Title: Neighbor's Comcast and Verizon wires run across my back yard six feet off the ground

Question:
Wall of text- sorry.

In my neighborhood the electical service is underground and comes through the foundation in the front, along with water and sewer and the gas line.

Telephone and cable TV lines run along the back of our yards. The only time any tree work is done is when a wire comes downor the homeowner shows some initiative.

There is a telephone pole in the corner of my (right) neighbor's yard about three feet from my yard. A few feet further to the right is a large mulberry tree whose branches have grown all over and through the cable and telephone lines, a real rat's nest.

Both a phone line and Comcast cable run from this corner and across my back yard to my (left) neighbor's house.  A recent snow storm resulted in a large mulberry branch breaking and taking down the Comcast line. They did a half-assed repair job, leaving the line intertwined with the mulberry branches and stringing it so close to the ground that I can literally reach up and touch it.

They also used a wooden ladder I had laying on the ground to make the so-called repair. I found said ladder on the side of the road and plan on training an existing grape vine on it- it was not something I considered servicable.  Not content with just using my ladder, they left it leaning on the telephone pole, with the base of the ladder in my yard.

The neighbor to my right is a nice guy. Last summer, he dug a trench and put a PVC conduit in for all the wires that ran to his house.  While he was at it, and with my permission, he buried my phone line too. I have Direct TV so I don't need cable.

Today I trimmed most of the branches entangled with the wires. I have a small business that specializes in residential pruning so it was no big deal at all.

When I saw just how low the cable was and what a shitty job Comcast did, I thought I would give them a call and ask them to come out and square things away.  Their initial response was that they could not generate a work order to do that because I was not a customer- my (left) neighbor had to contact them because the wires ran to her house.

There is still an open work order- perhaps they plan on raising it up.

I told them that not being able to deal directly with me because I wasn't the customer was both ridiculous and unacceptable.

Why should I be forced to bother my neighbor when my issue was with Comcast?

  I got bounced around a few times and finally got to someone who said they could send a supervisor out.

But they really ticked me off, and  now I want that cable and phone line gone. It really does interfere with my life, and it looks like shit. They are welcome to use the underground conduit to get 2/3s of the way there. They are welcome to continue said conduit across my back yard.

I figure they probably do not have an easement for their cable.

They are violating my air space.  I actually made a hot air balloon ten feet tall and thirty feet around. The wires across my yard do not allow me to fly it there.

Said cable is very unsightly and drives down the value of my property.

I figure they should accede to what I consider is a reasonable request.

Any takers?  And thanks

Answer:
 Not a lawyer but generally people here make shitty paint maps of the layout of a property.

It sounds like the lines run toward the rear of your property? Is it a possible utility easement back there? Also were the lines there before you bought he property? How high were they initially? Where is your power located?Answer #2: They need to move the wires, whether or not you have service. The issue you are having is getting someone who understands/cares. That isn't really a legal issue. Sounds like you did get to the right place, someone is coming to check the situation out.

As far as gone, well you are going to have to look into whether or not they have an easement. They likely do, and in which case their only obligation is to make sure their lines are strung properly. Someone is coming to do that, so there isn't much you can do. If you find out they have the lines hung without an easement, you can request they remove them, but you understand they're probably not going to just say okie-dokie. Be prepared for a long expensive fight.

Personally getting them to fix the low hanging lines is the best outcome for your time and effort.


Title: If I have a dash cam and can prove another driver's fault in an accident, can I safely lower my insurance coverage to just liability?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You presume that you would never be at fault, or share fault, in an accident.  That is...arrogant, to say the least.

Dash cams are also not a panacea - there are lots of situations where dashcams won't show the complete situation.  There are also lots of situations where dashcams fail to record, or the recording may be considered inadmissible.

In short, the dashcam itself shouldn't be a major factor in your choice of insurance.


Title: Can I make a change in a signed year long lease? My neighbors don't like my dog and they're trying to have her removed. She's not on the lease but I'd like to add her.

Question:
Hi there I'd love some advice on how to proceed with this issue. I received a call from the realty company I found my apartment through stating that my landlord was going to be calling his lawyer about a second dog living in our apartment that was not on our lease. We called the landlord to ask him what was going on and he said that he personally was okay with our dog, and was not planning on getting a lawyer, he was just dealing with complaints from a law office below us and the restaurant next door to us. Apparently our dog makes the lawyer working below us nervous, and she has previously barked at the 30+ clusters of people outside the restaurant waiting to get a table. We have another dog on the lease and we'd like to add our second one. I was wondering if changing the lease is possible, and if having her on the lease would protect her. He mentioned that because she was not on the lease if any of the complaints came through a formal channel (rather than disgruntled phone calls) my landlord as well as the realty group would receive fines.
I live in Somerville, MA and I really need some help figuring this out. For now it looks like she'll be staying with family of ours, our lease ends at the end of August and I'd prefer not to be without her for that long.

Answer:
 If your lease doesn't allow for a dog, you can't force your landlord to allow you to keep her.

If you and your landlord agree, you can have the dog, and you can change the signed lease.  That's totally voluntary though, and you can't force it.Answer #2: Is there a reason you haven't asked your landlord if you can add the second dog to your lease? Is there a reason you didn't ask your landlord if you could even get a second dog, before you got it, considering you already knew you had to add the first dog to the lease?


Title: Visitation modification

Question:
Throw-away for privacy.  VT.

I have full legal and physical custody, my son's father has visitation rights.  My ex-husband has had extreme political beliefs for a while now (starting a few years after we divorced)--hard core libertarianism mixed with conspiracy theories that are nuts.  When my son brings up something his father has told him I have made a point of gently voicing my own political opinions and trying to help him sort out his feelings around the ideology vs. his relationship with his father.  I have never made disparaging comments about his dad's beliefs because a) my son believes everything his father tells him and I really believed that playing a long game of tolerance and acceptance was key rather than setting up a power struggle and b) I didn't want to put my son in the middle of feeling like he had to choose between parents. The exception to the above has been when his father's rhetoric has caused him emotional distress.  In these cases I would comfort him and then try to talk to his father to explain that he was too young to be worried that the government was going to put tracking devices in vaccines, for example (I shit you not).

My son has come home from visits talking about the reptilians, the illuminati, Rand Paul, Fluoride, anti-vaccination rhetoric, etc. I consulted a lawyer a few years ago who told me--and I knew this was true to some extent--that my ex-husband has the right to parent as he sees fit as long as he's not abusive.  While I get that, I have also been concerned for my son for quite some time and I don't know what to do.

Recently as I've been growing more concerned--my son has taken up learning German, alluding to non-white people going back to their 'original countries', etc-- I started researching his father online and he is a full-blown white supremacist/holocaust denier. I found evidence of him taking my son to a 'white pride rally' and emailing my son praise of nazis. Is this an 'unanticipated change in circumstances' sufficient to request less visitation time and supervised visits?  Will I just spend hundreds of dollars to be told that my ex-husband has the right to parent how he sees fit?  Or could this fall under emotional harm in a child abuse definition?

A few other key points/questions:
The custody order was set about 10 years ago.  We are not following the visitation order, by mutual agreement, because my ex-husband moved to another state was not able to stick to the schedule.  We did not file a modification so the court has no record.  I'm wondering if I can return to the original visitation schedule as it is less time (one mid-week visit that he wouldn't be able to follow and a 24 hour period three weekends per month vs. Friday-Sunday every other weekend and somewhat liberal school holidays)?  Or does the fact that we agreed on the current schedule make the ordered schedule null?

My ex has very limited means and our son does not have his own bedroom.  I'm a little better off financially and take care of my son's need and then some but I still struggle. His father contributes very little financially but I have not pursued it because I didn't want him to make our son feel bad (he often tells him how he struggles financially) and, honestly, the fight was not worth it.

I'm also concerned about my ex-husband going underground (i.e. telling our son that he's being persecuted and to not discuss politics with 'outsiders') in the event that the court simply orders him to not discuss racist political ideology with our son.

Last, and I really can't tell if I'm being paranoid--maybe I'm just rattled after discovering the extent of his white supremacist beliefs--my ex has quite a few guns, is a gun enthusiast and is somewhat paranoid (conspiracy theorist).  I keep worrying that he'll feel persecuted by any change in the court order and come after me or, god forbid, our son.  Even the thought... ugh, I'm just at a loss. Would a court think I was being dramatic if I brought this up?

He's such a good, kind kid and I'm so worried about him.  I'm getting my son a male therapist and have contacted a lawyer.  Thanks for any info that might put my mind at ease/fill in some blanks until I can meet with an attorney.

Summary:  Does a non-custodial parent's racist ideology justify a modification of visitation schedule and/or meet the criteria for emotional abuse?

Answer: How old is your son? Does he come back from dads acting differently?


Title: Possession of child porn...of yourself

Question: For the record this is totally hypothetical lol.  What could be done if you had a private stash of child porn of yourself?  Conversely, what if you sold photos of your younger self?   Ok that is all, this is weird lol

Answer:
 If the images actually constitute child pornography, it is not a defense that you are the child depicted. You could be charged with possession and/or distribution.

Edit: This answer is applicable to all US jurisdictions I am aware of. I am not sure about other countries. Answer #2: You can be both perpetrator and victim, simultaneously, including being charged as an *adult* for the crime of making *child* pornography.

https://lacrossetribune.com/news/sexting-makes-minors-simultaneously-victims-and-perpetrators-of-child-porn/article_8ee303e2-5f39-54b8-823b-ff8cdfc29df6.htmlAnswer #3: If you are in the US you are committing a serious crime and you could be charged.

