Title: A speeding ticket I genuinely believe I did not deserve requires a court date three states away next week. What are my options?

Question:
27M but I look very young, almost clean driving history within 5 or 6 years (no accidents or tickets, one verbal warning but no written warning), I live in Florida and got the ticket in North Carolina.

How I got the ticket and why I don't think I deserve it:

On a very, very long road in North Carolina that was one lane both ways, I was behind 4 or 5 cars with a prius in the front going 40 in 55 speed zone. I've been down this road about a half dozen times and people rarely drive less than 60 and often go 70 or 80.

We drove past multiple passing zones with not a single car in sight but none of the other cars ahead of me passed the prius, so eventually I gave up and as soon as the next passing zone started, I floored it and passed all of them. I was borrowing my grandmothers reasonably fast BMW (because my shitty Yaris probably wouldn't survive driving three states over and back) and managed to make it in front of the prius *just* before the double lines before a gentle turn started.

I've been driving for a living for almost a decade and have had two driving safety courses *and* a six hour professional racing class, so I have a lot of experience on the road, including at high speed. I don't know how fast I peaked at because my eyes never left the road (mostly watching for the rare oncoming car in case I needed to slow down and get back in my lane early). As soon as I got in front of the prius and as I entered the turn, I lifted off the gas and very lightly pressed the brake because braking too hard during a turn at high speed is a good way to lose control and spin out.

Well as soon as I come out of the turn, literally the very instant I started braking harder to a reasonable 60mph, a highway patrol officer was driving down the road coming the other way (not pulled over in a speed trap), had his radar already pointed at the turn, immediately turned on his lights and turned around to pull me over and claimed I was going 80.

So in other words, short of passing extremely slowly one car at a time, I passed in the safest way possible and only got a ticket because the cop happened to catch me on the radar before it would have even been safe for me to slow down

I was in disbelief but managed to mostly keep my calm and tried to explain to the officer I literally had my foot on the brake but couldn't brake before then because braking around a turn is dangerous, but his dismissive tone made it was obvious he had already decided to give me a ticket no matter what I said (probably thinking I was some spoiled, rich, white kid in my fancy BMW), so I soon gave up and just sourly responded to everything he said with yes/no sir.

___

Afterwards, I set my cruise control for exactly 55mph the entire rest of that very long road. Of course, that meant a *huge* line of cars built up behind me and I got passed at least a dozen times over the next couple hours. I took a picture of the dozens of cars built up behind me and the clear road for miles ahead of me, and several videos of people passing me and flying away at 80+ mph. I doubt it will actually make any difference, but I was pissed and it made me feel better.

Anyways, this was at the end of my first vacation in over two years while I've also been dealing with ADHD and depression, so not only was I absolutely livid at the unfairness of it all, but it also soured the whole experience and effectively cancelled any positive feelings I had gained from the vacation.

___

So... I ignored it. I know I should have dealt with it immediately, but dammit even thinking about it made me feel disgusted and angry, and kinda still does even a month later. Being post-vacation and with Christmas coming up, I just avoided the horrible feelings that ticket gave me and tried to actually enjoy myself for a little while.

Well, now my court date is next Friday (1/4/19), three states away in North Carolina, and even better, the ticket wasn't printed right, has those thick pink vertical lines showing it was low on ink, and multiple blank spots where either it just didn't print, or the ink faded, so I can't find any information about what I have to pay or what courthouse I need to go to.

So here are my questions:

Do I have any real legal ground to stand on if I were to contest this ticket in court? I.e. am I right in that I passed correctly and as safely as possible, and could feasibly have this ticket overturned if I had a lawyer?

Is there any way at all to avoid personally driving three states away again for a court date? Like, can I hire an attorney or something to stand in my place or have the court appearance transferred to a Florida court somehow?

On the barely-legible ticket, I found the website and citation number, but the website gives [almost no information](https://i.imgur.com/OfarZme.png). How can I figure out what/how/where to pay and where the court appearance actually takes place?

Or am I just totally wrong about all of this, I'm actually an asshole who deserves exactly what I got, and I should just fuck off and drive my miserable ass to court in North Carolina?

Answer:
 > Do I have any real legal ground to stand on if I were to contest this ticket in court?

No.  By your own admittance, you were speeding.

There's no "right to pass".  Answer #2: just to clarify, you think the photos you took (presumably with a phone) while driving a car will somehow help your case? do you plan to walk into court with a speeding (which you acknowledge you were doing) citation and say "well after i got the ticket i started recording other cars on the road while i drove"?

(not a lawyer)


Title: (IN) Car was towed for having out if state plates. I just got my new plates with registration and hadn't put them on yet.

Question:
So first some background information.  I recently moved to Indiana permanently, I have been moving around a lot and finally have an apartment of my own.  I was approached by the police because I have Illinois plates and registration.  They gave me a citation and told me I have 60 days to change my plates over, this was some time in April.  I went into the BMV and started the process right away but do to some paperwork issues I only got my plates in the mail this last weekend.  I was planning on takin gmy car in this weekend for maintenance and gave my mechanic put the plates on then.  Well this morning my car was towed and I'm pretty angry.

My question is, wouldn't my vin show that I'm registered in IN?  If so shouldn't the tow yard have run my vin and seen that it was registered in IN?  Maybe I'm wrong here because I dont really understand how registration works on vehicles to be honest.  I'm just assuming they are required to tie the vin to the registration so that they dont tow an IL resident that is visiting a friend.  Any help or advice would be awesome I'm just really angry and confused, if my work wasn't cool with me taking a day to fix this I would be a mess right now.

Answer:
 >Well this morning my car was towed and I'm pretty angry.

Who ordered the towing of your car?

Since

>It was in my apartment complex's parking lot.

then likely, the apartment building you live in ordered it towed.

>My question is, wouldn't my vin show that I'm registered in IN?

No tow truck wold check that, since they are ordered to tow your car.

Take this question to whoever ordered your car towed - the apartment building will likely tell you that you cannot park an out of state car there for months.

Read your lease and any other documents you have from the apartment management company.

> I was planning on taking my car in this weekend for maintenance and giving my mechanic the plates to put on then.

It takes 5 minutes with a screwdriver to change two plates.


Title: Can college revoke your degree for a non-academic crime?

Question:
Person A graduated in 2013 from a college in New York.

There's an allegation that person A committed a crime, in 2012, at college premises. The crime is not academic (e.g. plagiarism or the sort), it's about violence.

Can the college revoke the degree of person A for this allegation? The person is not being charged by the police for said crime, there is no evidence.

Thanks.

Answer:
 Yes they can.

Also, the testimony of the other party *is* evidence.  So there is at least some evidence.


Title: [MD] sold about $500 worth of stuff on Reddit. The community scammed me and filed false not as described claims. What are my options?

Question:
This all happened about three months ago- I just recently have been exploring my options to respond to all of this.

I'm going to keep this vagueish to prevent identifying anyone- please comment below if you need more info to help me.

About three months ago I hosted a big sale on one of the buying and selling subreddit. I made about usd $500, and shipped out 20 packages the same day. I had done 21 transactions, as one person ordered two items in separate transactions.

Payment was done by PayPal invoice. Three days later, I wake up to two messages. One informing me that I've been banned from the sub from being a scammer, another informing me that they had received my package, but it contained counterfeit items. I then got an email that they had opened a PayPal dispute against me for severely not as described.

It was impossible for the package to contain counterfeit items, as it had been purchased from its official retailer.

Things snowballed from there. There was a post made on that subreddit from the mod team informing everyone that I was a scammer and asking all my buyers to open PayPal disputes with me and informing them that the items they had purchased from me were counterfeit.

Over the next days, 18 PayPal disputes were filed.

I contacted PayPal and explained to them that I believed there was a mass scam going on. They encouraged me to escalate all the disputes to claims, to tell my side of the story, and that I would win.

10 days later, verdicts began to roll in. I lost every single one. No buyers were forced to return the items and appealing the cases failed.

I not only lost the items and the money I had made, but was about $40 in the red due to shipping costs.

They then added me to their banned list- which had all my personal info on it. It was redacted but I live in a small town so you could probably figure out who I am. It was not super well redacted. I contacted Reddit but they said since Reddit is not meant to be used as a marketplace they would not intervene.

My questions are:

* do I have any legal recourse?

* what kind of lawyer do I need?

* should I contact the police or post office?

* what can I expect if I do pursue this legally?

* what can I do about my personal info being posted?

* what could I win if I were to sue?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Now I really wanna know what community this was..


Title: Looking at new apartment with aggressive lease -- options? (KY)

Question:
I am looking to move into a new apartment with a 6 month lease, starting June 1. I have until actual move-in day to sign the lease, but have been given a copy for my review. It seems fairly aggressive and I was wondering what my options are.

This is a fairly large apartment complex managed by an out-of-state company. The apartment is in Kentucky. The lease is 11 pages long, in addition to a several page "Rules and Regulations" document.

My concerns are:

1) There is 20 point list of things the resident agrees to, which seems to include fairly insignificant things. My concern is the company could use any one of these things as reason to abrbitrarily terminate the lease or bring legal action agaist me.

Examples include: "Do not dry clothes by hang drying indoors", "Open blinds/curtains to allow light into the Leased Premises", "Use celing fans, if present", and "Keep closet doors ajar, [...] as ventilation is important in these spaces."

