Title: [CA] Starting a small company where customers can upload images to our site, we'll put those images on T-shirts and mail them back (small orders). If they send us an image of well known logo/character (Ford, Mario bros, sports teams, etc) can we legally charge and make the product for them?

Question:
Question 1: If we followed through with the above situations in the title, are we committing copy right infringement or anything of the sort if we make these products for our customers? Should we refuse these requests?
_________
Question 2: How far does infringement go? What if someone hand draws an image of Nintendo's Super Mario and wants it on one of our shirts? What legal implications would there be (if any) compared to question 1?
___________
Question 3: How far does likeness of a logo/product extend? If someone sent us a Monster energy drink logo with same shape but different colors could we legally charge and print that on a shirt for them?

*Important to note that anything we make for our customers, we wont be selling off of our actual site it self as a purchasable product. the only service we're selling is image-to-shirt transfers.

Any other advice or reading material you suggest would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Answer:
 >the only service we're selling is image-to-shirt transfers.

Sounds like your selling people a way to get a cheap t-shirt with a unauthorized trademarked logo, at least that's what the suit against you will claim when they sue you for damages.

You are talking more about trademark infringement then copyright, for reading material start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_infringement

>Infringement may occur when one party, the "infringer", uses a trademark which is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services which the registration covers.


Title: Dad was arrested and left pets behind that no one can take care of. The door to the apartment is locked.

Question:
This is in WV. Dad was arrested and will most likely get at least 5 years. It seems like he can't make bail and have only contacted my brother. My brother was told the doors are locked and the locks were also changed so the landlord does not have a key. So, the only way to enter is to remove a window AC unit. The authorities seem ok with that. Can I take their word on that?

Then there are the pets. A younger cat picked up off the streets a year or so ago and an old dog. Either no one can take care of them or they are simply unwilling.

I honestly have no clue where to do here. I would be the one to enter through the window after removing the AC, but I don't know what to do with the pets. I can feed and water them for a few days, but I can't take care of them.

What should I do here?

Answer:
 Ask for a police escort if they are truly “ok” with it.
Call the non emergency line and setup an “appointment” for them to meet you. If they are truly ok with it and they are there you should have no issues. Do the landlord a favor and notify him of this time as well so you can unlock the door and he can put on a new lock.

You can either call animal control or make life easier on everyone and just bring the pets to a shelter yourself. (Assuming the pets are “tame” which I imagine they are)

I’d like to add one last edit. I’m not sure what your dad was arrested for. But be weary about letting the cops in with you. If it was drug related (maybe it’s not but making an assumption) it’s very likely your dad has more “stuff” in the apartment. I’m not telling you to make sure everything is clear first, but..


Title: TIL that the city of Dallas, Texas has lost every single one of 82 court cases against the same man, Robert Groden, over several decades.

Answer:
 > When the arresting officer reported to his superior that Groden had been forced to go without prescribed medications in jail all night, the superior officer praised him for a job well done.

What the fuck...? Answer #2: Unreal.  Are taxpayers paying for that?

I feel sorry for everyone beside me in Dallas county (we're in Rockwall, I'm sure they'd do the same here though).

The fact that they could testify that they prevented him from accessing medication, and they're now trying to harass his assistant, should make even the stupidest, most angry judge turn on the county...

The "good ole boys club" at it's finest (/s in case that wasn't blatantly clear...).Answer #3: [He settled in March 2017 for a mere $25k.](http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/robert-groden-kennedy-assassination-expert-settles-with-dallas-over-dealey-plaza-arrests-9260827)


Title: Is this normal? My family really needs help.

Question:
Hi all, I give a quick synopsis of my family's situation and would really appreciate any advice or clarification.

Two years ago my sister suffered an aneurysm and stroke and is currently suffering severe debilitation as a result. Her first stroke, she went to a hospital and showed clear and known symptoms. The nurse noticed it, the doctor did not, and sent her home with migraine medication. One week later her aneurysm occurred and miraculously survived, but she is now disabled.

We are suing the hospital and doctor for negligence. We had two court dates this past year that have been postponed. My family and I have flown in from out of town to attend mediations. Our lawyer seems really competent and successful but we feel he's keeping us in the dark about details and the dates for settlement or court keeps getting pushed back.

I just wanted to know it this normal? How is it that the defendants can keep pushing the court date back? As you can imagine, as the court dates get pushed back, the medical bills continue to pile. I just want to be clear, my family is not money hungry, we just are not that kind of people. We just want my sister's care to be provided for in the best way possible. No one ever anticipates something like this to happen and this is our very first time dealing with this type of situation.

Answer:
 >I just wanted to know it this normal?

Yes.

> How is it that the defendants can keep pushing the court date back?

Because whenever you have some kind of reason to move the court date you can ask the other side to stipulate to it, and frequently they will.  Refusing to stipulate when there is good cause will not ingratiate you to the judge.  But even without stipulating, moving the dates is at the court's discretion and they can order it pushed back for any reason.

You might go take a gander at your docket to see why it's being pushed back each time.  If you have concerns express them to your counsel, I'm sure he can give you an idea of the picture, but frequently medical malpractice is a time consuming process.


Title: Civil demand for shoplifting at Wally World (Walmart)

Question:
Got caught shoplifting at Walmart in Missouri less than a month ago. The friend I was with (who had bought groceries and not been an accomplice nor shoplifted) and I were stopped by a police officer at the doors and escorted to an office where an LP guy proceeded to take my info and let us go. There was no warning of a civil demand or of any consequences for that matter until I got this letter. The merchandise was under 50$ altogether and I would be surprised if it even hit 25. The LP mentioned something about it not being enough and then they took my info and escorted us out. Again, no mention of any consequences or what might happen thereafter at all. Today I received a letter in the mail with a civil demand for 250 dollars from Walmart for this incident.
I've obviously googled this upon receiving said letter. I found most in my position ignored the demand and never received a summons. I guess my question is: How likely is it that if I choose to ignore the demand on the premise of not admitting guilt, they choose to take legal action? Experiences with this?

YES, I am aware it was stupid.
YEP, I know I deserve what I got.
Yeah, I realize that it could be much worse and could consider this "getting off easy."

HOWEVER, I just moved back in with my father who is supporting me due to me losing my job. I don't have any money, obviously. I stupidly thought that by stealing the items I needed it was less of a burden than borrowing the money and feeling bad. OBVIOUSLY I realize that the items would have been much less a financial burden than the 250. Spare me, I wasn't aware that was a possibility, and was way too cocky about not getting caught. (Clearly).

Yes, it's funny how stupid this was. I am already shaking my own head at myself and laughing with my friends about what a fucking idiot I am. On the inside, though, not so funny.

Answer: You're taking a risk by not paying. Nobody can tell you for sure what they will do. If they sue you it will be for a lot more. It's likely you are getting the "ignore" advice more because the people who are actually sued don't post about it.


Title: My father is buying properties in my name (Portugal)

Question:
Hello, Redditors!

So, I'm 18 years old and my father runs some businesses. He likes to go to auctions and buy properties to rent and so make some money out of them. Over the time he has gotten into some problems (he buys them all in my mom's name, who is a foreigner, since he can't have stuff on his name). Recently he called asking me for my documents, which I stupidly gave out.

I have asked him many many times for my informations back, to which he shuts up and ignores.

Two days ago my mom comes home and says I'm going to have to sign a document that is going to indicate that legally I am the owner of a garage that my father bought and that I've never even seen.

I promptly responded *no*, and not because I don't trust my family, but because I don't want to be connected to my country or any country. I'm just 18!
My father became very angry because of this, telling me that there are absolutely no problems with it, that he would take care of anything that happened with whatever happened, and that it was really safe to sign the documents.

I told him this would be my first and last document signed. I told him that I would have to know what property was this and I would have to know everything about the laws involved in this process and every single detail about the garage. I also told him that I would have to read every single word and if I did not find it was safe for me, I would not sign the document.

He is extremely pissed off. He says I don't have to read it, we are family, we must trust each other, etc...

So, please... I'd love some info about this situation and the laws involved (I'd like to go to Law School).
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 If you haven't signed it yet, don't fucking sign it.

It sounds like your father has been bankrupt, or otherwise has such bad credit that he isn't able to buy or own property? So don't trust his financial advice. He is throwing you under the bus.

But I can tell from your post that you know this already, so I'm not sure what information you want.


Title: Questions about removing family from our home.

Question:
To quickly sum up what led to this point, my husband and I met a couple who seemed quite nice at first, who had four children, and who are at the time down-on-their-luck, and were losing their home. After months getting to know them they moved in with us. We were at the time not aware of the severity of the mental illnesses of several of the family members, particularly the wife's. Not long after they moved in she  became frequently aggressive and belligerent. We discovered later she had borderline personality disorder, and she strongly resisted treatment for it. Her behavior became more erratic and belligerent until the end of last month, when she finally punched me, repeatedly tried to get our male roommate to hit her, and shoved him.  I have video of some of her behavior from this night. My husband, roommate, and I fled the house.  We contacted the police, and I gave a statement. They interviewed her and though I decided not to press charges, the state still will. She's been to court once and has another court date on the 1st. I have filed a restraining order against her.

 We have been staying with a friend ever since, going back to the house only to check up on things and see to  our belongings.

 The husband, who has been decent throughout most of this, said that they would leave without incident, if only we would give them a little time to pack up their things and find a place to live. This was the only reason they were permitted to stay, and we have given them a bit of distance to get their things together. They found a house last week, and their move in date is the 1st of next month. They keep insisting that they will be out by then. I however have strong skepticism about this, primarily because when they moved in with us, it took them months to move out of their house, which they eventually let foreclose, and still were unable to retrieve all their possessions out of. They ended up abandoning about half of what they owned. I do not want to wind up in the same situation. They have at this point done nothing to start getting ready for the move, and they have an entire household to pack in less than a week and a half.  I have a very strong suspicion that they are going to try and stay in our home as long as possible, and I'm not going to tolerate that.