If you are in Canada this is legal unless you are selling the pictures.


Title: Zombie Medical Debt Sent To Collections

Question:
Ok /r/legaladvice...I've seen similar stories here and on /r/personalfinance before and you all had great tips so I'm hoping you can help me out.  At the start of the recession I found myself in a very bad state financially, essentially I was working 2 full time jobs and barely making enough to pay my rent, utilities, phone and grocery bills. I know it's not the best way to deal with things but I stopped paying any other bills altogether (student loans, credit cards, etc.). Anyway, this destroyed my credit, as you can imagine, and for years I kept working on getting myself to a better state financially so I could start taking care of some of this debt. Over the years several accounts were written off, and a few I took care of by paying a certain amount to get the remaining balance dropped. After several years of this I was finally getting to a point where creditors were offering me cards again, so I got one with a small limit to start repairing my credit, and since then have always made sure to pay my bills on time!
My credit card gives me free credit report (FICO)updates once a week and I have been tracking it religiously...last week I logged in and was slapped in the face with a giant loss of 88 points dropping me from 738 to 650!!! I was flabbergasted, I have been paying all my bills on time and my credit has slowly but steadily been rising since I started working hard to repair it from a measly 558 years ago. Anyway, I looked for more details and found that a collection agency known as Capio Partners in TX had hit my credit report with a "delinquent" account for a "medical bill" in the amount of $351. Now I know for a fact that I have paid every single medical bill that has come my way for at least the last 7 years, the only way this could be recent is if I never received a bill from something that was not covered by my insurance...but I doubt this is the case. I'm assuming this must be from something i don't remember from 8-10 years ago.
Now I have read enough of this types of posts to know that it is never advised to talk to these pepple over the phone, so I'm wondering what steps I should take to:

1.)  Find out who and when the supposed debt is from.
2.)  Have it proven that the debt is legitimate
3.)  Get rid of this debt and/or have the delinquent report removed from my credit report.
4.)  Possibly take legal action if necessary to make this go away.

*If this debt is from the time period I think it is from I would have been living in NY, if it is from the past 2 years it is most likely from CO.

Thanks for any advice you can give, I'm really looking forward to getting this resolved ASAP!
Topic:
Credit Debt Bankruptcy

Answer:
 So you don't recognize the debt?

Contact the debt collector in writing via certified mail and dispute the debt. Keep it simple, 2-3 sentences max. "I am disputing the below-referenced alleged debt. Please validate and provide proof of assignment. It is inconvenient for me to receive phone calls."

If the debt is more than 7 years old, dispute it with the credit reporting agencies and ask that it be removed.

If the debt is legit, when was the last payment or promise to pay made?


Title: I was "rejected" at the border, using AmTrak, without much of a reason and not sure what to do now?

Question:
LOCATION, DESTINATION: Montreal -> New York Penn Station.

So, the plan was to visit my girlfriend for a week. I visited her before, in October (for 5 days), and that round trip went just fine. An hour prior to boarding, for this trip, I didn't feel like staying a week, and I texted my girlfriend telling her I was sad to leave my mother like this for a week and felt it was unfair for her, we argued but in the end I realized that it's okay to be selfish sometimes and that I want to see her more than anything else.

I board the train, and everything's going fine until the border guy starts questioning me. He asks the usual questions, like where I'm going, why, for how long, etcetera. He asks me what I do, I don't currently work or go to school currently, asked me what my girlfriend does and I told her she's home schooled.

There's nothing really unusual that happened but he asked me to go to the front of the train and to bring my luggage because he wanted to question me further, I shrugged and did it. He tells me to take my jacket off in a train that has no power, aka no heater, and I start freezing. He then goes through my luggage, again nothing unusual, just some clothes, enough for a week (although he questions that it wasn't much, even though I had five different outfits, and that if you use the laundry it's perfectly fine, it's not like I needed a different outfit for every single day), some food for the train (a sandwich, some cookies and a few juices), deodorant, condoms, etcetera.

After he's done looking through my luggage, he said that I seemed nervous because I was shaking, I told him "well, maybe I'm shaking because it's late January and I don't have a jacket on in a train that currently doesn't have the heater running". I wasn't stuttering any of my answers, and I was answering every single one of them truthfully and calmly, and for him to just go "well, this is my job and I can tell you're nervous" when I'm clearly not just made me feel like he was trying to find a reason to kick me out.

He asked if I had any pictures of my girlfriend on my phone, I said yes, and showed him a picture from our last visit together, and told him there was more if he wanted to see them cause we took pictures of us together on every single visit we've had. He goes through my gallery, and proceeds to go further down the train to talk to another agent, he was showing him something on my phone, no idea what.

He comes back and says that I'm hiding something, I told him "I'm not", and he says that if I don't tell him what I'm hiding that he's going to send me back home, I just told him "well, I guess you're going to have to send me back home considering I'm not hiding something". He goes back to talk to the other border patrol people.

He went through my texts with my girlfriend, and noticed that she said "Bob will pick me up at 4PM", he asked who Bob was. I told him, it's her personal cab driver, my girlfriend still lives with her mother and neither of them drive, so they have a cab driver to bring them to places when they need to.

He asks "Are they rich. How can they afford a personal cab driver. , I said "No, they aren't rich, and they can afford it because her mother works..He doesn't seem to believe me one bit, but whatever. The other agent, who was shown a picture on my phone earlier, comes up to me and out-right asks "How much do you pay her.

and I tried to keep my cool cause that just felt like an insult, I told him "I don't pay her, I don't know how you guys can't see that we aren't a couple considering how many pictures of us we have together, and considering the amount of texts we've sent to each other". Finally, they ask me, "So are you going to say the truth yet?"

I was fed up at this point and just said "If I say the truth, will you let me stay on the train?", they said yes, so I responded "Cool, then I guess I'm staying on the train" because I did nothing but tell them the truth, they told me to get up, looked to make sure I didn't have weapons, and took me out of the train and drove me to some place to take finger prints scans and pictures.

When I was there, one agent told me that he thought I would immigrate and I told him, why would you think I'm immigrating when you read my texts and saw that I felt bad leaving my mother for a week and how I showed a lot of frustration and anger in my text to my girlfriend prior to when the train was ready to board.

I even told my girlfriend that I was probably going to leave two days earlier in a text cause I felt a week was too much. They didn't even really answer and quite frankly, it just felt like they were bias against me and they didn't even know me because I did nothing but say the truth to them, and I countered every single thing that they said with valid logic and they didn't want any of it.

Whatever, they drove me to the border and told me to wait for a bus that would bring me to Montreal and that it would arrive "in a few hours", I gave up waiting after 30 minutes and just called my mother to drive an hour and 30 minutes drive to come pick me up, I felt lost and in the middle of no where without any clue of what happened and no one to really question.

My mother arrived, I didn't see anything resembling a bus for the entire 2 hours I was sitting there, and now I'm back home, instead of being with my girlfriend. I don't feel like I did anything wrong, I did nothing but say the truth, I feel like I got screwed out of the one thing I wanted the most, and I don't even know what to think any more.

I don't know if they put my name on some kind of list, or blacklisted me, and I don't know why I got rejected. I don't buy the "I thought you would immigrate" thing cause everything they saw pointed against it unless they think I can see the future and fabricated those texts knowing that they'd question me further there's no way that they can think I'd immigrate in that situation.

I just want to know why I was rejected, and if I even have any chance of using AmTrak services in the future, and potentially other services.

TL;DR: Rejected at Border using AmTrak without reason, was fingerprinted and photographed, what does this mean for me when using AmTrak and other transportation services in the future?

Answer: Border agents can reject entry for almost any reason. They don't have to be nice about it. Answer #2: Are you an American citizen?


Title: Laws against discussing wages.

Question:
An employer recently put up a sign stating "Under no circumstances should you be discussing wages with another employee, it is against the law." I was wondering if there is any actual legal backing to that. I know the NLRA protects that right, so I was just wondering what could be done about it.

Location is Iowa, if any state laws would apply

Answer:
 It's unenforceable, so long as the NLRA applies to you. Ignore it. If they punish anybody for talking about wages, go straight to the NLRB.

You could contact the NLRB about this now if you like. They might smack your employer upside the head preemptively.


Title: Hypothetical question- Can Wal-Mart legally stop me and verify my purchases via looking at my receipt and going through my bags?

Question:
 I'm no fan of Wal-Mart, and would love to take all of my business elsewhere, but seeing as how I live in a small town, it's unfortunately one of the few places that there is to shop for several key household items. That being said...

Recently, our local store has recently posted a "Check your receipt" person at the door. They ask for your receipt, then they rummage through your purchases and mark them off as verified. Now I'm aware that, at places like Costco and Sam's, this is part and parcel of their membership contract. Wal-Mart has no such contract, is not a private shopping club, and is open to the general public. I'd rather not be stopped and harangued, or unreasonably searched by any entity or person if at all possible. I guess I just don't want the checker to see my extra small condoms and very small, sad amount of lube, or whatever. Without a reasonable suspicion of theft, do they have any right to stop and demand to search a person's bags? Can a person just keep walking past them and refuse the search? Would there be legal ramifications of such an action?

Answer: I’m from Milwaukee, and when I lived there I honestly witnessed (VERY FREQUENTLY) black people as well as Latinos being singled out to show their receipt and be searched, while others such as myself (I am a very petite, young white woman) didn’t even get a second glance from those employees. I live in Cali now and all of those employees seem to check everyone’s receipt so I have to every time. But when I lived in Milwaukee, I’d go out of my way to stop and show them my receipt (since I saw them check other people’s, although they were people of color), and they’d literally just wave me off with a smile and not even check it... EVERY single time.


