all at once, more like switching across the border every week. I'm living on my own at age 16,which is legal in canada. But in the usa I need to be 18 to be on my own. If I said I was going to stay with my 18 year old friend would I be able to do this? Would I need parental permission to cross even though my parents live 1000 kilometers away?

Answer:
 > Would I need parental permission to cross even though my parents live 1000 kilometers away?

Yes.

But even with it, Customs and Border Protection is not likely to admit you unless you are in the physical custody of an adult.


Title: [PA] Motel accused us of stealing

Question:
My family and I stayed at an Econo lodge this week in PA when we visited. Upon checking out, we left a few comments. The room smelled, the carpet was dirty, and we found a bug on the wall. We didn't want anything, we just wanted them to be aware for the next costumers.

The guy at the front desk told us to write it down and leave our name and number. A few hundred miles later, when we arrived home, we received an angry message claiming that we stole their pillows and sheets and that if we don't return them they'll tell the police. We DID NOT steal the stuff.

We called them back and the owner just kept yelling and accusing us of stealing. He rudely hung up on us, so then we called the Choice Hotels and told them about the problem.

I've read online that some could write bad reviews all over the internet, is this advised? Wouldn't that make the problem worse? It seems as if they're trying to get back at us, but there isn't proof...

Is it possible that we could actually be charged or are they just scamming us? We really didn't steal the pillows or sheets. What would you suggest we do?

Answer:
 The police will likely tell them it's a civil matter. They may sue you in small claims court, but that's it. You can write a true review on Yelp with no consequences.Answer #2: >Is it possible that we could actually be charged

Possible, but not very likely. If you are charged or sued, it's imperative that you take it seriously.

Feel free to leave a review detailing what happened. Keep it factual. For example, "We found a bug on our wall and the room smelled funny" and not "OMG IT WAS OVERRUN WITH POISONOUS BEDBUGS AND THE OWNER IS A THIEF". You're also free to mention in your review that after you brought these concerns to the attention of the staff, they accused you of stealing ... just make sure you hang on to those voicemails.


Title: I licensed a video of my child to a site that markets viral videos that just went out of business. Today i got a letter in the mail from them.

Question:
The letter is pure unreadable legalese, but i think its just saying they are going out of business and this is everyones chance to get their pound of flesh. They sent me a couple of small checks for the video over the 2 years and i doubt that i have an actual claim to file against them, but do i own my own video again now at the least?

i have the letter and contract to answer any questions but my post was removed for identifying the company earlier.

Answer: Is it a bankruptcy notice?


Title: Mississippi-Custody of a minor child

Question:
Hello, my name is A and this is my first reddit post. My friends advised that I try to see what information I can learn from the reddit community so here I am. Some background on our story and what we're looking for. Thanks for reading. Skip to the end if you wanna.

I gave birth to my daughter when I was 19 years old and married to her father. We gave birth in Evanston, IL. We we're both active duty in the US Navy at the time. He was stationed on a carrier on the West coast and I was still in training. 6 months after she was born, October 2010, I decided I no longer wanted to be with my husband, my daughter's father. For a number of very good reasons.
At that point all financial assistance from him stopped. I was now stationed on the East coast for additional training while my mother watched our daughter in Illinois (for $1000 a month paid by me). I was too busy/ too young and dumb to get the divorce done and it was proving hard to get the leave times to coordinate for a divorce. A month before i finished my training on the east coast I received my orders to the West coast, on another ship stationed with my husband. I thought this would be perfect for splitting custody. When I called to inform him I was then informed that he was being kicked out of the Navy for bringing a joint on base where gate security caught him.

To me it felt like he had done this on purpose post separation because he did not want to continue in the Navy without me. He is 6 years older than me by the way so was around 25 when this happened.

When I arrived on the West coast alone to my ship with my 1 year old in june of 2011 I learned quickly that I would need him to be around for deployment, weekly overnight shift, and all the 3 day to 3 month underways that we'd be doing-I immediately asked him to move out to me and he refused. He had moved home to Tennessee with his Dad and brother. He was also still not helping financially. From June 2011-Jan 2012 my ship was dry docked so all I had to worry about was overnight work shifts and I made that work with my shipmates stay at home wives. In December of 2011 I made the tough decision of leaving my daughter yet again (since he wouldn't move out to us) and this time with his mother as my mother was taking care of my cancer ridden dying grandmother.

She lives in a small town in Northern Mississippi. I knew as soon as I left her there that there would be problems. In the months that followed she started allowing me less and less contact with my daughter and eventually none at all. I complained to my legal department. I cried. I drank. I tried to get leave to no avail. Since my ship was in overhaul and it was an important time for the command leave was pretty much not happening for anyone. I told them I dont know what's happening to my daughter and they told me it was my fault for leaving her. In this time my grandmother also died. I learned through lots of online sneaking that my ex had moved in with his mom since he was broke and not working and he was the reason I was no longer getting to see my kid. I decided at that point to stop helping financially if the father was going to be living in the home with her.

At this point I had filed for separation thru the Navy based on parenthood/lacking a family care plan for deployment. We completed a RIMPAC and dozens of underways while we tested the ship for a full deployment. I was home anywhere from a couple of days a month to a couple of weeks before we would go back out again.

The Navy was not happy with my filing and I was harassed for a year by my command and legal department. They told me to give her up for adoption. They told me I was a cold bitch. They told me I was the worst mother they had ever met. They told me that my family must suck if they're not helping here. Every other day my ships legal officer would visit me again and again to tell me I was a bad mom-but in all that time she had never submitted my paperwork to anyone above her. When I found that out i finally when to the shore base's command legal team (JAG) and magically my paperwork was submitted and my separation approved for March of 2013.
I told my ex that I would be in Mississippi following my separation and that I wanted to see my daughter. He ignored me. When I arrived in Mississippi four days after finishing 4.3 years in the Navy he again refused to let me see my daughter. I then called the police who said they couldn't help me because we had to custody agreement and because his mothers 1.5 million dollar home looked fine enough.
So I parked my car in the street out front and waited to catch a glimpse of her. The police then told me theyd arrest me for harassment. So I went home.
I obtained a lawyer in that small town since it had jurisdiction after her being there so long and fought and won primary custody of my daughter in April 2013. I was 23, single and newly separated from the military.
We moved back home to Chicago that year and then started a whole new set of battles-affording being a single mom. The court had ruled that he had to pay $150 a month in child support but that never came. He was supposed to have her for spring break and that never happened. He didn't communicate at all for that first year. For the summer of 2014 she was supposed to stay with her dad and that never happened either. Christmas of 2014 she was supposed to go with her dad and he never invited her. He was still not supporting us at all financially and had experienced some very real struggles. Luckily in 2014 I was hired by Allstate and started selling insurance and things were getting better for us.
Finally summer of 2015 he wanted to see his daughter again and after some research I saw that he was in a good place with his fiance-there was still no child support coming in but his relationship with her is what matters to me. She went down for her court mandated summer with him and came back. For Christmas he asked to see her in 2015 despite having skipped his year (we have it set to every other xmas-even years his, odd mine). I felt bad and said yes. He saw her again for summer of 2016 and this is where the problems start again.
I moved from Chicago IL to R IL in May of 2016 after no longer being able to support myself financially alone in the city. My mother was living in R IL so she could help us. When we moved I was upset with the public school selection and since my ex was living in a nice town with a house and long term relationship at this point and since he was actively involved in our childs life I thought it would be ok to ask him for some help. He refused to help pay for private school.

