Title: Seller refuses to sell item won on eBay?

Question:
Hello,
I recently won a wholesale lot of goods at a very low price on eBay. The seller sold the exact same type of lot a few days prior and it went for a lot more. After I won, they sent me a message saying sorry it should have had a reserve, you can't have it. I will relist it and you can try again. Do I have any legal grounds for the goods at the won price? The value of the good versus what I paid is worth legally pursuing, I just am not sure if I am on solid ground here or not. **Edit** I am located in PA, USA.

Thanks!

Answer:
 Complain to ebay. Where is the seller located?Answer #2: > Do I have any legal grounds for the goods at the won price?

Technically, winning the auction creates a legally binding contract between you and the seller. You could, at least theoretically, sue them to force them to honor the winning bid price.

From eBay's [user agreement](http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html#7):

> You enter into a legally binding contract to purchase an item when you commit to buy an item or if you have the winning bid (or your bid is otherwise accepted).


Title: I look too white - Tennessee, US

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: Something is missing from this story.


Title: Got caught shoplifting a small amount in a foreign country. What could happen if I leave the country without paying the fine?

Question:
I'm a US citizen, currently living in Norway. I got caught shoplifting a $15 toothbrush and got sent a letter saying I have to pay a fine of $300. I'm leaving Norway in 2 months and don't plan on coming back any time soon.

So my question is -- What is the worst that could happen if I leave the country before paying the fee? I have the ability to postpone the fine up to 2 months online, and to pay in increments. I really have no way to pay the fine, so my plan is to postpone the fee and leave without paying. The only information that the store owner has about me is my driver's licence ID. Is there any way this could affect me in the US? If I try to re-renter Norway in the future, could there be consequences?

Answer:
 You can afford to fly to the US but not pay $300 in installments?

To answer your questions. You will be denied permission to enter Norway, where there will be a standing warrant for your arrest. If you attempt to enter you will be arrested. You may also be denied visa to other countries in the Schengen Area.


Title: Should I become a lawyer?

Question:
What are the pros and cons of going to law school and is it worth it?

Obviously part of this question is subjective and depends on my own preferences, but let's just assume that I enjoy law.

I intend this post to be fairly general for anyone else who may have a similar question.

^^^P.S. ^^^I'm ^^^sorry ^^^locationbot ^^^please ^^^forgive ^^^me

Answer: If you have to ask, nope.


Title: If a Chinese wife hits her American husband while they live in China, what can he do? Her family has keys to everything and the husband has little to no cash... Sichuan province of China

Answer:
 Do you have access to a mobile phone?

Are you allowed to / able to leave the house?

The emergencies number listed for American Citizen Services is in Beijing so you'll probably just want to directly call the consulate closest to you.

**U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu**
4 Lingshiguan Road
Chengdu, Sichuan 610041
Switchboard: +86 (28) 8558 3992

They will be able to talk to the police on your behalf and/or arrange translators if you need them for legal matters. You can also try contacting one of the lawyers at http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/legal_assistance.html. The only lawyer I personally know on that list is in Yunnan.

Under certain circumstances, the State Department will even loan money to Americans to be repatriated.

Answer #2: Wife is subject to an laws pertaining to domestic violence in Sichuan. Husband can leave whenever he wants. It might not be easy but that's his choice.


Title: Neighbor hit my car a few days ago, didn't tell me it was him until now. He is giving me a run around on insurance information. [NY]

Question:
I received a text from one of my roommates yesterday that our neighbor had come over, and asked who's car was [insert car description here]. He then told her that a few days ago, he backed into my car in the driveway, and did damage to the rear drivers side of it. I had not noticed the damage up until this point, but once I went to look, the tail light was shattered and shifted, the rear drivers guard was compressed and dented, and the bumper was compressed, dented and chipped. I immediately took pictures of the damage and my odometer, and went to get a quote for the repairs promptly. My roommate passed on his contact information. I texted him, asking for a picture of his drivers license, insurance card, and for him to tell me what date he hit my car. He told me that he hit my car on Sunday, and that he was going to speak to his family to get his insurance information. Later, he responded saying that he wants to give me money and pay for it off record. I told him that I don't feel comfortable doing that, as I have had instances before where I've been out significant amounts of time and money lost due to situations like that. He then tells me that his dad has connections with a local shop, who would fix the car up, and the bill would go directly to them, at no cost to me. He does not want his insurance rates to go up. Over the upcoming weeks I am very busy and cannot afford the time to lose access to my car while these parts are repaired at his shop. I'm very concerned that things will go wrong, and I financially cannot afford any losses on something like this. I'm very concerned that things will go wrong, and I financially cannot afford any losses on something like this.
I have no police report, as I had no knowledge that this incident had happened until four days afterwards. My quote was done through a garage that is accredited by my insurance provider. I have, in writing, multiple times that he admitted that he hit my car. I have pictures of the damage to my car, as well as pictures of his car with the license plate. What are my options if he does not give me his insurance information?

Answer: Call the police. It's a hit and run at this point that he has admitted to.


Title: 92 yr old grandfather made to move to Alaska with alcoholic Aunt, unable to leave the house, and unable to move without a "Babysitter". Can we make him our dependent so he can live with people who actually care about his well-being?

Question:
This is a doozie full of lots of issues. Sorry if it's long!

My grandfather (mother's side) is 92, used to live in California with us before we moved, then he moved to Alaska with my generally abusive and I think alcoholic Aunt on my mother's side. They used to leave him for days at a time, alone in the house while they wen't fishing, gambling, etc. and I think my Aunt realized it was elder abuse and he was telling my mom this over the phone, so my Aunt has her daughter's mother in law taking care of him, bathing him, helping him use the bathroom, etc. (Idk if she hired her or if it's just her helping). He has called us when my Aunt and her husband have left him all alone at home and has told us he wants to move to where we are now, (we live on the west coast still) but my Aunt is his legal guardian, making that difficult. She lies about us to him and his lawyer who gave her custody of him, but my Grandfather now realizes it's all a lie and my Aunt has been selling his property to pay for her cigarettes and alcohol, and keeps him from his memories, computer, and other items in their storage shed, not allowing him to even look at pictures of his dead wife or his family. She even makes him pay rent to live there, when he doesn't even want to stay with them!

She  is letting him visit us (and is coming along, probably to make sure he doesn't run away) for the first time is maybe 9 years for less than a day and then will be taking the same plane back to Alaska. My mom is going to see him and talk to him about anything her sister will allow them to, but I'm not able to go because of college. Unrelated, but my Aunt, I think is running away from the IRS and has moved to Texas, Kentucky, and now Alaska to avoid being found and uses my grandfather's pension and her paycheck (for living in Alaska) to pay for their home.

&#x200B;

My legal question is: is there anything we can do to get guardianship over my grandfather? He is considered mentally unable to make decisions for himself, therefore my Aunt is his guardian and makes his decisions with their lawyer, who thinks we are terrible people. He was being abused as an elder before but now we are unsure, but I'm VERY sure he doesn't want to live there still, but he isn't capable of making that decision.... We don't know how much longer he will be alive or be able to take planes around, we want him to live happily with what time he has left.
Topic:
CPS and Dependency Law

Answer:
 It takes money and APS reports to challenge guardianship. If you're serious about it- start by calling APS and report the financial abuse and neglect. You should ask for them to audit his fiances and verify she does have legal guardianship.

She may have POA, which is a LOT different then guardianship. Usually it involves hearings and people can testify about their opinions about who is trying to become the guardian as well the ward's need. Also, guardianship can't just be willy-nilly signed over or even inherited. It is a legal process, so I really would do the following:

-Verify there IS a legal guardianship or POA.

-Does the state she recede in match the Guardianship paperwork and does the state recognize their guardianship paperwork? Fun fact: [you have to typically transfer your guardianship state to state](https://www.specialneedsalliance.org/transferring-guardianship-between-states/) if they're not apart of the UAGPPJA. [See the list of states here.](https://blog.aarp.org/2014/08/11/39-states-and-counting-caregiving-across-state-lines/)

-Work with APS with reporting acts of abuse and neglect.

-Lawyer up.


Title: How can I [29m] legally take custody of my gf's [27f] dog for his own safety?

Question:
Tldr; I fear my dog is unsafe with my ex-gf. How can I protect him while he is not legally my property? I live in Dallas, Tx.

Hello all, thank you for reading thus far. I have ended my relationship of almost 3 years with my girlfriend last night. It was an abusive situation where she struck me several times, ending up in bruises and cuts. We have fought several times and it has always escalated in violence on her part. She grew up in a very violent situation and was physically and verbally abused by her father. She had ended these fights in our relationship by trying to kill herself on 3 separate  occasions.
The first time was locking herself in a garage with the vehicle left on, second involved locking herself in the garage but swallowed a bottle of pills that I had to scoop from her mouth (I got the just in time), and the third time (last night) she took a razor blade to her wrist which I was thankfully able to take from her in time. She attacked me in response, scraping my face, and telling to stab me with a pencil.  She still managed to cut her finger, I carried her outside and locked the door.

She is deeply depressed and is supposed to be on medication, it is very bad when she misses a couple of days. Other than that it is okay.

She screamed bloody murder outside for the neighborhood to hear until I let her inside.
She was crying for me to release her dog to her, which she owns. I told her I felt it was unsafe for the dog and would be happy to release him to the proper authorities. She tried to kick the door down until I allowed her in. I know how this can look regarding the male perspective, I should not have let her in in retrospect.
I videotaped all of this exchange.

