Title: I was diagnosed with kerataconus and my old eye doctor knew about it for at least a few years before my diagnosis, is this something that I could sue my doctor for?

Question:
I had been experiencing abnormal vision loss for the last couple of years and had gone to my old eye doctor a couple times complaining my vision was getting worse. She just gave me stronger glass lenses and said nothing else.
     I turned 26 and lost my insurance that I had with my parents, but one night driving home in the rain I could not see the road ahead of me and I decided to go to my Walmart’s vision  center and the eye doctor immediately diagnosed me.
     I had to have surgery for it and also have to wear specialized custom contacts plus solutions that I have no idea how I will be able to afford(I will be getting insurance from my work at the beginning of next year).
      So I was curious and asked my old eye doctor for all of my old records and on her notes  dating back 3 years she wrote kerataconus? I’m lost at why she never told me as soon as she noticed the symptoms and it could have saved my vision aIso. Is this something I could sue my old eye doctor for?
Topic:
Medicine and Malpractice

Answer: Medical malpractice is an incredibly fact specific field that is beyond the scope of this sub. You need to speak with attorney specializing in this area. Initial consultations are typically low cost or free, and cases are often taken on contingency (they are paid only if you win/settle)


Title: Are tickets normally given in accidents with a fatality?

Question:
I'm not sure how much detail to go into, so I can edit in extra details, but without giving too much away: I was on my way to work at night, when a speeding motorcycle (which I'm fairly certain was on their phone) crashed head-on to my vehicle.

I had completed a left-hand turn and was starting to go forward when the motorcycle veered into my lane and hit head-on. Not long after, another vehicle rear-ended my own (after I had left the vehicle.) The motorcyclist, obviously, did not live.

However, a couple weeks later, a pair of tickets were sent in the mail: One for failure to stop at a stop sign, and another for failure to yield right of way. Both my passenger and myself can confirm that we stopped, and that there was sufficient room to make a safe left-hand turn.

Are tickets normal in an accident where one motorist perished? Wouldn't I be in jail right now if I was actually at fault for what happened? This happened in a small town, so I'm not sure if this is just "par for the course" or something else entirely.

Any advice is appreciated! This was in the US, by the way.

Answer:
 Generally, anything you do to contribute towards an accident can and will be ticketed. There's almost always some contributory factor from both parties.

This does not mean you are *criminally* liable for the motorcyclist's death, you are correct that you'd be in jail if that was the case.

That said, it may be worth fighting the tickets for the purposes of avoiding liability as much as possible in the case the cyclist's family files a wrongful death suit.

For location, we'll need a state. US is quite vague


Title: Guy in my friendship circle assaulted me last night

Question:
Using a throwaway as my real account is very easy to tell who I am.

There's a guy, let's call him Mitch, who is in the same age group as me, in a small community in Melbourne, Australia (different school, same circle of friends).

A few months ago, Mitch harassed me (calling non stop, messaging non stop, etc) until I blocked him on Facebook, WhatsApp and sms... All because I didn't invite him to my birthday party. I'd like to mention that we're mid-late twenties, and this guy is not my friend. I am friends with two of his close friends, but not with him.

He was angry that I didn't invite him even though he has allowed me in his home for pregaming before. I told him I don't want to be treated this way and I don't want to speak to him again.

Since then, I have seen him frequently at parties but completely ignored him. I haven't said a word to him and avoid him whenever I have to. He does the same.

Fastforward to Last night, I was at a friend's house party and my friends were all there. Mitch was also there, but like always I completely ignored him and avoided him.

I was pretty tired so I decided to leave early, all my friends wanted to stay and so I said bye and walked off with just one other guy who is a friend but not really close.

The side of the house was a really dark, long driveway. I was walking to the front when I saw a friend of mine, and Mitch walking together. I went up to my friend and shook his hand and said bye, again completely ignoring Mitch.

I turned to walk away, and out of nowhere, Mitch grabbed me in a headlock and shoved me against some bushes. I told him to let go and leave me alone, but he was stronger than me and held on to my hands tight and kept shouting at me. I don't remember what he said even because I was taken completely off guard.

My friend thought at first Mitch was joking around, but realised that he wasn't when I asked him to help me. He stepped in between us and stopped Mitch from further hurting me. I walked away at this point, and Mitch was still yelling at me. I told him "fuck you, leave me alone" and walked off.

