Title: so i hired a $50 lawyer...

Question: i got a letter in the mail for $50 lawyer she rescheduled a court appearance for about 6 months later . problem is i had 3 warrants at the time for failure to appear, i tried to talk to her a million times called three times a week to discuss my case and i emailed went to her office, not there . my court date is today, she picked only one ticket and ignored my warrants. there is a trial by jury today, for speeding when i have 3 warrants for various traffic cases. am i so screwed? do yall think shell defend me when they bring up the other cases? yep im going to jail :/

Answer:
 Your post is poorly written, to the point of being impossible to understand.  I have no idea how many tickets you have, what the warrants were actually for, or what you and the attorney agreed to.

Re-write, focus on spelling, paragraphs, facts, and writing a coherent narrative.  You'll have better luck that way.


Title: My Assaulter is allowed to come home.

Question:
Location: BC, Canada
Present Date: 16/09/2018

Hello, on Monday Sept. 3rd my brother assaulted me at 10pm.

I called the local authorities, he was handcuffed and removed from our mom's house. We're both adults. However, the police also found in his room a machete, some other blades, and a CO2 gun that had no orange tip. He regularly smokes weed and abuses substances like xanax (he has no prescription for anything) to get high.

In addition to this, he regularly death threats me, threatened my property, and generally presents a large security issue in my home. He has a criminal record and is a diagnosed sociopath according to his psychiatric evaluation.

Mom's ground rules, which also apply to me are no smoking of anything in the house, no bringing girls home, and *for him* no bringing his friends over.

He has broken all of these rules, in fact he breaks them daily, aside from no girls he broke that once by sneaking a girl in the house at 3-4am and got caught. Anyway, currently mom has allowed him to live here again, she told me this yesterday and today I woke up to him being in the house. Her "plan" is that he can stay here until she goes to India, and he has to come with her for rehab in India.

Now as I stated before, my brother is a diagnosed sociopath, this is not the first time he has said he would do things to get mom to let things slide.

I don't feel safe at all with him here, I can't believe mom allowed him to return under such flimsy reasoning.

What can I do? Do I even have any legal options? Currently, I plan to go to the courthouse to inquire about a Family Law Protection Order, but is there any other option I have access to or is that all I have?

Answer:
 You can move out of your mothers home.

You are an adult so you are certainly free to get an apartment where you feel safe.

If you get an order of protection against your brother, I would be fully prepared that your mother might evict you from the home, considering your brother is disabled.
Answer #2: What do you want to happen here? It seems like you want your mom to kick him out, but you have no power to make that happen. Your mom has no obligation to make him leave, even if he violates her rules. Similarly, she has no obligation to let you live in her house - you are an adult and she doesn't have to house you anymore. Answer #3: If your mother is willing to allow him into **her** home, then I would advise moving out and finding a safe place to live.

If you seek an order of protection or peace bond this will very likely result in your mother telling you to take a hike.


Title: driving while suspended

Question: Got caught driving while under suspension. Not on probation or anything. It was an emergency situation. My kid had wanted to kill herself and I was picking her up from hospital. Cop said I failed to stop for a school bus. Bus had no lights on. The bus was pulled over. Cop himself was the one who flagged me to go after I pulled over for a fire truck. I have it recorded on dash cam if that part helps. This is Massachusetts. I'm worried. What is going to happen to me?

Answer:
 Get a lawyer or kiss your driving license good-bye. Not of the reasons you stated will excuse you from driving while suspended. Answer #2: The penalty is one or both of: up to 10 days in jail, a fine of $500-$1000.  Go get an attorney.

Edit: I’m presuming the is the first offense.


Title: (MA) Someone used my email address to make a fake paypal and i cant remove it without access to the account

Question: About two days ago I got an email to confirm my account information to Paypal, but i never created an account. I've tried reporting this to their fraud department but I cant email them directly without access to the account. When I tried to take the account that someone else made back it had a random phone number that I could not change the confirmation from. I know using someone else's email is technically fraud, but I dont know what to do?

Answer:
 Contact them on twitter or another public form, they will usually reply very quickly and give an alternative way to message them.Answer #2: > When I tried to take the account that someone else made back

That's illegal.  Stop doing that.

As is, there's no real legal issue here.  Presuming that you've verified no one else is accessing your account, this is almost assuredly an error and nothing more.  You can try to fix this with Paypal if you'd like, but if you don't then nothing will move forward.Answer #3: Why not google their customer service number?Answer #4: If you do not click on the link the email will become invalid and the account should be removed/deactivated, in theory.

So try waiting a day or two.

Anyway as others have said, mistyping an email address is not a crime. If that's the case the dude will probably realize and fix this in the next hour/days.

For now you can do two things:

 - try to contact PayPal and check the options you have if this is actually an identity theft attempt
 - tell anyone, on social media and wherever else that you do not own a PayPal account, or, if you do, that they confirm the details with you due to this possible attempt. And that if they are contacted by somebody posing as you asking something about putting money in a PayPal account, to let you know by other means because it's a scam.


Title: Can i carry a pocket knife with me during school

Question: Hi i live close to Jacksonville and with every thing that is happening I was wondering if I would he allowed to take my pocket pocket to school and carry it in my pocket ( not take it out during school) for protection if like some one decided to hurt me during school hours , I tried to look online and I chouldnt find a answer and in hoping some one can help me out

Answer:
 Yeah, that would be a no.

Most (all?) school districts have instituted strict zero-tolerance policies since the Columbine shootings.  I've seen an honors student expelled for leaving a pocketknife in his backpack after a weekend camping trip with his Boy Scout troop.  I would STRONGLY advise against bringing any sort of weapon with you to school.

And besides, given "everything that's happened," you'd literally be bringing a knife to a gun fight even if you did.Answer #2: Just don't. Carrying a knife for protection is a great way to get stabbed by it.


Title: I signed a contract without reading it and it seems I've been had (small business, signed with a credit card processing company)

Question:
so I have just started a small business and was looking for credit card processing companies, a salesperson from company x called me and gave me a good deal, or at least what seemed like a good deal, he was skilled enough to get me to sign that day however he gave me false information, such as how much money it would cost to cancel this contract which spans 4 years, and the fact that the contract is cancelable at all. he told me it costs 200 to cancel but on the contract that i just looked at today it says 400 to cancel, and also there are 3 spots on the contract where it states it's a non cancelable contract, so i'm a little confused and a little worried. so far there haven't been any damages or hidden fees but from the reviews that I just read about the company (i know i should've read them before signing), i'm pretty worried, people complaining about hidden fees and bad customer service. the meeting was face to face and I dont have any written evidence of his claims such as the ability to cancel or how much it would cost to cancel.

it has now been about 10 days since signing, and my first bill from them will come soon, probably at the end of the month.

my question is, given my situation is there anything I can do to cancel this contract or alleviate the damage, frankly forking out 400 to cancel isn't the biggest deal but the fact that it says its not cancelable makes me want to cancel it more because given those negative reviews im scared of them charging me with hidden fees and robbing me blind.

note this was my first encounter with this sort of thing, im inexperienced with contracts and fraudulent sales people, and naively trusted them till this point. i've learned my lesson to never sign anything without reading it and never to trust salespeople especially again. im even scared to accept terms and conditions without reading them now.

i appreciate all the help you can give me, thank you for your time.

btw i live in the state of indiana, just incase there is some state specific law that would help me.

ps. I'm sure it's much harder to advise me without looking at the contract yourselves but at the same time i'm pretty sure you wouldnt want to waste your time reading a 20 page contract for some stranger on the internet, and for free too lol, and for privacy concerns i cant provide it to you anyway, however i can look for things in it if you have any questions.

Answer: Nothing you could do to cancel would cost less than $400. Read contracts before signing them, refuse to take meetings with sales people, and do not sign things without sleeping on them for at least a night.


Title: Ex girlfriend didn't disclose her HIV status until after we had oral sex?

Question: 6 months ago my ex girlfriend and I exchanged oral sex upon each other. A week later  she reveals that she  tested false positive for HIV. Do I have a case even though it happened 6 months ago? If so what should I do. Do I need any evidence?

Answer:
 “False positive”

So she doesn’t have HIV. What’s your issue? I rarely tell people about illness I don’t have, even if I had a false positive test at some point.

You don’t say what state you are in. There are some where having sexual relations with someone without informing them you are HIV positive could be an issue. But since she isn’t HIV positive I have no idea what your issue is.


Title: So I just caught my property manager trying to enter my apartment without notice. If I set up a surveillance camera, is that permissible in court in California?

Question:
I believe that recording audio without consent is not allowed to be used in court in California, but what about surveillance footage from inside my apartment? Im sick at home this morning and heard someone at my door, when I walked towards it it was unlocking and the property manager was in the process of opening it. She claimed that it was because she was testing the lock because my neighbors apparently had the same lock/key and she wanted to see. But it was just kind of weird.

So if I catch them entering my apartment without notice on camera, can I use that as evidence should this need to go any further?

Answer: You can set up a camera without audio inside your own apartment, pointed inside the apartment.


Title: Does my employer have to accommodate my disability?

Question:
I live in Ontario, Canada. I would like to lower my availability from 40 hours to 20. I have an anxiety disorder and my psychiatrist will give me a note, but how do I make my managers follow it? Also, is it fair of me to ask this?

My employer (a large retail store) is notorious for not listening to their employees. I would just quit, but I’m a summer student and nobody else will hire me for just a couple more months. I really can’t take it anymore. The other day they scheduled me as the only person in customer service and returns for 8.5 hours. They have nobody to schedule because everyone leaves. I feel sick everyday here.

