Title: Hotel gave us a lower price room than I reserved, they won't refund the difference. Anything I can do in CA?

Question:
We recently got married and went on our honeymoon. I reserved a hotel's "honeymoon suite."  It was supposed to have a separate living area and bedroom, private ocean-view patio, complimentary room service breakfast each morning, etc.

When we arrived the hotel told us there was a booking issue and they were over-booked, and their honeymoon suites were full.  They arranged for us to get a honeymoon suite at a different hotel nearby.

The hotel already had my credit card information from the reservation.  The day we arrived and were sent to the different hotel, I asked front desk staff if they would process my payment or if I needed to give the new hotel my card info.  The person told me she THOUGHT I would pay the new hotel, but there wasn't a manager available to talk to because it was late at night.

At the new hotel when a manager was a available I went to arrange payment, and was told that the other hotel had already collected my payment.  They charged my credit card for the amount of the room we RESERVED, not the price of the room we GOT.

The other hotel's honeymoon suite was much smaller, just the one room, had no deck or patio, was not an ocean-view room and there was no breakfast feature.  Wifi and parking had to be paid for. They comped parking for the first night but after that we had to pay.

It is also simply a lower-quality hotel.  I actually considered it when booking but found that it got bad reviews.  Sure enough the hotel room was not very clean, two light bulbs were out, the bathtub had dirty footprints in it and we found some forgotten belongings of a previous guest in the room.

The price of the room I reserved was $410/night.  I asked front desk staff at the hotel that they put us in, and was told that the rate for the room we were in was $290/night.  That is a $120 different over 7 days, $840 total.  We also had to buy breakfast each day since breakfast was not included, and we had to pay for wifi and parking, which were free at the original hotel.  Overall we are out more than $1000.

The hotel refuses to give me any money back because they say that the rooms were "equivalent" because they are both honeymoon suites.  But the room we reserved was a much nicer room with more features.   And and the hotel they sent us to we had to pay for things that were complimentary at the first hotel.

If I take them to court is it likely I would win, or would their defense of the rooms being equivalent hold up?

Answer:
 Personally I think you have a good case. You did not get what you paid for. You can sue in small claims.

You need your receipts for everything. Also get print outs of the website pictures for both hotels and the room you wanted and the room you got. If you took any pictures that would be good also.

Get all these things together and write a strongly worded letter explaining what happened, what compensation you want, and by when (give them a few weeks). Send it to the corporate office. If you don't get a response you like then file in small claims. Answer #2: Can you please update this once
You resolve this issue. Good luck pal!Answer #3: Also I was advised to consider doing a chargeback to my credit card.  However since we did receive SOME services (just not the proper amount) I am not sure whether it can be arranged.  Answer #4: Before you do a chargeback or file in small claims contact the manager of the hotel, or if its a corporate hotel contact corporate. Go up the chain. Once you get someone high enough up you will probably get the refunded difference. If not then go with the other options. If you like traveling you may be able to get more in comps than what you would get back.


Title: Banning customer

Question:
I work in a divey bar in small town BC, Canada. A customer came in with racist/white supremacist tattoos including a swastika. I told him that he had to leave because I won't serve someone with racist tattoos. He argued and called the police on us who never arrived in the end and he eventually left but said that he was going to take us to court for discrimination.

I know that I'm allowed to not serve anyone for any reason other than something discriminatory but I hardly feel like white supremacist tattoos fall in that category.

I'm not particularly concerned but I wonder if he has a leg to stand on here at all. I know Canada has hate speech laws and wonder if that would factor in at all?

Anyways, would love your input.

Answer:
 Discrimination is legal but it becomes illegal once you discriminate based on a protected class.  In this case you are discriminating the customer for his tattoos, which happen to be racist.  You could also discriminate someone for having unicorn tattoos. Having tattoos is not "protected".Answer #2: You are definitely allowed to ban someone from the premises for this reason.Answer #3: Yeah, you're in the clear. Being a Nazi prick isn't a protected class.Answer #4: Tattoos are a choice he made, and not part of a protected class.Answer #5: I’m in SK, and I’m not sure if it’s too different, but we’re allowed to not serve anyone for any reason. Could be that you need to be cut off. Could be that you’re in colours. Could be that you’re pregnant. Could be that I don’t like your goatee. Reason being that we need to protect ourselves - and the bar/restaurant needs to protect itself - from liability.

I wouldn’t serve anyone who was showing visible hate tattoos. If my workplace gave me a hard time about it, I’d find another job because I don’t want to work at a racist bar.Answer #6: IANAL, but hate speech is actually a crime in Canada. I called the non-emergency line to report a vehicle with similar decals all over it, and it was taken very seriously. I'm not sure if this will hold up or if he'd actually be charged with something, but it may be worth doing the same, particularly if you have any identifying information for the guy.


Title: Is a five minute break with five minute walking times (called a 15 minute break) legal?

Question: In Virginia

Answer: We need some more details.  Is this a break while working?  How long is your shift?  Where are you located?


Title: California Illegally Driving with Minor and Got zin An Accident To a Woman Speeding

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 It sounds like you entered an intersection when it was not safe to do so. Her speeding may be a factor but the majority of the liability likely falls on you.

Everything else depends on your insurance company. Do not lie to insurance when you talk to them. Insurance fraud is a crime.


Title: Friend caught shoplifting. No ID taken but asked to never come back. Will police take further action?

Question: Is there a way to track him on the security cameras or something like that not too sure. What's your opinions

Answer: I think your friend was extremely lucky and he most certainly should not return to that store.Answer #2: He has been “trespassed” which means he has been informed that he is not welcome, and if he shows up again they can have him arrested immediately for trespassing. Do not return.


Title: Tires keep getting slashed

Question: Someone keeps slashing our tires. The first time happened about 2-3 weeks ago and they slashed two tires on each of our working cars. This time they did same thing, except they didn’t do it to my car (I just got this car about a week ago). We have a feeling it was our neighbors kid because he’s had a history of things like this but not as bad. What should I do?

Answer: You should report the vandalism to the police. And perhaps invest in cameras so next time there will be evidence from which the police may be able to act.Answer #2: You need to get cameras aimed at your car to catch them in the act.  A police report wouldn’t hurt eitherAnswer #3: What did the police say when you reported these incidents?


Title: [Oregon] So my building is laying down new floors and I stepped in the adhesive

Question:
This is in Portland at my office building. There were no signs or tape or anything, so when I went to open the door for the cleaning lady with her big cart I stepped right over in to it. She also stepped in it and started yelling at the construction guy who just laughed and said over and over "don't step in that".

I didn't immediately recognize the seriousness of the adhesive and figured my 2 mile walk home in the rain would rub it off, yet here I am.

I've tried various ways to remove this stuff but it seems like my brand new $400 boots can't be worn on hard surfaces anymore without sticking and I can't walk barefoot in my kitchen or bathroom anymore either without getting sticky feet.

I'm concerned further attempts to remove the residue from my floors will damage it in some way that will make me responsible for replacing the vinyl.

So far I've invested probably 16 hours of concerted effort into removing this stuff and I'm at my wits end. I don't make a lot of money and I had saved up for those boots as an early christmas present to myself so I'm really bummed out.

Plus the floor thing and idk what to do.

Is there a way to receive compensation for my boots and maybe a clean up service for my floors?

Answer:
 Mineral spirits, goof-off (not the citrus kind), some kind of solvent will get it off.  Make sure you ventilate.  Water based cleaners or soap will do nothing.

You're unlikely to get any compensation.


Title: Landlord trying to back out

Question:
I'm brand new to this sub, sorry if any of this is off-topic.

So my gf and I are moving into an apartment together. We found a great place but the landlord seemed a little off... but she approved our credit, and cashed our first and last months rent. The realtors office has already cashed their full months fee for us as well.

We have a signed lease document clearly laying out our 27 month lease, my girlfriend and I both signed it and so did the landlord, and we have this document.

Now the landlord is saying that she can't rent to us and she tried bringing our money back to the realtors office.

Does she have a right to refuse us the place at this point? We are three weeks out of our move-in date and I also don't want to lose the realtor fee.

Edit: this is in Boston, MA

Edit 2: So....wow. It turns out the real reason that the landlord flipped out was that the realtor put the wrong owner on the lease agreement. The property is owned by a trust, not the landlord herself. So all in all I'm glad we drafted a new lease. She does still seem like a pain but I'm glad we got a new lease done, this one set at 15 months. Thank you all for the responses!

Answer:
 If you and the landlord both executed the lease, you have a binding agreement and she can't walk away without your consent. Two parties to a contract can almost always jointly choose to nullify the contract, and you could let the landlord out if you wanted to. You don't have to.

That being said, 27 months is a long time to deal with a crazy landlord. She can make your life a living hell and even if you beat her up and down the courtroom and win every time it's potentially going to be an exhausting, expensive, and annoying process to deal with her. It may be worth it to run while her offer is still on the table.

If it were me, I would offer to agree to terminating the lease on the condition that she pays you back what you paid her plus an additional amount for your inconvenience in having to find another place. Maybe the cost of moving again or something. Really there are no rules to negotiating like this. Whatever she agrees to is fine. But she's bound by the lease I you want her to be.


Title: [NY] car out of warranty and transmission blew while Ford mechanic was driving it.

Question:
My 2008 Ford Escape is out of warranty now (112k miles) I dropped my car off for a repair entirely unrelated to the transmission.  While being repaired at a Ford service center they sent my car to a third party mechanic shop for tire rods and a new mount/balance after that a ford mechanic returned it to the dealership/service center. The next day they went to move it and they claim the transmission had blown over night.