Mitch proceeded to chase me, yelling that he would beat me and telling people that I wanted to fight him. I said I don't want to fight him I just want to go home.

I got in my car and left, and saw on my phone that one of Mitch's friends messaged me saying "you're lucky this time". Which was clearly Mitch messaging.

I'm not physically hurt, but I'm completely shaken and scared by this guy, he's unstable and I'm not a confrontational person, nor do I have any intentions of fighting him or speaking to him. I just want to be able to go to a party without worrying what he'll do to me.

What should I do?

TL;DR guy who I didn't invite to my party months ago assaulted me last night and told me I'm lucky that my friend was there to stop him from hurting me.

Answer:
 Call the police and report the crime.Answer #2: Assault doesn't require injury (or even touching, actually).

Think about it this way - if you're worried about him manipulating and lying, who do you want to go to the police first? you or him?


Title: Marijuana smell leads to arrest

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 ~~LOL you thought they would search an entire lake for your lil pocket of weed????~~

~~DUDE HAHAHAHAH~~

In future, if someone says cops are looking for you realize there is no duty to sprint back to them. Do not intentionally destroy evidence nor should you ever admit to doing that. Cops can lie and say they intend to do many things they would never ever do.


Title: [VA] My previous landlord is trying to make me pay for missing parking passes (he lost, btw) 11.5 months AFTER my lease ended. Does anyone know if there is a statute of limitations on this?

Answer:
 A quick google shows that Virginia statutes of limitations for both property damage and contract disputes (this would presumably be one of those) is 5 years.  So yeah, he could sue you.

That said... are we just talking about something like a visitor permit?  What's the replacement cost on that?  I can't imagine it would be worth his time to do it.Answer #2: Did you sign any paperwork at the end of your lease stating you didn't owe anything for damages, turned in keys, etc.?Answer #3: If he sues you, *he* will be the one who has to prove that you lost it. You would go to court and tell the judge that you turned the parking passes in and that the landlord is the one who lost it. The burden of proof would be on the landlord to prove otherwise, which he can't. The only way you would lose is if you got a really shitty judge, but you could appeal that decision if you wanted to. Before your court date, I would study small claims court procedure so that you're well prepared for anything that you may be asked.


Title: Ontario, Canada - Landlord wants to take stove?

Question: I live in a basement apartment. My landlord is telling me he wants to remove the stove from my rental unit by June 15th. He's being investigated by bylaw enforcement, because apparently the unit is unregistered, and he's under the impression that removing the stove will reduce the fine he's facing by about $4,000. He has no plans to replace the stove and has no answer when I ask him how he expects me to cook food. Common sense tells me that he can't just take it, but I want to confirm with people who know the law better than me. Is there anything specifically that I can show him that says he can't remove my stove?

Answer: [Contact the Landlord and Tenant Board.](http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/ltb/) They can help you. If you are forced to move out because it's an illegal rental, they can help you force him to pay for relocation/moving costs.


Title: (Canada, Manitoba) My sister seems to think she's going to get off on her DUI she got late night because they put the wrong year on her birthday.

Question: She got brought home after a DUI, they impounded her vehicle and she failed to provide a sample and three tries. She seems to think she's going to get away Scot free because they mistakenly put the current year in her birthdate. Is this true? As bad as it sounds I hope it isn't, she needs a wake up call.

Answer: The court will fix any clerical errors. This does not invalidate the ticket. Answer #2: No it's an obvious mistake rather than one which would call her identity into question.


Title: I was non-violently raped (coercion) and am considering press charges. What will happen? (Both of us are 17, small town Virginia)

Question:
I have already made a partial statement and am going to talk to the officer who is trained for sex crimes when we get back from holiday. I said I didn't want to press charges but am changing my mind. The common wealth might be required to press charges in my case but we found out he has been having sex with his 13yo girlfriend so he's definitely going to have charges for that.

What will happen if/when I press charges? I've never been in a legal case before and don't know how it works besides what I see on tv series, but those shows don't really explain how it works.

(I don't know what flair applies)

Edit: why am I getting down voted? Am I not supposed to ask for help?

Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 There's no such thing as "pressing charges." You, as the alleged victim, don't get to decide whether a person gets in trouble or not. When you tell the police, the police and prosecutor decide whether to charge someone with a crime. They take over as soon as you've told the cops what happened, and you are done.

You will probably be asked to testify as a witness. This just means that you'll go into court and say what the prosecutor has told you to say about what you said happened.


