Title: [WA] no means of escape on foot from apartment complex

Question:
As I was leaving my gated apartment complex the other night I ran into an issue and wondering it's legality.

Between the hours of 1900-0700 the electronic gate shuts and does not open without a car to trip the censor. There is no other means of escape besides jumping the fence and hoping the spikes don't impale you. There is a foot gate beside the car gate but the door knob has been removed and the lock on it stays locked and doesn't work.

I saw 2 people trapped waiting on a car and it dawned on me that if they were being attacked or in a domestic violence situation they literally had no means of escape. Is this legal?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Does that door have an exit sign above it? If so it's a fire exit and I'd bet the fire Marshall would be interested in this.Answer #2: Here's what I suspect has happened.   Your property manager wants to keep the complex secure, so they installed locks on the gates. A key or fob would be required from the outside, but the gate could be opened from the inside without any keys (for egress).

Then they realized that anyone outside could simply reach through the gate to open it.  So they removed the hardware on the inside to keep it secure.   This was the wrong solution.

My old condo complex had a simple solution.  They put up plexiglass across the gate and the adjacent iron fence. The plexiglass kept people from reaching through the fence to open the locked gate.  I would go to your property manager and suggest this.  I think you are correct in being concerned about egress.  Good luck!


Title: NE - Apartment changes management, attempts to collect lease-breaking penalty fee for moving out of flooded apartment previously deemed 'unlivable'.

Question:
Background: Signed a six month lease in June. Apartment flooded in August, ruining some furniture and producing mold. Our lease stipulated we could move out without penalty if we found new tenants to cover the remainder of our lease. We had 5 people view the apartment, all refused because it smelled moldy/musty.

Apartment managers (2 of them) toured the apartment and agreed the apartment was unlivable and we would not be expected to find new tenants or pay any penalty. I requested this to be documented in writing, but they never provided it. I followed up with the district manager and she also verbally agreed to the arrangement, but despite numerous written request for documentation, also never provided proof of our agreement.

We move out in September. I check our online billing statement on Oct 31, showing a zero balance (no move out fee assessed). This was the last day we had access to the billing system to check balances.

Fast-forward to Dec 15- we receive a notice from a collection agency for the balance of the early-move out fee. In the 3 months since we moved out, we never received any notice of balance/debt from the apartment management prior to being sent to collections.

Also, since we moved out, all three managers that previously told me we didnt have to pay the move out fee have now left (must have been a terrible place to work).

I'm meeting with the new apartment manager today. What is my best argument?

Answer: Bring any notes you took of the dates and times of the conversations you had with the previous managers as well as any photos and other evidence you have of the living conditions in the apartment after the flooding. Tell the new manager what you've told us - 3 previous apartment managers agreed that the condition of the apartment was unlivable  and give the dates they toured the apartment and the dates they told you that. Also, contact the collection agency and give them the same information along with at least some of the documentation - a few photos, dates and times of conversations etc.


Title: Apartment complex lost my drivers license.

Question:
My wife and I were looking for an apartment in a city we're moving to. We found a decent place and prior to the tour we were asked to give them our drivers licenses. When we returned from the tour they told us that they had accidentally given our licenses to another couple who had left but they would get our IDs back the next day. We called the next day (today) and they told us that our licenses were lost and that there was nothing they could do.

What do I do now?  Do I call the police and file a report?

Answer:
 You can call the non-emergency line and report it. I would also talk to the DMV about getting a replacement.

I'd also talk to the complex to have them reimburse you for the replacement costs and any damages this might cause.


Title: Might come off as dumb, but I would love to know what I can do. Someone's threatening my newborn and it's getting out of hand.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Why are you putting so much personal information about yourself and your family online? Why are you continuing to engage with the "shithead?"


Title: Speeding ticket with three states involved

Question:
Hello there!
I am a Massachusetts driver with a Massachusetts license.
While I was on a roadtrip from California to Washington when I got pulled over for speeding 17 mph over the speed limit (limit was 35) just outside of Seattle.
The car I was borrowing was from a friend from California, so my license and his insurance was reported on the speeding ticket.
I am wondering what would be the best way to approach this $200 speeding ticket.

Answer: Have you considered paying the ticket?


Title: Slipped on Ice-University Negligence?

Question:
I attend a public university in Ohio. Recently while walking to class on campus, I slipped and fell on a patch of ice on the sidewalk. I suffered minor lacerations on my hands while attempting to stop my fall, and have bruised my tailbone.
As if this wasn't bad enough, I was laughed at by everyone in the vicinity.  The public humiliation from this incident has haunted me for the past week.
Is the university liable for negligence in failing to provide safe walkways for students?

Answer:
 >As if this wasn't bad enough, I was laughed at by everyone in the vicinity. The public humiliation from this incident has haunted me for the past week.

This made me incredibly mad and I will have to deal with that all day,  what do you owe me?

Answer #2: You can certainly attempt to sue the university for the cost of your medical bills. It seems to me, however, the real culprit here is Winter. You may have more success suing Jack Frost et al.


Title: Florida: Girlfriend received ipad from friend as collateral and never paid, reported stolen after sold.

Question:
My girlfriend received a ipad as collateral from some massage work from a regular she visits when he was unable to go to the bank (he cannot drive himself due to a stroke), and he gave my girlfriend a ipad as collateral, afterwards, his adult daughter found out (who for some reason hates my girlfriend because she doesnt like her dad spending any of his money on anything but herself) she flipped out and contacted the police and said she stole it. They contacted the guy that bought it and he cooperated with them (the dad is also on the daughters side as well because he never wants to get his precious daughter angry). My girlfriend gave it to me to sell on craiglist, and i met up with the guy who bought it. Now the police have called my phone and said they want to meet up with me and my girlfriend.

1. Do i have to meet up the police?
2. What should i do in this situation?

Sorry for the throwaway...

Answer: you do not have to meet up with police. they want evidence out of you. just ignore it. or if you want to handle it, you should perhaps find a lawyer. let the police figure it out for them selves. chances are, this isnt a big enough deal for them to chase you over. this is a civil matter. if she sues you, go to court and handle it. talking to police can make it a criminal act based on technicality.


Title: Tenants Left Behind Property (& A Mess)

Question:
I was renting a house in Ontario with 5 other people from May 2014-April 2015. In February 2015, the old owner sold the property to new owners. The new owners never made personal contact with us tenants (they tried once in March, but were not successful because no one was home).

Come move out time, my housemates decided to not clean up the place. They left furniture (i.e. couches, mattresses), kitchen supplies (pots, pans, plates, etc.), and a general mess (i.e. food, gargage) behind. They likely did this because:

- the old owner's lease was extremely crappy (barely one page long) and mentioned nothing about cleaning the place up/leaving stuff behind
- there was no security deposit
- the previous tenant's left us their furniture and a mess and they were not charged (we had to dispose of two couches and do a big clean up, among other inconvenient things)

After everyone had moved out of the house (~April 27), the new owners emailed me (I had already moved out for personal reasons) asking me to let my housemates know that they would be charged for any "garbage/furniture/etc." left behind. This was the first time anyone (old owner or new owner) had mentioned the topic.

The new owners have just sent me an email saying we need to pay them $1000 for the clean up (they cited dumpster and man hour costs, however they did not give me an official invoice).

They said they are prepared to resort to legal authorities if we don't pay up. Are they bluffing / Do they have any legal standing to charge us? The house was technically left in the same condition as we received it. Thank you for your time and help!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: No one should have to tell you to take your crap with you when you move out. Of course they have standing to charge you. You should ask for an official invoice and try to arrange a settlement of some sort.


Title: Question about a contest I won 15 years ago

Question:
Sorry this doesn't fit perfectly in /r/legaladvice as I know I don't have a legal ground to demand the prize but I don't know where else to ask.

15 years ago I won a Cartoon Network Sweepstakes for a trip for four to Japan for 5 days. Due to 9/11 making air travel difficult, my parents weren't able to go through with the trip and they quickly fell out of contact with Cartoon Network Prize Fulfillment. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on whether I could still redeem some or all of the trip I never got to take. I still have the paperwork that says I won but I doubt Cartoon Network is even still working with the company doing this promotion.

Answer: Contest generally have a "If prize if left unclaimed for X time frame it will be forfeit." clause.


Title: Boyfriend's estranged wife trying to pin him as the father of her two children that she had by a different guy in another state.

Question:
Hey y'all,

I have a bit of a dilemma. My boyfriend's wife (who should be ex but the courts never finalized the actual divorce) had moved to a different state with another guy after they had thought they had gotten divorced and had two kids with the other guy. Now years later, because they are technically still married, my boyfriend has legal rights to the kids and the woman and the biological father is suing my boyfriend for custody. We totally agree that they should have custody of the two kids so the woman and her other ex can work out whatever it is that they need to work out. The problem is that he has to notify the court that he waives his rights to the two kids. In order to do that we need to write a denial of parentage with a request for a paternity test letter to the courts. I am a writer but not a lawyer and so I am having issues with the language of the letter. I want it to sound official and professional.

&#x200B;

So far I have

&#x200B;

I, \*boyfriend's name\*, do hereby state that I am not the biological father of  \*child 1\* and \*child 2\* and therefore waive any legal rights to the children’s biological parents. I did not have intercourse with \*estranged wife\* during the time that would require the conception of \*child 1\* and \*child 2\* and request a paternity test be done for both \*child 1\* and \*child 2\* as proof.

