Title: A cop obtained a warrant and busted me but i dont think he had enough probable cause to get the warrant in the first place.Do I have a case?

Question: Earlier this week, i got a knock on my door about a odor of marijuana in my dorm hallway. When i opened the door the officer asked to come in and I denied. He then asked me to retrive my ID, so i do and try to close the door behind me but he kicks it open. Nothing was in plain view, so i really wasn't worried about him seeing anything that would force him to search my room without a warrant. He takes my information, tells me i have nothing to worry about, just a small report " just show that i was here." Next day, i get banging on my door with the words "Police! Search Warrant". He searches my room finds some paraphernalia and under a gram of herb. I'm facing possession for both but im starting to question the legality of his probable cause. Do i have a case? This happened in Kansas.

Answer:
 Do you have a case for what? The cop had a warrant to search your room. You may not think he had enough "probable cause" but a judge sure did. Answer #2: > a [sic] odor of marijuana in my dorm hallway

There's your probable cause.

Consult with an attorney ASAP.


Title: Can a mere thought be outlawed?

Question: So there is a state senator in Texas who wants to ban "pedophilia". Since Texas already has an age of consent, I would assume that he means the mere attraction to someone underage. Can they do this? How would such a law even be enforced? Mind reading?

Answer:
 No, they can't make laws against thoughtcrimes. Even if the could, it wouldn't criminalise (most) teens-- pedophilia is attraction to prepubescent children. AFAIK, actual sex with children is already illegal in Texas.

What Sen. Hall appears to be all fired up about is not actually pedophilia per se, but media sexualisation of children, particularly in Netflix's *Cuties*. I doubt that it's possible to tighten the law to the degree that would satisfy Sen. Hall without running afoul of first amendment considerations, but I'm not  a lawyer and I haven't seen *Cuties*.


Title: [OR]Do I have to leave my home during a showing?

Question: (Oregon)The Realtor selling the house we lease is trying to tell us that we're breaking the law for not vacating our home when they have a showing planned? Am I correct in believing this is bs?

Answer:
 > Do I have to leave my home during a showing?

No.


Title: Recent custody hearing ended with a judge's decision in our favor. Ex's lawyer revised the agreement without approval and judge signed off.

Question:
Had a custody hearing to determine whether more nights would be granted to the father who determined that he wanted to sue for custody after learning he'd be taken to court for child support.

He has not paid support ever. He claims that he wants more time with son when he farms him out when he has him. This is all a monetary issue.

Judge agreed and ruled that if he wanted more time, he could have a few more hours on weeknights but no overnights.

His lawyer had some ridiculous demands in the custody agreement he had drawn up and we required it to be rewritten and approved before submission to the judge. Ex's lawyer has ignored correspondence with mine since losing in court and submitted his original custody paperwork, which the judge obviously did not read before signing off on as an order. It was a transcripted hearing that was recorded.

The order grants him extra nights and ridiculous holidays. It also has a section pertaining to alcohol that I do not understand.
"no alcohol shall be consumed in excess; however no ingestion of alcohol shall be permitted in contravention of the orders or recommendations." What does that even mean?

It's after hours for the lawyer's office so I thought I'd ask here.

Answer:
 So, the opposing lawyer was ordered by the judge to draft a written order that reflected the judge's oral order, and he drafted a different order?

And your attorney didn't notice this before it was submitted?

Talk to your attorney, and have him raise a fuss.


Title: Indiana: I manage an HVAC contracting company. Technician punched a wall in anger this weekend (off the clock) while admittedly intoxicated, broke his hand, out 8-12 weeks. What can I do?

Question:
16 total employees in company.  Is this covered by FMLA?

Can I terminate?  Relative section of company policy manual states:

"Alcohol abuse is defined as a pattern of drinking which results in one or more of the following situations: A) Failure to fulfill major work, school, or home responsibilities or B) drinking or being under the influence of alcohol in situations that are physically dangerous, such as while driving a vehicle or operating machinery."

If I can't terminate, and he is cleared for "light" duty by doctor, do I have to pay him the same amount I would a fully functional technician?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 With 16 employees you are not covered under FMLA.

I assume since he was off the clock, this is not a workman's comp claim?  Does he have an employment contract?  Is there any sort of union?

If you bring him in for light duty, you can decrease the amount paid.Answer #2: > Is this covered by FMLA?

No, not enough employee. You can fire him for missing work.  Do you not have this authority?Answer #3: > Relative section of company policy manual states:
"Alcohol abuse is defined as a pattern of drinking which results in one or more of the following situations: A) Failure to fulfill major work, school, or home responsibilities or B) drinking or being under the influence of alcohol in situations that are physically dangerous, such as while driving a vehicle or operating machinery."

Just as a side note, the company might run afoul of the ADA if your policy is to fire/discipline someone for *being* an [alcoholic](http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/ada/ch4.htm)Answer #4: It's not workman's comp because it was off the clock and I assume not on the shop's property or work site.  If it was either of those things, I imagine you could fire them for being drunk on the job as a safety violation.


Title: [PA] Victim of assault put in newspaper.

Question:
My gf of 2 years & I got into a pretty heated argument. She pushed me, punched me in the chest, & threw her phone at me - smashing her phone. The only physical contact I had with her is that I bear hugged her when she started punching me. She promised to settle down, so I let her go, but she kept smashing things. I grabbed my car keys & I left the house. I circled around the block, & when I got back, the police were out front. I later found out that SHE called the police. The police of course lied & said that she told them I hit her, & that I would be going to jail. FORTUNATELY I have cameras, so I showed the police exactly what happened. They arrested her & charged her with simple assault & harassment. I made VERY clear to them I will not testify against her. They said I just needed to appear at her hearing & tell that to the judge, & this will likely all go away. She spent 2 days in county until she was released on supervised bail.

&#x200B;

Here's my issue. My local newspaper published this: " \*GIRLFRIEND\* has been charged with simple assault & harassment for allegedly striking boyfriend LiBiD24." I see no reason why my name needed to be published. I understand that the incident is public record, but I read this paper every day, & they usually do not publish the victim's names. I think it's a professional slight. The owner of the newspaper also owns a local business that is a competitor to my family's business. I'm not sure I have the right to any legal action, but I atleast I want my name deleted from the online newspaper. I plan to call the editor tomorrow. Any suggestions? Thank you.

Answer:
 > I see no reason why my name needed to be published. [...] I think it's a professional slight. The owner of the newspaper also owns a local business that is a competitor to my family's business. I'm not sure I have the right to any legal action, but I atleast want my name deleted from the online newspaper. I plan to call the Editor tomorrow.

Within the US, there are extremely strong protections for "free speech". The strongest possible case for protecting free speech would be a newspaper that wishes to publish truthful facts about a matter of public concern (such as a crime).

You can call the editor of the newspaper and perhaps because you are good friends the editor will choose to take that line out of the online version of the newspaper. But the editor has absolutely no obligation to do so and you have absolutely no legal right to have it removed.


Title: Tow truck company demanding more money & threatening to put a lien on my car if I don't pay them.

Question: I live in Wisconsin. My car broke down & I called AAA to send me a tow. The tow comes, and the driver asked me to pull off the spoiler on my car because it may come off during the tow and I will have to pay a hefty fine if that happens. I assured him that it wouldn't come off but he insisted and I had to take off my spoiler while he waited for 5 mins for me to do that after which he towed my car. Fast forward to today, tow company calls me and asked me to pay $60 because I made their driver wait. I told them to sort it out with AAA because I didn't make any sort of contract with them. They ended up the call with threatening to put a lien on my car if I don't pay them by end of today. I called AAA, but they said that this is between me and the tow company and has nothing to do with them. I can pay them the $60, but I feel like I'm being scammed here. What do I do?

Answer:
 Doesn’t the FDCPA only apply to third party debt collectors? Answer #2: Are you sure you got a real legit AAA tow driver. If so then keep escalating through AAA and keep reiterating to the two driver that it's between them and AAA.Answer #3: Who has possession of the car right now?Answer #4: Did you agree in writing to pay any fees beyond the triple A membership fees?

If you did not, this is no different then me walking up to you and handing you a random bill for $60.00Answer #5: AAA did this to me too.
I told AAA the same thing. I didn't have a contract with the towing company. AAA does. And my contract is with AAA.
I called and called until they took care of it. The customer service was terrible.Answer #6: I'm convinced AAA will handle this.   Keep working at that.   If AAA is threatening to revoke their contract with this company...  that should scare them into realizing they stand to lose a lot more than $60.

Let management at the two company know that the only delay was in complying with the tow driver's requests - requests which you disagreed with verbally at the time.  You weren't advised of the charges and will not pay for charges you didn't approve.

Other than that...  sit around and wait to see if they sue.


Title: DO I HAVE A CASE.... demand letter good enough?

Question: Me and my buddy work A/V for a company that is the in-house vendor for a major resort.... while a major artist was rehearsing my buddy announced to everyone including our boss that he hasn't had a meal break (we would often not have meal breaks due to insufficient staffing or no time in between events) yet and asked if we could have the band stop.... no one in management did anything and the group continued to rehearse . My buddy stops the rehearsal and announces they need to hurry up due to his hunger and need for a meal break.   The hotel flips out, calls our boss and orders him to fire my buddy. Now a few months later they fire me, for obvious reasons( I poss the boss off and started calling him on his shit). I want to use them for unpaid meal breaks and for them adjusting out punches. Should I? Thanks in advance... I am from California. And worked over 150 days without clocking out for lunch h 10-12 hour days.

Answer: You can report it to the bureau of labor, this will not become a payday for you.