Title: If I screenprinted an image of my dong onto the crotch of my pants and wore it in public so it looked like I was hanging dong but technically wasn't, would that be illegal? [Texas]

Answer: Followup question: same, but what if i'm a woman?Answer #2: What a waste of a good username.


Title: Calling police on a family member, who has a habit of driving drunk

Question:
Hi,

So my dad's been a serious alcoholic for the past 2-3 years, which led to me moving out. I come home every week or two but everytime I do he's more than likely drunk.

He has a habit of driving drunk, which he explains away that he's "just groggy." I'm seriously concerned about the safety of others on the road, because statistically it's only a matter of time before he potentially kills someone in a car accident.

Even if you're not on the road with a drunk driver, can you call 911 on them? And moreover, can you do it without having your identity released as the caller? I live in Houston, TX.

Answer:
 You can report a drunk driver even if you're no where near them.

**But** as a dispatcher we will need to know where he's driving too, where he left from, and what he is driving to have any semblance of hope to catch up with him. We also like to know why you think he's drunk at the time of the report, but may still be able to pull him over if he's driving erratically.

And yes, you can call anonymously.


Title: [Illinois] Someone at my college is taping signs to my car telling me I'm "In the wrong country."

Question:
I have a sign on my car that says "Not my President" and "solidarity" in Arabic. I am not Muslim myself but a large percentage of the student body is. I came out of class last week and there was a note under my windshield wipers that said "Yes he is your President." I threw it away and moved on. Two days later there was a huge sign taped across the back of my car that said "You're in the wrong country." This was quite the escalation from the windshield wiper note and I'm nervous I will get out of class today to find yet another sign.

Is what this person did legal? If I leave class today and find a another sign taped to my car, can I approach the campus police to help me? I am all for freedom of speech so it's not what they're saying that bothers me, it's that they're taping big signs across my car while I'm in class. I'm also worried about damage to my vehicle when I have to remove the tape. Would this count as vandalism or would the police tell me I'm wasting their time? Thank you.

Answer: You can, and should, report these matters to the campus police.  While there's some argument to be made about the legality of an individual incident, either the personal pattern or the overall pattern may be criminal.  Additionally, campus police work closely with the administration, which may be willing to take action under their broader administrative powers.Answer #2: Get a dash cam that even records when you're not driving.


Title: Sexual Assault at a hotel in India. We live in New York.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 I'm sorry this happened.

Take action against the hotel for what? An individual committed a crime; the police arrested them. What damages are the hotel itself responsible for?


Title: Florida - Should I pay last month's rent?

Question:
We recently moved out of an apartment into our first home prior to our lease being up.  We payed up until the last month's rent and were refunded our security deposit before paying our last months rent (August).  In our lease it states:

"The Security Deposit will be refunded to Resident only if all of the terms and conditions of this lease are complied with"

As we have received our security deposit from the lease does this end the terms of our lease?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: It means that they have the right to withhold the deposit until the terms are met.  The fact that they released it early is not any kind of waiver of you completing the terms of your contract.


Title: Can a police officer use radar while driving ahead of you?

Question:
Not sure how radar works but I was driving to work.  There was a police officer driving pretty far ahead of me.  There were also cars closer to him driving in the opposite direction.

He then pulls over, so I can pass him (at this point obviously going the speed limit, 65), and gets me for going 77 in a 65.  The exact same number he got me for a few months ago.  I can honestly say I don't know what speed I was going, just going with the flow of traffic.

Can he get me with his radar while driving in front?
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 > Can he get me with his radar while driving in front?

Sure.  There are plenty of radar systems that can work to the rear as well as to the front.  Also, the officer can use a combination of radar and pacing to get an overall estimate of speed.


Title: Activision Blizzard wants to take down my Dota2 custom game on Youtube! Legal Expertise needed.

Question:
http://i.imgur.com/ulEpaPa.png Workshop Page: http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=618565450
I fear they may even want to take down my custom game entirely in the future. What can I do? I already answered the copyright strike and asked for the subject of the copyright infringement.
I live in Germany.
Thank you!

Answer:
 Your logo is clearly a copy of [Heroes of the Storm.](http://www.mmogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Heroes-of-the-Storm-Banner.jpg)

Your UI is clearly a copy of [Heroes of the Storm.](http://blogs-images.forbes.com/insertcoin/files/2015/06/heroes-storm2.jpg)

You even used the same naming scheme. Come on, did you really think Blizzard wouldn't notice/care?Answer #2: This was linked from another subreddit.