&#x200B;

Does this sound right? What can I do to fix it and make it sound better and more official? Any and all advice would be awesome! Thanks in advance!

Answer: This is really not do-it-yourself stuff. You really should have a lawyer do this for you. (and address the divorce at the same time.)


Title: [TX] Do I have a foot to stand on for bringing litigation against THA/TxDOT?

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice. Sorry for the wall of text, my best TL;DR at the bottom. But please, read the entire story to give me the most accurate advice.

&#x200B;

Back in early May 2009 I was applying for different college scholarships as I was graduating high school in 2009. I saw that THA/TxDOT was offering a scholarship for ideas for an **underage** drinking and driving campaign and the 2 winners would have their campaign idea used all over the state of Texas. They would make billboards, brochures, signs, etc, all showcasing the winners campaign.

&#x200B;

I came up with an original idea and submitted it, along with a slogan and poster showing my idea.  Soon after, I received an email/letter stating that I was one of the finalists and invited me to a dinner. This was late May of 2009. My poster and slogan was on the THA website for people to see and the Texas Legislative would eventually vote on the winners. At this dinner, they revealed that I wasn’t a winner but still received, I believe a $500 scholarship to my college. The two winners received $5,000 and I thought that was that.

&#x200B;

Some time passed and then I started seeing my idea all over town, around August 2009. It wasn’t my exact slogan, but it was my art and my design. They changed my art just a little bit, but the main idea was still mine. They have also done a considerable amount more than just billboards and stuff with this design. I won’t go into much detail, but this is an **extremely** large campaign. I showed this to my mother, who is a very knowledgeable paralegal, wondering if THA/TxDOT could do that since I wasn’t one of the “winners”. She brought this up to one of her attorney friends, and they said they would take this on pro bono. The attorney sent some open request records, but nothing really actually came from it. However, we did find out that the THA/TxDOT idea that was very similar to mine, was conceived after my poster and slogan were open to the public. I was too busy with school to really put any pressure on my mother and the attorney, and we couldn’t afford an actual attorney at that time. So time passed and I eventually just let it go.

&#x200B;

I will note, that on the poster advertising this scholarship and campaign, it stated. “All entries become the property of THA for use at its discretion and will not be returned. By sending in a poster design, students, and their parents or legal guardians, agree THA may use, without compensation, artwork and the winner’s name, age, hometown, school name and likeness for promotional purposes in THA’s 2009 campaign against underage drinking in Texas.” **This becomes very important later.**

&#x200B;

I was able to get all the correspondence between the lawyer that was handling it pro bono for me and started reviewing it this week. It’s not much but here are a few take things I took away from their correspondence. We sent a cease and decease letter to TxDOT. They responded saying the poster contest rules stipulated that THA would retain all property rights to the materials submitted by contestants. My lawyer responded with, that assuming they do have the right to use my idea, that use is limited to use during the 2009 calendar year. Also, according to a THA/TxDOT presentation we received due to that open records request, the THA/TxDOT campaign’s target audience was 18 – 34, with a narrowing to target audience between 25 – 34. That clearly does not fall within the narrow use permitted by THA’s contest rules, given that such an audience is of legal drinking age. This is the last correspondence I have from the lawyer that was representing me and the lawyer representing TxDOT.

&#x200B;

This weekend I was driving home to visit my family for the 4th and I see another billboard with my design on it. It’s been around 10 years and they are still using my idea. I have been a lurker for a while and have seen this subreddit give some excellent advice, so I’m leaning on you guys.

&#x200B;

&#x200B;

Do you think I have a case trying to sue them? They are still using my idea, 10 years later. I did some quick googling and it looks like at least 3 other states are using my idea also. So, could I possibly bring litigation against these states? Any ideas or advice would be extremely helpful. I have pictures of different ways they have implemented my idea for proof that they choose to move forward with my campaign and not the “winner’s”.

&#x200B;

&#x200B;

TL;DR: 10 years ago I submitted my idea for an underage drinking campaign to THA/TxDOT for a scholarship. The winners of the scholarship would have a campaign made with their idea that they would use all across Texas. I did not win but, the poster for the scholarship said all ideas submitted would “become property of THA/TxDOT for use for promotional purposes in THA’s 2009 campaign against underage drinking in Texas.” Due to an open records request, I learned that the campaign THA/TxDOT launched was focused on the 18 – 34 age group, who is not underage. However, over the past 10 years I have seen my idea used multiple times, in many different ways. I have not seen the “winners’” idea at all. Could I bring litigation against THA/TxDOT? I did some quick googling and at least 3 different states are using my idea as well.

Answer: You gave up your rights when you submitted it to the agency, you have no claim.


Title: Aren't some places "No bills over $20 accepted" type policies illegal?

Answer: No.


Title: Kid at my School Got Caught Attempting Rape

Question:
Someone at my high school got caught attempting to rape an unconscious girl. Luckily her friend walked in and saved her.

It’s pretty indisputable that it was his intention, and apparently he was not so under the influence that he did not know what he was doing, relatively sober.

On top of this he is a notorious drug dealer at our school but hasn’t gotten caught by the police yet.

Considering all of this, what would be the possible charges for this person?

Answer:
 Attempted rape for starters

Edit: New Jersey refers to the crime as sexual assault... so attempted sexual assault


Title: Sister got a speeding ticket in FL in February. Paid it online. Got denied for driving class and now her license is suspended.

Question:
My sister, our dog, and myself were in the car in February driving home from our family's home in AL. We were in FL at night and she got pulled over for going 85-90mph in a 70mph zone on I-10.

This is her first ever ticket and she still has/had a AL license that is set to expire in June. She is going to move it down to FL at that point.

She got a ticket for $281 and paid it online as soon as it became available. She selected the option to take driving school to remove the points from her license. After a day or two she checked back on the site and it stated she was ineligible for the driving school. That is when she got the receipt of payment and went on her way.

Now, almost 4 months later, we get a letter in the mail saying her license has been suspended since the 5th. That letter was printed on the 10th and she just got it while visiting our parents (it just came in the mail, just a coincidence that she was there when it came).

It stated it was for failure of payment. So she went online and saw that she had a payment for driving school that was due as well as a late payment for the school. Now she also has fees for removing the suspension and reinstating her license totaling up to about $200-250.

Seeing as she has an AL ID and was out of state when she got this ticket, what should she do? She plans to call the county's clerk of court to see what is going on but I want additional information for her so we can get this fixed ASAP.

We are worried that these payments also got sent to collections.

She didn't check online again cause it said she was denied and the payment went through last month for the ticket. She can see the full $281 for the ticket in her bank account statement and it shows the date it posted.

I don't understand how this could cause her so many issues. I've gotten tickets before but never had issues taking driving school or anything like this.

Needless to say, I'm done speeding, even to and from work. Max. I'm going now is 5mph over the limit. I don't want to have ANY of these issues ever. :/

Please help! & Thanks in advance!
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: So what's your legal question? Because this sounds more like a customer service issue if there was some sort of issue on the website that caused all these issues. You may need to hire a traffic attorney to deal with this, government bureaucracy can be slow and clunky. It's not always as easy as talking to one guy who knows everything and can sort it all out on the phone.


Title: HELP. My girlfriend and I got into a fight and she used my card to purchase a one way ticket back home.

Question:
Hi there. My girlfriend and I got into a fight. Unknowingly, she used my card during the argument and booked a flight back to NY from LA (ticket cost $440).  i got the email and initially called expedia, who told me the ticket could not be refunded. i was upset, pointing out the transaction occured without my consent.

i called chase afterwards, told them the person lives in the same house as me, used my card during our fight without me knowing. chase submitted a claim and granted me a temp credit and cancelled my card

My biggest concern here is, im not looking to prosecute her. The transaction was done without my knowledge till after. im concerned of the repercussions on her from the bank. please help. im open to cancelling my claim if need be because i dont want to get her in trouble

-its a disney debit card

Answer:
 Just to be clear - you want a bank to eat $440 and refund it to you while not doing *anything* to the person who stole from you?  Answer #2: Your ex gf committed fraud.

At this point its kind of out of your hands. The bank may notify police and they may pursue it, not really up to you anymore.

You can sue your ex for the value of the ticket in small claims.


Title: (IA) Insurance nightmare - Don't know where to start

Question:
My mother requires botox injections every three months to control a debilitating neurological disorder.

We have problems with her pharmacy insurance (provided with medical through my dad’s employer) before every single appointment. The doctor’s office and the HR department are basically worthless and it’s hard for me to help since I’m in TX and she is in IA.

Where should I start when looking for an advocate to help her deal with the insurance company? I am willing to hire an attorney if needed.

Answer:
 Start by figuring out where the problem is. Is the insurance company dithering over whether to approve these expenses? Are they getting bad information from the doctor's office? You can't just start applying pressure unless you know where to start.Answer #2: The insurance company has an appeal process. Don't bother going through her HR, call the number on her card and ask about it.

I do appeals for a large insurer. You absolutely have a right to an attorney, but honestly they don't make a huge difference, especially early in the process. What WILL make a difference is you checking up often. Once every few days.

There is a process for specialty drugs including Botox to be sure the member needs it and it is safe to dispense. Yes, you have to go through it every time.

