Title: Justice for an Alleged Child Molester?

Question:
Location: Ohio

My partner was molested and raped by his uncle over 20 years ago. He never told anyone at the time so no investigation was done. According to the police, because it happened so long ago and there is no longer any physical evidence, no judge is going to convict him so reporting it now won't actually do anything. This uncle was also accused by a minor female relative (possibly his own daughter?) of molesting her as well. An investigation was done but the family pressured the girl to recant her statement so the uncle wouldn't get in trouble. The girl did as she was told and no charges were brought against the uncle. He's been living his life scot-free for the past 20+ years.

Now the uncle has two new daughters, a toddler who's under 2 and a newborn baby. I see pictures of him and his daughters and I just know in my heart that he's going to start touching those girls too, if he hasn't already. And there is nothing I can do. I have told the girls' mother of the allegations so she could at least keep an eye out for anything suspicious, but she already knew and she's choosing to be with him and leave him unattended with their daughters anyway.

Legally speaking, is there any way to intervene to make sure his daughters are protected? I know I can't go to Child Services on a hunch, but considering his prior "alleged" history I feel the need to do something. I don't expect to get any justice for what he did to my partner and the other little girl, but if they won't put him in prison due to lack of evidence, surely there is at least something that can be done to make sure it never happens again?

Answer: You are stating a great many things as fact that could not possibly know to be fact. Were you around for any of this or are you getting it all through your partner?


Title: Is there any difference between being charged with terorrism and being charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism?

Question:
Specifically regarding what the prosecution has to prove and in relation to mens rea. In the US

Edit: As a follow up, is it possible for someone who was planning to commit a terrorist attack to be charged with Terrorism rather than conspiracy to commit terrorism?

Answer: Yes.  For one, they must satisfy the requirements of conspiracy to commit.  For the other, they do not.


Title: When does a man have to pay for child support?

Question: Are their any circumstances where a man can opt out of child support, like if he doesn't have a job of has over $100,000 in student debt? Also, does a minor have to pay child support?

Answer:
 >When does a man have to pay for child support?

When there is a court order for child support.

>When does **a man** ... pay for child support?

When his child needs support.


Title: Australia: Rear ended at traffic light, offending driver claims first car was unroadworthy?

Question:
Heya.  My friend in this story will be seeing a lawyer, but if there are any useful questions to ask, etc, guidance will be good.  Friend is very upset and nervous and needs some reassurance if it exists.

A few days ago my friend with no car insurance (yep, I know - legal in Aust but not a good idea) stopped for an orange light in Victoria, Australia, during daylight hours.  I was also in the car.  The car behind us did not, and my friend realised he was about to be rear-ended - I had time to realise myself, not sure why.  I had the odd vague impression that the car behind was _accelerating_, but I was not the driver so it isn't like I could see into the mirrors like my friend could.  We had come to a complete stop.  My friend lifted his foot from the brake pedal so as to minimise the shock, so his car would roll a bit when struck.

The other driver hit hard, taking out the rear lights of the car and bashing in the car boot, forcing my friend's car about a car length into the intersection.  My friend's car took the most damage, I imagine the other driver's car took some but it was not really visible externally.

The other driver lost his ever loving mind screaming at my friend, shouting for about ten minutes, and prevaricated about providing his details, so my friend had to endure a lot of abuse before getting them.  He provided his mobile phone number and company address, but nothing else.  I think that is the minimum required, but he demanded my friend's home address and refused to supply his own.  Friend has no company, so home address it was.

The other driver is claiming a range of things, the main one being that my friend's car was unroadworthy without brake lights and therefore my friend is at fault.  While the main brakelights on my friend's car were completely smashed by the time I saw them to check, I did confirm that the second set of lights above the main set WERE working about fifteen minutes later.

He is also claiming that my friend was abusive to him - I was actually IN the car on the phone to 000, so I can also confirm that while my friend did eventually say 'stop being aggressive' in an angry voice, and unfortunately called him an idiot towards the end, it was mostly one way with 'you stupid motherfucker' and worse things being screamed by the other guy, who also raised his fist.

In addition he has claimed that the lack of skid marks from my friend's car on the road meant that my friend deliberately stopped in the middle of the intersection.  Something vague was shouted about the tow-setup on my friend's car being designed to do damage to cars behind.  It mostly sounded to me like he was trying to flail around and find anything he could think of that meant it was not his fault.

The second driver has said that he will be telling his insurance that my friend had no brake lights, and that therefore my friend is at fault for the accident and must pay for repairs to his car.  He hit hard enough it probably needs some.  He is also going to claim my friend has been threatening him in SMS, which would probably require some proof like...threats sent in SMS.  He seems to be doubling down more and more and making up weirder stuff.

Is this as silly as it sounds?  Even if Mr. Anger Management Candidate manages to somehow convince someone my friend's car was unroadworthy before the bashing it took (it sure is now), he should be responsible for trying not to run a light gone orange if the car in front could stop safely?

(Inevitable 'did you contact police' bit - I phoned 000 at the scene, but they weren't interested in sending anyone out because 'traffic isn't blocked'.  Friend reported incident to police later, but the officer on duty refused to take a statement for something so minor, even though the yelling and fist shaking was reported.  Friend has possible whiplash (being treated), but I think is in a bit of shock over how disinterested the officials seem to be.  I have...whatever is too mild to be whiplash is - I'm stiff and sore, that's it.)

Tealdeer: Amazeballs Angry Dude rams uninsured car that stopped at orange light, claims stopped car did not not have brake lights and therefore is at fault.  Does this argument have any legal merit or is Amazeballs Angry Dude huffin' muffins?
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 Assuming your car is registered it has a valid certificate of roadworthyness attached, The only people who can take that away is vicroads (By not renewing your rego) or the police with a defect notice. Not some random guy on the road.

Judging by the fact that he hit the back of your car it seems pretty open and shut case. It doesn't matter if it was a red, orange or green light he hit the back of your car. So basically he was "following to close"  To brake in time.

He is either just an angry person (Happens in victoria in my last job i came across them all the time) Or just wants to make you at fault. He is at fault, He is at 100% fault. If the value is low enough you could sue him in small claims tribunal,

Even after all that he did give you his details? It's an offence to leave the scene of an accident without exchanging details with all people involved in the accident.


Title: I’m bartending my cousins wedding this weekend with my mom. She brought up a valid concern of who is responsible IF someone was ignorant enough to drive? The wedding is in Ohio. It’s an open bar and our only payment was going to be tips.

Answer: If you serve a drunk person you could be held liableAnswer #2: have your cousin pay for a 1 day liability insurance policy. Answer #3: You could be liable if you served an intoxicated person, just like if you were working at any other bar tending job.  Having a short term $1-2 million umbrella policy for the event wouldn’t be a bad idea


Title: [USA] Why are child model and jailbait sites allowed to exist for as long as they have?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Photographs of minors are only child pornography if they are deemed to be 'lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area'. If sites that are not deemed to be hosting images of this nature, it would be unlawful to take them offline, but they would be watched closely and any image that can be deemed to be of that nature would be used as cause to close down these sites very quickly and go after the site creators and admins.

They aren't, see r/jailbait. Popular sites are taken down, new ones pop up, you can't censor some without censoring all so you have to deal with the fact that some people are going to do things you don't like, and all you can do is ignore/report these people.


Title: Accused of harassment, threatened with legal action for pointing out errors of another employee and offering solutions

Question:
Ontario.

Last week I had a coworker confront me saying that I am harassing her, that she's had enough of my games, that she's considering legal action and I'm affecting her mental health. She didn't give me a chance to respond before storming out. Earlier, she had freaked out and began crying then carrying on in front of admin staff and within earshot of her manager that Sapphire0221 "is harassing me" and she wants a meeting with the owners. This was the result of receiving an email from the office manager reminding all admin that they need to check with Sapphire0221 re maintenance issues before making service calls.

The situation is that we recently brought in an office manager for the first time (small start-up company). Until now, my role has been unclearly defined by the owners. They give me their expectations for how things are to be run, I figure out the systems, implement them, and then follow up with 4 admin staff (one of whom is the coworker I mentioned).

Because the owners never wanted me responsible for managing admin, they essentially set me up for failure because the admin staff never took me seriously and i had no authority to enforce. Thus, many mistakes went on unnoticed and no one was held accountable. Now I'm responsible for training the office manager, so naturally I'm meeting with her every day and conveying those expectations and instructions.

The employee in question has been making a lot of mistakes - particularly a few that have put the company at risk (confidentiality breaches with intent to hide her actions). No one else seems to be seeing the danger in allowing this to continue.

So I have been pointing out the mistakes and offering solutions, writing protocols, etc. for the office manager to enforce. As a result, the coworker feels that i have been unfairly targeting her for months and has now threatened legal action. This is the first time she has brought it to my attention. Otherwise, she's been giving me the silent treatment since March. (And I've been ignoring that - as I've had enough of her emotional issues).

Any advice?

Answer: This is a workplace politics/personality issue not a legal issue.


Title: Sister Spent My Inheritance

Answer:
 >I do not have the money to seek out a lawyer. Would a simple contract stating that I lent her the money and she must

You shouldn't trust her again.

The fact that your mother did not have a will complicates matters even further.

At the very least, you should have a consultation with an attorney.  A 30 minute consultation is likely free.  There is a chance they will take contingency, so no upfront money.  You should, at the least, explore this option before you write it off.

Best of luck to you.Answer #2: How much money are we talking op? If your sister is broke, there's not much you can do as you'll waste more money suing than you'd likely be able to recover.Answer #3: You can prepare a declaration for her to sign.  List the facts and the amount owed.  After she signs, you can prepare a promissory note with terms.  55k, payable over x months, and x amount per month.