The manager is telling me since the transmission blew from normal wear and tear they will not cover the repair and want me to pay $3200 (was $3600, but they took off $400). I feel since the vehicle was in their care that the transmission repair should be covered.

What actions can I take to protect myself from such a hefty repair cost for such an old car?

Answer: Unless the transmission problem is attributable to something they did, you're out of luck. It's not a hot potato where whoever holds it at the time is responsible.


Title: Game coming out soon that uses same name as my game, and my name is trademarked in US

Question:
[removed]
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer:
 > Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Call your trademark lawyer and ask him for your options.Answer #2: Hey, man, Letter Quest is awesome!

Edit : I mean, *your* game, Grimm's Journey :-)Answer #3: First step is usually having your lawyer write a letter, usually a stern one, informing them that they've infringed your trademark and you want them to change the name of their game.


Title: Dispute claim got denied.

Question: California. Bought a screen protector from a Verizon store and the clerk messed up applying it and it wouldn't stick to my screen. She wouldn't refund or exchange it so I filed a dispute. It just got denied. I paid for something I never got to use and it was not my fault. Chase is saying that because of their no refund, return, or exchange policy that i cant get my money back. What can i do? I still have the screen protector as well, to prove if I need to that it doesn't stick.

Answer:
 You can escalate the issue with Verizon and see if they'll resolve it.  Or, if it is worth the cost of the screen protector, I guess you could sue them.

Or you could just decide to buy your screen protectors online in the future.  Verizon is a terribly expensive way to buy accessories.


Title: Retroactive Reduction of Wages-- Atlanta, GA

Question: I am a shift manager at the restaurant I work at, so I make $6.25 instead of the normal waiter rate of $2.13. Today, my boss texted me and said that since I didn't do a good enough job cleaning last night, they would only be paying me the waitress rate-- even though I have already worked those hours as a manager. Can they change my pay rate after I have already worked those hours with the understanding of receiving $6.25 per hour?

Answer: They cannot retroactively decrease wages, but they can make your new wage 2.13/hr going forward.


Title: Alabama: Receiving Earnest Money after closing fell through due to Buyer's lender

Question:
So I am selling my house in Alabama.  I had a contract with a buyer who had an FHA loan approved.  The buyer put up $2000 earnest money- she chose to put up this amount.  Fast forward through the inspection, apprasial, etc.  Her FHA loan fell through at the fault of her lender.  Everything fell apart the day of closing, after I had jumped through many hoops per the inspection AND the FHA appraiser. I moved all of my furniture out the day before closing, packed up my car the morning of, then my agent called me telling me her lender missed something, could no longer move forward, and the entire deal basically fell through at that point.

I spent well over $2000 on the repairs required to sell the house for both the inspection and appraisal.  My house was off the market for 2 months.  I feel I honestly am owed the entire amount of this money- that's what it was for.

Now the buyer is refusing to sign over the earnest money she put up.  I believe this money is mine, as that is what the earnest money is for- putting money down in good faith that you want this deal to close.  Well, she is only willing to sign over $500.  I countered back for at least $1000- that's half, and honestly what I would have expected for earnest money anyway- again, she chose to put up $2000 in the first place.

She refuses to sign anything releasing anymore than $500. Is there anything else I can do? Is this money just going to hangout in escrow indefinitely? What will happen if neither of us budges? Should I get a lawyer? Would small claims do anything?

I think I provided all info, but any advice here is greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 The buying contract should specify what happens here, but if the buyer was operating in good faith and the purchase fell through for no fault of their own, then my understanding is that generally they're due their earnest money back.

You've only really been damaged by the house being off the market; the repairs you made represent money you likely would have had to spend anyway.


Title: I found valuables on the ground. What is the law on what I should do next? [Ontario]

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Found property must be turned over to the police. If unclaimed you may havr a claim to it after a period of time, depending on jurisdiction.


Title: My wages are being garnished from my ex's student loan.

Question:
Hi there. Last week I posted a question related to my financial situation, and I thought maybe I could post the entire story here to get advice on details I may have missed.

Just a little background: I am living in Southern California, I have my own apartment, and I am working two jobs (part time and full time, around 55 hours per week). I also sell paintings on the side, and have approximately $50,00 of my own student debt.

Now it's story time! Back around 2006 I co-signed a student loan for my now ex-boyfriend. He needed a private loan, and my credit score was better than his. The loan amount was for roughly $15,000.

Fast forward to 2010- we have broken up and I start to get mail addressed to him and me. Not being ready to deal (and also being young and not as smart as I am now) I didn't open any of that mail.

Now onto 2012- I am offered increased hours at my second job, which I love. My goal is to be full time at this job (I'm a sign artist) and to quit my other job in food service. However, I notice that no matter how many hours I work, my check amount stays the same- oh shit, my wages are being garnished. Oh shit, all that mail I never opened! Gah!!

Turns out, he stopped making payments on the loan before we even broke up. As a result, a judgement was levied against me and my ex, totaling over $18,000. The court date for me to defend myself was long since past. As far as I know, my ex-BF was and is unemployed, so the lawyers came after my income.

My ex refuses to talk to me about this. I've been trying to contact him - by text, phone, Facebook, email, his family members, etc. - for a year. It took nearly six months to get a one sentence email back saying he's "looking into it". Real talk, I'm sure no help will come from him or his family.

I understand that I don't have many options to clear the judgement. Because my name is attached, it's just as much my debt as his (though that wasn't the case when he took out the loan in the first place). I've been given different pieces of advice: I should file for bankruptcy (really don't want to do that), I should pay it off in one lump sum (yeah right, don't have nearly enough money), let the garnishment continue (which will take approximately another three years)

On the advice of a family member, I Filed a claim of exemption for financial reasons. There is a hearing scheduled for next week where I can go present evidence.

Has anyone ever heard of anything quite like this? Is there really nothing I can do except what was mentioned
above? Any advice or help would be appreciated. Thank you so much!

Topic:
Credit Debt Bankruptcy

Answer:
 When you co-signed, you agreed to be responsible for the loan. You can sue him for the amount you are being forced to pay, but you may have a difficult time squeezing blood from a stone. Answer #2: >Because my name is attached, it's just as much my debt as his

You say this, but you don't seem to really believe it. As far as the law is concerned, the debt *is* yours, no less than it would be if you had defaulted on a $15,000 student loan for yourself. Your options are the same as they would be if this debt were for yourself.


Title: Cop wrote down my license plate number

Question:
I was picking up my friends from the airport in Dulles, VA and pulled into the arrivals gate kind of quick. I was doing a few miles over, but nothing serious. Dove into the spot and stopped the car. They loaded up and we left. In the maybe 20 seconds I was parked, I saw a cop grab a pad of paper and write down what I assume to be my plate number. The thing is, the cop wasn't in the car. He was standing outside of it, talking to a buddy. He'd have no instrumentation to gauge my speed.

The questions I have are: Can he mail me a ticket? How can he prove it was me driving? How can he prove I was speeding and/or prove I was driving dangerously? What can I expect to happen next?

Answer:
 > Can he mail me a ticket?

Yes

>How can he prove it was me driving?

He can give a statement himself that he saw you driving. But you were at an airport. Even in the carpark you would have driven past a LOT of cameras

>How can he prove I was speeding and/or prove I was driving dangerously?

See previous answer

>What can I expect to happen next?

Nobody here knows the future. Maybe nothing. Maybe something. You'll find out what will happen when it happens.


Title: 'Terminated' from a job. After I had sent in an e-mail of resignation. [possibly /r/legaladvice, if not let me know where to crosspost]

Question:
So, I was recently put on suspension at a previous employer. Our company recycles products customers bring in free. And I took a piece of that recycle out to another employees car. So essentially I stole it.

Alright, So ok I did it, I'll take my consequences. I also know they aren't going to bring me back. So, I text my manager asking If I am allowed to quit during this suspension. Which she states I can, and to send an e-mail to herself and the GM. which I did, still have my copy.

So I left it at that, I quit no need for anything else. Fast forward to today, I got a letter in the mail from HR stating my benefits have ended blah blah, "In connection with my **Termination**". I thought that because I already sent in a letter of resignation, I technically quit. I wasn't terminated.

Now because I don't know, did I make the mistake of assuming this or is there anyway I can get this fixed?

edit: I live in Maryland

Answer: Termination doesn't mean fired, it means you stopped working there.  Most companies refer to quitting as a voluntary termination, and getting fired as involuntary termination.


Title: Connecting Internet cable myself.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >  I did some research saw some videos. maybe I cant access it but if I just go connect it myself can I get in legal trouble for it?

Yes.  You could be in trouble both for theft of services, and for damaging their property.  Leave it be.


Title: Almost got in a head-on collision, curious who would be at fault

Question:
Small town New Hampshire: Traveling down a two-lane road. A fuel truck was blocking one lane to fill up a house on a hairpin turn (side note: this was an incredibly stupid place for this truck to park). I gingerly started to pull into the oncoming lane and a woman came around the corner going about 10 over (~40 in a 30 MPH zone, ballpark [obviously]).

I was able to get back in the right lane before anything happened, but I'm wondering who would be legally "at fault" here if there had been an accident. Is it me for being in the wrong lane? Is the oncoming driver for speeding? Is it the fuel truck for obstructing traffic?

Answer: You would be at fault for travelling in the opposite lane. The other driver might be found partially at fault for travelling over the posted speed limit. The truck wouldn't have any responsibility in the accident, since it's a non-moving obstacle. The truck might have gotten a parking violation, but that would not be related to the accident itself.


Title: [PA] My landlord wants to lock up the attic so we can't use it. The attic makes up about half of the usable space in the apartment. Can I just pick the lock once they leave?

