Title: I was wrongfully terminated

Question:
[CALIFORNIA]

I was hired by [omitted] on January 26, 2018 as my official start date. On the afternoon of Friday, May 4, 2018, I was called in to a meeting with my supervisor to discuss my current assignments. The meeting was scheduled for 2:30pm in her office with us two as the only attendees listed to this meeting. When I had arrived at her office, she had informed me that we will be meeting in the conference room instead. Upon entering the conference room, my supervisor's supervisor was seated in that room, which was shocking to me as I did not understand why her supervisor's presence would be necessary to discuss my current assignments. I promptly asked him if I was going to get fired, and he shrugged and replied that he did not know. I asked him if he knew why he was in the room and again, he shrugged and replied that he did not know. Shortly after, my supervisor, the Division Manager, and the supervisor below her, the Program Coordinator, walked into the room. The Division Manager gave me a handout describing the end of my probationary period and my immediate termination. The only question I had was the reason for this sudden termination. The Division Manager refused to give me an answer and told me to drive to Human Resources to find out the reason why. I was terminated at the meeting within 2 minutes, under the false pretense that only the Division Manager and I would discuss my current assignments. I had no opportunity to contact my union representative to attend the meeting, as I had every right to do so as I paid my dues to [omitted] and was in good standing.

When I had arrived at the Human Resources office, I showed them the letter and asked for the reason why I was terminated. The receptionist, analyst, specialist, and the employee relations liaison were all confused as to why I was sent to HR for that information, as that is not general protocol. The employees at HR had informed me that it is not normal for a terminated employee to be shocked and blind-sighted by termination, as the employee would usually "see it coming". Nevertheless, the employee relations liaison contacted my supervisor who informed her that I did not pass the probationary period as I was not a good fit for [omitted], there were multiple complaints against me from business operators, and that I had negative inner-office interactions.

Although I understand that California is an at-will employer, with no requirement for verbal/written warnings, and providing reasons to termination, I believe that the official reasons provided are not valid.

There are other [former] co-workers who have had more complaints against them than me. I was also in a completely different office than the 2 supervisors (Division Manager and Program Coordinator). I was in my separate office for no more than 2.5 hours a day, everyday, with the total amount of interaction in the main office where the supervisors are located for no more than 10 minutes a week. I am very good friends with all of my [former] co-workers, and keep in touch several days a week, every week. I was never given any type of verbal or written warning, and I strongly believe that I was terminated for personal reasons, and wrongfully terminated under a false pretense, without the opportunity to have a union representative by my side.

Please help! What can I do? What are my options?

Answer:
 \> Please help! What can I do? What are my options?

Call your union rep and ask them.  I don't see you have any case beyond filing for unemployment and finding a new job.

I think you know why you were fired though.

\> When I had arrived at her office, she had informed me that we will be meeting in the conference room instead. Upon entering the conference room, my supervisor's supervisor was seated in that room, which was shocking to me as I did not understand why her supervisor's presence would be necessary to discuss my current assignments. **I promptly asked him if I was going to get fired**

Your first reaction was that you were getting fired?

\> There are other \[former\] co\-workers who **have had more complaints against them than me**.

And you have complaints against you?

\> and I strongly believe that I was terminated for personal reasons

If that is the case, it is not illegal unless the personal reasons are because someone personally didn't like you due to you being a member of a protected class.


Title: [GA] Hidden Overtime Law. My employer only gives half of our hourly pay once we go over 40 hours.

Question:
1. It must be legal since it is a Fortune 15 company but could someone explain how?
2. Can the employer require us to work over 40 hours since we are not compensated?

Answer:
 In a lot of cases, the paycheck stub will read something like this:

Time:  45 hours @ $10.00

OT:  5 hours @ $5.00

You're still getting 1.5x pay for the extra 5 hours, but listing OT that way makes it look like half.

If you're only getting 40 hours at regular pay and 5 at half pay, then you have a payroll problem.Answer #2: Are you considered an exempt employee?  See [this guide](http://www.flsa.com/coverage.html).  If you are considered exempt, then they don't have to pay you any OT at all.Answer #3: Federal law requires overtime pay for any hours exceeding 40 in a consistent 7-day period. In short, Georgia law, nor being a Fortune 15 company, supercedes federal law.

Your employer is wrong. You should file a wage claim and complaint with the Department of Labor.


Title: Texas- Terminating parental rights

Question: My wife and I were briefly separated last year for a few months. During that time period, I may have impregnated another women while I was intoxicated. (she was a one night stand). A few months after the incident, she contact me through social media that she was pregnant and that I might be the father, but she told me if I didn't want to be in the child's life, then its fine. I asked her if she would consider getting an abortion, but she declined saying it was against her religion. I told her I didn't want anything to do with the child and We agreed that I wasn't going to be in the child's life or she wouldn't ask for assistance for the child (child support).  After that, we never spoke again. Back to now. Yesterday, I received notice in the mail for child support. The women signed up her child for government assistance so i'm assuming they asked her who the father was and they took off from there. I'm going to be doing a paternity test today but if this child is mine, what kind of legal actions can I take to terminate my parental rights. the women has also agreed to sign the paper as well.

Answer:
 > what kind of legal actions can I take to terminate my parental rights.

None. You're on the hook until/unless a step-parent adopts the child.


Title: A landlord won't let me get out of a leasing contract that I never completed and now is telling me I owe them a year's worth of rent, and I can barely afford my current rent (in college)

Question:
This all started last year in March when I started an application for a leasing agreement at this apartment complex. I stopped the application process when I realized there was a cheaper apartment available somewhere else, and I never received any confirmation or anything from apartment complex 1.
In the August when I move in to the more affordable apartments, I receive a call from complex 1 claiming I owe them $750 in rent for the month. I go over there and talk to the manager and he states there's no way to get out of the leasing contract. I then argue that the leasing contract was not completed because there are no guarantors signed on to it, I never paid any security deposits, and I've never even set foot in this room that I'm supposed to pay for. So now theyve called me and said that they will be taking actions to send the amount due to collections and that I can file a court date with their lawyers if needed. Reddit what do?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: So you signed a lease for complex 1?


Title: [VA] Found someone attempted to crack my safe, money and small but expensive items missing. Suspect it's new roommate.

Question:
Firstly, I'm a student who has an extra room in their townhouse and I frequently use the off campus housing website to find suitable tenants for that room. About 3 weeks ago, a new roommate moved in and yesterday I noticed that someone had tried to break into my safe. I also noticed that I had my movado watch stolen as well as a coin counter with ~100 bucks in it. When I brought this up to my other roommates (5 of us live in the house and the other 3 I would trust my life with), one of them also said that they had noticed that their jar of change on their dresser was missing.

Assumption took over and we figured it was the new roommate due to various reasons. On her first night in the house I caught her smoking weed inside the house even though our landlord gives us a very strict no-smoking policy that she is aware of. When I confronted her about the smell and smoke coming from her room she said sorry and that it was in her friend's bag (last I checked, bud doesn't spontaneously ignite) but she also changed her story later and told another roommate that her friend had smoked it in the bathroom. It started to make me think she was a pathological liar and I should've given her the boot since she was technically living with us for free at that point. However, I'm too nice for my own good and let it slide.

Fast forward to yesterday and I've called the police and have shown an officer what's missing and who I suspected did it. The officer kindly pulled her record to see if she had any priors and contacted her letting her know that I suspected her of larceny and that I was seeking the full extent of the law. The roommate in question contacted me while I was at work and said we needed to talk.

By now, I had already ripped apart her room (at the officer's advice) looking for my stolen goods but to no avail. The roommate talked to my girlfriend upon returning to our house about what was going on. The roommate commented that her room looked a mess and that we were surely the subjects of a robbery (yet I was the one who tore up her room). She also commented that she was missing a jar of change and money too and started crying saying that she didn't take any of our belongings. Before I got home, she had packed and told my girlfriend that she was moving out since she didn't feel like she could be trusted anymore.

When I contacted her today, she would not answer texts to talk but when I called her, she said that she didn't want to speak to me since my girlfriend was "incredibly rude" to her and she would show up on Monday, with a lawyer, when the police come back to check for fingerprints on my safe. She has agreed to be fingerprinted but I'm not sure if her story or decisions will change by then.
I feel incredibly vulnerable in my own house and it is the shittiest feeling in the world. I feel bad that the people who entrust me to keep our home safe, have been violated and stolen from and I doubt that I will ever get my anniversary gift back from wherever it is.

I suppose when it gets down to it, what are my options for restitution when/if the truth comes out? I don't make a whole hell of a lot of money and losing ~600$ has been an extremely stressful situation. Any advice is welcome. Thanks guys.

Edit: Formatting

Answer: You can make paragraph breaks by pressing Enter twice in a row.


Title: Who do you petition when the police harass you and they have no supervisor?

Question:
A friend of mine is a homeowner in the town of [Grifton](http://www.grifton.com/government/town_manager.php), North Carolina with a population of ~2663. The police have been harassing him for over a year, writing him over 30 tickets that all get dismissed when he goes to court for them. Things like his car being too dirty, while it is parked in his yard. For some reason, a town this small has its own SWAT team and what seems to be a police force of superlative size. I recently followed him home and we passed seven police vehicles next to his property.

