Title: My HOA manager says it's legally impossible to show me a walled off area thats within my condo space (CA)

Question:
When I bought my condo, I was told that there is a 100sqf walled off room within, that I would potentially be able to open up and use as extra living space if I could get Fire Marshall approval.  Apparently it is accessible from the building roof and the HOA Manager is going inside today to check some fire system pipes. I am interested to see it and asked if I could accompany him.  He tells me: "Due to liability that would be impossible - we would not be able to let you in there sorry"

Does this sound logical to anyone?  How can I be completely off limits from seeing this space even when accompanied by the building manager?

Edit: Also, I would appreciate any guidance on how I could go about finding the specific legal reason this area of unused space was required to be walled off - and possibly challenge it.

Edit2: I just spoke to the Head maintenance engineer(he just went up with the fire dept and took pictures as I requested) and he is saying that he remembers the reason it was walled off was because previously there was a restriction on "how big a loft could be", but he thinks it was removed. Id really like to get to the bottom of this.

Answer:
 Sounds logical. Taking you, a random person, up to the roof and into the batcave is probably not a thing an insurer will allow. He likely doesn't have clearance to allow it.Answer #2: Um... let me get this straight. You bought a condo where 100 square feet is accessible only... from the roof? And there are pipes inside?

Did this come up when you bought the condo? Did this come up in the condo inspection? Have you asked your real estate agent or (in areas where they are common) your real estate attorney?Answer #3: Can he take a video of the space and show it to you?


Title: "Could we come and live with you? Also, did you tell the police that you raped me?" - is this an example of extortion? [Canada]

Question:
Could someone here help me understand whether or not the above statement is an example of extortion?

An ex-girlfriend told me this after her landlord let her know that he was upset with her because the police came to visit her so frequently. She wants to move in with me, and will provide the police with a fictitious story if I fail to comply. I don't want to live with her, but I also don't want to go to prison for a crime that I did not commit.

According to 346 (1) of the Canadian Criminal Code:

346 (1) Every one commits extortion who, without reasonable justification or excuse and with intent to obtain anything, by threats, accusations, menaces or violence induces or attempts to induce any person, whether or not he is the person threatened, accused or menaced or to whom violence is shown, to do anything or cause anything to be done.

Answer:
 > She wants to move in with me, and will provide the police with a fictitious story if I fail to comply.

Yes, this is extortion, if she's threatening to file a police report against you (fictitious or otherwise) unless she gets what she wants. If she made this threat in writing, talk to the police.

I wonder why the cops visit her so often.


Title: [Idaho/Oregon] Can police officers from one state pay officers from another state for license plates of suspected "criminals"?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Why would they pay? Cops trade info all the time (as they should)Answer #2: There's no payment going on but that's happening. There are some dispensaries by the border that are knowingly selling to people who are trafficking medium quantities interstate. They cut them a percentage break on prices knowing they'll get a steady supply of large quantity (for a dispensary) sales almost daily. Officer A sits outside the shady dispensary and spots an Idaho license. He sees a person enter that vehicle coming from the dispensary with a brown paper bag. He radios over to his buddy, officer B, on the main highway just over the border that they've got someone coming his way. Officer A moves on the dispensary and officer B moves on the trafficker. Baddabing baddaboom baddadonefor.Answer #3: Can they? Sure, anyone can do anything they put their mind to. But why would they have to when they can just pick up the phone and ask?


Title: [WA] IS THIS A SCAM? HELP!!!

Question: I was recently sexting with a girl who on her POF profile it said she was 23,  I thought I was pretty cautious,  but I recently got called by my cities police department by a liutenant and he said he got a report across his desk for underage pornography, he instructed me to call the father to sort it out and in a few days I could have an affidavit for my arrest. I checked her POF profile and it was completely deleted or blocking me,  is this a scam??? What should I do??? An I going to be arrested??? Do I need an attorney? Please help!

Answer:
 The cops aren’t going to refer you to the dad, they’d just arrest you.  It’s a scamAnswer #2: > he instructed me to call the father to sort it out

You did not speak to a police officer and there is no father, nor a girl. Stop freaking out.


Title: [CA] Prospective tenant threatening to sue for discrimination

Question:
Hi, I'm posting this on behalf of my 85-year old non-English speaking grandma.

My grandma owns a house in Los Angeles County, CA that she rents out for some extra income. She doesn't speak English, and listed the property in a Chinese newspaper. She also wrote a big For Rent sign in Chinese with her phone number (I don't really know how to read/write Chinese, but she says the sign said "for rent") and put it outside the house.

Someone showed up to the house, arranged a meeting with my grandma and me (I translated for her) and basically this guy threatening to sue for discrimination because the "For Rent" sign isn't in English. He did mention something about an out-of-court settlement though, before he left in a huff.

Does this guy have a case, or is he just trying to make a quick buck? And do we have anything to be worried about?

Thanks so much in advance!!

Answer:
 No, you have nothing to worry about. That person just wanted money for nothing, possibly chicks for free.Answer #2: That guy's a scammer. He probably drives around all day looking for these kinds of signs just so he can scare the landlord and capitalize on an "out of court settlement" via a fallacious interpretation of housing law.

Similar to the scummy accident lawyers that drive around all day looking for old strip malls that aren't updated to be ADA compliant, then planting a handicapped guy to fall off the ramp or shit themselves in hopes that they can then come at the property owner with a lawsuit. Answer #3: there is no official language in the US, she is free to conduct her business in any language she wishes.Answer #4: Fun Fact USA has no Official Language. If they had a case then there would be a case for every "For Rent" sign in English.

They could sue as anyone can sue anyone, but I (not a lawyer) don't think they have a case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_United_StatesAnswer #5: Well, even if he does try to bring your grandma to court, you can argue that she only writes and speaks one language so she had no choice...


Title: Lawncare service suing us

Question:
My family hired a lawn care company to mow our lawn about a year ago, and we haven't had any problems with them in that time. They claim to be licensed and insured. Today we got a certified letter in the mail stating that an employee of the lawn care company is suing us for injuries he received on our property in July. We were home that day and they never told us that they were injured, we didn't even know until today.

We contacted the company and they were unaware of the lawsuit. Apparently the employee stepped off the lawnmower, put his foot underneath the tray and cut it on the blade while doing our lawn. They said the employee is already being taken care of through Workman's comp.

The attorney wants to work this through our homeowners insurance, but we know that would skyrocket our rates and frankly, we didn't do anything wrong. My question is, do they actually have any legal grounds? Will this just be thrown out in court, should we lawyer up, or should we just let our homeowners insurance deal with it?

Answer: You need to notify your homeowner's insurance immediately - this is what they are there for.


Title: Sold a firearm and received a bounced check.

Question: I sold a firearm to a local gun st ore last Thursday. They wrote me a check that I deposited into my bank the same day. This morning I wake up and see that the check written was returned to me and I received a return fee. Now I know bounced checks are already bad but does me selling a firearm and receiving a bad check make it worse? Am I able to ask the store for the return fee and the owed money. Thanks in advance. This is in the great state of New Jersey

Answer:
 > Now I know bounced checks are already bad but does me selling a firearm and receiving a bad check make it worse?

I don't see any way that it would.

Go back to the store, politely demand money or your firearm, whichever you'd prefer.  If they don't comply, you'll need to sue them.Answer #2: Depending on where this happened and the amount bouncing a check can be a felony.  I think here in FL its 150 or more the sheriff will come arrest you. They call it Larceny By Check over 150 dollars and Uttering a False Instrument. or something like that.   A gun store could lose their license very fast once the State and ATF are notified.

Hopefully it was an accident and treat as such until they give you more reason not to.   They need to make you whole.  If they dont, file a police report against the person who's signature is on the check.


Title: Employer is offering a 2k salary increase but only if I sign a new contract which puts my notice period from 30 days to 90.

Question: Basically the title. Not sure how legal it is to force me to sign a new contract and extend my notice period to get a pay rise. This is in the UK

Answer:
 It’s legal and in most jobs normal that when you reach a more senior pay grade you get a longer notice period. It cuts both ways though as they have to pay you the notice period if they make you redundant so in essence it’s more security for you and them.

I would try and get more than 2k tho


Title: City failed to read my irrigation meter, now wants to charge me for all missed months in one month.

Question:
Hi! I live in a city where we are allotted a certain amount of irrigation water each month. For every 1000 gallons we go over our allotment, we are charged an increasing rate (up to $3.80 per 1000 gallons). I noticed after a hot month of July that I was only charged the base rate. I knew this was wrong because I had to water heavy to keep my grass looking green. I went and looked closer at my bill to see that they had not read my meter. I looked back at the previous bill where I saw that they hadn't read it then either. This continues back to April, when the water was turned on. So, in short, they haven't read my meter at all this year. I would like to think I'm a good person, so I decided to call up the city and let them know that they haven't been reading my meter properly. She let me know she would send someone out to look at it, and that they would read the meter at that time. She also told me I would be billed for the total usage between the last time it was read and now in one month! The last time it was read was Sept of 2015 (the water was shutoff in October) I was outraged! She claims that they have "no way of knowing how much I use per month." This really upsets me. Here is a table of the tiered usage:

Foo | Bar
---|---
Tier 1 (up to 75% of allotment) | $0.35 per 1,000 gallons
Tier 2 (75% to 100% of allotment) | $1.00 per 1,000 gallons
Tier 3 (100% to 150% of allotment | $1.25 per 1,000 gallons
Tier 4 (150% to 200% of allotment) |$2.00 per 1,000 gallons
(200% to 250% of allotment) | $3.00 per 1,000 gallons
Tier 6 (above 250% of allotment) | $3.80 per 1,000 gallons
My usage currently is about 285,000 gallons. Last time it was read it was at 168,000. That brings my bill to around $400.00 Does the way they approach their negligence in reading the meter seem legal to you? Thanks for any and all advice. At the end of the day, I'm ready to pay the bill if needs be.