Question:
The attic was presented as part of our apartment during the initial walk-throughs, so I don't see how they could possibly justify taking that space away from us. They also want us to move our stuff from the attic to the main floor, which is a considerable inconvenience because we have a futon that we'll have to take apart to get downstairs and once it's downstairs there's no place to put it that doesn't block a door or closet. So, once they leave, can I just pick the lock to the attic door and continue using the attic space?

They've also said that we have to pay a $10 per day fee if anyone that isn't on the lease is staying in our apartment with us, and nobody is. We think they're probably convinced that someone else is living with us because they let themselves in for a walk-through and saw our friend passed out on a futon in the attic. With that being said, what's the process for trying to force us to pay that fee despite nobody that isn't on the lease living with us? If we just refuse to pay, could they evict us or take us to court, and if they do, what are our odds of having our lease upheld?

Answer: Tell them in writing you are using the attic, it's part of the house, you won't move your stuff out of it, they can't lock it, and if they do, you will take reasonable steps to regain control of space you are paying rent to occupy.  Keep a copy. Unless they are stupid this will end it.Answer #2: What does your lease say? Answer #3: "Let themselves in for a walkthrough" didn't violate the lease? You have some crap landlords. I would be through every word of that lease with magnifier.


Title: Husband in Louisiana contracted genital herpes and did not tell wife

Question: I have been married 15 years and am currently separated. I found out recently that my husband contracted genital herpes a few years ago. I confronted him, and he admitted it to me. Can I press charges against him for potentially exposing me to this disease? He is a corporate attorney at a large firm. I don't know if there's anything I can do, but I want to.

Answer: I'm calling troll. The hypo given is so similar to the case on point to defy reason. Down to the length of time the two were married at the time of divorce. Meany v. Meany, 639 So.2d 229 For those interested.


Title: TX, Rear ended by a vehicle with paper dealer plates, the driver was not an employee and was not insured. Dealership is refusing to give insurance information.

Question:
I am in a complicated situation and any advice would be helpful. I have an older car and just carry liability on the vehicle. My vehicle was in the shop and the dealership gave me a loaner vehicle. I was rear ended in the loaner car by another vehicle that had paper dealer plates that said "Owned by *** Autos". The driver of the vehicle stated that it was previously his father's vehicle and it had just been sold at the auction and they had removed it from their insurance already. He also stated it had just been sold to *** Autos. At this point I made sure to get a police report and pictures of the vehicles and identifications. He was issued a citation for not having insurance and allowed to leave. He said he would take care of the damages and we would be in touch but he was leaving town... I immediately called *** Autos and didn't get to speak to anyone until the following day. The individual on the phone acknowledged the accident and also said they would take care of the damages but did not want to handle it on insurance. I also did not want to handle this on insurance since I was not sure if my insurance would cover it and would most likely make my rates go up either way. He again assured me they would take care of it. He had me obtain a quote of the damages and I faxed him the quote from the dealership the loaner car belonged to. He acknowledged he received the fax and was waiting for his finance department to approve it. I continued to call for the next several days and was always told an excuse and " I will call you back" followed by never calling back. After several days of excuses my brother and I went to the address listed for the dealership. Within two minutes of our arrival the individual we had been speaking to on the phone, who seemed to be in charge, became defenses refusing to speak to us and called the police to get us to leave. We stepped out into the hallway until the police arrived and explained our side of the story.  The dealership told the police that they did not own the vehicle and the plates may be fraudulent. This was the first time they ever denied owning the vehicle. Obviously nothing was going to be resolved that day. The officers were nice enough to run the VIN number we had a picture of. The vehicle was registered to the same paper plate we also had a picture of noted with "Owned by *** Autos". Fortunately a friend of friend is an attorney and was kind enough to at least call and explain that he was representing me, the dealership had a financial responsibility for the damages and if we did not receive a plan for payment or insurance information he would advise me to file a lawsuit for the damages and attorney fees. He unfortunately is a construction attorney and does not have much experience in autos. I have spoken to the dealership that owns the loaner, that was hit, and they are wanting to put it on my insurance. I am not sure if it would be covered and I already have at-fault claims on my record from 3&5 years ago, I am scared I would be dropped form coverage or raised even more then the ridiculous amount I pay for liability. I would almost prefer to pay out of pocket for the damages.

I am unsure of my options in moving forward. Do I have enough for a suit against the dealership? I know the paper plates have very strict regulations and I believe they were breaking some some by letting an uninsured, non employee drive the vehicle. Is there a government agency I can file a complaint with?

Edit: Thank you for all the replies. I am going to speak to my dealership again and let then know to let the insurances figure it out. I just want it out of my hands now.

Answer: This is the dealer's problem, not yours.  Give them their car back and give them the info on the other driver, then forget about it until someone sues you.  Do at least notify your insurance carrier.


Title: Can you remove a life insurance policy someone holds on you?

Question:
My dad has a life insurance policy on me, though he's been absent all but three years of my life. He doesn't pay my bills or give me money, no "happy birthday etc".
I'm not on his car or health insurance also I don't live with him.
If I passed before him I don't want him to benefit, only my mom's been there all my life.

Can I get his policy revoked/removed/cancelled?
 I'm 25
Atlanta, Georgia

Answer:
 > Can I get his policy revoked/removed/cancelled?

Maybe. The issue is whether he has an "insurable interest" in you. All you can really do is inform the insurer that you think he doesn't have one. Then the insurer can decide whether to take action.Answer #2: No. I used to write insurance in GA; Life, P&C, Health. Anyone that can reasonably be argued as a "parent" for you, now or at any point in your life, will have an "insurable interest" in you. There won't be any means of undoing this policy. He pays the premiums and he has an insurable interest.

Your only method of spiting him would be to outlive the duration of the term, or outlive him specifically to ensure he can't collect on a potential indemnification.Answer #3: Nope. Not your policy

Take one out on him in spiteAnswer #4: He is your father, he has an insurable interest in you. As long as he keeps paying the premium, he gets to keep the policy. Answer #5: I carry life insurance on my daughter in case she dies and I need to cover funeral expenses. Nothing sinister about that. It's unlikely to be a profitable venture to pay life insurance premiums on a 25 year old.


Title: My ex is threatening to send my nudes out to my family and other people in the military [Tx]

Question: So i sent my ex some nudes of myself when we were together, she is threatening to send them to my parents. she wants to ruin my relationship with my parents because i ruined our relationship. is there anything i can do to stop her or take her to court for. I am in the Marine Corps, and dont want these pictures getting out. i dont konw how bad it will affect me and my workplace.

Answer:
 >These are very bad pictures of my junk and they dont have my face in them

Well that's a blessing.

You say she is threatening you. What is she asking you to do?

Generally the best approach to something like this is to be proactive: tell your mother and anyone else you care about that they might be getting pictures they would really rather not see because of an unfortunate break-up. As a mother of a son myself I'd appreciate the heads up (plus an indication of whatever email/phone number they might be coming from) so I could delete them unseen.

I have no idea why people take pictures like this and send them to women- they aren't at all erotic. But the mistake has now been made, now you need to mitigate it.


Title: Advice on peaceful protests / is it illegal on Walmart premises?

Question:
(Arizona, United States)
Hello,

I am new to this subreddit and never posted before. My concern is my local Walmart. We all know their issue with fish sales: there are always dead fish. Being an aquarium enthusiast and generally caring for the well being of these little ones, how can I go about a peaceful protest on their property? Is it considered private property and we're not allowed to protest on it?

I watched a video on YouTube about these guys, normal dudes not affiliated with Walmart, remove their dead fish one by one and adding in chemicals and medicine from the Walmart shelves themselves to tanks that need it. My concern with that is the fact that it's product they sell and I don't know a lot about the situation. Is it considered shop lifting? What trouble could they, and possibly we, get in to? I don't want to follow the example or get into legal trouble but it is ridiculous! I'm tired of the neglect. If they can't provide proper training on fish they shouldn't sell them.

So what can I do? Thank you for your time.

Answer: It's private property so they can ask you to leave. Refusal to leave when asked would be trespassing.


Title: Can opening a box of food bind you to an arbitration clause?

Question: I was in a discount store. I found a box of protein bars I was thinking about buying. They were sealed, with a label stating “I’d you break the seal, you agree to our terms and conditions and are bound to an arbitration clause”. Surely this is ridiculous. I didn’t buy them, not because of the arbitration clause, but more why they needed it. This is unenforceable, right?

Answer:
 You actually have to agree to terms and conditions to be bound by them. You can't just claim people have entered a contract against their will.

By reading this post, you've just agreed to give me $1000.


Title: Mother says I cannot take my car with me when I leave

Question:
My grandmother and my mother signed for my car due to the fact that I did not have any credit at the time. I have heard that due to the fact that I pay the insurance and the car note for my car (I have made every single payment and I have proof) , it is technically mine and they cannot take it away from me. I just need to know If this is true and what precautions I need to take in order to not get screwed out of a car that I have been always been paying for.

Edit: I live in Georgia

Answer: If the title is not in your name, it's not your car. Answer #2: Well then stop making payments on it, and start making payments on another car. If you are not getting the car, then why should you keep paying for it?  Tell them them politely then that was your last payment then and start searching sooner then later for a back up plan. It won't hurt your credit, but theirs if they have can't afford it.


Title: [Reno, NV]My mother has been contacted about an inheritance by a group that wants to help her claim it for 30%. Any advice would be wonderful, documents attached.

