Title: Teacher leaves her nudes on unlocked, unsupervised phone. Student forwards pics. Did she have a reasonable expectation of privacy?

Question:
Saw this on r/TwoXChromosomes . A high school teacher left her nudes on her unlocked phone, which she left on her desk when she went patrolling the halls. A student opened up the phone and forwarded the pics.

Was wondering - did the teacher have a reasonable expectation of privacy here? Did the student break the law by opening the phone, or forwarding the photos, or both?

Also, the school superintendent said that she should not have brought unlocked nudes into the school. Is there any legal opinion on this?

Location was South Carolina

Answer: Yes, of course she had a reasonable expectation of privacy. She did not invite the student to use her electronic device. The student likely broke various federal electronic communication statutes. Answer #2: "Reasonable expectation of privacy" is irrelevant here.  Her private property was taken without permission and its contents reviewed.  That's an intentional tort.  The student is at fault and civilly liable.Answer #3: Yes. Do you have an expectation of privacy when you leave your front door unlocked?


Title: Southern California | Uninhabitable living conditions. Trying to break lease two months early, rental company said they are keeping my two months security deposit

Question:
Trying to cancel lease two months early due to uninhabitable living conditions. Contacted rental company about my concerns, but they told me cancelling the lease for any reason results in a loss of my security deposit (2 months deposit). Started lease in August, trying to move out in the next month and a half.

Uninhabitable conditions include:

* Multiple Sewage/plumbing issues in kitchen and bathrooms (ongoing issue for 6 months/rental company is being negligent about the issue)

      more information: Worker from rental company came out at least five times to solve/review the issue. Contractors hired by the company came in to the inspect the issue as well and mentioned something about the entire pipe under the house needs to be replaced. Rental company is being shady and avoids talking directly about the problem with me.

* Appearance of cockroaches around area of plumbing issue. Started seeing cockroaches around the house recently. We think it may be because of the mold from sewage leaks.
* Defective water heater (shuts off and needs to be reignited when it rains because of flooding/rental company is being negligent about the issue. Contacted them multiple times about the water heater)

Other issues that have occurred in the house:

* 10V electric current running through the showers. Resolved by SCE.
* Defective A/C. Caused major mold and water leakage in master bedroom. Resolved by contractors.

I have pictures and documentation of every issue that has occurred in the rental unit. I also recorded every phone call with them (without their consent for logging purposes). I am renting this home with four college students (including myself) and we know very little about building codes, small claims process, and tenant rights.

Answer:
 Issues that are resolved are no longer evidence towards uninhabitability.

What are the **current** issues with the place?


Title: Breakups and threats

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >she told me to never speak to her again

Stop talking to her. Move on.

>I haven’t been able to move on

Stand by for harassment, stalking, and/or disorderly conduct charges. Get used to hearing "Sorry, we're not hiring right now" at places like McDonald's and Wal-Mart.


Title: Recently heard from a neighbor that the house we’re renting used to have a meth lab on the property. Is there any way I can confirm this? If it did indeed happen, is there any way to confirm whether the decontamination procedures were properly and fully implemented? [UT]

Question:
My friends and I rented this house for college over a year ago. One of my roommates recently started an internship with our neighbor who informed him previous tenants in the house manufactured and used methamphetamine on the property. There was some mention of a shed on the side of the house that is no longer there, though even if the lab was located in that shed, I’m sure there was bound to be some exposure on the inside of the house, especially if they were using on the property.

None of this had been mentioned to us prior to signing the lease last year. I know in some states the realtors, property managers/owners, etc have to tell you if drugs have been used and/or manufactured on the property prior to selling or leasing you the home, but I’m not sure if this is the case in Utah. The house is owned by a gentleman from out of state who we have never met or had communications with and is managed by a local property management company we’ve had regular communications with. They’re the ones who had us sign the lease. This company manages most of the rental properties in town and I’ve heard some negative reviews about them, though our experience hasn’t necessarily been bad.

The house is older but it’s also fairly nice for a rental home. We were told it was remodeled within the past decade by the owner himself, who lived on the property at the time. That much is obvious, especially when looking at the interior which looks much newer than the actual age of the house. I certainly would never have pegged the place for a former meth lab, even now, but whether the remodel occurred before or after the exposure I am not certain.

Which leads me to several questions:

Where can I find the information to confirm/debunk our neighbor’s inferences about the house and what are the processes I would need to go through to gain that information?

Would it be worth going through the city and/or the police for police reports on the possible incident, or am I restricted from that information?

I know there are certain decontamination procedures that need to be undertaken in order for the house to be re-approved by the Utah Department of Health as livable after meth exposure. I also know some of these procedures sometimes get short-cutted from time to time due to expenses or overlooked for one reason or another. If the contamination did happen, how can I make sure it was fully and properly dealt with?

Answer:
 You could call your city and make sure there is a certificate of occupancy and inquire about whether they had any knowledge of the situation.

I’m not a lawyer and don’t have any legal advice or knowledge of laws regarding your area. I acknowledge that living in a former meth lab could pose serious long term health consequences. That said, do you rationale reasons for concern aside from what you have heard from your roommate. E.g. are there odd smells? Are there unidentifiable substances on the premise?

Where I’m going is the need, not from a legal standpoint, to assess whether an actual health risk is present or whether the perceived risk is predicated on assuming the worst from the information available.

If I were in your situation and there weren’t any observable indications that the place is unsafe I’d probably not worry about it. If you are concerned Maybe you could have the place assessed by a professional meth cleanup company. If they found something alarming then you have something to present to your rental company. Though, I wouldn’t treat it a legal matter at that juncture. I would ask that the proper remediations take place and that the inspection fees were covered.

Edit: just to be clear, I’d only ask for the inspection fees to be covered if something serious was wrong with the place. Otherwise I’d consider it paying for piece of mind.


Title: I was rear ended and am now being presented with a bodily injury claim.

Question:
So as the title says I was rear ended. This occurred over the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. - I was stopped at a light behind 5 other cars. The minute the light turned green, the driver behind me immediatley accelerated and hit my parents car (which I was driving). We pulled off into a parking lot and called a police officer, who came and filed a report. The other driver was at fault, and his insurance paid for all of the repairs to our car, as well as provided us a replacement vehicle where ours was being repaired.

Fast forward to today, and my parents received a letter in the mail from our insurance provider informing us that the other driver has filed a bodily injury claim against us. Is there any possible way that his claim could go through? He was 100% at fault. Any advice as to what to do from here? I'm worried at the very least our insurance will settle with him and our rates will go up.

Answer: There's nothing for you to do except let your insurance handle it. They are unlikely to pay out on a claim where they found the other driver at fault.


Title: Police barged in my condo apartment this morning without permission

Question:
I live in a 1-bedroom condo near Yonge & Bloor.  I am the owner of my unit.

&#x200B;

I changed the name in the story for privacy reasons.

&#x200B;

I was sleeping in this morning.  At 10 AM, I was woken up by someone banging at my door shouting "Ethan! Ethan!".  My name is not Ethan.  I got up to open the door, and as I was leaving my bedroom, there were 2 police officers standing in front of me.  They had came into my unit without any permission.  The concierge or some building staff opened the door for them.

&#x200B;

The experience wasn't too bad. They were incredibly rude at first, asking me a bunch of weird questions.  Turns out, it was a false call.  After they realized it was a false call, they apologized and left.  The whole thing took place in like 3 minutes.

&#x200B;

My issue is this:

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1. The police came into my unit without my permission.  They banged on my doors a couple of times, and just came in with the help of the building staff. I don't know how long they waited at the door because I was sleeping at the time.  It is scary to think that if I was not home, they could just come in and dig through all my stuff without my permission?!?
2. I had no prior notice for this visit at all.  No phone call or anything.  I would understand it if my concierge called me first and let the police come up if I didn't answer my phone.  But there was no calls to my phone.  I think my building staff is supposed to contact me first by phone or something before someone comes up to my unit.

&#x200B;

My main issue with this is what if I wasn't home?  If I wasn't home, they would've came in, and looked through all my stuff?  And the building staff was happy to just open the door for them, without even a notice to me.  I have no idea on privacy laws so I don't know if any laws were violated here.

&#x200B;

It feels pretty fucking scary that if someone makes a false call on your condo unit, the police can just come into your unit with the help of the building staff (without any notice to you) and look through all your stuff!

Answer:
 You left out the part of exactly why they were there.

The police are allowed to come in without permission if "exigent circumstances" exist.

We have no idea if they did or did not here because you didn't explain that.


Title: (FL, US) so I was recently given a citation to make a court date within 10 days of being found to posses a misdemeanor amount of marijuana, but the court doesn’t reopen until Monday and Sunday is the 10 day cut off, am I screwed?

Question:
Pretty much the title, can I make a court date while the courts are closed?
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer: No offense, but you couldn't possibly have scheduled this during the week?


Title: I live in Arizona, I was arrested in San Diego, California.

Question: I had my car searched on a marine corps base in San diego . they found 3 grams of concentrated cannabis, aka wax or hashish, and my vaporizer pen, basically paraphanelia. I was arrested and processed. I purchased the wax and the pen in california. I didn't give a statement and I haven't received my court date. What's the best case and worst case scenario?

Answer: The best case scenario is that they don't file, or file but drop, the charges.  The worst case scenario is they throw the book at you, you get convicted, and serve the maximum sentence.


Title: When the cops/feds raid a place, are they financially responsible for the damage?

Question: Purely hypothetical, I was just watching TV and the cops completely trashed this place. So are they responsible for the damages? What's the process for compensation? I'd like to know about the US specifically (not sure if this is a state specific question), but I'd definitely be interested to know how this works in other countries.