Answer: You need to find a new job... something that doesn’t make your issues worse and is part time, not full time.


Title: What kind of legal trouble will a guardian face for educational neglect in Mississippi?

Question:
My boyfriend's stepdad (who I'll call S) has allowed/sometimes caused his younger brother (J) to attend school sporadically or not at all since he was about 7 (he's 15 now).

My boyfriend wants to report him (advice on how to do that is welcome as well) and we'd like to know what consequences he'll face (he's a terrible father).

I know missing school is truancy, but S has also taken J out of school several times to "homeschool" him, but he never even buys educational books or makes any attempt whatsoever at actual homeschooling. J literally just sits in his room and plays video games when he's being "homeschooled" and S sees nothing wrong with it. It's so bad, his math is at about a 3rd grade level. He can't even multiply.

I know personal anecdotes don't affect legal consequences, but we're just hoping for the harshest punishment possible. In fact, we think J would be much better off if S lost custody, and J went to stay with relatives who'd actually make him attend school, but it seems like this isn't that bad of a crime.

Thank you
Topic:
CPS and Dependency Law

Answer:
 Call CPS. They will investigate and make suggestions/intervene. No one can predict what penalties they will enforce, and stripping custody is unlikely without actual neglect or abuse, but let the professionals get involved as soon as possible.Answer #2: Call CPS.

http://www.mdhs.state.ms.us/report-child-abuseneglect/

Not a MS lawyer, but in some states, refusing to take a kid to school can considered educational neglect. I have seen in taken into account (along with other facts) when terminating parental rights. To be clear, CPS will almost certainly not jump in the deep in and just try to cut him off immediately. They will take all possible remedial steps before doing that.

Edited because I realized I abbreviated the state wrong. Still not totally sure I have it right...


Title: No alcohol percentages on bottles

Question:
Hey guys,

I turned 21 today so I went to my local Walmart and bought a 12 pack of Heineken. I cracked a few open and started reading the individual bottles and no where on it could I find the alcohol content. Aren't the companies legally supposed to write that on all the bottles?

Like what if I get an unopened one at a party and don't know what is in it can be dangerous to my health. Granted it is beer here but what if other companies don't do that with stronger drinks. I live in Franklin, TN.
Topic:
Alcohol Related Other than DUI

Answer:
 >Like what if I get an unopened one at a party and don't know what is in it can be dangerous to my health.

Dude, that's not the way drinking works.Answer #2: [It's not required](http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=095a7e95f640c09f537f791ed32211d0&mc=true&node=se27.1.7_171&rgn=div8)


Title: [US] Is my website illegal?

Question:
Hi everyone,

I asked in another sub, but I was suggested to come here, so here I am.

I'm working on a site that lets you enter in a url to a news article, and it will display the news content nicely. No interrupting ads or anything in the middle of the page.

Is this illegal since it would be pretty much taking someone's content? I'm assuming so, but would happy to be proved wrong.
In case it matter, it would still 'ping' their site, so they are still getting traffic (at least I think that's how it works).

Answer:
 Why not write a browser extension to do the same?

At that point, you're just like AdBlock, NoScript or a user-made Greasemonkey script and 100% on the up and up.


Title: Paternity questions.

Question:
How can I establish paternity as a father in Louisiana if the child is 3-4 years of age?

Can the mother sue me for harassment for doing so?

Answer: You file for paternity in court in the location the child lives. It isn't harassment by itself.


Title: (TX) Customer Keep filing fraudulent chargeback on us.

Question: I work at my parent's restaurant and their restaurant offer delivery services. In the last month, there has been this one customer that has file 3 fraudulent chargeback on us in a one month timespan. I would contest the charge, but we don't have updated technology and every time someone place an order for delivery, we have to hand-type credit/debit card number onto the machine. From my understanding, whenever someone contest a fraudulent charge back on hand-type credit/debit card numbers, it is hard to win the case so I don't even bother contesting. But this is coming close to being over $200 and I am seriously fed up now. I have the house address, the name, and the phone number of the person doing this. From the 3 notices I received, it all seem to be different credit cards, 2 of which are from the same bank. Is there anything legally I can do about this? Should I contact the local authority? Honestly I don't know what to do and any advice will be appreciated.

Answer:
 You could not take orders from that customer any more.Answer #2: Recover from the customer. Can pursue them in small claims court for a nominal amount, about $30-$40, and sue for the $200 they owe plus any fees you were charged for transactions/chargebacks. Send them a demand letter for that money first, and you can let them know a suit fill follow.

Also try calling the police and see if they think it's possible a crime is being committed.

Don't take their orders anymore.


Title: [WI] Manager withheld and hid my check from me so she could talk to me. I'm also having a meeting about a chat group used for venting about the poor work environment

Question:
A few coworkers and I had a snapchat group we'd use to vent about the poor working conditions and overworked we are. One of my coworkers decided to tell a manager about it and now I'm to have a meeting, am I not allowed to be talking with staff about the conditions in private? Also a few days after on payday, I came in to get my check and couldn't find it. I asked my manager and she pulled it out of a pile of her belongings and pulled me aside for a talk about when we are going to have our meeting (which she refused to tell me what it was about, but i know from a fellow coworker it's about the chat) before she handed it to me, is all of this legal?
also, before I post anymore, can I get in any trouble if I describe the conditions of my job on /r/legaladvice if I don't bring up the business's name? Because there is a lot of stuff going down and I don't know where to look to get help.

Answer:
 No legal issues here. You recieved your wages.

If you've been denigrating your employer, even in private, you can be disciplined or fired. You can be disciplined or fired for nearly any reason barring protected activities or class.

You've basically burned your bridge with this company. If they don't fire you you should still consider another job if you are seaking to advance. Answer #2: Your manager can talk to you about anything she wants.  I don't know that there is anything wrong with holding your check so that she can talk to you, have you been avoiding her?


Title: Verizon added a false charge to my credit report

Question:
Overview: I just discovered I had an outstanding payment on a Verizon fios account I closed last year. Now it shows up on my credit report. But the amount charged is wrong since the billing period is for after I had closed the account. My ultimate goal to have this stricken from my credit report? Should I deal with Fios, report the charge as fraud?

Details:
Last year I closed an account with Verizon. On 8/2. The relevant billing periods were 6/30-7/30 (Paid in full) and 7/31-8/30 (Not paid, this is what they claim I owe the full amount of). But at the time I called asking if I need to pay that full amount, they said no, ignore that bill, and to wait for a reduced final bill. That would only charge 7/31-8/2. It never came and I forgot about it.
Fast forward to now. I get a credit report and see Verizon claims outstanding balance of full amount of that bill processed through a debt collector.

(Other than the bills I was told to ignore, I never got any calls or bills from Verizon. I assume they used a debt collector which is why it’s on my credit report now, I never got anything from a debt collector).

This mark on my credit score has dropped it over 100 points. And is a significant problem for me.

What recourse do I have. Should I just try and call Verizon and sort it out? My fear is they will just reduce the payment to a few bucks and mark paid on my credit report. But that seems unfair given the details. Can I get this removed from my credit report?
Topic:
Credit Debt Bankruptcy

Answer:
 > My ultimate goal to have this stricken from my credit report?

Yes, that sounds like a reasonable goal.

> Should I deal with Fios, report the charge as fraud?

Yes, you should start by dealing with Verizon. You should not report the charge as "fraud" since it isn't. But if, after contacting Verizon, they are not willing to correct the charge you may want to dispute it as an "error" (not "fraud").

>(Other than the bills I was told to ignore, I never got any calls or bills from Verizon. I assume they used a debt collector which is why it’s on my credit report now, I never got anything from a debt collector).

You have an obligation to pay what you owe, they do not have any obligation to reach out to youa second time before reporting the delinquency on your credit report. and it could have been reported directly by Verizon or by a debt collector.

>What recourse do I have. Should I just try and call Verizon and sort it out?

That is an excellent starting point.

> My fear is they will just reduce the payment to a few bucks and mark paid on my credit report.

You should HOPE they do that. There are lots of worse possibilities, like demanding that you pay the full amount plus interest and collection fees. Or claiming that their own records don't show the same thing you are claiming.


Title: Possible appendicitis at work. Making them wait on replacement before going to hospital. Legal? MO

Question: Basically as the title states. A friend of mine has been experiencing acute pain in his lower right side since yesterday. It got worse today while he was at work. He notified his boss and called other worker in early to replace him for the day. He had to wait over 3 hours for replacement (he’s first shift, replacement is 3rd). Is this legal?

Answer:
 >  Is this legal?

Did they force him to stay? Lock him in, tape him to a chair, handcuff him to the radiator? If not, he could have left at any time and there's nothing illegal about what happened.


Title: Failing AC Causes $650 Electricity Bill - Does Landlord Pay?

Question:
I'm a renter in Florida, where I am responsible for the electricity bill, but the landlord provided the appliances (AC, Refrigerator, etc). I got a call from the power company on Wednesday indicating that they had just cut my bill, and wanted to warn me that it was coming, as it was likely that I would be shocked. It was nearly $550 higher than usual (and $500 higher than any time in my life), at nearly $650. The power company indicated that the problem was likely my AC, hot-water heater, or pool pump (I don't have a pool) as those are the only appliances that can come close to draining that much power. (It's around a 75 Amp constant drain @ 120VAC!) Since I'm an electrical guy, I managed to cycle breakers in the house and watch the mains current using the power company dashboard to verify that turning the AC off at the breaker stops the current drain (but my Florida residence gets hot quite quickly without it).

Thus, I'm paying nearly $25/day in electricity, while I've already called my landlord, twice, to get them over here ASAP to fix my AC unit.