Title: Family member in ICU due to suicide, claiming rape

Question:
Whew, okay, here it goes. I got a call from a parent of mine saying one of their grandkids tried to commit suicide. Said grandkid implicated a kid he is friends with as his rapist. Said grandkid is a child of my own molester. Said molester made a point to spend over $1000 just to see him while on vacation with grandparents, just for one day. Vacation was less than a week ago and said grandkid is in ICU, attempting suicide (third time). I am a close relative, should I contact police? What are my rights to take custody?
Topic:
CPS and Dependency Law

Answer: You could pass suspicions on to CPS but I think your hands are pretty tied here, sorry.


Title: (LA). Is it illegal to eavesdrop on a private conversation between a person and their doctor?

Question: Today I was at my doctors office discussing an issue I was having. When I got home, I noticed emails had arrived in my inbox offering cures for said issue at the exact same time as I was in the doctors office discussing this with her. Now I know this happens all the time when I am discussing a product with someone then suddenly get a ton of targeted ads for the thing. But I feel like this technology is crossing the line when they are listening in to private conversations between a doctor and a patient. Any thoughts as to the legality of such an issue? Thanks.

Answer:
 >But I feel like this technology is crossing the line when they are listening in to private conversations between a doctor and a patient.

None of your devices are listening to conversations.  That they are is a very common belief, but one that has no evidence to back it up (and believe me, tech-savvy people would have figured out that their devices were sending conversation data to advertisers long ago if it were actually happening).   The reality is more mundane, and also a bit scarier.  Advertisers use very advanced tracking of people's Internet browsing and search habits, and combine information from all the people they're tracking along with known relationships between people to figure out how to target ads.

For instance, when you're discussing a product with someone and start getting targeted ads, it because advertisers know that either you were searching the Internet for that product, or, even creepier, they know that the *other* person was searching for that product, and that the other person is related to you somehow, and potentially even that the two of you were together in the same location based on being on the same WiFi network, so *their* searches influenced the ads that *you* saw.

In the case of your doctor visit, you had probably googled the issue that you were having at some point, and advertisers picked up on that and started serving you ads and sending spam emails relevant to your previous search history.  No eavesdropping required.

****

To answer your legal question, yes, eavesdropping on private conversations without the consent of anyone involved in the conversation would be illegal.  That's why advertisers don't do that.


Title: Is it illegal for a retailer to inflate prices during a sale and sell their stock for their normal retail price?

Question:
There is a retail store near me going out of business and they're selling everything at about 40% off. I went in to check what they had and I found, for example, a tea kettle. The kettle was marked as 58 dollars, but was 40% off, so with the discount, it was actually 30-something dollars total. However, when I looked up the kettle online, the regular price for that exact kettle was the same price as the store had it. Is this like, okay? I mean it's a dick move, but is it legal?
Topic:
Douche

Answer: Yes. This has been going on for decades.


Title: [Florida] Mom ended up buying house with ex-boyfriend, now he has a restraining order.

Question:
Hi Reddit,

**Just a warning, this is a long post**. I just need some advice on how to help my mother with this extremely messy situation she got herself into. I believe some of these issues have to be dealt with separately in court but I'm not sure how the system works in Florida since I live in Texas.

&nbsp;

**So here's the details:** My mother ended up moving to Florida for a while and bought a house with her now ex-boyfriend. While they were living together he ended up financing a car for her, under his name only.

&nbsp;

**And here are the issues:**

**First** - They're both wanting to sell the house. Or at least to everyone's knowledge. She either wants to be bought out of the agreement, or they sell the house at property value. He wants to overprice the house and sell it at 100K more than the actual property value. Which, obviously no one would buy it for that much.

**Second** - They did not get along and eventually split. They've had to call the cops a few times when they argue, and the cops informed them they needed to stop living together. He didn't want to move out of the house so she took the initiative and moved out to Texas.

So, now that she does not live in the house, she stopped giving her ex-boyfriend money for the mortgage. For a few months right after she had moved out, he would call/text her demanding her to pay half of the mortgage. She refused to pay because she was no longer living at the home. Because of that, her ex boyfriend has filed a restraining order against her (which he filed after she left, and was already in Texas for a few months).

She had to go to court for the restraining order case last month (which still hasn't reached a verdict and the next court date is set for the end of January). While she was there, she tried to retrieve some of her items from the house, only to be greeted by police at the residence. They informed her that she could not enter the house and take any of her personal items from the home due to the case still being open.

Just to note, she is making me messenger to talk to her ex-boyfriend for her as she is afraid she will make a bad case against her if she contacts him directly.

**Third** - The car. He let her take the car. It is solely in his name, but she has still been making payments. He pays for nothing on it. Now, just this month, he claimed he moved last months car payment to this month to prevent her from accruing any late payments. I have a text to prove that's what he said, as she makes me the irritated middle man. So today she told me she tried to make the payment today, and the finance company told her that they cannot accept her payment anymore, and she has to talk to her ex about making the payment. They also asked her to provide information on her new address and place of work. My guess is he informed them that he wants them to pick up the car, so I wouldn't be surprised if they repo it soon.

&nbsp;

And that's all. I don't know what to tell my mom. She's not originally from America, but she is now a legal citizen. She just kind of listens to what everyone tells her even if it's horse shit. She tried to call a lawyer while in Florida and they were trying to get her to pay 3k over the phone for a consultation. She's very gullible, but luckily she did not pay and now thinks all lawyers will charge her for consultation so she just gave up on hunting for one. I want to help her and not let her ex try to fuck her over, but I'm not sure how to deal with this. If you've gotten this far in the post, thank you for taking the time to read this. Any and all advice is appreciated.

&nbsp;

TLDR; Mom bought a house. Made a huge mistake. Moved out. Now in the process of getting a restraining order against her.

P.S. Please excuse my formatting. I'm a comment pleb.

Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 > Just to note, she is making me messenger to talk to her ex-boyfriend for her as she is afraid she will make a bad case against her if she contacts him directly.

If he has a restraining order out against her, this is absolutely a no-no, she will violate the restraining order by having a third party (in this case you) contact the protected party. She needs an attorney, badly.


Title: [CA] Ex girlfriend contacted my employer, telling them personal details. Has also put up posts online pretty directly threatening me, and has gained access to accounts without my permission.

Question:
So, this is a bit of a two-pronged question. On one hand I am curious if there's any legal grounds to get a lawyer against my ex. On the other I am curious if how my employer is handling the situation is appropriate. However, I doubt it's illegal as we have a team of lawyers making sure they don't do anything stupid.

Not sure where to begin, but I'll just list incidences in chronological order:

* Ex and I were in a very emotionally abusive relationship for 2 years, and as of a month or so ago it has been dying a slow, painful death.
* She has posted a few emotionally charged things online directed at me. Sometimes very indirectly, sometimes hardly veiled. The worst of these was a tumblr text post. She basically talks about how she has the capability to ruin my reputation with everyone I know and my job.
* She starts going to my office with people she knows. Also people she has just met and is suddenly hanging out with a lot at my work. She will post photos of it, and them online publicly. She never did this before we began to part ways.
* After a vacation, I attempted to go to her house to talk. She had given me a code to her house to get in, and I told her if she doesn't want me there to remove it. This particular night, it worked. I went in and she wasn't home. I tried to contact her with no luck. Saw a plush that a co-worker had given her. I got emotional about it and hid it in her closet. I forget if it was later that night or a following day, but she then proceeded to come to my home. I immediately walked outside and locked my door as she has come inside and refused to leave in the past, starting scenes and shouting with my roommates present. Anyway, this night she started to shout at me in my apartment complex. I kept my composure and walked outside. However, after getting down the block a bit I turned around and she was no longer there. When I went back to my apartment, the door was still locked, but I then found her in my room with the door locked. She either got in through my window, or had made a copy of my keys at some point without my knowledge. I have had the locks changed as a precaution. She wouldn't let me in my room, so I had to find a way to get in. Once I did I found her messing with cables behind my computer, so I went down to see what was going on. My phone fell out of my jacket pocket, she grabbed it and ran to her car and locked herself in it. She then got into my phone which was fingerprint locked with a backup password. Somehow she knew my password, which I had also never given her. She proceeded to send a personal conversation between her and I to 6+ people on my Facebook, and deleted posts of us from my social media accounts. Some of these people I work with, some were just friends. At some point during all this she accused me of stealing her plush. I told her it was at her house and said I can tell her or show her where it is, and calmly asked to talk. After refusing my offer for a while, I just outright told her where it was. She told me I was lying, and proceeded to go through my things. Eventually, after at least 30 minutes of having my phone, she gave it back to me and left.
* About a week and a half went by. She had called me one weekend, and I ignored her calls. About a week after, I caved and called her, which was a mistake. I wanted to give her a chance to talk if she had anything to say. The conversation slowly turned vicious, and I said goodbye.
* Not sure when this happened, but she called HR at my job sometime during the past week. I had a meeting with them this past Thursday. She claims she was calling them so I would stop contacting her. She told them I had used privileges at my work against her. She also claimed I had tried to use my job as leverage to flirt with women. The closest I would consider that as being true is that I will tell people where I work. I am proud of what I do and where I work. No idea how that is something my job can use against me. The entire meeting felt like an interrogation. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have said anything, but I was trying to be helpful and clear up this mess, as it feels like she is just haunting me and constantly escalating things to try and destroy me and my career.
* Tonight, my ex visited my job to hang out with friends. She posted up a photo online publicly saying she was there, having a beer tasting in my office with friends, and in the photo was a sheet to take notes about beer. One of the beer's had my name in it and you can clearly read in the notes, "Fuck choonaholic! This beer is the worst!" This is days after she called HR at my company saying she doesn't want me to contact her. They apparently informed her of the visitation policy, which she had broken unknowingly already, but said they did not want to have to ban her unless necessary because of the uncomfortable tension it would create with her and other employees.

