Title: [WI] Underage Drinking, Violation of Privacy?

Question:
Hey guys,
This is kind of a long, messy story but I would really appreciate any kind of help.

My friend (20F, I'm gonna call her Ashley?) was brought into the ER yesterday with a BAC of over twice the legal limit. She had a fake ID on her which she used to get into a club. At some point, she blacked out and passed out in the hospital. Unable to locate her friends to take her home or wake her up, somebody called an ambulance for her. Ashley woke up in the hospital and was told her parents had been contacted and were ready to pick her up. She left without checking out and went to her apartment to sober up.

While she was gone, the sheriff showed up at her parents' home and told them she was going to receive a ticket for having a fake ID. He also told them that Ashley had been drinking and told them her BAC. Somehow her parents obtained her blood work. (Her dad used to be a doctor at the hospital she was at, maybe that has something to do with it?)

Because of her culture, her parents are taking this to an extreme level. They are forcing Ashley to move out of her apartment and to drop out of school (She is a junior at a local university). I'd really like to help her out in any way I can and she's stressed out about how her parents could have obtained this information legally.

Was there any violation of her privacy by the police or the hospital?

Thanks!
Topic:
Alcohol Related Other than DUI

Answer:
 > He also told them that Ashley had been drinking and told them her BAC. Somehow her parents obtained her blood work.

The officer was under no obligation to keep that a secret. Your friend was not victimized. She committed a crime.


Title: friend defending himself

Question:
A friend of mine was in a car accident a month ago. The state is charging him with failure to yield a left turn. He was hit on the back corner of his passenger side. Barely got hit. The girl that hit him was coming down a hill. At the scene mentioned she looked down and then there he was.

The speed limit is 35 there and I drive it every day. I have never not been able to not see someone turning there. My friend is convinced she was speeding and texting and driving.

State issued a 100$ fine. He is defending himself. He was denied a free attorney. He had his pretrial hearing today. Prosecutor did not show. They rescheduled him for a half hour later in a different court room. The prosecutor is trying to use the girl that hit him and the officer that took the report as two separate pieces of evidence.

He also lives out of state. He wants to fight this with a jury instead of a private hearing. Judge was nice enough to tell him that they can do their next part of pretrial over the phone so he doesn't have to drive another 4 hours for an hour of his time.

Is there anything he should know incase the prosecutor continues with the charges?

Answer: What state?  Not every state (sanely) permits a jury trial for a $100 traffic fine.


Title: My friend constantly lies and its costing a rift in the friend group. Does this sort of thing happen in court?

Question:
**warning, extreme sexual assault is mentioned**

I was going to post this in /r/relationships but I don't think they'll give me the answer I'm looking for. I'll try and explain this the best way I can and explain why I am posting this in legal advice, but I understand this isn't the traditional type of post here.

So, my friend is a huge liar. We didn't find out how much she lied until this semester (we're sophomores in college) and all my friends are freaked out over the audacity this girl has and how much she lies.

This semester, she told us that she was raped over the summer. For many reasons, my friends and I don't believe this. Don't get me wrong, we are being as supportive as we can and around her we treat her the way you would treat a victim, but there are so many things wrong with her stories and its giving us a lot of doubt.

Where the actual legal advice comes in, is I googled this a ton and couldn't find anything.

She said that the boy who had done it has been to court for this before and is a repeat offender. She is taking him to court without her parents knowing and got a lawyer without her parents knowing. Keep in mind she is 20 years old.

She said that the offender has been charged for it in the past, twice for two other girls, but still managed to do it again while she was at a party (and not sober). Her lawyer "called her" during lunch time and told her that she didn't have to go to court because he confessed. And then she did have to go to court to testify. And then she didn't. On and off, for a few weeks, she told us this stuff, calling her lawyer a bitch, etc. Her last statement said her lawyer told her that she would have to go talk to the judge and tell her exactly how the rape happened. This meeting was going to be with the judge alone.

After she told us this, it went two weeks without her saying ANYTHING about the court case or what happened. My other roommate brought it up last night because we both thought she was lying about the whole thing. My roommate said that she went home from her college, in her free time, randomly, and went to go see the judge on a Saturday, and talked about how sweet the judge was.

My question and point is, really, **does this happen?? do judges do private meetings with the plaintiff, on Saturdays, randomly without appointment, in order to hear her retell a sexual assault? Even with a complete confession from the offender?? I live in Indiana by the way.**

edit: thank you for your responses. I wanna let you all know that I am being a supportive friend and I will be, but if she confesses to us that she was lying the whole time it'll probably be at the point where we will stop being friends with her. I live with her in a dorm and I see her all of the time, and her constant lies, even aside from the assault, are too much for me and my friends to handle.

Answer:
 >do judges do private meetings with the plaintiff, on Saturdays, randomly without appointment, in order to hear her retell a sexual assault?

No, not at all. Answer #2: >do judges do private meetings with the plaintiff, on Saturdays, randomly without appointment, in order to hear her retell a sexual assault? Even with a complete confession from the offender??

No.  I think your friend is lying.


Title: My city wants permission to take photos of my house to seemingly protect itself from future damage claims for their recent construction project. Should I let them?

Question:
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

My city's water department has recently started a very heavy sewage construction project near my house - heavy enough that I can already feel my house shaking during the day when they do their work.

Recently I received a letter in the mail from the city asking for permission for a "forensic engineer consultant" to take photos of my property to "protect the interests of all concerned parties during the construction activities in your area."  I'm pretty wary of my city's water department as they've definitely messed up things in the past, and I really don't trust them to do their work without damaging my house (it will be a long project, maybe up to 3 years, so I worry that the shaking will affect the house's foundation).

I'm mostly concerned that if I allow them to take photos, they'll do them in a terrible way that will act against me in case I do need to make a damage claim later.  However, I do want some valid evidence of my house's current condition.

Am I being paranoid here, and I should just let them take the photos?  Or would it, in fact, be better to actually hire my own consultant to take photos to use for a damage claim later, if it actually comes to that?

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Answer: let them take the photos....but take your own


Title: Question about refusal of service in California

Question:
Hi, I was at a 7-11 tonight and I went to buy beer/wine and cigarettes. The beer was a 6-pack advertised for 9.99 and a small 4-pack of 187ml wine bottle advertised at 2.79. I went to ring it up and their card machine was down so I went to Chase and pulled cash out and came back to buy the alcohol. When it was rung up it turned out the beer was 13.99 and the wine was 5.99, nothing too expensive but I wasn’t trying to spend that much. He rang it up and I mentioned that I’d seen it for 9.99 (this next part is the bit I can’t remember perfectly-I wasn’t under the influence or anything- I just can’t remember specifically how the transaction went down) I had $40 and the total was about $32 after the $10 cigarettes were added and I’d mentioned that I thought the beers were advertised at 9.99 and he said it was ok and took my money quickly and rang it through the system. He was grabbing my change when I told him that no, I didn’t want to buy it if it was that price, I said I’d get something else or pay 9.99 for it as advertised. He starts getting fussy and says to show him where I got the beer, I take him over there and show him that in fact it is advertised at 9.99 but he says it’s not the same beer I have on the counter. I told him that yes it is, it’s the exact same beer and that I’ll either pay 9.99 for it or get something else. He goes back to the register and hands me $2 back, I told him that if I am going to get it for the advertised price that it would have to be more than that and he ends up giving me the money back for the beer and I ask for the receipt to make sure the beer and wine is appropriately priced as well. I noticed the wine was overpriced at $6 and I told him that I wanted to exchange it. He takes my change back and hands me the $40 I gave him and I said I’d go pick out a different beer that was priced properly. That’s when he tells me that I can’t buy anything in the store and I tell him that he can’t just simply refuse to serve me, I was in the 7-11 and wanted to just buy something else. He then yells at me ‘No, I will not sell to you, get out of my store!’ So at that point I pulled out my phone and held it against my chest to start recording the rest of the interaction and it just became a back and forth of me asking why I couldn’t buy anything and him just saying that he won’t sell me anything. This was about 1:30 in the morning and one other person came in and bought burritos and I asked the clerk why he would sell to the other customer and not me even if I was just going to get a bag of chips but he continued to say that he’d refuse to sell to me. I never raised my voice to him, I wasn’t animated, just genuinely confused as to why the prices advertised weren’t matching up with the computer. I don’t know if it’s ok for him to refuse service even if I haven’t given him a reason to or not and that’s why I’ve come here to see if you guys have any more knowledge on an issue like this. I’m going to talk to his manager tomorrow and just let him know what happened tonight. I seriously never make a fuss or talk to managers but I felt the clerk was out of line. Between the yelling and refusal of service I think it’s definitely something that deserves the managers attention. Just let me know in the comments if there’s any advice on this kind of a situation.
Thanks for reading!

Answer:
 You can be refused service for almost any reason. Even if the cashier can't math.Answer #2: Your wall of text notwithstanding, they can refuse service for anybody.

You can talk to a manager. You cannot sue over this.


Title: [Update] 90% positive my sister-in-law (currently living with us) stole my wife’s dog and gave him to her friend.

Question:
Original post:
https://np.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/77ozhp/90_positive_my_sisterinlaw_currently_living_with/?st=J926GV92&sh=4de0dc5f

Boise, Idaho

Here is an update since my last post.

My wife got her friend to confront the friend and her boyfriend who they thought took him. They were recording the whole interaction. The friend and her boyfriend pretended they had no idea who my wife was- even though the girl has came over to our house multiple times over the years and is best friends with my wife’s sister. Our dog banjo was at the door when they answered.

After my wife’s friend confronted them and told them they were going to get the police involved, they slammed the door in her face.

