Title: Sewage from neighbors flowing down my line

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Sounds like a shitty situation.

I'd call the builder and find out which plumber they used /, their certification info.Answer #2: Yes, get a lawyer: First the town can declare your house a health hazard and have it condemned( I have seen this happen to people) . So you need protection from that. Second get the back flow arrestor installed at your own cost, because you will be able to get that money back Plus triple damages. Your lawyer will have a field day suing the Town and the builder for not developing a sewage plan and the town not approving and inspecting it.  http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/03sewer/html/sew.htm
Also contact the Town of Framingham Mass. They have been on the forefront of a proper designed sewer management design and build.Answer #3: Do you have a back flow valve on your line?


Title: Being questioned about special accommodations at work

Question:
I work in the electronics section of a retail store as a sales rep and shelf stocker. I am hoping you guys might help provide some enlightenment on my issue with a supervisor where I work.

Background:
I have a genetic/terminal condition and I am not afraid to talk about it, in fact I try to be an advocate when I can. I never hide this from my employers because on numerous occasions I have had to ask for social accommodations (missing work, wearing a mask, etc). The accommodation I ask for at just about every place I have ever worked at, is to be able to carry food and drink with me at all times to accommodate an extremely high calorie diet and blood sugar issues.

The issue:
I have been asked to provide a doctors note every time and am always happy to comply knowing that it is my employers right to do so. My understanding is that I am only required to share this information with the HR and that is it. I complied with this request more than a year ago and had very little issues. One supervisor was hired within the last year and they have started to cause issues. On three separate occasions they have asked me questions like “why” I am carrying drinks with me. Whenever I am carrying a different drink (gator aid, coffee, juice) I am asked again to explain, and they report me to HR.

In the last year we have had a change in HR and today I was told apparently my doctors note was “missing from my file”. That’s fine I am supplying another one within the next 2 days.

My understanding is that this supervisor is violating the ADA by asking such questions in the manner that they are doing so. Am I correct in this view? It is really seeming like harassment at this point, but I want to make sure that I have grounds for that accusation.

Sorry for mobile
Thanks for any and all advice. Hey
Topic:
Disability Issues

Answer:
 .My understanding is that this supervisor is violating the ADA by asking such questions in the manner that they are doing so. Am I correct in this view?

No, your supervisor needs to know what accomodations you need. They are a person that needs that information. It is not harrassement for a supervisor to inquire as to why you are not following company policy, that is part of their job.


Title: I rung our ISP saying I was my dad, with his consent, and customer service called my bluff (Australia)

Question:
Hey there. I’ll preface this with saying we live in Australia too.
Today the internet in our house was down, so I called my isp as myself to see why our internet had been down. After handing over the appropriate information and including my own name I was told that they could only speak to the person who’s name our internet is under, which is my Dad’s.

I communicated this to my Dad and he told me to just ring up and tell them that I was him (and to provide his DOB and mobile number) as he was busy and I was happy to deal with it. So I did.

The first call was just before midday, so I thought I’d leave it 15 minutes before calling back so I wouldn’t get the same person. I gave him my dad’s info and the call went smoothly. I was told that there was a local fault and they were waiting on another company (NBN co) to fix it, and that I should call back in a few hours for an update if it wasn’t fixed by then. This all sounded fine to me, so I waited.

Fast forward 5 hours and the internet isn’t working still, so I called back as instructed. Except this time, after providing my dad’s info, the guy on the other end asked if he could put me on hold and when he came back he told me that he had reason to believe I wasn’t who I said I was and asked why I wasn’t calling on the mobile listed on the account.

Being a bit caught off guard I said that this was my work mobile and the other was my personal mobile. He also asked for the email account that was connected, and I wasn’t entirely sure which account my dad had used so I gave him my dad’s primary email (I’m not sure if it was correct or not). After this he told me that he had legal grounds to terminate the call, and that he was involving his manager to investigate it further. We said our goodbyes pretty soon after that and I was left feeling weird.

For the past few years my parents have usually asked me to deal with internet calls and issues as they don’t have the time to be on hold for an hour, and I’m happy to help out because it means I can get it fixed quicker.

I have never had this happen previously, but we moved internet providers just over a year ago and while the previous company’s customer service was from a foreign country, this company’s customer service is Australian. Perhaps that meant they realised I have the voice of a 21 year old an not a 54 year old? Or maybe when I told him that I was following up my earlier call he took that as me following up the very first call where I gave my own name.

Anyway I was wanting to ask if I broke the law with this, and if so is this serious? I didn’t manage to find much on google, with most results being from kids who’d called up without their parents knowing.

I haven’t felt this dirty since I was 4 and found a sparkly eraser on the floor and was so enamoured with it that I walked off with it not realising it was probably from the shop I was standing in.

TLDR: internet stopped working, isp wouldn’t help me saying they’d only speak to my Dad, Dad asked me to call instead as he was busy, ISP customer service person thought something was up and said he had reason to believe I wasn’t who I said I was, and said he was involving his manager to investigate further. Have I broken the law? If so how seriously?

Answer: Just have your dad call and add you as an authorized user to the account. You haven’t broken any laws, the person on the phone was likely just following internal store protocol. Don’t sweat it.


Title: I think my Manager is taking tips for herself.

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice,

I work in a small town restaurant in Illinois making minimum wage. A tipped employee in IL earns $4.95 an hour + tips, with a certain percentage of recorded tips taken out of my check each week for tax.

Asked my manager and she says that if I am the only one serving, I keep all tips earned for that night. It's a small restaurant so being the only server on a shift is normal.

Money keeps disappearing from the tip jar, which she keeps at her desk. My manager also keeps credit card receipts with tips written on them in a place only she has access to. Becoming suspicious that something might be wrong, I started keeping a record of tips myself. The tips that customers leave for me and the tips given to me by the manager at the end of the night aren't adding up.

For example, I recorded $42 worth of tips earned but received only $37.

Need to be completely sure that I am right about my manager stealing before confronting her. However that's hard to do when she denies me access to the actual records on my own tips at the end of every night. In your opinion, what should I do to fix this?

Answer: You could find a really slow night and have your friends come in. Don’t act like you know them or that they know you and have them tip a number you discuss before hand. If it goes missing you know she’s stealing.


Title: [California] Constitutional Law Question on the Electoral College

Question:
Apologies if this is the wrong subreddit.  I'd probably start at /r/askpolitics, but it appears to be pretty empty.

What happens when two parts of the U.S. Constitution are at odds with each other?

The Constitution states:

>Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress

and the 15th amendment states:

>Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Because of the way Electors are assigned, the per-capita number of electors each state receives varies wildly.  For example, each vote for President in Wyoming is worth 3.7x the vote of a Texan.

That wouldn't be a problem in relation to the 15th amendment if each state had similar racial make-ups.  However, that's not the case.  Smaller states, the states with more per-capita Electoral Votes tend to have much lower proportions of minority citizens.  There's a very strong negative correlation between the number of Electoral Votes a state receives per capita and the percentage of a state's population that is African American (r^2 = -0.2) or Hispanic (r^2 = -0.25).  There is a positive correlation between per capita electoral votes and the percentage of White citizens in a state (r^2 = 0.19).  If you look at the 15 states with the highest per-capita Electoral Votes, they contain 6% of the U.S. population, yet are assigned 10% of the Electoral Votes.  African American and Latino populations within the states with the most say in electing the President are 65-70% lower than what would be expected given National demographics.

If you look at the numbers, the average White voter has 5% more electoral power than the average African American voter and 10% more electoral power than the average Latino voter.  To me, this seems like a clear violation of the 15th amendment.  Voting rights of minority voters are being systematically abridged by our own constitution.

My question is:  1)  is this a valid interpretation of the 15th amendment, and 2)  in a case like this, which part of the constitution supersedes the other?

Answer:
 You pretty much described how the Electoral College is supposed to work. It's to prevent "mob rule", that is, the large states trampling over the smaller states.

Everyone in the nation has the same right **to vote**. That's all that matters per the amendment.

Edit: Also, as a statistician... seriously? You're using /that low/ of r-squared values to make an argument?


Title: Texas - Non-rent payer

Question:
Context/backstory: I am living in texas right now with my grandmother, who doesn't like the fact that I am on the computer all the time. Or the fact that me and my soon to be husband (in another state) video chats all the time. Since I don't pay rent can she legally speaking not let me use her wifi, or ban me from talking to him? (note I am 18)
Edit: Thank you to the people who has responded, you have saved me time researching on my own

Answer:
 > Since I don't pay rent can she legally speaking not let me use her wifi

Yes. Wifi is generally not considered to be a habitability requirement, and since you're paying nothing, eliminating goods/services that are included in the $0 rent are not a constructive change.