**TL;DR City neglected to read my irrigation meter in some way or another. I was honest and told them they weren't reading it. They now want to charge me for all my usage over this summer in one month, when it's very obvious I didn't use all my water in one month.**

Answer: Naw that's bullcrap. Talk to somebody else. You may need to go down there with a copy of the bill and a calendar. Ask to make an appointment in person with somebody. Offer to pay whatever it would be averaged over the period they never read it.


Title: HOA introduces anti-disabled bylaw

Question:
I live in an apartment complex managed by an organization that I was told is an HOA when I signed the lease, and they introduced a new rule that anyone with any known disability is to be supervised 24 hours a day. This is probably due to one of my neighbors who lets their severely autistic child run roughshod all over the complex unsupervised. I myself am disabled and I know for a fact such an onerous rule runs heavily afoul is both the ADA and HUD regulations. My question is what options do I have?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 As a renter you have no contract with the HOA. But this sounds troubling!!

First, don't just take word of whomever told you about this new policy. Its always best to go straight to the documents.

Start by talking to your landlord. Ask for a copy of both the HOA bylaws and this new policy. Ask if there was any correspondence btn the HOA and members. Just express your concern and see where the convo goes. You'll be more informed in making these next-step decisions.

Edit: spelling, added a little bit of clarification


Title: Is there any legal reason Cohen keeps any files?

Question:
Let’s assume Cohen truly is just a lawyer that pays mistresses off, is there any reason for him to keep data at his office? Wouldn’t you delete everything and at worst get a safe deposit box for each client?

Basicallly, isn’t he dumb for even having files to be seized?

Answer: You're required to keep the rules by most bar associations or lose your licence. You're also required to keep them in case you are sued for legal malpractice. The Washington State Bar requires files be kept either physically or digitally 7 years I think because that's the statute of limitations on legal malpractice. (I use Washington as an example because that's the only law I know)


Title: ER missed concussion that occurred as a result of a car accident. Is that grounds for a malpractice lawsuit?

Question:
I was on my way to a work site on Thursday and was reaer-ended as I was waiting for people to drive after the light we were stopped at turned green. Guy in a massive truck hit the back of my car and I hit the back of my head on my headreast while I had major whiplash. I was taken by ambulance to a nearby ER at a hospital that I was not familar with and know isn't as high-tech as the health care system I normally use. The hospital was horrible. I was immediately given a neck brace and later on had a CT scan. Everyone was rough with my body while transporting me and the nurse and doctor were really dismissive and patronizing (I'm female and look much younger than I am, so I experience that a lot when getting medical treatment). Anyways, I was in a ton of pain and only given to Tylenol for my pain and medicine for my nausea, and was sent home without a neck brace after my CT came back clean. They said just to rest for the day, rotate using ice and heat on my injury sites, and to follow up with my doctor. Didn't even send me home with medication or a medical release to go back to work.

I went to the nearest urgent care center the next day to follow up becaue since this is considered a workman's comp case by my employer and I felt even worse. I was almost immediately diagnosed with a "severe" concussion because apparently my congitive abilities are slow and I still have nausea and severe dizziness. Being that the ER said I didn't have a concussion and only had a "motor vehicle accident" according to their discharge papers, could I possibly sue then for not catching my concussion? They only tested my pupilary  responded (if my eyes repsonded to light) and did the CT scan. The doctor at the urgent care ordered a urine sample and did extensive cognitive testing before diagnosing me. I'm angry that the ER dismissed my condition (I had a gut feeling that I had a concussion since I had to learn the synptoms while getting my public health degree) and could use any advice regarding this. The driver who hit me doesn't have to pay for my medical bills since my work is considering it a workman's comp situation, but I still want to make sure that if the ER screwed up that I get compensation or at least have them change their concussion testing to be more thorough. Thanks in advance.
Topic:
Medicine and Malpractice

Answer: What additional damages did you sustain because the concussion was diagnosed the following day, instead of at the ER?


Title: Predatory Student Loan Signed for While Underage

Question:
I've got myself in a bit of a jam here.  Essentially, I was forced by my parents to sign up for a student loan through Sallie Mae when I was 16 to pay for a now defunct trade school.

This trade school offered an "IT" program that consisted of a teacher coming in drunk and rambling on about nonsense for a good majority of our "classes".  He quit the school when he got accredited through Cisco, and from then on we had 3 different teachers coming in sporadically throughout the remainder of the 8 month ($13,000) course.

These people told my parents I would be able to land a job for $50k-$60k at the end of the course.  I was provided a job that paid $11 an hour by the school's job placement program when I received my fake diploma.  They didn't even perform the promised graduation ceremony at the end of this sham of a class.  The "school" has been out of business for ~10 years now.

I had almost entirely forgotten about this nonsense until I was expecting my $1,661 tax return to hit today, only to find out it was intercepted to pay off this predatory loan.  I was relying on that money to pay for my actual education via a exam preparation workshop that would prepare me for an exam for a certification that would raise my annual salary in the environmental health and safety field by ~$25k a year.

My question is, how do I go about contesting this nonsense, and is there any way to retrieve the money from my intercepted income tax return?

Answer: The fact that your school and professor was bad does not make sallie mae "predatory". These are government education loans, you will not escape them. Call the servicing agency probably listed on your credit report and setup rehabilitation on the loan to pull it out of default and continue a payment schedule. Answer #2: Depends how old you are now, but TBH Sallie Mae has been doing this for a long time.  How much is the loan for, you might be liable.  Your parents probably co-signed though if you were underage.  You need to pull your credit report and speak to a financial professional.


Title: Wrong info on speeding ticket

Answer: Point it out to them and ask for a new ticket. Clerical errors don't void tickets.


Title: Found Small peiece of needle in peice of meat

Question: Bought from local grocery store friend was like sue them. Just wondering if theres a case it did end up in my mouth but  did not poke me before I found it.

Answer: No. It is however considered a physical contaminant and is an issue for the store. I would bring it up with the store manager or deli manager.


Title: Divorced couple, one child, non-primary custody parent dies...

Question:
Hypothetical: divorced parents, young son, primary custody with the mom. If the father dies and was paying support, does the surviving parent get to claim Social Security child benefits?

If it matters, New York State.

Answer: Yes.


Title: [Meta] What can the reedit user base do when members disagree with decisions made by management?

Question:
Hello community!

Pardon me if this is the wrong place. But I thought my question was legal in nature.

In light of all of the dissatisfaction and less than rosy posts on reddit. As the title states, what can a redditor do?

I am speaking in the form of any legal recourse or remedy here. I understand (to an extent from the TOS) that reddit is a service and a user can at anytime refuse to use it. But this essentially would mean a "burning of the bridges" scenario. Reddit, despite its flaws, has very redeeming qualities. But the question here is whether or not changes in how decisions are can be made from and by its user base

By analogy, if a citizenry of a country dislikes how things are run, there is a process of which the leaders of the government can be voted in or out of office.

However in the case such as reddit, things are not exactly a mirror image of one another. Redditors are to reddit as citizens are to governments. But Redditors do not have voting powers, that is, beyond a certain point in the decision making processes of the company. (I am thinking of voting for moderators but not administrators, who are employees).

With this is mind, other than the nuclear option to stop using reddit all together, are there any legal recourses available?

Thank you for your input.

Ps: I know that protesting is a form of exhibiting dissatisfaction, however it does not have the same power as the ability to decide and alter how decisions are made.

Edit: for the bot. U.S.

Edit: question answered. No other recourse. But a very interesting idea has been dubbed the "Whining Cartel" where Redditors would deny reddit revenue by installing ad blockers  and gild grey out plugins.

Edit: the underlying source of strength Of a whining cartel (group representation and mandatory enrollment) would not work as there are no agreed upon contracts or legislation covering such an arrangement.

Edit: whining cartel re dubbed "consumer Union" for the time being.

Edit: don't misuse legal terms or use poorly worded analogies.

Answer:
 Please take this shit back to srd or circlejerk.  You have no legal interest in telling a corporation how to do its business or to advocate on behalf of volunteers.  If the vols are pissed off, they should quit.

You are not a redditor by birth or by heritage, you are a redditor as an act of pure choice.  It is completely unlike citizenship.Answer #2: You can make your own reddit and run it however your heart desires.

Redditors are like citizens of a country?  I'm amazed at how the general public seemingly really has no idea about the concept of a private company doing what it wants with its free service it provides. Answer #3: Just like if you think your employer is an asshole, your only choice is to leave.  And, just as with an employer, if enough of the people who make the place go leave, it will collapse.  Reddit isn't the first, and won't be the last place where large swaths of people interact.  I remember when the place to be was Usenet, LiveJournal, and Digg.


Title: (Pa) How should I proceed on a lawsuit with this?

Question:
Trying to keep it shorter although I could say SO MUCH more. Basically, I'm looking into suing my mom. I know what you'll all say but please reserve your judgement or personal opinions.

I graduated college about a year and a half ago and since then I've been living with my mom while I find a job. I've been constantly looking but obviously the job market isn't great. I'm sure something will come along but I am not going to be underemployed.

We agreed up front that I would not be paying any rent for this arrangement. She's been awful to me for my whole life but I agreed to live with her as long as it was for free because I need a place to live. Now, I found out that she's been ignoring the payments on my student loans as "rent" and she assumed I would pay them.