2) The lease seems to read that the existance of mold, regardless of origin or fault, is grounds to kick me out. Here's the language:

"Apartment Company reserves the right to terminate the tenency and Resident agrees to vacate the Leased Premises in the event Apartment Company in its sole judgement determines that there is suspected mold or mildew in the Leased Premises, that mold or mildew constitutes a hazard to either Resident or others, or if Apartment Company determines that substantial remediation of the Leased Premises is necesary."
(This is the entirety of the section regarding the mold.)

3) Lease gives the apartment company right to enter the apartment at any "reasonable" time regardless of notice, essentially for any reason ("inspection"). It seems from my reading that this goes against Kentucky law, which requires 2 days written notice of entry.

4) Regarding attorney fees, the lease seems to say that I will be responsible under any cirumstances:

"Resident hereby agrees that in the event of the retention, employment or use of an attorney by Apartment Company because of any violation or breach of any term, condition, provision, covenant or agreement within this Lease, or threat thereof, for enforcement thereof or default hereunder, Resident shall pay Apartment Company's reasonable attorney's fees and other costs and expenses in such amounts as are permitted by applicable law, all of which shall be considered addition rent and shall be secured hereunder. Reasonable attorney's fees shall include the fees incurred through the employement of an attorney, whether or not a lawsuit is actually filed."

5) The lease also reads "Resident hereby waives any and all rights to a jury trial with regard to any litigation involving this lease."

-------
TL/DR: Looking to sign a lease in KY, it seems aggressive to me. Landlord can enter apartment for any reason without notice, landlord can kick me out for not leaving my closet doors open, etc.

Are there any applicable stock adendums for KY that might help me in this situation? What are my options? I do like this apartment and would like to work something out.

Answer:
 A place that told me I couldn't air dry my cashmere sweaters is a place I wouldn't rent from.

Just saying.

I think this sort of lease indicates a lot about the management company and their response to problems. I get the whole "covering their ass" thing, but they have gone way overboard and that normally means an unhappy tenant.


Title: I'm a 26yo professional firewood cutter who contracts with one of the largest private logging companies in Canada. They are imposing their safety ideologies onto me in an authoritarian manner. . .

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 They probably can't force you to join a safety organisation - but they can refuse to hire contractors who don't have the credentials the organisation provides. Essentially you're going to be working on their land, and they want to minimise any possible risk of liability at their end by making sure the safety measures are adequate at yours. It's a fairly reasonable ask.

Also, that email comes across as really quite condescending and rude. I would never send that to a potential employer. It just makes you come across as amateur - which will only be an idea that is reinforced in their minds if you drop your affiliation with a safety organisation and start refusing to wear a hard hat.Answer #2: ......

..........

.............
Answer #3: Was there a legal question in all of that? Preferably in 4 sentances or less?


Title: [CA] Carpet cleaner ruined my carpet

Question:
California: I bought a house about a year ago, new construction, brand new build with some carpet/tile upgrades. Yay for being a new home owner!  So it was a little over a year and i noticed the carpet beginning to look a little weathered so I decided to hire a professional cleaner to get the carpets cleaned. Guy showed up and I noticed his vacuum end was leaking drops of a liquid. I asked what he was cleaning with and he told me just a basic standard cleaning solution. I also noticed where he tied off his hose on my handrail up stairs.

After he left, I noticed the paint had been rubbed off all along the base of the stairs and by the hand rail where he tied his hose. The next day (today) I noticed that the floor where he set his equipment had pink/white stains in it. I tried to get it up, but this is clearly bleach. So now my brand new carpets have bleech spots all over the house, the guest room a rather large one about the size of my palm. There's also a huge gash in the wall where it looks like his vacuum fell over and scrapped the wall going down.

What should I do? Take him to small claims court? Refuse to pay the bill? Contact the better business bureau? Get an estimate to fix damages and mail it to them? What are my legal rights?

Answer:
 The BBB is just yelp for old people, they have no power.

First contact the company, and see if they will reimburse you for the damages. If they are at all reputable, they carry insurance for precisely this sort of thing.

If they refuse to pay, it's small claims court territory.


Title: [NJ] Laundromat shut their doors with many customers clothes still inside.

Question:
So last week a friend gave a couple nice suits to a laundromat, paid for the cleaning and came to pick them up last Wednesday. But when he got there, the business was closed and there were some notes on the door from other customers asking when the Laundromat will be open.

It's since been a week, the Landlord of the building does not know where the Laundromat owner is (he also informed me the laundromat was way behind on rent) yet there is a full stock of customer's clothes still in the store.

In NJ a lockout procedure can talk 6 weeks. Will the clothes be sitting in there for 6 weeks? Who will determine who's clothes belong to who?

Answer:
 You should probably start the process of suing the laundromat for the return of your property. Unless your suits total to over $3,000, this is a small claims matter. Service of process is going to be a problem unless the laundromat's owner can actually be located, but it's not a problem that's going to get easier if you wait. You may also be able to coordinate with the landlord, who will be looking for the owner to serve an eviction suit.

The landlord likely can't legally give you access to take your clothes back without a court order. I'm honestly unsure what should legally happen to your clothes if you're unable to locate the owner: generally, when a commercial landlord evicts a tenant they also seize the tenant's property and sell it to recover some of the outstanding rent, but your clothes aren't the laundromat's property.


Title: I'm starting a business to tell homebuyers which houses are haunted. Should I be worried about homeowners who don't believe their house is haunted sueing me?

Question:
I'm making a real estate search engine for houses that are haunted. I think some people would consider this a useful service, but I'm worried that homeowners whose property value drops because of my findings might claim that I caused them damages. Do I need to worry about this possibility? What can I do to protect myself?

I live in Maryland and this service would serve the entire US.

Answer: Seriously?


Title: [NV] Lights at intersection weren't working got in a car crash, now I'm being placed at fault.

Question:
  Last month I had gotten in a car accident and the cop said I was at fault. The lights at the intersection weren't working so as I pull up to the non-working light there's still cars passing by, I wait for all the cars to stop and double check to make sure no other cars wanna try and speed by. I was going straight ahead, no problems at all, the cars all yielded but as I'm reaching the end of the intersection a pick-up truck speeds by and hits my passenger side wheel. The bumper on my car fell off from the truck striking it and dragging it across its driver's side. The truck had little to no damage as I was going 20-23mph and the truck was going at about 48-55. My car spun and nearly hit the light pole and the truck ended up on the other side of the intersection.
  I had no idea what to do as i had never been in an accident and my car was still drivable despite the bumper and hood being ruined. I pull up into the shopping center I was trying to get into in the first place and check the damage on my car. There's a bus stop right infront of this intersection and there were 2 people there who acknowledged that the truck was at fault, as i had the right of way. They left about 10mins later I didn't get their information, stupid on my behalf as I needed witnesses. When the cop arrived he took down all our statements. I have a pretty shitty way of explaining things, ontop of that I have horrible anxiety. As I was explaining things I would stutter or mess up and couldn't properly explain what happened.
  In the end the cop wrote me the ticket for "not yielding at an intersection where the lights weren't working treating it as a 4 way stop." The people in the truck lawyered up and are suing for injury. I've tried looking for a lawyer, but none want to take my case as the ticket says I'm at fault. My insurance contacted me and said someone would be in to take pictures of my car and they took my statement as well.
 I have court on Wednesday, and dont know what to expect. I just wanna prove what actually happened but again I have no witnesses. The cop said 3 people were in the truck and since it was just me in the car it was 3 against 1 and he couldn't side with me. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Edited to add images of my car to get a better understanding. https://imgur.com/a/RNzBP

Answer:
 When it comes to insurance, only the adjusters can determine fault. If the damage is on the back half of you car, that can look good. Showing there was time for the other car to slow down.

The cops do not determine fault in a wreck. If you’re concerned about insurance, wait until the adjustor decides. Answer #2: When you say "I've tried looking for a lawyer, but none want to take my case as the ticket says I'm at fault" do you mean to sue the other driver? Or to defend yourself against the truck driver's lawsuit? Because your own liability insurance should include a lawyer to defend against the other driver's suit. You *did* tell your insurance company you are being sued, right?Answer #3: >There's a bus stop right infront of this intersection and there were 2 people there who acknowledged that the truck was at fault, as i had the right of way. They left about 10mins later I didn't get their information

You'll want to put maximum effort into finding those 2 witnesses. Most bus riders use the same routes regularly, so put a flyer at the bus stop. You might want a private way to contact you (like a new throw-away phone) as you'd be putting your info out in public. And ask around at local businesses, the riders might work in the area. Post your flyer at those businesses as well.


Title: Can I take legal action to stop the football field near my apartment from keeping their stadium lights on at night?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You can call the university public affairs office and complain.

You can and should buy blank out curtains. Answer #2: Safe to assume the lights/field were there before you moved in?Answer #3: Rather than throwing the book at them, just call the university and find out who you need to speak to about it. They're probably not doing it on purpose. Let them know that they're forgetting and that it's affecting you.


Title: Confiscated ID (Iowa)

Question:
I've seen from reading posts that is seems like bars normally just throw out or let bouncers keep ID's that have been confiscated, but what about when it's a chain store that sells alcohol?

I had my ID taken from a Casey's General Store in an Iowa college town and I'm worried they're going to turn it in to the police. I know that two other ones were confiscated by the same person that same day and also that only the general manager of the store can access the ID's. I know the police report any fake IDs they received to the University.

Does anyone know what Casey's does with them or have any advice? Should I go talk to the manager and see if he will just cut it up and throw it out?

Answer: well, my crystal ball is a little dusty, but it looks like they tape them to a wall like trophies.