I called her parents to come pick her up (telling them she was a danger to herself and others.) and videotaped the whole exchange while I waited for her to be picked up. She recounted that she could have me thrown in jail because I was male and she was female. Then she kicked me in the nuts. All on tape.

Her parents arrived. She was concerned about the blood on my face which she had caused. I asked her to leave and she did. She came back to the door a few minutes later to return the pistol that she had taken from my nightstand.

I could definitely elaborate on the details of last night but long story short I honestly feel she is not of sound mind to look after another life even if it's of an animal.

I love him very much and it would cause much stress to him to uproot him, especially since he is attached to my dog by the hip. I pay for both of our dogs bills.

I can take the violence but an 8lb dog cannot. I'm still shaken up by everything so i apologize if this is hard to read. I will go back through and correct everything.

What can I do to protect our dog from her until he can be safe? I have to go to work at 7am and she still has keys. She carries a pocket knife so the last thing I'm going to try to do is wrestle a house key from her. All of her stuff is here as well.

Answer:
 Call the cops you lunatic.

The dog shouldn't even be in your top 10 concerns here.Answer #2: >How can I [29m] legally take custody of my gf's [27f] dog for his own safety?

 It's interesting how you never mention her harming the dog once.

>I can take the violence but an 8lb dog cannot.

 Get your priorities straight. Answer #3: You can call animal control to report abuse, but the courts don’t do pet custody, pets are personal property, the court won’t decide anything other than who owns it.Answer #4: Please call the police.

I completely understand why you're worried for the dog. I've been there. But you are just as worthy of protection.


Title: I purposely didn't initial the auto-renew section of a contract because I didn't want to auto-renew...

Question: [From Clifton, VA]  I signed a contract with a fitness staffing company who provides fitness trainers.  There is a paragraph in the contract that discusses the issue of auto-renewing, and there is a spot for the signers initials at the end of the paragraph.  I purposely didn't initial because I didn't want to auto-renew.  Now the company is saying I have to auto-renew because it's in the contract.  I say I don't have to because I opted not to initial that section.  Does my defense hold water?

Answer:
 It's not air-tight, but it's not horrible.  THey wanted you to initial each section to show that you agreed to each section.  You didn't agree to that section, so you didn't initial.

You would have been better off crossing it out, initialing next to the cross-out, and having the other guy initial there also.

But, in general, don't take legal advice from fitness staffing companies.  The right answer is "No, you're wrong.  If you disagree, you're free to sue me."


Title: Rolled past a stop sign and got a ticket. (Michigan)

Question:
So I rolled past a stop sign at 12 in the night coming out of a exit were there were absolutely no cars coming and trees that kind of obstruct the view of the potential traffic I would have to deal with. So I basically got past the trees, slowed down saw no cars were there (literally zero cars) and I kinda stopped then rolled out of the exit.

A police officer stops me and fines me and told me I had 12 days to go to court and I found out it would be 130$ and 3 points on my license. I went in on the 11 day and found out the paper work had not been done which was weird because the officer specifically told I HAD to show up to court by 12 days.

I asked the clerk about potentially fighting it and she said I was allowed an informal hearing, would it be possible to present my case giving my side of the story and have a potential to get the fine/points reduced or thrown out? Would there be any downside at all of at least trying to go to an informal hearing? Like if I show up and it turns out they are still going to charge me will I have to pay any extra court fee or anything?

This is is Michigan

Answer: Nothing coming or not you legally have to stop at a stop sign.Answer #2: You're allowed to present your argument. Though I hope you have something better than "no one else was around," because.. I mean, one that's not an excuse and two someone *was* around or you wouldn't have gotten a ticket from the cop who counts as a someone.


Title: Is a no-smoking policy enforceable at a private rental apartment property?

Question:
Location: Alpharetta, GA
Context: Signed a rental agreement, including the clause: "This is a non-smoking community, whereby tenants agree not to smoke on property. A fine for committing this offense will be payable to [property] in the amount of $250.00." I'm not a big smoker, but about once a month I get the urge to smoke on my balcony with a glass of wine. Knowing that I signed the contract with the aforementioned clause included, I am considering doing it sneakily. Yes, I know smoking is bad.
Question: How can they possibly prove that I smoked on the property? If they issue me a fine, is there a way to weasel out of it?

Answer:
 > How can they possibly prove that I smoked on the property?

Smell, photos, witnesses, and plenty of other ways.


Title: Georgia- i am 18 and my girlfriend is 17.

Question: her mom is threatening to get me arrested for sex with a minor. everything we did was 100% consensual and the age of consent here is 16. is there anything her mom can do?

Answer: Her mom is blowing smoke, you didn't break any laws.


Title: [Seattle, WA] I am legally appealing against the university and have a couple of questions.

Question:
A few weeks ago I asked about me being wrongfully convicted of sexual assault through the university of Washington. I exhausted all their resources and now I'm taking legal action.

I am wondering if any of you know if I am still allowed to attend my university while I'm fighting them in a legal matter? If not is there something I can file to keep me there?

Thank you all!

Answer: That's up to the university and your attorney. There's no law that says you can't. There's also no law forcing the university to keep you.


Title: [CA] How would it be possible for someone to go to college if their parents didn't provide financial information and without a scholarship or a wavier?

Question: My step daughter graduated from college and got her degree. She is about to turn 24. Neither my husband nor his ex-wife gave her any financial information and she didn't get a wavier for that or have a scholarship. We knew she was working but not anything about her going to college. She says that she took one class at a time and paid for each class as she went. But that still doesn't explain it and we just want to know how.

Answer:
 Go get fucked.

Seriously, your husband and his ex refused to provide her with FAFSA information, and now want to what, challenge her degree?  You sound like awful people.

She could still get financial aid and a waiver if she was independent (there's a test for it, and completely useless parents/stepparents are a big positive to meet it), she could work and take one or two classes at a time. State schools outside of the main universities are still amazingly affordable (Cal Northridge, for example, is only about 2k/semester for half time students, and 3200 for full time). There are also private loans and scholarships, university funds independent of fafsa, on-campus work and tuition waivers, and a 100 other ways for a motivated student to earn her degree.

Seriously, if you refused to help earlier, this is none of your damn business.Answer #2: I don't know why you think she couldn't have gotten a waiver, or taken a few credits at a time.

Your husband and his ex sound like sterling parents.  She's to be commended for graduating in spite of them.Answer #3: Why wouldn't that explain it?

And I have to say: it doesn't sound like you were very involved in her life anyway so why does it matter? Well done her.Answer #4: Well, even though all of the "parents" in her life are awful, she managed to finish college anyway.  Good for her.

You have no legal right to know this. You should take this to another sub.


Title: [MD] Is it illegal for work hours to be controlled by retail metrics?

Question:
This is just a hunch from me at this point, since it's only been a week and a half and the data pool is still admittedly small, but I'm more curious on if this is something I should notify the department of labor about. I've been working part-time for a semi-large retail company for a little over a year now. We've just finished our holiday bust and hours are short all around. I've noticed a concerning pattern this week, how it seems that the employees with the most credit card sign ups are getting the most hours. My store has been pushing credit cards on the customers for quite a while, but it's always seemed to be more of a "just ask, if the customer says no then that's okay." There's no real compensation for the employee to do so other than "stats," and the occasional raffle ("sign up 5 people and we'll give you a gift card!") However, under new management they seem to be getting more voracious for them. Me, and another associate in particular, who generally have an average amount of sign-ups have been in a bit of a dry lately. With holiday shoppers who go out once a year, and frequent returns while being the only employee in a service desk position, there's no real incentives you can offer customers to make them more likely to sign up.

Context aside, the concern is this; I was conveniently "forgot" when it came to scheduling, and I had to actively take other employee's shifts to get ANY hours this week. 2 other associates have only been scheduled once in the week for a 5 hour shift, and 2 other employees have upwards of 24 hours on schedule. These numbers also happen to coincide with the number of credit, warranty, and rewards card sign ups (they have a white board displaying the amount of each for each employee). The 2 employees with all the hours have the most metrics, and the 3 with the least are the ones being shafted for hours.

My question here is that I'm not certain if this is illegal or not. I know for sure it's a shitty thing to do considering my hours are being dictated by a customer's ability to say "no," but is there actually any rules preventing this? I took a look at the USDL's website and it was a bit intimidating to a layman like me.

I'm also mostly asking to know if this would be worth investigating further, since obviously so far my only "proof" is the hours and metrics contrarily lining up.

Answer:
 >I know for sure it's a shitty thing to do

Why is it shitty to give more hours to the best performing employees?

Certainly your company should make their performance metrics and the use of those metrics clear to the employees (as a matter of not being shitty, not necessarily as a matter of law).  But lots of jobs have all kinds of consequences tied to performance against their established metrics.  Even being terminated.Answer #2: Nope. Perfectly legal.