Do I have any legal standing or recourse to expect them to help cover the $550 additional power bill due to their failing AC unit? I reported it within an hour of finding out on my end that there was a problem, but sadly, it had already been sucking up juice for the better part of a month. I am legally responsible for the power bill, but since it's their AC unit, I'm wondering if there's any standing.

Answer: Don't think so.  The landlord doesn't know the appliance is malfunctioning unless you report it.  You didn't notice the A/C was running 24/7?  It sounds like it's low on freon and is running non-stop to try to maintain temperature.


Title: Going to small claims court against a company without evidence? (FL, USA)

Question:
Hello again!

Earlier this month I made a post that was deemed to lengthy and I didn't get any help on it.

I want to take comcast to small claims court ( the terms and conditions allow me to). They promised to send me left over money from one of the accounts that was closed and said it would take 6 months, after not receiving it for 6 months I call and they tell me it was never sent and instead they charged me for equipment that they lost and transfered the remainder to my business account which I wanted to close down, all without my authorization. I don't have any real evidence besides the call recordings that comcast saves and they won't give it to me.

Can I make the court force them to give up the recordings as part of the evidence?

And I'm not entirely sure what would be the official reason, deception, false promise? I essentially relied on receiving that money.

[My previous post, if you want to know the details.](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/5erhlg/thinking_of_taking_comcast_to_small_claims_court/)

Answer:
 If you file a suit you can request the court issue you a subpoena for Comcast's recordings.  A few things:

1.  Most small claims courts won't give you subpoenas.
2.  Comcast doesn't store recordings of all of their calls indefinitely.    I'd be shocked if they took a recording of any significant number of their calls, and more shocked if they kept them for six months.
3.  Your issue is difficult to understand, but if all they did was take money leftover from one account you had and apply it to bills in another account you had, they likely did nothing wrong.


Title: Employer going out of business, potentially unable to pay notice period & outstanding expenses

Question:
**Details:**

* The consulting firm I worked for is going out of business after 30+ years; I and most of remaining employees were laid off on Oct-30 and only a few higher-ups remain to handle winding everything down.

* Employment was at will, but our contract entitles both employees and the firm to a two week notice period prior to termination. They didn't provide this notice and therefore agreed to pay wages for this period, so I'm owed two weeks' worth of pay.

* I'm also owed ~$5,500 in unreimbursed expenses from work on a project in September/October.

* Per the firm, these obligations will be met as soon as they receive final payments from "certain clients who have been slow in meeting their obligations to us." I know the pending payments are real, although I don't know how many there may be, the amount of each, or the exact likelihood of each being paid.

* State: MA

**Questions:**

In the event the firm doesn't receive these payments and is therefore unable to make me whole, what would the company likely do (e.g. forced to file Chapter 7?) and what would be the best course of action for me to take in order to get paid? Are there any precautions I should take now?

Answer:
 You can take them to small claims court for anything under $7,000, but $5,500 + your salary may put you over that. You want to get as much documentation as you can that you are actually owed the money, and then sue them to get in line to collect if they have to liquidate their assets.

You don't have to wait for their clients to pay; it's not the clients that owe you money. That firm owes you the money *right now*, and waiting for billing to come in is just a favor on your part. Push them to pay you as quickly as possible.


Title: [NE] - I was quoted one tuition for university before acceptance and then received my financial aid package which was double the original quote. The university has said they won't honor the original quote.

Question: Hi, I inquired into a university in June. The school sent me a quote that stated total tuition for the 2017 program. I applied, got accepted, and received my financial aid package in the beginning of December. The financial aid package had my tuition rate over double what they originally quoted me. I spoke with the advisor, that sent me the quote, and they said that the university will not honor the original document and I must pay the doubled tuition if I want to attend.

Answer: Original was an estimate.  Talk with finaid about how to make this work or talk with your other institutions.


Title: Can colleges lie to students about security camera usage?

Question: I go to public University in South Carolina I was told by the staff of my residence hall that the entire building was monitored by surveillance cameras. Believed this for all of last semester, but when I was hired this semester by the residence hall to work at the front desk and learned that only the front lobby and common room had security cameras in it. Now, the common area and lobby are both very small, probably only 5%-10% of the total area of the building not including student dorm rooms. It seems to me that telling students that security cameras exist when they don’t is creating a false sense of security. Is it within students rights to know about video surveillance? Or do they not have to tell us?

Answer: Of course they can lie


Title: Car crash and no auto insurance

Question:
I was recently in my first car crash a week ago (not my fault) and the car who ended up hitting me told the responding police officer that she didn’t have any valid car insurance for her vehicle. Now I have seen my fair share of “Cops” episodes and it seems like every time a driver doesn’t have insurance they get arrested and put in the back of the police car, which didn’t happen. I don’t even think the other driver received a citation for no insurance at the time of the accident. Are there circumstances where you don’t get a ticket for not having valid insurance? Does it vary by location? (I’m from Utah, USA if that helps)

Tl;dr- why was the driver who hit my car in an accident not cited or arrested for not having valid insurance?

Answer:
 Not cited? That's strange.

Not arrested, that's the norm.  Unless they've done something criminal (DUI, stolen vehicle, assault/threatening on other driver, etc), there's no reason to haul them off to jail (or even detain them).

COPS isn't a decent reflection of traffic stops.  They post the most outlandish and freaky stops, because, like Jerry Springer, that's what gets ratings.


Title: If somebody was driving the wrong way down the free way at very high speeds coming right at you, would you have a justification defense if you were to intentionally hit them to prevent them from killing someone else behind you on the freeway?

Question: If you see a driver coming at you 70+ mph on the freeway, they're coming right at you and there's way more innocent people a slight distance behind you, would you be justified in running over the wrong way driver to prevent them from hitting a car behind you with an entire family in it?

Answer:
 I have issues with your hypothetical.

You're going 70 on the freeway.

They're going 70 on the freeway.

That's a closing speed of 140 MPH.

I'm not sure where you are that you think you're going to have the sightline to plan out "I'm going to hit this guy" let alone look around the traffic behind you to see that there is "someone more innocent" back there.

Yeah, that'll be a defense you can raise if you cross two lanes of traffic to hit him head on and get charged with a crime as a result.

But you're going to have to answer a bunch of questions about your decision process.

Assuming that you survive the 140 MPH impact in the first place.


Title: Cocaine found in my backpack in my friends car that was searched.

Question:
My friend got pulledover and cops smelt weed so impounded then searched his car and they found 2 grams of cocaine in my backpack and called me saying they found it and i just said I want to talk with my lawyer before speaking with you then the officer said they were sending it to their lab and could take a week tops before they get results and it's been almost 2 weeks with no reply.  My lawyer says to just lay low and not contact them but that it is odd that I haven't heard anything from them. I'm in new Hampshire USA.

I'm just nervous about what will happen to me

Answer: If you have a lawyer, follow their advice.


Title: Found a forged signature on a notarized document at work

Question:
Background: I work part time at a mechanic shop and to be honest, it's going out of business. I just help with filing paperwork and running payroll checks because no one else knows how to use QuickBooks.

I just found a document that says it's a loan identity verification with pieces of paper taped over the signature lines. Written on the taped pieces is the name of my boss's separated wife, and below those on the actual paper is my boss's name. So it looks like my boss went and got this paper notarized with his name on it but then put his wife's name over his and copied it in order to send it to the loan company.

Should I do anything about this? Would I get in trouble for knowing about it and not doing anything if an investigation happens?

Answer:
 >Should I do anything about this? Would I get in trouble for knowing about it and not doing anything if an investigation happens?

Yes. That's fraud, and the last thing you want is if it comes out that you knew and did nothing, because that's going to make fraud investigators take a deeper look at you. And you're helping keep the books for a fraudster. Want to bet this isn't his only fraud?

Contact the institution that handled the loan, take pictures, and let them know.


Title: Can I fight and resist water and sewage lines from being run onto my property and being forced to connect to them?

Question:
I live in a very rural area (closest town probably has 800 inhabitants). However over the years the farms along my country road have been sub divided and sold in lots (about 2 or 3 acres in size). Still my road doesn't have that many people on it, and it's very small unmarked narrow country road.

My house sits on 9 acres.

Recently, a neighbor about a quarter mile away had his well go bad. Instead of fixing it he starting going to township meetings and is relentlessly pushing for water/sewage lines to be run along our road.

I find this to be ridiculously selfish, and not what I want. If I had wanted water/sewage utilities, I would have moved to the suburbs.

He thinks everyone should foot the bill and incur costs (and monthly bills, because he doesn't want to pay for a new well)

If they would get the go ahead, and water sewage lines are run along my road, do I have any standing to resist?

I have a perfectly working well and septic. I have good water, I do not want more utilities running where I have been more unnecessary bills, and I also do not want water/sewage lines run through my property (I know they'll do it on my side of the road too, because my side is generally flatter and more open, and a gas line had already been ran years ago on my side).

I am located in Butler County, PA

Thank you for any advice.

I also have much more road frontage than a lot of people and I was told that I would have to shoulder extra costs because of this.

Answer:
 Your township can decide to spend its tax money to construct water and sewage lines.  They can decide to increase your taxes to pay for it.  Your remedy is political - vote for people who will spend your tax dollars the way you want.

If the township does decide to construct water and sewage lines, then they can build them on township-owned land.  If they want to enter or build the utilities on your property they will have to take an easement, basically pay you for the right.

They can probably take the easement under eminent domain (a 5th amendment taking) and they would have to pay you the fair value for the easement.

You can also fight this in court, but you should be represented by a qualified real estate attorney.  This is obviously the most expensive option.


