Title: I've been through one hell of a year. Promised a job, the person who hired me has been evasive, I believe to the point of libel. I need some help.

Question:
Edit: It was made clear to me by /u/derspiny that I had used the incorrect term of "libel" here, rather than liability. My mistake, I apologize.

Hey there,

I have been holding off on seeking legal advice for the past few months because - truthfully - I have been wanting to avoid the thought. I thought I could continue with civil conversations and things would be okay; but I believe my situation has reached a point where, if I do not pursue legal action, I will be in a very bad place.

I'll try to give the short version of the story, but it has literally been my life since January. I have bolded the section near the bottom that is the important question if you want to simply skip to it.

I left my full-time job in January because a very close friend promised me a position with her company. This company has existed for >6 years, and is successful. It is an import/export company based out of Canada and China. She wanted me as a business partner because I'd proven to have aptitude, and she was romantically interested in me. Before committing to departing my job, I took my time to verify if it was a legitimate business. She spent hours with me going over her partners/brokers, showing me various forms/filled orders, and other such information. Once I felt satisfied that it was a legitimate offer, I was very careful in asking "can you confirm to me that I will be an employee of this company, and provide a contract?" She confirmed, but she said she wanted to wait until we could get together in person to sign the contract (I was living in Alberta at the time, she in NYC). I agreed, and put in my two weeks notice.

So... Since then... Let me make an itemized list of just some of the things that have happened when I've tried to get together with her. This person claimed one serious injury which required brain surgery, as well as having a broken leg (I never saw evidence of either); has randomly disappeared for at least 35 days during the past 10 months ("disappeared" meaning no way to communicate with, phone off, etc); has missed 14 flights; has "arrived" for 2 flights, but when I went to pick them up from the airport, they were nowhere to be seen; has missed 15 meetings in my home town (when I went to the meeting places they were "asleep," "out walking and forgot phone," or "got lost" [how one gets lost in this small town, when Google Maps exists, is beyond me]); when I've driven over 15 hours to visit them in their hometown, has gone into one of those "disappeared" states, and also later claimed to have been assaulted 5 minutes before we were supposed to meet up.

It reached a point around April where I said "hey, you have not payed me at all." Her response was always something along the lines of "I'll contact my accountant on Monday, she will get a hold of you." The accountant never did. I asked to be faxed/emailed a contract that I could sign, scan, and send back. She kept claiming "I tried sending it, but my internet is bad" (despite the fact that we were chatting on WhatsApp with no issue). I asked to be put in contact with various members of her company, and there were always excuses as to why we could not talk. This goes on and on and on and on.

My question is this (**skip to here if you want, this is the important question**):

I have saved records of every (text) conversation we've had. I've been explicit in asking questions like "do you confirm that I am an employee of this company?" and things of that nature. I have her explicitly agreeing to all of those questions in text form (emails, logs from WhatsApp/Text chats, etc). Is this enough to build a case out of? Or, because I was never able to obtain a contract, am I completely unable to pursue anything?

Thank you for your time. If you have other questions, I am 100% willing to answer anything.

Answer:
 A promise of a job is not _usually_ binding, either in the US or in Canada. Canada does recoginze [inducement](http://labourlawblog.typepad.com/managementupdates/2009/06/inducement-and-other-hiring-issues-part-ii.html) as a cause of action, so it may be worth having the situation reviewed by an actual lawyer, but don't hold your breath on that angle.

As for the rest, did you do any work for her, with an agreed rate? If not, do you have a sense of what a normal rate would be for the work you did? Did you loan her money, or pay for business expenses on the agreement that you would be reimbursed? I ask, because the situation sounds a lot like "you're being scammed by someone who knows you're attracted to them, son" and I'm trying to figure out the angle.


Title: Update: Turns out dealership employee stole my car after I purchased it.

Question:
 Ok so quick re-cap. Bought car Saturday night. My salesman refused to let me have it till it was insured. This was at 10pm, one hour after closing. I showed him how my insurance covers the car for 30 days. He still wouldn't let me have it. Odometer at 101 miles.   They're closed Sunday.  I go Monday morning to pick it up. Go through financing (got scammed on btw), pull over to figure out the tech on my new car and see 380 something miles on it.

 \---------------------------

 After almost 12 hours and back and forth, it seems they are finally admitting my salesman stole the car from the lot on Sunday, took a trip and brought it back Monday morning.   They "gave" me two options. Neither are very generous.

  1) Cancel the deal.

2) Keep the same deal get a similar focus.

  I'm going there tomorrow morning. I'm most likely going to cancel and take my business else where, after I cancel the deal I'm considering calling the police and reporting the auto-theft, and then calling Ford and letting them know what happened. Tomorrow, I'm going to let them know that that is what I'll be doing, unless I leave ecstatically happy.

 What I want:

.

1) Give me the same black on black Focus SE I have now but the one with paddle shifters (mine now doesn't have it), they also cancel the warranty and bring my payments back to 60 months (what I SIGNED for) instead of 72 months (what they sent to the bank with no signature from me). They then give me the warranty for free.

  2) I'll eat the high payment, and 72 months, keep the warranty. In return they give me a ST (preferred) or  Titanium model.

 If they won't do any of those I'm pressing charges (he's on camera sneaking into the lot and stealing my car when they were closed). I'm also letting their corporate office know what happen, Ford, etc.

  \---------------------

BTW. Of the 50 replies to my original post, 49 of the 50 of you said I was being a idiot, to stfu and just let it go. Turns out it was exactly what I thought happened, my car was stolen and beat on for 300 miles. Sure happy I didn't listen to yall.

Answer:
 Normally we lock updates that do not contain new questions. Normally. However you are poised to make an enormous mistake.

What you are describing is the crime of [extortion in Texas](https://statelaws.findlaw.com/texas-law/texas-extortion-laws.html). When you say "Give me something of value or I'll call the police" - it is a felony.

**DO NOT DO THIS.**

Either call the police or don't, but do not make the threat conditional on them giving you something of value - such as a better model of car.

EDIT: also here is the [discussion in bestoflegaladvice](https://www.reddit.com/r/bestoflegaladvice/comments/8xviko/angry_car_buyer_wants_revenge_also_la_sux/) and here is the [original post](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/8xo2sx/bought_new_car_at_100_miles_when_i_picked_it_up/).


Title: [Hypothetical/Fictional](PA) What would be a reasonable suspicion of sexual assault/statutory rape if no witnesses come forward?

Question:
I'm writing a crime thriller in which a detective suspects sexual assault and statutory rape, but the girls are unwilling to speak with police. Some of the girls are pregnant, some have already had children.

What proof and/or suspicion must a police officer have before beginning an investigation? Are underage pregnant girls enough, or is that a common enough occurrence that a victim should come forward to speak to police?

Also, would it be possible for a court to compel a DNA test of one of the children to determine the paternity and therefore prove a statutory rape?

Answer:
 > What proof and/or suspicion must a police officer have before beginning an investigation?

"Reasonable belief" is the standard.  That is, reasonable belief that a crime has been committed.

> Are underage pregnant girls enough

If the girls are below the age of consent in that jurisdiction, yes.

> Also, would it be possible for a court to compel a DNA test of one of the children to determine the paternity and therefore prove a statutory rape?

Possible?  Sure.  Likely?  Not really.  First, DNA tests must have a comparison.  There's no point to doing a DNA test unless you have a suspect.

Second, in the general case and across all your questions, if the victim doesn't complain and/or the victim doesn't cooperate, the prosecution is unlikely to move forward.  They can, and they sometimes do, but they're unlikely to.


Title: DMCA Questions

Question:
I legally own A LOT of songs from a specific music artist. I recently downloaded their discography from a popular torrent site. This discography had nothing new compared to my collection, but some items were in higher quality than what I had and *3* (more on this below) of the songs that were in the discography were songs I had deleted from my collection in the past. (I believe I ran a de-duplication tool but it ended up deleting both the source and duplicate files)

I received 5 DMCA notices a few hours ago, contacted the representing company for the artist's work, told them I had purchased the 5 songs before and just used this method to download them again (since most the sites I bought from don't allow you to download the songs/albums again) and included proof that I had 2 of the 5 songs on my computer before I downloaded them. I'm not giving these suckers $20 a pop, and I have screenshots of my purchases. Do I have the legal right to acquire these songs again by the means I used? If so, what should I reference to refute the claims?

Answer:
 >  told them I had purchased the 5 songs before and just used this method to download them again

So you admitted their allegation was true. Real smooth.

> and included proof that I had 2 of the 5 songs on my computer before I downloaded them.

They don't care about anything you tell them. You would have as much luck talking to a plant. They only want your money.

> Do I have the legal right to acquire these songs again by the means I used?

No.


Title: CA, signed lease and paid deposit to rent larger room in shared apartment, went to move in and room has been taken, smaller room is offered.

Question:
So I'm pretty familiar with California landlord/tenant laws and rules but this one has me stuck. Posting for a friend.

She agreed over a month ago to rent a room in a shared apartment. There were two rooms available, one larger and one smaller, for the same monthly rent and deposit. She made clear she would only be willing to move in and rent the larger room, and since it was available, the two made a verbal agreement she would be moving in in August. The other roommate who is "in charge" and searching to fill the rooms, I'll call her B, did not express any problem with this. There were texts outlining this agreement as my friend checked in with B multiple times to ensure that was still the case as B continued to hunt for a third roommate, and it always was no problem; the bigger room was saved for my friend.