Meanwhile my husband and I have been staying with a friend ever since the night she attacked me. The friend insist that it's fine that we stay as long as we need, but obviously this situation is getting absurd.

So I ask, is this something where we will have to file a 30 day notice for them to vacate the property? Can we legally force them out? If they leave and abandoned most of their things in our home, are we legally in the right to get rid of it?

We live in Cochise County, AZ.  I have read through our local laws pertaining to evictions, but most of it seems to be angle towards landlords and renters, when there is a lease involved.

Answer:
 Generally, in these sorts of cases you do have to go through the eviction process as if there were a lease.

However, I do wonder--is there a protective order or stay away order from the assault case?


Title: Can You Successfully Sue A Union As An Employer

Question:
They send out red seal trades members and these guys can't read print, can't perform the most basic of tasks, and cost us thousands of dollars in mistakes.  they are represented as journeymen with an expectation of a set of skills and barely have the skills of a someone that would be considered 50%.   Their wage/benefits package costs are very high, which is something we'd be happy to pay if they had the set of skills that are represented.  They don't.  We've been doing this for 5 years and it's very rare you find anyone that is considered a red seal journeyman to be up to expectations.  This isn't just salt either.  I am very serious about exposing this industry's union.

Located in Ontario, Canada.

Answer:
 That's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay beyond what a forum can answer. If you seriously want to consider this, you need to speak with a lawyer experienced in labor relations.

The short answer is yes, anybody can sue anybody.Answer #2: If they are violating your collective agreement by sending unqualified people, file a grievance.  Its not just unions that can file grievances; employers can too. Go see a labour lawyer for more details. There's LOTS of employer side labour lawyers


Title: Property management keeps changing things/ taking amenities away

Question:
I live in a large apartment complex in PA. My husband and I and our children have lived here since 2016. Up until a few months ago, we have been happy for the most part with the way things run. Beginning this past summer, there has been a complete turnover of office staff and a new property manager. Since then, they refuse to open the community pool, and they did not even inform the tenants here, we were waiting for it to open, and once mid June hit, I asked them what was going on and I was told the pool is permanently closed and was offered no explanation as to why. Most recently, the locks were removed from the building doors and when I asked when they were going to be replaced, the secretary told me that they were removed and that there will no longer be locks on the building doors anymore. I was upset, because that was a main reason why I selected this complex because of the extra layer of security having the building door locked. When I asked why, she refused to answer my question and instead gave me an attitude and told me that’s the way it is now. I called corporate, and the lady only returned my call 2 WEEKS later. She was very rude, and simply told me that both the pool and security door locks were decisions made by management and “it’s for the best”.  She said she is aware there have been a lot of changes since the new property manager, and there will continue to be more changes. Our rent went up $50 dollars a month, with our new lease (which we did not sign, the property manager “auto renewed” it a month before our lease ended) despite everything changing, so I asked if they can lower our rent back down to what we were paying, and she laughed at me and said thats not going to happen. I should add that over the summer, one of the maintenance men was charged with burglary for entering a tenants home and stealing thousands of dollars worth of stuff. Again, we were not notified of what happened, they just sent a memo out that he is no longer allowed on the property. I only found out what happened through my job. Is there any recourse, I really don’t want to move because we are planning on buying a house, but I don’t want to stay here if they are going to keep taking things away and treating us like crap.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Does your lease include an automatic renewal clause? If so, how long does it renew for?

You may, in fact, not be more than a month to month tenant despite what theyve saidAnswer #2: It all depends on what your lease says... if it states pool services then you have a clause. The extra locks, same thing but typically it won’t be that specific.


Title: My wife's boss is editing her hours after she has already received her underemployment check.

Question: We live in MI and my wife recently claimed 2 weeks where she worked 35 hours each week. They approved the underemployment and she recieved a check. Her boss has now gone back into ADP and retroactively made it so my wife used her PTO (without her permission) to make up for those hours. The hours will be added on to her next check so she cant refuse to cash it either. The reason her boss is doing this is so the government business loan can be a grant instead from what I understand but doing so puts us in a position where it appears my wife committed fraud when she gave the correct information last week and now because her boss is fudging the books it has become incorrect. Do we have any recourse? Will we have to pay the money back to the government or state? What can we do to protect ourselves? We am just so lost as to what to do.

Answer:
 As long as your wife is accurately reporting pay, the only issue you may encounter is a reduced compensation check on their next claim.
Your bigger issue of how to get the employer to stop using PTO without permission is more hazy. Is it possible they requested in the before time and the time card system automatically approved the use?


Title: Damage to vehicle from kids throwing rocks

Question:
USA/Texas/Dallas Metroplex

Three kids one is 11 and 2 are 12 decided it was a good idea to be bullies and to throw rocks at my nephews who happened to be standing by my vehicle. There are now of course pretty big dents and dings along that side of the car. This was all clearly caught on Surveillance video. Police report was filed. Police located every child and his parents.

It seems bogus that I would have to file a claim with my insurance over someone else's actions. Would I be able to file a claim with the parents vehicle insurance, or renters insurance if they have any? Can I sue the parents for damages if they don't have insurance?

Answer: File with your insurance. They will sue the parents to recover the costs. That is how insurance works. You don't have to file and claim and can sue on your own, but if they have no money to pay, you, instead of your insurance company, is out the money.


Title: Roomate gave me the finger

Question:
Two weeks ago my roomate gave us a two day notice that he was leaving and got all of his things together and left the apartment with 5 months left on the lease. His name is on the lease, and according to our leasing office he was supposed to give us 30 days notice before moving out. Basically he owes us two months worth of rent (the month he lived with us and the month he should have given noticed for.)
Additionally, at the beginning of the lease I splurged and purchased a nice couch with the verbal agreement that we split the payment up and at the end of the lease he takes a greater portion of the couch (it's a sactional) to take to wherever he lives next.
Here's where it gets sticky. Now that I'm asking for the months of rent he is obligated to pay, he is saying that I should consider the money he has already paid me for the couch over the past few months as credit towards the rent he owes me.
I am taking him to small claims. Does what he says have any standing? Or is it simply apples to oranges.
I live in minnesota.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 > 5 months left on the lease. His name is on the lease, and according to our leasing office he was supposed to give us 30 days notice before moving out.

Obviously I haven't read your lease, but it sounds like the leasing office is probably incorrect. If he signed a lease that have 5 months left on it, he presumably owes for those 5 months of rent. Plus any back rent, and any other agreement you had with him. You can't successfully sue him for *future* payments he did not yet fail to pay.

However, most leases are joint leases, meaning it doesn't matter who has agreed to what. If he doesn't pay, you'd be responsible for covering his share for now, and then you can sue him later for what he didn't pay. Otherwise, you all (collectively) risk being evicted, sued, etc.


Title: Are medical schools allowed to force students to go to therapy for non-violent reasons?

Question: (CA) My med school might possibly make me go to therapy and one of the school's admin said that my medical education could be halted if I dont go to therapy. Note: this admin is reccomending I go to therapy for "dealing with externalized frustrations." I reported an abusive facilitator a month ago and from then on I feel like the admin thinks its my fault.. I feel pretty shattered, alone, and feel like I should not be forced to go to therapy. I am not depressed, nor suicidal, and am in a good place. I genuinely support people who go to therapy, but I feel like forcing someone to go at the risk of halting my medical education is illegal somehow? Can you please give me advice? is this normal at other med schools?

Answer:
 They can’t FORCE you to do anything.

But you can’t force them to allow you to attend their school.


Title: [IL] Student member stole over $2000 from our student organization's slush funds--any recourse?

Question:
I am part of a student organization at a private university in Chicago.  We have an annual budget from the university of around $6000, which we complement with ticket sales to various events.  Last year, one of our board members (also a student) was in charge of collecting money from ticket sales.  This person deposited the funds into her own bank account, with the understanding that she would give that money to our organization in the form of a personal check and/or keep a portion of the funds in her account in the form of an easily accessible "slush fund," since we cannot spend our university-supplied budget on certain items (i.e., alcohol).

I should mention that the university does not approve of this method, but I am not sure that they explicitly forbid it.

Long story short, this person left our organization and never paid the money back. For over a year, she has ignored e-mails, in-person requests for the money, and even facebook messages asking her to repay the money.  This time period included her taking a leave of absence from the university, though she has now returned.

Is there any legal action we could take or threaten to encourage her to return this money to our organization? We know the exact amount that she owes, and have e-mails detailing the transactions and source of each amount, but I don't think we have any physical receipts or documentation.  Most of our board members are concerned that because we did these transactions "off the books," we have no recourse, or university support.  Do we have any recourse? Would we as individuals be able to pursue her in court, or would it have to be The University, since the funds belong to a student group?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Answer:
 I'd think the student group could sue her in small claims court for the funds. Or report her to the police for embezzlement. Answer #2: It depends if what you were doing was illegal or merely against the rules.  I would think both to use university funds and divert them to use for unauthorized purposes (misappropriation or more serious embezzlement, fraud, etc)

police and courts won't uphold an illegal agreement (like calling the cops to say your drug dealer stole your money)


Title: So how do I sue Dominos Pizza for spamming me after multiple unsubscription requests?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Have you tried just filtering the email straight to the trash?


Title: Was I sexually harassed?

Question:
(Throw away for privacy reasons)

This happened in Ohio.