Title: Hello, my neighbor is threatening my family over our property lines. She has put up posts saying that the land is hers. At the most they are 8 feet over our property line according to the permits and our towns registration. She made us remove our garden that has been there for 8 years. Please help!

Answer:
 Hire a surveyor to mark the lineAnswer #2: Get a survey, and then have an attorney send her a cease and desist letter outlining your position (where the line is, that she is to stop intruding onto your property, that she is to remove the posts and restore the lawn, whatever).

If she doesn't comply, a civil suit for trespass is appropriate.Answer #3: NAL, but a title searcher for a Title Agent and have been for 15+ years.
1. Hire a surveyor, as already suggested.
2. Hire a real estate attorney and ask them to do a title search.

It could be that the surveyor went by the legal description provided in the most recent deed.  However, your neighbor may be going by the legal description provided to her in an older deed and the two may overlap.  This is where you need a title search to track the title to both properties, yours and hers...and an attorney to help you protect what you bought.  If you purchased title insuranace (owners title policy) when you bought your property, take that to the attorney so they can file a claim and let the title company fight with the neighbor.

IMHO.Answer #4: On your survey from 6 years ago, did the surveyor put in corner pins to mark the corners of the property (or were there corner pins already there)?  I would suggest calling the survey company as see if they could pull their records and provide you with another copy and see if their notes indicated anything about corner pins.

If there were corner pins installed or already there, find them and put a set of posts with yellow no trespassing tape between them.   Otherwise, have the surveyor come back out and mark the property line and put in pins.


Title: Brother was hit by a car in October and hospitalized , Today he was signing paperwork with a lawyer asking for 35% plus expenses in the event of a settlement. This is not an injury lawyer but typically a defense lawyer. Should I tell my brother to look elsewhere for legal help?

Question:
A few details: We live in California. My brother's injuries include a broken ankle, most likely requiring surgery in the future, and a torn ACL.  His nose was broken and face had some road rash and he now bares a noticeable scar.

My brother was not in a crosswalk.  I do not know for sure if he was in violation of pedestrian traffic laws.  He likely had alcohol in his system.  He is a functioning alcoholic and he was on his way to work.

I need to get more details from him, but I believe the person who hit him changed lanes or swerved to move around a car that had stopped for my brother.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Answer: 35% is a bit high.  33% is the typical contingency fee.  Personal injury lawyers also do personal injury defense work (what you said was unclear).  If this lawyer is a criminal defense lawyer, he'd be better off looking for someone who focuses on personal injury work.  If he already signed the contingency agreement, he may not be able to seek other representation unless the attorney agrees to let him out of the contract.


Title: Neighbors Retaining Wall Encroaches on Our Yard

Question:
My husband and I just had a survey done and it turns out the neighbors retaining wall encroaches on our yard by 6 inches.  Because of the weird layout of everything, the part that extends into our yard is 1 retaining block wide.

I have no doubt that the encroachment was an accident and the wall was installed years ago, before they moved in to their house and before we moved into ours.  In order to avoid any adverse possession issues, what do I need to do?  Can we just send them a  letter that says "Hey, we had a survey done and found this out.  We don't really care, but if you ever redo the wall or put a fence in, please move it 6 inches."

Thanks

Answer: Why are you referring to it as the neighbors wall. It's on your property. It is your wall.


Title: Fired for refusing to Serve drunk bar owner

Question: My wife is (was) a bartender.  The person she worked for is a drunk who spends large amounts of time at the bar.  Drinking.  In addition to drinking she also tries to manage employees.  Illegal in Oregon.  She's crude, rude and just a real joy to deal with, she even struck a bar patron over a disagreement with football.  My wife decided she'd had enough and told her boss she would not serve her anymore since she could lose her Oregon Liquor license too.  She was terminated.  Does this seem like a legal thing to do?  She's an at-will employee, but this seems to fall under whistleblower protection or retaliation.

Answer: If she was fired for refusing to break the law she should talk to an attorney about a public policy wrongful termination lawsuit. This is a rare case where one may actually exist.


Title: Can I appeal this case?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 This is you admitting to having sex with kids tread lightly :/Answer #2: Where are you located? The concerns other posters have raised may be relevant, but it depends on age of consent where you are.

Can you contact RAINN or another nonprofit that helps victims of sexual assault and ask them for advice?

Ultimately, the police/DA are the ones who decide who gets charged in a case.


Title: Employer is garnishing my paycheck because of a cash register shortage

Question:
[SC] [Labor Laws] I manage a fast food restaurant in South Carolina, a very popular chicken place. I worked my normal night shift and at the end of the night, as I was counting Tils, one of the Tils was short in the amount of $50.01. The Til was assigned to my name, however I rarely used the register that night other than to pull it. This occurred about 3 weeks ago. and about 3 days ago my General Manager put a payment change out to payroll deducting my pay, none of this is to any of my knowledge, until today. I see a payment change on my payroll. I get payed a salary.

My question is, Is this Legal to deduct money from my paycheck under these circumstances?

Answer: No, they can't do that without notifying you in writing first.


Title: I'm going to be researching for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada where I will be crossing into US waters when necessary.

Question:
I also smoke hella weed. I'm wondering if my employers will administer a drug test and if so, would they not hire me if they find THC in my system given that there's a chance we will be going into US waters?
Topic:
Canada

Answer: If you're on a boat, you're going to be expected to be clean at sea. If you can't deal with that... You are going to have issues


Title: [NY] did the fbi follow proper procedures?

Question:
The FBI asked my father if they can search my bedroom. He does not speak good English, but when they asked if they can search my room he just said "ok ok no problem"

But then when it came to signing the paper saying you waive your rights and whatever, he didnt understand it and they asked me to translate it for him. Also they never told him verbally he can say no.

1) Did they follow procedures by asking me to tranalate for him? I dont know my fathers language that well and i tried my best. Shouldnt they have like a trained fbi in my fathers language read it out for him? Not me, his son?

He did sign it and was like okay whatever but I doubt he understood some parts, especially the "I waive my rights" part of the paper

They gave me the same paper and I understood and said ok (21 years old)

2) if they didnt follow procedures, what happens to the evidence taken?

Answer:
 1- likely yes. If you didn't know the language you should have said so. If he or you didn't understand you should have said so.

They do not have to tell him he can say no. When they ask the question the obvious answers are yes or no. Answer #2: There's no requirement for the FBI to provide a translator; if your father didn't understand the form he shouldn't have signed it.

>They gave me the same paper and I understood and said ok

They didn't need consent from both of you. If you gave consent, even if your father refused they could have still searched. So the bit about the translator seems kind of irrelevant.

If they didn't follow procedure, your lawyer will file a motion to have the evidence excluded. But it doesn't sound like they did anything improper.


Title: Who is at fault for the scenario in the description?

Question:
I live in England.

As a Christmas present my parents get me a new phone, it works perfectly for about 6 months and then it breaks. I talk to my Dad and get him to ship it back for repairs. The original problem is fixed however I am no longer able to receive calls. For the sake of ease this time I try speaking to customer support however 3 months later it goes nowhere, my Dad then does the same and they actually listen to him and give him the label to send it back for repairs.

Naturally, I give the phone to him so that he can give it to the UPS man however when he comes to pick it up my Dad has lost the phone. When I hear what has happened my Dad says he doesn't know where it is, my mum said it was **probably** thrown out with a bunch of other boxes (note: the phone was in a purple cardboard box, it was not easy to miss). After speaking to my Dad he then refuses to pay completely for it and says it's my fault because I gave him the phone to give to UPS; instead my parents will collectively pay half and Ill pay the other half. Who's fault was it, and should they pay all of the cost for a new one?

Answer: He was doing you a favor.  Their offer is more than fair.


Title: Is it legal to destroy your own property, even if it's billions of dollars in damage?

Question: For example, let's say that there is a billionaire who is also a demolition maniac, and wants to destroy his own buildings, ships, etc., that are billions of dollars. If no one is harmed in the process, and no other laws are broken, would this be permitted even though destroying billions of dollars in property would not be a insignificant amount of property, and may have economic impacts?

Answer:
 Eyermen v. Mercantile Trust Co. is the leading case law on this issue.

A woman left a will ordering her home be demolished and all proceeds be added I her residual estate. The neighbors petitioned to have the home named a historical landmark. The court did not allow the home to be destroyed for public policy reasons, because it would have had a very large negative effect on the value of the surrounding properties.

So basically, public policy might prevent the destruction of private property. If the destruction would greatly impact others, the courts may get involved. Answer #2: Most municipalities require a demolition permit for buildings, so in theory they might deny the permit if it was obviously being done for no good reason.

There must be a legal way to dispose of a ship, but obviously if you just sink it wherever you run into laws prohibiting maritime pollution.


Title: [GER] Question about nudes I shared.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Lol you posted nude pics on a public site but are asking if it's illegal for someone to share them? Seriously?


Title: How boned am i?

Question: blew a .04, had MJ in urine, and prescribed klonopin in my urine too. The klonopin was prescribed. I got pulled over because I had a headline out that I didn't realize . I would love to get out of a OWI

Answer:
 >I would love to get out of a OWI

And I'd love to date Scarlett Johansson, but I think we're both going to be disappointed.

There's really not much to say here except that you need to get a lawyer, pronto. Answer #2: Based on the fact you've posted this numerous times and can't seem to proofread your posts. I'm going to suggest laying off the drugs and alcohol for a while and get a lawyer with all that money you'll be saving.


Title: Got many speeding tickets while abroad - how to react?