Obviously, this is total bullshit. Now, I'm behind on payments and the interest has stacked up. I'm willing to move in with my Dad and leave this all behind but I need some way to get my money back. After I had a very angry discussion with her about this she basically cut me off so I need to find some way to fix this.

Can I sue her for the money she's going to cost me by not paying? We had a very clear agreement and I have texts and emails that would prove that.

Answer:
 >I am not going to be underemployed.

I wouldn't take this attitude to court.

You claim that you your mother agreed to pay back *your* student loan debt, *and* let you live in the house for free while you don't work at a job which is available and search for a job "in your field"? You can try to argue that you have a contract with your mom, but since none of us know exactly what all of those texts and emails state, no one can really give much legal information. However, I wouldn't ask for a jury trial under those circumstances, for sure.


Title: [Ohio] Neighbor Dispute (Loud Music, Drugs, and Dog Shit on my Door)

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Keep calling the police.Answer #2: Call the police and speak with the vice section


Title: Why am I being punished for my car accident I had no control over?

Question: I got my car totaled on Friday in St. Louis, MO, I was hit from behind when I was at a dead stop at a red light. I am still working it out with the insurance company but I am a 28 yr old guy who lives at home with a min. wage job. I have very little to put into a new used car because insurance most likely is only going to give me the cost of my car, which won't pay for a decent used car nowadays and now to request a copy of the police report and state trooper wants $4. I know it's $4 but why should I have to pay for the report? The guy that hit me barely had any damaged and his boss, in a company owned car, has sounded super shady about all of this. I may have to take him to court or something, it's technically my mother's car so she would probably do so....any advice?

Answer:
 Just because it is a public record doesn't mean that it is free. FOIA requests and others of the sort almost always have a nominal fee. $4 is the cost of generating the report and paying for the officer's time. If you don't want to pay it, you don't get a report.

Why do you think the insurance company would ever give you more than the fair value of the car? Insurance makes you whole; it is not a windfall payout.Answer #2: Most people who get into accidents don't need a physical copy of the report.  Just give the number to your insurance company and they will get a copy.  They will probably give you a free copy once they have it.

The owner of the car is entitled to damages caused by the accident.  If the car was totaled, those damages are the amount that the car was worth.  If you were driving a 1987 Honda, then you're entitled to whatever it would cost to buy a similar car in similar condition.


Title: (CA)-Family law going through divorce wife extended a vacation to Texas indefinitely with my son.

Question:
Just looking for some advice and possibly some resources.

The basics are as follows:

* Wife left with my Son in mid 2016 from CA to Texas.

* Original trip was scheduled 3 weeks

* Trip was extended over and over for "just a while longer"

* I filed initial divorce and parentage packet in November

* Had her served in late Jan. (Wanted to wait until after the holidays, and she dodged service for a bit)

* Late Feb she informed me she would not be returning

* We had a self represented resolution scheduled soon but now she has an attorney so it was cancelled

* Beyond the initial packet nothing has been filed except proof of service.

I have looked for a lawyer and I can't afford the initial retainer(lowest I have had is 5k). I make decent Money but savings was very limited before the split and not much better now. I have tried the various Volunteer lawyer program and modest means but I don't qualify due to what I make.

My main point in posting is to find out any low retainer programs for attorneys, maybe even an attorney themselves?

Also I would like to know realistically the chances of a few scenarios. I can provide more information if needed.

* An order to return my son to CA.

* A custody agreement based on me moving near them. My career does not really exist in Texas and I don't want to move immediately without some reassurance that I will get quality time with my son.

   I have Visited 4 times and each time she does not allow me to do anything alone with him, always with her and another person. There is no history of drug abuse, or violence, or Verbal abuse in our marriage at all.

San Diego Superior Court is where the case is Filed.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Answer:
 First she will refuse to bring your son back.

Then she will argue that since she already has physical custody and it would be impractical to share custody since you are so far away, she should get full custody.

Then, since she has full custody, she will ask for child support.

GET A LAWYER IMMEDIATELY.  Spending $10,000 on a lawyer now is far better than having to pay $50,000 in child support later on.  Interstate divorce proceedings are not a do-it-yourself matter.


Title: [MA] Redditor posting my pictures on here in a trolling manner, harassing me and won’t stop. It’s affecting my personal and work life. What can I do?

Question:
There are certain subreddits on here where you can post pictures of other people and make fun of them, and a Redditor is posting a picture of me that I posted recently and won’t stop. I posted a picture recently seeking advice in my appearance (totally safe for work, not revealing anything below my shoulders or anything) and they have been posting it to different subreddits trolling me. I have been dealing with a lot of anxiety and other bad feelings the past few weeks since. Someone most recently at my work brought the posts to my bosses attention and my boss confronted me about it, I explained to my boss about how it is a stranger harassing me about a selfie I essentially took seeking advice from the internet (on a usually very nice subreddit group) and I don’t know how it’s getting so out of hand. My boss wants these pictures to be taken down as I work for the government and it reflects on them (my boss’s words not mine) I apologize for any rambling I am just a mess right now and wish this would all end, I am talking to a therapist and she recommend I talk to a lawyer who handles cyber bullying cases. This person never emailed me so I don’t think I could get their exact address or anything like that. Please can anyone help me. I just want my picture to stop being negatively posted throughout this website, please. I regret ever posting here, I thought this was a fun interactive place. What can I do?

**TLDR: Posted a safe for work above the shoulders selfie seeking advice on Reddit about my appearance. Someone took the photo and has been posting to different subreddits trolling me and harassing me making fun of my appearance and saying awful things. Someone brought it to the attention of my boss (I work for the government) and they want me to get it taken care of immediately. It is affecting my personal and work life. I am seeing a therapist for severe anxiety attacks. My therapist said I should see a lawyer who handles cyber bullying cases? What should I do? Can I do anything?**
Topic:
Douche

Answer: Step 1 is report all the posts. Have you done that? Step 2 is to complain directly to Reddit admins.


Title: My child [1.5 yrs] was taken from me by the father with cooperation from my parents, who also kicked me out and sold all my belongings. I'm pursuing legal action but I don't know where to start.

Question:
I live in Oregon, forgot that bit.
This is a bit long and maybe a bit jumbled but I really could use some advice.

So I want to regain custody of my child and pursue legal action against my parents and the father of my child (not married). I'm hoping some of you may be able to tell me which parts of this horror story are against the law and which ones I'm just screwed on.

So I lived with the father and my child in a house owned by my parents (we rented from them). The father moved out because we broke up, and I took a trip out of town with my child to visit family friends for support. While I was gone, my parents (read: landlords) informed me that I needed to get my stuff out and that I was being evicted. I returned 2 days later to an empty house, they had thrown out everything I owned. They handed me a stack of papers citing that my child was in immediate physical danger and the father got temporary full custody.

Now, this is not the case. I was in contact with the father the entire duration of my trip and my parents were in contact with the family friends. I have witnesses that can testify that the child was not in danger at any point. The accusations they had in this court document were mostly false (it's against the law to lie in those kinds of documents, right?).

Full disclosure, I have an addiction to certain pain medications and this was mentioned in the papers. However, at the time of them taking my child I had been sober about 3 months. I am still sober, I am enrolled in outpatient rehab and I plan to stay sober. The day they took her I took a drug test (clean) and I have taken drug tests weekly since then.

Now originally the father allowed me daily visitation with my daughter (who is still breastfeeding btw) and informed me that upon completion of the outpatient rehab, he would drop the emergency order. However due to his recent actions I no longer believe that and I think it's in my best interest to see a lawyer. (For those curious he said he'd be taking the $6000 tax break for being the primary caregiver despite the fact that he's wanted nothing to do with our daughter since she was born, he was present at best but I am the one who feeds her, bathes her, and has taken care of her this whole time, but I digress.

It's been a month since this all happened and I want to know what kind of legal ground I stand on. I know being an addict doesn't help my case, but I have been clean for a few months now and removed myself from my toxic parents (I'm a big fan of r/raisedbynarcissists) and now I want my baby back and I want some kind of penalties for this whole ordeal which has been truly horrific for me.

My understanding of the law is that my parents illegally evicted me and illegally sold my belongings. They also, along with the father, filed false claims against me resulting in emotional damages for me and my child while we've been separated. Also, I'd really like that $6000 considering I need to find an apartment and fill it with furniture which was all stolen from me.

I've looked at lawyers in my area and I'm a bit overwhelmed by the terminology and exactly what kind of lawyer I should get (custody? civil litigation??). I appreciate any advice you can give me.

Answer:
 You need a lawyer, family law custody specialist.  They can give a referral to a civil lawyer for the eviction or give advise for a small claim.

In addition I'm sorry to say you might need a perception adjustment. Using un-prescribed  opioids  while pregnant and breastfeeding is considered harmful to the child in most places.  That does not mean your parents can just through you out and sell your stuff , that does not mean you wont get your child back.

The the tax credit even occurred to you sort of scares me, kids cost more the $6,000 a year especially if you have them in day care. Answer #2: The only real advice here is lawyer the fuck up. This is a horrible, sticky situation and only a trained professional can help you navigate it. If what you say is true, you take these shits to the cleaners over this. Your "understandings" are pretty much spot on as far as I can tell.

Don't forget to post on rbn when you need to. Best of luck and keep your chin up.


Title: Does this constitute veterinary malpractice?

Question:
Hi,

So here's the deal: I had to take my cat to urgent care, but didn't expect anything serious (he just wasn't eating) so just went to closest place, despite abysmal reviews. Turned out it was serious, and they recommend keeping the cat overnight. They do various tests, but never have experts look at the results (e.g. a radiologist for an ultrasound, or a pathologist for cytology). They misdiagnose, tell us to take cat home. After a day, cat is getting worse. We ask them if they can proscribe something to stimulate appetite. They do, but the dose they proscribe turned out to be 5x what is recommended and is known to commonly cause severe side effects (according to other vets I've since talked to).