He offered instead to take her for one school year while we figure out whether were staying in R or heading back to Chicago and our old very nice school. I was apprehensive but he assured me that there would be none of the past problems.
It was all lies. As soon as she was down there he stopped letting me communicate as much and things blew up when for Christmas he would not let her come home to visit. It as on paper, his year, but we had switched because he had missed one year. He then served with me emergency custody papers and now were here.
_______________________________________________________
Since I do not live in Mississippi I do not know much about the legal services and have been denied for a low income lawyer despite being clearly low income.
This past December of 2016 I went and represented myself, mediated with his lawyer in Mississippi. We agreed to put this on hold until June as none of us want to disrupt her school year. I asked for only two visitations between then and June-spring break and her birthday. They were granted and are in our new temporary custody agreement that is effective until June 14th of 2017 when we go back to court to fight the real battle.
She visited for spring break but her birthday is next week and he is not letting her visit. In fact he has stopped letting me communicate with her again despite putting regular skype and phone calls specifically into the agreement. His lawyer is ignoring me after our last conversation where she said I could visit my daughter on her birthday for three hours in Mississippi if I'd like. I said thats not what our papers say and what you and I agreed to. She hung up after advising me to get a lawyer.
It has been extremely hard to find a lawyer and honestly if I use my little bit of savings on one I just won't have anything left for my kid and our future when we win. I am wondering if anyone has any experience representing themselves or knows of any resources for these kinds of out of state cases.
Here's some additional info:
He is now married and they bought a house. The step mom has asked my daughter to call her "mom" and now she does.
When they do let me talk to her they limit what we can talk about or him or her will hang us up. My daughter cried to me about how much she misses me and wants to come home when she visited for spring break. I can tell she is too scared to tell her father. They are refusing to let me see her for her birthday despite it being plain on paper. He has a son who is 9 who he owes thousands of dollars to. He tried to sign away his rights so that he wouldn't have to pay anymore but it didn't work out. he does not communicate with or know anything about his son.
I am having his son's mother write an affidavit and getting it notarized. I have his DD214 stating he was other than honorably discharged for drugs. I call everyday and he never picks up. I could get those call logs.
Can I represent myself?
I am a broke single mother-yes. I have really struggled with a steady income, steady childcare and etc. He still owes years of child support. I registered to start school in the fall and using my post 911 GI Bill means they pay us a $1900 a month stipend while I'm enrolled on top of fully covered tuition. I have a plan for us. Most importantly I love my daughter. I am not complete without her.
I would love any advice.
Thank you.
Thank you.

tldr;
Seeking general legal advice for custody of a child whos father lives in Mississippi. Can a parent take full custody of a child even when neither parents have any reasons to be considered to be "unfit"? What can I do to ensure I do not lose custody? Will spending money on the best lawyer I can still prove to be fruitless? I'm sorry I can't be more specific with direct questions as my question is just general advice on what I should do to ensure I win and my daughter comes home. Does representing myself mean a death sentence? Can't I just tell the judge I do not wish to waste money on a lawyer and hope he'll be fair with me representing myself?

Answer:
 I'm a mother who lost custody due to moving out of MS.  My advice:  move to MS.  It takes damn near an act of congress for MS to allow a child to move out of state.

You could prove your ex is a crackhead and they will still not place her with you if you're out of state.


Title: Charlotte North Carolina: does a HOA have a duty to protect its residents? What options does it have.

Question: For some context there have been two instances in the past week in my community. 1 tenant set another's house on fire and another shot at another tenants house. Both have been arrested awaiting trial. Our HOA refuses to do anything. Do they have a duty to protect their residents? If so, what options do they have?

Answer: What could your HOA possibly do about these instances?


Title: (ON, Canada) Can an employer require a 700+ credit score in order to hire someone?

Question:
Hoping I am in the correct sub. A large company requires that prospective employees have a credit score of 700 plus. Is this allowed? I’ve never heard of this
Topic:
Canada

Answer: Yes that’s legal. And pulling credit reports on employees is very standard in the financial industries and is increasingly done by other types of employers too. They need a signed release from you before they can do it though.


Title: [Broward, Florida] I was found at fault for an accident by the police officer, but I had right of way. Can I dispute this?

Question:
The traffic light was broken and blinking yellow for me, and blinking red for her. She was crossing a 6 lane street.

Her argument to the cop was that other cars stopped for her, but my understanding of the situation is that she's the one that should have been stopped for incoming traffic. The fact that other cars didn't get into an accident does not grant her the right of way.

When we crashed, she ran out of her car to the witnesses to tell them "did you see that? He didn't stop for me." And they corroborated her story to the police officers when they arrived. The police officer bought it.

Like I said, I don't see why what other cars did matters because they weren't in an accident with her. She's the one who crossed a street in spite of incoming traffic.

Is there anything I can do? Am I irrevocably at fault because of the report?

Answer:
 Police officers don't determine fault for accidents. That will be left up to the the insurance company to allocate fault. Unless you've been given a traffic citation or charged with a criminal offense, the police report doesn't practically mean much.

Though, at blinking lights, you are supposed to be extra aware of oncoming traffic. By your own story, it doesn't sound like you were. It appears to me that the fault is equal to both parties. Though your insurance companies will work out blame and pay accordingly.


Title: If a Cop Claims to Smell Marijuana in Your Car and Searches it, Can Other Illegal Things in Your Car be Used as Evidence Against You?

Question: Even if the cop finds no marijuana in the car. [CA]

Answer:
 If the search is legal, and doesn't exceed its scope, then anything they find can be used against you.Answer #2: It Depends On What Country, State, and Province You Are Driving In.

But often, yes.

In some jurisdictions (like mine) where marijuana is legal or decriminalized, the smell of marijuana itself is not a reason to perform a search or even to ask consent to perform a search, so the subsequent discovery of other contraband has a good chance of being suppressed.

In many others, the smell of marijuana is a good reason to search a car under the automotive warrant exception.   Illegally possessed narcotics and weapons are popular results of searches that begin with a driver who smells strongly of marijuana.


Title: Can a hotel discriminate based on the city you live in?

Question:
My house had a septic tank disaster where the entire first floor was filled with half an inch of sewage. My family obviously can’t stay the night in the house while it gets cleaned up so we tried finding a hotel.

We called a local hotel and asked if we could rent a couple rooms. One of the first things they asked where we were coming from. We told them we were from in town and our situation.

They told us that due to damage to the rooms from other local people, they don’t rent out rooms to anyone that lives in a 20 mile radius. I know it’s illegal to discriminate based on national origin but what about the city you live in?

Answer: “City you live in” is not a protected class in most of the US. Answer #2: This is very common practice, hotels have bad experiences with locals renting rooms for prostitution, parties, and drug deals.


Title: [AL] Took my dog for a walk, on-leash, ended up biting an off-leash dog, with no supervision, pretty deep. Should I be worried?

Question:
For reference, their dog is a 4 pound Yorkie, mine is a 65lb husky. He has no history of aggression at 7.5 years, I think his predatory instincts just took over when he felt threatened.

So, we've passed this house multiple times, and sometimes their dog is out and unsupervised, but we end up hurrying past. Today, however, we were a bit late. Keep in mind, we're on the opposite side of the street from their house, the dog entered the street and came straight up to mine who didn't take too kindly to that and latched on and shook it around pretty good. Neither of the owners were out front, one was inside and the other behind the house. I took the dog up to their front door, asked if they wanted my info (which they declined)and went on my way.

The other dog is fine, they had to shave it and stitch it up. They're superficial wounds, but I'm slightly concerned this will come back to me. I took some pictures of where the blood is in relation to the house, but I don't know that's really proof enough.

I ran into the people today, and they seemed nice enough, apologizing for the dog coming up and a small comment about restraining my dog (which I completely didn't mind, as if it were my dog, I might be a little upset). I'm a bit cynical in cases like these as I've heard some stories of people fudging details in cases like this and causing a dog to be put down, so I just want some advice.

Answer:
 I had a similar situation with my dog once.

I'd encourage you to write a detailed note to yourself with as many dates, times and names as you can remember.

If it turns into a problem in a week or a month, that'll be helpful for you.Answer #2:
It does not sound like are going to ask you to reimburse their vet costs.  Do you have renter's or homeowner's insurance?Answer #3: You may have heard of people distorting such an event, that doesn't mean it will happen to you. If it is possible, you might want to change your route. I would not escalate the situation by reporting that they leave their dog loose. You may also wish to discuss this with a good dog trainer - could your dog learn to be more tolerant of such intrusions?


Title: My friend just learned she's been exposed to unsafe levels of Carbon Monoxide for several weeks/months at her job, in her basement office. At this point she's unsure if it has caused her any health issues, but could she potentially sue her employer?

Question:
Several other employees work in the same space as her & would have been equally exposed.

&#x200B;

She lives/works on Long Island, NY btw.

Answer: Does she actually have any medical expenses that resulted from this?  She isn't going to win anything suing for something that could have happened but didn't.


Title: A local hardware store planted sticks with a flag and a sign advertising local businesses and encouraging us to thank "god." I filed a complaint at the police station, but I was told it was perfectly legal. How can this be?

Question:
Central Wisconsin.

Firstly I asked about trespassing.  Is it legal for someone to trespass on your property?

His answer was yes, it's legal, as long as there isn't a "no trespassing" sign or if the owner doesn't say anything to you.

I then asked if it was legal for someone to advertise their private business by planting a sign in someone else's yard.

Yes, he said, as long as the owner of the yard doesn't tell the person planting signs not to do so.

Then I asked if separation of church and state was still a thing - many of these advertisements have been planted on city-owned easements (the grass between the sidewalk and the road.)

I didn't get a adequate answer to that question.

From what I gathered, the police officer is going to talk to hardware store, telling them I'm not anti-American, but I don't want advertisements and religious nonsense placed in my yard.