Question:
Hello!

First time posting to /r/legaladvice but I'm sure that this is the right sub for this kind of question. I'm going to make it short: My friends and I are from Germany and we've been on vacation in the Netherlands. By now, we got three speeding tickets (one 7 km/h too fast, one 14 and one 10). All in all we have to pay a penalty  of 168€, and I'm almost certain that atleast one additional ticket will come since the latest ticket we got was from day 3 of our time there. I'm not here to discuss the justification regarding the tickets themselves, rather to ask whether there is something we could do since it all happened abroad. Thank you in advance for taking your time!
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 You do not get a free pass to commit crimes because you're in a foreign country.  There's no "I'm not from around here" defense.

If you don't have another defense to the tickets, pay up.


Title: Received false WRIT OF EXECUTION, LEVY FOR $32,600K. NJ

Question:
Sheriff knocks on door today to serve me papers that a judgement against myself and a business that they are attributing to me.  Plaintiff was State of NJ workers compensation.  Judgement was in MERCER COUNTY, NJ against an office with the same name as the one I owned but SOLD in 2001.  I am retired.  This business was listed as an LLC, I was always a sole-proprietor, not an LLC (healthcare provider). My office was in Burlington County- not Mercer County.

 I no longer can find the legal sales agreement that was drawn up in 2001 showing I sold the business but have contacted the lawyer who did the work hoping he still has a copy.

This came from a law firm that does collections...  I have never, ever received any sort of notice about this till I had this sheriff at my door.   They now have levys against all my vehicles (6, including a Porsche, Mercedes, 2 motorcycles) and my home.

Even if I convince the collection attorneys that this is wrong, there is a judgement against me in Mercer county Superior Court, and local sheriffs that could try to impound my vehicles and foreclose on my home..

Help...

Answer:
 This is way beyond internet help, find a lawyer to navigate thisAnswer #2: You can get the case reopened and the levies removed. There was no personal service on you as to the lawsuit. You can prove you don't own the business - there should be paperwork recorded with the State as to the transfer, and the new owner will admit this (if he claims you're still the owner, well then you have a claim that you own the business and past years of profit, so something I doubt he'd do).

That being said, you may be out your own legal fees. However, this should prevent future problems too.

The Mercer County thing is irrelevant, the State just filed there probably because that was where the lawyer's office for the state was located.

Source: I am a lawyer who does civil litigation in NJ. Answer #3: Get a lawyer, really any civil litigator who does collections work will do.  You need to file a motion to set aside the default judgment.


Title: A notarization I got in Turkey is lost. Is there any way to get the notarization again without having to travel all the way to Turkey?

Question:
I am an American but I married a foreign person in Turkey. Neither of us are Turkish. After we married I notarized the marriage certificate in Turkey, then we left Turkey. We are now living in a country far away from Turkey.

Unfortunately the notarization has been lost. I still have the original marriage certificate and a scan of the notarization, but not the original notarization. Now we need the original notarization of the marriage certificate.

Is there any way to obtain an original notarization, or a new Turkish notarization for our marriage certificate, without me having to physically come back to Turkey?

Answer:
 I don't know anything about Turkish law or custom, so:

Firstly, you don't mention why the marriage certificate needs to be notarized, or whose identity is needed to be verified by the notarization.  Are you sure you need the marriage certificate notarized?

If this is a Turkish government thing, have you contacted the Turkish embassy or nearest consulate to see if they can assist?


Title: DOORDASH HAS NOT PAID ME IN 3 WEEKS!!!

Question:
I've already missed my rent and all my bills my credit score is hurting and I've been hounding doordash about the reason as to why my pay has not posted three weeks in a row now. I have kept working because I like this job and I figure I will get paid a lump sum when it is all resolved but I'm running out of Money to even put gas in my car and go to work! My wife is the only one really holding me and my daughter down. I don't know what to do because doordash has yet to address the emails I've sent for the past two weeks and I only received automated responces. Any advice as to how to proceed with this problem would be greatly appreciated.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: Make the complaint, the wage problem may be fallout from a recent consumer deception lawsuit the DC Atty General brought against Doordash for misleading consumers about the tipping arrangement. https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2019-11/DoorDash-Complaint.pdfAnswer #2: You can file a lawsuit and let them force arbitration, at which point the arbitrator will award you the money (or, rather, they will settle with you).


Title: Can I be sued for defamation for calling out a (not-convicted) rapist on Facebook?

Question:
United States, Virginia

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I was contacted by a friend of mine regarding a man who is known to use his power to rape/sexually assault women in our industry (restaurants and bars). Another woman who is prominent in our community made a post about it on her instagram, which is private. The post says, basically, that friends have come forward to tell her their experiences with this man raping them and to be careful around him, accompanied with a picture. The friend sent me screenshots of the post and asked if I would post it/get it to the right people in the city that this man moved to as I am originally from that city and know almost everyone in the community. I agreed and posted it to my personal Facebook page to warn the women in the city about his behavior. It recieved a lot of attention and many people reposted it.

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This man has never been charged with a crime as the women have been too afraid to come forward. I personally know two of them who corroborated the story and have no doubt that they're telling the truth. He is at risk of being let go from his job, and his roommate reached out to me to let me know that he's noticed some red flags but had no idea, and will be trying to kick this guy off of the lease due to this information. The man has threatened people before with a lawsuit and I am just wondering if I opened myself up to being sued, as well as how strong a defamation case against me would be for this. In the event that I -was- sued, what evidence would I need to win the suit or have it dismissed? TIA!

Answer:
 >I am just wondering if I opened myself up to being sued, as well as how strong a defamation case against me would be for this

Oh absolutely. And since he hasn’t been  charged let alone convicted you will have difficulty proving truth which is the defense to defamation.

What on earth possessed you to do this?Answer #2: >I am just wondering if I opened myself up to being sued,

Absolutely.

>as well as how strong a defamation case against me would be for this.

Impossible to answer. But you have publicly accused him of a serious crime for which he has apparently not been convicted or charged. You are certainly at risk. And even if you can successfully defend yourself, you are going to have to pay your own legal fees, which could be quite expensive.


Title: Ruled unable to prove that other party is at fault for water damage so I lost the small claims court case. Now what?

Question:
I live in a condominium in Downtown San Francisco. About a year ago, there was water leaking from my ceiling that came from a busted water line from the upstairs neighbor's washing machine. Recently, we went to a small claims court and I lost because I was unable to prove that the other party is at fault for the water damage. I admit that I was not prepared for the hearing. Now that I lost the case, what are my options?

Edit: I was the plantiff. At this point, can I hire a lawyer and go to Superior Court with the same claim or a new claim? I apologize if this is a silly question. If I can bring up new evidence that was not brought up at the small claims court, can that be used in the new case? Because I was initially ill prepared, I'm not sure if I have the option to start a new case at this point.

Answer:
 I take it you don't have insurance?

If you're not insured and you've lost your shot at suing the person you believe was responsible, then you're largely out of luck. There's no appeals process for plaintiffs in small claims, and you can't bring a second suit on the same facts as a settled suit.Answer #2: You're the plaintiff and you lost. You have no legal options.


Title: Question about beehive in my school

Question:
In my school's playground there is a beehive inside one of the slides, is this considered endangering the welfare of children, and if I get stung by one of the bees, can I pursue legal action?
I live in NYC, but my school is in Long Island.

Answer:
 > is this considered endangering the welfare of children

Yes.

> if I get stung by one of the bees, can I pursue legal action?

Sure, if you can find a way to sue the bees.


Title: Someone parked in my assigned parking spot is acting suspicious and I feel unsafe confronting them.

Question:
Oregon

Someone has been parked in my Apartment Complex's assigned parking spot for about an hour now. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and I didn't feel comfortable walking up to someones car late at night and confronting them. My GF has been keeping an eye on him for about an hour now and he has been acting really suspicious. He checks his phone every couple of minutes and spends the rest of the time looking down the parking lot, like he's waiting for someone to show up. He's at the end of a long lot. When my neighbor's car came and parked in the spot next to him, he dove down and attempted to hide from being seen. We are wondering if this is really enough suspicious behavior to maybe report him to the non emergency police line.

UPDATE: Driver of the spot next to him came back to his car and once again the creepy driver hid from sight. REALLY suspicious behavior now.

Unfortunately I do not know which towing company my Apartment Complex uses to tow people, as I do know I have the right to call a tow truck to move him.

Actual update: Police have arrived, been talking to the guy for 10 min now.

Answer: You can call the police non emergency and not get in trouble for basically anything tbh. You don't get in trouble for calling the police on bugs in most places. So call, but don't be surprised if nothing happens tonight. Tomorrow see if you can find the name of the tow company and keep it on hand in case there is a repeat occurrence.


Title: If a police officer doesn't affirmatively say I am not free to go after multiple inquiries, Can I go?

Question:
[California]

I was watching a few youtube videos of interactions with police officers. You know the kind. From what I understand there are three levels of a police encounter. Free to leave, Under detention, and under arrest.

Now a lot of these videos is just the citizen saying over and over again "Am I free to leave?" and the police officer just goes on doing his thing as if the question is never asked. If the officer doesn't tell me that I am detained or under arrest, can i just state something like "I have given you multiple chances to tell me if I am detained or under arrest to which you have ignored. I believe I am free to leave then". Then CALMLY (as in no caps calmly) walk away.
Topic:
Constitution

Answer:
 >  If the officer doesn't tell me that I am detained or under arrest, can i just state something like

No.  You're not in control of the encounter; he's not required to answer your questions or speak specific phrases to you.