In other words, her no longer permitting you to use her wifi is akin to her no longer cooking you dinner. It's not illegal. It *might* be if you were paying something, but if you aren't? Perfectly okay.

As far as banning you from talking to him, this is more /r/relationships material, but she could serve you notice to vacate if she finds your behavior disagreeable. She can't just toss you out, but she could give you whatever notice is required and then you'd be on your own.

My own non-legal suggestion would be to get a headset, find a corner seat at Starbucks, and do your video chat there.


Title: Promised raise | Pregnant | How to protect myself against discrimination

Question:
Hi all! I'm in need of a little advice. I am currently 10 weeks pregnant and working full time. About 5 weeks ago my boss brought me into his office to chat about my good performance and an upcoming significant raise, about 15%. Due to budgetary constraints he cannot push it into affect until January, but he want to thank me for my work and assure me that it was coming. Nice of him. He did not know I was pregnant at the time and I have a little fear, maybe irrational, that once he finds out he will find some way out of the raise. I think the likelihood of this happening is low, but we've all heard horror stories about women being discriminated against while pregnant.

I sent an email after our meeting thanking him for the validation and noting my understanding of the delay in hopes that he would respond so there would be some sort of paper trail, but unfortunately he responded verbally. I'm wondering if there is anything I can do, at this point, to protect myself from possible discrimination or at least increase the likelihood that he will keep his word. I have a good relationship with my boss and no problem being straightforward with him about my fear, if that is appropriate. I would love a little more protection but I'm not sure how to go about it, without making a mountain over my currently unsubstantiated fear.
Any advice?
I'm in austin, texas
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Do you have a contract? If no, you're not entitled to a raise or a job, regardless of whether your uterus is occupied. You *might* have grounds for a complaint IF he takes action against you entirely because of your pregnancy, and not say work performance or budget concerns.


Title: Bankruptcy Inheritance Nightmare

Question:
In 2004 I got very ill and accumulated medical debt, while also ruining my credit and racking up credit card debt. While my total debt, not counting student loans, is relatively low (roughly $20K) it still seemed insurmountable once the hospital sued me in small claims court. I met with a bankruptcy attorney who seemed like a good pick, but looking back I don't think he fully illuminated the potential consequences of bankruptcy.

I am now at the midpoint of filing, and have just returned home from a truly miserable trip. My sister died unexpectedly, and before I left my birth home to return I was informed that I am one of two named recipients on her life insurance policy. My first thought was, "well, I suppose there is a silver lining after all, which is that I can dismiss the bankruptcy and pay my creditors outright." I contacted my lawyer to ask about this, and he told me my case could not be dismissed. And now I want to scream.

If I receive the inheritance post chapter 7, the trustee will claim all of it. I will have ruined credit, and absolutely nothing. I currently have no car, no house, no assets of any kind; as I get older, having a car in particular becomes really important to hold down a job. If the trustee claims my full inheritance, I won't have any debt but I still won't have any money, credit, or assets. If I can somehow stop the bankruptcy, I won't have any debt (because I will have paid it all) and I will still have cash to actually move somewhere with better employment, get a car, etc. I'll even be able to pay my taxes and other, more recent, medical bills.

I'm not trying to be conceal money or dodge debt here, I just feel like there has to be some way to stop this that doesn't make an already difficult situation even worse. Any advice?

Location: Breckenridge, Colorado

Answer:
 [You don't have the automatic right](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-you-dismiss-your-chapter-7-bankruptcy-after-youve-filed.html) to dismiss a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, especially after you've had your debts discharged.  [It's all about the timing, with Chapter 7](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/inheritances-chapter-7-bankruptcy.html).

BUT, in either case, after your debts are paid off, the remaining assets of the bankruptcy estate are returned to you.  In other words, you owed $20K, you inherited $50K, you probably will end up with ~$25K (because they will pay off the creditors, plus some will go to administrative costs.)

Answer #2: > I am now at the midpoint of filing

Please explain what you mean by this. Has your petition been filed with the court, or not?

And if it was filed, how long before your sister's death did that occur?


Title: Trouble at a highshool.

Question:
Ill make this short. So, some guy came to me indirectly and told me to deliver some invite to an experiment to some girl at school and offered to pay me about a week ago. Since, I no classes with said person I ended up giving it to a teacher she has. The teacher did just this and something bad was on the invite because she reported it to my schools officer. I have no idea what to do! I'm going to get called in to the officers office eventually so what should I do? I have no idea who the guy who gave me the paper is. I just want to avoid getting in trouble. What should I do? Also I talked with the principal and she does not believe me. Please help.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: Tell you parents. Tell the truth. Stop doing stupid things like this.


Title: Boss keeping my last check, should I keep my company issued laptop- (AZ)

Question: So I live in phoenix and I work for a start up. The contract I signed was personally write up by the CEO and only mentions that I am supposed to get 25% of everything I sell. This hasnt been the best job but its been an interesting 4 months. I was just offered a new job in WA and will be moving in July to start a new job with a new company. When I told my current CEO he was very upset and told me that there was no need to work the rest of the week. When I asked about my final check he said "we will have to see" so I review my super basic half page contract and it says nothing about returning and issued items like bag or headphones or laptop. So I was wondering if I am legally allowed to keep the laptop since I doubt I will be getting my last check and don't have the money right now to take him to small claims court. Any advice on if I should keep it until I get my check or keep it period if I never get my final check. Last check should be ($2200 and laptop is newish mac worth $2000 about the same)

Answer:
 You cannot legally keep the laptop unless they agree to it. Otherwise it's theft.

They cannot legally keep your last paycheck. If they try to, you can file a [wage claim](https://www.azica.gov/forms/labor3303) for the money.


Title: Girl lied about her age... I didn't receive any pictures but did send via snapchat. New York State. Help would be appreciated.

Question:
So pictures were only sent via snapchat, and I have proof she claimed to be 22 from a free texting app. (Didn't give my real number out of precaution). She lied and is only 14 years old. Tried to threaten me on the texting app that she has pictures of me and wants money. I have no pictures of her depicting anything explicit, although some explicit messages were sent by me.

She did send a few from snapchat but nothing was showing and I of course didn't screenshot anything. I didn't get any notifications that she took screenshots of the images I sent, but who knows maybe she has some app that took the pictures anyway, though I doubt it because she did screenshot a picture of just my face (not explicit in anyway) and I got a notification for that.

I think I kinda frightened her by saying I'll call her father and the police because she apologized after. But what are the legal implications in this scenario if something happens? I had no idea she was underage. This is some fucked up shit.

Can the texting app still be linked to me? I didn't put any real info into it. And honestly how bad could this be/do you think it'll just blow over?

Edit: Should I delete the app immediately? I understand it's not legal to send pictures to a minor but what if they intentionally misled you with the intention of extorting you? I'm a bit freaked out right now. Needless to say never sending anything again. What's the worst case/best case?

Answer:
 You are currently in the midst of one of the most common scams on the internet. So common, in fact, that we are starting to see this same scam on a daily basis here.

Understand that there is no girl. There is only the scammer, who probably doesn't even live in this country.

If you haven't already done so: Block anyone who has contacted you. Do not engage in any communications with them ever again. Delete the account you created. Delete the e-mail account that you used to sign up with it. Then delete any apps involved, if there were any. Wipe your phone or computer cache & browsing history clean of anything related to this. And place appropriate privacy guards on your social media sites.

Then be thankful that you narrowly avoided getting suckered for a lot of money.

But don't take my word for it. Here is just a sample of posts and articles about this exact scam, or variations on it:

http://www.thedailyscam.com/underage-girl-sext-scam/

http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/--urgent-------underage-sexting-scam--can-my-frien-2317988.html

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/news/local/dating-scam-tricks-men-thinking-theyve-been-talkin/nhf3q/

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130724200617AATDXM1

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2299895/James-Arnt-Aune-death-Blackmailer-university-professor-leapt-death-pleads-guilty.html


Title: Custody of my son

Question:
I'll try to make this short.
My boyfriend and I got into an argument last night and now he's trying to kick me and my thruee month old out of the house.
I've already looked into a couple resources for my area, what I'm afraid of is if he might try to get custody of my son.
I want to know what options if any do I have and what I should do as a pre caution just in case he does try and take my son.

Update;
My boyfriend is still insisting we leave the house. I've apologized and been civil with him through text that I am sorry that I know where I was at fault but he still wants us out. My son has eczema and breaks out in heat rash really easily on top of that he feels the stores of everything amd he's been crying and fussing and screaming and not eating like he normally does. I've contacted a woman's shelter already and im just waiting to hear back. I'm so hurt and upset I just dont know what to do. I want to be somewhere safe. I want to hide. My son is only three months he depends on me so much. I have to be strong for him but I feel like im falling apart. I dont want to lose my boyfriend I've been trying so hard to make everything work.