This is not the result I was hoping for.  I don't care about one stupid sign in my yard.  I took it down and threw it away already.  I'm trying to stand up for all of the other voices that are too shy to talk to the police, or believe that complaining won't accomplish anything.  I am trying to stand up for what is right and just.

In my heart of hearts, I don't feel like I have accomplished anything.  I feel that this is still illegal and morally wrong.

Let's discuss.

Answer:
 >Let's discuss.

It's a short discussion. The police aren't obligated to do anything here.

If you want to sue them for their civil trespass, you are welcome to. But your damages are zero or close to it.


Title: Left my information after I dinged someone's door in a parking lot... Now they are claiming the cost of the damages is $1500! - Alberta, Canada

Question:
A few weeks ago, the wind caught my door as I was leaving my car and hit the vehicle next to me. I briefly inspected the scratch it left (very minor, mostly paint from my car that could be polished off). Given how picky I am about my own cars, I felt bad and left a note with my first name and phone number.

First, they said we could settle this privately if I paid them $500. I have history doing my own body work, and I know this is probably more than it's worth so I took the pictures they sent me and sent them to various shops in the city. I got quotes ranging from $80 for a polish, to $270 if new paint is necessary. I even had one shop offer to fix it for free if no paint is needed. I only had one shop say that if painting is required, the cost may add up to around $500 if they have to remove the panel, door handles, etc.. They would not give me an actual estimate without seeing the make/model/severity of the damage in person.

Yesterday, after I presented these, they showed me a quote for almost $1500! Now, their quotes will be more reliable since they have more than just pictures, but there are charges on the quote for sheet metal replacement of the panel, which is completely unnecessary for the damage I did.

They are now saying they are filing a police report, and we are likely going through insurance. But I'm worried that my policy will go up more than it needs to if they file for a repair of this size. Do I have any say in what the damage costs? Are there legal ramifications if I just block their number? All they have is a phone number and first name... This started off as me trying to do the right thing, but they aren't being very understanding (I even offered to try polishing it myself first, and paying for a repair if they weren't happy - I'm a student and can barely afford my student loan payments, let alone a car repair).

tl;dr - I scratched someone's car in a parking lot. We tried to settle it privately but their number is almost 6x higher than mine. What do I do?

It occurred to me when I was almost done writing this that this may be better suited for an insurance related subreddit? Does that exist?

Answer:
 Let your insurance company deal with it.  That's what you pay them for.  You did the right thing, and ended up having to deal with shitty people.  Answer #2: Did you show them your quotes.  Its entirely possible their body shop said their door panel needed repaving and then the paint had tone matched to that side of the car (I know-its a high racket by body shops).

Le them go through insurance-your insurance company will decline to pay if their adjustor determines its not necessary to replace the whole thing-you can give your insurance company a heads up that they might be over estimating.

I don't think your premiums will go up a lot if this is your first claim and its not even a result of a driving error, but I don't know.


Title: Won a settlement as a child, parents blew through funds, any recourse for me?

Question:
(New York) So I recently found out I was involved in a medical malpractice suit when I was 5 years old with a large lawsuit. (Had simple surgical procedure that was meant for a different pt) This was in the early 90's and although I was ok health wise, I do have some scars leftover from a procedure that I didnt need.
Anyhow I was told by my parents of the mishap, but I was told I had "a little money from a lawsuit" but it was under my parents control until I turned of age, in their mind between 18-21.   Edit this in NY.
So long story short, I am starting my own business at age 30 and I wanted to withdraw this money, so I talked to my parents and we got it.  It was in stocks (I believe) so after taxes etc I got a check for just about 50k. All was great as it helped tremendously with startup cash with the business, however I was speaking to my aunt who told me that my lawsuit awarded me well in excesss of 350k (after law fee's) and this money was in an account for just over 10 years gaining interest. (This interest just going to 18 years old, but Im 30 now)
Now, I started to question my parents about the difference in funds and they started telling me about all the things I purchased with my money such as private high school education and my first car given to me at 16 years old, as well as items such as my wedding. I have added up EVERYTHING and still only get the amount to about 100k. Which even including the 50k is nowhere near 350k ( and not including interest for 10 years)

I am outraged at my parents for this entire scenario, (Hiding the true amount, charging me to purchase things such as high school education (as we never discussed this) same with the vehicle. I was told it was a gift (at 16 yr old) and the money was to be in an account until at least 18 years old (per the lawyer) Same with my wedding, I was told it was from my parents, not out of my own account, so any decisions per wedding was made by my mother, and not myself.

My question is, do I have any legal recourse in this matter? The money I know was in an account with my parents name on it, (b/c it was created when I was a minor) and I have stock sales slips for roughly 200k in sales, all signed for by my parents, nothing with my name on it, except the recent 50k.  Now I hate to explore this path, but I honestly feel like my parents mishandled the money.  I honestly had no idea that the amount was anything significant (b/c they always told me it was a little money in an account)  The issue is, its not an insignificant amount, and I wouldn't be so mad regarding the issue except that the numbers dont match up, and I wasn't even included in the decisions.

From a legal perspective, would I have any recourse in obtain any of the funds? I doubt the money from the account is hidden somewhere, (Id assume it was spent) but I mean even if I had to get a lien on their home or something? Like I said, Id hate to go down that path, however- I think they did a pretty grimey thing mishandling my funds.

TLDR- Won 350k as a 5 year old, Parents just gave me my winnings at 30 years old (50k) I never knew I had any money, do I have any rights to getting any back?

Answer:
 Do bear in mind that a stock market investment can lose value.  Answer #2: You can request an "accounting" of the funds. You should look into hiring an attorney that deals with wills and trusts, or possibly some specialized personal injury attorneys. You may be able to find out who represented you and/or the defendant back when the settlement occurred initially.

However, be prepared for a few sad things to occur. It's very possible that this will put strain on your relationship with your parents. It could get ugly. It's also possible that the money they spent will be unrecoverable. This result is called being "judgment-proof." That's often why you see attorneys going after insurance policies.

The end result if you perform an accounting will likely be some combination of the following: a claim against a home insurance policy; some sort of back tax penalty; a lien against your parents' properties; etc. You may not get any money back, but you'll never know for sure until you investigate.


Title: Bro's controlling ex

Question:
My brother had two kids with his ex girl and now she is deciding to put together paperwork requesting child support. They never got married and the kids(twins) are like 9 years old. She is married to some guy and has child with him. Brother doesnt make a lot per month, she likely makes more than him and he contributes some money every month since their birth. Idk anything about child support(california), any advice or information would be great. Like how much can they take from him and what are his rights?

She suddenly decided to file paperwork because she doesnt like his new gf. We know a couple guys that are paying through the nose because of child support. One of them doesnt even have a home because he cant afford rent anymore and so he lives in his car. Worried my brother will end up like that worst case. I mean his ex claims they dont have enough money but they are always buying new clothes and toys for the kids. Like how reasonable could it possibly be if the kids have their own ipads and she requests $500 per month per child for healthcare alone.

Separate note. I never fully believed he was the father. If she requests child support will there be some opportunity to request paternity test? My brother wont even let me mention it because he believes there isnt a doubt... I mean he told me himself she cheated many times and with different men.😶😶 I hope its mandatory haha

Answer:
 Child support is a calculation. You can Google your state and child support calculator to get a guess.

He can request a paternity test to verify they are his kids

He will need to get a visitation schedule set up so he can have guaranteed time with his kids


Title: I need to know if I can have harrassment filed against me for trying to contact my fiance

Question: My fiance (17F) was forced to move out of state with her mom and siblings a week ago and her family is trying there hardest to keep us separated. Can they file harrassment from the sum total of a handful of facebook msgs I have sent them trying to find out if my fiance was ok? I ask because her mom is threatening to file harrassment If I try to contact my fiance any further

Answer: Your fiance is a minor and her mother doesn't want you to contact her.  Back off.


Title: [PA] Am I responsible for a package UPS delivered to me by mistake?

Question:
A few weeks ago I came home to find an enormous package sitting on my front steps here in Pennsylvania. It was supposed to be sent to an address that is very similar to mine (same house number and the first letter of the street) but is otherwise nowhere near me.

Over the last few weeks I have called UPS four times about this package. On two of the calls they said someone would come out the next day to pick it up and no one did. On the other two calls they said a rep would call me back within the hour and no one did.

The box is huge (several feet in multiple dimensions), it doesn't fit in my car, and leaving it out on my front steps all day for non-existent pickups is a big flashing sign that no one is home.

Do I have to keep trying to get UPS to come get this thing or can I keep it/toss it?