Title: Psycho MMA Teacher kicked me out of a gym, still paying for it.

Question:
My instructor kicked me out of his studio, said that

A: I was a bad fighter.
B: and said he would not cancel my contract.
  The only reason for this was because I asked him if he had time before or after class to go over form, he took it as if I was saying he was a bad teacher.
He was about bullying, intimidation in studio and I called a new studio to join and the instructor there told me "Oh No! I don't like **** he and his son are bullies".
I ask all because I had a similar situation before but not on such a psychotic level.
Is it taboo to ask new instructor out on coffee to get to the know them and let them know your goals and their goals?
I'm still in shock, my only sentiment is that I hate people because machiavellianism flourishes. He's stealing $300 from me and getting away with it in the most barbaric manner. I can't afford to go to a new studio while I pay him for membership off of a kicked off class.

Answer:
 If you cannot access the gym then you should not be charged for the members fee.

Also, yes, it is weird to ask your instructor out to coffee.


Title: Crazy Neighbor in a duplex keeps calling 911

Question:
I live in a rural duplex upstairs. I admittedly texted her drunken idiotic texts and was taken to court where she was awarded a 12-month harassment order.

Now she is calling 911 over any little thing including alleged loud bass. I have informed my landlords of 5+ years of her allegations.  Today a deputy showed up accusing me of a noise complaint. Luckily my daughter was present and was able to testify of the neighbors noise issues.
I immediately notified my landlord of the issue.
My question is; do I have any legal recourse to address her annoying harassment?
FYI-Minnesota, no prior legal issues.

Answer: She’s allowed to call the police if she believes there’s a violation. It would behoove you to work very hard to avoid causing issues. The restraining order she was awarded will mean that in any legal issue between you and her you’re going to be at a disadvantage. You might want to consider finding somewhere else to live when your lease is up.


Title: Graduating senior in college, being wrongly accused and may be facing serious consequences. Need hekp to build my case.

Question:
California. I am in need of urgent help. A professor from one of the classes I took this quarter, is accusing me of Academic Misconduct. I would like to clarify that I did no wrong, however the situation is extremely complex and it would be great if any of you can take a moment to understand it. I am a graduating senior, and the consequences of me being proven guilty is suspension upto a year, which means leaving the country, losing my job and not being able to attend my own commencement ceremony, and getting my diploma a year later.
Here is the actual situation, can you assess it, and maybe tell me your first impression.
"I did not have a notebook to practice in on me, and I decided to practice during some free time. The professor posts youtube videos and a exambook is 50 cents so I just bought one and practiced in it on the last page. I was taking a heavy coursework load and working part time so I forgot that I had practiced in that book. When the TA and the prof gave out the test, I wrote my name on the test and unaware of the fact that it was the same bluebook I practiced in, I took it out. I immediately realized and checked the last page to see if I had notes in them and the TA saw me having a book with notes in them. She showed it to the prof, confiscated them and I took the test on my own."
Basically the allegation is on the fact that there was malicious intent and he is arguing that because I had notes on me, it is a violation of the code, even though he agrees that material inside the notes was not really helpful. I have appealed to the Academic integrity office for a review, but from the way it seems all the odds are stacked against me, and I may actually have to leave the country for good. I am trying to build up my case, but I don't have much to say other than the truth and I am scared that the review board may not believe me. I tried talking to the professor, but he believes that the consequences of me getting deported, lose my job, or not getting my degree on time are not his concern and he wouldn't withdraw the case. I pled to him, but he wants a reasonable explanation of why I had those out, and while I told him the facts, he is not willing to believe them. I am going to dispute this, but need help as to what points to emphasize on, and what not to. I did not begin the test, and I know the prof saw that part but now he says he does not remember. I can try and prove it that he indeed saw the test since I only had my name written down on the answer sheet when he looked at it and nowhere else. He claims he did not see the answer sheet at all. I will be allowed to question him, and I am wondering if I can use this information to my advantage?

Answer:
 Your best bet is just to tell your story honestly.  There's no magic words to say here.  Your story is all you have.

You may be allowed an attorney, or other party, to help you.  If allowed, that would be helpful.


Title: Car dealership trying to force me into their financing by saying "we can't register the vehicle" - East Bay, CA

Question:
Hey Guys, heres the story, bought a car last night, the dealer made me sign a backup financing agreement in case my credit union didn't come through (was pre-approved from them already to buy it) I told them I would return the next day with the info credit union and to make my down payment.

When I came in and paid them my downpayment / registration fees. (I had filled out all the paperwork the previous evening) I handed them the info from the credit union saying as soon as they registered the vehicle and it was confirmed through a neutral 3rd party system a check would be overnighted. At this point the dealer said "We can't do that we don't have the title for the car because the previous owner owed money on it that we had to pay off and it will take 10 days" Then he asked me "BTW whats their interest rate?" The credit union is at 2.24% vs the dealers 7%... I called my credit union who told me they didn't need the title, that it was electronic anyway, and that they just needed the car registered. I told the dealer I was concerned he was trying to force me into his leasing program (They gave me 5 days to pay the car off before their lease kicks in) At that point the manager started screaming at me and got very hostile.

I'm worried that the entire title story is just a ruse so they can delay fulfilling my credit unions request long enough for their financing to kick in. Obviously I shouldn't have signed an agreement with but my banker did say that was totally normal and I shouldn't be worried, but now it seems they won't register the car. I was very clear with the dealer I would be coming back in the next day with the paperwork from the credit union to pay the balance minus the down payment I made. What should / can I do at this point?

TLDR: I think the car dealer is intentionally delaying registration on a car I just bought so their automatic financing kicks in.

Answer:
 If they won't take your money, tell them to unwind the deal and walk away because they're refusing to take the credit union's money.

It depends on what the agreement says. Have you signed a bill of sale and lease agreement yet? The dealership is definitely acting super shady by trying to sell a car they don't have the title for.


Title: My father and his girlfriend intentionally neglect to remove an extreme flea infestation and drastically perpetuate it to the extent of what I believe to be animal AND child abuse. Sorry for a wall of text but I'm afraid of removing a critical fact by condensing my explanation.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Bro, no one is going to read all that. You have to condense this down to something acceptable.Answer #2: There are no legal issues in this entire post (yes, I read it). None of what your father decides or does in relation to his girlfriend or her family is any of your business. If you are living under poor conditions at your father's house (rent free), then move. That's what you can do. Answer #3: Nobody is going to read your wall of text.

Please only post the pertinent facts.


Title: Purchased a laptop from a guy on craigslist and found CP on it. I am being told that calling the police is a bad idea because I am the one in posession of it.

Question:
Basically the title. Bought the laptop from the dude at his home in his drive way. After 2 hours I found the CP on it and shut it down immediately. I wanted to call the police but I am being told that that is a terrible idea as the Texas law regarding it is stupid as fuck. They said that I would be the one charged as I am the one in possession of it and that the creator of it would face separate charges.

Am I going to have to get an attorney for this or is there a way I can report this without one? I am pretty broke and can not afford even 100s for a consultation fee.

Is my friend right in that I would be fucked if I called the police?

EDIT: I just got back from the police. I am not going to provide many details here other than I am not in trouble, so far, and that I only gave information about how long I had the laptop, how long it was before I found the CP, and handed over copies of all documentation. I had my old cell phone on me and recorded the audio of what happened on it for CYA.

I was tempted to just wipe the device when I first found it as I felt like I did not want to lose the 200 I paid for it. Yes selfish I know but at that point I did not care. My conscience got the better of me though. The police have it now and I have records of everything in case they decide to bust down my door over this.

Answer: Your friend doesn't know what they are talking about. No one has ever gotten in trouble for immediately handing over that kind of evidence to police.Answer #2: Do computers store the IP addresses and times they were used? If so, the police would probably see that you bought it a day ago and the downloads have a time stamp on them as well


Title: [PA] Can my husbands ex view my medical records in his custody case?

Question: My husband is going through a pretty ugly custody battle with his ex. We have been living together for 2 years now with him having 50/50 custody. My husband nor I have ever been in trouble with the law, no mental health problems, or had any issues involving me and the safety of their children. His ex is very high conflict and has already caused a lot of problems because she doesn’t like the fact that the kids enjoy being at our house more due to it being a more stable, happy environment. Now she has requested in the custody consent order that she doesn’t want me around the kids unsupervised until I provide a copy of my medical records and any medications I’m on to her counsel. She told the hearing officer she has reason to believe I am a danger to the kids. It’s not the fact that I’m worried about my what’s on my records, just that I don’t feel she has any reason to view my personal health information. I would gladly show the court officer my records since she has no counsel for me to give them to, I just don’t want her having them in her possession. I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle this situation.

Answer:
 Your husband should consult a family law attorney. Answer #2: Be careful.  My ex husband filed a false report with DHS and we had to endure an investigation, including interviewing the kids and checking my medicine cabinet to prove that I was taking my seizure medication.

Exes can make things very difficult - prepare yourself.


Title: (IL) My sister recently got a ticket for her expired registration on her car when it was parked in our apartment complex's parking lot in her designated spot, is that legal?

Answer: Of course it is legal. It needs to be registered. Answer #2: It doesn’t matter where the car is parked. Is the registration expired? If the answer is yes, then it is legal to the receive a ticket for an expired registration.


Title: My FOIA request was denied and the Sheriff's office said I need a court order. How do I go about getting one?(SC)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 So you want to listen to the recorded phone calls of the inmate because you *think* he might have confessed to some crimes? You were given reasons for the denial, what were those?