Title: My father was "set up" to be fired from a major package delivery company in retaliation to a grievance he filed. Please help! [Florida]

Question:
My dad has been a driver for a major package delivery company (I opting to not reveal the name) for 12 years. He is 3 years from retirement. In the last two years they have been overloading his truck, forcing him to work 10h days or longer, everyday. It was killing him so in the last month he filed a grievance which seemed to help because his load went back to a normal load. In the last week they began over loading him again so he filed another grievance yesterday. This morning they said he was "terminated pending investigation" because of a package left on his truck. He said he checks his truck everyday before leaving the bay and the truck was completely empty. He also said the package which was on his truck this morning was rather large and impossible to miss, so he believes the package was planted there in retaliation to the grievances he has filed. The union has done nothing in the past to help keep drivers loads down and it is highly likely that they are receiving some sort of compensation from the company to stay out of issues, so they probably wont help in this matter. What should my dad do from here? I fully believe he has grounds for multiple lawsuits from this company, one being discrimination against senior employees because they are usually the ones who are over loaded while younger guys have regular loads, which, in my opinion, is the company trying to force the senior employees to quit or go into early retirement, to pay them less of their pension. Also, what can he do now to collect evidence of them planting this package on his truck? Thank you, any advice would be greatly appreciated

UPDATE: After further conversation with the union rep there appears to be multiple grievances of harassment by the same supervisor to other employees and this might not be an isolated case. My father has an appointment tomorrow to speak with the union rep to go over details about his experience and to find out more details on how to proceed from here. Thank you everybody for your support and advice I cannot tell you how much our family appreciates it.

Answer:
 > What should my dad do from here?

Contact his Union rep.

> I fully believe he has grounds for multiple lawsuits from this company, one being discrimination against senior employees because they are usually the ones who are over loaded while younger guys have regular loads, which, in my opinion, is the company trying to force the senior employees to quit or go into early retirement, to pay them less of their pension.

You'd need to back up your beliefs and opinions with hard evidence. Do you have (or can gain access to) extensive records of everyone's truck loads to show that senior workers have disproportionately larger loads?Answer #2: He needs to work with his union rep. This will all be figured out through the contract and grievance process. Absent the union contract, he can be fired for almost anything, so whether you think they're taking payoffs from management or not  (highly, highly unlikely by the way), it's still his best bet. If he is unsatisfied with his rep, he can escalate it up the food chain.

There's also more to this story here that either you or your dad are leaving out. No one in a union gets fired for something this trivial, because it would never hold up under the appeal process.


Title: Roommate woes, need advise regarding moving out.

Question:
Hello! In an effort not to make a huge wall of text, I'll leave out the reasons that have lead me to moving out of the home in Denver, CO. I told my roommate I was leaving and that I forfeit my deposit to them. I gave my Rental Agency 30 day notice per my lease, let them know I forfeit the deposit to the roommate, and paid the rent for the remaining 30 days. The lease has a month and a half left on it. The lease is not per individual but for the house as a hole under both our names. The utilities were all in my name and I let my roommate know that they would need to transfer them into their name. The roommate refused. I cancelled the cable/internet after paying all of it, paid the water bill in full then removed my name, paid the entire bill for the power then removed my name from it as well. By default, the power goes back into the name of the Rental Agency. I let them know I had removed my name and the roommate refused to put it into her name and they thanked me for keeping them in the loop.

Today is my final day in the house and the roommate is threatening to take me to court if I do not pay half for the utilities after I move out. The roommate is demanding I continue to pay half for all utilities until the leases end. Is this a legitimate threat? What do I need to do?

Answer:
 Not sure how you think you can walk out on your agreements.

If you agreed to pay half the utilities for the duration of the lease then you owe that.

You can pay or do nothing and let them sue you.


Title: I helped my Nephew's SO get government assistance under the agreement she would pay rent. They moved out and I still haven't received anything.

Question:
Hello Legal. first time posting here and figured instead of spending hours searching on Google for what I couldn't find, someone here might know.  Located in the U.S.

A little backstory:
My nephew, we'll call him John, moved in with us to get his life together and before telling us he was moving his SO, we'll call her Jane into our house, she moved in. My utilities went up dramatically in the short amount of time she spent here. (Taking 4 showers a day will rack a water bill up quickly, for example)

My wife and I explained to them that they couldn't stay here for free because we are feeding not only our family of 4, but John, Jane and her son on only my paycheck since my wife can't work. Since neither one had a job at the time, and John couldn't get a legitimate job due to bad decisions made in his life, we told them to try to get government assistance. John got denied for whatever reason (probably didn't try hard enough, his missed child support, misdemeanor, or something else wrong he did.. Catching my drift so far?)

Jane was accepted because she says she pays $XX amount in rent, has to supply her own food, and she has to take care of her son. I don't really know what all was said exactly because I wasn't there.

As we all know, when you claim you pay rent, you have to show proof or have someone send a letter saying that they pay rent at a residence. We give her this letter under a verbal agreement that she would pay us the rent and that they would both move out after they save enough money. At this point, John is working at a place making "enough".

About 2 weeks have passed since they moved out and I'm still playing "catch-up" on my bills. (Really, just pulling money from my "spending cash" from my paycheck) Jane keeps claiming she hasn't received any cash assistance, but she's getting SNAP benefits. They just keep giving the run-around on why they can't give me the money she agreed to give us.

Is there anything I can do to either report that she has not paid me anything or find out if she is telling the truth that she hasn't received the cash assistance? My wife already threatened to call the DHS office and tell them the situation. To which she replied "Go ahead and call. They won't give any information out to a 3rd party." Which is the reason I'm posting today to find out if we really can do anything or if I am SOL even though she is getting money fraudulently at this point.

I don't know if this is even the right sub. But any help would be great. (Even if it is pointed in the right direction)

edit: Also, my wife corrected me. She wrote a letter as a proof of residency, not the amount supposed to be paid in rent.

Answer: Wait, so you want to report her for not paying you part of the assistance she may have/may not have received due to you providing her with false papers that she pays you rent? This doesn't sound good. What am I missing?Answer #2: This sounds like something you need to write off as a lived-and-learned, or else you face potential criminal charges for fraud.


Title: Broke parenting plan, admitted fault. Ex husband still taking me to court

Question:
Background info: Last November, my two sons and mother were rear ended by a drunk driver. My younger child (6M) almost lost his life. I have a lawyer dealing with that case on our behalf.

I have two children (10M) and (6M). My ex husband is the bio father of the 10yr old, but not the 6yr old. My ex husband has always treated my 6yr old as his own, though, as his bio father is out of the picture. When we divorced, our parenting plan listed my 6yr old with our 10yr old to have visitation according to our agreement. A month or so later, CSED sent my ex a letter saying he committed fraud for adding my 6yr old to the PP. This will be important in a minute.

In January of this year my ex husband had both boys for visitation and brought the younger by my house to fix his braces (his mouth was wired shut in the accident). I could smell alcohol on his breath. I flipped out, and stopped letting him have visitation. I realize now that was an inappropriate response, and now he is taking me to court for breaking the parenting plan. I have two main questions:

1)I live in Montana and have a medical marijuana card. Can CPS take my kids from me over this?
2)I fully intend to admit I was in the wrong. I even offered visitiation to resume as normal, with no response from my ex. Will the judge remove my 6yr old from the PP due to my ex husband not being his legal father?

*Sorry pushed send with my boob.
*Montana, USA thanks

Answer: I don't understand? Why is your ex taking you to Court?


Title: Forced to move into SO’s mothers and now she is demanding rent.

Question:
Started over a year ago when SO was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given a year to live. After returning from a family vacation I came home to all my stuff moved into Mothers basement. She explained we can stay rent free while I take care of her daughter during her battle with illness.

Now one year later she is not dead and for some reason that upset mother and is now demanding rent.

She forced us to move here and I’m not spending my money on what I believe was a scam to begin with.

I need to save my money as when insurance runs out my SO will need insane amount of money to pay for her life saving medicine.

Until they give me in writing I have 90 days to leave or police will be enforced they won’t see a dime.

The condition of the living environment is unlawful and dangerous. I have a lot of electronics and only one power socket to plug 25 things into. There is no fire escape, kitchen is nasty upstairs and there are dogs rampant peeing all over the floor up there. Just a few reasons I will not budge on paying.

I’m in the process of expungement of a felony from 6 years ago so its not the best position to find a place to rent.

If they push rent on me what can I do to demand a just solution?

We live in Minnesota.

Answer:
 You can either pay rent or vacate. There aren't really any other choices. Unless they put a gun to your head, no one "forced" you to move there.Answer #2: > If they push rent on me what can I do to demand a just solution?

You can either pay the rent they're asking, or leave. You cannot force them to let you live there rent-free. Answer #3: Well, since they already notified you, you can pay or leave. If you become a felon AND have an eviction, you'll never find a place.


Title: If someone has a photo of you in your underwear that they passed around the office and you didn’t give them the consent to take a picture what kind of trouble can they get into

Answer:
 As another has commented, the sharing of lewd or obscene photographs in the workplace (regardless of who is the photo) can be considered sexual harassment. The fact that YOU are the subject and this was all performed w/o consent just makes it worse. Contact your HR and file a formal complaint.

I just wanted to add : if your workplace participates in Silent Whistle or a similar service, you can also file an anonymous complaint.


Title: [Seattle,WA] Girlfriend might be facing constructive dismissal for her chronic health problems - is there any protection for her?

Question:
Hi all,

We live in Seattle, WA.  My girlfriend has had to miss a lot of work due to her chronic type 1 diabetes and reduced immune system.  Her job involves being around children and all their germs, and her weakened immune system means she gets sick much easier than fully healthy people.  Her job may be trying to force her into quitting by some of the people over her being rude, saving the worst jobs for her to do, blowing things out of proportion, etc.  I have advised her to make them fire her if she can in order to collect unemployment, but I'd like some legal advice.  Is her status protected under the ADA since these health problems stem from her documented type 1 diabetes?  Can they fire her for calling out sick because of this?  What recourse does she have under existing legal protections?  We're a two income household, but losing her income would hurt significantly even though I work in tech (because Seattle is an expensive city) so we're trying to mitigate this.