Answer:
 Is he on the birth certificate? Do you have a custody order?
What state are you in?

In most cases, if there is no custody order, unmarried mothers have defacto custody. If he is your child's legal father, he also has the right to sue for a custody order and parenting plan, however.

You will be dealing with him for at least the next 18 years, get used to it.

If he wants to evict you, he has to follow the proper procedure. Kicking his child out would not look good for him down the road when it comes to custody determination, though.

Do you have a job? Anywhere to go with the baby if/when he evicts you?


Title: potential ramifications from storage of social security #'s with other customer data online.

Question:
I work for a car dealership in northern California as a junior web developer. I was tasked with coding an application that takes data out of other industry standard software and inserts it into a database hosted externally from the company so  that users in another department will log into a website on the Internet and  display on their screen the ssn with addresses, names, and other information about the car loan so that the user can print the data from the webpage from the central office printer and then re input the data back into the original software. Our servers right now do not have SSL certs on them and all of the data on the server is unencrypted. I fill like there is a massive violation in ethics here with how lax they are trying to treat customer data. I have looked online and it seems to be it might be illegal to mishandle this type of data in various states so I am worried about what can happen to me legally if there is a data breach due to me completely failing to secure this data. When I brought this up to my supervisors I was told that "We have a legal team and it is not my place to determine what is legal and illegal and that you need to only do as you are told". If I code an application that grossly mishandled customers Personally identifiable information at work to what degree can I be held responsible? Can I be fined? Can I be sued? Im sorry if I am rambling and this post doesnt make sense I am very stressed due to the adverse reaction from manager.
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 Anyone who's ever worked for the government knows that its normal to put SSNs on every document and file and mail them and do whatever with them without any security.  Regardless, most likely you can't be held personally liable for anything, just your company, though they might fire you.

> "We have a legal team and it is not my place to determine what is legal and illegal and that you need to only do as you are told"

This is the truth. I don't question the legality of every task I'm given. If I work for  MacDonals I don't have to know if the meat was legally harvested when I cook it.


Title: I am shaking so hard REDDIT YOU HAVE TO HELP ME, I KNOW I HAVE RIGHTS.

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Do you have a contact or worker through your section 8 program?Answer #2: Does she give you 24 hour notice before entering?


Title: My mother is refusing to take me for a screening for diabetes, when I have every reason to feel I need to.

Question:
So a few weeks ago, a very close friend (who will remain anonymous, because i respect their privacy) pointed out (after I complained about some physical pain I have been dealing with) that I made be showing signs of Type 1 Diabetes.  She did not say this just because of what I had previously stated.  As I said we are very close, so we vent to eachother quite frequently, so she is very familiar with what Im dealing with.  The signs Im showing include sleep deprivation, frequent cramps and headaches, frequent need to use the bathroom, and a frequent need to stay hydrated (I get dehydrated very quickly).  I also have an honestly trashy diet.  I have every reason to be concerned at this point.

I brought it up with my mother, and while I explained the situation to her and asked that she scheduled an appointment for a screening (Im only 16, making me a minor, so Im pretty sure need an adult to take care of it).  While I was talking, she looked extremely skeptical.  My parents are negligent, they have never taken me seriously when I complain about something that is very real, and have even out right laughed at me.

I have had to repeatedly bring it up, because she has not told me if she has scheduled the appointment.  The other night however, she had said that she talked to my sister in law (who apparently has a very deep understanding of medicine and heqlth, which I am not denying) about the current predicament.  According to said sister in law, all of the symptoms I had previously mentioned could be blamed on hormones.  Which I doubt entirely, even if this were true, hormones don't do that, and its not a valid diagnosis, as neither my mother or sister in law are licensed doctors.

All I asked was to schedule a screening appointment.  My mother denied me that, and blatantly went behind my back to talk to someone who had no involvement at all, when I wanted to keep this whole thing private.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Answer:
 Don't focus on a diagnosis. Don't even bring up diabetes. The fact is that you feel terrible and need to see a doctor. That's it. So there are two options, at least:

1. Go to a clinic or doctor yourself. They might or might not see you. Or:
2. Talk to a teacher or a counsellor at school, a "mandated reporter" and let them know you're having health issues and need to see a doctor but your parents won't take you to the doctor.

Good luck.


Title: How can I challenge a new state law?

Question: Location: Washington state. My state has a law going into effect which affects me and I want to challenge it on the grounds that it violates the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights. I have written up a good case and want to represent myself in an action against the state. Can someone explain to me the proper steps I need to take and the approximate cost?

Answer:
 In essence, you are asking us to teach you how to litigate a case from commencement to conclusion. And this is a particularly difficult type of case (attacking the validity of a statute). That's not the kind of guidance you can get on /r/legaladvice (nor anywhere else on Reddit, I think). What you really need is either a lawyer, or 3 years of law school and 5+ years of litigation experience.

Approximate costs:

Lawyer: $50,000+

Law school: $50,000 - $200,000 (more if you don't have an undergraduate degree already)

5+ years of litigation experience: Priceless


Title: Missed eviction hearing as landlord. What can I do? (IN, USA)

Question:
Indiana, USA. I had a eviction hearing today and missed the hearing. It was a pretty simple one as the tenant has paid for 17 days now. I had a family emergency and was unable to make it. Is there anything I can do to have this rescheduled?

Thanks in advance.

Tldr missed eviction hearing, can I get it rescheduled?

Answer:
 > missed eviction hearing, can I get it rescheduled?

I don't know specifically about your location, but it is usually "Start all over again."


Title: Investigated and reported illegal content to FBI, am I in trouble?

Question: 16M, California, USA. Okay, my anxiety is through the roof about this. I've been hearing about all this "Elsagate" and "Youtube wake up" stuff, about a pedophile ring hidden in youtube, and decided to investigate myself, I reported videos I found to youtube, but found there were some keywords consistent. I found these on twitter and instagram, along with links. I was an idiot and clicked on them and they were what appeared to be softcore CP. The sites claimed to be legal, but seemed super shady. Needless to say, I got out quick. I reported them to the sites the links were on. I stumbled upon more sites too, and googled them in images, more of the same, but some images looked like they might be actual CP, I got the names of these sites, along with the one's from before, and reported them all anonymously to the F.BI. I'm worried they're gonna go after me for investigating, I can't get what I saw out of my head and I want to throw up if I think about it. Do I need to lawyer up? Could I be labeled a sex offender? I'm underage and I'm scared this will ruin my life.

Answer: Your job is to stay in school and stay out of trouble. You are not Batman. You do not "investigate" by googling around.


Title: Teenage girl out-of-state scamming other young girls out of hundreds of dollars (California & Portland)

Question:
This occurred last year, but the scamming is still most likely going on. I'm seventeen myself, and own an Instagram-based online shop, and was scammed during a trade where another girl was supposed to send her items after receiving mine but blocked me instead. After posting about this incident, several dozen other girls reached out to me with similar stories, all involving the same sixteen-year old girl, Hailey, in Portland, Oregon.

She has made several fake accounts and scammed other girls out of thousands of dollars in money, gift cards, and items, and gotten away from it. She includes her real full name and a P.O. box for shipping information to the people she's scamming, which led to me finding her Facebook profile and contacting her family members about it. Only her older sister replied back, but she told me they live in separate households and apparently her mother is also a scammer and taught her daughter.

I tried confronting this girl personally through Facebook, and for some reason she created an elaborate story about her old best-friend using her identity to scam other people to ruin this poor girl's life...This led me to finding the profile of said-actual-scammer, only to discover that of, course, everything Hailey said was a lie.

All of my efforts at contacting this girl and her family has failed, and she continues to post on her social media photos of the same items she has stolen from other girls. I live in California, and she's in Oregon, so I'm not sure how to approach this, or if a case is even worth it. Another girl that reached out to me had lost $400 in cash and $300 in items and has contributed greatly to trying to get her to return everyone's items and money, but nothing has happened. We are unsure what to do. I'm sure this girl is still scamming people and creating false accounts, and most likely going to end up as a full criminal as an adult, but she's not recieving any punishment from her parents and I feel like she deserves her consequences soon. Thanks.

Answer: Have you considered calling the police? She is breaking the law.


Title: Autopay didn't pay my rent. Now the landlord is trying to make me pay late and legal fees

Question:
I live in NYC and last month I had some problems with the payment for my rent, however it wasn't on my end. I pay rent through this ClickPay website and I have autopay set up. For some reason, the autopay on the ClickPay website didn't go through last month. It has been working for the past few months, and it worked for this month, however it didn't for last month. Which is weird because I got an [email from ClickPay](https://imgur.com/a/jngwz) saying it was going through. Also this wasn't a funds issue because I had more than enough money in my account to pay rent.