I'm a male, and I go to a fairly medium sized high school. This happened during lunch, I went to the bathroom and I was walking back towards my table when another male student called me over.

I've known him since the 6th grade, he's been mostly friendly towards me, and we don't talk much, I generally try to avoid him just because I know that he has a rough home life, and he tends to pick on others.

He called me over to his table, and when I walked over he grabbed  me by the shirt started aggressively pulling and twisting my nipple.

I was obviously very uncomfortable and it really started to hurt,  I tried to get his hands off but he kept pulling me towards him.

His friend was also recording the exchange, laughing his ass off as this happened.

Finally, I got his hands off, but he managed to grab my shirt again and started to really hurt me, and making comments like "You got nice juicy tits".

At this point I had enough, and just used all my force to get his hands off, and then I just walked back to my table.

I don't know how to feel about this. My day was ruined and I just wanted to cry. I don't know if this is sexual harassment or not because obviously guys can get pretty rough with each other in a friendly manner, but I never wanted this to happen. I never started anything with him to make him do this, and it definitely was not friendly in the slightest.

Answer: You should start by talking to the administration about what happened and tell them you're very uncomfortable with the situation and specificly the filming of the physical assault. If you're comfortable with your parents, talk to them and consider bringing them for support. This isn't acceptable behavior at all. Try to write down the event as it happened, who did what and who witnessed etc. It will be useful for the administration and will help you mentally to get it down on paper. Don't care about what happens to the other students; you're probably not the only one, they've picked on and you might be bringing some relief to someone else's world. Being touched should always be invited, so when it isn't, be clear with yourself that it isn't okay and you don't need to doubt yourself.


Title: Help. Got a ticket for putting up early Christmas Decorations in November

Question:
Well my friend got a ticket for putting Christmas decorations in November and she got a ticket.
She live in Texas
Is there any law that says you cannot do this?
Is there a way to fight the ticket?

Answer: What statute was your friend charged with?  It should be listed on the ticket.Answer #2: Check the local zoning laws of the place where she lives. It is likely based on that.


Title: My dad died and his last obituary doesn't reflect his dying wishes.

Question:
My 61-year-old father died two days ago in Naples, FL as a resident, we're heartbroken. Unfortunately there's all kinds of legal cleanup associated with a death, and we (my brother, sister, and I) recently found his will dated September 2010. In this will he bequeathed everything but his personal property in a 50/50 split to two local charities.

He and legal council put together this will immediately after divorcing my mom while struggling intensely with alcoholism and in a drastically different emotional state than when he died. He died sober, in love, much happier, and on much healthier terms with his family. For this we're so grateful.

The problem is, his girlfriend of 5-years says that, without a doubt, he wanted his financial assets and property to be split equally among his three children. She says that as recently as two months ago he made this clear in conversation.

As you can imagine, I feel dirty having to discuss my dad's money on the heels of his death, but this seems like a pretty important topic to address when it concerns ≈$200k.

In the will my dad appoints his sister as a personal representative. The personal representative "has full power of sale of both real and personal property without  the consent of court and without giving any bond."

With this all in mind, what action should we take if we'd like to contest his will? Thanks for any advice.

Answer:
 His will is what will determine how the estate is divided. Not what he did or didn't say verbally to his girlfriend.

If you want to contest the will, hire a probate attorney.


Title: Unfair speeding ticket

Question: I recently received a speeding ticket in Oklahoma from a tribal (sac and fox) police officer for 69 in a 45. I travel this road everyday and this is the first time I have ever been stopped. When you turn on the road there is a straight stretch of road where the speed limit is 45 then it goes to 55 and then 65. I sped up right before the 55 and after I crossed the sign the officer came around the curve. He was going the opposite direction and it was a couple of minutes before I was pulled over. The officer had my license for what seemed like forever. He came back with the ticket for 45 in a 69. I didn't realize that he said it was a 45 in the first place. He also mistook dr for rd on the ticket showing that he was not fully paying attention. Two days later I was pulled over again on the same curve because the highway patrol because they thought I was not wearing a seatbelt. They saw that I was wearing it and let me go. I am 18 and this is my first offence. What should I do?

Answer:
 Since, by your own admission, you were speeding, what do you think the right thing to do is?Answer #2: >I recently received a speeding ticket in Oklahoma from a tribal (sac and fox) police officer for 69 in a 45.

That sucks 24 over is a pretty big ticket.

>I travel this road everyday and this is the first time I have ever been stopped.

That doesn't matter.

>When you turn on the road there is a straight stretch of road where the speed limit is 45 then it goes to 55 and then 65. I sped up right before the 55 and after I crossed the sign the officer came around the curve.

You drive this road every day and you don't think that would be a problem?

>He was going the opposite direction and it was a couple of minutes before I was pulled over.

He probably had to catch up with you.

>The officer had my license for what seemed like forever. He came back with the ticket for 45 in a 69. I didn't realize that he said it was a 45 in the first place.

Are you concerned because it took him "forever" to write you the ticket?

>He also mistook dr for rd on the ticket showing that he was not fully paying attention.

That's a clerical error that's easy for him to fix.

>Two days later I was pulled over again on the same curve because the highway patrol because they thought I was not wearing a seatbelt. They saw that I was wearing it and let me go. I am 18 and this is my first offence.

Apparently you've been stopped in the same area more than once.

>What should I do?

Stop speeding?


Title: [Wisconsin] Campus police got my roommates permission to enter my dorm after I denied permission.

Question:
It says in my housing contract that they can not enter without a warrant or permission. They asked if they could enter and search my room and I refused to give them permission (as my rights permit). They then knocked on the door at 4 in the morning, woke my roommate up, and got his permission to enter. After entering they found alcohol in my room, which isn't allowed.

I have a meeting with the assistant dean of students next week about this. Is it worth mentioning that they illegally entered my room? From the sound of it, they didn't have the right to enter.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 They didn't illegally enter your room. Your roommate consented to a search.Answer #2: This is an area with which I am pretty familiar.

Was the alcohol in plain sight?

Second: is there any chance your roommate is actually the one who made the initial complaint or lead them to believe you had alcohol?  Here is the tip off: are you going to the judicial affairs office or are both of you?

You wouldn't be the first person to have a roommate uncomfortable with contraband that is not allowed and use campus police or the housing office as a means to stop the behavior.  They tell the RA or police and to keeep the roommate situaion cool, they do the room search.

Here is why that is important. If they really did already have their statement that you had contraband, the warrant is super easy to get.  Asking your permission and then coming back later is just a way to not cause problems with the roommate relationship.


Title: New tenant wants me to pay for $500 for paint and plaster

Question:
Not really such a big 'case' so I'll try to sum it up quickly.

I recently moved out of my apartment. Spoke to the new guy who is moving in and told him I'll come at the first of the month to paint and plaster the walls, he said it's fine. Got it all in writing. However the contract states the walls should be fixed on the 31st, but since I got written approval from the new tenant I figured it's no big deal.

Now today he decides to call in a 'professional' to paint and plaster the walls which is going to cost him $600, the guy has already done the job and of course he expects me to pay half of it (originally he wanted 75%).

Is there any legal action he could take if I simply tell him to fuck off?

Answer: Why are you making contracts with the new tenant? Your lease is with the landlord, not this guy. Tell the tenant to deal with his landlord. You will then likely get billed by the landlord.


Title: Waitresses being charged for dine and dashes VA

Question: My sister works at a steakhouse  and she was telling me if a table runs out on a bill it comes out of that waitresses tips just wondering the legality of this it seems wrong since the waitress doesn't have a whole lot of control over it.

Answer: It's completely illegal. But, they can fire her for complaining. She should complain with caution.Answer #2: If it's a chain, she should go to corporate. They have lawyers that I"m sure would be very happy to know about that.


Title: I received a bill from my divorce lawyer from 9 years ago.

Question: I got divorced 9 years ago and just got a bill saying I owe my lawyer. This was in Idaho. Is there any sort of statute of limitations or anything I should be aware of?

Answer:
 [From this site (not sure if reputable)](http://protectingconsumerrights.com/debt-collection-problems/statute-of-limitations-by-state/states/idaho/):

> Oral Contracts or verbal agreements, not put into writing have a 4 year period of limitation; Written Contract, 5 years; Domestic Judgment (local) 5 years (renewable for an additional 5 years) and Foreign Judgment (out-of-state) 6 years (renewable)

Seems to me like he's pass the statue of limitations on collecting the debt.Answer #2: I just checked the Idaho repository and it shows that the divorce was closed in December of 2007. I haven't made a payment since before then and didn't receive a bill that entire time. I also lived at the same residence for 8 of those years only moving last year. Answer #3: curious what triggered this bill 9 years later, which is absurd

from a well known national bar association (not an ad for any such organization)

"The lack of specificity regarding the duty to account for how a fee is earned misleads some lawyers about the importance of accounting. *Frequent and accurate billing statements that account for what work has been done and what fees have been incurred are an essential part of a lawyer’s ethical duty to communicate with the client.* And remember, clients complain to disciplinary agencies about lack of communication from their lawyers more than about anything else."


Title: What can be done to ensure that a grandparent will receive visitation rights to their grandchildren?

Question:
I live in Ontario, Canada.

EDIT: I am in fact not a grandparent, but the oldest grandchild in this situation. I apologize for any confusion that I may have caused by not mentioning this prior.

Answer:
 You can be nice to your child and their spouse. Answer #2: >Grandparents do not normally have visitation or custody rights in relation to their grandchildren. Both the Children's Law Reform Act and the Divorce Act only give custody and access rights to the mother and the father of the child. However, any individual, who affects the best interests of the child can apply to the court for an order for custody of or access to a child.

