Title: How to remove family member from residence? (x-posted from r/advice)

Question:
Posting on a throwaway account... I've tried posting this to /advice but got no responses...

My husband's family is in a difficult situation right now. My husband (26) is the oldest of three boys and all are grown up (22 & 24). My husband and I live in the same house as his parents and one of his brothers. Their father is chronic gambler to the point where people come to our house looking for him because he owes them money. Apparently this isn't new, but I had recently just gotten back from living in another country for over a year. Before leaving the country, we lived 400 miles away.

My mother-in-law was wise to divorce him early in their marriage but kept enabling him to gamble by buying him a truck and letting him stay at the house (house is in her name). He only works just so he can gamble all of his money away. His parents (husband's grandparents) have clearly done a stellar job of raising their kids as my aunt-in-law also has a chronic gambling problem and they enable her to do the same.
So tonight I get a text from my husband that my father in law hasn't paid someone again and that the person has been camped outside the house this afternoon so they could get it back. The first time this happened, I didn't want to leave the house because I thought we were going to get robbed. I told my mother-in -aw this and she promised that she would kick him out if it happened again.

They've tried everything to help his gambling problem but he doesn't want to help himself. Everyone is tired of his bullshit. They tried for 25 years and want him out. My brother in law refuses to speak to him--he has ruined family relationships and my mother in law's friendships! I can’t even begin to describe the full extent of what he does… He has lied and manipulated long enough…

My mother-in-law confided with me that she hasn't kicked him out because she's worried he will do something violent.

So! My three questions are:

1. How do we evict him? Should my mother in law serve him eviction papers? She tried asking him for rent but he never paid her AT ALL.
2. How do we make sure he isn't violent towards us?
3. She also outright owns the truck his uses to work as well. (It's under her name!) She wants to sell that as well. He is gone now and probably won't come back for a week. (He does that often.)

For reference, we live in California, USA.

Any advice/help would be appreciated…
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 > How do we evict him?

The owner of the home will need to give him notice terminating his tenancy, and allowing him 60 days to vacate. If he fails to move out in that 60 day period, then she will need to file for eviction.

> How do we make sure he isn't violent towards us?

You can't. If he gets violent though, you call the police.

> She also outright owns the truck his uses to work as well.

If it's in her name then it's her truck and she can do with it what she pleases.


Title: Is this legal? Hard to understand what they’re trying to say really

Answer: They’re trying to say if you skip out on paying them, they will go after you personally and financially. Answer #2: It’s so poorly written. What’s the context of this notice?


Title: Nationwide is sending me to jail?

Question:
I changed insurance from gieco to nationwide. I started my account a month ago and then 2 weeks ago I was hit by a girl speeding at my high school. I called nationwide and did all the usual claim process.....a week later (3 weeks after starting my policy) I get a letter saying I never had insurance it was canceled the same day I started it. I called and they said they didn't get my down payment. Check my account, money is still there. I actually even called the Sunday after starting the policy and confirmed my bank account. I had several receipts through email saying they received my money. I received a packet with my information, a insurance card, and never once got a email or notification that my account was canceled. So they said they could send in a application to reinstate it so that I was insured during this accident. They haven't called me for a week even though they said 2 days. (Wasn't able to even use my car) and today they call and say it isn't their fault that I never had insurance and that I'm on my own with this accident.

What am I supposed to do? This girl totaled her car and bent the rear struts on mine, in a parking lot! I can't pay for her car. And now I'm going to end up going to jail over this. Should I talk to a new insurance agency? A Lawyer? This is really scary. I'm 18 and I live in Pennsylvania. No parents.

Answer:
 Slow down, slick.  Why do you think you're going to jail?

She hit you.  You need to make sure you're not injured.  If you're not injured, then figure out how much it's going to cost to fix your car.  Then you sue her.  In the meantime keep talking with your insurance company to get everything with that figured out.  If you never paid them, then you don't have an active policy.  If you were uninsured at the time of the accident and she tries to sue you saying you were at fault, then you need to hire your own attorney to defend you. Answer #2: Why are you going to jail?  If the girl was the one at fault, why isn't her insurance taking care of this?


Title: I think my neighbors are cooking meth

Question: It’s not that I care if people do drugs as long as they keep their shit together. It’s just I’m in an apartment and I really don’t want to die in a meth lab explosion. They’re at the very least dealers, the amount of traffic and type of people who come by makes it very obvious. But the guys themselves are actually really nice. The reason why I think they might be cooking is because of the smells that I smell sometimes. We’ve walked through the hall by their door and have smelled what straight up smells like a dirty litter box, and just a bit ago I opened my balcony door for some fresh air and got some strong wiffs of rotten egg smell. I’m not really sure what to do, but it has me really nervous.

Answer:
 This is a safety issue.  Even if it doesn't explode you have potentially toxic fumes coming into your living space.

Call the landlord and the police.  Nice people don't endanger the lives of their neighbors by releasing ammonia and sulfer gas into the apartment building.Answer #2: Call the police.Answer #3: Ammonia is the litter box smell you described.  It's found in a number of household cleaners and can be entirely innocuous.    That being said, a rotten egg smell alone is grounds for a call to the police and/or gas company since it's also of a gas leak.  Even if you don't think you have a gas line in use, there can be leaks under the ground.Answer #4: So call the police and alert your landlord.


Title: My cousin/roommate got hit by an uninsured driver. His leg was broken but was otherwise okay. He doesn't have a drivers license or own a car and the hospital and his health insurance is asking about my car insurance

Question: Philadelphia, PA. My cousin has never driven my car and it wasn't involved, I was in Chicago with my car the day he got hit. He is not even listed on my insurance. Can they really come after me?

Answer: You need to explain more. I have no clue what you are talking about.


Title: GoFundMe Child’s Medical Bills

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 You could report the fundraiser to the site and see what they recommend. There's a case currently going on where three people defrauded folks on GFM and are being prosecuted. I believe the donations got refunded by the site.

As far as the medical bills go, short of applying for public assistance or opening another fundraiser with someone more trustworthy in charge, there's not a lot you can do.


Title: My Broker (Questrade) wants me to delete all my reddit posts speaking negatively about them ("or risk legal action") after I ranted about losing $50000 due to outages[CANADA]

Question:
So long story short I feel like I got shafted by my broker where I invested close to $50000 CAD in a high risk vehicle and was unable to access the position due to outages by them

I posted about my displeasure on reddit and they reached out to me to "make things right".

I was offered $1200 USD and asked to sign an NDA.

I decided ultimately to not take this offer.

Before I was given the offer I was politely requested to delete my comments on the /r/Questrade (the broker's) subreddit

In order to be cooperative while getting an offer I complied.

After I decided to ultimately not take their offer I started posting again on investing subreddits about my experience to warn people about what happened.

I got this email in response:

>I have just been notified that you have posted information from our private discussions on Reddit.  These discussions were confidential and constituted good faith attempt to resolve your complaint. Your Reddit posts are inaccurate, misleading and contain defamatory content. As we discussed, you incurred a loss as a result of trading in high risk options, which you failed to mention in your posts.

>We ask that you remove these posts immediately and you cease to use social media to post defamatory and misleading statements about Questrade in an attempt to extort funds from the company. If you do not remove these posts, you are put on notice that this will become a legal matter. Our legal department are already investigating two prior posts you made where you stated that you were ready to "burn down the building" as well as making the following statement: “ if I can’t get my money back I’ll be sure they lose an equal amount in whatever way I can.''

>If we do not receive your confirmation by 12pm on March 31, 2020, that you will discontinue posting defamatory content on social media, you will leave us no choice than to commence legal action.

>To keep things in perspective, the world is reeling from a tragic situation.  Thousands of people have lost their lives.  Our staff have been working around the clock to help our clients get through this unprecedented crisis.  In response to our genuine attempts to find an amicable solution, you have threatened and insulted our staff.  I urge you to think about your actions.

I replied with :

>I think in all my post I mentioned that I was trading 0DTE options. If you would like I can clarify in the posts that these were high risk but I think that saying they were 0 DTE inherently means that they were high risk. I will go through them after this email just to make sure that I did in fact clarify I was trading a high risk vehicle.

>Like I stated before, I am not expecting anything from Questrade in terms of compensation. I don't appreciate the insinuation that I am trying to extort Questrade in anyway.

>I think in the context of the posts you are referring to I stated that I meant by costing you guys potential commission from people switching brokers or not opening accounts with Questrade.

>All my previous comments were however deleted as per your own request but I am sure your legal department should have screenshots with context.

>Everything I am posting is true. There is nothing slanderous about it. I promise that I will not post anything defamatory and to be honest I believe I haven't posted anything defamatory so far anyway.

>Regardless I'll go through all my posts and comments just to double check that I have not said any lies about Questrade. If I have said anything untrue I will be sure to edit it immediately.

You can look through my submitted posts to see what is happening but this is the main one where I go more into detail about my situation

https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/frz0fp/my_broker_questrade_wants_me_to_sign_an_nda/
Topic:
Canada

Answer: I'm not sure if you have a question or jut a desire to further profess your disdain...


Title: Tattoo artist sends legal threats for giving a negative review of her parlor and art. Questions about defamation. [TX]

Question:
My girlfriend recently got a tattoo from a somewhat renowned artist whose name will be omitted for the time being. Her body art has been featured in various tattoo journals and charges HUGE amounts of money per hour for this reason. It's my girlfriend's first tattoo so she naturally wanted it perfect.

This artist basically free-handed the entire thing. Most artists do a pre-drawing, confirm it with the customer, then add it to their skin and tattoo over that. This artist, however, just drew a shitty design on her finger with disproportionate symmetry and immediately went at it with a tattoo gun, not even confirming the design with her first.