If he doesn't answer, you'd have a good argument that you were being detained; but that's for later.  Answer #2: The reason they ignore those people is because they aren't free to go.  And because the cop has no interest in getting baited into an argument with some asshole.  Be polite, ask to leave once if it seems like he's finishing whatever he's trying to do.  Take no for an answer.  Fight the man later in court if something goes awry.  You have the option to refuse to answer questions or consent to searches.  But that's it.  Answer #3: Sure, you can do that. But if you weren't free to leave, the police might forcibly restrain you, and you could conceivably be charged for trying to leave.


Title: Legality of a 60 day notice clause, statue of “no notice required”

Question: Sometimes I get bored and browse my city’s statutes. I have had friends that have leases that require a 60 day notice to the landlord before move out, and if that notice isn’t given, they could get swindled into paying for another month, after their lease end date. But just because it’s in a lease, doesn’t mean it’s enforceable... Missouri 441.070 states that “no notice is necessary”. Am I mistaken to believe that these clauses would be unenforceable, as the lease would simply end without notice, or am I incorrect and the statue doesn’t conflict with this lease clause? It’s not uncommon from what I’ve seen, which is why I’m curious... Danke

Answer:
 You may be right, but it depends on the nature of the tenancy agreement.

Missouri 441.070 means that if you have a *fixed term* tenancy, no notice is required - you can just move out when it expires. If the contract states you need to serve notice, the statute overrides that.

On the other hand, if your tenancy has a *minimum* term, or if you stay on after a fixed term contract has expired, then you still need to serve notice as the terms have no specified certain time of ending.

Not a lawyer though.Answer #2: If the clause is in the lease, it should be enforceable. The law provides a baseline or bare minimum; the parties are free to agree to greater protections.

The contract can’t conflict with the law in that it gives less protection though. So if it were flipped, and the statute said 60 days and the lease said no notice, it would probably be unenforceable.

Think of it like minimum wage. If minimum wage is say $8, an employer can legally employ people at a rate of anything $8 or higher. They can’t legally hire somebody for $7 though.


Title: My son told his mother and then myself that his daycare provider sexually and physically abused him.  I have contacted cps but I am unsure of how to proceed from here.

Question:
It's very difficult to go over this so please excuse me if i leave out anything pertinent.

Yesterday his daycare provider called me to say he was throwing an uncontrollable tantrum and I needed to pick him up. I called his mother, who had just finished taking final exams for the day, asking her to pick him up and that we were pulling him out of the daycare because I did not think that his provider was handling his behavior appropriately. She agreed that she also had a very bad feeling about her.

After she picked him up, she decided to question him about why he acts out at daycare and why he throws tantrums in the morning about going there.  This has been an ongoing issue for about a year.  He told her that he was scared of her, and then told her that she slaps him on the arms.  He then told her that when he was four she touched his penis during nap time.  I asked him about it when I got home from work and he told me the same thing.

After talking to him some more I looked up the child protective social service agency in my area (MN, Hennepin county) and made a report.  The woman I spoke with said that she would speak with her supervisor, who would decide if a case would be opened or something to that effect.  She said the physical abuse did not meet their criteria but a report would be filed with the child care licensing office regarding her use of corporal punishment, today as the office was closed last night.  She told me I could call any time with questions.  I called this morning and got the supervisors number. I just left a voicemail and I am currently waiting for a call back.

I don't want to make any mistakes or overlook anything from here, and honestly I'm having difficulty thinking straight.  I don't know if I should also file a police report or contact a lawyer, or if there is anyone else I need to call.  His mother has contacted his pediatrician and is filling out a psychiatric intake form at the moment.  We had visited his doctor a month ago because his behavior changed drastically about a year ago and he began displaying very significant behavioral and emotional problems - he gave us some parenting advice that we had already been consistently putting into action and scheduled a follow up appointment.  His behavior problems and sudden change make perfect sense now, where before I had wracked my brain attempting to understand what was behind it and nearly exhausted myself in my efforts to guide and teach him.

Any advice would be helpful, anything I may overlook.  I'm sorry if this is a wall of text; I have never posted anything but comments and I'm not sure if I'm doing the line breaks correctly.

Answer: You're overlooking the police. You're talking about someone sexually assaulting your child... a serious, SERIOUS crime. You need to go to the police.


Title: Can you bait self defense situations?

Question:
I dont really know why you would ever want to do this but can you bait self defense situations? could someone dress up in expensive clothing/jewelry and walk around at night waiting for someone to come and mug/rob you and then use lethal force to defend your self? or otherwise engineer a self defense situation.

Disclaimer: Just so we are clear I have no intentions of doing this. This is just a hypothetical legal what if type question that me and my buddie were talking about on discord. I swear I am not a serial killer. Sorry if this is inappropriate for this subreddit. ill remove the post if asked.

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Answer:
 I kind of want to strongly say no, self-defense does not apply to provoking attacks, but this invariably leads into the need to differentiate so-called "lying in wait" from victim blaming situations like "she shouldn't have been dressed like that" or "those rich college kids and their expensive jackets and phones".

So it's basically a question of intent, which can be difficult to prove. If I'm walking around at night wearing headphones trying to provoke a mugging, how does the prosecution show my intent is any different than all the other people walking around at night with headphones? I guess they might look at this post in my post history.

But seriously, don't provoke situations as an excuse to use force against people. There's so many ways it can go wrong, and what benefit do you get out of it anyway?


Title: Please help! My father forces me to dress and shower in front of him and I don't know what to do anymore. I'm 17F in Florida.

Question:
**UPDATE:** I don't have much time to update, but I called my Aunt and she came immediatley to pick me up from school. She's letting me stay with her until further notice and she said that she will be getting a lawyer to help! So I am safe and with her right now. I couldn't have done this without you all because the hotline I called gave me some awesome advice and I'm hoping this is the end. Thanks once again!

Post:

I'm posting this here in /r/legaladvice because I'm sick and tired of trying to deal with this all by myself. I've posted to /r/relationships before, but most of the advice was about how to work things out. I recently saw another post over there by another girl with my same problem it helped me I realize that things have to escalate to a legal level now.

I'm a 17 year old teenage girl and I live with my parents in Florida. My parents are absolutely insane and abusive and recently things have taken a turn for the worse. They are both hardcore Christian conservatives who refuse to listen to anything I have to say. My dad has also been physically abusive and he insists on weird things like bare bottom spanking me in place of other punishments. He's a police officer so he knows that he's safe as long as he doesn't leave marks. My mom tells me that it's all my fault for not being a better daughter and she barely comes home anymore.

My dad constantly comes into my room without knocking and he won't leave even if I'm getting dressed. He also comes into the bathroom and he will use the toilet while I shower. I knew this was creepy behavior, but whenever I told my teachers they said I was overreacting.

Two months ago my dad caught me shaving my legs, which he has forbidden me from doing. As punishment, he removed the shower curtain and most of the bathroom stuff. He still insisted on coming in to use the bathroom when I showered so I started washing myself in the bathroom at school before class. One of the teachers aides caught me and she called CPS who came to investigate. My parents put on a show for CPS and CPS just made them put the shower curtain back up. An hour after CPS left, my dad removed the door from my room.

Since then, he watches me dress every day because he can see into my room from the couch. I tried to change under a large shirt, but he took the shirt from me because he says I'm trying to hide something from him. I made a call to CPS myself but I haven't heard anything back. I want to call the police but he's a police officer himself and all of the other police are his friends.

The only thing I can think of doing is recording him watching me dress and him screaming at me when I try to cover up. Then I could turn the tape over to another police department and I would have evidence of what he's doing. But I read on google that if I did that I could get into trouble for being underage.

Please help, because I don't know what else to do. I read the post on /r/relationships and I haven't been able to stop crying since because the same thing has been happening to me. I just want this all to stop!

**TL;DR:** My dad is psycho and refuses to let me get dressed unless he can watch me. So far I have tried calling CPS and telling my teachers but it hasn't helped. My dad is also a police officer so I'm scared the other police won't believe me. I think I should gather evidence of what's going on, but I don't know how.

Answer:
 I used to work as a deputy, and had I found out any of my coworkers were doing this kind of shit to a teenaged girl, there is no blue line of any size that would have prevented me from doing everything in my power to rectify the situation.

I can't speak to the quality of people who work in the department your father does, but this is wrong on multiple levels and I think any sane human being should recognize that. Answer #2: I have similar experiences with my mom.  OP, short term:

Either wear the same clothes sleep and school, or get changed at school.

Find a hide out.  I stayed at a community college when they opened till they closed when I wasn't in school. Stayed at the mall alot.

It's not going to stop until you leave.
Answer #3: Please get a new phone through your aunt. He may be able to track your phone or phone habits if he's paying. Answer #4: After the OP gets out of this situation (as we all hope she does), is there anyway to make this come back to the father? There is no way he should be a police officer if he is doing this. He should lose his badge and his job.

Normally I'd say just go to the media, which would explode and demand the guy get fired - but the girl is a minor and protecting her is the priority. Is there a way to do that which doesn't simultaneously protect the creepy dad??


Title: Can you get arrested if you are caught with having a scuba knife attached to your leg?