The deposit was paid and lease was signed a week or so ago, and the third and final roommate had still not been found yet. It was confirmed in this visit as well that the bigger room would be taken by my friend the first week of August.

Friend went today to officially move her stuff in and someone else's stuff was in the room she was promised. B said she could take the smaller room, which she does not want obviously.  She would not ever agreed to live there had that been the only option since she is specifically moving for a bigger space. B said she will talk to the newest roommate about it, who's stuff was in the bigger room.

After learning the other two have no relationship so B isn't playing favorites necessarily, I assumed she was just desperate to find a third roommate and figured my friend will deal with the smaller room (she is very sweet so comes across as a possible pushover, which she isn't). My friend is going to meet with them tomorrow and make it clear again what the agreement was (assuming newest girl had no idea), show the texts to prove it, and see what they say.

Without a room being specified on the actual lease and them being the same price monthly, there is no way to differentiate between the two rooms on the lease. As I said, there are text messages to prove the original agreement about the room size though.

If they refuse to give her the larger room, would she technically be breaking the lease by not moving in since the room isn't specified on the lease? Or are they breaking the lease by not adhering to the original verbal and texted agreement? Just want to know what sort of leverage she has before she goes in swinging :)

Thank you in advance!

Answer:
 This is from 15 years ago in CA but if I remember correctly tenet agreements lasting 12 months+ *have* to be in writting (can't be verbal). Besides a verbal agreement being difficult to enforce this example may be impossible.
So now we have to address the lease she signed. Is she subletting the room? Is the lease with the apartment complex or a roommate? A tenent is often excluded from being able to sublet their lease. So who is the lease she signed between?Answer #2: Obligatory NAL - Who does she have an actual written lease with -- a landlord or is she subletting the apartment through roommate B?

If she signed a lease with roomate B, I would think she has a leg to stand on to break the lease, since roommate B and her made an agreement that was not carried out. Breach of contract? Not sure if that counts, but NAL.

If she has a lease with the actual property manager or landlord with roomate B and the other roommate on the same lease...she could not break the lease without permission from the landlord / property manager despite whatever roomate disagreements there are. She would still be required to pay rent even if she doesn't move in unless the apartment is not in a liveable condition.

It depends who she has an actual lease with. Answer #3: It definitely sounds like this is a joint lease that has nothing written in it about who gets what room, I don't think she has a leg to stand on. The landlord has nothing to do with this, and shouldn't have to deal with someone breaking a lease over roommates squabbling over who gets the larger room.


Title: Is this fishy lawyer behavior? CA

Question: [deleted]

Answer: It's not uncommon, since $1,000 is a relatively little amount of money and he likely doesn't want to hunt you down to bill for services rendered.


Title: Half way getting fucked over by a car dealership.

Question:
I bought a used vehicle from a dealership four weeks ago...three weeks from the day I purchased it, I was driving down a road and my driver side wheel fell off. Come to find out, the wheel bearing was busted a d that's what caused the wheel to come off as well as ripping out my brake lines. I called the dealership I purchased it from and they are paying for all the damages to the truck (which I am very happy with) HOWEVER, they refuse to pay for my rental car because they "don't see why I need a rental car or how it is relevant to the wreck." They told me it would take UP TO A WEEK to fix it and now we are on week 2. I am under the required 25 years of age so it's costing me big time. As in right at a grand. I guess my question is. If they know they are responsible for the wreck (AI: they admitted that their mechanic missed a big problem that could have been fatal) shouldn't they also pay do my rental car? It's their fault that I don't have a vehicle.

Edit: I'm in alabama

Answer:
 While I see your point and would suggest you to take it to Small Claims if you demand satisfaction, I do not know of any law that would REQUIRE them to pay for rental car.

Heres my mind set, you say if not for them you would not have had a vehicle. Well, did you have a vehicle before you bought this one? Did you sell one to them? Because, had they caught it on the day you were going to pick it up, they would have done the repair, you would not have the car, and you would be as you are now. Maybe you buy a different car, maybe you love this car and just wait the 2 wks to get the repairs done. I don't know.

I don't think you are getting fucked over, as much as you are in a fucked up situation. May be no way out of it over than just suing afterwards.


Title: CPS wants to interview my son suspected of sexually abusing girl.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 CPS can interview him without parents being present. You need a lawyer.

As I said in your previous thread, your best bet is to separate from the other family for the time being. Have them move into their own separate place, and get your kid a lawyer immediately.


Title: Housing rights- my brother and I are on same deed, but only I pay the mortgage- does he have a right to live there?

Question:
Crossposted from /r/askLE

Tl;dr: my father, brother and I all have our names on the deed to an apartment we recently purchased. However, my father and I are the only ones paying the mortgage and utilities and management fees. It has been decided that I will be the only one living in the apartment for the next 2ish years. If my brother shows up and refuses to leave, do I have the legal right to kick him out because he is not paying the mortgage?

Also I am located in the US, specifically NC, if it matters.

Some additional details just to give clarity, although the above is pretty much the whole story. My brother has a history of aggression and mental illness and is living with my father. I would've purchased the home with my father only and not my brother but his financial assistance made the purchase easier on the family's financesm. I now regret this because my brother has started talking about wanting to move in with me, even though it has been made clear from the start that the apartment is for me to live in alone. In the future perhaps my father and I can buy him out of the deed but for now all 3 of our names are on it. My brother is tired of living with my dad and I am worried he will show up unexpectedly or visit at some point and then refuse to leave because he is on the deed, claiming the right to live there. I hope the situation explains itself at this point but just to add further detail I will explain that I am entering a master's program and do not want the stress of my brother doing this to me because he is extremely difficult and useless (doesn't work, has a video game addiction) and white possibly has bipolar/antisocial personality disorder (sociopathy) type provlems. So I am really hoping to hear that if such a situation arises which I am afraid of, I can call the police and they will remove him from the premises.

If that is out of the question I am hoping to hear some advice on how to less my anxiety about this possibility. I was thinking maybe installing cameras around the house so that in the event he becomes violent or aggressive I can then use that as justification for his removal. The only problem there is that his aggression is 99% verbal (he is smaller than me and hasn't fought me ever since I became stronger than him) and even with audio recording verbal abuse is hard to justify legally in a way that would justify his removal, I imagine.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you for your time.

Answer:
 It's as much his home as yours.  The only difference is that he's not responsible for the mortgage payment. But that does affect his right to live there. You may be able to get a restraining order which will keep him away.

You don't see any issue using his money to buy the place and then wanting to forcibly remove him?


Title: [Chicago, IL]is there a way to guarantee getting out of child support before child is born?

Question:
This isn't actually happening, but it's my phobia and I was wondering if you guys could help me put my mind to ease.

Basically lets assume its possible to abort. is there a way i could give a girlfriend the stipulation

-"I will pay for the abortion and a full year of counseling, but if you want to keep the child it is 100% on you."

is there a way to achieve this?

Also lets assume the other scenario of the child CANNOT be aborted. Is there a way to give this option:

-"I will pay for counseling for X years,and the medical fee's. However you need to put the child up for adoption AS SOON as it is born. If you choose to keep the child it is 100% on you".

Also what if said girlfriend denies these terms? Basically my goals are:

1)avoid child support/being a father

2) Get out of having the kid (abortion), if not then adoption

Notes: I live in IL

Answer:
 The answer is no, either way.  Child support is the child's right, not the mother's.  You can't force her to waive it, and even if she wanted to, any such agreement would be unenforceable.

There are few things we can say "absolutely" about on this sub.  This is one of them.Answer #2: Zero. She can choose to abort or not. You can both choose to give the child up for adoption. If not, you owe child support (if court ordered).

The only way to avoid paying support is to keep your penis in your pants.


Title: [NJ] Passive-aggressive, crotchety, old neighbor damaging everyone else's mail.

Question:
I live in a house divided into several apartments, one per floor. However, all three families share a single mail box out front. My upstairs neighbor lives alone, and has nothing better to do then pester everyone else in passive aggressive ways (doesn't like that you leave the picked up trash can out till the afternoon? moves the trashcan in front of your car door or apartment door so you can't miss it, even though it's no more visible than where it was. That kind of thing. Nothing damaging or confrontational, just kinda rude, but **all the time!**).

Well, for the most part I just kind of accept his behavior, since I don't want to have a neighbor-war, but one thing he persistently does that I hate, is that when he picks up his mail, he'll take everyone else's mail and hang it out of the box, so we see we have mail from a mile away (from what I've been told by landlord and the other family that lives here, he's generally offended at having to share anything and has tried to get more mailboxes so he doesn't have to but for whatever reason, the post office won't let him? Idk, it wasn't my fight at the time, but it didn't happen). Normally, it's just eye-rolling behavior, but it really irks me when (like lately) it's been raining nearly every day. He's exposing our mail to water damage, sometimes ruining bills or birthday cards, etc. He's been asked not to before, and even my mailman said he's asked my neighbor not to when I was talking to him about something else completely.

Is this a crime? Like, tampering or something. My other neighbors just seem to take the same blase, pick your battles attitude, that I do (in fact that's where I got it), but one day he's going to damage something vital, and it would be nice if he could get a legal spanking or something, before that happens.

Any advice?