I understand that she should've known better, it was her first tattoo that's not the problem. The problem is when I posted a negative review on Instagram.

I basically wrote a warning to anyone considering her for a tattoo. I said that she was very unwelcoming and rude, and described her unorthodox tattoo method with the "tracing" as well as showing my girlfriend's uneven lines. I didn't attack her as a person, only her business practices.

I woke up the next morning with threats of legal action if I continue posting negative comments/reviews about her. She claimed I "slandered" her name with my comment. After looking up the criteria one must meet in order for a defamation case to be proven, I was shocked at how open to interpretation it is. Here are 3 bullet points I arguably could be attacked for:

>A communication that exposes a plaintiff to ridicule

>A communication that reflects negatively on the plaintiff's character, morality, or integrity

>A communication that impairs the plaintiff's financial well-being

What?? By this logic, isn't every negative Yelp reviewer defaming the business? Couldn't an independent establishment theoretically sue a reviewer for hurting the businesses financial well-being or hurting their financial income? I looked up reviews for this otherwise famous tattoo artists and NOTHING. Not a single review and it just seems really odd to me.

She didn't say legal action was imminent, but told me to cease what I'm doing. It really irks me that critiquing her art warranted this reaction. She deleted my comment and part of me wants to write a Yelp review or on a tattoo forum in my area. What are my options here? What is the best course of action? Are these empty threats or can a case be made here?

Answer:
 Anybody can tell you to stop what you're doing, and you're generally free to ignore them.  Since she said "slander" instead of "libel", I'd bet that she hasn't consulted a lawyer about this.

In my opinion, the best answer to somebody demanding that you take down an honest review is this:

First, make sure that everything you wrote is either a true statement of fact, or obviously stated as your opinion.  True statements can't be defamation, and opinions are protected speech.

Second, edit the review to include her response, including the exact words of her "stop leaving bad reviews" message.

Third, post that everywhere.  Yelp, Google, Facebook, everything you can think of.  Include pictures if you can.Answer #2: You are missing the big criteria for defamation: it must be false. As long as you are telling the truth, it isn't defamation. Answer #3: http://kellywarnerlaw.com/texas-defamation-laws/

>To win a defamation lawsuit in Texas, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant:

    >1. Made a false statement or fact about the plaintiff to a third party;
    >2. Made a statement that caused  the plaintiff reputational or material harm;
    >3. Acted either negligently or purposefully.

The statements made have to be false before one can proceed with a successful defamation case. Any true claims or personal opinions of the artist's work are not defamation.
Answer #4: As others have said, you are fine here so long as the things you say are true.

In the unlikely event that you DO get sued, you will want to look at Texas's "SLAPP" laws which protect people from ridiculous lawsuits intended to make them stop writing reviews.[1]

[1] http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/anti-slapp-law-texas Answer #5: See Popehat's [*So You've Been Threatened With A Defamation Suit*](https://www.popehat.com/2013/09/26/so-youve-been-threatened-with-a-defamation-suit/).


Title: Sued after selling business

Question: My family sold a business to a buyer that is now suing us, after closing the deal, for not disclosing everything during the due diligence time stated in our contract. Our contract states that the closing date is 8 days after due diligence is conducted and that the buyer is bounded by contract if a cancelation noticed is not timely summited. Our employees informed us 3 days after the due diligence date that they will be giving a 2 weeks notice due to not liking what the new ownership will change. We told the employees to hold off giving a 2 weeks notice until the business deal is closed so they can give it to the new owner. Now the new owner is suing us, threatening to take everything from us because we didn’t disclose that information to him. Were we obligated to tell the buyer that the employees wanted to quit if we knew that only after the due diligence date?

Answer:
 Your state and the wording of the contract matter. But you intentionally withheld information prior to the sale, and you informed others to withhold it as well. That's bad.

You need to hire a business litigation attorney. Pronto.


Title: Please help my friend get her kids back.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You know who just absolutely hate manipulative use of CPS in a custody dispute? Judges, They just hate it.

Your friend needs to file for a parenting plan like everybody else. If she can't afford a lawyer, she should find one that will take a payment plan and/or beg borrow or steal the money she needs to pay for one.Answer #2: How is he unfit? How is he abusive? Nothing in your narrative shows any abuse


Title: Ticket for "ashing out the window"

Question:
Hello,
This morning I was cited for ashing out the window (VC 23111) in San Diego County.  Is there any way I can fight this?? The officer asked me if I had an ashtray, which I did.  I showed him a cup that I used for an ashtray that had ashes and the butt in it.  I had held the cigarette out the window as to reduce smoke in my car but in no way intentionally flicked my cigarette.
Do I have to go to court for this or can I write a letter to the judge?? I am a struggling single mom and I cannot afford to pay this fine or take off work to go to court.  I honestly smoke very rarely, like 3 cigarettes per week....not that that matters, but is there anything I can do??
Thank you!

Answer:
 You violated the law. No one wants your cigarette ashes around and the police did something about it.

>cannot afford to pay this fine

Good news: the discretionary income you use to buy cigarettes can easily be diverted to pay this fine, with the added bonus that you'll no longer be smoking. It's a win-win situation.


Title: Repossession of Ex's Girlfriends Wheels

Question:
Flashback to March 2015. Girlfriend at the time wanted wheels for Hyundai Genesis coupe. Decided to help her out and put $1000 down and finance the rest ($1400) under my name. Verbally agreed to pay me back the $1000 after she paid off the loan.

We broke up in June. Crashed my motorcycle 2 days after and have been out of work since then. Thankfully, I had money saved up. Between the time she paid off the loan on August 4th and when we broke up, I had to make 6 payments on the loan around a total of $300.

Between the 4 months of phones bill she owes me ($340), the wheel payments and the $1000 I put down, she owes me around $1640. I made a deal with her the other day to just pay me $300 and we'll call it even so we can both move on. Her parents had me over for dinner the other night and allowed me to take one of the wheels as collateral which is worth around $600 between the tire/wheel in case she wanted to be difficult about paying me back.

My question is, because the wheels are in my name, even though she paid off around $1100, can I legally take all of the wheels and sell them to make back the money she owes me? I don't want to have to take legal action, but I'm out of work for another 2 months and need money to pay bills.

FYI: The wheels were not on her car because she crashed it and was waiting to buy a new tire for one of them so she can put them on her newer Genesis Coupe.

Boca Raton, FL.

Answer:
 The wheels aren't in your name, the debt is. The wheels belong to her. You can sue her for whatever she owes you, but you can't take the wheels.

Also, I can't be the only one LOL'ing at the thought of someone putting $2400 wheels on a Hyundai, can I?Answer #2: That sounds like a good way to make your life much more complicated. Just take her to small claims court.


Title: Illegal boss?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: The affected parties can take it up with the [Ministry of Labour](https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/). There are a number of issues here that could constitute violations of the Employment Standards Act. The tips and payroll issues are the most obvious; if the employer is also making racially-discriminatory hiring decisions, that could also be an issue.


Title: Mom took my meds away from me twice.

Question: I got hrt prescribed to me from planned parenthood. she's trying to stop me transitioning. she picked it up the first time. And didn't tell me. she normally picks up my meds though because of a separate medical issue I have. the second time I picked up from the pharmacy over a weekend while they were gone. I left them on the counter the night she came back. And when I went to go take my second dose they were gone. I went into their room to ask if she knew where they where and she told me I don't need. i told her that i would call the cops. and my stepdad who was also there. told me he didnt care if I called the cops. I called the cops and they told they couldn't do anything even though I'm 23. other info. im in the state of Illinois

Answer:
 You're 23, so you could probably get your medication picked up at another pharmacy. Also, you should be the one taking care of your own medication at the age of 23. I'm 20 and I deal with my prescriptions myself. Don't let your parents pick up your drugs. Answer #2: Sounds like your best bet is to move out so you can have 100% control over your own life.Answer #3: Step 1: Stop letting your mom pick up your meds as she clearly is sabotaging you and cannot be trusted. Look into medication delivery options if leaving the house to get them yourself is not a viable option due to your other medical issues.

Step 2: Keep your medications where your mother cannot access them. I'm assuming that living with her right now is your only option right now, not living with her is a good long term solution but if it was viable, I'm assuming you would have already made this step

WHY did the cops say they couldn't do anything? It's likely that they didn't think there's anything they'd be able to do here. They'd come out. You'd say she took them. She'd deny taking them. There's no way to get any tangible evidence proving she stole them, so they'd not be able to do anything.Answer #4: The other poster is generally right though.  It turns into a he said/she said situation and a civil thing, so the police won't necessarily get involved unless it deals with restricted/schedule drugs.

You need to start picking up your own medication and securing it away from them now that you know they are going to do this.  You can get small lockboxes for relatively cheap.  Then you need to get out of that toxic situation ASAP for so, so many reasons.


Title: [India/USA] Uber left me stranded in a foreign city.

Question:
I am a US resident travelling in India. I have not used uber in USA before and made my attempt to use it in India where I am visiting. The city I am in has Uber and another competitor as ride sharing cabs. They have a duo-poly and without both of them, the only way to get around is an arduous journey taking a not so perfect public transportation.

I got a local Indian mobile number and used my international Visa card for a form of payment. I also see uber transactions to verify my account. However,when I attempted to use this card for my first ride, it banned me. There is nothing that the company can do to un-ban my account so I can try a local Indian credit card /payment method.  I have an email thread with the customer service reps that they can't help me any further. They say it is a system generated ban and wont tell me why it has banned me. So frustrating.