>This means that grandparents can apply to the court and try to show that it is in the best interests of the child for them to have custody or access rights. In determining the best interests of a child, courts will consider all circumstances including the love, affection, and emotional ties between the child and the grandparents, views and preferences of the child, ability and willingness of the grandparents to provide the child with guidance and education, and the relationship by blood or through an adoption order between the child and the grandparents.

>In general, the court is reluctant to remove the child from his or her parents, or to go against decisions about the child's best interests made by the parents. Grandparents will only be successful in a claim for custody or access under extraordinary conditions. For example, grandparents may be rewarded custody in cases where both parents are considered 'unfit' to raise the child.

[source](http://www.legalline.ca/legal-answers/grandparents-visitation-and-custody-rights/)


Title: How do charities get away with spending more on themselves than the charities they claim to be for?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 How is it a scam? They might not be a model NPO, but they operate within the guidelines that the IRS sets for NPOs. Frankly their CEO makes a reasonable salary. They have over 1 million members, a budget of ~$170 million, so to retain the talent needed to direct such a large organization, you need to pay for it.

Also, your number seems off. Charity Navigator states that they spend 64% of their receipts on its programs and services.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3286#.VolFFpMrLdQ


Title: Windows ten auto upgrade

Question: Is there a way to class action Sue Microsoft for trying too brute force its new user tracking OS on your computer. I left my work computer on over the weekend and when I came back and shook the mouse it was on the do you accept the terms and conditions page of Windows 10 page(like after you install which it had before I accept the terms and conditions) It looks like it did one of those thing where if you don't respond in x time it start doing stuff. And automatically installed a new OS with out my permission. It took an hour to restore the prior version I had after I clicked decline. This has to be illegal because it's more then an update it is a dynamic OS change.

Answer: Did you accept the terms and conditions for Windows 7 or 8?


Title: Since joining the Wisconsin National Guard in 2008, my personal information has been lost, misplaced, or hacked 7 different occasions. Beyond the bullshit "credit monitoring" service offered, do I have any chance of legal recourse?

Question: [removed]

Answer: Call Scott Walker and ask him to do something. He is the Commander in Chief of they Wisconsin National Guard, nobody wanted him for president and he doesn't seem to be doing anything to create jobs in Wisconsin. He should have time to help a soldier.


Title: How difficult is it to sue a big company for misrepresentation of services?

Question: Like say, Sprint... >_>

Answer: Very.


Title: [FL] Cop wrote the wrong date on my ticket

Question:
So on 12/15/17 I got a ticket for having an expired registration for my car. In Florida you can get a valid registration and pay the fine or if you have proof of having a valid registration at the of the ticket you can get it dismissed, you have 30 days to do either.

My plan was to go into Clerk of Courts office tomorrow, 1/8/18, and get it dismissed (I had/have a valid registration I just couldn't find it when I got pulled over). However I was looking at the ticket and just now noticed the cop wrote the wrong date. He wrote 11/15/17 so now the court system shows it as being past 30 days.

What do I do? Should I still go to the Clerk of Courts office tomorrow? Will I be arrested? Will I have to go to trial? How will I know when my court date is?

I know the cop wrote the wrong date for two reasons: firstly, he wrote that it happened on Friday 11/15/17 which doesn't exist, 11/15/17 is a Wednesday, meanwhile there is a Friday 12/15/17. Secondly, if the ticket happened on 11/15/17 I would've had to go to Clerk of Courts by 12/15/17 to get it dismissed, however the ticket wasn't filed until 12/20/17 so it wasn't possible to get it dismissed before then. On 12/18/17 I tried to search the Clerk of Courts records for how much the fine would be but they didn't have a record of the ticket. I saw on the site that it could take up to 10 days for tickets to be filed so I decided to wait until after the holidays.

Answer: The wrong date on the ticket will not invalidate the ticket. Your plan to talk to the clerk sounds solid -- bookkeeping errors happen and they'll be familiar with how to fix this. Good on you to get it right.


Title: Is there such a thing as a "mother state" in custody court hearings?

Question:
I live in Missouri.

My ex-wife likes to threaten me with taking my children away.  We have 50/50 custody and I do not pay child support because literally I have them half the week and she has them the other half the week.  She pays half daycare and I pay the other half.  I have them on my insurance.

But she says that because we live in a "mother state" the judge will side with her.  Even though I have lived in the same house for going on 6 years.  I have never brought women into and out of their lives (I've been with other partners, but none have ever met or been around my children because nothing ever got serious enough).  She has lived in now 12 different locations over the course of 4 years and has brought at least 4 different men (if not more) into their lives including a physically abusive one and a verbally abusive one (abuse was towards her not the children).  She went back to the physically abusive one multiple times even after she had him arrested.

I worry that she will finally take me to court for full custody, but not sure if I should worry with her track record.  If I went to court for full custody what is the likelihood that I would win full custody?  Thanks for the advice.

Answer:
 Plenty of people in Missouri have 50/50 custody.

If she takes you to court, then hire an attorney to represent you.


Title: Hypothetical: I've just been arrested and ask for a lawyer. How does it work from here?

Question:
I've started reading this sub on a semi regular basis because I find it interesting. It seems the most common advice is "get a lawyer", which makes sense and under ordinary circumstances I'd have a pretty good idea what to do.

Recently it occurred to me though that if I was arrested and "ask for a lawyer" I have no idea what to do next. Do the police call someone? Do they throw me a phone book and I pick at random? Is it worth establishing a relationship with someone beforehand? What if it's 2am Sunday morning? I've looked at a few guides from ACLU and such and they really don't specify this step.

I don't (knowingly) do anything that I'm expecting to get arrested for, but it'd be nice to know what to do in case of a misunderstanding.

Minnesota if it matters, but travel a lot (sorry LocationBot).

Answer:
 If you get arrested and ask for a lawyer we stop questioning you.

You get access to a phone and can call a lawyer (or anyone else you want).

The police don't provide a lawyer for you right away.  The 6th amendment right to counsel doesn't kick in until after you are formally charged in court.  So it's at your first court appearance you'd ask for a lawyer to be appointed for you if you can't afford one.

And lots of people try and fail to get in touch with their lawyer at 3am on a Sunday morning...


Title: DEA wants a voluntary interview. I won't be mirandized and they just want to "tie up loose ends".

Question:
DEA called up my chief of police and is looking to schedule an in person interview. I'm nervous that they are driving all the way to my home to have this interview. They say I won't be arrested and that they just want to ask a few questions. I don't think I have any answers to their questions. Since the interview is not mandatory, should I just cancel it?

I'm afraid if I cancel it, they might harass my employer.

I'm also afraid to talk to them based on other interactions that I have read about.

 Should I  decline, accept, or accept with lawyer?

Answer:
 Something which woke me up to how bad of an idea it is to casually chat with the cops when not compelled to is the fact that, in the Miranda rights, they specifically point out "...anything you say **can be used against you** in a court of law". It does not say "anything you say will be considered in a court". Talking to the cops is literally only providing evidence which will be used against you. If some segments of your interview would cast doubt or help exonerate you, the cops are not required to present that section in court, as presenting evidence in your favor is the job of your defense lawyers, not the prosecution.

If the DEA has enough evidence to charge you with a crime, wait for them to do so and lawyer up. If you do think it would be good to meet with them, have a lawyer present for that meeting to protect your interests. I'm not a lawyer, if anybody more qualified on here has differing advice go with them, but I'm pretty confident in giving you this answer as it's a pretty stock answer for this kind of situation.Answer #2: You need to retain a lawyer ASAP. Follow their advice about whether or not to attend the meeting, but don't attend without them present.


Title: The Apartment Saga - Satan Shows Herself

Question:
This is my first time posting here and I really need people's help and advice. Sorry for it being really long but I had to explain my frustration, this also is in Toronto, Ontario. I have posted this to r/RentingToronto and R/CandianPersonalFinance.

TL;DR – Land Lord lied to both me and an elderly woman about a shared basement apartment. Satan (Land Lord’s daughter), herself decided to show up. War between light and dark, good and evil ensued. I am now prepared to bring down fire and fury to scorch the earth where both of them stand. Need help in getting my money and the elderly woman’s money back.

What are the next steps that we should take to ensure this happens to no one else.

The story:

I am a young (M30) professional currently working for a firm out by the Airport. I needed a place to rent and answered an ad on Kijiji for a 2 bedroom basement apartment. I was only looking for 1 bedroom but over the phone The Land Lord mentioned that he had a friend that worked at the airport that was over 50 years old and worked 2 jobs that would never be home. I agreed to look at the place, and after seeing it agreed that I would take the larger room out of the two. The whole basement would be rented out for $1500 but since I had the larger room I would pay $800 while the other person would pay $700. The kitchen, bathroom and main living area would be shared space. This was at the end of October and I would be moving in on Dec 1st.

Fast forward to me moving in on Saturday, I showed up with only my bed to move in, because I wasn't exactly sure how the shared living accommodations were going to work. Upon my arrival I am greeted by the Land Lord and he advises me that my roommate is now: **a 72 year old woman who doesn't speak English**. I am immediately flushed with an uneasy feeling, regarding this new situation that I did not agree to. Since I had help moving my bed up there by my brother and he needed to get on the road I move my bed and a leather chair into my basement room, so my brother can get on his way. After my brother leaves I tell the Land Lord that I will not be staying here and that since he already has my money I will be gone after the first month. He agrees and leaves.