My wife talked to a cop but was told they couldn’t do anything that night since the couple that took our dog lived in the next by city. My wife gave them information about it all and gave them the girls number who took the dog. The cop called her and left a voicemail after she didn’t answer.

The cop then called my wife and told her to go to their house with the cop on the line. They then acted like they didn’t have a dog, even though they just saw the dog when they first confronted them. The cop told my wife to leave the house because the girl wouldn’t even come to the door to talk to my wife.

The cops told my wife they will call her back once the girl responds to the cops voicemail. Ten minutes later, the girl who stole the dog texted my wife saying they will give her banjo back as long as they don’t involve the cops (sketchy).

They met up with them and got banjo back while being cussed out for stalking them and finding where they live.
Banjo is now home and I’ve never seen my wife so happy with tears of joy.

As for my wife’s sister who is currently living with us and was a part of the whole process.. is playing dumb and acting like she didn’t know about it until a couple days ago.
We will be having a sit down discussion with her once she gets home and will be giving her an eviction notice on when she needs to be moved out. I will let her know and will be recording the whole conversation as well as writing an eviction notice document.

My wife is beyond upset she would be betrayed by her sister, especially after we were only charging her $50 a month on rent with her own bathroom, letting her use our car to get to work and even feeding her, so she could save up for a vehicle for herself. As much as I hate being mean to people, I can’t allow her to live with us any longer and will be cutting off letting her use the car today.

I just really hope she learns a lesson from this, just as much as I have.

Thanks everyone for the advice and opinions. We really appreciate it.

Now onto my next updated:

I’ve read every comment you guys wrote and I completely agree with you all.

First off, I’ve never really had a dog before because I am not an animal person sadly. My wife on the other hand- is the biggest animal lover I’ve ever met. See would literally adopt every animal she has come across if she could.

I wasn’t aware pugs had such issues sleeping outside, even if he slept in a insulated doghouse. Some more background information is we didn’t let him sleep outside until two months ago. He would be inside all day until around 7 pm and sleep in his dog house. Around this time, the outside temperature was averaging 70 degrees outside.

Another piece of information I’ve learned is my wife has actually gave banjo his worming shots and that tick stuff you give a dog. We live in a subdivision with a decent sized gated backyard. So i wasn’t worried about animals attacking him.

Because of the feedback you guys have given me, I have talked to my wife and we will be making banjo an inside dog from now on. We will also be making sure he gets taken to the vet and get all of his shots and checkups.

I apologize if I upset anyone about the way we treated banjo. I didn’t put enough effort into thinking about his sleeping and veterinarian needs. I am currently in the process of potty training our 2 and 1/2 year old son and have been putting more effort than anything else making sure he is learning and using the potty.

So we will be working our hardest to give Banjo the best life he can. My wife loves him more than anything and treats him as another son. I’ve honestly never seen anyone love a dog as much as my wife loves and treats Banjo. He is super happy and excited to be home and my son gave him a big hug as soon as he got here.

Thank you again for everything you guys have helped me with. Advice, thoughts and your opinions. I will work my hardest to make sure we can be he best dog owners we can possibly be. I’m just glad he is home.

Thank you guys again!

Edit: some grammar and update on sister-in-law.

Answer: For those interested, discussion of this update is ongoing in [this bestoflegaladvice thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/bestoflegaladvice/comments/7805ot/update_to_the_missing_banjo_banjos_back_safe_and/).


Title: Can you get suspended from school for doing something outside school campus?

Question:
Let's just say that I were to steal something outside school campus in highschool. Can my arrest lead to a disciplinary offense to my school? -Atlanta, Georgia
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer: yes


Title: Figured out that home seller covered up that they knew house had major repairs to be done (roof, AC…) didn’t disclosed in the contract, what legal leverage I have? (North Carolina)

Question:
in the contract they say house has no major issue or don't know of any, but later on we figured out they've been fixing roof and knew it was leaking, already payed $700 for the inspections, your recommendations?
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 Not a lawyer, but get your earnest money back and walk away. The inspection is an expense to the buyer to make you a more informed buyer.

We were out a $550 inspection fee on a house with a bad roof and electrical problems. It's part of the buying experience.

Edit/ernest is a guy's name, earnest is what I wanted.


Title: [REAL ESTATE LAW] Missed close of escrow deadline with no fault of buyer, seller now wants to put the house back on market and keep my earnest deposit.

Question:
First of all, this is Bay area California. All contingencies were waived (else they don't even touch your offer). Extreme seller's market and buyers have zero leverage. Always multiple offer situation with bidding wars.

Our home loan was approved before getting into contract (standard CAR) and our offer was best and highest at the time with a mere 25 day close. Closing was pending only appraisal and title. This was before Thanksgiving so that also slowed down things. We as buyers were assuming everything was going smoothly since our finances were clear and appraisal was completed before the Thanksgiving holiday. A week before close of escrow we start getting worried and talk to our lender agent and he says there is a delay due to the seller and escrow company not giving them completed information about some liens on the property. 3 days before close we get a demand to close escrow and since it's a weekend we cannot do anything except freak out. On the day of close of escrow our loan is approved but the same night we received seller's request to cancel the contract and KEEP our deposit. We don't sign anything so next day his lawyer sends a unilateral cancellation of contract and they relist the property. Note that this is the very next day after the escrow deadline.

Turns out the seller wanted to get out of this contract because he realized he could sell it for 10% more since prices rose like crazy in a month.

As buyers we have no clue what we could have done differently. Lender says the seller is impossible to deal with and work with (he is combative) and seller says it is not his responsibility to give information about the liens on the property and buyers defaulted by not closing on time. So we should lose our deposit.

I don't know the law but it seems extremely unfair to me that I should pay the price because of someone else's delay and that too by just 2 days .. seller is an extremely greedy investor. Also if I don't get this property, I am priced out of this area and can never buy here.

Answer:
 You need to contact a local real estate attorney and fast. I could give you all sorts of advice on how real estate laws typically handle things like this, but this is something that will be best be handled by a local attorney who knows the laws and the judges who will be seeing the case. I would call an attorney on christmas eve for this. If nothing else, he might be able to prevent them from entering in to a new contract until this has been resolved.
Answer #2: Actually it is the sellers responsibility via their title company to provide any & all
Info regarding liens. Since you’re obtaining a loan a clear title must be issued. If the delay was partially because their title company was ineffective that’s on the seller.
It sounds like a serious breakdown in communication between the agents, title co & lender.
Closing in 25 Days is hard enough with a lender.
What could’ve been done differently was based upon delays from the title co & your Agent knowing this they could’ve asked for an extension on the closing date. Even throwing in some extra money if it’s your fault. Granted it’s a courtesy on the sellers behalf but a logical friendly seller would see that your loan was ready for signing so it’s an extra couple of days. No biggie, but it appears your seller wasn’t as courteous.
Not really legal advice but in response to your what could’ve been done differently. Answer #3: Good advice given so far, just wanted to add - the seller likely cannot sell the house when litigation is pending.  In most cases, sellers return the deposit because they don't want to wait two years to sell the house due to pending litigation.


Title: My image was used out of context by my company

Question:
Hi everyone, going to try and sum this up the best I can as I am very confused and angry right now.

I work in the non-profit sector with homelessness, this is a early/mid-point in my career as I have aspirations to go on to professorship/the private industry in my field. A few weeks ago I was asked by our development team to be a part of some promotional photos for my company that would be sent out to donors. I agreed, the photos were taken, I thought nothing else of it.

Yesterday I receive a text from a professional contact of mine at the school that I am an adjunct professor at with the mailer that was sent out. It shows me in the promotional photo and says that I am a homeless young adult (they used a falsified name). There was a whole story, which seemed like a fictional vignette, on how “I” am a homeless young person who relies on the the services that this shelter provides and encouraged donors to donate more money to the organization. I had to explain to this person that, yes, that is me, no, I am not homeless, and yes, my company is falsifying information sent to donors.

I was completely furious that I was not told that my image would be used in this context. I printed out the mailer and the communication I had with the development team when they asked me to be a part of this, brought it to my supervisor, and he stated that this was inappropriate and encouraged me to go to development.

When speaking with the person who had asked me to be a part of this project she apologized profusely and reported that she should have been more clear. I said that the apology wasn’t enough as this has gone out to 1500 local individuals/businesses/and families and that there needs to be stronger action.

I have spoken with this woman’s supervisor who assured me that more would be done and offered to send out a profile of all the good work I do for the company and that she would explore other solutions as well but I just think that’s not enough. I am hurt that my company would do this to me, embarrassed at the amount of people who have seen this. I feel as if there is more action to be taken but I’m not sure what to do. Is there any advice that you feel could be useful?

Answer:
 What do you want them to do beyond what they have already offered?Answer #2: Yikes that's just stupid.

It won't look good to the donors to have this fabricated. I know that I would be suspicious right now, were I a donor. Are they even doing good? What else are they lying about? Where is my money really going?

>  I have spoken with this woman’s supervisor who assured me that more would be done and offered to send out a profile of all the good work I do for the company and that she would explore other solutions as well but I just think that’s not enough.

I'm going to ask why. Having a profile sent out to all of the donors showcasing your work matches your career goals perfectly.

I would take that chance and be glad for it.

Make sure you get final approval on all the content and use this to really promote yourself.  You'll be able to include it in future job applications and it'll be a really bright star.

This could be a beautiful opportunity to get to the next level. You can use it to apply to speaking gigs and get interviews for newspapers locally and really make a name for yourself in this field.Answer #3: Did you sign anything as part of either taking the photos or doing the shoot?