This has caused me so much headache getting around the city and had to rely on others to get to places. Is there a legal re-course that I can pursue in the United States when I come back next month?

Answer: You have no right to use Uber. They can ban you if they please. Answer #2: No. You have no legal recourse. You don't have a legal "right" to use the app. Contact customer support again, that's it.


Title: A kid on a bicycle hit me and is now suing...

Question:
First off, let me say I have an attorney through my insurance (a reputable carrier.) I will be giving a deposition shortly, and basically my question is: Is there anything in particular I should be aware of (besides telling the truth?)

The short story is a teenager on a bike came flying through an intersection and hit my car in the front panel area. He had a stop sign, I did not. Police and my insurance determined I was not at fault. I was not issued a citation. Kid broke his ankle.

Fast forward couple of years and the kid and his father are suing me. I would like to think the case will get tossed. I know there is nothing I could have done to avoid him and his bike....but for you attorneys out there...I guess I just am wondering what makes a "good" client for you in the deposition stage. Anything I should keep in mind regarding demeanor or what-have-you is appreciated.

Also, the initial plaintiff attorney dropped out of the case shorting after the initial filing. I can't be certain why, but I would like to think it's because he believed it to be a lackluster case. If there's anything I can "do" to convey the same to this new attorney, that would be great to know.

Answer:
 When I am defending a deposition, I tell my clients to focus on four themes: yes, no, I don't know, and I don't remember. The attorney on the other side will likely try to befriend you and get you to trust him. You should not do that. Do not volunteer extra information. Make the attorney work for the information. Do not try to be helpful.

The common example attorneys give: when asked, "Do you have the time?" The answer is yes or no - not 7:30. 7:30 is not the answer to the question you were asked.

Good luck. Answer #2: Dress well.  For a man that means a tie and a dress shirt.  For a woman it means office attire.  Remove all peircings and cover all tattoos if possible.  Be on time.  Be polite.  Expect to be introduced, which means you stand up, say hello, and shake hands.  This might all seem really basic, but an amazing number of clients don't know it.

Ask your attorney in advance to send you a copy of the police report and any statements that you made.  Study them.  Date, time, names of streets and direction traveled.  Then wait for each question and calmly answer only the question asked.

As for why the new attorney took on this case, there are many possible reasons.  Some lawyers just need the work.  More commonly, a bad case is taken as a favor, or to maintain a relationship with a much better client.


Title: Caught staying at a hotel without parents

Question: I was just wondering what would the repercussions be if me and my other friends (age 17) were to be somehow caught staying in a hotel (New Jersey) without a residing adult. Our plan is that my mother will check us in with her credit card and come up to our room with us and then leave us alone for the weekend. She would then come back to check us out. I know that technically there has to be an adult present the whole trip but does it really matter? Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this but I am in need of quick help and this felt like the most relevant subreddit. Thanks for any help.

Answer:
 Not legal advice - I'm going to step in as a Mom.

If you and your friends are going to "Comicon for videogames" (which I think this is going to be) and is within a reasonable distance in case of issues - it will be against hotel policy but probably not illegal.

You're going to spend the day at the convention/thing and the night at the hotel, right? If you and your buds are reasonable and rational individuals? Eh. Let mom make the call on what she's comfortable doing.

I shipped my son to college at 17. He didn't burn the dorm down. He didn't go on a drunken rampage.

Somehow I think you are probably not planning on making some elaborate meth lab in the room.

Be good. Don't get stupid. Answer #2: I was going to take your mom to task for setting up the possibility of unsupervised wild parties with strippers and hookers. But three dorks in town for an all day Mario Brothers conference? I'm pretty sure no partiers or vaginas will be within 50 yards of Geeksville. Have fun. Next time try Fallout or even COD. It will put some hair on your chest.


Title: Can I tell my boss 'no' when they tell me to do something outside my job description? [GA]

Question: My boss has been having me work on a video for some presentation that the VP of the group is showing to the new CTO. It just some silly intro to the presentation. My work is being pushed back and I am going to miss deadlines because of this stupid video. If I say 'no' because it is outside of my job description, can they fire me? I have been at this job for about two months and I spend about 75% of my time doing something outside of my job description. And yes, I am looking for other employment and I have discussed this with my boss.

Answer: Yes, you can tell him no. He *can* fire you for doing so though.


Title: If US farm equipment was remotely piloted by a foreign worker via the internet, would the employer need to pay US Minimum Wage?

Question:
Sorry /u/LocationBot, this is in regards to THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA in general.

Colorado, if you want to be more specific.

Answer:
 In general, work done remotely is done at the location of the worker. This can lead to some strange situations--for example, if I am a freelance writer in Germany, I can submit to publications in the United States. But if I move to the U.S. on, say, an F-1 visa, I would be illegally working in the U.S. if I continued my writing activities.Answer #2: No.  It'll be a U.S. corporation that contracts with a foreign corporation that hires locals.  The locals will be subject to their local law, whatever it might be.

Tractors can already plow fields without supervision.  The remote supervision would just intervene if there was a problem, maybe get them into and out of barns, that sort of thing.

A similar setup will also be driving all trucks in a relatively short order, and millions of American truck drivers will be permanently out of work.


Title: [WA] can I record audio of my insane neighbor?

Question:
Hello, it’s 3 am. I was awoken several hours ago by my neighbor throwing something heavy on the floor repeatedly and yelling obscenities. This went on for several minutes so I recorded it using video on my iPhone’s camera app.

I’m pretty sure that this yelling was intended for me, even though I was literally asleep, because a month ago I knocked on my ceiling at 1am to stop stomping up and down the stairs and doing laundry (the lease states there are quiet hours). Ever since then, the stomping has increased in intensity, frequency, and generally wakes me up every morning and stops me from going to bed at night. I haven’t knocked since and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to complain yet, so I just ignored him for a while, but this is enough. It feels malicious. I mean the guy lives in a 700 sqft apartment and literally stomps up and down his own stairs for 20 minutes straight and does laundry at 1am every night? I’m tired, and I have several nights of audio recorded of him slamming doors, stomping, and now yelling. Are these legal in WA? I don’t really know how two party consent works here, but is there a reasonable expectation of privacy in MY space if you are being loud enough to be heard?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Take the evidence to your landlord and report him. Answer #2: Yes, it’s legal to record if you can hear him in your apartment.

Take the recordings to your landlord.


Title: Gf was in a car accident. Other guy's insurance admits she was not at fault. Offers to pay 75%.

Question: Hi, LegalAdvice. Last week my girlfriend was on her way to come visit me in Texas when a car exiting a private driveway pulled out and hit her. She had just turned right onto a two-way street that was pretty congested for the drivers coming the opposite direction. As she's driving down the street, somebody from a property on her left side crossed oncoming traffic and tried to enter her lane. The wreck was somewhat minor in terms of damage. Her airbags didn't deploy, but her front bumper came off and damaged the hood. The officer on scene said my gf had the right of way, filled out the police report, and then sent her on her way. She made a claim on the other persons insurance. The insurance company called back and said they would pay 75%. The person on the phone said it was a great deal because she would only have to 25% and could make a claim with her own insurance to pay the rest. The person on the phone also said that they agreed that she had the right of way. However, they said that the other individual involved in the crash provided pictures. My gf responded by saying she took pictures of her own and she didn't see how that affected how much they would cover. The insurance company said something about his vision being impeded by traffic and asked her why she didn't swerve. My gf said she would contact them once she's figured things out and obtained the police report. Sorry for this wall of text. My question is, What are her options? Does she have to just accept what they offer? I don't think it's right for her to have to make a claim on her insurance when she's absolutely not at fault. I should mention that the other individual was driving a rental car and opted to use his personal insurance rather than the insurance provided by the rental car company. She left her vehicle at my apartment since she didn't feel comfortable driving it home.

Answer:
 She has three options:

1.) Accept the offer.

2.) Negotiate a better offer that is acceptable to both sides.

3.) Sue the other driver for the amount she feels is appropriate.Answer #2: I really think you're looking at this the wrong way. This is what you have insurance for. If you don't file the claim, you'll either have to pay a lawyer or go up against the insurance company's lawyer on your own. If you file the claim and your insurance feels you had no fault, there's a good chance your rates won't increase at all. Either way, they'd either strong arm the other insurance company into paying up or they'd sue on your behalf.

Odds are very good that it'd cost you less in the end to use the insurance you're paying for.


Title: My girlfriends sister is in foster care, is there anything I can do to help her get her back?

Question: My girlfriends mother has had a long run with drug use and some violent crimes. Lead them both into foster care. My girlfriend is 19 but has drug charges on her too. Her sister is 13. She is now trying to change her life and help get her sister back. I have a pretty clean record with only speeding fines I'm 21. I was wondering if theres anything I can do to help. If I marry her would I be able to do anything or could that benefit her at all? I've been working at the same place for about 3 years now to if that helps. Were located in Iowa US.

Answer:
 I work in foster care. Your girlfriend cannot be a placement option because she is under 21. You don't have a criminal record and you are 21 so technically you are a placement option. You would be considered fictive kin. However, your girlfriend has what sounds like are some more serious charges. This may make you ineligible to be a placement option if you live together.

Is the sister currently with other relatives or in traditional foster care? If she has been at her placement for a long period of time and is doing well there is a chance the agency that has her case won't want to move her. In this case you would need an attorney. If she is happy in her placement you and your girlfriend can still establish a relationship with the sister and be involved in her life.

Please do not take this the wrong way, but really look at what is best for the sister. If she is in a stable home and is happy and getting the services she needs it may be best for her to stay there. Living with a 19 and 21 year old may not be the best option for a 13 year old who has been subjected to neglect and abuse. That doesn't mean you can't build a strong relationship though.