Question:
So my mother has been contacted by this guy and according to him my mother’s late grandmother (who passed away something like 50 years ago) had another relative who we don’t know, who has recently left an inheritance. This guy sent us these documents and called us and left a voice mail. We haven’t contacted him yet and we don’t know how much the estate is, or how my mother is connected to the deceased exactly. Neither of us knows anything about these matters. Any advice would be awesome.

http://imgur.com/hSr7b3D

http://imgur.com/pMgKRFm
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer: Take it to another estate planning lawyer and show it to them


Title: [MI] Car dealership sells a friend a user car where the transmission blew in under <100 miles driven after the purchase. Is there anything the friend can do?

Question:
Friend then proceeds to write on their Facebook page saying that they were dishonest with the car that the salesman sold to him. Here is the Facebook post: http://imgur.com/gyKQfri ---- the GM then called him and began accusing him of slander and telling him he was going to sue after he (the GM) had removed the post from his company's Facebook. I really don't care the outcome but i'm curious what my friend's options are right now. I know salesmen have to make a sale, but that doesn't make selling something right just because you're going to make a buck. Car also wasn't under warranty. Lemon laws do not apply for used cars here in MI.

EDIT: GM called back and apologized for being so rude over the phone and wants him to come in so he can "make things right." Honestly surprised he is going to do this after what has happened today. I guess we'll wait and see.

Answer: What did the mechanic your friend paid to inspect the vehicle before he bought it say about the transmission?


Title: If I got in a car accident and only got a warning for following too closely in the police report and not a ticket, will my Insurance company still be automatically notified that I was in a crash by the police?

Answer: They'll find out when the guy you hit files an insurance claim.


Title: Can a child rapist who impregnated their underage niece receive a $10,000 reward if their niece gets an abortion past 6 weeks? (TEXAS, OBV)

Question: Part 2: How about if the rapist tipped off their friend to report the abortion? And could that friend then give the $10,000 reward to help the rapist afford a lawyer?

Answer:
 possibly the abortion and the rape are separate things. as disgusting as that is. This is a sick law.Answer #2: It seems the law is vague enough that the answer to "Can <put whatever you want here> sue someone who helps a women get an abortion?" is "Yes"Answer #3: No, there are exceptions under the last for both rape and incest, you also cannot directly sue the motherAnswer #4: Yes. The law says 'any person' may file such a lawsuit.

>  Any person, other than an officer or employee of a state or local governmental entity in this state, may bring a civil action against any person who:

Apparently if you aid or abet an abortion you can also sue yourself (you can sue 'any person', and you are certainly a person), and have damages awarded from yourself to yourself. If you sue yourself quickly and get awarded damages quickly, then nobody else can sue you:

>  Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a court may not award relief under this section in response to a violation of Subsection (a)(1) or (2) if the defendant demonstrates that the defendant previously paid the full amount of statutory damages under Subsection (b)(2) in a previous action for that particular abortion performed or induced in violation of this subchapter, or for the	particular conduct that aided or abetted an abortion performed or induced in violation of this subchapter.


Title: Traffic Violation / Marijuana Charges in NJ

Question: So I am from Massachusetts and was recently pulled over in New Jersey picking up a friend. I was going through a roundabout and was initially pulled over for not signaling when exiting the rotary. When going through my glove box for my registration the police officer asked me what was in a bag in the glove box. Of course I panicked and told him that I had a bowl and a grinder in the bag. He then asks me to step out of the vehicle, and searches the whole car top to bottom. I get cuffed and booked and walked out with 6 separate charges. ( Failure to signal, crossing over traffic lines, careless driving, operating a motor vehicle in possession of < 50g of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, and possession of < 50g of marijuana). I have been talking to a few lawyers and my best bet seems to be to hire someone to represent me and hope that I either get away with conditional deferment, or get the case dismissed entirely if the lab is unable to present the results in time for a speedy trial. Is there a better way to go about this? Is it smart to try to represent myself and show up to Mondays court date unrepresented? Should i just suck it up, hire a lawyer and let them handle it? Any feedback would be great. THANK YOU!!!

Answer:
 >Is it smart to try to represent myself and show up to Mondays court date unrepresented?

Quite the opposite.

> Should i just suck it up, hire a lawyer and let them handle it?

Yes, that's the smart move.


Title: Minor in NV summoned to court for smoking weed

Question:
About six months ago, in June, I got arrested for smoking weed. I am 17 years old, living in Nevada. Today I received a court summons for Friday, December 18. I smoked about two days ago, and I still have a week. I need to know if I will be drug tested that day, and if I am and I fail, what will happen. I want to know if I'll have to go to drug court as well. On top of that, I'm living with my 19 y/o boyfriend with both of my parents permission and I'm not sure if I can tell them that, because if I don't I hear I might have a curfew and I don't want to be back with my parents if I don't have to be. Furthermore, if I say I'm living with him, will he be drug tested as well? Thanks in advance.
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 You have pending legal charges and are still smoking pot? Like, I get that it's barely a crime and you think you're super cool because you live with your equally successful boyfriend, but really? You need to knock that off while you're in still pending legal trouble. How hard is that?

Get a lawyer. Yesterday. You can pay for it by not smoking weed. This is serious. Do you want to never get a job because you have a criminal record? Yes, you're a minor now. Give it a few months and I presume you won't be. At that point you'll probably get arrested for smoking weed again, as an adult this time.

You want to be a nurse? Well good luck getting into nursing school at all, led alone actually being hired.


Title: Local businesses man burns elderly couple for 10k

Question:
Before I start I should say I am absolutely fuming right now. There are veins on my forehead popping out that I didn't even know I had. I should also apologize for formatting as I'm on mobile.

I'll start with the basics, my grandparents own a auto repair shop, they do large diesel vehicles like dump trucks and the like.

The man in question (From here out SG, Store Guy) owns a convenience store that also operates as a take-out restaurant, gas station and government liquor depot. He also recently acquired a second local convenience store in the next town over along with some other stuff for somewhere in the ballpark of 1 Million CAD.

Now that you know the people you should know the location. This takes place in rural New Brunswick, Canada. The province has a population of about 700 000 people and there isn't a whole lot of money around.

Months ago my grandparents did work on a box truck that SG had bought. To my knowledge they had quoted him for a new engine as the old one had blown. When they went to replace the engine they had discovered the clutch was pretty well gone along with some other things so those were  replaced as well. The final bill came out to about $10 000 it is now several months later and they have recieved $2000. When my grandmother called SG he was extremely rude and disrespectful towards my grandmother. My grandmother is quite soft spoken and reserved, the fact that she told my family about this means she is quite upset about this.

The money is not the issue here. Its the fact that he has knowing taken advantage of an elderly couple trying to retire for presumably his own bottom line. We know he has the money and has had the money as he just sold a large portion of land and some other equipment.

My father has played hockey with SG since he was a kid and they were close friends through school. My grandmother would have driven SG to games and he would have spent nights and days at my fathers house growing up. He knows my grandmother personally and is still willing to do this to them.

To make this all worse we found out today that he is now trying to sell the truck and he still has not paid for the work done to it. This is too big for small claims and most court based legal options would be too stressful for my grandparents who are just trying to retire and have both just had knees replaced as well as my grandfather having his shoulders done. I'm acting of my own will as I know my grandparents won't do anything on their own. I don't have to much details on this as I'm young and generally not let in on this kind of stuff. If need be I could pressure for some details and possibly documentation but for now I'm looking for basic options before SG sells the truck and my grandparents lose all chance of getting their money.

Answer: Mechanics lean. Yesterday!Answer #2: Sue him.


Title: Fiancee's[31F] father wants for us/me[32M] to either sign a prenup or not commingle our assets. I want to understand what both mean. Does a prenup always benefit one side?

Question:
My soon-to-be sister in law's first marriage didn't end well and during/after the breakup, the ex-husband ran up crazy credit card bills among other damaging things like that. My eventual father in law is a lawyer and wants to look out for the best interest of his daughters. He told her he either wants A: for me to sign an agreement that I can't go after my wife's money (I don't know any specifics on this agreement, that's the gist I assume) or B: us to not commingle our assets. My fiancee out-earns me considerably, and she says it's not personal on his part by any means. I just want to understand the practicality of either choice. Is there anything I can include in an agreement that also protects me similarly to how it's intended to protect her? Right now we both have separate checking/savings accounts with our bank but have a shared account from which we pay bills. Should I have him produce the agreement and then go from there? In what ways does not commingling our assets protect either party during divorce proceedings? I don't even fully understand the commingling of assets. Wouldn't the house we plan to purchase soon be a commingled asset? The more I think about it, the more it seems to make sense to just sign something.

&#x200B;

Still looking forward to marriage! Does this fit better here than r/personalfinance?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: You need your own IRL lawyer to look over any pre-nup you're asked to sign and advise you and make sure your interests are covered.  This isn't DIY territory.


Title: My Landlord told me that I need their permission to submit a story to the local news

Question:
My wife and I have been the victims of 3 thefts spanning a month in Los Angeles. 1 from my car while parked on the street, 1 from her car while parked inside the gated apartment complex parking garage, and 1 was a package of ours stolen from the lobby's outgoing mailbox. All were reported to the police and they are "looking into it" which hasn't amounted to much but that is another story.

I wanted to submit the story to the local news, KTLA, and was informed by her that I need her permission and the building owner's permission to contact the news because it can affect their business. She also said if I did without their permission they could take action against me. Is this true?

Answer:
 Legally, they can't do anything.  They can choose to not renew your lease and force you to move when your current lease expires.  Answer #2: > was informed by her that I need her permission and the building owner's permission to contact the news because it can affect their business. She also said if I did without their permission they could take action against me. Is this true?

Sort of.