Also check your employee handbook; there may be an agreement or stipulation wherein agree to let them use your image for business purposes.

Additionally it's worth stating...you have to know that pursuing your employer for damages or causing them damages to repair what they did, is likely to result in you needing new employment.


Title: [Ontario, CAN] Wedding photographers inform me of issue with assistant selling our photos online. They claim to dealt with it but pics are still up and we realize that photos she shot were never given to us.

Question:
Hi guys first of all thank you for taking the time to read this.

I recently got married and went to pick my photos up from my photographer. When I get there I’m told that unfortunately the photographer’s assistant sold some of my photos online to (what I assume to be) stock photo sites as well as posted  “sneak peak” photos on her professional Facebook page. They said they took care of it, they had fired her and demanded the photos be taken down. I thanked them for letting me know and left with what I assumed were all of my photos. I’ve been busy for the last two weeks but finally sat down to look over everything and realized that a lot of the photos that the assistant took weren’t in there. I emailed the photographer asking if I did in fact receive ALL the photos from the wedding as well as what the assistant's name and web address was.

They responded saying: *“Hi Sugar_Cubed, I’ll explain a bit further, the issue I was telling you about has been resolved. All of your unauthorized photos were taken down. your wedding photos came from your lead photographer and there will be a few more sent to you from the assistant in the next coming days now that the situation has been taken care of. Your wedding main album was finished early but I will be sending more to you once they are complete.”*  I have yet to respond back to them.

No mention of her name or the web address...however, in the mean time I’ve managed to find her site and professional Facebook page and lo and behold the sneak peak photos are still posted (including our first names) and they are photos that we don’t have in the photo cd that was given to us by the photographer. I’ve taken screenshots of both sites just in case. I’m very worried that the photos that they are going to give us will only be edited versions of what she had posted and not the full set that she had taken. I’m starting to get the feeling something happened (ex. not paying her) and because of that she’s withholding my photos.

I spoke to my husband about this and he suggested asking for a total photo count from the assistant's SD card. That way if they claim she only took 40 photos we know they’re lying. She was with us for the whole day and easily matched the amount (400+) of the lead photographer. If they are lying then I think the only thing we can do is speak to her and get her side of the story and go from there.

So, I guess my questions are:

 If I contact her regarding my photos (and if necessary for them to be given to me or else I will be seeking legal action) would that be bad and work against me if I do have to go the legal route?

If she/they refuse to give me the full set photos would I be taking her to small claims or would I have to take the photographers since I technically had a contract with them and not specifically her.

I just want my photos and hope you guys can help me find a way to get them. Thanks again for the reading this.

Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer: You signed a contract with the photographer, so that is going to govern what you are entitled to.  Does it say that you are entitled to ALL the photographs from the wedding?  It may be that the photographer decided that a lot of the assistant's photos were sub-par and doesn't want to give them out.  Everything is governed by the actual language of the contract itself.


Title: Racing and Evading Police

Question: So Basically I fucked up, I was with some of my friends and decide to start trying to race anybody on city streets. I start to get into a "race" with this other car.  We are going about 90 mph in a 50 and all of a sudden lights turn on behind me. The cop was trailing me for about 10-20 seconds(before he turned his lights on). I was in the left lane the other other guy is right lane. I slow down and turn on my left signal to make a left so the cops knows. The other guy in the right lane then proceeds to pull over in the off to the right. The cop then jumps behind him and I start to pull over to the right. After I  see the cop pull behind the other guy I decide to gun it. I get away and drop off all my friends. I want to know is it possible the cop got my license plate, and if he did what can happen? (The guy I was "racing" I didn't know if that makes a difference) In addition I'm 16  in Arizona. Please Help

Answer: Yes there is a very good chance they have the car rego details and they might also have dash cam footage.Answer #2: They ran your license before they turned on the lights. If they have dash. ams, expect a call.


Title: Apartment cleaned itself??

Question:
Help! I moved out of my apartment the beginning of the month. But my lease goes until August 31st. Today (28th) I came in to deep clean it and all of my cleaning supplies are gone and all the carpets are freshly cleaned. This was not my other roomate.

I’m afraid they’re gunna charge me or soemthing. What do I do?

Answer: Take photos showing today’s date. Ask the property manager for a walk through and a return of your cleaning supplies.


Title: My mother used my social security without my knowing, I now have a lot of debt built up.

Question:
Unknowingly to me (20M), my mother has been using my social security for over two years to open an electricity account, I now have 5400 USD built up in debt. She hid it from me the entire time and I only found out after checking the mail and finding a bill under my name. I called the company and they shut down the account under fraud and sent me a fraud packet that I’m waiting for currently. She hasn’t made a single payment, and when I asked about why they left the account on and in service, they said they’re not sure why the account was left open and not shut down after missing the first 2 payments.

She claims I gave her permission but I do not have any recollection of this happening and now my entire future is at risk, I’m supposed to be getting married, I’m in college still and I’m trying to finish and graduate,  but now I may not even be able to have the electric under my own name and not be able to have any loans or investments.

 I have no idea how to fix this problem without suing her and sending her to jail. Is there anyway I can transfer the debt under her name and have it not affect my credit?

Any advice and guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Topic:
Credit Debt Bankruptcy

Answer:
 You have 2 options.

You can accept the debt as your own and start working on paying it back and restoring your credit.

Or

You can report this to the police and allow them to investigate and charge her with identity theft. Use the police report to remove the debt from your credit report.


Title: Oakland, CA Hit and run (I was walking), driver identified. If and how should I proceed?

Question:
4 months ago (it took a while for me to find time to get all the way down to the relevant precinct to get a copy of the police report and more time to realize it actually contained the name of the car's owner) I was hit in a crosswalk 40 feet outside my front door while on my way to work.

Despite it being a busy street, there happened to be no cars or pedestrians passing by at that moment, so no witnesses aside from the passenger who initially opened their door and started yelling "*Stop, stop!*" as the driver accelerated away.

Even with insurance, prescriptions and two emergency room visits (the latter for the resulting bronchitis) cost me around $500.  Far more significant is that it caused me to miss about a month of work and some of that absence hurt my status with my employer.  It also pretty much crippled me with pain for about 2 of those weeks and still hurt 2 months later (it was some cracked ribs).  The direct monetary costs were probably around $3,000.

The plate number I gave 911 matched the car description I gave (silver sedan, 4 door).

So, my questions:

- Has the statute of limitations passed?

- What avenues do I have to pursue this on both a criminal and civil level (I have never been involved in a lawsuit of any kind)?

- Do I have any real chance of receiving remuneration, payment for pain and suffering or of seeing a criminal prosecution for felony hit and run?

Thanks in advance.

Answer: You need to speak with a personal injury attorney immediately. The statute of limitations has not passed. If you've filed a police report, they will decide to elevate it to the DA who will decide to press charges, or not. Your concerns are all civil. Yes, you have a very real chance of receiving money if they've identified the driver.


Title: My sister is dating a guy with a crazy ex. The ex filed a restraining order against him and said he sent her an email. How can we prove he didn't?

Answer:
 You can’t prove a negative.

She would have to prove that he did.


Title: Adult buying her minor daughters drugs and cigarettes

Question:
 I live in Indiana and i came across a friend I've known for a while and she is 16 years old, dropped out of school, has mental issues, and is addicted to alot of substances. Recently i cut this person out of my life as i am a minor as well and once i found out her mother was the one buying her cigarettes, i felt like i needed to tell someone. I am friends with a brother of my friend who has seen these things happen first hand and agreed to help stop the mother from ruining her children.

 The mother lives in a small house with 4 daughters and 3 step sons. She is divorced and has remarried. Two of the youngest daughters have serious mental issues and the ages are 13 and 16. Both of these daughters have gotten tattoos and peircings since age 12. The other daughters have their boyfriends living with them at ages 20 and 18. The step sons from the step father stay only a couple days a week but like to stay away from damaging behavior. There are about 10 people living in the house. The basement is shared between 4 daughters and a boyfriend while the parents are in one room, and the boys are all together in another.

 I do have proof that the daughter smokes regularly. I have photos that she sent to me smoking. I have also seen the mother buy them first hand. One of the daughters have also seen the mother hand me and my friend cigarettes. I am guilty of smoking them with the daughter as well but it was alot of peer pressure. But one of the sons has also expressed severe discomfort of having seen this and wishes his step mom would stop doing this.

I hope this is enough information as i have already told my parents the whole situation and i want to stop the mother from ruining her children's life as i have seen myself a lot of inappropriate things happen in the household. I don't know if i should go to the police or cps and what legal actions to take as I, and a lot of others can see really damaging and illegal things happen with this family.

Answer:
 You don't actually mention anywhere in your post about the mother giving the daughter illegal drugs. That would be illegal and CPS would take it seriously.

It's not legal to give a 16 year old cigarettes, but it's not at all certain that the authorities would care. Lot's of 16 year olds smoke cigarettes.

It is normal for girls to get ear piercings at a relatively young ages. Teenagers can get tattoos in Indiana with parental permission at age 14, it's not certain that anyone would care if someone a bit younger got a tattoo with parental permission.

It is legal for people who are 18 or 20 to live with their boyfriend.

Honestly this doesn't sound like a great environment but there are lots of people who live like this. It's not super obvious that involving the authorities will be worthwhile.


