Title: Can stores and restaurants refuse a US Passport as proof of age for purchasing alcohol? [Montgomery County, Maryland]

Question:
So turning 21 pretty soon and when my brother got his horizontal ID (under 18 IDs are vertical) they sent it to him in the mail and when he attempted to use his vertical he was told that despite his DOB present on the card they could not sell alcohol without a horizontal ID.

So I don't currently have an ID card as I don't drive and mine having expired a while ago and I keep forgetting to deal with it. I do however have a biometric US Passport issued in July 2014. If I wanted to say, get a cocktail with my birthday dinner, do I run a chance of having my passport rejected by the waiter or manager at their discretion? I've used it in every other situation identification is needed and not one person has refused it as proof of age or residence.

tl;DR want drink, have birthday dinner planned but DMV appanrelty mails new ones and it takes a while, does a passport have a good chance of being accepted so I can get a drink or two?

Answer: I worked at a bar in montgomery county, md.  Passports are generally accepted, but it is the establishments discretion.  Doesnt hurt to phone ahead during non busy hours and ask a manager of their policy.


Title: Can a landlord ask me to leave my room for no reason? Renting in British Columbia.

Question: My landlord keeps requesting I go somewhere else to study because he wants the place to himself. I am trying to study in my room for an upcoming math exam, and due to ADHD I cannot focus worth a damn in public spaces. Is it even legal for my landlord to do this?

Answer:
 Is your landlord your roommate?  If so, then the two of you work out use of the space.  He cannot bar you from space you have sole rights to(like a bedroom) but you two have to work out use of common spaces.

Answer #2: No, he cannot make you leave your own room.


Title: Some girl rear ended me in a drive thru now she's claiming it's my fault

Question:
Yesterday I was taking my brother and cousin (both under 18) to get some ice cream cream from Baskin Robins. I decided I wanted a tea from Starbucks instead so I pulled into the drive thru (which was 2 lanes wide but only had one lane for the actual drive thru)  to grab my tea when I realized the drive thru was not for Starbucks but instead for the Dairy Queen attached to it. I pulled into the lane on the right and began to drive out of the drive through and there was a young girl, about 16, receiving her food, so I continued my path out. She started going forward and almost hit me so I stopped and she also came to a full stop. When she came to a full stop I move forward and she accelerated at that exact same time and rear ended me. I yelled out the window "Did you not see me" form my window and she responded no and I saw how young she was so I pulled to the side so other cars could get out. There was minimal damage to my car, really just a quarter sized dent and a scratch. She also had minimal damage, just some paint scratches and a golf-ball sized dent. She hit me and was at fault but she was super young and was apparently driving her Dad's car.  I exchanged information with her and told her to not worry and to just tell her dad what happened and contact me.

&#x200B;

Well today I got a call from my insurance. It seems her dad filed a claim and is stating that this was somehow my fault!? It's honestly probably $200 worth of damages and my car is not even worth fixing because the damage she did was so minimal. Whats the best course of action here?

Answer: Let the insurance duke it out. It is near impossible to win their case. Getting rear ended unless there’s dash cam footage of you backing into them is almost always the other drivers fault.


Title: Small Banking Error in my favor

Question: My bank credited $550 in my favor four days ago for some unknown reason, and after waiting two days to see what would happen, I withdrew the money and deposited it into the stock market. Am I doing anything illegal here? I haven't contacted the bank about this yet, but should I? Chicago, Illinois

Answer: Contact the bank. They will eventually take it back, even if it takes your account into the negative, which will then cost you additional fees.


Title: Is it Illegal to name my son Carl's Jr ?

Question:
I know this is a stupid question, but I would really like to know the answer.

Location : USA
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer: Do you really hate your son that much?Answer #2: If frank Zappa can name his kid moon unit one, you can name your kid Carls Jr.


Title: [Oregon] how to get a lawyer and get protection from neighbors on witch hunt?

Question:
So I didn't get evicted. The judge said they didn't have grounds to evict me but that I should leave because the aprtment made it clear they won't do anything to protect me against other residents who hate me.

The dog also was destroyed. I finally got through to the right people and gave proof of the multiple attacks so after the last one the dog was removed and destroyed. But since then the people are enraged and have organized more of a witch hunt. I need a police escort into my apartment at least 2 times a week. I'm being fined for other people vandalizing my door and littering in the hallway. People are calling my work spreading false lies that I'm a dog poisoner and killer. How do I get this to stop?? Can I sue for attempts at constructive eviction because this is going on? I still have to live here for 2 months.

And how do I find a lawyer to sue the neighbors whose dog has done all this? The amount of bills and fees and fines that are due to their dog attacking me exceed the small claims limit and I want it all back.

Answer:
 You can call the state bar for referrals for a personal injury attorney about the dog attacks and physical danger, if any.

Your neighbors hating you isn't going to be sufficient for a constructive eviction claim.  Your landlord has minimal responsibility or ability to change that.


Title: North Carolina: Negligent Discharge Gives Police Right To Search Private Home?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Searches and Seizures

Answer:
 >If I accidentally have my firearm go off whilst cleaning or inspecting, do the police who show up to investigate have the right to search my home?

Please go get an education from a local range. There is no reason for this to happen.

>Do I have to give them I.D. or allow them to inspect the discharged weapon?

Please go get educated and go take a basic gun safety course.

If you shoot out your window and your neighbor calls the cops and you are unwilling to explain? You shouldn't have a firearm.

> (I am not allowed to fire my guns at my house).

Why was this necessary to add?

You really need to speak to someone about basic gun safety.

If I "accidentally" fired while dissembling or cleaning a weapon? I would call the local PD because I'm obviously not in the correct state of mind to be handling "boom boom sticks"

Seriously. This doesn't happen if someone pays just a little bit of attention.

Do you regularly keep a weapon on ready? Do you have a lawyer on standby?


Title: Fictional minor sex question

Question: If I write about two completely fictional people below the age of 18 but above the legal age in the fictional country they're set in, could I get in trouble for writing a sex scene with two minors in it, in the united states? In Florida, the age of consent is kinda weird from what I understand (only a recent resident). The characters in question are high schoolers approx 16 or 17 years old. Or should I just "scene cut" it or and leave it to interpretation to be safe?

Answer:
 You can't get in legal trouble for writing an obvious piece of fiction, no matter the contents.

Source: United States Constitution, 1st Amendment.


Title: Citation For Speeding Even Though The Officer Has No Proof of Me Doing so.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Him seeing you is proof enough that you were speeding. Officers are specially trained to help determine speed based on how far you are going past objects.


Title: Unknowingly bought stolen merchandise on craigslist and have no way of proving I didn't steal it. [Minnesota]

Question: I need to preface this story by saying I work at a golf course behind the counter. When things go missing, they typically get turned in to me. Last summer I purchased a range finder on craigslist for a relatively cheap price, but it was old and pretty beat up. I even met the guy in the parking lot of the place I work. I didn't ask for a receipt because the guy seemed pretty normal. What I am trying to say is that I no inkling that this thing might be stolen. Fast-forward to last week. I still work at the golf course and still golf there regularly. I accidentally left the range finder in the cart I was using. I didn't realize till the next day when I was golfing again that I had lost it. The cart guy working told me he had found it last night and turned it in to the front desk last night. I think, sweet I am going to get it back. I go in and it is nowhere to be found. I call the guy who had been working the night before and leave a message asking where it is at. This happened on a thursday and I was heading out of town the next day. I decide to forget about it till the following monday. I go in and ask my manager about it, and he tells me that one of the members at the course recognized it as his buddies range finder that had been stolen last year. There was a distinct piece of tape on it holding the battery in. I tell my boss that I had purchased it on craigslist, but now it looks like I might of stolen it. I tried going back to find the email I had sent on craigslist but I had deleted it. I have no information about the guy I bought it from other than what I can vaguely remember about him. I can't find the original post on craigslist. I did tell my girlfriend and the aforementioned cart guy who is a friend about the purchase when it occurred. What do I do? Can I be arrested? Also, this all happened in Minnesota.

Answer: Well you are almost certainly out the money you paid for it.  The owner could file a police report and the police would take statements from everybody.  You would want a lawyer before answering their questions.


Title: Innocent person, wrongly convicted of murder, seeking public opinion answers.

Question:
In California: A person, sentenced to Life Without Parole, is learning the law and writing their own legal briefs, is seeking your answers (much like a POLL) to a few questions. Please answer one or all of the questions.

1. In a deadlocked jury, should a jurist consider a "red hair" found on the victim's body, being used against a blonde suspect and the victim had black hair?
2. How would you feel if your lawyer withheld 97% of the state's file when you requested to see the entire file?
3. How would you feel if your lawyer wrote false, incriminating facts into your serious briefs?
4. How would you feel if the district Attorney wrote false, incriminating into his briefs and you lost the case because of those lies?
5. If your answers in an interrogation were altered when they created the transcripts, would this be considered as accurate?
6. Would you find a confession for a crime where that confessor's DNA was located as being incriminating?
7. In a DNA case, would it be necessary to hire DNA experts, if your client claimed he was innocent?
8. Would you consider testimony by a witness as being perjury if his previous police statements were different?
9. Would you believe the testifying detective if he stated that the transcripts he created were accurately created by him?
10. As a juror and after just listening to a recording, would you believe the judge if he told you what you heard was original media?
11. Would changing your answer from "NO" to "UM YEA" when they created the transcript be considered as fraud or false evidence?

Answer:
 You're asking some extremely leading questions. Perhaps you should come out and state your position, in plain language, instead.