Her coworker, who also has a very severe chronic illness, has been told that if she takes any more sick days within the next two weeks then she will be fired.  My girlfriend is worried that she is next on the chopping block, so we're trying to be prepared.

Answer:
 > Is her status protected under the ADA since these health problems stem from her documented type 1 diabetes?

Yes, Diabetes is a recognized disability under the ADA.  That's not a magic wand though, there are limits.

> Can they fire her for calling out sick because of this?

Has she requested FMLA time and does she qualify for it?  She can't just take unlimited sick days because she has a disability.  Is her company aware of her condition, or has she just called in sick a lot?

> What recourse does she have under existing legal protections?

That depends on what she's done so far and what they're trying to do.  If she has maxed out her time off, or is otherwise incapable of performing her job even with an accommodation, they can separate her.  Constant, unplanned absences in the child care field might be an unreasonable accommodation request they don't have to honor.


Title: My ex girlfriend called the police on me. What's going to happen?

Question:
I am a college student in Indiana, US. After a year and half of emotional, and occasional physical abuse, I decided to leave my "romantic" relationship. She had constantly pulled "I will kill myself" trick to get me back whenever I said something wrong, or decided to leave the scene.
So I eventually decided that I was done with her. She begged me to change my mind, but my romantic emotions were already depleted. I told her that I will see a new person. She reacted aggressively towards that, saying that she would hurt her, when she actually saw her.
Last weekend, we came to an agreement that we should see different people. She decided to go on a date on Saturday evening, and I decided to go see the girl I recently started to date. I was supposed to bring my ex's stuff from my apartment; so we decided that I would briefly bring her stuff on Wednesday evening.
Now, I was enjoying the time with the other girl I am currently dating (I will refer to her as the new girl). But then my ex knocked on my apartment, asking me to bring her stuff that she left. I didn't expect her to show up, but I told her that She would have to wait outside the door and cannot come in, because the new girl was in my room. Then she suddenly changed her tone, and tried to come in. I repeatedly told her that she could not come in, since this is my apartment/property. But she pushed me away and walked in anyways.
She demanded me to bring her wine glass that she left here, and I handed it to her to get her out of the apartment. She then attempted to barge into my room, where the new girl was in. I was afraid that my ex would actually hurt the new girl (my ex suffers from depression, and was holding a wine glass).
I blocked the way so that she could not enter the room (the door was open however). I stood there so that she could not go through the way, and after a bit of struggle, she lost her balance (I think she tripped over the pile of shoes) and fell as she dropped the wine glass on the floor. I tried to help her from falling, but I stepped on a piece of glass and started to bleed from my foot. My ex was unharmed, however, as I walked into the bathroom to pull out the piece and wash it off, she walked into my room to talk to the new girl that I was messing with both of them. (I had already explained that I had an ex with a difficult situation to the new girl)
I told the new girl to leave the apartment, because I honestly did not want her to be in any danger that had nothing to do with her, and out of frustration from the situation, and the large amount of blood splatter on the floor, I got upset and punched my room door and damaged it.
She then decided to call her father to come up to my apartment. Of course without any permission, he just walked in and started to intimidate me. My ex then called the police on me claiming that I pushed her down, and I tried to punch her.
The police came in after a bit of time, and asked me to explain the situation, as my ex explained the situation from her side in a distanced & separated place.
They did not arrest me at the moment, but if I am lucky, I won't hear from them at all; but if I am unlucky, they said they would contact me. One of the cops said he was more opt to believe my story, however, I don't think that is a good sign. I don't know what to do about it. We were just fine until this noon, and suddenly she turned really aggressive. And I don't want to go to jail for something that I didn't even do. We do not have security cameras for each floor, only at the entrance. So neither of us have a physical evidence to prove each one's claim.
I do have the new girl on my side saying that pushing did not happen, because she could see it closely from my room, and both the new girl and my friend who was in the same apartment clearly heard me demanding her to leave my apartment.
My ex is not injured in anyway, and I was bleeding quite an amount from my feet when I pulled out the glass. The officers took the photo of property damage in my apartment.
What should I do? What will happen to me? I am really stressed out about this situation, and psychologically depleted. I can't fall asleep right now when it's 2 am. I am also afraid that they might go around the "no contact" rule to harm me in some ways.

Answer:
 It’s your word vs her word. They documented it and didn’t arrest anyone so that’s more than likely the end of it.

Stay away from her. Answer #2: step one is get a restraining order against her Answer #3: What other posters seem to have missed is that you had a witness present to the alleged shoving, no? Or have I misinterpreted the timeline.

You also have the issue of the ex girlfriend and her father’s trespasses.

The age old rule on this sub, regardless, is to only speak to the police in the presence of your attorney.


Title: (OHIO) Brother steals some candy

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Do not speak to the police further without an attorney present.


Title: Classmate caused my laptop to fall and break, any recourse (NY)?

Question:
I'm a college student and use my laptop in class everyday just like everyone else.  I was sitting in class in a tiered lecture hall with my laptop properly on the table and plugged in and another student came into class almost running late, came through the aisle and their jacket or something snagged onto the laptop causing it to fall, crash, and break.  I instantly picked it up and the screen was all different colors and then it wouldn't even start.  I don't have Apple Care so I'm fucked.

The kid barely apologized and sat down.  Class was just about to start so I couldn't just interrupt and make a big deal.  Other students saw and were like "WTF" and some offered to send me notes for the day.  I confronted the student after class and he acted like it was my fault.  The school says it isn't responsible either.

What can I do?  I'm now out a $2k MacBook.

Answer:
 You can demand that he pay for repairs (or a replacement, if repairs cost more than what the computer's worth) and sue him if he won't. Things to keep in mind:

* If the Macbook cost $2k new, you're not getting $2k. What you're owed is at most the cost of a similar computer, and a new computer isn't similar enough to a used computer.

* Running down aisles is a common activity. He'll likely argue that a laptop which was "properly on the table" wouldn't have been knocked down by someone running down the aisle, and if successful this argument will reduce or eliminate your award in court.


Title: TN, USA. DUI under .08%??

Question: Can you still be convicted of a DUI if you blow under the legal limit? Here its .08%

Answer: Yes you can. 0.08 is merely the statutory limit.


Title: Bumped a car in parking lot, no damage checked it over, left without leaving note and feel like I'm going to get into huge trouble.

Question:
Title is pretty much it, car parked right behind me, bumped it luckily the distance was so little and it was bumper to bumper and did nothing, they were somewhere inside a restaurant never had this happen before, worried if someone saw that I'll be going to jail or worse. Wondering if there is anything I should do or could to to remedy the situation. I feel terrible.

United States, OH

Answer:
 Cop here.

The law is if you damage property or another vehicle you have to leave your info.

If you did not damage it than no crime has occurred.


Title: Wondering if I have a case against my employer

Question:
Okay wall of text incoming

I work for a well known retailer in the southern united states, specifically Florida to be exact of my location. So here is my issue, we recently were given a new manager who has done nothing but go out of his way to pick favorites and put people down in every way possible. I was on the path to management and had been registered to attend a company career day to find out more about the positions, my new manager took this time to not only insult me on a personal level but also point out why he didn't feel I was right for the job of management. I let it slide, I should have called HR but did not because my company has a habit of making life miserable for people who speak out, my assistant manager after being told by me in confidence that I was not satisfied with my meeting and felt the need to consider a possible switch to a different company, a different industry in fact went ahead and spoke with store manager about it. So another meeting filled with put downs and all sorts of reasons why I was in the wrong and he was in the right, so I made the decision to seek greener pastures, out of courtesy for both my department manager and assistant department manager who the first had on more than multiple occasions gone out of his way to help me down my career path that while I was going to continue to try and achieve a higher position at my current company, I would still seek out and possibly accept a promising position if one came about. While my department manager was totally satisfied with my choice I did not know my assistant department manager would take the chance to go higher with it and inform the store manager, took me up until the last few days to notice how my work life has changed, and another associate came to me about a phone call that was overheard with my assistant basically telling the people who make the decisions to promote me that in their words "He is no longer worth promoting, hes seeking a new job and wants to leave.". Again I let it slide, I was complacent because of the fear of retribution for speaking out, flash forward to where the pot boils over a associate from another store was sent to help us out being we were short staffed, a verbal altercation happened where I responded for him to fix his attitude led to me walking up front to my assistant and in a fit of both rage and knowledge of his personal enjoyment at my frustration I made a statement of something I said to the associate that did not happen, and they apparently ran with it, next day I come to work with said helper again, I keep my distance answer short and respond to calls for help helper goes out of his way to follow me and make comments that I did not realize at the time were banter shots. Upon realizing such I still said nothing, assistant returned from wherever he was and I told him there are issues, conflict needs to be resolved and its now time for him to manage, to which was met with him asking why I needed conflict resolution over him being threatened by me (which remember never happened had people around me every time I spoke to said helper) So verbal conflict with manager now escalates and he asks if I would like to leave for the day, I respond with sure and walk out to finally call HR, did not know at this time he went ahead and removed me from being on the clock, finally calm down enough to talk with the store manager, still unaware I am not on the clock have the conversation, can tell by his reaction that he is uninterested and he calls both my department and assistant manger up to hear their sides, which my department manager is unaware any of this has happened so he couldn't add anything to the conversation. Assistant tells his side, and even after finding out I never threatened the helper they focus on it and then store manager focuses on me telling a manager to do his job, which in my company conflict resolution MUST go through management, and then asks if I think its appropriate that I said that, ended the conversation with me stating I am going to HR, and our District Manager to which was met with "Have a Nice Day" go to clock out and realize I am not even on the clock. Fast forward to today after playing phone tag with HR all day finally get a hold of them and surprise, they have already spoke with my store manager so now I am being told that my companies open door policy cannot be utilized being I requested a private meeting with my District manger and my HR Representative being I am both under stress and fear of saying anything in front of a man who can easily fire me for the dullest of reasons, was told I had a meeting with HR rep. and my store manager the next day and I immediately declined stating I wanted the privacy and safety of the open door policy and if needed our whistle blower policy, was informed HR rep. did not see any grounds which I had a logical fear of returning to my store and then began throwing what was said at my off the clock meeting which she more than likely does not realize was not on the clock am fearful of returning to said store, will be calling out of work tomorrow and possibly seeking legal counsel but figured I'd make a throwaway account and ask if anyone thought I had a chance here.