So, I'll leave it at that for now. I would really appreciate any and all advice. I'm going to poke around in the sidebar and wiki for resources on finding local lawyers, but if anyone has any advice please let me know. Happy to answer any questions in the comments. Thank you all for your time and help.

Answer:
 No legal advice, just life advice. End all contact. No calls, no texts, no Facebook, and definitely DO NOT ENTER HER HOME. You're perpetuating this situation as much as she is. Move on.

Edit: grammar


Title: What will happen to my or my SO's stuff when one of us dies???

Question: I'm not sure this is the right sub but I'm pretty sure you awesome people can help me out. So basically like the title says, here's a little backstory. My SO and myself have been together for several years. A pretty long time actually. Neither of us are big on the idea of marriage. We like how things are and see no need to change anything. (I'm sure there are a million opinion as to why this is a bad idea but let's not get into those, it works for us.) We share a house together that he is purchasing. It's completely in his name only as we've discussed I don't have the credit to finance and if we split I couldn't afford payment on my own and he could. He has a life insurance policy that pays off the remainder of the house if something were to unfortunately happen to him. I'm beneficiary of that policy. He is under the assumption that if he were to pass, the insurance would pay off the house and then it would be mine free and clear. I'm under the understanding that is not the case. The house would be paid but with no will and us not being married the house would not become mine. Which of us is correct? Would a simple will give me the house in the event something happened to him? Hopefully none of this will matter for a very long time. I just hate to put so much money and effort into a house just to lose it one day because we didn't know any better. ( and again I understand I could lose it anyway if we break up and he kicks me out but I don't see that happening and if it did I'd be ok with it because as I said I can't afford the mortgage and all the bills alone anyway.) Thanks for any advise.

Answer:
 > We share a house together that he is purchasing.

You share nothing. You live rent free in his home.

> The house would be paid but with no will and us not being married the house would not become mine. Which of us is correct?

You are correct. He dies with no will, house goes to his heirs, you will never be one of his heirs without will, marriage, some other marriage.


Title: Old landlord arrested for 2xKidnapping and Assulting a peace officer, now his MOM is contacting me, 5 months later

Question:
Moved to Austin, TX in December 2017. Found a place to rent on Craigslist from a guy [28M]. I'm 35M. We're both "computer nerds" so we got along straight away. I thought he was chill... Until, mid-February, when I found out he was arrested for two counts of kidnapping and assaulting a peace officer. I moved out of the place shortly after I found this out. He is still in jail to this day, and his mom has access to all of his online accounts. Now his mom is texting, calling, and emailing me about the living situation at his place. As far as he has told me... He and his mom don't get along. ... As far as I know, I don't give a fuck about this asshole, and I don't want anything to do with him or his mom... Do I just ignore her requests for contact? Or, should I say something to the effect of "leave me alone"?...

This dude is fucking INSANE as far as I can tell, and I don't need to get anymore involved in his bullshit... Specially since I moved out 5 months ago. I don't have any responsibility to him OR his mom about anything. How do I tell her to fuck off and leave me out of this drama. Just ignore it?

Answer: I'd send a clear message, probably best by email so you have a reliable paper trail. Simply say what you've said here. You have no contact with him and have washed your hands of the situation 5 months ago. Further attempts at contact from her will be viewed as harassment and be dealt with through the appropriate legal channels. Answer #2: Did you have a signed lease with this landlord? Was it month to month, or a fixed term of 12 months? Did you negotiate a termination of the lease if it was a fixed term?


Title: Friend's mother died and left behind all her possessions. Stepfather is trying to cut and run with money friend is entitled to. Nobody knows what to do. Any help is appreciated!

Question:
Hi everyone,

I'm posting on here for a friend (Jane) who isn't sure what to do here. She's a 21 year old student, and everyone involved is a California resident. I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, and if not, I would appreciate some redirection.

Jane's mom died a few months ago (fairly young) without leaving a will, and this has caused some issues. The end result is that Jane believes she is entitled to some money her mother had sitting in an account, though my friend's stepfather (John) is trying to take as many possessions + money of Jane's mother.
Here's the background:

Jane's parents have been divorced for about a decade. As part of the proceedings, Jane's mother was entitled to a portion of Jane's father's retirement fund. Instead of letting mother dip in periodically over time, he paid a lump sum over to her all at once about five or six years ago. (This was apparently a big deal in the family because mother then went out a bought a ton of new furniture, a new car...a lot of things with this money.) There is currently about $20k left of that fund sitting in an account with Jane's mom's name on it.

Because mom didn't have a will, apparently all of her possessions are now legally going to her husband (Jane's stepfather, John). While he did let Jane and her sister take some things that were in their rooms at their mother's house as well as some jewelry and pictures, when it came to just about everything else, he is steadfast that he is retaining it. This includes numerous items that were bought with the retirement fund in question on top of family heirlooms and even a locked briefcase that is generating a lot of interest from both parties.

Now here's where (I think) things get interesting. John is apparently in quite a bit of debt from missed child support payments. He has admitted to already trying to sell all the furniture in the house he and his late wife shared, and in a couple of weeks he will be moving to Minnesota to live with his sister for a while.

Jane and her sister believe they are entitled to $5k each ($10k total) of that $20k fund, though there is question about how willing John will be to give that up -- The sentiment is that he is trying to get as much money out of this as possible to pay off his debts. As far as why Jane and her sister are entitled, the idea came up because a lawyer told Jane's father that because the fund was between Jane's father and mother, prior to John coming into the picture, the dependents are entitled to half of the funds.

I'm trying to get in touch with Jane right now for the details on this, but she did mention something about her mother having incomplete paperwork that outlined where she was going to leave a few things. Not sure if that helps.

I recommended to Jane that she and her sister contact John asap and ask if they can sit and talk about what mom left behind (especially since he's about to leave the state for a while). In the mean time, they're looking around for lawyers who specialize in this (preferably near LA or Santa Clara/San Jose) who can give them advice or represent them.

They would like to know if there are proper/recommended channels to go through for situations like this, how they should proceed, if they have legal recourse with this money and/or other possessions left by mom, and anything else that would be helpful to know here.

We all really appreciate it!

Answer:
 No will = intestate succession.

Google:  [your state] intestate succession

This will let you see what the laws are.  In CA, spouse takes % and kids take %--the laws say how much for each.

But the creditors take first from the estate, unless property is held jointly with rights of survivorship, as u/dirvine_r said.  Upon the death of one, it is immediately owned by the survivors.

About creditors demanding money:  The deceased signed the contract, the deceased owes the debt; the estate pays the debt.  Creditors get paid from the estate.  If the estate has no money or assets, creditor lose.  You didn't sign the contract, you don't owe.  NEVER let a creditor of a deceased person tell YOU to pay a debt with YOUR money.  It's not a matter of pride, it's attempting to manipulate you into paying a debt you are not legally obligated to pay.


Title: Eating disorder, imprisonment, thievery, being starved at home, and. Plenty of other crazy behavior...

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You have a dual diagnosis, meaning you have both mental illness and drug abuse problems. This is very common.

Ideally, you would seek treatment for both.  You are likely to end up in prison where mental health care is almost non-existent if you aren't careful.

I doubt there is any legal claim you can bring against your mother.Answer #2: You are in California.

You should have access to mental health treatment.

You need help.  Serious, professional help.  Please get some.Answer #3: You seem like a terrible human being.


Title: Friend caught in school on LSD. Probable cause question.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Life pro-tip #1: If you're a drug dealer, don't make deals through texts.

Life pro-tip #2: If you're a drug dealer and your buyer got busted, stop trying to communicate with that buyer.

Life pro-tip #3: Don't be a drug dealer.


Title: What to expect from a sexual assault trial?

Question:
I have no idea if I’ll go through with reporting my sexual assault or not, I’m just looking for more information on what to expect if I did.

Aside from reliving the assault and facing my attacker, what other things should I be worried about? I hear defense lawyers will do anything and everything and question “how drunk I was” or “what I was wearing” or other offensive things. But anything else I should expect that people don’t often talk about? Will they go through my private things to try to defame my character? Dig up my past? I don’t really have a shady past, but who knows what they’ll try to do or how they’ll try to twist things. I mean, everyone’s got things they’re not proud of. Are they going to try to use this against me?

I’m on the fence about it all, but really feel as though a trial would be traumatizing and a lot of work and just honestly make things worse. I guess I just want to have an idea of what to expect and anything to watch out for. Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer:
 In the US, some 90% of criminal charges are resolved without trial. So even if you report your sexual assault, chances are you won't see an actual trial. That doesn't mean it can't be retraumatizing--you'll still have to talk to the police about what happened, for example.

RAINN and other organizations that help survivors of assault and abuse will probably be your best resource for understanding the process and what to expect. What to expect also varies a bit depending on where you are located. If you provide your country/state, you might get more tailored answers.


Title: Pregnant woman fell in my yard, do I have anything to worry about?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer: You very well may. Contact your home owner's insurance.


Title: [Louisiana] Employer refusing to give a copy of a questionable document I signed. / can employer fine someone for poor work?

Question:
A friend of mine has a berry strict and controlling boss/owner (nice guy, but has issues). Some of the people working their aren't pulling their weight and they have been having a lot of issues.