If you feel that your lawyer acted against your best interests, consult with a second lawyer - _not_ a jailhouse "lawyer" - to review the case and decide whether to file a professional complaint or file for an appeal. Do this **immediately** once the issue is discovered, as the window for an appeal is very short and waiting around may cost you your opportunity.


Title: Nanny calling CPS

Question:
Hello. I am a nanny in Ohio (United States) where there is verbal and emotional abuse in the home I work at including cussing and screaming at children, threatening to throw away valuables, holes in the wall, one of the kids had even written a suicidal note in the past (at an early age). I do not know of any physical abuse. I am considering calling CPS to make a report because several people have told me what is happening is more than enough to have a representative from CPS come to the home.

I would like to know if what is going on should be reported and what that will look like.

Thank you.

Answer:
 File a report. Emphasize what you know as fact, firsthand. From my experience, what constitutes abuse  can be interpreted very differently. However, a welfare check could be a motivator for these folks to take a hard look at how they’re behaving and consider how this effects the kids. Be prepared to find other work, they may (hopefully) make changes that could impact your employment. Answer #2: If you do report I'd start looking for a new job just in case.Answer #3: File the report with CPS and find a new job.

A young child writing a suicide note means something is really, really screwed up. Regardless of how it impacts your career, the children need to be protected.

Answer #4: File a report, let CPS figure out the facts. It's what they do, it's their job, it's what they are good at.


Title: [NY] Roommate didn’t pay rent last two months - can’t get back my portion of the security deposit

Question:
Hey legaladvice, my roommate and I moved out of our apartment in NYC in June and haven’t received our security deposit back yet. When I reached out to the landlord they informed me that a months worth of rent wasn’t paid and they haven’t released the security deposit for that reason yet (security deposit is one month’s worth of rent). I contacted my old roommate who admitted over text that he sent in the last two months worth of rent (we each paid half) via check (we usually paid through an online portal) but that the checks were never cashed.
We are both on the lease together and I have records from the online portal showing that I paid rent for every month.

What are the right steps for me to ensure that i get my security deposit back? If he simply pays me my half of the security deposit will that lead to legal issues with the landlord or open me up to having to pay that back to then get the security deposit? If I do reach out to him about getting it back directly or for him to contact the landlord, is there anything I should consider to not potentially screw me somewhere down the line if I do need to take legal action (if necessary I am willing to take either party to court but don’t think I can take the landlord to court)

Thanks for the help. I hope this post has all the required details.

Answer: Your landlord doesn't owe you the security deposit if rent wasn't paid. You can sue your former roommate.


Title: Mother started a restauraunt with $500k, is selling for $1m. How much does she pay in taxes?

Question:
All mentioned above.
EDIT: She will be hiring an accountant but wants a ballpark figure.

Answer: WTF, your mother is about to gross out a sale of $1m, and possibly net out $500k, and she can't afford an accountant?  Here's my strong advice.  Pay for actually useful advise and stop trying to figure it out on your own for free.


Title: My house burned down in January and the insurance company still has not paid us our personal property money. Is there anything we can do?

Question: Back in January our house burned down. We have already received one payment from the insurance company but they haven’t paid us for our personal property losses, despite us finishing the paperwork three months ago. The main issue I have isn’t with the fact that we haven’t been paid yet, it’s the agent we’re dealing with. He keeps giving us the run around. When we bought our new house about two months ago he told us that we should be getting our money that week. Then about a month ago he told us he was just now submitting it. And then we spoke with him again today and he told us he was going to submit it this evening. I am having a hard time understanding why he is lying to us. If it takes a long time to get us our money that’s fine, but this unnecessary lying is starting to get on my nerves. Is there anything that can be done or do we have to just sit around in this almost empty house waiting for the insurance company to pay us whenever they decide to?

Answer: Auto insurance adjuster here. Just keep going up the chain. Your agent has a manager, their manager has a manager, and so on. Get high enough up the chain and things get done. Answer #2: One thing thats worked for me when I was getting a run-around was to go to the office and plant myself in the lobby for a while. After a bit i spoke with the bank manager and my issues were sorted.Answer #3: Talk to the corporate office of your insurance carrier, not the agent, and get the name of whom you are speaking to.  Make sure that you are getting the answers you need to get and expect to spend some time on the phone with many people.


Title: Supposed to move in four days ago according to lease, landlord is dodging my phone calls/not responding. Can I get my damage deposit back and get out of this lease?

Question:
Location: Indiana, USA

I recently moved out of a three bedroom house, and signed a lease for a one bedroom with the same company.

At first, they said via text messages that I'd be able to move in on the 8th of August. Once I went in to actually sign the lease, it said that I could move in on the 15th. When the 15th started rolling around and I hadn't received any phone calls or emails regarding my specific move-in time, I started communicating with them. Or attempting to, at least.

I called their office, I called another number they gave me, I showed up to their office several times, waited for the email they said they would be sending, and have listened a million different excuses, ranging from "Come back in the afternoon, the person you need to speak to will be here then," to "We don't move people in on weekends, only on weekdays."

I'd like to get my damage deposit back and find a new place. I'd be able to "lawyer up" (my University has a lawyer on staff specifically to help students with their legal trouble) but I'd like to figure out if I have a case in the first place. Any information on my options here would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Answer: Yes you can. The contract is breached.


Title: Good friend of mine needs clean urine for job drug test (WA, USA)

Question:
Hey everyone, quick question.

A good friend of mine has a job interview at a non-government job soon. He has recently quit smoking weed and has been clean for about two weeks. He needs clean urine, and I feel really uncomfortable doing something that could get me in trouble.

Does anyone know if me providing him with clean urine is illegal? I've looked around, and the only answer I can seem to get is "in some places."

Anyway, I'm in Washington State. Any advice is appreciated.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 > Does anyone know if me providing him with clean urine is illegal?

Everyone here, including you, *knows this is illegal*.


Title: Parents threatening me with guardianship (Nebraska)

Question: I am 18 years old and will turn 19 in July, making me a legal adult. My parents have threatened to send me to long term treatment if I don't stop smoking pot. They say that when I'm 19 they'll convince a judge I'm a danger to myself and get guardianship of me and force me to go to long term treatment. Now, let it be known that I have a job, I'm planning to start college in the fall, I have a healthy social network etc. I'm not a moron, basically, and I feel as though it should be my decision what I put into my body. What are the chances that a judge would actually take control of my own life away from me? I think my parents might just be bluffing but I need to make sure it wouldn't be as easy as they make it sound, because if it is, I'll need to plan accordingly. Thank you.

Answer: I'm gonna say the chances of your parents being able to gain guardianship over you for that reason are pretty low, especially if you've shown that you're a functioning adult.  Not legal advice, but get out of there quick if you're that worried about it.


Title: [IL] Can a job application for a part time position at a chain crafts store ask if I've been in any car accidents in the last 5 years?

Question: There's then a follow up prompt that you must answer explaining the situation. This doesn't seem right considering they won't be handing out insurance.

Answer: They can ask, you don't have to answer. Especially if you're not applying for a driving position.Answer #2: they can ask you damn near anything... but you don't have to answer


Title: Therapist warned he would tell my primary care doctor about my alcohol abuse if I didn’t tell her first.

Question:
I go to a healthcare center that has PCPs and mental health professionals under one roof. Your doctors work together to come up with the best healthcare options for you. When I have a session with my therapist his notes go into his log which can be seen by anyone in the system. Only certain people are ALLOWED to look: the director (never met him) and also my primary care doctor. I did not know this when I started although he did tell him in vague term and I signed something. I didn’t think too far into it because I’m very familiar with HIPAA and felt safe knowing those laws. From my understanding, with HIPAA, without my permission my therapist can’t tell anyone what I say during a session unless I’m going to seriously harm/kill myself or others, there are elderly being harmed, or there are children being harmed.

I told my therapist I was struggling with my alcohol use and we checked in about it from week to week. One week, when I told him I had been drinking more than usual. My primary care doctor was prescribing me Ativan (a benzo, like Xanax) and my therapist. He said this was very dangerous and that he would need to alert my PCP if my alcohol use. He said he didn’t want to have to do it, so I could tell her myself if I wanted, but no matter what she would be made aware. I felt extremely violated. I knew my doctor SHOULD know about this but I wasn’t ready to talk to her about it, I had mental health stuff I wanted to work on before changing my (destructive) routine. So right after my session, I sat down with my doctor and told her what was going on, even though I did NOT want to.

After that dreadful sitdown, a couple weeks passed and I went back in to work through how I felt that they compromised my privacy and that I felt shocked and violated, how I had never had a therapist do something like that. I asked a lot of questions about the healthcare center’s policies which is how I learned who has access to my session notes, etc.

My big question is, even though I signed something saying otherwise, isn’t my privacy STILL protected under HIPAA?

I want to know if this is legit and just not for me, or if this is violating people’s rights. I have stopped going there because of how weird I feel and wonder if others feel the same way. Also just FYI I’m almost 3 months sober so no worries there :) Thanks for reading!

Answer: HIPAA permits healthcare providers to converse about your care for treatment purposes without your permission.


Title: Can I hire someone to legally "testify" against my neighbors noisy dog?

Question:
My next door neighbor has a noisy dog. I won't go into the details other than it has to stop and we've tried asking politely and working with the police.

The problem is that the dog will bark for 20/30 minutes, then stop.

By the time the cops come the dog isn't barking.

We also can't video the dog barking which means the cops won't give them a ticket.

I was thinking about hiring an off duty cop to just sit out there and wait until the dog barks.  Would that work?

Can I also do this with a PI?

I figured it would cost me about $100 to hire a cop for 3 hours and it would yield them a $350 ticket every time.

Thoughts?

Answer: How is that better than your own testimony?