Title: Was rear-ended, I'm not at fault. Guy is contesting and dragging it through the 4 court dates now. Meanwhile my car isn't fixed and I'm out $2k for a rental.

Question:
So the guy's insurance is being uncooperative and stalling.  It's been 4 months and my car has had $10k of work done and climbing.  They will not pay my rental until the work is done, and I have been to court as a witness 4X.  The prosecutor says she will not offer him any deals, and the judge was very angry at him.

The defendant fired his lawyer today to get a new trial and tried to talk to me after court to find out why my car hasn't been fixed(because you have trash insurance dude!) I ignored him because it seemed sketchy.

Meanwhile I am missing a ton of work because of this.  I am currently $3k in the hole from this due to paying for my rental up front and missing work.  I am charging the rental and racking up interest fees.

Is there anything I can do to recoup some of this?  Should I consider suing the guy?

Edit: location Ohio

Edit 2:  The guy's insurance did fully pay for all the repairs and the rental eventually.  They were just incredibly slow.  All is well.

Answer: What's your insurance company doing about your claim?


Title: [OH] No security deposit returned, landlord suing

Question:
So, we moved out of our place over a month ago, with our last months rent we gave the landlord a 30 day notice, along with our forwarding address.

Prior to all of this the landlord claimed we owed him for the water bill, which was in his name. I told him I'd pay for anything used, but wanted to see the actual bills showing current charges so I could make sure there wasn't any prior balances or anything. He sent me a couple bills, but not all of them. After moving out he also said we had some extra cleaning to do, which would cost $125 if he had his guy to do it. I didn't have time so I told him to have his guy do it.

Fast forward over a month. At this point I assumed he'd be taking the security deposit for the remaining water bill and didn't really feel like fighting for the deposit. He just sent me a letter from his lawyer saying we owe him an additional $300 because he spent $175 cleaning and doing garbage pickup, $600 for the water bill, and $500 for new carpets. In this letter he's claiming that he sent me a text message with the itemized list and demanding the extra money. I don't necessarily doubt this, but we've always had missing text messages from him, so it was never received. I'm pretty livid about the water bill. I know we probably owe him for this, but he waited until we were just about to move out to tell us we owed him anything. He actually didn't pay any water bills for the first ~10 months we lived there. The missing text messages was part of the reason we gave him the forwarding address in writing, and I feel like he was using someone living in the house as an excuse to get the carpets done. He bought the house just before we moved in, and the carpets were at least a good 20 years old and musty before we ever moved in to the place.

If he entitled to this money? Also, if he takes us to court, can I counter sue for the entire security deposit including the parts I agreed to over text message?

Answer:
 Landlords cannot charge for carpet replacement unless you took a new-ish carpet and seriously damaged it. Carpet wear-and-tear is normal and not deductible from your deposit.

The water bill is valid if that's what you owe, but I wouldn't pay it until he can prove it. Also, this whole thing of just waiting until the end of the lease and making you pay the water bill all at once is just stupid and lazy (on your LL's part). You can definitely claim that you never got the text messages; that's not really even a good way for him to prove the water bill anyway.

The cleaning fee is debatable; some amount of dirt is normal, some isn't. I'd say to let that go, even if it's $175 rather than $125.

He would have to go to small claims to get more from you. You, meanwhile, would have to go to small claims to get your deposit back. If he comes after you, _he's_ likely to lose more, so I doubt he will and I expect the ball is really in your court. You should figure out how much you're willing to walk away from to not have to deal with him.


Title: Ex husband claiming both kids on taxes.

Question: My wife's ex husband is the non custodial parent of 2 children, the situation with his back child support is dismal as well, as he owes almost 9,800 dollars.  Today she received a text from him stating he was claiming both children on his taxes this year, which obviously he isn't allowed to do.  What steps should we take and what will happen if we both claim the children on our taxes?  (In Kentucky)

Answer:
 So if you can file your taxes first then do so. If he manages to file first then when you try to efile it's going to be rejected. That's okay. Take your tax return and paper file instead. The IRS will then send you and him a letter saying "Hey, more then one person filed with these kids as dependents. We need more info to find out who gets the tax credit." Give them the information they ask for and answer any questions honestly. The IRS will look at your answers and decide who gets the child credit.

If your ex filed first and the IRS determines that he does not get the child credit then they'll go after him to get the money back. You won't have to do anything.


Title: A old friend and I were charged with same charge. Her fault. I ended friendship. I accepted plea. She tried to. Court recorder had spotted large differences in our charge's details, and judge wanted to investigate further. Hers were dropped, entirely.

Question:
Possession charge in Utah. I was asleep passenger in her car, that happened to have a gram of her weed, that she did not own up to, even when being told it'd basically just double the problem on both of us. Suspended license, probation, thousands in fines, and a lovely stamp as a drug user on my file.

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Any process I can enter in to for reviewing this? I've been struggling financially, and feel I'm screwed if I do or don't hire a lawyer to appeal this decision.

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Any advice, appreciated...... thank you. (I live in Colorado).
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 You’ll be more screwed if you don’t hire a lawyer.

Hire a lawyer. I know it’s going to suck financially, but having a drug charge/conviction on your record will exclude you from a lot of potential employment opportunities. In the long run, it’s better to hire a lawyer. Answer #2: If you've already pled, there's very little to be done.  You can look into an appeal, but you don't appear to have any real grounds.  "I could've won?  Gimme a do-over" isn't grounds.Answer #3: The court is allowed to treat two defendants differently; especially when one pleaded guilty and the other does not. If you hadn’t plead guilty, there’s a chance you could have gotten off too. Or you could have been exposed to even greater criminal liability. You weighed the odds, and chose what seemed like the best option at the time. Just because the odds turned up in your friends favor doesn’t mean you made the wrong decision based on the facts available to you. But it also doesn’t mean the court denied you due process or did anything improper.


Title: Car exploded

Question: I bought my first car, BMW 328xi, on Craigslist (I know, I know). It ran good, it was in fairly good condition. 4 months later I’m parked in my employee lot waiting to go in for shift at work. The car was off, but the battery was running. I started seeing smoke come out from the air vents front the top (defrost). I immediately got out the car and ran to the passenger side, I saw molten plastic dripping down, I couldn’t believe it. I tried to run inside the building and get a fire extinguisher or something and by the time I got halfway there the car erupted in a fire! Thankfully nobody was hurt, but a few cars were a little damaged. I thought the insurance for the car was paid, it’s automatically deducted from my bank, but there was a problem with the insurance. My employer paid for the surrounding cars damages (thank god). So fast forward 3 months later I get a letter saying there was a recall on the car. Many people are telling me to call BMW corporate and talk to them but what should I say? any help/advice would be appreciated!

Answer: It will depend on what the recall was. It doesn't hurt to call them.


Title: Apartment complex lost my money order and want me to pay again.

Question: I turned in a money order from Western Union in Friday 10/09/2015 to my apartment complex. (BTW I live in Washington) it was the initial application fee to be put on the lease. I received a call from them today informing me that their mail room for broken into and my money order was stolen. They had already given me a receipt and everything showing that I had personally paid it to them, but now they want to say they're not responsible and I need to pay again. I think this is bs and it was a $42 fee. Why should I have to pay it again? Is there a link that I can go to our someone I can call that will tell me whether or not I'm responsible for their error? It's whatcom county, Washington if that makes a difference.

Answer:
 Oh, so many wrong answers here.

(1) A money order is a check.  Checks are governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (See Section 3-104(f))
(2) Under Section 3-309, the apartment complex can enforce the check (i.e. get you to pay it), even though it doesn't have the check. But, it has to give "Adequate Protection" against the chance that somebody else will later come along and try to cash it.
(3) Western Union has a way of dealing with stolen money orders.

So, this is what you do:  go back to the apartment complex, say "I'm sorry you lost the money order I gave you.  I will be happy to pay you the money back if you pay me the $15 it will cost me to cancel the money order with Western Union and if it has not already been cashed.  If it has been cashed, then I'm afraid that's on you.  In that case, I'll give you a copy of the signed money order and, perhaps, you can figure out who stole it from you."
Answer #2: "I'm sorry, I have a receipt here that says that I paid that fee. I have no knowledge of anything beyond that."Answer #3: You can report the money order stolen to Western Union.   Do this IMMEDIATELY, before the thieves try to deposit it.

Once that is done, you can ask them to re-issue it, or just buy another one.  Deduct the cost from the money order, since the apartment should pay for it, not you.Answer #4: Good answers so far, but if I were you I would seriously reconsider signing a year's lease with this place. They sound like drama.


Title: Can a lawyer report you for a crime?

Question: If someone admitted to their lawyer that they committed the crime they are accused of, could the lawyer report you to the police? Can they testify against you in court? Also same question but in the scenario of a priest learning of a crime during confession.

Answer:
 The lawyer is bound by rules of ethics. He or she cannot report the crime without violating those rules and facing potentially severe repercussions. The exception would be if he or she thinks that someone is in imminent danger of harm or death and the disclosure is necessary to help prevent that injury. If an attorney attempted to testify about privileged information, the client could object and likely prevent that evidence from coming in. YMMV depending on the rules of evidence in the particular state.

A priest can be called to testify but the person who confessed can invoke the priest - penitent privilege, so the evidence the priest has to say won't be admitted. However, there are often strict requirements for that, like it actually has to be in the context of confession. A casual conversation with a priest won't be protected under this rule.


Title: [Texas] I might be a first-time home buyer soon. Assuming I could get the right people to agree, is there any way to get out of an HOA or restrict what they can do?

Question:
It's pretty difficult to find a nice house that isn't governed by an HOA. So, assuming I buy a house with an HOA is it possible to have some kind of contract written up at the time I purchase the house that could limit what the HOA could do to me? Who would the contract need to be with?