ETA: Big thanks to r/legaladvice for completely ignoring the actual question but repeatedly telling me to give out my address to strangers.
Topic:
Consumer Law

Answer:
 More practical advice than legal, having been in a similar situation myself: I would also try contacting the sender (assuming that there is a return address/business name on the package somewhere). They may have better luck contacting UPS and initiating a pickup/return. Barring that, my next step might be to try contacting the intended recipient. How far away do they live? Could you swing by and leave a note on their door? Look them up on Facebook? (Of course you are not legally obligated to do that, but it might solve your problem). Answer #2: > Big thanks to r/legaladvice for completely ignoring the actual question but repeatedly telling me to give out my address to strangers.

[Odds are that they already have your address if UPS followed protocol.](http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/04/25/if-you-get-a-misdelivered-package-ups-will-give-a-stranger-your-home-address/#7ebb3a7470b2)


Title: [Minnesota] Is it illegal to answer your door in the nude?

Question: If I start answering my door in the nude, can I get charged with a crime?

Answer: When your door is open, it's considered public, and thus indecent exposure.  It's only a misdemeanor though:  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=617.23


Title: Leasing company put a claim in my lease that they can't uphold. What can I do?

Question:
I'm set to move to a new apartment in about a week, but I've noticed a discrepancy in my lease. The apartment I'm moving into doesn't have any facilities, i.e. pool, gym. My lease has an agreement that I'm allowed to use the facilities located at the companies sister site just a little ways away which I'll refer to as sister site A. However, in recent conversations with the leasing office they've stated that I don't get access to the facilities at sister site A and instead I get access to facilities farther away at sister site B, which is also where the leasing office is located.

I've contacted sister site A to see if they were aware of this agreement and they've stated this was a mistake on the leasing offices end. Short of getting out of the lease, is there anything I can do that would force them to give me access to the closer facilities?

Answer:
 Are the sister sites run by the same entity? If so you may be able to complain higher up in the food chain with the lease in hand to let them give you access.

If they won't budge I would recommend you negotiate a discounted rent since when it comes down to it, you're not getting what you paid for.


Title: Little brother victim of false police report, now being sued by personal injury lawyers. What can we do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Let your insurance handle it. Notify them and cooperate with them when asked. That is what you pay them for.

Police reports are not gospel, nor are they assumed to be 100% correct. Insurance adjusters do their own investigations and will determine between them liability of each party. Also, clerical errors happen, even on police reports. They can be corrected at any time without necessarily invalidating the report itself.

Just because an accident victim is seemingly fine at the scene of the accident, does not mean that they will remain so. Some injuries take a bit of time to show up. It is not unusual in the slightest  that the girls were seemingly fine at the time and are not now.

The PI lawyers will almost certainly settle for the policy limits of your brother and/or your parents (as he was a minor). Again, let your insurance handle it. Your brother done fucked up, and it's likely going to cause a bunch of hassle, but your insurance company will handle it for you. Just tell the insurance company any time that anyone contacts them regarding this accident, and tell the attorneys to only go through the insurance companies.Answer #2: Talk to your insurance company, they should provide a lawyer to defence him the civil claims.


Title: Question concerning life insurance after death of father

Question:
Hello there. I have a situation involving my mother, sister, and myself. A brief history is always helpful so I will begin there.

In 2017, my father passed away suddenly from a massive stroke. He didn't have a will. My mother had a life insurance policy on him for $500k. My sister and I attempted a number of times to discuss the distribution of this money and how to ensure everybody knew what was occurring with said money. My mother denied it existed and lied to both of our faces. We had physical proof and after three years of playing nice and with kid gloves, confronted her about her lie. She said she didn't believe it was that important, she doesn't have to share everything with us, and it was going to us when she passes away. The lie has strained the relationship greatly, both my sister and I feel we can no longer trust her as she lied to both of our faces numerous times. Our concern at this point isn't a monetary gain, it is ensuring there are checks and balances on her and the money. She is a high functioning alcoholic and has never had six figures at her disposal at any point in her life. Is there anything we can do legally?

Thank you very much.

Answer: Life insurance isn't part of the estate, if you mother took a life insurance on your father, with her as the beneficiary, she can do whatever she wants with the money.


Title: Post Office accusing me of signing for a stolen package that I didn't steal! Please help!(Indiana)

Question: A mail carrier came to our house saying that she left a package on our porch the day before to which I replied that we never saw any package, which is true. She stormed off mumbling that she remembered leaving it here, so I called the post office and they said it was routine, so I didn't pay much attention. Later that day, the lady that the package was supposed to go to came to my house saying that the carrier told her that we had signed for it, wouldn't give it back, and gave her our address! I told her that the only thing that anyone signed for was a certified letter that was addressed to my Mother and she signed for, which again, is the truth! My Mom even showed her the envelope. She stormed off saying that we stole it as well. So again, i call the post office, tell them what happened and he took my name and address, said that the mail carrier wasn't supposed to give out our address, and he said he'd talk with her in the morning. Well, that same evening, THREE cop cars show up saying that we stole this lady's package! I told them the truth and he kept saying that I should give them the package, they were going to get a search warrant and arrest me if they found the package and that I had one more chance to give it up, but I DIDN'T TAKE IT! They left and the next morning I AGAIN called the post office, was treated like we stole the damn thing, and they said they'd call when the investigation was concluded, but later that day in our mail was a letter from the post office saying that someone at our house signed for the package and we should return it or face further action. I don't know what to do! We never got or saw any package besides the certified letter of my Mom's! We are on an extremely limited income and can't afford a lawyer and I'm a Mom of a two year old, so I can't be going to jail, especially for something I didn't do!!! Any advice will be appreciated! Thank you!

Answer:
 So the letter carrier remembers leaving the package on the porch and remembers you signing for it. Those two things don't even go together. Did you sign for it and then leave it on the porch?Answer #2: Call your local postmaster general (assuming that isn't who you've been talking to). If that fails, escalate. They need to prove you or someone in your home signed, not just that there is a signature. Carrier is the one who messed up and is now playing the CYA game.

For all you know carrier is the one who stole the package. If the police or anyone want to search your house, tell them to get a search warrant.Answer #3: This is the prelude to being accused of a crime. What you should do is stop talking to everyone under the sun. If the police or the Post Office try to talk to you again, tell them you won't speak without an attorney present. That's all. If they try to arrest you, say NOTHING until you have a lawyer with you. Nothing at all.

If the police come back again asking to search your house, DO NOT CONSENT. If they have a warrant they are going to search. If not, close the door and tell them to come back when they have one. DO NOT CONSENT TO A SEARCH.

You have no idea what was in the package and if you happen to have that thing in your house (that you bought) you are absolutely fucked if you consented to the search. Do. Not. Allow. Them. To. Search. Your. Home.


Title: [NY] Friend stole at a big retail store and is freaking out.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: It is possible she was caught on camera and the store will file a police report. If she is contacted by anyone about this she should refuse to speak with them and hire an attorney.


Title: (ON CAN) Gentleman willed many acres to Boy Scouts, now Boy Scouts are trying to sell.

Question:
This is a pretty specific question, with some speculation needed.

We have a large stretch of land on our lake (in cottage country) that is left natural and undeveloped (other than a few cabins and a dock). It was willed by some well-wishing gentlemen over 20 years ago to the Boy Scouts of of Canada for the express use by the Boy Scouts. Recently, the Boy Scouts tried to sell it and were unable to due to the terms of the man's will indicating that the land was not to be sold. Our lake enjoys the quiet and natural stretch of shore and hope to keep it this way.

The sale has been blocked for now, but I'm curious as to what events might lead to the land being sold. If the Boy Scouts theoretically stopped paying property tax? Would it become Crown land? After a certain amount of time since they inherited it?

edit: more info found. Willed back in 1949, and they tried to sell it in 2004. Two pro bono lawyers contested the sale with the support of the man's descendants and the community.

edit2: RedditRW has solved the case here! It appears that Scouts Canada is a Bare Trustee, with someone (likely the man's descendants) hold the land as the Beneficial Owner. http://scoutdocs.ca/Documents/Save_Your_Camp.php

Answer:
 Not Canadian but it should still apply. This in legal speak is called [*fee simple subject to condition subsequent*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defeasible_estate#Fee_simple_subject_to_condition_subsequent) (ugghh property flashbacks)

It basically means in his will it was gifted to the boy scouts for their use, as soon as they quit using it for that purpose the heirs of the original grantor can repossess the property as soon as the boy scouts violated the deed. But the heir must take the steps to take the property back.

I doubt they'll be able to sell it with that condition. That's why it was stopped in the first place.

Edit: listen to /u/baseline1, he/she knows more on this subject than me.Answer #2: In Canada, you can't restrict someone else's ownership in land. There are cases that specifically say that if you give a fee simple interest in land to someone in your will, you cannot put conditions on it. It's their land and you cannot tell them what to do with it.