Recently, he was away from home for three weeks and returned on Friday the 20th of September, 2019. In the time that he was away, the police went to his home, cut down every tree in his yard, and left the trees and limbs on his property. After he returned home, the Sheriff and several officers showed up to inform him that if he didn't remove the trees and limbs and all but one vehicle from his yard, as well as his hot tub and his lawnmowers they would condemn his house; they informed him that he had 7 days to comply. Now, daily, they put roadblocks in front of his house and shine floodlights into his windows at times between midnight and 5 AM. They shut his water off and put a lock on the water meter while his account is active and not in arrears. They walk around his property and peer in the windows while in plainclothes. They arrested him today for larceny, claiming he stole his own vehicle. After holding him for four hours, they allowed him to get the title for the vehicle out of the vehicle in question, and released him. There's no city council, no town hall, there's a town manager and nothing more. He said that the Chief of Police informed him that the community wanted him out of his house on Saturday the 21st of September, 2019.

I don't know who he should contact, who is next in the chain of command in such a situation? I fear for his safety now. The whole thing feels like something out of a cheesy movie. But this is reality, and it's starting to seem far more like a dystopian nightmare.

Advice on what kind of lawyer he should retain, and who he should contact in the government about this would both be appreciated.

Answer: Have you witnessed any of this beyond the number of cop cars nearby? It sounds like your friend may be having a mental health crisis which could be inspiring increased interest in him by local authority. He should photograph or livestream these events when they happen as both a measure of safety for himself and proof of these bizarre actions. He should speak with a therapist outside of his location to get a clean bill of health. He should stay elsewhere for a period of time while this can be investigated by outside parties.


Title: My daughter was not given the valedictorian spot that she earned because of school politics

Question:
I'm not really sure what to do here, it's kind of been a whirlwind of a day. They announced the valedictorian and salutatorian at my daughter's school today, 2 days before graduation and for some reason it's really been hush-hush and my daughter could not get an answer on who got the spots. Today when they announced the valedictorian and salutatorian, we quickly came to realize that my daughter's GPA was higher than theirs - they go by unweighted GPA, the salutatorian was 3.96 and the valedictorian was 3.97. My daughter's unweighted GPA is 3.99, and her weighted GPA is 4.6.

I didn't even know this was going on until earlier tonight when they announced the GPAs of the valedictorian and salutatorian. I think it's relevant that I have had problems with the school since the 8th grade when my daughter decided to detour from their educational program and take High School classes for high school credit. I continued to have problems with the school because my daughter wanted to take some virtual classes for credit that the school didn't offer. I think that it's also relevant that the kid who got salutatorian is the guidance counselors son, and if my daughter had been calculated correctly he would not have gotten the salutatorian spot.

I plan to go up to the school tomorrow and have them calculator GPA for us just to make sure it's right without making any accusations, but I saw the writing on the wall here years ago and I remember warning my daughter that while she was a shoo-in for valedictorian she might not get it because of school politics. If I do find out that's the case, I'm not sure what to do. The two kids that got the honors are good kids from good families, and I don't want to ruin their night, but I also feel that my daughter she gets the Honors that she has earned without the school's distaste for my approach to education factoring in.

The reality is that we've never really cared about the valedictorian spot, my daughter already has 77 college credits under her belt that the state paid for through dual enrollment, she is kind of beyond High School awards. I'm not sure that I'd be able to argue that this would impact her life that much as her trajectory is far higher then the two students who got the honor. I don't want her graduation marred by a Scandal, but I also don't want to see her hard work go unnoticed and unacknowledged. If it turns out that she actually earned the valedictorian spot, do I have any grounds to threaten legal action? Normally that's the last place I'd go, but I am livid at this point. I am pretty confident that if this turns out to be the case they are going to claim that it was a simple miscalculation.

Answer:
 > I don't want her graduation marred by a Scandal

Then, and I say this with a great deal of appreciation for the care and respect you have for your daughter, don't create a Scandal.

High-school valedictorian is the kind of accolade that amounts to "huh, that's neat" within a couple of years at most, and is barely worth mentioning into adulthood. Your daughter will survive being passed over, and the skills she learned _earning_ that 3.99 GPA will serve her far better than a ten-minute speech from the podium ever will. Be proud of her in her success, rather than souring it with a fight over an honour that wasn't important until she didn't get it.

If you must broach the subject with the school, do it privately, and do it respectfully. You could well be right - they could well have selected from the pool of eligible students for political reasons. If continuing financial support from the students' families is bought so cheaply, maybe that's the right tradeoff to make. In a perfect world, I agree with you - the criteria would be clear and even-handed - but this is not a perfect world, and schools generally have a fair bit of discretion when handing out honours to students. Making this a confrontation will almost certainly make the school dig in their heels, and by the time you get anywhere with the school board, it'll be a moot point as your daughter will have long since graduated.Answer #2: This isn't a legal issue. The law does not govern who can be valedictorian.


Title: My work is trying to charge me 100 dollars for cartons of cigarettes after them being purchased with a fraudulent pay pal card.

Question:
Location: Georgia
Basically I checked out this lady did what I was supposed to ID her and everything. Later the store got a call about someone in Michigan running their card at a certain time even though we were in georgia. I was off the next day then I went in today to the first mention (ever) of a scam where people are stealing people's credit cards and putting them on a pay pal card and from now on the cashiers need to check id's matched with the card a practice we have never done before and the cashier responsible for being scammed would be charged for the cartons. The question is am I legally bound if I never signed anything or was trained to pay this money? Also if they fire me for refusing to pay this money do I have any legal action available for me in an at will state?

Answer:
 [Your employer may only deduct beyond legally-required deductions such as taxes with your authorization](https://dol.georgia.gov/sites/dol.georgia.gov/files/related_files/document/dol224.pdf), and deductions may not bring you below minimum wage. However, it may be legal for your employer to terminate you if you withhold authorization: it's not clear from that document, and Georgia's actual statutes are a pain to read through.

If your employer withholds your wages without your authorization, you'll have to file with the US Department of Labor [Wage and Hour Division](https://www.dol.gov/whd/) to get them back: Georgia does not have its own state-level department responsible for enforcing wage laws.Answer #2: it's illegal to deduct the money from your paycheck, but you can still be fired for failure to adhere to policy.


Title: US, FL: Fired after assisting a former employee with a police report against a current employee (1 month ago). Need advice. Warning: Long Read.

Question:
Personal Details: Diagnosed with ADHD & PTSD. I'm about to lose my apartment, I don't know how I'm going to pay for anything, unemployment has not gone through yet, and even if it does it's not nearly enough to keep me on my feet until I find other work assuming they don’t fight the unemployment. I hope they don't.

Them: 15+ Employees. Disorganized as a falling Jenga tower.

Narrative: The business I worked at was without any formal store manager at its retail location for ~9 months. I was originally assigned to another project at a different location after working at the retail store for over a year, but was suddenly pulled off that after I sent an email to another employee (Unterhund) inquiring about why Unterhund had done X, Y, & Z - these amount to missing inventory, performing a task without a safety briefing, defined operating procedure & no MSDS's on site, and spills that potentially damaged equipment. I was induced into signing an NDA, summarily taken off that assignment without warning - an assignment I’d been consistently groomed for over a period of several months - and pigeon-holed in their retail store outlet. I received 3 irrelevant reasons (either outright lies, or platitudes) from the owner (Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig), and was told that Unterhand would be in charge of that job from then on. I didn’t know at the time that Unterhand was a ‘friend’ of another employee (Incompetent-Racist-Sexist-Bully). It goes downhill from then.

The retail store had no formal structure of authority - the last manager had been pushed into quitting last August. There had been no formally titled, or informally backed authority figure since then - not even a shift supervisor. Forget job descriptions, or performance reviews - they didn’t exist. I was, regardless, made responsible for administrative tasks: delegating assignments, fixing & sending hourly salaries to Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig so we would be paid, monthly balance reports, POS maintenance, bank deposits, inventory tracking, fixing things that broke. I could make hiring decisions, but could not fire or formalize any corrective action against terminally incompetent employees. To make matters worse, there was little to no follow-through in any of our store-meetings with our owner, Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig; the list is too long, and too specific to name. They usually followed this pattern:

US: “We needed ‘A’ three weeks ago, and since we can’t make purchases for the store, did you get ‘A’ last week like you said you would?”

Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig: “We’re working on it, be patient. I’m going to go rant about your incessant needing of things, ignore the problems I’m creating for you, and not give you any updates at all. Bye.”

This arrangement had no matching pay increase, or title, and I was paid the same as another employee that had started at the same time in August 2013. Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig loved it when I pointed that out in an email.

Earlier this year - roughly 3 months before the axe fell - an employee (Hans) was fired from the location I was previously assigned to work at. The details I heard left me doubtful of any wrongdoing on anyone's part, but it wasn't until Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig told me not to mention to anyone that she was fired that I was suspicious. Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig has a well-known history of protecting one particular employee (Incompetent-Racist-Sexist-Bully), coupled with a trend of quashing hearsay that would implicate either themselves or Incompetent-Racist-Sexist-Bully of any responsibility for dumb avoidable mistakes, and the business doing poorly. Hans came to me a month after, and wanted to file a police report to Incompetent-Racist-Sexist-Bully's probation officer - he's a felon. We went about it. It led nowhere, but despite my contribution being anonymous, the incident I had cited was one that I had recently brought to the Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig's attention, and was too specific to be mistaken for anything else. I assure you, his reaction at that time was not concern. The ex-employee proceeded - without my help - to bring in regulatory agencies to inspect the facility she had worked at.

An employee on that end warned me that I should stop helping them, because Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig and Incompetent-Racist-Sexist-Bully had a good idea of who was behind all that. Moving forward, no direct action was taken - that would be stupid. Instead, Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig induces me to continue working without any idea of what's going on, delays me every week on an update about my promotion/raise, and brings in two managers to fire the people Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig & Incompetent-Racist-Sexist-Bully don't like for them. Within two weeks, his axeman had tried to serve me at least one unfounded disciplinary notice involving Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig. This would have been my first. It got shredded, and there was no followup. They (Axeman & the Store Manager he hired) gradually took away (took over) my jobs, wrote up a bogus termination notice - I violated no written policy, and Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig seemingly made stuff up that couldn't possibly involve the two new-comers - and said goodbye. Now I'm destitute, emotionally distraught, and my blood pressure has still managed to go down from not going into that hellhole of a workplace.