Now instead of a simple email or a phone call, I get served legal documents a few days before this months rent is due saying that if we don't pay rent we will be kick out of the apartment. I say ok that's fine I'll just pay rent because the autopay just didn't work. Then I realized I was also hit with $400 in late and legal fees.

First of all, this was a result of the system the leasing office provides for us to pay rent so it's not my fault. The only thing I did differently last month was pay some late fees for my roommate but that was clearly marked as an additional payment and not as a replacement payment. There was even a pop-up confirming this. Second of all, this could've been resolved with a simple email or phone call. But now there's a legal firm has been involved although I'm pretty sure it one of those automatic things.

On top of that they won't respond to my calls. I've called them around 5 times and every time they say to leave a voicemail or take my contact information down but never call me back.  Either they're not responding to my calls on purpose or just keep forgetting. On top of that I called the leasing office and they don't know anything about it either. They simply said to call the law firm because it came from the law firm.

I didn't want to just pay it through ClickPay because I wasn't sure how to pay them. But since they weren't responding I ended up paying it through ClickPay yesterday on Nov 1st.

I emailed the leasing office explaining the situation and this is what they said:
>Payment of rent is the responsibility of the resident, regardless of any technical issues. We cannot waive the late or legal fees, and the account will continue to accrue late fees if they are not paid. If you need assistance in determining how to set up the payments on clickpay I have cc’ed David Schweizer in accounting who can assist. Thank you.

I'm not sure how to proceed. I'd rather not pay the late or legal fees but I've paid last months rent and late fees on ClickPay because I don't want more late fees. I have no idea how to pay the legal fees because the law firm won't get back to me. But again I'd rather not pay the fees. Is there anything I can do?

tldr: The autopay on the rent payment website didn't go through last month but it did this month so it wasn't cancelled. We were served legal papers saying we had to pay $400 in late and legal fees and I'd rather not.

Answer: They're right. And it sounds like you had several weeks to notice the rent money didn't come out. But yeah, at the end of the day it's your responsibility to ensure your rent is paid.


Title: gay marriage, transgender, multiple states, oh my!

Question:
Hi! My partner and I were both female and had a same sex marriage in MA in 2013. We returned to our home state of Oregon, where we were told to hold off getting a domestic partnership as Oregon was recognizing out of state same sex marriages.
In 2014, my partner transitioned to the male sex and gender, changing his name and gender in Oregon, which then enabled him to change his name with all government bodies, including Social Security, the passport office, and our state's DMV.
We are now not sure what to do. Do we get our MA license corrected for his name and gender? Do we use our current MA marriage certificate and keep his name change forms handy? Do we need to get married in OR?
We've spoken to several local lawyers and no one has been overly helpful, so we'd appreciate any advice. Thanks

Answer: I don't know anything about the laws in your jurisdiction, but if I was in your shoes I'd consult with an LGBT advocacy group as many are able to offer, if not legal services, then referrals to lawyers who are experienced in cases such as yours.


Title: Our PD dept. posted an address on Facebook, the post was basically saying they're working hard to keep our city's crime under control and called out this address. It's right behind my house. Is this legal? What actions can I take as a resident of the neighborhood?

Answer: You can complain to your elected officials about the police departments policies. There is nothing inherently illegal about a police department using thier Facebook page to point out addresses related to crimes or where they suspect crimes are occurring.


Title: Child molestation statutory limits ?

Question:
Location is Indiana. Someone close to me was raped when she was 12 by a 19 year old and resulted in her being pregnant and giving birth. She chose not to press charges at the time because of a fear of retaliation. She is 20 now. She has been thinking about the events again and is now curious as to if she could even press charges anymore. I’ve been doing some googling and it looks like she may be able to press charges until she is 31, but it was an older article. So I guess my question is, what is the statute of limitations in these circumstances? Also, if she would be able to press charges, how would we go about doing that?

The article I referenced is http://statelaws.findlaw.com/indiana-law/indiana-criminal-statute-of-limitations-laws.html

Thank you in advance!!

Answer: She needs to find an attorney. Although she can go straight to the police, having an attorney would let them make sure her best interests and the interests of the child are best represented.


Title: My(25F) property manager (40F+) sets up showings and asks me to show the home, moves tenant in randomly with notification, and doesn’t give them a key when doing so. What should i do?

Question:
I have been living at my residence for a year now. I live in a 3 story home, my room has a loft, a bathroom, and a living room. The only thing i share is a kitchen. My loft is extremely spacious. I have room to sit directly up..... and have a queen size mattress. With a space for another full size mattress as well in my loft. To put it lightly my room is great.

However my property manager had been doing things to that gets on my nerves. She ignores text, emails, and phone calls when i am asking or requesting something. And only replies when she is asking me to do something on her behalf. She asked me continuously to feel in and show random people around the house as possibly tenants. She gives out my number to these people, and they text me am i home could i let them in. I think this is extremely unprofessional. She is being paid to show people the home not me. She also moved people in and doesn’t give them a key, and sometimes doesn’t let me or the rest of the residence now. On three separate occasions i walked in and someone random said lived in the house. Using my things, and asking for me to leave the door unlocked because she hasn’t given them a key.

I have gotten sick of it i am a teacher and honestly am up from 5am to 11pm grading doing lessons and just working period. When i get off of work the last i want to do is have some random person asking me to do a showing, or letting someone in the house because she moves people in too fast and doesn’t even give them keys.

Am i wrong to be annoyed? Should i talk to her? How do i not come across rude?

TL;DR: Property manager moves random people in with notifications, she also doesn’t give them a key so i have to open the door from them, she gives out my number without my permission. And she asks me to shows random people the house and she literally only comes here when it involves money. I’m sick of it what should i do
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 At first I thought you owned the home and wondered why you didn't just fire her, but now I see you are one of the tenants. My first suggestion would be change your phone number and don't give her the new one. It's not your job to do her job. I would also suggest you let your landlord know, because they are paying this person a lot of money and would not be happy to hear she isn't doing her job.

As for moving in random people, that may be allowed if you all have separate leases. Of course you don't have to let anyone in if they don't have a key though. If they knock and no one answers, they'll call the PM. (If you feel you need to explain yourself, which you don't, you can say you had headphones on and didn't hear the door.) Needless to say, never leave the doors unlocked, that's just not safe. And if you find a stranger using your things you'd be well within your rights to call the PM and verify who they are.

I see that you don't want to seem rude, but honestly it would be okay to be rude in this situation. But either change your number or stop taking her calls and texts, and if she asks why, tell her you are too busy. That's all you need to say.


Title: My friend sold weed to a guy and was robbed at gunpoint

Question:
To keep a long story short, a year or so ago a friend of mine was selling weed on the side (illegally obviously). We have a friend on the Football team of the university we both attend and he said some of the incoming freshman wanted to buy some weed off of him. Fair enough right?

Well he meets them in their car, and upon entering the vehicle has a gun (what he says looked like a glock) shoved in his face. They proceeded to take the weed as well as his wallet (ID and everything) and then drive off.

Now needless to say my friend isn't to keen on going to prison and our "friend" on the team won't do shit because "snitches get stitches" and behavior like this apparently isn't terribly uncommon.

So any legal advice?

Edit: Location somewhere in the PAC-12 top 20

Edit pt.2: To clarify my friend is well aware that this type of thing is a job hazard and has subsequently quit. He's concerned because these guys do this shit all the time and according to the rumor mill may have set up another player on the team to take the fall for an armed robbery that happened not to long ago.

The administration and coaching staff aren't going to do shit obviously.

Answer: Your friend has no legal recourse. He could try /r/pettyrevenge for tips, but he should be prepared to suffer the consequences - which could include the same gun being discharged in his face.Answer #2: Cancel every card in the wallet and report the license lost. Get new everything in the wallet and place a fraud alert on your credit due to a lost wallet. Stop selling or hanging out with people who are selling weed.


Title: GF is authorized user of my credit card; do I have standing to sue for breach of a contract she made ? [WA]

Question:
My girlfriend made a reservation via VRBO for a vacation rental, and the property owner failed to make the premises available.

The series of excuses made by the owner and his representative are far-fetched but plausible, but in the end he never gave us the correct address of the property, making it impossible for us to occupy it.

My girlfriend has given up in frustration and wants me to pursue a refund.

While she is an authorized user (she has a separate card with her name imprinted on it), I am the sole account holder of the credit card.

I do believe the VRBO landlord to be a real person, living in an adjacent County.   The rental premises are in my County.

My legal question is:   do I have standing to sue the VRBO landlord in Small Claims because it's my credit card and thus my financial loss, or must my girlfriend be the plaintiff because she's the one who made the VRBO reservation, thus she's the party to the breached contract ?