So boss/owner decides that he is going to fine people that produce poor quality work and a bunch of other small issues. He drew up a contract with the rules and everything and made everyone sign it. Now he won't give them a copy of the signed document.

Is any of this even legal? Can he fine them for poor quality work even though it's not their fault? He doesn't offer any additional training or information to improve their work.

Can he keep the only signed document that they will etc penalized and fined for? It sounds really fishy to me.

He also doesn't pay him overtime. He's on salary making about $35k and does extra work online on Fridays, every Friday. Even when he goes on vacation he still has to do it.

Thanks

Answer:
 A deduction from pay for poor work quality would not be legal even with the employee's permission.  So it doesn't matter what he signed. Legally that cannot be deducted from his pay check.

http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2006/7/83949.html


Title: (California) Roommate is moving out, property management says it's up to me to give him his deposit back and I have 21 days to do so... is this legal?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Who is on the master lease (even though it's a month-to-month lease)? If Bruce signed a rental agreement and/or lease with the property management company then they are his landlord. If he made an agreement with you then you are his landlord.


Title: I'm a machinist that runs multiple machines at my job. A worker from the weekend shift cut himself and bled all over in the water tank that I have to reach my hands into. I wasn't told until halfway through my shift what happened and now I'm freaking out and don't know what I should do.

Question: The machine I run is a wire EDM. Which means it has a brass wire that cuts the parts in a tank of water. The machine uses a lot of filters to keep the water clean but when they start to go bad the water gets darker. When I came in for my shift on Monday the previous operator didn't tell me that the guy on the weekend shift had cut himself in the machine or anything. He only told me that he didn't run that machine at all. So I ran the machine because I didn't know anything was wrong with it until another worker came up and told me about what had happened. They told me that the guy cut himself really bad and there was a lot of blood in the machine. He had to go get 7 stitches. The water was really dark like filters hadn't been changed which made me realize that no one did anything to clean the machine and the note that was on the machine saying not to run it had been taken off. Now I'm freaking out and don't know what to do.

Answer:
 No one's gonna say it? Go to the doctor!!
No internet peeps can tell you what you are or aren't infected with.


Title: Neighbor threatens to sue me for his smashed windows.

Question:
Location: California.

Ok, here is the deal. We live in an appt complex and each tenant has 2 assigned spots. The location of our apartment allows us to park our cars near the front door, it has this paved area that isn't really a parking but we park here without parking in designated area. This allows for having cars right under out noses and just convenient overall. So normally we don't use the assigned marked sports by the gates. However when we need to use the spot we owe it is always taken by this contractor guy and his trucks. We told him several times that he may use one of the spots no problem, but taking up all two is just too much. Recently he got into an argument with us after we told him to move both cars, we had guests over and needed to move our cars out of the front yard for guests to park. He did move his trucks that night but it was a major shitstrom. Remember those are our spots we pay for, just that he used them for a long time he assumed(?) it was his. So, here is what happened. Last night someone smashed his work trucks windows, all 4, windshield, sides and back. He is accusing us and threatens to sue. He has no proof that we did it, other then the fact that we had an argument. We didn't do it and didn't tell anyone to do it, it just came to us as a shock when he called us today, we thought it was a parking argument 2.0, but he seems serious. What can I tell him to get him off my back. Since it happened at night neither of us has an alibi since we can't say we were at work, we were home sleeping.

Answer: You say that you didn't do it then you stop talking to him. If he sues then you deal with that. But I doubt he will.


Title: What are the limits of self defence against home invasion?

Question: In what circumstances would it be not illegal to rig your house with remote controlled shotguns/flamethrowers/explosives, if any?

Answer: It’s pretty much always illegal to rig booby traps.


Title: Is this a good Demand Letter to initiate a Small Claims case?? ([29M] suing [29F] ex-gf) for $5k

Question:
Hi, for the background, please check my original post.
[How to Safely Sue Someone While Being Extorted [CA]?]https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3lzm63/how_to_safely_sue_someone_while_being_extorted_ca/

Here's a Demand Letter I've drafted from my county's web based form generator. It's mostly for legal formatting but I'm also aware I can hire an attorney to draft & serve one for me to the tune of about $500-$600, which I'm obviously trying to save because I'm suing someone for $5k I believe they stole (and then extorted me for... a measly sum for the consequences of that misconduct - especially since she's an ATTORNEY!) She leaves the country again (I don't know where to, but she could be going on a long trip to New Zealand she mentioned before we broke up; she's a spoiled brat and can just luxuriously take a break in life when she wants.)
______**Thanks in advance for reading this :)**____________
___________________________________________________
Please be advised that you owe me the sum of $5,000.00 because a mutual understanding was agreed upon and confirmed in writing that you clearly violated in making several purchases totaling $5,000. Roughly speaking, $3100 for relocating back to Atlanta, which I did not say, or confirm in writing, along with $600 for your windshield, and $700 for a flight to London. I cannot understand how you expect me to be responsible for this, and other costs dating back to 7/31/15 which I made clear you were not allowed. In addition to these costs, you communicated to me that you were prepared to release slanderous private (medical) information about me to my company that would jeopardize my reputation and career. I am left no other choice than to consider this extortion for the money you spent on my credit card. If you do not make this simple and wise decision to repay me immediately, I will also be left no other choice than to report you to the authorities in order to correct your unethical, illegal misconduct.

This will be your only chance to settle this matter before I file suit against you in Small Claims Court. I am agreeable to a lump sum payment, or to a payment plan. Please contact me on or before October 3, 2015 for purposes of settling this matter [*I presumed 2 weeks is fair notice*]. If I do not hear from you on or before October 3, 2015, I will file a lawsuit against you without further notice. It is in your best interest to settle this matter before a lawsuit is filed. If a judgment is obtained against you, it will negatively affect your ability to get credit, you will be ordered to pay court costs, and you will incur interest at a rate of 10% per annum.

Based on the foregoing, I expect payment in the amount of $5,000.00 made payable to me,__(first) __(last name)__ CA, 91XYZ no later than October 3, 2015. (I can be reached at the address below.) If you decide to ignore this demand for payment, I will further pursue all of its legal remedies without further notice to you. This letter serves as evidence that I have attempted to resolve this matter informally.

Answer:
 Way too wordy, confusing, and emotional.  Take out everything but the essentials.

The essentials are:

* You owe me this amount for these things, which you promised to pay back
* You haven't paid me back
* You have until such-and-such date to pay me back
* Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to sue you

If it's more than a paragraph, it's too long.

Also, threatening to report someone to the police in order to get them to pay you money owed is extortion in California.  It's in your best interest to leave that part out.


Title: neighbor wants to trim my apple tree

Question: i arranged for apple tree trim this winter so the tree doesn’t die or get diseased (what i’m told)...the neighbor up the street wants to trim our tree to give his 30ft camper trailer a clearance. is there anything he can do to force this? i don’t want to do it now so we don’t have a problem in the future with this healthy tree but it doesn’t sit low. just a branch is hanging and doesn’t hit any other car. he has other ways up our street and the house across from ours he did trim already so it would be easy. i don’t know if he will go to the city? thank you

Answer: You didn't provide a location but generally speaking he is permitted to trim any branches that go over his property line.


Title: Can I vaccinate if other parent disagrees?

Question:
Child will be starting school next year. We want to vaccinate, she doesn't.  Got her to agree on the condition we space them out. Okay. Fine. We start the shots. An entire month after his last shot, after he goes back to her house, he got a rash on his stomach (it was gone two days later.)

She is insisting it is the vaccines, and now refusing to agree to him getting more. She will not take him to the doctor for the rash to find out what ACTUALLY caused it. And is now sending me exemption forms. Which I will not sign. I have scheduled him to see a dermatologist about his rash. But he needs to continue on his vaccinations since he is so far behind.

Tl;DR Parenting plan says we are 50/50 on medical decisions. She agreed initially but now rescinded, claiming a random skin rash a month later  is related to his immunizations. She will not take him to the doctor or agree to a second opinion because she knows that isn't the reason, she just wants to cost me money by pushing me into mediation. Can i continue immunizing with her agreement? I dont agree to not do it, so where do we fall on the 50/50 line? We have two other children in the home. Including an infant that will be at risk as a result of this

Answer:
 You may have to go back to court on this issue.
 Be sure you document her refusal to have him seen for the rash, as that will add context for the judge on the necessity for you to be able to make necessary medical decisions in the best interest of your child.Answer #2: If you and the child's mother cannot agree on medical decisions then split authority on medical decisions is not working.Answer #3: You don’t want to be in the position of making a unilateral decision that the other parent objects to when you have joint medical decision making.

You need to go to court and request either that you be given sole decision making authority on this issue or that the court order that the child be vaccinated. In my state, under current case law, a judge cannot make a decision for the child when the parents disagree. The judge may choose which parent makes the decision.


Title: If a silent alarm goes off in your home, and police come. Are they aloud to enter your house with out consent?

Question: Specifically in the state of georgia.

Answer: If they find an open or insecure door, yes. It falls under the doctrine of "exigent circumstances."


Title: Hit a suitcase in the road, caused $3,000 in damages, found owner who doesn't want to provide his insurance or help

Question:
Last week I was heading over to my parents house to do my taxes. It was dark outside and there was a curb to my left, and a car to my right. Before I knew it there was a HUGE suitcase laying in the middle of my lane and I had no where to go, and braking did nothing  for me. I had no choice but to hit the luggage. I had to get my car towed and it caused $1,900 in parts and then about another fair amount in labor.

Luckily I have full coverage, but no rental coverage so I had to pay the rental out of pocket. My deductible is $500.