If the sale was blocked, I'm guessing that it's because the Boy Scouts are life tenants as opposed to fee simple owners. Or there is some other encumbrance like a caveat which is blocking the sale.

Do you have any more details? It's impossible to speculate on how the sale might go through unless we know what ownership interest the Boy Scouts have, what encumbrances are registered against the property, the details of the sale. The answer can range anywhere from "the sale will never go through" to "register a discharge of caveat form".


Title: Asking advice on extremely lethal street in Los Angeles

Question: There’s a quarter mile strip of street in my neighborhood (a busy Main Street) that people die on every month if not more, just from hit and runs alone. There are a few cross walks far between,  but no lights, stops or anything good for pedestrian safety. Is there anything the residents around here can do about it? We feel hopeless.

Answer: LA is having [major issues with pedestrian deaths](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-vision-zero-20180227-story.html#).  You should contact the LA DOT [Pedestrian Advisory Committee](http://ladot.lacity.org/what-we-do/safety/pedestrian-safety/pedestrian-advisory-committee).


Title: Pregnancy outside relationship (USA)

Question: thanks

Answer: Get a DNA paternity test before you sign anything acknowledging paternity or requiring you to pay money.


Title: Absolute Idiot/Nightmare Roommate is Cutting Threatening Messages At Me Onto His Own Door! Help!

Question:
okay so I really need someone to really explain to me what the ramifications of the few options i have laid out in front of me to deal with my roommate.  Me and my 2 other roommates never met before til we began living together when we moved into an apartment and things were going real well up until a month ago.  My roommate one weekend left dishes that even still had food on them (i.e. a half full glass of milk sat on the table 4 feet from the sink thatll mold eventually dude) so i decide to be civil and call a roommate meeting to address the issue and even take some personal blame for not cleaning maybe as much as i should so it didnt seem i was just putting my roommate on the spot.  Didnt matter he became enraged in 10 short minutes and started breaking the refrigerator and wouldnt stop calling me a pussy because your a pussy when u dont clean enough cuz thats a thing...?  So I decided to leave that night and be nonconfrontational and i gave my roommate all the space he could need for nearly a month never spoke to him or rly interacted with him period.  I was comfortable just leaving things as they were but yesterday my roommate totally blew my mind.  I was in my room by myself basically all day because fallout 4 lol so when i go to leave me room for the first time in hours turns out he scrawled into HIS OWN DOOR "The Piece of Shit is Next Door.... I was so shocked at how stupid and rude this was especially since i was in my own room all day totally minding my own and had been for nearly a month! Theres literally no reason i could of pissed him off but guess he doesnt need a reason for things because hes insane!  My girlfriend is supposed to come over and stay the weekend but now hes making my own home seem like a less than safe environment which will bother her not me but im pissed about that!!

Now I am here debating to either A) text him and ask him if hes going to finally be able to grow up and be a normal person and get over himself or... B) im ready to tell my landlord about this and try to get him kicked out but what do i need to do that?

The real legal question is that this guy is growing a few marijuana plants in his room and what does it mean if i tell my landlord about his door incident and is he going to get his room exposed and can i get in trouble at all or can i work on getting this dingus kicked out?

Answer:
 So you ask him to be be more clean and he flies into a rage and trying to damage the refrigerator. He holds a grudge for more than a month and then starts cutting a 3 inch note on his door calling you a piece of shit.....

Gotta say that this seems more like a get the fuck out of there before things get worse kinda deal. And definitely don't bring your girlfriend there. This is not normal behaviour, honestly it sounds like the guy at least has rage issues and possibly has mental health issues.

Move out a.s.a.p. tell the roommates to replace you, inform the landlord that you no longer feel safe there (send her the photo you took of the door if she gives you any grief) once you have a place and that you'll be moving out. Don't do anything to antagonize the nutjob your living with.

You might get some legal trouble, but its not worth getting hurt over. Most leases have a penalty built in which is 1 or sometimes 2 months. Check yours and see what it is. Others will require you to pay rent until someone else moves in. Check yours and see if its really so bad that its worth staying there.Answer #2: Practical advice: work on getting out of that apartment as quickly as possible. Get a subletter to cover your room, eat a month of rent and whatever other costs, and get out. Don't break the lease or anything, just jump through the hoops.

How many months do you have left on this lease, anyway?


Title: Broken leg and more from kickball...can I sue?

Question:
I was playing in a casual company kickball game this past week, when someone from another team slid into second base and took out my knee. The impact broke my femur and possibly tore my MCL and meniscus, and I'm getting my MRI results tomorrow.

Anyway this is costing me over 1200 out of pocket and I don't know if I should contact the guy directly and ask for money, or contact an attorney. It just doesn't seem fair that I would have to go into debt when I was just standing still and this guy was playing aggressive. Thank you!


Title: [CA] I'm a contractor for a start-up that was recently taken over by a new management. Does the new management still has to pay me if they void it before the new month?

Question:
More details. I'm currently in a contract for a start-up that pays me on a monthly basis. Recently, the start-up was transferred ownership to a new management.

I have a good feeling that the new management will void the contract in a couple of days. My more detailed question would be... does the new management has to pay me for the days I've worked so far, or can they void it without paying me?

I will try to answer related questions in the comments.

Thanks,

concernedcontractor3

Answer: IANAL, but from my understanding you must be paid for work you have done. Pretty sure they cannot retroactively take away your pay for work you have done after terminating your contract.


Title: Brother purchased a Pizzeria. Owner represented it as a profitable turn-key business when it was not.

Question:
Location; Saint Albert, Alberta, Canada.

Details; Brother was looking to purchase a business.  Found a Pizzeria through word of mouth, bought it and started ownership back in Feb 1/2019.  The seller claimed that he was "pocketing" about $6000.00 per month after expenses.  Claimed that all of the equipment was in good shape and that the community loved his Pizzeria.  My brother did not do his due diligence, he did not see or ask for proof of income (balance sheets, bank statements) but simply took this guy at his word.  Flash forward 5 months.  My brother has seen business and profits increase every month so far but is still in the red every month.

There are also rumors we are hearing from customers in the area that the old owner was selling drugs and laundering money through the Pizzeria.  The Pizzeria was closed more often than open during business hours and a few people claimed that they got sick eating there before my brother took over.  All of these things would negatively affect the reputation and viability of the Pizzeria.

I acknowledge that my brother should have asked more questions and asked for proof.  However, I think that the previous owner should have disclosed that the business was not making money or at least he should not have lied about the profitability of the Pizzeria.  Does it sound like there is anything to pursue here in terms of mis-representing the sale of a business?  Or is this just an expensive lesson my brother has to learn?

Thank you for your time, anyone who reads this :)

Answer: Expensive lesson for your brother. It sounds like he willingly chose not to any basic due diligence. If the books were cooked that's one thing but he chose not to even look at them.


Title: [Minneapolis, MN] Left a sliding patio door slightly open for ~3 hours and froze a baseboard pipe, landlord charging $2,113.77 for water damages

Question:
My girlfriend and I are college students living together. On the night of Feb. 11, 2016, she had a few of her student group members at our place deep frying some Oreos to prepare for a fundraiser. We cracked a few windows open to get rid of the smell, and after around 3 hours, we closed them and turned the heat back up (we never turned them off). A few hours went by and we didn't notice any warmth, and found our bedroom floor soaked in water. The cleanup and repairs took all weekend and we were burdened with $2,113.77 of fees after.

Some additional info.

* We were not aware of the type of heating system the apartment uses and how to prevent damages to the system.
* The management provides a handbook for every apartment that includes things from contact information to how to take care of the garbage disposal, but nothing on heating type and precautions.
* The management handed out a note to every apartment last year reminding people to ventilate during winter from time to time in order to reduce window condensation in turn to prevent mildew and wood rot. We brought this up during our exchange with them and they denied the note's existence, and we do not have the note nor any proof of it.

The management argues that this is a case of neglect and we are responsible for the cost of repairs according to the lease agreement (analogies to leaving a burning candle and waterbed burst were made). We felt that the management failed to inform us on this heating type and necessary precautions, especially after telling us to ventilate in winter from time to time.

Who is correct? Are we too full of ourselves to even think this is on the management?

The [door and baseboard](http://i.imgur.com/AmO3FwF.jpg) in question.

Answer: Liability can be shared. I think you are at least somewhat responsible for leaving the door open for three hours. Ultimately if you can't work something out and get sued you can defend yourself in court.


Title: Assaulted by bouncer at bar, what should next steps be?

Question:
FYI I am posting on behalf of my boyfriend.
Posting from Minnesota, USA.