Answer:
 Generally no, they would not be responsible. The responsible person is the one who violated the law causing the raid in the first place.

In cases of mistaken identity, wrong house, etc. many police agencies do have a fund for compensation in those scenarios. That doesn't mean they always pay out though, especially if they had a valid reason for the raid.


Title: [Update] Falsely accused of stalking someone I haven't contacted for weeks and who I contacted very little before then (and all contact was class or school related). Apparently, now the university and campus police have gotten involved.

Question:
Edit: Location is Wisconsin

[Original thread here](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/6kjnd3/wi_falsely_accused_of_stalking_someone_i_havent/)

Apparently, the initial email was legitimate. As in, apparently, this former classmate of mine who I haven't contacted since the end of finals and with whom, on the few occasions I've communicated with them, I only talked about class or school related things appears to actually believe I am stalking her.

I found this out via an email from someone at the Division of Student Life at my university (I verified with the office, whose number I got online, that this was actually from them) telling me that they have issued a "no contact directive" on me, saying I'll be punished if I have "non-incidental contact" with her. Granted, not contacting her isn't an issue since not contacting her is exactly what I've been doing, but if she continues to falsely believe I am contacting her, I will be accused of violating this directive. The letter closes by saying that the letter was also forwarded to campus police.

I called the person at student life who sent the letter,  calmly told them about how surprised I am to have gotten this letter, since I haven't contacted her since the end of finals and that when we interacted our conversations were class or school related.

After I gave some basic information and stated my willingness say what I've said under oath or supply the emails in which we've corresponded and any other evidence to help show that the accusation against me is false, the person asked me two questions:

- Have I been to the campus of [public university in a neighboring state] this past spring or this summer?
(No, I haven't been to that state since I was a little kid and I don't know anyone, other than apparently her, who has been in that state recently)

- Have I, this past spring or summer, gone by [first name I have never gone by] or [alternative version I have never gone by of a first name I have never gone by]?
(No, I haven't)

I was told that there is not an active investigation going on at this point, but that there could be one in the near future and that if such an investigation begins, I will be notified.

What the fucking heck am I supposed to do here? What could possibly be going on? Any advice is appreciated.

Answer: Check your sent messages on your email. Perhaps you're still logged in somewhere and someone is messing around. Also, change your email password.Answer #2: People in this thread have talked about enabling Google location history. If you have a smartphone and need to log your location, this is by far the best way to track and record your geolocation. It works just fine in iOS as well as Android: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6258979?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en


Title: Not certain if this qualifies as a HIPPA violation or not

Question:
My sister in law was just seen at the hospital for reasons and was unable to stay alert or carry on conversations. We were told her bilogical mom was comung to the hospital so we told every nirse, doctor etc that they were not to discuss any medical information with her, period.

Sister in law is an adult, lives with us, but the moment her mother shows up, she took a nurse to the side without us knowing and the nurse basically gave a run down of very in depth blood tests results against my sister in laws will.

Now my sister in laws mother is texting and calling harrassing her about her results literally making her cry and belittling her which is why we told them to keep their damn mouths shut. She hasnt even been out of the hospital 30 minutes and shes being harrassed because the nurse is a moron.

Answer: Yes probably. There should be a mechanism by which you can file a complaint. It's it's HIPAA by the way.Answer #2: Was your sister in law considered mentally competent to make medical decisions? Did she allow the doctors and nurses to discuss her medical conditions with her mother? If not who is her power of attorney?


Title: [NYC] Pokemon Go, I need your help

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 "Ignorance of the law is not a defense."Answer #2: You can go to court to explain yourself, if you like.

But honestly, you committed the offense charged. What other people were doing is entirely irrelevant.


Title: For a family in the US who simply can't afford to vaccinate their child, are they still liable to be fined?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 > how much does it cost to be vaccinated in USA

It's essentially free


Title: dangerous people keep confronting my child after school, the school wont do anything.

Question:
I am the guardian of a high school girl (she is 18). Her mother used to bring dangerous men into their home, and now one of them is gong to her school and waiting by her vehicle to harass her. We have filed a police report every time it's happened, and the school said they would have the SRO escort her to her vehicle after school. This happened once, and hasn't happened since. I've called the Dean twice and only got an answering machine.

&#x200B;

Today my child's ex boyfriend (who is graduated) showed up at her school with his mother and grabbed my child by the throat. luckily there was another student with her who punched the ex causing him to run off. a police report has been filed for this incident too. Honestly i'm at my wits end, the school seems apathetic to people coming onto their campus and harassing their students. Police reports obviously aren't doing anything. We have tried to file a restraining order on the first man who was coming around and he just avoided the police. What else can I do?

Answer: If the school will not act, the answer is to go to the police, which you have done. In addition, you should work your way up the school authorities. If the school was providing an escort and stopped, go back to the school, physically go there (make an appointment) and talk to the Dean or whoever is in charge, and insist that they provide the escort again and act to protect your child. Unfortunately, sometimes you just have to keep on them.


Title: [LA] Cousin illegally Used my mother'a social security number to signed for a Student loan, How do we take steps to sue?

Question: About a year ago, my cousin asked my parents to consign for a student loans because my aunt and uncle suffer from a gambling addiction. My parents agree to the consign and everything proceeded (17k loan) however this year we found out she signed up for another one without my parents permission putting us (34k) in debt, it doesn't seem like she'll pay off this debt anytime soon and it's messing up my parent's credit. What are some first steps I should take for legal action to prevent this from further occurring and what are some steps we should take to sue?

Answer:
 This isn't a lawsuit situation. This is a police report situation. r/personalfinance's [identity theft](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/identity_theft) article is a good checklist in general. If the lender is unwilling to accept that the loan is fraudulent, it may be worth speaking to an attorney.

Your cousin is likely to do some jail time as a result.Answer #2: First you (whomever's signature was forged) have to file a police report about the identity theft - you will probably need to identify who you think did it.  Then you have to show that police report to the credit reporting agencies and contest the debt.  Then you have to contact the lenders and contest the debt.  The credit reporting agencies and the lenders will not do anything without a police report.  Also, while you are talking with the credit reporting agencies, be sure to put a full credit freeze on your credit reports (free with police report of identity theft).

If you don't file a police report for the identity theft, then you will be liable for the debts.Answer #3: Notify the lender of the fraudulent use of your mother's identity.Answer #4: Have you reported this to the police? That’s the first step.Answer #5: Have your mom file a police report and freeze her credit.


Title: [US-Virginia] Dog bit university employee whilst tailgating

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice,

A few months back, I was tailgating with some friends before a college football game along with my dog. We were sitting in a grassy area, and the dog was pretty tired and laying down next to me (on leash, leash wrapped around my wrist). A university employee walked by offering trash bags as they normally do to minimize littering, and I accepted. The employee walked right up to my dog and I - while I was reaching for the trash bag, my dog bit the employee's shoe at first, then as I pulled the dog back and the employee subsequently recoiled, I believe my dog's teeth managed to scrape/bite the employee's leg as he tried to move away (I phrase it this way because I didn't actually see any bite marks - the employee walked straight away and I was informed by the responding police officer that the employee was indeed bitten). A police report was issued a few minutes later once an officer came by.

Last week, I received a letter from an organization that is the university's 3rd party administrator for workers' comp claims. The letter asks that I/my insurer pay ~$800 in as part of a medical lien to the 3rd party administrator for medical services provided on behalf of the employee. They also requested my renters' insurance information to send "any future lien notices to them" and noted that if they "do not hear from me, they will forward this matter to the VA Attorney General so further recovery actions can be taken".

A few important notes:
-Virginia is a "[one bite state](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/the-one-bite-rule-dogs.html)". The dog has never bitten anyone before, but he has gone after the occasional shoe once they're taken off, but it's always been in a playful way
-I do not (yet) have a copy of the police report
-No other correspondence or documentation was provided by the company seeking compensation, and I have not received any other legal documentation such as a notification of suit or judgment letter.
-I do have renter's insurance that seems to cover dog bites (bodily harm to others), even if it occurred off property

I am wondering what my next steps should be. Should I just go ahead and file a claim with my insurance and let them do the legwork (i.e. obtain medical services rendered, etc.) or is there any other kind of actions or due diligence I can/should do before resorting to that?

Answer:
 >but it's always been in a playful way

To people who like the dog.  It's obnoxious or scary for people who don't know the dog and have a positive history with it.

>-I do not (yet) have a copy of the police report

Request one at the responding police department.  Call ahead to see if there is a specific procedure or time you need to show up to get the report before going there.

>-I do have renter's insurance that seems to cover dog bites (bodily harm to others), even if it occurred off property

Did you notify your renter's insurance? If not, you need to do that ASAP and let them take the point on this.  Failure to do so may very well result in your insurance coverage being waived for this incident.

>or is there any other kind of actions or due diligence I can/should do before resorting to that?

I don't know what "resorting to that" means. I do know that if you DIY this, you're going to get sued by your insurance company in an attempt to ensure that they don't need to pay for any settlements here.


Title: [NY] sibling claims parent (diagnosed when dementia) left him her portion of co-owned property

Question: He claims he had a power of attorney done before mom got sick, and that she also left a will afterwards leaving him her portion of a property all 3 of us own. Mom has recently passed and only now he revealed this had happened. Can he do this?

Answer: You need a probate lawyer.


Title: My partner's truck has been repossessed and they are denying him access to the custom cover, does he have the right to retrieve it?

Question:
This is in Ohio.

The truck has been repossessed for a couple weeks now, and my partner has decided to let it go. He was told that he could pick up his belongings from inside the truck, but that he could not remove the custom cover he had purchased. This cover is worth around $1000.