After I pulled over I immediately ripped apart the suitcase after yanking forever to get it un-lodged from the bottom of my car and looked for ANYTHING I could trace down the owner to. The tow truck was on the way, as well as an officer so I could file a report. I was able to find a Verizon Jetpack. Long story short Verizon contacted the owner of that device, and told the owner I had found their stuff, and to call me if they wanted it back. Sure enough, the guy calls me and we set up to meet at my house for him to get his stuff. I recorded the conversation with my phone.

Well the guy shows up in a white truck (which I got the make, model and plates from) and I explain the situation. I am videotaping the whole thing and I have the whole incident on video which I have submitted to GEICO to review as well. The guy basically says it's not my fault and he isn't giving me his information. He said he doesn't have and ID nor any insurance but yet he's driving a brand new truck. These guys are being total pricks and are your typical mid 20's douche. They kept saying things like "well you should have looked where you were going thats why you have headlights." or "so if I lay in the road and you hit me its your fault because you always yield to pedestrians" These guys had my blood boiling, but I was trying to handle the whole situation like men, hoping the guy would come around. (AGAIN, I HAVE THIS ALL ON VIDEO, FACES INCLUDED). I let them get their shit and leave but I do not want this to end there. They are costing me the $500 deductible and the rental which is about $300.

Side Notes:

-The police would not file a report, only an incident.

-GEICO has pretty much said tough luck, we'll try. I've done ALL the legwork for these bastard (screw geico BTW)

-I have the guys full name, vehicle, phone number, wifes name, facebook page, video of him admitting that it's his luggage, his jetpack, no insurance, no id, as well as him leaving with his belongings.

Does this sound like something I can take this guy to small claims court for? And if so, can anyone with experience chime in and let me know how it works? I am located in Dallas/Ft Worth

If you have any questions, please ask.

Answer:
 basically, the suitcase is "road debris"

http://www.all-about-car-accidents.com/resources/auto-accident/after-car-accident/who-is-responsible-road-debris

http://www.zacharlawblog.com/2013/05/road-debris-and-liability-what-happens-if-it-causes-you-injury.html

http://www.amtinjurylaw.com/auto-accident/roadway-debris-1688/

http://www.usroads.com/journals/rilj/9907/ri990703.htm

so if you want to go after him, you will need a lawyer.  or try in small claims court.  it is not automatically a win for you even though he's responsible.  Answer #2: The rule in Texas is that if you are 51% or more at fault, you cannot recover. I don't know if you can prove that this guy was majority at fault to be honest.

Is he partially responsible? Yes, absolutely, I agree with you there. How long had the bag been in the roadway? If you didn't see it fall off his vehicle into your path, you might not be able to prove he was at fault enough to recover. This is the classic claims adjuster question, but what if it had been a person in the road that you hit? Just because they shouldn't have been there doesn't mean you didn't have some duty to look out ahead of you.

Overall, I don't think you'll get 100% of your money back. You might have an argument that he was majority at fault, which is what you'll need to recover, but even that is questionable.Answer #3: > Does this sound like something I can take this guy to small claims court for?

What do you claim he did wrong?  Answer #4: >Does this sound like something I can take this guy to small claims court for?

Yup.  You didn't mention your location, so just find your state/county's small claims court website, and there should be a quick guide on it somewhere about how the system works and what you need to do and all that jazz.


Title: Landlord agreed to remove lease termination fee, is now forcing us to pay it

Question:
Hello! We're in Michigan, if that helps. We had some renovations done against our will in our apartment, and during that, we incurred a ton of damage from the workers to both the apartment and our personal property (documented in photos and emails). It was a whole ordeal, but long story short, we told the landlord that we would be moving as a result, and we asked that our lease termination fee be waived given all the damages. She said that was fine. I have it in writing.

That landlord is now on maternity leave, and another is filling in for her. I went in to give our 30 day notice today, and she said it is illegal to waive the termination fee and we must pay all of it.

So I have both documentation saying that I DON'T have to pay the termination fee and documentation that I DO. What happens now?

Thanks!

Answer:
 > she said it is illegal to waive the termination fee

AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

She's not just wrong. She's *laughably* wrong.

> What happens now?

You move out, I guess. And if they sue for the termination fee, you present the waiver as a defense.


Title: A social worker filmed me without my consent.

Question:
Hi All!

I'm in Phoenix, AZ

 I have a situation where as of now the Power of Attorney hired a social worker to facilitate visits with me and my Father, who is in at-home hospice. So a visit time was scheduled and she arrived at the house before us. Basically, 20 minutes into the visit I asked if I was being recorded because an iPad was pointed straight towards me and my dad. She replied the she was indeed recording us. I was literally on my Dads deathbed and she was recording me without my consent or permission. I did some research into this and found something about since it was in his/my home in his bedroom there is an expectation of privacy. Does she have the right to video tape without getting consent from my dad, me in our home? Morally and ethically it's sad and uncomfortable to be secretly recorded at a sensitive moment, but is it legally wrong on her part?

Answer:
 A supervised visit has zero expectation of privacy. That is what supervised visit means.

And the POA approved it


Title: I don't want to give 2 weeks notice

Question:
I was "poached" by a company earlier this year and accepted the job under many false pretenses.

I've been here for a few months and its more than clear my new employers have no intention of honoring everything we discussed when I joined (healthcare, hours, budgets, equity, etc).

I had a meeting to review my employment earlier last week and everything went well, just like when they poached me.  Then I followed up in writing, because I wanted what was agreed in writing to avoid another few months of BS.  I got a reply from the CEO mocking at some things I wrote, calling me 'a joke' and 'bipolar', and telling me in writing that basically everything we discussed was a lie and they won't honor.

I'm furious and it feels like they're baiting me while they find a replacement.

Either way I want to walk out but they're threatening to sue me because I signed an agreement to give 2 weeks notice.

I've asked to read this agreement but so far they've been unable to find it.  Until they find it I'd like to not be working for them but I worry that if they do find it they'll sue me.

I read some laws on this practice but I'm no lawyer so I ask:
1. Am I obligated to an employee agreement on giving notice?

Answer:
 You can certainly be held to a contract you signed, yes.  Whether this would constitute a 'contract' would have to be hashed out in court.

It's likely in your best interest to give the two weeks and cut out any chance of a suit.


Title: [UT] Public high school monitored my attendance at religious institution

Question:
Hi, Legal Advice.

In high school in Utah, there's an option to sign up for a class course called "release time" which is basically where the school releases you from its custody. It's a thinly-veiled option for Mormon students to cross the street and go to the seminary building and learn religion for an hour. My parents signed me up (against my will) for seminary, and I went a few times, decided it wasn't for me, and quit going.

A few months into the school year, my school counselor--who is a bitch--called me into her office and told me I had to withdraw from release time and pick another class to take.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you haven't been going," she said.

"You're not allowed to monitor my attendance at seminary," I said.

"Well, we do anyway," she told me.

I was 16 and knew I didn't have the support of my parents to push the issue, so I dropped it then. Ten years later, it's still bothering me that a public school is monitoring attendance at a religious institution, and I want to see it stopped. I want for both sides to face repercussions for violating students' rights so blatantly. It can't be an isolated issue, and I'm sure it's ongoing.

Do I have any options at this point? Or is this one of the things that gets to keep me up at night for the rest of my life?
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 What makes you think a school is not allowed to ensure that you go where you say you are going during your release time?  Religious seminary or not.Answer #2: The Red Herring here is the Constitutionality of "Released Time".  It appears that that has already been addressed in Zorach v. Clauson: [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/343/306/](https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/343/306/)

But, you are not asking about that.  You are asking about the schools right to make sure that you are doing what you have been authorized to be doing during your "Released Time".

Since the school removed your released time option, because you were not going to the seminary, and you didn't want to be going to the seminary, then shouldn't you be thanking them?

You were not given released time to do whatever you wanted away from the school grounds.  You were given it for a specific purpose.

And, for crying out loud.  By your own description, the seminary was right across the street from the school.  All they had to do is look out the window to see you skipping.


Title: State of Arkansas took my tax refund for a debt that they have no documentation for...

Question:
And that is not valid. The alleged debt is from 2005 and I just found out about it in 2019 after my tax refund was intercepted. I contacted the UI office and it is said to be an overpayment debt and was told that they could not find any documentation for the debt but they are not refunding the money that I have to appeal. The appeal tribunal will not docket the appeal because I don't have proof of the determination, which should have been supplied by the UI office. Its frustrating and I am in a no win situation.

&#x200B;

Do I have any legal options to get my refund back?

Answer: They cannot refuse an appeal. You are entitled to due process. If the agency is non responsive, contact your state rep and senator. They have constituent services people that will contact the state agency.


Title: Roe vs Wade overturn- what would case look like?

Question: Non American here. I understand that in order to overturn a case, one must be elevated to the Supreme Court. It is obvious what kind of case (and have read it) that would bring that law in to place: a woman’s right to an abortion. Just wondering then, what could a possible case look like that could be brought up that could overturn Roe vs Wade? What circumstances would be strong enough in a case that could override a woman’s right to choose?

Answer: The trend has been for states to pass more and more restrictions on abortion that are challenged in court. The current standard is whether the regulation poses an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to access abortion services. It could simply be one of these cases and the Supreme Court just decides to overturn Roe v. Wade as wrongly decided there doesn’t have to be a law that bans all abortion, although that could happen too.


Title: What do I do if I received two refunds?

Question:
About a month ago I ordered a laptop but canceled it after a few days and ordered a different laptop after I got my refund and two weeks later I got the laptop I canceled at my doorstep and I returned it and now I have the refund money for the laptop I had already received.  Can I keep the money, do I wait until they reclaim the money or do I call them?  I would love to keep the money because I need to buy a car to go to college, but I don't know what will happen.