Title: Dead father's girlfriend will not let us have his belongings *Michigan

Question:
They have no legal ties, and there is no will. They share no bills (with both of their names, but he was paying her bills with his personal money), they share no bank accounts. The only thing was that he was living in her house (and giving her money for her house bills). His legal address is not at her house. All of his belongings are still at her house, and she refuses to give most of them up. She will not give us many of his personal belongings, his IPad, his expensive computer (which he built long before they got together), his $2000 bike, and we are also suspecting that she is hiding some of his legal documents from us. Being 19 and 20 year old kids with the burden of his estate, we need his computer of all things to find out where his investments are and so we can pay his bills and figure out where he has money and stock. We have asked her multiple times for the computer but she keeps saying "this is my computer too all of my stuff is on here as well as my kids information". My dad ran a business and kept all of his business information on his computer, as well as his tax information which we need because we need to do his taxes. How do I go about acquiring my dad's belongings that are in her house? Also, I dont know if this helps but my dad claimed his computer on his taxes as his work computer or something like that. She keeps telling us that we can bring a drive and take his information off the computer, but we have not the slightest clue of how to do that, plus it is our computer now anyway.

*He also made her the beneficiary of his roll over retirement fund of $44,000, so can I come after her to help pay his bills? (which in reality are her house and phone bills)

*I am the executor of the estate.

*He was paying the bills that were in her name. As well as putting some of the bills (her phone bill and tv bill) in his name and paying them but i have cancelled those payments.

* I have consulted a local police officer and he said that she could easily say "I put 100$ towards that" for any of his things and it would make the items hers as well

Answer:
 I'm sorry about your loss.

You are going to want a trusts & estates attorney for this one. Until your father's estate (everything he left behind) goes through probate, your and your brother's ownership will be unclear. Some of it you might be able to manage with a sheriff's property retrieval, but you are going to need to demonstrate that you are the legal owners.

As for the legal documents you suspect are hidden away, you're probably going to need to sue her so you can get a subpoena for them.

If you're in the downstate area, PM me and I can get you a number for a decent attorney who, if she can't handle your issue will at least be able to give you a solid reference to an attorney who can. If you're elsewhere, start with the [MI state bar referral service](https://www.michbar.org/programs/lawyerreferral).

Also, it does sound like she has somewhat of a point about her info on the computer hard drive, AND is willing to compromise at least a very little. Since it sounds like neither you, brother, nor dad's girlfriend know much at all about computers (because transferring her data onto a different computer would be pretty easy if you knew how), you might want to ask her if she can begin backing up all of her personal data so once you all figure out how to do it, she won't have lost any of her important info either.

In the meantime it is probably best to try to keep things from going south. So avoid arguments, emotional responses, name calling, and that sort of stuff.


Title: [USA - California] My cousin's ex-girlfriend has a restraining order but he has gone to her house and work and phoned her twice. She called the cops on him but nothing happened. Why hasn't he gotten arrested again?

Question:
Sorry if this is dumb question. I haven't taken law at school yet. We live in California and my cousin went to jail because he hit his girlfriend before. When he got out he came to live here with my mom and aunt and uncle and me. Since he has gotten out he went to her house and her work and he also phoned her 2 times now front of me. She has a restraining order where he can't go near or talk to her. I think he should be in jail for breaking the order but the cops haven't even come to talk to him. When he went to her house I was there in the car because it was on my way home from school and he picked me up. She called the cops, I heard it but nothing happened. I think what he is doing is wrong but if she has a restraining order why haven't the cops come for him yet? Do I misunderstand maybe what a restraining order is? I was there in court when he got it and the lawyer definitely said restraining order. I'm just confused but I don't want to ask him.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Answer:
 For what its worth, he can still get in huge trouble for this. Just cause the cops did not respond immediately does not mean they wont. Answer #2: This is strange.  Violating a restraining order is usually 911 and immediate response.

Have her try the Sheriff's office.


Title: In the case of a wife getting pregnant from an extramarital affair, are there states in the US wherein the law requires the loyal spouse (husband) to pay for child support of the child born from that affair?

Question:
I'm not really in this kind of situation. However, there is a thread on reddit where a guy's wife got pregnant from a one night stand and the wife is adamant on keeping the baby. The guy doesn't know what to do. If he divorces her and the divorce proceedings take longer than nine months before the divorce gets finalized, can the disloyal wife take him to court for child support for this bastard child that isn't his? Which states have this kind of law set up?
&nbsp;
According to a redditor, if the guy was married to her when the wife gives birth, he may be on the hook for child support no matter what. According to the same redditor, some states have it as a rule that a child born in a marriage is the husband's responsibility even if the wife cheated and it isn't his biological child.
&nbsp;
Is this true? If so, which states have this law in place? How is this ok? Sorry, I'm just not from the US and I'm confused if this was true and why this would ever be the case. Can someone please explain to me and point to me the specific laws for this? Thanks.
&nbsp;
Edit: Clarity and formatting

Answer:
 The reason you're going to have a hard time getting an answer here is because we have 50 states, each with different laws governing things like child support. The best I can give you is how it works in states I'm familiar with, and it doesn't work how you've described. Typically the husband is likely to be the father by default, but that can be challenged through paternity tests. However, the husband would need to take proactive steps to establish that he is not the father.Answer #2: Lots of states presume that a child of a married couple is theirs.

This can be rebutted with proper evidence, if the father seeks to do so.

This injustice that you are talking about doesn't really happen, if the father is aware of the infidelity at the time the child is born and wished to disavow the child.  Not since DNA testing.

However, a similar injustice can occur.  Suppose the father doesn't learn of the infidelity until the child is, say, ten years old.  In this case the law may assume that someone who has acted as father for ten years should continue to do so, including child support, despite DNA tests showing they are not the biological father.  Some might consider that unjust.


Title: Is it legal to sell urine in California?

Question: I don't believe there is a federal law against it, but what about California?

Answer:
 You are basing your arguments on the concept of "plausible deniability". The idea that someone can pretend that they don't weren't aware of something and can therefore not be blamed for the consequences is very popular when talking about government officials and in movies/books about government cover-ups.

In the real world, the courts use a concept called "constructive knowledge". It means that, even though you say you didn't know why people would want to buy urine from you, we can still, by law, say that you knew or should have known something by the exercise of reasonable care.

You can't pretend to ignore common sense to avoid being charged with a crime. Answer #2: For what purpose are you selling the urine? Perhaps to aid people in beating drug screens?


Title: Adoption and time for truth, but also child support?

Question:
Hi - longtime reader, first time poster.

In 2005 I was seeing a woman who was seperated from her husband. She got pregnant, reconcilled with her husband, and we all agreed for me to step away and let them raise the child as their own.

Her husband is the father on the birth certificate in Michigan.

She later moved to california, divorced, and remaried. Her new husband would like to adopt the child. I have been asked to sign a document agreeing to the adoption by steparent and waiving my paternal rights.

The issue I am having is that this will be the first time i am legally claiming to be the biological parent.

I am happy to agree to the adoption and sign away my rights. Am I on the hook for any child support?  There has never been a child support agreement or judgement that has involved me.  Thank you.

Answer: Legally, her first husband is the father of the child. Sign nothing.Answer #2: I don’t see why you have to sign anything. It sounds like the first husband is legally the father since he is in the birth certificate. I would think they would need his signature to do an adoption.


Title: My neighbor has 3 dogs that constantly bark nonstop at ungodly hours of the day to the point where I cannot go into my own backyard. This has been going on for years and all of the neighbors (including me) are fed up. What can we do to end this?

Question:
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 This happened to me when a beagle who lived 3 blocks away would bay at all hours of the day, and be heard with windows and doors closed. I contacted animal control for my city, provided them an address and they gave the owners a warning. The dog was very quiet after that. I live in a suburb area near Vancouver, BC, and I believe that after enough warnings/complaints, the city is able to take possession of the dogs and fine the owners.Answer #2: You might be able to make a nuisance complaint with the city. Otherwise has anybody talked to the neighbor?Answer #3: What state are you in?
Never mind. Minnesota

This is specific to Minneapolis

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/animals/report/barking-dogs


Title: YouTube Video Takedown Counterclaim: Someone used my work in their video!

Question:
To make this short,

A group picture I took with a group of friends was taken from a third party website (which had limited permission to use the photo) and subsequently used in a YouTube video to prove Ron Paul is a devil worshipper (I know, this sounds crazy).

I filed a claim in the video due to the photo I personally took being in the video of which I gave no permission for the individual to use.

YouTube has informed me that I need to get a court order or they will reinstate the video. I don't care about the rest of the video, I just want the photo I took removed.

Tl;Dr: Someone used a photo I took in a YouTube video and I want it removed.

Answer:
 > I don't care about the rest of the video, I just want the photo I took removed.

Then you'll need to get a court order.

Have you contacted the people who made the video?


Title: Help for a Government teacher on the 4th amendment

Question: I need some quick help on a bill of rights scenario for my government class. We're talking 4th amendment and executing a search warrant. The scenario is that cops have probable cause for a drug bust and have a warrant, but they don't find drugs, instead they find a bunch of stolen PS5s with the serial number scratched off. My question is since the stolen goods weren't on the warrant, do cops need a new warrant? How does that work? Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 So, the rule is that the officers can use the search warrant to search for evidence. They can look anywhere their evidence might reasonably be.

So they can look in the sock drawer if they're looking for a gun, but not if they're looking for a car.

If they're looking for a gun and they find drugs someplace that gun might be, then that item is in "plain view" and it can be admissible in court.

Now- if they want to expand the scope of their search based on what they found, then they can go get a new warrant that specifies the new type of evidence being sought.

But what they found in the first search is still legally in play.


Title: Therapists office refusing to give me my own medical records.