They can take action against you, because in the US legal system ANYONE can sue ANYONE for ANYTHING. I could sue my dog for being a bulldozer... all I have to do is file the papers. Based on the phrasing you quoted from them, I suspect that they think they might sue you for defamation or tortious interference or something like that.

They would, however, have to sue you themselves, without a lawyer. Because they won't find a lawyer who will be willing to risk censure for filing such a frivolous and inappropriate lawsuit. Because they cannot win. The only way they could win a lawsuit suing you for telling true things to the local news would be if they sued you and you failed to show up (which means you automatically lose) -- anything else and they not only lose, they may well wind up having to pay your legal fees.

So the REAL answer is that they won't sue you. (Although, if they DO you have to show up.) Not so long as you say true things to a local news organization.


Title: Boy I was talking to (18?) put my (18F) snapchat, which is my full name, on sexting websites. What repercussions does he face for doing this and how can I get these taken down?

Question: I have an assignment for one of my classes where a partner and I have to google each others names and report on what we find on social media. She found where someone put my snapchat name on sexting websites and I know who it is. How can I take these postings down, what repercussions does he face and what steps should I take legally? Thank you.

Answer:
 You can report the page to the site owner and request it be taken down. You can delete got snapchat.

Welcome to the 21st century, where lots of info gets leaked online.

There is nothing that will happen to anyone legally. You can report it to the police if you desire, but nothing will happen without a court order and the chance of that is about 0.075%


Title: Just signed a lease - hello crazy neighbors!

Question: I just signed a lease, like a week ago, and have discovered our neighbors are horrible. They seriously just threatened me if I call the cops for a noise complaint. What can I do? Can I file a police report and talk to the landlord and property manager? I have small kids and absolutely don't feel safe now. I'm in Florida.

Answer:
 >They seriously just threatened me if I call the cops for a noise complaint. What can I do?

Call the cops for a criminal threat. Answer #2: If they threatened you, and you actually feel threatened, you should report it to the police.


Title: My grandma was just scammed.

Question: My grandma (Colorado) just called me (Ohio). I am unclear on the details as she was pretty flustered. Someone called her either pretending to be me or pretending to be my lawyer. They said I was in jail for Marijuana. I think she said the lawyer was registered in Canada. They asked for $4,000 but it had to be in Apple gift cards (or credit of some sort). My uncle made that purchase. She didn't call me until after it was all done. I told her to contact the police but that there is probably nothing that can be done. Is that correct or is there something she could do?

Answer: This is a pretty common scam and it never stops being infuriating every time it's posted. Only sub-human scum does this to elderly citizens. The money is probably gone, but everyone that reads this should call their grandparent(s) right now and tell them about this scam.


Title: Revenge porn being distributed by ex coworker, (blackmail?) PA

Question:
This is long, I'll do my best with formatting.

2 years ago, D (23?F) was hired to work in the carryout portion of our bar. I (33F) also worked back there but was transitioning to bartender full time.

D had a combative personality towards me immediately. Sure, it got under my skin, but I didn't dwell on it, since we worked on separate sides of the building.

About 6 months later, I began a romantic relationship with a coworker/ close friend (M25).

She became very irate, any time we were near one another.

It was later revealed that he'd had sex with her a month prior to us becoming a couple. I wasn't upset with either of them because it wasn't my business.

Some months pass, it's hostile between us both, but just bickering.

One day, a regular comes in and tells me,
"D told me yesterday, you sell yourself on craigslist?"

I freaked out, naturally. But D was on day 1 of a weeks vacation.

I simmered on it, not sure of what I would do when she came back.

So I sat my boss down and let it out.

1. She is telling people I interact with (some of them very seedy) on a  daily basis that I am a prostitute.

2. I'm 4'11", and often walk home after a shift, at night, with cash on me. (This was then, I now uber or have a friend escort me home)

3. It puts my general safety at risk, if people were to think I'm actually a sex worker, and can easily be over powered.

When D came back from vacation, 2 of my managers confronted her. She said yes, she had indeed said it, and was fired on the spot for sexual harassment.

She takes them to court for unemployment, which I wasn't invited to. I don't know what happened at the hearing but she won.

The only thing I was told is that she had printouts of catty messages between us (there weren't many, and she was never physically threatened, I have those saved as well).

In time, she starts seeing a guy who coincidentally works with my ex husband,  who put me on a few revenge porn sites after I filed for divorce (abusive relationship, numerous permanent physical scars and one induced miscarriage)

Revenge porn laws were very new in PA in 2012, so all I could do was contact the sites (all removed quickly), and file a pfa, which I did.

Fast forward to Thursday morning, 8am. I am no longer with the coworker/Friend, and D and I haven't interacted in over a year.

I awake to a funny status, #nomorelibras, posted by a chick I was only casually friends with. I chime in, only to say, "but I'm a libra."

D appears in the thread and says I'm a narcissistic addict...blah blah blah, just bickering.

She then posts THE SAME PICTURES that my husband had 6 years ago in the thread, on Facebook.

I panicked and immediately reported the photos. I was so shocked I hadn't thought to screenshot before they disappeared.

I did, however link to the PA revenge porn law site.

The entire thread was deleted by the O.P., but I did screenshot after the pics were reported and removed.

Then, last night.

I'm celebrating a friends birthday and I meet a man. He's vouched for by my friends and we hang out in a group.

He leans over and says, "I wasn't going to ask, but do you know D?

I say, yes.

He says, "She showed me your nudes, I just thought you should know."

So, here's my question, I'm desperate for advice.

What do I do?

Answer: Have your friend contact the police and make a report.  Your ex will surely be in trouble for sending the pics to D as that is against  the law. D could be in trouble due to the posting on Facebook, but the lack of proof may prove to be an issue. Another issue is that the statute specifcially lists " of the current or former sexual or intimate partner" which means D may have found a little loophole.   Still, contact police with your friend and any evidence you have.Answer #2: You file a police report. Answer #3: Police report, now.


Title: Neighbor addressing her mail to my apt.

Question: I'm in a rent controlled apt in CA bay area and my landlords for the last few years have engaged in various forms of harassment to try to force me out. Thankfully I'm well versed in tenant law & have been able to resist. Recently they moved a sister into the unit above mine. My address is 1234. The unit above mine is 1234A, that's the legal address, and it's a legal unit. It's not 1234 Apt. A, it's just 1234A. The sister has put my address (1234) on her employment records, all of her insurance policies, utility bills, everything. I've reminded her what her address is, but it's continued. My box is overflowing with her mail. I'm tired of picking through all of her tons of stuff to find my one piece of mail. USPS doesn't seem to care because the mail is in the right building & contacting the landlord didn't help. It just occurred to me that it's likely this is another form of harassment. I can't legally throw out her mail. But what else should I do??? Thank you, wise reddit community!

Answer: Id mark it all "doesnt live at this address. Return to sender" and dump the lot of it in a postal box to be mailed back. Keep doing it until she fixes her shit


Title: WI Child custody, grandma and guardian ad litem

Question: A little background, I share a toddler with my ex boyfriend. I took him to court after my child was born seeking child support. He has a doctor saying he's disabled and unable to work so as of right now he has paid nothing in child support. He has a disability lawsuit pending, basically the family court judge stated that once that goes through he'll possibly order him to put a percentage of whatever money he gets for lost wages into an account for child. It's pretty much still up in the air until that lawsuit is settled. Money isn't an issue for my ex as his family is pretty well off and his mother will hand him money to do and buy whatever he wants. He hasn't asked to see our kid since shortly after child was born over a year & a half ago.  The only time he ever sees child is when his family has taken child. We don't communicate at all. He refuses to talk to me. Our custody agreement states that I have primary placement and he has periods of physical placement when we both agree to it. No particular schedule or anything. I allowed his mother to watch child after I went to back to work.  I thought it would be awesome, child would spend time with other family, I wouldn't have to give up time with child when I wasn't at work and I wouldn't have the expense of paying for daycare on my own. It didn't go quite as planned. His mom is a full on justnomil.  She would completely overstep every boundary I set up for her, disregard everything I asked of her, never give child enough naps, leave my child with her other family members of hers that I had no contact info for. I asked her to give me their phone numbers, leave them my number and let me know when she left them with someone else and she refused to do so. Told me that she didn't have to tell me where child was all the time because I don't tell her where child is all the time. She would introduce my kid to new medications without asking me, started feeding child solid food without asking me, told me that since her son can't take care of child it just means that she gets to, threatened to take me to court over grandparents rights if I didn't let her watch child. She had many many more boundary smashing incidents. She just doesn't seem to understand that there is any difference in her relationship with my child vs. my relationship with child. She thinks she gets to make decisions for child and is on my same level. Basically told me one time she's been anointed with her son's parental rights. I tried really hard to work with her but she refused to make any effort to change anything. I cut her down to watching child two days a week.  Her son then filed for mediation stating that I use child as a weapon and refuse to let him see her.  He never asks to see her! We went to mediation a couple months ago. His mom sat out in the parking lot the whole time. He asked in mediation for me to leave child at his mom's house where he doesn't live for 5 days a week. Told the mediator he needs supervised visitation because of medication he takes. Also claims he's there at his mom's house 5 days a week, which is hilarious because in almost a year I saw him there exactly one time and his mom maybe mentioned him being there a total of 5 times. I didn't agree to this at all so mediation went no where.  Right after this happened his mom was still watching child 2 days a week. We got into an argument and she refused to give me my child back. I had to call the sheriff's department to get her to give my child back. I immediately cut contact with his mom and put my child into daycare full time. I emailed my ex twice and said "You're welcome to see child but I'm not leaving her with your mom again. Let me know when you'd like to see kid and set up visitation." That was months ago, he still has not asked to see child at all. But now he has filed a motion to have a guardian ad litem appointed to have our custody agreement changed. I completely believe this is 100% his mother just trying to use his "father" status to get what she wants. He has shown zero interest in child.  I have still allowed his dad (child's grandpa) to spend time with child and take child for the day here and there.  Grandpa is divorced from grandma. I feel like I've made every effort to be as inclusive as possible with his family. Let them see child on birthdays and holidays. If his mom didn't constantly try to undermine my parenting and understood boundaries she'd still be watching child.How fucked am I here? Does he really have a chance of forcing me to leave child with his mother? Is there anything specific I should or shouldn't say to the guardian ad litem?