Afterwards I go downstairs to talk to the family of the elderly woman, who is moving in the same day as I am. I begin talking with the woman's son (let’s call him Jack) and daughter (let’s call her Jane). Jack and Jane tell me that they came and saw the place in November, after my initial visit where I put $800 down, and the Land Lord told them that her roommate was going to be a man over the age of 50 who works 2 jobs at the airport and would rarely be home. **THEY FED THEM THE SAME LINE AND LIE THAT THEY TOLD ME**. All of us are just overcome with the fact that we had been lied to and just had to laugh about the absurdity of a 30 year old Male living with a 72 year old woman who doesn't speak English.

After about 5 minutes the Land Lord's daughter (Let's call her Satan) comes down with a legal pad of paper and wants to talk to all of us; because she senses that we are unhappy about the living situation.

Satan looks at me, with her eyes glaring and horns blazing, and says, “I guess you are not happy, or are unable to live with a 72 year old woman, and that age is a deal for you? You see me; I would be able to live with an elderly woman no problem.”

I said, “Well it isn’t that I am unable to live with a 72 year old woman, it is the fact that it is inappropriate. Jack and Jane are unhappy that their Mother is going to be living with a 30 year old man that they do not know, and I felt like we were lied to.”

I then asked, “So if the roles were reversed and you had to live with a 72 year old man, that didn’t speak English, you would be fine with that?”

She accepted the loss and said, defeated, “Oh I guess, yeah, I wouldn’t be comfortable with that.”

Next, with a sharp tone, Satan asks for my ID and is going to copy down my driver's license number and get me to sign a hand written note stating that I am going to leave at the end of the month. I tell her I'm not giving her my ID and that I'd like to sleep on the matter before I make a decision. Then Satan turns to Jack and Jane and discusses there options. We all communicate to her that we are displeased and that we have been lied to.

After talking, Jack and Jane agree that her Mother cannot stay there and she will only be there for a month or at most 2 months (they communicated that it might take time for them to find a new place). Satan then decides that the Mother can stay there for an additional month or two, after I leave, and she will not look for another Tenant. Satan is prepared to take a loss on the unrented room, to help out the elderly woman.

I see this gesture of kindness and a thought comes to my mind. I asked Satan, "If I find a place after the first two weeks can I be refunded half of the months’ rent ($400)?"

At this moment Satan decides to show her true self, and retorts with rudeness and aggression (basically soft yelling), "ABSOLUTELY NOT! The only reason I am accommodating her is because she is an elderly woman. You are not. I have been in your situation before and I had to learn hard life lessons, just like you are going to have to here. You are going to have to take the loss and act like a man about it." And then she storms out of the room and starts talking Arabic (I think?) loudly in the hallway with her Father. A couple of seconds later Satan proceeds to storm out of the basement.

My reaction at this point was to remain calm and collected outwardly. On the inside it was RAAAAAAGEEEEEEEEEE FUCKIIIINNNGGG RAAAAAGGGGEEEEE!!!!!!!!

I was willing to let this go and take the loss but after her lecturing and chastising me about having to suck it up and take the loss (because both Satan and her Father lied to us) I am ready to go into full blown SCORCH THE FUCKING EARTH WHERE THEY STAND mode.

To add icing to the cake the basement was originally $1500 to rent both bedrooms. I agreed to me paying $800 for the larger room while the other person would pay $700 for the smaller room. I found out that the Land Lord’s did not adjust the price and charged the woman $750.

I feel horrible for the elderly woman and her family because they rented moving trucks and took time off work to move their Mother into this new place. The elderly woman was crying and visibly shaken by the whole ordeal.

I don't even care about the $800 I have already lost, in fact it is moot at this point. I want to right this wrong so that they can't pull this crap again. These two (Satan and her Father) are nothing but wolves hiding in sheep’s clothing, and will pull this crap again.

On the day I wrote the $800 cheque I signed a lease agreement so I was worried that I would be on the hook for at least 1 more month’s rent, as the Landlord agreed that if I gave him 2 months’ notice I can leave whenever I want. I asked about the rent agreement and the Land Lord (Satan’s father) tells me that he never made me sign anything. We argue about whether or not I had signed the agreement but in the end relented because at that point I just didn’t care.

My question to you fine folks is, what can I do? What should be my next step to ensure that I can make their lives as difficult as possible?

Again this is not a matter about money, this is now about principle. I am sick and tired of always having to take the higher road and walking away from situations while others take advantage. I have decided to not roll over on this and that I will be standing my ground against Satan.

Please offer your words of wisdom.

Thank you in advance for your efforts and advice.

Answer:
 > What should be my next step to ensure that I can make their lives as difficult as possible?

That's not what legal advice is for.Answer #2: You rented one bedroom and you got one bedroom. That is the risk you take when you rent a single room. Does not seem like the landlord actually did anything wrong here.

Luckily you signed a month to moth agreement so just pay out the notice period and moveon. Answer #3: To be completely honest there's not much you can do. You each signed your lease and your landlord is letting you both out early. That's actually a decent deal. I would recommend that next time you insist on actually meeting your future roommate before you agree to move in with them and move on with your life.


Title: We lost over $500 in train and hotel reservations because of a delayed flight due to sick passenger... Do we have any options?

Question: [NA/EU] American airlines flight to Europe was delayed over 3 hours because of a sick passenger needing to be deplaned before takeoff (extraordinary circumstance) followed by a leak in the lavatory needing to be repaired (not extraordinary). This caused us to miss our train ticket which can not be reimbursed by the rail company, and we can not get another ticket in time which causes us to miss our hotel reservation. We were only staying one day in the country we were traveling by train to so we must continue our trip without traveling there due to these circumstances. Do we have any options for reimbursement for the train and hotel reservations we are losing because of this delay?

Answer: Non-refundable reservations are exactly why you get travel insurance.  Other than that, probably no.


Title: [tn] Hospital visit. Was I done wrong?

Question:
I'm not going to get into the details of what happened. Let's just say I was picked up by the sherrif this morning to be taken to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

I was taken there by the sherrif against my will. It's a law in my state that if the officer thinks I am a risk to my personal safety that I can be detained for evaluation.

At the hospital I was stripped of all my personal belongings and put in a gown. They drew blood and took a urine sample. She said that if I didn't pee that they would cath me. I peed.

I asked to see documentation on why I was being detained against my will and no one produced anything. I requested multiple times.

The psych checked me out and cleared me to leave. As I was leaving I went to the nurses station and asked if they needed my insurance card. They stayed that they had already got my insurance card out of my wallet which was in my personal belongings bag in the pocket of my shorts. What??? Is that even allowed? No consent and I was not present or even aware that this was taking place.i had an old card in my wallet and I'm pretty sure this is the one they grabbed. My current one was tucked away in a different location. I asked to see the card that had been copied and they would not show it to me.

The sherrif took me to the hospital and told me to call them when I was done that they would take me home . I called and the dept said that they could not send someone out to do that. I ended up walking 6 miles home after being released from suicide watch. They care right?

It's the system. I get it. Was I done wrong in any of this? Was anything done to me illegal?

Edit. I was not arrested.

Answer:
 >I'm not going to get into the details of what happened

 You say it like the reason this occurred is irrelevant.


Title: Is False Advertisement a good argument in court?

Question:
I recently stumbled across a car listed online for $1,000 this car is easily worth $29,000 and It is listed for $1,000 online on the dealerships site and a couple of other sites now It says that It is in perfect running condition and is CarMax certified pre owned. Could I argue that they must honor the deal?  I am in Fl but the car is being sold in MI

EDIT: I received an email quote for the car directly from the dealership. Does this change anything?

Answer: It's probably a thousand down, I see it on dealerships all the time, just 500 down and we drown your finances for 126 months


Title: Mom is getting charged for something she didn't cause after they told her she wouldn't have to pay in regards to our apartment

Question:
I originally posted this in r/needadvice and was given advice to post it here.

So for starters, we live in a four story apartment. We're on the third floor and there's this deck right above us that obviously gets soaked when it rains. Underneath the deck and our ceiling is this space that has collected all this water and it leaked a little bit into my mom's closet. She informed strata council of our apartment, got some help, they opened up a small section of the ceiling in the closet and they're drying the inside space.
Originally before they opened up the ceiling, they VERBALLY said she wouldn't have to pay for it and that the strata will pay for it. My mom of course took the opportunity, requested they email her to confirm that she wouldn't have to pay and they never did. Now about a few days later, she found out that she has to pay to repair the ceiling and for the holes made in the ceiling. The strata doesn't want to pay for it, the insurance doesn't want to pay for it, and so it's up to my mom to come up with the money (which happens to be a significant amount that we can't afford). They already opened up the ceiling so we can't just say "oh we don't want to pay." I don't know if we should lawyer up and fight but even getting a lawyer will cost more money too. My mom and her partner have been sending emails, making phone calls, and are getting nothing in return. Any advice would be great. Thank you.

Answer:
 The condominium would be responsible for repairing the exterior areas such as the leak in the roof.  I *think* that the owners would be responsible for their own interior areas (drywall repairs) unless you could prove the condominium corporation was negligent (like, they knew there was a giant hole in the roof and ignored it).  She should read the condominium agreement carefully.

She should insist that the exterior leak is repaired properly so that the leaks don't continue.

Drywall repair isn't that expensive.  Shop around.  Heck, if it's in the closet, you can ignore it.  And you should ignore it, at least until the exterior leak is repaired properly, because it will leak again until that is done.


Title: If I renounce my US citizenship, will it wipe my tax obligations from past years

Question:
Firstly, i'm going to assume the answer is no but I wouldn't mind some sort of legislation to back it up.

Background: I was born in the US to my two Australian parents. As such, I am a US citizen by means of birth. I have been living in Australian since I was 4 years old.