Title: Would dressing up as a cop for Halloween count as police impersonation? [Florida]

Answer: As long as it looks something like [this](https://40.media.tumblr.com/254cecf69c0c63bd50fc5b62a75c093b/tumblr_mg809gPrKz1rfobcxo1_400.jpg) I think you'll be okay.


Title: Drug Charges.

Question: So I'm at NIU in Dekalb, IL, and I've had a few encounters with the cops about smoking marijuana. These other kids have also been caught twice before I have, and got a deferred suspension (which I still don't understand what that is, but they're still attending.) It's supposed to be if you get caught twice, you get suspended for a semester. Now if I get suspended for a semester is there any way I could get my rights to my education or tuition back? Like unfair treatment towards others or something? Thanks in advance r/legaladvice.

Answer:
 > Now if I get suspended for a semester is there any way I could get my rights to my education or tuition back?

No.  The fact that others were given a break has no bearing on whether you're given a break.

If you could prove a long-term, systematic discrimination of a legally protected category, maybe.


Title: 18 Year Old Kid Being SUED!

Question:
Hello people of Reddit!

So my friends made a company and are being sued for patent infringement.

They are being told to end production and to pay damages and profit. Also, only 30 units, totaling $300 were sold in total. Being as this is a brand new company.

The company suing them have a $1.5Billion net worth.

What advice would you have for my friends who just started and are very young?

Also, my friends "company" wasn't technically a "company" there was no paper work filed or anything. However, they have his name and are suing his name.

Answer:
 Your friend should hire an attorney, and do what his attorney tells him.Answer #2: This is probably the way this company wants to kill competition. But we are really in the dark here. Without any information on what they made and what patents or laws they broke. At least what they did got the attention of Evil corp.

So there's two options:  Cease and desist or hire legal help and defend yourself. Answer #3: Have they actually sued you (ie served court papers)? Or have they just sent a cease and desist?  I'd apologise, and hope they drop it.  They aren't after your money as much as they just want you to stop.


Title: I was randomly assaulted

Question: I was out last night with some friends and I was randomly attacked.  I got sucker punched and knocked out, then while I was out i was told i was stomped on and hit many more times.  I went to the police department and they took my information.  They caught the person, but im pretty sure he was a minor.  What will happen next will the police call me or do I have to call them?  I have a ton of anxiety in general and this made it so much worse. What can I do?

Answer: First, relax. You were the victim. It sounds like you have done all you can at this moment. If the police need your help they will let you know.


Title: Arrested for simple battery in the state of Illinois

Question: I was arrested last night for simple battery, I was drunk so forgive the lack of details. I was the instigator(at least physically) and the guy wanted to press charges so I was charged with simple battery but was released without having to post bail. I have a court date in late February and just need to know the ramifications. Will I need a lawyer? Will this show up on a background check for a potential employer? Thanks for any response.

Answer:
 >Will I need a lawyer?

yes

> Will this show up on a background check for a potential employer?

yes


Title: Using a hotel WiFi.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Is this illegal?

Yes.

> Should I disconnect?

Yes.


Title: Adverse Possession, Iowa, USA

Question:
So I know after looking, that adverse possession in Iowa re: land is 5 years. We bought our house just under 4 years ago, and we have some not so great neighbours. We have property lines that meet on the one side of my driveway. As long as we have lived here, they have maintained all of that side part of the lawn. We were clueless that about 6 feet belonged to us because the garage and a fence are set way back till the past fall. Till someone we know pointed it out to us after they came out and screamed at a client of mine who's dog stepped onto the grass that is on my side. Cost me the client - because who wants to have their dog stay with someone whose neighbour comes out and screams at them - and left me fairly upset.

But lurking here I remembered adverse possession, looked it up. My question is this. They've been maintaining that entire section of grass from street to garage likely since from before we moved in. Adverse possession in Iowa is 5 years. We bought the house in October '13. Does the 5 years count from the day they started maintaining it - don't know if they had permission, but the day we moved in they were mowing it all - or does it re-trigger/start from the day that we bought and took possession of the house?

We're going to send them a letter to please refrain from mowing that section of the lawn, that we'll be assuming the duties from this point forward - and we will, I love my sunday mowing! - and we're starting to put our garbage can on that section by the curb one garbage day as a counter to it all and show that no, we now know it's ours and will be using it. They're not going to like it, but then if you go by their behavior, one wonders why the hell they live in the neighbourhood at all. That and, it's mine.

edit: Adding that yes, we've tried talking with them before, no, they are super passive aggressive dicks raising children who are the same way and no, we have no clue what the hell we did that pissed them off but they love chopping rose bushes, calling the city on a house that is rented out and just overall dicks. I generally held fast to 'use ignore them, go on with life' but recent behavior from them has me really irked since now it's affecting me.

Answer:
 Before you start sending letters and doing things, you should do the following:

1.  Get a land survey
2.  Get an attorney to look over the survey, your documents and the local laws.

You don't want to pick a fight without your ducks in a row.Answer #2: One of the elements of adverse possession is that it has to be 'adverse and hostile' - meaning that if something is done permissively it cannot be used as a basis for adverse possession. You don't have to ask them to stop mowing. Honestly if you just send them a thank you note for doing it (and keep a copy) that would probably establish that the use is permissive and defeat any subsequent adverse possession claim.


Title: Update and Help

Question:
I am from Australia. I posted a few months ago about how I ordered a shirt online and the company never sent it out to me. Whenever I emailed them, they would ignore it. It took about four months for them to do anything.

Eventually, they cancelled my order and sent me a receipt saying that they had given my money back. It has been two months since that receipt and the money has never come into my account.

What do I do if they never send it through? I can’t get a cash back through my bank and don’t know how to contact them besides email. Since my order, they closed the original business and couple with another one. When I email them, I email both the previous and the current company with no response.
Topic:
Consumer Law

Answer: Do a chargeback on your credit card. Simple as that.


Title: Wife wants to help neighbors illegally immigrate to another country. Afraid of legal consequences of things go wrong. (We're US citizens)

Question:
My wife and I live in a small town in a developing Southeast Asian nation. We have neighbors who are planning to illegally migrate to a developed Northeast Asian nation to work in a factory. As my wife and I are the resident rich Americans, they turned to us for help.

One of them asked us to travel with them to the country in question on their mother's dime, and to pretend to be their relatives upon arrival to help them get in. My wife impulsively said yes. Last night, after an impassioned explanation to her about what human trafficking is and what would happen to us if we were complicit in it, she changed her mind.

She currently still feels obligated to the people because she had promised them before, and is trying to come up with a compromise. As it stands, she wants us to help them with tourist visa paperwork and send them to the embassy and to help them find their plane ticket.

So, I'm wondering - if they are going into a situation where they're being trafficked or held against their will, what's the point at which we're culpable? I've personally drawn the line at doing anything that requires me to lie to a law enforcement officer, but could we get in trouble for even helping them with their tickets?

EDIT: We're US citizens, residents of New York State, and we live in Thailand.

EDIT 2: Just to clarify, we're not going. My wife just feels obligated due to her earlier agreement, and we're trying to find a way to help that does not put us in danger of physical harm or legal action.

Answer: A developing southeast Asian nation does not sound like somewhere that I would want to end up in jail.


Title: I (19M) was banned from my university dining commons by a supervisor for quitting my job there.

Question:
Hello reddit, I really hope you guys can help me with this because I'm somewhat desperate.

I worked for a dining commons owned by the university that I attend, though I recently quit somewhat abruptly. Due to stress from the job, combined with my mother having serious health issues resulting in her being hospitalized back home, along with finals, I just couldn't finish out the school year. I did not tell my supervisor this because I honestly did not feel comfortable with her at all.

Cut to yesterday, where one of the bosses at my ex workplace, where I eat, approached me and told me that the meal I was eating was to be my last, because I quit "when [they] needed me most". I did not say anything back but I'm writing this because I want to know if this is legal. I did not violate any policies since I was an "at will" worker and I already have paid for a meal plan through the university.

I emailed her with such an explanation and am awaiting a response but I paid close to 17 thousand dollars for this housing and meal plan and I do not feel she can ban me from the dining commons that my dorm is connected to, even if there are other dining commons (albeit located much farther away, since I live in off-campus housing).

If you guys could tell me anything, mostly because I'm starting to get really hungry and the food I have in my room is not really something I can live off of for the rest of this year (literally just junk food), I'd really apprecitate it, thanks!

Answer: If I were you, I would pay a visit to the student affairs office and report this incident. If you have paid to eat there, did not violate any student rules while eating/employed there, I don’t see why they can ban you. A student should always feel comfortable to eat at a campus establishment, especially when they have paid for it. If I were you, if you are approached by somebody asking you to leave, I would contact campus p.d. and ask them to resolve the situation for you and make a report of the incident.


Title: Pulled over for DUI and refused the breathalyzer (in MD). Can I drive today?

Question:
I was pulled over for DUI yesterday, preformed the field sobriety test and was taken to the station.  At the time, I refused the breathalyzer or to sign anything because I felt intimidated by the officers and was worried about incriminating myself and loosing my license (I'm a single Dad and need it for work and the kids).  My car was towed and I need to pick it up.  I have a DR-15A 10-16 and I remember the officer saying this replaces my license as they confiscated it.  But I'm reading different things regarding as to whether or not the license is actually suspended at this moment, or after the 46 day of the "issue date".

\-Can I drive today?

\-My lawyer says they can't see me until 10/19 - Is that too late to wait?

\- I'm unclear as to what the next step is.  Do I wait to get contacted from DMV, or the courts?