Title: Anywhere, USA - Hypothetical question about a good samaritan during active shooter situation

Question:
Hi all,

Not sure if this is the correct Reddit to post, specifically regarding a hypothetical, but this shower thought has been hitting me here or there for a few weeks. Here is the simple scenario:

Let's base it in a mall, and say there is an active shooter who has already injured 2 people. There is a good Samaritan who realizes this, he is legally carrying concealed, and takes action.

Scenario a) He has a high caliber handgun and when he shoots the  active shooter in defense of others, the bullet passes through him and injures/kills an innocent person behind him. Let's say he has a .45 or something, and it either passes through the shooter's stomach or head, but hits a woman behind him. Is action taken against the Good Samaritan?

Situation b) He goes to fire at the gunman, who is far enough away that it is a hard shot to make. He fires 2 bullets, the first of which hits the gunman, but the second misses by a hair and kills someone behind the gunman.

(optional) Situation c) Let's say the good samaritan Charlie pulls out his gun and shoots the active shooter, but a second good samaritan Bob arrives at the scene, confused, and thinks Charlie is the active shooter. He then proceeds to shoot and kill Charlie, by lack of knowledge. Would legal action be taken against Bob?

Answer: In all three of those situations the shooter could be prosecuted.  It would be at the prosecutor's discretion.


Title: (NYC)What Type of Attorney do I need if I'm being sued in a personal injury suit?

Question:
Long story short, I got into a car accident.

Due to me not paying close attentionto the bill I just paid, my insurance had just been canceled, not reinstated.

I just got the notice I am being sued for injury and now need to lawyer up to save the zero assets I have.

What type of attorney should I hire?

Bonus: what is the worst and best case scenario you can see from this major f**k up?

Thank you all in advance.

Answer:
 Your situation is a bit complicated. Most lawyers who practice personal injury defense do so as "appointed counsel," and are hired by the insurance company to provided the insured a defense. There is a whole specialization of practice which is insurance defense, and a subset that is personal injury/auto liability defense.

In your case, I think you need a lawyer who can do two things: 1) provide a defense to the personal injury lawsuit, and; 2) has experience with insurance bad faith. That is something of a rare breed. A lot of lawyers who practice in the civil defense bar do not do bad faith (i.e. going after your insurance company for not paying), because they are hired by insurance companies. It is just bad business.

In starting your search, I would contact the NY State Bar, and ask to be put in touch with an attorney who does insurance bad faith. From there, see if you can narrow it down to an attorney who also has experience defending personal injury lawsuits.

The odd thing, which is good though, is that the person suing you also has an interest in trying to find insurance coverage for this issue. As you pointed out, you have zilch for assets. That is not a fun case for the plaintiff, because, even if they win, you can't squeeze blood from a turnip.

Your lawyer should look into whether or not there is a grace period statute in NY, and what the effect is of a lapse in coverage. Most states have either statutes or insurance regulations which cover situations like this. It may still be possible to get the claim into coverage, and that should be explored.

Best of luck!


Title: Can I get fired for "sexual harassment" that occurred off company premises and of which there's no evidence? [OH]

Question:
I'm in Ohio.

A lot going on before and after this incident but leading up to this but just the facts are I sent a female coworker a Snapchat of my, ahem, genitals. This was a Friday night after work and neither of us were at work when it happened. Again there's a lot of context that I'm taking out but that's the black and white of it.

Three or so months have passed and she has now lodged a complaint with HR. We were both interviewed by HR. I lurk legaladvice so I didn't say anything and they said if I didn't cooperate with their investigation I would have to be suspended without pay until it concludes.

Also, unless she took a picture with another device I don't know if she has any evidence because I didn't get a warning on Snapchat that she took a screenshot.

The harassment policy is pretty vague and doesn't say anything about off-work stuff. Nothing about evidence either it just says HR will conduct a through investigation.

Can be fired if it occurred off work premises and the only evidence is her word? Worth it to talk to lawyer about wrongful termination if I am fired?

Answer:
 Ohio is an at will state which means they can fire you for any non illegally discriminatory reason barring a contract specifically stating otherwise or being in a union. This is a legitimate reason regardless. Answer #2: > Can be fired if it occurred off work premises and the only evidence is her word?

Yes. File for unemployment and look for a new job.

And life advice, don't dip your pen in company ink.


Title: I've got a nutty houseguest - Florida

Question:
So a young woman that my wife and I know came to us and said she had just lost her job, her lease was up, she just broke up with her boyfriend, and she needed a place to stay.

We had several medical issues in the family coming up, and knew her to be a responsible person, so we offered her to stay in a spare bedroom for a few months to help out while we all went through a tough few months.

It's now been 4 months, she stopped going to college, hasn't looked for a new job, our surgeries are over, and we told her it was time to move out, giving her 6 weeks to make arrangements.

Of course, she went ballistic, threatened suicide, claimed that because she had her mail changed to our address she didn't have to leave. We have a small child in the house, and several pets, and while she left for the night and says she will remove her stuff over the next few days... she often has said she's do something, and then doesn't.

She's had it good, a very nice house, no rent or any other compensation, and now that it's over, she's lashing out.

Anyone know if that "accepting mail in her name at our house" has any legal basis? I'd like to put all her stuff in the garage, give her the garage door remote, and change the locks and alarm code, but don't want a larger legal problem if she has any legal standing.

Anyone have any advice?

**FOLLOW UP, ONE WEEK LATER**: Everything is ok now. The day after her blowup, after she had been in her room all morning with no sounds at all, my wife insisted I had to check on her, to be sure that she hadn't actually killed herself. After knocking several times, with the dogs barking and cat screaming, I went in to find her asleep. I asked her very loudly, "Are you ok?", and she went ballistic again. At one point, I told her if she didn't stop yelling, I would call the police, and eventually she calmed down. One hour later, the police showed up, because she called them with a report of "feeling uncomfortable with us in the house". They heard her story, could easily pick apart the lies, and explained that if we didn't want her there, and she didn't feel comfortable, she should pick a day to be gone, and they would check in until she was out. She said she'd be gone within 3 days, and that was that. It was a very uncomfortable few days, but she is now gone - spurred on by the police coming every morning to check on her packing and moving progress.

Thanks to the advice here, I had prepared a formal written request that she vacate the property and that our offer for her to be our tenant was rescinded, the first step towards a formal eviction While the police were here, she refused to take the document, so the police requested it so they could put it in the official record, which they said counted as official receipt. She could have stayed for 30 days, but given her choice to involve the police, I guess she felt she had no choice but to go. All her stuff is out, locks and alarm codes are now changed, and the police are keeping an eye on the house.

Lesson learned - if you invite someone to stay in your residence, be sure there's either a written agreement, or it is for less than 30 days.

I appreciate the reddit help!

Answer:
 You have to give her 15 days written notice to vacate.

[Link](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/florida-notice-requirements-terminate-month-month-tenancy.html)

And after that if she does not leave then you have to file legal eviction


Title: [TX] My utility company has their customers' monthly bills accessible through unsecured public URLs, and I plan on confronting them about it. Are there any relevant laws or regulations I can point out? Is this legally considered negligent?

Question:
I recently discovered that I can copy the URL of any my bills from a particular utility company and send that link to anyone. I had my wife access the link from her work and she was able to view the PDF with no security challenge. I had a couple of my coworkers also check the link and the document came up right away. I'm a rather inexperienced programmer, but these guys each have decades of experience we all agreed that what we were seeing was a major security risk. These documents have first name, last name, full address, and phone number on them, and they're almost completely exposed. All you would have to do is guess the right filename.

To put it in context, these files would be safer if they were hosted as private uploads on imgur than they are now. Imgur's filenames are at least random. The filenames for these statements have simple patterns I can see just in my own bills. I believe that a single unsophisticated hacker could feasibly download every billing statement this company has in storage. You'd be able to find new documents quickly enough that your main concern would be to not accidentally DDOS the site with download requests. If the company doesn't have adequate monitoring in place they wouldn't even notice it happening. I'm honestly concerned that a hack may have already occurred and went unnoticed or was covered up. This is like security 101 of things not to do, and there may even be someone who comes back once a month to get all the new bills that were published. If I had my way they would have to go through a thorough external security audit to identify any other security flaws that have (I doubt this is the only one) and to prove they haven't already been hacked.

I have not tried to access anyone else's bills to confirm the security risk, and I'm not going to because I don't want the company to accuse me of hacking if they decide to shoot the messenger. I've read about people being prosecuted for "unauthorized access" under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in similar circumstances because they admitted to accessing the system in order to confirm it was broken. I feel like I have to give the company a chance to fix this because so many people's personal information is at risk, but I want to make sure I do it in a way that's most likely to have an impact and make sure I'm covering my bases while I do so. Are there any government agencies that would care about this? Any regulators that I could report it to? I've read about the FCC going after Wyndham Hotels for having shitty security when they were hacked, would they be interested in doing something proactively before any known hack has occurred? Are there any data protection laws applicable to Texas that would make a utility company responsible for adequately securing user data? At the very least, how can I make sure that I inform the company of the security flaw in way that makes sure that they can't deny knowing about it in the future if a hack does occur?

Answer: You can call the utility company and ask what the monthly bill is for any address. This isn't any different.


Title: Child custody - NCP homeless

Question:
(Nevada) In August myself and the NCP received our final order for child custody/support for one child. I was granted sole legal custody and the NCP was granted visitation - pick up child every other Friday from after school program and return to me by 6 PM on Sunday. The NCP also has some visitation during holidays, school breaks, etc.

About three weeks ago the NCP informed me (in writing)they are now homeless and would only like to have visitation during the day every other Sunday. The NCP did not exercise their visitation during the past few weeks I'm assuming due to their homelessness. The NCP is homeless by choice and suffers from a personality disorder that they should be seeking treatment for per our order. NCP is employed in the city I live in but has told me they are living in their van.