Question:
So basically I've been seeing a therapist at the college I go to for awhile now. I'm fighting a social security case at the moment and my lawyer has asked me for records and notes from my therapist and my doctor. I went to the health center at the college to get my records and my therapist's notes. They told me to do that I had to make an appointment with my therapist and ask for her permission to get my records. The reason was they said there might be things on there such as statements and notations that she doesn't want me to see. They suggested that if that were the case she might want to edit them first, which could essentially damage any evidence for my court case. They were basically telling me that they would refuse to give me my records unless I did this and told me to try to get them that way.

I'm not sure what to do here. This is a very awkward situation. I didn't actually want my therapist herself to know I was requesting them, just because it's awkward and I didn't want it to influence what she put on her notes due to any personal bias or something. It was my under my impression that by law they had to just give me my records whenever I requested them anyway. I'm not sure what to do now and I really didn't want it to be a big noisy thing, yet I feel like I'm going to have trouble getting them unless I complain to someone higher up or something.

The other complication is, making a complaint to someone higher up might get the word to my therapist louder or something, and then she might change the notes herself from hearing about a complaint. I really feel it should be as easy as going in and them handing it to me. It in fact has been this easy before, because I got a few of them that way once in the past so I don't see what the problem now is. Aside from having to ask permission for my records, the part about them wanting to give them to me selectively or edit them so that I don't see something they put on them is extremely infuriating and frustrating.

Extra info: I live in USA, California. This is a college health center office. I've been going to it for about a year now for therapy.

Any advice is appreciated.

Answer: You are entitled to the records in the chart. If the therapist keeps separate psychotherapy notes, you are not entitled to those.


Title: Mother charging me rent

Question: Hi, I just graduated high school and I'm 18 years old and my mother has decided to start charging me rent. We're in British Columbia where the age of majority is 19. Doesn't she have a legal obligation to supply a home for me until then? She's just taking money out of my bank account without asking. It's really not cool.

Answer:
 First of all why does she have access to your bank account ?Answer #2: Call your bank and ask if they'll set up a new account for you without a cosigner. Many banks are happy to do business with 18-year-olds, so if yours isn't, call around. Even if your mother can charge you rent, taking your money without your permission is a fairly serious transgression against your boundaries, and taking steps to stop her from doing that is probably worthwhile.

Beyond that, your mother does have an obligation to house you until you turn 19. She can charge rent if she wants, but she can't evict you for non-payment (literally can't: the Residential Tenancies Branch won't hear the case and the courts won't order you evicted from your parents' home as a minor). If she locks you out or otherwise illegally evicts you without going through the courts, call the police.

You can legally move out any time once you've turned 16, too. Moving out may be for the best, and if you burn your bridges with your mother, she'll likely make it mandatory once you do turn 19.


Title: Could you intentionally put yourself in danger because you want to legally kill someone in self defense?

Question:
Just something I was thinking about. Self defense laws are generally just about when it's legal to use deadly force in response to a threat to your life. As far as I know, they don't ever address the intentions of the person shooting in self defense.

So suppose I decide I want to kill someone legally. I go to some really bad neighborhood somewhere in my new sports car and an expensive suit and flashy jewelry and loose cash. I walk around being an apparently easy and lucrative robbery target until someone approaches me with a gun. At this point I shoot the person (because you know, I fear nothing and I'm the fastest gun in the west and all that).

So, under ordinary circumstances, a person pointing a loaded gun at you (or even menacing you with a knife) is absolutely a justifiable reason to use deadly force. But if I'd brought on the confrontation by behaving in an entirely legal manner that was intentionally designed to draw someone in to open themselves up to a legal shooting, would I still enjoy the same protection under the law?

Answer: IANAL.  Without getting super political, I think the Trayvon Martin shooting by George Zimmerman seems kind of similar to your scenario.  Zimmerman followed Martin, so it kind of seems like he was seeking confrontation, and it resulted in Martin's death (deserved or not - not looking to make a stand either way).  Not sure if we can know Zimmerman's intent, but his actions since his acquittal indicate that he's a little/lot loony.


Title: My lawyer threatened me

Question:
North Carolina.
I had a lawyer that was working for me under the condition that if I got a settlement, they would get a percentage of whatever I was awarded. Not once, but twice, I had the option of appealing a decision as it was my legal right. However, both times, my lawyer told me, "You can appeal the decision if you want to. But, we don't feel that it is in your best interest to appeal the decision. If you decide to go with an appeal, we will no longer consider you a client and you will be personally responsible for all charges and fees accrued for the work we've done on your behalf up to this point."

Is this allowed? I have no idea and they really screwed me over... but at this point I'm wondering if it's too late to even do anything.

(edited to add state)

Answer:
 Not even kind of a threat.  Answer #2: That's not a threat.  They're giving you advice, and if you choose to ignore their advice, they're dropping you as a client so they can spend more time on other clients who follow their advice.Answer #3: That is not a threat.

The lawyer is not required to continue to represent you. Did you win any money so far?


Title: Busboy duty required by sorority "members," but I resigned my membership. Do they have rights to assign me duties?

Question:
Hello,

I live in Indiana. I signed a contract to live-in the sorority house from August 2014 to May 2015. I resigned my sorority membership in December, but I still have to live in the house until May.

In the beginning of the semester, they send out the survey asking for time availability for busboy duties-- cleaning kitchen/dishes, etc. Each member must do busboy duties or they will be fined of $150.
The housing director sent out the first busboy schedule, but I had couple time conflicts. The email was saying that if I have any time-conflicts then they can adjust the dates. I emailed them to adjust the date but no reply. I emailed them again when they sent the finalized busboy schedule, I sent another email. Still no reply (schedule not adjusted).

I feel like it's a discrimination against a non-member that the housing refuses to reply me back and assign me a schedule when I have classes.

I am simply just thinking not to showing up to busboy duties. I still want to do my duty, because other girls would have to work for mine if I don't.
But if they are not responding me, I am thinking about not just showing up. I read over the contract, and it was saying that "Members shall report for busboy duty on a schedule determined by the House Director," but I am not a member anymore.

But I don't want to interpret the contract in favor of me. I would want some assurance, if the sorority has a right to fine me if a non-member live-in member does not show up for the busboy duty?

Here is a sentence from the contract,

"“**Member**” or “Members” means collegiate member(s) of the Sorority **who have not resigned their membership**, and whose membership in the Sorority has not been terminated."

"MEALS
The Chapter shall provide busboys at no charge to the House Corporation to clean the kitchen and dining room after each lunch and dinner meal served as a part of the meal service described herein and assist the Chef when requested. **Members shall report for busboy duty** on a schedule determined by the House Director. The Chapter is responsible for ensuring that busboy duty is fair and equitable amongst all Live-In Members. Busboys duty shall not be considered punitive in nature nor is it to be viewed as hazing. If a Member fails to report for duty a $150.00 fine shall be imposed by the House Corporation per offense. If the Chapter fails to provide enough busboys to fill the schedule designed by the House Director, the Chapter shall be fined $150.00 by the House Corporation for each discrepant busboy. Busboys are to report to the kitchen at the time determined by the House Director and are not relieved of duty until released by the House Director or her appointed representative. The Sorority, House Corporation, and their respective officers, employees, agents, and representatives are held harmless from any injuries that may result from performing busboy duties per Item 20 of this contract."

Sorry if it is a long post, but I really need some advices. Thank you!

Answer:
 > but I still have to live in the house until May.

Not true.  You may have to pay the money regardless, but I promise yiu that legally you can move out if you want.  They can't force you to live there.


Title: Hypothetical Extortion clarification

Question:
Let's say an individual notices that a business or some other legal/financial group is doing something illegal, and decide to take action..... Under what circumstances would the individual be extorting the business? This is obviously quite vague but I phrased it this way to get a broad range of responses.... If it's too vague say so and I'll add detail.
I guess what I'm asking is how would the individual go about addressing this in the "greediest" way possible without technically extorting the business. Intellectual exercise... If you will.
(Nebraska)

Answer:
 You do one of the following things:

1.  Advise them that you belive that they're doing something illegal with no discussion of compensation, at all.

2.  Report them to the proper authorities without discussing the matter with the business, at all.

Anything else is likely to be extortionate.


Title: [Canada] Painkiller Prescribed by Doctor Caused Massive Internal Bleeding

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Doctors can't know how every medication will affect every person. Reactions happen.  If it was clearly known that you can't tolerate NSAIDS and he prescribed it anyway that would be different.Answer #2: > I was prescribed Naproxen at the highest dosage (500mg) and it was supposed to be safer than the other codeine painkillers and I assume because of my age that the doctor wanted to give me the "safer" Naproxen.

Naproxen isn't a 'codeine painkiller.'  It's Aleve.


Title: My photograph (I'm the copyright holder) used without permission, but with credit - can I invoice them?

Question:
I've tried searching this reddit for info on this matter, but theres nothing specific enough for aid my situation (from what I could find), so I'd appreciate some advice.

I'm a UK citizen living in the UK. In 2012 I took a photo and recently its gotten VERY popular. My website www.krisjbphotography.com has received 45,000 visitors in four days. This spawned from sharing a VERY low res version of the image on imgur and posting it on reddit. Note: I understand that posting on imgur compromises the rights, but I only uploaded the small image. The high-res image version can be seen here: http://www.krisjbphotography.com/japan/9m8th9d5tf2f00nz1asfl6lh5nqvlf

Its expected then that the photo has been shared beyond my control or wishes. I've had a lot of publications/agencies/lecturers contact me about use, which I'm fine to discuss. I'm happy with the exposure, if its discussed with me and I can exercise control.

There are websites however that have not contacted me about image use and have displayed a higher-resolution version of the image then the one shared on imgur, but they have credited me and linked to my website.

The websites are obviously based all over the world, some are in the UK.