Today, it came to my attention that I am required to lodge US tax returns for the years that I have been in full time employment (since 2015) and well as forms related to the Australian bank accounts I have (which from a US citizen perspective are considered Foreign Bank Accounts).

From the small amount of research and a few phone calls I've done today, I've determined it will cost me between AUD$4000 and $10,000 to have my past returns lodge and all the bank account stuff sorted out.

I'm an attempt to avoid such crazy amounts of money, can I renounce my citizenship (which in itself can cost upwards of AUD$1000) and in turn, wipe all my tax obligations to the US?

Thanks in advance

Answer:
 > If I renounce my US citizenship, will it wipe my tax obligations from past years

No. And the act of renouncing citizenship to avoid tax [can have tax consequences of its own](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/expatriation-tax).


Title: Tenant screwing me over, I’m not there so I don’t know what to do. [MT]

Question:
This is the story:

I live in California, but I rent out my house in Montana. Our original agreement was for one year, which he fulfilled and is now on month to month. Three months ago, he stopped paying. He told me he had some injury and couldn’t work, and like an idiot I was courteous and let him pay next month. He refused my calls, and didn’t pay. I finally hit ahold of him and he told me he’s not leaving.

After some work, I managed to get my friend up there to legally act on my behalf. I tried to serve him eviction notice, which the court said had to be done through a reputable service. The server tried for 5 days, but he avoided him. Apparently the guy doesn’t work anymore, and just spends all his time inside. I mange to get ahold of the idiot again, and he tells me he’s not planning o leaving. At this point I’m already out 3k, and I’m struggling to get by as it is.

I later get a message from my friend that he seems to be moving. I contact Mr.Idiot again and he says he’s leaving. I  try to serve him again, but this bastard keeps hiding out. Tye sever tried to find him using the SSN he gave me, which turned out to be fake. I need him out, I can’t afford this asshole. What do I do? I’m very frustrated right now, and feel like I’m screwed no matter what.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: In other states, if you can't serve someone, there's a way to publish a notice for a small fee and that counts as the person being served. Are you using an eviction attorney in the area? If not, you need to do this before the amount you're out starts increasing. This guy sounds like he's trying to milk you.Answer #2: Mistaken fast food / pizza delivery.  Which also has the proper legal papers inside.Answer #3: Report him to police for the identity theft Answer #4: I'd hire a PI to track him down, serve him papers, and sue him for what you're owed.


Title: I'd like to leave my abusive mother and live with my father.

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice I am a 15 year old from Venice Florida. I am a freshman in highschool my one brother is 18 and a senior in highschool. We are in the second quarter. My parents are legally divorced my mother has remarried. My father is still single. My father lives in Orlando Florida and my mother lives in venice Florida. According to the divorce agreement.

Both parents shall keep contact information current. Telephone or other electronic communication between the children and other parent shall not be monitored by or interrupted by the other parent. Electronic communication includes telephone, electronic mail or email, webcams, video conferencing equipment software or other wired or Wireless Technologies or other means of communication to supplement face-to-face contact.

And she has taken possession of my phone my computer and my webcam many times. As Well as attacked me physically and verbally in order to take possession of my belongings.

 One example of a physical attack. While at my father's home he had told my that I am not to let my mother take possession of my phone because last time she had I was unable to contact my father for almost two weeks. After getting home from my weekend at my father's. My mother and I had a disagreement and she wanted my phone. I told what father said. She stated “My house my rules.”she then proceeded to jump on to my back while reaching for my phone.(her whole weight.)I got away called my father and I ended up having my phone taken for a week. No communication with my father for a week.

My father doesn't have money for a lawyer. He had half of all his things taken from him(in the divorce) he is paying ridiculous child support and has been living with his parents for the past two years. While my mother married a rich guy that she physically and verbally abuses.
I would like to move to my fathers once he gets a house (which is very soon). And we need to know the first steps to my father getting custody.

 Please, any help would be appreciated.

Answer:
 > And she has taken possession of my phone my computer and my webcam many times. As Well as attacked me physically and verbally in order to take possession of my belongings.

First of all, I'm so sorry this is happening to you. Know that it's not your fault.

Please talk to your school's counselor. Physically attacking you is not okay. They're likely mandatory reporters, so that should _hopefully_ get things moving. Others will likely be able to offer more advice than this, though.


Title: Changing residency to California?

Question:
I'm in a bit of a quandary. Due to the amount of money my parents make, receiving financial aid in any sort of private university will be virtually impossible and I'm not smart enough to the extent where I can get a scholarship. My parents haven't saved anything for university and they aren't rich either, they just barely make above the amount which would render me ineligible for financial aid at any college.

Knowing that I'll most likely have to go to a public university, I figured going to the ones in California would be the best choice. The main problem is, I've been residing in New York for my entire life. I've been reading some of the requirements to obtain a residency in California and I'm still a bit confused about how everything works.
I understand that you need to stay in California on a continuous basis for more than 366 days and that you need to show intent to stay but the specifics are kind of vague, especially for people that are under 24. I'm 16 and I'm nearing the end of my sophomore year. I am well prepared to transfer high schools for my senior year to a private one in California and I have relatives there that I'd be able to stay with. What I don't understand is what's being stated regarding parents.

The policies initially state that a parent must be with you during those 366 days. It's unlikely that one of my parents will be able to come with me to California for a year, although there is somewhat of a slim chance that it's possible. While I've kept reading through it though, it seems as if there are some exceptions to this rule, one stating that a parent isn't required to stay with you for those amount of days if you prove to have been a financially independent minor for at least 2 years (which I can certainly be able to start doing) or at least, that's what I got from it.

So is it true? Will staying in California for 366 days beginning in my senior year of high school and being financially independent for 2 years make me eligible for residency or should I not get my hopes up? If this isn't the case are there any alternatives? The only one I've thought of is for my parents somehow giving custody of me to one of my relatives in California, but I don't really know how all of that works.

UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCSD are really cool. The state universities in New York suck. I know Cornell has contract colleges, but the tuition is only $17,000 less. A $35,000 tuition every year is still a ton. I also don't just want to have a residency to study in California. I would love to live there after graduate school. Thank you.

Answer:
 So … you're a rich, but cheap kid who wants to know how to cheat the California residential requirements.

> I'm not smart enough to the extent where I can get a [merit] scholarship

Then you're not getting into Cal, UCLA, or most of the UCs.

Edit: Plus the costs for living independently anywhere nice in California will be way more than what you'd save with in-state tuition. So I guess that math is not one of your stong suits.


Title: [California] My dispensary just sent out a mass email to clients showing everyone's name/e-mail.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 *HIPAA

Is the dispensary considered a health clinic [as defined by the federal government](https://www.healthit.gov/patients-families/faqs/who-must-follow-hipaa)?


Title: My dad took money from a lump sum that my mom earned for me, and hasn't paid me back. Parents are divorced, and I will be moving out of my current space (moms) into my own place soon. California, USA

Question:
Hello! I'm not sure if this is something i can post here, but I thought of all places /r/legaladvice are the places to post.

In 2014 my mother had gained social security benefits, and was retroactively reimbursed for the years she was denied. In that case, I received a lump sum of 26,000. My mom was deep in addiction at the time and we had agreed that the funds be held in an account with only me and my dad's ability to access it.

My dad was a banker for many years, and I was underage and unfamiliar with how to handle the money. So my dad, being the most responsible with money, was the one in power of the funds.

The same year I was accepted to a state college, and first years tuition was due (something like 3,000). There was an issue with some credits that i didn't attain in high school so I was removed from the class list, already having the classes paid for I have no clue where the 3,000 is.

MORE IMPORTANTLY

My dad a few months after getting the lump sum took 10,000 out of the account and paid off some house expense that he had looming over his head. His justification was that I was living in the house at the time, making it something that indirectly benefited me. I was not told about this until the deed had already been done. I have tried talking to him a few times and i recently got a verbal confirmation that he will refinance the house and pay me back in full.

I need that money back BUT

I have since closed the account that the money was originally in, and am no longer living with my dad.

ANY TIPS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

Answer: If his name was on the account, you're SOL. If it wasn't, file a police report for theft.


Title: Divorcing and my wife proposed 50-50 sharing custody of our 1 year olds and no support. If she has no mental illness or criminal past do I have a chance of getting full custody with her getting everything other weekend and paying support or is this the best I'll get? (Idaho)

Question: Facts are that we were married for two years and she initiated the divorce and filed a month ago.

Answer:
 50/50 is the default generally. What reason do you feel she doesn't deserve equal time with her children?Answer #2: So, you cheated on her and now you want to take ger kids from her too??!!

Your a real winner.

You should fall on your knees and thank her for being fair.


Title: [USA - CA] Landlord provides single mailbox for 3 unit, 6 bedroom property

Question:
We are moving into a small house in San Diego.  Behind the house on the same property is a two story dwelling with one unit on the bottom and one unit on the top.

I just found out the units are not given individual addresses, so all of the mail for all the tenants goes into a single unlocked mailbox. This also means all of the package deliveries are delivered on to our unit's front porch even if they are addressed to tenants in the back unit.

This also affects billing services, like internet/TV.  I'm nervous about sharing an exact billing address with someone else in another unit in case they don't pay their bills or try to use our services etc. Could this affect me?

**So, is the landlord compelled to assign unit numbers and corresponding unique mailing addresses?**  I'm happy to install my own mailbox but only the property owner can change mailing addresses etc.

The owner has said he is "planning on looking into it" but I'd like to know if this is requirement or not.

For reference, water/gas/electricity is billed directly to the owner for the whole property as one bill (no submetering) and the owner distributes what they think is the fair share of the bill to each unit. It was us signing up for internet that made us question the mailing/billing situation.