I watched the Madame-Cares-Not-A-Fig do the same thing to other people. One of them I monitored with a then coworker (Angel-Face), and kept ties with to prevent a hellbent murder-suicide by making sure he stayed active & social. I kept all my emails, copies of everything I could feasibly manage to save, and texts. There’s also a handful of other employees out there that would happily contribute their own two-cents in my favor. What should I do next? Is this worth an EEOC report?

Answer:
 Totally not reading your drama.

Absent an employment contact our union you can be fired for any nondiscriminatory reason. Answer #2: TL;DR:

OP works in a toxic environment. Gives cutesy names to everyone in the story. Fired without a documented reason. Rather than moving on, OP wants their job back.

Have I nailed the salient points?


Title: NYC. Crazy winds, crashed store sign through my bedroom window.

Question:
Hi. So yeah. a big ass marquee casually crashed through my windows. I took pictures. The super was called. I helped him board up the window. Tomorrow, professionals will come and replace it. This happened about 2-3 hours ago.

This is a rented apartment. Are there any legal ramifications? My brother talks about compensation. I know that we are a litigious nation, but I had to pause for a sec. And now I'm here.

Answer: Compensation for what? Were any of your belongings damaged? Were you injured?


Title: Family responsibilities discrimination?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 Yes. "family"  or "family responsibilities" is what I used.

And the proper answer it's you explain how it won't effect your work. Who is your back up.  What's your plan if they get sick. That's what they wanted you to answer


Title: Can my landlord jack up our property with us inside?

Question:
Our landlord is insisting that he elevate the house by having a work crew jack it up... while we are residing in it. The work started yesterday, and large cracks are forming all over the walls and ceiling, and now our front door won't open. Do we not have some recourse to make him stop a full foundation replacement while we still live here? I haven't found any laws prohibiting this but this seems like a huge violation of our lease agreement if not an endangerment to our lives considering one of two fire exits is stuck closed and our walls are literally crumbling around us.

Other facts:
We have a 1 year lease that ends on August 24th.
We live in San Antonio, Texas.
Our lease agreement is standard, with my mother and my roommates mother co-signing (we are college students).

Answer:
 Call code enforcement. If the place is on jacks while he works on the basement, the building _may_ not be considered habitable. If it's not inhabitable and code enforcement orders you out, your landlord should either abate your rent or pay for your temporary accommodations.

Assuming for the moment that your landlord's response to that is to try to stick you for the full lease even if the place is uninhabitable - as seems plausible, from a landlord who thinks it's acceptable to do foundation work on an occupied property - you may have to take your landlord to court to recover your damages: the return of your security deposit, the cost of repairing any damage to your personal property, the cost of short-term accommodations due to his decision to render the property uninhabitable, and your moving expenses, at minimum.Answer #2: > one of two fire exits is stuck closed and our walls are literally crumbling around us

Also call the fire marshall. You need two exits.

Answer #3: >  one of two fire exits is stuck closed

Call the fire marshall as well as the building code enforcement folks.


Title: Car mechanics lied to us and replaced 1 ball joints instead of 2 and charged us for both. They broke last night, luckily in a parking lot. Can we sue?

Question: If it happened during the day I could have been seriously injured. The car won't move and we had to have it towed back to the mechanics that repaired. They charged us $750 to replace two ball joints and only replaced one, and they didn't tell us. Can I sue for them putting me in danger and lying to us?

Answer: take pictures of everything, compare the oem part to the replaced parts and show which has been replaced and what hasnt, heck, there will probably be tooling marks on the control arms from using the pry bars and presses to remove the old ball joints, examine and photograph the areas where they replaced one and compare it to where they didnt Answer #2: You may want to peruse the consumer protection statues for whatever state you're in. Sometimes they have laws that apply specifically to mechanics and if they were not complied with, that could also help your case.


Title: Massachusetts Unemployment denial for benefits HELP! I was laid off but said I quit oooppppss! URGENT TIME RESPONSE

Question:
Good Afternoon,
     I am a Union member of the IBEW. I am a power lineman and I respond to natural disasters near and far when the times are needed to restore power to the customers of many utilities. I recently was part of a MAJOR Hurricane disaster relief aid where I responded from the New England Area to St. Croix USVI. I spent from Oct 13th to Jan 24th working there before, the stress of leaving my wife and unable to assist with raising my two young children, on top of missing them and being not within commuting distance to see them has finally added up. I had to ask my boss if he could find out if there is work back home if not, could I be laid off, if not then I must quit in order to go home I will. I was told that I would be quitting. I filed unemployment and was denied benefits for reason that "missing my family" was terms of denial. I found out that my employer has labeled me as being "laid of lack of work". I WAS LAID OFF THIS WHOLE TIME!!!!!!! WTF??? It has been over 2 months of claiming benefits and I have an appeal date. What are the chances during my hearing that if I just argue miscommunication and that I was really laid off, would be good enough terms for approval. Or did I just admit guilt claiming that I quit.... Will i still be denied even when my employer states i was laid off? Please, any help would be greatly appreciated as this hearing is coming up real soon. Should I also get an attorney?

Thank You for taking the time to read this!

Answer: It sounds like you quit because you wanted to go home? Was there work available for you in the USVI if you continued there?


Title: [CA] HOA hired contractors to come into my residence to perform work at an exorbitant rate without my permission

Question:
So here are the details :

Slab leak happens in the middle of the night, HOA comes in with contractors to investigate early in the morning.  I don't find out about this until the contractors are already there.  That's fine, diagnosis is okay.  I make it very clear to both the contractors and the HOA that I will locate my own workers for repair.  I have friends/family that are in this line of work so I know what kind of quality and pricing to expect.  I have this in text message.

The HOA guy that hired the contractors cannot be reached all of the following day.  The contractors come in and do the work.  Then the contractors text me something along the lines of "We finally talked to the HOA and it looks like the home owner will be responsible for all costs".

HOA guy still cannot be reached, he hasn't been to his office today.

Any recourse for this?  I feel like I shouldn't be responsible for this.  I received some other phone quotes and photographed their work and it looks like they are charging about 50-60% more than everyone else.  I'm feeling a bit extorted.

I have the HOA manual but it's a pdf scan of something that looks like it was printed on a napkin in 1987 so I'm trying to read it and find a section where this is relevant, but so far no luck.

Thanks!

Answer:
 IANAL

You might check to see if you're even responsible for a leak of pipes under the slab.  A CA appellate court has ruled that at least in some circumstances, depending on your docs, if you don't have sufficient access to pipes and things in your unit's walls and under the floor, you aren't responsible for their maintenance, the HOA is.  The case is Dover Village v. Jennison and concerned under the floor sewer laterals, IIRC.  Again, IIRC, the crux of the matter is that "exclusive use" common area is still common area, which the HOA must maintain.

The bad news is that, IIRC, in response to Dover Village, the CA legislature passed a law authorizing HOAs to transfer responsibility for those pipes back to unit owners.  But, they had to take affirmative action to do that.  I don't remember when the new law takes effect, but I don't think it has yet.

Sorry that I don't remember more details, hopefully this is enough to go on.  Or someone else will have better info and give you better guidance on whether the case might apply to you.Answer #2: Offer to pay market rate and see what they say. If they refuse keep the evidence you made a reasonable offer and see what happens.


Title: Restraining order- kicked out of my own house and gf's dad is staying there...

Question:
Basically me and my gf got in a pretty big blowout Thursday. She called the cops and I was arrested for domestic abuse and was taken to jail immediately. That morning I saw the judge and he issued me a restraining order until Dec. 8th. I have a 2 year old daughter but I was granted the rights to see her, without being in contact with my gf. Currently I'm living at a friend's place and haven't had a chance to get anything or go near my house without police present.
My father bought the house that we (me, her***, daughter, dogs) live in- my gf's father flew down from Michigan to stay at my house with her because he had heard about what happened. Earlier today he packed up some of my stuff and put them in my vehicle that was at the house and brought it over to my parents without notifying me. Is there any way I can legally get him out of my house?

***edited from he, sorry if that confuses anyone

Answer:
 It sounds like it's not your house, in which case the answer is "no." If your father owns the house, he can begin the process of ending your partner and her father's tenancies. However, if there's even the slightest indication he's doing so at your request, _you may be violating your restraining order_. If the house _is_ yours, you likely can't contact your girlfriend to give notice that you're ending her tenancy without risking violating the order.

It sucks to have to live elsewhere, but right now you don't have a lot of other good options. The point of a restraining order is to stop you from further interfering with the protected party - in this case, likely until any criminal charges due to the incident on Thursday are sorted out. Retaliating by having your father kick your girlfriend out puts you at risk of violating the order (which can lead to additional charges), and will likely damage your credibility before a judge.

Start looking for a place to stay medium-term while you work through the criminal charges. Those are very much your priority right now. Get an attorney, and talk to your attorney about arranging a police standby so that you can go back to your house and pick up the rest of your property. Your attorney can advise you further on whether it's possible to end your girlfriend's tenancy without putting yourself in jail.