We were both represented by attorneys for most of our case. I do not currently have the funds to retain another one.

My question is since the NCP is forfeiting most of their visitation, do I have to honor their request to modify the visitation? The NCP contacted me today in writing requesting visitation only on this upcoming Sunday, forefeiting the first two days. I'm planning on submitting a motion to modify custody soon. Thank you

Answer:
 I accept that this isn't a legal answer but:

Why would you want to do this? Why would you want to stop your child's parent from seeing him/her? The NCP seems to have been reasonable about this, recognizing that he/she can't safely follow through with the visitation schedule. And here you are, trying to stop that.

Really?


Title: Property company has filed chapter 7 Bankruptcy, can I get out of my lease with that company?

Question: I am a college student and I have signed a lease to live in one of the companies properties next school year. Fearing that the bankruptcy will mean things won’t get fixed while I live there I would like to get out of my lease and live somewhere else. Is it possible for me to get out of my lease or am I SOL. (I haven’t moved in yet and I have emailed the company multiple times expressing my concerns and have yet to get a response)

Answer: Has the company defaulted on your lease in some way?


Title: Is technology allowed at family court hearings (i.e smart phone apps, tablet apps, laptops)

Question:
curious if there are any restrictions of having technology at court hearings and trails. would be of course useful to have information about the case and about law.

are their prohibition on this?

california

Answer: It very much depends on the judge and the court. You can call the court and ask.


Title: (crosspost from r/personalfinance) Employer changed the rules of compensation without any warning or notice, help?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 What is written into your employment agreement regarding bonuses? Answer #2: >There's also potential for a quarterly bonus based on consistent collections.

Is this documented anywhere? If so, they're obligated to pay it up until the point where they told you it was going away.

If not, there's not much you can do. It will likely be viewed as an occasional thing that you're not entitled to.


Title: [Texas] Should I call CPS on my neighbor or am I over extending?

Question:
Apologies in advance; I'm on mobile. Also my first time posting.

Me and my wife recently moved into our first apartment together a few months ago. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, (loud neighbors, upstairs people rolling bowling balls all along the floor all day, the usual.)

Anyways just now as she was taking out the garbage while I was changing my daughter's diaper, she said she saw one of our neighbors outside bringing in groceries with her very young daughter. (1 maybe 2 years old.) She was obviously disgruntled to begin with and the baby began throwing a temper tantrum.

The mother wasn't having any of it and decided to just PULL ONE ARM UP AND YANK THE BABY AIRBORNE just holding her in the air by one arm.

My wife saw this and audibly yelped in empathetic pain for the little girl and ran up and ask if she could help her bring in her groceries in an attempt to diffuse the situation and maybe spare the girl her arm being  dislocated.

The yelp must have pissed off the mother though because she was NOT appreciative of my wife and just responded "I guess so" in a really pissed of "who do you think you are judging me" way.

When they get to the door the mother starts yelling at the guy inside saying  "didn't you hear me at the dooe?!"

Anyways, me and my wife are concerned for the little baby but are afraid we may be over reacting to the situation. Should we call CPS? were also afraid this lady may know its us who called. But obviously the child's safety is more important.

Answer: I in no way have a legal background, but when child welfare is in question, I suggest calling CPS. Usually what you see is mild compared to what you don’t - better safe than sorry. It’s their job to investigate and determine whether or not the child is safe.


Title: Parked behind inconsiderate car on residential street, noticed “DICK” on SUV Rear glass, came back to my car having a rock and crack on windshield. [SoCal]

Question:
Title says it, just came to my car with a rock and significant crack on windshield.

Earlier today, when I was returning from running errands, I parked very closely to car that was parked infornt of an apartment complex, next to my apartment. The parking spots between the apartment driveways is sizeable to be able to fit two large suvs fairly spaciously or reasonably fit 3 compact cars.

Anyways, the car I parked behind was right in the smack of it. So that no possibly sedan could fit on either side without partially blocking a driveway. Luckily, or unluckily, I guessed right that I could fit right behind the car and not block the driveway, literally left a solid inch between my car and the car in front.

As i got out of my car I noticed that the dirty rear glass had “DICK” scribbled on, in sizeable letters. I chuckled, figuring out some poor sap tried to park in either spots, failed, and took it out on the windshield.

Now fastforward a couple of hours later, and I come out and see that there are now two different cars parked in front of me (like normal), but there’s a sizeable crack and rock on my windshield. I’m guessing that the owner of the suv figured it was me that wrote the “DICK” on their car but I didn’t. I actually have a dash cam, so it’ll show up that it was there when I pulled in to park.

What can/should I do?

Answer:
 No witnesses, no video=no way Jose!  Insurance claim and move on. Answer #2: Does your dash cam have a buffered parking mode with a G-sensor that records when parked? If not, head over to /r/dashcam for some great recommendations.

Unless you can show that the Dick car owner vandalized your car, it’s too circumstantial to hold up.

Is there any other store or place nearby that may have had a camera looking that way?Answer #3: You should contact your insurance and have them pay for the repair. You can't prove who actually did it.


Title: I have a privately held loan with one neighbor that another now wants to buy in an attempt to "control me". What are my rights? Everything I'm doing is legal according to the county but my dumb neighbor doesn't like change. And everyone says as long as I don't default I'm fine.

Question: I'm in Northern California.

Answer:
 Assuming you're in the US and this loan is actually legitimate:

Unless the terms of the loan stipulate the holder can demand or require certain actions, holding the loan does nothing for them. This isn't a 1930s gangster movie.

Follow the terms of the loan.


Title: Do you and your parents get deported because of marijuana

Question: Im in a really bad situation right now, i was caught at my school with possession of marijuana, and the court date is coming up. My family is stressed and they think they are going to be deported because we arent citizens. They think they will be arrested when we arrive at the court, and this was my first offense (im 14) please help, do i just get probation and community service or are we getting kicked out of usa and im in california.

Answer: Ask your attorney.


Title: [Ontario, Canada] A small printing businesses is denying my mother service because I left them a poor Google review.

Question:
Hey guys,

My mother's been using a local printer supplier for the past couple years, and I recently decided to give them a try.

My first experience with them involved the owner forgetting to open up the shop (so I could pick up my print job), and as a result, I wasted an hour driving to and from the closed print shop.

I left them a negative google review three months ago, and the owner has just since realized. After angrily confronting me when I picked up a print job for my mom, he called my mom and has decided to deny her service. She knew nothing of my review.

Other than filing some sort of complaint and finding a new paper supplier, is there anything we can do?
Topic:
Consumer Law

Answer: Nope. They're allowed to refuse you service for any reason short of your membership in one of the prohibited grounds.


Title: Got caught with drugs, what's the next step?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Time to retain a criminal defense attorney.


Title: I was fired last week, but there's a twist.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Of course there is nothing wrong with this. And it's far from a debacle, merely an ordinary day of business.


Title: Orthodontist Abused Me

Question:
NY: This happened many years ago in the mid '90s but it remains with me today (maybe this is the reason why I have such bad dental hygiene). During the years that I had braces the orthodontist I went to verbally abused me (not so much), but physically abused me; not in a sexually way. He was not the most gentle doctor and so what he did hurt all the time and I would flinch or move and in turn he would hit me or grab me hard and push me back in place. It wasn't just me, all of the other kids sitting in the seats around me suffered the same abuse. The assistants all saw what was going on but acted as if it was nothing.

Not sure what I am really asking for or if this even the right sub.

Answer:
 Lol what?  Braces hurt. That's just biology.

Edit: whoops, missed the line about getting hit and pushed into the chair.

What did your parents say when you told them? Answer #2: I'm very sorry to hear that this happened. If he is still practicing you can report him to the medical/dental board to which he answers, but the statute of limitation will have passed meaning that no other action can be taken. I would also encourage you to see a counselor about this once or twice. What happened to you is unfair and I'm sure hearing that not much can be done will bring back some of those painful unfair feelings. I am really sorry :(


Title: Charged with disorderly conduct last night

Question: I was at my friend's apartment building in downtown detroit last night and I went outside to let some friends into the building. I was on the sidewalk holding a beer and looking around for them and this cop car drives by, pulls over and two cops get out the car asking me what I'm doing. As I was answering them one of the cops told me to put my beer down and turn around. They handcuffed me, put me in the back of the car, and charged me with disorderly conduct with an open container. It seemed so excessive and I'm just wondering if I can get the charge completely thrown out.

Answer: An open container on a public sidewalk is illegal in the state of Michigan. The police don’t care if it’s just for a few minutes while you find your friends. Next time leave the beer inside.


Title: How to tell my ex to not come to my house legally

Question: So my ex and i just broke up last night and we lived together except she is not in the lease, just my roommates and i. She does pay but she just gives it to me since shes not on the lease. Most of her stuff is here and i cant even contact her because she texted me "DO not contact me again unless prompted to by law enforcement or a layer (in addition to bar license number) thank you and goodbye."When she texted me this it was 1 am and she was drunk, i know where she was at because we were together but she left with her sister and stayer there for the night. So she obviously does not want to talk anymore and im OK with it but she knows i will not be home tonight and im afraid that she will want to come to my house and take all of her belongings when im not there( possibly mess up my stuff, shes done it before so i wouldn't trust her alone) All my roommates and i will be gone and we will lock the doors. i know she has a key but i can tell her regardless not to use it since its not her house. I just wanted to see what i should text her so after she reads it, its illegal to come over without my permissoin just in case she decides to. Oregon

Answer:
 >  we lived together

She is a tenant. You can not lock her out. Review how you can go about legally evicting her.