(California, US)

Answer: If you got two refunds, you return one. It's quite simple. Call them and let them know.


Title: Escort/sugar baby, client died of covid, wife has my real name and account information and wants to talk

Question:
Pennsylvania -

I was an escort. I had a long term client who gave me a lot of money, knew my real name, and helped me with an investment account. She found out he had transferred money into the investment account even though it was money for my “services”/being available to him. He just died of covid, apparently. I had no idea he was married until this week when I called the hospital and found out he had not, in fact, given me permission to call the nurse’s station. His wife contacted me, initially demanding my contact information so she could sue me and then saying that she just wanted the truth so she could get over him. She said she wouldn’t hurt me or come after me in any way. I was so shocked and felt awful and just told her - I started off as an escort, he was my long term sugar daddy, I just wanted to get through school, he paid me, he was a dick. She says she is destitute and she was stunned he had money to give me. She said she just wants to talk to me but

1. Can she actually sue me for some reason?
2. I’m a professional now transitioning out of escorting, how do I protect myself?
3. Do I need a lawyer now? Could she doxx or mess up my life?
4. Do I talk to her to make her feel better? Could I be sued for that?
5. Can I give her some money without it being an admission of wrongdoing?

I want to give her some money bc I feel so bad but I don’t even know if she’s telling the truth. The whole thing is insane.

** I know I made mistakes. Please refrain from shaming me for my life choices or saying “I should have known better.” I’m here now and want to make the best of it and treat this poor woman decently without fucking my life

** I know I shouldn’t have blabbed but I was shaking when I realized he was dead and this was his wife and I felt awful

Answer:
 Once someone threatens to sue you, every word you speak to them puts in you in greater danger. You gain nothing by giving this woman information she could use to sue you with. She could be looking to build a case and any little detail could be what she needs to attack you with.

If I were in your situation, once she threatened to sue I would cut off contact entirely and not communicate with this person except through lawyers if she sues.Answer #2: You can always be sued. If the case against you is winnable is a whole different point. However, you can make your position worse. So:

Don't talk to her. Don't give her anything.

Best case, the money was his to spend. Worst case, it was not.

Don't speak to her. If you hear from a lawyer or court, hire your own legal representation and go from there.

There is little you can do about her telling the truth about your profession and name; as long as she tells the truth. If you pay her off for not telling now, she will be coming back for more and more and more.


Title: [WA] My roommate broke my appliances, is adding things to my food that I can't eat, and called my boss to tell him to fire me so that I can "get help". How can I get this to stop?

Question:
This might be kind of a long story but I'll try to break it down.

I have a summer job (farming) in Washington State and I have a short-term, very minimal lease in a two-bedroom house. The landlord knows my boss and often rents to people who work for him which is how I found the place. I moved in around May and met my roommate, whom we'll call Bertha, and she said she would be staying until June but is still in the house. Not a huge deal by itself, but my coworker was supposed to be living with me in the house. Bertha is also unemployed right now but getting help from her parents for rent and food.

There's not a nice way to put this, but Bertha is very large and I'm fairly small. I am 5'7", 120 lbs and she is ~5'3", probably ~200 lbs.
I'm a vegan (which Bertha knows, and Bertha is definitely not) and recovering from a pretty severe eating disorder (which Bertha doesn't know). I'm pretty neurotic about my own food, i.e., having it prepared in a certain way, keeping dishes extremely clean, eating a lot of fresh food, no dairy, meat, eggs, and I also don't eat some other foods like processed sugar and wheat. I know this probably makes me sound like a hellish roommate but all I do differently is clean my dishes very well right after using them and I like to have them put away ASAP, and I keep my food on my own shelf in the fridge. Pretty simple. I eat enough calories every day to sustain myself and I'm working on transitioning to more normal eating habits.

To cut a long story very short, Bertha has been extremely critical of my dietary choices from day one and essentially thinks I should be hospitalized immediately because I'm "grossly underweight". She eats a lot of junk food (which is fine with me) and if she does cook doesn't clean up after herself in the kitchen for 2-3 days (which is annoying, but not a huge deal).

Probably sometime in mid-June, I noticed some cashew milk I was drinking tasted a little different than usual but not bad, so I kept drinking it. This went on for a few weeks but I didn't think much of it. Anyway, I usually go to bed very early and leave early in the morning, but I came home pretty late one night and found Bertha pouring some of her milk into my carton of milk. I was understandably pretty pissed off and confronted her about it, and she said I was "deathly skinny" and that she was "keeping my alive". I said some choice words and told her not to do it again, and I think she stopped. A week or so later, I got done with work early and come home to find a little loose cane sugar in the cupboard where I keep my protein powder, and it looked like the bag had been opened and not closed. I confronted her about it again and she said she *literally* just mixed my powder with cane sugar to try and "fatten me up". I asked her what other foods she had done this too and she wouldn't tell me. I threw a lot of stuff out.

This sounds like something you read on r/fatpeoplestories or something but I honestly never thought there were people actually like this.

The second incident was her "accidentally" smashing my very nice blender. She said she was trying to make smoothies like the ones I eat (which she's never done before) and it fell on the ground. I have one for breakfast every morning and I'm assuming she thinks they're unhealthy. She says she'll pay me to replace it but it's been over a month and still no money.

Last week was when shit really hit the fan. As I said before my landlord and my boss are close. Bertha had asked my landlord for my boss's cell phone number, saying she was looking for a job (doing farm work, which would be shocking to see). Instead, I go into work on Monday and my boss sits me down and asks me if everything is "all right". I say yes of course, and he tells me that he got a text from Bertha telling him that I have an extreme mental illness, and that I need to be hospitalized or I'm in danger of losing my life. Bertha says that the "three of them" need to act in my best interest, and that by letting me go from my job is the first step in getting me to a treatment center that she implied she was "coordinating". She also asked my boss if I was "performing up to par" and that if not it was probably because I was ill.

MY question is, is there anything I can do to get this woman out of my life? It doesn't seem like a big deal to a lot of people but having my food altered like that is extremely stressful/harmful to my mental health and makes me wary of the foods that I do feel comfortable eating, in my own home, that I purchased with my hard-earned money. Can I seek compensation from her for ruining my things? For her threatening my job security? Thanks.

Answer:
 INAL. You might have a case for small claims for your stuff being ruined. However, I think it would be hard to prove and difficult to win. I would cut my losses and move if I were you.

FWIW - I am approx. 5'7". I have never had an eating disorder, have a diet that your roommate would consider "normal" and usually hover around 120lbs.

Anyway, this is more relationship subreddit advice than legal. Do NOT tell anyone about your eating disorder because it's not of their business and they (Bertha especially) will only use it to say, "see, she IS mentally ill." My advice would be to get out of that toxic environment in order to focus on your continued recovery.


Title: (Canada) - Person in the co-working space I (24F) manage is having packages sent in my name

Question:
Like the title says, a tenant in the co-working space I manage is having multiple packages sent in my name. Not any company's name, but my own personal name.

A few people have done this in the past, gave me a heads up, and it was never a problem. The reason I'm a little bothered in this case is I have no idea what's in the packages, what they're for, or what my responsibility is.

My questions are:

1. Am I legally responsible for whatever is in the package? While I'm very sure everything is legitimate, what if it's not?
2. Am I allowed to accept a package on someone's behalf? My thinking here is if I create an email trail stating that I accepted a package for him that may alleviate me of responsibility?
3. Am I out of line not being overly cool about this?

Sorry if my questions are silly, any help is appreciated.

Answer:
 Why are you allowing this at all? "Recipient's Name ℅ Example Coworking" should be sufficient, and unambiguous, addressing.Answer #2: You should either (1) open up every package addressed to you and parade the new dildos or whatever embarrassing things your space-sharers are ordering from amazon around the office until you reach the owner's space, or (2) simply write RETURN TO SENDER on the package.Answer #3: What province are you in???

In Ontario, if the packages are in your name then you now own them.  You dont have to give them away to anyone.

https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02c30#BK13

If you ever found something illegal in one then you just call the police immediately, but everything legal is fair game for you to keep.  The person will stop putting your name down once they learn their lesson.


Title: [US] False accusations, no evidence.

Question:
Sorry I didn't put the state, but what I'm asking for isn't something I'd think would change state by state, and I've been really good about not discussing anything publicly about the case. I'm just very cautious to make sure everything works out smoothly. I have no criminal record whatsoever and I am stunned with how drawn-out this has become.

&nbsp;

**Situation**: Someone maliciously filed a false report against me. No witnesses. He claims I pointed my firearm at him. He noticed the firearm's existence, took a picture and called 911. I did not handle the firearm in any way.

**Charge**: misdemeanor - assault and battery

**Evidence**: he says I pointed my gun at him, has a picture of the gun (idle and untouched)

&nbsp;

Options so far:

1. Go to court and win. No consequences, all rights fully restored.

2. Go to court and lose. Assault and battery on record, 8 years no CPL, potentially: 90 days in jail, $500 fine, probation restriction on any possession of firearms
3. Negotiate deal with prosecutor. Any deal will not be satisfactory to me as it would cause loss of CPL for 3-8 years and possible probationary restriction on possession in general.

&nbsp;

I have a very highly renowned lawyer, but I'm looking for reassurance from others whether a case like this is winnable in court, since it's a "he said, she said" with no physical evidence of wrongdoing. I know it's the burden of proof is on the prosecution, and I never thought the above "evidence" would ever be enough to convict someone, but as time has gone on I've worried constantly.