I want to go with the philosophy of "Didn't contact me? You're getting invoiced."

Do I have the right to invoice these sites, and others for payment? What situation would prohibit me from doing so? Does crediting me and linking to my site excuse them?

There are numerous articles and posts about photos with cropped out watermarks, lack of credit or links, but I'm having trouble finding info on this.

Any help would be appreciated. Once again, apologies if there are already posts regarding this.

Answer:
 You are free to invoice those using your photo without permission.  Unfortunately, the recipients are also free to ignore it, which will certainly be the likeliest response.

Being "all over the world" further complicates things by limiting your ability to take legal action, which would most likely require you to sue each uploading user/hosting site in its host country.

The best you can realistically hope for is to:

* send DMCA takedown notices to the sites that will respond to them and otherwise try to request removal from any sites that are not bound by the DMCA; and/or
* try to get attribution to direct traffic to your site to capitalize on the popularity

As you well know, once a picture gets out to the internet, it may never be possible to get the genie back in the bottle.


Title: All funds in bank account taken with no notification!

Question: Friday, my gf and I were on our way for a long weekend getaway when she got a notice from her bank that she had less than $25 in her account. She logged in and saw that all the money was gone from her account, about $7500, leaving her penniless. She called the bank and all they would say was that there  was a judgement from the Superior Court of New Jersey and they provided a phone number. She called the number and it was for a lawyer, and the recording sounded like some dude working out of his condo. The courts on the east coast were also already closed for the long weekend, so we are waiting until Tuesday. My gf is understandably freaking out. She had been saving for the last year to take her daughter to Europe when she graduates high school in June and also there was $3k her ex had just transferred for September child support. She has no idea what this could be about. She did live in New Jersey with her ex husaband, but not for about 12 year at least(He also now lives in California and so do we). How can something like this be done with no notice? If they were able to find her bank account surely they could locate her address. She will call the courthouse on Tuesday morning and also try the lawyer again, but is there anything she should be aware of in trying to clear this up? It's really scary that something like this can happen. My GF is understandably a nervous a wreck, stewing over this for 3 days.

Answer:
 It is generally legal for a judgment creditor to serve a garnishment against the bank where a judgment debtor keeps their money. And to take all non-exempt money in the account up to the amount necessary to satisfy the judgment.

Whether she is the actual judgment debtor in this case, and whether she has any exemptions to claim against the money is something for her to review with a lawyer. Answer #2: Unfortunately I can’t offer specific legal advice.  I do work at a bank and get levies all the time. The bank has to comply with the court order and they can’t notify you because the first thing the customer will do is transfer/take money out.  If it can be proven the bank got court order and we didn’t freeze your money, bank is on the hook and whoever didn’t process levy incorrectly probably fired.
I would suggest checking your credit report and looking for any debt you weren’t aware of. I’ve had few customer prove they were levied on accident or had taken care of debt but court still sent levy. Money then put back in account but it not a quick process.


Title: My ex assaulted me while I was trying to get my stuff and move out, I tried to calm her down and stop it and had to defend myself, i now have an assault charge and warrant for my arrest...

Question:
Location: Orange county, North Carolina

I really need advice on this and I appreciate anyone who's willing to take their time to read it.

This all started 2 months ago.  I was getting my things packed so I could stay with my brother because my ex was stressing me out every day to an extent that kept me in a constant state of depression.  As I was packing my things, she kept on getting in my way and closing the drawers and making sure I can't make any more progress.  I kept grabbing stuff and packing anyways because I felt very uncomfortable about this, and she got frustrated and hit me in the back of the head a few times hard enough for me to start vomitting.  I got up and tried to pack more things and she kept on grabbing me to prevent me from doing anything, and when I resisted, she started hitting me more.  She said that she was stronger than me, and i told her I didn't want us to fight and I didn't want to hurt her, that I just want to move on with my life because this relationship was impacting me negatively, and this set her off again and she started hitting me in the face.  I tried to grab her so she couldn't hit me but she wiggled out, so I stupidly hit her because I didn't know what to do in the moment.  She pinned me down and started hitting me and this went on for about 20 minutes, afterwards she instantly regretted it and was crying intensely and apologizing, and when I wouldn't forgive her she slammed the back of her head on the wall multiple times.  I ended up getting all of my stuff out and moving once my brother showed up, I was texting him while it was happening because I was really scared because I could not calm down the situation for a long time.  I was covered in scratches and bruises, but did not take any photos because I was focusing on my new life change, I had no money and was crashing at a friend's place and needed to situated myself.  She went to the hospital so she has documents for her injuries, I didn't go to the hospital even though I was also in immense pain.  I could barely get out of the couch for weeks and limped everywhere and was always in pain.  Days after this, I was getting messages from her saying that I was going to be charged with assault, and I'll have a warrant for my arrest because of this, but I didn't believe her because she was always a manipulative person.  It also didn't make sense that I'd have a warrant when she was the one who assaulted me, and the issue with her slamming her head on the wall is that she probably has reported that I did that to her.  This isn't the first time she has hit herself like this.  I don't know what to do, apparantly there has been a case this whole time and I haven't checked because I've been too anxious about my side not being seen and about getting charged with something that she did while I'm finally getting my life back together.  This whole situation has been traumatic and I don't know if I have it in me to do what I need to do to show the truth, considering the circumstances and potential red flags.  I am not lying, exaggerating, or leaving anything out. I have no reason to do that, if questions need to be answered to give a clearer idea then feel free to leave any.

Answer:
 If you are being criminally charged then you need to hire an attorney.Answer #2: You should file a police report, get everything documented, get a copy of the text messages you sent to your brother and save it to multiple places.

Edit: Also save the text messages from your exAnswer #3: Okay, hang on a second. Have you actually been contacted by the police, or is it just your ex-girlfriend telling you that you're going to get arrested?


Title: My boss was playing ping-pong and ask me if i was looking at porn

Question:
TL:DR at work, my boss was playing ping pong and ask me if I was looking at porn.

Preface: I am a bit awkward and try to get myself out of weird situations as quickly as possible.
I was sitting at my desk which is 6 feet from a ping pong table. I was working on an excel spreadsheet; my boss was playing ping pong, during the match he ask me if I was watching porn. I was uncomfortable with the question, and quickly answered I wish. Do I have a potential sexual harassment claim?

Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 > Do I have a potential sexual harassment claim?

For one simple question? No. Answer #2: I also try to get  out of weird situations as quickly as possible, so the quick answer is no.Answer #3: That is not sexual harassment. Sorry to tell you. I hope your boss fires you before you become a liability to his company. Sue happy people like you are whats wrong with our society. Answer #4: No. No lawyer would take your case.Answer #5: At work 💼 , my boss 👨🏻was playing ping pong 🏓 and ask me if I was looking  👀 at porn 👉👌👅😱. I am a bit awkward 😝 and try to get myself out of weird 🙃 situations as quickly 🏃♀ as possible. I was sitting at my desk which is 6 feet 📏 from a ping pong 🏓 table. I was working on an excel spreadsheet 📈; my boss 👨🏻was playing ping pong 🏓, during the match he ask me if I was watching 👉👌porn  💻 . I was uncomfortable 😳 with the question, and quickly answered I wish 🙄. Do I have a potential sexual harassment claim 🤑🤑🤑?


Title: I'm being illegally evicted in San Diego.

Question:
I've lived in a bedroom of a house for almost two years. I pay rent to the guy who is on the lease. Apparently (I am now learning) that lease does not allow him to do what he has been doing (rent to me).

Yesterday he received a PERFORM COVENANT (CURE) OR QUIT notice from the landlord. [PDF here](http://www.sandiegorealestate360.com/uploads/2/6/0/8/2608437/pcq-1_-_notice_1_to_perform_covenant_cure_or_quit_-_403.pdf). The "covenant" (?) in question is renting to me. So he has two options - get rid of me or leave.

But California law says that as a month-to-month tenant I should get 60 days notice before I have to vacate. He hasn't said what he wants to do yet (he says he'll talk to the landlord but she's a hardass) but if he leaves or gets kicked out do I have to leave too? Can I stay here if he's been evicted? And most importantly, if I am not gone in 3 days can/will the landlord evict me and him, now that she knows of my existence?

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 >Can I stay here if he's been evicted?

Probably not, most notices are 'To TENANT and ALL PARTIES IN POSSESSION' i.e. you.

>But California law says that as a month-to-month tenant I should get 60 days notice before I have to vacate

This is due you from your LL, i.e. Master tenant -- when you get evicted by owner is it Master tenant who has breached his agreement with you, and whom you could seek recovery from.

>And most importantly, if I am not gone in 3 days can/will the landlord evict me and him, now that she knows of my existence?

Nearly certainly.


Title: I want to call my roommate in on a warrant, but don't want it to be obvious it was me.

Question:
Throwaway for obvious reasons. Also, sorry if this isn't the right sub for this sort of question. I am in a situation that's difficult to navigate, and any input would be helpful at this point. I honestly don't know where else to go at this point.

I have a roommate that has to go. He revently lost his job, and is starting to change as a person entirely. In the last two weeks, he has started spending time with people who are known tweakers, with a history of robbery. Not only does that make me uncomfortable, but I've also witnessed changes in his behavior that make me worry about his well-being.

Under normal circumstances, I'd just kick the roommate out, and wish them luck with their life. However, this roommate is family. He's my cousin, who grew up like a brother with me. We have always been very close. While I might want him gone for now, someday I want to maintain some kind of relationship with him.

The path he's going down really scares me for him, and I honestly think serving his time in jail might be the only thing that could save him before he is in too deep, or makes a more permanent mistake. I have been thinking about trying to call him in on a warrant he has, but am afraid of him knowing it was me. I do fear some angry retaliation, but more importantly, I don't want to lose him from my life.