&nbsp;

On Wednesday Nov 22, my boyfriend entered a bar with some friends. He went and ordered his first beer of the night and on his way back to the table, a guy bumped into him, resulting in spilt beer on both of them. My boyfriend said "gee, thanks man" and continued walking back to his friends. Before he even made it back to his friends he heard "Get him out of here" and next thing he knew, he was put in a chokehold from behind, dropped to the ground, and dragged out of the bar by a bouncer. At NO POINT was he ever asked to leave or confronted in any manner. Turns out, the guy who bumped into him was the General Manager and that is who ordered my boyfriend to be forcibly removed from the bar.

&nbsp;

He tried to go back in to grab his friends, since they didn't know what happened, and before he could enter, the manager chest bumped him and repeatedly said "you know what you did". My boyfriend stopped engaging and waited for a cab and his friends to come outside and went home. A few hours later, he eventually called the police and filed a report.

&nbsp;

Today, Friday Nov 24, I, my boyfriend, and his friend, went back to the bar in effort to get an explanation and accountability. His friend secretly recorded the entire conversation (legal in MN). The same manager was there and asked us what he can help us with, at which point my boyfriend asked him if he remembered who he was. The manager confirmed that he did, so then my boyfriend said "Then I would like an explanation of what happened that night". The manager continued to say that my boyfriend spilled beer on him and told him "fuck you" (untrue). While continuing to talk, he dropped the f bomb on us 3 times and said he doesn't owe any explanation for what happened. It was at this point he realized my boyfriend and I were wearing zip-ups that belonged to the beer distributor that serviced his bar. I don't work there anymore (but the manager didn't know that) and his whoooole attitude changed. It wasn't until then he started sweating heavily and backtracking. Long story short, he admitted that it happened, apologized if we were offended, and said he would talk with his bouncer. Again, this is all recorded.

&nbsp;

My question now is, what should we do next? We have the recording of him admitting to it and we have pictures of my boyfriends bruises.

&nbsp;

Thanks for your help and let me know if I missed anything!

Answer:
 You already filed a police report.

You may be able to get medical expenses reimbursed.  Other than that, choose another bar to frequent.


Title: MI - Secretary asking for car information at work.

Question:
Hello,
I'd like to know if it is okay/legal for the general public to be asking for vehicle license plate, make and model information. Can that info be used to find more personal information about myself?

For context of the scenario, a non-HR, non-security related person(s) is asking for vehicle information from everyone in our department to try and find out if one of our reserved parking spots is being used by someone outside the department. There seems to be an idea that they need to act like security guards for these spaces.
At this time, everyone already submits this information to the security guard office for the entire building. As far as I know, that information is not given out to departments freely.
I planed to speak with someone about this, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be wasting anyone's time.

Thank you for any help.

Answer: There's no legal issue here.  They can ask; you can deny to provide; if you deny they can fire you or bar you from parking at work.


Title: Multiple crimes or multiple perpetrators?

Question:
If a group of 8 people went into a store and each person ran out with a $200 handbag, what would determine whether the crime was 8 separate misdemeanors or a felony (the total value of the stolen bags being $1600)?

Are there scenarios where it is treated as one crime and others where it is treated as 8 separate crimes? Does location matter?

Answer: If they work together as part of a conspiracy it's one crime NAL


Title: I am being threatened to get sued because of a picture I re posted on Instagram. Someone please help!

Question: Hi, I have a small Instagram page (less than 200 followers) and I repost pictures of cars. My smart a** decided to put a watermark on a picture that I got off the internet. The picture also had the watermark of the original photographer at the top. I put mines in the bottom left. I got a message from the photographer saying that he will send me the invoice of payment to me because I used and altered his picture without permission. He said that if I don't respond or cooperate he will contact Instagram and further action would take place. I responded by saying "Hi can you explain" and he practically repeated the same thing. Since then, I have deleted the Instagram account and have not responded to him. Can someone please help me! Thanks! I honestly didn't mean any harm or anything. Please help, I am scared to get sued since I"m in school and I literally dont have money.

Answer: I have a friend who is a photographer, he has a lawyer on staff that sends a form letter when anyone posts one of his photos without credit to him. Basically, he just wants people to remove the photo, which you have done. You should be ok. Maybe just email him and tell him you have removed the photo.


Title: [ON, CA] Unmaintained tree growth in adjacent vacant lot (currently on sale for $4m) has damaged my fence in multiple places requiring extensive repairs, am I SOL?

Question: [removed]

Answer: You have someone with assets ($4 mil in land, est.) and clearly visible negligence (un-maintained land). You absolutely should call your local bar association and ask for a lawyer referral.


Title: Am I going to get arrested

Question:
So I'm a knife collector if you may and I'm overseas and i got my hands on a real ak47 bayonet and another replica (which is about 20") and a another  combat knife. I'm going to be entering north carolina and I want to make sure if this is legal. I will have them sheathed and secured in my checked luggage but I dont want to get in trouble because I am not familiar with the knife laws of NC.
(I read them online but it was all twisted and not clear at all lol.)
I'm a minor also if that matters. Thank you reddit!!

Answer:
 Bring a minor, you might have some issues

https://www.akti.org/state-knife-laws/north-carolina/

Are they considered a dirk or Bowie knife?Answer #2: Along with properly sheathing and securing the blade you may want to declare the knife in customs. You dont have to (like you would with a gun) but it could spare you a few headaches.Answer #3: It also depends on the country you are coming from.  For example, in Japan it is illegal to carry knives any longer than 4” I think, so as soon as you check in at the airport you would be detained.  Check the laws in the country you are departing, they are just as important as where you are entering the US.Answer #4: They're not like, projectile or spring-loaded, are they? It looks like NC is pretty lax with knives and CBP doesn't prohibit importing them as long as you comply with relevant laws/airline rules.Answer #5: I don’t know laws regarding mailing knives but a solution could be packaging them and mailing them to your address in the states?


Title: [California] Am denied "weekly" overtime multiplyer after working 10 days straight.

Question:
I receive the daily overtime multiplyer gor anything over 8 hours in a day. Although, I do not receive it when I go over 40 hours in a 7 day work period. Is this legal?  My understanding is that I am owed time and a half for anything after 40+ and that I am owed the same for the 8th consecutive day. Can my company do this?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 California overtime is based on a "workweek" which is a fixed period (Sunday-Saturday, for example) that counts as your week for overtime calculations. As far as my understanding of the law goes, it is perfectly legal for an employer to, using the Sun-Sat workweek as an example, have you work 8 hours each day Wed-Sat in one week, and then Sun-Wed in the following week.

What is not legal would be not paying you overtime for working 8 hours each day from Sunday through Saturday, as that goes beyond 40 hours in the established workweek, and your employer may not arbitrarily change your workweek definition in order to abuse this system.


Title: (AL) Neighbors cat got stuck on my glue traps

Question:
Throwaway account for various reasons. Anyway I have a mouse problem in my house. I was trying to put some glue traps in my crawl space when I got distracted and left some outside. I don't have a fence so my neighbors cat came into my yard and apparently got stuck. Their cat was stuck pretty good since they made a trip to the vet early this morning. I know this because the daughter came to my house while the parents took the cat to the vet. She told me I would be responsible for all the damages. What should I do?

Update: Got a missed call from the HoA, didn't leave a message. Don't know why they are involved.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Are there laws where you live against having freely roaming animals?


Title: Employer ignoring dr's note

Question: I fractured my thumb and the dr wrote saying no heavy lifting, light duty, etc. My managers have been ignoring it to a point. They sit behind the desk all day and won't teach me how to use the computers to check people out instead of the heavy work. They've had me lifting boxes of cast iron pipe fittings, breaking down boxes( I can't because I can only use one hand at the moment). When the dr note specifically said no heavy lifting or work. It's almost like my job hasn't even changed. What should I do?? The pain has gotten worse and worse since starting today's work. Not only is my thumb swollen my whole hand is swelling since I've been at work.  This is in Oklahoma.

Answer: A note from a doctor isn't legally binding. It's a suggestion. If you're medically unable to perform your job temporarily, then file for FMLA.Answer #2: The doctor note is not a legally binding document. It is medical advice that the employer may ignore. If you need time off, you need to file for FMLA, assuming you qualify for it.


Title: [IL] Team of lawyers changing terminally ill, elderly man's will to give his inheritance to themselves just before he dies

Question:
The affected party has already hired a lawyer in this situation but I wanted to get opinions on this.

A woman lawyer (who just happens to practice estate and will/trust law) with no previous legal or personal relationship to the terminally ill man made numerous, documented trips to the nursing home to try to get herself and one of her partners named to be sole beneficiaries of the man's will. They succeeded in this effort a week or so before the man passed away.