My guess would be 5 U.S.C (b)(7)(C) Records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that the production of these records could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.


Title: Boss threatened to fire me for napping on my lunch break. Anything I can do?

Question: I get an hour lunch from 12-1, and after eating my lunch I set my alarm to 1 I put my head down on my desk to rest, when my boss walks in and wakes me up saying I should be looking for a new job when I get home. He didn't fire but I think he might be considering it. Anything I can do?

Answer: Your boss can’t fire you for sleeping during your break: https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/hours-work


Title: Car repossessed - no warning! First car

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Yikes.

You knew payments were due, right? and presumably when?

You could have called the bank to ask, if not. You could have called and paid over the phone. Why didn't you?

You really need to call them ASAP. It's unlikely that you can avoid paying the repo fees. Even worse, there's at least a good chance that the only way you're going to get the car back is by paying off the loan *in full*. Many financing agreements don't fuck around with repossession.


Title: Employer requiring 4 hours notice before calling off sick, sounds reasonable right? They are explicitly instructing employees to set an alarm to wake up at 4am to evaluate health (apparently every morning before work?). I have written proof of these instructions.

Answer: Only a few states and localities have regulated sick leave. Where are you located?


Title: Wanted to buy a business, the owner snuck a non-compete clause in the non-disclosure agreement.

Question:
Michigan here.  Wanted to buy a company with a particular employee that was being under compensated and underdeveloped.  A chemist.  Owner of the company said they would not talk until we signed a non-disclosure agreement he had drafted.

My partner signed the damn thing without reading it.  Inside was a clause saying we could not hire any of his current or former employees for two years.  This was last March.  He fired the Chemist and we want to hire him and help him save his house.  His former boss has black listed him for all of S.E. Michigan.  Bit the hand that fed him by talking with us about how he was feeling under appreciated for his work and ideas that remained unimplemented.

I asked our attorney if we could seek relief from the agreement based on deception.  No reasonable person would expect a non compete clause in what was described to my too trusting partner, as a simple non disclosure agreement so we could look at their books and offer a fair market value for the company.

After the NDA was signed the owner cut off all communications and says the company will never be sold as long as he is alive.

I think he did it to enslave his employee and lock us out of employing him once he tried to get the chemist to quite through draconian tasks and punishments and then when that failed, then fired him and fought him receiving unemployment.

Our lawyer billed us for $200 and said, there is nothing that can be done and make sure to put all agreements over his desk before signing, from now on

No details as to why we cannot sue for relief.  Is he lazy or is there something special about how Michigan makes an NDA with a hidden non-compete, unbreakable?

We would still buy the company for a fair price, or buy out the owner to release us from the agreement concerning former employees of theirs.

Money is no problem for us, we want this guy working and supporting his family again, ASAP.

Tl;dr:  Django Unchained scene with the contract negotiation about buying back his wife lives on in contract law, in Michigan.  We are trying to buy the freedom of an enslaved Chemist.

Answer:
 I agree with your lawyer. You signed a contract. Period.

The "no reasonable person" standard doesn't apply here -- you are assumed to have read the contract and it's on you if you failed to do it.

What are the penalties for breaching the contract? If it means that much to you and money isn't an object, you can consider hiring the guy in spite of the contract, but you need to be certain what the consequences will be -- just financial damages or will the other guy file for an injunction?


Title: I'm pretty sure my neighbours are drug dealer-what do I do

Question:
When I moved in to my apartment in September, everything seemed good. It's a house converted apartment building, and the girl next to me is a student like myself, the lady downstairs has two kids.

Well, when I moved in the nice conservative lady downstairs with two kids has a bf or husband.. not sure but he is really creepy (and ghetto looking, gangster). Anyway as I was moving in he was sitting in the porch area just staring at me weirdly. sometimes he just loiters out front and I've caught him peering through the window at me from a distance.

Neither of them work full time. The mom is always home and the guy is always coming and going random times throughout the day. Neither of them have a 9-5, and the apartment downstairs is nicer and bigger than the top floor ones. I've heard them argue before, I couldn't make out the words but since it is an old house it's easy to hear anything.

anyway, today in my mail I got two letters ( addressed to the guy) despite the fact there are 3 different mailboxes for each apartment but whatever. I left it aside. It was from the revenue office. On the envelope it said IMPORTANT FINAL NOTICE. Obviously I can't open it as it's illegal to do so but it seemed sketchy. Very bad vibes.

Should I alert my landlord or keep gathering evidence?

Answer:
 Nothing you said indicated drugs. Mind your own business and leave them alone.Answer #2: How did you make the leap to them being drug dealers?  You’re not the police, there’s no evidence to collect, and you can’t keep other people’s mail to satisfy whatever busy body complex you have.  Mind your businessAnswer #3: I'm confused as to where in this story you were led to believe that drugs were involved. Maybe you're leaving something out but you sound like a busybody and nothing good is going to come from prying into these people's private lives if this is the whole story.Answer #4: Evidence of what?
Nothing you've presented says anything other than that your neighbors are currently out of work and struggling.Answer #5: What evidence? You are giving them their miss-delivered mail...  right? So you are tracking their comings and going’s? That seems ...weird and nosy. I think you are out of line unless there was an incident you didn’t relate.Answer #6: You can contact the police.  It is their job to investigate crimes, not yours.


Title: Truck driver reversed into my car, gave me his written word, now is changing his story.

Question:
On November 2nd, at around 1 PM, me and a semi-truck were stopped at a stop light in Hayward, CA. He needed to turn right and I guess he decided that he didn't have enough space, so he reversed and reversed into my car. I tried reversing out of the way myself, but wasn't able to get out of the way in time. After reversing into me, he didn't immediately stop, but instead kept driving. Eventually he stopped and I took his insurance info as well as a written statement from him saying that he acknowledged that he reversed his truck into my car. He signed the paper and I have a copy of it and can attach a copy of it to this post if there is enough interest.

I'm an Alberta driver, he's a BC driver. I submitted the letter to my insurance company. My insurance company says that he is now changing his story and claiming that I coerced him into signing this document because he doesn't speak English well. Further, he states that I tried to extort him and that I rear-ended him.

My insurance company claims that because of his statements, they cannot process my claim any further. I'm worried I'll have a false rear-end on my driving record. This could impact my employment at future companies as well as my insurance rates.

The truck driver and I speak both English and our native language (We are from the same region of South Asia). Reddit, please tell me what I can do to avoid any false charges on my record.

TL;DR: Truck driver reversed into me, gave me his written word this was true. Changed the story once insurance was involved. Claims the written document doesn't count as he doesn't speak English well. Now claiming I rear-ended him. Please help!

Answer:
 First of all, push back on the not being able to speak English, because that's 1) bullshit, and 2) actually illegal.  [In the U.S., Federal regulation prevents you from driving a commercial truck without being able to read and speak English](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/391.11).   Tell this to your insurance adjuster.

And if that doesn't work and you don't have comprehensive coverage, then it looks like you have to use the company/driver in small claims court in California.  Bring your written statement.  Bring the law on speaking English.  The judge will blast this guy.


Title: Ticket for speeding in a "construction zone".... that isn't really a construction zone?

Question:
Hi reddit!

This is in West Virginia.

I have driven the same route to work every single day, with the speed limit at 70 MPH, and have always set my speedometer to 72 MPH.

This morning, I entered the interstate as I have done for the last 10 years, and was pulled over, only a mile down the road, and given a ticket for speeding in a construction zone.

I was given the ticket, while standing next to a sign that said 'ROAD WORK AHEAD 3 MILES AWAY'. There were no signs of any road work anywhere around me (construction cones, etc).

I found out, that apparently the speed limit on this road changed to 55 MPH as of Friday evening, due to the increased number of wrecks in the construction zone ahead. We were 3+ miles from the actual site of construction.

From when I entered the interstate, to when I was pulled over, there were only two signs, that said 55 MPH (but you wouldn't notice that they changed, they were the same font and size as the 70 MPH signs, why would I check the same sign I've been driving by for 10 years).

There were no signs that indicated that hey, we just changed the speed limit on Friday, or anything that would make you think there is construction. Usually there's cones, and orange things everywhere, to tell you that hey this is a construction zone. There was nothing. Nada. Still isn't. Just signs that tell you construction is upcoming in 3 miles.

I've done some research on this, and cannot really find anything to help. I cannot find anything in West Virginia State Law that says what the definition of a construction zone is. I did read a handbook on temporary signs, and it seems that fair warning should be given to drivers, of a change in speed limit, but can this hold up?

I was cited under WV State Law 17C-3-4b(b)

The fine is almost $400, and I believe 5 points on my license.

Answer: Regardless, there was a sign posted that said 55 MPH...which you ignored.


Title: Opened the door of an Uber and door was hit by traffic

Question:
Had an Uber ride in NYC tonight. Reached destination and told driver it was OK to let us out on the street in front of the building. I had opened my door and got out, but when my girlfriend offered her door it was hit by an oncoming bus. No one was injured, but door of the car was destroyed along with significant damage to the bus.

&#x200B;

What should I do here? What am I responsible for?

Answer:
 Well, it is your girlfriends fault.  Chances are the Uber driver has insurance.Answer #2: This is why you always slide across the seat and get out of the car AWAY FROM TRAFFIC.

Jesus.


Title: Car accident settlement - need advice!

Question:
(Delaware)
A couple weeks ago as I was slowing for a red light on a 2-lane highway an SUV going full speed rear-ended me. The impact jolted my sedan 3 yards or so forward, leading my car to crash into another SUV. My body slammed into the dashboard, but all in all I feel insanely lucky to have remained relatively unscathed. This was my first accident, so I'm unsure how to proceed.