The original cover that came with the truck was also in the truck, and he was told that he could take that one, but not the one that he paid for.

Does he have the right to remove the cover, as it is his property, even though it is attached to a repossessed vehicle?

Answer: The cover is part of the vehicle, like a sweet set of rims or a pinstripe. You don't get to part it out. The cover stays with the vehicle. Probably should have paid that car note instead of buying the cover. Lesson learned.


Title: I’m an American in Egypt, my manager gave me a death threat, what can my embassy do?

Question: Hi everyone, I am a bit panicked so sorry if I’m not making sense. I decided to take a yearlong gap year working animation (basically hotel work) at a resort in Egypt. I’ve only been here 2 weeks and have had a lot of problems with my manager. I contacted my animation agency once because he basically approached me for sex. Just a few hours ago he made what I understood to be a death threat. He said in (front of a lot of people) he had a big family and they would take anyone he didn’t like “out to dessert and kill them.” This was in reference to another employee that had gotten in a fight with him and ended up fired. Then, privately he told me that he knew I contacted upper management about his advances and his “big family” wanted to kill me but he told them not to, then he said to “take good care of my job.” I would have already contacted my embassy but I’m scared I will lose my job. Basically the animation agency will pay for my housing food and ticket home, but if I give them a problem I believe they wouldn’t do that. I really don’t have any money and I don’t have family or friends in the US I can ask. How can my embassy help me? What is the best way to go about it reporting this? I want to mention I am almost 100% sure that he is bluffing. I won’t be going to work the next few days but I don’t truly believe he will kill me, I’m just sick of his sexual advances and him thinking it’s okay to threaten people like that.

Answer:
 You're unlikely to get much Egyptian legal advice here. My personal advice would be to leave the job and move (assuming your boss knows where you live), perhaps out of Egypt.Answer #2: Sexual harassment in the workplace is a criminal offense in Egypt punishable by a fine and imprisonment.  Unfortunately, the police have been reluctant to take such matters seriously so the law isn't enforced as often as it should be.

An alternative is to report his unwanted advances and threats to someone higher up than your manager.

I'm not sure as to what you'd like the embassy to do on your behalf; do you want to keep your job in Egypt or go back to the US?Answer #3: INAL but have extensive experience living overseas.  The embassy can loan you money for a flight back to the US if you are destitute and cannot afford it otherwise.

&#x200B;

[https://eg.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/emergency-financial-assistance/](https://eg.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/emergency-financial-assistance/)

&#x200B;

&#x200B;


Title: What Can I do about roommate smoking in the house?

Question:
Since August I have lived with an older grad student (47, I'm 29). It's a nice apartment but there have been some annoyances. There have been more of them recently and this is the most recent one.

My roommate brings guys over (I assume. I never see them but I hear people talking.) Every one of these guys he brings over smokes. My roommate and I don't. However, since it is cold outside these guys have apparently been smoking in the garage. I don't like this for many reasons:
-We use the garage door as the main door to the house so I have to walk through the stank. It also blows that air into the rest of the house every time you open the door between the garage and kitchen
-I have stuff stored in the garage which I don't want to smell like smoke
-The HVAC unit intake is right next to wear they smoke so whether they are smoking or just left the ash tray sitting beside the unit, each time the heater kicks on, it circulates this nasty shit all over the house. My roommate doesn't seem to notice at all but I can't breathe.

Last night it was worse than ever. I threw the ashtray outside but by the time I left for work this morning another ashtray was there and there were more butts in the garage trash can. I took the bag out of the can so maybe my roommate would get the hint.

I've talked to him about this before but he apparently just doesn't care. My question is, what can I do? I'm a very healthy person and I resent being trapped inhaling this crap because someone else doesn't care about their body and doesn't care about how it affects me.

I do not know if the lease allows smoking in the house but I would assume not. I don't know of any apartments in this city that do. However, I've never seen the lease. I only signed a roommate agreement. I also do not know who the landlord is.

I've thought about calling the police but I'm not sure if it's an actual law he is breaking or if he's just being an asshole. Everything I find on Google is just about calling the police on roommates who smoke pot.

Oh, I'm in Athens, Ohio.

TLDR: Roommate is a douchenozzle and lets friends smoke inside. Do I have any options if he won't comply?

Answer:
 > I've thought about calling the police

Are you serious?!?! Holy waste of resources, batman.

If nothing he's doing is illegal or in violation of his lease, you have no recourse. This is part of living with roommates; they may do things you don't like.

Also, regarding your implied question about the lease, it sounds like *he* is your landlord, so that doesn't exactly work in your favor either.


Title: Got caught smoking half a blunt Friday night. Wondering what my next move should be? Should I be as worried as I am now?

Question:
Friday night I was downtown in AZ mills with a couple of buddies. One of my buddies pulled out a blunt and started smoking. When the blunt was passed to me the local Tempe PD rolled up and caught me with the blunt in hand. I spent 3 hours in a holding cell and was released later that morning.

Reason why I am worried is because after reviewing my charge papers, I am being charged with a felony. Should I be as worried as I am? I am now in the search for legal advice.

Answer:
 You should be very worried.   Get an attorney ASAP.    Spend your evening deciding which law offices you will call tomorrow at 9 am. Answer #2: all recreational marijuana use in Arizona is a felony
https://potguide.com/arizona/marijuana-laws/
https://www.azleg.gov/ars/13/03405.htm

Lawyer ASAP. Stop talking to the cops. Don't smoke in public again and be more aware next time; you live in a red city in a still pretty red state. They don't take kindly to this stuff.


Title: [IN] Denied SNAP benefits for taking out federal direct unsubsidized loans - "You can't be in 2 federal programs at once"

Question:
Hey all,

Just wanted to make sure that I'm correct on this. Full time college student (19 years old), parents claim me on taxes but I'm the only person in my household per SNAP rules. Work part time at 20 hours per week, making about $800 per month post tax. I live in student housing, and have a meal plan but it covers way fewer than 50% of my meals. I do have private student loans ($6400 for this academic year) in addition to federal direct unsubsidized loans. Applied for food stamps because I meet the on-paper requirements and was having a bit of trouble making ends meet. Figured I'd probably be rejected due to lack of need, but what the hell, can't hurt right?

Had the phone interview today, and at the end the woman told me that I am not eligible, interestingly, as "You cannot be in two federal programs at the same time. Federal student loans count as a program." At first, I took issue with this as they aren't even subsidised, as I am repaying them with interest and I receive no other form of federal aid. However, after looking some more, I'm not sure if she has any idea what she is talking about at all.

Indiana's Division of Family Resources has a policy manual online, and the chapter I was looking at specially was chapter 2800 available here: https://www.in.gov/fssa/files/2800.pdf

This chapter covers the definition of income and what counts as income for the purposes of Indiana's DFR programs, which includes SNAP. If you go to §
2860.05.00 EXEMPT EDUCATIONAL INCOME, it mentions types of income that students may receive from the government for educational expenses, and what does and does not count as "income" for the purposes of SNAP/TANF/Medicaid/etc eligibility.

> Grants, awards, scholarships and work study income received
> under Title IV of the Higher Education Act or the Bureau of
> Indian Affairs (BIA) programs are exempt.  For SNAP, these
> types of income are exempt for all students.  For TANF,
> they are exempt only for undergraduate students.  Included
> are the following:
>  blah blah blah skip a few lines

> Federally funded educational loans are exempt for all
> students (undergraduate and graduate) for all programs.
> They include the following:
>      Federal Direct Student Loan Programs (FDSLP) (formerly
>      GSL and FFELP);
>      Federal Direct Supplemental Loan Program (provides
>      loans to students);
>      Federal Direct PLUS Program (provides loans to
>      parents);
>      Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program; and
>      Federal Consolidated Loan Program.
> Direct loans to students in institutions of higher
> education (Perkins Loans, formerly NDSL).

So, even if I do end up ultimately being ineligible, the interviewer was definitely in the wrong about federal student loans disqualifying you from SNAP, right? I can't imagine that they would go through lengths to explain how the *amount* of student loans received cannot disqualify someone if the act of receiving student loans is in and of itself disqualifying. The interviewer also told me that federal grants would be disqualifying, however the first paragraph I quoted directly contradicts that.

Am I correct that what she told me is incorrect and I have grounds for an appeal? (Well, you always have the right to appeal, but you know what I mean.)

Answer:
 Student loans do not prevent you from getting SNAP, being a student may if your work hours drop below 20/wk.

You should appeal if she gave you an idiotic answer like "You cannot be in two federal programs at the same time. "


Title: [NY] Would I be put in legal hot water if I created a platform for buying and selling university meal plan currency?

Question:
At my alma mater (and probably elsewhere), it was a common occurrence to have excess balance on your meal plan at the end of a semester. This excess would then disappear once the semester concluded, so a lot of people would try to exchange what's left in their meal plan for cash. A friend of mine (current university student) and I (alumnus of said university) have plans to make a phone app that helps connect haves with have-nots and facilitate the whole process.

The trouble is, the university is well aware that students like to sell their remaining meal plan balance and try to limit it as much as they can (you can't pay for a meal with someone else's ID, etc.) but it still happens between friends.

My question for /r/legaladvice is should this platform become popular enough to catch the university's attention, are either my friend or I in any legal danger? The meal plan currency could conceivably be considered university property and they would certainly have reason to try their hardest to shut such a platform down. I have tried to look into the language on meal plan agreement forms but predictably there's not much about anything close to this matter.