The lawyers tried to immediately collect the money after the death but was stopped by the family through legal action, the money is still there. The family of the now deceased has multiple documents and had prior conversations with him about his estate and who gets what after he dies. The family has been through a long process and is now going through depositions and the lawyers now want to settle for half of the entire estate.

My question to you is should the family take that deal? I feel like if this did go to trial it would be a complete slam dunk, the woman lawyer even says that she just wants this to "go away". I'm thinking the family should go for 100% plus lawyer fees but maybe that's just me being not a lawyer and outraged. Also, would it be wise to threaten the lawyers with an ethics complaint over this? Is there anything else that they can sue these lawyers for besides what they tried to steal? Thanks for the input.

Answer: Do whatever your attorney advises you do but based on the facts you have stated settling for half of the estate seems absolutely outrageous. Any attorney confronted with this stated pattern of facts would probably immediately submit an ethics complaint to the Bar Association.


Title: [MA] "Mom" cut off my (31f) access to my brother (29m) in the ICU

Question:
TLDR: Brother (29) is in ICU, mom is trying to cut off my (31) access. Mom is not emergency contact on any paperwork my brother has filled out, but paperwork is not from the current hospital. Can she legally stop me from calling for info or from visiting him? What are my options?

I've been no contact with her for some time. My brother is in the ICU after a drug overdose. So, needless to say, there as some friction at the hospital today. The hospital staff has been great about updating me when I've called. However, I just tried and was told that they cannot release information to me regarding my brother. Anyone that wants to know about his status has to contact my mother.

My mother made several thinly veiled threats to take away access to my brother today. Ex. implying I should "play nice" or else, telling me I couldn't be alone with my brother unless I told her why I don't talk to her anymore first, etc. She also grabbed, shook, and yelled at my brother's gf in the ER last night.

So my legal questions are:

1. Can she even do this? She's not his legal guardian. He's a fucking adult.
2. I'm afraid when I go there tomorrow, she will try to stop me from entering the ICU/his room. Can she do that? What can I do if she tries?
3. A few weeks ago, at a different hospital, my brother signed a form stating his gf had the power to make medical decisions etc. Would that contract extend to the new hospital, or no?
4. According to my brother's gf, any time she has visited a doctor or hospital with my brother, he has put her, me, or my father as a preferred emergency contact. Never my mother. He reported that e frequently vocalizes his hatred of her.
5. She abused us as children. Can her access be cut off?

Answer: Yes a power of medical decision should extend to the new facility is you can get it. If not then they will defer to his next of kin- his parents.Answer #2: Simply ask the unit clerk/charge nurse/social worker for the floor your brother is on who his medical proxy is. If that person is not your mom then that person can have her removed and prevent her from seeing him.


Title: A lawyer from the Republic of Mali claims I am to inherit $2.8 million. Is this real?

Question:
Hello,
First off, I am based in the midwestern United States.
I have received an email from a lawyer from the Republic of Mali claiming to be named Mack David. He says that someone (I shall keep them unnamed for the sake of privacy) and their family passed away in Thailand in 2004 during a tsunami. He is claiming that there is $7million in personal assets that were never claimed by family members (because they had all passed). He says he needs to know my full name, my age, my address, my occupation, my telephone, my email, and my nationality in order to get an "affidavit of oath" from the "Ministry of Justice" in my name. He says the bank will then close the deceased's account and wire me a 40% inheritance of $2.8 million.
I have not given him any personal information, and I have requested that he send me some sort of legal identification proving that he is a lawyer. I am 99.9% sure this is a scam, but he has sent me a document that seems to be his license. Here it is: [https://imgur.com/a/MkNVoPQ](https://imgur.com/a/MkNVoPQ). Is this a legitimate legal document? Does this actually prove that he practices law, or is this a fake license? What do I need to do to protect myself right now?
If wanted, I can post the emails exchanged with any personal information redacted. I just need to be sure I am not being scammed here, and if I am not, I need to make sure I am protected.

&#x200B;

 Thank you all in advance.

Answer: It's the Nigerian Prince scam 2.0.Answer #2: Wow. Well at least you asked!Answer #3: It's a scam. Ignore it.


Title: [NC] - Legally transporting kitchen knives to be sharpened.

Question:
So the other day, I took a couple of my rather high end chefs knives to a local kitchen store to get them professionally sharpened. I do not have any sort of lockable case to carry them in so I wrapped them in a towel and carried them in a backpack. About half way to the store, I started thinking that if I got pulled over and searched, I could be charged with illegally carrying a concealed weapon. Having them in my car, I could simply put them in the trunk which would be fine, but once I exited the vehicle to walk to the store, I would be in violation of the law. After the store finished, they wrapped them in paper and put them in a brown paper bag with the store logo on them, but the law is so broad that even that would qualify as concealed. After thinking about it further, I realized that there appears to be no legal way in NC to carry knives outside of your house. NC does not issue a concealed carry permit, it issues a concealed handgun permit, which only covers handguns.

§ 14-269 does not have any exceptions for a manner of carry such as a locked box or zipped bag. And "concealed about his or her person" seems to include any form of carry by a person. I seem to remember reading something a few weeks back that the phrase was interpreted by the AG to not include bags that were not in the person's physical possession, such as sitting next to them on the ground, but that would mean that you couldn't actually transport them.

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-269.html

Open carry is legal in NC, but openly carrying an 8" chefs knife would be nearly impossible, especially a pair of them. Which only leaves carrying them in your hand. But that potentially runs afoul of the common law offense of Going Armed To The Terror Of The Public...

https://lawofselfdefense.com/statute/going-armed-to-the-terror-of-the-people-nc-common-law-crime/

So, it appears to me that there is no actual legal way of transporting items that have a sharpened edge outside of your home to a place to have them sharpened.

Thoughts?

Answer:
 (b1)      It is a defense to a prosecution under this section that:

(1)        The weapon was not a firearm;

(2)        The defendant was engaged in, or on the way to or from, an activity in which the defendant legitimately used the weapon;

(3)        The defendant possessed the weapon for that legitimate use; and

(4)        The defendant did not use or attempt to use the weapon for an illegal purpose.


Title: obligation to indulge another driver's version of reality? [NV]

Question:
After a stop sign which we both progressed through normally, the driver I was behind drops back beside me and starts screaming out his window that I rear ended him.  Just didn't happen.  Cars never touched.  Didn't even come close, literally no possible cause for thinking that.  Weirdo, I think to myself.  I don't pull over.

He follows me almost all the way to work, swerving behind and in front of me, screaming out his window to pull over, I rear ended him, etc.  I felt threatened enough to turn on my phone's video and put it on the dash.  He did eventually turn off and leave before I got to work.  I parked behind the building just in case.

Later that night a cop shows up to my apartment to tell me there's been a report filed for a hit and run with my license plate specified.  I offered to show him my bumper, told him my car didn't touch this guy's car, he declined and said he already looked at it in the lot.

He asks me why I didn't pull over.  I'm a little floored by this, I think it's really self-evident.  I'm female, there was no accident, this guy was (at best) delusional about reality and (at worst) deliberately trying to get me out of my car on false pretenses.  I told the officer I didn't feel safe doing that and felt I had no obligation since there was definitely no accident.  He advises me to pull over and just give the guy my insurance info next time and 'let them sort it out, that's why you pay for insurance'.

**So here's the question(s).**  Do I have an obligation to sort it out if there's a claim of an accident but definitely no accident?  Also, will the 'hit and run report' reflect negatively on me?  I've had no police run in ever before, not even a ticket of any kind ever.  Is there even actually a report?  Do I get a copy of it if there is?  (I didn't get any papers.)

Answer:
 So, if you get charged with a hit and run (which is probably a misdemeanor, if not a felony), contest it.  The state has to prove there was a hit, beyond a reasonable doubt.  They'll have his word.  You'll have (assuming you have no prior crimes): your word, your pictures, your story to the police from the beginning.  I don't think you get convicted.

Right now, I would call your insurance co and tell them what happened.  That starts your record.  I would then take a ton of pictures in good light, of the front of your car, top and underside of your bumper.   The insurance co might send out someone to take pictures too.

He sues you (I have this exact case, right now! So it does happen).  I bet he goes to a chiropractor.  I bet you made his pre-existing injury worse.  Your insurance co defends you.  The bad news is, he probably gets some nuisance settlement- $5k?  $10k?  Hassle for you to be deposed etc., but no cost to you.

Honestly, I would advise not just peacefully exchanging info.  When you DO stop, they later say "well, why did you stop/ give info if there wasn't an accident?"    If you stop, call the police, and make your record right there.

It seems unlikely that someone would make this up, unless they are starting a fun new insurance fraud scam and want to get some free treatment.


Title: DMV error?