You should also have her agree to render this debt non-dischargeable in the declaration.  That way if she files bankruptcy down the road, you "might" be protected.   As soon as she gets a job, you could also as the court to garnish her wages.

What a sleazy thing to do.


Title: I rent a house in SLC Utah. My lease is up Dec. 30, 2018. I got a call today saying the old property management company is out and this new property management company is now taking over. Is my current lease still valid, or will they require a new signed lease and if so, am I required to sign?

Question: Hint: I want to get out of this lease if possible because I am in the process of buying a house.

Answer:
 Your current lease is still valid and enforceable from both sides.

The potential good news is it this new property management company *may* want everyone under their new leases and *may* allow you to break your lease without penalty.

Will largely depend on why the new management company was brought in, what their goals for the property are, any planned remodeling, etc.


Title: Question about potential sexual harassment during hiring process (US employer \ Canadian employee)

Question:
So my friend who is a freelancer was recently contacted by a well known porn site to do some free lance writing (non-erotic) for them.

Anyways during her assessment she was put through a gauntlet of personal questions including her sexual orientation, relationship status, porn viewing habits, if she had other nude material on the internet, and other intensely personal questions.

When this barrage of questions was finished she was told that she would be expected to perform a "Skype session" or send "Pictures that are not of the every day variety" to her interviewer. It was heavily implied that she would be expected to provide nudes or perform some kind of Skype show. It was explained to her that this was part of acclimating to the "company culture".

I've been able to verify this conversation by way of Skype logs and screen shots. What I've been unable to verify is whether or not all applicants are subjected to this process. I have suspicions she may be the victim of an employee abusing his positions.

Given the above information, and assuming hiring is US\Canadian (My friend is Canadian the potential hiring company is based in the US) is there any type of sexual harassment here? Or is it merely sleazy?

Answer: How did they get her information? Are you positive that it is the actual media corporation and not just a craigslist scam?


Title: [NV] Dad hasn't been paying rent, wants to kick me out

Question: Hey so for background, my boyfriend and I live in Nevada. We have a two bedroom apartment that we live in with his father. Now we made a deal with his father that we would pay the rent in full since he also lives in Texas, he just comes to Reno to work. The deal was that he was only supposed to stay with us one week out of the month each month for a year. This turned out to not be the case. He ended up staying with us 3 weeks out of a month at a time. Now we only agreed to pay the rent in full ($1,400/mo) since he said he was only going to be at the apartment for a week every month. And he agreed he would buy food for us as well as cook. (background on the cooking- he'd cook in bulk so he would only cook about twice a week and it was mostly chicken and rice the whole year.) He was also paying the utility bill which was an average of $150/mo. On Friday we told him we wouldn't be able to pay the rent in full anymore as it is too expensive and we only agreed to do so to help him out since he is my boyfriend's father and he would be living with us more often than not. Since he was staying with us a majority of the time we asked him to split the bills with us 3 ways so it would be fair to everyone. Long story short, he wasn't pleased and told us on Friday we need to get all of our stuff and get out. He has been yelling at us everyday since Friday to leave so last night we couldnt take it anymore and ended up getting a motel for the night. I have been looking at apartments and weekly motels since Friday but because of the holiday tomorrow I'm not having any luck so we can't move out as quickly as he'd like. Is this legal for him to kick us out without notice? Also, my boyfriend and his father's name is on the lease, mine is not.

Answer: if both your boyfriend and his father's names are on the lease his father cannot kick him out. They are both entitled to live in the apartment. Additionally, if your boyfriend leaves without getting permission to be removed from the lease from the Landlord, he is still responsible for rent and could be sued if his father does not pay.  You are likely considered a month to month to month tenant and would likely be entitled to 30 days notice, but if you aren't on the lease you probably are not entitled to continue living there and depending on what the lease says it may disallow additional people living there.


Title: My wife just gave her social security number to a possible scam! What can we do?

Question:
My wife has over $70,000 in student loan debt from an online school called South University. We live in NC. She was reached out to by a company called "Student Counseling Center" who told her that South Universities is no longer a credible school and that she could have her loans forgiven. Before she did any research on the school or company that reached out to her, she paid them $400 to get the ball rolling. They requested to look at her FASFA and asked her to create a temporary password so they could look at the information on their end. So she did. Boom! There is her student loan debt info, address, social security information, etc.

&#x200B;

We have filed a claim on the credit card used to pay the $400. I just want to know what else we can possibly do to protect her from identity theft down the road or anything else we may face?

Answer: Freeze her credit with the three major credit bureaus.


Title: Someone please help me through this.

Question:
I’m 15 (so please excuse the poor spelling, grammar, or formating if it is present). I live in Massachusetts (U.S.A.). My parents have been currently divorced for around 2 and a half years.

I live with my mom and I see my dad on the weekends.

I want to live with my dad (I have wanted to since a year and a half ago) and my mom literally does not care. She keeps trying to tell everyone (me, the courts, my brother who is now 18) that she cared for me my entire life. But I know for an absolute fact that she wasn’t there.

She was with plenty of different guys ever since I was 6 months old (my mom isn’t aware that I know this). She was still married to my dad. My dad knew about this but held onto hope that she’d be a better person eventually. Well, he was wrong.

I’ve talked to a probation officer about my desires to live with my dad and I explained this story to her:

I was five years old, and long story short I split my head open and I was bleeding from my head. My mother was RIGHT NEXT TO ME. My dad was at the store. Instead of bringing me to the hospital, my mom called my dad to do it. I confronted her about this and she said “I was too upset to do it.”

And now, for a question. Am I able to resist staying with my mother, even though (by the courts) I am under her custody, but I have a strong desire to live with my dad, since he was literally there for me ages 0-11 years old.

Answer:
 It may not feel fair (I am a divorced parent and a child of divorced parents() but at this point, it is not up to you. You and your parents need to abide by the court's decision; if you do not, your father could be held in contempt of court, which virtually guarantees that he will not get more parenting time.

The judge will probably ask your opinion in August but again, it is not your decision.

And.

> I’ve talked to a probation officer

Is there a reason why you have a probation officer in your life? This may matter.Answer #2: Your father should get the custody agreement changed. Your father can be arrested if you choose not to return.


Title: My employer is breaking child labor laws and I'm 16 and need help

Question:
**Background:**
I have worked at a pool in Tennessee for the past 3 summers beginning when I was 14. My first summer the aquatics director was very strict the pool was spotless no one was ever in any danger everyone was well trained and there were plenty of workers. Fast forward one year and we a new aquatics director has replaced the old one he is extremely nonchalant even when matters seem to be grave he is only there about 20 hours a week although his time clock may show more (He comes in at about 10 AM weekdays leaves for a few hours for "lunch" around noon and even if he does come back you'll be lucky if he stays for more than two hours before heading home, and as far as weekends are concerned you'd be lucky to see him at all.) And he didn't hire nearly enough guards for the summer leaving us severely understaffed. To my knowledge the only thing he does is payroll, we also have an assistant aquatics director who does everything he's there everyday when we open up at 5 AM he handles all of the inservices he makes all of the schedules and does a ton of cleaning.

**Issues:** last summer (2016) I had a very consistent schedule every weekday 6:15 AM to 2:30 PM (with no break) then 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM as a swim coach saturdays I worked 9:30 AM to 8:30 PM (again no break) this put me at about 60 hours a week, every week when I was 15. I still have all my emails as well as paychecks to prove this. This year is better I am capped at 40 hours a week however I still have many days where I work 10 to 12 hours a day and some days I even get a 30 minute break but not always. The biggest issue is that all of the new lifeguards are not deep water certified yet still guard in a deep pool. (Redcross cert. and standards) This is an enormous liability as this year I have been promoted to head gaurd and so not only am I liable when I'm in charge but also they aren't properly trained (this is not their fault they were trained by the new aquatics director and he said it was okay) I am afraid to speak up because I cannot afford to lose my job. The pool that I work at is part of a larger facility but I know that the new aquatics director and the director of the community center are very close so I don't want to lose my job that way either. I am just afraid something bad might happen and I would like to get him removed I realize that I might lose my job but I just want to be able to change things as well.

**Extra:** I am 16 and I don't know if a lawsuit is an option I don't think my parents would be for it but I Would still like some advice in that realm i.e. how much are lawyers can I hire one without my parents permission sincer we are dealing with child labor does it count as child abuse if I Want a lawyer and my parents do nothing?

Preemptive thank you I will add more information if that is helpful just ask.

Answer: Read the sidebar we don't do PMs on here.


Title: Cops have been breaking into my house for days and have been interrogating me without leaving my hosue

Question: What do I do about it? They won't let me see a lawyer.

Answer:
 I think you have mental health issues that need to be addressed.Answer #2: Give the cops your keyboard so that we can speak to them directly.Answer #3: If you can post on the Internet, you can call a lawyer.  It's quite easy to find an attorney to call, or even come by your home.

That said, I'm guessing that this is a mental issue rather than an issue of the violation of your rights.  Can you call a family member who can help?Answer #4: There's so little information here that nobody will be able to give you anything resembling a helpful answer.

Why are they there? What are they asking you? Have they detained you? Why haven't they brought you back to the police station? Have they left at all in the past 11 days? Did they put a monitoring system on you when they leave?

Or are you in need of psychiatric help?


Title: Thought it was a scammer but it wasn't, now in threat of being sued.

Question:
I have a small tech accessory company in New York, we do under $200 in sales a month.