**EDIT:** To clarify, from my response to /u/CathaoirLXIX:

Meal plans are tied to ID cards. It essentially works like a debit card; you swipe and your balance is deducted. What happens currently is person A says "Hey Person B, I'm out of balance, do you have any left over?" Then, if the other Person B has extra, they give the Person A their ID, Person A passes them a few bucks, and Person A goes and buys lunch with Person B's ID, hoping the cashier doesn't notice the ID picture.
All the app would do is help Person A find their Person B and vice versa.

Answer: Legal issues aside, your University likely would try to give you a hard time about this.Answer #2: The meal plan terms will tell you that credits are not transferable. And the school will expel anybody who tries to cost them revenue.


Title: Land Lord filing trespassing & theft report on me

Question: I live in ohio, and i recently moved out of my old place. I only have a small car so i need help with some of the big stuff. So my friend could only help me on this Saturday. My old roommate said it was fine if i left some stuff there until i could grab it with a truck. I also owed my land lord 170 for electric bill, however in the past my bill has only been 20 to 30 dollars for the entire year that I have lived there. Here is the kicker, her son (my roommate) is growing pot in the basement using a grow light. So I am absolutely not paying her. So i woke up with a text today saying that she changed the locks and if i show up without the money she will call the police. So i went to the house to talk to my roommate and see what was going on, he wasn't home but the locks were changed and the door was left unlocked. So i walked into the garage and grabbed the rest of my stuff that was only in the garage. A couple hours later i got a text from her saying that she is filing a police report on me for theft and trespassing. So i'm just wondering what i should do in my defense.

Answer:
 It's your stuff, so it isn't theft. Your old roommate still lives there, and he gave you permission to retrieve your things, so it isn't trespassing either.

Legally speaking though, if you do have it in your lease that you pay electric, you owe her for the electric despite her son using it for a grow op.

While not the most up-and-up way if handling it, personally I'd go with a phone call.

"If I have to come back with the police to get the rest of my stuff I am going to make sure I didn't leave anything of mine behind, including in the basement. Do you understand?"


Title: So my girlfriend had two tumors on her pituitary gland . After her first doctors visit confirming that’s what was in her head . Work was notified the next day that she was to be removed from work immediately and is considered high risk . Work never informed her, she worked until surgery ..

Question: After surgery Doctors informed  her that she could have died at work with the added stress of lifting, pulling and pushing that she did at work everyday for 14 hour days for the next 19 days straight leading up to the day of her surgery . The tumor had hemorrhage in her head . She’s alive but doctors said we’re lucky . Due to the fact in the last 19 days she worked it had doubled in size since her first visit . Debating on seeking legal advice

Answer:
 Wait, you're saying the doctors called her job, but didn't tell her not to work? That makes no sense. Answer #2: It's extremely unlikely a doctor contacted your girlfriend's workplace for many reasons. One, they probably don't even have the number unless your girlfriend gave it to them as an emergency contact or something. Two, it's a HIPAA violation and I'm sure many doctors are aware violating it can cause some deep shit for them.

The instructions to be exempt from work was probably a recommendation from the doctors to your girlfriend directly, and if she did alert her workplace about this (preferably with a doctor's note) and they didn't exclude her from work, AND she still obliged to work, I'm not exactly sure who's at fault or what you can do at this point.

One thing's for sure; unless the doctors were a bunch of idiots and DID contact your girlfriend's workplace without her consent, there's a HIPAA violation to resolve in addition to the problem with the workplace not excusing her from work


Title: Bought refurbished iphone off Groupon, device is listed as lost/stolen

Question:
[CA] Purchased this phone off Groupon Goods, and found out the device was blocked and the IMEI# is listed on stolenphonechecker.org as lost/stolen.

I contacted Groupon about what to do and they offered a full refund to return the device. If I send the device back to Groupon, I'm worried this phone won't find its way to its rightful owner. I requested they refund me the money without returning it and allow me to turn the phone in to the authorities. They aren't budging and say they won't process my refund until I return the device.

I'm pretty miffed about the situation, as I went through a minor ordeal at the AT&T shop to get my account unblocked after putting my SIM card in a stolen device (they threatened to call cops and hold on to the phone until I talked them out of it by showing them the receipt). So I'm happy to endure some amount of headache if it means Groupon gets theirs for being sloppy/shady and also that justice is served and the device is returned to its rightful owner, but also understand if this might just be a battle not worth fighting. Thoughts?

Answer: You can either return the device for a refund or turn it in to the police and sue Groupon for a refund.Answer #2: IANAL, but generally if they're offering you a refund it comes with the expectation that you're giving the item back. If you say 'give me my money but I'll do "x" with this' then there's always the chance that you're just trying to have your cake and eat it too.


Title: I’m a drug dealer and I was shot

Question: I want to quit selling after this experience, but the cops are going to question me tomorrow. Could I get in trouble if I tell them I used to be a dealer of pot only (which is all I was) or should I lie to them about why I was shot

Answer: Getting shot is not blanket immunity against your distribution crimes. You should speak with an attorney before having any conversation with police that may lead to admitting to a crime.


Title: [MI] Mother is on deathbed, I am eldest child of 3 children, am I the legal guardian?

Question:
They are half-siblings, all have a different father. There is me (22), my father is still alive. My sister, 16 (about to be 17 on 7/24) her father is still alive but my mom would never allow her to go to him. My brother, 13, his father passed away in 2007 and has no other family in Michigan.

I am just preparing myself for what is to come after her inevitable death. I am not sure what is on their birth certificates, and I do know that my mother made a a legal pact with her sister in California that if anything were to happen to her, she would take guardianship of any minor children she had.

My siblings are protesting this documentation but I feel it is their best option. They would much rather go to a very close friend of theirs, who I am not too familiar with.

Sorry for the long-winded post, any advice is very much appreciated.

Edit: Mom is in a coma, life support is being taken off on Monday (July 3rd). Therefore, she cannot speak.

Answer:
 Children don't get too decide where they live.

The father of the one child has the legal right to take custody if he chooses. Nothing you or mom say can change that. Only a court order can.

Your mom can set up whomever she wants as guardian and should do it now if she can. A lawyer can come to her homeAnswer #2: Any minor children would automatically go to their father's custody, regardless of what your mother's wishes are/were, until a court says otherwise.

If there is no parent to take the minor child in, then child services will have to take the child into emergency protective custody. It will likely try to find family placement to take the minor child in until a permanent solution can be found.

If there is no willing family to take the children, then anyone who is interested in taking the children would have to jump through the DSS/DFACS hoops to prove they are fit and it is in the child's best interest.


Title: Lawyers of reddit, Why is it so easy for a woman to screw over the guy in child custody and child support cases? (Cross post from /r/askreddit)

Question:
I ask because it is scary to think that because I was successful and my ex chooses to have a crappier job and every 3 years she can petition to get more money from me just because she is feeling spiteful... We share 50/50 custody and I still pay $500 a month for 2 kids which in WA state is getting off lucky from what I hear. I only got that because she agreed to it on paper and the judge still pulled out his calculator and looked at her like are you sure? I don't even spend $500 a month on "child care" currently, am I wrong?, does this seem fair to any of you out there? Any advice to best protect myself or from other divorced parents?

EDIT
I wanted to add that I am not so much complaining about how much I pay, I know I got off lucky for the time being, it's the fact that the court has the right to decide the amount and what is best for the children when they don't really know what is best for them. They usually side with the mother and if I get a raise or a better job and if she gets mad, or just wants to, she can collect more money and do nothing to further her career.

2nd EDIT
I also realize that it is easy, for myself included, to lose sight of the fact that the money is for the kids and not her.

Answer: I know you're probably just trolling but $500 is gone in the blink of an eye when you're caring for children. Smile as you write the check and be glad your children are cared for.


Title: The mother of our employee is asking for the paystubs of her child (an adult). Are we legally allowed or required to give them to their mom?

Question:
Backstory:

An employee of ours was rushed to the hospital yesterday during work for a medical condition. Nothing too serious, but serious enough to get medical attention. The EMT on scene said they would have access to their phone so they could contact us if they needed us.

Due to COVID, we couldn’t follow or be with them at the hospital so we stayed behind.

Today, the mother of the employee thanks us for taking care of her child and asks us for their past paystubs for health insurance reasons. Now normally, we wouldn’t think twice but this employee had told us a couple weeks ago that their relationship is.. rocky at best. I don’t believe they live together or have much contact.

We told the mother that our employee had access to their paystubs on their online portal but the mother is saying it’s easier if we give them to her.

We’ve tried reaching out to our employee but have yet to receive a response.

Do we comply with the mother? Or just wait until the employee responds?

Thanks in advance!

Answer: Unless the mother shows you a Power of Attorney, respect your employee's privacy. You can text your employee about the request and have her validate via a phone call. Pay stubs are used for loans. I would be concerned.


Title: I am a U.S Citizen trying to fix permanent residency for my spouse. I have some doubts and questions

Question:
I just called USCIS about pulling his FOIA act. However, he has a permit to work here due to the DACA act. He also entered illegally when he was a child, but has no criminal record I want to fix his permanent residency, and the lawyers are charging up to $3,000-$6,000 just to help us file applications.

I know I can request the FOIA for about $25 on my own. But what sort of information about his history should I request for?

Are there any other applications I can do myself before consulting another lawyer?

Also, my husband is the sole income of the home, I do not work and I am currently pregnant. The lawyer said after the I-601A form is accepted, he will need to leave the US and enter legally in order to receive his residency.

 However, is there a possible way they can forgive the act of entering in illegally and let him receive his residence here in the U.S? I know they say it's approximately 2 weeks, but from different perspectives, some have stay longer in the country they came from. I would not be able to work (due to religious beliefs) and my child would have certain needs.

If you have any advice that will help, please put your advice, Thank you so much.