Answer:
 I think your best bet is to follow up with the post office repeatedly. Try and talk to the postmaster. You may want to knock on his door every time he does it and tell him to stop. Knock early or late (but within any established quit hours and during daylight hours). Do it every time. Even if it doesn't rain.Answer #2: I'm surprised the post office hasn't insisted on a separate mailbox for each family.  Even if you live in an apartment, if it's a legal apartment they should all have separate addresses for mailing purposes.  Who said the post office wouldn't let additional mailboxes be posted? The old guy? The landlord?   When you go talk to the post office, explain that your mail is being tampered with and exposed by this guy, and request additional mailboxes for yourself and the third family. Answer #3: Get up early.Put his mail the same way he puts everyone else's but ontop so it gets wet or damaged instead of yours. Answer #4: Leaving your mail outside of your mailbox is most definitely against many laws. Escalate this and hopefully he'll just learn to bring mail inside or leave it closed in the box? Besides the possibility of destroying your mail (federal crime), he is definitely tampering with your mail and increasing the likelihood it gets misplaced. Contact post office then law enforcement.Answer #5: Maybe a PO box would help, if it's a matter of not rocking the sublet boat.Answer #6: You think your landlord would be opposed to you just buying your own mailbox and putting it on the wall?

If you share a house number you could simply assign letters to each door.


Title: Anime Store - Legal Advice

Question:
Hello! I've recently opened an online anime clothing store, and I've had designs made for the website that consist of existing anime (Naruto, etc) - should I be worried about being sued by the company/studio that owns the characters/content used on the clothing? or is it okay since the art was completely made by an outside source and paid for?

Would appreciate advice, thank you!

Answer:
 > should I be worried about being sued by the company/studio that owns the characters/content used on the clothing?

Yes

> or is it okay since the art was completely made by an outside source and paid for?

No


Title: [OH] Can I get in trouble for making frequent noise complaints w/ police?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You probably won't get in trouble but the more times you call the less likely they're going to come out to stop the noise. As a former law student and now attorney, I'm telling you that if you're that sensitive to noise you need to do your studying at the library, the place that tries to make it as quiet as possible for people to study. Answer #2: If you called 1000 times then i'm sure the city has put you in the crying wolf category.


Title: Girl I had sex with in March admitted to having herpes last night, what are my options?

Question:
I had sex with this girl J bout the 14th of March this year. I then had sex twice with her roommate E  the following week. Both of them have apparently had plenty of threesomes.

Just last night my own roommate D hooked up with J where apparently, while intoxicated, she had admitted to  D to having herpes. Both D and I did not use condoms.

Where should i go from here? I dont have insurance and can barely even afford to get tested. Additionally if I did contract anything she knowingly had I fully intend to press charges/sue.

Answer:
 There is a clinic somewhere in your community that will help you with testing and treatment if necessary.

Her admission in June that she has herpes is fairly short of proof that she knew in March and exposed you deliberately.  Even if it was, your pursuit of this issue is likely more cost and effort than it recovers.


Title: (FL) I got arrested a year ago for dui and wasn't able to complete all of my requirements in time, and am curious about likely consequences.

Question: So, I got arrested of a dui misdemeanor (first and only thing on on my record) and my last month of probation was last month (actually thought I had one more month) and I'm shy on my community service by about 20 hours when I was ordered 50.  I'm also probably going to be shy in the court fines by around $70 out of the 1500. Honestly its my fault and I feel pretty ridiculous not having it all completed. Transportation is the main thing that stopped me from finishing the community service, but that's a shoddy excuse. When I was at my previous court date at the start of all this, I remember the judge being very nice, and giving people extra time for certain things and am hoping he does that for me but after some google searches, I'm pretty worried about jail time now. Just wanted your input!

Answer: They might give you extra time, but you don't know. It's a gamble in which you go to jail, possibly directly from the hearing itself, if the judge feels like being a hardass. How much time do you have? Finish this up. And short $70 out of $1,500? Come on, you can get $70 from somewhere. Panhandle if you must. Answer #2: The court will probably also extend the suspension of your license in addition to any fines or other punishment they order.


Title: Recieved a strange call about my car.

Question: I'm financing a car from Drive Time. I'm behind on payments, and have been struggling to straighten my balance out. I've talked to the company(Bridgecrest), and got an extension on the payments as a one time courtesy. I recently missed those payments too. So now, I just received a call from a guy named Todd, and all he asked was if the vehicle was still treating me alright. I said, "The vehicle..?" and he says, "Thank you, that's all I needed to hear," then hangs up. Can someone help me figure out what happened?

Answer: Could be a repo company trying to confirm that you still have it so they can come take it from you.


Title: Selling gaming accounts

Question: Is selling or distribution of gaming accounts for online gaming services that are hacked or taken from dumped online databases illegal enough for any legal problems?

Answer:
 Yes.Answer #2: How is this even a question?Answer #3: Not only is it illegal, it's also makes you kind of a scumbag.Answer #4: Think of legality as binary. There is legal, and there is illegal. There is no illegal enough. If you are asking if it is illegal enough, you have already accepted that it is illegal. That answers your question.Answer #5: You're fencing stolen goods, so yes.Answer #6: I'm going to go on a limb and say you're going to sell Minecraft accounts.

If this is a case, please, get a job. Like seriously.Answer #7: Give me your Reddit account password and I'll get you 5000 karma ;)Answer #8: Yes, I'm not a lawyer but as far as I can tell it's like finding stolen property and selling it


Title: (CA) Estranged wife forged my signature on student housing agreement. What should I do?

Question:
I’m California, married for five years, separated and for 6-7 months. Shit hit the fan in November, wife told to move leave the home and happily complied. I should note that the apartment is housing provided by her university. She’s the student, but we have to sign the lease and all the yearly renewals.

Long story short, she hasn’t responded to my messages about money stuff. I wondered how she was going to handle the lease signature, cuz I had little interest in signing and hoped to use it as bargaining chip or a way to force a $ conversation. I googled and application deadline had passed. When I contacted the housing office, they told me that I’ve already signed the lease. I’m fairly confident that this means she forged my signature on the rental renewal form.

What if any recourse do I have here? Is this like a major fuck up on her part or just like an administrative detail? I’m curious, but pragmatic.

Answer:
 You'll want to write up an Affidavit of Forgery suitable for CA and take it down there. Make them sign that they have received it.
Otherwise you'll be responsible when she doesn't pay or has damages.


Title: [NH] Paid a Duplicate Check after Employment Termination

Question:
Good evening, I'm hoping I can get some advice on this.

I was terminated last Friday (after receiving a review 2 weeks prior containing all 4 and 5 stars) and today I received my last direct deposit  for the hours I worked last week.

Today I received a check in the mail that is for the exact same amount as my direct deposit (dd) with no information on the stub - no hours worked, nothing about taxes deducted, BUT it does show that the "document number" includes the word "payroll" BUT it has part of my last name as the "vendor id".

I have applied for unemployment and I know that I need to claim any income to maintain my claim. I didn't know this was in the mail and I haven't received any communications from the company about it.

I am still a bit shocked at being let go, and there was a ton of sketchy stuff going on there so my trust is shakey right now.

My question is: Am I being set up? If I cash this, will there be a negative consequence?

Answer: You know it's a mistake, so don't cash it. Call them and inform them of their mistake.


Title: Tipped employees not paid minimum ($5.23) if tipped a certain amount

Question:
I started a new job (valet at hotel), and I’ve been told that depending on how much you make for a night at the hotel or at other properties (restaurants), you don’t get paid your wage and just keep your tips untaxed.

I’ve also been told that you aren’t paid for any of the time you work early or stay late. You’re scheduled 11-7, then you’re paid 11-7. If the guys coming to relieve you show up 10 minutes late, you don’t paid for that. Essentially, this means anyone who leaves at 10:55 when I show up gets paid an extra five minutes or who comes in 10 minutes late gets paid 15 minutes for MY time at my post.

I find this unacceptable, and it sounds wildly fucking illegal.

I haven’t gotten my first pay check yet, but I’ve taken pictures of my time cards and my entire I9 packet with W-4 and all.

Depending on how things turn out, what are my options for if I’m getting robbed of my wage?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 File a wage complaint.

And find a new job.


Title: I apologise if this is a bad thread. Just loosely. My partner and I are getting married, and we found a lovely photographer. But when he sent us the contracts and invoice over the $3200 package we agreed on was now $3850 because of a previously undisclosed $650 booking fee. Legal?

Question:
I understand that a booking fee is necessary as it protects the photographers if we break off the agreement for whatever reason but it's 20% of our original cost without him ever mentioning that he would be charging that cost. Most photographers in our area ask for 20% to 50% of the actual package cost to be paid in advance for a deposit. Not additional money on top of the agreed price.

I'm just curious, is it legal for him to charge us in the invoice when he's never disclosed the fee prior? It's not on his website, he didn't tell us in the meeting we had face to face. We only learnt about it when he sent an invoice/contract.

In Canberra, Australia :)

Answer:
 If you haven't signed any contract or paid a deposit than just find a new photographer.

If you have, than ask the photographer about it and tell him it isn't what is in the contract. Answer #2: Do you have an invoice or a contract?  Have you previously *signed* a contract with this person?  Have services already been rendered?Answer #3: I've worked with photographers pretty extensively and I've never heard of a separate fee for booking.  It's usually a percentage of the total cost that's applied to the final invoice as you said.  It's legal for him to charge whatever he wants for his services, it's up to you if you want to accept them.  If you had a signed contract and you were billed something different, that would be a different story.


Title: LOS ANGELES, CA: Landlord wants part of returned deposit back

Question:
To set this whole scenario up, my former landlord is off her rocker and constantly found new ways to harass us while living in her apartments. Frankly, we were  amazed when we got the majority of our deposit back. Alas, it has turned out too good to be true. We just got a letter saying that she underestimated the cleaning costs by half and wants us to send her a check to cover the cost. We're out of the place and she has nothing to hold over us now, or so we think. How obligated are we to cover the costs of her miscalculation? I've included her original letter, which stated clearly we should only expect her estimate to be higher than the expected costs, not lower, as well as her second letter and her itemized receipt for the clean up.