We were contacted by a very large and well known magazine brand through email.
I thought they were scamming me, their prices were low, they were using a weird email, they were extremely aggressive, their phone lines didn't work, they refused a visit to their offices, etc...
I messed with them, it turns out they were real and printed my product in their magazine without final confirmation or a contract or anything signed by me. It should be mentioned that we received ZERO bump in sales during the entire month the magazine was out. I refused to pay saying that I never confirmed this, they pressured me and now they are now taking legal action. The bill is 3260 Pounds.

I put a pdf in the comments with more info.
Question: Will they actually go to court for this amount? They are a UK company that would have to hire recovery lawyers in the US.

TLDR: Thought I was being funny and scamming a scammer but actually it was all real. Now threat of being sued.

Answer:
 After a quick scan of your longer version it is pretty clear you authorized them to run the ad. So pay up.Answer #2: One more piece of advice, stop calling your business a "non profit" even in jest.  A non profit has legal implications of their own, and you are having enough trouble as is.Answer #3: "I messed with them"

What does that mean? Do you place some sort of order?


Title: Flight delayed by 4 hours am I entitled to a reimbursement?

Question: I'm travelling Venice to London and my flight got delayed by 4 hours. I know that for delays of more than 3 hours I should be entitled to a 250€ refund. So I asked the help desk and they told me that a plane which was supposed to fly to another airport broke down and they are rerouting my plane hence the delay. They are saying that this somehow constituted exceptional circumstances and so I'm no longer entitled to a refund. Is this true?

Answer:
 Airlines are known to claim exceptional circumstances even though this frequently is complete bullshit.

There are consumer agencies specialized in this with success rates of over 80% that operate on no cure no pay basis. Google around.


Title: Friend is being bullied by father because of Mistake on Bumble (PLEASE READ)

Question:
Hello all,

&#x200B;

I have a friend let call him Jim. Jim was chatting with this girl on bumble for a while lets just say things got sexual and pictures were sent. The only problem is that the girl Jim was talking to was underage. A day went past and he received a text from her and it was her father on her phone. He said that his niece (the girls cousin) saw the photos that were sent and brought them to his attention. The father called Jim on the phone and said that he has to pay for therapy classes for his niece to help her with the images she saw. The total is 2,156 dollars for the classes. Jim does not have this money of course and needs to pay installments. The sketchy part is that the father will only take green dot visas as payments and needs photos of the front and backs of the cards. Is there anything he can do? I really want to help but I do not have a legal background to tell him and he does not want to go to his parents about the situation and would rather pay him. Please,Please respond as this is a desperate situation.

Answer:
 It is a scam...a very common scam.

There is no daughter, and there is no father.Answer #2: It's a scam, girl does not exist, ignore


Title: Is it legal to allow someone to volunteer work to my startup?

Question:
I'm working on an app with some friends that we intend to generate money from. We intend to form an LLC prior to publishing this app. Recently, someone contacted us through Reddit wanting to contribute some graphic design work for free to help improve our app.

Is it legal for us to permit him to volunteer this work for us?

*My friends and I live in Oregon.

Answer: If you're going to start a business, you'll want to have an attorney.  And this is a question for said attorney.  Sure, he can sign documents stating that this is an internship or volunteer work, but if you don't have all of the little boxes checked off by the end of this, you could be in serious financial trouble.  Talk with your partners and see if they trusting attorneys to talk to or call the Oregon bar for a referral.  I'm not an lawyer, but my wife and i own four companies and are dealing with contract issues right now.  Its better to have an attorney before you need one.


Title: Beehives in community garden attacked by crazy neighbor [San Francisco, CA]

Question:
My wife is incredibly distraught, having just learned that her two beehives were attacked and knocked over by an angry neighbor who is known for violent outbursts at the local community garden.  We are traveling back from a wedding and someone at the garden just called her to tell her that both hives have been toppled over. This can often kill the hive, and she was already really concerned about the hives because this is their first year and they are especially weak as a result.

My wife is so upset. These honeybees are her pets. She calls them her little flying golden retrievers, she gives educational talks to kids with them, and tends to them nearly every day.  The man who attacked the bees has been threatening to do so for weeks, while the community garden coordinator has tried to calm him down. This man is known for angry outbursts at the garden and has done things like tear down structures he didn’t like, doing so while yelling and making a scene. My wife is afraid of him, and had been doing everything she could to deescalate the situation.

What are her options now? She’s going to file a police report as soon as she lands.  We are wondering if this might qualify as animal cruelty, and also thinking about getting a restraining order against this person. Her main concern is just trying to keep her pets and herself safe. Although she doesn’t want to think about this right now, I think that if the hives die she may need to think about suing this person for intentional infliction of emotional harm, as well as the significant costs of starting and maintaining these hives.

Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Op, see my posts buried in the comments. I'm a bee lawyer. She has a case for the property value and lost profits. Unlikely iied. She needs to mitigate her damages. Get expert valuation from established beekeepers.
Animal cruelty is criminal, and up to the prosecutor.  Costs of starting and maintaining may not be allowed- but the present replacement value would be allowed.
File police report.
Get the bees a new queen if needed asap and save the receipts. (She'll have a duty to mitigate damages.)Answer #2: Op, contact your local beekeeping organization to have a beekeeper or two come out and evaluate the hive and provide a written estimate for the value of the hives before the damage. If the hive is now queenless, I advise you purchase a new queen immediately to mitigate your damages. Save the receipts.Answer #3: This thread has mostly covered legal cost of bee replacement.  There's another issue here that hasn't gotten nearly enough attention:  is it possible to petition the garden officers to have the destructive man banned?  We don't know how he'll react to being sued, and the garden's best interests no doubt include banning someone so willing to intimidate others and destroy their property.

OP, have you begun any kind of formal request or petition regarding banning this guy?  If he's banned and he shows back up to cause more damage, it would become a criminal charge (trespassing), and would be grounds for restraining orders from the garden officers, as well as anyone whose property is damaged.

If he isn't banned, it may be feasible for the garden officers to be sued, as it's implied they have no issues with his destructive actions.

TLDR:  this guy needs to be banned from the garden, because Reasons.

(IANAL.)


Title: [Canada/Ontario] Tenant is listing my property on Airbnb + Hasn't paid bills in 5 months

Question:
A few months ago, I found out that my tenant is listing my property on Airbnb without my permission. In addition, my tenant has not paid the utility bills in the past five months (as agreed on in the lease).

As agreed upon from the lease, the tenant was to move out by the end of May. However, the tenant refused and demanded that we give a 60-day notice. So, we gave the tenant the notice and is to move out by the end of August. However, yesterday, the tenant told me that they would not move out as agreed upon.

I have tried contacting the tenant to try to talk this through. However, the tenant continuously refuses to. I've searched online about other landlords dealing with Airbnb and most landlords just get nothing out of them.

I am about to serve the tenant an eviction notice once the notice expires. But since the tenant told me that they refuse to leave, what should I do?

Toronto, Ontario

Answer:
 Ontario landlords can only evict tenants for certain reasons. Tenants do not have to move out when the lease ends, their lease converts to month to month, and it stays that way until they choose to leave.

The utility bill should not be your problem, that's between the tenant and the utility company.

Your only real recourse here is to try to make it about the unauthorized sublet. You could try filing an A2 with the LTB and see what happens: http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/documents/ltb/Landlord%20Applications%20&%20Instructions/A2.pdf

You need to adjust your attitude here. Generally speaking, your wish that your tenant leave is completely irrelevant, assuming that they are paying their rent, and there is nothing to talk through.

You might have some luck based on the AirBNB situation.


Title: Is there a limit to how long one parent can keep a child without the other parent's consent?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: The measures in place are the family court system. A parent could file an ex-parte motion to have the child returned immediately if they believed the child to be in danger. Or they could file a regular old parenting petition to set up a parenting plan (assuming parties were never married).


Title: [NY] Boyfriend in prison received child support demand from woman he's never heard of

Question:
This one is a mess.

My (gay) boyfriend is in federal prison.  This week he received a letter from the "New York State Child Support" department, demanding that he immediately pay $20,000+ in back child support.

There are more than a few issues with this.

* He's never heard of the woman listed.  It is a weird, unique name, definitely not one you would ever forget.
* He's never even been to New York.
* He's gay.  He's had sex with exactly ONE woman in his life, more than 13 years ago when he was 16.  And he had contact with her for years afterwards so he knows that she never had a kid.
* He's been in federal prison for the last 7 years (the letter didn't say how old the kid is).

The big issue is that they are making it nearly impossible for us to clear this up.  They will not talk to me AT ALL.  They insist that they can ONLY discuss this with him directly, or his lawyer.   Of course, he is in federal prison - he CAN'T call them directly.  The prison phone system will not let him call an automated phone system - there has to be a live person answering the phone (to hit "5" to accept the call).   And his calls are limited to 15 minutes, which is barely enough time to get through the on-hold time, let alone try to clear this mess up.

What are our options here?  I really don't want to have to hire a lawyer and spend thousands of dollars to try and clear up this completely bullshit claim.   But we are worried that if we don't, that it will turn in to some kind of "you didn't dispute it, so we automatically ruled against you", and when he gets out of prison in 2 years, they are going to start garnishing wages, etc.

Our suspicion is that she told the NY Child Support people what her baby daddy's name is, and that he is in prison, and they just looked his name up, chose one (or more) of the dozen or so listed (he has a fairly common name) and fired off a letter to him.  Or possibly to all of them.

Can they do anything without proving somehow that the kid is actually his?   Can they just take a woman's word that some random guy is her baby daddy?  What would happen if we just ignore this?

One thing I DID find out from my phone calls to them - they do NOT have his social security number.  All they have is his name.