Oh I should also mention that if you are going to handle this for her you will need to be an authorized representative (because HIPAA) so be sure to ask for that paperwork too.


Title: Apartment management is telling me I can't hang curtains.

Question:
Living in Dallas, TX. My apartment management is threatening to start fining me because I took down the blinds they provided and hung light blocking curtains in the bedroom.

Are they legally allowed to enforce a bullshit rule like that?

Answer: Yes. That's not a bullshit rule; the building looks sloppier if all the blinds don't match, which means they might not be able to charge as much rent as they'd otherwise be able to.


Title: Can I take legal action against someone who stole my ipad??

Question:
Basically, it was stolen from me and I have his exact location. He's 2 1/2 hours away from me (I don't plan on visiting him), but I'd be interested in trying to get it back. I've already locked it.

Is there really anything else I can do in this situation ??

Answer: Call the police.Answer #2: Call the police


Title: My ex-partner lied about having genital herpes, and had sex with me with no condoms.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: There have been successful criminal and civil cases upheld against non disclosure of STIs, including Herpes,  in [Canada](http://www.castanet.net/news/Law-Matters/75319/Sued-for-having-sex) the U.K. And [Australia](http://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/can-someone-be-charged-for-spreading-an-sti/)


Title: Michigan - A quick question about a court order and right to seize property.

Question:
I am 23 years old and currently living at home with my parents. My parents are in the midst of a legal issue. They owe $1,500 to a debt collector (credit card). My mom made payment arrangements when they filed a civil suit against her and my dad to pay off the debt.  Unfortunately at one point my mom stopped paying and basically started ignoring it. I found out about this when roughly 8 weeks ago a court officer showed up at our house with a court order to seize property.

My mom worked out a payment arrangement with the officer and paid about $300 last month. She now is set up to pay $200 every month on the 15th until the debt is paid off. My main concern is that she is refusing to send out the check until the 15th (she gets paid twice a month on the 15th and last day of the month). The court officer made it clear that the money needs to be sent and received by the 15th each month.

My main concern about all of this is how it affects me. Can the court officer seize my property as well? I am afraid my mom is going to screw up somewhere with these payments because she isn't taking this as serious as she should. I'm not in a position to move out for awhile. I really don't want them taking my stuff (things like my computer, electronics, etc.). My other concern is that even if they only take my parents belongings my dad is going to take it out on me. He is a genuine asshole and would probably sell my own things if they take his. I don't know what to do because i just can't get my own place at the moment.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Answer: No, they cannot take your belongings. If your father sells your belongings, you can make a police report for theft, and sue him in small claims court for the value of the items.


Title: Question about doubling up on community service for an MIP?

Question:
Hello everyone. Some time last year I was smoking weed with my friends underage and we got caught, the outcome was 30 hours community service and a drug-alcohol counseling class. What we did was a deferrment so I had to stay out of trouble for 9 months but my dumbass was drinking a beer publicly in this new town I am in college for and got busted.

The results for this case are 16 hours of community service and another drug-alcohol counseling class. My question is, am I allowed to use all of my community service documentation for my first court case (which is in a different city) for this new case? My lawyer said not to do that but obviously he's going to say that but is there any possible way they could know and correlate the two community service documentations between the two cities?

I fucked up and I realized that and I have been paying for it sense. I have learned major lessons from these two cases but at this point I just want to fucking get it done with. Any advice people?

Answer:
 > My lawyer said not to do that

Follow your lawyer's advice.Answer #2: So you fucked up twice, and now you're asking if it's OK to defraud the court? After your attorney told you not to.

16 hours is not that much. Just get it done.


Title: Restraining order - what to do

Question:
Obligatory Throwaway account.

So basically, what happened is I *was* enthralled with a girl I was dating and she randomly dumped me when I got a stroke. I'm in my early 20s, so this was both unexpected and terrifying.

The entire time she was doing the passive aggressive route and refused to tell me why she dumped me. Eventually she went to the police, said I was "violent" and served me papers. In her deposition, she lied and said things that did not show up in the entirety of our texts.

Do I have any recourse? Possibly libel or perjury?

For the record, I've never once been violent. She did this to cause me injury. I don't really know why she suddenly ditched me, but I'm far past the point of caring right now.

North Carolina, by the way
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 1. Move on with your life

2. Move on with your life

3. Move on with your life

You can definitely try and argue that she perjured herself but that's going to be a whole other legal battle (and perjury is a criminal matter, not civil).

>I'm far past the point of caring right now

For someone who is past the point of caring, it sure sounds like you care a whole hell of a lot. Answer #2: Statements made in court and in filings for court are not defamatory - you cannot sue her for libel.

Perjury is a criminal mater, not a civil one, you cannot sue her for perjury.

You can, when the restraining order is up for review (probably 2 weeks after it was granted, give or take - the order will say), go to court and tell your side of the story.  If not having this restraining order is very important to you, hire a lawyer for that hearing.  Chances are, if you sent her a bunch of texts demanding to know why she dumped you and wouldn't stop until she got the order, that the order will stand, so be prepared for that (and learn a valuable lesson, that once it's over you can't demand answers, and need to let it go).


Title: Is it legal to set up a corporation that sells labor to my employer and then write off many of my living expenses as business expenses and then pay myself the rest and pay taxes only on that?

Answer: Everything except "write off many of my living expenses as business expenses" is fine.


Title: Requesting Crest (or Procter & Gamble) reimburse me for dental expenses...

Question:
I noticed today that the blue beads (which are apparently plastic) in the Crest 3D White toothpaste are embedded in my gums and I can't remove them myself...so that means I am going to have to go to the dentist ASAP to have them removed. My dental insurance probably will not cover this so I sent a complaint to Crest and requested they pay for any an all expenses. I need to have these beads removed ASAP because I am afraid of my gums getting infected if those beads remain in my gums too long and I'm worried they will be permenant, but I doubt Crest will respond back to me about what information they will need in order to pay before my dental visit.

What do I need to collect to provide to them? I assume pictures of my gums before the beads are removed and a claim form showing what procedures where performed with charges, but is there anything else? The pictures are going to cost money though and if Crest wants pictures then they will have to pay for them too.

Also, what are my other options if they refuse to pay?

Edit: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/09/18/dentists-finding-plastic-beads-in-patients-mouths-leads-to-changes-in/

I'm not a trolling and not looking to get rich quick. Just wondering what I need to have in order to provide info to the company if they agree to reimburse / cover expenses. Not freaking out, my gums are tinted blue and I want to prevent any issues that may come up. Not sure why I'm getting downvoted.

Answer:
 [Well how 'bout that.](http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/crest.asp)

Ask them to pay and sue them in small claims if they don't.  Keep your receipts from the doctor.  And maybe ask him if he'll write a description in your file of the situation.

And I'm not sure your health insurance or dental insurance wouldn't pay for this.


Title: Random Employee Searches?

Question: I work third shift at a very popular "everyday low prices" store. I was leaving work the other day after a very tiring shift and was stopped by my former manager asking to look in my bag and for a receipt. I had bought my lunch at 12 so this was 7 hours later and I had thrown the receipt away. In my bag was a half empty bottle of Pepsi and a box of fortune cookies with two cookies left. She wouldn't tell me why she was searching me and I asked cause this has never happened before, to anyone. Fast forward to 5 days later, when I come back to work, (They've been messing with my schedule only giving me two days a week but that's a different story) and I ask my manager what the deal is. He says it's a new policy to conduct random searches now which includes bags and purses. I ask since I didn't have a receipt, what will happen and he says they'll just review all of my actions during that shift via the cameras. Ok whatever. My question is though;  can they randomly search us without any reason at all? I Googled and got different answers. Oh this happened in the "lovely" state of Florida, if that means anything.

Answer: You can refuse a search. You can be fired for refusing. Answer #2: Yes, they can request to search you. You can refuse the search. In response, they can punish or even fire you for refusing.


Title: My life may be at risk and I have a couple of questions to ask you all.

Question:
I'll start this of by saying English is not my first language so  forgive me for any mistakes.

Anyway, I'm a 17 year old female  living in a country in the ME (if I have to specify which country I will). Problem is i'm gay, and my parents are very likely going to kill me for that. This was made clear a couple of years ago when the school contacted them about my 'odd behavior'.  Long story short, I wasn't allowed to leave the house or use any electronic devices for months on end until they made sure I was not 'sick'. They've made it clear that they believe it brings shame to the family's name and so will have no issue killing me in an act of 'honor killing'. I am not officially out to them or anyone except for my two closest friends.

I finish my high school education next year, and I plan on running away right after I get my results (in July of 2019). I have around $10k saved up already but my question is, I have a several  pieces of land under my name that I will have legal control over after my birthday next year. Considering I'm probably leaving to the USA and I barely have any money, can I legally sell them without my father's consent and face no repercussions (eg. my father suing me for the money) I feel like this is my only choice because if I stay i'm very likely to be killed, but at the same time if I leave im probably going to end up homeless and that's not something pleasant to look forward to.

Some more information that may be relevant: I have an American passport, so I think my safest bet is to go to the USA since I don't have to worry about getting a visa or anything. I'd also like to go to university and i'm hoping I can get a scholarship to a university there, I've been talking to my math teacher and he agreed to help me look. He doesn't think getting accepted is an issue since my grades are not bad, I have an overall average of 41/42  (IB score) but I'm still very reluctant to rely completely on that.