Answer: You need a lawyer. Now.


Title: Will Walgreens fire me if I tell then I got a DUI?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 As a pharmacy tech, telling your employer that you took too much of an RC benzo analog and crashed your car while intoxicated is likely to result in your termination. However, nobody here is likely to be able to give you a definitive answer and it's not really a legal question.

/r/pharmacy may be able to weigh in.Answer #2: We don't know if they will fire you or not.

They *can* fire you for getting the DWI.  They *can* fire you for not telling them you got the DWI.


Title: (Ohio) How far do defamination laws go when doing online reviews?

Question:
I got my eyebrows microbladed by a unprofessional place that broke a lot of normal professional protocols. Unlike most brow places, she didn't use any numbing cream, so for the whole hour she was running needles raw through my brows, there are noticeable gaps of places that she missed, and the brows are noticeably uneven (ex: one brows was filled in closer to my nose, the other has a longer tail, etc). She messed up multiple times, resulting in her needling my eyeball instead of my brows, so there are noticeable parts below my brows where there are random brown lines, as well as above them on my forehead, and in general, she didn't draw hair like strokes, but straight vertical lines from the beginning to the end of my brows. Basically, they look fake and done don't look done by a professional.

Furthermore, she was just really unprofessional. She left her phone on, and it rang over 15 times for text messages, and once for a phone call, resulting in her doing my brows, the randomly stopping to answer whenever she got a text. There was never a "sorry, it's an emergency I need to take it" talk, she would just answer her texts while standing over me, and never bothered to turn the ringer off. She claimed that she was trained to do this, but wouldn't say where she was trained, and unlike other cosmetologists who show off their certificate, nothing was present proving that she knew or was licensed to do this, and her website is full of stock images of before and afters instead of her own work.

Basically, I want to leave  a detailed google review, but I'm not in the mood for someone to come after me for defamation, and I know other people have gotten suits against them for meticuously detailing a bad service. I know it's just eyebrows and not a big deal, but if I left a detailed google review, which could potentially hurt her start up business, does the whole defamation thing apply?

Answer: A truthful review is not defamation.


Title: Help!! Will I get sued???

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Anyone can sue anyone for anything.

I don't see a successful cause of action here, though.Answer #2: Hah, no.  You're not going to get sued.

If she really wants to get laughed at she can take the case to a lawyer.


Title: What sort of duty do I have to rescue a child in a hot car?

Question:
Location: Austin, Texas
However, I am curious about other jurisdictions.

Hi folks, if I see a child in a hot car, do I have a duty to rescue them? If, rather than damaging the car, I just call 911, have I discharged this duty?
If the kid dies and I am sued by the parents for having seen their kid in danger and only called 911, could I avoid liability by stating that I was concerned about being shot by someone like [this guy](https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/3g8oq8/if_you_bust_a_car_window_to_save_a_child_or_pet/ctwc5qo)?

Answer: You generally have no duty to save someone else.  Calling 911 is a good idea. Make sure you describe how the child is doing. Example: In distress, unconscious, behaving normally, etc.  That will dictate their response.


Title: Huge blow up with 10 yr old son - Need guidance / advice (Ontario)

Question:
Due to unstable jobs, I had to send my son to live with his father when he was 4 - Up until then he lived with me full time.  Ex and i had a joint custody agreement settled in mediation before this.

Since then our (son and I) relationship has only ever gotten worse. .. Due to multiple sources.  (Resentment towards me,  his father,  now his step mother,  my mother,  me not being able/refusing to buy him everything he wants like his father,  his adhd,  and other diagnosed problems. .. and more)

After living with his father for a while his dad came looking for a change in agreement.  Started telling me all this stuff that I didn't understand and I didn't realize I could get free counseling at the court and signed away the original agreement to now be a sole custody for him.  :'(

Since then I've been blamed for everything that goes wrong.

I've since married and had a child with my husband and a second on the way.

Ex is harassing me for support (where no support ever has been agreed on before for either side) and says he has all this "info" on me showing me to be an irresponsible parent? !

My relationship had gotten worse with my son and every time he comes over for the weekend, it's a horrible blow up and screaming and crying that he hates me and never wants to see me again.  Now my 3 yr old is starting to act this way because he does it in front of her.

Today was the worst and I actually slapped him. I'm terrified.

I don't know what to do anymore.  My husband doesn't want him around our daughter any more and I agree she shouldn't be exposed to this.

I'm am seriously considering giving up my rights to my son as I don't know what else to do.

If ANYONE at all can give me some advice or guidance as to what to do legally with regards to my ex or my son I'd be eternally grateful. PLEASE.

Answer: While kids do learn from their peers, they learn a lot more from the parents themselves. You need to seek therapy or your doomed to repeat the same problems with your new children. You cant blame your older child who comes over once a month/week for what your 3 year old is doing.


Title: Booby traps, why are they illegal?

Question:
I apologize if this question doesn't belong here. Ive been wondering why are booby traps illegal in ones own home?

Say if someone rigs a shotgun to fire if their backdoor is forced open, this would only fire if someone is breaking into their home. How is this illegal? If it would more than likely only harm intruders who are attempting to enter illegally.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Yeah, or you know, kill first responders trying to get in to possibly save the homeowner's life...Answer #2: "My wife came home unexpectedly, and, well... . No, I swear this wasn't about the life insurance policy I just took out on her."Answer #3: The legal answer is that life is worth more than property.

This is the seminal case on it:  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katko_v._BrineyAnswer #4: Because you don’t get to react with deadly force to every action against you.


Title: Car accident with an 18-wheeler

Question:
So the story is I got into a car accident with an 18-wheeler trucking company. I was not at fault. I ended up breaking one of my legs and had to have surgery to put a metal rod in it. This was maybe 7 or so months ago. The lawyer I have now has talked to the company and the company has offered 500k as a settlement. The lawyer does not believe we should pursue a court case as he believes there is a chance that the court may rule in favor of the trucking company and give me something lower than the original settlement fee of 500k.

I am going to meet with my lawyer soon to discuss it a little further and about whether or not I want to go to court. So before that day arrives, I kind of wanted to see if the lawyer I have is just trying to make a quick easy 1/3rd of the settlement fee by persuading us not to go to court. (So he doesn't have to do more work for a court case for only a slight increase cut of the case settlement) Or is it legally or highly feasible that the court will rule a settlement less than the original offer of 500k and that our lawyer is just giving us a fair warning? Since we are not familiar with the justice system, I was hoping you the community could provide me with some insight.

Atlanta, GA

EDIT 1: The car accident occurred at a four-way intersection. I was heading North while the truck was heading South. While I was crossing the intersection (the light was green up until my two front tires had crossed the white lines) the 18-wheeler pulled infront of me in attempt to make a left turn at the intersection. I had no time to react other than to hit my brakes as hard as I can and brace for impact. Out of the many people who witnessed the incident only one stepped forward and gave a statement. The witness' statement states that both myself and the trucker had attempted to cross the intersection on a yellow light. I broke my right tibia, right fibula, and left clavicle. A metal rod was placed inside my tibia. Medical bills and liens are are roughly 100k. My lawyer takes about 37% of my settlement as payment. 45% if we go to court.

Answer: My 2 cents: The lawyer would be probably looking out for you best interests in this case. If you go to civil court, you'll have to show documented records for your hospital bills and explain why you want the amount that you want. There's always a chance the other side could win in court but for your case, it would be more likely that the full amount you're asking wouldn't be fulfilled. If you asked for say $1 million, yes you could win and get more money but even then you'd also pay your lawyer more for court fees and it would lengthen out the process a lot more. And if you go to court, the defendant in your case would bring up the settlement offer that you denied more than likely. The deal doesn't sound like a bad one.


Title: 60k loans in parents name, were used to pay for college, am I liable?

Question:
Hi,

&#x200B;

My mother has 60k in loans under her name that I did not cosign with. We haven't spoke for three years (I don't need to get into it). She just reached out and told me I 'had to' take out a private loan to pay for these.

&#x200B;

Am I liable for the loans? I don't want to lose my degree or anything, but I also don't want to pay her after she divorce raped my dad by stealing nearly 400k in his retirement.

Answer:
 On what basis does she allege that you are responsible?

* If you agreed, in the past, to repay her - and particularly if you did so in writing - then she may be able to enforce that agreement.
* If your name is on the loan documents with your consent, then the lender can come after you directly.

> divorce raped my dad

What an astonishingly insensitive thing to say. Please, reconsider this choice of phrasing.


Title: Fired due to photo-shopped picture.

Question: NC (right to work for less state). I was fired from a job with local government after my boss got pissed at me. He presented HR with a picture from surveillance camera showing me from behind at my desk with a High Times mag displayed on the computer monitor. He told HR I was looking at it during work time. My browser had no history due to private browsing being enabled. The image on the monitor was photoshopped in. I am smart enough not to do that at work. I went to an attorney on the day of dismissal. He requested records and when he saw the pic said "nothing I can do". He didn't ask for the video the shot supposedly came from. Do I have any recourse? How would I prove the image is photoshopped?