**Edit/Update:**  Thanks for all of the advice.

He is going to try and get his counselor to help him make a call to the Child Support people to try and clear this up, or at least try to get more information.  However, our hopes are not high (even though this is exactly her job).  If you have seen "Orange is the New Black", the counselor Mr. Healy is a workaholic compared to the bf's counselor.   Today was Thursday, and she has only been in the office for a half a day so far this week, and she spent the entire time with her door shut, refusing to talk to any inmates.

If that doesn't work, he will try writing a letter to them and see what kind of results he gets from that.

In either case, he is going to tell them that he wants a paternity test.  His DNA is already on file (standard procedure when someone goes to fed. prison), so hopefully they can use that for the paternity test.

If all else fails, I guess we'll be forking over the money for a lawyer.  But hopefully it won't go that far.

Answer:
 If he got a letter from him, it stands to reason he can also send a letter back.  US Mail is a protected right for prisoners. Even if he doesn't have any money, he should be able to get stationery and stamps for legal purposes (which this should qualify)

Good luck.Answer #2: Your boyfriend should be able to get a low-cost attorney for this situation if he has financial hardship. There are many ways to prove a child isn't yours, including a paternity test. Was it a letter asking for voluntary or mandatory child support?Answer #3: Most prison environments have a legal library for prisoners handling their own appeals. Have him go there, ask if there is anyone that can help him write a letter, sometimes these are called legal writers, prisoners who are pretty much paralegals or more in their knowledge, write a letter to the court or jurisdiction handling the case, explain that this is absurd, why it can't be him, explain that prison makes it impossible to hire an attorney and limits communication and request a reply.

Answer #4: If OP had power of attorney for his boyfriend, would that enable OP to discuss the case w/ the state dept?


Title: Wife being sued, am I liable?

Question:
Before my wife and I met and got married she was involved in an accident and a DUI. I kinda knew about it but I was told her insurance took care of everything. Apparently they refuse to take care of the medical part and the party is suing her. We live in Texas, but we also signed a prenup and a separate property agreement (this is my second marriage and I wanted to protect myself in case it went south). Can they come after my income? Do I have an obligation to get her a lawyer? I want nothing to do with this, this wasn't my problem, but I am afraid these people will go after my income (which is significantly higher than hers).

Thanks for the help.

Answer:
 > Do I have an obligation to get her a lawyer? I want nothing to do with this, this wasn't my problem

Husband of the year material right here. When you marry somebody you marry the good the bad and the ugly. And yes if she's being sued she needs an attorney unless she is prepared to lose badly and any bank accounts with her name on them can be levied, including joint ones. In Texas her pay cannot be garnished for this but you may not always live in Texas.


Title: Disabled friend needs advice please

Question: Hi, i am seeking legal advice here in regards to a very unfortunate situation  my friend is in. She is 30 years old and disabled (completely  wheelchair bound with very limited mobility). Yesterday, her husband, whom was also disabled (he was an air force veteran) had an epileptic  attack, fell, and passed away. She is completely  distraught and is scared that they might take away her 2 year old son. Right now a family is taking care of her with assistance  from her health care provider that only goes for 8 hours but no ones knows if they'll  be able to care for her permanently  since its very hard  to carry her to change her and things like that. We live in south Texas and aren't  at all familiar  with laws in regards to things like this and she is terrified to go to the social security  office in case they try to take her son away. what can we expect to happen in a situation  like this and how can we make sure her son stays with her? Thank you very much for your time and consideration!

Answer:
 This is *so* much more than location specific. No one can have any idea. She needs to contact a social worker or some public outreach program and get professional assistance ASAP.

Have her contact the nearest United Way office. They'll know what channels to connect your friend to.


Title: $12,000 pay disparity

Question:
So... I moved recently from PA to the DC area and work in DC at a hospital. I am a Licensed independent clinical social worker with roughly 14 years of experience and 5 years as an LICSW. I found out by accident that one of my equals (a colleague with same job title, duties, same education, same years of experience, no extra qualifications that I don't have) makes $12,000 a year more. We started 2 months apart - she asked for the amount I actually make but was offered $12 grand more... I asked to negotiate and was told no negotiations. I actually have MORE experience in this particular job than she does along with other special qualifications/skills that she does not eg. I am certified in trauma treatment, I have management experience, I have supervised 6 people working towards clinical license.

Is there any recourse I have to address this HUGE discrepancy in pay? I was told by labor relations dept "the salaries are based on low, mid, high, and you can fall anywhere in those ranges depending on education, years of experience, license, job duties /title, and qualifications" she beat around the bush and was very cloudy/non transparent but said that it's highly plausible and to be expected that two people with SAME JOB DUTIES might make 12K different..... WTF?!?!?!

Answer: That's legal.  There's no requirement that people who do the same job be paid the same.  Unless you have reason or evidence to suggest that this disparity is on the basis of some protected characteristic like race, religion, or gender, there's not a lot to it


Title: 40+ phone calls

Question: it's been about a month since these scammers started calling my phone and overall i got around 45-50 calls. i never answer and i block every number but they just make new numbers and cal. 3-5 times in the span of 10 minutes it's so irritating that i even registered for the nation do not call and they still call. it's not just me there's a lot of other people with the same problem, they actually answered the phone and said it's an auto dial or one man said he got a person and asked to be on the do not call list and the scammer just laughed at him. i could change my number but i don't want to spend the money for them to just call the next number too. is this harassment and is there anything i can do about it?

Answer:
 Realistically there's very little you can do. They are scammers and almost certainly reside outside the US. This means that you're never going to find them to do anything to them. Answer #2: If you are using smart phone, there are apps like MrNumber that do a good job autoblocking scam calls. You will still see missed calls from them. Legally there is nothing to be done.Answer #3: The fact that *everyone* is having this problem heavily insinuates that there is not a lot anyone can do about it, and it's likely that a lot of these calls aren't even originating from within the United States, making it doubly hard for US law enforcement to find and shut them down.

Block the calls, and if it gets to be too much, change your phone number -- most providers will allow a customer to change their phone number a limited number of times for free.Answer #4: >is there anything i can do about it?

You don't know that all of the calls are from the same person/entity (and they most likely are not).  If the calls are all from the same caller ID number, then you can block calls from that caller ID number.  Otherwise, there's nothing that you can do.


Title: My (M29) sister (F28) left home with a stranger (M27?) that she met online yesterday afternoon to "fly to Connecticut". The phone number he provided my aunt was disconnected and we have no way to contact my sister.

Question:
I never thought I'd have to share something like this. I hope this is the right subreddit.

My sister is unable to drive. She has never had a job. She doesn't carry cell phone because she never wanted one. She also has no one that she socializes with aside from myself, my Mom, my Dad and my aunt (very small family). My parents always housed her, took care of her and even drove her to and from college. They also paid for everything for her (food, school). After graduating college she never ended up getting a a job, and would spend all day on a laptop that I gave to her. Despite all of us pushing her to be better, all she wanted to do was sit on her laptop all day. She would sleep when my parents were awake and she would wake up when they went to sleep. My sister would never leave the house unless it was to go down the street for a walk. She is incredibly sheltered. My parents love her so much despite her unwillingness to make positive changes.

Recently, she decided to move in with my aunt who lives 10 minutes away from my parents in a southeast Michigan suburb. My aunt works at a local hotel most days. She happily provided my sister with free food and housing.

Yesterday at 4pm, my aunt contacted my Dad to let him know that my sister had hopped into a cab with someone she met online to go to Connecticut. All we know is that his name is Ron and that he's originally from Peru. He did step out of the cab to greet my aunt. My aunt said he seemed nice. He is about 27 and thin (a contrast from my sis who is north of 250lbs at 5'2). My sister would not allow Ron to speak to my aunt. Ron offered to let my sister spend more time with my aunt before leaving but she refused. Ron also told my sister that they could come back in August to pick more stuff up, but my sister refused again saying that she hates her family and never wants to see us again. She took her money (she stored cash in her bedroom all her life- about $11k in savings), her ID and her social security card.

Before taking off in the cab together, Ron provided my aunt with his phone number. This number has since been disconnected.

I wish this could've happened in front of any family member aside from my aunt. She is incredibly naive and socially inept despite her well-wishes. My parents are devastated by the news.

My parents immediately went to the local police and filed a report. Unfortunately the police cannot do much since my sister is a grown adult and left willingly. We don't know the password to get into my sis's laptop.

We have no way to reach my sister at this time. We do not know where she is. All we care about is that she is safe but we have no way to know that she is. I am extremely worried that she made a choice that could have extreme consequences. I love her so much and I just want her to be safe.

Answer:
 Your sister has apparently decided to leave the rest of you and not have further contact with you.

This is her right.Answer #2: You have not actually asked a question. All you've done is told us a story. What are you trying to accomplish?Answer #3: There’s not much you can do if it seems she went it her own accord—she is an adult after all in spite of you and your family’s inability to see any aptitude in her.

If you came to us with all of this information about how she can’t seem to live on her own then maybe that’s why she left... you said so yourself she mentioned to your aunt how much she hates y’all. I mean if all my family thought of me was that I was incapable of taking care of myself then yeah I’d bounce too, ESPECIALLY if I was able to amass a bit of savings.

You can put out a missing person report but honestly the cops will probably tell you there’s not much you can do if she left on her own.Answer #4: Wait how does someone with no job make 11kAnswer #5: There's no legal issue I'm afraid. Your sister is an adult and decided to leave.


Title: Can my employer deduct the value of my stimulus check from my pay? [GA]

Question:
I know I'm in a pretty comfortable situation-- I work a trade, and I'm receiving pay for my normal 40 hour week while "working from home" which consists of me coming in maybe twice a week for like 5 hours on a case-by-case, and I understand that this alone might mean i can't do anything.