The next day we decided to take the cat to our regular vet. Prior to going we asked the urgent care place for the records from when cat was there. They provide us incomplete records -- we later learned that at this point the results of additional tests had come in which invalidated their original diagnosis, but they never informed us of this and we were unable to provide our vet with this information. Our local vet then warns us that the urgent care place is notorious, tells us we need to go to a second urgent care place. Upon arriving at second place they immediately agree that all the tests from the original place need to be re-done, because place #1 is garbage. At this point we still haven't managed to get the full medical record from place 1, which would have absolutely informed the next steps had it been available.  Place #2 quickly find a tumor which was causing the problem. It is inoperable. We seek palliative care.

The first urgent care charged us $2500, proscribed an outrageous doses of a drug that is known to have bad side effects, and did not have actual experts interpret test results, leading to misdiagnosis and days of terrible and unnecessary suffering for the animal, not to mention me and my wife. The second place charged us $1000 and provided an accurate diagnosis using the same tools in half the amount of time. Based on reviews on the internet, this is a common experience at this place.

Is there a claim here? These people should not be allowed to continue to operate in this way, but it's not obvious there is anything I can do.

Thanks.

Answer:
 You can complain to the state veterinarian board and leave another poor review.

Malpractice as the auto-moderator said is very fact specific and beyond my knowledge. You would need an attorney. That goes to the second point. Your damages are practically none. Cats are considered property, they have no legal "pain and suffering" nor do courts recognize your pain and suffering for your cat. At best your case is worth the cost of treatment $2500. Even if your cat died, you would be awarded the replacement value of that cat.

No lawyer will take this on contingency because the most they would earn is $750 (30%). Sorry this happened to you, but besides my 1st 2 suggestions I do not think you have any other options.


Title: Daughter dinged son's friends car. Do we owe a full paint job?

Question:
One of kids friends parks an 11 year old Honda the driveway every week, and daughter dinged it backing out. The other kids car was not in perfect shape, and we are more than willing to have dent repaired at our expense. Kid's Dad is insisting on a full paint job.  I don't think its necessary. Kid's Dad happens to be a lawyer is throwing the "I insist, or else card".

What do y'all think? Should I suck up and spend a $1000 or tell them I am willing to pay for patch and touch up, and tell them that they should pay the difference between touch up and full repaint.

Edit:typos

Answer:
 I would suggest getting the insurance companies involved if he's going to be a jerk about it. Answer #2: Don't body shops typically just match the paint and do whatever section was dinged?  I would think that is all that is needed.  Well, that and have the kid park on the street from now on.

A second thought, you should keep your ears open for any ethical issues that might come up and be prepared to complain to whatever organization your state has about his dealings.  Make sure you have written documentation of everything you can, including any threats he makes, and perhaps recordings if your state is one party consent.  Maybe he suddenly becomes reasonable once he sees how bad this could be for him.  Or if not, payback is definitely a bitch.


Title: Can I press charges????

Question: An adult  (34)  sold my just turned 10 year old (thats not even on a maturity level) a vape with the liquid in it for $45 his older brother let me know and my son confessed to it. Can I press charges on the person? I live in Alabama.   So pissed how can someone even take advantage of a child this way UGH

Answer: You can call the police, there's a decent chance they will charge this person.


Title: Evicted even after paying rent

Question: I am a nurse who recently moved to WA state, rented out a room April 1st, which ended up being infested with ants, upon cleaning. Upon telling the landlord she threw a fit and kicked me out. I paid rent on time, and I only stayed there for 4 days. It is COVID-19. I am living out of boxes and staying in a motel as I still have to work. Can someone please tell me what I can do legally to report her. I have no family in WA and she has left me stranded.

Answer:
 Did you sign a lease? If yes, do you have a copy on had? Additional information right now, WA state has a  Moratorium on evictions right now. That said though what she did is 100% an illegal eviction in the state (if you have a signed lease) at any point in time. You can call the local police to report that you've been illegally evicted. You can also look up your city or county housing authority and report to them if the police wont help you.

You will likely still not have a place to stay though, but you'll probably get your april rent and any deposit you paid back. You should be looking for a new place to live.Answer #2: Why on earth did you leave?Answer #3: NAL Do you have a lease (or even evidence of renting)? If she just kicked you out, you can call the cops and say you have been illegally evicted.


Title: California: car was towed and held for 40 days then scrapped. Total fee was $1800 but they sent to collections. I paid $1,000 to tow company to settle and they said theyd cancel the collections process, and emailed an invoice. Collections wants the remaining $800

Answer:
 How is it that "they said theyd cancel the collections process"? Did they tell you over the phone? Send you something in writing?

What you want is the evidence that shows that you settled the debt with the original party (the tow company) which you can then use to tell the collections company to buzz off and leave you alone. The collections company might have a beef with the tow company over the remaining $800, but once you've made an agreement that satisfied the original party you owned the debt to that isn't your problem.


Title: [Texas] Just moved to a new apartment, Property management is backtracking on allowed ISPs. What can we do?

Question:
I just moved into an apartment that was recently renovated. I originally toured the place in June and was told by the leasing agent that the apartment units had Spectrum cable (what I currently have) and AT&T internet. (The text also raved about the great speeds AT&T offers).

I had the Spectrum service transferred over and upon them arriving to activate the lines, we come to find out the the cable/phone outlets in our unit are dummies with no wires or cables running to or from them. Prior to being able to run the lines and set up our service, we have to get authorization from the management office. I contacted them today and they are now saying that only AT&T is the allowed service provider (even though we still have no wires for either) because the wires from Spectrum "are unsightly". It seems as if they are receiving some incentive from AT&T, because they would still need authorization to run cables to our unit.

Is there anything we can do about this or someone I can consult?? We're in a tight spot because we had a service transferred over based on the statements from them and now we're left with no service. It's also shady that the apartment is pushing AT&T so heavily as if they receive incentives for getting the tenants to sign up.

Answer: What does your lease say? They do not have to allow any ISP to run lines on their property.


Title: [US - SD] Landlords just gave us a 3-day notice to vacate because of our cats

Question:
We've lived in this apartment complex for 2 years in two different apartments because we upgraded to a two-bedroom. We have two cats that are litter-box trained although the one throws up a lot. The apartment is pet friendly and they know we have the two, one we paid a pet deposit for and the other is a support animal for my mental illness.

We moved in July 2015. In May 2016,  we decided to upgrade to a two-bedroom down the hall. Through email, we worked out that the pet deposit would transfer to the new apartment while we would need a new deposit for the new apartment.

When they came to inspect the apartment before the final check out date (with no notice, which is outlined in our lease that they can do that), they noted that the apartment smelled like cat urine. My cats don't pee outside the litter box. They never have. And if they did, I would know because cat pee smells really, really bad. My apartment was small and it did smell like a litter box, which isn't the same as urine stained on a carpet.

They also said they didn't know we had two cats and needed a deposit for the second. I told them about my psychiatrist's note and they said that because it was 3 years old, I'd have to get a new one (yeah, because mental illness just goes away after three years). So I got them a new one.

After we moved into the two-bedroom apartment, I was in contact with the manager and she said that they did blacklight testing on the carpet and it showed urine stains and that we would have to pay to replace the carpet. I swore up and down that it wasn't urine. I said that we use a cleaner on spots where the one cat throws up that probably shows up under a blacklight. Also asked if the people before us had any blacklight testing after they moved out. She insisted it was urine and said that they only did the blacklight testing of the tenant has pets, which the previous one didn't. So I don't even know if the stains were ours.

We got a bill in July for the carpet and the vinyl replacement and considered getting a lawyer but didn't follow up because we didn't have the money.
Fast-forward to January 2017. We had a yearly inspection and they came in while we were out grocery shopping. They left a note saying that they had done an inspection and that was that. Then I got an email from them 2 weeks later saying that our apartment smelled like urine and that they don't have a pet deposit for one of our cats. I wrote them back saying that we were planning on buying a better litter box with our tax return and said they could do a follow-up. I reminded them that the pet deposit transferred from the old apartment and that I have a doctor's note for the other cat. No response for a month. They came in two-days ago (no notice again, we were both sleeping when it happened). They had a blacklight with them and they were taking pictures. I didn't really question it because I had just woke up and thought it was the follow-up inspection. They left without really saying anything.

Yesterday, I woke up to someone knocking on my door to serve me eviction papers from a lawyer with evidence papers of the blacklight testing. We have to be out in 3 days. I know I'm being taken advantage of here, my mom says I should get a lawyer. Is there anything I can do?

Tl;dr: my apartment complex has tried to make me pay for carpet with false claims of cat urine before and I didn't do anything but pay them because I didn't want to deal with a lawyer. Now they are doing it again and served me an eviction notice and I need to be out in 3 days. My cats didn't pee on the carpet and they are using carpet stains under a blacklight to say they did. Is there anything I can do/is it worth seeing a lawyer?

Answer:
 Not a lawyer, do have a degree in Criminology.

Blacklight (UV) will make bleach, some detergents  and a lot of spray cleaners glow with a green or blueish light, so if you used spot cleaner there is a good change your carpet will have fluorescing patches on it.

Vomit will also glow. So does banana, vasaline, tonic water, antifreezer, laundry washed in whitening powder and some scorpions.Answer #2: They have the evidence.  You even admitted that your previous place smelled like a litter box and paid damages to that effect.