Answer: Why don't you just do a charge back?


Title: Reporting suspected abuse/neglect of a patient in DE

Question: I'm a medical assistant for a private practice. We have an older patient who is brought in by her boyfriend/caretaker. She is obviously not being bathed or cared for well, and Friday was the first time he left her in the room alone with me for longer than a minute or two. Her demeanor changed almost immediately after he left and she spoke to me for the first time. She made eye contact with me also for the first time. When he came back, she broke eye contact and hunched over covering her face. I'm very concerned about her, but I'm not sure how to proceed with reporting this. Help!

Answer:
 > but I'm not sure how to proceed with reporting this.

Speak to the doctor at the private practice.  Doctors are held to an ethical standard and various reporting requirements.  This is something that they should know.


Title: [FL, USA] Friend can't pay medical bill, wondering how to proceed.

Question:
Asking for a friend on the opposite side of the country that doesn't use reddit.

Over the summer, my friend decided to try donating plasma at his college's drive. Unfortunately he passed out and someone called 911. He is one of millions in the US without health coverage.

He has never had a job and has been desperately trying for one once he graduated with his game development degree. He has been trying for anything within biking distance (no car) and he recently lost his wallet and can't buy another bus pass. So he's just been way down on his luck and with my own financial status I can't help him very much. So I'm reaching out here to see what he can do locally.

The hospital refuses to understand or care that he doesn't have a job and has been harassing him for months about his debt. I know it's business and everyone needs to get paid but I feel like they're being completely unreasonable.

Is there anything legally he can do until he lands a job? Should this be asked on r/personalfinance as well? Thank you for any advice!

Answer: Talk to them about a payment plan. As long as they know he’s paying something, they’ll likely back off.


Title: [NY] I am receiving debt collection notices in the mail addressed to the previous tenant. What should my course of action be?

Question:
I moved into my apartment in May. Since day one I've been getting letters addressed to the previous tenant from numerous companies, and today a law firm. I opened one of the letters by accident (didn't read the name) and it said that she is going to collections within 30 days. I know the other letters are of a similar vein because  they are stamped with OVERDUE or LAST NOTICE or COLLECTIONS. These letters are from groups like ATT, TWC, a local hospital, and a law firm.

My worry is that someone will come to the door or that I may get negatively effected by this. I work for the state legislature and any debt collection issues, whether they are mine or not, is a problem for my career. Can the fact that I live at the same address as the debtor mark my credit/reputation amongst lenders?

Should I contact the companies and law firm to let them know she no longer resides here?

What exactly should I do, if I should do anything at all?

Thanks!

Answer: Cross out the name on the envelope and put it back in the mailbox. You could also call the post office and let them know that the person no longer lives there.


Title: Can print t-shirts with politicians names without their consent?

Question:
All the designs are meant to be funny.
Edit: Los Angeles, California

Answer: Kim Jong Un would throw you in prison for that, comrade.


Title: [Oregon] Landlord provided strange list of cleaning fees for move-out

Question:
Some friends of mine are moving out of an apartment, and they were given a strange list of minimum charges for cleaning and repairs upon move out. The charges are set prices for each item in the apartment needing cleaned, not hourly rates (With one exception, $40/hr for garage cleaning?!?). Examples include: Range/Oven: $75, Stove top and burners: $120, Shower: $100, Mirror: $10, Cabinet: $20.

My understanding of Oregon tenant/landlord law is that the landlord may only charge for cleaning/repairs needed to return the unit to the original move-in condition (excluding normal wear and tear) plus professional floor cleaning IF it was in the lease and meets some other conditions. Those charges must be based on a reasonable hourly fee. Is charging in the way this list lays out allowed/enforceable, and if so how?

For context, I work a side gig cleaning apartments for a different property management company at $15 an hour. The average 2-bedroom apartment that hasn't been cleaned by the tenants would take me around 3 hours, and then the floors are professionally cleaned. The tenants are, to my knowledge, billed for my time plus the carpet cleaning fee and any time maintenance spends repairing damage. So for the cleaning portion, that would be around $45. But this list would bring the cost for those same 3 hours of work to minimum $630 before floors, repairs, blinds, etc. There are several items listed in the singular (cabinet, wall, window track), and that $630 is assuming they're not charging separately for each cabinet and track cleaned.

I've never seen this before and I'm baffled. Can anyone provide insight?
[Link to the list](http://imgur.com/a/jsdOu)

Edit: When reading over landlord tenant law, this is the relevant information I've found:
"A landlord is not required to repair damage caused by the tenant in order for the landlord to claim against the deposit for the cost to make the repair. Any labor costs the landlord assesses under this subsection for cleaning or repairs must be based on a reasonable hourly rate. The landlord may charge a reasonable hourly rate for the landlord’s own performance of cleaning or repair work."

Answer: IANAL but per the law you quoted (assuming it's accurate and relevant, which I have no knowledge of), the charges seem excessive. I would suggest responding to the landlord quoting the relevant law and asking what hourly rate these charges were based on. If it comes to a legal dispute and he withholds your security deposit based on these excessive charges, you can sue him in small claims court which does not require a lawyer.


Title: (Idaho) How would someone go about getting a 14 year old removed form the custody of their parents to live with relatives?

Question:
My girlfriends sister is in a pretty bad situation. Her parents are alcoholics, and her mother can be very emotionally abusive to her daughter, which has led to all sorts of problems. My gf was wondering if there was any way to "emancipate" her to have her move and live with her grandparents without her parents being able to legally claim her and make her move back home. she's afraid for her sisters wellbeing and didn't know where to look for answers so I found this sub for her, any help is appreciated.
thanks.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Call CPS. Make your willingness to provide a home if necessary known to them. If (and, more or less, only if) CPS decides to remove the kids from their home, then you may be contacted if you can provide an appropriate home, on a temporary basis until the parents comply with whatever plan CPS comes up with to address the immediate dangers.


Title: [NY] Can I Contact A Lawyer About A Witness Who Is A Liar? Should I?

Question:
So I've got this Facebook friend, we'll call him John. If you read enough of his posts, you start to realize that he lies, nonstop. He takes "vacations" where the only pictures are extreme closeups of his face, no background. He joined a rec sports league and was constantly bragging about having amazing stats, which if you research those numbers you realize he's on par with the pros, and just when people started asking him when they could come to his games, he suffered a catastrophic injury in his foot that forced him into retirement but he's never mentioned again. Fake hospitalizations; amazing acts of heroism (never, strangely enough, reported in a paper); people are always saying the rudest things within earshot and he always has the wittiest comeback to shut them down to the adoration of onlookers. I could go on and on. It's pretty bizarre but has never hurt anyone so I've just kept my tongue and never challenged him on inconsistencies.

So, a few weeks ago, John makes a very typical r/thathappened-style post about an incident involving him witnessing another person doing something criminal. Which, like, sure, whatever. I read it and moved on. But within the last couple of days, he's been posting about getting this guy arrested and standing witness at the trial. And now I'm kind of worried that a real, actual person is going to be affected by his lies. I mean, they're pretty serious charges. Is there a way for me to find the defendant's lawyer and tip him off that the only witness is a habitual liar? I've got screencaps of some of his wilder claims I could provide. But -- ethically, should I? I mean, maybe it actually did happen, but isn't that information someone in the court should have? I also want to acknowledge its entirely possible that he's making this ALL up and there's no court case at all.

Answer: Yes you can, and I think should, contact both the defense lawyer and the prosecutor. If you only contact the prosecutor, he’s obligated to disclose that to the defense, so you can kill two birds with one stone there. As a prosecutor myself, I would appreciate it and order an investigation into what you say.Answer #2: If you don’t have any proof that he’s saying anything truthful how do you know he isn’t just making the whole thing up? It sounds like something he would do from your description. If you can find out that he is actually part of a trial I don’t know that they’ll need any help confirming or denying his story. Either he witnessed a crime and will tell the story or he’s lying in which case the lawyers will tear him apart.


Title: Is this a scam.

Question:
The area this happened was in Memphis.
So last night, I just Downloaded POF. 30 Mins in scrolling through the app I ended up chatting with this girl who said she was 18. Her phone number was from Atlanta bc she claims she just moved to Memphis recently. I’m 20 years old. After sending a few chat bubbles in POF she asked me for my number. When she texted me, she sent me a selfie of her with an iPhone in the mirror. The text bubbles are green so that kinda confused me.
I’m her profile, she said she’s 18 but then reading she said over text she said she had an ex who’s 24 and she 17 turning 18 in 3 days. I’m not going to lie, it was late at night I was already sleepy, and I just assumed it was a typo she meant she was 18 turning 19 in 3 days, people can have typos and her texts had a lot of them.
The conversation soon started getting flirty, then nudes were exchanged and then suddenly she asked if I could meet up for a hook up. I told her no and I said maybe next time.