However, I do anticipate potentially having to work a full 40 hours at some point, and other employees, such as the sales and advertising departments, are still putting in full 40 hour weeks, and we've all been told multiple times that the value of our stimulus checks will be deducted from our pay.

Despite courts being closed, we are in a position to organize if we know we have a legal leg to stand on, but I don't know if we do.

Answer:
 Your employer is not obligated to pay you for time not worked.  If they've been doing so then they're reasonably entitled to decide *not* to do that for some amount of time consistent with the stimulus payment.

And doing so isn't so outrageous as it might seem.  If the employer is "carrying" your dead time, it's not completely insane that they might not "carry" the time the federal government carried for you.

But no.  They can't deduct from *earned pay* based on the stimulus.


Title: [Washington state] My brother got rear ended but the police and other driver's insurance assigned him 100% fault since he tested positive for weed and the other driver did not. He wasn't high but the police and insurance company took her word over his that he was driving recklessly, not her

Answer: He wasn't high and he tested positive for weed? For them he tested high.


Title: Refused refund on cancelled purchase

Question: [deleted]

Answer: What is their written return/refund policy?


Title: Creepy roommate getting creepier, would our landlord be able to evict him if it came down to it? Ontario

Question:
We live in a townhouse that's rented out by room. Right now it's 2 girls (including me) and 2 boys. One of the boys, Tom, was very flirty with the other girl, Kat right from the start. He's been flirty with both of us and very open talking about sexual stuff. At first we were putting up with it but it's gotten to the point that we feel it's inappropriate.

Some of the most notable things are:

When he was drunk he went to hug me goodbye and started humping, this was after he spent a good half hour telling me he was down to fuck if I wanted.

He's started opening the bathroom door without knocking while Kat is in her underwear, and commenting that if he caught her while getting out of the shower it'd be a bonus for him.

The other night he groped her while they were studying. She doesn't seem to want to make a big deal of that but it makes me super worried because her room has no lock and I'm not sure I can hear if she had to call for help since my rooms in the basement and theirs is on the second floor.

He also got Kat's friends snapchat and immediately sent her a message saying he wants to put his dick in her. Like almost exact words.

We plan on sitting him down and talking to him about his behavior, but if he doesn't change and we get too uncomfortable to live here, would we be able to ask our landlord to get rid of him, and would our landlord be able to evict him if he agreed with us? My logic is that he'd rather keep two people over the one guy that's driving people out.

It's worth mentioning that me and Kat have been living here over a year, Kat is over 2 years actually, while he has been there just over 3 months. Me and Kat no longer have a lease, it's month to month now. I don't think he's had any problem with rent, I've paid late but I've always paid and when I can I pay in advance, and Kat had a problem with a subletter not paying last summer but it eventually got sorted out and he didn't hold it against her. He's not a very hands on landlord but he's not a bad one.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Bare minimum Kat needs a lock on her door. Like tonight. Ask the landlord if she can put a locking door handle on her door, one with a key so she can at least be secure at night. As for whether the creep can be evicted it all depends on his lease. If he is also month to month the landlord can refuse to extend and give him notice to vacate.


Title: Got into an accident while driving UBER

Question:
Long story short:
I got into an accident while driving Uber, where I was at fault. My insurance company doesn’t know i drive Uber, so I would like to go through them to cover the losses.

Problem: I accidentally called Uber to let them know I got into an accident! They said they’ll call me back in a few days to get more details.

I don’t want to go through Uber because I know I won’t be reimbursed much at all. How do I make sure my insurance company doesn’t find out and get rid of Uber?

Any help appreciated, I’m so lost

Answer:
 Nobody on here is going to help you commit insurance fraud. Dont lie to your insurance. Answer #2: You accidentally did the right thing.  Uber provides insurance for you while you're working, and that is probably the *only* coverage you have that would apply to the accident you were in.  If you try to claim you were driving on your own time, that would be insurance fraud and you could be charged with a crime.  Don't do that.
Answer #3: Legaladvice is not here to help people commit insurance fraud. If you are caught you could face criminal charges. Answer #4: That's insurance fraud and highly illegal.


Title: Can OSHA effectively force the country back into lockdown?

Question: Is it within OSHA's purview to, for example, close all "non-essential" businesses, or ban indoor dining?

Answer: Put simply, no.  The real answer is much longer, but when it comes down to basics, no.


Title: [CA] Anyone familiar with tenant law?

Question: Edit

Answer: You have a hole in your house (presumably) and zero utilities. Under California law a house without hot and cold water and a working electrical system is de facto uninhabitable. I would look for a free consultation with a lawyer with experience in tenancy law. HE is the one who has violated the lease by not providing habitable housing. You may be able to sue him for that month of rent he collected despite the house being uninhabitable. You may also be able to sue him for the cost of finding a new place, including the cost of staying in a hotel and storing your stuff. There are some specific steps to follow before you up and leave and bring suit, so talk to a lawyer first.


Title: Consequences for almost hitting Meter Maid with your car.[NE]

Question:
Jesus Christ, this is weird. Quick summary: My pregnant wife almost hit a meter maid right after he gave her a ticket and now she's worried about legal repercussions.

With the pregnancy my wife's been finding herself swathed in sudden bursts of strong emotion, usually it's sadness (she cried vehemently during a trailer for the movie philomena). This is normal for pregnancy so I didn't worry but today she went to go get a decaf drink from her favorite coffee shop and they took a long time to make it so the money she put into the meter ran out and she got a ticket. She told me she cried very emphatically. Then while pulling out of her spot she almost hit the meter maid (who was a few cars ahead) but didn't. Apparently he started yelling at her which freaked her out and she drove away.

Now she is worried about being charged with something like attempted vehicular manslaughter (since he has her license # and she thinks he thinks she did it on purpose). IANAL but I don't think that's the case. This might be minor negligence since no one was hurt but I wanted to check in with a subreddit of lawyers to see what they think of the situation.
Thanks for your advice.

Resubmitted to include location.

Answer:
 * [Assault in the third degree](http://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=28-310)
* [Use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony](http://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=28-1205)
* [Reckless driving](http://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,213)

It's easy to think of this in terms of a momentary lapse of judgement, but it's a momentary lapse of judgement while in control of a couple thousand pounds of machinery and metal. Attacking someone with a weapon and with intent to harm them is a crime, not a civil matter, even if you miss.

Your wife would be well served to consult a criminal defence attorney sooner, not later. If the police come around to talk to her about it, she should _shut up_ and consult a lawyer immediately.

Edit: I initially read this as if she _had_ attempted to hit the meter maid, in a moment of pique. If it was an accident, reckless driving is much more likely than assault. What, if anything, she'll be charged with comes down to the details of the incident and what charges your prosecutors feel they can prove.


Title: Wife has been looking up divorce lawyers

Question: My wife has been talking about divorce for a few weeks now, and I got on her phone to look something up and seen where she was looking for local lawyers. My question is this, she is disabled, (wheelchair bound since birth) our house is solely in her name. All things in the house aside from a TV, and a bed was bought while being married with her medical trust when we bought the house and I remodeled. If she does go for a divorce, will I be liable to pay alimony? She's still a college student (about to start her master's)  and just got her first job, it's a virtual job and pays next to nothing. I work for her father, and I'm 4 hours away from my family so if divorce is real, I'm moving off and not sure what all I should start to prepare for.

Answer:
 OP, please provide location. Divorce laws and marital property vary from location to location. Also did you sign a pre-nup prior to your marriage? Answer #2: You positively CANNOT afford to get divorced without an attorney.  I know it seems expensive...  but if it saves you even a year of alimony, it's paid for itself.   And with a house in her name only, the issue of disability, etc - the opportunities to get unnecessarily screwed without a lawyer are myriad here.

It's going to be VERY important to have an attorney review the prenup - since you are barred from the medical trust, and the trust was used to purchase the house, there are arguments both directions - that this is a marital asset and should be part of the equitable division, or that it's excluded as 'trust money.'

Same with alimony - there are several reasons alimony can be ordered - your attorney will argue that you've supported her through a master's program because you were banking on her future earning potential, so she ought to owe YOU if anything, because she's been enriched at your expense.  But, of course, her attorney will argue that SHE has been living life anticipating your support through the end of the program and the start of her career, and needs support to bridge through until she is able to self-support.

The one thing that is practically certain from the facts you related - the situation is complex enough that if she is represented and you are not....  you will get screwed and hard.   Answer #3: You don’t need this sub-reddit, you need an actual attorney in this situation.


Title: Employer possibly underpaying?

Question:
Hey all! I serve at a local Mexican restaurant in Georgia. About a year ago our manager decided that one server would be scheduled each morning to come in at 9 am and sweep and mop the entire restaurant. During this time, that server is being paid 2.13. The other servers come in at 10:30 and we open up to customers at 11. It just doesn’t sit right with me that we are being paid a servers wage when we aren’t getting tables and working for tips during those two hours.

Thank you!!

Answer: This is legal in Georgia so long as you are not spending 20% or more of your shift doing non-tipped "side" work.


Title: My old land landlord is charging $1248.47 for damages to my old apartment but only has black and white pictures and bills as evidence. Does that meet the burden of proof?

Question:
Ill try to keep this brief.

I received an itemized list of charges:
817.56 replacement of carpet
95 Cleaning
235 repairs/damages re-surface sink counter
100.91 for final water bill.