I would think your best option would be to negotiate for a amicable departure.  You pay X dollars, they stop the action and let you move in a reasonable time period (30 days).  Your cats have caused tangible damages to their property that they can prove in court, and your defense of 'they didn't do it' isn't going to hold up.
Answer #3: Also, I had tenants give me this same story about how their cats ONLY went in the litterbox. After they moved out, and two days AFTER the carpet was cleaned, I started smelling urine again.

I got down on my hands and knees and started sniffing carpet from one end of each room to the other.

I found two spots, both would have been behind furniture, that had strong cat urine odor and it was obvious the cat had been using these two spots as well as the litterbox, so it's not always easy to say "My cat always uses the litterbox".

I'm not saying this is the same as your issue, I'm just saying that animals can be sneaky and unpredictable.


Title: In a pickle over my "landlord's" weird behavior.

Question:
Hello there, I apologize this is a bit long, but here is my situation...

I am a single mother of a two year old, working full time in a reputable field making slightly above minimum wage. I have applied numerous times for various one bedroom apts over the last couple of years. I have been turned down for every single one because 1) my net income is not at least three times the amount of rent and 2) my credit sits ~600. Because of this, I have resorted to craigslist for other renting options through private renters and not property management companies. I posted a room-wanted ad and was contacted by a retired widow stating she owns a home and has a room/bathroom with one separate, outside entrance. $500.00 a month no deposit, no terms on how long I stay. I met with her, she is very kind and all sounds great for me. She stated in the beginning she had a lease and wanted a copy of my drivers license to do a background check. I wrote down the info instead of giving her a photocopy or even having her look at my ID, no lease was seen or signed. She gives me a key, never brings up the need for more info or a lease agreement. States how she prayed and prayed for a good tenant and she is thrilled I am there. All seems well. A couple weeks later, it comes out that she has an early-twenties son who also lives in the home. He is a total recluse. I have never seen or heard from him the entire month and a half I have lived there. The wifi router name is "tears of sorrow". Kind of weird but whatever, not my business. I am just happy I have a roof over my head that I can afford.

First red flag, I am outside painting some furniture and her neighbor comes over to tell her some shingles blew off her roof, she walks around to the side of the house but they are still in earshot of me. I hear the neighbor state that she needs to contact her landlord to have him fix it. This confuses me because she never mentioned she was renting the home herself and led me to believe that it was her home.

Second red flag, the next day I come home, unlock my front door, and enter my room, everything appears fine until I go to use the bathroom. I never shut the door because the door-hanging mirror I installed makes it near impossible to shut and it's just me there, so no need to close it for privacy. Well, the door is not only shut tight, but it is locked. I immediately knock on her door and ask her if she was in my room. She says she wasn't and opened the locked door with a nail.

My gut feeling is not good about this situation at this point and I look up the property under the county's online assessor page. The owners name is a male's name. I google said name and the first page that pops up is a big real estate agent in the area that buys/sells homes and rents them out as well.

I have some ideas of where to go from here, but I don't know how to properly act to avoid any legal issues....and on top of that, my son and I are homeless if I have to leave suddenly.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Also, I'm in Idaho in the U.S. :)

Answer:
 Sounds like your subleasing from a woman who's leasing the property from a property management/real estate company. Making you your roommates tenant. You didn't mention a state need that to get more specific but most room rentals like this end up being month to month, with varying notice requirements depending on the state. You may just need to start locking your bedroom door when your not home and make it clear to not go in your stuff. Answer #2: You are really only in a moderately worse position than you thought.

As a month to month tenant your landlord /roommate can give you 30 days notice any time.

If the owner did evict her and you as a result of her breaking the lease by having you there, that usually takes 30 or more days.

The only major difference is if she manages to conceal such proceedings from you and you end up with the sheriff doing a removal on an eviction you never heard about.


Title: [California] Fired without being officially fired? Looking to see if this is legal.

Question:
Hello! I haven't posted here before so I apologize if I leave out important info. Also, I apologize for the wall of text. I just want to be as thorough as possible in this.

I work for an independently owned movie theater in the town I live in and have worked here since 2008. Up until last month I was managing one of the locations (since December 2014). I had a baby back in January and was out on leave until March.

I began to feel that I was suffering from postpartum depression and spoke with my doctor and my general manager about it. I told my manager that I was feeling sad and angry and having trouble remembering things and talking to people. She expressed sympathy and encouraged me to meet with my doctor again about it. She never mentioned anything else and life went on.

On May 18th my general manager and the business owner showed up at my location and brought me into the office. They informed me that several staff members had come forward with claims that I was behaving inappropriately at work and failing to do my job effectively. The business owner then stated that he needed my theater location to be running smoothly because he had other things he needed to worry about. He asked me to step down as the theater manager and covered me all of my shifts for the following week (5 shifts, approximately 30 hours). He asked me to speak with them the following Tuesday to see how I wanted to proceed with the company.

When I met with them on Tuesday, they had already replaced me as the theater manager with one of my assistants (who they informed me had complained against me). They also presented me with a disciplinary warning for all of my alleged behaviors and informed me that they were "willing to have me work as an assistant manager at another location if I could control my behavior in the workplace". I volunteered that I had six weeks of paid family leave left and told them I could take that and meet with them again (which would put me at mid July). They agreed that this would be fine and that they "hoped I would choose to continue working with them".

I was then removed the employee schedule entirely and removed the employee email list. Today, my manager texted me asking me to return my work keys (the assistant managers have the same keys) because "one of the other assistants need to use them for one shift". Normally, this person would simply borrow another managers keys, yet they want me to turn in my keys for one shift? This is very strange.

So the way I see it is this:
-I was written up for alleged behaviors with no formal investigation done (they never spoke to me about any of this before showing up at my location on the 18th). They also failed to provide specific examples of my behavior.

-a weeks worth of my shifts were taken from me with no warning and no compensation

-I was replaced as theater manager by one of the subordinates who they admitted complained to them (the same assistant who took over my duties while I was out having my baby and relinquished them when I returned) and not given a new job title or return date.

-I was taken off of the schedule and have now been asked to return my keys that I would have even in an assistant managers role (what I would almost certainly be upon returning, though they did not specifically change my job title to this)

I could be wrong here, but it really feels like I was fired without being formally "fired". Am I overreacting to all of this or are they actually being as shady as I think they are? Since I was not formally terminated, I can't file for unemployment. Being out of a job is causing a financial burden and increasing my postpartum depression symptoms.

Thank you in advance for any replies!
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 >  Since I was not formally terminated, I can't file for unemployment.

Well that's certainly not true. Of course you can, and should, immediately. I sometimes wonder how many people went through substantial hardships that could have been prevented if they hadn't thought "oh well no unemployment for me I guess".

How much time did you miss when you had the baby? More or less than 12 weeks?


Title: Underage drinking at a party and cops got all of our names

Question: So we were at a party with almost all minors and the homeowner (who's parents were out of town) let the cops in when they showed up at the door. They came in and sat us all down in a room and began taking us one by one getting our information and breathalyzing us. I blew a .03 and had to have my sister come pick me up. They told her that there may be a hearing with all of us and I'm just not quite sure where to go from here. What could the hearing lead to? What should I say at the hearing? edit: I live in Indiana

Answer:
 >homeowner (who's parents were out of town)

Lol, thats not a homeowner thats a son/daughter

What state are you in, OP? We literally cannot answer this question without knowing that.


Title: [Canada] I was in a car accident last week that was the other drivers fault but they're telling people it was my fault...

Question:
I know this is a stretch, but I'm wondering if anything can be done.

Two weekends ago I t-boned a car that drove out in front of me turning left at a green light when I had the right of way going straight. They were charged for 'failing to yield at a car in an intersection with the right of way' or something it says the paper, which I assume was just a ticket. I originally felt bad because she's only 18 and just made a stupid mistake and I'm a pushover. But last week, I was at work (I'm a cashier) and heard her talking shit to another cashier about what happened. She must not have seen me I guess. She told the cashier that some girl drove into her car and her and her friends all missed work because of whiplash and the police were doing an investigation because they couldn't tell whose fault it was, but it was definitely not her fault. This was after she was charged according to the paper.

Now today my dad tells me he was at the gas station and heard someone saying how some girl totalled their neighbours kids car, it was my accident. My dad interjected that he was sure that's not what happened, but obviously word is getting around.

I live in a small town where people talk and I've gotten recognized as the girl in that accident a couple times by various people, so I really don't want her going around telling strangers it was my fault when it wasn't. I never told anyone just for gossip, even though me and the police know its not even my fault.

Is there anything I can do to get her to stop talking? They're still working through the insurance so I didn't know if I cold tell them or ask the police to ask her to shut up?

Answer:
 She is allowed to express her opinion of what caused the accident. Don't worry about what she says. This is why you have insurance.Answer #2: > Is there anything I can do to get her to stop talking?

She's allowed to have a different opinion than you have.  Neither the insurance company or the police are going to care.


Title: California - Is it ever legal to roll back a digital odometer?

Question:
Throwaway. Long story short an insurance company is charging me a large amount for a poor condition 2002 ford focus because it has low mileage (which the odometer reads 80,000), but we have mechanic records for the car's smog checks that have their odometer count written in as well. On their records it continues to grow up to around 200,000 miles, but on their most recent  check it went back down to 70,000 miles. As far as I know this is fraud, and I was wondering if in any legal circumstance are they able to roll it back
Topic:
Small Claims Procedure

Answer: Absolutely not.


Title: Can a doctor's office legally hold my medical records for nonpayment?

Question:
My old doctor's office is refusing to release my medical records to a new doctor for a balance from 2017 ... Can they legally hold my records? Is there a difference between sending to a doctor / me picking up my own records?

They just called me and told me they won't release my records to a new doctor I'm seeing because of a balance from 2017. Can they actually do this?