So what are my options here guys? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Answer: The only thing I can add here is to be extremely careful about leaving a paper trail. All of this planning will leave evidence, at least 3 people know about you and could let seemingly innocuous things slip, even this post is potentially damning if the wrong person saw it. One mistake could start your father pulling on a thread which unravels the whole thing, so destroy anything you don't need to have and keep what you do need somewhere more secure than where you have it now. Figuring out what to do when you reach the US is important, but the number 1 priority should be making it there in the first place.Answer #2: This is going to seem out of left field, but go to Toronto. [There is a large group of gay Muslims and the leader of the group is an immigration lawyer.]( http://www.jumacircle.com/) It's probably the safest place on earth to be gay, muslim (or just culturally Muslim), broke, and scared. Seriously, the US is nice and all but there will be people actively interested in helping you thrive, in Toronto. They might be able to help get you safely settled in the US, if you can get a tourist or student visa to Canada to meet up with them. 100% where I would send anyone gay in your situation. [There are also these people but I am less familiar with them](http://www.mpvusa.org/) and I would start in Toronto.


Title: Fake ID found during search coming back from a cruise to the Bahamas

Question: I live in Georgia, and I just graduated highschool. I'm 18 years old and got back from a cruise with some friends for a graduation trip. On the way back, a drug dog smelled my bags (not sure why, I didn't smoke), and border patrol found a fake ID in my bag. It's apparently being sent to the FBI for investigation, I'm not sure what's going on and I'm kinda freaking out. Any advice/words of wisdom would help. Thanks.

Answer:
 Ok- listen. I don't think you need to consult a criminal defense attorney yet- if you're telling the whole story.

"We're sending this to the FBI" is the kind of thing cops say to scare teenagers away from repeating their bad decisions before submitting that fake ID to the round file.

If you get charged, though- call a defense attorney. Answer #2: Not much mystery about why the drug dog flagged your bags, since I presume you've smoked near them within the past year or so and the dogs have very sensitive noses...

As for the rest...you got caught with a fake ID on an international cruise...I'd recommend consulting a criminal defense attorney sooner rather than later.

Best case they may cut you a break because you are an idiot teenager...but I would **NOT** leave that to chance here...Answer #3: Assuming that it was just a fake drivers license and assuming you didn't try to use it on the officers, it is likely that they'll just confiscate it. Unless it was a fake passport, it is extremely unlikely that the FBI is actually investigating it, the cops were probably just trying to scare you. However, if anything more comes of it, get a lawyer immediately.


Title: Client ordered works resigned before deadline and avoids contact.

Question:
Hi there folks, some background first: i run a small software house in Poland, we're building apps and perform various kinds of IT services for clients worldwide.

Recently we've recieved a new job from NY based creative agency, we were supposed to create a template for shopify store. That was our first job assignment from them.

On thursday 26th of august we recieved green light and agreed that works will be completed within 2 weeks, and working period starts on monday 29th aug and ends 12th of september.

The job was proceeding well, during this period we were asking Client for assets like product pictures (which adding was not part of the deal, but we were considering adding them free of charge), and licensed font files, requests went without success.

On tuesday, september 6th, client stated in panic that work is not going well, is not made according to shopify standards. That is the funny part, since the template we were developing was based on default shopify template so it retained all the features and functions of a original template.

After that message we immediatly informed the client that we are going by schedule and will finish the project before schedule, submit to final fixes on friday, september 9th. We also informed the Client that we will inform them about our progress each day.

The same day we asked once again for lacking assets - it was the last communication exchange.

We tried to call the Clients mobile on september 8th 5:01PM without luck.

On 5:12PM the same day we received email stating:
Unfortunately, what we can see on the staging site is unacceptable. None of the pages looks like on the assets we handed off and it’s been two weeks already so we can state that you didn’t deliver the scope of work we agreed on.

We have reasons to believe that you are incapable of developing this site. Also we asked if you were familiar with shopify and it seems like that’s your first shopify project.

We can’t accept that and we can’t risk losing the client.

That means our cooperation has just finished. Please stop working.

The problem is, that we can easily confirm totally oposite of that statement. We've sent 3 emails with screenshots, questions about lacks and differences also stating that we can easily confirm total missing of the facts. All without answer.

On friday, september 9th, we`ve sent and email stating that work is done according to Polish and European law it is important to state so. Of course without answer. We've completed all the steps that could be made , because lack of assets.

The template was working, plugins were delevoped, it was properly scaling on all devices.

During the job we also prepared some graphical assets that were already passed to the Client, and was supposed to be rewarded by total payment. This important to say, because IP was already transferred to the client and there might be a possible copyright infrigement by the agency and final Client.

----------

TLDR: We recieved an order, finished it before deadline, client cancelled the cooperation DAY BEFORE we finished and doesn't want to pay for he job done us avoiding contact.

What can we do about it from Poland, maybe there is an option for remote legal representation, how can we sue them ?

Answer:
 Just because a client doesn't like your work doesn't mean that releases them from the obligation of paying you.

You're due the amount you charged and agreed too for the work completed. I'd send a certified letter (or the polish equivalent, basically you want to ensure delivery) to their address stating a timeline for payment and that you'll be pursuing legal action against them.

As it makes 0 sense for you to come to the states for this, you can find a civil contracts lawyer in NY who can sue them on your behalf if they don't pay you.


Title: Daughter injured at carnival

Question:
My six year old  daughter went to a fair the other day where she got on a ride. While she was still seating herself into the ride, the operator came by and closed the metal bar over her to secure her and since he was not checking, he smashed her finger in the closure.

She immediately started screaming, however the operator showed no concern about it and continued walking away. The paramedics at the fair were called and it was splinted, a report was made, and On the advice of the paramedics, took her to the emergency room to be checked and it was broken.

She is also going to lose the fingernail on that finger as it is pretty badly mangled.

Is there any legal recourse? Having medical bills paid?   It is just a break, just a finger, just a nail, and I am trying not to be an overly upset parent, but it happened due to negligence and then the lack of concern that a child was Injured.

Answer: Contact them to request their insurance information. After that, if you feel not enough has been done or if they deny your claim, contact a person injury attorney.


Title: (NJ) Wife refuses to sign divorce papers. No children or Assets.

Question:
This is a non contested divorce, we no longer live together and here shortly I will be moving to the opposite end of the country. She refused to sign the papers earlier and now I was wondering is my presence in front of a Judge (in the jurisdiction of where we previously lived) still necessary?
Her excuse (via text message) was, "I refuse to sign the papers until you find somebody who loves you." In other words, to be manipulative.

Answer:
 > This is a non contested divorce

Not any more.

Yes, you should appear in court. The judge can order a divorce over her objections, if the only reason she has to delay further has nothing to do with your marriage. It may be worth tagging in a lawyer, at this point, because your ex-wife is no longer cooperating with the process: she may suddenly discover she has a bunch of objections to the proposed asset division, once she realizes she can't delay your divorce for romantic reasons.Answer #2: IANAL, but a lot of states have default judgments for recipients of divorce papers who do not respond. You may want to confirm with a divorce attorney, but I'm pretty sure NJ is one of those. Like most filed suits, a failure to respond with result in a default judgment. I've found the helpful link for you provided by the state of NJ that could point you in the right direction. It may be worth getting that consultation as well, but if she's been filed with divorce papers, you may be able to submit a motion for default judgment for non-response.

Check out the NJ court self-help center [here](http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/selfhelp/index.html).Answer #3: Easy way out is to get a dog and "fufill" her condition


Title: Killed a snake that entered apartment. Neighbor is saying it is his snake. Apartment is saying killing it was illegal in Arkansas.

Question:
I work overnight so that leaves me wife alone with the kids overnight. We have a 3 year old and a 7 year old.

Around midnight she was holding the 3 year old on the couch in the living room when she felt some move. She got up and turned around and noticed a small snake crawling on the couch. She tried to shoo the snake out the door using a broom but she said he wasn't budging. She called emergency maintenance but they said they don't come out for that. They suggested calling animal control but animal control was closed when she called.  She kept trying to get it out of the door. It moved back like it was going to strike her and tried several times to strike the broom and seemed very agitated. So she sent the 3 year old to her room and she beat the snake until it died. She spent about 40 minutes total trying to remove the snake. She was starting to get pretty fearful it was a baby venomous snake and it just refused to leave. She didn't want to take the chance of losing sight of it and it moving to the kid's room.

She then moved the dead snake outside and put a towel and tape under the door where she thought it came in at.

The next morning she requested maintenance fix the gap in the door and remove the snake.

A neighbor came by and saw the snake and said that was his snake. He is asking for reimbursement for us killing it saying it was harmless. But she had no idea what kind of snake it was. Do we have to reimburse him?

The apartment came by with a note saying it was illegal to kill snakes and she should have simply relocated it outside. But how?

What kind of trouble are we looking at? A fine? Is this a go to jail situation?

What legally should she have done in this situation?

Answer:
 What if the neighbor just said it was his snake to try to get some money out of you and see if you would crack. I definitely wouldn't worry about it. Answer #2: I would ignore him. If he sues, Perhaps you could counter-sue him for pain and suffering expenses caused by his negligence of not keeping track of his pet and not notifying neighbors the snake/pet was lost.  Answer #3: Sorry your wife had to deal with this, under the circumstances I think she did exactly the right thing.  The neighbor can try to sue for the value of the snake but they were negligent in letting the snake escape and will lose if they do so.