The day after, the Memphis sheriff office called saying there’s been a complaint about all this mess and that her father will call me to hopefully resolve this. Then next her father contacted me through the same number I was texting her with, basically saying he just wants it resolved peacefully without having to press charges against me.
He said if I give him 350 he’ll consider this resolved and won’t have to press any charges. I’m so scared at this point I gave him 110 bc that’s all I can send right now and I talked him into installments because I can’t pay the 350 in full.

I looked over and searched the phone number in google to see if anything pops up. I facebooked search the name of the father and the daughter and nothing popped up either.

The only concern I have on thinking this is real is I looked up the phone number the sheriff used to contact me and it matches a sheriffs office number  in Memphis.
Please any thought or advise.

Answer: 100% Scam. Stop sending money. Stop all communication,


Title: Are police quality handcuffs legal to possess in japan and can you buy them ?

Question: Im moving to Tokyo from Sydney with my family in February and would like to know ill still be able to practice bondage without getting into trouble (japanese prison is no place for a girl my age haha)

Answer:
 Do NOT bring these with you. You can be denied entry for deviancy.

Some reasons for denial of entry to Japan:

*     The foreign national will be denied landing Japan from health/sanitary perspectives;
*     The foreign national will be denied landing Japan because he/she has an antisocial nature;
*     The foreign national will be denied landing Japan because he/she has been deported from Japan;
*     The foreign national will be denied landing Japan because he/she would pose negative impacts on Japan's public interests or public security; or
*     The foreign national will be denied landing Japan in accordance with the reciprocity principle.

You can see how vague they are. If they think your handcuffs need explanation, and
you tell them you use them in sex, you could fall under reason 2 or 4.

And denial will be permanent most likely.Answer #2: Not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, don't use handcuffs. It's much easier to inadvertently cause nerve damage with handcuffs than nylon/leather cuffs or bondage tape. Also bondage tape just looks like a generic roll of tape.


Title: Drunk girl bit me; now I need surgery. Should I sue her?

Question:
Last week, my friend’s roommate passed out at the bar. Once we dragged her outside she proceeded to throw up and then lay in the street. My boyfriend and I decided to go home with my friend who needed help carrying her roommate up the stairs and into her room. On the way to my friend’s apartment, in an Uber, the roomate started throwing up again. After she was done, I moved her hair out of her face because there was throw up in it, and she bit my wrist so hard that my thumb went numb.

My thumb has now been numb for a week and I went to the doctors who have taken X-rays and are recommending surgery.

Here’s the thing, I think my insurance can pay for everything because I have Medicare, but this whole thing is because of her. Also I don’t have money to hire a lawyer. I feel bad suing her because she was blacked out the whole time and I wouldn’t want her to be in debt or anything. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.

Answer: Your question is a moral one rather than a legal one. She injured you and you have damages. The fact that she was drunk does not absolve her of responsibility. Whether you want to sue her to try to collect them is up to you. Have you tried talking to her about this?


Title: [TN, USA] If I sell digital points for a dollar per point on my website, who is responsible for paying the tax?

Question:
The purchased digital points are used to unlock various features on the site and can be traded/given to other users. Users can also win points in games on the website.

Users can then choose to "cash out" their points whenever they choose. Say they have accumulated 100 points, my website has to wire them $100. Who is responsible for paying the tax? Should there even be tax in this scenario?
Topic:
Tax Law

Answer: You're going to want an actual lawyer for this one. This involves money, money transferring, intangible goods converted to money, and (potentially) every country's particulars of law in regards to that.


Title: Moving forward?

Question:
I am in northern Nevada.

This has been the worst year of my life so far.

I am in desperate need of financial support for an attorney and other legal fees. I do not know how much it will cost.

Here is what I can say about my legal troubles:

I'm under Investigation after being hospitalized for blood loss from a miscarriage in May. A detective left a voicemail asking to set up an interview. I definitely don't think it's wise to speak to authority without legal representation.

Do I have to be arrested simply to preserve my rights in this matter??

Answer:
 Your lawyer will tell you not to speak to the police.

So don't speak to the police.

If you are arrested you will have the opportunity to seek a public defender.


Title: Mom possibly getting taken in by scam?

Question:
My mom met this guy online and I don't know what the context was, but apparently he offered to send her $23000, no strings attached. We were skeptical, but she just got the check today. He'd been calling her for about a month already, asking if she'd gotten it yet. He hasn't told her anything like asking for a portion of it, but I can't help but be suspicious. My mom called the company on the check and they said to open a bank account soon and deposit it or they would cancel it.

What do you guys think? Should I call the police or would going to the bank and asking them about it suffice?

Answer:
 She should destroy the check and cease all contact with this guy. Nothing good/legal will come of this.Answer #2: Nothing in life is free. $23K is never free. Answer #3: I am guessing its a cashier's check.

Those can be forged, but appear legitimate even to the bank. After you deposit the money, the bank will let you draw on it usually. So you gratefully send the money. A few days later, the bank informs you that the check is fraudulent.

Law firms get sucked in by this all the time.

I don't know if you are obligated to go to the police on just the suspicion of a scam.

She might want to tell him she deposited the check, and see what his next move is.Answer #4: Sounds like a set up for money laundering.Answer #5: seriously? common sense. don't cash it. it will bounce and she might get screwed out of 23k. she should say she cashed it and contact the federal check fraud agency.


Title: Our small town alderman are trying to pass an ordinance forbidding anyone from renting out their property for temporary use if said owner does not reside within the city limits. Is that legal?

Question:
I live in a quaint, but frustratingly anti-change small town in Mississippi. It is ruled by good-ole-boy alderman who are prone to poor decision making. They recently cost our city millions from getting sued by the feds for trying to block a psychology clinic from buying a building in town (they were scared crazy people would be wandering our streets..... yes, really). They did this against the advise of the city lawyer. Of course, they got sued and lost.

So, now they've set their sights on the great dangers of vrbo and airbnb and have decided the whole town is about to be bought out by city-slicker developers and they're going to stop it. As a property owner in town I am really upset. We live in a flood prone region, so it's not always easy to immediately sell your house. Having to one day move out of town and need to supplement our mortgage payment by renting out the property is a very real possibility, and not one I think a town ordinance should obstruct. Is this sort of restriction even legal? If not, where does one begin as a concerned citizen to stop it? Voting out is next to impossible. It's not like a mayor. I only get to vote for one alderman, and there are 6 who make the decisions.

Answer:
 > Voting out is next to impossible. It's not like a mayor. I only get to vote for one alderman, and there are 6 who make the decisions.

Then organize with other town members and vote all of them out.Answer #2: This sounds perfectly legal to me. I can't imagine that Mississippi has any state law that would supersede this. Your recourse here is political, not legal.


Title: City employee badmouthing me and my business? Options?

Question:
I live in the state of Minnesota.
I live in the small rural farming town. I have had an ongoing project building a large pole barn and have had SEVERAL challenges with the structure's construction, involving insurance claims on two separate occasions within a 6 month period. It has come to my attention this past weekend through mutual friends/neighbors that a member of the town's planning commission has been badmouthing me, my business (boarding stable--he stated to people I have too many horses, which I legally do not), and my property to other members of the community, very openly from what I have been told by two different sources, all about this barn construction issue. He has never once brought any of his concerns directly to myself or my husband and we find this behavior to be abhorrent and a possible reason why I am finding it difficult to get more business. Do we have any legal backing on this and if so, what should our next steps be?

I have emailed a few local attorneys on the situation but I am waiting for responses so I thought I would post this here as another way to get an opinion on what to do next, if I can do anything.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Answer:
 What you can do will depend entirely on context.

If a city employee is stating his opinion that you have too many horses or that your property isn't a good place for horses, that may be nothing but, possibly, an issue between the employee and the city.

If the city employee is stating facts that he knows or has reason to know are wrong (like that you've exceeded a local ordinance for allowable number of horses) that statement may be defamatory.

What do you want to have happen?

If you just want him to stop making the statements, and if they're defamatory, a conversation with that person is often a good start.  A cease and desist letter drafted by your attorney may be effective if the conversation fails.


Title: Judgement in criminal court is not being upheld.

Question:
My son was struck in the forehead by a BB another child shot from his yard into my yard. Police showed up, identified child, got a confession, and the child went to court and pleaded guilty.

When my child was struck, I took him to the ER as I was unsure of what to do and the BB was stuck under his skin just above his eyebrow. They did some kind of scan, determined it was not biodegradable, and sent us home with pain meds, antibiotics, and a referral for a plastic surgeon for removal.