Title: [WA, USA] Threw party at apartment rooftop with alcohol, underage. Landlord served 10 day notice to comply and $230 in cleaning fees

Question:
I threw a party on the rooftop of my apartment with approximately 50-60 people. I served alcohol and played music. The landlord has served me with a 10 day notice to comply for noise violations reported by tenants and includes an invoice for $180 of cleaning—3 hours of cleaning from 2 people "landlord and helper" at $30/hr. I know they didn't actually clean for that long. I and my roommate cleaned up the vast majority of the roof and when I went back up to see the $180 of cleaning, I saw no difference. Also included is a $50 charge for serving the ten day notice. This charge is in my lease, but I not sure if it's legal in Washington to even charge.

Listed in the notice to comply is the Seattle municipal code (25.08.505 and 25.08.500). The landlord gave me two warnings for noise. He also alleges that I left stains on the concrete from the beverages and there was evidence of smoking (ashes) on the roof (there is a notice saying no smoking). That being said, it is a roof open to anyone in the building and those ashes could be anyones. I thought there were cameras on the roof, but they seem to be gone now.

The larger issue is the alcohol. I called to owner to try to resolve the fees and reduce them as they didn't really have to clean for 6 person hours. He said, and I quote, "the charges are for wasting my time". He went on to ask my age (under 21, over 18) and tell me that I was serving alcohol illegally and without a license.

I was originally going to dispute the $230 in small claims court, but if he can counter sue me for additional damages or get me in trouble for the serving alcohol to minors and being underage myself, I'd obviously rather just pay the money. He told me on the phone to sue him in a very angry tone, telling me he'd sue too.

What should I do? Thanks r/legaladvice!

Answer:
 > What should I do?

You should pay your landlord. $180 isn't much cleaning. In small claims court, it wouldn't be hard to convince the judge that your party left that much mess.


Title: [California] How can I remove my name from a joint lease? Roommate is not willing to cooperate

Question:
As the title says, I am looking to remove my name from a joint lease I signed last year. It is now a month to month lease. My roommate will not cooperate with any negotiations to remove my legal obligations. I do not trust him to maintain the apartment with my name on the lease after I move out, so subletting is not an option.

Thank you in advance for the help!

Answer:
 You are chiefly worried about your legal relationship with/obligations to the landlord, not your roommate.

You should give your landlord a 30 day written notice that you will be ending your tenancy.  You do not need your roommate's permission to end your tenancy.

What goes on with your roommate at the apartment after your tenancy ends is between your roommate and your landlord.


Title: [Virginia] Can a store employee disclose purchases made by customers to personal contacts?

Question:
So today my roommate and her fiance went to a smoke shop and SHE purchased a detox drink, she smokes and is wanting to clean it out of her system, with her card. Unbeknownst to my roommate and her fiance(at the time), his ex wife's sister is an employee of the store.

According to him(as later told by the ex wife), when they came in she hid in the back room and watched them at the store. She overheard the purchase and sent a message to the ex wife saying that the fiance is doing drugs.

Now the ex wife is threatening to take custody of his son for untrue allegations. They went back to the store to speak with a manager, and as he was waiting to ask to see one, she comes storming out of the back yelling profanities and stating untrue personal facts- such as he doesn't pay child support, he's stalking her, threatening he should have never come to her job, ect- all the while the fiance is standing quietly waiting for the employee
Well the employee that was supposed to get a supervisor now denied him a manager or any contact information stating that he was "upsetting the employees" and "causing a scene".

____________________________________________________

This all started because the employee incorrectly disclosed a customer purchase to a family member. Aside from speaking to a manager, is there an legal recourse they can take for causing a threat to the child's custody?

Answer:
 Neither smoke shops or gas station attendants are regulated by any privacy statutes like HIPAA (medical) or FERPA (education). They are free to tell anyone they want about who bought what at their store.

Since they’re almost certainly at will employees, their boss can fire them for “violating the customers trust” or whatever; as a business owner it might be worth it to avoid any negative publicity. But there’s no *legal* reason why the boss would care.

People can threaten to take legal action all the time. The court isn’t going to modify a custody order without evidence.


Title: Ex father-in-law says I owe him money

Question: My divorce was finalized a few months ago. Today I received an email from my ex father in law outlining a few things he says I owe him for and asked that I send payment to him. The items are a family vacation and a few other events the whole family attended. My ex wife and I had verbally and informally agreed that we would pay him back. A due date was not agreed to. It was a “whenever you can” type of agreement.  What he’s asking me to pay is half of what we both agreed to pay him. None these items were in the divorce decree. The sum total is under 1K. He does not need the money. I believe this is petty and I’m not sure this is he limit of his pettiness. Am I obligated to pay in this situation? What is the best way for me to handle this?

Answer: I would just wait for him to sue you in small claims , because he sounds like a guy who definitely will and let the judge decide.


Title: I'm a felon

Question: I just turned 18 a month ago and I picked up 4 charges last night and have court in the morning. I have contributing to the delinquency of a minor(felony), criminal mischief(felony), menacing(felony), and disorderly conduct. What can I do before my court date at 8:30 tomorrow morning

Answer:
 If you picked up charges last night, it's just an arraignment hearing tomorrow. They will ask about your attorney, and if they find you can't afford one, you will be given a Public Defender.

That said, with three felonies, you're very likely to spend some time in the slammer.Answer #2: Look into attorneys


Title: NDA validity in right to work state

Question:
In a right to work state (AZ) will a non disclosure agreement/ non compete/ ect. remain valid when someone is terminated without cause? (Put in my two weeks notice, it was rejected and I was fired without cause. I am trying to find a way to leverage my last two weeks of pay, and someone suggested that this unceremonious firing may void the NDA.)

Any case law you can site would be immensely helpful.

Answer: While Arizona *is* a right-to-work state, you mean at-will. Right-to-work has to do with union membership, and nothing to do with your problem.


Title: Is it legal to kill and eat feral pigeons in the city?

Question: Assuming whatever weapon you were using was legal in the state you were in, and you didn't injure any other humans or damage any property in the process, would it be legal to just kill a city street pigeon and keep its corpse? Would it be legal for restaurants or food stands to sell meat from street pigeons? I'm just thinking about how there's this massive supply of perfectly edible meat scattered around every major US city that no one's tapping into. It seems ridiculous that there are homeless people starving while they're surrounded by swarms of delicious birds that everyone would thank them for getting rid of.

Answer: Pigeons are not perfectly edible. They're disease vectors and riddled with parasites. People don't eat pigeons for the same reason they don't eat rats, because even if you cook them through you're still probably going catch something, likely just from handling them.


Title: California: IncomeTax Board froze my accounts, stranding me abroad also the lady on the phone was a jerk for the record

Question:
Hello, friends. Tl;dr up front: I split up with my ex wife in 2014 in California, moved out of state and then out of country in 2016. We sold our jointly owned house in 2016 after the requisite assets battle, all proceeds went to her. Three days ago, my accounts and credit cards were suddenly frozen. When I contacted my bank, they said I have a tax lien against me from California for that house sale. I... need to be able to pay for things. With money. How the hell do I get out of this mess as quickly as possible?

Long version: so there I am, right? Sitting in Istanbul on an ad hoc weekend holiday. My card gets declined. That’s alright. It’s sudden out-of-pattern travel. I have a backup that has no travel use restrictions. Also declined. Check my online banking to figure out wtf and all of my accounts are zeros. What in the hell?

Call the bank, say CA put a lien against me and my accounts will be unusable until CA frees it.

Shit.

So there I am on a pre-booked dinner cruise on the Bosporus, middle of the night, calling the CA tax board. Like leaning over the railing hoping to Christ that the network doesn’t drop when we’re in the middle of the straight.

California income tax board lady is a total nightmare. Rude, assumes I know wtf she’s talking about. I just found out I have no money and it’s her fault and she’s asking me questions like I’m trying to evade her.

She finally explains that I was on the sale of a home in CA in 2016. Yes. I was.

Ex and I sold the house, which had both our names on the paperwork, in 2016. This was two years after we split up (2014) and I ended residence in CA.

I explain that none of the home proceeds went to me in the sale. The lady audibly rolls her eyes. “So you sold a house but didn’t get any money??” No, ex did. “I find that hard to believe.”

My efforts are in vain. This woman is obstinate beyond belief.

I finally get her to give me a list of documents she needs to clear the lien against me. She lists these:

- Sellers statement from the sale
- Evidence from escrow company that all proceeds were wired to ex-wife’s account.
- Taxes showing the sale was claimed by ex
- summary letter explaining situation for reviewer

I say thank you. I ask her if she can lift the lien temporarily, like 30 or 60 days to get the paperwork to her. She says no. Everything will remain frozen until the lien is paid or the review is complete which could take 4 to 6 weeks.

I am in full panic mode. I can’t not have access to capital while I live abroad.

My question is: was this even legal, if I never received notification of this action at any point? Should I pay the lien amount and hope they’ll refund me? Is there a god and does he hate me?

I sold my body at the airport for a ticket back to my current country of residence, but I have access to zero dollars until this is cleared. My mortgage payment will lapse. My phone service too. This is going to blow up my life no matter what. What should I be doing right now to contain the damage?

Thank you in advance, Reddit friends. I really need help.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 \> Should I pay the lien amount and hope they’ll refund me? \[...\] I have access to zero dollars until this is cleared.

Then how are you going to pay the lien amount?

You're in a tough spot. I would speak to the attorney who handled the sale. Was real estate withholding paid? Was there more than $250,000 in capital gains?

There are a lot of possibilities here, but the bottom line is that CA doesn't think it (presumably the FTB?) received what it was supposed to receive from the sale of the house. If an accident, this could be the fault of anyone: you, your ex, your attorney, your CPA, or California. If on purpose, it's probably your ex not wanting to pay all necessary taxes and fees to the state.