Answer:
 [http://patientsafety.pa.gov/NewsAndInformation/Brochures/Documents/brochure\_medical\_records.pdf](http://patientsafety.pa.gov/NewsAndInformation/Brochures/Documents/brochure_medical_records.pdf) \[PDF warning\]

Page 3:

> **Can My Provider Refuse to Release My Medical Records?**
>
> Under certain limited circumstances, your provider can deny your request to see or obtain copies of your medical record.  For instance, if your provider believed that seeing your medical record would endanger you or someone else, the provider could deny your request.  **Your provider may not deny your request for medical records because you have an unpaid medical bill.**  If  your provider denies your request to see your medical records, you can request the decision be reviewed by another provider.  The provider must choose another healthcare provider to review their deci-sion.  Your provider must notify you in writing of  the decision of  the reviewer.


Title: (North Carolina) Speeding ticket, Officer states I was going much faster than I was.

Question:
I received a ticket while traveling from Florida to Pennsylvania outside Fayetteville on I-95 for 89 in a 65.  I was doing 80 and had been at 80 with all the other traffic since leaving Florida, and was using Cruise control the entire time.

As the ticket is for more than 15, the officer said I have to go to court in Fayetteville in March.

I do not deny that I was speeding, as were everyone else traveling at the same speed of 80, however, I was not going 89, nor have I ever.

Do I have any options that do not involve me traveling back to NC to go to court?

Answer:
 >As the ticket is for more than 15, the officer said I have to go to court in Fayetteville in March.

You need to either go to court yourself or hire a local traffic attorney to represent you instead.

>I was doing 80 and had been at 80 with all the other traffic since leaving Florida, and was using Cruise control the entire time.

I got a ticket for 84 in a 65 while having my cruise control set at 72. Turns out I was distracted and actually accelerated above the cruise control set speed, and my ticket was totally legit.

Not saying that is what happened to you - just pointing out that using your cruise control setting is not a very strong defense in court.

Talk to a Fayetteville traffic attorney and see what they can do for you - it should be a better option than traveling there and representing yourself.Answer #2: If you want to dispute the speed at which you were traveling you will need to go back to NC and appear in court. Moreover, as you were doing more than 15 over it sounds like you have to appear anyway.


Title: Roommate assaulted me and got away with it

Question:
My roommate just tried strangling me because I was walking around the house without a shirt (he's religious and insane), but when I called the cops, he called them too and said I assaulted him first.

The cops told me that because it's a "he said, she said" scenario, the most likely outcome if I don't drop the charges is that both of us will end up with assault charges on our record, so I didn't file charges.

This guy is a vile, racist, ignorant, manipulative sneak, but the landlord likes him because he does a lot of landscaping for free. Any suggestions?

Answer:
 You chose not to pursue charges.

You can... file for a restraining order?

Move out?

I'm not sure what you're looking for.Answer #2: Find yourself a better roommate


Title: I make popular neighborhood prints of DC. I just found out that a local framing shop (who we refused to sell to) is printing off their own copies and selling them.

Question:
Out of my depth here.

I illustrate art prints of maps of different neighborhoods in DC. They've very popular in the city, and we wholesale the prints to several different shops around the city. We used to sell to a particular framing shop for over a year, but decided to stop selling to them because the owner was exceptionally rude to my staff.

Today I found out that they've been continuing to sell the prints (fuzzy, probably scanned or photographed versions, but still with my name clearly on them) in their shop. They used to sell $1000+ of my prints in a month, and I'm assuming they have been selling them since we stopped selling there in August (especially since they're popular Christmas gifts). I do not hold a formal copyright on the artwork, though I know that it is technically protected as it's a 'finished' piece.

What's the best way to proceed here? Should I lawyer up, and if so, what can I expect to ask for or re-coop?

Answer:
 You might want to look into Lawyers For the Arts in your locale. I was also an illustrator that ran into issues of someone(s) reusing my digital art at the dawn of the Internet Age (c. 1995 - 1997). I used my local Lawyer for the Arts, and was able to get financial settlements from an ISP and a book publisher.

Yes, I actually had filed copyright on the artwork prior to the reuse.


Title: NJ My 6 yr old nephew was kidnapped by his father. The Police say my sister can't press charges as it's a family matter.

Question:
First off, the police found my nephew and he is back with his Mom. TL:DR at bottom.

My sister Sarah has a 6 year old son Johnny. Johnny's father, John is a typical dead beat dad. From the start he didn't want anything to do with the baby. He refused to sign the birth certificate and wasn't at all involved for the first 3 years of his life. When the baby was 3 years old he got a new girlfriend and had a change of heart. Started becoming more involved in his life. Sarah and John set up a custody agreement with the court per the state of New Jersey and he started paying child support. That went okay for less then a year but it was clear he wasn't spending time with Johnny as he was being picked up by John's mom and would spend his weekend's at her house (where John lived) while John was at work. Eventually he quit his job for a new one that paid under the table and he started paying like $10 every few months. Supposedly that's because if he just pays *something* he doesn't get in trouble with the court. I have no idea how that actually works but that sounds like a load of BS that he's feeding Sarah. He bounced from a few different jobs and Sarah isn't sure where he works or if its under the table now. The past 2 years he has barley seen his son. Picking him up a total of 8 times in 2019 for his weekends. John's mother picks him up less often too since John moved out of her house last year. John will also not tell Sarah where he lives now, so if he does pick him up, she doesn't know where Johnny is going.

In this week's indecent, John suddenly decided that he needed to spend time with his son. This was supposed to be his weekend but he never showed up (and hasn't for months). He showed up to Sarah's house Sunday night. Johnny was with the babysitter. John took him with out telling anyone he was coming. He then specificly told Sarah "Don't try to find us, he's my son too." And he went radio silent. The police we're called and they searched for what felt like forever but was probably 2 hours and finally found Johnny. When they found him, the police had John drive Johnny back to Sarah's and said that she cannot press charges as they don't see this as kidnapping and this is "a matter for family court." Their reasoning is that they have shared custody so they didn't think that showing up unannounced and taking a child to an undisclosed location counted as kidnapping.

I'm at a loss, is this really not considered kidnapping? Can she fight for full custody if he's not paying child support? Because of John's erratic behavior lately she suspects he's on drugs, is there a way to prove that? Or does she have to keep handing over her son to someone who is possibly drugged up. I believe his paychecks are supposed to be garnished for child support but they are not doing that. When can she be doing about this if he's getting paid under the table?

What other questions should she be asking her lawyer tomorrow morning?

She has no idea where to go from here and I feel totally helpless. Pur whole family is shook up from this. I just want to get her jump started with some information for tomorrow's meeting.

TL:DR

Dead beat dad who doesn't pay child support and is possibly on drugs kidnapped his 6 year old son. Told the mom not to come find them. Son has been found by police and is back with mom. Police say it's a family court matter, and that Dad's can't kidnap their own son's.

New Jersey
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Correct. Dad didn't kidnap his child. They have shared custody.

Mom can go to court to modify the court order.Answer #2: >they have shared custody

As long as dad has custody of his child with no specified limits as to date, time, supervised, unsupervised, etc., he can take his child. It's not kidnapping. Fathers are just as much parents of a child as mothers are.


Title: Going to court to fight a stop sign violation?

Question:
Los Angeles, California

I pleaded not guilty for a stop sign ticket. I will be showing up in court today to fight my ticket. I'm really just hoping the cop won't show up, but if he does, I'm just curious what to say? I'm a college student who literally can't afford to pay the ticket ($260). I know if the cop shows up, I won't win, so do I default to just saying I'm guilty?

Please no snarky responses. I just want somebody who has fought a similar traffic ticket to give me advice what to say since I've never been to court before. Thanks!
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: I have several friends that are police officers. They always show up in court. Always. It’s part of their schedule. They know what days they are going to court way in advance. It’s part of their job.


Title: I'm [21M] need help on how to ask for a wellness check for my girlfriend [20M] to escort her out of her home [PA,USA]

Question:
The situation is my gf is trying to move out to live with me in a different state, CA, but her parents won't let her. We need to get the law involved in order for her to get out of her house safely. I was wondering how do I ask for a wellness check from a different state? Should I still call 911 even if I'm not in the same state as her or would it be better to call and contact a local police station that's in her area, PA.

&#x200B;

I'm not sure which is better and the most efficient way to get the police to come to her house and help escort her out. If you have any advice on how to go about this I would greatly appreciate it, thank you.

Answer:
 What do you mean they won't *let* her? Is there a reason she can't call the police herself?

Edit: Why is she even in PA since your post history says she already moved to CA? 🤔


Title: I received a one-day suspension from my job for violating the tardiness policy, but others who have also violated the policy aren't being disciplined. Where do I stand legally?

Question:
My workplace has a new policy under which an employee that is more than 5 minutes late will receive a written warning ("lateness write-up"). When an employee accumulates three lateness write-ups they receive a one-day suspension without pay. I received my third write-up last week and will be suspended for Monday's shift. To my knowledge, I'm the first employee to receive such a suspension under this new policy.

________________

On the same day that I received my third write-up for being late, a coworker of mine (with the same job title and position that I have) was also more than five minutes late but did not receive a write-up. Prior to this day we both had received two write-ups. Since I received a third but my coworker did not, I am being suspended but my co-worker isn't. This co-worker had no prior arragement excusing the lateness, nor did I.

________

Additionally, these write-ups are not issued every time one of us is late past the five minute grace period. For insstance, two weeks ago, the same coworker and I were 7 minutes late on Monday and received a write-up, and 9 minutes late on Thursday and did not receive a write-up (we often share a ride to work).