Specific objections I have are:

1. Being subject to an arbitrary, un-democratic system that could demand money from me

2. Being restricted from adding cost-saving, environmentally friendly features to my property (e.g., replace grass with low-water consumption plants, install solar panels)

3. A system that makes it very difficult to fight allegations against me.

Another way to put it would be: if I wanted to change the terms of the contract that governs my relationship to the HOA, how could I do that in a way that would stand up in court?

Answer:
 Forgive the sarcasm, but it sounds like your plan is to say "hi I want to buy a home in your neighborhood but I don't want to be subject to all your rules. Do you think we can work something out whereby the rules don't apply to me?".

Never. going. to. happen.


Title: I have 30 days to vacate my apartment for breach of lease, can I still get my security deposit back?

Question: During halloween my roommates and i threw what we thought was going to be a small party, it ended up getting out of hand and we got in trouble with our landlady. She evicted us and we have 30 days to leave, there was no damages done to the property at all, everything is still how it was when we first moved in, my question is that can we still get our deposit back if we are getting evicted?

Answer:
 No one has pointed out yet, but I do not believe you have been evicted. It sounds like she decided you broke your lease, and that she wanted you out.  It also sounds like you could fight it if you want to try, although there is no guarantee you'll win.

But there's no guarantee she'll win either--you could ask her to return your deposit in exchange for you willingly giving up your claim to the apartment, and you can both go your separate ways.


Title: I was denied employment due to a POET test what can I do?(TX)

Question:
I have been employed at a metal warehouse in Buda Texas through a temp agency for about 5 months now. My attendance had been perfect, I was great at my job, everyone liked me there. The boss was discussing furture plans for me to learn more and grow in the company immediately upon full hire TODAY. I signed paperwork requiring me to pass a POET test for full hire so I took the test and at the end of the day they told me I failed the test and they had to let me go.

So thats all well and good i guess but... The physician who performed the test ONLY asked me my weight and began setting up the machine for testing. I passed all but one of the physical tests which required me to push down with one hand on a handle that was not adjusted for my height at all. I came up 10 lbs short on the requirement and I feel like its because the physician set the machine to his own height or maybe some arbitrary standard height that I am not aware of. Now let me point out that there is in my mind NO WAY i should not have passed this test with flying colors. I did not half ass this test at all, in fact i was pushing down so hard on this handle that i lifted myself to my tip toes. I am in the best shape of my life! I am 31 years old at 5'4" and 150lbs of muscle! I've been whipping steel around by hand for the past 5 months (as a temp at this job) and people at work have started calling me "Dan Banner the Hulk".

The boss tells me that HR refuses to look the other way on the test, or allow a retest for 90 days so "his hands are tied".  I am completely capable and willing to work here and I'm a model employee. So now i'm dumbfounded as to what I can do about it. I want this job but in 90 days I will most definitely be somewhere else because i cant afford to be out of work for that long.

Can I demand an immidiate retest? Was I tested improperly because my height was not taken into consideration? If my height does not matter for this test, would this count as discrimination?  If i was already working here for 5 months and NOW they decide that its not safe for me to work here can i claim that they endangered me? Is this wrongful termination?  Should I attempt legal action on the company, the physician or both (or neither)? Am I boned?

EDIT: In my time at the company I have never been required to 1 handed push down on anything with excessive force nor have i seen anyone do so for any reason. Can I argue that this is not a requirement for the job and that i was tested improperly or that the medical examiner has literally no idea what goes on at my job?

Answer:
 Workplace tests aren't allowed to be discriminatory. That test isn't discriminatory. Arbitrary and capricious, possibly, but that is legal.

Sorry, bud. No legal recourse here that I see.Answer #2: You can find another job


Title: Comcast refusing service to new house based on last owner's overdue bill

Question:
I recently purchased a home in Florida and despite being a customer in good standing for years, Comcast refuses to provide service because the last tenants (of the old owner) have an overdue bill. I have provided a recorded deed, closing statement, utility bill, my ID, and a USPS change of address confirmation to prove ownership and am still having difficulty getting anywhere with them. I have escalated to various divisions of higher management, and contacted the FCC and my local and state government.

Can they legally do this? There is no lien on the property, and I had no agreement with them at this address so I don't understand how I can be penalized for the last resident's actions.

Please advise -- I work from home and my child does virtual schooling, so we're pretty much living at Starbucks. This has been going on for weeks and is seriously impacting the enjoyment of my new home.

Answer:
 https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/categories/200134970-Internet go here and make a fcc complaint and trust me they will get this firgure out quickly for you , I always use the fcc to deal with issues with companies , I love how scared and helpful they get when I do fcc complaints Answer #2: Are you going to the local office for this? I had the same issue to a lesser degree, and the clerk simply had to rubber stamp the sign up (look at docs, 1 click later good to go).Answer #3: Comcast actually has huge problems with this.

I use to run a Comcast warehouse for a contractor.

Comcast would flag addresses that didn't pay bills.

What would happen is person would sign up, not pay bill, service would be turned off. So they would call up under a different name and say they moved in and need it hooked up. Tech would get there and there would be all the old equipment there, they would always say the old people must have left it. Tech hooks it up, leaves, same thing happens, no payment, so they would call again. One tech told me he asked if the person on the account was home and the woman said she would be there in a little bit. As he he is working he hears the woman yell the name on the account and her three year old daughter comes running out.

Once that flag goes on and they call to set it up again, the tech gets instructed to show up, grab any old equipment they can find, tell the person they have to go to their truck real quick, and then they leave with everything.


Title: Company forces employees to pay for any lost equipment... is this legal? [FL,US]

Question:
I work as a contractor selling stuff to warehouses. In a recent visit to a customer site I was chatting with management and it was brought up that if the employees lose/damage any of their equipment, such as the $2500 scanners, that the managers dock their pay until it's paid for. In the case of the scanners they dock by $250 for 10 weeks.

I don't know the specifics of their employee-employer contracts, but from what I've read on this sub from other posts, this seems to be illegal. Is it? Are there any circumstances where it could be legal? I was going to report them anonymously to the Department of Labor, but I don't want anything coming back on me if it turns out that this is OK for whatever reason.

Answer: This would be illegal in most States but Florida has no protections beyond Federal law.  There is nothing stopping the employee from suing however, say after they find a new job and quit.Answer #2: According to this [site](http://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/wage-payment-laws/state-wage-payment-laws/florida/#6) there are no laws in Florida regulating what can and cannot be deducted. The lack of a law means that employers generally can deduct for the items the listed, such as uniforms, required tools, or damaged property. They cannot dock worker's pay to the point of bringing them below Federal minimum wage, but it appears it is legal under state law.


Title: Did my boss just cheat me out of workers comp?

Question: I recently got injured at work but didn't realize after my shift it was a serious injury although I did talk to a few coworkers about my pain before I clocked off. The injury flared up at home and I immediately made a doctors appointment the following morning. The doctors advised I get workers comp since the injury happened at work. I quickly texted my manager letting him know and apologizing for not letting him know sooner even though he wasn't there that day. He said it was fine and that I need to file my claim that day. I got my injury taken care of (hand injury so got my hand wrapped up and went to work with a doctors note saying a cannot use that hand what so ever) anyways my manager left before giving me any paper work. I had the next two days off and bugged him about it and got no response. I know you have to get things done within 4 days prior to the injury. It's now day 6 and he's just now giving me the forms and slyly gave me an address "just in case you have to send payments" so I'm not sure if he just cheated me out of workers comp since it seemed as if he purposely waited it out. I went to the doctors at the appropriate time so I'm wondering if that's truly what he did on purpose if I'm still screwed out of it and have to pay for my medical bills? Ps my doctors keep calling asking for the insurance my employer goes through and I can't give them an answer since my manager won't even tell me. Also the state I live in is Oregon!

Answer:
 >I know you have to get things done within 4 days prior to the injury.

What rule is this referring to?Answer #2: So OR gives you 90 days to report IN WRITING, and up to 1 year to file a claim if your employer has knowledge of the injury. You're well within your time limits. Check out this website: http://wcd.oregon.gov/worker/Pages/rights-responsibilites.aspx
You'll want to file a Claim Form to formally start the process. If you feel unsatisfied with how things are going, your treatment, etc., you may want to consult an attorney at that point.


Title: [CO] Grandpa did not show up for court and now my mother has to go.

Question: My grandfather failed to show up to court for a DUI because he left our house one night to leave to Mexico. We were unaware of his leave and by the time we made any sort of contact with him it was too late to get him back. Because of this mess now mother got something in the mail for "Contempt Citation and Notice of Forfeiture Hearing Date". Something in the paper talks about bonds. We know nothing much about the court system nor really have we ever been in this kind of situation so we are not sure what's going to happen. Does anyone have any idea as to what might happen to my mother if she goes to the hearing? Will she have to pay the bail amount or any sort of thing like that? What does my mother need for this kind of thing? Any other sort of information anyone needs to be able to help me I can try and give.

Answer:
 In order for your grandfather to have been let out of jail, he would have had to have paid bail to the court.  If he had a lot of money on hand, he could have done this out of his own money.  If not, he would have used a bail bondsman who would put up the money for him and charged a fee for doing so.

If your mother is being dragged into this, it means that she either put up money to the court directly, or cosigned the bail bondsman's documents.  If she put up money directly, this hearing is to determine if that money will be forfeited to the court.  If she cosigned with a bondsman, this hearing will be for the bondsman to pay, and then go after her as the cosigner.  If the court is addressing documents to her, she probably had some involvement in the bail.