I sent in a certified letter disputing the carpet damage since the only carpet damage were blue stains that came from a towel that I had to put down due to the roof that constantly leaked. I provided them with two emails showing that I had asked for the roof to be repaired. I said I would be willing to pay for the 95+100.91 since that seemed fair but that I would not pay to re-surface the counter or replace the carpet.

They sent back a letter today saying basically I still owe the full amount.

What is my recourse here should I go to small claims court? I am just worried about this effecting my credit score although they have made no mention of that yet. This is in Tampa FL
Thanks

Answer:
 Sue them in small claims court for your deposit after the deductions you agreed to (so, $104.09).

Note that any small claims advice will depend on your state which you have not specified. Some states allow you to recover your entire deposit or more depending on its rules (like holding your deposit in bad faith, etc).

So, we need your location.


Title: [FL] Former employer accidentally kept my insurance coverage active after we parted ways (15 months ago). Subsequent doctor visits billed against it and all claims were paid to those doctors. Can my former employer come after me for their mistake - either to demand reimbursement or anything else?

Question:
More specifically:
After my employment ended with the company (multi-million dollar international travel and leisure company), I received all the usual Cobra signup options in the mail and paid the crazy expensive rates until I got onto my wife's policy.
I had provided my doctors offices with each of the new insurances as I got them, but they kept billing the old insurance (usually under "coordination of benefits" where they'd make a claim to all insurers and whatever one doesn't pay 100% they'll claim against the other, etc.). I only just now realized this has been happening and notified my former employer via email.

I am worried that this might cause legal issues or issues regarding the former employer demanding reimbursement in some form, or the insurance companies coming back at me or my wife for some reason. (Example: When my wife put me on her policy, she told them that I had no other coverage.. which I believed I did not because I stopped paying Cobra)

Should I worry about anything? Should I seek a lawyer proactively? If so, what type of lawyer?

Answer:
 > I had provided my doctors offices with each of the new insurances as I got them, but they kept billing the old insurance

If that's the case, I can't imagine why you'd be liable for anything other than the doctors office coming back to you and saying "we're rebilling these to the correct insurance", which you'd be covered for anyway.


Title: Accused of sending "hate mail."

Question: A friend publicly online accused me of sending hate mail via regular mail. She alleges the letters contain accusations of illegal activity.  She said if she gets more letters, she'll call the cops on me.  What do I do to profess my innocence? Will the cops actually come to my house based on her accusations? What are my rights?   Edit: NY area.

Answer: Did you actually send her any mail?  If so, stop contacting her.  If not, block her and do not engage with her.  If she successfully establishes an unsubstantiated claim against you (meaning, she actually convinces law enforcement there is reason to investigate), do not speak to law enforcement without an attorney.


Title: Public urination misdemeanor in Ohio

Question: Was visiting my friend in Ohio this weekend and I was peeing on a tree after a night at the bars. I am 18 and I made a dumb mistake, will this go on my record? And if it does, is there any way to get it off?

Answer: 18 and a night at the bars, eh? I would suggest not bringing that up at your arraignment as an excuse.


Title: Mental health facility said they would pay hospital bills.

Question:
So I entered a mental health facility around 7 months ago. They said before they could help me that they had to send me to a hospital because I was having chest pains. I begged them not to make me go. But they said they couldn't help me unless I went. Two of the workers there reassured me at least 10 times that the facility would be paying the hospital bills. I asked them over and over again and they said I had nothing to worry about.

Now I'm getting a bill for $2700. I called them obviously confused asking what's going on. The guys response was "I don't know you'll have to call the hospital and set up a payment plan" and then said he would try to connect me with their client grievance officer. But I can't ever get a hold of her.  What do I do? Please help.

Answer: To cut to the chase:  Unless you have proof of that they promised to pay for your hospital bills in consideration for you going to the hospital, you will not have any practical recourse against the mental health facility.


Title: Using information gathered during time travel = insider trading?

Question:
So I'm watching this dumb ass movie where they build a time machine, someone uses it to win big in the stock market, then starts killing everyone involved blah blah blah.

Obviously there's no precedent for such a stupid premise, just curious about people's thoughts on this hypothetically from a legal perspective.

Do you think gaining stock information before the general public by time traveling would put you on the hook for insider trading? Or could it be argued that since there's no inside source, anyone *could* have gone to these ridiculous lengths to find tomorrow's prices with nothing but publicly available info?

Thanks for humoring me

Answer:
 Insider trading is doing trades with knowledge of nonpublic information. The best way to make money without falling foul of this law is simply to travel to the future, take note of the stock prices, then come back and invest early in the ones that'll gain the most. Another way would be to simply invest 1 second after the information is made public and jump the trend.Answer #2: It's not addressed anywhere in current law.

Certainly if time travel became possible, it would become **insanely** regulated.


Title: If I were to apply for an office job with required drug testing at a hospital that I regularly attend, would they be able to look at my hospital records and see that I have told my therapist and PCP that I am a daily drug user?

Question: I can pass the tests but I feel like they’ll find out somehow anyways. It’s just weed btw. I don’t think I can make it the rest of the way through med school without utilizing some relaxation lettuce. Hoping to get this healthcare-related job in the meantime for my resume. I’m sure it would violate hipaa for them to look at my files for this purpose, but do you think they could secretly do it anyways? It’s a large and very reputable hospital chain. Thanks!!

Answer:
 I doubt very much that HR has access to patient records.Answer #2: Most hospital records are electronic now. Typically, you need to log in to someone’s records using a unique login and it will automatically time out if it is not closed out. All log ins to the electronic chart are recorded, meaning they know who accessed it and when. If someone accesses a chart when they are not *directly* involved in the patients treatment, that is a violation of HIPAA.  I would say you’re pretty safe.Answer #3: HR department, no.

But when you have a meeting with employee health, they may be able to see records. If you fail the drug screen, you may lose your job offer. If you pass, don’t be surprised to have a few “random” drug screens here and there with your history.Answer #4: Absolutely not.  Even if your supervisor has access to medical records because of their job (ie, is a doctor or nurse), employee medical records are automatically flagged for any access.  Entries outside of the course of their clinical duties would lead to summary dismissal.

Psychiatric records are even more protected.  When I try to access therapy records for clinical use, it's often either impossible or through a dozen layers of hard stops and questions in the EMR.Answer #5: At the hospital I work at, you have to provide records of your vaccinations to Employee Health.  They aren't allowed to look in my medical record to see if I got a vaccination.

&#x200B;

All that to say:  if someone did find that in your medical record, it would be a major HIPAA violation.


Title: A close friend was expecting twins that were lost during pregnancy, can he get his money back on the slightly used minivan he JUST bought?

Question:
He lives in Illinois and purchased it from a dealership, are there any laws that will allow him to recoup his money? He made the purchase a week ago. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance
Topic:
Consumer Law

Answer: I'm terribly sorry for their loss but no there is no law which would compel the dealer to take it back for a full refund or any refund for that matter.Answer #2: Unless the dealer offered a return policy, there's no law that requires dealers to accept returns


Title: My son got suspended

Question: Son got a suspension notice for 10 days and we were told that three days later would have to attend a meeting. Today’s the day before the meeting and just this morning we got an email telling us that they revised the letter, changing it to 90 days. Is that legal by the education laws in my state, which is MA?

Answer: What did he do?Answer #2: 90 day suspension indicates that he's being accused of something quite serious. You should absolutely be pushing for a reschedule and get a lawyer to help you out.  Community service like cleaning up trash or the cafe are absolutely reasonable options to consider, although for a lot more than ten measly days.  Is there a safety concern from your son towards the other students? That is something you'll want to create a plan for to help appease any of those concerns.Answer #3: A 90 day suspension is effectively the same as being expelled.  You definitely need a lawyer.  This will go on your sons permanent record, impacting future life options.Answer #4: If you plan on fighting the suspension, you absolutely need to get a lawyer who specializes in education law. You won't be able to fight this yourself without legal help. Do not sign any papers tomorrow.Answer #5: 4 months ago you were a [senior in high school](https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comments/a44o7l/check_in_general_discussion_and_selfpromotion/ebdcoe3/?context=0).Answer #6: His suspension was changed to 90 days, or the the meeting was scheduled for 90 days later?


Title: Took a plea for statutory on the condition that I would only have to register while on probation. I've completed my probation but still haven't register. What can I do?

Question:
I was blackout drunk. The girl said nothing happened. Ex-father-in-law said he saw sex. I fought the case for a year. Assistant DA said they were going to bring in an expert to say the girl had "Stolkholm syndrome" and felt the need to defend me since she had a history of sexual abuse. Lawyer advised I take a plea for a county year and 5 years felony probation with the requirement that I "p.c. 290 register while on probation." That's a direct quote from my minute orders. I finished my probation, without incident and am still stuck on the registration. My lawyer called my charge a wobbler. This was all in California. Is there anything I can do?

Edit: title got screwed up. I meant to say that I've completed my probation but still HAVE TO register.

Answer: Talk to your lawyer.


Title: My moms tenants have not been paying their rent for nearly three months now, always promising to pay, but doing nothing. What can she do? She lives in Finland.

Question:
Sorry for any possible spelling mistakes or odd phrasing, English is not my native language!

So the tenants (a young couple) are living in the bottom floor of her house (my mom lives in the second floor in the two storey house) and they've been on a trip to Spain for the last month on a holiday and also allegedly working part time. My mom had given them a free month already before their trip, when they promised to pay soon when work came up, but they didn't pay before their trip and now when the other tenant came back he has made all kinds of excuses about not being able to pay or not having the time, despite numerous requests made by my mom. Her income is relatively largely dependent on the rent she gets, so this important. The tenants owe her currently about 1500 euros and they are soon due to pay the half of this months rent also.