__________

Stanger still, on the day that we were both 7 minutes late and written up, a third coworker arrived 19 minutes late and was not written up.

__________

I definitely feel that this practice is unfair and doesn't provide a comfortable work environment... but is it illegal?

________

For context, the previous owner of this busness passed away several months ago and our then-manager has transitioned into ownership. Employees that are socially closer to the now-owner seem to be receiving write-ups less often than others.

_____________________

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Answer: All legal. You might lose your job to favoritism,  happens but unless its illegal discrimination (sex,race, age,  religeon ect)  you have no case.


Title: My lawyer gets some advice about my case from her partner at her firm...

Question:
...A couple weeks later my lawyer leaves the firm and I go with her.  My lawyer calls me from her new firm to give me heads up about the bill I'm going to get from her old firm. She says that the partner lawyer went into the billing system and charged me for an hour and half conversation. But that she really only had, at most, a half hour conversation. My lawyer advises me to not pay that portion of the bill and don't say anything and they'll forget about it.  But I do say something.  I email the partner explaining the situation.  He emails back saying he had a very long conversations about my case and did extra research beyond the conversation and, in fact, did not charge me for all his time.  I tell my lawyer what the the partner said and she says that was the worst thing you could have possibly done because now you called him out basically saying his dick was small.

Sow now is this a good plan of action? Pay the bill in full. I don't want any trouble with bill collectors or arbitration.  And then email the partner saying, "Thank you for your explanation.  I've paid the bill in full and I'm going to report the incident to the CA state bar."  Does reporting the incident any weight?  What can happen to the lawyers if I do that?  Can my lawyer get in trouble somehow?

Answer: Your lawyer probably didn't know about the extra research. Comical that you'd even consider this a "reportable" offense. It's people like you who make life difficult for everyone else.


Title: Landlord says I have to physically stay at house?

Question:
State: Mississippi

**TLDR:** Needed to leave rental unit, still paying the remaining rent left. Landlord demanding we have to physically stay.

Been renting from my current landlord for almost two years. Lease ends in July. I got a job and needed to relocate. In April I asked if we could sublease. They said no. Then the next day they said fine. Unable to organize a subletter in time, SO stayed behind. I relocated in April. They ended up finding a tenant who has signed for August.

SO has now gotten a job offer and needs to relocate. We let them know he needed to leave and he they said no, that someone had to watch the house and that was in the lease.

SO left anyway, literally had a job offer. No where in the lease does it say someone has to physically stay at the property just that the house is my responsibility (to an extent) while under my name on the lease.

They've texted us mad that we left saying we went against the lease and someone HAS to be at the house. Again, no where in the lease does it say this.

Between April and now they have also slandered us accusing us of dealing drugs out of the house. (We are NOT doing that. At all.) They have also never given us 24 hours notice and wanted to enter immediately to show the house, then got mad when it wasn't super clean. We also had several trespassers and gave them several police reports to referenced the quiet enjoyment clause to let us leave (while still honoring the rent we owed! We just wanted to leave!)

We have offered many solutions including having several family members and a neighbor to watch/check on the house and assured them rent will be paid but are acting like we have committed a crime for leaving the house.

I threatened a lawyer because since April they have essentially bullied us over leaving/the drug dealing accusation. This got her to back off. Landlord claimed she couldn't talk to anyone who wasn't on the lease despite calling our family members (no idea how she got those numbers) before contacting us. She also let us know they had been out to the house and saw no one was there (never let me know she was coming out) so I can assume they had been watching us.

The weirdest part is in our lease there is literally a clause that says if we abandon/vacate the property, the lease expires and we just owe them remaining rent. (One month at this point.)

Sorry if this is confusing. Am I crazy? Do they have any real grounds to demand we physically stay at the house? Why won't they just take my money?

Answer:
 Giant caveat: Louisiana's system is very different from the ones I'm familiar with. For professional advice, contact a local attorney or get a referral through a tenant advocacy group.

With that out of the way, I can't see anything obvious in Louisiana state law that would require you to reside in the house you rent, and if the lease is silent, then the landlord doesn't appear to have any direct leverage. It's not even clear that such a clause or law would be constitutional, as it shades awfully close to imprisonment. However, if you leave the property unattended and it's damaged _as a result of your absence_, or if unpreventable damage is made worse because you don't respond to it in a timely manner, the landlord may have a claim for those damages.

I would be very tempted to remind the landlord of the clause in the lease allowing you to terminate the lease by vacating and paying the outstanding rent, sending them a check by certified mail for the remaining rent, and moving on. If you're confident the unit is in good repair at this point and if you've already returned the keys, that leaves the ball firmly in your former landlord's court, and without any damages or any criminal acts, there's not much they can pursue.

If your landlord harasses you, block their number or redirect them to a burner phone so that you can get some peace. If your landlord sues you, respond, and defend the actual claims.


Title: (New York) My case is stalled and my lawyer is inactive.

Question: I filed a lawsuit two years ago after paying an established lawyer with a good reputation a retainer.  He filed the initial motion and several others.  However, the judge has been very slow to act on the case.  Currently we are facing a motion to dismiss, which we're likely to win. However, we have been waiting for over 3 months just for the judge to schedule a time for oral arguments.  In that time, I've tried to ask my lawyer what we can do to speed up the process, but lately he's been completely unresponsive.  He's been ignoring my calls and emails.  I got a one-sentence reply from him two weeks ago that he was working on a deadline for another case.  Is this normal?  What should I do?

Answer: In my experience, the NY courts are REALLY slow.  However, your attorney should be able to tell you what the status of the case is.  If not, you can let your attorney know that if they don't respond you will terminate your agreement for cause and retain a new attorney.Answer #2: Civil lawsuits are very slow and take years to resolve. In Federal court they can take up to seven years to be resolved.


Title: [OR] My (28f) partner of four years left me with our two year old daughter. What do I do?

Question:
I want to start by saying that my ex (Jordan) is trans. She came out about two months ago, but I had my suspicions before then. She is the other biological parent of our daughter, Amy. Throwaway because she's a redditor and she knows my main. She takes this sub pretty seriously so I thought it was the first place to turn.

The situation: I own a house in the suburbs of a big city. Jordan moved in with me when I became pregnant with our first child and we decided to keep her. We'd been together about a year at this point. We're poly, but put that on hold for the pregnancy/first year with our daughter. She now has two other girlfriends, and I have a boyfriend (James). He moved in with us at the beginning of the year (with Jordan's blessing).

After she came out as trans we talked about how when Jordan is having health problems she gets very unreasonable. When she's in any kind of pain she stops being helpful and is angry at the drop of a hat. In the first month (March) the hormone changes were already taking their toll, and about a month ago (April) I told her that I could not risk destroying our relationship by staying together though these changes. It was hard and I still love her, but we're parents and that's more important right now.

She'd had a dunken suicidal outburst the evening before so my timing was not great. She was unstable but trying to back me into a corner about commitment and I felt so manipulated. She was hurt but told me she understood. I was hurt but trying to make it work.

We decided to continue living together. I make a decent salary and support us both. She was a SAHP. Things were tense but okay. James helped a lot with Amy, so Jordan and he were getting along well.

Until last Friday she got upset and started freaking out about me having taken the morning off because of an ear infection and having spent that time with James in bed instead of helping with Amy. She was being hurtful and belligerent. I said it would probably be best if she went to stay with her friend who'd offered a room. At first she refused to leave, but I was firm that we at least needed space for the weekend.

That night she rear ended someone and totaled my (second, kinda crappy) car. She stayed out until Sunday and I asked if she was going to be back Monday to care for Amy. She did.

When I got home from work I asked to talk. She said that she didn't want to talk because there was nothing to say. It was "you've been abusing me for four years and I'm done so we can just parent together." I was floored. I mean, we've both lost our tempers a few times. We went to couple's therapy when my daughter was young to communicate better. At no point have I been close to abusive.

She tried to be very casual with me after that, and I was still so hurt about the accusation I told her I didn't know that we could be friends if she considers me an abuser. I said I thought it was best she leave and we get space from the hurt. The second car was totaled, so I said she could take my (nice) car at night and come back in the morning for Amy until we figured it out.

She said she doesn't want to do that. She said that if she leaves she'd not come back to care for Amy.She framed it as me abusing her more by asking her to babysit after kicking her out. I said I'd need time to think on it.

Well, Tuesday night she brought some friends over and packed up her things while I was at work. I came home as she was finishing. She said she needs to leave for her safety and won't watch Amy like a slave. She accused me of systematically lowering her self esteem to completely control her. I've paid for her trips with friends, I called her friend when she was having the episode last Friday, I encourage her active social life with her TWO other partners. I can't even believe it.

So she left. James quit his job because I make more and needed childcare. Jordan came by to get her medication and was furious when James wouldn't let her see Amy at my request. I'm scared she'll take Amy. She said I'm punishing her by withholding my daughter. But the way I see it if she can decide I'm abusive to her why wouldn't she take Amy away?

Am I being heartless? What is a safe middle ground? Amy misses Jordan and it's breaking my heart. I contacted a lawyer for a consultation but it's a little ways away.

TL;DR: My boyfriend became my ex girlfriend and abandoned my daughter and me without childcare or support. What do I do?

Cross post from /r/relationships. Legal stuff added: I own everything. I contacted DHS and am going to have James certified as a qualified caregiver. I cannot afford other daycare.

Also, I'm in Oregon.

Answer:
 You are both biological parents of the child, so either of you can file for a custody order.  You want to think seriously about being the one to do that, and your lawyer will advise you.Answer #2: Holy crap, this sounds like a lovely environment for a child.