In future, no shacking up.Answer #2: Uh . . .it's not illegal for her to come over.  It's illegal for you to lock her out/forbid her from being there when she is a tenant.Answer #3: You don't list where you are, but she's almost certainly a tenant (on the lease or not) if she's been paying rent and living there.


Title: [Ontario] being asked to give my inheritance back since I got my share "before death"

Question:
My dad died in January, he just got through Christmas and then gave up,

About ten years ago I was given $30,000 from my dad via my Sibling who was PoA as a way to reduce his income to qualify for an old age home. He wouldn't have known this. I thought this was a gift and that he had taken the same amount.  He remembers the conversation differently. He says he did not take any money and was going to wait to get his share when he died.

Now it turns out that I need to "pay it back" as it was an inheritance in advance. There is nothing in writing.   There was just enough in the bank account to pay the funeral.

I received a settlement directly from my dad's life insurance policy as beneficiary so I have the money handy to pay.  The insurance policy was $50,000.  I got $25,000.  But I need to give him $18,000,  half of $30k plus interest of what I was given 10 years ago.  He says the estate is short.

Look, it is family so I don't want to blow this all up but I don't know where to start. I would pay it to shut him up but my husband is aghast at the entire thing.

To:dr:  I think my brother emptied my dad's accounts when he was POA and now needs money to pay CRA.

Edit:  my brother was an accountant at one time but now sells boats.

Answer:
 As a beneficiary you can ask for an accounting of what the POA did.  Go get copies of the statements & figure out where the money went.

And for future reference, any time there is real money involved, get it all in writing.


Title: Teacher keylogging / snooping in personal files on flashdrive. Student-Privacy help?

Question:
Hello /r/legaladvice. I am writing because I have encountered a problem. I am currently 15 and in a Maryland High School taking a ITE course.

My ITE teacher has recently revealed to the class that he has secretly been keylogging us and knows all of the information we have put in to the school computers including passwords for non-school related sites that we were permitted to use, such as pandora radio and gmail/hotmail.

The teacher also said that he has been secretly snooping around in our portable USB devices that are a required school material. He threatened to report us to the authorities if we had any proxy servers or something that could bypass the county's school firewall, regardless of if we use them. (In my case the flashdrive is not only a school material and I need it outside of the school as well. I also use the proxy server as a tool in many out-of-school places.)

After some reading in the school policies it doesn't appear anywhere to mention students being keylogged is okay. If any further information is required I would be happy to supply it, just leave a comment or send me a PM.

EDIT: Or don't PM. Just leave a comment asking for more information and I will reply. :)
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 - No PMs here.

- Nothing on school computers is private.

- You must abide by school policy when using school computers.

- Your teacher will almost certainly not access your
Facebook/Twitter/Snapchat/Xanga/whatever-kids-use because that could get him in trouble and any ITE teacher should know better.

- Do not access any personal info on school computers. Answer #2: You have no reasonable expectation of privacy on a school or business computer.  They are perfectly within their legal rights to capture every website you visit and every keystroke/mouse gesture you make while using their computers.  They are also perfectly within their rights to scan the contents of any drives you connect to their computers.

If the teacher is violating school policy by doing this personally, you can complain to the principal.  That's it.


Title: Company "overpaid" several people on a bonus, they want to take it back now

Question: So, this is kinda hard to explain because there are a LOT of variables.  I work for a call center doing sales. We have two departments. Inbound,  and outbound.  Outbound requires more skill, therefore the bonus structure was very nice. I mention this because about 3 months ago they offered a rotation for inbound peeps to try out outbound while still helping with inbound 's workload.  This created a sort of hybrid position which resulted in a bonus equaling half of what a full time outbound rep would get. Fair right? Well fast forward to payout time. They gave the rotational participants a full payout rather than half. We were told by direct managers that it was because we preformed so well.  I just got out of a one on one with my Manger. She let me know that I owe my company 600 and some change due to an "overpayment". Apparently they aren't going to take it from our hourly pay, but future bonuses. On top of everything else, they changed the bonus structure for outbound resulting in what was an avg bonus of around 3500, to work out to a new avg of around 200. I think that the point of the rotation was to ensure that when the bonus change happened,  they would basically have a group of people who could not leave without taking a serious financial blow. My discrepancy was only 600 bucks, enough to sting but not cripple if I left. There are people who now owe over 1500. My question is, is this allowed? I live in Texas if that helps

Answer:
 It's going to boil down to if the overpayment constituted a true error on the company's part.    If they promised bonus X, paid bonus X, and now regret it, then no, it's not allowed.   If they promised bonus X, but payed bonus Y accidentally, then they are allowed to recover (Y - X).

However, they are allowed to edit the future bonus structure however they desire as long as they tell you, so they can decide that you only get $200 or $0 next year as long as they've told you.   Answer #2: > My question is, is this allowed?

Well, that depends.  First, if you were actually overpaid, you owe that money back.  They can't take it out of your regular pay without your permission.  Bonuses are a different story - so long as your regular pay is above minimum wage, they can change your bonus structure more-or-less at will.  If you have a contract, the contract will specify how/when this structure gets paid.


Title: [California] Fired for reselling merchandise intended as a gift. Twist: I only listed it.

Question:
I worked for a retailer. Long story short, I won a raffle, the prize of which was a very expensive model of merchandise that we carry.

I had literally JUST purchased a similar one using my employee discount a month prior. I was strapped for cash, so I made an ad on craigslist listing the item before I received it, so as to sell it more quickly. I know, bonehead move.

Somehow, my company found out, REFUSED TO GIVE ME THE ITEM, and fired me. The reason listed on the unemployment sheet was, "reselling merchandise intended to be a gift."

Thing is, I never sold it. I just listed it. Technically, they fired me for something I didn't do.

Do I have any case here?

Answer:
 No. You were selling it. Just because you had not finished doing something you shouldn't have been doing, doesn't change anything. Also, you are an at will employee, they can fire you for no reason if they choose. Answer #2: If you won the item fair and square, and if there were no conditions placed on receiving it, they probably still owe you that, or it's value, for the record. You can sue them in small claims court, and if I were in your position, I'd be pissed enough to do just that.

Here's information: http://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-smallclaims.htm

It's easy, cheap, and you don't need a lawyer for small claims court. In fact, you're not allowed to bring an attorney to small claims court in CA.


Title: [Alabama] My friend's apartment will be without electricity for two weeks

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 I would say, in any state in the US, not having power makes a unit uninhabitable. [This guide](http://www.limestonesheriff.com/FAQ/rent%20handbook.pdf) only talks about breaking the lease if the problem can't be fixed within 14 days. [This guide](http://adph.org/IAQ/assets/Landlordtenantfactsheet%20.pdf) talks about a 2006 law for tenants. I am not sure what it means about injunction relief.Answer #2: Not really in response to your specific question, but, if she wants power right away she needs to contact the energy company and threaten to file a complaint with your state's utility regulatory commission. They will be out in a few hours to install a new meter.

The number is  1-800-392-8050.

That said, I don't think it's the meter that's the problem, but rather the house wiring. It takes less than a minute to swap out a meter.  The electric company won't provide power to a dwelling that is a fire hazard.Answer #3: I do maintenance for a property management company, and not having power absolutely goes to the habitability of the unit, and in this state (WA) we have 48 hours to rectify, or the tenant has legal right to break the lease, and pursue damages from loss of power (spoiled food, dead pet fish from lack of filtration, whatever)... Furthermore, there are other laws here that require us to replace anything that was functioning at the time the lease was signed (like a/c) if it breaks, within 14 days I believe... But no power is no bueno. Big trouble.


Title: Can my landlord ask me to leave while his real estate agent inspects the unit?

Question:
I understand that my landlord can enter with 24 hour notice, but can he ask me to leave for 3 hours with all of my stuff still in the apartment while his agent comes alone to inspect the unit? Do I have any right to be there with my stuff?

Edit: I live in Virginia. Also, he's not showing the unit in this case. I'd leave for that no problem as a courtesy. His agent wants to do an inspection/take pictures in order to list the unit (with my furniture I'm guessing)

Answer: Residental laws vary widely by state and location. With that being said, it's **generally** a courtesy for you to leave while he's showing the place but you are **generally** not required to leave. Unless you live somewhere with really weird tenancy laws.


Title: [US-NY state] Company cancelled contract claiming "nobody lives there" - advice?

Question:
Throwaway because reasons....

I'd hired a pest control agency for an annual residential contract, prepaid in advance for that year. They came out once, then never again. I sent snail mail letter with a request to either tell me what's going on, or refund the balance unused. With tracking, so I know it got delivered.

Heard nothing. No call, no email, no snail return. Forgot about it for a few months (because winter, and things) so I started looking at other pest control services. Then a few weeks ago, a truck from the old service just...randomly showed up at my door.

No prior notification, I didn't sign a fresh contract for this year, no other contact ahead of time. (Didn't intend to sign a fresh contract, either, with their lack of response.)

I said as much to the employee at my door - who promptly laughed, and said:
   > "I cancelled the contract because nobody lives here, since nobody answered the door"

(So, do they do this with people who work dayshift??? Makes you wonder...)

**Editing for clarity:
We've lived in the house for over 6 years. We're just not always home, or awake during business hours.  (and I apparently can't format...)**

Needless to say, I was livid! At the employee's attitude, that they just arbitrarily decided the house was unoccupied, AND that they never bothered to contact me to find out what's going on!

I refused service on the spot on account of all three of this reasons, and immediately wrote them another letter, this time demanding refund of service not provided last year due to their cancelling of the prepaid contract. Again, with tracking, so I know they received it.