>So she sent the 3 year old to her room and she beat the snake until it died.Answer #4: Snakes are widely regarded as a pest akin to rats, centipedes and scorpions--inside dwellings.

It is wrong to kill one outside, where you can just walk away, but if one of these animals makes its way into your apartment, killing it is a reasonable option, especially if you are fearful of the creature.

Both the snake owner and apartment manager seem to be taking extreme positions.  (Are they implying you should have the knowledge  to know it was *not* a poisonous species. That would be rather presumptuous on their part.)Answer #5: If its a king snake he probably didn’t own it legally anyway. It was his responsibility to restrain his pet regardless and the presence of children and it being inside meets the qualifications around the law. You’re fine.


Title: (WV) Flushed my brothers drugs and now my landlord (grandmother) is blackmailing me to say my lease is fake to try and have me prosecuted.

Question:
I have lived in one of my grandparents properties since December of 2013. A year ago my little brother (then underage) was infuriated there was a porn filter on the internet and destroyed my internet router. I called the police and they said that he is underage so they essentially couldn't do anything. When this event occurred I was threatened with eviction for calling the police.

After some talking, my grandparents agreed to sign a 5 year lease agreement with me while I was trying to get through college and establish myself. My fiance and I signed as the tenants and my grandfather as the landlord with my grandmother as the witness.

My brother who is now on drugs and of age stays with my grandmother sometimes. Last week I found his stash of drugs and flushed it down the toilet.

This resulted in my grandmother coming to my house yesterday and advising me that if I ever pursued charges on my brother that she had a lawyer and was going to take the lease agreement to him and state that we took advantage of the elderly and that our lease agreement was illegal and she intends to pursue charges.

She has the only copy of the lease agreement which she refuses to give me constantly stating that the agreement is invalid "because she says it is".  I have requested a copy of the lease agreement twice in the past year. When they refused to give me a copy I insisted that we moved to a month to month rental agreement to which they declined.

When I gave her the lease agreement I knew she wasn't entirely to be trusted so I had her write a receipt stating "I received copies of rental papers from (Tennant). Signed (Grandmother)". When she gave me the receipt I also gave her a paper with pictures of her signing the witness column of the agreement to put with the agreement in the case that she ever tried to blackmail me.

Does she have any type of case here? Do I have any type of defense to receive a copy of my lease or have it nullified entirely?

I still have the receipt and pictures of her signing the witness column but as I said she will not give me a copy of the agreement nor move to a month to month agreement. I am just leasing the house, not buying, and she is completely of sound mind. I just want some peace of mind that I cannot be retaliated against.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 To protect yourself, send her a certified letter asking for a copy of the agreement signed on *date).Answer #2: Where is your grandfather in all this? It sounds like he's maybe more reasonable.

If he is then just maybe talk to him

So you know, she's blackmailing you into not reporting a crime which is illegal. She's also threatening to make false accusations which is also illegal.

Right now you don't "have" a lease in as much as you don't have a copy and have no proof at this moment.

Youre legally obligated to a document you can't review. She could burn it and then this all becomes he said she said.

Typically, there are two identical copies both are signed each party keeps one. Or they make a copy of it there or its done on carbon paper. Both people should walk away with a copy.

So... Do that next time.

Companies have a rule that as soon as someone mentions "lawyer" or "sue", they clam up and all discussions go through legal.

This is a really good idea in life.

You need to get ahold of the lease.

You should consider seeing your own attorney. Who is just going to say he needs to see the lease, but he may be able to help you get it and also protect yourself.


Title: Mentally ill brother wants to root through my widowed mother's house and scavenge stuff he feels entitled to. California, USA

Question:
So after my dad died, my adult brother moved out of my mom's house about 4 years ago, and mom let him take whatever he wanted. He never paid any rent. I even helped him move all the stuff he wanted out of his room and the garage, but he left some clothing, a few little electronics, and other little knick knacks like old school books. For 4 years he hasn't asked for anything and has not returned, but recently he contacted mom asking to come back and pick up his stuff (which we are all happy to let him have) but he also wants to root through the entire house and see if he can find anything else that he "feels entitled to."

He has openly admitted to not even remembering if there is anything beyond what I listed, he just wants to root around through the house and see if he can scavenge stuff. As you may have guessed, he is not doing well financially and I view this as a money-making mission more than anything related to sentimentality. To be quite frank, there is nothing else in the house that he owns. Everything belongs to my mother.

My mother feels this is intrusive and strange and that he has no legal right to ask for such a thing. He has abused my mother in the past, reduced her to tears countless times, slandered her online, and caused her great emotional distress, and I feel it would be best if he not come in contact with her in the near future. He is also mentally ill and has admitted to having multiple personalities.

I would be happy to deliver all of his belongings to him but I do not want him to come in and root through the house. We even asked him to list everything he wanted and we would bring it to him, but he refused. What are my options? Who is in the right legally? If he tries to bring a suit, does he have a chance? Thank you for your time.

Answer:
 Your mother is under no obligation to allow him onto the property or to allow him to root through the contents of the home.  If I were you, I would deliver the items that both sides agree/know belong to him and tell him he needs to tell you what else he is missing.Answer #2: Unless he's a tenant or owner (which he's not -he lives elsewhere and your mom owns the place?) he doesn't have any rights to enter the property for any reason.

Deliver the things that belong to him and tell him that you'll need a list of anything else. The fact that he's mentally ill is irrelevant except that it may contribute to his erratic and abusive behaviour.

Your mom is in the right, legally. As long as she returns all of his property, even so after 4 years in some parts of the world it would be classed as abandoned.

And you're probably right in your gut feeling that he wants to find some 'thing' to make some cash - he's probably hoping to snatch jewellery or other items that he can pawn quickly.

Advise your mom to make sure that the home is secure (even changing the locks if he might have an old key, if necessary) and if you can be around for the next little while until your brother gives up on this idea, it might make her feel better.


Title: Could this be considered fraud by Kohl's?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 No.

The first rep was incorrect.

They can only refund $$ to your CC for what you paid, not more. You still essentially have some Kohls cash.


Title: Arrested in airport for something two years ago

Question:
Last Sunday, my boyfriend and I were traveling to Mexico City for vacation. Boyfriend is arrested in USA airport before boarding flight to Mexico. Apparently he had missed a court date two years ago for a possible dui he got back in 2016. He had paid off multiple fees from back then and had not heard anything else. We have also gone out of the country twice before this trip- nothing happened.

He was being held in prison and they told him he could be there for the maximum legal hold time of 10 days. He just got transferred to the state where we are from and where this happened two years ago. They told him his court date will not even be tomorrow, he will have to wait out the 10 days. This will have him in court by Wednesday. Is this legal? We don’t even know what is going on or why he was so suddenly arrested. He did not know there was a warrant out (as I am aware, some people do not know that). We are just very confused as to how this all suddenly happened.

Answer: If he had a warrant out, yes it is legal for law enforcement to arrest and detain him. Your best move right now, is to get in touch with the lawyer who handled is DUI case back then.


Title: I recently paid for an item online and was never given the good I paid for what can I do?

Question: I paid for an item with Amazon gift card and traded info with the owner of the item, he said he mailed it and gave me an estimated delivery date. I never received the item and even found a few people who had the same problem with him. I have evidence of all our conversations. What can I do to either get repaid or get what is technically now mine?

Answer: You said you paid for this with an Amazon gift card, does that mean you bought it through Amazon?  Or that you sent him a gift card as payment?


Title: If my friend dies because of a stroke and I was too stoned to notice and to help him, could I be accused of negligent homicide ?

Answer: Almost certainly not.


Title: [NC] Am I entitled to any of my grandfather's things if there was no will?

Question:
My Grandpa died about six years ago and his wife (my step-grandmother) and her family have kept all his belongings. We've asked for and been offered things but never received anything.

He was very close with his wife's family but up until he had a stroke had very little to do with us(family drama). The last couple weeks of his life the family all made up and put it behind them. After his death there was a bit of a falling out between our family and his wife's family over who gets what and our family ended up with nothing. We would never ask for everything, we just want some of the things important to our family. I just want his Bible, the flag presented at his funeral(ww2 vet), and his medals. They can have the rest.

That we know of there was no will. Since we are his biological family are we legally entitled to anything? Or because he remarried it is theirs?

Answer:
 Because he remarried, and because there was no will, his estate and any possessions pass to his wife, not her family.

Have you tried politely requesting that the items be given to you?


Title: [NC] Is it legal for movie theater to have cell phone jammer?

Question:
I'm in North Carolina visiting family and tonight they took me out to see a movie. Before the movie started, I was killing time by scrolling through Facebook or Reddit or whatever on my phone. The signal was fine (pretty sure it was like max bars and LTE). Then as soon as the lights dim and the trailers start, my phone goes to "no signal."

I asked my cousin and she was like "yeah they use cell phone jammers."

Not to be dramatic or whatever, but honestly my first thought was all the crimes that we hear about in the news (like the movie theater shooter, or the more recent attack at a concert in Manchester). What if something like that happened when we were watching the movie, and none of us could call 911 because the phones were jammed?

I get that it's rude to use your phone in a movie theater... but there's no way this is legal, right?

ETA: I don't understand all the downvotes? I'm just asking a question...