Is there anything she can do to get her money or does she have the power to evict them? How should she go about getting her money back or do you have any tips with dealing with these sorts of people? Thank you for your responses.

Answer:
 In Finland (as in pretty much anywhere else), not paying rent is grounds for eviction. Your mom will have to get the eviction papers from the local District Court (Käräjäoikeus in Finnish), after which the Enforcement Office (Ulosottovirasto) deals with the eviction.

The best thing to do right now is to inform the tenants that if they are not going to pay the rent, she is going to file for eviction. A good thing to note is that the eviction process can take up to few months, so it is always better to find an agreement with the tenants if at all possible.


Title: [NC] Girlfriend forgot to remove ex from shared bank account, he took $20,000 leaving her basically penniless.

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice, my gf is in a real tough spot right now, figured I'd see if y'all had any ideas.

So my gf previously dated a total sleezebag of a dude -- never worked a day in his life, lived with his parents, fairly awful as a person.  My gf worked about 60 hours a week to support herself and her niece who was one year old.  She recently lost her job but had about 20k in savings to live off of while she was looking for a new one.  She went to go use her debit card and it declined.  Called the bank, they said she recently had a withdrawal of twenty thousand dollars from her account, leaving her with about 300 in her main bank account.

So I asked my gf about it, and she told me she totally forgot he was on the account.  She explained that when they were dating she convinced him to get a job, but he needed a bank and routing number for direct deposit so she let him use hers, made it a joint account and transferred money into a separate checking account whenever his money came in.  Last week he withdrew all the money in all her accounts and bought a new truck.

She's talking with the bank and they're investigating, it's a small bank so they're all hands on deck for it.  But we're not sure what they *can* do since he was technically on the account, even though not a dime of it was his.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Answer:
 In your title you said she is penniless, but then go on to say she can shrug off 20k because she had more saved up.

My thoughts...

1) op is lieing
2) gf is lieing to op

Have you met this girl?  Is she an online gf only?  Because this smells of a scam and if she is asking you for money....  please say no.Answer #2: She also needs to be able to prove how much of the 20000$ was hers. Usually with two people listed on a joint account and without needing both parties to sign for a withdrawal, the bank considers equal rights to the money for both parties. Get lawyer.


Title: Friend divorcing but can’t refinance house how to proceed

Question:
I have a friend that is about to file paperwork to divorce. His wife left him approximately six months ago and they jointly own a home together. When she left everything was in his name. He was forced to file bankruptcy as he couldn’t maintain the payments on the cars and a few other things but managed to keep the house out of it as there wasn’t any equity built up yet. He would like to keep the house obviously. Unfortunately because of the bankruptcy he cannot refinance in his name and he is unsure what or how to keep the house in the divorce. She took all of her things when she left and has not lived there throughout the separation. He is concerned that if it stays in their names she can come back years later and take the equity he builds up in the home as her name would stay on it. She has refused to sign the deed over as her name is still on the mortgage papers which is understandable. Because the bankruptcy cost him his savings he cannot afford a divorce lawyer. How does he go about this and protect himself so that it doesn’t come back to bite him later? Is there specific paperwork or wording? I’m sure other couples have dealt with this scenario before. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to this!

Edit - This is in Virginia

Answer:
 There is no legal advice you can get on how one gets to keep a house one cannot to pay for (being unable to get a mortgage indicates that he cannot pay for the house by himself).

Your friend will have to let the house go and find housing they can pay for.

My concern is that your friend will continue making payments for a few more years then lose the house anyway... they would be better off finding a place they can afford by themselves and start to pay that mortgage down.Answer #2: Have him ask the lender if they'll allow a novation instead of a refi. The qualifying is not as strict, if he can show he's been making the payments himself for at least 6 months they may do it - but the ex would have to cooperate and sign over the house to him (although she'd be assured to be taken off the loan at that point by the lender).

But if they won't allow that then he should sell the house now and rent for a while while rebuilding his credit. You can buy a house just a couple years out of BK so it's not the end of the world. The longer he drags it out being on the title with the ex, the longer it will be to recover from this. Answer #3: You said when she left everything was in his name, so...?


Title: Is it illegal to pass a car by going into the right hand lane from the left (USA)?

Question:
We were on the freeway, and the guy in front of me was going slow.  We were both in the left lane. There was space open in the  right hand lane, and my buddy says there is space there, pass him! I said no, you only pass to the left.  Now there is a bet running.

I'm wondering if at base it is illegal to pass in the right hand lane.  I think there are special circumstances that allow you to pass on the right (emergency vehicles, obstacles in the road), but we are both gathering evidence to prove our case.  I'm hoping that I can say that yes it is illegal to pass on the right unless certain requirements are met... which would mean I'm right and $100 bucks richer.

Specifically, we are in Virginia, and it's been hard for us to find the answer to either side.  Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 Code of Vigrinia [46.2-841](http://law.justia.com/codes/virginia/2006/toc4602000/46.2-841.html).

>2006 Code of Virginia § 46.2-841 - When overtaking vehicle may pass on right

>46.2-841. When overtaking vehicle may pass on right.

>A. The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass to the right of anothervehicle only:

>1. When the overtaken vehicle is making or about to make a left turn, and itsdriver has given the required signal;

>2. On a highway with unobstructed pavement, not occupied by parked vehicles,of sufficient width for two or more lines of moving vehicles in eachdirection;

>3. On a one-way street or on any one-way roadway when the roadway is freefrom obstructions and of sufficient width for two or more lines of movingvehicles.

>B. The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass another vehicle on the rightonly under conditions permitting such movement in safety. Except wheredriving on paved shoulders is permitted by lawfully placed signs, no suchmovement shall be made by driving on the shoulder of the highway or off thepavement or main traveled portion of the roadway.


Title: Threatening to be brought to court by former renters.

Question:
My mom recently allowed a family to move into two of her spare bedrooms in her house under the verbal agreement that they would pay a certain amount each month in rent. After several months, this family decided, on their own, to move out and take their immediate belongings with them. They left our shed full of their belongings that they stored there when they moved in and neglected to remove when leaving our house. They had owed my mom one month's rent by this time. They are now threatening to go to court to somehow get their things back when previously it was stated that they could get their things back when they paid the money that they owe my mom. I believe it might be an important detail that my mother did not evict them from the house and that they left completely by choice.

They also brought up that my mom had their car towed from her property, since it was parked illegally on the side of the road outside of her house. They are threatening to bring this up since they lost the car as a result of not being able to pay the towing and storage fees.

Thanks for any help in advance! It is really appreciated.

Location- Massachusetts

Answer:
 There's no much that can be done until/unless the former tenants actually do take your mother to small claims court.

If they do, your mother needs to provide proof of their abandonment of the property, as well as her attempts to return their property to them.


Title: My aunt built an extension on my grandmothers house and moved out. Now she thinks she has a right to rent money.

Question: My aunt build an extension on my grandmothers house and after leaving she has been getting half the rent of the new people living there (her kids). My aunt decided she no longer wants people to live in the extension and has kicked the people out. She has a lawyer saying shes in the right because she payed for the extension. My aunt is not on the deed of the house or on the taxes for the property. I'm wondering if she has a right to control the extension or even get rent from a person living there. By rent I mean half of the utilities goes to my grandmother and half go to my aunt for allowing her kids to live in the extension. Her location is New York.

Answer:
 So she's asserting ownership on a portion of her mother's house?  And she's using that to try to evict _her own children_? Your aunt sounds fun.

I assume there was never an explicit written agreement between your aunt & grandmother? If not, then a verbal agreement? Such a thing would be difficult to enforce, but it might be enforceable if it were an established practice.

And what's with this 'rent'? How do 'utilities' go to anyone other than, y'know, the utility company?

Answer #2: Was there any agreement in writing about the extension? Is your aunt on the title to the property?

If the answer to both questions is "no," then your aunt can likely go hang. If she was a tenant, fixed structures stay with the property and transfer to the landlord unless there's some other agreement in place. In most jurisdictions I can think of, the most she'd be entitled to _might_ be some of the value of the extension back, under an unjust enrichment theory, but if she built it without consulting anyone then it's her loss.

Your grandmother should check with a real estate attorney, but she's likely under no legal obligation to respect your aunt's wishes with regards to the extension.


Title: Former boss told EDD I quit even though he fired me verbally. I have an appeal meeting this week. What can I do? (Ca)

Question:
Worked under CEO of IT consulting company (comp.A) as Administrative Assistant to comp.A (not ceo). 1 month in, he asked me to work for an airline (not owned by him, and headquartered in Nigeria, but has an office location at same address as compA). Given duties of purchasing parts from Boeing, filing customs, & overseeing contracts to acquire new aircraft. Definitely NOT mentioned in my employment contract (basic contract with salary, benefits, & 5 days vacation for the first 3 years, then increases, but no mention of job duties or anything related to company B) New work doesn't allow me time to continue my role with compA (only being paid by compA but doing 90% work for compB). 3 months in & I find out that's why he hired me. Not to actually do any work for compA, he just didn't want to pay a fair compensation for compB because he has no authority to do so since the company is in no way affiliated with his. I ask for a raise to accommodate the new workload & asked to be made an employee for compB so I can keep my hours, & job responsibilities separate. I'm told to resign or keep job as is. Also, he explicitly stated,  "You're not doing me any favors by taking on the extra work." (Is it considered extra work if he, as my boss, asked me to do it?) I arrive the next day and state I'm going back to my original role I was hired for and won't proceed with CompB since I was not needed for that as it was extra work, and he "agreed that i wasn't doing him any favors and didn't want a personal assistant per my interview. "

(I also recently found out that the owner of the airline is a notorious crime boss in Nigeria known for smuggling using his airline and while I only recently found that out, I didn't know it at the time I was fired. I was just upset I was bait and switched but would have just quit if I knew my boss was close to him)

I was then fired and he told EDD I quit and never paid my vacation days when I left. I was disqualified for the weeks of unemployment while I was searching for the job I have now. Can I fight this? Is there anyway to report him for working with the crime boss knowingly? Or for bait and switching me?