I hate that my freedom and rights are in jeopardy solely because someone decided to be an asshole and call in a false report.

&nbsp;

It's like: if someone saw you walking down the street open carrying a handgun, called the police and said you pointed it at them, how can you possibly defend against such a claim? I never thought about how easy it is to be charged and convicted without proof.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 > I never thought about how easy it is to be charged and convicted without proof.

They don't need proof.  They need evidence.  Testimony is evidence, as are photographs.

We can't really offer your chances of success, as we don't know the full scope of the matter.  You can provide your testimony in rebuttal, as well as an explanation for the photo.Answer #2: Your state does matter, because states have different laws with respect to concealed/open carry.Answer #3: I notice in your post you don't discuss this persons motive.  Have you discussed this with your lawyer?  People don't usually do things unprovoked.  What happened?


Title: North Carolina: Friend getting kicked out by father for being LGBT, what are her rights?

Question:
She's in North Carolina. She came out as LGBT (trans), and a few days later her father said that she and her partner had to move out. She and her partner are both adults.

Her parents own the home, she and her partner have lived there for several months.

* Her father has verbally told her and her partner that they must move out. He has not given a timeframe for when they have to.
* She and her partner buy their own food, but otherwise don't pay rent or pay for utilities (that I know of)
* Her stepmother owns the home, and is angry with her husband for kicking them out.
* She and her partner are both adults

Questions:
* What are their rights? How long can they stay before they have to leave? Do they have to be formally evicted?
* Since her stepmother owns the home as well, does she have to consent to the eviction?

Thank you so much! This just hit today, and I'm worried for her.

Edit: I believe the father and stepmother co-own the home.

Answer:
 North Carolina requires only a seven-day eviction notice, but it must be clearly understood that it is an eviction notice. What they pay or do not pay does not matter. However, if the stepmother is the sole owner of the home, her husband *may* not have the authority to evict. Answer #2: He must provide seven days notice. As I assume there is no lease, this can be verbal.

If her stepmother wants them to stay, she can allow them to do so. Answer #3: Technically, the parent(s) need to give 7 days notice to terminate their tenancy, so they'd have that 7 day period to move out.

Realistically though, he could lock them out tomorrow and their only real recourse would be to sue for unlawful eviction and may not even win.

They should find a new place to live immediately, just to be safe.


Title: Accepted underage pics? Got call from father and quite frankly I am scared.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 It's a scam. Answer #2: > well she sends a pic and then says she is 16.. we exchange pics

You sent and received pictures after she said she was 16?

> is this a scam or did I really fuck up?

Why not both?

This scam seems to happen all the time, but they usually ask for money first thing.  Not sure if the "father" was playing the long con, or not.

Regardless, keep it blocked and move on.  If you get a visit from the police, decline to speak with them and get an attorney.


Title: [VA] I recorded theft from my office at work. Was that legal?

Question: I thought I noticed some things going missing from my office so I used an old phone and a ipcam app to record motion in my office. The phone was not hidden and in plain view. It recorded a theft from my office with audio and video. Was what I did legal? It is a personal office and the person being there had no legitimate reason to be in there in the first place. The office was locked.

Answer:
 The person has no expectation of privacy in an office that they have no legitimate reason to be in.  You should be fine.

Edit-  If the office was locked, how did they get in?


Title: Friend was scammed with a bad check (TX)

Question:
My friend was recently scammed with a bad check. They were contacted through a servicing app, like Rover, or Fiverr, etc. The person that contacted them reached out independently from the app and asked to pay them extra for a little more work that what could be offered in the app. I already went over it with them that this was a red flag and they should avoid it in the future.

Basically the guy gave them a check for $3000 to make a large purchase, they cashed it and the guy then asks that they will instead have someone else buy it and they can keep a couple hundred. (Yes I know, even bigger red flag but they still went for it.)

After they transferred the money the check bounced and now my friend owes the $3000. Based on my understanding of fraudulent check writing in Texas, this was a felony. They already made a police report, but the general consensus is that we can't get our money back.

Fast forward a few hours. This guy is still trying to contact my friend to meet, presumably for ill will. We were considering getting the boys together along with her to meet this guy and try to get our money back.

We understand that we would be skirting the line of illegal activity (we don't want to say "Give us the money back or we will have you arrested, because I'm pretty sure that's blackmail), and we are trying to figure out what the best course of action is for us to stay within the legal boundaries. We were considering attempting a citizens arrest, but I am unsure of what the rules are for that when a felony has been committed that isn't exactly "visible" as the code of criminal procedure describes it.

&#x200B;

I'm expecting a lot of responses telling us to not do what we are going to do, but we are looking in to everything possible we can do to get the money back while not doing anything illegal ourselves. Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer: Hes going to laugh at you when you attempt to blackmail him. You have no recourse. They money is gone.


Title: Coworker bought a car from lady, she's going through a divorce, husband has contacted police about sale. [NY]

Question:
As I understand it from my coworker he bought a car from a lady going through a divorce, the husband was out of town. When the husband returned he was irate about his wife selling his car.

Husband reached out to police about missing car, and wife claims she doesn't know who she sold it to. Coworker paid by check, which has since been cashed.

Mutual acquaintance of Husband and Wife, and my Coworker, reached out to my Coworker to let him know that the husband was reaching out to police about this.

Realistically what should my coworker be doing?

Answer:
 If your co-worker has the title, he bought the car from the legal owner.

It is up to him to decide if he needs to return the car, but your co-worker should get cash in hand if he does this.


Title: [NY] I won a small claims case against a previous employer and have still not been paid. What do I do now?

Question:
Last June I was laid off from my job in sales and never received my final commission check.  Ultimately, I took my ex employer to small claims court in October and won the case to the tune of roughly $5,000.  To date, I have not received that money. I did go to the county clerk and "file the judgement" in December so it is on the employees record, but no one is allowed to tell me what steps I can pursue next. I've read that I can possibly seize assets but I'm not sure what that really entails on my part.

Additional information:
1. This Is a small business in Ontario county
2. The company IS still in business

Any help anyone can give is much appreciated.

Answer:
 Wining a judgment is easy.  Collecting is hard.  You will have to learn how to use the court system to garnish the company's bank account.  If you know where the company has a bank account, then that's the bank that you want to garnish (a good bank to try would be the one that your paychecks came from).

If you don't know where the company has a bank account, then post more information about what the company does/sells.  There are lots of different ways to find their bank account.


Title: Next door neighbor threatened me with cops

Question:
Some back story. I live in upper middleclass apartment community. I live in a row of 1 bedroom apartments. Next door to me was vacant for several months after i moved in. Everything was good. People got along,etc. Then people moved in next door and everything went to shit. These people are loud and disgusting. Garbage everywhere, loud parties all night, random people showing up. Eventually these people started to get other apartments and now there is like 20-30 of these people here. I have called the cops about the parties, fights, random people showing up, i have been in contact with the leasing office, they are working on getting them out.

The problem is what happened this morning. I was outside of my back door talking to the guy who lives above me about all the trash that these people have in the back. We live in the woods so all the trash sticks out like a sore thumb. Mid conversation the next door people open up their back door and chuck out a water bottle into the woods. In impulse, i knock on their door to confront them about the trash. A woman comes out screaming and yelling at me about how i scare her 7 kids, how i call the cops on them when she isnt home, i yell at them to pick up their garbahe in the parking lot. She told me cops believe kids and all she has to do is call the cops and them that  I harasse her kids, she will take me to court and send me to prison. The guy that lives above me was there the whole time listening to the conversation. I believe i have a rihht to call the cops when they are disturbing the peace.7 children in a 1 bedroom apartment is illegal. I didnt know it was 7, but ive told the leasing office that there were at least 4 or 5 people living mext door. They said they cant prove it.

They are moving out in 2 weeks, the lady told me that.  What can i do to prevent anytging from happening to me in the event she does call the cpps? I have spoken to the cops a few times about what is going on here. I want to be prepared just in case.

I left some details out. Like a bounty hunter lurking around for someone in this family that has been renting up the apartments. 15 warrants out for his arrest. They run credit card schemes and what not. Its common knowledge among the tenants. I think for this reason is why the lady next door was trying to scare me off.

Need help on how to move forward.

Answer: I would let the cops know this threat was made so it's on record.


Title: Take low severance or sue?

Question:
Myself and two others were laid off from small company (less than 25 people). Boss cited sudden and severe budget cuts from main client. Have discovered boss lied about severity of cuts and client was pissed. Suspect someone cheaper (younger) will be hired to replace me since workload has not actually decreased.

I've been there 3 years. He offered 1 month's severance (approx $7k). I respectfully asked for 3 months severance, citing age, job title, time I've been there. He turned me down flat.

I might be able to sue (age discrimination). But is it worth the gamble?

EDITS: I'm over 40 and in California. The other two employees under 40.
Also wondering if worth even emailing him again respectfully pointing out that all layoffs are due to budget cuts, and it would be prudent to go by even the least generous severance guidelines of 2 weeks for every year of employment. Have also discovered he offered severance to the other two - and both of them were hired LESS than a year ago. If he offered me one month for three years, what on earth could he offer them? Two days?

Answer:
 Location is not optional. Age discrimination laws vary by jurisdiction, as does your entitlement to severance.

It isn't illegal to replace employees with less experienced and hence cheaper employees, nor is restructuring and changing the title or duties of your current position. If you're in the US, you need to be 40 or over to have cause for an age discrimination suit  (21 in New York.)

The EEOC invesitages age discrimination allegations and will return a Right to Sue letter if they believe the allegations are actionable. In Canada, the HRC investigates.