As an addition, the bulk of the cleaning cost was for cleaning 26 blinds at $10 a piece. The first thing we did when we moved in was take the ugly, cheap blinds down and put up curtains.
http://imgur.com/a/gAv21

Answer:
 Did your former landlord send you a letter printed in comic sans?Answer #2: Even if the landlord returned the entire deposit, you would still be liable for any damages beyond wear and tear. They can turn the amount over to a collection agency or file a lawsuit against you to collect.

California does allow for charges to clean the rental unit when the tenant moves out, but only to make the unit as clean as it was when the tenant first moved in. If you do not believe the cleaning charges are legitimate, you can ask her to dismiss them or make the same argument to a judge.Answer #3: Please remove or redact the photographs so they don't have personally identifying information.


Title: [CA] The Plaintiff's lawyer did not tell me that our Case Management Conference was cancelled for this morning. I spent hours in line and waiting inside. Is there anyway I can be compensated for this?

Question:
Apparently the Conference was postponed, but even the plaintiff's lawyer did not know that! She had to call his own secretary to find out that he/she forgot to tell her last week.

I thought it was her responsibility to notify me of any rescheduling (plus, I didn't receive a letter regarding the rescheduling anyway). I'll never get that time back, but is there way I can ask the judge to make her compensate me for my lost time? She literally refused to apologize and said "(expletive) happens." She's just pretending like it's no big deal right? I'm pretty furious right now.

Thank you!

**UPDATE:** In the court document delaying the conference that the lawyer received, it says that they had to give notice to me.

Answer: You're responsible for monitoring the docket for your own case.  Unless the Plaintiff's attorney is the person who requested a stay, or the court specifically instructed them to inform you, they had no obligation to.


Title: [Ohio] Can my friends mother force her on birth control? She’s not sexually active

Question:
I’m honestly not even sure how to start with this. I don’t want to give her bad advice because I know absolutely nothing about this.

She’s 16 and living in a split custody situation with her father and mother. I don’t really know a more polite way to say that her parents are insane. She has no bed at either house while both her sisters do, her father used to hit her and she’s terrified of him. Her mother knows about all of this and doesn’t seem to care. She’s currently paying for her drivers ed classes while her sisters are having hers paid. She’s not a bad person either for fucks sake. She has a gpa above 3.5, is taking college classes in highschool, and doesn’t do any drugs and hasn’t had sex in her life

Despite all of that her parents are now insisting that because being 16 she must be rebelling and sneaking out every night. And because of that has to go on birth control. I know she can’t prove it to them but she’s seriously never had sex in her life. It’s within their rights to make their kid do that right? She can’t exactly prove she’s a virgin to them

And if it’s illegal is it even worth fighting against?
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 If they are wanting her to get a LARP (long acting reversible birth control) such as an IUD or nexplanon, those will require consent forms to be signed. If your friend says specifically that she does not consent, no doctor is going to force that on her, regardless of the wishes of the parent.

If it is a prescription for birth control pills, well, she get fill the prescription but not actually take them.Answer #2: In Ohio but not a lawyer.

Parents generally have a right to make decisions without a child's approval and it can be well within their rights. Though she may be able to voice the concern to her doctor when going for the prescription. She may be able to speak with Planned Parenthood about the matter as well.

However you mentioned her father was abusive. She could potentially make a report to CPS or tell a mandatory reporter (such as her guidance councilor or a teacher.) Though there could be repercussions should she do that and it could impact her ability to focus on school.

In my area (Northeast Ohio) there's an organization called Townhall 2 which (if my memory serves me correctly) may have some resources that could help. A similar organization in your area may be of help. It could be wise for her to see about seeing a therapist who may be able to offer some advice as well as help her with some life skills (coping with the impacts from her parents and whatnot.)

Either way I wish her the best of luck.


Title: (USA) I'm an 18 year old high school student, and there is an illegal immigrant living in the house paying rent. Will this prevent me from obtaining a top secret security clearance for the FBI?

Question:
So about a couple of months ago, our cleaning lady needed a place to live. My parents offered her a place to live, they came to an agreement about rent and she moved in.

She is a worker, kind person, and not at all a violent criminal. She has been in the country for years now and not had any problems with the authorities that I know of.

I'm 18, but it's not like I have any legal authority over what happens in the house. And I am planning on applying to the FBI internship this summer.

Will this be a problem when I am going through the back ground check?

If it will, should I change my major from intelligence analysis to something else?

[if any one wants to look at the law. Here it is.](https://www.justice.gov/usam/criminal-resource-manual-1907-title-8-usc-1324a-offenses)

And I'm located in the United States.
Topic:
Background Checks and Expungements

Answer:
 It won't prevent, no.

It may cause an issue, depending, and it *will* cause an issue if you don't disclose.Answer #2: I seriously doubt that they're issuing a TS/SCI clearance for someone for a summer internship. Are you sure it's not merely confidential?

It may complicate certain clearances, not just because she's undocumented, but because if she's from certain countries that may present an increased information risk.


Title: Accused of Abuse

Question:
A relative who lives in IL was accused of sexual abuse by his middle school-aged daughter. He's not allowed to see his children while the investigation is underway and is currently residing outside of the house. What steps should he take to protect himself and prepare for whatever may come?

&#x200B;

Additional background: He maintains his innocence  and I believe him to be innocent. His daughter is mentally ill and on psych medications. I just want to help him not lose his family. I advised him to get a lawyer but he fears that will make him look guilty. Thank you for any advice you have.

Answer:
 Getting an attorney makes you look guilty like going to the doctor makes you seem sick.

He needs an attorney, it would be stupid not to get one. An attorney is not going to hurt his case.


Title: Ex girlfriend used my account without authorization to pay car loan

Question:
I had been dating a girl for a few years, but we broke up in March. Last year, when things were going well, I foolishly co signed on a car loan with her. We had talked about it a lot and she was comfortable with the monthly payment so that’s why I gave it the ok. After we broke up in March she was hard for cash so and needed help just to get out of my life so I agreed to help and pay her loan for one month. I used my bank account on their online portal, and it saved my info. I forgot to delete my bank account off it, and that’s where the problem lies.

A couple weeks ago, she used my account to make a payment on her loan of a little over $700 (2x her monthly). She never asked me about it, she did not say anything. The only reason I found out is because I was looking at my checking account and saw a debit for the loan company (Ally) of that amount. I immediately called my bank and they told me it was an ACH payment. I know it was her, there’s no way around it. She’s the only one who can login to the portal so she had to have done it.

I called Ally and got my bank info off the online portal so she can’t do it again. I messaged her via text and Facebook message asking if she did it. I said it doesn’t have to be a big deal, I just want her to do the right thing and pay me back. She has not responded to multiple messages so I’m not sure what my options are. Do I have any legal recourse to get my money back? I don’t want her to get away with stealing from me, but I don’t know what I can do.

Answer:
 1. File a police report to begin the fraud process and likely expose her to serious criminal charges.

2. Sue her in small claims court. (any maybe never collect)

3. Do nothing.Answer #2: It sounds like you will probably end out paying for that car. Co-signing is actually singing, don't do it peopleAnswer #3: I am not a lawyer, but this looks like you may have to go through small claims court. Print out any messages you have saying you would pay one month, as well as your attempts to recover the two months that you didn't give permission for.

The part I'm not sure about is if there are any legal landmines surrounding being cosigned, and willingly putting your account information in the online payment. Hopefully others can help with that.Answer #4: Have you tried disputing the charge as unauthorized with your bank?


Title: Is asking vaccine status a HIPAA violation?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 HIPAA only applies to healthcare providers, to sharing healthcare information.

It isn't a hipaa violation to ask if someone is vaccinated. Or to deny them access unless they provide access to their medical records.


Title: If my lease expressly states it expires on 1/31/16 do I still need to give 30 days notice?

Question:
I have a twelve-month lease set to expire at the end of this month, about two weeks from now, and I was hoping to leave then. However, my landlord has taken the position that I must provide 30 days notice before leaving and that even if I gave notice today, I would be required to make payments for up to 30 days from today. This doesn't seem right to me? It seems that the lease should terminate under its own provisions.

The relevant provision states: "The term of this Agreement is for one year . . . ending on 1/31/16 at which time this Lease shall terminate without further notice. Any holding over thereafter shall result in resident being liable for daily rental damages . . . .  A "month to month" tenancy subject to the terms and conditions of this agreement shall be created only if Owner accepts rent from resident thereafter, and if so accepted, tenancy may be terminated by resident after service upon Owner of a written 30-day notice of termination."

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

(Sacramento, CA)

Answer:
 > at which time this Lease shall terminate **without further notice.**

This is the answer to your question.Answer #2: It doesn't appear to be required by the language, but your interests are best served by communicating clearly with your landlord.Answer #3: nope has an end term that only continues with a dual function by both of you, no notice required.


Title: Just saw an extremely disturbing video on PornHub of a clearly real, un-simulated, non-consensual act of torture. How do I get it to the FBI?

Question:
To start off, I'm asking here, because I want the woman in this video to get help but also I don't want to be apart of any investigation in any sustained or prolonged way. If a **mod** here wants to reach out to me for the link to verify i'm not looking for karma, that might be reasonable but other than that I don't think posting the link is right thing to do. My legal question is how do I report this without being involved in an investigation and what are my legal rights when it comes to wanting to stay out of an official investigation?