Unfortunately, if your grandfather did flee to Mexico, he definitely violated the terms of his bail, and it's very likely the bond would be forfeit, meaning any money your mom paid would be gone, and any money she cosigned for would be owed.

This is a very serious matter and could potentially involve tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for your mom.  She should talk to an attorney immediately.


Title: My job fucked up and hasn’t been taking out my medical.

Question:
Well today’s been terrible. I woke up to this message from my HR person:

“
I typically try and conduct quarterly audits of our medical/dental insurance to make sure folks are signed up for what they’ve elected and also that they aren’t over paying or under paying.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to this project until a couple of weeks ago.

How does this affect you?  I noticed that I had not enrolled you and your wife on ADP’s website which means you haven’t been paying for your medical or dental since you elected coverage back on June 1st.  I did enter the information on the most recent payroll which added your son to your medical insurance.  Your total monthly amount moving forward will be $351.37.

What does this mean for you?  We need to deduct $2,768.85, ideally before the end of the year.  This amount represents $307.65 x 9 payrolls, which began with the June 20th payroll.  We can do this over the course of the next four payrolls = $692.21 per payroll, if you’d prefer that option or maybe we can work out another payment option if this is going to be too much of a burden for you before the end of the year.  Please note that this amount does come out of your check pre-tax.

I truly apologize for this large oversight – I know the holidays are not an ideal time to be without extra cash.

Please give me direction on how you’d like to proceed.”

So the short version is that my wife is freaking out. We just had a baby and are trying to pay down my wife’s past credit card debt. I will essentially be getting $400 to $500 paychecks until the end of the year if this happens.

What avenues do I have to right this?

Answer: You can try to get them to spread it out more. You agreed to insurance coverage in which you pay a portion. You could have caught the error earlier if you were reviewing your pay checks. The money they are looking to deduct is money you've already received. You were essentually overpaid and didn't do anything to save that money.


Title: Minnesota home built with sheetrock behind tile in showers rather than cement board (not code).

Question: My husband and I bought a new construction home 11 years ago. We first noticed problems next to the master shower after living in the home for roughly 5 years. We saw that there was an area of the sheetrock on the floor next to the shower pan that was getting wet somehow. After looking at the issue we decided that the leak was likely occuring between the ledge of the shower pan and the track that the shower door was on, so we cut out the damaged sheetrock, caulked around the shower door and the shower pan on that side, patched the sheetrock and used it happily until we saw the problem happening again. By this time we had been in the house over 10 years and decided that we should remodel both bathrooms since we were seeing cracks in the grout in both and it would be nice to give them an updated look.  Day 1 of demo from the tile guys we hired revealed that the builder installed sheetrock behind the tile in the shower in the master bath and in the main bathroom instead of cement board. We were also told that the shower pan was not installed correctly which led to the slow leak that was responsible for the water damage on the sheetrock and on the floor under the shower pan in the master bath. Our home warranty was only for 10 years, but I still tried calling the builder to see what they can do. The builder has not returned my calls so far. Since the showers were not built to code and this was an issue we could not have detected without doing demo is there a way to hold them responsible for their lack or regard for code such as them paying for part or all of the cost of replacement? How should I go about addressing this since they won't even return my calls?

Answer:
 Not neceassily out of code when it was built.

IRC code was changed in 2006, Minnesota may have required more than IRC but it is unlikely.

In 2006,  IRC Changes  were made  to Code  to change it from allowing  moisture-resistant,  paper-faced drywall  (commonly  known  as “green  board”)  as  a  suitable  tile backing material in wet areas such as tub and shower surrounds.  "Green board" is not always green, it just refers to board that has the proper sort of facing material such as a fiberglass mat instead of paper .

The 2006 revision, (which would then have to be adopted by Minnesota) said to use a cement-based backerboard  or  other  approved  moisture-resistant  tile  backerboard.

Not necessarily out of code.

Also note that waterproof membranes, like Kerdi, are permitted by code.


Title: [VA] Hypothetical question about concealed carrying while drinking

Question:
While I would never actually be drunk while carrying, I may have had a beer or two at dinner while carrying. According to VA law Section 18.2-308.012 - Prohibited Conduct and Where Unlawful to Carry:

"Any person permitted to carry a concealed handgun who is **under the influence** of alcohol or illegal drugs while carrying such handgun in a public place is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Conviction of any of the following offenses shall be prima facie evidence, subject to rebuttal, that the person is "under the influence" for purposes of this section: manslaughter in violation of Section 18.2-36.1, maiming in violation of Section 18.2-51.4, driving while intoxicated in violation of Section 18.2-266, public intoxication in violation of Section 18.2-388, or driving while intoxicated in violation of Section 46.2-341.24.

In this case, does "under the influence" mean a beer or two, or an actual .05 to .08 BAC and fail a field sobriety test?

Answer:
 "Under the influence", even in DUI terms, doesn't mean a BAC of .05 to .08.  You can be "under the influence" after one beer.  Past .08(for DUI purposes) you're automatically "under the influence".  Under that, they'd need to prove you were intoxicated through other means.

So, to answer your question, even one beer could count as "under the influence".


Title: Ex Lied in front of House of Representative Committee Meeting

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Yes he was under oath.


Title: In the event of someone backing out of a parking spot hits my car while I'm in line at the drive-thru, who's responsible for the accident?

Question: Wasn't sure if posting this on r/LegalAdvice was appropriate

Answer: Person backing is almost always at fault. But fault also can be shared like if the other car was speeding throughAnswer #2: If you are in line at the drive thru, you're stationary. Moving vehicles have an obligation to avoid hitting stationary objectsAnswer #3: If you're in the right of way and they are backing into you, it's generally their fault. If you’re also stationary, it's almost certainly their fault.


Title: Justice porn time!

Question:
Inspired by [this post](https://np.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4wxpw6/legality_of_calling_prosthetic_limbs/).

What was your most satisfying case? The one where you were able to really stick it to someone who desperately deserved it or defend someone from a truely unjust and evil accusation? What case made you glad to be a lawyer?

Answer:
 My office worked with another attorney to represent a dad who was being accused of sexually abusing his small child by a mom who was clearly (to us) mentally ill. His parenting time was suspended for months and even after he was allowed parenting time, it was still supervised and for only two days a month. He was heartbroken and angry, completely understandably, and for the year it took the case to be completed, he only saw his child maybe 20 times total. The poor child had to have two rape kits and four forensic interviews. It was sickening.

After three 6-hour hearings, three emergency hearings, two police investigations, 14 CPS investigations, and innumerable pleadings, we finally got an order giving him full physical custody. It was emotional.


Title: Nosy Mailman

Question:
I'm in Delaware. After my ex and I broke up and I got my own place, I have had all my mail forwarded. I lived with him for a couple years and became friendly with the mailman who seemed like a pretty nice guy. He knew our names, where we worked, etc. I guess the mailman told my ex about certain mail that I was receiving (legal notices) and now my ex won't leave me alone about it. Is this something I can report? Do I have the expectation of privacy in this situation or is this something he can discuss with my ex? Thanks.

*Nosey. Oops.

Answer: NAL but is it possible your ex has signed up for USPS's informed delivery service and is keeping tabs on everything that is being sent to you?


Title: My nephew is in a bad place... do I have any legal standing if I want to assume guardianship?

Question:
Hi, legal advice.

My nephew is 12 years old. His mother, my sister, abandoned him to my mother when he was 5 years old. She lives in another country.

I suspect my nephew is in a toxic, possibly abusive situation. I don’t know for sure, because I live across the country now, but my mother was an extremely toxic parent when I was a child and I know how it feels. My mother has taken my nephew out of school and is half-heartedly homeschooling him. She wants to go totally off the grid, survivalist style, and she literally will not let him have his own friends, leave the house, or engage in any extra curricular activities. In addition to that, he has bad asthma, and I don’t believe he is getting the treatment he needs for it. My mother literally relocated his room to their unfinished basement (which utilizes wood fires in the winter and is super dusty) which is making his asthma worse.

The other day, my sister (his mother) got a call from him. My sister lives illegally in another country, so her ability to help him is restrictive at best. They are not close, but he unloaded on her for the first time EVER and said some downright horrifying things about his home life. My sister is concerned, but unable to do anything herself.

She always told me that, if my nephew decided to leave my mother’s house, she would do what she needed to in order to assure that I got custody. I believe he is too young to make that decision himself, and may fear repercussion if he brings it up.

My mother has legal guardianship, not custody, (but didn’t get the contract notarized until after my sister left, and they forged her signature. Pretty sure that renders it useless.) My sister wants to give me full custody, but do I truly have any legal standing as his aunt? Furthermore, since she is in a different country, is she legally able to do anything without coming back to my home country?

I am extremely concerned about calling Child Protective Services, because my mother lives in a very rural area. (Some of their neighbors don’t have power or running water, or live totally off-grid. I am concerned that he could end up somewhere worse.)

My boyfriend and I have our own place, albeit 1500 miles away from my mother. My nephew would have his own room. We live in an excellent school district and, with some financial help from my sister (whose SO is very rich,) we could get him medical help, tutors to catch him up on schooling, and therapists (which he desperately needs.)

My sister does not want to bring him to the country she lives in. She doesn’t want to come home to sort this out. What can I do?

Sorry for the length.

TL;DR: My 12 year old nephew is in a potentially abusive situation. I’m afraid to call CPS because they live in an extremely poor rural area, and he may end up somewhere worse. I am willing and able to assume custody of him, but his mother is in a different country and unable to come home. Do I have any legal standing? What do I do?

Answer: Consult a local family law attorney.


Title: Got let go from job because I would not do more than what job role was.