Question: So I'm planning on doing some snorkeling at night in an lake nearby. I bought a scuba knife that I'm planning on attaching to my leg. The reason for this is because I am planning on tying and tethering myself to an pool float that is shaped like a donut because I am not a good swimmer. I'm planning on doing some free diving at night in a lake and so I'm planning on buying an 200ft rope and tying myself to the float in case of an emergency where I need to grab it and swim to the store. Because it is risky, to tie yourself to it, I bought an scuba knife that I can attach to my leg in case I get tangled in the rope and need to cut the rope to free myself. I'm scared of being stopped walking by the police and being discovered having the knife attached to my leg. No uber is available cause of the pandemic so im having to walk there and it is an 40 minute walk. Can I get arrested if they stop me and found out that I have the knife ?? What should I do if I want to wear the knife for my own safety ??

Answer: I think the knife part is the least of your worries.  I hope you tell someone where you’re going and arrange to give them a safety call.


Title: Can I legally do anything about my apartments kicking out my ESA? (LOTS more details in post)

Question:
So I went away for college and had to live somewhere after my initial year in the dorm. So I found an apartment close to campus and signed a lease. I already had my ESA when I signed my lease and my apartments never said a word about him other than requesting I resend his paperwork bc they couldn't find it in their system. I made absolutely certain everything was in order for my dog to be there. I ended up needing to take some summer classes to stay on track with my degree and was lucky enough to find a sublease for a unit in the same complex. I moved in late May of 2018 with my dog, who was at that time still under a year old (he was born Sept 20, 2017).

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The office staff knew my dog very well as we were frequently in the office because they had a Starbucks coffee machine for residents and guests and free fresh baked cookies every Friday, so I'd stop by on my way inside from walking my pup.

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For the entire summer I had no issues with him and the apartments. The apartments knew he was still working on potty training (he was born in a shelter so he didn't begin potty training until he was 3 months old and was still adjusting to being in an apartment rather than at my parents home where he had a yard and unlimited access to it). Never once was it brought to my attention as a concern, because if he had an accident, I cleaned it up almost immediately and it was never on the carpet. I even had a roommate over the summer with a dog of her own and never had a single issue with either of them. My dog loves every living creature he meets, and is VERY passive in nature.

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But when it came time to move into my lease for the year, I began to have issues with my new roommates. First, it was the fact that he'd whine when I put him in his box to leave for class. I told them he was just readjusting to a new environment and that would end soon, which it did. Then it was the fact that I didn't Clorox wipe the floor after cleaning up an accident he had. I had planned on mopping as soon as they left so I didn't deem it necessary to Clorox wipe the floor ten minutes before I mopped it. Suddenly, I began getting calls from my property manager that she needed to speak with me about complaints that have been made to her by my roommates. Mind you, one of my roommates also had a dog, a Yorkie that got free reign of the apartment even when she wasn't home, while I got asked to keep my 65-pound lab mix in my 100 square ft room basically at all times, even when her dog was at her parents house 2 hours away (which was a majority of the time). Because of that fact, my shag carpeting retained a lot of pet dander and the smell became horrible no matter how often I vacuumed and used carpet deodorizer. So this was the main concern with my office manager and we came to a solution to resolve that, which ended up with me paying to have the carpet replaced. By this point, my dog was almost entirely potty trained, but would occasionally still poop in the apartment, though primarily he'd at least try to go out on the balcony if I'd let him. And I would clean these accidents up as soon as they happened and didn't think there was an issue because my roommates never said anything to me. It turns out they were instead just going directly to my property manager.

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This lead to eventual random walkthroughs to check the cleanliness and dog smell in the apartment. Tired of dealing with everything and ready to have everyone off my back, I was on top of EVERYTHING. But one week I went home for a while to spend some time with my family and let my dog out on the balcony because it was really pretty outside. I glanced over the balcony before I left while doing my, did I forget anything walk before leaving out and must have missed a small piece of poop my dog had left because I got a text from a roommate (who I was on much better terms with by then) that Monday before I came home about it. She was told about it when my property manager found it during a random walkthrough. I apologized to her and told her I was on my way home and would clean it up as soon as I got there.

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This was apparently the straw that broke the camel's back and I was asked to come to speak to my property manager about my dog, and I was asked to remove him from the unit as soon as possible. I was asked this on Wednesday in late October and m mother came that Friday to pick him up. I was told in this time that one of my roommates also had complained that she did not feel safe having her ESA in the unit due to my dog. Again, her dog and my dog were never in contact and the few times they were, her dog would bark and growl at my dog to try and play and taunt him, while my dog just sniffed and ran off. Her dog would even sit outside my bedroom door and bark at him from under the door.

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Now, I got my ESA after going through a very rough patch with my anxiety and depression in my freshman year of college where in which I was very suicidal. My dog helped me just simply by giving me a sense of being needed and comforting me when I had an anxiety attack or a depressive episode.  I asked immediately when he was asked to be removed about what that meant for my lease, and my property manager talked to her boss who told her in short that kicking out my pet was not grounds for dismissal from my lease. So I was stuck in my lease unless I wanted to ruin my credit and break it, only my dad was my guarantor so it would hurt his name too. And being that he owns his business that would be very detrimental. So I tried to tough it out and stay a few more months, then find a subleaser at the start of the new semester and move to a new place. I made it about a week before my depression began to get out of hand and without my dog, this episode (which normally I'd have broken myself out of within a day or two by redirecting my attention to my dog) lasted about 2 weeks. 2 weeks in which the only thing I did was go to a class with mandatory attendance and bs a couple of assignments so I didn't get kicked out of my online courses. Though I still fell very behind in all 4 of my classes. By about mid-November, I knew I was in a bad place without my ESA and spoke with my parents before having to withdraw from all of my classes and make plans to move home with my dog at the end of the month. My thoughts were getting to a very dangerous place again and based on past experience I knew I needed help and I needed to not be without my one consistent reason to live. I knew there would be no way to get out of my lease still, so I began the search for a subleaser for the second semester. By that point, I was putting my health and wellbeing before my lease.

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Well, the week of my move comes and I have 3 very severe panic attacks within 36 hours (I slept between two of them), prompting me to call my mother and ask her to come to get me that day, that I was not safe to be alone and not safe to drive. She did and I went home and spent 2 days in bed sleeping most of the day with my dog laying on top of me (what he does when my anxiety is high). Since I had already arranged to turn in my keys that Saturday, we returned a couple of days later on Friday to finish packing my stuff and get everything out so I can do my final walkthrough. Even though I was still paying rent for the remainder of my lease, I turned in my keys and parking sticker as I would not be living back in that unit and would be 120 miles away when my lease ends (July 31, 2019).

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Once I got home and back to a good state of mind, I began looking at ESA laws in attempts to find a way out of my lease (we have now paid over $3000 in rent since I have turned in my keys on November 30th, 2018).

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Is there anything I can do about this? It feels like a violation of my rights to force me to stay in a lease in which my ESA is forbidden. My property manager even suggested that I rehome my dog (who I have spent a year bonding and working with so that he can help me how I need) and just get another, better-trained dog, possibly even a trained service dog. Like I think she doesn't understand that a) that's not how that works and my disability isn't severe enough to warrant a PSD, and b) my dog is my family, I'm not just gonna trade him in like a cell phone that quit working.

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So I consult the great r/legaladvice to see if there is anything I can do because I'm not going to stand for the way I was treated.
Topic:
Disability Issues

Answer:
 Your dog has been disruptive and damaging, and you honestly don't paint yourself as a particularly good dog owner. It shits on a balcony? That's probably enough to warrant a complaint, but then you don't always clean 8t up?

Okay, I'm not here to chew you out. Here's the bottom line: an ESA can be excluded for damages, disruption, all sorts of intolerable behaviors. The key word being "an"

You were not forbidden an ESA, that's not the way it's going to be argued. You were forbidden from having that particular and specific dog because it has been a problem.

And yes, you're responsible for your lease until it ends, whether you live there or not.


Title: Mother's car towed last night off expired tags, tags were only a month and a half expired. FL, USA

Question:
My mother's car was towed last night, with which I believe from some research was illegally, but besides that point, we live in an apartment complex if that matters.

My mother thought the tags expire on 7/22 (Her birthday) but turns out they expired on my father's on 5/30. The car is in both their names, but besides that, it was towed last night, some time early morning I imagine but we were left with no towing receipt and left confused in the morning thinking the car must have been stolen. Police were called and long story short we were told the tow guys were in the complex to tow some guy's car for being in a handicapped spot and they spotted the tags and dragged hers out along with it. Is this legal? I've read the tags have to be expired longer than 6 months for it to be any kind of crime or need to be towed, but I also read that expired tags on cars are treated as junkers/abandoned. I also dont really know our complex rules but I read that if there's a problem with the car the complex has to give us a notice about it before any action can be done about the car for the expired tags, if that's against their policies, etc.

Anyone who knows the law better than me know anymore information about this that would be helpful? Thanks.

Answer: Read your lease. It's common in apartment leases to say that if the registration is expired they can tow the car.


Title: Feeling exploited at work due to constant changes, increasing expectations and demands but it's a FROZEN WAGE FOR TWO YEARS! Is it exploitation if I signed the contract?

Question:
Montreal, Canada. So, I signed an employee contract (not legally binding) that freezes my wages for two years. I struggled with it at the time because I knew it was stupid to sign that, but it all happened so fast and it was a raise at the time... But the company has been growing and growing, making more money and expanding, and I helped a lot to get it there. Believe me there is a lot more to it than this but: I work at a food manufacturing company that is growing. I recently (November) signed a contract that I realize is quite unfair to me, considering the company is growing and I have helped in a big way to get it here. Here is the contract:

"Objective:
Fulfill a full time position at COMPANY to create and maintain a method of managing products and product systems.