My car was totaled, and I went to ER by ambulance from the site of the crash after a police officer arrived and began the report.

While at the ER I was still totally shaking from the adrenaline rush, so I reported that I was having neck, back and knee pain but that I was also unsure of how bad it actually was because adrenaline was definitely masking a lot. Upon their advice, I followed up with my PCP the next day.

The insurance company of SUV #2 (not at fault) contacted me about a week ago to inform me they would cover up to $100,000 in medical expenses. This week the insurance company of SUV #1 (at fault) contacted me requesting a recorded statement (and I cooperated). They were more vague about medical coverage, but made it seem like I was covered by my own insurance and that they would pay for anything beyond what my policy would cover. Then confusingly offered me a $2,200 settlement, which they claimed would be for a probable 2 months of physical therapy.

I live in Massachusetts, but the accident occurred while visiting family in Delaware. I was driving my grandparents' car, and the insurance policy is in their name. I'm currently 25 and still on my mother's health insurance (but am presently unsure of what that situation is going to be in a year when I'm too old to be on it). Also, I was the only one in the vehicle, and yes - I was wearing my seatbelt.

As of right now my back and neck are much worse than they were immediately after the crash, and I'm currently figuring out what I need to do to get started with PT/seeing a chiropractor.

My question is, do I accept the $2,200 settlement? If I do, will that money go to me directly or be inhaled by the other auto-insurance policies to go toward my medical bills? I'm mostly confused because I had 2 insurance companies contact me. If it's possible to use the $100k coverage from SUV #2 for therapy and just pocket the $2,200 for my trauma that would be a pretty sweet deal, but I doubt things are ever that simple. Also, is $2,200 a reasonable settlement amount for an accident of this nature?

As for my recorded statement -  I just confirmed the events of the accident, but made no mention of the details of the second insurance company's offer. I was wary about being recorded, but tried my best to remain short-answered and factual.

Any and all advice would be much appreciated!

Answer:
 The only thing I have to offer is that chiropractors are not medical doctors. You need to see a real doctor before going to physical therapy, before *they* possibly create more damage from bad or incomplete information from the chiropractor.

Now that word looks foreign to me. Answer #2: You need to contact a Personal Injury attorney.  The insurance company for SUV #1 seems to be lowballing you.  There might be mitigating factors - like they already talked to your health insurer and are reimbursing them - but that $2200 seems very low for an ambulance and ER visit, not to mention the rest.  Don't accept the settlement until you talk to a lawyer licensed to practice in DE.Answer #3: Lawyer up. The insurance company for SUV #1 is trying to lowball you. $2200 is nothing and will not even cover your first ER visit. They should be paying based on what your medical providers bill you not anything that your medical insurance doesn't cover (unless they settled with your medical insurance already which is unlikely).

Again, the other driver(s) (and/or his insurance) is responsible for covering your medical expenses as billed by the medical provider. The fact that your insurance is in MA has no bearing on this.

And don't go to a chiropractors, they're either useless or crooks.


Title: US/IL I want to submit a FOIA for a case where I was the victim. Police not helping.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Public records activist here.

Open records laws vary widely from state to state, and I don't know the first thing about the law in IL.

But here in WA, a public records request is legally defined along the lines of "any communication reasonably recognizable as such," meaning that an agency can't force you to use their form. In my state, you can literally scrawl your request on a cocktail napkin and they have to honor it.

My suggestion, therefore, is to read up on IL's open records law (also called the Freedom of Information Act, but not to be confused with the entirely separate and distinct federal FOIA, which only applies to federal agencies) and don't rely on the agency to tell you how it's supposed to work. Turn the tables on them, and cite the statutes. You tell them how it works.


Title: [MI] Guy is trying to sue my family for his chemical pneumonia injury.

Question:
2 years ago a contractor my family hired used polyurethane (his recommendation) on a private residence's flooring. My family is not sure how much polyurethane he used. Prior to taking on the job he was consistently complaining that he was in poor health but needed money, we offered compensation for work to fix up a house. Contractor is suing for health damages caused by the polyurethane but directly after completing the job he didn't tell us of any health complications that immediately followed. This is just now resurfacing, two years later.  Does this man have a case?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Call your homeowner's insurance company. This sounds like a cash grab, but you need to reply if he actually sues.


Title: [UT] Bought a dog but now another "owner" claims dog is his

Question:
I bought a dog off craigslist a few months ago, and i've been caring and loving for him since. Anyway, today a man knocked on my door, said it was his dog and that he wanted him back. I told him no. He got angry, told me he was going to sue, and walked out. Thing is, he never ever showed me any proof that this dog was actually his at one point, even when I asked.

What do I do?

Answer:
 In case you get served with a lawsuit, don't ignore it. Otherwise the men will get a default judgement and kill your dog. (happened in this sub before. Seriously, never ignore a lawsuit)

You may want to gather some evidence that the dog is yours in case the man shows up at your door again with the police. Did you go to the vet with the dog or had him chipped?

And if you keep the dog outside, a camera might be a good idea. In case the man tries to steal it back.Answer #2: >Bad advice. That's not how it works if the dog had been stolen originally. If Person A steals the dog, sells it to Person B, who then sells the dog to OP, the dog still belongs to the original owner. Person A and Person B never had legal ownership of the dog, so they couldn't actually sell it to the next person in line, down to OP.

I'm just quoting grrizzly in case you missed it since it's attached to a deleted comment.  This sadly happens frequently here in San Antonio, people drive around looking for dogs that will sell quickly through craigslist and steal them.  So it may well be that the dude who showed up at your door does own the dog.

Rather than suing you I would hope he just comes back with actual proof.  If it does turn out that it's his dog the wise thing to do would be to return him.Answer #3: Does the dog have a microchip?Answer #4: Do you have any information about the person from which you purchased the dog, or was it completely anonymous? If you have their phone number, you may want to contact them.


Title: Toxic Work Environment Led To PTSD And Sexual Assault

Question:
(Throwaway for obvious reasons)

I work in a kitchen as a line cook and have worked in my place of business for 6 and a half months. About 3 months ago we hired three people who come here illegally from Mexico (this is a sanctuary city) in the summers to work at our establishment, they have done this with these people for at least the last two years.

Two of these guys are really stellar individuals and work very hard. The other guy I knew I was going to have a problem with my first shift with. Within two hours this guy was calling me novia (girlfriend) and trying to grab my hands and make me dance with him. I thought all of this was irritating, but innocent enough that I would let it slide. Things stayed innocuous for maybe two weeks, until he starting asking me to kiss him and would start massaging my shoulders, this is where I went to my chef and said "This is getting out of control, I am seriously uncomfortable. You either need to talk to him or find a way to shut it down." I don't remember his exact response but it was in the vein of "Well thats \*name\*, I can talk to him, but if I do it will probably get worse." I said to talk to him anyway. Never happened.

Around this time I was involved in an accident where I got hit head on by a drunk driver, everyone was okay but the accident was fairly serious and I got a concussion, and the beginning stages of PTSD.

The day I got back to work first thing this guy does is put his hands on me, grabbing my shoulders and I lost it, I instantly pulled his hands off me and shouted, "Don't FUCKING TOUCH ME. Don't ever FUCKING TOUCH ME AGAIN." He stepped back and laughed like I was kidding and walked off. It was like he took this as a dare and went even further with it, if I had to walk past him he would step forward so I either had to brush up against his front or his back to drop food off in the window. He started grabbing me by the hips instead of the hands when trying to make me dance with him. Finally I put my foot down. I said "You have to stop, this has gone far enough, I am not interested. I'm gay." In front of the full line. I don't know if this embarrassed him or what but I could tell that he not only didn't take me seriously but took this as a reason for escalation.

I talked to my chef again for probably the fourth time and said, "Listen I can't do this any more, this guy is fucking crazy. This has to stop." He just shrugged me off again. The next shift with him I was in the walk in alone with \*name\* and I was feeling really uncomfortable. So I asked "Que nessicitas?" (what do you need?) to try and get him out of there so I wasn't entrapped with him. He responded "Nessiscito besos." (I need kisses) Grabbed me by the hips shoved his hand under my shirt and tried to grind into my lower back. I was able to shake him off and got through the night but when I got home the weight of what happened started to crush me. I have no idea what his plan was for what he was going to do to me, but it makes my stomach turn.

I explain to my mom what happened and she picked me up that night and when we were leaving she approached him and tore him a new one. She said "I know what you did, don't you ever touch my daughter again." He doesn't outright admit to it, but says "Oh we were just playing, right?" and tries to grab me and pull me towards him. My mom goes "No, you aren't here to play you are here to work and don't you dare lay a finger on my daughter again." He laughs and says "Ok sorry." To me and my mom sarcastically about 50 times.

At this point I reach out to my executive chef via text telling him \*name\* sexually harasses me and did something really bad to me and I am at the end of my rope with this. He comes to our location (he normally works at the other one) and we talk I tell him everything and he takes me into the office with our operations manager. I begin to tell her the story and demand to see everything that's been written up so far about this man. She says she's never heard ANYTHING about sexual harassment let alone assault and had nothing to show me. Keep in mind for 3 WEEKS I have been talking to my chef who has told me up and down that he is my boss and the other managers are not, and essentially told me not to talk to them. So they ask me to send them an e-mail of dates and preferably time of when these events happened so they can prove it and fire \*name\* I couldn't recall times but sent them an e-mail with the dates of every shift I had with this man. They rework the schedule so I'm not in the building at the same time as him, but he finds every way to come in when I'm there.