\- Did I make it worse by refusing?  I wasn't rude about it (not that this probably matters) but was genuinely concerned about digging a deeper hole.

I admitted to having a couple beers at the bar (which is where I was coming from) and take full responsibility for this stupid mistake and am grateful no one was hurt.  I'm just in need of advice as to what to do now.

Thanks!

Answer:
 (source: Law Firm WebSite)

After making a DUI arrest, officers must confiscate the driver’s Maryland driver’s license and provide form DR-15A, which is both an Officer’s Order of Suspension and a temporary driver’s license. The temporary license is valid for 45 days from the issue date (or until an MVA license hearing, if requested within 10 days of the arrest). If the officer fails to provide form DR-15A, or fails to enter the issue date, then the defendant’s driving privilege status can be argued to be intact. This is because being placed under arrest and having the physical driver’s license confiscated does not equate to driving privileges being suspended. The defendant should, however, obtain the temporary license either from the police officer or from the MVAAnswer #2: There is strangely a lot of conflicting information about your state, I think because the law was changed relatively recently.

It looks like you may have been given a temp licence valid for 45 days. You will be subject to a 270 day suspension following that period as an administrative penalty.

You will have a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings. If you request that hearing within 10 days your licence should not be suspended until after the hearing (which your lawyer should attend).

More info [here](http://www.mva.maryland.gov/About-MVA/INFO/26100/26100-50T.htm)


Title: Can illegal streaming/not disciplining be brought up in custody/child support hearing? Arkansas

Question:
I recently spent some time with my son over his mother's (my ex wife). She has primary custody but we are going to court for a modification because I want to lower my child support obligation ( I pay above what is required via my salary) and she wants to change the agreement to reflect the days I actually take.

I went over to her house the other day to see him for a little bit. He is 4. He wanted to watch a certain movie. She had it queued up from a streaming website that isn't legitimate. Basically she was streaming it illegally. I asked her if we could find it on netflix and she said that she couldn't and that this was the only place she could find it. I refused to watch it or let him watch.

I was later able to buy the DVD and have it shipped to my house so he can watch it legally.

Later at her house my son started pitching a fight over wanting his tablet. She took it away and put it up and told him that he could watch it later but right now was play time with me. She then ignored him as he rampaged through the house, fitting.

I put it a stop to it by spanking him and putting him in time out. She interrupted and he kept screaming for her and I asked her why and she said they have a "positive reinforcement" house only and that fits are ignored and not punished. She does take away toys and privileges but she doesn't believe in touching him or isolating him.  I tried to spank him again because he called me mean. He is spanked and put into time out at my house which he comes to every other weekend for two days a set so he is use to it. She mentioned that he wasn't use to it here so he was extra emotional and that I should leave.

Ok whatever. Anyway, I'd like to bring up her lack of punishment and the illegal streaming in court in an effort to swing child support my way but I am not sure how that'd go over.   Would a judge care?

Answer:
 You can punish the child how you see fit in your house and on your time, and vice versa. It will be more effective if you both agree on a style; but if you could agree effectively  then  you'd likely still be married; so I get that it can be difficult. But you're not going to get any traction with the argument "she isn't using corporal punishment, so she isn't providing any discipline". She is; just providing it in a different manner.

They're likely to totally ignore the streaming argument, and you'll look petty for brining it up. Answer #2: Definitely let the judge know that your ex won't cooperate with you in beating your kid. Do you use a switch or a belt?  You should bring that in as evidence.


Title: Can I reproduce and sell national monuments? (US)

Question:
Could the US government have a claim against me if I 3D printed and subsequently sold replicas of national monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial? I currently live in Virginia if that matters.

Any thoughts are welcome!

Answer: I *think(?)* they are all in the public domain, assuming the 3D printer souce designs are your own and not from copyrighted material. But, if you are looking to make this a commercial enterprise, you should speak with an attorney first, for multiple reasons (including this one).


Title: As I have forcefully evicted somebody, can I counter sue or defend myself by saying that he was a terrible person?

Question:
Alright, I’m going to lay it out for you. After I’ve been ranting about it to myself, I almost feel like I could sue if he tries any bullshit.

Essentially this:

Background:

My parents own this place.

Rent + utilities would be 2000$ a month (via community website)

He pays 500 for a smaller room, so he’s still got it pretty good price wise

I handle everything around the house, including bills, Netflix, internet, maids, stocking things such as paper towels, toilet paper, soaps, water salts, etc, also maintenances.

I asked him to do a few things, such as wipe the stove down after he was done, and put the keys in his car so I can pull out of the garage at night (tandem parking). I also asked to do a few other things that he completely ignored that I let go.

He never did them because he considered them trifling. He’d be like ‘sorry, I’ll get to it.” But by that time it’s too late. It should’ve already been done by now and I’ve already had to do it. The fact that he never even really tried or cared I find extremely disrespectful.

On top of that he’d do things I’d ask him not to do. More disrespect

I felt uncomfortable in own home, he’s larger and older than me, and because it’s where you’re more vulnerable, so it was hard to confront him sometimes. Not making an excuse but that’s where I’m coming from.

We “broke up” multiple times. And every time, he’s puppy up to me and act all nice and by the time he’d have to leave, he’s just ask if he could stay a bit more and I’d say yes. It was because I was between being afraid of living alone again and wondering if I was the problem and I could do something to get along better.

Suffered no loss by moving out suddenly

He could move out whenever because he was just going to his moms but at one point wouldn’t just to give me a hard time. I know this because once I gave him *a month and a half* to move out, and he didn’t do shit until the last day when he asked me if he could stay. He said he would’ve just gone to his moms house.

Again, another instance to where he doesn’t care about how I feel and acts beholden to no one. Rude. If I was living with someone, *I wouldn’t live there if they didn’t want me to anymore*

Throughout these *9 months* I got more and more fed up where I’d be pissed of all the time and unable to sleep. That’s where I got fed up.

His lease was going to end in two weeks, but I was getting really anxious to live alone so I asked him if I could spare him at least most of this months rent if he would move out now. He didn’t want to and I started getting angry and insistent for all the time I’ve helped and given him here, he won’t spare me some time? We got into an argument where he belittled me the whole time and kept calling me a bitch and a lot of other names. I almost let him stay after he said that he was “too busy to move out these weekends” (as if I believe that. Like I said, it’d only take him leaving to his moms house 20 minutes away, he could even take his shit later), but he continued on for a good minute saying everything I wanted him to do was so small and menial that I’m a bitch and then walked out yelling about how much of apiece of shit I am. So I just changed the codes and he couldn’t come back.

If he sues, can I counter sue or defend with this? That he’s just a piece of shit that so dense he couldn’t see why he should be considerate that I just couldn’t stand him anymore? Because that’s what happened I hit my breaking point. I just couldn’t stand living in the same house with him.

Long periods of stress and I’d almost consider that being taken advantage of knowing that I was indecisive and vulnerable at that point. But I need to be responsible for myself. But I think he’s blind to the whole situation. He doesn’t understand at all where I’m coming from
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 No. that you don't like someone is not a defense for illegally evicting someone. Answer #2: Of course not. Legally speaking, you are entirely in the wrong, and if your former tenant sues you over this illegal eviction, they will easily recover their damages:

* the pro-rated part of their last month's rent, to compensate for the loss of the use they paid for;

* if they lost any property or any property was damaged, then the fair market value of that property, to make them whole;

* if they have any costs at all due to short-term accommodations on short notice, ranging from the cost of a u-haul to bring things to their mother's all the way up to a hotel room, those costs, again to make them whole;

* the return of any security deposit, as you denied them the opportunity to correct any defects before they vacated, and

* quite possibly punitive damages on the order of a month or two's rent, depending on jurisdiction.

You cost him his home illegally, and without adequate notice, because you couldn't get along with him for the two weeks remaining on his lease. You had best hope he's more interested in putting this behind him than in getting what's his back, because you appear to have no valid defence at all.

I understand why you did what you did, I think, but that doesn't justify it.Answer #3: From what you've described about him, no I don't think you'll have a defense at all.


Title: [Nebraska] - Received a Cease and Desist due to a Reddit comment

Question:
Using a throwaway cause I don't feel like linking this post to the comment, even though you may be able to guess.

I recently made a comment on a post regarding a former employer, regarding my time at the employer. I was silly and didn't use a throwaway when I made the post. The statements I made were true, and I can prove most of them, and I have former co-workers who would collaborate on those statements.

However, this company sent me a cease and desist, stating I need to either remove the comment or change it so its "correct".

I am curious if I were to fight this, would it even be worth it? If they take me to court, and lose, would they have to pay for legal fees of mine, or would defending myself be all out of my own pocket? (I can't really afford a lawyer if this is the case)

They used to do this to many people who would say bad things about them online (former customers, employees, etc), and I am wondering if there is a legal basis in this, and if they can "prove" it was me, etc, or if they are just trying to scare me into removing it.

Thanks!

Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 Delete it from reddit, put it on yelp.Answer #2: > I am curious if I were to fight this, would it even be worth it?

We can't really offer that.  We don't know what you said, and we don't know what they object to.  In general, if you can only prove some/most of your assertions, you may be in a bad position in court.  We also can't guess whether they'd actually follow through with a suit.

You may or may not get legal fees back if sued.  That depends on how the case goes and your local court's rules.  In general, if you don't prevail completely, it's unlikely you'd get fees.

Answer #3: > stating I need to either remove the comment or change it so its "correct".