It was not the fault of the lady on the phone with the noisy eyes. And she's literally the best chance you have to resolving this. She told you \*exactly\* what you needed to do. That's not obstinate. She might go above and beyond for you, but no one's going to lift a lien temporarily or everyone would just do that and take out all their money, defeating the purpose of the lien. In any case start by speaking to everyone you can who was involved with the sale come Tuesday morning Pacific Time and good luck.


Title: Broke my Scaphoid in ‘17 Punching a Bar Arcade Game. Bone is still broke in ‘19 after surgery. Will be needing another surgery.

Question:
Back in Nov ‘17 I broke my Scaphoid bone by punching a bar punching bag arcade machine. I thought it was just a sprain. It never felt right so I mentioned this to my doctor who ordered x-rays in May ‘18. The X-ray came back as a fractured Scaphoid bone in my wrist. I scheduled surgery for Aug ‘18 and the surgeon put a pin in the bone along with bone graph in between the bone. I got a CT scan in Jan ‘19 that showed the bone not healing. The doctor order me a bone stimulator to wear to see if that would aid the healing process. Had a new CT scan April ‘19 which showed no healing/non-union of the fracture. I have gathered all my records and will now be seeing a new surgeon for what looks like another surgery attempt.

My questions regarding this situation.
1. Since now this looks like a long term injury would it be worth seeking legal action against the bar that I broke my bone at or the company that services the bar game?

2. Should I seek out a lawyer for any action relating to the surgery that failed to fix my complication?

3. Can I use the FAML Act instead of accrued sick time for the time off for my next Surgery? I ask this because I have already used a massive amount of normal sick time with the past surgery and multiple follow-up visits to the surgeon for post operation xrays, etc. This FAML Act is complicated and I don’t want to pursue it for this new surgery if obviously a second Scaphoid surgery wouldn’t be covered under it.

I can provide more detail if needed. Hopefully someone can help. I think the answer is going to be no to all three questions and I’ll end up just having to further use/exhaust my standard accrued sick time but I wanted to poll this subreddit. Thank you!
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer:
 >would it be worth seeking legal action against the bar that I broke my bone at or the company that services the bar game?

Was it defective in some way or did you just fail to punch properly?

>1. Should I seek out a lawyer for any action relating

Medical malpractice is super fact specific and outside of the scope of this sub. It's not a bad idea to consult a few attorneys; some offer free consultations.

>1. Can I use the FAML Act instead of accrued sick time for the time off for my next Surgery?

Do you mean FMLA? If so, this only ensures that you keep your job while on medical leave. It is unpaid time off.


Title: I resigned from my job last night, employer is asking for stuff (MD)

Question:
If you care to look at my post history for back story, feel free.  It's been a shit show.  TLDR for backstory:  It's a struggling small business.  I haven't been paid for 2 pay periods, about to be 3 on Friday.  Owner has  also been withholding taxes from our paychecks and has been using them for his personal use and for the business, not to pay taxes.  I don't want to get into all that on this post, as I have all my options already planned out.  Just wanted to give some back story.

I sent in my resignation last night.  He has asked for some documents related to projects I was working on as well as access to the email address I created for myself at work.  The documents I created were using my personal computer and are stored on my personal computer, as the owner asked me to use my computer because he didn't have one for me to use at the time.  The email address was also created by me, and it is a standard gmail account.  He does not have access to it, nor did he ever have access to it.  The initials of the company are in the name, but I created it so I could email customers and suppliers without using my personal email.  My personal email is the backup to the email I created for the job.  He does not have a domain name for company emails.

I did not sign a non-compete or a non-disclosure form.

I don't mind sending him this info, but I don't want to until I get my money, as I was working on some big projects that we actually had a good chance of getting which means a big commission for me.

Does he have any claim to those documents or my email?

&#x200B;

Thanks

Answer:
 Work products created at home are still work products, and still belong to your employer. Similarly, a work account is still a work account.

There's no benefit to you to keeping those things, and there's a good chance your former employer would win if they sued you over damages related to losing your work or not having access to the account for continuity reasons. Turn 'em over and focus your energy on your wage claim and IRS complaints.Answer #2: The wages you're owed and the return of company-owned accounts/documents are mutually exclusive things that generally cannot be made to depend on one another.

You created the accounts and documents as part of your employment, so therefore they belong to the employer.  It would be prudent to return those company-owned accounts and documents to the company.

If your employer is refusing to pay you for time you worked, then you can file a [wage claim](https://www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/wages/essclaimform.shtml) for what your employer is refusing to pay you.


Title: Landlord offered to make me a co-owner of property (CA)

Question:
Hey all,

Throwaway because you just never know.

         Just as the title says my landlord offered to put me as a co-owner of the property I have lived at for 5 years. Some background on the place; it’s a duplex that sits on just over 11 useable acres. The house isn’t anything special but the land more than makes up for what the home lacks. The landlord also owns the adjacent lot of around 9 acres.

     So here’s the deal he proposed; he is currently sorting out a second mortgage he has on my property and owes a little over 300k on his first mortgage. The second mortgage should be figured out by the end of the year and he has kept me in the loop throughout the process thus far. Once the second has been paid he wants me to become co-owner on the title but says the mortgage would still be in his name. (Is that right?)  I would be responsible for the mortgage ($2500 per month), property taxes ($3000 per year) and half of the up keep on the home. I would be free to rent the place out or stay here myself, as long as I keep up my end of the bargain. He is an older guy who was never married and has no kids. His extended family never visits or calls so him and I have become close. Also, he wants to will me his 9 acre lot that has two homes on it, after he passes, if this deal were to work out.

       Background on me; I am a 28 year old who recently went back to college to finish up my BS at a school about an hour and a half from the property I currently live at. I have been contemplating moving closer to school around the first of the year as I think the commute would just be too much, but I love where I live so it’s been a hard decision. I have no debts besides a car loan that will be paid off in July 2019, no kids, no wife. Just my dog and I. My school tuition ($25,000 per year)  is covered under a university scholarship.

     So I guess my first move would get my own appraiser and lawyer just to do my due diligence.  As well as having everything on paper. My questions for anyone who is kind enough to answer would be simply; what am I missing? Too good to be true?  What questions should I be asking? I have never been a landlord so that would be a learning curve and I know up-keep adds up quickly. The current landlord is very handy though and built the house himself 20 years ago. I trust the guy as much as you can trust anyone these days and can seem to find an angle that he is trying to work.

    Any insight on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. I apologize for any typos or grammar mistakes ahead of time. Thanks for taking the time to read!

Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 It sounds complicated, and it sounds like you're being offered a ridiculously good deal.

Which means it's probably illegal or fraudulent in some way.  He's hiding assets or wants a fall-guy when some other thing blows up on him.

I could of course  be wrong, which is why you will get everything in writing and run all the paperwork past a  real-estate attorney.  If it's not worth doing that, then it's not worth doing.  If your landlord complains about involving a 3rd party, that should be the last red flag you need to nope this deal into nopetown on the nope-train.


Title: [Texas] Is a power-of-attorney contract legal if signed with severe encephalopathy from liver failure?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 A POA is legal *IF* no one challenges it. But if you and your mother challenge it -- *and you likely have cause to do so* -- then it very well may be found to be invalid. But, you will need to get an attorney to challenge it.

Is your mother still married to your father?Answer #2: How did you find out? Have you read it , there are limited POAs for single transactions, which would make sense for an assistant to have.  Is it durable? Has it been recorded? What did the assistant do with it?  Simply handing the notarized  copy back to your mom may be enough to deal with it.


Title: Mortgage payment 35 days overdue - Default/Credit score down 100? How do I recourse (FREEDOM MORTGAGE)

Question:
I accidentally paid Student Loans instead of my Mortgage the Mortgage amount. The minute I got the next months bill (they did not contact me during this)

I got a Bill for Twice the Payment and Paid it immediately. I then after paying it in full got two more bills for the same amount and then after that a notice of default.

I called them and said it was an error on their end, and nothing would be done to affect my credit or standing. 2 days later my Credit went down 100 points. What can I do to A) SCREW FREEDOM MORTGAGE B) Redeem my credit.

I am in New Jersey and Freedom Mortgage is a joke, this is not the first time I've been at it with them.

Answer: So you paid your mortgage late and it was reported to your credit.   That's what happens. What's your legal question or what do you think they did that was wrong? There's no law saying they have to tell you when your payment is late.Answer #2: I'm confused. How are they the ones who screwed you, when you're the one who admittedly did not pay your mortgage?


Title: Found a dog, can I keep it?

Question:
I found a dog the other day. It's a beautiful, sweet and caring dog. Listens well. His nails are trimmed and he's in good shape. He had a collar without a name. He stayed indoors with me throughout the weekend. I took him to the vet to check for a chip but he doesn't have one. I've made a few "found dog" posts on some lost and found Facebook pages and even Craigslist. I'll be posting fliers tonight when I get home from work. I don't want anyone to claim him honestly. But I also don't want to steal anyone's family pet either. I've talked to the city and they said I should bring him into the shelter and report him as missing. I can leave the shelter when they're done with him and be his foster parents for 7 days. If no one claims him, and I adopt him, can any legal action be taken against me in the future?
Is there anything I am supposed to be doing other than what I've stated? I am in Florida.

Answer:
 In addition to what the other posters said, I'll tell you to not get your hopes up.  If the dog is well trained, is in good shape, nails trimmed, collar (despite not having a name), etc. etc. then odds are it's a family pet that someone will be looking for. Answer #2: There are a lot of answers here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/332iof/found_a_dog_6_weeks_ago_owner_saw_us_walking_her/


Title: [IL] Injured while traveling abroad, evacuated by helicopter, then held hostage in exchange for payment for rescue. Got out but am now being threatened to go back to country to court.