Right now, he's incapable of seeing that I am coming from a place of love, and would surely burn our bridge forever if he even knew I was writing this.

Is there anything that I can do about this? Or will I have to face the music and burn bridges with him in an effort to save him from a dangerous path?

Answer:
 I’m sure you can call in an anonymous tip, depending on the warrant they might pick him up - but he’s probably going to know it was you anyways if you’ve been having problems lately.

I’ve been in a similar situation with a roommate (not a family member but long time best friend) and in my opinion the only thing that saved our relationship was when I blatantly expressed myself, no sugar coating.  My roommate left the same night we “talked”, they left me with a huge bill to pay and disgusting room to clean, I was super sad and angry, but eventually they turned their life around and came back into our friendship.  They always appreciated how I’m someone that likes to “keep it real” and with the progress they made in their life it was easy for me to forgive all the past drama.

Your cousin might benefit from the blatant honest truth no matter how uncomfortable it is to discuss.  It would probably help if you had another family member who loved them just as much, with you, and agreeing with you.  An intervention of sorts... with a clear plan of what you’d like to happen with your living situation etc.

Obviously I don’t know all the details but I think anonymously sending someone you love to jail because you think it would help them is kind of messed up and would damage your relationship in the long and short run.


Title: Is there a time frame to claim negligence by a restaurant?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: How do you figure they got your order wrong? Maybe cashew milk is an ingredient in their smoothies. Whether or not they have to disclose this would depend on your location which you didn't provide. Maybe you should get into the habit of asking what the ingredients are if eating something can nearly kill you.Answer #2: I fail to see any negligence on the part of the place.


Title: How to reduce a no contact order?

Question:
Hey, I'm in Seattle WA.

So my boyfriend and I have been together for 7 months, and never had he acted out in anger. It was his birthday on November 29th, so I let him drink as much as he wanted to that day because, fuck it it's his birthday, right?
Anyway, he ended up busting open his eye when he went ice skating, and wasn't upset at all. He was just happy I was there to take care of him. Later on, after a nice dinner, we went back to the place I was currently dog watching for. He took more shots, and then said he wasn't feeling too well.

I opened up my computer and got onto facebook and saw a friend request from a guy I had a crush on in 3rd grade and laughed audibly. He asked, "Whats so funny?" and I responded saying something along the lines of; "A guy I used to have a crush on in 3rd grade just tried adding me on facebook. Wanna see a pic?" And I thought this was totally funny because this guy used to make fun of me and now he wants to be friends.
My boyfriend got very upset and asked if I wanted him to show me pictures of all of the girls he's fucked.. I said no, and was very quiet after that because I knew then that the conversation was explosive. Especially since I too at that time had been drinking.

Eventually, after sitting in silence for some time decided to go to bed. As I got up he got even more pissed off and threatened our relationship because I "never consider his feelings."

I started crying and he was sitting on the couch, I started to go towards him to hug him and he kicked me in the face. My nose started bleeding, so in a frenzy I went for another hug. I think I reached for him about 7 times, each time him kicking me in the face because he didn't want me near him. Eventually I laid down on the floor and cried for some time. He got even more angry and started breaking things around the house.

I have never seen him so angry before, it's nothing like him. He is a very nice, caring guy and everyone in his family and all of his friends were in complete shock when they found out what had happened.

I ended up calling the cops because I was afraid I needed an ambulance. My boyfriend had left, but later came back 1 second before the cops came in and he was arrested on spot with no injuries except where he got his eye fucked up at the skating arena.

He has an explosive temper where he can get angry very easily, but had never been angry like this. Only yelling. And also, he had just re-started taking an anxiety medication that I currently do not know the name of. I did notice a difference in his temper when he started taking this. He had been off and on it for a while and his mood was always fluctuating because of it. He has agreed to go to AA and Anger Management.

This being said, I was wondering if there were anyway to reduce the no contact order? It is currently 5 years, and I would like to reduce it ONLY IF he actually makes an improvement.

As I said, everyone was in complete shock when this happened. We don't know where it came from. He was the one that always helped me through all of my issues in the past, and to see him do this is terrifying. He needs help, he doesn't need jail time.

Please only respond if you have helpful words that don't include "he got what he deserved."

Answer:
 You can petition the court to drop it or modify it.

But please don't. He is not going to change. I prosecuted domestic violence cases for years and I've seen this repeated endlessly. As one magistrate used to preach, "alcohol strips man his humanity." Alcohol+anger problems = a very dangerous person.


Title: [New Jersey, USA) My landlords want me to move out early, and pay them for two weeks while they renovate my apartment for the next tenant.

Question:
My landlords are relatively nice, but like normal landlords, they do everything cheaply and try to squeeze as much money out of their tenants as possible.

They have a renter to take over, but want to do renovations between the time that I move out and they move in. They want me out by next weekend so that they can start. During the time that they are working, I won't be able to live in the apartment. So basically, they want me to pay them to make the apartment nicer for the next tenant. I have no problem being out next weekend, but it seems inappropriate that I should pay them for nearly two weeks to rent an apartment that I cannot live in.

I should state that I have taken excellent care of the apartment, and that renovations are because everything in the unit is completely outdated

Do I have any options?

Edit: Time line

-lease ended July31st

-told them I'm moving out (they require 2 months, making me responsible for aug and sept. However, they already have a renter lined up and ready to take over)

-They want me out by Aug 28th

-They will be doing renovations from Aug28th-Sept 10th (the time which I don't want to pay for)

-new tenant moves in Sept 11th

UPDATE: After reviewing my lease, I confronted my landlords and told them that I wouldn't pay for any of September. They reluctantly agreed!
I'm sure they will try to get it all back in the security deposit because they're shitty like that. But hey, at least I feel better about them not getting away with charging me extra money!

Thank you all for your advice!

Answer:
 Few possible responses:

1.  No.  I will not move out on X.  I have a lease which entitles me to the apartment until the end of the month.

2.  I will be happy to move out on X, but only if you (a) refund my entire security deposit, (b) refund me the rent for the last two weeks of the month, and (c) pay $500 of my moving expenses.

There are all sorts of variants on #2 that you can use.  But, recognize that if you can't find something you both agree with on #2, then you always have #1 as a fall back.  Don't agree to terms you don't like.


Title: Is this legal? Company docks us $75/day per day we don't work that isn't covered by PTO

Question:
Company is a private employer in NJ. The section in our employee handbook reads:

"Sales staff using more than his/her allotted time will however be charged $75.00 for each unauthorized day in order to compensate for the manpower required to maintain accounts in their absence."

Is this legal? Also, if it matters, I'm an hourly employee, but how would it affect me if I was salaried?

EDIT FOR CLARIFICATION: I work in sales hourly rate + commission. We have a set amount of paid time off days per year. My question regards days not worked beyond the allotted PTO. Say I have 10 PTO days, and I've used all of them. I want to take another day off, and I'm okay with losing the wages that I'd otherwise get for that day. But, now I see this paragraph that seems to state that I will be penalized an additional $75 for not working. It's that last detail that I'm asking about.

EDIT 2: The answer to the question is effectively as long as my wage doesn't drop below minimum wage, because it's a commission, it's legal. Shitty, but it is what it is. Thanks everyone who replied.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 > I work in sales hourly rate + commission

This might make it a trickier analysis. Unless NJ statute says otherwise, your commission contract could include a deduction for excess time off. As long as the deduction doesn't reduce your pay below minimum wage (i.e., as long as the deduction only comes out of your commissions), I suspect it would be legal.


Title: (Ann Arbor, MI) Dorm room at UM has no window and the door can only be accessed with a key card. Is it legal to have a room with no window or fire escape?

Answer: Contact the University's EHS Fire Safety department [Here's a link](http://ehs.umich.edu/living-safely/fire-prevention/). They should know the requirements and can do an inspection of the area.


Title: Bipolar Sister Ghosts Family

Question: My Adult Bipolar Sister ghosted our entire family a year ago. She just dipped out with absolutely no explanations. We have always been a pretty solid family unit, even with mental health accounted for. My parents were especially blindsided. We respected her choice (she told her friends it was for self-care) and kept tabs at a distance. Last week she didn't show up for work. My parents filed a missing persons claim. Today while on their daily search they found my sister in her car at a railroad stop. She rolled up the window and accused my parents of stalking her then sped off to a friend's house. My parents followed and called the police to notify them they had found their daughter but we're still concerned for her welfare. Honestly I think my mom is grieving and just wants to know why she chose to do this, and to be sure she is actually safe and not caught up in drugs or a cult or something. Is there any legal action that my parents can take to force my 22 yo sister to give my mom some closure?

Answer: No, your adult sister is not legally obligated to stay in touch with her parents.


Title: [Ky] Temp work agency has been telling other business's in shared building about my pending felony

Question:
When I moved to Kentucky after a divorce towards the end of last year, I started work for a temporary work agency.  I obviously disclosed my pending felony to them.

Flash forward to present day.  I am now working for my brothers financial planning firm, which happens to be connected to the temp agency's building along with a couple of other business's.  My brothers firm is a well respected firm and he is good friends with the connecting business's as well.  The guy who owns the office next to us called my brother over today to let him know that a couple of workers at the temp agency had been talking to him and his employees about my pending felony "in gossip fashion"  Is this not illegal?  Its not even a violent felony and when all said and done will be coming off my record completely.  I am embarrassed and pretty angry, but not as pissed as my brother seems to be.  What are my options?

Answer: People are allowed to tell other people true things. Why would it be illegal?