Product Specialist

•	Creation and upkeep of all nutritional information for all of the COMPANY products
•	Creation and upkeep of all COMPANY and SUB-COMPANY [separate company] stickers and labels
•	Creation and upkeep of ECCnet for all COMPANY products
•	Creation and upkeep of UPC and SCC1 case codes for COMPANY products
•	Creation and upkeep of an efficient costing systems database
•	Responsible for determining taxable products
•	Responsible for being informed of ever changing industry standards and ensuring our retail products comply with these guidelines
•	Company growth may result in additional responsibilities
•	Relinquishing certain tasks when required to focus on mandated tasks or special projects. These may be case by case and determined by superiors

Food System Specialist

•	Creation and upkeep of all training manuals and procedures for COMPANY
•	Creation and upkeep of all ordering lists to and from COMPANY (Fresh, dry stock and packaging)
•	Creation and upkeep of proper formatting for all COMPANY checklists
•	Participating in the creation of new work flows to optimize the productivity and safety in the kitchen
•	Creation and upkeep of properly scaled and detailed training sheets for all COMPANY products
•	Creation and upkeep of proper formatting for all COMPANY recipe databases
•	Company growth may result in addition responsibilities
•	Relinquishing certain tasks when required to focus on mandated tasks or special projects. These may be case by case and determined by superiors

This current salary is valid from November 14th 2016 – November 14th 2018"

So reddit, how many full-time jobs am I actually doing here? Is it worth an hourly wage that’s frozen for 2 years? The company is growing at an astonishing rate, making a lot of money, and I helped that happen for the past 3 years, and yet I am left off of the executive committee and made to sign a two-year contract where my wage stays the same for two years! The company recently hired a Business Operations Manager and Human Resources Manager above me, yet, of all employees outside of the executive committee, I have put the most work into getting this venture to the point it is today, devoted myself to it actually (and, in reality, I have probably done more than some people on the executive committee to get us to this point). I wrote all the job descriptions, hiring documents, training documents, production sheets, and ordering sheets that the new BOM and HR Manager will now take over (I guess I was already doing some operations management and human resources). And all of the food systems being used in the manufacturing kitchen are created and maintained by me. How can they justify a frozen wage for two years when I managed the place for the past 3 years?! BOM and HR likely already make more than me (me=3 years, BOM and HR=1 month)

Could this be a legal issue since the company is making money and I can prove all that I have done to help them make that money? Is there a limit to what they can ask me to do in contract form? The contract doesn't even cover everything that I do since I still act as manager in the kitchen sometimes, I act as an assistant to the owner (photo shoots, etc), and generally have to do anything any of the 7 ppl on the executive committee, and now the new BOM says.

I did sign this contract, but, every time I re-read it I feel like a fucking idiot that I did and I wonder why I work so hard to do a good job for people who clearly don't give a shit about me. Do I need a lawyer? Clearly they are taking advantage of me?

I want to advocate better for myself. I have a review coming up in which I want to renegotiate my contract, what should I do/say reddit? (or should i just gtfo?)

Answer:
 Legally speaking, your employer is not obliged to give you a raise unless you have a contract or union agreement saying they are, or unless you work in a regulated job where regulation controls pay. Neither your work to increase revenue nor the changes in your responsibilities automatically entitles you to a raise, either. An extreme increase in responsibilities without an increase in pay _may_ constitute constructive dismissal if it's particularly egregious, but nothing here obviously qualifies.

If you don't like your pay, negotiate or find a new job. A subreddit or forum dedicated to your field may have some negotiating tips for you.


Title: Flight ticket voided by company without my knowledge

Question:
Hello!

A friend suggested I post this here because I haven't gotten very far with emails and phone calls to customer service reps.
I am a resident of St. Kitts & Nevis in the caribbean, but a US citizen, and was going on a trip to South Africa for school. Everything went fine until I came to the Johannesburg airport to return home and I was informed that my ticket had been accidentally "exchanged and voided". They recognized it wasn't my fault and that I had not cancelled my flight, but it's still unclear whether US Airways cancelled my flight or the third party site I booked through (Cheapoair.com) cancelled it. My seat was reserved and had my name, just not a ticket. It ended up costing 5000 USD to get home for school (the original flight plan was in total 2800 USD and was paid for months ago) and the customer service departments of US Airways and Cheapoair.com just keep ping ponging me back and forth. I've spent more than 10 hours on phones and haven't made any progress. The charges were put on my credit card then placed on hold for dispute. If I end up having to pay for them, I will have to take out private loans on top of grad school loans to do so.

Do I have legal ground to stand on? I understand planes need repair, bad weather happens, etc and you can't control flights cancelled for those reasons, but this was just my ticket getting cancelled by a company without my knowledge and I don't feel like that's a legal thing to do. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks so much!

Answer:
 Obviously you're going to have to sue them.  No matter whose mistake it was, neither party is going to want to eat $5,000 in random costs from a former customer.

You should dispute the $2800 charge too.  Services not rendered.

Investigate your local process for filing a small claims suit, and go to it.  The filing of the lawsuit will encourage the companies to take your claim more seriously.


Title: My Parents Are Selling My PC

Question: It is currently the 20th October and my dad has told me that he has sold my PC without my consent and that a guy is coming to collect on Monday the 22nd. My parents did buy it for me around last year though. It was sold because apparently, I don't revise enough. Any advice that you could give me?

Answer: How old are you?Answer #2: Try to make better whatever it is that you did that pissed off your dad so bad that he sold your computer. If you're underage your parents can parent you, which includes managing your belongings.


Title: Does a garnishment 'trump' complaint and request for ownership?

Question:
We purchased a property on land contract from a person who filed bankruptcy soon after. At the time the owners lawyer said there was no concern for us.  The land contract was entered in the bankruptcy and our interest was not in question. Three years later (now that we have put thousands of dollars into the property) a creditor (actually the creditors law firm) is demanding we pay them twice what we paid for the property or relinquish the property as a payback to the previous owners debt. The person we purchased the property from is not in default with them  they pay them monthly. The creditors law firm filed payment garnishment papers, we answered them and now our payments go to the company's law firm. Less than a month later they then filed a complaint for possession/ownership of the property.

Michigan
Questions:
1. Do you they have legal right to take our property?
2. Wouldn’t the garnishment ‘trump’ the lawsuit seeking possession?

Answer: If you have title insurance now is the time to contact them.


Title: Father’s salary reduced $12k without consent.

Question:
As I said, I’m asking these questions for my father’s situation and will provide as much information as I can.

My father works in an IT/programming department for a company that has been around for 20+ years. He was brought on a little over a year ago for a salary of $75k/yr.  Low for programming from what I understand. (He has 30+ years of experience, but isn’t up to date on the latest programming software) He’s had trouble getting/keeping jobs because of his age (55) and schooling so he took the best offer.

About a month ago, his boss approached him with an ultimatum stating they were bringing on another programmer. They were trying to figure out budgeting with the new acquisition. He could either keep his job until the new hire was trained and be let go or take the $12k pay cut. He was given a few days to make the decision. However, within those few days, his boss came back to him stating that he fought to keep him on because he’s a valuable asset and had exceeded expectations. Therefore, his management decided to keep both positions and submit both salaries without change for approval. Everything worked out, so we thought.

Give it two weeks and my father receives his paycheck but notices that his pay had been reduced the $12k anyways. The next day he asks his boss what happened. All he said was that the original conversation about keeping him on was for the reduced salary that had been mentioned when the ultimatum was given.

He feels as if he was cheated but doesn’t feel comfortable raising more questions because of the history of job inconsistency and feels that they’ll just show him the door.

My question is can a company reduce your salary without consent? He didn’t sign anything for this, so shouldn’t the original salary still stand? Is there any foul play or is this justifiable from the company?

tl;dr: father’s salary was reduced without consent, is there anything he can do?

Answer:
 If he wasn't informed of the decrease in writing prior to working during that pay period, then he is owed the rest of his ordinary paycheck.

Given his age and the circumstances you describe, it might be worth speaking with an employment attorney to discuss *possible* age discrimination.


Title: my sister pressed csa charges against my father last night, and it tore my family apart. what can i expect from a legal standpoint?

Question:
first time poster, apologies for any inconsistencies and the lack of proper formatting. i’m all over the place right now.

for clarification’s sake, i am 18 y/o.

upon finding out about my sister’s allegations, my stepmother and her children packed up their clothes and left the house. we do not know if she has any intention of returning, as she had not contacted anybody directly. a divorce could very well be on the horizon, as tensions were already high prior to this event.

my siblings ( both of which are minors ) and i were temporarily relocated to our birth mother’s house. i do not have a job and i do not have a driver’s license, therefore i am not capable of supporting myself financially at the moment.
and, due to the fact that i am a legal adult, i may not have very many housing options in the event that we are permanently evicted from both households. because, as far as my knowledge extends, nobody is legally obligated to provide for me.

i am particularly concerned in regards to housing situations because, without my father’s contributions to monthly mortgage payments, nobody can afford to pay for my childhood home. it is a two story house, with two baths and five beds. there are a LOT of personal items that still remain there, as we were told to pack for a week at most.

my father has since spoken to the authorities, as was requested of him, and has also gotten into contact with a lawyer.
he said that, while he had been advised to not attempt to meet with me ( or any of his children ) in a physical sense, he can still contact us via email/phone.

i was recently informed that this entire situation has the potential to result in an official trial. but i don’t know what to expect.

how long will this case last? who will testify? what will happen to my home? where will my siblings go? where will i go? what could happen to my dad? will my stepmother gain anything from this? will my sister gain anything from this?

please do not insult my father. it has been ten years since the crimes he is being convicted of, and he has grown as a person. i am aware of the fact that csa is a terrible, terrible crime. but he is still my father.

any and all answers are appreciated. i feel incredibly lost.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 >how long will this case last? who will testify? what will happen to my home? where will my siblings go? where will i go? what could happen to my dad? will my stepmother gain anything from this? will my sister gain anything from this?