Did they identify the parts of the post that are supposedly incorrect?Answer #4: FYI, deleting a comment on Reddit does not fully remove it. Deleting a comment merely removes it from general visibility, which may be sufficient for the request (if you choose to act on it). It can still be found by the dedicated. If you choose to delete the comment you can edit it first to say something like "[removed by personal choice]", save the edit, then delete the comment. Reddit only saves the last edit of the comment (no journaling). Once a post has been deleted you can no longer edit it even if you can find it via cached links or the like.


Title: USPS mysteriously sent me someone else's package - readdressed it to me [US]

Question:
Mysterious situation. Sorry about the text wall. Located in the United States.

A few months ago, I bid on (and won) an auction for tools and other supplies on a popular online auction website. The package was mysteriously delayed during shipping at one of USPS's sort facilities due to what I assumed was the rather extreme inclement weather.

Once I received the package, I found a letter from the postal service INSIDE the box stating that due to a mishap at the facility there were packages that became dislodged during shipping. If any problems arose to send a letter to their complaint department. The package did not contain the tools but rather an incredibly large number of sealed DVD sets to a very popular TV show.

I contacted the seller and he had no idea what I was talking about with DVDs. He stated that he sent only the items pictured in the auction. I have no reason to believe that he was being disingenuous because when you compare the price of both items on Amazon, the overall value of the DVD sets is much, much higher.

After some back and forth with the USPS I was able to reach someone who started an official search at the three USPS sort facilities in the region. After three months they terminated the search and stated that my item was not found. I also inquired what to do with the DVDs that I received. Initially they said to keep them sealed because if my original package was found, they may need me to send the DVDs back to the sort facility. But later they essentially told me on the phone that they didn't know what to do with the DVDs.

Months have gone by, and I decided to try and recoup my money so I've started selling them locally. I've only sold a handful, but I began to wonder what kind of legal ramifications I could run into ? Also I became paranoid that the DVDs may contain some kind of elicit or illegal material so I unwrapped several of them and skimmed through them on my computer. I could not find anything out of the ordinary. They appear to simply be the entire DVD set of the TV series.

TL;DR: Mysteriously sent huge box of boxed DVD sets of a popular TV show. USPS lost my original package. Seller had no idea what I was talking about. Want to sell DVDs to get my money back.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: Seems to me the seller of tools should collect on insurance and pay you back and you return DVDs to USPS.  Easier said than done I'm sure.


Title: Will a Massage Therapist lose their license if they are a cam girl on the side?

Question:
Just wondering what the situation would look like in NY state. The massage practice is 100% on the up and up. No "special deals"/ happy endings. The cam work is totally separate.

Are there any obscenity laws that would come into play? Since the cam work is also legal.

Answer:
 So Massage therapy licenses are generally handled on a state by state basis - but most states adhere to the generally accepted code of ethics set out by Apta

https://www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/About_Us/Policies/Ethics/CodeofEthics.pdf

Cam work would be a violation - and they could lose their license.


Title: Ex-GF threatened you burn down my house and kill our dogs

Question: I just broke up with my now ex-GF. Nerves are high, and she was shouting at me on the way out the door. There are two things that really concern me though. She intends to take both our dogs, who are registered and licensed in her name as she works as a vet tech. However she has nowhere to put them, and told me that she would put both of them down rather than leave them here. She also texted our roommate saying that she would burn the house down if I tried to fight her for them. I live in Massachusetts. Is there anything I can or should be doing?

Answer:
 NAL

Go to the police with the texts handy, bring your roommate, possibly talk to a lawyer about getting a restraining order.


Title: I know asking for a photo in a job interview in the United States is illegal but is a video not?

Question:
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https://preview.redd.it/9mdu06h315m71.png?width=938&format=png&auto=webp&s=f559b0584e9ce4abe9e54b549fe2b7db9d38fc1b

I was applying for a job as IT help for the learning institution I attend and apparently they require that you must submit a sort of video cover letter in order to apply to the job. I suppose technically this doesn't have to be a video of yourself and more like an audio recording, regardless I would like to know other people's opinions on this. I'm somewhat miffed that now I have to consider whether I should submit a video of myself talking and be judged on my physical appearance or leave it as a black screen and risk being written off from a potential gig.

Answer: Asking for a photo isn't illegal, it's just uncommon


Title: My wife lost her kids to CPS due to her not so good life choices. But did a 360 turn and is doing extremely better. She wants to fight for her kids back but not sure how to go about it.

Question:
Some background info but will keep it short. My wife before I met her just got out of prison 8 months ago. Still is currently on parole. But the reason she doesn't have her children is due to her baby's father causing problems and she wouldnt leave him (drug abuse). So it got out of hand and the mom called CPS. And the baby's father family has custody. She goes to court on the 13th to close the case with CPS and the family that has the kids gets custody transfered to them.

As far as I know when it came to working out a deal and my wife signing a few things.  She gets to visit them twice a month. She doesn't want that anymore. I won't bore you with the details but now she's doing better and I want to help her get full custody back.

Where would I even start? She said we can modify the visitation after a year but we're trying to fight for full custody. What should I do on my end to build a stronger case and prove she deserve her children back? (There are 2 a boy and a girl).

I will answer any questions I can in the comments if I'm being too vague thank you
Topic:
CPS and Dependency Law

Answer:
 She needs a lawyer to help her.

Generally you can't do a lot.  As long as your not a major problem you likely won't even be part of the equation. It would certainly help her to reframe the situation.

>But the reason she doesn't have her children is due to her baby's father causing problems and she wouldnt leave him (drug abuse).

The reason she doesn't have custody is because she choose to stay with a problematic bf rather than take care of her kids. I assume she also had some issues of her own happening since she went to jail. Taking more responsibility for her own actions than that quote displays is important. Answer #2: You can do absolutely nothing other than not do drugs or commit violence in the home. She needs to do 100% of the work on this. The fact she has you posting here instead of her isn't good, the fact she still blames someone else for the current custody arrangement will also not impress a judge. She needs a family attorney and to manage her expectations. Answer #3: She can talk to a family lawyer to see what can be done to regain full custody.  Your wife should not expect it to be a quick process and she should expect there to be a lot of investigation done to ensure that she is a fit parent.


Title: Deadbeat (sort of) dad can't be found for medical insurance for child

Question:
My friend receives child support via garnished wages into a direct deposit account. As part of the divorce agreement, he is responsible for 100% of the child's medical expenses/insurance. Back in January, he said that his job (he's a corrections officer) is changing insurances policies & said that he would give my friend the info as soon as he received it. That was almost 6 months ago.

He will not respond to emails or text messages & she doesn't know his most recent address. My friend has no insurance information for her son (he's 13) & would not have the means to pay a huge medical bill up front, if ever needed.

How should she proceed?

EDIT: My friend & her son reside in PA. The dad lives in NJ.

Answer: If he is 100% responsible for the health care bills and insurance he will have to pay the child's bills if he doesn't supply health care insurance. She can go to court to enforce the order and if he doesn't pay the bills or provide insurance he can be held in contempt.


Title: What to do after someone left their possessions in my house?

Question:
So here's the story.

Back in January I had a friend and her boyfriend crash at my house (I live in North Carolina) for a couple weeks before they moves across the county. They agreed that when they moved out they would give me money for living which would cover the electric they used, water, cleaning up after, etc. Flash forward to February and they moved out--a couple of boxes and a mattress were left there. I messaged them asking if they could send me money for rent and they said they would after they were settled. I also asked if they had any intention of getting their mattress out and I was left with no response. About a week later I messaged again asking for money and had no response.

April rolled around and at that point I was in the middle of a move to a new apartment. It had been about 2 months since I had sent the last message trying to get some rent out of them. I got a message asking if they could have a family member could stop by the old house and pick up the boxes they left. I agreed to go back to the old house and when I entered I was ROBBED. Someone broke in and stole the rest of my packed up boxes/their boxes (it wasn't a wonderful area.) So at this point- the abandoned box couple is trying to make me send them $300 to replace what was in those boxes. Can they do anything legally about this?

Answer: If you stored the property in a reasonably secure way, attempted to contact them on multiple occasions over multiple months to retrieve their belongings, and the misfortune of a robbery occurred, they are out of luck. They still owe you money for rent and bills if they agreed to pay it to you.Answer #2: Your friend and her boyfriend came back and took their stuff after breaking into your place.


Title: Pregnant as a result of an affair - want Information about child support: California

Question:
My boyfriend is married (I don’t need judgment on this - I know it was stupid) and until recently told me he was going to leave his wife. I am currently 26 weeks pregnant.

It has become pretty clear that they will not be getting a divorce so I am wondering about child support...will her (his wife’s) income be included in the calculation or just his?

They have been married since 2015 and have one child together.

Answer:
 Just him. It isn't his wife's kid or responsibilityAnswer #2: It’s probably going to be a moot point—he’s not likely to be married very long after you go to collect the child support.  Answer #3: California makes it very simple to get the process started.

[Start here](http://www.childsup.ca.gov/resources/applyforservices.aspx).

In general, only the father's income is counted but California is an odd state.  It would be extremely odd to punish the spouse who had nothing to do with the child unless it was an extremely rare circumstance.


Title: My job makes us use an app to communicate, but I think they are partnered with them and check our messages.

Question: Hello all, first I'd like to start off that I don't want to mention too much information about this app as it can lead to my job.  As the post goes my job makes us download an app to communicate like a WhatsApp or Discord . Working there I made a few gaming buddies so I figured I could make my own private room / server for us to chat in. I PMed two of them the new link to the new server/room . And as far as I know the only way to connect to it is thru invite/code. Last night someone from management appeared in our chat! My first thought was i made a sub group with in thier server /room but that wasn't the case. I was set as "admin" and the manager was set to "member". I immediately kicked her from the group. Today she avoided me at all cost. The only reasoning I can make of this is that, they work alot closer with the app people and that management from my job might even have access to our private chats. What can I do about this? Is this illegal? I live in NY btw! Any help would be appreciated.