EDIT: I live in Texas and around Houston

Answer: If he entered illegally there is no way you can do this on your own.  you need an immigration attorney ASAP.


Title: Giving power of attorney to RushMyPassort.com safe?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Getting an expedited passport from the State dept takes 8 business days. Do you really need it faster than that?Answer #2: That worries me and sounds sketchy as hell.  I wouldn't do it.

That being said, this is the first time I've ever heard of this site so I have no idea bout their trustworthiness (positive or negative).

Lastly, I got my passport two years ago.  It was quite painless.Answer #3: That should be fine as long as you make sure it's a limited power of attorney that only authorizes them to act on your behalf in matters specifically relating to the acquisition of this passport.

They look pretty reputable and were tested out for a Wall Street Journal story in which they were able to secure a passport within 2 business days, which is way faster than the State Department's 8-day expedited service.

I wouldn't worry about doing this, again, as long as it's a limited power of attorney specifically speaking to this matter.Answer #4: A link to Rushmypassport's Yelp reviews. They have a 2.5 rating, but if you read the actually reviews, it's a combination of many very dissatisfied customers claiming it's a scam and customers who are SUPER DUPER happy with their service and sound very fake.
http://m.yelp.com/biz/rushmypassport-com-washington-5
It seems like a scam to me, I wouldn't get involved if I were you.


Title: Got a parking ticket because I was parked on the road due to city construction.

Question:
Contractors told me to move my car because they are removing my sidewalk.

So I parked on the road where it is prohibited and ended up getting a ticket.

[This is in Toronto btw]

Is there anything I can to do about this ticket?

Answer:
 ...

Why would there be anything legal about parking somewhere that's illegal? You can plead not guilty but it's highly unlikely.


Title: Made sick by our university apartment

Question:
My roommate and I came out to LA with a "study abroad" program that was part of our graduate degree program. We were placed in apartments in LA and were happy enough until a couple months in we noticed we hadn't been feeling well for quite some time...we thought we were getting the flu but it just wouldn't go away. I'm talking head fog, chills, fevers, body aches, you name it. It progressively got worse until we were missing classes, work, etc.

Finally, someone suggested we have the apartment checked out. Maintenance stopped by and my roommate stayed to observe everything. They took apart a panel in our wall and immediately made her evacuate and throw out any food/coffee that was in the room. They got an eight-person team in to clear out the vent, whose filter hadn't been changed in "years," according to maintenance. They also mentioned that the university is in charge of requesting these repairs on at least a yearly basis.

After they opened the vent, things just got worse. The university had nowhere for us to stay, so overnight we breathed in all the crap that had come out of the wall and we woke up the next morning incredibly sick. There was pressure in our chests and we had trouble breathing and high fevers. We went to the emergency room where I was given steroids for my lungs (I have an autoimmune disease so they were incredibly worried about pneumonia) and she was put on an IV.

This entire time, the university wasn't acknowledging the fact that we were sick in the hospital and virtually gave the whole situation a big eye-roll. We were out in the cold. Our ER doctors gave us a diagnosis of "severe mold exposure" and told us to get out of the environment immediately. We quickly found a new apartment on our own..the university's policy if you move out of their housing is to refund you the remainder of your semester's "rent." But we wanted to be reimbursed for not only that, but medical bills, hotel stays during the days we had nowhere to go, and a refund of the time we spent living in this mold-infested apartment that could have killed us.

Does anyone know what kind of leverage we have here? So far they have given in to paying the medical bills, but is there any way we could try and get the money back from the months we lived there, sick as dogs? I tried contacting a couple lawyers but haven't heard back. Not sure where to turn at this point.

Answer: Your title reads as if the university owns your apartment building, but your narrative reads as if it's owned by a private company. Which is it?


Title: I would like to avoid an eviction if possible.

Question:
I own a home in Utah which I have been renting to my brother and his family.  Since they are family we do not have a lease with them (I know it was dumb).  They are having marital problems and will be getting a divorce.  She is not working, doing drugs etc. and things are going downhill quickly.  My brother called me this morning and he wants to move out with the kids and file for a divorce the same day.  He believes that she will also move out if he tells her she has to leave after he moves out.

My concern is that with no income she will just stay in the house.  Since we don't have a signed lease with them I am unsure of what my options will be but I assume there is some method to evict her if it comes to that.  I am wondering if there are any other options I have to get her out or anything I should know that will help if and when that time comes.

Answer:
 You need to issue *all* of them a written notice advising that you're terminating their tenancy with 30-days notice. At the end of the 30-days, you can start the eviction proceedings.

You need do to all of this *in writing* and keep copies for yourself in case it becomes necessary to perform an actual eviction.


Title: Discrimination???? HELP

Question:
I went to work today and clocked in, after about 30 minutes on the clock I was called into the manager’s office.
I was informed that they were at a crossroad about what to do with me. Their options were: let me go or strip me of my management title and go back to being a regular employee with a $2.00 pay cut. I would go from being full time to part time.
My general manager who is male, informed me that this was a collective decision and that the numerous mistakes I have made was bad for business.
They didn’t flat out say the “F” word (fired) instead they are leaving it to me and kind of forcing me out.
I’m at a loss and honestly still in shock from it all.
I was training my replacement last night and didn’t even know it. A replacement who was in a lower position and was promoted making 0.75 cents more than me.
I found out I was the lowest paid manager there.
A little background info for you: I just recently moved to this area, I am a minority, I am female, and I was out of work for 2 weeks due to having my gallbladder removed.
Technically this has all happened within my 90 days, but I can still file a claim about discrimination.
I need advice!!
What should I do and where do I go from here?
Signed,
Frazzled and Confused.

Answer:
 Just being a minority does not make it discrimination.

What leads you to believe they were discriminating against you?


Title: I think I got cat-fished and now am getting scammed

Question:
I'm from Iowa
I was trying to meet new people on an online dating site called Plenty of Fish.  I had been on for awhile and i get a notification that a girl has been checking out my profile.  I go to check out her profile and it says shes 21 and from a city nearby me and its short simple but only with one photo attached.  I message her and before too long she messages me back to to text and and gives me her number.  Me being the lonely guy I am went a head and did it.  We texted back and forth a bit and she seemed normal and without asking for it she sends a nude pic, followed by a few more.  She asked me for some and being polite I sent her one.  Shortly after this she says she has to go to sleep which was about midnight.  I tried to text her the next day and she said she was busy and would text me tomorrow followed by another picture of her in underwear.

Then I hear nothing all day until my phone is blowing up from her number by a guy claiming to be her father and that she is underage.  This takes me completely by surprise.  The guy threatens to come to my place of work and to call the police if i don't call him right now.  I called him and got a believable story about how his family was blowing up over this and his wife wants me in jail and i need to apologize and give him a way to calm his wife down otherwise ill be a sex offender.  This is all done through the girls phone who is nowhere near them and i never heard from the wife, i was told to text an apology to that phone for him to show his wife.  At the time something about this was rubbing me the wrong way but I went ahead and apologized for the misunderstanding.

Now this is where it really gets fishy.  Over an hour goes by and then the guy is calling again saying his wife has calmed down but wants the phone destroyed to get rid of the pictures for sure and wants me to cover the price of the phone of 300 dollars.  On top of the phone they want me to pay for an early termination fee of 150 dollars.  To do this he tell me to go to a Walgreens or Rite Aid to buy a specific prepaid card and it has to be this specific card and he even happens to have a picture of one and texts me.  And i have to do this as soon as possible to keep his wife calm.  Then he told me the phone would be destroyed on Sunday.

Another thing to add is he acted very upset in the first call but the second was more like a calm business transaction.  He always called and texted me from the "Girls" phone never his own and i never heard anyone else but there was always a rush because i had to calm other people down.
Another weird thing is the girls Plenty of Fish profile is still up and still showing her as 21.  I did mention the profile to the guy and he was aware of it so why is it still up.

Any thoughts Reddit?  My friend is telling me to file a police report and change my number.

Edit: something I forgot to add was the number the guy called me on showed up as a Texas number and i live in Iowa and the girls profiles clearly says Iowa as well.

Answer:
 Common scam. The girl isn’t real. See the sidebar. And sending a picture of your dick isn’t “polite.”

Nobody is nearly as impressed by your penis as you are, just as a tip.

You can possibly expect that picture to be sent to your family unless you pay up as well.


Title: Following too closely -- pay ticket or go to traffic court?

Question:
I was traveling on the interstate in DeKalb County Georgia and was in the third from leftmost lane. I used my turn signal to signal I was moving to the second from left lane, and a car immediately went into that same lane, cutting me off. I moved into the farthest left lane to get away from that car, but did not have enough room to stop and hit the SUV in front of me. I was the only driver in my car and she was the only driver in hers. My car is completely totaled  -- airbags and all. Her bumper was shifted, but her car was still drivable. She still limped into an ambulance and had her car towed. Other cars in front of her continued down the road as usual. The weather was normal -- hot and clear -- and the roads were dry.

Now she's got a lawyer and is going after my insurance company.

Should I just pay the following too closely ticket, or appear in court this week?

Answer: It's going to be hard to disprove that you were following too closely when you were, in fact, following so closely that you rear-ended the car in front of you.


Title: Is this legal?

Question: I know nothing about law, I'm just very confused and angry. I go to a community college and I got randomly selected to participate in a program that's supposed to help you plan out your goals. You need to attend multiple meetings that I don't have time for and if you don't go to them they put your account on hold and you cannot register or transfer credits anywhere. I talked to the leader of the program and she absolutely won't let me out. Is this legal? Sorry if it's stupid.

Answer: Who knows. You didn't provide a location. Have you talked to the administration about this?