&#x200B;

To just cut to the chase, the video depicts a woman in some sort of BDSM suffocation torture device. In the beginning  the situation seems consensual but little more than halfway through the video she essentially screams that she wants to be let out. She literally says "I mean it". It's just clearly not acting. You can see the moment she realizes the guy behind the camera doesn't care she tried to end the scene. She screams for over a minute and fights hard to get out, (i mean she tries to rip herself out). Then she just passes out and even after that he keeps her in the thing for a little bit longer before opening it. She doesn't die on camera, she's still breathing at the end of the video but she does not fully regain consciousness. I don't know what else to really say, it's just clearly not acting or faked. She fights it like someone who thinks there gonna die and she's still unconscious when it's all over.

&#x200B;

It's somehow been viewed around 30,000 times and it's still up. I didn't report it to PornHub right away because I can't live with the idea that it might just get deleted by a mod who doesn't care, without ever getting looked into. But also I'm a really young adult and don't want my shit confiscated by police because I can't afford to replace it. Obviously I wasn't on a sketchy site, PornHub is pretty mainstream, so I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything wrong but that's why i'm asking here to be sure what my rights are.

Answer: The FBI is not going to raid you because you reported a pornhub video.


Title: Califonia gun laws

Question:
We are from Tennessee, and took a seasonal job in California. My girlfriend was given a small handgun by her father for protection. She is 21 now. The gun is kept put up in our room, not carried at any given time. We have a pretty big issue with our company and am leaving on Monday.

Is there any kind of trouble my girlfriend can get into for having it in California, even though we're leaving?

Answer: In your room, it's okay to my reading. Take it outside? Felony.


Title: I had SSI, but I got my shit together, found a full time job, and moved into a room. I have MANY roommates and SSI is demanding I send them ALL of their SSNs. This feels invasive and wrong..

Question:
OREGON

This is a house with rooms rented out, but there are about 7 of us. There may be more, I can't quite figure it out yet. We're not buddies and we all just kind of live in our rooms. On top of that, I JUST met these people. Social security is demanding I fill out this form with EVERY person's full name, birthday, and social security number. I've tried to explain on the phone that I am very uncomfortable even attempting to do this. I don't know why this is even necessary. I pay my own way completely, and I will give them my landlord's info as it asks in a different part. I now make too much money to even get paid my Supplemental Security Income, but I don't want to get in trouble with them, or ruin any chance at getting help down the road if I become unstable again.

Do I have any options here besides refuse and burn my bridges? Because I sure as hell am not going around to seven people I just met asking for their most personal of information. The household is a tense and untrustworthy place as it is (I'm staying because I am a loner and have a deadbolt so all is well on my end).

Can I maybe just tell them that everybody refused to give me their information?

Answer:
 You don't have "room mates", and you should stop calling them that because it infers that you know these people and are sharing expenses with them.

You should speak with social security and discuss the matter with them in depth, clarify that you live in a boarding house style arrangement with a number of other individual tenants who each rent their own room and have access to shared common areas, but your lease and your expenses are entirely separate from their own.

Imagine if you lived in an apartment building, all of the other people living in that building have access to things like the parking garage, the lobby, the courtyard, the pool, etc. But those people are not "your room mates" and social security isn't going to ask (nor would they be entitled to) the personal information of everyone living in your apartment building.

Speak with them and clarify the living situation, submit a copy of your lease to them if necessary showing that the lease is **only** between you and the landlord.


Title: Why did I get fined? Indecent exposure in park?

Question:
Hello,

My boyfriend (23M) and I (22 F) haven't seen each other in a while and can't meet indoors because we live with family. We love to hike, and because of Covid-19, that's all we've been able to do lately. We decided to go to a state park today, in PA. I thought It'd be fun to watch a movie in the car after the hike, so we packed snacks and hot chocolate. After the hike, we put the back seats down and cuddled up to watch a movie. I'm completely against the idea of car sex, my boyfriend knows this. I find the idea of it stressful and immature. He starts making out with me during the movie though, and ends up begging me to give him a blowjob. I told him we shouldn't, I don't think it's a good idea. Although we parked in a far, secluded area I was still paranoid someone could come. He insisted it'd be fine though, so I did it. I stayed fully clothed. He took his clothes off, but when it was over he put his underwear back on. I just layed on his chest after, and we just talked for a while.

 A park ranger stopped by though, and my boyfriend quickly put his pants back on. The ranger was like "you obviously know why I've stopped you." He asked us to get out of the car, took our information, and eventually fined us. He said that it could have been much worse (indecent exposure, etc.) I said nothing at all during all of this, I was shaking and terrified because I have never been in trouble in any way shape or form. I think I was just shocked, and scared. Thinking back to it now though, I was fully clothed when he stopped by, my boyfriend was in his underwear. No sexual parts were showing, and we were doing absolutely nothing. We weren't even kissing at that point, only chatting. No one came by.

I'm just confused and bothered, and I really don't know what I got fined for at this point. Thank you.

Answer: Indecent exposure in PA is a misdemeanor criminal offense that carries mandatory sex offender registration. You need a criminal defense attorney.


Title: Is a Guarantor Form binding?

Question: I am moving to Boston for school and was planning on renting an apartment. I found a possible apartment and at first I told him I was interested/I said I would rent the room and he sent over a guarantor form to sign. Since I do not make any significant income, I had my mother sign on my behalf and send it to the landlord. I later found out that my potential roommate has a cat and I am allergic to cats so I can no longer live there. I never signed a lease, but would I still be liable to pay/will there be consequences if I choose to not sign the lease and tell the landlord I am no longer going to move in?

Answer: AFAIK that form is binding insofar as you're responsible financially for any breaking of the lease. If there was never a lease, I don't know what charges you'd be accountable for.


Title: Ex destroyed my home!

Question:
I live in Columbus, Ohio if that helps. So my, now, exboyfriend kicked my door down (breaking the frame of the door and the lock) making it unable to close and completely TRASHED my room, mattress thrown off the bed, drinks poured over the wall and my clothes had been damaged too.

Because I'm a dumb idiot, and totally "that girl" I told the police officers in the moment I didn't want to press charges. I've thought about it and I definitely do now. The neighbor got a look at what he was wearing and told the cops she could identify him by his clothing and I described what I believed he was wearing to match her description without fail (he's a pretty predictable guy clothing wise).

My question is how do I go about pressing charges and making sure there's a warrant for his arrest? How do you get a protective order and how do I call the cops with info to give them about him? I was being pretty secretive at first, only telling them name, the make and model of his car, and his phone number. I truthfully know where his cousin lives and where his grandma lives.

Finally, if he does skip town and go to another state will that arrest warrant carry over? How much will I have to be involved in the process? Do I need to get a lawyer if I want to sue for emotional damage? I'm afraid to go home, afraid to be at work for fear he's going to come find me and hurt me. Is that legit?

Sorry for the long message, I've never been in any sort of legal issue so I don't know about a single thing.

Answer:
 > how do I go about pressing charges

Call the police and tell them you changed your mind.

> and making sure there's a warrant for his arrest?

You can't. That's up to the police and prosecutor, not you.

> How do you get a protective order

Varies by state. Call your local court clerk and ask.

> and how do I call the cops with info to give them about him?

Seriously? You don't know how to call your local police? How the hell are we supposed to tell you that when **we don't even know where you are?**

> if he does skip town and go to another state will that arrest warrant carry over?

No.

> How much will I have to be involved in the process?

There's no way to answer this. Hell, your question isn't even clear.


Title: [USA] Forced to do illegal acts

Question:
If one were to commit Illegal acts (drug smuggling, stealing, fraud) to save a kidnapped person, say family member, would they be accountable for it, if at the end of an investigation it would be clear that the sole purpose of the act was to save the abducted person?

I'm just curious.

Answer:
 What you're talking about is the affirmative defense of duress. Essentially you're saying "Yes, I committed the crime. But I did so to prevent a greater harm."

Whether or not the defense is successful depends on the facts of your case, your lawyer, and the jury.Answer #2: The name of that defense is [duress](http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/stathtml/56200000711.HTML).

It's an "affirmative defense" which means that it will be up to the defendant to convince a jury that their actions were reasonable given the threats they were facing.


Title: A guy from a hook up took photos of me in various stages of undress incpuding completely naked and without my knowledge and showed and sent them to other people. Possible sexual assault? [NSFW]

Question:
We have 3 people:

Me: me

Appartment owner/friend: guy A

Photo taker/ hookup: guy B, rounghly at least twice my age and weight

Everyone is a guy and gay

I was at guy A's house waiting for him to get home. We had an event where guy A, guy B, and I would go to. My boyfriend was at work and would be busy the whole time.

Guy B was in skin tight, legging material like booty shorts, like you sneeze wrong and a ball popped out tight, and a worn down tank top. I was in some gym shorts and a t-shirt.

Guy B turned off the AC and said it was to save power and money for Guy A. I said sure. It is an incredibly hot day. Whatever. But Guy B opened the patio door to the one room appartment and quickly it got REALLY HOT. Texas summer heat hot.

I am body confident. I am ok on how my body looks. So when I started sweating, I took my shirt off. Normal guy thing. But it got hotter. I was sweating and I thought, what the hell. I asked guy B if he was ok with me getting naked and he said sure so I did.

He would in the next hour take his shirt off and an hour after that, his shorts. We were watching TV and relaxing, just sitting on a large couch.