Answer:
 [Active jamming](https://www.fcc.gov/general/jammer-enforcement) is, of course, illegal.

"Passive jamming" caused by building construction (like heavy brick, or framing that acts as a faraday cage is the most common cause for people to assume that there's active jamming. Most people, even theatres, aren't willing to face the wrath of the FCC. Answer #2: You have zero evidence to indicate that they are using a jammer, just to be clear, so when/if you report this you *need* to strictly report what happened. Not what you cousin told you, not what you believe; purely and simply that your phones signal was strong and then suddenly it had none at all.

All of that being said STOP USING YOUR FING PHONE DURING FILMS
Signed; the rest of the entire world.


Title: Injury at work. Boss doesn't have workers cover.

Question: I'm 22 (F) from QLD, Australia. I injured my back when I got moved from one of the owners cafes to another smaller one that involves a moderate amount of somewhat heavy lifting. It is a small area which involves sliding in sideways to even get inside. I injured my lower back about a month into working here and was in really bad pain, so I starting going to a physio. About 5 months later the physio told me that something more may be going on because if it were just muscular it should have been showing a lot of improvement. After some CT scans, we realised it was protruding disks (L4, L5, S1) caused by heavy lifting incorrectly. I understand that even though I was lifting incorrectly I should still be able to get workers compensation. However, my boss told me this morning that he only has cover for the big cafe, not the small. What action can I take? I can't afford to keep forking out $50 - $100 per week for physio when it isn't curing the issue. I may need spinal surgery, but can't afford it. Any advice is welcome.

Answer:
 PDF Warning:-

https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/3057/Claim-form-FM106-v10.pdf

Get a medical certificate and lodge your claim directly with WorkCover (details on the top of that form)

As an employee (as defined under the act - i.e. you have a job) you are covered. It is incredibly illegal for your boss to not have cover for you. He is either full of shit for saying so, and going to get into big trouble for that, or he genuinely doesn't have cover and is about to get fucked up the arse in a big way.

But that's not your problem - you are covered. Workcover will pay you out of uninsured fund and then go your boss for whatever they pay (plus some pretty serious fines)

Edit: You may also want to start considering getting an appointment with a personal injury lawyer that specialises in workplace injuries because based on your brief description it sounds like you have a good case for negligence and some pretty serious injuries - and you're going to want to make sure you maximise what you get to cover you for your future.

But the most important thing is to get that claim form in and get in in straight away.


Title: My son is relocating to over 3,000 miles away. I need some help!

Question: My son's mother is moving to West coast (CA), we're on the East coast (PA), and I need some advice. After our last court date, we found out she had to file a relocation order and it's going to make her not be able to move in time. She's willing to give me all summer, every thanksgiving, alternate christmas, every spring break, and pay for all costs (I will continue to pay child support, of course) if I do not file the counter affidavit and allow them to move (Not moving on January 1st is going to cost her loads of money). Do I take the deal? I feel as though I will get a lot less if I end up fighting her in court. Should I hire a lawyer? (She said her lawyer would file all the documents with the court and I had one for court but he's kind of a slime) HELP!

Answer:
 well.  do you agree to the terms or not?

all summer, every thanksgiving, every other xmas, every spring break, and pay for all the air plane tickets.  it seems rather reasonable to me, since your son is with you when he's not in school.

assuming your ex is going to move regardless.  what would your ideal split be?  or are you trying to stop her from moving?

what's your goal?


Title: [Texas] Called to court for truancy, 18 years old, concerned about what to expect.

Question:
I turned 18 fall of 2017. However I passed the allowed 10 days of absences a little past my birthday, if that matters. Since then I've racked up around roughly 5 more absences to bring the total around to 15. Today a pair of police officers came up to deliver a call to court for truancy. I don't really have any idea what to expect, and my mother seems to be freaking out.

As far as what I can say to during court goes, I broke my hand twice in the same spot in the fall last year and I ended up needing surgery for one of them. There were lots of doctors visits and days for rest and I didn't really turn in all of my doctor's notes. Regardless of how stupid that decision was, it happened. There has been a flu outbreak that's been strangely bad these past few weeks and I was out for a day and I didn't turn in a note either.

Does this go on any permanent records? How do my college apps get affected by this? What usually happens to other students in my position? I don't plan on trivializing this and to not take it seriously but at the same time, how concerned should I be? I am involved in lots of clubs, top 10% in my class, top orchestra, and all AP Classes. I say that only to say that I do put some effort in studies, will that reduce consequences any amount or is it irrelevant?

Answer:
 I guess you show the doctor’s notes and argue that you missed school because of your injuries and having to go to doctor.Answer #2: I would go to your doctor and ask them to write a statement about your injuries & listed dates of when you had appointments with them. You'll likely need to pay for this service. Unless you already have saved all of the doctor's notes all along, which I'm guessing is not likely.

This won't be on your transcripts, so college won't know unless it's included in a recommendation (which is possible).Answer #3: Depending on your district's policies, missing too many days will result in losing credit for those classes and therefore not being able to graduate.

Turn in all of those notes ASAP.


Title: Injury from defective razor by big name company

Question:
On November 22nd 2014 I opened a brand new box of razors from BIC and hopped in the shower like I always do.  With the first stroke of my razor, I screamed due to an extremely sharp pain down my calf and looked down to see blood everywhere. I jumped out of the shower and after attending to my cut, I looked at the razor and noticed one of the blades was completely crooked.  Since then, I've contacted BIC, had them inspect the razor, and sent them several angry emails describing my experience along with numerous pictures of my wound.

They just got back to me and is asking me how much I am asking for the claim.

r/legaladvice can you tell me what is an appropriate monetary amount I should ask for? I live in Los Angeles, and I have zero experience with these kind of things and want to make a smart decision.

Here are a few details:
1. The wound is about 3 inches long, dark brown discoloration
2. I did not require any professional medical intervention at the time of injury (ie: no ER visit, no stitches etc)
3. BIC claims upon inspection of the razor, the deformation was not due to manufacturing issues
4. As of today, the wound has significantly healed compared to when it first happened 4 months ago, but the scar is still obvious even in pictures taken from afar

UDPATE: Thank you all for giving me such helpful feedback. I just heard back from BIC, and they are offering me $550 because they "aren't saying it's your fault, but it's definitely not our fault".  The representative is very stern about the fact that the deformation is NOT due to packaging or manufacturing (he explained to me for 20minutes how the razor is made, packaged, and shipped), and is thus not BIC's responsibility.  However, they want to "meet me half way" because they "understand my distress".
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer: You would have much less of a scar had you gotten it properly treated.  Anybody can come up with a number, the real question is what number does BIC want to pay you so you will go away.  Since you have no medical bills and I presume did not miss work, it's hard to quantify your damages.


Title: [Ottawa, Ontario Canada] Renter JUST moved in, house now being sold

Question:
tl;dr: I just moved into a basement apartment of a house, two days after moving in the landlord texted me saying he's selling the house.

So, longish explanation. I live in Ottawa Ontario, and was moving on from living with my room mate. I found a new basement apartment in a house, it's a two floor house with some other renter living upstairs and I have the downstairs.
I have the new Ontario standardized lease and so I should be good to live here for a year, as stated in the lease.

My landlord just texted me today (my 2nd day of living here) saying that "Hey Stubev, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to try and sell (Street name). Unfortunately this wasn't planned or known when I rented it to you. Sorry for any inconvenience. My real estate agent will reach out to you. Please let me or (property manager name) know if you have any questions"

Now. I guess I'm at a loss for what exactly that means.
1) Even if he sells the place, with my name being on the lease, I should be fine here for at least the next year right?
2) How exactly would it work if some new buyer wanted to evict me or my upstairs neighbors so they could live in the apartment instead?
3) I did an apartment inspection with the property manager the landlord hired the day before I moved in here, and a bunch of things were on the list of things needing fixes. What is the landlords responsibility to fix these things knowing he could soon pass it off to a new buyer?

I guess any information anyone could give me would be appreciated.

Cheers.

Answer: If there is a fixed term lease, you're good to go until the end of that lease.


Title: Dental office not sharing full x-rays

Question:
[NYC] I visited a shady dental office last week. Shady in that it felt like a auto dealership with used car salesman trying to get me to do a lot of work that seems very over the top.
I asked for my X-rays because I'm going to get a second opinion. The first time they sent me a screen shot with 1" thumbnails of the X-rays (very grainy obviously and no detail). I asked for individual X-ray images and she just cropped each thumbnail and resent to me. I asked again for full size and she said her system doesn't allow her to do that. Basically her system does not allow to open the actual image and send me that, through a screenshot, whatever way?  Is there anything I can do?

Answer:
 Per HIPAA patients are entitled to a copy of their medical records and must be provided at no cost (minus any REASONABLE printing/shipping costs) ask again in person and remind them that you are entitled to a clear copy of your records.

Follow advice below by /u/oregon_guy


Title: Made a mistake yesterday [xpost r/motorcycles]

Question:
I got merged into yesterday on my way home from work. I was in heavy traffic on the 805s in San Diego, CA. Luckily I didn't go down but it looks like the front passenger tire hit my left foot/rearset and nudged me to the right. There's no damage to the bike.
My foot feels fine, I've got a little bruising on two of my toes but otherwise just a little sore.
So I made the most stupid mistake ever, I ended up taking some cash from the dude and taking off with just a picture if his license plate. I thought that everything would be cool but in hindsight I am now realizing that I am the dumbest person ever for not getting his insurance or info.
Am I screwed if I do end up having any injuries or is there a way I can rectify it having the license plate?