It took them over two weeks to review the tapes and he comes in grabs me by the shoulders again, and I go into the office and I say, "WHAT is going on with this? I thought this would be resolved by now." I get told the tapes were reviewed, the contents are confidential, however they told this man to not speak, touch, or look at me. I tell them that's not even a little bit whats been happening. This guy is still coming around near me and touching me, my chef gets pulled in the office and out operations manager tells my chef that \*name\* is obviously not taking this seriously and that that is terminable. (I think she wants my chef to be the one to step up and fire this man, because he recently got promoted to this position and it would get him to step up but he hasn't)

It's two weeks later now and this man still comes in and touches me and tries to talk to me and all they do is put me in the office until they see his car leave the lot, and tell me they are sorry and it's not okay.

I'm ready to quit, I have terrible PTSD, and I'm done covering their asses. My chef still makes jokes about it lie whenever he says this mans name right after he'll go "Oh sorry didn't mean to trigger you!"

What are my rights? What can I legally do? I'm pretty confident they will "lose" the tapes if I sue.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 You may be experiencing a hostile work environment. Employees have the right to work free from sexual harassment and your work has not protected you after repeated notifications.

You should speak to an attorney.

You can also call the police when someone tries to touch you in an unwelcome manner.Answer #2: Your concrete options are call the police, keep escalating at work, find a new job. Or any combination of the three.

He made repeated advances and unwanted contact. Depending on your state it may have different names, but in general it sounds like assault/battery.

A less concrete option is to contact a local attorney about a hostile work environment. I don't know if you listed your state (I missed it if you did), but labor laws vary from state to state, and I'm only nominally familiar with my own state's laws. So a local attorney may be your best bet, and if you explain your situation they may take it on contingency, but they may not.

If it were me, I'd escalate, call the police, and start looking for a new job. Good luck, sorry you're dealing with this shit. Answer #3: Call ICEAnswer #4: Easily a sexual harassment case where you can press charges. Document, document, document!! There's already evidence on camera he's doing it and it's clearly unwanted. If I were you, I'd press charges. Keep taking those complaints higher up the chain at work. You DO have the right to a hostile-free work environment.Answer #5: Not blaming you but you should be reporting this to a manager, not your head chef.


Title: [IA] Fired; Defamation of Character?

Question:
In short;

I was fired from my job Business Intelligence Analyst at around my 5th month on the job. At the 4 month mark they listed 6 items for me to improve upon. On The 5 month mark they simply said that the areas were still unacceptable and fired me without discussion and only listening to my Boss' side of the story.

It is my belief that all areas improved substantially, regardless of that fact that 98% of managers would not have the listed issues warrant firing an employee.

I should now claim that I have been fired when considering future employment. I completely disagree that the 6 items where near severe enough to warrant termination of employment.

Is this 'Defamation of Character'?
Is there any way to get them to agree upon calling it as though I quit, instead of being 'fired'?
Is it worth it to pursue this option?
If so, where is a good place to start?

Answer:
 Was one of the things listed to improve on the ability to take criticism from others?

I think they were right that you did not substantially improve on that skill.

 Answer #2: > Is there any way to get them to agree upon calling it as though I quit, instead of being 'fired'?

YES! Call them and offer them that and they will likely gladly give it to you, as you will be waving you unemployment benefits.


Title: I was hit by a car. They refuse to pay damages

Question:
 **Location: Lincoln, Nebraska**

So two days ago I was travelling via electric scooter on the sidewalk when a car pulled out of an alleyway and hit me, causing me to fall to the ground, and damaging my electric scooter to the point where it's completely inoperable. At the time, I decided not to get the police involved because I felt that the scooter was more banged up than I was, and by the sound of it the person who hit me agreed to pay for the damages to my scooter. We exchanged contact information, notified his manager of what happened (he was on the clock as a delivery driver when the accident occurred), and I was on my way.

The next day, I sent him a message about what happened and he simply told me he was going to be in conversation with "his boss from corporate" about the incident. I didn't see how this pertained to my situation, personally, but I said okay and told him to let me know how this goes so we can organize me getting a new scooter out of him. He tells me he was informed he "needs to get an estimate on the damages of his truck", and again, I have no idea what this has to do with me, considering he hit me. Next he is telling me he plans on talking to his father about the matter to figure out what to do.

The next thing I know he is telling me that I should be the one paying for the damages to his car, shifting his attitude entirely and blaming me for the accident by citing that me riding an electric scooter on the sidewalk was illegal. His pitch has become that he will cover the cost of my scooter if I cover the cost of buffing out the two dents I created in his front fender from the incident. He is also trying to tell me he is not at fault at all for hitting me because he "honked before he drove out into the sidewalk out of the alley going five miles an hour."

Does his claim have any basis at all? What steps should I be taking next in this situation? We went back and forth on the matter last night and he has not responded to my last message.

Answer:
 If he refuses to pay, you can sue him.

It's not at all clear that he *is* at fault - you believe he is, which is great, but he clearly believes otherwise.  And either of you could be right.


Title: Human bite wounds OSHA questions.

Question:
Federal OSHA does not seem to cover public sector/ has partial exemptions for some industries. However some states have OSHA plans that expand the protections to more industries.  My questions are under the assumption school employees are covered by OSHA rules, I received confirmation from my state's department of labor and industry that school employees are covered by the state OSHA plan of Minnesota.

I've found some rules about "sharps" or surface contaminated with blood I don't think they would apply to the teeth/mouths of children that bite, you can dispose of / bleach the mouths / teeth as OSHA describes from most things contaminated with blood.

If a student bites and breaks the skin of multiple surfaces would the students mouth be considered contaminated?

Are there any OSHA rules that cover when a human mouth contaminated with blood can be declared no longer contaminated?

It is great that schools will protect students that bite from discipline consequences but are there any rules that protect employees from bites / non consensual blood sharing?

If the number of biters and the amount of broken skin bites and number of bites victims are out of control are there any OSHA rules that might help employees?

Answer: You may want to call OSHA directly. This sub is for simple legal issues and I feel your questions are beyond our scope.


Title: Legality of pay cuts

Question:
Hello everyone, this post is being cross posted from r/advice and I was recommended to post here instead. I’ll do my best to respond and answer any further questions!

So on Monday (12/16/19) my boss decided to pull me and multiple other employees into his office (separately of course). This conversation ended up being about how everyone is getting a pay cut due to company finances. I won’t go into huge detail about the company, but a large portion of ‘lacked finances’ is because ‘company A’ and ‘Company B’ are under 1 owner, who started putting large amounts of profit into 1 business over another (irrelevant?) [That being said, the ‘company’ has been split into 4 companies to avoid company-wide insurance to employees, how illegal is this?]

My pay decreased by $3 per hour while other employees pay decreased at the same rate, if not more. I was told that pay cut would be effective immediately.
However, upon receiving my check this Wednesday (12/18/2019), my pay cut had reflected the last two weeks as well. I didn’t have prior warning, or knowledge that my pay was to be reduced until after the fact it had already happened.

Is this illegal? And if so, how do I go about handling such a problem?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: No, a pay cut cannot be retroactive to hours already worked. Inform your boss that someone has made a mistake, allow him to either fix it or refuse, and depending on his actions, file a claim with the labor board.


Title: Signed a lease, then was told to resign it because the amount was wrong

Question:
I’ve been living in this apartment for 3 years and it was time to resign my lease. I went down to the office, spent all of 5 seconds looking at it, signed it, and got my copy. A couple days later there is a letter left at my door with another lease with the monthly amount $25 more than the one I signed. It had a sticky note saying it was an error and I just need to resign and pay them more every month, like it’s no big deal.

Since we both of a signed copy in hand, is there any reason why I can’t just tell them I won’t be resigning at the new amount and I’ll be staying for the year at the amount I signed for?

Answer: "what letter at my door?"


Title: Got served divorce papers including Exclusive Use of the Marital home. What are my options?

Question:
I got served yesterday night (Friday) papers for divorce. She asked me a couple of months ago so this was a surprise. What is a surprise is what she filed.

We talked about split custody, maybe selling the home so we can both have money, and being amicable.

Now she’s saying she wants majority of custody, I will only see my daughter every other weekend, she will get the house, and I have to leave the residence with the Exclusive Use of the Marital Home papers.

A judge has signed on all of these.

I haven’t been able to get a hold of my lawyer because it’s the weekend and I met with one but haven’t confirmed him as mine yet, so I technically don’t have one yet.

But so I actually have to leave the house because a judge signed off on these filings? I heard I shouldn’t do anything l, especially move out, until I talk to my lawyer. But if a judge has already approved her complaints, so I have to do it?

What happens if I don’t move out?

Answer:
 >Now she’s saying she wants majority of custody, I will only see my daughter every other weekend, she will get the house, and I have to leave the residence with the Exclusive Use of the Marital Home papers.

Take that with a grain of salt. Complaints always ask for more than what the Plaintiff actually probably wants. If you don't request it, you can never have it. So, lawyers throw the kitchen sink at it.

>A judge has signed on all of these.

I doubt that. It's likely a lawyer signed on all of those.

> so I actually have to leave the house because a judge signed off on these filings?

Again, it's likely a summons and complaint filed by a lawyer. You likely have 30 days to respond to it. And even then there probably isn't a "default judgment" like there is in civil court. Or at least that's how family court operates in my state. You still have to have a hearing.

>I heard I shouldn’t do anything l, especially move out, until I talk to my lawyer.

You shouldn't because I think you're mixed up about what papers you actually have.