We had it removed later on once it had healed up.

Judgement against the child that struck my child was for his parents to pay all medical bills and he had to do some community service.

It has been 6 months and the parents have not paid a single dime on the hospital bill. The hospital is now threatening collections.

I am in Tennessee and the judgement was made in the same.

What do I do to get these people to pay the bills, or at least begin paying on them so it doesn't go to collections?

They do have the bills as the judge asked us for them and gave them to the child's attorney.

tl;dr- criminal court judgement says another party must pay my child's medical bills, but it's been 6 months and they haven't paid a red cent. Help?

edit- apparently I missed some r's

Edit:

Made my first of what I thought was many calls to resolve this matter today. The hospital told me that all of the bills were paid in full back in March. The call I received stating otherwise must have been a scam. The defendants did in fact pay the hospital directly. Just wanted to let everyone know.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: For clarification, the family doesn't owe the medical bills. You do, as the family owes you. It can take a long time to collect on a judgment. You might want to pay the bills and then work on collecting from the family so that you're whole.


Title: Hi Reddit I'm in a shitty situation

Question: [removed]

Answer: That is not a legal question but a /r/relationship and /r/personalfinance question.


Title: My mom and step dad want to buy their new home in my and my step sisters name. What should I watch out for?

Question:
My mother and step dad are selling their homes, and retiring elsewhere. They are buying a home they hope to live out their days in. She has asked if the house can be purchased in my name and my step sisters name so that they do not own the assets. My step sister and I don't have much a relationship (parents met and married when we were already adults, and we live states apart.

So we are both married, opposite sides of the U.S., and I don't know enough about all this to know how to make sure we are all protected or why this shouldn't be done. Any advice is appreciated.

Edit: step sister lives in NY (where parents live now) I live in Florida, house will be purchased in Florida.

Answer: They are possibly setting you up for a lot of trouble down the line. Have they told you their reasoning for wanting to do this?


Title: My autistic brother was told to kill himself at work, got sent to psych ward on suicide watch.

Question:
My brother was told to kill himself by another peer employee at an amusement park in Idaho during a meeting with supervisors present. No one in the meeting said anything and my brother quit. Some months later, he is in such emotional torment over this that we send him to the psych ward to be on suicide watch. We will have lots of hospital bills for this. Should we seek legal council for damages? Could this become something bigger? We have had meetings with HR and they have said that they would contact us but nothing has come of this after months.

Thank you.

Answer:
 Nothing has come with it because there's no much here. It's going to be hard to see any action from one comment. Focus on moving on and getting you're brother the help he needs. Answer #2: >Could this become something bigger?

No.


Title: Can HR at Target say employees can share wage or salary information?

Answer: Yes.  You are allowed to share wage information if you'd like.


Title: [California, USA] Neighbors throw loud parties every night

Question:
hi there.

I lived in a managed building and my neighbors play loud music and have parties nearly every night. I have been calling management/security every night and they come up and tell them to stop but they only stop for 15-20 minutes and then its back.

I pay really expensive rent for my unit and I just don't really feel its fair for me to not be able to sleep in comfort due to my neighbor's behavior.

Is there anything I can do to get them to stop? I am the only unit that shares a wall with them so I am worried management doesn't understand how significant a problem this is because I am the only one who complains.

Answer: Call the police non-emergency number.


Title: (MS) A man whose name is the same as mine is damaging our shared name publicly

Question: There is a certain Professor in a certain Florida university who publicly denied a certain mass shooting event from 2012.  He and I share the same first and last names.  My question is whether or not I have legal foundation for suing him for damaging our name publicly with his ludicrous public remarks.

Answer:
 No. He's entitled to his opinion.Answer #2: No. Freedom is speech is a thing. He can say and do whatever he wants with his legal name.

You can legally change your name. Answer #3: You have no legal grounds for suing him.

However, were you to bring a frivolous lawsuit, you would also be damaging your shared name, not as much as him admittedly, and that would be a kind of poetic justice, I guess.


Title: [US, CA] Blackout uber ride

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You probably vommed in the car bro.Answer #2: The mere fact of your speaking with them or accepting their call almost certainly does you no harm. Only something you said that would bolster some case they have against you would do you harm. Don't say such a thing.

Overall, you're likely better served to find out what they're calling about than to take some kind of hard line before you know.


Title: (SC) DUI while on vacation.

Question: I live in MD. I have a suspended license in SC as I refused to blow and or do a field sobreity test. When I was twenty a received a PBJ for a DUI in MD. Will I be losing my license in MD as well? Will MD find out about this?

Answer: MD will almost certainly find out about this.  I strongly encourage you to stop drinking and driving.


Title: So I'm gonna fight this speeding ticket and I think I have a very strong case

Question:
Me and 2 other friends were on a road trip back from New Mexico to Arizona when a New Mexico cop started tailing me for like 3 miles. I have a radar detector so I knew he was checking my speed. I obviously was driving the limit the whole time and knew this guy was just looking for any reason to pull me over. Then there was a sudden turn I approached where the speed limit was an ADVISED 15mph. Being a tourist and not from that area I wasn't anticipating that but I immediately hit my breaks as we made the (sloped) turn onto the freeway. I believe I was going 55 the entire time I was followed until that turn where I tried slowing down as much as I could to 33. (Also the roads there change speed limits very often so it added to my confusion not knowing the area and whatnot).

So seconds later he turned on his lights and pulled me over. He gave me a ticket after I explained it was an honest to God accident and that I really did try to slow down. I mean cmon, why would I intentionally speed all of sudden with a cop car behind me that's been tailing me for miles?

Everything started to make sense to me after he gave me the ticket. He told me that a lot of drugs and narcotics are smuggled through this road and that he noticed some "indicators" (probably the AZ license plate). But anyway, we all consent to let him search my car and they find nothing and let us go. It was clear the only reason he wanted to pull me over to begin with (and give the ticket) was to ultimately inspect my car for drugs which I didn't have.

But yeah I gotta drive back up there for court. Wanted to get some tips, feedback, and so on from you guys. Do you think I have a strong chance of winning this case? Is a lawyer really needed or can I win this myself (broke college student)? Thanks.

Answer:
 I will give you my educated guess as to the strength of your case. I am a speeder, a very skilled trail attorney and a serious fast on my feet bullshitter. My current record in 40 years of speeding trials is 0-19. Your chance is probably as good as my opening for U2 in their next world tour. But what do I know.Answer #2: OK - are you saying that the "only" speed limit sign you didn't follow was an advisory one? Because if that's the case, you might actually have a case (and I'm stunned to say that: 99.9% of the posts we have here that say "I have a strong case" have squat).

Mind you - were you cited for going over the 15 advisory limit or for exceeding 55?Answer #3: > Do you think I have a strong chance of winning this case?

Well, what is your defense? Nothing you included in your narrative is a defense to the speeding charge. Answer #4: What statute were you ticketed under?

Also, if you saw a sign advising 15, why on earth were you going 55?


Title: What does the law say about having pirated copyrighted content in my Dropbox account.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Of course. You are in control of the account. You are liable for what you host with it. Putting illegal files on a Dropbox account doesn't magically disclaim you from copyright law.


Title: Plains Indian war bonnets signify a rank within their society, so, when some non-indigenous idiot wears a war bonnet to a concert, aren't they committing the crime of impersonating an authority figure? Like how they would be arrested if they wore a police uniform.

Answer: "Indian warrior" is not a legally defined authority figure, and at any length it generally would not count as impersonating a police officer if you are just dressed up in a costume and not trying to pass yourself off as one.Answer #2: No, as those Native American headdresses aren't part of the US govt or military. Also, you are free to wear a police/military uniform as a "costume" so long as you don't actually try to do anything that only a policeman/military person would have access to based on their position. IE: don't try to arrest someone dressed as a cop, or don't try to impersonate a military person to get VA benefits or benefits from a veterans group. Merely wearing a uniform isn't illegal.


Title: Can I take an advertisement out in my local newspaper recounting my terrible experience at the dentist?

Question:
I am in VA.

Basically I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning which is covered by my insurance. However after they had begun the exam, they said they needed to do a deep cleaning, which because i'm not a dentist or an insurance agent, I didnt know wasnt covered.  I understand it is on me to make sure I know exactly what is and isnt covered by my insurance, but I was made believe (by the admin assistant telling me verbatim "this is part routine maintenance work and your insurance allows one per year") that the procedure was just an additional part of the routine cleaning procedure and was all covered. When I called to ask about the billing codes they used, and why I was charged for something I was told was included, they changed their story from "yes it's all covered" to "sorry you misunderstood, it's not our job to give out accurate quotes".  When I asked to speak with the dentist directly, they told me I was not allowed to do so and if I came to their office again they would have me escorted off the premises.  I specifically made sure to remain calm and not swear on the phone, so the fact that they resorted to basically threatening me with police action for questioning their billing procedures makes me think they know they did something fucky.  I guess my question is, besides going back to my insurance company, can I take out a newspaper ad warning people of my experience? If I make over the top claims like "I would rather have my teeth be surgically removed by michael j fox than go back there" can I get in trouble? Am I allowed to use the actual name of the practice?