Question:
Throwaway. If you want me to expand on any details, let me know and I'd be happy to do so.

I was recently traveling in a country that blocks Reddit. To keep some identifying details vague, I was badly injured (requiring hospitalization) and needed a helicopter rescue. In this country, helicopters only rescue you if you pay upfront (the amount is substantial). Since it was hard to arrange via satellite phone, the process took awhile. Finally the tour guide agreed to pay on my behalf in order to receive medical attention. It took almost a week from the time of the injury for the helicopter to actually arrive. On day 3 of waiting, we were joined by 3 others - all armed - which started to make me a little nervous.

Once I got back to the town, I went straight to a hotel to gather my remaining things. Only I was kept in the room. Turns out, they did not want to let me leave the country until they had been reimbursed. As I did not have the amount in my account, my mother back in the U.S. offered to cover it.

I managed to get out of the hotel after 2 days, hopped a flight, and received hospitalization elsewhere in the country. Travel insurance paid to get me on an earlier flight out of the country.

Now that I am home, however, I and my mother are being threatened via FaceBook and email to get their money back. The tour guide wants to take me to court in his country to recoup the helicopter expenses. The reason why the money hasn't cleared from my mother's bank account is they thought it was fraud or a scam.

I just want them to stop messaging me. I am not going back to their country any time soon. I'd love to get them the money if possible but would also like to be left alone and left to recover. I am currently dealing with my health insurance and travel insurance companies and I believe they will cover all of it - maybe one of them can reimburse the tour guide on my behalf?

I guess my question is... can they actually sue me in this country and would I be forced to travel to stand trial?

Answer:
 They can sue you in their country.  They can get a judgment in their country.  They can seize any assets you have in their country, and they can issue a warrant for your arrest in their country.

The USA will not extradite you to a foreign country because of a civil dispute.  They *might* do so for a criminal matter, if they pursue it, but in your case it's really, really really unlikely.

You could still be arrested if you set foot in that country or in a country that *would* extradite for this sort of thing.


Title: Missed Court summons for moving violation but license plate number on ticket is wrong (NJ)

Question: Recently I got a moving violation for making a right turn at a STOP sign without stopping and was pulled over. I was given a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign. I recently noticed that I couldn't pay the ticket online and had a court summons instead , which I missed. I missed the court summons because the ticket had a very faint check next to court appearance required. I know it's not an excuse but that's my reason. 2nd I noticed that the ticket has my license plate number wrong by 1 digit. Is it possible to fight the ticket because of the wrong license plate number? What are the ramifications that I missed the court date by a few days? How should I go about this because I do not have a criminal record and I rather not have one over a moving violation.

Answer: You can't get out of a ticket because of a clerical error. It's hard to tell what might happen if you miss a court date, fines, warrants, suspended license? You'll have to call the clerk and ask.


Title: So, what happens if the Trump Justice Department goes full retard on marijuana enforcement?

Question:
This evening on my way home from work, I was listening to NPR.  They aired an interview with Gov. Hickenlooper (why can't I have a governor with a sweet name?  Ahem.) of Colorado where he discussed with the hosts the news that AG Sessions was reversing the Obama administration's 'live and let live' policy on marijuana.  Essentially, as I understand it, the policy they are reversing says that if you're abiding by the state laws on drugs, the Federal law enforcement departments will leave you alone and focus on the black market sellers of drugs, etc.

I then got to thinking about this and discussing with a buddy.  It's hard to imagine the US Attorney for Colorado, California, Washington, Massachusetts, etc. sending the DEA or FBI to nab every corner pot shop or cancer patient with a couple plants in the back of their house.  The random enforcement just would be too much paperwork and trying to go at the problem that way would be like trying to ~~stick your finger in the dike~~ play whack-a-mole on hard mode.  Just endless petty cases to clog up an already busy federal court system.

The Trump administration seems to do things from the top down, with 'shock and awe' type pronouncements and tactics. Admittedly, this hasn't gotten them very far when they have to work with Congress, but imagine the following scenario:

In a series of simultaneous raids, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, secretary of health, and a number of key staffers of the state of Coloforniwashisetts (see what I did there) are arrested and charged with...crimes under the RICO statute.  RICO, as I understand it, makes it a federal crime to conspire with others to break federal law.  The individuals in question have without a doubt done _exactly_ that with regard to federal law regarding marijuana.  So, the head is cut off the executive branch of state government.  The legislature receives a letter from the US Attorney that if it tries any funny business, they're next, and same to the state Supreme Court.  The budget and all assets of the state are seized as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, and the Feds basically say "look at me, I'm the governor now".

This would provoke all kinds of court filings and shenanigans, and it would end up in the supreme court for sure.

But a) could this happen?  and b) if it did, how would it play out in the Federal court system?

EDIT: stepped up my analogy game (was tired) per /u/TokyoJoekyo's request.

Answer:
 There's a good post by attorney Ken White of Popehat, who used to be a Federal prosecutor (AUSA), explaining just this:

https://www.popehat.com/2018/01/04/lawsplainer-attorney-general-sessions-threatened-action-on-marijuana/


Title: I paid half of a $3000 medical bill then stopped - now I'm being sued. Should I hire a lawyer?

Question:
For about a year I was on a payment plan to pay off a $3000 bill for a procedure.  I was making payments of approximately $150 per month but stopped making the payments due to what I felt was terrible patient care.

The debt was paid down to $1300 before I stopped making payments last July.  Now I am being sued for the $1300 + $400 in legal fees - due to appear in court on 9/5.

My friend (who is not a lawyer) advised me to plead my case before the judge - stating that I am almost guaranteed to get a favorable judgement.  I am not sure about this however; my thought is that if I can hire a lawyer for less than $1000 it might be worth it.  Should I hire a lawyer?  I live in Wisconsin.

Answer:
 Your friend is an idiot. And you handled this incorrectly by going back on your promise, stopping paying a bill unilaterally.

You could try your friend's approach and owe $1700. Or call them and work out a payment plan if they drop the case. A lawyer is going to cost you more than you are going to be happy with, but if you actually do go to court it's best to have one. Answer #2: >but stopped making the payments due to what I felt was terrible patient care.

That's not a valid reason to stop paying back a debt.

>stating that I am almost guaranteed to get a favorable judgement.

It depends on what you consider a "favorable judgement." If you're looking to not pay a dime more, don't count on that. You'll most likely get your wages garnished. Best case scenario, they will take a settlement for a little less than what you actually owe. But once lawyers and court come into the picture, sometimes you owe quite a bit more, cuz, you know, lawyers gotta get paid too.


Title: School security guard searching people's unlocked cars without their consent

Question: I go to a highschool in Oregon, USA. Like most highschools we have a parking lot where students will park their cars during school. We got a new security guard this year and he has been searching people's cars if they are unlocked without asking them. Is this legal? I know we are on school grounds and the cars are unlocked, but it's our cars that we own and he was not given consent. And he's not doing this because there was a complaint or anything. He just goes through all the cars in the parking lot and if yours is unlocked, he will go through it. This is really messed up, but idk if it's illegal and he can get fired for it. Note: the security guard is not a police officer, he is just some guy hired by the school

Answer: first.  just lock your cars.  second.  what does the school policy say?  by parking in their parking lot it's possible you've given consent for your car to be searched.Answer #2: No, that is not legal in, New Jersey v. T.L.O. The Supreme Court ruled that in schools searches must meet the bar of responsible suspicion, which is lower then probable cause that the applies to the public. However I can say with almost certainty that an unlocked car does not meet reasonable suspicion. Answer #3: Since this started with a new security guard, and he is not a police officer, is it possible he is just going through kids cars to steal things from them on his own?


Title: Can/should I sue if I was sexual harassed on the job?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Who would you sue in this situation, and why?


Title: Chose to get evicted , now what do i face.

Question:
 I moved into my first apartment , on the first of February. Well, that was a bad idea, I should've gotten a place with out gas heat, bad neighbors , and a landlord that doesn't help .
  So after last winter , seeing how much my gas bill was, having extremely rude neighbors who watched my every step out my house , and a land lord who wouldn't stop working on the top duplex at weird hours . I decided to ask her could she get me out of lease if I pay up my rent ( I  paid half of July rent ), could I get out of it . She said yes , but then served me for being late with rent , and added the August rent to the court case . And told me I may not get out of my lease

Long story short , I didn't go to my court case, she won by default , and I'm moving in two days .  Can she garnish my check , or taxes ?

Answer: Your credit will be affected and you now have an eviction on your record, which is going to make it incredibly difficult for you to rent again. I'm also pretty positive that yes, your wages can be garnished. You still owe the money for rent, and your lease may say that you are responsible for all their court costs associated with evicting you. Missing that court date was a very bad idea.


Title: Does the gender of a witness have any legal ramifications?

Question:
At an OB/GYN clinic, they have a rule that there has to be a female witness during any pelvic exam by a male provider. I understand that this policy may prevent lawsuits, or may make patients more comfortable, and that makes sense to me.

Today, multiple people insisted that it was required because female testimony holds more credibility than male testimony. Others said that was the law. That can't be true, right?

Answer:
 > Today, multiple people insisted that it was required because female testimony holds more credibility than male testimony. Others said that was the law. That can't be true, right?

No. No. No.

In OBGYN clinics, the reason why there is a female witness (even for female docs) is for the comfort of the patient (who, as these are OBGYN clinics are female). Having a witness to gynecologic exams are protection for both the doc and the patient. The patient then cannot claim afterward the doc did something he/she did not do, and the patient can be reassured that the doc is acting appropriately. Typically, female patients are more comfortable with female witnesses, so a female member of the staff is used.Answer #2: There is nothing written anywhere about who's testimony holds more credibility.