Title: Legality of rubbing alcohol in vehicles

Question:
Legally in Washington you cannot have alcohol in the passenger areas of a vehicle. Does this include isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) or does the law only apply to ethanol alcohol (the type you actually drink)? I want to make a first aid kit and I don't want to get in any sort of trouble.

Thanks

Answer:
 Oh, FFS.Answer #2: The law refers to alcoholic beverages.

Still, you will not want a bottle of rubbing alcohol in your hot car.  it will expand and bust in the heat.  Then you have highly flammable gas and liquid loose in your car.  You need to pack the kit with alcohol pads, not the bottle.


Title: In America would it be against the first amendment to prevent me from going onto certain websites on my high schools wifi ?

Question:
I was doing a research paper  and I couldn’t connect to any right wing sources because they were blocked . I couldn’t connect to wikipedia either which I only use for finding sources .
So I was wondering theoretically could someone sue the school for violating their first amendment rights by blocking their website ? Could I sue the school if I made a website about how shitty the school is and they blocked it .
I’d love to know, I’m not going to sue I don’t have the time or money for that .

Answer:
 Look up the children’s internet protection act (CIPA). The law requires the school to install an internet filter if it receives federal funding. This law has survived first amendment challenges in the Supreme Court.
Answer #2: > could someone sue the school for violating their first amendment rights by blocking their website ?

No, not a bit.  The First Amendment doesn't guarantee your right to look at someone's website on someone else's network.  Answer #3: LOL, no.


Title: Brother used my name when he got pulled over

Question:
Location: Canada - Ottawa, Ontario

My brother got pulled over by the Police. His own license was suspended at the time. He gave my name, birthday, address, etc. The ticket he got was "Failure to Surrender License".

Somehow this has happened 3 times already and I just recently found out about the other tickets. They are all for the same thing. "Failure to Surrender License"

I am a new Driver, so if I dont get these tickets off my record then there is no insurance that will even look at me. And if there is, my premium will be something that I cannot afford.

I am in dire need of legal advice PLEASE.

What can I do without having my brother sent to Jail?

NOTE:
He secretly paid for 2 of the tickets. The 3rd one is when I found out about them all. I have been scheduled to speak with a Prosecutor on Feb 1st so that I can explain.

Answer: Why would your concern be not getting your brother in trouble? He certainly didn't care about getting you in trouble.


Title: To flee or not to flee

Question:
O.k so today a friends apartment was raided by the police. the one roommate(1) got caught for moving weight.
he had when searched: Qp of weed Oz of concentrates few grams of molly etc.  he was also caught with about 20 or 30 pieces of paraphernalia and around 6k in cash. Clearly all on his side of the room. except the weed. the weed was stored in the night stand of roommate (2) roommate (1) also had quite a few scales and baggies that were considered

roommate (2) was currently cooperating with law enforcement and had pending charges that were not yet charged to roommate(2) But roommate (2) will be charged if got into any trouble with the law. Such as getting raided by the police. the charges included selling acid to a CI. The one container taken from roommates 2 side table contained residue of ketamine. Like stated earlier various bongs and about a Qp of weed were found located in roommate(2) side table.

more info location is near a university
the DA is out to get everyone in the area
property was located in a school zone
both people have prior records
located in central east coast

Considering roommate 2 has various mandatory minimums and is likely facing more than 5 years in prison for this what do you say about fleeing? i mean if he/she has the ability to leave the country do you really think local law enforcement would pursue? what about living under the radar inside the US in a major city? Positives to Canada? or Mexico?

Answer:
 Fleeing to avoid punishment or prosecution is a whole new crime.

It is also nearly 100% doomed to failure in the long term.

The only accurate legal advice here is "don't flee."Answer #2: Jesus.  Nobody here is going to advise your friends to flee law enforcement.  I can go into a ton of detail about why it won't work, but the short answer is, it won't work.  Your friends are going to jail, either very soon, or two weeks from very soon when they get caught trying to flee and failing miserably.


Title: US - IN. Concerned about a clause in a rental lease agreement

Question:
Hello everyone,

I'm in the middle of looking for rentals [US - IN] for the fall and I've got one I like but there is a sentence that concerns me.  The sentence is as follows:

> "Lessor shall not be liable for injuries or damages to persons or property sustained by the Lessee, his
family, employees, servants, agents, visitors, or other persons, whether or not due to the building or any of the appurtenances
**becoming out of repair or arising from leakage of gas, steam, water or sewer pipes, or from defective wiring.**"

My understanding is that they're trying to remove themselves of being liable for things that would be entirely their fault.  I don't suspect that any of this will be an issue in the future but I am just generally concerned and looking for some advice.

Thanks!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Call an insurance company about "renter's insurance".  It's ridiculously cheap, and covers the damages you're worried about it.  The lease clause is very normal.

"Bingo!"


Title: [Minnesota] We signed the lease, We wanted to cancel the lease, We want to keep the lease

Question:
So as the title states things went really crazy really fast. So we first signed the lease and we missed some key points in the agreement which stated that we would have to pay additional every month for the some things.
-Then we told the guy we wanted to cancel the lease because we were unaware of these charges, then he said he would not cancel the lease but would talk to his attorney. He also said he would be willing to be bought out of the lease for a set amount of price(Expensive)
- After we saw what he was willing to be bought for we decided that it would be best to stay with the lease in place.

-We told him we would like to stay with the lease, but he states he needs to take to his attorney before he continues.

Is there anything he can charge us for, if we choose to continue the lease even though we wanted it cancelled?

Any help is appreciated, or any upvotes so others can see and maybe say a word.

Answer: You're supposed to read the lease *before* signing it.


Title: Do I owe a failed job applicant money for time spent on a task during his application [NC]?

Question:
I run a small, largely white collar, company and we were recently looking to hire a few new people. We ended up with a lot more job applications than we could reasonably process so after narrowing it down by resumes we gave people a simple "are you an idiot" test and had them put together a basic computer workstation (ie desk/monitors/computer/attaching+configuring printer and wifi). The task, if done competently, takes around 50 minutes.

One person who successfully managed to assemble the workstation but was ultimately unsuccessful in his application is now upset saying that he should be paid for the time he spent assembling the workstation. The workstation was disassembled after every interview so we gained nothing of material value from his work, but I can see how from his perspective he would feel differently. He has not yet filed any kind of unpaid wage claim or lawsuit, but I just want to know the risk.

Do I owe him money and if so at what rate must he be paid (given there was no stated salary in the solicitation)?

Thank you for the help. I'll just ignore him.

Answer: The 8 bucks (the NC Min wage) to resolve this issue is worth less than the energy it will take anyone to answer. Just give him his 8 bucks and wish him luck in further interviews in industry when you go out tonight and tell everyone about "The jackass who demanded 8 bucks"


Title: Can I be sued after a vehicular accident when the insurance company ruled in my favor?

Question:
In June my girlfriend was involved in a highway vehicular accident. She rear ended a vehicle that was dead in the middle of the interstate. We were told we were at fault, until later it was discovered the other parties insurance was not valid. Now, the insurance company rules in our favor.

But today my girlfriend was served papers trying to get 25k for injuries.

Can anyone help shed some light on this for us? We are both in our early twenties with two babies and little income. Should we get a lawyer or let the insurance company sort it out?

Edit: included location of Missouri USA.

Thank you for reading.

Answer: She needs to contact her insurance company and make them aware that she has been served. They will hire an attorney on her behalf.


Title: My brother had got in a fight in elementary school and is facing expulsion or detention. How can I, as his brother, help him?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: What you can do to help your brother is to teach him that assaulting people is not an acceptable way to deal with your problems. Although since you seem feel that your brother should have used his fists instead of a water bottle, it seems that this is a lesson that you yourself have not learned either.


Title: School Attendance

Question:
I'm really scared, you guys. My parents were sent a letter that was printed at 10/3 that according to California law, I might have to go to court or Juvenile Hall or some "alternative education" because of my "habitual truancy". I have supposedly been absent and tardy for more than 3 days.

 I have been late to some classes since that date. I fucked up - big time. I have been late to class because I have a shitty schedule and morning routine, and I hope my unexcused tardies can be cleared somehow by my parents, but I doubt it. As the name suggests, it's inexcusable. I think it may depend on the goodwill of my counselors. I have never been absent for ANY of my periods save one time because of a dentist appointment, and my mom didn't phone in that absence. I don't know if two saturday schools can really clear all my tardies and "absences" under 30 days. The number of truancies are unknown as of today, but I'll have that info as of tomorrow.

I am scared. I'm only 16 and I don't want this to ruin my entire life and career path to becoming a doctor. I had no idea it affected you that badly. I hate the stress it put on my parents to see that letter. My mom will take me to my counselors tomorrow, and depending on how that goes, some absences/tardies may be cleared, but I don't know how that may work out. I have good grades and my worst grade is a D+ in AP US History. All else is As and Bs.

If everything turns out for the worse, just tell me what to legally expect and how to handle it. I have never been in this situation before. If something can be negotiated so that the law and court may be avoided, I would REALLY appreciate it. If not, at least someone in the comments tell me everything will be okay. I am panicking. Someone out there, please help me. It would be of great help. I'll make updates in case I need further legal help. Thank you.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 Relax. It won't "ruin" your life. Have your parents speak to the administrators to see what options are presented.

As to your truancies.... if you plan on being a physician one day, that will not fly, *EVER*. Wake up early and get to school 30 minutes before your first class if you have to. Truancies are easy to avoid with prior planning.