Question:
from- New Jersey

I was working in a Law Firm as a Help Desk Technician where I was doing already more than what I was hired to do including system admin roles. I was told verbally by the manager of the IT department and my supervisor that I was getting bumped up to 15$ an hour and I told him that was great which was about 3 weeks ago. I recently found out that I was changed to salary at 30k which is about 14.35 an hour. I confronted my manager about it since my supervisor left to another job and he told me there was a miscommunication and he actually meant to put me salary. I told him nothing was ever told me to about salary, no one mentioned salary and i never signed any papers saying salary and that I wanted my 15\hourly as I was told. He then told me he will make me 2 offers by the end of the day.

He made HR write me 2 offers. Offer 1: 14$ an hour, part time no benefits, Offer 2: 30k salary, full time and on call. Either way I am still getting screwed from the 15$ i was told.

I confronted him the next day and told him if i was to pick one of the offers I will only do what my job role says nothing more nothing less. I will not do any system admin duties, no networking only what I applied for and was hired for. He then told me "no you will do what I assign you to do." He the asked me if I was quitting then. I told him no I am not quitting I will continue doing my job but as the role of a Help Desk tech as what says on my description and nothing more. He then fired me.

Anything I can do in this situation? Any legal actions?

Answer:
 >I confronted him the next day and told him if i was to pick one of the offers I will only do what my job role says nothing more nothing less.

That's a bold strategy.  If you keep pulling that shit you'll have a very hard time finding work. Answer #2: 100% legal. You can file for unemployment and start sending out resumes.

You can be fired for anything but:

1. Protected Class Discrimination (race, religion, gender, ect.)

2. Protected Actions (whistleblower status, discussing pay with other employees, ect.)

3. Refusing to commit a crime


Title: Somebody killed themselves in my friends bedroom, a room he rents. It happened last year, and my friend was not informed by the landlord.

Question: Story says it all mainly. Five friends of mine live in a rented student house. Via word of mouth four of them discovered that someone commited suicide in the fifth friend's bedroom last year, and the fifth friend does not know although the four friends have now known for months. The fifth friend is the type to not handle the news well, so they would like to avoid telling him. Does he have a claim from the landlord? Do all five of them do? They live in the UK, any advice would he appreciated.

Answer:
 Your question is predicated on a belief the landlord had a duty to tell him. Does such a duty exist? I think you will find it does not.

> The fifth friend is the type to not handle the news well, so they would like to avoid telling him.

So don't tell him. That sounds like a good plan. Although it really isn't anything to get all worked up about in the first place.


Title: Im being blackmailed from a person whose out of the country.

Question: There's a girl from the Philippines who has a video of me being naked and threatening to send it to my Facebook friend and family.  She is demanding $500 and I have no idea what to do?  The cops won't help.  I'm also in the military and she is threatening to post it on an Military page to smear my name.  Any ideas?

Answer: Every day I'm more of a fan of sponsoring legislation to mandate internet scam classes in public schools.


Title: I’m a porter at a car dealership. My boss has taken money from every paycheck. I’m worried Dept. of Labor won’t help?

Question:
W-2
Job Title : Porter
Wage : $10/hr

Here’s all the wage claims I’ve submitted to MO Dept. of Labor

1)First paycheck I worked through multiple lunches because we are understaffed and my boss not only didn’t pay me for the hour worked, he made me clock out as if I had taken a lunch resulting in me losing an additional hour.
Example:
Dealership hours 9am-7pm
Made me clock from 9am-6pm then docked me an extra lunch hour
Worked 10hrs... paid for 8hrs

2)Second paycheck $25 was removed from all employees for “lost/stolen equipment” How is this employee responsibility? Our dealership is in a crime-ridden area of St. Louis.

3)I’m in charge of internet sales at the dealership and get $10 per car posted online. I’ve done 104 cars ($1040) and received $300. Have evidence that I posted the vehicles and he’s flat out refusing to pay me more.

4)narcotics were found at the dealership... Owner sent me for drug test and he’s refusing to pay the testing facility and my days wages for when I had to take the test. I had to pay out of my own pocket and I passed the test. If I didn’t pay he said I would be terminated? This is bullshit!

5)I reported these findings to the Dept of Labor and the next day I come in my manager takes me aside and terminates me explaining how he just spoke to my case manager at the Dept of Labor. I explained how I had brought up unpaid wages and was threatened with my job every time I brought them up. I didn’t know what else to do other than call the Dept. of Labor?

Missouri is employment at will state. I demanded all my wages at time of termination as the law states I have the right to do. This is when he cut me the $300 check for internet sales and $660 check for my hours which are also incorrect. He owes me my commission check also for a car I sold this month. He says I have to wait till the 3rd of June for my sales check? I explain that will be considered unpaid wages at time of termination.

What all will the Dept of Labor do to help me get what’s owed to me? Is he just going to refer me to a lawyer and I’ll have to deal with all this alone?

Answer:
 You should file a wage complaint as you have done.

You should also consult an employment attorney as you may have been fired in retaliation, an action which is protected by the Dept. of Labor.Answer #2: You're already doing the right thing. Call the Dept of Labor again to update the wage claim and indicate that you've been terminated and it was retaliatory.

File for unemployment immediately while you look for a new job. There's a good chance the dealership will dispute your unemployment. Be prepared with documentation of your wage complaint and subsequent termination if there is an unemployment hearing.

It takes time for investigations to proceed, so be patient. You may also want to get a consultation with an employment attorney to see if you have a potential case against them aside from the wage complaint.Answer #3: Liesto to friedo. Firing you for filing a wage claim is illegal and is just going  to help you.


Title: Sibling physical abuse

Question:
I'm shaking just writing this. For the past 5 years my older brother has been physically abusing me. Im 23 years old and hes 25. I feel weak and a coward. I live at home with my parents, I don't have enough money to move out. Costs in the UK are really high, and I am currently a student. I don't know who else to turn to. I was told I'd be disowned if I involve the police. In the past I have tried to fight back, but it only made matters worse. Its gone to the point where I fear every footstep coming towards my room. I don't know what to do. Please help on what I can do legally.
Topic:
Non-US

Answer: This is mostly a North American sub, but if you’re being physically abused by anyone, call the police.


Title: (Arizona) My new truck was scratched by a biker, but a lot of people are saying it's my fault for parking part of my car on the sidewalk.

Question: Like the title says, I purchased a new truck recently. One day I walked out and saw there was a huge scratch on the side facing our home. I checked the webcams and sure enough it was the same kids who is always giving us trouble (spitting his gum on our sidewalk, letting his dogs bark at our cats, pushing our trashcans off the sidewalk into the street, etc.) We have had to call the cops on him before, and in return he calls the cops on us on petty charges. Anyway, the policeman said might be an accident because it looked like he was losing control of his bike, but I just know it was intentional. Not only that, but some of my friends and family are telling me it's partially my fault for parking half of my car  on the sidewalk. I have a court date set in less than a month and I wanted to know how much of a leg I have to stand on?

Answer:
 Uh you might have a problem.  Per Arizona state law:

"A.  Except if necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or if in compliance  with law or the directions of a police officer or traffic control device, **a person shall  not** stop, stand or **park a vehicle in any of the following places:**

**1.  On a sidewalk."**

[https://law.justia.com/codes/arizona/2005/title28/00873.html](https://law.justia.com/codes/arizona/2005/title28/00873.html)


Title: After a settlement in small claims court, I the plaintiff, have not received my check after 30 days of the judgement, which was an agreed settlement in court. I contacted the defendant and they said to call their lawyer.

Question:
Quick background on the case:
A dry cleaner/clothing repair shop destroyed a pair of $400 shoes that I asked to merely be resoled. They spray painted them a different color and dripped lacquer all over them. I asked for $297 (half price of shoes, cost of repair, cost to file). During the trial, the judge asked us to try to settle so that we might both be happy. The defendant yelled out $150. I agreed on this. The judge had me give my address to the defendant for the check. I haven’t received it. I’ve called their business, texted, no response until today from a receptionist at the business to call their lawyer. What are they planning? What can I do?
This is in New York State. Thank you!

Edit: it has been exactly 30 days since the trial and judgement.

Answer:
 Start here:

[https://www.nycourts.gov/CourtHelp/AfterCourt/collection.shtml](https://www.nycourts.gov/CourtHelp/AfterCourt/collection.shtml)

Collecting on a judgement is generally a separate process if the defendant doesn't pay willingly.Answer #2: I was an investigator and process server in NY. Go to the local Sheriff or Marshall with the judgement on them and have them do a detainder. The officer will add a fee, which the defendant pays, and take the money from their register. If that doesn't cover it, they will stay there, the fee goes up by the hour, and they will take every nickel that comes in until the entire judgement and fees are covered.


Title: Failed a driving test for a stupid reason

Question:
What can I do to legally fix this: My car has an analog speedometer; that shows the speed to be faster than it really is & it also looks like you're going even faster from the passenger side because of the different angle. (I'm in New Zealand so it's right hand drive) It costed a lot of money to do the test so I'd prefer to not have to pay to retake it, so is there anything I am able to do?
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 This is primary a US/Canada legal advice subreddit so most will not know much about New Zealand law.  You might want to ask this question in a New Zealand-specific subreddit or see if anyone in /r/AusLegal might know.

I really don't know anything about New Zealand law, but I seriously doubt you have any legal recourse to avoid paying the fee to retake the driving test.  It's of course advisable to use a different vehicle, one with a functioning speedometer, at the next driving test. Good luck!