Thanks for your help.

Answer:
 - You have the right to freedom of speech and you're allowed to say true things
- Who reads the newspaper?
- Full page ads are expensive as fuck.
- What do you think your odds of any dentist agreeing to treat you if you do this?

Ultimately you're responsible for what they billed you, which you know.

When you reported this to the Virginia Board of Dentistry, what did they say?


Title: Father-in-Law is in prison in Japan. I don't know what to expect or if there's anything we can do. (Crosspost from r/needadvice)

Question:
A year ago we got the news that my father in law (we'll call him Phil) was arrested in Japan on narcotic charges. Phil is a good guy, but overly naive and trusting/gullible, I suspect he didn't realize exactly what he was doing. I don't believe he would have intentionally smuggled drugs anywhere.
Today we got the news that Phil received his sentence: 11 years in prison and 5 million yen (which could be commuted to 500 extra days in prison).
I don't know what we should expect. Is there an appeals process? Is there any way my partner and I can help Phil from afar? I'm actually a little worried that Phil is going to die in prison.
Up until now we've joked about the situation - crazy gullible Phil, being naive and trusting. Looks like he finally got himself into trouble! Honestly, I had expected him to be home in a year or two, so him getting 11 years was a shock.

My partner and I live in California, in the US. Everyone involved in this is a US citizen.

Answer: Is Phil an American citizen?  Was the US Embassy notified?


Title: Observed mail theft. Offender identified. How to proceed?

Question:
Observed a person whom the police was able to identify remove mail from my mailbox and take one or more pieces of mail. I've found [18 U.S.C. Sec. 1708](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1708) and have informed the postal inspector but have not received reply. Responding police officer characterized the man's actions as "wrong." How do I determine damages, jurisdiction, write complaint, where to file, and everything else I need to do please? Thank you!

EDIT: LOCATION: U.S., Georgia

EDIT2: The dude is a process server hired by an attorney who is a defendant and I am the plaintiff.

EDIT3: I called postal inspector but office closed. Called police and one officer responded. Took my statement, viewed my photographs of the guy in his vehicle at my mailbox, (distance and clarity are issues), and as mentioned, dude ID'ed when he returned to serve a civil process. Police did not search his vehicle. The one piece of mail (junk) remaining in box < amount I saw in his hands. 100% certain dude took mail while in employ of attorney, a defendant in a civil case.

Answer: We can make things VERY complicated by discussing whether or not the contents of your mailbox are yours or the USPS, but the bottom line is that you can't sue unless you suffered damages (eg. he stole something from your mailbox).  It will be difficult for you to prove that he stole something, since you don't know what he took from your mailbox.  For instance, just because someone mailed you $100 in cash and you didn't get it, that doesn't mean he took it from your mailbox - although if the timing of the mailing and the theft fit well, then a court might conclude that the guy took the envelope with the $100 out of your mailbox.


Title: Can my employer bill me for vacation or sick time?

Question:
Hi all, a coworker and i have a dispute about this. He claims that if you use your sick time or vacation time before you quit the company can send you a bill for what ever they value those for. I say the most they can try to ding you is for your last paycheck. Which one of us is right? This is also in AZ.

Edit- Also should say that vacation and paid sick are acrued but you are allowed to take the time when ever you want or need.

Answer:
 The way you phrase your question is confusing.

I'm assuming that you mean, if "if I go into the hole for vacation pay or sick pay, do I have to pay it all back if I quit before I've earned it?"

The answer is generally yes. Advances on vacation, sick time and even normal pay are treated like loans, not wages. They must be paid back as such. So yeah, you would owe the full amount.

**Edit** For clarification, all of this should be prefaced with "Unless you have an employment contract or company policy that states otherwise..."

For example, if your employment contract says, "At the beginning of each year, every employee will immediately receive 2 weeks paid vacation..." then you wouldn't have to pay it back.

But your edit says that it is accrued, not granted in entirety, so yeah, you have to pay it back.


Title: Can I drink before being sentenced for probation (DUI)

Question: Hello, I’m from Oklahoma (if that changes things at all) and I go to court on Tuesday for a first time DUI (misdemeanor), where i’ll be sentenced a year on probation. I’ve heard that they give alcohol tests, but I was curious if I’d be able to have a couple beers with some friends before being sentenced, if that’s against the law. Like what if it comes up on a test? Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 NAL but damn,  come on, use a little common sense.

Do not drink before going to court to be sentenced for a DUI. If they smell alcohol on you any number of things could be done to make that 1 yr probation seem like a life time.Answer #2: C'mon dude, get some help.


Title: [Illinois] Girlfriend wants to apply to disability, not sure what she's entitled to

Question:
GF (not married) has epilepsy and is unable to drive and perform a number of jobs. Previously she had a job while living in Chicago. In January 2017 She moved in with me outside of the city, and is unable to get a job here now that she's no longer around public transportation.

She is 31 years old and is on Medicare. Since moving she has gotten a new doctor that is local, and has had a 24 hour EEG which shows her having had seizures. She also has had an MRI showing abnormal brain activity. She also has records from her old doctors in Chicago showing similar results. She has been and still is on multiple medications for this, which helps, but seizures still persist usually on the order of roughly 3-20 absence seizures per month.

We're not sure what this entitles her to, or the best way to apply should she entitled to anything.

We're also not sure what other information may be relevant, and can provide it upon request.

Answer: Speak with a lawyer, most/all SSDI lawyers will only take money if you win.


Title: [TX] Family law - married girl I slept with is keeping the kid :O

Question:
So I've gotten myself in quite a sticky situation. I was sleeping with a married woman who's husband was away for weeks at a time for work (oil/gas industry). I ended up getting her pregnant, we freaked out a little, then after a couple weeks she told me she miscarried and that was the end of things, we stopped hanging out and talking.

Well it turns out she definitely did NOT have a miscarriage as she is still pregnant, and the timing lines up perfectly with when we were sleeping together. So I might be the parent, but I don't know for sure.

This is a really weird situation because I have no idea what she has actually told her husband or what she is thinking/ planning to do. Like is she trying to pretend it's his kid, for example? Or maybe he knows everything, and they're planning to raise it together anyway.

But anyway, my biggest concern legally is around potential child support. My big questions are:

1) If she never says anything to me, do I have any rights as a "maybe" parent to ask for a paternity test? (maybe based on text messages showing the affair?)

2) Can she show up 10 years later and ask for 10 years of child support after the fact? Is there any way to pre-empt this?

3) I know this is basically impossible, but if she did try to get child support, is there anyway to contest that based on the fact that she lied to me about being on birth control and lied to me about the miscarriage?

I already have some calls out to family lawyers to try to set up a consultation and get some answers but if anyone has any information in the mean time it would be really helpful. Thanks!

Answer:
 There's a presumption that her husband is the father, but it's rebuttable, and the fact that you were having sex with the mother around the time the child would have been conceived is enough for you to try to seek paternity if the child is, in fact, yours.

Get an attorney. You can't do much now other than get on Texas' putative father registry, but when the child is born, you and your attorney can file suit for a paternity test. This isn't a polite request: the court will almost always order one if there's a good reason to do so, and she cannot refuse a court order consequence-free.

If the paternity test determines that you are the father, then you can immediately sue to set up a custody, visitation, and child support order. You're unlikely to get split custody of a newborn, but you can aim for 50/50 custody and visitation starting more or less as soon as the child can be away from the mother for extended periods.

Texas generally will not order 10 years of back support, but can order some back support in some circumstances. Establishing a child support order immediately is good insurance against that, and being part of your child's life is a good way to reduce the amount of support owed (possibly to zero, or to even cause it to flow the other way, depending on your respective finances).

Her statements about birth control and miscarriage are mostly irrelevant. Either the child is yours and is entitled to your support, or isn't yours, and isn't entitled to your support.


Title: I'm a security guard at an assisted living facility. To save money, the facility has security and maintenance guys working as first responders. Is that legal?

Question: [Georgia, USA] None of us have any medical training whatsoever. We're told not to do anything but radio to the front desk to call an ambulance, but what if someone is having a seizure or a heart attack? Couldn't the person responding be held accountable if the family decides to sue?

Answer: No. You have no inherent duty to provide aid. You also have no training so you shouldn't do anything other then get help.