Answer:
 Do you have an employment contract with the government or are you in a union? If you're an at-will employee this was not a wrongful termination. File for unemployment and look for a new job.

>  My browser had no history due to private browsing being enabled.

Do you think this totally prevents your employer from monitoring your internet activity?Answer #2: > How would I prove the image is photoshopped?

Even though you were using private browsing, the city's IT department can tell if and when someone visited the High Times website. They log all traffic, or should. They can also tell which computer in a building visited the website. If you really want to fight this, you'd need to have the IT records and the recording subpoenaed.

You may be better off just filing for unemployment and going through the appeal process there.


Title: Younger bro got arrested for a pound and a half of weed in IDAHO that he got from where were live in OREGON. He's never been arrested before. What can we do to get him out of this?

Answer: He needs to speak with a lawyer. There's nothing else you can do. If his defense is "it's legal in Oregon", then he's in for a really bad time - even though recreational marijuana is legal here, that's three times the amount an individual is allowed to possess, AND he transported across state lines. It's not like there was a joint in the ash tray he forgot a out. He's not going to "get out of this."


Title: [PA] Apartment wants us to move apartments so they can renovate, we don't want to but they said we don't have a choice

Question:
Yeah, my apartment complex has new owners. They're doing renovations soon and want us to relocate to another apartment building. Our lease ends 9/30 and we don't want to move to another apartment for like a month and then have to move back and then move out.

We said we'd just like to stay until our lease ends without having the renovations and they said we don't have a choice. Can they force us to move? I feel like they can't, the new management seem super sketchy.

Answer: Unless your lease says otherwise, then no. You have the right to that space until the lease ends. They also don't have to renew that lease after it ends.


Title: B&N paycheck stolen and then cashed by B&N

Question:
A month ago I didn't get a paycheck and I spoke to my boss. I told her that I never got a paycheck, so she called hr and looked into it. 3 days after the paycheck was released it was cashed by someone to the B&N corporate account via mobile deposit. They said they started a fraud case and that they would contact me, one month later nothing has changed. Is there anything I can do?

I live in VA

Answer: File a wage claim with the state. I worked for a major call center in Vegas...Five letters starts with S and ends in L. My final pay was embezzled, twice, even the replacement pay. i was played games with over the course of 4 months. i should have filed a state claim and I wouldn't have had to spend the time playing their BS. There might even be fines they need to pay you.


Title: [South Carolina] One of my Facebook posts was screenshotted and emailed to my university without my consent. I have tried asking for it's removal/deletion from their records, but they have refused.

Question:
This is a serious breach of personal privacy.

The post was ironically about personal privacy, especially in regards to facebook, the government, etc, and freedom of expression in relation to that (particularly when expressing political opinion).

The post also included a brief statement about my depression - that last year I attempted suicide, and that if I decided to again, it would be in a manner that nobody would find me, because that's how my first attempt became an attempt.  This was not a statement saying that I was going to kill myself, it was a cathartic admission that I had held inside as a secret for too long, and I included it because I was deleting facebook.

I took extra care in making sure it did not sound like I was intending to kill myself.

I also set the privacy settings to only be shown to a few people - mainly family and a few friends.  But someone at my university must've seen it, because it was first emailed to a professor of mine, who then went ahead and emailed it to the Department of Academic Integrity, which then tried to strong-arm me into a psychiatric evaluation.

I went to their office today and asked for it's removal from university records, but they told me that that cannot be done, but that it is kept "confidential" and is not reported out to any agencies or whatever.  I asked multiple times, and I expressed how I felt that it wasnt necessary for them to have it and that I considered it a serious breach in my privacy as a person.

How do I handle this?  Do I need a lawyer

Answer:
 >This is a serious breach of personal privacy.

No it is not. You made a post on a public forum you don't have any right to restrict its distribution after that point. Answer #2: They don't have to remove it. You made the post, and the people to which you posted it are under no obligation to keep it private.Answer #3: > This is a serious breach of personal privacy.

No its not, don't make posts if you don't want other people to see them.  Once you spit it out into the internet on a public forum like Facebook, even if distribution is limited, its not "private"

>How do I handle this?

You accept that its in your record and move on.

>Do I need a lawyer

That would be a waste of money and time.Answer #4: Look - you posted an alarming comment on a highly visible and totally public forum.  You lost control of that information the second you hit "submit".  No one reading a comment about how someone with a history of attempted suicide would prefer to attempt suicide in the future in a secluded location will read that as anything other than a scream for help.

If you want things to stay private, stop putting them on Facebook.Answer #5: The only way to maintain "privacy", (however you may choose to define it) on the internet is to not post anything on the internet that you wish to remain private...  No matter how secure you think that posting to be.

I have a feeling that the pool of our future world leaders is going to be limited to the 1% of today's youth that seems to get that posting stupid shit on the internet is a bad idea.


Title: Just got blackmailed out of $100

Question:
[NEW YORK]

Ok so I was on chat roulette and I came across a very attractive looking girl and we started talking and she was responding to everything I said to make sure she wasn't fake or anything and everything seemed legit. She asked for my facebook page and I gave it to her and then she added me on skype and we went into a skype video chat. She got naked and told me to jerk off and I did. Afterwards her skype cam changes to a video of me jerking off and everything and the in chat she writes how she is a guy and he listed all my facebook friends and told me that if I don't send him money he will send the video to everyone. He asked for $300 but I was able to beg and go down to $100. He had me transfer through western union to a pickup location in Morocco (I am from the US) and he gave me his full name because he has to show ID when he picks it up. After I sent the $100 he shared his screen and he showed himself deleting the video and erasing his trash. I could tell that his computer was all in French and I saw a google translate page open and he was translating everything he said from Arabic. Is there anything I can do? I already sent the $100 but I'm pretty sure I have this guy's real name and I know he's Arabic. Can I contact the police? I am only 17 and I didn't tell my parents and I would prefer not to out of embarrassment. Any advice?

EDIT: I'm not sure if I should post the guy's name or not.

Answer:
 Man, whoever these guys doing all this jack off blackmailing are, they are making a TON of money judging from all the recent posts here.

I'm in the wrong line of work...Answer #2: Have you ever heard the phrase, "live and learn"?

This is one of those times.Answer #3: Do *not* post the guy's name.


Title: My handwriting is horrible, can i be exempted from having to handwrite things on ap or standardized tests?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 OP, I am a person who has scored essays for standardized tests. We are specifically instructed *not* to let handwriting affect our scoring, and I can assure you that I have personally given the highest possible scores to essays with handwriting that looked like a kindergartener's.

If we truly cannot decipher the handwriting (and most of us have gotten pretty good at this), we call in a supervisor; we don't just trash it.

As others have posted, if your troubles with handwriting cause you to lose valuable testing time, you may be able to get a diagnosis and be eligible for accommodations.

But if you're just worried about what someone will think about your writing, don't be. I promise.


Title: Passing the JD Smell Test

Question: Weird question. I'm dealing with someone who is claiming to have a JD, but I suspect they're lying. What would be something relatively quick one could ask them that would test that assertion? For example, I'm an electrical engineer, and any EE worth their salt knows about Ohm's law, but most people don't. Is there something similar for JDs?

Answer: Ask them what their favorite class was in L1. If they stare at you, or correct you and say “you mean 1L” they’re probably legit.


Title: CT: I took a DNA test and found out that I am 7% African-American. What repercussions would there be if I chose to identify as African-American when applying to colleges?

Question: I am not aware of any standards as to what % constitutes being considered part of an ethnicity.

Answer:
 Legally, not many. School policies might dictate a certain percentage. Morally and ethically, using a 7% ethnicity to seek a minority status for reduced tuition or as a way of getting into a school is a real shit move. Answer #2: It’s not a legal consequence, but when you’re established in your career, and this comes out? Oooh doggy, is that going to suck for you. Answer #3: IANAL, but I've heard of this before... it's a kind of disingenuous, ethically shaky, and overall lame thing to do.... but AFAIK legal. If the university feels that you've misrepresented yourself they can deny your admission probably.

Edit... it COULD constitute fraud if you misrepresent yourself AND there's a published standard they use to determine your ethnicity. I know when I lived in Hawaii the Bishop Trust would award money to native Hawaiians who could prove they were 51% or more Native Hawaiian, and used birth records and DNA to do it when there was a question.

Generally speaking, talk to an admissions officer about their standards and don't violate their rules. Answer #4: >I am not aware of any standards as to what % constitutes being considered part of an ethnicity.

You're going to have a blast researching the old "one drop" laws of the Jim Crow era, not to mention the jurisprudence of Native American tribal membership.Answer #5: There was a story somewhat similar. A guy applied as African American, he was born in the states, but his whole family were white Afrikaaners, and had been living in Africa for generations. Technically, he is African American.

The college did not find this amusing.

I reaally would advise against this.


Title: Siblings inherited a mortgaged home from a deceased parent; one sibling chooses to live there and buy the other's share of the property. - US, Michigan

Question:
Our father died in February 2015 and decreed in his will that all of his assets would be split evenly between his two children - my sister and I. He left a house as part of his estate that my sister continued to live in since his passing. At the time of my father's death, there was a mortgage on the home. My sister has paid the mortgage since - which is still in my father's name - and there is about $40K left. The house itself is worth roughly double the mortgage balance.