Answer: First of all get yourself checked by a doctor. Secondly it sounds like you would have to admit to leaving the scene of an accident if you wanted to pursue the guy for injuries. You can also report this to your insurance company.Answer #2: Report this to your insurance company and give them the guy's plate number.


Title: Evicting a spouse in Nevada

Question: My sister is having a difficult time in her marriage and wants to get her husband to move out of their house.  She bought the house before they were married and it is in her name only.  Her husband has been contributing his share of the mortgage each month.  He will likely not agree to move out if asked.  What are her options?  Can she "evict" him?

Answer:
 probably not.  b/c even though it was your sister's house before the marriage, it has most definitely become community property by now.  so unless your sister can demonstrate abuse, she can't do anything to get him out of the house.  Answer #2: > Her husband has been contributing his share of the mortgage each month.

And this is why you need to talk to lawyers before you just go and do things like this.  By allowing him to pay for the property's upkeep and mortgage, it's almost certainly community property.  She can't evict him from his home.


Title: Legal advice regarding a pregnant minor

Question: So to cut it short my underage sister (15) is pregnant didn't reveal the fact until she was 3 1/2 months, is there any way we can have the government take the child through some kind of forceful adoption or anything of the sorts? She's a high school drop out with no source of income.

Answer:
 No wonder she "didn't reveal".

I feel confident you can't legally steal her baby, no.Answer #2: In my country (USA) we don't have "forceful adoptions". What is your country? Maybe there they do.Answer #3: Almost certainly not. Child Protective Services in your jurisdiction may have grounds to remove the child if she turns out to be abusive or neglectful, but unless she is horrific they're going to want to provide her services to help her become a good parent, which will include financial support, job training, etc. However, the era of seizing a minor's own child and giving it away ended quite some time ago.


Title: [GA] Neighbor's tree fell, destroying my fence and my lawn.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: When it comes to trees falling on property, unless the homeowner had reason to know the tree was damaged or undermined, it's probably going to be treated as an act of God. Failure to maintain the property may be in your favour, but you'll want to talk to your home insurer. Answer #2: The condition of the tree does not sound anything near what would constitute negligence on your neighbor's part. He's most likely going to tell you to call your insurance, act of God. And with the given evidence he would be right.


Title: Can this immigrant marriage effect me?

Question:
\[NEW YORK\]

My mom is helping this guy that was here illegally until recently they went to city hall and got married to legalize him and I told them the day before that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with this at all. Fast forward a couple months later (now) and to finish up the process or whatever it is, the lawyer wants proof of a house hold income (I am the only one working in the house) and they want my tax papers from last year to submit the the lawyers. With this I need to sign a form stating I’m allowing them to use my tax papers. My question here is do I sign this paper and let them use my tax papers for this marriage (that I am not condoning)? Is it legal? Will this bite me in the butt later?

&#x200B;

I am a nursing student who should be graduating by the end of the year hopefully getting my license in the beginning of next year. Can me signing these papers bite me in the butt later and risk me losing my license or anything I earn later in life if they are caught having a fake marriage?

Answer:
 if I were you, I'd stay as far away from this as possible. Green card marriages are illegal.Answer #2: > Will this bite me in the butt later?

Possibly.  It sounds like Mom doesn't have enough income to provide an Affidavit of Support, and may be trying to bamboozle you into providing one.  You should **absolutely not** do so.  It would mean that if the immigrant receives any sort of welfare or government support at any point in the future, the government can come collect it from you.

Beyond that, it sounds like you believe this to be a sham marriage.  If so, you should decline to be involved in any way.  You should also discourage you Mom from continuing.  There are serious criminal penalties involved -- especially for the spouse -- and USCIS is really good at sniffing these things out.


Title: I have a felony charge, still possible to leave the country?

Question:
Hello Reddit,

I have a felony charge  (Class 6), and my preliminary is on Tuesday, Sept 11. I’m not sure when the actual trial is, maybe a month after, maybe two. My attorney informed me that the most likely scenario is that my charge gets reduced to misdemeanor and probation, or deferred dismissal since it’s my first offense. Is it possible that I take a vacation to Asia in late December?

Answer: Often probation bars you from traveling without approval. And if you are allowed to go no country has to let you inAnswer #2: Talk to your attorney, and you may need to consult an embassy or two to find out about the countries you are visiting.  You most likely will be able to leave the country, but you might not be given a visa to enter your destination.


Title: [Colorado]Bicycle DUI

Question: [deleted]

Answer: It's impossible to say, you need to speak to an attorney and do not make any statements to police.


Title: Dead Mothers Boyfriend Locked himself out of house he has been squatting in

Question:
Hi Guys, I dont typically post on reddit, however, I really had to make an exception because I've been in a tough spot for a while. First, please understand Im just a graduate student and so financially my resources are limited. Anyways, I'm currently the personal representative for my Mom's estate. She passed away last spring. Her boyfriend has continued to live in her house which I have been trying to sell. I live in Massachusetts where there is no common law marriage so his rights here in terms of inheritance are non existant. Anyways, after we discovered he had let people stay in the home and had stolen over 10 grand from us we decided to evict him. Fast forward to today, this guy locks himself out. We are currently still going through the eviction process. He contacted our realtor (who he does not allow to show the house to potential buyers) as opposed to myself (who is actually responsible for the property) about getting a copy of the key.  So I guess I'm wondering do I have to give this guy a key to the house? I know that in massachusetts that you cannot lock someone out. However, this situation seems different to me (perhaps Im wrong) and I was never directly contacted. Thanks Guys.

Just wanted to say thanks to both travio and and swalsh411. You're level headed advice was well needed and Im thankful for it.

Answer: This is a situation that I have never thought of. Generally, you can't lock out a tenant and doing so during the eviction process is almost always a bad idea. The tenant did the locking out in this case. I honestly don't know if you are required to let him back in but I would err on the side of caution since you don't want to screw up the eviction process and there is the possibility that he might just break into the house causing damage to the property.Answer #2: If I had to take a wild guess, I would think the house is about to have a broken window very soon.


Title: My half-sister (15) asked me (24) to take custody of her

Question:
Location: Washington state/North Carolina

My half-sister and I share the same birth mother, but I was raised by the uncle and aunt of our birth mother. My sister, on the other hand, was raised by the parents of her birth father. Both our birth mother and her birth father are unfit to raise children due to criminal history and living conditions. My sister has recently been causing trouble with her grandparents and they are threatening/considering to relinquish custody. My adoptive father passed away and my adoptive mother is not emotionally prepared to take in my sister, but my sister trusts me and respects me and asked me directly if I could take custody if her grandparents relinquish custody.
We live on separate coasts.

Could this be done and what would I be looking at financially and legally before I start making promises to her? I'm definitely concerned about the way she's been raised, and I'd do anything to help improve her life and push her towards success.

Would this be a mistake?

Answer:
 INAL but I can offer some advice.

If I were you I would ask around/ research a family lawyer in your area and go in and talk to them about it.

That way if you do have to move forward you already have someone you can trust to handle the legal side, and you will have any questions answered by someone who knows your state laws.

I would also if you choose to take in your sister look into therapy ASAP which could help some of the issues that she is having.

[Here](https://www.ncbar.gov/for-the-public/finding-a-lawyer/) is your state bars site about finding a good lawyer.

Good look and you seem like a really great person for trying to help her out!


Title: I am Canadian with a speeding ticket in Oregon, US. Can I still enter the country (going to Hawaii, direct flight) from Canada.

Question:
Hi everyone!

About a year ago I got a speeding ticket in the state of Oregon while driving back home to BC, Canada. My question is, when I go through customs at the Vancouver airport, will they let me through? Alternatively, if I land in Hawaii, will I get into some sort of trouble? Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 Did you ever appear in court or attempt to pay the ticket? If not, you may have a warrant out for your arrest. You may be stopped attempting to board the flight. You may not be. There is no real way to know unless you try.

However, you could just contact the court and settle the fine which would likely make the whole thing go away and you won't need to worry about travel at all.

IANALAnswer #2: Contact the court, pay your fine.  Then you don't have this ticket to worry about.


Title: How do I report statutory rapes that happened a year ago? (Michigan)

Question: Title is the gist of it. I was 15, he was 23. It happened several times (4+ for sure). I am in Oakland county, Michigan. I am 16 now. I am not in contact with him but I have his phone number. Who do I contact and what do I say?

Answer: Go to the police and file a report


Title: My brother's baby taken into protective custody after a visit to the hospital revealed a bone fracture. Need to provide explanation of injuries, but he has no idea how it happened. How does he establish trust if he doesn't have the cause?

Question:
My brother and his wife took their baby to the hospital because he was crying and it seemed like his knee was in pain. The doc said there was nothing wrong, and X-rays were taken. Next day, he's still crying about the knee so they go to a different hospital. They're informed that there's a fracture - that it's clearly an intentional injury - and that they'll have to talk with CPS.

Hours later, their baby is taken into protective custody.  I know that neither he or his wife would have done this, but they have to provide a story for how it happened and how it will never happen again. How can any level of trust be established in court, or with the CPS worker if they don't have any person or event they can associate with the injury?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 With the age of the child, the child could not have injured himself. So someone harmed this child. Cps must remove the child since no one has confessed. It is the only way to protect the child.