Title: [NY] Sexual Harrasment

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >Is there any action we can reasonably take?

Yes, you can reasonably ignore it, you can reasonably block the number, and you can reasonably double check the numbers you send pictures to next time.


Title: Need advice on ridiculous health insurance claim

Question:
[Re-post from PersonalFinance]
So a few months back I was at a rehab facility in AZ. While I was there I had a bad reaction to some sleeping medication and it was making me hallucinate after I woke up. So i tell the staff and they get concerned and convince me to go to some other place (another rehab with better dr.'s), At first i kept declining but they were very persistent. One of the staff ended up driving me like 20 miles to this place in a white van. I ended up leaving that other place within a few days and all was fine. I've been clean and everything has been fine since then except the following; I got a HUGE FUCKING BILL>$2000 FOR THAT SHITTY VAN RIDE. they are calling it an emergency ambulance ride or some bullshit on the bill. I am just shocked at how they can basically twist my arm into doing something I didn't want to do, while my head is all messed up, and then turn around and rob me blind??  Do I have any recourse here? How can they do this? I currently am insured under my parents plan, I am still in college and 22.
I was totally under the impression it was going to be free, they have used that same van to take us places like the gym or movie theaters that were just as far. And to be clear they were not obligated to take me, if I had kept saying no none of this would be happening.

Answer: Notify your insurance company to dispute the charge.


Title: [NSFW] FinDom use of contracts

Question:
Hello, I am trying to find a means by which legal action can be used against a “cash slave” to fulfill their fantasy of being legally forced to pay me by means of an agreement/contract that they would willingly default on and subsequently no-sho for a judgement to be made against them.

We had agreed on amounts of either $12k, $100k, or $200k.  With interest at 10% as I am in CA and they are in AZ.

Does anyone have any idea of a contract or way of wording to have this done where it would not potentially leave me open for perjury, commitment of felonious acts, or screw me over  down the road should they chose to change their mind.

They have shown me their bank account and it has a savings of just under $90k available so it’s not as though they do not have the money available, and their monthly earnings leaves them with $400-$500 extra.

I’m ideally trying to do this without ruining either of our lives.

Any advice, insight, info would be appreciated.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 This idea goes against one of the almost universal tenets of consensual BDSM:  "Don't involve people in your kink without their consent."  In this case, involving the courts without their consent is way out of line.Answer #2: So are you asking for advice on how to create a legal contract for which you would then sue the person and plan on them no-showing all as part of a fantasy fetish?

Please, don't do this. This is brazenly abusive of the legal system.Answer #3: You're basically asking for an enforceable "gift contract."

A problem I have with this arrangement is that you're abusing the judicial system and are clogging an already heavily taxed system. I could see judges hurling this out of court and finding you for this scheme. I absolutely would not move forward with this arrangement unless you spoke to a reputable and experienced lawyer.


Title: Received a traffic ticket in Manhattan January 2016 and retained a lawyer. Just got an email notification that they lost the case and I still have to pay the same amount and face the same points. They did not do anything for me and I am now out $500. What can I do?

Question:
This happened in January 2016. Made a left hand turn in Manhattan NY while following google maps directions to get home. Got pulled over by a cop and was given a ticket for not obeying the posted sign. I did some research and spoke to a law firm that had stated a 90% certainty the ticket would be dismissed. I retained the law firm(not sure if I should name drop) and they got my court case set for January of this year. I received an automated email late at night stating that they had lost my case and that they did not plead the ticket down. So essentially hiring this law firm did nothing for me and im still facing the same penalties as I was originally. $100 and 2 points. The points expire 18 months from when I originally received the ticket(expire July 2017).

This is my first ticket in over 5 years and im not sure what my legal options are in trying to get back the money I spent to retain them. Could I petition the court somehow about them not representing me fairly to try and fight the ticket? Could I report this law firm to someone?

Additionally how might this affect my insurance? My record has no accidents or tickets in the past 5 years. I have geico and  already took a defensive driving course last year just for the insurance discount, no point removal. Would one of my options be taking the 2 point hit and then taking another defensive driving course to get the points removed and not have to pay more for my insurance? Would the insurance companies still charge me more with the ticket on my record and not having any points? Not sure how it works.

TLDR: Made a left hand turn outside of hours. Explained to cop I was following my google map directions but still received the ticket. Paid law firm to represent but they failed and dident even plead it down. Now I lost $500 and am pondering my options.

Answer: Hiring a lawyer isn't like buying an acquittal. There's always a chance of conviction, especially when your defence is "I was following my satnav".


Title: My son stole our neighbors seeing eye dog (Florida)

Question: Our neighbors seeing eye dog went missing. The cops arrested my son because they say he stole the dog. They found dog hair in his car and footprints at the side of the neighbors home where a window was broken that match a pair of his shoes. My son never liked dogs and he was always complaining about the dog making noise. If it's proven he took the dog what if anything would he get charged with? The cops have not found her dog yet.

Answer:
 Given the cost of training such a dog, I expect they will look at a grand theft charge.  And animal cruelty, if your son did anything to that dog.

Your son, btw, needs help if that's what happened.  Harming animals is a sign of sociopathy.Answer #2: Burglary, grand theft, and cruelty to animals if he harmed the dog.

There's probably a few other felonies that would stick too. Your son needs a lawyer and by the sounds of it a psychiatrist.Answer #3: I find it difficult to believe a seeing eye dog was always making noise, aren't they trained just to bark when necessary? sounds like someone might be pulling our collective leg. Also someone who dislikes dogs is probably unlikely to go and steal one even to just get rid of it.Answer #4: Weak troll.

But there'd be quite a bit of liability, with jail time likely, and significant fines too.  Training a seeing eye dog is not cheap.


Title: Should I have a lawyer represent me during court?

Question: I got pulled over a few weeks ago. The police officer smelled my weed which I had in my car. It wasn't a lot but I did have a pipe and grinder as well. I was honest with him and told him straight up. He had me step out of the vehicle. 2 other officers showed up. They searched my car. I was in the back of the police car this whole time. Either way they did their tests and let me go with a ticket. My court date is in the morning. I did receive a marijuana ticket in 2015 in a different city. That was an $800 fine and lost my license for 6 months. I didn't have a lawyer at that time. I just pled guilty. Is this instance different? I don't smoke often. Well I don't anymore at all. It scared me. I wasn't high at all when I got pulled over and am clean now. I'm just a little worried for tomorrow. I haven't told my parents. Actually no one knows. Is it possible for me to face jail time? Should I get a lawyer. I honestly don't have the money for it and don't know what to do other than just go in plead guilty and be honest. Thoughts? Thank you?

Answer: This is probably a possession *and* paraphernalia charge. Yes, get a lawyer. Plead not guilty and hire a lawyer. You can also ask the court for an appointed attorney.


Title: Texas Credit Card Surcharge

Question:
A few hours ago I got home from a restaurant/bar in Texas and noticed a surcharge for paying the bill with my credit card. I have never seen this on a bill before, so I got curious and did a little digging online and found [this link](http://occc.texas.gov/publications/credit-card-surcharges) on the Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner's website.

To quote the website:
> The Texas Finance Code prohibits sellers of goods and services from imposing a credit card surcharge. This means that a seller is not allowed to add an extra amount to the regular price of a good or service when the buyer pays by credit card, as opposed to some other payment method.

$1 on a $50 tab is not a big deal, I'm just curious if this surcharge is legal or not. The receipt says it was for one guest, but there were two of us, I didn't knock back 9 drinks by myself. [Picture of my receipt.](http://imgur.com/a/V0AZD)

Answer: NAL, but I have dealt with this with a pizza place in San Antonio before. It isn't legal but they don't expect anyone to know that. You can file a complaint with the attorney general's office and they will get a strongly worded letter to knock it off. You'll probably get a check for $1 as well.


Title: The other day my girlfriend and I got pulled over. She admitted to smoking cannabis earlier that day. The officer asked her to step out of the car and she fainted shortly after she has a huge Bump on her head from the concrete. Is highway patrol liable for anything? ( can/ should she seek damages ?)

Question: They came with emt s and checked her and eventually let us leave with friends.

Answer: Why would that be the highway patrol's fault?Answer #2: not likely.  it's not their fault she passed out.  Answer #3: No. They are not liable for anything.


Title: Cable company charging me for cancelling my service but I'm not on Contract.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You may have agreed to a monthly discount on your bill, in exchange for staying a customer for a full year.  a lot of promotional deals like that exist in the cable industry.


Title: My dog was attacked by an off leash dog

Question:
 Is in it illegal to have your dog off a leash?
From California

Answer: Here's a vague answer for your vague question: it depends.


Title: My (22F) underage brother (16M) got his underage girlfriend (16F) pregnant. Our parents (47M/48F) are worried about paying child support.

Question:
Pretty much what it says.

We are in Minnesota.

My brother got his girlfriend of a year pregnant. Odds are they might keep it.
Our (my brother and I share the same parents) parents make collectively about 160K a year.
My brother is 16, he drives, has his own car, no bills, is in high school and works part time.
The girlfriend/mother, has no license, no job and is in high school. Her older sister has 2 kids she does not have custody of; one of which is severely Autistic and needs constant care by the Grandma and Grandpa who is the sole caretakers. They don't make any money as they don't make a lot of money to begin with and they have a full house taking care of grandkids and the kids they still have.
Anyways,
My main question is what can my parents expect, being the guardians of an underage boy having a child with another woman? They are worried they will have to pay up to a 3rd of their gross income to child support until my brother turns 18..is that right? What can they prepare for and what can they expect?
All your help is especially appreciated. Thank you.