First of all: It's okay to take ideas from other games.
It's not okay to take the ideas and implement them in 1:1 ratio up to the point where almost everything looks like it was taken from Heroes of the Storm.

They are in complete rights to take action against this content as it is almost a 1:1 copy of their product.

The infringements here are the following but not limited to: same typeface, very similar UI, very similar logo, very similar end product, map shown is almost a straight copy of "Haunted Mines".

Use ideas to innovate.


Title: (California) the sober living house i am staying at just declared chapter 7 bankruptcy and will be ceasing business on november 19th, what are my rights and what should I do about rent?

Question:
So I have a month to month contract but we were informed yesterday by the trustee that the company will most likely be ceasing business on November 19th.

My rent for November is due on the first. I am currently looking for another place to stay asap but I don't know what to do about the rent until I find a new place.

The sle is a chain of about 40 sober living homes in the SF Bay area and they all appear to be closing November 19.

Answer:
 Did they give you some sort of notice to vacate? If so, did it list any terms?

A proper eviction notice would still require 30 days, and from October 26 through November 19 is not 30 days. So a notice to vacate may list some incentive in consideration.


Title: [PA]Neighbor killed my 150 year old trees (ms paint included)

Question:
I have not reached out to anyone yet, but was hoping I could get some idea of what my situation was here.

So, I live in a very old home, more than 200 years, with some very old and gorgeous trees on the property.  They are these stunning Sycamore trees, well over 100 feet tall (trunks 6-8 feet in diameter) that provide shade/cooling for our house in the summer.

The lot next to our house has been an overgrown mess for decades.  We've tried to buy it, but the owner is trying to develop.  He's not a part of this story.

Across the street from the next door lot, is the neighbor in question.  He got tired of the overgrown lot that was in between our houses, and decided to cover a large portion of the lot with Ortho Ground Clear.  He didn't talk to anyone before he did this, didn't get permission from the owner, and definitely didn't talk to me (my kids play over there, so I was immediately worried).

Anyway, a little bit after he sprayed this stuff, my two trees that have been completely healthy up until now started getting wilted leaves.  The tree that he sprayed closest to has hardly any leaves at all on it now, the other tree has a noticeable number that are turning brown.  I looked at the instructions for Ground Clear, and it says not to spray under the canopy of any trees that you want to keep.

I'm pretty sure that this guy has killed my trees, and am wondering where this puts us.  The trees were awesome, and still had a lot of life left.  I had an arborist come out a few years ago, who told me that they may last 50 - 100 years or more, given their current good condition.  I'm also worried about the cost to remove them, I'm guessing that the removal bill will be in the 30k range.  Can I put him on the hook for the removal of the trees?  What about the value that they provided us?  At the absolute least, my AC bills are going to skyrocket with no shade, but we also just really liked these trees.

I know you guys like trees, and I've heard you like [bad MS paint drawings](http://imgur.com/a/ObAuq), so I thought I'd get opinions here.  Oh, the trees are also land locked, if that matters.

Answer:
 IANAL but am an architect. Just a quick reminder of the very tangible benefits of trees to housing, property and community, in addition to their aesthetic benefits -
Shade and temperature moderation
Soil stabilization
Reduction of water run off
Potential protection as a wind break

Goodluck OPAnswer #2: You should hire an environmental consultant to collect several soil samples from the impacted property and one background sample from the far side of your property. The background sample will help establish that the contamination is not historical or widespread.  Many labs can analyze for a wide range of pesticides.

Get the property owners permission before conducting any sampling.

The results from your samples can be compared to several state or federal screening values to establish risk or put the concentrations in context.

I saw someone told you to call the EPA. Start with your state health department and state department of environmental quality first.


Title: Bad dog breeder

Question: I picked a dog out from a breeder that I got my last Yorkie from. I tried to give her a deposit and she said to pay in full the day of pick up. Well the mom of the pups died in an accident and now after I had picked this dog from a litter of 5 they want to keep her the night before pick up. I had visited and picked this dog weeks ago and have bonded with this dog. Is there any thing I can do about it

Answer: Sheesh I misread the post. So they told you the night before pickup that they now do not want to sell her? Any contract?


Title: So I've been subpoenaed...

Question:
And the judge upheld all attempts to stop me from testifying. Yay.

Suffice it to say I want to be thoroughly unhelpful to those who subpoenaed me but don't want to get thrown in jail. How do I go about doing that?