Yes I am actively working on leaving this company, I have interviews lined up and have already spoken with managers around the district and have a few that are willing to take me as a transfer, No I will not be attending the meeting tomorrow being I have already been informed by the response she gave me over the phone she has a skewed version of the entire story, no I have not utilized recording my days to protect my employment. I have been with this company for over 6 years now, my first job and now all this.

Do I have a shot in the dark? Or should I even bother wasting my time for legal counsel
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: You need to summarize this post in a few relevant bullet points and/or break it up into manageable paragraphs if you'd like folks to respond.


Title: My gf lost her memory and was taken advantage of.

Question:
My gf has been losing her memory so that she knows only basic facts about herself (name, family members, etc). It sometimes only lasts a few hours but occasionally it lasts for days. We got in a fight today and I didn't notice her take the car.  I called her and when she answered her phone she said she was with her boyfriend, let's call him Jack. I didn't know who she was talking about but I told her he wasn't her boyfriend and she dropped him off at the side of the road.

I don't know who this guy is but I know his phone number and who his friends are because they've been harassing both of us from different phone numbers. She said he called her and told her to pick him up. She fooled around with him in the car because he said he was her boyfriend.

We've been to the hospital numerous times so it's well documented that she suffers from memory loss. I wanted to go to the police but she's obviously really shaken up and doesn't want to. Could he be charged if I convinced her to?

Also, she doesn't remember what happens after these episodes are over. Can I still go the police with what she told me about his appearance and what he said to her?

Edit: I'm in Canada

Answer:
 Perhaps I can help define your question so that our legal experts can lend a hand.

You're asking, "is it illegal to take advantage of someone's mental disability to trick them into sexual activity?"

A more clear example would be sneaking into a nursing home in a WWII dress uniform to get BJ's from Alzheimer grannies.

In your example, someone who knows your GF has memory lapses calls and calls until he gets her on the phone, and if she's having a lapse, takes advantage of that lapse to get her to do sexual things she wouldn't normally do.

So, /r/legaladvice, is this legal?  And if not, what law is being broken?


Title: Advice on a spay/neuter contract (dogs)

Question:
I'll tried to keep this succinct but it's not working, sorry in advance. My spouse and I have a 6 month old larger breed dog. We signed a breeder contract to have him neutered between 6 and 7 months old. If we do not neuter, per the contract "Neutering..is required by 7 months of age. Proof of this, in the form of a certificate must be forwarded... by the time the puppy reaches 9 months old. If not... \[we\] have the legal right to come take the puppy from your person and property with law enforcement officers and you must turn the puppy over at that time."

Our vet has strongly recommended waiting a year or more due to recent research showing that this decreases the risk of joint/hip disorders.  There's similar threads showing the advice in r/dogs all over the place with large breeds. We contacted the breeder with what we thought was a reasonable request, can we wait to neuter him per the medical advice from our vet? The breeder is pushing back and arguing against waiting.

Before deciding to push back harder against the breeder, I was wondering what the legal standing we or the breeder have? It seems that medical advice supersedes any contractual obligation but I may be wrong. Any help would be great.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 The research is far from conclusive, but that is irrelevant. You signed a contract, if you do not abide by it the breeder can reclaim the dog. Get the dog fixed and follow the contract that you agreed to.Answer #2: You signed a contract. If you break the contract, the breeder has the legal right to take your pup. No way around this.

Anyways, as an owner of a 5 months puppers, I've looked into the spaying depending on the age of a dog, and we are trying to get our puppers spayed before her first heat. She has smaller chance of certain cancers, but also increased risk of other diseases.

The research isn't conclusive on when they should be spayed/neutered, so just follow the contact that you signed.Answer #3: My former fiancé’s family bred champion hunting dogs. You must abide by the contract - they’re trying to ensure you don’t breed their line.


Title: Executor of will transferring funds using my name. (Is this identity theft?)

Question:
[US/VA] I'm 19. When my parents passed, their will named an executor (a family friend) who was supposed to manage things until I turn ~25 (not sure exactly when, but I can find out).

I trust him to be a responsible person, but I recently learned that he has opened accounts in my name to store my inheritance without telling me. This involved using my SSN and other info (which he knows). Should I be suspicious, or was this the right thing to do? I contacted the bank and explained things to them, and they said that the structure of the account was just a normal checking/savings account, in my name. (I've gotten pretty worried because hypothetically, the executor could pretend to be me and withdraw everything from the account. Would this be illegal? Could I get it back if this were to happen?)

Also, since I was to live with the executor of the will until I left for college, the will stated that the executor would be paid an amount per month until I left for college (i.e. living expenses). I found out that he has still been making periodic payments to himself even though I've left for college. (He doesn't know that I can see what goes on in the account. Also, these payments are fairly small compared to the size of the account, but they could add up if he keeps doing it long-term. And I don't think these payments are automatic; they display as checks.)

In short, he has total access to the account even though my name is on it, through my info. He's also paid himself more than the will has specified, but not by much. He tries to tell me as little as possible about the account, but that might just be because he doesn't want a kid my age to withdraw money for stupid stuff, which is understandable.

This sort of makes me feel uncomfortable b/c I know this guy to be a family friend. Also, he has power of attorney over me but I'm not sure if that allows this sort of behavior. I don't intend to press charges or confront the guy unless he does something insanely criminal, like withdraw tens of thousands for personal use, but I do want to make sure that I'm protected and aware. Thoughts?

Edit:
Regarding the Power of Attorney: I did personally grant it, and it was notarized and everything. I wasn't too sure what it was at the time. He basically said that it would allow him to do things on my behalf, like carrying out the will, and I trusted him. For context, I don't have family nearby, so he's basically the closest adult I can trust. I never had second thoughts until recently.

Answer:
 >  I contacted the bank and explained things to them, and they said that the structure of the account was just a normal checking/savings account.

You should ask them what the ownership structure of the account is. If it's in your name, then _you_ should be able to withdraw from it.

> Would this be illegal? Could I get it back if this were to happen?

If they take the money for their own benefit, then yes, that is a breach of their fiduciary duty. You could sue them to get it back.

> Also, he has power of attorney over me

Huh? That's unusual, unless you have a specific reason for granting it. If you're a fully functioning adult there's no reason for anyone else to have PoA over you.

That detail makes this feel weird to me. If he truly does have PoA then he has broad control over things in your life, and it would be legitimate for him to set up accounts in your name. If you're an adult, though, then I would think that you personally would have to grant that. Can you clarify?


Title: Mother fired the day before surgery

Question:
My mother was fired the day before having a surgery, and despite us paying a large chunk ahead of time and seemingly getting payment in order through her work insurance, she is now being denied and may be responsible for $40,000 in hospital bills.
Honestly, we’re pretty lost right now and are suffering financially after losing her income during her recovery. We have no savings, and live paycheck to paycheck, so we are unable to set up a payment plan.
We had been told that because her insurance was “payed up” and taken out of her paycheck that it would be covered.
Is there grounds for a wrongful termination lawsuit? She wasn’t given a reason for being fired, and was a dedicated employee. We think it’s suspicious that she was fired the day before a surgery that was being charged to the company insurance. Everything was done very unprofessionally over the phone, and she was put on a one day suspension at work the day before and was then cleared of any wrong doing before being fired.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We don’t know what to do. If it helps at all, we are in Missouri.

Answer:
 First thing: insurance doesn’t generally expire when you are terminated. It usually lasts to the end of the month. Is there any reason you believe this isn’t true? Was the surgery on April 1? Surgery they day after the termination means it should probably be covered.

Was she offerd [COBRA insurance](https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/health-plans/cobra)? It can be expensive, but it may help cover the bills. This requires 20+ employees at work.