I'm not even going to weigh in here, this one is a mess. I'm definitely curious how this plays out though, so keep us updated!Answer #3: I'd advise that you petition for custody and ask for a state certified custody evaluation.


Title: Guy wants my wife to take down her Facebook Page

Question:
Hi everyone,

My wife recently started doing hair and make-up for friends sort of as a hobby. We live in Australia.

She recently got an email from a guy in the UK saying "I own <name> Ltd. in the UK". His business name is the same as my wife's Facebook page (save for the 'Ltd.'). He is requesting that she take her page down.

I can't seem to find anything on Facebook's help page about names. Does this guy owning a UK business mean that my wife as an Australian can't have a Facebook page of that name?

Thanks

Answer:
 Does this guy trade in Australia?

Is it the same sort of business as your wife's page?

Is there any way a reasonable person could get the two confused?

Check out http://asic.gov.au/for-business/registering-a-business-name/before-you-start/business-name-availability/

And if the name is available in Australia then I would suggest registering it before he does (just in case)

But essentially if there's no reasonable way somebody could get the two confused then he doesn't have a case

For the sake of not having to deal with it though your wife might want to consider changing her Facebook page's name to <name> Australia  -  it'll still show up when people search the name on facebookAnswer #2: Trademarks are only good within the borders of the country in which they are registered, or in those countries that are signatories to a mutual intellectual property agreement.  Short of having a registered, international trademark under the Madrid Protocol, someone in the UK cannot prevent someone from Australia from using the same name.

He can probably attempt some dispute resolution through Facebook (the likelihood of success of which is unknowable), but your wife is probably under no current legal obligation to do anything but ignore him.  The fact that he is e-mailing her personally, rather than through a law firm, likely indicates a weak claim.


Title: Is my neighbor harassing me?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 A restraining order for banging on the ceiling? Seriously?!?!

Have you tried talking to your neighbor like a normal civilized adult and asking what it is that is bothering her?


Title: What does the government do with "John Does" in the legal system?

Question:
For example, a homeless vagrant vagabond with literally no history.

If I just walked the country with no ID (and I have no pictures on file in any state or finger prints or means of identification) can I be booked and processed under no given name? Can I go to court and be read up as a Jonh doe? If I'm not wanted, I'm not running from anything, and I just don't want to give my name up (even if that is the law and I will suffer consequences as a result of violating said statute) what would those consequences be and how would that process work?

I presume this varies from state to state and I'd do my own research, but I wouldn't know what to look for and all of the stuff above are assumptions based on what I've already found.

Answer:
 The wheels of justice will not stop if that is what you are asking. Maybe slow down while they attempt to ID you, but not stop. Time you spend behind bars because you refuse to give your name won't count as time served.Answer #2: > can I be booked and processed under no given name?

Sure.  Unless your identity is germane to the crime(which it rarely is) they don't have to prove you're any particular person.  They can charge you and convict you without ever figuring out who you really are.


Title: Got a red light traffic camera ticket

Question: I got a red lights traffic camera ticket from the city of miami from one of those bs traffic lights that switch in under a second. And it says i can request a hearing from a local hearing officer which i don't even think thats a legal official. Anything i can do?

Answer: If the light legitimately has an incredibly short yellow time, then you might want to head out there with a video camera and tape it cycling a few times. That's probably the only chance you have of getting a judge on your side if you choose to request a hearing, however I would bet that the law tolerates any light timing in the way it is written (even short times that are unsafe).


Title: KY - OH My ex is pregnant and the kid may or may not be mine. If he is mine, I want to fight for sole custody

Question:
She lives in Ohio with her mother, grandmother, 2 other kids of hers, uncle, and sister in a 2 or 3 bedroom house that's infested with bedbugs and fleas. She's 20 and has never had a job for more than 2 weeks with 6 or more months in between jobs and no license, no car. She is due July 31st and that puts the date of conception right after the first time we had sex.
She's narcissistic, lazy, a compulsive liar, and her mom is doing most of the raising of her other 2 kids. A lawyer has informed me that if the baby was conceived in Kentucky, we can bring her to court here in Kentucky.
My questions are, do I have a good chance of winning sole custody if she fights back? I know to get a paternity test before signing anything. Should I get the paternity test before getting a lawyer? Or do that through the lawyer? Thanks for any advice! And I'm sorry the run on paragraph. I'm on reddit is fun and have no clue how to separate paragraphs on here.

Answer:
 > She's narcissistic, lazy, a compulsive liar, and her mom is doing most of the raising of her other 2 kids.

None of this helps you get sole custody, because none of it presents an obvious danger of abuse or neglect to your child. Even a formal diagnosis of NPD would not help you much unless it came with a track record of violence or neglect.


Title: Got into altercation with someone I have a no legal contact order with, need advice

Question:
Throwaway for obvious reasons. Last night when my friend dropped me off at my home, my neighbors who I've had countless issues with started harrasing me (shining flashlights on me and taunting me). Me being stupid and drunk, went back outside after having entered my home. One thing led to another and he stepped onto my property and I put him down. An officer rang my doorbell, and as soon as I saw it was the police (I was underage and intoxictated, and had a very negative history with the majority of officers in my area) I ran out of the house and escaped. Heard from my roommate this morning that my neighbors filed a report stating that I chased him with a foot-long butcher knife (which is a fucking lie, but it doesn't matter since they'll only take his and his dads word).

I have a no legal contact issue with him, due to previous encounters (one night was having a party, went into my backyard and he tried to play police officer. I told him off. 4 days later, I had a warrant for disorderly conduct for allegedly threatening to shoot and kill him) I am fairly certain there will be a warrant out for me soon.

Not sure where to turn to at this point, cannot currently get a hold of my lawyer and am not too keen about prancing around town while they are working on getting a warrant for me.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

edit: Am in the US, Illinois specifically

Answer: Turn yourself in and quit being a goddamned pink.


Title: Too cold to go outside for my job?

Question: I work at a psych hospital where healthcare staff escort patients outside a few times a day so the patients can smoke.  We have designated areas for them and it is part of our training.  Until recently, we were very strictly NOT supposed to go outside if it was below 20 degrees.  This is a standard rule around all of the other psych hospitals in the area as well, which makes me think there is a law/code/rule that forbids it.  However, our new boss wants hospital staff to take the patients out no matter how cold it is.  My question - is there a law protecting staff from having to go outside when it is below 20?  Location - Ohio

Answer: No, there are no firm temperature limits for work.  If you work in cold storage, you're consistently in below freezing temps.  It's generally good practice to have precautions in place to ensure that people going into the cold are safe, and if someone were to get hurt as a result it could lead to a workers comp claims.  But they can make you go, generally speaking


Title: Underage Designated Driver

Question:
[From MA, happened in NH] My friends (aged 20, 21 and 21) and I (20) were driving (I was the driver) from MA to VT to go skiing for the weekend. A couple days before the trip I was asked if I could drive, because the other three had a fraternity event in which they would drink. While we were in NH, we were pulled over for speeding, my friends were still somewhat drunk, and smelled like beer, and we admitted to having beer (unopened) in the car. I was arrested for Minor Transporting Alcohol and Possession of a Controlled Drug (there was some weed in the car). My family and I are assuming that we need to hire a lawyer for the court date, and I was wondering if the lawyer we hired needs to be based out of NH. And if this is a bad question please just ignore it, but realistically what kind of punishment I could be facing.
Thank you for your time.

Answer: You're right, you are going to need a lawyer, and they're going to have to be licensed to practice in New Hampshire.Answer #2: I had this happen to me in California. I was 20 and DD for my 21 year old friend that had an unopened 12 pack he just bought. Hilariously the court said if I could produce a note from my mom saying she knew I was going to be DD then they would let it go. I said I would and wanted a jury trial. DA threw the case out the next day


Title: Louisiana: 20 year old caught in bed with 17 year old. Dad punched and through 20 year old around the house. Forced him to stay there until the mother showed up. Mother threatened legal action.

Question:
From what I believe, the legal age of consent in Louisiana is 17.
Is there actually anything the 20 year old can be charged with? Or that the parents can do at all legally?

Answer:
 It looks like all they can do is be pissed off. The 20 year old may have grounds for assault and kidnapping against daddy-o though.

http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/louisiana-age-of-consent-lawyers.html


Title: Neighbor installed full hookup campsites on residential property, is there anything we can do?

Question:
My parent's neighbor has put 3 camping spots including sewer hookups and water on his residential property, a 5,000 sq foot lot with a house on it. When my parents and other neighbors mentioned that it is against HOA rules, he told them to sue or shut up. None of them have the stomach or money for a lawsuit.

Are lawsuits the only way to solve this? From my very basic research, it appears that this is a violation of zoning ordinances, but I have no idea what that means in practice.

Answer: Contact the zoning adminstrator in your town, city, county


Title: My gf got kicked out

Question:
Her mom is a fucking sociopath and her step dad is a junkie who does pills his car doesn’t work and they want to use her car to get around. Gf has ownership of vehicle but mother pays for insurance. Does my gf have to give it to her legally? She isn’t under the same roof. Does she still live under their rules? I would assume no because they kicked her out.
Question 1: is she legally obligated to give her he car because she’s under 18? (So am I)
Question 2: does she have to listen to them if they aren’t living with each other any more? They kicked her out. She didn’t leave. She was forced to. Please help thanks in advance
Also in New Mexico. Not sure if that matters

Answer:
 Her parents are legally obligated to provide care for her until she turns 18. This includes food, shelter, healthcare, and education, and so forth, but does not include a car. They cannot legally kick her out. She can call the police or CPS, or tell a trusted adult, like a teacher or doctor.

Generally, children's property does actually belong to their parents, but her mother will have a hard time enforcing that without also reporting herself for child abandonment.