My back started hurting and he offered me a massage. Said he was a massage therapist. I declined but another hour went by and my back was hurting. I accepted his offer then.

I'm naked, he is naked, and I am getting a massage. I was told good things about this guy so I didn't question it. While the massage went on, he worked on my neck, back, and butt.

His now fully erect dick was rubbing against and poking my a##hole but I didn't question it because the angle he was massaging me. I was face down on a couch and he was on top, knees on either side of my thighs. I didn't say anything because I didn't think he meant to...

While massaging my neck though, out of the blue, he shoved his full shaft into me. We had not stated anything about sex this whole night. This surprised me a lot and actually hurt horribly. My head was pressed against a pillow and under his bodyweight. I couldn't get up and say anything for around 3 seconds and then when I could do anything, I pulled away and said no. It was obvious I was hurt.

A few moments later started massaging again and them a minute later he put a finger up my butt. I kinda froze and he put another one and started fingering me. Moments later I pulled away and pushed him to the side and said no.

I said I had a boyfriend and said this is wrong. We aren't an open couple. He told me that he has many clients (he is a escort) were married or in relationships and that is a perk of the job. No one would find out. We are now laying face to face on our sides in the couch. He then grabbed my hand and lowered it to his dick while he grabbed mine.

I am young and naive. I didn't say yeah, let's have sex. But he was jacking me off and it felt nice and he saw it in my face. He went again to finger me and I didn't stop him. He fingered me and then I flipped over and he put his dick in me.

I am into kink and I like to be dominated. I say yes Sir when I am feeling dominated. Just a heads-up.

He fucked me in a spooning position then I turned onto my stomach. He was on top, I was pinned, he is a larger older man. I felt dominated and my brain went to a submissive mode. He was asking questions like had a hooked up with guy A and did I like his dick in my ass. I would automatically just say yes Sir.

He went at it for a few minutes then asked if I wanted his load in me. I said no so he pulled out and shoot it on my back.

He got up and walked around right away while I just played there. Finally I got up and took a shower because I felt filthy, emotionally and physically.

After the shower I get dressed and go sit on the patio alone. I didn't want to see him. Guy A finally got home and I stayed outside. And hour and a half later they left for their event and I didn't go. I didn't want to be near him. I went inside and later fell asleep.

I woke up to my boyfriend waking me up. He was done and was ready to pack up and go home. We were thinking of spending the night but while I was on the patio, I messaged him saying I didn't want to.

I wanted to leave. Get away.

While my bf stood next to me, I confessed what had happened. I had been fucked by another guy. He was angry. That is normal. We packed up and left. In the truck I started filling him in on the details. He became furious with guy B stating he manipulated me. He called guy A asking where they were and told him about the hook up. Found out and hung up. Called again asking if he was drunk. He wasn't but then guy A told us about the photos.

Guy B had taken photos of me in shorts and naked without me knowing. My face was visible and recognizable in several of them. He was showing others these photos without my knowledge or consent. He had sent them without my consent in text messages.

I want to know what I could do if anything. This all took place in Austin, Tx but I don't live in Austin. My boyfriend says I should get a rape kit. Is it too late?

Thank you so much for all the help and I will answer any questions.

Topic:
Douche

Answer: Texas has an "Improper Photography" tatute that makes it a felony to photograph a subject “without the other person's consent … and with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.”


Title: NYC legal advice for tenant in Rent Controlled apartment

Question: 5 months ago I found a stray kitten in the streets and to keep the story short, he is now my pet.  The lease clearly states "NO PETS".  I'm not sure if the landlord knows about the cat, but I have my suspicions because he should have given me a new lease agreement by now as he always has by this time of year since I'm in the final 30 days of my current lease.  I'm going on 6 years being here, and I plan on staying, but I am not familiar with NYC renter laws and wondering if my landlord can evict me?

Answer:
 If the lease says no pets, the landlord can require you to get rid of the pet.  If you fail to comply, you can be evicted.  However, the law requires that the landlord give you a reasonable opportunity to correct the violation before starting the eviction process.Answer #2: You most likely are rent stabilized, not rent control. Either, if you are rent stabilized your landlord can't evict just because he didn't send you a renewal. You are guaranteed a renewal regardless. You can essentially stay there without a new lease. Since he can only raise your rent a % set by the city each year it's in his benefit to send you the lease in a timely way because he can't enforce it retroactively.

On to the cat, your life would be easier if you got rid of it. He could take you to court to evict over it but it's unlikely he'll be able to. Once you have a pet generally for a certain period of time a landlord can't then decide to kick someone out for it. This use to happen when bad landlord wanted people out to jack up rent they wouldn't be able to to otherwise. Still a headache and you would want a lawyer.

The short version is that it's extremely difficult to evict a rent stabilized tenant. Nyc housing courts heavily favor tenants. Pm me if you need more info. I would still get rid of the cat btw.


Title: I got fired because of my opinions

Question: I'm not sure if this is the right subreddit for this but I had to tell someone. (And y'all have helped me before) I had been working for this bar for a few weeks. I had just given them my social security number and all the tax stuff to be put into the system. Everyone seemed to enjoy my company and working with me even though I was the youngest there. The job was a cook/dishwasher and the ad said no experience needed. So I applied and got the job. I wasn't the fastest at anything but I got it done on time and it was usually right. The owners wife even said I should be getting more hours. Well one day at work people were discussing the current president and their dislike for him. The owner was among them discussing it. I guess he noticed me not saying anything and asked me what I thought. Not wanting to cause an issue or anything I just said "I think I'm in the minority here" and left it at that. Now keep in mind that when I mentioned that I went to church in my interview with him he proceeded to remind me that this was a "no hate place and we don't discriminate" Well that was the last day I worked for the week and after saying bye to everyone and having everyone saying they will see me when I work again. Well our schedule would go out in a group email on Sunday at 5. I never got that email. I emailed them on Monday morning and got an immediate response. He said "Sorry we didn't call but it was late. We like you as a person and you have made a great impression on everyone here since you're a great guy but we need someone with more experience to fill this role." I was shocked that things had changed so quickly. I have been trying to find something I did or said that might have made them want to fire me but I can't figure what I did. I live in northwest Florida. Any comments or ideas?

Answer:
 The employer's email indicating they wanted someone with more experience contradicts your entire post. You have zero evidence you were fired for your opinions, but even then it's not illegal to fire someone because they express a certain political leaning. You could be fired for being a Red Sox fan (and rightly so in my opinion).Answer #2: File for unemployment.

Tip for the future, keep politics out of work.Answer #3: File for unemployment.Answer #4: Be glad you learned the lesson that the correct response is politely saying you don't mix politics & work from such an entry level position.  Not doing that again will serve you well.

You can look at my post history and probably come to some conclusions about my opinion of the current president as a human being or even as an appropriate use of oxygen, but my response the morning after the election to my coworkers was "I know there are lots of strong feelings around this topic so I don't discuss politics at work, sorry."


Title: I'm 15, so a minor, at my high school you are required to sign a hand book. Recently I found myself in the Dean of Students' office. He asked that I hand over my phone to be searched. This is illegal, but the handbook I signed permits that the school can search my phone. Can they do this?

Question: They also went through my whole camara roll searching for a photo that was at the top of the camaraderie roll.

Answer: What makes you think that the dean asking for permission to look in your phone wasn’t legal? Your location matters.


Title: Contractor threatened to sue for defamation over a possible bad review.

Question:
So on October 6th my boyfriend signed a contract, for some insulation work (about 2 days worth of work) that was done several days prior. 2/3 weeks later he went under the house to cover some pipes due to the cold coming. He discovered the work had not quite been completed. Now the company has still not finished, they sent a man out a few days ago to finish, however the employee apologized, saying he was too old to do the work needed. I emailed the contractor saying I was disappointed in the work, (or lack thereof) and would be writing a bad review. He replied saying if I wrote a bad review he would sue for defamation, does he have grounds for this? The work was 8000$, which I feel was way too much to begin with. The company only did attic and under the home insulation, no blow in just the pink stuff you cut and place in.
Edit:forgot to add I am in Texas.

Answer:
 >He replied saying if I wrote a bad review he would sue for defamation, does he have grounds for this?

He **can** sue for defamation, but he would have to prove it's libelous. Truth is always a defense to defamation claims.


Title: Homeowners association trying to fine my family because of our front lawn?

Question: So our front lawn has been largely uncared for in the last few years, and all of a sudden, out of the blue the local homeowners association sent us a request for a hearing regarding our lawn. Of course, we promptly ignored it, as it is our front lawn and we can do what we want with it. Then today, a letter arrived saying that they would send their own landscaping service over and charge us 5,000$+ on it. I am furious at this and believe it is ridiculous, but is it legal? I live in California.

Answer:
 > Of course, we promptly ignored it, as it is our front lawn and we can do what we want with it.

Your HOA obviously differs on that.  If you're a member of the HOA, you need to follow their rules.  You need to check those rules to see if their handling is appropriate.  If it is, then it's likely you'll have to pay for it - or clean up your lawn yourself.


Title: Ban anti vaxxers in private business?

Question: I used to manage a family run business that catered to children. The owners and I are still like family tbh they really lax with following the exact law but they are good people who would never screw anyone over. I don't think I have to explain to you guys why they want to ban them, but we do have a lot of groups with disabilities come in. I understand we probably wouldn't have a way to enforce it. We can't force people to show their medical records. They wanna put up a sign but is this legal to do?