Finally, if your mom works at a place that has 15 or more employees, she needs to talk to an employment attorney. They can go over the details with her and determine if there was an ADA violation. The consultation should be free. Answer #2: This doesn't add up, as others have said insurance does not expire the moment you are terminated and COBRA, while more expensive than your insurance from work will be much cheaper than 40k. Be sure to apply immediately for unemployment benefits AND MO Healthnet/Healthcare


Title: Am I liable for child support

Question:
Facts:
been married for 2 years, together for 5, Have a 5 and a half year old son that was born before we met (hers). Birth certificate has no Father name listed due to paranoid mother thinking that he (biological daddy) will seek full rights. ironically, mother keeps boy close to his biological paternal grandparents and family. I didn't work for 3 years to care for the boy as he has development and speech delays, hindering my career while my wife worked and went to school full time during that period. now that i am back in work she has a lot of debt paid for by my income. her car, child care, etc. while she stashes money away in a minor savings account I cannot touch.

we are in Oregon.

relationship is edgy and I want a divorce, but she is claiming that she will rape me of my income for a child that i never adopted and wasn't conceived during the marriage and i have been more than clear upfront about how i dislike children and never wanted them.

any ideas?

edit:  she is a nurse and making far more than i am at the moment. remember she had a chance to fully advance her career?

Answer:
 Yes.  First, don't say "rape me of my income," because it is offensive.

Second, your duty to support your stepchild [should end when your divorce is final](http://www.oregonchildsupport.com/general-considerations/).  But you should consult a local family law attorney to be sure there aren't potential complications.


Title: [NC] Ex-gf moved 8+ hours away, pregnant

Question: My ex recently moved (past week) across the country, she is 17 I'm a little younger, she knows she has been pregnant for at least 2 weeks now, the father could be me or 4 other people. No one knows who the father is.  She is going to keep the baby. What do I do?

Answer:
 Are your parents aware of the situation? If not, now is the time to tell them about the situation.

Until the baby's born there is very little you can do. You can request a paternity test via lawyer after the birth. Understand if you're the father you will be on the hook for child support for the next 18 years. It may be better if you wait to see if she pushes for paternity -  that's up to you. Discuss what you want in the future with your parents if this kid turns out to be yours. Would you look for visitation?  Answer #2: Well, what do you want to do? You don't have to do anything until she starts requesting child support. If she does, petition the court a paternity test.


Title: Advice on being falsely accused of backing into a parked car. Ohio, US

Question:
Last week my SO helped a friend move some furniture from his parents' home. After completing the loading into the truck they backed out of the drive. It's a long winding drive and the friend stood outside of the truck to make sure they avoided getting on the grass and backed out onto the street and off they went. The next day, friend gets angry calls from his father saying that someone had hit the family van that had been parked at the to of the drive on the street and it had to be them. Both the friend and SO are completely surprised by this and say there is no way that they had done it. There is zero damage or marks on our truck anywhere. Their vehicle has a completely smashed passenger front quarterpanel. After much badgering, SO calls insurance co. and gives his uneventful side and tells them what is going on. We hear nothing until Monday when he calls to find out what is going on and the adjuster tells him the claim is closed. Tuesday the adjuster calls to ask what can they do to get our truck repaired. SO says there's no damage. Apparently they had arranged to pay out and after receiving photos of both vehicles, called BS on the whole thing. Fine with us since nothing happened in the first place. Friend's father is now enraged and files a police report stating that they hit the car even though he admits there was no witness. SO has now driven the 80+ miles back to the locality to give a statement and have the police take pictures of our truck. There is clearly white paint or residue on their red van and our undamaged truck is tan with chrome bumpers. The police say they could charge him with improper backing and leaving the scene of an accident. WTF do we do now? This seems completely crazy.

tl:dr - Didn't have accident, police trying to pin it on SO. No witnesses aside from passenger. No damage on our vehicle.

Answer: You need to explain to the police that there is literally no damage to your car at all and the paint colors don't add up. Also be sure to include that insurance has already called bs on this whole claim.


Title: Can I call the cops on my roommate for having people over at 3am?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 There is no location but generally the cops can't do anything if the noise can't be heard from outside the house. Every noise ordinance I've seen protects neighboring dwellings and not separate rooms inside the same dwelling.  You can check your city laws just to be sure.

The cops cannot remove them for trespassing because they have permission to be there. If you had a lease agreement or contract stating no visitors late at night the cops can't enforce it.


Title: NY - Just discovered wife has been throwing out jury duty questionnaires for the last 15 years. How much trouble are we in?

Question:
The title is just as it says. Last night a few friends were over and one had just completed jury duty. I was joking about how my wife and I never get called and she came forward with the "fact" that if you throw out the questionnaires they don't put you in the system to be called. Apparently she's been doing that since just after we moved in together and claims that her parents have done this their whole life without repercussions.
I'm in shock right now. She swears that none of them have been summonses, only questionnaires, and as far as my research online goes, neither of us have bench warrants. Aside from having her not throw out the next questionnaire, what can I do to protect us? Are we in major trouble?

Answer: I'm not familiar with the process in your jurisdiction, but I can't imagine those were anything but summonses. Usually you get the questionnaire after appearing for the summons. You should contact the clerk(s) of court from where the summonses originated and find out what damage has been done. Online searches for bench warrants may not yield accurate information.Answer #2: Anyone know the percentage of the questionnaires sent out that are returned? Is it a 99.9% return rate or more like a 9% return rate?


Title: Will my father face legal consequences if I leave my mom and stay with him but he doesn't have custody?

Question:
My parents are divorced. My mom is abusive and lied. She told the court that my father was violent and would beat her when high. This was false. Although my father had issues with drugs, he never hurt her. Since then, my father has gotten clean and has gotten a job. I am 15 and my mom is abusive. I emailed my dad this and he told me that if I ever needed a place to be, I could stay at his place which he gave me the address of.

He doesn't have custody and does not have rights to visit me but I'm planning to take the bus to his place tomorrow and stay with him because my mom is very abusive.

I only fear that he will get in trouble because my mom might say that he kidnapped me.

Answer:
 Yes, your father could get in trouble for harboring a runaway, or potentially kidnapping.

If your mother is abusive report her to CPS.

If your father is now capable and willing to have custody, and you want him to do have it, go back to court and present your case.  The court is meant to look out for the child's best interest.


Title: Net weight is not reflecting actual contents, advice?

Question:
I use bags of flour labeled net weight 25 pounds.  They consistently come in at 24.4 pounds.  Are there legal actions I could/should take?  What would that case look like, and could it be successful?

Thanks

Answer: I work at a grocery store. Most flour bags are not completely sealed, and when we stock them, they spill a little some times (go to a grocery store and wipe the shelf with your hand. You'll see what I mean). Contact the company and say you're not happy with it, that you've been a long time buyer, and that you're tempted to switch brands. You can also contact the store you get it from if you don't get a good response.


Title: [California] I was rear ended by an INSURED driver but he won't answer my insurance company's calls to admit fault.

Question:
A few weeks ago I was waiting at a red light when I hear the car behind me get rear ended. The car behind me then ended up hitting my car. We exchanged information, I took photos, and I submitted the claim. He (1st car) has the same insurance as me, Geico.

My claims adjuster tells me that after multiple attempts to contact him via phone, email, and mail, he would not respond. This makes it so that I have to pay for the damages myself. I was then told by my adjuster that because he is not responding to calls, my deductible ($500) would be waived and that I can get the car repaired for no cost out of pocket. With this knowledge, I went ahead and brought my car into their suggested body shop to get it repaired.

The shop calls me later in the day (after I have signed all papers) and gave me an estimate of $490, which is under the $500 deductible of my policy. I then asked that it would be covered because of my waiver, right? NO! The claims adjuster lied to me and it would only be waived if he was uninsured. Now I have no choice but to pay for the damages myself (it was a small scratch that could have been buffed out for less than $25) because I was given false information by my insurance company.

I'm pretty sure the guy will continue to avoid the calls. Am I out of luck here? Did he just get away Scott free? What about the 2nd car that rear ended me? Can the cops help out in this situation?

I feel like I was just screwed over $500 for something that is not my fault. Please help.

Answer:
 so basically, his insurance company, which is your insurance company too, is not responding to the claim?

I'd frame it in this way and call the insurance commissioner in your state Answer #2: Your recourse is to pay the money, and then to sue him to recover the money.Answer #3: Happened to me a few years ago. Not only was the lady a total bitch, but the adjusted was less than helpful. I sued the lady for 10k on a 500 door ding, just out of spite. After it was all said and done I got a default judgment. Both the lady and the insurance company were quick on the phone when I had the sheriff lined up to tow and auction her car off to satisfy the judgment.  Her property damage limit was only 5k tho, so I settled on that. Best door ding I've ever gotten. Bet she will answer the phone calls and letters next time. Answer #4: The carrier I work for cannot waive a deductible if the damage is less than the deductible.


Title: Asshole neighbor being an asshole, how do I go about this situation?

Question:
Hey so I have this amazing neighbor that likes to get upset about every tiny little thing, call the cops on me and my family for the smallest reasons (even the police know he's an asshole), and try to make our lives as miserable as possible along the way. So I'll tell you what this fella's up to now, but first a backstory:

I live on a dead end street like so:
https://i.imgur.com/bPaVk2M.png

everyone on this dead end street is legally supposed to park their cars facing towards the road (at the bottom of the picture), so every time someone pulls into the dead end street, they need to use our neighbors driveway to turn around so we can park the car in the right direction. Now i can understand how that...might... for whatever reason get annoying i guess? but when you're the last house on a dead end street and are really the only option then i mean it is what it is.

So he'll sometimes block his driveway so no one can use it. Fine. It doesn't bother me, whatever. He usually uses his multitude of trash cans to block it and I'm like "o ok guess I'll just have to awkwardly make a 3-point turn to turn around w/e." but about 2 weeks ago when i was driving home from work at about 10:30pm, I went to pull into his driveway to turn around and I ran over something BIG and LOUD and i scared the absolute shit out of me. It was so loud that someone came out of my house to check and see what happened.