TL:DR: 16 year old brother got a girl pregnant and my parents are freaking out because now they could have to pay child support on their 160K/year income

Answer:
 It's time for your brother to get an after school job to help pay for his kid. You parents can be court ordered to pay child support even longer if they support your brother after he is 18 as well.Answer #2: >Anyways, My main question is what can my parents expect, being the guardians of an underage boy having a child with another woman?

Why are you calling her a woman and your brother an underage boy? Aren't they **both** underaged? Your phasing is very odd. And also your inclusion of information about the older sister... it's not relevant.

Since you've already received advice about what to do if they keep it (ask a family law attorney), know that there are alternate options to consider. If the girlfriend hasn't fully decided yet if she will keep the baby, you can help your brother research information regarding adoption (or abortion) and let him broach the subject in a respectful/tactful way with his girlfriend. There are many options if she decides to go the adoption route, she could still be in her child's life (for instance) if she wanted.Answer #3: have them consult a family law attorney, it is likely that they won't be on the hook at all, but the attorney will direct.


Title: [Possibly Final Update] We were in an accident yesterday. Wife's car is totaled. Woke up this morning with major neck, chest, side, and back pain.. Wife woke up with chest pain, neck pain, and massive bruises on her legs. Where do we go from here (other than the hospital?)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Congrats, OP. Getting an attorney is really the only way to protect your rights against an "opposing" insurance company whose only goal is to get you to accept as small a settlement as possible.

> And apparently I have PTSD from the accident as well so that's great. I'm guessing since I was the driver??? I don't know..
>
> ...and some stupid Subaru commercial came on. Woman was smashed in to by a truck or something. I went from being completely fine to in tears in a matter of seconds. I'm actually on the verge of tears just typing about it here.

That is not PTSD. That is a complex diagnosis and requires a medical professional to make. If you feel otherwise, go see a psychiatrist and they will do an interview/evaluation to see if you meet the requirements for PTSD. The normal aftereffects of a car accident usually does not.Answer #2: Oh hey, you had the classic 92 Paseo right?  (Told you the insurance wasn't going to give you $4k for it).  Best bet is to roll it up with the PI claim and just do one global settlement.  Unless you're also asking for lost wages, the P&S and PD claims can just be lumped together and no one need know the individual breakdown.


Title: I'm done. But I can't be done. Give me. Help

Question:
[removed]
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: There is a specific subreddit for legal advice for Australia, r/auslegal - honestly I do feel very bad for you and think this should be addressed by the authorities  in your country.


Title: Buying a Car - avoiding sales tax

Question:
Hi Reddit,

I am trying to buy a car in New York while minimizing the amount of sales tax I am legally required to pay. I am currently looking at a private party seller and will pay by check/cash.

Any help is seriously appreciated.

Answer: Go on craigslist and set your filter for <$1000. You won't pay much sales tax on any of those cars.


Title: Mental health discrimination foster care system

Question: Hello, American living in Finland, and I have been declined a spot in training for foster care program due to the fact that I take medicine for mental health issues and that I am currently undergoing therapy. I have no criminal record and have given no reason to be declined.  I have a psychology degree and my wife works with halfway home children for a living. We are homeowners, married, and otherwise stable.  I feel we seem a good candidate couple on paper. They declined us simply due to my medication and therapy, they suggested I return when I have stopped both. Is this discrimination? How can I follow up? Is this standard practice back in the states?

Answer: You can speak to a Finnish lawyer. I'm not sure anyone here is that familiar with the Finnish system.


Title: Friends brother gave me genital herpes, can I see?

Question:
Sue*

Just recently got a culture back saying that my outbreak was positive for HSV-2. I've never had any symptoms like this before, and even asked him if he was clean before sex. He said he was.

He says that he's never had any symptoms from it (and apparently 80% of people don't), but I don't know if I believe him.

Is their anything I can do?

I live in Florida

Answer:
 > Is their anything I can do?

Yes. You can inform any future partners of your STD and use protection.Answer #2: You can warn all your future 1 nighters of your STD. It's a consequence of that lifestyle and unless he knew previously or intentionally infected you - there's nothing you can do but adapt for the future.Answer #3: Cream. Lots of cream.

No. You cannot sue.


Title: Roommate signed lease with my name on it behind my back.

Question:
Not me, but a friend. His roommate renewed their lease 1 month ago without my friend’s knowledge. He found this out because he needed to discuss the terms of the lease with him, as the roommate wanted a 2 year lease and my friend only wanted 1 year. Roommate says “well you had to have signed the lease with your electronic signature” and my friend has zero recollection of this. I told my friend earlier today before this that the roommate would forge his signature on the lease to get what he wants, only slightly joking. My friend was going to renew the lease, but only for 1 year. I witnessed the conversation in question, and we have other friends who know about the whole leasing situation that can attest to my friend’s lack of knowledge about the renewed lease.

Is this fraud? If so, does my friend have any legal recourse? I’m not sure how he can prove that he didn’t know about signing the lease and that he did not electronically sign, since all it is is typing his name. Getting into contact with the landlord is dicey; He had to jump through hoops to find the property manager’s phone number for a separate issue. There is no paper copy of the lease, only electronic. We are in TN, if it helps. TIA.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: A person pretending to be someone else signing a contract would be fraud.  Electronic signatures will have a data trail to substantiate their validity.Answer #2: Your friend should put a lot of energy in contacting the Landlord as soon as possible to tell the Landlord that he did not sign the lease, the signature was fraudulent, and that he will be filing a police report with respect to his roommate's actions.  Its entirely possible that the Landlord will not want to deal with this mess and will voluntarily rescind the lease.


Title: Dog fight resulted in bite to upstairs tenant

Question:
Hello,

I moved in to the first floor of a 2 family house near Newark, New Jersey last March.  The upstairs tenant has a young (1-2 year old) bulldog.  I have a black and tan medium size hound dog of 7 years.  When I moved in the upstairs tenant would come down with his dog to socialize.  His dog wanted to play with mine all the time but my dog wasn't having it.

There was a scrap at that time indoors and we agreed to not let them near each other in the house.  They got along outside still.  Until one day when they didn't.  They got in a fight and it was broken up and I had taken a few teeth to the hand, but they were scratches.

Another fight happened a few months later outside and we agreed to keep the dogs separated at all times.  This fight I broke up resulted in a broken index finger and two other lacerations to myself.

Finally the other upstairs tenant was moving down into my apartment.  There are two doors into my unit, one with a knob and one with just a deadbolt.  The deadbolted door goes into the room the upstairs folks were moving into.  Unfortunately they forgot to lock that deadbolt and one night in July the upstairs tenant was taking his dog down the stairs (the lights to the foyer were off and my dog is black) to go outside and my dog was in the foyer.  My dog attacked his dog and in the process of breaking up the fight the upstairs tenant suffered a puncture wound to his forearm allegedly caused by my dog.

I was asleep near the back of the house and didn't hear anything until he got his dog outside and was yelling at me through the window.  I woke up and it was true, my dog attacked his dog and he got bit.  He had threatened to call the cops as he went upstairs and I was mending to my dog in the front room of my unit.

He hasn't called the cops but he tells me he's going to call them on Sept. 2 if I haven't moved out yet.  She's never bitten a person before this but has had other disagreements with dogs.

I'd like to know what will happen if/when he does call the cops.   I have been looking for a new place to stay but so far all of the places I've found wouldn't be a good fit.

Will the cops impound my dog?  Will they put her down?  I'm away during the weekdays for my job (on a field assignment 2 hours away) and wouldn't be there if/when he calls the cops.  He's telling me that he'll have the cops take my dog and put her down.

He went to the doctor but they told him he had healed too much to give him stitches.  He received antibiotics and a rabies shot.  I do not know if his dog was taken to the vet this time, but he has taken her to the vet in the past after altercations, as have I (my dog is missing part of her ear from the 3rd fight).

Thank you for any insight and advice.

Edit: included location - New Jersey near Newark.

Answer:
 IANAL, I'm a vet. As a general rule, you are responsible for all damage that your dog causes. Do you have homeowners/renters insurance?

Also, dig up proof that your dog is UTD on its rabies shots, you're gonna need it.


Title: Tenant is renting house out on AirBnB

Question:
Evidence on AirBnB of renting out house multiple times.  Violates subletting clause in lease.  Neighbor contacted me about the number of people coming and going.  Violation of nuisance section of the lease. AirBnB 'guests' included dogs.  Violation of pets prohibition in lease. Short term rentals are not allowed under municipal code. Violation of unlawful use clause in the lease.
Posted a '3 day cure or quit' notice, but trust (and lease agreement) clearly violated.  Best course of action to early termination? (In California)

Answer: If you posted a proper notice and they didn't comply then your next step is to go to court and evict them.


Title: Can you be arrested for Disorderly Conduct for telling a cop to f*ck himself?

Question:
Was watching LivePD and this guy on the highway told a cop to go f•ck himself. Cop pulls him over and tells him he can be arrested for DC.

Would this speech not be protected by the first amendment just like flicking off a cop?

Answer: You can't be convicted under those circumstances, but there's nothing to stop the cop from arresting you just to ruin your day. Whether they get in trouble with that really depends on how discipline is handled in the department.Answer #2: It is protected by the first amendment, so you would never get convicted but the cop can still mess your day up by arresting you, having your car towed and making you post bond etc. As my lawyer told me, "you can beat the rap, but you wont beat the ride downtown."


Title: Father passed away last month with out a will. Just found out his “Substantial” amount AT&T shares have my deceased uncle as the beneficiary of them.