We are in the process of closing out his estate, and in so doing, are getting the deed in our names so we become joint-owners. Once we have the house in our names, my sister would like to buy my share of the property and own the house outright. We were wondering, legally, how much my share would be worth (i.e., half of what is left on the mortgage, or half the market value of the home)? Or some combination of the two?
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer:
 > We were wondering, legally, how much my share would be worth

There's no legal definition of what the house/your share is worth. It's worth what you both decide it's worth.

If you want a recommendation on what it's value to you would be. I would get it appraised. Your sister would buy your half for: 1/2 of the appraised value minus half of the remaining mortgage balance. Answer #2: If you sold the house to the market today, you'd get $80k of which the bank would take $40k, and then the remaining $40k would be split between you two.  Your share is worth $20k.

Basically what needs to happen here is the sister needs to obtain a mortgage for $60k in her name.  She pays off the old mortgage for $40k, pays off you for $20k, and then she is the sole owner (with the new bank) of an $80k house with a $60k mortgage.  (That assumes she doesn't have the cash on hand.)

Get the house professionally appraised so you two have no argument over the value.


Title: Please help with a company I built and had taken away.

Question:
Edit: Cliffs notes-

-Had a company with 2 partners, a brother, and guy named "Rick."

-After a year, company wasn't working out, decided to split.

-I started the company, essentially built all the systems for the company, my intention was to use the systems I built to generate some sales before finalizing any splitting details, so I would have capital to work with.

-Immediately, he took away the financing arm of the company (which he set up (but I could have set up too earlier on- he just opted to do that one thing). His reasoning was the financing bank checked his credit for getting it established and thus he would be liable (though I imagine we would all be liable since we were all on the company).

-By taking the financing, my ability to sell was pretty much halted.

-Couldnt get him to reverse it.

-Didn't want to much a huge ordeal because my brother and thus family was involved, so I let it go.

-Fast forward 2 years, he ripped off my brother too (the other original partner).

-What can I do now?

------

Hey guys, I tried to keep this as short as possible, it is still a few minutes of reading so I appreciate your help in advance!

 In 2009 I was working for a solar company, but the company wasn't doing very well, I saw their connections though with their install company and saw an opportunity to create my own company with them (I was pretty business savy, so this felt like an easy-enough transition, and it was). As a mistake though, I brought my brother on, who I love dearly, he just wasn't very business-smart at the time.

In 2010 I built a company related to home improvement work, I originally started the company by myself but eventually brought my brother and his best friend Rick on(a mutual friend of sorts).
I brought my brother on first, he wasn't very business savy, I brought him on out of love because he was in a really bad situation prior (alcoholic, contemplating suicide), I figure I could help guide him and show him a good way to do business, and improve his quality of life. After a month or 2 it became apparent he wasnt really listening to me, and was complicated because he was family and my parents weren't in agreement with what I was doing for him (though in retrospect, I may have very well saved his life, and he is doing pretty darn well now doing mortgage refinancing).

I eventually brought Rick on to even out the relationship, thinking it would help my brother to see 2 different people telling him whether something in business was being done correctly or not (ie- meeting deadlines, achieving results not just acting busy).

Long story short, the partnership was not working at all. We worked together for nearly a year and every month was worse and worse, it put so much financial pressure on me I had to break away. (some relationships work, and some relationships drain energy, this was one of the latter). I knew I would be fine on my own (as I was and still am, quite successful with businesses on my own), so after an argument, I decided to split.

My plan was to use to company's systems to earn my own sales, which would now be mine and that I wouldn't have to split into 1/3 (because of my 2 equal partners). Our margins on are sales were pretty good, each sale would net me $3000-4000 and I am great at generating business, even through door-to-door, so I was planning on using our system to get ~ a dozen or so sales on my own to financially cushion myself and move forward). I figured the business splitting up would take at least several weeks, so in the intermin I could generate my own sales for my own profit. (Just to add here, I built the sales systems and generally all of the systems our company used-- indeed I had my first sales before I brought my brother or Rick in, and it was an adaptation to working with my previous company (which neither of them were involved in).

As a lesson which I have had very very powerfully learned since- is that family and business dont mix- something I didn't know until then.
As part of how I learned this lesson- Rick and my brother opted to continue working together as equal partners.

This is where the problem comes in, Rick, without my consent, took a critical part of the business operations for himself- the financing, which is critically needed for doing the sales (as most people didnt have the money to do the purchase without it). Also, its important to note we agreed that nothing be moved from the company for at least 2 weeks after we split. He was also taking bits and pieces of the company as he saw fit for his own company (ie: copying our website to his new website), etc. None of this without any consent of me. Rick was orchestrating all of this, my brother didn't have much business experience at all, he was just going with the flow.

I will note that Rick's reasoning for taking the financing leg of the company was that his credit was checked for doing it (thus perhaps his credit was on the line), he did indeed set that up but but we all set up different parts of the company. And further, I imagine all of us owners would be responsible for any kind of credit issues seeing as how we were all, at this point, owners of the company.

With my ability to work crippled, I let it go at the time, especially because he strategically joined with my naive brother, and me being as stressed wasn't communicating well and didn't have the support of my family (my families rationale was "you wanted to split, fine! but leave them be!"). So I let it be.

Fast forward 2 years after the split, and Rick kicked my brother out of the company too (which at this point, my family hates him).

As for me, after the incident I started from scratch working for another company, out of state(where living cost was cheaper, which I needed considering how tight I was financially after that(was the worst financial situation of my life). After a few years have finally worked myself back to the position where I would like to have a solar company again, and alas, I want to resolve this and move on.

So I have a few questions-
Firstly, am I correct that morally was Rick did was very wrong? I feel so, but would like your feedback

Secondly, was he legally allowed to to take the financing arm as he did without my consent (or I should with my adequately-made-clear lack of consent)?

Finally, what can I do now? What would you do?

I appreciate your guys help, I'm just trying to fight the good fight so other people don't have to go through what I did (that was the worst year of my life)

Answer: You need to summarize this. And no "moral" questions -- we're in the legal field, we have no souls.


Title: Emergency needing information. [Texas, USA]

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 * That's not what an eviction is.

What is your question?


Title: What happens if your car gets stolen because you left the keys in it?

Question: Are you held responsible? If you have insurance vs. no insurance, what happens?

Answer:
 The car was still stolen.  Leaving the keys in the car doesn't give a passerby a free pass to take your car as a gift.
Answer #2: You still call the police and report the theft.

Your insurance company may not pay out on the claim depending on how your policy reads.


Title: What is the best way for my girlfriend and I to move to the United States? Details inside!

Question:
So I'm an American living in London, studying for a masters a Tier 4 Student visa which expires on the 25th of January, 2017. I'm dating a British citizen, and we want to move to New York together sometime this fall. She works in Fine Arts Logistics and holds a degree. As I understand it, our options are:

1) She gets sponsored by a firm in New York, we move there and live happily every after

2) We get married, she finds a job in New York, see the end of step one.

3) She comes on a tourist visa, lives on savings for some time, and finds a job that will sponsor her.

I think, if we can avoid it, we don't want to get married just yet – just because it might cheapen an 'actual' marriage in the future. But if its what needs to happen, thats totally fine.

I'm wondering what you guys think! Whats the easiest way to do this? Cheapest? Fastest? I've been researching different types of work and marriage visas, but I'm finding the information online to be somewhat opaque and contradictory.

Answer:
 She needs to get a visa if she plans to look for work while here -- she can't do this on a tourist visa.

Also, if she tries to enter on the visa waiver program and they find out she has a US citizen boyfriend and no plans to return home (including ties to her home such as a job, lease, etc.), she is likely to be denied entry, which can create big problems later on.  If she overstays, it will cause problems too.

If you don't want to marry she needs to find a job that will sponsor her before she moves here.  That is not, generally, an easy task.


Title: Did my neighbor illegally have my car towed?

Question:
So I just moved into a new house. At this new house, the entire curb in front of my property is painted red and my driveway is not long enough to fully accommodate my car, so I had my car parking across my driveway and partially on the sidewalk because I did not want to be in the street where there was a red curb, but I was in the process of unloading and settling into the house so I wanted my car close. Fast forward two hours and my car is being loaded onto a tow truck and I am told that my neighbor called the towing company. Now I thought that my car would have to be cited by the police before being towed and I didn't think a private party could have my car towed at my expense and without notice. Thank you reddit for any legal advice or similar experiences you may have.

Edit: Located in California. I am fully aware that it's illegal to park on the sidewalk or on a red curb, my question is did he have the authority to have the car towed or does a police officer have to be present so as not to just take someone's word for it over the phone and does a citation have to be issued as well to justify a tow? This is my main concern because most people on my street park on the red curb or over the sidewalk due to lack of parking and I feel like he singled me out

Answer:
 >partially on the sidewalk

Pretty sure that is illegal everywhere.

You can ask under what authority it was towed. I am guessing a police officer authorized it. Answer #2: You didn't include your location, but most places (if not all) you're not allowed to block the sidewalk even where it intersects with a driveway. It's considered a "public right-of-way."


Title: Unable to make court date, options?

Question:
Pleaded not guilty for traffic ticket, unable to make set court date, what are my options?  This is in PA.  (Autocorrect fix)

If you do just skip it, wouldn't the judge just find you guilty and you'd just lose the money from the fines you already had to pay?

Answer:
 Not a lawyer.

Call the court clerk's office and ask if your hearing can be rescheduled. They might tell you that you need to file a written request (probably a motion to continue), or they might ask you to come in person, or they might just do it over the phone; I don't know exactly how New York's system works. But the clerk's office is the place to ask.

Schedule conflicts like this are pretty routine, and the court will probably grant your request, especially if you have a good reason. But if the court doesn't give you another date, 99 times out of 100, going to court is more important than whatever else you're doing.