Edit: added info.

Answer:
 Based on the answers in this thread, I want to ask:

Could my Mr. Manager at Bob's Grocer ask me to go stock shelves on my shift at Jim's Convenience, where they are also a manager?

How do I know if I'm being legally contracted out? Is it even my concern?Answer #2: Bait and switch isn’t a thing with employment, you typically have to do whatever tasks your employer assigns you to do.  Furthermore, simply working with someone who also does illegal activity isn’t illegal itself if the activity you are engaged in is legal.  Now as to the unemployment, you can of course appeal that.


Title: Company just notified me that they are reducing my salary in 2 months...

Question: Good afternoon everyone. I was just told from my boss' boss that they are going to reduce my salary by $20k in less than 2 months. He told me that this has nothing to do with my performance or anything else. I was just going to take it and find something else until someone that I was talking to about it asked if that is even legal. This is where you all can hopefully help me out. Clearly I will seek a lawyer if I have a leg to stand on but I don't even know if I have that yet. I have an employment contract with my employer stating the salary that I am to be paid. It also states that employment is "At Will" with them if that makes any difference. Thank you all in advance for your help!

Answer:
 If your employment is at-will, you don't have a contract.

They can change your rate of pay. Depending on your location, it may be considered constructive dismissal. If it is, you can quit and file for unemployment.


Title: [Ontario, Canada]I paid for negative reviews on facebook for a local business(petty I know). They messaged me to informally let me know they will take action against me. Can they?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >I bough a bunch of dislikes

You paid people to libel a business. Sure, you could be sued for defamation.

Also just for fun, read this https://www.thestar.com/life/2012/11/07/ottawa_restaurateur_is_found_guilty_of_defaming_citizen_reviewer.html


Title: I took an employee off the schedule without calling him. We do not have a schedule list, you just clock in ever since he started working here 5 months ago he has worked the same 3 days a week and same hours. I made him go home after 40 mins of work. Do I have to pay him ?

Question:
He is pissed at me for "wasting his time" he is 19+ I am late 30s. He said its my fault he had to waste $10 in Uber from having to leave early because he didn't even make $10 today as I made him go home after 40 mins when he was supposed to be there longer. Legally I do not have to call him and tell him we took him off schedule and when he comes I can have him "work" for 5 mins then send home ?

Tennessee

Answer: You have to pay him for 40 minutes (or however long he was present and ready to work).


Title: Found a prepaid mastercard giftcard, can i use it?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: It doesn't belong to you. The law is not "finders keepers". Return it to customer service.Answer #2: Didn't we have a question about a guy who got arrested when they reviewed tapes and saw guy picked up a gift card and kept it? He swore he planned on returning it? OP, I would search this sub for questions about giftcards.


Title: National big box store/pharmacy mistakenly banned me because their employee thought I was someone else. My doppelgänger was doing shady prescription stuff and I was banned. [CA, USA]

Question:
For privacy I will refer to this large, national Pharmacy/Combo Store as PCS Pharmacy.

I just moved across country to a small town in the California. I was due for a prescription refill today, so I called my doctor and they sent a prescription to a PCS Pharmacy **I have never been to this store before**, but it is by far the closest pharmacy.

I drive to the PCS, walk through the store to the back where the Pharmacy is located and give them my info, they scan my ID, I pay them and they give me my prescription. Very normal transaction, except it takes them a while to find my prescription. Nbd, it happens.

As I am headed towards the door, I hear - loud “Excuse me sir,” so I turn around and a manager (wearing a tie and slacks) and an employee are standing side by side walking towards me in an aggressive manor. I assume they want to check my receipt so I smile begin to show them my receipt and medication which is still in my hands, when things got weird.

*Condensing dialogue for clarity/length*

Manager- “You need to leave our store immediately and never come back.”

Me, baffled- “Excuse me? I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Manager- “This is about the incident from the last time you were here.”

Me- “Huh? There’s been a mistake- I’ve never been here before. This prescription was called in today. I can show you at the pharmacy, they have everything on record. They will clear this up.”

Employee- “I saw you here with that girl a few days ago, we wouldn’t refill your prescription and you said you’d be back. Well here you are. Don’t come back again.”

Me, beyond confused, “What are you talking about- I swear to you I’ve never been here before in my life.” Which is true.

The employee had a flashed look of bewilderment/confusion, as he realized he made a mistake, however he doubled down and his manager backed him up. This exchange went on as I was leaving the store. They were getting louder and the entire store was staring at us. I continued to assert I was never there.

Then they accused me of getting a prescription that “wasn’t for me,” and committing “prescription fraud.” I kept walking and explaining “I’ve never been here!” But they wouldn’t budge.

This was humiliating, as the entire store was watching, I’m the new guy in town, and now the crowded store thinks I’m into shady stuff with prescriptions. More importantly PCS has my refills.

I would like to escalate this up corporate as far as I can. Any advice on how to do so is appreciated.

TLDR: someone who looks just like me tried to commit prescription fraud at a National pharmacy/store chain, and I was kicked out and banned because they thought it was me. This was my first time in the store, definitely not me.

Answer:
 The store can ban you. They may be doing so for the wrong reason but it's private property and they can restrict access for stupid or wrong reasons if they so choose.

You should have your prescription transferred to a pharmacy that hasn't banned you.

You can contact the corporate office and see if they'll step in on your behalf.


Title: What can I do If my husband keeps all the money from me?

Question:
I’m really in a bad situation and I’m at my wits end. I’m a stay at home mom , I haven’t worked in over 10 years except a little at home business I run make things here and there. My husband makes a good amount of money and doesn’t share anything with me but $300 a week he gives me. He’s totally financially abusive and is Really overly cheap about everything. He won’t move us into a bigger place, we’ve lived in a 600 sq ft Granny flat for 10 years. We have 2 kids. He has money saved that he keeps from us and well enough to get a bigger house to rent or buy. He won’t share anything about what he actually makes it’s really bad. I’m so stressed and honestly just at such a low point I don’t know what to do.

I have no job skills, I haven’t worked in over 10 years my confidence is completely gone. He pays the rent and utilities and That alone I don’t know how I’d do by myself with our two kids. Anyway my question is If I divorced him is half of what he has stashed away technically mine? What can I get in a divorce here? Is it even worth it financially? We’ve been married since 2010 and had our first child in 2008 and lived together since. What exactly am I entitled to in California? I don’t have money to consult an attorney but if I can get more money and live and take care of my kids without him, I’d definitely do it. I’m miserable and have been for a long time. He makes more than $1,200 weekly and has at least 30-40k saved up but makes up live dirt poor in a horrible neighborhood and tiny 2 b 1b.

Answer:
 California is a community property state.  IF you divorce him half of the marital assets (minimum, maybe more) would be yours.Answer #2: Please ignore the person who stated that it’s “his” money.

In many states, all finances and assets earned after the marriage are community property, meaning legally both of yours.

As he is financially abusing you, please have some consultations with some divorce attorneys so that they can clearly explain the process, what is yours, how much all of this will cost, and what you can expect in terms of child support etc.

I’m sorry you’re so beaten down - what will help is getting correct legal advice as well as having the process explained to you so that you don’t feel so scared and powerless.


Title: Dog attacked and found injuries were more extensive than originally thought. 25k max small claims limit. Should I sue? TN

Question:
I’m located in TN and our small claims court limits are 25k. My dog was attacked recently and at first we thought he was just going to need some minor injury care aka pain meds and rest for a short term. Unfortunately we have found out that is not the case.

My dog is a very rare type of English bulldog. He’s actually a Leavitt bulldog and there are only 19 breeders in the world for his particular sub species of bulldog. Thus he was extremely expensive. He’s my best friend and I will any amount of money to save him. Right now between the hip replacement, disc surgery and lifetime medication it’s going to be around 20k.  His approximate replacement cost will be around 7-10k depending on if I can buy one here in the US or if I have to go to Europe. We only have 5 breeders for him in the US. The other breeders are in England, France, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland.  I obviously don’t want a replacement but I know that courts would frown on asking for twice the dog’s value for medical care.

I would be happy with the replacement cost just to offset the vet bills because regardless if I see a dime from the other dog’s owner my dog will get the treatment he needs.  Am I being unreasonable? Her dog was off leash and attacked both my dog and me unprovoked out of nowhere.  I feel like she needs to be held accountable for his vet costs as these are a direct result of her dog and her failure as a dog owner to control her dog. I’m not even including the cost of treatment for my injuries as I had to be subjected to a rabies vaccine which was not covered by my insurance at an out of pocket cost of nearly 3k because she refused to tell me if he was current on vaccines.

I feel like asking for the full amount of treatment is probably excessive but asking for the cost of a replacement would be more reasonable in the eyes of the court. Any advice, thoughts, suggestions? Thanks y’all
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 I think you should ask for the full vet costs first. You don’t *want* a replacement, why would you *ask* for the funding for a replacement? If her lawyer/insurance thinks it’s too high, they won’t hesitate telling you that.

In fact, they probably haggle regardless of how reasonable the original asking number. So start higher. Answer #2: Did you report this to animal control? Why didn't they force her to reveal the dog's rabies status? Answer #3: Does the other person have homeowners insurance? Have you asked to make a claim?