Turns out out lovely neighbor laid out a big ass tree branch across the end of his driveway so whoever used it would run over it. That *really* pissed me off because that could have damaged my one and only car that I use to get around and could definitely not afford to make any kind of major repairs on. Luckily, it didn't...and I know he did it on purpose because later that week someone in my family asked him if he wanted them to move the branch for him so he doesn't run over it and he told them not to. So yeah. Thanks.

Now about a week after that he got rid of the branch and put up a rope like so:
https://i.imgur.com/HKb89dI.png

So at least that stupid tree branch isn't there anymore. I just let it go and do my 3-point turns.

Fast forward to now. Here's what this guy has done and the reason I'm even making this post. He's set up some kind of barricade at the end of the street as well as a pile of tree branches on the side of the street across from this house like so:
https://i.imgur.com/JhJE01a.png

I guess he got annoyed that we were still able to turn around without using his driveway? So now it's practically impossible to turn around without (illegally) backing down the street or making a 20-point turn. It's ridiculous. I just want to know where his property line is so i can call the police station on him and have his shit removed. I'm like 99% sure he doesn't own the patch of grass at the end and side of the street but i guess I should find out, and if I find out that he's out of bounds by blocking the end of his driveway, too? We'll that'd be a bonus.

So my questions is how exactly do I go about this? Do I call someone or go somewhere physically? I just don't know exactly what to do. I live in PG county, MD.

Answer:
 https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/665/Geographic-Information-Systems-GIS

If you go to their Map Depot and use the Atlas, you can pull up addresses and see who owns the land.

> I went to pull into his driveway

You should stop entering his private property when he clearly does not wish for you do so.


Title: Roommates ex is threatening to move back in to the house he pays the mortgage on..what are our options?

Question:
I am a 29 y/o male living in Nashville, TN. My roommate and her (current) husband are in the process of getting divorced. They are not legally separated, but he has been out of the house since June 1. The house is in her name, but he has been paying the mortgage since he moved out. She has just filed for a contested divorce with him, and when she told him this he threatened to move back in.

I moved in on 10/1, and currently have a lease with her, through January, for the room upstairs. She feels very unsafe around him, even though he has never physically hurt her, nor has their been any domestic violence in the household. What are her/my options at this point? Is a temporary restraining order something that would be beneficial? Should we call the police if he shows up? I also don't feel safe because she feels unsafe, and although he is a professional (a PH D), I don't know what he's capable of.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Answer:
 She would have to be able to convince a judge that she has reason to be afraid of him in order to get a restraining order.

"We're getting divorced and I don't want him in the house" is not going to cut it.

If they are still married, he can probably live in the house even if she was paying the mortgage.  The house is almost certainly marital property and he can't be criminally charged for being there.


Title: [MD] I’m going to stay in a hotel for a business networking event. Can my hotel room be a business expense that I deduct on my taxes?

Question:
Newbie business owner here. I’m staying in a hotel room for a networking event. Is this expense tax deductible?

Side note, the event is close enough that I could hypothetically sleep in my house if I got up really early and drove a long distance. Does that affect things?

Answer: r/tax amigo.


Title: [KY] A 7 year old threw a rock at my car while driving through my neighborhood

Question: I was driving through my neighborhood when a 7 year old boy was standing at the end of his driveway and threw a rock (I know you are thinking pebble but it was the size of a grapefruit) at my car and damaged one of my rims. The boy was not being supervised and both parents were inside at the time occurrence. I stopped and asked the boy to go inside and get his father and when the father came out he said ‘he’s 7, what do you expect?’ At this time I asked if he would be covering damages and he said ‘no I should not be held responsible for this’. After this answer I was infuriated and called the police and the police proceeded with a police report and told the father it was his responsibility to get fixed. In short - I sent the father the estimate for the rim and it would need to be replaced ($687.00). I received a letter back from an attorney telling me to stop harassing his client - let me say his ‘client’ was the 7 year old, not the father (which sending the letter of an estimate was the first contact I had since the accident) and that he would not be paying for damages. What are the next steps/would this be worth taking to small claims?

Answer:
 IamaL, an insurance defense lawyer, but not in KY,... and not your lawyer
That said, turn this in to your own insurance company asap. They will will pay for the  rpair ( unless you have adeductible which is more than $687.00.
They will pursue subrogation against the  parents whose  either homeowners or auto carrier will reimburse your carrier. Your carrier will also get your deductible back for you.

This is why you have auto insurance.

All the contacts  will come from   your carrier.

Just for shits and giggles, go to the Kentucky State  Bar website and see if the guy who wrote the letter is a real,attorney. His letter is so far off base that it makes me wonder.

Here is the linkAnswer #2: BTW, after glancing down through the list of comments and not seeing this, you're not likely to be awarded replacement cost.  You'll be made "whole" which entails giving you like value for like value.  Meaning, your used rim will be assigned a value reflecting its age and condition and THAT's how much you can realistically expect to be paid.


Title: Im a cam girl with a few questions

Question: so i work for a cam site, a camwhore if you will. i just found out there is another site that is posting all my content. pictures, videos etc, but you have to pay a 15$ monthly fee to see my videos. Theyre making money off me, without my knowledge, consent, and i dont even get a cut of the money. My question is, is this legal and how do I get it removed? (im in oklahoma)

Answer:
 It's illegal but very hard to litigate against depending upon where the site is hosted.Answer #2: Its not legal unless you licensed it to them. DMCA them. Find out the whois "domain.com" and issue it to their host.

I'm no lawyer... but about 20 years ago I worked for cam models with private sites at $20 a month that would often have their stuff appear on other websites. Back then it was a lot easier to find domain's registrants.

Start putting a watermark if you haven't already. Some girls go so far as to tattoo their name on their collar bone, but as someone who hates tattoos, don't do that. As much as it is illegal, it can still turn into promotion for you and those who become fans will come to you and pay you.Answer #3: If it’s a site based in the US, you can send a “DMCA Takedown Notice.”  Google search how to send one. Answer #4: Not legal. However, it is probably some shady international website set up and run out of some remote country.  You could try to contact them and demand it be removed however, with situations like this, there is readily any real solution that can be reached without substantial legal fees.


Title: Upcoming graduate in a few weeks just got my first OVI In Ohio. Any advice?

Question: So I was completely dumb and wasn’t even thinking, but I decided to drive home from a bar after a long night of drinking. I got behind a wheel (now this is where my memory is a bit foggy). I believe that I had pulled into a McDonalds to grab some food before coming home. I guess the mcDonalds was closed and I passed out behind the wheel while parked in the lot. Next thing I know I am getting cuffed and put into a sheriff car in Fairfield county. I completed a field sobriety test (I most definitely failed). I ended up blowing a .216 which I know is very high. This was my first run into legal trouble other then a speeding ticket. I know what I did was wrong, and I plan to never make a decision like this again. However, it potentially has career ending implications. I graduate college in two weeks and have accepted the job of my dreams. I went through a background check the day before this incident. My check came back clear. I have a lawyer already helping me, and hopefully we can try to get this reduced (maybe reckless ops) so I don’t have to disclose to my new employer. Worst comes to worst I get my offer rescinded because they find out about the incident if I can’t get it reduced. Then, I am stuck looking for a job post graduation with a now criminal record. I don’t want to panic but I really am starting to. Anyone know anyone that has gone through a similar experience that could provide me some insight on what to expect?

Answer:
 If your attorney gets a .216 reduced to reckless op you should kiss the ground he walks on; post the greatest review possible on google, yelp, and avvo; and go down on him just for good measure.

You are looking at mandatory 3 days jail and mandatory 3 day alcohol program.  In most courts you can probably get a low tier OVI (no mandatory jail time or party plates), some courts won't reduce it.  I know of a couple courts in Ohio that have diversion for first time OVI


Title: Is the Lt Gov of Texas obligated to pay up here? Is there any situation in which he would be?

Answer:
 Get this man a sheetz shmiscuit, stat!Answer #2: No, of course not. Rewards for tips to law enforcement have a pretty long and storied jurisprudence. One key point is that, if someone's already been arrested for particular conduct, you can't collect for a tip regarding that person and conduct. You need to provide new information to get paid.

There'd be other issues if it came down to brass tacks (which it won't, since Fetterman isn't being serious), but that would be sufficient.Answer #3: No, but I'd like to see them box or whatever it is old politicians do.


Title: UPS lost my package and the police don't want to issue a report needed to get money back

Question:
Fairfax County, Virginia.

I placed an order for an Apple Time Capsule on 3/20 on Ebay. On 3/21, the seller shipped it via UPS. On 3/26, UPS marked it as delivered, but when I got home, it wasn't at my door. Seller says go ahead to file a claim, so I did. On 3/30, the usual UPS driver stops by, explains he wasn't on duty on the 26th, but has come to do driver follow up. Shows me a form where I attest I never received it. He also has a map showing the package's last scan location was about 500 ft away from my residence! It looks like instead of delivering it to our building (number 18), the temp driver delivered it to another building that had the numbers flipped (number 81). Stupidly, I didn't take a picture of the damn map. So I go there, ask around, no one's seen the package or remembers it.