Question: I recently moved states from Callifornia to Oregon. I'm so happy I moved, but, thats not why we're here. While still living in CA, I moved around a bit, and one day after moving I went into the DMV and changed my address, like I always do. Except this time they put the wrong apartment number in. Fast forward - I get a moving violation for "Unsafe speed for current conditions" which was from falling off my Scooter at an intersection because I was inexperienced, not because I was traveling too fast (I was going 10MPH). The ticketing officer who rode a motorcycle specifically told me "I don't want to write you this ticket, I've fallen off my motorcycle so many times and I saw your situation, however, this city doesn't give me the ability to decide to ticket this offense or not. I have to give you this ticket." Now, as far as I know my address is right in the DMV. I never get my license, which is fine because I still have the old one and I shrug it off to being lost in the mail. Fast forward a bit - I never get the ticket. I tell myself - "this cop is so nice he never turned the ticket in!" - I'm an idiot, kind of. Fast forward a bit more, and Oregon is refusing to issue me a state drivers license because my California one is suspended for FTA (no shit). I'm all for paying a ticket that I earned. No problem. But the fine is now doubled and there is a late fee on top and I'm looking at an original fine of $120 and now it's nearing $900. This is because of a DMV clerical error. Not because I am intentionally dodging being a good citizen. Should I get a lawyer? What is a smart move here? I really just want to move on and get California behind me.

Answer:
 You're not going to like the answer. You are responsible for the entire cost because you failed to contact the DMV in a timely manner when you did not receive your license with the new address on it. You had a duty, as a condition of having the privilege to drive, to take necessary steps to ensure the DMV had your correct address.

A reasonable person who did not receive their license after an address change would deduce that either it was lost in the mail or there was a clerical error. Either of these should have prompted further contact with the DMV to resolve the matter. By blowing this off, you took the risk that you wouldn't receive important correspondence which might affect your driving privilege.


Title: (Toronto, ON) My landlord wants me to pay five days rent?

Question:
I posted this already in askTO but I realized this sub might be more what I'm looking for.

So I emailed my landlord on March 6th to end my lease early (my lease says you can end with 60 days notice), and he said I can move out May 5th. I moved out yesterday (April 30th), and I emailed him telling him that he could come by today to inspect the place and return my security deposit. He replied saying he can come on the 4th, and says I will need to pay 5 days of rent until the 5th. This is my first apartment, but I'm pretty sure what he's asking is illegal, plus he never mentioned anything about paying 5 days when he replied in March.

Does anyone know what I can do, and if there's a law that says I don't have to pay 5 days?

Answer:
 > if there's a law that says I don't have to pay 5 days?

The "don't pay for 5 days" law?

I'm not in Canada but the situation sounds reasonable, and legal, to me. You gave him 60 days notice that would extend to May 5th. (Some places in the US would make you pay for all of May, but others allow you to pro-rate.) He doesn't have to inspect on your schedule, he inspected after the 60 days.

If I am incorrect then someone from the friendly north will correct me.Answer #2: In Ontario the requirement is for 60 days notice **from the next rental period**.  So, if you gave notice on March 6th, the 60 days didn't start until April 1st (assuming you paid rent on the 1st of each month), and you technically owed rent through May.  Your landlord has done you a favour letting you out of your lease, and not insisting on full notice.  I think you should pay the 5 extra days.

As someone else has pointed out; security deposits are illegal in Ontario.  A landlord is only allowed to require a deposit of "last month's rent" - which can only be used towards rent, not withheld for damages or cleaning.  Usually what happens is you give notice as you pay your second-to-last month's rent, and then you don't pay rent the following month as it is already paid by your deposit (allowing you to save enough for a deposit at your next apartment).

In the future, it's best to know your rights and responsibilities as a tenant.  You can find good info from [the Landlord Tenant Board](http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/ltb/).


Title: Whos responsible for fire hydrants? One damaged our front lawn after months of calling the city

Question:
A few months ago we noticed the hydrant on our front lawn was leaking slowly, we called the local fire station to report it and no one came. A week or so later we called the police non emergency number and reported it, gave them our address and waited again. No one ever came.

We then started calling the city and had endless run arounds on who exactly to report it to. Weeks and weeks and nothing ever happened. The leak slowly started getting worse. What was a small puddle turned into a constant running of water down the sidewalk and into the street.

We started calling more and more and again no one even knew who to call. The city said call the fire department, the fire department said to call the city. The cops said call both, the leak kept getting worse and worse and eventually was a constant stream of water that started to erode the ground.

After a few months what was a small and reported leak turned into a stream of water that eroded the ground and caused a rock wall near it to fall down, that then started letting the lawn it was holding up to start to slide down a bit also.

My front yard was never anything great but now it looks like a small mud pit covered in rocks. They still haven't come out to fix the hydrant.

I had a friend who's a landscaper look at it and estimated it's $2kish to fix the damage to the lawn and I can possibly talk to my home insurance about it but I don't want to pay a deductable and everything else when there is still a hydrant leaking in my front lawn!

Who's actually responsible for maintaining hydrants in the city? I'm to the point of just going and sitting in someone's office until they send someone out to fix the hydrant.

I live in Universal City, Texas if that changes anything at all. My friend recommended I get an attorney and the moment an attorney contacts the city they will fix it immediately and I can possibly sue for the lawn repair but the right now issue is I need the damn hydrant fixed or shutoff. I'm at the point where I found a place online to buy a hydrant tool to possibly see if tightening things myself can fix it but I don't want to start playing with that or possibly be blamed for tampering with it.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer: Have you tried contacting your local elected representative (councilor/alderman/etc)? They are usually pretty good at sorting this kind of nonsense out.Answer #2: Should be the water dept (am a water employee for a city in Texas).Answer #3: Generally those are maintained by your local water utility.


Title: (GA) Parents won a case, the man refuses to pay up, judge says they can't make him pay or do anything about it

Question:
**EDIT:** My parents updated me that they sued his LLC, not him as an individual. We will find out his bank through ours and garnish his account. If possible, we'll put a lien against the venue. Thank you to everyone who replied! Also, I've learned that I have no clue how our judicial system works.

Original:

Hi LA, I told my parents I'd post here for some advice on how to get their $3,000. Thanks all!

**Relevant:**

My parents won a court case and the guy has since refused to pay. The judge told my parents they have no legal options to actually make him pay up. What can we do?

**Backstory (not sure if this is needed):**

* My mom put a deposit down on a wedding venue for my sister in the amount of $2,500. The actual reserve-the-date deposit was $1,500 but she went ahead and paid the extra $1,000 fee for a larger amount of guests.

* Dad visited the venue and thought it looked crappy and wanted to cancel. He discussed a refund with "Jeff" (co-owner of venue, other owner is his wife) and Jeff said, via email, that they would refund the full amount if they booked another wedding on that date.

* A couple months later he followed up with him and Jeff didn't respond. A few months after that, Mom did some digging and found pictures of a wedding on that date *on his website*. She went to the county office and got a copy of that couple's marriage license.

* They sent a request via certified mail, along with their findings, to refund the full amount. He never picked it up and my parents received the denial receipt. This happened once more and again he didn't pick it up. Somewhere in here my dad attempted to compromise and offered for Jeff to keep $1,000 and return $1,500. He refused.

* They spoke to a lawyer friend who said he'd advise him pro bono since Jeff was such a POS throughout the whole ordeal (left some details out believe it or not). Lawyer called Jeff and through legal mumbo jumbo basically told him to pay the $2,500. Jeff refused.

* Parents filed a lawsuit for $2,500 + legal fees (almost all communication was in writing). Jeff filed a counter-lawsuit (whatever that's called) in the amount of $10,000, which is the full cost of what the wedding would have been. This was a scare tactic that didn't work, imo.

* They went to some sort of pre-court mediation and couldn't come to an agreement.

* Went to court, judge ruled in my parents' favor. He's not paying up.

Answer:
 They need to collect on the judgement then. Bank levy and wage garnishment are the most common methods. A court has no ability to literally make somebody pay a judgement.Answer #2: You should ignore suggestions to do potentially silly and useless things, like trying to attach the defendant's physical property (which can be an expensive process for you and not yield anything useful in return), and you should definitely ignore suggestions to do potentially illegal things, like trying to disrupt the ongoing activities of the business.

The court has procedures to help you collect your judgment, but the judge can't give you legal advice or help you with what you need to do.

You paid the defendant.  How did you pay them?  Did you write a check?  If so, then your bank can tell you what bank your money went to.  Just learn how to garnish the defendant's account at the bank that your money went to.  That's the best and easiest way to get your money back.  If you can't get that to work, then you can look into more creative, time consuming, and costly to you, methods to find and attach assets of the defendant.