Answer: Do not use your communication app for your job for private communications. Treat it as if your boss reads every message.


Title: Bureaucratic nightmare - I just lost $3500 to PayPal. What can I do to get it back?

Question:
Long story below. Links to all images here:  [https://imgur.com/a/GORIad0](https://imgur.com/a/GORIad0)

I'll narrate what happened so it goes along with each image.

TL;DR I got scammed $3500 CAD by PayPal themselves (no, not a vendor using paypal, but paypal themselves). Looking for financial/legal advice, I am even seeking to escalate this to court or a lawsuit if I don't get my money back. Keep reading if you want to hear what happened.

I just opened the account for the first time in March, and was using it to buy products for online retailing (simple things like neem oil or eucalyptus oil which you can get on ebay). I made the mistake of using a user name in the name field, which shouldn't be a problem, you just verify your identity/submit a scan of your drivers license and some banking statements and you're good to go, right? Apparently not. It makes no sense because it is an honest accident that I imagine many people make, and I entered it as my business name (not my personal name). There was no activity in the account prior to March 25th, and one of my withdrawal requests got approved. I tried several times with PayPal to verify my account but my documents (which were perfectly valid) got rejected for increasingly ridiculous reasons:

1. First time my payment got denied I submitted a scanned copy of my ID, utility bills, bank statements, etc. I got approved, my account was reinstated, and I successfully withdrew 770 CAD on April 1st (see 2nd image).
2. After second payment, on April 1st, I got two emails from PayPal, one saying "eCheck Payment Denied" and the other saying "request for more additional info", which required me to send CRA tax returns, property tax assessment, resubmit utility bills/credit card statements, and my HST number for my business. I submitted scanned legible documents for all of these within 24 hours of receiving the email (see 3rd image).
3. Got two emails on April 2nd from PayPal. Said my verification documents were "rejected" because the name didn't match that on my PayPal account (paypal username was "S\*\*\*\* S\*\*\*\*"). The proof of financials was rejected as well for this reason, but I got both overturned, however it took hours of calling and haggling with them. I had to get them to manually approve my request to change my PayPal name to my legal name. (see 4th and 5th image)
4. April 7th, got a bizarre email from [complianceverifications@paypal.com](mailto:complianceverifications@paypal.com), stating access to my account was restored, but I was still blocked from withdrawing my money, and the email mistakenly referred to me as "C\*\*\*\* M\*\*\*\*\*\* O\*\*\*\*\*", which isn't a name I know or ever heard of. None of my submitted documents state that name at all. I had to call them back again and explain this was a mistake and that I still did not have access to my PayPal. (see image 6)
5. April 12th, got an email from PayPal with the correct stated name, saying that access to my account was restored. Immediately after receiving this email I tried for a third (and final) time to withdraw my money. (see image 7)
6. April 14th, PayPal finally emailed me back saying they rejected my verification documents again (despite them all being valid according to support workers on the phone), saying this time the document "does not have a company logo". This makes absolutely no sense because the only accepted documents are CRA tax returns or property tax assessments, none of which allow me to put my "company logo" on them. It seems like it was intentionally designed to be impossible to verify myself, and that they are deliberately making excuses not to let me have my money back. It honestly felt very malicious and targeted at me directly, especially since my account was unbanned/restored by their phone support staff, and then this decision was overturned something like 2 or 3 times. They are basically trapping me in a neverending loop and making me go through increasingly impossible and absurd lengths just to verify my identity. After this last email, whenever I log in to my account I get a big warning notice saying "You can no longer use PayPal anymore." (see images 8 and 9)

I feel like I have exhausted myself and all my options are failing, and they are simply refusing to return the money. I am worried that even after the 180 day holding period is over, they will still refuse to give it back due to these ridiculous verification requests (which they will inevitably reject, since they seem to have an excuse every time). I just don't know how to help the situation. I have even consulted with a paralegal and discussed filing a lawsuit against PayPal. I am asking anyone for legal or financial help. Can I sue them if I don't get my money back?

I am thinking of taking these posts elsewhere on social media, and putting PayPal on full blast for their refusal to give me back my money. This was a new account, just opened this March, and this was my first time ever trying to make any transactions on it. All this because I entered a username instead of a real name. It seems like an honest mistake anyone could make. What if an elderly computer user in their 70s misreads the registration form and accidentally inputs a username? What if a foreigner/immigrant who is not very good with English enters the wrong name by mistake? Not only do they get banned for life, but they have to pay for their mistake with a 3500 dollar fine? It is absolutely ridiculous and my blood is boiling. I can't believe such a large company is so dysfunctional and mismanaged. I am NEVER using PayPal ever again.

Answer:
 This is compliance issue for PayPal to the local financial/banking regulator and the relevant legislation, as such they aren’t doing this for fun.

If you can’t prove you are the person with the name used in the account (or the other common one where people use fake dates of birth), then they can’t release the money and they can’t change the name on the account.Answer #2: Suing paypal will do you no good. They have an arbitration clause you agreed to in the terms and conditions. The court will just punt it to arbitration.

Feel free to file for arbitration as described in the terms and conditions. Arbitrators have a bad history of being biased against individual over corporations, but occasionally they don't screw up that badly.


Title: Can you report a rape if it happened 3 months ago

Question:
There is no concrete proof just one persons word against another. Maybe old texts that have been deleted?

This is not about me, someone I know.

Nj, USA.

Answer:
 Yes, you can report it at any time (although prosecuting it would be impacted by the state of limitations in your jurisdiction).

The difficulty will be proving it: no physical evidence would be the primary one.

I feel fairly strongly that if a person has been raped they should report it, even late, even if there won't be a trial as a result. People who rape people rarely are single offenders.


Title: I met my girlfriend's family for Christmas and was kinda pushed into signing a attestation for her brother's living will

Question:
Edit: This is in Ohio for the location bot

This Christmas I met my girlfriend of a couple months extended birthday at a Christmas party at her brothers house. Towards the end of the night me, my girlfriend, two of her brothers and her sister were sitting around the dinner table when her brother came up to me and said "how do you feel about signing documents you haven't read?". At first I thought he was joking but it turns out he has put together a living will for his wife of 10 years and 3 children. Apparently you need two witnesses for an "Attestation" in order for the will to be valid. I had had a some alcoholic beverages and decided it would be a good idea to sign this document before reading it to i guess impress her family or make a good impression. There was also his sister's ex husband there who also signed it right after me without reading it.

After that we started playing some board games and it only then dawned on me how totally dangerous signing documents without reading them is, so I asked to speak to the brother in private and told him I would like to read what I just signed. He had no problem with it and I did read through pretty much the entire thing. While I didn't take an entire hour reading the will thoroughly, I did take about 15-20 minutes reading through it mostly to see if there was anything that could make me responsible or liable for anything wild and it seemed like a normal will leaving his belongings to his wife and children. I asked why he was even putting a will together to begin with and he told me a close friend died recently unexpectedly without a will in place and as a result there is some sort or dispute over his estate.

It all seemed pretty much on the up and up but Ive never dealt with anything of this magnitude, and ever since then I have been feeling a general anxiety about the whole matter. Should I be concerned about this issue? Is there anything I can/should do?

Thank you all in advance.

Answer:
 You did nothing wrong, or dangerous, really. The only thing that could go wrong is if somehow that _wasn't_ your GF's brother, meaning that you unknowingly participated in some kind of fraud. Which seems like a long shot.

Attestations for wills are very commonly required, and in some cases it's recommended that outside family members provide signatures, because people in the family might have conflicts of interest.

Don't stress, you're cool.Answer #2: You just witnessed a signature.  That's the extent of your involvement.


Title: Question About Music

Question:
I Am Making A Song And Im Using A Beat I Found On YouTube, When I Finish The Song And Release It Wont Be Monetized Or Have Ads Because Im Not Leasing It Or Didnt Pay For It. Im Also Gonna Put A Link To The Person And Give Them Credit And I Know Thats Legal. But I Downloaded The Beat And Today The Beat Maker Deleted The Beat From His Channel And Now My Question Is Can I Profit Off The Song I Make Since The Beat Maker Has Deleted It? (Like I Said I Still Have It Because I Downloaded It)
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 No You Cannot Use The Beat You Cannot Use The Beat Without Permission It Does Not Matter If You Give Credit It Does Not Matter If You Monetize It Does Not Matter If You Don't Have Ads You Cannot Use The Song You "Made" Because You Stole The Beat And Cannot Use It Without Permission

Why Do You Capitalize Like This It Is Worse Than Cancer


Title: (MO) My wife co-signed a $5,000 student loan for her ex-boyfriend when she was 18. He let it go to collections and despite her efforts, he has basically refused to pay any more of it.

Question:
She was 18, she knows now that it was not a good idea. Basically the ex-boyfriend made a couple payments on it at the beginning and then let it go to collections. She guesses that he put about $200 towards it. She started to get threatening calls from collectors around the time we began dating and she started making the minimum monthly payment on it to try and keep from further hurting her credit. Now, several years later, we're married and we've been making payments on it monthly. It's finally getting close to being paid off. Can we take any action against her ex? Would it be worth it to even try?
Thanks for any input!

Answer: Your wife can sue the ex.  Does the ex have any assets?


Title: Told to put in my 2 weeks. Went to HR, then got fired.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: No, that isn't retaliation.  That requires you be retaliated against for speaking up about being the victim of illegal discrimination or harassment.  It's bad management, but unless you had an employment contract, nothing about this firing is unlawful


Title: Is it legal?