I tell the seller all of this, and he is initially helpful, but then UPS denies the claim saying I had "leave the package" turned on and so I assume all responsibility after delivery. The problem is, they delivered it at another building. Seller stops communicating, I file a claim with Ebay, Ebay rejects it and says I have to file a police report. I don't fault the seller very much because it's UPS that lost it and UPS that is refusing to talk to me or release a copy of that scan map showing it wasn't delivered near my place.

I [filed a police report online using the option for "Lost Property"](https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/howdoi/communityreportingsystem) and this morning I got a notice that the police report was rejected because it's a civil matter with the postal service (it isn't, it's with UPS, not USPS, and I said so many times in the report). I wasn't given an option to print out a temporary report, just sent a message saying that it's been filed and will reviewed.

I've filed a credit card dispute too, and they've asked me to try and resolve it with Ebay, but they've removed the total from my account pending the outcome of the dispute process. They too have said a police report is helpful in having it resolved in my favor.

How do I get police report or something similar that can be used to resolve this?

Answer:
 Walk in to the police station and askAnswer #2: I would escalate with UPS. Try contacting the center and speaking to a supervisor, then manager, etc. Usually, for Apple deliveries there is a signature required (but this is coming from eBay, so it might differ).

Edit: [UPS Lost Package Process](https://www.ups.com/us/en/help-center/delivery-issues/lost-package.page) Answer #3: On eBay, their official policy is once the package shows "delivered" the seller has fulfilled their responsibility. Otherwise, all kinds of little sellers would be screwed over if anyone could just claim things weren't delivered (whereas a company like Best Buy or overstock.com will just ship a replacement right away).

Thankfully, eBay has a standing policy to reimburse you (the buyer) for ONE lost package through the lifetime of your account. You have to escalate your case and call in and tell them you didn't get it. It might be a bit of a hassle (you'll have to file a police report too), but eBay will refund you "just this once"

After that, I recommend having packages shipped to your office or somewhere else secure.

If you go to the police and tell them it appears your package was stolen from your porch, they will file a report for you. It doesn't matter what UPS's scan info says in this case. eBay owes you money, not UPS.

(Source: I have been selling on eBay for 19 years)


Title: Street-cleaning machine blaring outside my window at 7 AM every day for months [PA]

Question:
I have lived across the street from a parking lot attached to a laundromat for about 2.5 years. Starting a few months ago, one of those street cleaning vehicles has begun cleaning the parking lot from 7:15 AM to 7:45 AM, every morning, including weekends. In addition to just being very loud mechanically, it also makes a loud beeping noise like a truck whenever it backs up, which is constantly because it is always turning in circles and going back and forth to cover the area of the parking lot.

I have tried two brands of earplugs, two white noise machines, and thick curtains, but I still wake up - every single morning, including weekends - at 7:15 AM from this machine. I work late hours so this is affecting my sleep. On weekends I feel like I can never stay out late because I will always be woken up again... at 7:15 AM.

Is there anything I can do about this? If it was temporary construction I could let it slide but this seems to be a permanent thing. The laundromat hours are 7 AM-12AM seven days a week. I am in Philadelphia, PA. Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 You need to check the local noise ordinances for when such equipment is allowed to operate. But, I suspect that 7:15am is well within the legal time to operate a street cleaner.

You can ask the laundromat if they can reschedule it to later in the day. But, if they are following the noise ordinances, they have no obligation to do so. I would even understand any reluctance they might have to move the times because they would want to ensure the parking lot is empty and that they don't inconvenience their customers. But, you can ask.


Title: My girlfriends mother is screwing us.

Question: A little backstory for context. This situation started about a year ago. My girlfriends parents split up, and she kicked him out. A few months later, my girlfriend got pregnant. So, as a way to make things easier on all of us, we moved in with her mom, she was going to help us with the baby and we would help with bills. All was well, until she also moved her then homeless, alcoholic, felon boyfriend into the house. We made things work as best as we could, but before too long he got violent with her(the mom) and I had to pull a gun on him and fire a shot to get him to stop, and then he took off. Police came, took my gun, and had him arrested when they found him. After he made bail, she tried bringing him back to the house despite a no contact order between the two. We were obviously opposed, as this man threatened to kill everyone in the house the night of the altercation(myself, my girlfriend, her mother,  two of my girlfriend's sisters), so we made it clear that he had to leave. Deciding she couldn't live without him, she left with him, leaving care of her children and her house to my girlfriend and I, and the two lived with his mother until he was able to get an apartment with his disability money. Everything has basically calmed down now, but my legal and financial problems are just now becoming clear to me. We are living and paying rent at a house where we are not on the lease, taking care of two children who aren't mine, while their mother gives us 100 bucks a month to "feed her kids" while she pockets the $150 child support she gets from her ex husband, and uses the $500 on her ebt card for herself and her deadbeat boyfriend (who, by the way, was just recently locked up for two weeks for beating her) instead of buying food for her children with that money. What can I do about the lease situation? Is there any way for my girlfriend to obtain guardianship of the kids? My girlfriend's mother is basically scamming the government, and using her children to do so. I just need some direction here.

Answer:
 Move out. Also, your girlfriend didn't suddenly become pregnant by herself, it takes two to tango so accept your part of the responsibility. Answer #2: >We are living and paying rent at a house where we are not on the lease,

Give her mom notice to end your tenancy and move.

>Is there any way for my girlfriend to obtain guardianship of the kids?

She can call CPS and report that the children are being neglected. If they remove the children from the home then your gf can let them know that she would like to act as a placement for them.


Title: [California] Sister got in the car drunk, drove off with her kids without a booster seat, then tries running me over.

Question:
I'm still in disbelief of what happened yesterday.

So my sister got drunk alone after an argument with her husband. She drank at least 2 12oz beers. She's small, so it effected her noticeably.

She then commences a shitstorm on Facebook, arguing with random strangers on a parenting page, on how to be a proper parent. Oh, the irony.

Anyhow, she tells me about it, explaining how she was in the right and everyone else was flat out wrong. I disagreed with her and pointed out the dangers of exposing your identity like that to random strangers.

That sparked a heated argument.

Long story short;

* She got in the car with her kids

* I got behind the car to note down her plate numbers

* She then backs up into me without any regards for my safety

* I stand in front of the car as I call the police

* She speeds towards me, probably thinking I will move out the way

* I jumped on the hood

* She accelerated over 30 mph to get me off, presumably

* She stops, I get off because I was convinced she will kill me

* Once I was back inside the house, I noticed the booster seat by the door, meaning she drove off drunk with at least one kid, both under 5 years of age, without proper seating

.................

This all happened yesterday. She is not home, as I imagine she does not want to face the consequences. But I am ignorant of the law, so I do not know how to proceed.

Can she be charged with a DUI the next day once sobered down?

What charges can I have against her?

I would prefer to keep the family together, but she cannot get away without some form of punishment.

Answer:
 >Can she be charged with a DUI the next day once sobered down?

Depends on the evidence the police come up with.

>What charges can I have against her?

You don't charge her with anything.  The State does.

>I would prefer to keep the family together, but she cannot get away without some form of punishment.

Although you pay taxes and we have a government "by the people" in theory, you don't get to decide how people are punished unfortunately.  Once you trigger a complaint, then it's out of your hands.Answer #2: > What charges can I have against her?

What do you mean by this? You called the police. What did they say and do?

> I would prefer to keep the family together, but she cannot get away without some form of punishment.

You don't get to decide if she is charged or punished.


Title: I was sexually assaulted 2 years ago, how can I win my case? My abuser lied to authorities denying that it happened.

Question:
I was sexually assaulted 2 years ago by a man that was a close friend of mine. I’ve dealt with depression and even suicidal tendencies as a result of the event. Finally earlier this year I was able to go to the police station and report what happened. I don’t have any hardcore evidence (or maybe I do) to prove that he raped me. The following morning after the incident I cut off all contact with him. However he did take an Uber from where I was living at the time. Once I go to court I want the judge to allow a search warrant on my rapist’s phone to prove that he did leave my house. Other than that I have no evidence to prove he’s guilty. The detective told me that my rapist said he didn’t do it nor does he remember the night because “it happened so long ago.” I’m certain you can get in trouble for lying to authorities if I was to prove that it happened. I cut off contact with the people that remained friends with my rapist. Even though the situation is bleak and I’m not sure if he’ll even face prison time is there a way for him to at least be registered as a sex offender. I want justice it will help if anyone helped me brainstorm ideas to help win my prospective case. Thank you.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Criminal cases are built and filed by the District Attorney's office.  Private citizens do not build cases or prepare to prosecute them, so please be sure you do not set yourself up for expectations outside of the scope of reality.

What you can absolutely do is call the district attorney and ask to speak with a victim's advocate.  Write out everything you can think of, in a timline, and then gather whatever other prospective evidence you mind have and offer that to them.

Going straight to the DA's office is your best and only real play.  They'll have to work with you to sort through what evidence can be gathered.


Title: Can you request that a signed marriage license not be recorded?

Question: I got married last week and sent our signed marriage license to the county clerk on Thursday from Texas to Colorado via regular USPS mail. The office will most likely receive the document on Monday or Tuesday. For reasons that I would prefer not to discuss, I have called and emailed the office to ask them that they not file/record the document so that the marriage is not made legal. The office is closed for the weekend. Does anyone have any experience with this? Once the certificate is signed and mailed, can you prevent it from being recorded? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 I'm pretty sure that you cant unring this bell.Answer #2: You want your marriage license to not be recorded?

Yeah... don't think that's a thing. I can't think of any legitimate reason why you would want that. Once you drop it in the mailbox, it's over.