Title: [NY] Homeland Security give me grief over the Syria stamps in my passport

Question:
Every time I touchdown or head outside the borders by airplane I get selected for additional scrutiny by person or bomb-sniffing machine. Sometimes it involves hours of detention and questioning by FBI. They want to know what I was doing over there. They now have several very detailed accounts of visiting family.  I already tried replacing my passport but the harassment seems to be assigned to my name. Is there a certain type of lawyer I should hire? I don't know if criminal defense is the right specialist.

edit: I am U.S. Citizen.

Answer:
 A lawsuit isn't going to be much practical help; cases of people suing to try to get off the no-fly list have dragged on for years with few results. You're only on some lesser watchlist.

What you can do is file a complaint through the [Department of Homeland Security Traveler Redress Inquiry Program](http://www.dhs.gov/dhs-trip), which will launch an internal review that *might* get you off of whatever watchlist(s) you're on. They won't tell you what they decide, however.Answer #2: You indeed are right that it is likely not your actual passport but a list you are on. Answer #3: Edit: [Here's CBPs answer to](https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/11/~/frequently-stopped-for-questioning-and-inspection-when-clearing-customs-and) your question.

If you're a U.S. Citizen you can't be denied entry back into the U.S., as long as your status can be verified. If you have a valid passport, refuse to answer any questions beyond identifying yourself and your immigration status.  They have full ability to do as detailed a search of your belongings as they want when crossing the border, including your electronic media, so don't bring anything like that back with you. Have a civil rights lawyer on standby, and if the delay becomes unreasonable, ask to have them present.

You could also try signing up for Global Entry. There's no guarantee they would grant it, and the application fee is non refundable, but it could get all the questioning done in advance so it doesn't keep happening.


Title: Can my Airbnb host evict me?

Question:
I rented a place through Airbnb for the summer in California. I paid the first week through the Airbnb system and then the rest of the two months by Venmo.

I recently had an argument with my host and he wants me to move out tomorrow. He says he will call the police if I don't move out. Can he legally evict me like this if I've been living here for over a month? I've been paying him directly instead of through Airbnb. I don't have a written contract but do have proof via chat screenshots that we agreed to this.

Answer:
 Aren't you the person who posted here before about there being 12 people in an apartment? Answer #2: If you have lived there for at least 30 days, you have certain tenancy rights, including the right to a hearing in front of a judge before you are evicted.  Typically you can't be evicted before the expiration of your agreement.

If you are taken to court and lose, you will have an eviction on your record, which will make it hard to rent, get a loan, apply for a job, etc., in the future, so keep that in mind.Answer #3: Why didn't you go through Airbnb?


Title: Possibility and implications of changing the "n" in my name to "ñ"

Question:
I'm a resident of California, though at the moment I live in Utah. My surname traditionally includes an "ñ", but on all legal records I have an "n" in its place. A couple of questions:

Would it be possible change it to an ñ? How would I go about doing it? Would it present any possible problems? I'm 21, and things registered under my name is still rather limited. Bank account, SSN, etc.

Answer:
 I'm going to go ahead and say no, because that letter is not a letter in the English alphabet.  This is similar to how Chinese characters are spelled out in English letters and how Russian names are not written in Cyrillic, but in English letters sounding them out.

I'd be interested to see if someone knows of some legal way to have a name in California in a foreign alphabet.


Title: [England] Travel Agents refusing to refund me.

Question:
Last year I booked a holiday with TravelUp, but had to cancel as I found out you can't check in to a hotel in the US until you're 21. I rang travelup, who told me to ring the airline and cancel the flight with them. I cancelled the flight, and was told I would receive my refund within 5 days.

Fast forward a week and nothing. I call the airline who told me they have refunded the money and now travelup has it. TravelUp needs to contact the airline in order for them to refund me.

I called travelup back and told them this, and they told me that they would email me. After a week I still haven't received an email so I called them again. They told me that I would be refunded within 16 weeks.

All of this happened in december, and I haven't had any emails or confirmations of anything, so I called travelup again today. I spoke with a very rude representative, who shouted at me over the phone, told me I should have cancelled with travelup rather than with the airline. He told me I hadn't called or emailed travelup at all, and called me a liar when I said that one of their representatives had told me to call the airline. He told me to email someone, then as I was in the process of typing the email he told me that I didn't need to contact anyone, and that I will have to wait up to 22 weeks. I've been told that they haven't gotten the refund from the airline, and I'll just have to wait.

I'm pretty sure he only told me that to get me off of the phone as every person I've spoken to has told me something different. I'm quite scared that I've lost all of my money, as i'm only 17 and it was my grandmother who lent me the money for the tickets.

The money they owe me is somewhere around £1400 I think.

Answer:
 TravelUp is an absolute nightmare of a company, you won't get anywhere by talking to them directly, so I highly recommend not wasting time on the phone to them.

Impressive website, but they're operated from someone's lounge just up the road from where I used to live.


Title: I'm involved in something that could get me in serious legal trouble. (arkansas)

Question: I got suspended from school at the end of last semester but I'm back now. Turns out these guys want to follow me around more and make "season two" of our documentary. I honestly want no part in it at this point. However, my friend Jonothan recently realized he is banned from the local pawn shop after they discovered he had sold them a stolen guitar. This has led my him and my other buddy to start their own pawn shop in Jonathan's basement. I decided to hop on board with this because it sounded perfectly legal at the time. It's honestly a pretty successful business venture. However, I soon realized most of the items that people were selling them were stolen. Somebody heard his bike was in our pawn shop and tried to come looking for it so we didn't let him in. I soon realized this is highly illegal what we're doing and I want out. I can't even think of the charges I will be facing when shit hits the fan. What charges would I be facing?

Answer:
 > What charges would I be facing?

Multiple felonies.

What you have is not a pawn shop, it is a fence, and fencing is illegal as hell.Answer #2: Your user name is sarcasm ... right?


Title: Makeup School fraud? What to do?

Question:
Im not sure if posting my situation on here will help me solve my problem but any suggestions will be appreciated.

On February I found out that one of my favorite Makeup Artists was going to come to my city in April for a 2 day seminar. I was extremely excited and went ahead and contacted the number that the post had on facebook. I was talking to one of the owners of the school which is based in Las Vegas, he then provided me with the information and told me that I could deposit the money to their bank account under the schools name. (I know now that this should have been a red flag) I waited to deposit the money the day before the makeup class in the amount of $500. The owner had given me the approval that it was okay to do that. And when I did, I did not receive any response on the time and location of the event. I gave him a call a few hours the deposit and he told me that the class was canceled due to a lack of signups. He told me he could return my money or that I could go to another seminar in Las Vegas where the school is located. I told him that i would think about it due to the fact that I really wanted to go. After I thought about it, I decided that I rather have my money because of my current financial situation. I asked him for my money and he told me to give him a few days. Then a few weeks turned into months and here we are now in August and I have not received my $500 payment. This past sunday I told him enough was enough that I needed my money by monday because it was not fair! (Mind you at this point I went online and read similar stories to mine) He then started to insult me, cussing at me and telling me he was not going to give me my money because there were no refunds (even though it was never mentioned in the flyer) and that I was crazy and that he wasn't going to deal with me anymore. How can this makeup school recently opened in the United States take advantage of its clients? As I mentioned before, it turns out that I wasn't the only one that he had done that to. There is a number of people affected by this especially in Mexico since they do seminars there originally, but unfortunately I know it is easier for corrupt makeup schools to get away with that there. I  told him he could just give me my money or we would handle it another way. (Legal means) but he then told me he did not care, that he had enough money and he wasn't scared. He went as far as to threaten me by stating that I had no idea who I was messing with. I am really upset and disappointed about this and I don't think he deserves to be a owner of a business especially because of the way he is talking to his clients. I want to know if I can take any legal action on this. Or if there is a website I can get information to solve my situation. I am in my early 20's so I don't have any experience with situations like this. I ask for any words of advice so that I can retrieve my money from this deceptive makeup school. Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

Answer:
 If they're unwilling to work with you, your recourse will be to sue in small claims court. You'll almost certainly need to do so in Las Vegas, since the venue for breech of contract typically falls where a contract was entered into and meant to be executed. It depends where the school is based out of.

Gather all communications you have and proof of the transfer. Send them a demand letter asking for a return of your money with payment instructions within, say, 30 days. If they fail to respond or refund you, then you will need to file a suit. It's up to you if it will be worth your time and effort - you'll need to travel, and if you're in the area, it will take you about a half day off work to attend court. The burden of proof is lower in small claims, so unless they gave you clear information the course was non refundable if you opted to not take the alternate course, it shouldn't be too difficult. However, if they provided you a reasonable alternative along with the refund policy, even if hidden in the 'small print', it may be a more uphill battle. Read over everything you have carefully.

Don't communicate except in writing from this point on. Ignore the advice to record conversations - two party consent law is too complicated to mess with, and validating recordings of phone calls aren't really great evidence. A written demand letter and their response is far better.


Title: Can my boss tell me I can't wear gloves?(MN)

Question:
So im a male who works at an ad agency and during the winter I wear gloves to work and like to keep them on throughout the day. It's comfortable and my job doesn't require me to use a computer often.

My boss asked me into his office yesterday and requested (politely) that I stop wearing my gloves all day. Apparently people have said it makes them uncomfortable.

Do I have a right to keep my gloves on?

Thanks

Answer:
 You have the right to keep your gloves on.  They can't force you to remove them.

Of course you can't force them to keep employing you, either.Answer #2: He cannot force you to take off the gloves.

You cannot force him to continue employing you.

The only issue potentially here is workplace safety. However based upon your coworkers reactions it seems like it might not be too cold but you are rather just particular. Unless it is cold enough to be dangerous or you have a disability for which gloves are an accomodation, manning up or quitting are your options.