Determining credibility in a court case is up to the finder of fact (usually a jury).


Title: Wife wants a divorce to get SSI benefit for our daughter

Question:
(30m,27f|USA,GA)First of all I want to say that we are happily married couple and the divorce would be fore more for economic reasons. Our daughter was born last year. She was a preemie and was born with something called bilateral microphthalmia. This means that she would qualify as being legally blind and she can get SSI.

We have already tried applying before and reached some success when they got to my income. I make too much money for her to receive SSI. My wife is not able to work due to some health issues (she is working on getting SSDI) so our income has taken a hit. It would be nice to receive some extra cash to help with some of our daughter needs with her disability.

I know this may seem extreme but my wife was saying if we got a divorce then they wont count my income and our daughter could get the maximum benefit. Is this true?

I was reading that it if you were living together after the divorce they may not approve SSI because your still acting as a married couple.

What are some of the consequences of us doing this? could they ask for the money back if we remarried in the future? Just looking for some guidance on other things we can do that is not so extreme with divorce. -Thanks

Edit: Added Location

Answer:
 You would have to live separately. It won't be a huge problem, since you can live rent-free in prison for up to 15 years for SSI fraud.Answer #2: You'd likely then be court ordered to pay child support and you'd have to go through the whole splitting assets divorce process. You'd also need to live separately because if you still live together, they'll still count your income.

It will cost more than you'll get in SSI.

Edit: Oh and it's also fraud Answer #3: What's the point anyway? If your wife qualifies for SSDI, your daughter may be able to collect SSI as her dependent. I collect SSDI. My son gets 50% of what I do.Answer #4: The problem is because your daughter will be receiving federal and state benefits they will come after the bread winner for child and medical support payments. You are going to have to maintain two households. If you are your wifes landlord then she will have to pay you market based rent.
 I would speak with your lawyer before doing this. It doesn't make sense to receive $750 for your daughter then pay $1250 to the state in support payments.
Now if you make less then 133% of the poverty level in income this could work out for you.
Also as long as you two are legally divorced then there is no fraud involved unlike what others are saying. I have known couples that do this and it is totally legal.


Title: IL - Old friend is threatening to report things she gave me as stolen!!

Question:
This girl I was friends with for a brief amount of time gave me a bunch of stuff to help decorate my room. The friendship ended really badly, and even though it's been like a month, she contacted a mutual friend and said verbatim: "Okay, tell her that I want all the stuff I gave her back. Everything. From the furniture, to the decorations, all the way to the shit we picked up at the garage sale. Unless she wants it to be reported stolen."

I have the screenshot to prove she said this. She can't legally take it away if she gave it to me right? Even if she takes me to court, she herself said she gave it to me, I should just be able to show the message as proof right? What should I do?

Answer: She actually said the items were a gift in that text? Answer #2: keep a copy of the screenshot, but she has not even contacted you directly about this, so until she does i would do nothing


Title: Can anyone help me? Baby moved into my student housing apartment.

Question: I live in Florida in an off campus student housing complex that is affiliated with my university. It has 4 bedrooms and we all share the common living areas (living room, kitchen, etc.). Today I got home and found out I have a new room mate. No problem. Don't think much of it till I heard a baby laugh. I turn to look and there is a one year old standing in my kitchen. This is supposed to be student housing!!! Why is there a baby in here? I called the front office, and they told me that tenants did not have to inform them if they have babies or not and that they can't discriminate against those who do. Problem is, Im was in the process of finding someone to take over my lease as I will be moving out in about a month. No one in their right mind is going to want to move into an apartment with a kid in it. Babies cry, which is kinda distracting when you are trying to study. Is there anything I can do? I can't break the lease. The complex won't let me. I didn't move here to hear babies screaming/laughing/crying. Someone please help me!!!!

Answer:
 The Florida Fair Housing Act states that you can't evict a tenant due to familial status (being married, having kids, pregnant, etc.). Most universities have specific family housing for married students or students with kids, but it's not universal, and it's possible that housing simply wasn't available.

Keep searching for someone to take over your lease, and if you can't, find out what the penalty would be for breaking your lease. Maybe they'll cut you some slack due to the situation... it's the best you can hope for, unfortunately.


Title: Is Reddit overreaching with their new content policy?

Question:
Yesterday, Reddit [updated their user agreement](https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/8m2yr4/were_updating_our_user_agreement_and_privacy/).

What concerns me is Section 4. on the content users submit.
>When Your Content is created with or submitted to the Services, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, **irrevocable**, non-exclusive, transferable, and sublicensable license to use, copy, modify, adapt, prepare derivative works from, distribute, perform, and display Your Content and any name, username, voice, or likeness provided in connection with Your Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed.  This license includes the right for us to make Your Content available for syndication, broadcast, distribution, or publication by other companies, organizations, or individuals who partner with Reddit. You also agree that we may remove metadata associated with Your Content, and you irrevocably **waive any claims and assertions of moral rights** or attribution with respect to Your Content.
(Emphasis mine)

While I understand that most of it is required because of technical requirements and pretty standard in social media, the "irrevocable part seems weird, as well as the moral right waiver.
Does that mean that they could take any and all posts in /r/WritingPrompts (for example), make a compilation and sell it without credit or attribution?

Is that me misinterpreting the legalese, is this standard in the industry or are they overreaching a bit?

Answer:
 Yes, they could sell a bunch of prompts in writingprompts.

The reason for the removing of moral rights is probably because if they sell a video or picture they don't want to have to attribute it to user DickbuttUpYourAss, or user Hitlerdidnothingwrong

It is actually curious how this would work out though, because assuming the User agreement being updated because of the GDPR, this seems to clash with it. And might make all European personal data they process illegal.Answer #2: Moral rights has a pretty [specific meaning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights) in copyright law and it doesn't have much to do with morality as we might think about. It basically amounts to the right to control attribution and the work itself.


Title: $18.50 in tolls are now costing me an extra $910 in fees - didn't receive fee notices in the mail because I was traveling for work

Question:
Hi Legal Advice,

I bought my first car in mid-June. I drove it around a bit, and then I started traveling for work in late July. In other words, I wasn't home.

In early September, I was reminded by a friend about I-PASS and realized that I had never created an account or installed one onto my new car. I had always driven a car under my parents' name so I just didn't really think about it.

I didn't want to get screwed over on fees, so I made an account on their website. I ordered an I-PASS transponder and put in my card information so that it could charge me whenever I went through an I-PASS. However, I didn't see anything regarding any violations or fees. In fact, there was no record that I had even driven through an I-PASS in June/July. I figured that for now I was good, and maybe they were still processing the violations. I also figured that they would send me an e-mail or something now that they I had created an account with all my contact information.

Fast forward to today. I came home for the holidays, and I have letters from the Illinois Tollway.

Here's a table basically outlining what I owed when:

Original Unpaid Toll Fees | 10/06/2017 | 11/05/2017 | 12/21/2017
---|---|----|----
$18.50 | $148.50 | $278.50 | $928.50

In other words, I had 13 unpaid tolls. At first, it's a $10 fine per violation. Afterwards, there's a $20 fine per violation. After that, it's $70 per violation. They're also saying they'll suspend my driver's license soon. This added up quick, and I'm just being made aware of it now because I've been away from home, traveling for four months.

What are my options here? Am I screwed? I know I could have been a little more responsible here, but come on. $928.50 for this? I would have paid this ASAP if I had just known about it. I tried to see if I had fines by making an account on their website, and after I didn't see anything there, I figured that I was fine for now. I almost feel like I was misled. I don't understand how this is enough of my fault to where I owe near $1000. It's insane.

Answer:
 TL;DR "I drove through toll plazas without paying for them for 2 or 3 months.  I ignored them hoping for the best.  Turns out they want their money now, and **it's not fair**."Answer #2: Ignoring toll costs and not getting your mail is not their fault, so be nice when you call and ask them for a break.Answer #3: If they did notify you by sending you mail at your listed address but you just weren't there to receive them, that's not their fault. Get someone to handle your important mail while you're away.

Making an account on their site after the fact isn't going to necessarily connect prior violations anyway. You could have called them over the last four months and paid the fees before they incurred additional fines since you were well aware you went through the toll system without a pass.


Title: [US] What are legal reasons to own research chemicals that would be illegal for human consumption under the FAA?

Question:
Under the Federal Analogue Act, chemically similar substances to controlled substances are illegal when intended for human consumption.

If, for instance, one were to have blotter of an LSD analogue, could they simply say they like how the blotter looks, and purchased it as artwork?

Generally, websites selling such these substances will sell under the assumption that they are solely for lab testing and not for human consumption. When contacting the companies, could one say they are purchasing for the reason above?
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 >If, for instance, one were to have blotter of an LSD analogue, could they simply say they like how the blotter looks, and purchased it as artwork?

You could absolutely say that. You can say that to the police. You can say that to your lawyer. You can say that to the jury. And then you can say that to your cellmate in federal prison.


Title: [CA] My father is a danger to my family

Question:
Backstory: I’m 21 years old and still live at home with my mom, dad, younger sister, and grandmother in California. I recently found a very good paying job but it’s a 5 hour drive there and back. I make enough money to support myself while living on my own and taking care of my sister who is 15 but I’m afraid to move out and leave my mother and grandmother with my father.