I have yet to hear anything from them, despite giving them snail, email and phone numbers, and I have NO intention of just letting this slide.

My questions for the legal beagles of the audience are:

1) If I continue to hear nothing, what next step(s) are recommended?

2) It's a small amount, so if it goes to court, I'm assuming it would be a small claims matter. Am I right?

3) If it goes to court, what are the general rules about adding interest for duration of nonpayment? Can I count interest from apparent month of cancellation, or just from when I flat out demanded a refund last month? Or is that not an option at all?

Answer:
 A little surprised no one's commented on this yet, but:

Keeping in mind that I am *not* a lawyer and you should probably talk to one if you plan on taking this to court, what you should do is call them again. Escalate to a manager. Make it clear (but be polite and calm while you're on the phone) that their employee cancelled your contract because no one answered the door, and you want a full refund.

You might have a hard time getting a refund, though, considering that when they *did* show up, you refused service; they could argue that they made a good faith effort to carry out their part of the contract.

I'm a little confused as to why you're trying to get answers out of them using physical letters, though. In my experience, most companies don't usually respond to those unless you've sent it to a customer service division or the CEO *and* you're complaining about something that's easy to see as "we fucked up" and not "dude making shit up"; 'your service rep cancelled my contract because we weren't home when the pest dude came by' doesn't sound believable. (I'm not saying you're lying - I'm just saying, the company is going to err on the side of "wtf, that sounds fake" and ignore the letter.)

So. Call them. State you want to talk with a manager. It'll probably get resolved in one phone-call if you do that.


Title: Got caught with drugs at a music festival and got charged with possession of a narcotic controlled substance

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Since you didn't put your location the only thing we can say is get an attorney.  If you can't afford one, request a public defender.

If you are in college (or headed there) a drug conviction may prevent you from receiving student loans.


Title: [Missouri] I want to adopt my step-son. Biological father has contacted the mother stating he's willing to hand over rights. Do I even need a lawyer for this? If so, what's a reasonable cost?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Missouri resident who got guardianship from a natural father here.

I spent just under 2k in costs and fees. It took about 9 months. It's **not** a matter of signing a form. The judge will want to have the father present in court. There will be more than one hearing.

I advise you to get a lawyer.

Edit: the natural father was out of state so I had to serve him multiple times. He also consented but didn't show up for the hearings which made it more costly and took longer.

Edit Two:

Consider this:

You:

> Judge, I want to adopt this little boy. I love him more than anything and I want to be his father. I'm willing to do anything and everything it takes to provide for him and raise him.

Judge:

>Where's your lawyer?

You:

>Welllll, we didn't really see the need to spend a bunch of time and money on this.

Judge:

>  ....Answer #2: Termination of parental rights and adoption are hyper technical. You definitely don't want to make a mistake now that will make it possible for bio dad to change his mind in 7 months and allow him to attack the adoption. You should get a lawyer.

Is the child any percentage American Indian? That will make a difference in the case's complexity.

Edit to add that $5000 for a completely uncontested termination and adoption does sound steep, but you'll want to shop around. That just may be the going rate in your geographical area.


Title: Former employer stole my money...lots of it.

Question:
(NY) I was an employee at a hedge fund and invested my own money into one of their funds, which are normally only open to large institutional investors. According to my employment agreement, if I were to leave that firm under *any* circumstances that money was to have been returned to me at cost. The amount is not insignificant to me -- it's about $40,000, and were from cheques I wrote out of my own pocket; ie it was *not* compensation in any way.

I ended up leaving for another firm. My old firm is now refusing to give me back the money because they say I violated my non-compete agreement. I asked for the money back and they are threatening to start arbitration/legal proceedings, which would cost me tens of thousands of dollars. In other words, they're basically extorting me. I can't afford to spend $50k-$200k just to have a chance at possibly recovering my $40k, and they know that.

Even more dishearteningly, this is not some rinky dink boiler room shop but a somewhat large and prominent firm with a long track record.

Any advice?

Answer: This is "talk to a lawyer" money.


Title: Can you be sued for not removing someone as a cosigner on a student loan? (NY, USA)

Question: Asking on behalf of my sister. A family friend cosigned on my sister's student loan 10-15 years ago. My sister has about $50k left. We have grown apart from this family friend, and she texted my sister a few months ago that my sister has 3 months to pay off the 50k remainder because the family friend wants to cosign her new husband's loans. My sister is actively paying the loans, but does not have 50k in the next few months to pay it all off. Now the family friend is saying she will sue my sister if my sister doesn't remove her from the loan. Is this a possibility?  Also worth mentioning- a year or so before she cosigned, her son died, so she may try to argue she was taken advantage of (not true, she was essentially our aunt and was just trying to help out).

Answer:
 >Now the family friend is saying she will sue my sister if my sister doesn't remove her from the loan. Is this a possibility?

No. Your sister has no authority to remove the friend as a cosigner. It's a promise between the friend and the lender.


Title: Moved out of home that I shared with my ex, 1 year and a half later he still won't let me get my belongings. Is there any legal way to go and get them? I'm in Wisconsin

Answer: Yes. Call the police non emergency line and ask for an escort to retrieve your stuff.


Title: [CA] Landlord's construction crew using my electricity.

Question:
My landlord has been performing construction on a neighboring tenant's unit for the past month.  Every day the construction crew has been plugging their equipment into my outdoor electrical socket - things like battery chargers, skil saws, air compressors, etc.  I don't know how much of an electricity bill this is raising, it might be negligible, but I don't think that I should have to cover that cost.  Any advice on how to proceed?

EDIT:  Thanks for the replies!  This was exactly the advice I was looking for.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 If you can locate the switch to that outlet in your circuit breaker, you can switch it off also.

edit: I should also add that you should not hurt your relationship with your landlord over this. The electricity bill increase is small; I can't see it being more than $20.


Title: who to talk to about reporting possible domestic abuse

Question:
I live in an apartment complex, the neighbors are a guy, his girlfriend, and kids. Almost everyday they are fighting. yelling, slamming stuff against the walls or sometimes just yelling out in the open. Talking with other tenants they've expressed concern informing me that the lady was seen with a black eye or some bruises. One even mentioned the guy hitting his kid open palm. I barely see the mom, and when I do it's really brief and she's really quiet; it's odd because she wasn't like that when they first moved in. I wanted to ask if she's in a safe place but I don't know the whole story and make assumptions. What if she gets offended or she isn't the victim and is the abuser? I don't know

I'm wondering who I should go to for this. I was thinking about writing to my landlord as this family violates some policies on the lease and have been bothering many tenants.

Answer: you call the cops.


Title: [va] Was almost raped last night, but escaped. I wasn't actually violated in any way, but the attempt was absolutely there. Can I do anything through the Police or Title IX (university)? Please help

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 I must have somehow missed the part where you described an attempted rape.Answer #2: Maybe false imprisonment here.

Attempt crimes require an overt act. Your school will definitely be more help her than the police at this point.Answer #3: No legal advice. I just wanted to say I'm so sorry this happened to you. Well done for getting away, and well done on wanting to do as much as you can to prevent this (or worse) happening to anyone else. It's very brave of you after what you went through.

After the adrenaline wears off consider seeing a counsellor at the school for a couple of sessions - it might help you get your head around what happened & they might also be able to help in terms of the school's response. In any case getting it off your chest can help. And if you can talk about it people will realise it can happen to them - that rape or attempted rape can happen to anyone.

It may not go far legally because (thank goodness) you got away, and because you went inside of your own choice (this is just the legal stuff). That doesn't mean it won't help others in the future. If they assaulted you or restrained you or stole your wallet you might have legal help. Can't hurt to talk to student law centre in any case.

Don't stay scared. You are doing all the right things here. Good luck.


Title: Mental illness discrimination

Question:
I am asking this for a friend and mostly wondering if they have a case worth speaking to a lawyer about.

My friend has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder by a psychiatrist. She is medicated and has never done anything aggressive or have any crime record whatsoever. Her fiance works at a religious private school. One of the schools policies for its employees is that unmarried couples cannot live together. It recently came to the administration that my friend with bipolar disorder and her fiance are living together. Not only is the school threatening to fire her fiance, but it has also said (not in writing, but I'm sure it could be attained) that my bipolar friend cannot come to the school because her disability is a danger to the children. Her fiance's boss also told a lot of the staff about the situation, which was supposed to be private and just between him and his boss. The school is privately owned so as long as her fiance agreed to the policy then he can legally be fired, but I do not think they can tell my bipolar friend she can't come to the school for something that is out of her control.

Is it legal to not allow a medicated mentally ill person into a private school? If it is who should I have her and her fiance report it to? Thank you for any help.

Edit: The school is in Texas

Answer:
 >One of the schools policies for its employees is that unmarried couples cannot live together.

That would why he would be fired.

>Is it legal to not allow a medicated mentally ill person into a private school?

Nope. She has no right to be on the campus. She isn't a student or a faculty member. She happens to live with (against the agreement the fiancee signed as part of a moral code) someone who works there. She has no right to be there.

Answer #2: it's a private school.  they can choose who they allow on their property.  but why does the bipolar girl care that she's not allowed?  it's her finance that works there, not her right?


Title: [Washington, US] Previous landlord requesting $1000 for new carpet after moving out

Question:
I have done a fair amount of research regarding my situation and found some conflicting reports so though I would give r/legaladvice a shot. Here's the situation:

* Lived in the same apartment for 2.5 years. Had a total refundable deposit of $400 (normal deposit + a pet deposit for cat).

* We moved out to buy a home. In the hectic process of moving out of the apartment on time while remodeling our first home we did not have time to do a formal walk through with the apartment manager (big mistake I now realize) nor did we document the condition we left everything in.