So, someone is lying and harmed this child. Period.

From this point forward, the parents can cooperate with cps. Try to back track about who was alone with the child and when. But if no one is going to confess, all the parents can do is be honest and do visits and hope that cps trusts them in the long run. But someone harmed this child and isn't willing to confess which means it likely wasn't an accident.


Title: [MD] If I fly my 17-year-old girlfriend in from Russia to MD, can I legally have sex with her in MD?

Question:
If I fly my 17-year-old girlfriend in from Russia to MD, can I legally have sex with her in MD?

&#x200B;

I'm 22. She's 17. The age of consent in Russia is 16. The age of consent in Maryland is 16. But there are some other laws I may not know enough about.

&#x200B;

I'm not going to have sex with her if it is illegal, however if it's not illegal than we probably will engage in consensual sexual intercourse while she's at my house here in Maryland.

Answer: Is this girlfriend of yours someone you've met in person before?


Title: Hotel chain disclosing email address and “details” of recent stay

Question:
I just received an email from a MAJOR hotel chain - my email was one of about 200 email addresses all listed in the “to” field (so clearly not hidden) asking to fill out a survey related to a recent stay at a particular location.

My email address contains my full first and last name, as do many of the other ones included (quick glance).  I do not feel comfortable with random strangers having  access to this as well as knowing my travel itinerary.

I feel like some privacy policy must have been violated - is there something I can do?

Location: US (can be more specific if needed... stay was in a separate state from where I live)

Answer: Also be aware that a major hotel chain announced a data breach today. There have been reports of fraudulent emails floating around. If it was the same chain as the one affected, confirm with the hotel that the email actually came from them and was not the result of the breach.


Title: Is it legal to advise coworkers of another coworkers status on the registry of sexual offenders? Can someone be fired over this? This is in Florida

Answer:
 It is legal to communicate truthful information, including that a co-worker is on a sex offender registry.

You could be fired for doing so.


Title: Pawnshop advice

Question:
I recently pawned a large value worth of items at the pawnshop and they aren’t letting me getting single items back at a time. Is this illegal? I live in Alabama for what it matters. They said that if I pawned every item separately I could get them out separately however since I pawned them together I can’t get them out together. It doesn’t seem like this is very fair considering that In a few days I will gather interest on every single item even tho I can pay off almost all of it...

Is there anything I could do? Seems pretty unfair. I could file a police report but I don’t know if that would do anything.

Answer:
 >They said that if I pawned every item separately I could get them out  separately however since I pawned them together I can’t get them out  together.

They're correct.  You pawned the lot as a single thing; you pay to get the entire lot out.  They're under no obligation to split up the single lot and try and figure out what each, individual thing is worth and what you owe for that single item.


Title: Is my neighbour tortiously interfering?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You can pay a whole lot of money to find a lawyer who will take your case.

Just be prepared to lose.  It's not his fault you're not disclosing all this.  Answer #2: Your neighbor has no obligation to lie to prospective buyers for your benefit.  He is more than within his rights to tell buyers the truth about the property.  My neighbor tried to sell his house without fixing some major issues, and I made sure every potential buyer I saw KNEW about them.  I had no issues with the guy, but it's contrary to MY interests to have people move in and be swamped with unanticipated repair bills or unhappy with the property.

You CAN try to prevent buyers from talking to him by banning him from your property, letting realtors know about the crazy neighbor who may try to talk buyers out of the house, etc.

Edit: Tortuous interference generally involves the use of threats or leverage to compel someone to do something specific they OTHERWISE would not do.  He's not using force to obtain a specific behavior.  Buyers presumably would have ALWAYS acted in this way upon learning these details of the property.


Title: [CO] Update on neighbor who called because of the weeds (yes, actual weeds)

Question:
[Original Post](http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/352kqs/colorado_neighbor_called_the_cops_because_we_have/). Quick recap: neighbor has called the cops on us multiple times for (admittedly) infringements that we've promptly fixed. Major issues were weeds, a delivery truck blocking neighbor's driveway for ~30 min. I was worried about a fence which was too high (was too high when we bought the house) so on the day of the post I called my dad and he sent two guys out to take down the fence.

I kind of feel like I should give you guys an update on the happenings, because I know everyone wants an ending. On the day I posted, I stopped responding because the cops showed up at my house. Betty, the neighbor, called the cops on the guys taking down the fence. The cop was one who had been to our house before and was visibly agitated as soon as he got out of his car. Apparently, Betty had called them and said someone was vandalizing my house.

I explained to the cop that the guys worked for my dad and that we were taking the fence down because we didn't want to have the police called on us for the fence. Betty came out of the house and started yelling from her property line (there's a walking path that runs between our two houses) that it was vandalism and she didn't want to look at my ugly yard. (Truth be told, I agreed with her...my yard is pretty terrible, though these days everything is tarped over so it's a controlled terrible rather than a chaotic terrible). Anyway, I assured her they weren't vandals - then she accused them of being "illegals" and told the cop to check their paperwork because they are "illegals". The cop is clearly frustrated when he turns back to me and the work guys. I honestly don't fully remember how it came up, if it was one of the guys or Betty, but the fact that Betty had the same fence as us came up and the cop did tell her that she is warned that the fence is not to regulation and Betty should take care to fix it. I swear she looked like she was having a stroke when the cop dared comment on her property. At some point my dad arrives and smoothed things over with the cop, who told me and Betty that the police are here to protect and serve, not settle minor disputes between neighbors and so on (I feel for him, I really do).

Anyway, mother's day was sometime around there and we were in the out of town visiting the in laws, but my dad decided to head over to our house and offer Betty to take the fence down for free. Well when he got to the house, our driveway was completely blocked by two huge trucks, so he knows the sons are there and they are not happy. When he knocks on the door one of the sons eventually opens the door and my dad, trying to be friendly, offers to take the fence down and the son apparently called him an (incorrect) racial slur and slammed the door in his face.

Another week or two go by and I have some girlfriends over in my shitty backyard and granted, we were quite inebriated and probably being a little too loud (it's like 9 pm on a Friday night) and instead of calling the cops, Betty calls her son, who walks into my backyard and starts telling us all off. There's no excuse, but I escalated the situation and it ended up with me telling him to get off my damn, shitty property and him calling me another (incorrect) racial slur. My husband called the cops this time but the son was gone by the time they came. The good news is that my husband finally finished cleaning out the garage because he didn't want me walking from my car to the house. So yay on that front.

Anyway, all that and then...we find out Betty is selling the house. They are showing it and everything, so hopefully in another month or so, we'll have a whole new shitty neighbor to deal with. I know this isn't a nice clean cut resolution but many of you gave me very thoughful feedback that I appreciated, so I wanted to share the happenings.

Answer:
 The last thing I expected was for Betty to up and move.  That's probably the best resolution you could hope for.

Let us know if she actually moves.  Hope you get great new neighbours!Answer #2: So if you were REALLY nasty to them now, you could be loud and obnoxious when people come over to look at the house.

They will get a really low offer.  If the market value is $100K and there are some loud, trashy neighbors, nobody will offer over $60K for it.
If the geezer is going to assisted living, it means she HAS to move because she can't care for herself.

BOOM, final insult.

PS, don't do this. I'm just a man-child thinking out loud. Answer #3: I can't believe how you were treated in the original post. I have a feeling Betty and her whole family are going down.


Title: [MA] $20k levy on my bank account. Mother owes back taxes

Question:
I woke up this morning with a balance in my checking account of $150. When I checked my account later in the day, I was shocked to see a *new balance of -$20,000*.

I panicked and initially thought someone had my bank info and was trying to withdraw. Oh how I wish that's how this played out.

**The details:**

I reached out to my bank and asked them what was going on. I was told that a levy had been issued, that's all the information I received. I reached out to the IRS and they checked both mine and my wife's balances and confirmed to me that we have nothing open. Everything is up to date and there is no balance.

I followed that up with a call to the MA DoR and they also said that both my wife and I are up to date and owe them no money. The lady on the phone suggested we see if someone else was linked to the checking account in question.

That's when I realized the account that was levied was the one I first opened with my mother when I was 16. She has never used this account, she left to live in another state 5 years ago and has been unemployed for that entire time and only got a new job a couple of months ago.

I use that account for my direct deposit, bills etc. I never received a notice about the levy or anything at all so I'm rattled. My mom also has no paperwork related to this at all (maybe not surprising since she moved to a different state years ago)

If I had $20k I'd pay it but that amount is roughly 35% of my yearly salary.

I'm not sure what to do. My mom doesn't care and said she'll get to it when she can (which isn't new, *we are not close at all*). None of her other accounts have been levied, just the joint account between us.

Where do I go from here?
What options do I have?
What does she have to do to get this fixed?

This is a little broad, but I'm freaking out and I don't know what options I have.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Topic:
Credit Debt Bankruptcy

Answer: Open a new account, switch all your direct deposits and bills, and consider it a $150 life lesson to not comingle finances with somebody who owes back taxes.


Title: Important Traffic Question (Your Location)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You always have to stop when exiting a driveway, either residential or commercial. The stop sign is implied.

Since the driver coming from the main road has no stop sign, they always have right of way.