Answer:
 People too stupid to keep heir own children from becoming diseased breeding grounds (and perhaps dying too) isn't a protected class.

People with a medical reason to refuse vaccinations ARE.

How do you intend to exclude one group but not the other?


Title: [Illinois] Broke lease with advance notice. Landlord doesn't seem to be trying to re-rent. Do I have to keep paying?

Question:
Back in July, my wife and I came across a house that we didn't want to pass up, but we are in a lease until March. I called our landlord in early July to talk to him about it and see if it would make sense to break the lease and put an offer on the house. He said he'd do whatever he could to help us out, and we would work on finding a new renter to mitigate losses.

We closed on the house and moved out August 14, but the landlord had known about it since early July. He just finally listed it as a rental at the beginning of September. Additionally, through some conversations I've had with him, he mentioned he's wanting to sell it. He got it listed with a realtor back before he had it listed as a rental.

I've found 3 tenants that said they definitely wanted to move in, and 2 more that wanted to just talk to the landlord first, but might be interested.

In every instance, the people I sent to the landlord told me they had problems getting a hold of him. Told to call back later, no returned messages, etc. I keep calling the landlord and he acts like he never got these calls or messages. I would be in the middle of texting conversations with these people and they would call, leave a message and report back to me, but the landlord says he never got a call.

I believe he's being difficult because he would rather sell the house than rent it, but from what I understand, he has to try to rent it out if I break the lease to try to mitigate losses. I even spoke with him before making an offer on the house to make sure everything would be fine, and he seemed very accommodating.

It would be nice for him to sell, but selling takes much longer than renting, and I've sent him a number of FOR SURE tenants, and he hasn't even made an effort to get applications or anything. Do I really have to continue to pay rent all the way through March? Is he being unreasonable, or am I?

EDIT: I just spoke with another person trying to rent the property. She was unable to reach the landlord and saw that the property was for sale. She called the number provided and was told the landlord was not interested in renting, only selling. If the landlord is making no attempt to rent, only sell, am I still obligated to continue to pay under Illinois law?

Answer:
 > We closed on the house and moved out August 14, but the landlord had known about it since early July. He just finally listed it as a rental at the beginning of September.

This is perfectly fine.  It's unreasonable to expect him to list it before you've officially left.  A two-week turnaround between vacancy and re-listing is fine.

Realistically, it's been nine days.  You are far, far away from declaring him unreasonable.  He doesn't have to return potential calls right away.  For all you know, he took a break over Labor Day and will get to stuff this weekend.

Additionally, it's not true that he needs to accept anyone you send him.  He's not required to accept anyone he wouldn't accept under normal circumstances, and he's not required to accept someone just to help you.

Give it another couple weeks, at absolute minimum(preferably more like 4-6 weeks) before you think about withholding rent.


Title: Fee for getting lost on a trip

Question: Hello. We rented few kayaks yesterday, we signed an agreement that we will return them in 4h at the meet point. However we were almost 2h late. There were no visible signs which way to go and we were went a wrong way few time, we were lost, there was no signal to check the gps. Finally we arrived at the correct spot. A lady wanted to charge everyone $100 per kayak and did not want to talk or listen. She said that we either pay or they will take legal action, we did not pay because we did not feel at fault, we were first time there and there were no signs. We paid using credit card and signed the agreement. What action will they take? Is there any chance of winning the case?

Answer:
 It's not their fault you got lost. You owe what you agreed to pay. Expect to be contacted by a collection agency and this will probably end up costing you more than had you just paid. Or they may just charge your credit card
Answer #2: You need to reference the original agreement. If you do not have access to that then you cant request it prior to the proceedings. If you do have a copy of the contract then it will help with advice.

I don't think you have much of a defense since you failed to note your location and how you would return on time.Answer #3: The kayak company doesn't know if you truly got lost or are just jerks who kept the kayaks longer than they were supposed to. Pay up. Answer #4: They can sue you. They will probably win.


Title: Crazy ex of 4 years won't leave me alone. Advice please.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Call the cops to file a harassment complaint and another restraining order or your local equivalent.


Title: Licence taken away because I'm not able to pay for a damage's!!

Question:
I got in a car accedent about a year ago in Florida. I was driving without a license and insurance. I got that all taken care of but I recently got mail from the person I hits insurance company saying I have to pay 3600 or they will take my license. I am poor ATM and can't eat sometimes so not sure what to do. Can they take my license??

Tl:Dr need to pay 3600$ or my license is gone?

Edit: thanks guys I appreciate ur help in this time. I'll just set up a payment plan and hope for the best.

U guys are awesome thanks for the help:)

Answer: Are you sure this isn't from the DMV? Because your license can be suspended for not having the minimum insurance.


Title: Got caught using a fake ID and threw a few punches at the police (in Norway)

Question: Whats my course of action, how do i tackle this in the best way possible?

Answer:
 Jesus Christ.

You hire an attorney.


Title: Girlfriend wiped period blood on me. Got into a domestic violence incident. Need advice.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: I'm locking this. This is a troll.


Title: [OH] Forbidden to leave work after getting hit in head

Question: My girlfriend was hit in the head earlier today and at first felt fine after reporting the incident to her employer. After awhile she began to feel lightheaded and told the employer about the increasing symptoms and they had her fill out an injury report and told her to see an in-network doctor within 2 days. She wanted to see the doctor right away but something came up and they forced her to say stating "that's not an excuse because you said you felt fine earlier and said you could stay". I was just wondering if her employer was allowed to do this after my girlfriend was hit pretty forcefully in the head while on the clock and said she wanted to seek medical attention?

Answer:
 She should go to an ER immediately. She may have a concussionAnswer #2: Good news, your girlfriend can see any BWC doctor but I would strongly advise her to go to an ER first to rule any serious conditions.

At minimum, she should get a CT scan and/or MRI and follow up with a neurologist.

Check out her rights here:

https://www.bwc.ohio.gov/worker/brochureware/servicepledge/iwpledge.asp

You do not need to wait for the employer to file a claim either. She can initiate the process here:

https://www.bwc.ohio.gov/bwcCommon/forms/froi/default.asp


Title: Copyright dispute. Should I be worried?

Question:
I am the writer/director of a small amateur web series.  The show itself is a bar comedy.  This show was produced in 2012 and had a follow up season in 2013.  Recently I was contacted by an individual claiming that they already owned the copyright to our content and stated that we would likely have to change the name of our series given that a short film of his carries the same title and is also a bar comedy.  This is not as odd as you might think, since the title of both of our projects is a common phrase in the bar scene.  His work was allegedly completed in 2001.  I have never, until now, even heard of this film, and cannot find it as it seems to be as little known as my series.  It is my understanding that titles, and general concepts, are not protected under copyright law.  Outside of the premise and, very general theme, our two works do not share anything else in common such as characters, and I assume plot/jokes (as I have said I still have not seen his work.) I have also checked federally registered trademarks and this title does not come up. Am I in the wrong as far as copyright goes? Any advice is helpful, and please let me know if you need more information.

The series is online, our production company is based in South Dakota.  His, I think, is in Texas.
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer:
 1.  No, titles cannot be copyrighted.  [Cite](http://copyright.gov/circs/circ34.pdf).

2.  The content could be copyrighted, but copyright only protects against *copying* and the fact that you have never seen or heard of his content is pretty much a complete defense to any claim of copyright violation.

3.  They could have a trademark, but that requires that people would confuse the *source* based on the use of the mark.  There is such a thing as common law trademark, which attaches by the use, and I suspect this may be what this person would be claiming.  However, given that he started with copyright, I'm guessing no lawyers were involved.

4.  I'd probably file & forget, until you get a real letter from a lawyer.


Title: Will I be harassed by the cops or cps for documenting an injury?

Question:
Throw away for what will be obvious reasons

At the hospital getting my hand checked out after I deflected objects being thrown at me by my wife.  No I don't plan to press charges but they did say the cops will have to be contacted regardless.  I'm doing this for several reasons as I want the incident documented In case it happens again.  In case I get a divorce I also want a paper trail as well.

Question I have is will the police or cps be sent to my home to investigate further?  We are very private people and I dont trust any police officer any farther than I can throw one.  I also don't want her to be aware of my ER visit and if a cop comes knocking she'll know what's up

any advice?

Answer:
 You can't stop them from calling the police.

You can't stop the police from investigating.

You don't have to cooperate with the investigation if you don't want to, though.


Title: Assaulted by a security guard with excessive force. What can I do?

Question:
I was at a bar and I was about to leave, so I turn on my flashlight on my phone to find my jacket and backpack. Next thing I know there’s a guy trying to escort me out. I try to explain the situation, but he throws me on the ground and puts his knee on my face exclaiming out loud I tried to attack him. At no point did I do anything of the sort. Outside of one instance in fourth grade, I have never thrown a punch or hit anyone. At some point he brings up he has PTSD and triggers easy, not as an excuse, but a threat. When we’re finally outside, he wants to fight, trying to egg me on, and gets into a stance. I just walk away. I think this guy was just looking for reasons to show off his fighting prowess and saw me running around a dark bar with a flashlight. Is there something I can do legally?  I’m in Washington.

Edit: Location

Answer: Do you have injuries?


Title: [VA] Turned in phone to Sprint for buy back and they lost it with no record of it.

Question:
I turned in my phone to Sprint for the buy back program. They have lost it with no record of where it is.  I tried to escalate through customer service.  They said the store has taken responsibility for losing it and are working towards a solution.  This has been going on for four weeks.  If the store has taken responsibility for losing it, what action can I take to get the money I am owed?