We don't know any of this.  It depends on specifics of the case and situation that you can't really give us here.

I suggest you focus a little less on "Who's getting cash from this" and "What happens to the house" and a little more on, well, your abused sister...Answer #2: I can’t answer your questions without more information.

But, if the allegations are true, your sister will gain the comfort of knowing that her abuser is no longer her legal guardian and she can sleep peacefully at night. Or not, since csa is extremely, psychologically scarring and she will most likely be haunted for the rest of her life.


Title: [Texas] Chemical Plant Parking Permit requires signing a waiver that waives right to personal injury claims against the company (not in the parking lot, but anywhere the company owns). This seems illegal?

Question:
The exact text of the waiver is below.  the first paragraph is particularly concerning - it seems to state that I, as a worker, sign away any right to compensation for injury incurred while on company property.

>In consideration of allowing me to enter [Plant] properties, I release [Company], its affiliated companies, and their respective directors, officers, employees, and agents from all liability, claims, injuries, losses or damages on any king or character, including but not limited to, property loss and damage, arising out of or any way connected with my presence in or adjacent to the [company] properties.  This release and waiver agreement of all claims is without limit and without regard to the cause or causes thereof (including injuries caused by pre-existing conditions) or the negligence of any party or parties, including, but not limited to, company.  I agree to indemnify and save and hold harmless the [company] from any loss, liability, theft, damage or cost I may incur due to my storing my vehicle on adjacent [company] properties.
>I acknowledge that the [Company] does not guarantee the security of my property.  I agree to comply with all traffic regulations and all applicable vehicle safety and traffic procedures.  I understand that if a traffic violation is incurred, [company] reserves the right to revoke my drive-in privileges.  I further understand that [company] may search the automobile or other property in my possession prior to, while, or when leaving the property.  This release and waver agreement of all claims shall be binding on me and my heirs, executors, administrators, assignors, and legal representatives.  The undersigned further expressly agrees that the foregoing release and waiver agreement of all claims is intended to be as broad and inclusive as Texas law allows, and that, if any portion is held invalid, it is agreed that the balance shall continue to apply.

Answer:
 It's not illegal to write a bunch of garbage on a piece of paper and call it a contract. It simply wouldn't hold in court (at least in the case of property damage or injury caused by the company - some of the other stuff would stick).Answer #2: Texas actually has some decently strict requirements for waivers of negligence, especially when there's a bargaining disparity between parties.

My gut instinct is a hard "that won't be enforceable," but the law around waivers can be pretty fact specific, so be wary of any comments that don't provide backing.  I don't have time to pull up my old research on this, but if you search the concepts of the "conspicuousness requirement" and the "express negligence doctrine" regarding waivers, you may find some decent guidance.  Note that those concepts likely aren't applicable to you, but any commentary on them may also include commentary that would be relevant.

That being said, it's not the best idea to sign a contract with the expectation that it would be deemed unenforceable down the road, for several reasons.


Title: [FL] What are my rights as a tenant in this situation?

Question:
I signed a lease for an apartment back in April. Moved in, everything was fine. I am a veteran with PTSD and anxiety issues. I have it documented from two therapists/mental health professionals recommending an Emotional Support Animal. I have a dog that is trained and 'prescribed' based on those recommendations. She made a HUGE uproar about my animal. I filed a complaint with the local Human Relations commission. They sent them a packet stating the difference between an ESA and a pet as well as print outs of the statutes from the Vet Rehab Act and the ADA act that allows ESA's and that states if documented papers from a mental health professional are acquired, accommodations must be made.

Since then, the landlord has basically harassed me. I have a sign posted on my door with "Please do not knock. If needed call (my phone number". She comes by and pounds on the door anyways knowing that the dog will bark if someone knocks. She then uses that to tell me that my dog is vicious.

I had a guest over (my lease states that someone can be there for up to fifteen consecutive days). My guest was there when the landlord came yesterday (while I was at work). Landlord called me and told me that whoever is in my apartment needs to leave now and that guests were not allowed. She complained that I have two vehicles parked at the property that both are in good condition and current tagged. I am allowed to two parked vehicles based on the lease.

While my guest was there and the landlord was pounding on the door, my guest said through the door that she had just showered and couldn't come to the door at that exact moment. The landlord turned the doorknob and tried to push the door open, but the deadbolt was locked, so she was unable to.
I filed a complaint with the local police just so it was documented that it happened, in case she tries to take me to eviction court.
Another tenant in the building has a PET, but does not get grief for that at all. I feel like the landlord is harassing me directly.

She has called me names over the phone said some ridiculous things.
Do I have any rights? What can I do in this situation? I can not afford to move before my lease is up. I have a feeling she may be on meds and does this when she is having an episode.

TLDR; Landlord is trying to bypass my veteran/ADA rights, tried to enter apartment unannounced with no notice, lies regularly, and just generally harasses me.

EDIT: I would love to move out, but I can not afford security deposits and utility deposits at another place right now. I still have 6 months left on my lease.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 document everything.   look up the wiretap act in your state and see if you can record your phone calls.   Document everytime she calls you.  Set up cameras and see if you can record her attempted to come in and pounding on your door.   If she tells you you're violating your lease, tell her that she needs to sent notice of that through certified mail with cause, that way you have documentation of what she is trying to wrongly get you evicted for.    She's harassing you, if she tries to come into your apartment again, record it and call the police. Answer #2: You definitely can have guests over and park two cars, if your lease allows it. IANAL, so I can't give specific advice, but this is all sorts of wrong.Answer #3: Some things I would do. (IANAL)

1. let all calls go to voicemail, you now have a recording and can then respond via text. Easiest way around recording laws(if any) I can think of.

2. If she shows up in person with some complaint, ask for it in writing. If she refuses ignore it, unless of course it's an actual legit complaint then you may need to work with her.

3. Make sure this woman is never alone with your dog. The stories on here about neighbours poisoning animals has me paranoid :/

Also you could always ask her to buy you out of the lease, work out how much it may cost you to move to a similar apartment elsewhere and charge her that plus say a grand for the inconvience.

Based on your OP you are already doing everything else I can think of so best of luck.


Title: Sewage flooded into my apartment. The building manager is lying saying it was rust and refusing to pay for related costs

Question:
I live in NYS. This is long, I apologize.

Thursday night the laundry room in my apartment began to flood with sewage. I nearly vomited from the smell. I immediately called emergency maintenance. Eventually the building manager was contacted and I was told I would be reimbursed for a hotel. The sewage flooded the room, damaged blankets, dog beds, clothing.

Someone showed up about an hour later, looked at it, said he would “be back” then returned 20 minutes later and said they would “take care of it” and again re-iterated I would be paid for my hotel.

I stayed at a hotel, and in the morning contacted the manager who told me “the plumbers said it was just rust” and it was currently being cleaned and I could come back to the apartment. I argued with her saying there is absolutely no chance in hell it was anything but sewage. She said she was just relaying what the plumbers said.

I come home and it’s barely cleaned up. MORE items were somehow brought to the area and sopping with sewage water. They had put baskets that were on the floor on top of the washer and dryer, and left sopping wet items in the kitchen as well as used gloves on the countertop. I was furious, called again, eventually the buildings cleaning lady showed up. I was shocked. I apologized to her for having to clean it up, said it wasn’t her job at all (it’s hazardous waste...) and had to leave to go meet someone. Came back and she had done as thorough of a job as she could. In the meantime, my mom’s phone calls were completely ignored by the office manager.

That night someone else knocks on my door to tell me other people are having issues and asks if he can flush my toilets. He tells me a *real* plumber was never called, and it absolutely was not just rust. The sewage began flooding the room again. He ran outside to throw up. I waited hours for him to come back and snake the pipes while I waited in the house. I was told they would clean up after they were done and it was very late, so I stayed in my room. The next morning I wake up, there is still fecal matter on the floor, behind the hot water heater, etc.

I’m now being told my night at the hotel won’t be paid for. The building manager will not answer phone calls. I have renters insurance but the problem for me is that I think sewage in an apartment is disgusting to lie about, and probably requires some type of OSHA/ building code standard to be cleaned.

The building plumber that did come said they had to “figure out who’s fault it was/ what the cause is before clean up could be done” and that “other issues would be addressed.” This started an argument between him and my mom. The building manager still will not answer phone calls.

What actions can I take or who should I contact? How do I prove the value of my items damaged? Only a few photos were taken after the second clean up due to my initial shock/ disgust and believing they would take care of it as they promised.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 This is why you have renters insurance, call them about your damaged things, your lease probably says your landlord is not responsible for damage to your personal things.

in terms of the hotel, and them not paying for it,  you might want to speak to a landlord tenant attorney  about that, generally a prorated rent credit for the time you are out of your apartment would be sufficient, but the fact that they offered you a hotel then told you they would not pay for it will not be looked at favorably by a court if it ever gets to that.Answer #2: I don’t know anything about the legality of this, but as someone who works in restoration cleaning up this shit (literally), call your insurance and speak with an adjuster and go from there.