Question:
Hello,

So my father passed away in NJ last month and did not have a will in place.  He worked for AT&T his whole career and amassed a “significant” amount of shares of the company.  We just found our that the beneficiary of those stocks is my now deceased uncle.  My father set it like this decades ago since my uncle and his also deceased wife were going to raise my siblings and I if my parents had passed away while we were still young, and the stock would have provided financially for that.

The problem is that my uncles half brother, his next of kin, may want to keep that all for himself.  When my uncle passed without a will he cut us out of his entire estate, even though my uncles wishes were that his three nephews receive his inheritance.  He went so far as wanting to bury my uncle in a VA graveyard instead of next to his wife to save a few thousand on the grave opening.

Since my fathers intentions were to pass the stocks to his children, do I have any recourse?

My deceased uncles next of kin is my fathers - wife’s (my deceased mom)- half sisters (my aunt) - husband (my uncle)

Thank you for any information :)

Answer: If your dad designated stocks to your uncle who died before your dad did then it doesn't go to your uncle's heirs. You need to be alive to inherit, your uncle died so he did not inherit. Get a probate attorney asap, the fees come out of the estate so you may not have to pay much upfront.


Title: (OR) Survey and seed don’t match. What do we do?

Question:
I’m posting this for my step mom.

My step mom had a survey done on her house that she has owned for a 7 years.

The idea was to replace the old fence, that was falling down. But since the fence was not straight my step mom decided a survey would be a good idea.

Well it took over a 6 weeks of active work for the surveyors to finish their exhibit map( it cost over $2500). We learned the delay is because almost all the monuments in the town the house is in are “wrong.” We learned this info from the county, not the surveyors. Apparently the town used to use road monuments as the bases for property lines, which is a problem when roads get widened such as the roads around this house have. This info is very clearly documented in the county PLAT system, like 25 pages of reports.

Well my step mom looks into the PLAT system and kinda gets a rough idea of where her property lines are. When she finally got her survey back it seemed okay.

Until she decided to calculate the square footage of her lot. Per the mortgage on the house her lot should be 7,840 sqft, this is also what the county record states as well. The survey says her lot is exactly 7500 sqft.
She knows that they are using a monument found out in front of the house. This monument is the only monument on the entire block, and even the other side of the street doesn’t have any either. Also the road was widened in front of the house and a new side walk was added about 15 years ago, and the city never did a survey.

She knows that the length of the lot is correct. All houses have a 100ft deep lot, which hers is. But it but the survey calculated lot size on the only monument is only 75 ft wide.
Which would put the houses underground utilities on the neighbors property ( the one with the only monument).  If she adds the extra 3.feet 4 inches. Her utilities are on her property, but her neighbors place is only 2.5 feet from the property line.  She has looked, I have looked neither of us can find that their is an easement, adverse possession anything in her mortgage paperwork.

The survey map was completed about 2 weeks ago, and the issue was realized this weekend.

Is it worth bringing this issue up? Who do we bring it up too?

Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 It’s common for those to not match. Step 1 would be to call the Surveyor that just completed the survey and ask them to explain it.
No one here will be able to give you a definitive answer for your specific issue without diving into all the maps and documents you’re  referencing and probably a few (or many) that you aren’t. Answer #2: Most likely proration. All lots in a subdivision are created at the same time, no lot has junior or senior rights. Sometimes modern surveys of old subdivisions show that there is not enough land in the subdivision for the lots to be the dimensions called for on the plat.  Surveyors will prorate between original undisturbed monuments in that block of the subdivision so those lots are equal. Call the surveyor with your questions.


Title: CA: Workers Comp Has Left Me Without Income While Determining The Cause of My Injury

Question:
I am an Electrician in the state of California and over the course of doing my job this year I sustained an injury to my upper back/shoulders and neck. It wasnt the kind of injury where there was a violent trauma like falling or an object hitting me. This was overuse of the muscles which eventually led to me not being able to lift my arms to wash my hair any more (On really bad days)

Back in March I started experiencing a lot of pain in the effected areas of my body and went to see my drs at Kaiser. They prescribed physical therapy anti inflammation medication and muscle relaxers however they didnt take me off work or put me on modified duty. (note for my occupation modified duty is not allowed, you are to stay home if you can not perform your normal work duties) I followed the therapy routine but I was only able to go to work for 2-3 days in a row before I had to call in sick because I was too stiff and in too much pain to work.

After a few more visits to my Dr and many more missed days of work my Dr asked if I had considered that my injuries were work related. He recommended that I contact my employer and ask to be evaluated by their "work" dr. That day when I went home I called my employer and asked just that.

It takes about a week to get an appointment (I was told by my employer that I could only be seen by appointment) During this week I am no longer working. Once I see the work Dr they tell me that my injuries are common for someone in my profession and they set me up with physical therapy and some medicine for inflammation/muscle spasms.

This is were the workers comp insurance company "Travelers" comes in. I get a call from my adjuster, they inform me that they will be paying for one month of treatment while the cause of my injury is determined. They also inform me that I have to send out some paper work to meet with a State QME who will determine the cause of my injury. During this time I was instructed by Travelers to file for state disability insurance as I was unable to work but workers comp wasnt yet accepting responsibility for my injury. It takes a while but the work dr eventually fills out my paperwork that I can get some money from state disability. At this point it had been about 8 weeks since I last saw a pay check.

One month passed, I went to physical therapy and made some improvements but was no where near ready to return to work. I got my QME appointment scheduled but I was informed that I had to make the appointment 30 days out from the date I called so that the state dr had time to collect my medical records over the last 10 years. During this time Travelers denies my claim and is no longer paying for me to see the work dr as the one month is up and it has yet to be determined if my injury is work related or not. The work dr will no longer continue to fill out my state disability paper work as they arnt being paid by travelers any more and my insurance is Kaiser. So they tell me to go back to my drs at Kaiser in the mean time.

My dr at Kaiser is reluctant to help me at all. He tells me that my injury is work related and that unless I bring documentation from another dr saying otherwise they will not treat me past a single visit. He agrees to fill out the paper works to extend my state disability one week while I wait to see the state dr. He also schedule one physical therapy session for me because I was experiencing a horrible pinching sensation in my neck when I would lift my arms.

On 8/12 I get to finally see the state dr. We go over a lot of things and at the end of my appointment he tells me that in his professional opinion my injuries are work related and that he will be filing a report that says just that. The only down side is that it can take up to 30 days for him to submit the paperwork to Travelers insurance.

The 30 days for the QME report has since passed. I am on day 35 now and the QME has not filed for an extension nor have I received their report. I have tried calling the QME's office but no one ever calls me back. It seems my only option is to request another QME visit that could take over 30 days again or wait and hope that my current QME report shows up sometime? Currently I am receiving no money from disability and no money from workers comp. I have had to take out loans to pay my bills during this time but if the QME report dosnt come in soon the loans arnt going to be enough.

 I am reluctant to contact an attorney as im worried that It could complicate the process or even make it worse for me. I know attorneys arnt cheap so I would be worried that I would be left with less money to treat my injuries than if I just wait for the QME report and not contact an attorney.

Answer: As a fellow californian who works in a high injury field, get an attorney. If you are part of a union check to see if they will pay for it.  Workers comp is complex and you're at the whim of the doctors and adjusters because you don't have the expertise to question their findings.


Title: Service dogs in a Dairy Plant?

Question:
I don't know if this is the right place to post but I was thinking I would need legal advice to convince my boss to allow my service dog at my workplace.
In my own research, I understand that it's allowed in public buildings and offices but I work in a small dairy plant with a strict boss.

Is it legal for service animals to be in a dairy manufacturing plant? If so, what are some facts I can lay down to convince my boss?

Edit: I forgot to mention I live in South Texas!

My work: I am a laboratory technician and I do bihourly audits and other timely temperature audits and microbiology testing in a small lab for raw and pasteurized dairy products. There are stairs and minor labor involved in moving product. I conduct GMP, SQF and HACCP check ups as well, which also requires a lot of walking throughout the plant.

My dog: A German Shepard mix who is a service dog that provides mobile and psychiatric support for my anxiety attacks and lightheadedness due to my medication.

Answer:
 What kind of work do you do? And what kinds of services does the dog do for you?

Employers are required to provide reasonable accomodations to disabled employees. It's fairly reasonable to allow service dogs into most offices. Allowing them near food production, and depending on the kinds of services the dog performs potentially allowing them to be a part of the food production process, may not qualify as reasonable.

I mean, I know an armless lady that is a pretty incredible baker with the help of her service dog, but it wouldn't be reasonable for a bakery to hire her and have her dog fetching ingredients for her like he does at home.


Title: [CA] A car ran into me while turning, claims it was my fault - what can I do?

Question: I was riding across the crosswalk area on my bike at a 3 way intersection, all lights were red, and a car making a right turn drove right into me. I'm not seriously injured but my bike is ruined and the driver is threatening to sue me for damages to his car, which is absolutely ridiculous. What are my options?

Answer:
 Technically a bicycle is a vehicle and should not be in a crosswalk when the light is red. If you want to cross at a crosswalk, you technically ought to dismount and walk the bike across the street. As it is, you ran a red light. If you had been a pedestrian, you would have had right of way and the driver would have been in the wrong. As it is, technically you were in the wrong.

However, they were in the wrong for another reason: right on red is only legal when it can be performed "with reasonable safely", so if you're already breaking the law to run a red light, they should yield right of way to you until it's safe for them to proceed. On top of that, chances are (knowing people in my area, anyway) they didn't come to a full stop before turning.

If they don't sue you, great. Go pay for a new bike and next time follow the rules of the road. If they do sue you, you go to court and the judge decides. The judge might be generous and consider you a pedestrian, or they might not.Answer #2: I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to be riding a bike in a crosswalk.

He can sue you. You can sue him. The Judge will decide.