Edit: they are now saying it has been found but it is damaged and I cannot receive any money for it. I did not turn it in damaged. I'm honestly appalled at this.

Answer:
 Have you approached the store manager? What did they say?

Legally, you can sue them. That's really it.


Title: [UT] SICK of Boots and Parking Tickets

Question:
So I got booted for the second time in two weeks by my university's parking enforcement. This time I was at an off-campus housing place. No visible sign prohibiting parking. There was, but not near the entrance I used. I definitely was parked where I shouldn't have been, but honestly I'm sick of it. I've probably lost $250 to different parking tickets over the past few months for stupid violations like parking within THIRTY FEET of a stop sign  (?!?!?!?).

&#x200B;

How much jurisdiction can University Parking Enforcement actually have?? I don't get why anyone besides the cops should be allowed to place boots. The ticket says that tampering with the device is a class B misdemeanor and can lead to  up to $1000 in fines. Youtube has videos on how to remove boots and it seems simple enough. What if next time I just picked it off and kept the boot? or disposed of it? Or just argued about it with the cops? What are my options?

Answer:
 Most universities have full fledged police departments. And university parking enforcement has as much authority as the university and state laws allow..

Picking the lock is a misdemeanor, as you have noted. Keeping the boot would be theft of government property if you go to a state school, private school would still be theft, maybe not government property depending on who owns the boot. Even if you manage to pick the boot, they still record your license plate when the place the boot on. They will know the boot was on your car last.

Arguing with a cop virtually never works and is a good way to pick up a disorderly conduct charge. All a cop.is going to tell you is to take it up with the court/appeal board. If you think the ticket is unfair, appeal it through the means provided by your university.

Your options are to pay the fine, appeal and await the results, or break the law in one of the manners you have described. I'd strongly encourage one of the first two. Dont do the third. That's a bad idea.


Title: [CT] I was told I illegally recorded a conversation.

Question:
I'm not going to go too into details, due to various reasons about the situation, and I want to apologize for that upfront.

So, I do a work study program at the community college where I go. Most of the job entails sitting at a computer and monitoring a computer lab. It'll eventually involve a bit more once things fully kick off. We also often times have overlapping schedules, leading to a couple of people watching the room.

One day, while I'm watching the room, a person who I didn't know comes in and starts talking to someone who is also work study and is on shift at the time. Since it's in front of my desk and all, I listen in a bit. Quickly, I realize this person is not right in the head and is making some rather scary statements. As such, I pull out my phone and start recording, audio only.

Eventually, the person leaves, security is called down, and I end up talking to a mental health person for the college, at least I presume that's who she was. She was informed of me having recorded the conversation, and tells me that it was illegal to do so and to keep that between my supervisor and I. I shrug and agree, a bit annoyed that nothing was really being done about this situation, but I understand why.

Thinking back on this, I'm not really sure as to why this was illegal, other than maybe it being a school and me technically being an employee. I know it's not likely I'm going to have anything done to me, but I'd like to know for any future incidents like this. Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 Although only one person to an in-person conversation need to agree to it in Connecticut (both people if over the telephone), you were not a part of the conversation, so this technically falls under "eavesdropping."

Congrats, you committed a felony.  http://law.justia.com/codes/connecticut/2005/title53a/sec53a-189.html

EDIT: As always, the law is never black and white.  You may have been a "party" to the conversation because you were close enough to overhear and there was no expectation of privacy at the location.  See some of the other comments below.

EDIT2: (2) "Mechanical overhearing of a conversation" means the intentional overhearing or recording of a conversation or discussion, without the consent of at least one party thereto, *by a person not present thereat,* by means of any instrument, device or equipment. (emphasis added)

OP is probably in the clear since he was there. http://law.justia.com/codes/connecticut/2005/title53a/sec53a-187.htmlAnswer #2: It is illegal because in your state all parties have to agree to being recorded

Edit: CT laws only cover phone calls. I was wrong.


Title: Is telling someone they should have an attorney review a document you gave them "legal advice"?

Question:
If I have a boilerplate contract I'm letting someone have so they can use it themselves and I tell them:

 "This information is not intended as, and should not be taken as legal advice. Have an attorney look it over and consult with them for any legal advice you may need."

Is telling them to have an attorney review it 'legal advice'.

Sorry if this is a dumb question.

Answer: No, that's smart advice. Legal advice would be telling them, for example, what to put into the contract for a certain outcome.  You're insulating yourself by telling them you aren't privy to their situation, the document you have is specific to the uses you've put it to, and a person who knows contracts should look at it and give them actual advice that pertains to the legality and enforcebility of such a thing.


Title: [Success Story] The guy who stole my entire shipment was arrested today!

Question:
[Previous post](http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2rumyo/moved_from_seattle_now_in_scotland_man_who_was/)

[Direct news link](http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/illegal-mover-subject-kiro-7-investigation-arreste/nkJbG/)

[Previous news story that led to this arrest](http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/kiro-7-investigation-movers-operating-illegally-wi/njYqq/)

-------------------

We got him!

Partial credit goes to you guys; if it weren't for all y'all taking an interest and supporting me here the media would have never picked up my story and this guy would have been still out there.

The detective in charge tells me he's going to try and get a search warrant to see if any of my stuff is still there. I hope it is and this guy gets nailed even harder than he already has it.

Grats all around!

Answer:
 I really have to commend you for skating uphill against the inertia of some many people and agencies to make something happen. I hope you recover all your losses (and hopefully more), and that you feel real peace of mind after all this. You've not only helped recoup your own losses but prevented loss from who knows how many future potential victims. Well done!  And enjoy Scotland, it's a wonderful place!Answer #2: Sweet, you even get to see a picture (and publicly in the news for others to see) of him being arrested!Answer #3: Thank you for posting this update!

I hope this scumbag gets the book and the entire book case thrown at him for what he did to you!


Title: Does another business legally have power to force your business to move?

Question:
Say you owned a yoga center/meditation center, and the building beside you went up for lease. If a business selling drum lessons moved in, would there be any legal way to force them to move?

I'm also thinking about this from another perspective: say I wanted to open a homeless shelter on a corner, where the building beside me is a McDoodas or a Twinklebucks. Could they seek legal action to force me to shut down based on the fact that the homeless population would surge in those areas and it could be bad for their business?

I plan on doing this stuff in a couple of years and want to get a head start on some of the hurdles

Answer:
 A lot of this will come down to zoning. If there area is zoned for your specific purpose and the city/county approves it you, anyone trying to force you to move would have to petition the local government for a change.

As for the homeless shelter you can look up cases were communities have fought their establishment to see what resistance you may face, but a lot of it comes down to arguments about crime and property values.


Title: Crazy Neighbor Spits and Curses at Us

Question:
I rent a college house with friends in NJ. Before we officially moved in last summer, our house was robbed and the detective who investigated immediately suspected our neighbors. I texted my friend, who had lived in the house previously, about it and he said that there was indeed a crazy neighbor who lived across the street in what he believed functioned as some sort of halfway house. We got a security system installed in the house.

Sure enough, when we moved in, we got a taste of them. They'd leave their front door open on warm nights and yell racial slurs and threats/spit at any college students who walked past their house. One resident would CONSTANTLY sit shirtless in the front yard on his laptop and stare directly across at our house. Every time we drove by, walked outside, or took our garbage cans in/out, he'd curse at us and spit in our direction. We've never said a word to them, and we're very quiet and don't host parties/cause any kind of disturbances that would make them angry at us. My bedroom faces the front of the house, so I have to keep my blinds and curtains closed at all times or he'd be staring directly into my room. As a 5'3" female, this feels especially intimidating. We just ignored them and did what we had to do, which was, y'know, walk outside sometimes.

During that first semester, the police were at their house quite often. I'm not sure if it was due to domestic disputes, warrants, or other neighbors calling on them. Once, I happened to be driving home when I watched 4 policemen and a SWAT member drag this guy out of the house by his hair and throw him into a police car as he was actively struggling. The next day, there was some broken furniture outside of the house on the curb, suggesting that a struggle had also taken place inside the house. After that, we didn't see him for a while and figured he was serving jail time.

Phew, I was so relieved! I could open my blinds without someone staring into my bedroom, felt comfortable taking the garbage in and out by myself, and could drive home with my windows down because no one was spitting at my car anymore!

Unfortunately, he's just come back. Is there anything we can/should do? He always stays on his own property, and because the road separating our houses is 4 lanes wide, the spitting doesn't reach us (thank goodness). Since he seems violent, I wouldn't want a police report to anger him and make the situation escalate. Plus, seeing as it's spring semester, we'll only be here for another few months. It's just frustrating being constantly intimidated, having to keep your curtains closed, and being afraid to take the garbage in and out/drive past with your windows down/ride your bike or walk to class because you'll get stared, cursed, and spit at. Our friends won't walk to our house alone because they have to pass him. I sleep with my keys next to me in case I have to hit the panic button on our alarm system and hate being home alone. I don't think he'd ever come across the street onto our property, but seeing as how he seems to have a history of violence and may have robbed us in the past, we can't be sure that he'll always stay on his side of the road. Any advice?

Answer: Call the police if he threatens you. Call the police if he spits at you when he's actually close enough to hit you. Make sure your doors are *always* locked. I hate to say it, but your alarm panic button isn't much protection. I'm not sure what the police response time is in your area, but if there's a violent problem it's probably too long. The bad news is you can't break your lease for this. Call and keep calling the police and maybe he'll land in jail long enough for your lease to expire and you can move.