Title: I purchased an iPhone but the retailer gave me a model with more storage by mistake.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: So the store attendant doesn't have a legitimate way to issue you a new phone, but wants you to commit fraud to get the smaller phone? I say keep it unless someone contacts you about it. You signed and paid for a 32 gig phone.


Title: I feel like my lawyer is not telling me the truth, I just need an expert opinion (real estate law knowledge a huge plus)

Question:
Long story short(er) my MIL has final stage Alzheimer’s and is in a nursing home. Her daughter, my wife, is beneficiary on the deed while her mother remains owner on the deed.
My wife has a financial and medical POA.

The lawyer is telling is we cant transfer the deed to my wife’s name, nor can we sell it, until the $9000 HELOC is paid in full.

Is this true (MO law) or do we have other options? We need to sell this house.

Thanks in advance for any help/feedback.

Answer:
 If there is a mortgage lien on the property you will have to satisfy the lien before transferring a title or selling the property. That's how mortgage liens work.Answer #2: If you don't believe what your lawyer is telling you, you need to seek a second opinion with another lawyer.

No one here is likely to second guess your attorney, who has at his or her access the full facts of this case.


Title: Filming neighbors in shared basement

Question:
Hi everybody,

Long time reader, first time poster. I live in a duplex with a roommate. We live on the first floor, we have neighbors above us, and we share a basement with the neighbors. We have had a lot of trouble with our neighbors since we moved in.

Our dryer (stored in the shared basement) stopped working yesterday, and I have reason to believe that our neighbor is to blame. My question is this: would it be legal to set up a camera in the basement to record her in case anything else suspicious goes on? Thanks in advance.

Location: Kentucky

Answer: You can expect the camera to have something thrown over it at best or be gone at worst as soon as she finds it. Nobody likes being filmed in secret especially in their own home.


Title: (Wichita KS) Rear ended a car. Both passengers in other car said they were okay, were up walking around, etc. but are now claiming injuries

Question:
I don't have the specifics on what injuries exactly, but its bullshit because both people in the other car got out, said they were fine (mother & 14 y/o daughter).

the daughter had been crying about her ankle but got over it. No limps, nothing, thereafter. When she was still crying,  they said they needed an EMS cuz of her ankle. Firefighers and EMS come, and then they're like 'nevermind.'

the daughter walked up to me while they were figuring out the paperwork and i asked her how she was doing. she literally said she was fine, just shaken up.

the mother also tried telling people we were doing 50 when we werent because if we were, her car wouldve basically been on top of ours or she wouldnt have been able to drive away (they had to move her car for the tow truck to tow ours). she just had a damaged bumper. wouldnt be surprised if she tried to say thats how/why they got injured.

I wasnt the one driving and it wasnt my car but it still pisses me off. Is there anything we can do?

Answer:
 > its bullshit

You don't know that. Injuries can be hidden by adrenaline and not show up for a day or two.

Let insurance handle it. Answer #2: Unless you are a doctor who examined them, your opinion of their medical condition means literally nothing. Just because an injury isn't immediately apparent doesn't mean there wasn't an injury. And also the whole you not being a doctor thing.


Title: Lease expires during "stay at home" order. I NEED to leave. Can I?

Question:
I have no choice but to move right now and currently live in Denver county, CO which is under a "stay at home" order. I will be camping out in the national forest with a friend (dispersed camping is still allowed) for two weeks. Although it's not necessary, we both want to make sure we're bringing anything home to our families. I will then be driving to Pennsylvania to resupply and live with family.

How does this "stay at home" order apply to me if I don't have a home? Right now we're just hoping whichever officer runs our plates and pulls us over outside of county would understand.

Am I protected by the Constitution here or are they going to send me to jail/a homeless shelter? There's a $999.00 fine for anyone caught not driving to the grocery store or work.

I understand this is unprecedented but does anyone have any thoughts here before I call the sheriffs office and risk being told no?

Answer:
 NAL, NYL. Section 1 of the order specifically exempts "individuals experiencing homelessness," so if you don't have a home, you are exempted from the requirement to shelter in place. You are not exempted from the travel ban (section 4). However, an exemption is made for "travel required for non-residents to return to their place of residence outside Denver," so driving to your family's residence in PA may be considered legal.

You will not be jailed regardless, but you could be fined, as you noted.

Here's the full text of the order: https://www.denverpost.com/2020/03/23/full-stay-at-home-order-denver-hancock/


Title: Ontario, Canada. Have received two charges of level 1 assault. The other person involved forgives me and we don't have an issue anymore, but I don't know what sentence to expect.

Question:
Due to a very stupid mistake, I have been charged with two counts of level 1 assault (the two counts were because one happened before midnight and one the next morning)

I could readily write pages about how much I regret it, and what I learned from it, and what I can do to make sure it never happens again - but the main question I was hoping to have help with was what will my potential outcome be from this?  The other person involved forgives me already and wants to leave it in the past but we still have to go through court etc and I have no idea if I'm going to still be required to face jail time, pay a fine, go to counseling, etc.  If anyone has any idea what I should prepare for please let me know.  And I'm sorry, and thank you.

Answer:
 If the victim of your crime is truly willing to forgive you, you (through your attorney) could talk to them about preparing a [victim impact statement](http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/victims-victimes/sentencing-peine/vis-dv.html) for the court. Canadian criminal courts give the judge fairly broad latitude in deciding sentencing, and an impact statement can be a basis for the judge to do anything from push your sentence out to the maximum allowed all the way to discharging your sentence on the spot (though you'll still have a criminal record if convicted).

Realistically, for a violent offence, you may not get out of your sentence entirely. While forgiveness and reconciliation _are_ [valued](https://crcvc.ca/docs/restjust.pdf) by the Canadian criminal justice system, they are not the sole goal, and violent offences have a particular priority for punitive discouragement.

Under no circumstances should you badger the victim for a statement. Talk to your lawyer about whether it's feasible to even ask, and let your lawyer handle the conversation as much as possible.


Title: Motion to vacate a divorce judgment?

Question:
I live in the Greater Seattle area, but NOT inside King County. I’m devastated now because I received a default divorce judgment. I did not sleep well for a week (Avg. 3-4hrs per night) and my head is very cloudy, so sorry if I am not using the correct legal terms or if my story is convoluted. However, I want to be clear – I take full responsibilities of my faults of not hiring a divorce lawyer and not reading the court paper carefully. You don’t need to criticize me, I think I will continue to kick myself in the years to come.

My goal here is to tell my story and hopefully, I can get some opinions and suggestions. All your constructive feedback are welcome and I will formulate my own decision. Thank you all in advance!

Here it goes – my ex-wife filed for a divorce in November 2018, and the Divorce Settlement Agreement was heavily favorable to her. Per her explanation, she wanted to “kick-start the divorce procedure and we could discuss all the detailed line items as we move forward”. Therefore, we had a verbal agreement that I needed to move out first and continue the discussion of our divorce divisions, with the objective of finalizing the divorce in July or August 2019.

I moved out in December 2018 and took a few of my personal belongings and necessities in the following months. In May 2019, I was served with a new court paper. I was perplexed by it and called her, her explanation was she (and her lawyer) need to move the case along, so she lowered the child support payment amount. Again, “we were still going to negotiate our property divisions”, she said.

Then, in late June 2019, she told me that we’re divorced. It was completely shocking to me! Apparently, there was a court date that was buried in the 2nd stack of court paper. Because I called her and asked what it was about, I didn’t read the paper myself. I trusted her and I thought we were still in negotiation, it’s the biggest mistake that I’ve ever made!!! Her reply was, “I’m not your secretary. The court made the decision, there’s nothing she could do.”

In last week, I finally contacted a lawyer and had a consultation. She suggested filing a motion to vacate the civil judgment (Civil Rule 60 - WA State), and then to renegotiate the divorce settlement. BTW, her rate is $350 and the retainer is $10,000.

To be clear, I don’t want to stay married to her. I only want to fairly divide our assets and to create a thoughtful parenting plan.

Points of contention:

1) the house deed has my and my EX’s names on it. But, per her demand (and now judgment), she gets to live there as long as she wants or when my child turns to 18.

2) She drew up the parenting plan, we didn’t have a proper discussion, I wish to have a detailed plan.

3) She filed the divorce paper first so everything was in her favor, she’s got to keep everything, I didn’t even get as minute as plates or forks.

To be honest, I only care about my child and I can let go all those materialistic things – I just want to be the best dad to my child and I want to move on. However, I really would like to hear from other people’s perspectives.

Should I file a motion to vacate the civil judgment? (I think the success rate is slim.) Or, what are my next strategic steps?

What are your suggestions? I'm totally lost.

Thank you!

Answer:
 You need to hire that attorney or another oneAnswer #2: To me, it doesn't sound like you have grounds to vacate the judgement, but you should file anyway and hope they grant it.

> Apparently, there was a court date that was buried in the 2nd stack of court paper. Because I called her and asked what it was about, I didn’t read the paper myself.

It is your responsibility to read your mail.  This was you being told explicitly what your court date was, and you didn't bother yourself to read it.

That said, you should consider hiring a divorce lawyer.  They could frame your reason to vacate the judgement in a much more empathetic light.  Your reason for not knowing your court date does not do you any favors.  Get a few more consultations and go with the one you feel best about.

To answer your points of contention:

1. Unless the divorce decree states you must remove your name from the title or bars you from living there as well, then it is your house and you're free to cohabitate.

2. Even if you don't fully agree on everything at the time of the divorce, you can settle the big details later in family court.