Thank you!

Answer:
 The apts aren't legal in the city so they don't get a separate mail delivery.  Answer #2: This is sketchy. It implies he's renting to you all illegally without approval for multiple units.Answer #3: Talk to the post office. They should be able to assign you another address, if the place qualifies. The post office assigns addresses, not landlords.Answer #4: This doesn't sound legit.

How is your lease written up?  Does it explicitly state what parts of the address you are allowed to use?

This is a messy situation.   I would never (again) share any utilities with tenants I do not know (had a roommate in college once that installed an AC unit in his room and tripled our electric bill), and I would never trust the LL to properly determine who owes what.

In the end, it comes down to what your lease says...


Title: Lawyer advising ex to hold kids hostage

Question:
I’m the middle of a divorce/custody battle. I have a PPO out on ex and there is a temp physical custody order pending giving him custody, exclusive use of marital home and me visitation. It was signed by the judge previously but my lawyer wouldn’t sign off on it because of th domestic violence and the PPO he thought would give us leverage. Now they are going for a 7 day order based on the results of the last hearing (exclusive use and temp custody). My kids are being held hostage at their aunts away from the marital home where I am and my ex is taking days off work and got them out of school early today and may not even send them tomorrow but if he does he might just stay close to the school so I can’t get them as I can’t come near him and break my own PPO. Also if I leave the house and someone tips him off he can come occupy the house and I can’t come here and I have no place to go. What can I do? Newaygo county Michigan
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 >signed by the judge

You follow that order.


Title: California - Somebody keeps sending me shit (literally shit) from poopsenders.com and I don't know who it is and its been consecutive for the 4th time and I want to sue for harassment yet the policy of the company keeps the sender anonymous

Question:
I know you all may laugh at my case, but I've been getting shit, literally shit from someone and I don't know who is sending me these packages of shit from poopsenders.com. It has been the fourth time where I got a package full of shit and I don't know who it is.

The poopsenders.com legal policy is

"You may NOT use our service to threaten, constitute harassment, violate a legal restraint, or any other unlawful purpose. The customer agrees this is a gag gift, novelty service for entertainment ONLY and that is their only intension. shitSenders.com liability to the customer is limited to the price of the product. Customers ordering any items from this web site agree to release shitSenders.com its agents, officers, and employees of any and all liability associated with the use of our services."

Yet somehow somebody has been sending me shit consecutively and I think somebody is constituting harassment to me yet I do not know who it is since their policy is to keep the identity of the person anonymous. Anyone help?

Answer:
 > Redditor for 2 hours

This is guerilla marketing, folksAnswer #2: A subpoena would quickly reveal who is using this service to harass you.Answer #3: >poopsenders.com

This is the company sending you stuff.

Write a polite but firm letter saying that they are not to send you anything in the future, and that if they do, you'll see that as harassment.


Title: Wife's Boss Smokes Inside

Question:
As the title says my wife's boss smokes inside their tiny office space. I've done a bit of research and it seems smoking inside an office without a dedicated smoking area is illegal. My wife is afraid to take any action for the risk of being fired. Can anything be done about this anonymously?  We live in GA

Edit: The boss mentioned is also the owner of the company.

Answer: Yes this was made illegal in your state in 2005. She can contact the Georgia Department of Health and request that she remain anonymous.


Title: [California] I got into an at-fault car accident today that likely caused more damage than my policy limit. How should I proceed (I'm poor and have no assets)?

Question:
I got into a rear end collision with an expensive Porsche SUV today while driving my old 1991 Volvo 240. I was certainly at-fault in the accident and ended up causing significant damage to the rear of the other person's vehicle. Nobody was hurt and the other person's car was still drivable afterward, although my car was totaled. Because I'm a poor student I only have minimum liability coverage (I realize I should have purchased a lot more coverage now obviously), which only covers up to $5000 of damage to the other person's car. I'm almost certain the damage is more than my policy limit and am terrified I'll get sued for the remaining amount. I have less then $500 in assets so there's really nothing to collect (you can't squeeze blood from a turnip) but they could garnish my wages for instance. I have Progressive insurance btw.

I've filed a claim with my insurance company and am waiting for a damage estimate on the other person's vehicle. I don't know if what the other person's plans are at this point since the accident just happened. How should I proceed from here?

Answer:
 Jesus. I can't believe they allow such crazy low limits.

Right now, you've done exactly what you should do (don't straight up admit fault, just explain what happened and let the insurance company deal with the other guy). If the other guy decides to sue, you let the insurance company get an attorney to defend you.

Fortunately for you, a lot of PI firms do not accept property damage only claims...but this one is a tad different. Your socioeconomic situation may actually help you...a lot of attorneys would likely see the accident report and determine there's not really a whole lot they're going to get from you. No one, unless they have a serious axe to grind, *really* garnishes for settlement. It happens, but not as often as people make it to believe.

Just try not to worry too much about it. If you get served later on down the road with a complaint, give it to your insurance company and let them find an attorney to defend you.Answer #2: Not much you can do until you start to get estimates for the damage you caused.

>  I'm almost certain the damage is more than my policy limit and am terrified I'll get sued for the remaining amount.

You might be.

> (you can't squeeze blood from a turnip)

For now, but I'm assuming you're a college student so someday you will graduate and have a well paying job.


Title: New job has mandatory 2 year contact after training. If I attempt to leave they say I owe them $50,000. (NY)

Question: [deleted]

Answer: I would start with googling "Company Name scam."Answer #2: What type of training is this? Are these classes you go to that they pay for?


Title: I got arrested.

Question:
I dont know what im actually looking for. But I was arrested for a mistake and just got out of solitarily confinement for 24 hours. I have never been to prison and never ever dealed with cops before. I am a 19 year old guy who was having a drink with friends. Then there was a brawl and I was mistaken for the perpetrator and handcuffed and thrown naked in a tiny windowless cell. I got no water and no one really bother to check on me. So I had to relive myself on the floor. So the cell stank of my feces for hours. When I got out my family had called the hospital too see if I had died. They didnt let anyone know I was in jail. I broke down mentally. Is this normal or legal? I am extremly clostrophobic and have a hard time getting into elevators.

This happened in Scandinavia.

I am writing this in the hospital with a broken thumb so sorry about a bad post.

Answer:
 Which Scandinavian country? While I'm not in any of them, I can't believe that an arrest without anything else would warrant solitary confinement. You're going to need to provide ALL the details. Preferably to a real lawyer and not this subreddit - as there aren't any Kalmar Union ~~advocates~~ lawyers here as far as I know.

*edit: wrong wordAnswer #2: If you were treated this way in Scandinavia then there must be something more to the story. They are notorious for coddling their criminals in pretty much every way.


Title: Can job applications require you to fill in Mr/Mrs/Ms?

Question: Alabama, but filling out applications online, a lot of them have a required field for your "Salutation" and it gives you the option of Mr., Mrs., or Ms.  You can't continue the application unless you choose one.  I'm given to understand that gender and marital status are strictly voluntary on job applications, so can they require such a thing?

Answer:
 > I'm given to understand that gender and marital status are strictly voluntary on job applications, so can they require such a thing?

Marital status yes. Both Mr. and Ms. are ambiguous.

Gender is as well yes, but nothing stops you from choosing a different one, such as Mr. if you are a woman or Ms. if you are a man.


Title: A child of 22 years old is sewing his mother cause she isnt paying his scholarship.

Question:
Country : Canada
I know this sound crazy, but he is doing it. I know the mother, she's been a friend of my family for like 13 years +.

She doesn't know shit about the law and she's going to give him money under the table in the fear of being sued.

I just learned about it today. It make me super fucking hangry that a son can even think of doing this to his parents.

What documentation could provide her the proof that he cannot do such a thing?

Also, Is it even legal to threaten people like that? I know it's illegal for someone to treaten old people with mental illness for money, but is it illegal to do this to someone in their mid fourty?

Thank you in advance for the advices.
Have a nice day!

Answer: Is he suing her? or threatening to sue her?


Title: I a Syrian student living in Germany, but I cannot receive money from my father in the UAE

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 How is this the fault of the U.S.? Pretty sure they would be UN sanctions, which then would be the "fault" of all members.

Make an appointment with a banking manager abd politely ask for assistance.


Title: Landlord won't add my family to my mother-in-law's lease in Richardson, Texas.

Question:
My mother in law, Lisa, went house hunting for my family because we are in the process of getting out of the military and will be moving back to Texas temporarily. I say temporarily because I will be applying for jobs that will most likely take me to another state so I needed a temporary (3 months up to possibly a year) place to stay. My mother-in-law also wanted an address in Richardson so her kids can go to Richardson school because the schools where she currently lives are very sketchy i.e. metal detectors and high crime. So to knock out 2 birds with 1 stone, Lisa went ahead and signed a lease for a place in Richardson, TX to "reserve" the place for my family and also have an address she can use for her kids to go to the other district. Lisa told the landlord her plan to use the property as an address and that no one will actually be occupying the unit. Lisa was talking with several other landlords at the time to compare prices etc, and forgot to mention my family to this landlord. The whole goal was for her to rent this unit and be on the lease as the leaseholder while my family lives in it. Since she was going to already rent a Richardson address for her kids she said that my family might as well live in it since no one else will.

So the Dilemma:
Lisa brought up that my family will be getting out and moving in 3 weeks from now to make sure everything was still good with the landlord. She has been coordinating with the property manager who is not the landlord, or owner of the unit. The property manager said he had no knowledge of us and said we can only stay for up to 3 days as guests. Lisa did not write our names on the lease as occupants or anything. She only wrote her 2 kids as occupants thinking that she could just add us later when we actually move in. The Property Manager said no to adding us to the lease as occupants or tenants.