* 2 weeks after moving out I received a bill for multiple charges: replace stove drip tray, replace balcony screen door, repair nail holes and paint, and a general cleaning fee. These totaled to about $300.

* In addition to the above they sent a bill for $1100 to replace the carpet. So after taking the refundable portion of my deposit I owe them $1000.

I was furious after receiving this but just ignored it. Recently I received an email to get in contact with the apartment as my bill is due and soon to be sent to collections. Here is what I sent:

"I have reviewed the bill that was sent and have some significant issues with it. We put down a $400 refundable deposit that should have more than covered all the reasonable cleanup and repairs. It seems absurd to me that I am expected to pay over $1000 on top of the $400 deposit for new carpet.

Upon vacating the apartment we saw no signs that the carpet had issues requiring it to be replaced. Additionally, carpet is well known to be a “wear and tear” item and as such we cannot be expected to pay for brand new carpeting. According to Washington State Law RCW 59.18.130 which outlines the rules of a tenant, “Upon termination and vacation, restore the premises to their initial condition except for reasonable wear and tear.”

Moreover, Washington state law RCW 59.18.280 states, “No portion of any deposit shall be withheld on account of wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises.” As such I believe I am the one who is owed money from my deposit as having lived in the unit for 2.5 years, some reasonable use is to be expected of carpet.

If you would like to discuss further before pursuing legal options I can be contacted by cell at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Respectfully, ..."

They responded by claiming that I left the place a complete mess, did not do a walk through with them and that the carpet was damaged beyond wear and tear. They said no further discussion is needed and they will be sending my debt off to collections if payment is not received soon.

So my question is:

* If the carpet was as bad as they claim, then shouldn't I only have to pay the additional loss of life they didn't get out of it. So if carpet can be expected to last 5 years, since I was there 2.5 years they lost half of the expected life and therefor I should only be expected to pay 50% of the cost. Is this correct?

* How do I refute these charges without it affecting my credit score. Do i "pay under protest" and then sue them in small claims court?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Answer: Items depreciate. Carpet definitely does. You are correct to say that if a carpet is expected to have a 5 year lifespan and you move out after 2.5 years, they can only charge you for what the carpet is worth at that time for general wear and tear. Answer #2: IANAL but I was a property manager in Clark county and am familiar with WA state landlord tenant laws. There is no way that an $1100 charge for a new carpet will stand up in court. But they can send you to collections without taking you to court. You need to file a small claims suit against them for your security deposit back. They will have to defend all of the charges and back it up with evidence, receipts, and photos. I obviously can't guarantee you'll get a ton of money back but I seriously doubt a judge would award them $1100 for 2.5 years worth of carpet.


Title: [CA] Friend works at a restaurant, took a fake $100 bill, and the owners are docking her pay $100.

Question:
My friend works at a restaurant as a waitress and during one of her shifts she mistakenly took a fake $100 bill that was bleached from a $5. They have those counterfeit markers for that very purpose, but it being a bleached bill it came off as legit. When the boss found out it was fake from the bank he called my friend and informed her that he's docking her pay for the amount the bill was worth.

The boss also noticed it was fake only after he took it to the bank by holding it up to the light and seeing not the correct watermark.

Just wondering if the boss can actually dock my friend's pay over this or not. Thanks.

Answer: It is illegal in California to deduct from wages any losses incurred in the direct consequence of the discharge of the employee’s work duties.  She would be within her rights to sue the employer for unlawful withholding or to file a wage claim with the California Department of Industrial Relations.Answer #2: No, they can't dock her pay.  But they can fire her for the mistake.


Title: Hit pedistrian jaywalker with vehicle. 3 months later he's claming injuries and getting a lawyer.

Question:
In canada but will try to change details a bit for anonymity.

11pm, dark, night time. 1 lane traffic both ways. on either side, parked cars very close to driving lane. speed limit is 50km/h. my speed around the same and witnesses say the same.

pedistrian walks out between cars on my side of the road and onto the street, not at intersection. steps out in front of me. it was too dark and/or oncoming traffic headlights semi blinded me because i didn't see him until his body was inbetween my headlights (center of car) but 2-3 meters in front of me. i slam on brakes and slide. he sees me and tries to get across. so i hit him with front left headlight area. he rolls onto hood and hits left mirror too.

i told him not to move and called 911. got a stretcher just in case. i called insurance and they said well he hasn't made a claim so looks like he's fine.

3 months later he "finally" found me. apparently he didn't know my plate or police number. police came and get a statement from everybody.

he's on crutches, saying can't walk, and has a lawyer. how fucked am i?

will they say like 70-30...30% my fault cause i should've seem him sooner? i'm freaking out.

there was no damage to my car and insurance company said we don't need a lawyer but they just want to take a look at car now to make sure no damage cause they think he's overclaiming.

Edit: was also raining... That's why I slid

Answer:
 Your insurance is already aware and dealing with it so that's good. You say the guy has a lawyer- your insurance will deal with that aspect for you so don't feel too paranoid about that part.

You're likely going to have some percentage of liability but the majority will likely be his. Liability also has to do with what a reasonable person would do. Reasonably, someone won't walk out into the middle of the road to cross in the dark when there is oncoming traffic that may have difficulty spotting him due to the darkness.

It also sounds like he had plenty of time to decide to not cross if he was able to get out between your headlights and then even further and just be clipped by your driver's side so that may go in your favor.

Where in Canada are you? That may impact what your split of the liability means.


Title: USA, VA - Can my father make a will by himself? If he refuses what kind of problems could I encounter?

Question:
I've been trying to convince my dad to make a will since high school to no avail. He says he doesn't want to pay someone and has designated me to be in charge of most his estate by having me sign on as the primary beneficiary on every financial asset he has since he and my mom divorced in 2012.

I am concerned about not having an official will because I have half-siblings in Peru & Germany. Some of them have been known to have issues with money and my father has periodically disowned one of his sons due to poor life choices he made.

Could I face problems with them if my father does not create a will?

Do they have any claim to his estate without a will even though they live abroad and have never set foot in the US?

Answer:
 If your father dies without a will, some assets (especially insurance and retirement accounts) transfer or the basis of the beneficiary designation.  But others will transfer in probate based on the Virginia statutes applying to intestate estates.

If by "problems" you mean seeing something other than your father's wish that you have all the assets, then yes, you could face problems if he dies intestate.  Your father's direct descendants, even if they are outside the United States, may receive benefits in that scenario.

While form or template wills are generally less effective than an attorney drafted document, they would likely be more effective than none at all.  Especially if the instructions are as straightforward as you suggest.


Title: [CA] Can I record a meeting with my coworkers without letting them know?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Rofl. Yeah, if you're the new guy at a company, I can't think of a faster way to get fired than secretly recording meetings illegally and then trying to tattle to your boss about something.


Title: URGENT If someone is dropped by their insurance company because they drive for Uber is there any way they can appeal it?

Question: Asking for someone I know. He drives for Uber and his insurance company found out and they dropped him and sent him a letter. He was going to go and talk to his agent but on the day the dropping became effective he hit a person. He told me the cops told him she lost her foot and had other bones get broken. His insurance company won't cover him and neither will Uber since he wasn't driving for them when it happened. Is there any way he can appeal this? Is it legal for them to just drop him like this when he has always paid them any never made a claim before? Help me help my friend please. This all happened in Vermont.

Answer:
 I'm assuming his policy probably makes it pretty clear that he can't use the car for commercial activities. They didn't "just drop him", they dropped him because he violated their agreement.

He shouldn't have been driving at all once he knew he'd been dropped. Answer #2: If the insurance company has a clause about insurance being voided if you are a commercial driver, such as Uber, then yes he can be dropped.

He should not have been driving without insurance. He knew he had been dropped. This is on him. Legally, he is really up a creek. Answer #3: Most standard insurance agreements state that if the insured (your friend) uses the vehicle for commercial purposes, the policy can be voided.

Did you friend have commercial insurance or personal?


Title: [Texas] College still refusing to release transcript 30 days after paid in full - where to file complaint?

Question:
I had a student loan that was rescinded because I failed 2 classes (b/c I quit attending class).  The private university sent the account to a collections agent who then tacked on 30% of the balance as a "collection fee".  The school refused to let me pay them directly and told me that within 30 days from payment in full to the collection agency (including the $500 fee), they would release my transcript.

I paid in full on April 1st.  I provided the school proof that I had paid in full.  The money was removed from my account on April 1st.  The account is still on hold and I cannot request a transcript.

I called the school today and they said that if I paid in April, they will receive the funds mid-May and won't release the hold until they receive the funds from the collection agent.

Waiting 45-60 days after I've paid in full, plus an outrageous fee, seems wrong.  I can't register at a new school without my transcript and I need to get registered by the 15th.  When I told them this, they said there was nothing they could do.

Is there a government agency that regulates these things?  Do I contact the attorney general or someone else?

Answer: If it is their policy to wait until the funds have cleared there is nothing that you can do. There is no regulator who dictates how long a school must wait after you've paid an account off in collections.


Title: [OR] Are heirs required to pay utilities and insurance on house headed to foreclosure?

Question:
My mother passed away last month, leaving an estate $160,000 in debt, the bulk of which is her underwater reverse mortgage. Nobody in the family wants the house and we intend to let the lender foreclose on the home.

Beyond the initial phone call where they said foreclosure would start 90 days after her death, I do not know what to expect.  The lender doesn't answer their phone and has not replied to my letters.  What I'm concerned about is whether I should be paying utilities and home owners insurance until *something* happens.