Title: Employer taking money from every employee when safe is short

Question:
Occasionally the safe will be short at work. Last night it was short $100. The GM said that since they have no way of knowing who did it each employee who worked yesterday must hand over $15 or else they will be terminated for theft. Is this legal?

  Edit: I am in Arkansas

Answer:
 >Examples of Deductions that are not allowed: An employer cannot deduct below minimum wage for such things as spoilage or breakage, cash or inventory shortages or losses, fines or penalties for lateness, misconduct, or quitting without notice.

http://www.labor.arkansas.gov/minimum-wage-and-overtime

The employer can deduct from your wages if it does not place you below minimum wage.

Answer #2: I'm going to be the idiot in the room:

$15 doesn't evenly divide into $100.  So were these numbers approximate, or is your employer deducting more than $100 from the group?Answer #3: Refuse. When the fire you, file for unemployment. If they claim you shouldn't get it because you were fired for "theft", they would have to prove it.Answer #4: They could fire you for suspected theft. That's legal and unless they have a better case you'd likely collect unemployment.

I wouldn't pay, if the employer is serious he could have everyone bonded, or have better safe control. Seriously I have worked in hospitality almost my whole life and strict safe control is very easy to do and cost free. This guy is an idiot or a scammer or both.


Title: WCP Says No College? (Texas)

Question:
I injured my shoulder at work today. My employer is telling me that I can't go to my college classes until I've been cleared for light duty by their doctor. If I do, the workers compensation can deny my claim. Is this accurate?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 I guess they could make the argument that if you are well enough to go to classes, you should be able to work. You would, of course, argue that attending college classes requires no physical exertion and is not similar to work.   I don't know if there is any precedent for such a claim in Texas, or what the odds are that they would accept it.

Answer #2: What is your injury?  Even if you need a reasonable acommodation based on a temporary Injury, absence from classes isn’t considered a reasonable acommodation.  Yes, a few excused absences can be acceptable, but not a blanket failure to attend.  So, it doesn’t sound like what you’re being told by wCP is particularly accurate.  I think you’d do better to notify student disability services that you may need temporary accommodations and then arrange whatever those might be with your doctor.  That way you have everything documented with your school and care provider, which shouldn’t jeopardize your claim.  But NAL!


Title: Employer doesn't have water fountain/cooler.

Question: [removed]

Answer: Is your tap water unsafe to drink?


Title: My mother suddenly died in February of this year. Dad is receiving all of her benefits despite him being a lousy husband and them being "separated" (not legally) for two years now.

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice, here is a little backstory to my situation:

In February 2017, my mother went for open heart surgery. Sadly, she had so many complications and did not make it, just three days after being initially admitted into the hospital. This alone has been hard, but the hardest part is seeing my dad get all of her benefits. My dad has been a very lousy husband to my mom- he cheated on her with many women, he never worked at all (up to now I don't even think he's paid social security because he's never had any sort of job), he has 7 other kids excluding my brother and I (in Canada and Finland). He not only abused my mother mentally, but at times physically. He reaped off her in life and it doesn't look like that will change even in light of her death.

I was wondering if this can be contested in anyway (social security widower benefits, etc) especially with things such as: him not being the medical proxy in the hospital, or the right of kin.  There is just no Justice as he will receive retirement benefits from doing relatively nothing his entire life.

I'm not sure if this can be done, but his entitlement starts when he turns 60 years old, which is in three years. What can be done about this? What are some things I can look into? What type of lawyer might I need?

Thanks for all your help

Answer:
 Sorry for your loss.

If they weren't divorced, your dad is rightfully receiving those benefits as the surviving spouse.

Your specific location may change that slightly.


Title: (USA) Friend arrested for attempted burglary, can I be arrested?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Yup, you can be arrested as an accomplice.

Be thankful the owner wasn't around with a gun to defend his property. Had he shot your friend, there's a good chance you'd be charged and convicted of your friend's murder.

>How hard would the police actually work to catch accomplices in this case?

Unbelievably easy. Your friend will almost certainly rat you out.

>Would they access his phone and see that I was in a call with him while the shit was going down?

They'd probably subpoena the records from his cellular provider. They wouldn't necessarily need his phone. Contrary to what a lot of criminals believe, prepaid phones are not at all anonymous -- even if you sign up under John Doe and pay cash.Answer #2: >So my question is, do I have anything to worry about?

Yes indeed.  Despite the issues surrounding this particular crime, you should be worried about the company that you keep and the trouble that they could get you into.  You are lucky that there wasn't someone working at the gas station late, and that your friend didn't have a gun and shoot them.  If that had happened, then your friend would have likely ratted you out in an attempt to avoid the death penalty, and you could be facing life in prison for murder.  If you don't believe me, there are LOTS of cases like this out there, I think there's a relatively recent movie with this plot line, and some guy in my state just got released after like 50 years in prison - he was just a teenage "getaway" driver and he didn't even know that his "friend" had a gun.


Title: [Oregon] What's the legality of an employer, specifically a police department, having separate guidelines for men and women regarding hair length?

Question:
I'm considering applying for the PPB (Portland Police Bureau) and am a long-haired male. The PPB's current guidelines require men to have hair that doesn't pass the rear collar or touch the ears. The same is not required of women.

I know this is a common requirement across police departments, however I'm not sure about the legality of it, especially in the State of Oregon. As I understand it, employers can have specific appearance requirements for employees, but they cannot require something of one gender that they do not have an equal requirement of for the opposite gender.

If the requirement of short-hair was applied to both men and women equally I wouldn't create a fuss and just look elsewhere for a career. However, I struggle to see the legality of requiring men to have short hair whilst allowing women to have hair as long as they'd like.

Answer: It's legal.  Different dress codes (including hair length/style) for different genders are legal, so long as the different standards don't place undue burden on any specific gender.Answer #2: This is the same as the legal issue regarding makeup that showed up not too long ago. Having different personal appearance requirements for men and women is legal and allowable. The police are not alone in requiring this, the military also has those requirements.


Title: Plagiarism; do I have a leg to stand on?

Question:
In Atlanta, Georgia.

My work asks me every blue moon to write something for them; a press release, material for our handbook; stuff like that. It's always been unsigned, from the company, so I never minded. I'm okay doing it on my own time because I want to get a job in writing and they know I use these situations as resume experience.

I have an issue with someone in the company. Everyone knows we don't get along; it's no big deal. Management especially knows. So last week when they asked me to write two 1-page documents for them, I never thought that I would see those documents being sent out to ALL of our clients this morning...  signed by the person I have issues with. To clarify, they took my exact words, signed her name to it, and sent it out. It wasn't copyrighted or anything,  but I could see HUGE issues if I go for a job position and they assume I'm lying about it being my work because someone else's name is on it.

What do I do?

Answer:
 The things you write in the course of your employment are generally the employer's.  They can use them as they see fit.  In fact, large companies have communications departments that draft or edit communication sent out in the name of others routinely.

If you use that sample when applying for another job, it would seem to bolster your profile that your employer was so impressed with it they used it as the standard letter sent by other employees.


Title: Ex-employee is suing my dad's store because she claims standing her entire shifts has caused health problems with no health insurance offered. Any ideas on how it might end?

Question:
Located in California.

Ex-employee Jan worked with the previous owner of the store for over 5 years. My dad Henry bought the store and fired Jan within 2 months after she was caught multiple times sitting around or goofing off. My dad never got health insurance for her because he was following the previous owner's footsteps.

Jan lawyered up and sent Henry and the previous owner letters about how her shifts standing around for 6.5 hours 5 days a week has caused her health problems and that both owners did not provide health insurance for her. Both parties have no documentation of Jan reporting that she has health issues.

The previous owner settled by paying her $5,000.  Jan told Henry that she would settle with $4,000 from him. Henry replied saying he will pay her $300, but she declined and now took her claim up to court.

Here's one thing though- when Jan went to a lawyer, she never signed the papers that agreed to send the letters to Henry and the previous owner. She told her lawyer she would think about it before signing, but the lawyer forged her signature and sent the letters out.

We're lawyering up this Saturday but I'm curious- how bad is this? Could we end up paying much more than $4,000?

**UPDATE:** (if anyone is reading) Jan tried to get work comp. She came to my dad's store last week and they haggled back and forth for a settlement. They agreed on $2,500, he wrote her a check for $1,000 and said she can get the rest after she brings official papers saying that the case is now closed. The next day, he got a letter from the board (not sure if that's the correct term to use) stating that her case was thrown out and she is not qualified to get any work comp. My dad was furious, and he contacted her asking why she didn't tell him this. She stumbled over her words and kept telling him to meet with her so she can explain. He cancelled his check and agreed to meet with her, but she has not contacted him since.

Answer:
 This is all silly.

> and that both owners did not provide health insurance for her

Not something you can sue a business for.  Under the ACA, businesses have to offer affordable insurance if there are 50+ employees.

> She told her lawyer she would think about it before signing, but the lawyer forged her signature and sent the letters out

No idea how you have proof of this, but it's probably irrelevant

> Could we end up paying much more than $4,000?

Your dad's attorney will get the case thrown out because if an employee is injured on the job, their recourse is to file a workmans comp claim, not to sue the business.
Answer #2: Is your father's company required to offer coverage as part of the Affordable Care Act?

Henry needs to get his own lawyer and follow their advice.Answer #3: Why isn't this being handled by workman's comp?
Answer #4: Sounds like this should be a workers comp claimAnswer #5: Lawyer up and don't pay her a dime. Most likely will get nothing anyhow seeing as if she was really "hurt" from working short shifts, then she would have said something. She's pissy because she was fired.