3. Courts don't automatically favor whoever files first.  They don't even favor people who show up for their court dates.  Get that idea completely out of your head.  Since you were absent, you had no ability to contest the divorce decree that your ex-wife presented.  The judge granted what was asked of them because no one was there to object.


Title: [Maryland] I "broke into" my ex-husbands house.

Question: I wanted to get some clothes for my son from my ex-husbands house because were going to the beach. My ex gave us both keys to his house, so I didn't break in. However he has a security camera at the front door and I didn't tell him I was coming over. So now I am scared he will try to arrest me because he hates my guts. I did not take anything, not even my sons clothes.

Answer:
 Tldr: I went snooping in my ex's house, but was surprised to see he has installed surveillance. Now I'm concerned about the legal consequences and came up with this son's clothes excuse. Will it work?Answer #2: You went into your ex husband's house to get clothes for your son because you were going to the beach.

Then, you left without clothes?

Why?Answer #3: There's more to this story that you're not telling. Why do you have keys to his house if he hates your guts? Why didn't you tell him you were coming by? Why did you leave without taking the clothes? Why don't you have beach clothes for your child already? What kind of communication did you have with him after you went to his house?Answer #4: If he hates your guts, why do you have a key to his home?

Talk to your attorney, and don't go in his house without permission in the future.

You can buy beach clothes for your son for your parenting time to keep at your home.

Do you expect him to come to your home and make a citizen's arrest?


Title: I don't know what happened to my bank account

Question: Okay to start off, I'm in shit financially. I had about 18 bucks in my savings and am a student looking for a job. Today I was taking a look at my account on my phone (online banking) and noticed someone deposited 40,000 dollars into my account. They also transferred 2,500 somewhere else but it doesn't show up on my transaction history. I don't know what to do in this situation.

Answer: You notify the bank of the error and leave the money in place until they correct it.


Title: (NY) Can I be sued by a doctor for defamation based on someone else's online review?

Question:
Recently a friend of mine posted an online review for a doctor with whom I had a very bad experience. (Short story: a simple procedure performed by this doctor led to an unexpected outcome which resulted in a need for additional treatments and surgeries, along with therapy with a clinical psychologist to address post-trauma anxiety.)

He wrote (paraphrased) "My friend has been through physical and emotional trauma since seeing this doctor. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I see great doctors and have never heard of an experience like this one."

Everything my friend wrote is accurate and he did not make any assertions about the doctor herself. However, another online reviewer indicated that this doctor called him and threatened legal action about a negative review, so I'm wondering if I can expect a call and if the doctor has any legal standing to pursue action against me and/or my friend who wrote the review.

Any insight would be sincerely appreciated.

Answer:
 As with pretty much every "Can I be sued?" question, the answer is yes. A lawsuit can be filed against you for basically anything.

Specific to your question, and what I think is your actual point - the odds of a judge siding with the doctor in a potential defamation suit are almost zero if everything you said is verifiable.Answer #2: Can they?  Sure.  Will they win?  No.  If served with a lawsuit, contact a lawyer and respond appropriately.  Otherwise, stop worrying about it.  And you might want to tell your friend to not post reviews of businesses they haven't ever patronized.


Title: My little Sister just got served court paperwork by her deceased boyfriend's parents seeking visitation rights. Advice needed.

Question:
Somewhat long story.  My sister, age 22, has two children, one of which is 6months old and one 4 yrs.  About a year or so ago, her boyfriend, the father, was killed in a motorcycle accident.  About a week after the funeral is when my sister found out she was pregnant with the second child.  SHITTY FUCKING SITUATION.  It was only after the second baby was born that she was able to overcome some sever depression.

Since the time of her boyfirend's death, his parents have been breathing down her neck, in a not so respectful way.  Let me say outright that these people are not mentally stable.  (Not so much by a clinical definition, though I would not rule it out)  we live in a small town where everyone is generally aware of other peoples business.  They are very radically religious and very... strange.  The father is an alcoholic, the mother looks very speedy every single time I see her.  They are generally not good people.  There have been multiple episodes over the past year where my sister has gotten the same vibe, and has been slowly shutting them out.  It all came to a point around christmas when they dropped the first grandchild off at my parents house, and my sisters informed them that she had decided to not allow them to see the grandchild on christmas.  The father, in a clear drunken state, had a fucking meltdown to the point where he threatened my father, my sister, and called my mother a bitch.  From that point forward, my Sister has allowed visitation very very very seldom, because she is not quite comfortable with the children being in their sole company.  Then they showed up at here house today, issuing her court papers seeking regular visitation rights.

I don't have many specifics, but I know that it is 100% not a good idea for her two children to be spending any amount of time with the grandparents.

Any initial thoughts?  What are her chances at completely squashing this?  I want to give her a call soon but would also like to have comforting advice.  Many thanks!

EDIT:  I Live in Central Oregon

Answer:
 It looks like forced visitation by non-parents is a pretty high bar in Oregon. You should go talk to a family law attorney. If they have an attorney you are at a severe disadvantage without one.

http://grandparents.about.com/od/grandparentsrights/qt/Grandparent_Rights_in_Oregon.htmAnswer #2: If they have an established relationship with the children or one of the children there is a chance they can get visitation.  Some states are more likely to give visitation in a case where their child has passed away so the kids can continue a relationship with that side of the family.  Your sister needs to start documenting anything weird or abusive.  Things like feeling the grandmother looks speedy or that they are religious aren't things to stop visitation.  Now if the grandmother uses drugs and has a history of drug abuse or they use their religion as an excuse to abuse family members that would be the kinds of things that would hurt their case.  But no matter what make sure you sister gets a lawyer and goes to court on whatever day the papers she was served say.  There are some real horror stories about in this sub about people who ignored court dates and screwed themselves over.


Title: [AR] Can I be subject to a no-contact order without my consent or a request?

Question:
This post comes on the tail of a few others I've posted on here and r/personalfinance. My in-laws are in the middle of a divorce. My MIL got addicted to gambling, drugs, and a white supremacist boyfriend. This has caused my wife and I to side with the FIL, especially after she tried to buy loyalty from us. We've tried to be sensitive about it though, to avoid any potential family arguments. No one knows we're communicating with the now estranged FIL (my wife's stepdad - everyone just assumes she'll side with her mom).

My question is this: My MIL claimed that FIL is harassing her, and got a blanket no contact order filed that includes my wife and me. FIL cannot contact MIL or any member of her family. He has to communicate with me through his son because he doesn't want to violate the order. How is this even a thing? Shouldn't I be the one who decides if I can or cannot be in contact with someone? I have a strong feeling that my MIL did this to prevent him from coordinating with us.

Answer:
 > Shouldn't I be the one who decides if I can or cannot be in contact with someone?

Well not necessarily. If consent was required for no contact orders, no one would ever get them. That being said, for a no contact order to be in effect, you would need to be served with a copy. It's possible that you just haven't been served yet, or that she means the FIL can not have contact with her via third parties, including you. My guess is the latter is more likely (and quite common).Answer #2: Just so you know, his contacting you through a third party is still a violation, if the order is legitimate.


Title: [USA] Double Jeopardy Question

Question:
In my civics class we talked about the movie Double Jeopardy.
So my question is that if a rapist is found guilty of raping a specific person, if after they got out assuming there wasn't a restraining order could that person rape that specific person could they not go to prison?

Answer: No, the rape would be a new crime entirely.


Title: some guy shitting behind my apartment

Question: I left work and drove home. I live in Boston. I park and walk to my apartment. Some guy stopped his car on the curb, threw on his hazards, and walks behind my apartment just as I'm about to get to my stoop. I initially thought he could be someone with one of the utility companies we use, and he was checking a meter. But he went around to the back of the apartment. I don't think he knew any one else in the building so I followed him. It's rush hour on a Monday; lot's of traffic back out on the main street. When I get around to the back he's taking a shit. I asked him what he was doing twice; no response. I returned to the front of the building and asked him what he was doing. He said he couldn't hold it. I asked him if he was fucked up (drunk) and he said his stomach was fucked up. He could have been intoxicated, because he showed no signs of remorse or guilt. Again, he pulled over in rush hour at the corner of a busy street to take a shit behind a building. My car has been fucked with a few times on this street. Someone else in my building even put up a security camera earlier last year. Should I be concerned that this is some type of revenge? Can/should I report this as a potential drunk driver? The only human beings I know that can't hold their bowels are infants, the elderly, or bed-ridden patients... not men in their 20-30s.

Answer: You cant just assume he's drunk cause he cant hold his bowels. He couldve had IBS or eaten bad burritos. Could be a number of reasons... unless he shit on the floor inside your apartment I would just move on.


Title: What is the best way to return a small item you accidentily shoplifted?

Question:
(Edit: Alabama, USA)

Basically, I missed a small item at the Wal-Mart self checkout (Jam valued at about $2 usd.) I left it on my kitchen counter, intending to return it, and my roommate opened it.

Now, this sounds cut and dry, but my local Wal-Mart has a reputation for being harsh on shoplifters, even petty ones, which makes me a bit nervous. My personal ethics say to return it/pay for it, and I logically know that it'll likely be no big deal, but what's the legally "best" way to return it?

Edit:
Thanks for the advice everyone!
Though I feel ethically compelled to return it, I suppose between its low cost and the possible hassles for everyone involved, it'll probably be best just to move on, and give a little to my local food bank.
And maybe rescan a different jam and leave it there. Possibly.

Answer:
 There was a pretty popular story a few years ago about this exact thing.

https://np.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4529q2/tx_my_grandmom_was_arrested_for_theft_from_walmart/

Any other store I would say return it. Walmart. No.