What am I obligated to do to maintain the home?  She left exactly $0 behind, so any money towards her home would be out of my own pocket.
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer: No, you are not obliged to add your own money into the estate.  If the estate has any assets, it is obliged to continue making payments.  Otherwise, you are not obliged to pay for anything.Answer #2: It is important that you don't pay one cent of anything she owed, or you can become liable for some debt.


Title: Identity Theft, was paying for my own date and didn't even know it

Question: My daughter dated a guy for less than a month.  He stole her identity, took out several credit cards in her name.  Charged over 20,000.  Most of the charges occurred when he broke up, one charge was during the dating when he paid 800.00 to take her to a basketball game.  (front row).  He somehow got his address on her credit report.  Police report, credit almost fixed.  Problem. Capital One says she benefited from the charges made to the account so she owes the full 7,800.00.   Colorado.  Question: What is the best thing I can say to Capital One?

Answer: It's fraud plain and simple.  Capital One can go after the guy, but they can't go after your daughter, even if she did "benefit" from it.  Do not EVER agree to pay for it, verbally or in writing.  In fact, you should probably start recording your conversations.  I bet if you tell them you'll be recording the conversation their tune will change *real* fast.  Also fun is asking for it in writing.  "You want me to pay, send me a letter outlining what you think we owe and why."


Title: Run over by a co-worker

Question: So I was at work, this was two days ago, when I was walking out of the office headed to a job site, when walking through the parking lot one of my co-workers was returning from lunch.  I was in front of his truck walking, and I sensed he was pretty close to me.  I felt his truck bumper bump into me, and almost immediately it was like the truck tire caught my foot and I was dragged to the ground.  I screamed for him to stop, and luckily he did, but my foot was pinned underneath his truck tire.  He got out to see what happened, and seeing me still pinned underneath his truck, he jumped back in and backed up.  After assistance, I was taken to the hospital where I was informed that I suffered multiple fractures to my ankle.  I'm stuck at home now awaiting a call from workers comp, but now I'm being told that they may not cover the cost of this accident because they believe I was partially at fault, because I walked in front of the truck.  What should I do?  I'm worried that I may possibly lose my job over this, as well as any employment in the near future until I heal.  I have also lost the inability to work a 2nd job as well that I was working at nights to help supplement income, and now I'm stuck at home with no income coming in beyond my wife's income, and we struggled as it was with both of our incomes.

Answer: Do you have auto insurance? Make a claim with your PIP or med pay. They will cover lost wages.Answer #2: You want a personal injury lawyer to help you. They can make claims and deal with the guy who ran you overs medical insurance. You should also look into FMLA. That could legally protect your job while you are out of work for up to 12 weeks.


Title: Perjury in a small town court.

Question:
I am aware of a recent legal case where a witness for the prosecution committed perjury under oath. Basically, the witness denied having taken photographs of  the alleged criminal act when in fact, they did have photos and probably video.  The local prosecutor most certainly new the witness was lying under oath and had seen these photos.

How would someone pursue getting charges placed against that person?  Particularly knowing the prosecutor as being hostile to the charge.

Answer: You can contact your state's Bar Association and ask how to lodge a complaint against an attorney, and then file a complaint against the prosecutor.  No idea how far that will get you but it's something.


Title: My mom died, and she has a mortgage. What do I do?

Question:
My mom passed away and had a car & house. The mortgage was paid off but a loan was taken out against the house for $55,000 for the car and expenses. I have a sister whose grandparents have custody of her & she is 11. Since there is no will and I was next of kin, everything has been left to me. I want to explore keeping the house, but her grandparents are expecting me to give half of the value of the car and house to my sister. The lawyer I'm having to go through works for me yet goes through the grandparents via email and phone for matters that deal solely with me. I'm also in the army & I'm currently con leave due to related injuries. My time to decide is limited, but I'd like to keep the house. Keep in mind, I'm 19 and have no credit. The loan of $55,000 needs to be paid, I want the house - what can I do when it comes to the house and my sister?

EDIT: I'm in Arkansas.

Update: I spoke to my sister on the phone, and she has repeatedly told me she does not want me to sell the house. Her grandparents are ignoring her opinion, and I understand that she's underage and doesn't have a huge say - but her grandparents are disregarding what she wants. WE WANT THE HOUSE.

Answer:
 Since you're in the Army just a reminder that you always have the option to go talk to JAG. They won't represent you, but they will be happy to point you in the right direction and usually pretty good about counseling you about the basics. I used them to help deal with some credit collectors and it made a huge difference. Answer #2: The lawyer works for you but goes through your grandparents on matters relating to you and the estate? That's not kosher. Did you retain the lawyer yourself or did your grandparents? Your grandparents can expect whatever they want, it doesn't mean they will get it.Answer #3: >I have a sister whose grandparents have custody of her & she is 11. Since there is no will and I was next of kin, everything has been left to me.

If your sister was adopted by those grandparents this makes sense. Custody is not necessarily equal to adoption. But may have the same net effect. Speak to your lawyer about this.

>  The lawyer I'm having to go through works for me yet goes through the grandparents via email and phone for matters that deal solely with me.

Nope. See what /u/huckfinnster said.


Title: Weird Car Crash Question. [AZ]

Question:
**EDIT: My Insurance has (initially) ruled me 100% *not* at fault. I have been in contact with the other driver's insurance and they appear to be leaning toward ruling their driver (not me) at fault**

Hi Guys,
I've got some questions about a car crash my car was in.

**TLDR: Someone hit me when I was parked in an alleged no-parking zone on a private (HOA) road.**

I was parked on the side of the (private) street while visiting my parents. I was woken up by the police and the HOA security guard because the newspaper delivery lady had hit the front of my car. The HOA security guard stated I was parked in a no-parking zone. There were neither signs nor indications it was a "no-parking" zone. I and others have also been parking in that spot for years without any HOA problems. The police officer did not ticket either myself or the lady who hit me and did note I was in a no-parking zone in his report. *This took place in Phoenix, AZ. I have full (Comp+Collision) coverage. I would estimate the damages at around $2000. My deductible is $1000.*

1.  How likely is it that my insurance (USAA) will rule the other driver 100% at fault?
2. What is the most efficient thing to do in this situation?
3. Is there any risk my insurance premiums will go up?

Thank you everyone!

Answer:
 1. The other driver is quite possibly 100% at fault.  People are responsible for avoiding obstacles in the road; the technical legality of their presence usually isn't factor.

2. Contact your insurance company and file a claim.

3. That is a risk here.  It will depend on the findings of the insurance company and on their policy.


Title: [TN] I Was Fired After Customer Threaten Me

Question:
Last week a customer threaten to hurt me if his accounts were not updated by a certain day and he would return to harm me on that day. I checked his accounts and nothing was incorrect. However, he would not accept the information that I provided to him.

 I notified my supervisor if the threats and another coworker also reported the customer being aggressive with him. Then, I asked my supervisor if he could help the customer in the future as I did not to be harmed. My supervisor said no, he would not intervene or assist the customer if he returns to my desk.

The next day my supervisor decided to terminate me for not pressing the panic button and asking if he could assist the customer in the future. He stated I asked to refuse service to certain customers, but would not state why.

I did not press the panic button because the customer said he would return to hurt. He didn't present an immediate danger, but more of a conditional threat.

Can I be terminated if someone threatens to harm me and my employer fires me to avoid being reliable for any damages?

My employer has a policy for supervisors to intervene in threats. Can I use this policy as evidence in court?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: You can be fired for any reason. File for unemployment


Title: (WI) Small Kitten Thrown Out Car

Question:
I apologise for the loose fitting flair. It was the closest thing to "animal abuse laws," that I could find. I want to catch the person who hurt this kitten.

For context: I work for an animal rescue and sanctuary in a small city. This is not an Animal Cops ASPCA type place. This is a small, non-profit, no-kill series of foster houses. We take in those that are turned over to us or are rescued off the street. We do not take on horders or abuse cases.

A friend of mine rescued a kitten off the side of the road. He knows the exact spot. After a few little disappearing acts the kitten gained the name Houdini. Houdini was five weeks old, roughly, and seemed to be in good health. She had no viruses, bacterial infections, or even fleas: which is weird in Wisconsin colony cats.

However, Houdini has a severely fractured leg and (hopefully mild) internal bleeding. She is at risk of becoming a three legged kitten if the vets do not believe the pin intended for her will work properly. Its only due to a second vet's second opinion that she was not put down. We do not know if she'll even survive surgery.

According to the vet staff the injuries are almost certainly due to her being dumped out of an actively moving car. Had she been run over there would be different wounds - she'd have been squished. There is no squish. Just fractures and internal bleeding.

My question is, is there anything I can do legally here? I want to catch the person who dumped her. I want to ask any nearby businesses if they have security cameras which could have picked up the car's lisence plate or the face of whoever dumped Houdini. Is that a thing I can legally do? Can they be legally prosecuted for what they did by dumping her or is this, by default, a lost cause?

Regardless, thank you for your help and well wishes. I promise all of you that the rescue and I will do our best to ensure she lives a healthy, quality life.
Topic:
Medicine and Malpractice

Answer:
 Firstly I would like to thank you for your service to animals and for taking care of those that are the most vulnerable.

As for the things that you do legally to try and find the person, and please bare in mind that the actual chances of ever finding the person involved let alone getting any criminal charges is almost at 0%, you can ask local businesses to check their security cameras. Please know that they aren't obligated to do so, but if they do and they find anything on them then you're next stop is to go to the police and file an report of animal abuse and inform them that business X looked through their tapes and saw what they believed was animal abuse.

From there unfortunately there isn't much else you can do, and whether or not the police will go through the effort to get a proper warrant is completely on them.Answer #2: You really have no proof of a crime here. You have speculation at best of a vet tech.  Move on and see the cat gets a good home.