My father has been an abusive alcoholic all my life and has been in and out of AA and sober living more times than I can remember. When i was younger he would beat my mother and myself in his alcohol induced rages. He has been to jail three times for domestic abuse all which lasted around one month (pathetic system). I even ended up in social service care for about a week when I was 12 but they released me back to my mother as long as she got a restraining order and they had supervised visits whenever he wanted to see me (another joke). My mother has gotten restraining orders but for some reason when the last one ended and she requested a new one it got denied because apparently his name is in the title of the house and it’s his right to be here. My mother has been the sole earner of the family my whole life and paid for the entirety of the house we live in on her own. I keep telling her to divorce him and kick him out but she is concerned with him taking half of everything she has worked so hard for especially her retirements fund. I forgot to mention he hasn’t had a job in 10 years or any assets. He lives off of doing small handyman jobs with friends and blows it on weed, alcohol, and painkillers the same night. Im afraid to leave home because of his abusive past. I feel like since I was 16 Ive been the only reason he hasn’t beat on my mom because he knows I would kill him before I let that happen again.

Question: Is there any way for my mom to divorce my father without handing over half of everything she’s worked so hard to gain? Is it possible to use the fact that he is abusive and an alcoholic who hasn’t paid any bills in the last 10 years against him so that she can keep her other half of assets. ((P.s the court system is rigged to shit. Someone who beats their child (10 in my case) for telling their mom they caught their father cheating should go away for years))

Answer:
 > Is there any way for my mom to divorce my father without handing over half of everything she’s worked so hard to gain? Is it possible to use the fact that he is abusive and an alcoholic who hasn’t paid any bills in the last 10 years against him so that she can keep her other half of assets.

Basically, the only one who can answer these questions is a divorce attorney familiar with your situation. So, you should encourage your mom to meet with a few to actually find out what is likely to happen if she gets a divorce. Also, if your dad has no money, he probably can't afford a divorce attorney, and if she can, she totally has an edge on him just based on that.


Title: I'm A Writer Whose Creative Work Is Being Stolen, PLEASE HELP!!!

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 It sounds like you were given a work-for-hire contract to act as a ghostwriter for this woman. You're likely owed some sort of money for the work you've done so far if they end up using any part of it, but how much is going to depend on a lot of specifics in the contract. You need an IP lawyer if they're refusing to pay at all and planning on using your work.

The relationship that woman has with the company isn't really any of your business, as you're not privy to the contract she has with them. There may be something illegal going on, but honestly, it's hard for me to tell without the contract at hand. And even if I did have the contract at hand, I'm not a copyright or contract lawyer myself.

You may be able to get a free consult with IP lawyer to find out if there's anyone willing to work on contingency, and who thinks you have a case. It's worth calling around to ask.


Title: $hit Stucco contractor put a lien against us! Florida

Question:
This will be a longgg story with all the details but I am hoping that someone with a little expertise in this subject will stumble across it. My problem in general is a worthless Stucco contractor who does not know what he is doing placing a lien against me and my house. He has missed all kinds of deadlines for filing paperwork like the NTO, does not have the required lien paragraph in our contract, did not finish the work, missed the deadline in the contract by almost three months now, failed to install corner Bead beneath the Stucco, did not seal around the windows and doors in some places.

The issue really started at the start of July when I pressed him on getting his stuff together and finish up the work. He failed to install corner bead as we agreed and of course the bands around windows, doors, and corners are out of square, not even in size, and the lines are anything but straight. As he has attempted to repair it twice after his original attempt I told him I would start ducking him for all the delays and issues he has caused me. After the he sent his guys out with two gallons of paint to cover the synthetic colored Stucco where they installed regular Stucco as it was cheaper to do. I told the his guys that it makes no sense to paint synthetic Stucco and told them to get the contractor out here to explain what he plans on doing. He called me a few days later and told me he wants to make a deal and will discount the rest of the amount due so we can walk our separate paths. I told him no and that I want it fixed and looking right. This was a $16500 contract to Stucco my house and to fix the problems all the window bands will have to be cut out and redone with corner bead as he originally promised. My goal is not to get out of paying but to get what I paid for. At this point I am withholding about $6900 as I am sure it would cost more than that to redo the work. I am working on estimates from other contractors.

July 28 he files his NTO, which per Fl statue has to be filed no later than 45 days after first day of work. Then Aug 14 he files a claim of lien which I had no idea he could even do as he is not state licensed. never received a bill or demand for payment, just received the claim of lien. I do not see how he was even able to file it in the first place but I am sure with all the paperwork mistakes, let alone the defective work, this lien can not be valid. Should I preemptively sue him or force him to take me to court? Is there another recourse as I really do not want to entangle myself in a lengthy legal battle. He I no longer answering his phone and is having another party who refuses to ID themselves call me and my wife. We have blocked that number already.

Answer: The answer here is to contact a real estate attorney.  Perhaps this can be ended with a strongly worded letter from him.  I dont know for sure as I am not an attorney.  Answer #2: You need to retain an attorney. If he is as incompetent and, more importantly, disorganized as you claim, it is unlikely to be that lengthy a battle.


Title: Roommate received inappropriate texts from 16 year old.

Question: Ok, this guy pays me rent so I'm nervous what will happen. So, he had a plenty of fish account and the age stated she was 20. They start texting and she sent him a nude. Then a few texts later she says she's really 16 . I know wtf. So then she repeatedly texts him super sexual stuff and he responds with stuff like "yeah that's illegal so nawh lol" and "we could chill but I won't fuck you" He's drunk so this game, I guess you could call it, goes on for a while when she gets aggressive saying she's not taking no for an answer then he goes "Listen, we can chill, but I'm not gonna promise you stuff will happen" which honestly is still inappropriate. Anyways conversation ends there and the next day gets a call from someone claiming to be her father saying "if we can't come to an understanding he will take it to the courts" that's when he freaked out , hung up the phone and came to me asking if I think he could get in trouble...I told him it sounded like a scam to get money from him or something , think about it, random girl on a dating website hits you up completely unprovoked, sends a nude then reveals she's underage...after that basically tries her hardest to get you to say something out of line or to agree to sexual activity, then half a day goes by with no communication and all of sudden her "dad" calls trying to come to an "understanding" ...It seemed to me like some sort of trap or scam....What do you all think?

Answer:
 It's a scam.  We get it here every week.  There is no girl, there is no father.  Block and move on.Answer #2: Jeez. This again?

Search this sub.

This is an EXTREMELY common scam that's posted at least once a week.


Title: New landlord won't give me physical receipts

Question:
Hello, I hope it's okay to post this here, I apologize for poor formatting as I'm on mobile.

Info:

Ohio

I rent a duplex for 500 a month, I pay utilities.

Backstory:

I have rented my place since the end of January 2018. My previous landlord (C) is in his 80s and has been looking to retire for almost a decade but was never able to pull the trigger till about june 2018. C surrendered all management to a 3rd part company (ST) where they took care of everything till he sold the place. After he announced the transition via mail my rent was due to them instead of him. C sold the property in February 2019, the new landlord (G) had me sign a new lease as mine expired that month. G did some questionable stuff as soon as he took over. He tried making me pay extra a month for the cat I've owned for over 10 years and pay for lawn services. My old lease had the renters in charge of lawn care and were allowed pets and the new drafted lease says pets are allowed but with heavy fees like carpet cleaning and the payment. After a month of fighting with him and getting C involved he dropped both fees but as a result I'm solely in charge of lawn care while the other Tennant pays a little more but doesnt lift a finger. I have no problem with the new arrangement, its basically like living here under C.

Problem:

With C and ST I would write a check and they would mail or hand me a physical check receipt when I pay rent. I would file it away in a box with other important documents. I file EVERYTHING, it protects me as a renter, bill payer, all that stuff. After the 2nd month of renting under G I told him I want physical receipts, he told me he doesn't do physical receipts but if I want email or texted ones he will do that. I made it very clear I want physical to I can file them away, he ignored my message and just doesn't send me anything in terms of receipts. This landlord has been a pain since day one and I feel like hes purposely doing this stuff so I can move and he can rent my place for more.

My question:

Is there any legal thing I can pursue to receive physical receipts?

Answer: You're being unreasonable. An emailed receipt is perfectly fine.


Title: Parents are facing debts and want to transfer property ownership to me to avoid repossession. [UK]

Question:
Hi. Using a throwaway, and am in Wales, UK.

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My mothers company has shut down after 2 decades of trading, but has not filed for bankruptcy due to the mark it leaves on her record. She currently faces multiple sources of debts and plans to set up payment plans with all of them. She is in knowledge of the fact that one day, if the situation worsened, hers and my fathers assets could be repossessed. Both my parents had the idea to transfer ownership of both homes currently in their name, to me (I'm currently 17) to avoid repossession if it ever came to that.

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Are there any legal repercussions they or I could face for transferring assets to avoid reposession, if it ever came to that, or is it better to keep the assets as they are?

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Answer: This would be a fraudulent transfer and will be unwound by the courts. I don't know enough about the British legal system to guess the odds of criminal charges.


Title: abrasions on my face during eyebrow waxing, should i sue?

Question: I went to my hair salon for  eyebrow waxing. The esthetician was scarping my face and it hurt like hell.  There are 5 or 6 small red abrasions on my face now as a result. I am concerned if they scar. Should i sue them?

Answer:
 Source: former salon manager.

Skin is sensitive. It's not uncommon for facial waxes to cause bumps or irritations on the skin that last for a day or two after the wax. You're putting a hot wax on your skin and pulling hairs out with it. It's going to cause some irritation. This also could be an allergic reaction to the wax, which is really common.

The salon probably had you sign something when you got the wax (if they know what they're doing) that mentioned these risks and asked you to sign to state that you understand the risks associated with waxing.

Without knowing that this is their fault - i.e. the wax was too hot, you got burned, the esthetician was untrained, etc, - there's not much anyone can say here. Could just be your body's reaction.