This is his reasoning:
The previous tenant rented for 4 months out of a year lease, damaged some property, then disappeared. The property manager said the previous tenant "burned" the landlord so now the landlord is gun-shy with new tenants. He said they pick their tenants "carefully". Because Lisa was only using the unit as an address and said they were only rarely going to occupy it, they agreed to lease it to Lisa because there was going to be minimal to no wear and tear on the unit and that's exactly what they wanted. They wanted a minimal "wear and tear" tenant because the landlord is paranoid and still "recovering" from the previous tenant and Lisa was the perfect tenant for them because she said she wasn't even going to be living there.

I called the property manager and asked if I can fill out an application, do a background check and credit check etc on me and my wife. I have been renting from on-base military housing for 5 years so I have a great reference. I asked for Lisa to stay as the tenant/leaseholder and for my wife and 1 and 3 year old to be added as occupants. He said no because the landlord wanted "minimal" wear and tear on the unit and that's why they approved Lisa who wasn't even going to occupy it. He said if Lisa had mentioned us as occupants, they would not have approved her lease. So now, I am faced with renting at another place while Lisa is paying for this place in which she would be wasting money because she could have used my place that I am now needing to rent as an address instead. My family not occupying this unit completely defeats the purpose of getting the unit and is now wasting Lisa's money because now I am just going to be getting my own place.

Is there a way around this? Is the landlord breaking any laws? This unit is a 2 bd/2.5 bath. The property manager brought up that too many people would be staying there, and I said it would only be me, wife, 1, and 3 year old..not Lisa and her kids, they would be the "guests" visiting not staying the night. Is the landlord allowed to deny Lisa adding occupants to the lease? Is there something I can do to be added to the lease so I can stay there? There is a clause that says Lisa can have a subtenant, but the landlord needs to agree on the subtenant...knowing that the landlord only approved Lisa because Lisa wasn't even going to occupy the unit and how the property manager stated that if Lisa mentioned my family staying she would have been denied..I'm pretty sure the landlord would deny me being the subtenant. I was thinking about calling the city to complain and mention that the landlord must be breaking some type of law for not allowing the leaseholder to add tenants/occupants because we would cause too much "wear and tear" on the property. But I didn't want to mention to the city that Lisa is breaking the law by using an address for her kids to go to another school district asI'm sure this would be brought up as it would need to in order to explain this situation. Is there anything I can do??? Thank you.

Answer:
 You guys are SOL. There's no law that a landlord has to accept tenants at all, and they certainly can't be forced to modify a lease to add an entire family of sub-tenants that were not disclosed or agreed to before the lease was signed.

Texas law is fairly landlord friendly; [you can't sublease an apartment without the approval of the landlord](http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PR/htm/PR.91.htm).

>Sec. 91.005.  SUBLETTING PROHIBITED.  During the term of a lease, the tenant may not rent the leasehold to any other person without the prior consent of the landlord.

TBH I can understand why your landlord is kind of sketched by all of this; I'm sure you all mean well, but your MIL showed up and rented a room for just her kids, then she suddenly decided that *four other people* would be moving in even though she explicitly said the opposite in order to get the landlord to agree to rent to her. The landlord doesn't know you people at all, so all of this shucking and jiving probably makes him extremely nervous.

As far as your last question -- I definitely would not tell the city what your mother-in-law is doing. People have [been arrested](http://abcnews.go.com/US/ohio-mom-jailed-sending-kids-school-district/story?id=12763654) for that kind of thing, and while I don't think that would happen here it's still pretty risky since if the city finds out they might have her kids expelled from school.Answer #2: Put yourself in the landlord's shoes and try to understand why this all sounds like some kind of ridiculous bait and switch. No doubt they think you are some kind of radioactive bad tenants with some kind of history that would prevent you from getting a lease without false pretenses.


Title: A tenant told us that she dropped a shampoo bottle and cracked the shower tub

Question:
We live in California.  The property we are renting out is a 2 story townhouse with 3 bed, 2.5 bathrooms built in 1988.

We got a text this morning with a picture of a cracked shower tub.  The tenant claimed that she dropped the shampoo bottle and the tub cracked.

It is an old shower tub but otherwise free from any cracks last time we inspected it.  So I am kinda shocked that a "shampoo bottle" cracked the bathtub.

I do have a home warranty but they denied my coverage saying that "it is caused by foreign object" and they only cover normal wear and tear.

So I have a couple of questions.  I think bathtub made of fiberglass will not last very long and eventually crack with the age and usage.  So I was thinking if a drop of shampoo bottle was enough to crack the bathtub, it was gonna crack any time soon from any use anyway, hence normal wear and tear.  Can the home warranty company really deny the coverage?

The second question is that if I were to replace the bathtub, can I charge the tenant with anything?  Or do I have to eat the whole cost?

&#x200B;

Answer:
 The cost is yours, not the renter's if they cracked it by dropping a bottle of shampoo.  Generally you are liable for fixing anything that is not caused by wrongful action of the tenant.Answer #2: I can only answer the first question. Yes, a full bottle of shampoo could crack an old fibreglass tub - as you acknowledge, it's only a matter of time until it cracks from use anyway. Especially if it's used as a shower but isn't reinforced or supported properly for that.

If you've provided a shower with the wrong sort of tub, then it's probably down to you.


Title: [California] Made purchases on my charge card at the request of my boss, 5 months later have not been reimbursed.

Question:
I was working as a personal assistant to a "celebrity" from October 2014 - June 2015. I had 2 charge cards, one I used for me personally, and one that was dormant. When I started working, I would charge things on my dormant card and at the end of the week would be reimbursed.
This worked without error until April. My boss racked up $20,000.00 in charges. He has slowly paid back some, but the last 3 out of 5 checks he wrote me bounced. Kept getting the run around, "Oh I'm waiting on money from Asia but it was a holiday so it's delayed two weeks," "I'm waiting on a payment from London that's way over due."

I go away for 2 weeks vacation, come back mid June and he tells me he doesn't have a job for me (presumably because he's out of money) but will pay me within 15 days. Did not happen. So the end of July comes, and his balance is $13k. He told me that the CFO of his company would be taking care of it. These were all personal charges, so I am surprised the CFO is dealing with this at all. CFO emails me and said he reconciled accounts and is ready to "pick up the pieces." I send him over the break down of charges, from American Express as well as my own record keeping for his payments. Nothing back. I email and ask for an update, the CFO says he'd like to "come up with a plan" to repay me by the first week of August. That was the last I heard despite several emails and phone calls to his office.

I have been contacting my former boss again about this, who just tells me that the CFO will call me. Every time I call the office, the CFO is not there. He has denied every single request to meet in person, as has my boss, because I asked them to give me signed statements taking responsibility for the debt. It's since come to my attention that my boss has a history of this sort of behavior, including liens, issues with the IRS and a couple lawsuits. One article I found mentions his excessive personal sending and lack of business know-how, which at this point I can agree with 100%.

I asked him to take a bank loan to pay me back, he said he cannot. I don't think it's worth getting a lawyer, as it would cost me as much as he owes me, I think. I am ready to go public, but I have concerns. I signed an NDA, which I do not have a copy of. I know that my boss doesn't either. He keeps no records. The NDA was almost entirely about trade secrets, but I'm not sure if "scam" is a trade secret. Just kidding, I don't know if this sort of thing is exempt from that kind of contract. I have written a statement and have secured a couple media outlets who have agreed to publish it. My mom thinks I should start a GoFundMe. Oh, I'm relatively young, 24 years old.
I know this is my own fault. I'm not here to discuss what I could've done differently, I'm here asking how I can get reimbursed quickly and efficiently with minimal collateral damage. This has been bothering me for months and is going absolutely no where. I have keys to his house and thought about repossessing items I purchased on his behalf, $7000 drapes, $1200 coffee table, $2700 rug.

Any insight would be appreciated!

I'm using a throwaway because I don't know if going public is my best bet, and don't want this to be tied to me if not.

Answer:
 First off, do not take anything from him. If you took cash from him, you *might* be able to get away with it if his debt proves legitimate. But you can't just take things from people who owe you money without going through the proper channels.

Second, this is not your fault, screw pissy redditors who like to blame the victim and tell you what you should have done. Yeah, you didn't act that wisely, but this guy is the only one who has done anything wrong.

Last, I don't know why you think a lawyer would cost more than it's worth. If he owes you $13,000, and his behavior is any indication, you might not ever get that back without legal action. A few well-drafted letters from a lawyer and a credible threat of a lawsuit can get people off their ass and move you up the list of priorities. This might take only an hour or two of a lawyer's time. Sure, litigation is expensive, but this is not a case that would ever be litigated. Especially if you have documentation to back that up (including e-mails, voicemails, or just employment agreements).


Title: [GA] Can my non-citizen gf get child support from the child's father who I believe has a green card?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Immigation law and visa requirements are very complex. I'd honestly tell your g/f to meet with an immigration attorney. If you can, try and look for one for her and meet with one for a low-cost or no-cost consult. They'd be able to shed more light on the situation. If she can't afford the cost of a consult, you might be able to. I wouldn't wager it'd be more than $100-$200. It buys an hour of their time to look into it for you and advise her on what to do next.

Having said that, if she has the child in America, ~~that's going to help her chances at citizenship a lot.~~that **COULD** help her chances of protecting her child and their relationship. I'll probably get flamed to the gills for advocating this, and AFAIK the Supreme Court hasn't yet weighed in on this, but if I was looking out for a girl I loved, I'd find ways to get what I wanted through the law. Equality before the law, as they say.