Question: Hi guys, I need help with a situation I'm in. Basically my old health insurance sent me letters stating that I owe them a payment of $130 for the month of June 2016. I have proof (audio recording) that I have on my phone that they told me I do NOT owe for the month of june. Is it legal the proof that I have? I live in California btw please help.

Answer: California is a two party consent state.  If you did not have their consent, the recordings are illegal.


Title: My Room Mate Assaulted Me, I'm Uninjured But Have A Witness, What Recourse Do I have?

Question:
I live in student housing style apartments (not run by the school, just nearby stuff marketed to students.)

My room mate escalated what I thought was a reasonable discussion into shoving me into a window and putting his hands around my neck briefly.

Other than a scratch when I hit a doorway there isn't a mark on me, but my other room mate saw what he was doing and intervened, he can testify to the fact that I wasn't fighting back and was being shoved against a wall corner/window, but not to how the altercation began.

I live in Greensboro NC, do I have any legal recourse for dealing with a room mate situation gone this bad?

Edit: if you guys want/need more details I can add them in slowly tomorrow, I didn't really want to go over the nightmare *again,* just yet.

Answer: Call the police. Ask to file a report and ask for an immediate restraining order/order of protection that will require the roommate to move out. Who's on the lease?


Title: [Illinois]How do I replace my social security card, when I have NO other forms of ID?

Question:
Okay so my situation is complicated:  About 2 years ago I moved to Illinois from Ohio.   Last October my ID was set to expire and I figured I'd be staying here at least a few more years, so new ID time right?  When I went to get my new ID, I realized my social security card had gone missing (most likely in the move).  The DMV refused to help me without a social security card, and by the time I was able to make it to social security office my ID had expired, and they said they couldn't help me either.

So now I have no idea how to prove I exists.  I've tried everything and spent almost a year fighting with social security.  They told me on the phone that I *might* be able to use tax returns since they have my SSN on them, so I waited til I got my 2014 w2's.  Then they told me at the office that they couldn't.  They told me I could use medical records from the last year, so I ordered certified copies from the ONE clinic I've been to in 3 years, waited 2 months to receive them, then was told that they couldn't use them because the clinics address wasn't on my records.  Now they are telling me to go to an Illinois doctor and get a physical, so that I can provide records from my visit.

Problem is I don't have ID so the few doctors and clinics I've looked into won't see me, or if they will see me they won't release my records without an ID.

I am literally out of options or ideas as to how to prove I exists.  I'm only 25 and can't go the rest of my life without any identification, heck if I lose my job I can't get hired somewhere else!

Does anyone have ANY idea what I need to do next? The only ID I have is my expired drivers license, and my birth certificate, plus a bunch of mail and W2's.  I was told that they won't accept my birth certificate because I'm not a minor.

Help please!

EDIT:  To clarify, yes social security IS being this difficult, and yes I have been in there twice in person and made multiple phone calls to figure out something while getting no help from them.  I think my living in a major city (Chicago) is part of the problem, since we do have a lot of illegal aliens in the city and suburbs here.

Answer:
 Your easiest option is probably going to be to get a passport. They require a birth certificate to prove citizenship and either an ID (which you can't provide) or [secondary identification](http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/secondary-evidence1.html)—a combination of several weaker ID documents and an affidavit from a US citizen with valid ID who has known you for two years.

In addition to letting you travel outside the country, a passport is an awesome ID document—pretty much anyone in any state will recognize it, it's much harder to forge than a driver's license, and it proves citizenship *and* identity *and* date of birth *and* provides a signature all in one document. It may be all you need, but if you still want your state ID card too, you can use it to get a social security card, and then use it to provide a signature and date-of-birth proof for the state ID.Answer #2: >I was told that they won't accept my birth certificate because I'm not a minor.

What? When I lost my ID, all I had to do was take my BC to the social security office and they gave me a new one. (well, first I had to get an official copy of the bc from the town where I was born, but that was easy).

For your state, see: https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_x173.pdf


Title: my safe was stolen

Question: my safe was stolen and I need to involve the police because of personal documents and such in the safe. if it is found will the cops open the safe?

Answer: Put it in this way. If there's any chance of something being in that safe that will get you sent to prison then it's almost certainly not worth it ever being found. You can get back your stuff. You can never get back the time you lost sitting in a cell and expunging a criminal record can be hard if it's even possible.


Title: Does an employer changing schedules without warning and failing to notify anyone repeatedly and calling you in what you were told was your days off during or after your shift is starting violate any part of CA labor law?

Question: I tried to ask this before so I'm leaving as much information out as I possibly can. Got (wrong) information on a question I didn't ask and life advice instead of the specific question I wanted to get answered answered. I'm thinking it's a no, but if it is it could be very helpful down the road to protecting myself.

Answer: So your question is can your boss change the schedule then yell at you for not knowing the new schedule? The answer is yes.


Title: California: Grandma updated trust to name new trustee (my mother); her sister throws a fit, now bank account frozen

Question:
Long time lurker, first time poster.  Posting on behalf of my mother because she doesn't know how to internet :)

My grandma had a stroke in September.  At that time, the current version of her POA documentation stated that one of her daughters (Cindy) could assume POA responsibilities if Grandma was deemed incompetent via two doctors' letters.  In a separate, sealed envelope labeled "do not open until my death" was an amendment to my Grandma's trust.  This change stated that with one doctor's letter confirming incapacity, Cindy would also assume the role of trustee.  The trust owns the house, some investments at Wells Fargo, and an account at Union Bank.  My grandma also has a personal account at Union Bank where her SS check is deposited.  She has lived a careful life and her assets are modest.

My aunt opened the sealed envelope and proceeded to assume the role of trustee.  She badgered one of the physician's offices to provide a letter of incapacity and visited the banks with the trust documentation (but not the POA paperwork).  After getting herself added to the trust's accounts, she withdrew a large portion of the money at Union Bank and moved it to a new account at Wells Fargo because she thought they would be easier to bank with (I guess Union Bank gave her a hard time with making the trust changes).  She also started talking about selling the house and went so far as to have a realtor come in to evaluate it.  My Grandma has expressly stated that she wants her money to stay at Union Bank, where she has banked for over 40 years, and that she does not want to sell the house.

My mom's other siblings were concerned about the direction Cindy was taking.  When they expressed these concerns, things got pretty heated.  Lots of texts/emails from Cindy with abusive language, accusations that others were trying to "steal mom's money", etc.  Cindy was especially vicious to my mother (Mary), who had taken several weeks off of work to help care for my Grandma and spent maybe $1000 of my Grandma's money getting her set up in a care home (wheelchair, therapy pole, diapers, some new tops, etc.).  Cindy has a drinking problem and the messages that came after work (i.e., after she'd started drinking) were just mean.  Like, I can't imagine ever talking to my siblings that way.  I don't think Cindy is a bad person who was trying to take financial advantage of my Grandma, but she was taking actions against my Grandma's wishes and being horrible to her siblings, so from my perspective, she behaved herself out of the trustee position.

My Grandma was given some of these details (not about the viciousness, but about the bank change and realtor visit) and stated that she wanted my mom to handle her finances instead.  Her lawyer visited with her and confirmed her wishes, then drew up another trust amendment to implement this change.  Also during this time, three medical professionals performed separate evaluations on my Grandma and deemed her competent to make her own decisions about these matters.  So, she resigned as trustee and named my mother as the sole trustee.  The lawyer recommended this approach to prevent Cindy from coming to town and persuading my Grandma to put her back in charge.

Since then, Wells Fargo's banking arm has made the change without protest.  Wells Fargo's investment arm says it could take months (the advisor who manages my Grandma's account also manages Cindy's investments and I know she has been complaining to him about this change).  Union Bank's legal department spent almost two weeks with the trust amendment, doctor's letters, and lawyer's letter, and just responded yesterday to say they are freezing the trust's accounts until the dispute is resolved.  Cindy texted my mom a picture of the letter and said she (my mom) has '24 hours to undo everything or she'll see her in court' and made reference to elder abuse.  The latter reference is interesting because my Grandma's lawyer's advice was to contact adult protective services if Cindy doesn't stop hassling my Grandma about this change and doesn't return her checkbook.

So, legaladvice, what can we do?  More specifically,
1.  What does the bank need in order to unfreeze the account and implement my Grandma's wishes?  Why isn't the updated trust document enough?
2.  What can we do to force Cindy to comply with this change?  She has my Grandma's checkbook and credit card and will not return them.
3.  Why is Wells Fargo saying it will take months to make this change, when they had previously updated the account to add Cindy in a matter of weeks?  Should we be suspicious of what we're hearing from the advisor who also advises Cindy?
4.  What court can Cindy possibly take anyone to?

;tldr:  Grandma changed terms of trust to make my mother the sole trustee.  Aunt who had been in that position will not follow lawyer's instructions to return things to how they were (still has my Grandma's check book, credit card is frozen, won't send my mom information on which bills need to be paid, etc.).  Now, bank's legal department has put a freeze on my Grandma's account until we "resolve the dispute" but isn't saying what evidence they require.  Aunt is threatening to take my mom to court.

Answer:
 CA estate planning/probate lawyer:  Your mom, as trustee of your grandmother's trust, may need to sue your aunt, not the other way around.  She'll need to file some sort of petition or complaint in your grandmother's county to recover trust assets.  Whether this is an issue for probate court (because it involves a trust) or general civil court (for theft/conversion), I don't know.

A good first method would be for an attorney to draft a letter and prepare a Certification of Trust, explaining that your mom is the trustee, and that grandma ousted your aunt.