Answer:
 >And the judge upheld all attempts to stop me from testifying. Yay.

I'm guessing you mean "rejected" rather than "upheld"?

>Suffice it to say I want to be thoroughly unhelpful to those who subpoenaed me but don't want to get thrown in jail. How do I go about doing that?

You don't.  You answer the questions you are asked truthfully.  That's it.  Don't be cute and don't play games.  In addition to fulfilling your obligations as a witness, it will also make the entire experience shorter, simpler, and easier.Answer #2: Answer any and all questions put to you truthfully. You do not need to volunteer helpful (or harmful) information unless you are asked about it directly.

The best way to be helpful to the side you want to help is to call the attorney for that side (whether it's the side that subpoenaed you or not) and let them know that you will testify and are willing to meet in advance of the court date to discuss your testimony. Then, answer that lawyer's questions as best you can. You are not obligated to meet with anyone or answer questions from anyone without a subpoena, but by letting the lawyer for the side you want to win know in advance what you know, you can help that lawyer prepare for your testimony.


Title: Can a company refuse service in the future after I issue a chargeback?

Question:
I live in MA.

Right now I'm going through a dispute with a storage company that I've been renting a parking spot from.  I've rented a parking spot during the winter the last couple years because my town has a winter parking ban.  Long story short, I think they've charged me for an extra month and they won't budge on giving me a refund.

At this point I'm considering issuing a chargeback through my credit card company.  I'll likely need to rent a spot again next winter, so I'm worried they might refuse service to me in the future because of this dispute.  Is it legal for them to do so?  More importantly, is it even worth it?  I'm starting to really hate this company and want "justice", but I also don't want to jeopardize my convenient parking spot.

edit: I mentioned this in a couple comments already, so adding it here too.  The reason why I'm considering the chargeback is because I believe their charge against me was fraudulent.  I've tried getting them to refund me and they won't.  If Comcast overcharges you and you issue a chargeback, they can refuse you service in the future?

Answer:
 > Is it legal for them to do so?

Sure is.

> More importantly, is it even worth it?

What something is worth is up to you.Answer #2: They can refuse you.


Title: (TN) I violated an order of protection, need some help to see what I can do to stay out of jail.

Question: Long story short, an ex of mine put an order of protection into place against me, and I foolishly violated after two weeks after she used a friend to contact me and passed messages between the two of us. I spent a night in jail and made my bail and have been out for a month waiting on our court date. Now tomorrow at 9 am I go in front of a judge and I am worried about going to jail for this. I do not have a lawyer, as I cannot afford one. What should I do? Should I go in and apologize and beg to not go to jail? Or fight it out and see what happens?

Answer:
 > I do not have a lawyer, as I cannot afford one. What should I do?

Ask for a court-appointed lawyer.


Title: (Idaho) I am a bartender at a small business and the owner just lowered our wages... help!

Question:
The owner of the business was paying me (and everyone else) $7.25/hr the tips. During our meeting yesterday she stated that due to poor work ethics and complaints from guests she is lowering our wages to server wages (3.35/hr).

Im already looking for another job but my question is: Can she do this if I make roughly 60-80 in tips a night that I split with my other bartender? And what can I do?

Idaho is a right to work state so I realize as an employee I have very little rights.

Answer:
 "Right to work" has to do with union organizing. You mean "at will".

Your boss can lower your wages going forward, but she can't reduce your wages for hours already worked.

Your reduced wages, plus your tips, have to at least meet the minimum wage. So if you work six hours in a night and split your tips with one coworker, $60 / 6 / 2 = $5, and $3.35 + $5 = $8.35, so that's fine. If you were working eight hours a night, then $60 / 8 / 2 = $3.75, and $3.35 + $3.75 = $7.10, which is too low. This is calculated as an average over each paycheck, so if one night is horrible for tips but the other nights put you over the top, that's fine.

If your boss does cut your pay retroactively, or your pay including tips going forward doesn't exceed the minimum wage, you can [file a claim with the Idaho Department of Labor](http://labor.idaho.gov/dnn/LaborLaws.aspx).

If you don't want to work at this wage—which I don't blame you for—you can quit. If you quit because your wages were cut, [you may be eligible for unemployment](http://labor.idaho.gov/dnn/idl/UnemploymentInsurance/UnemploymentBenefits/PersonalEligibility.aspx#3). Make sure you read through the rest of that page, because there's other information on it that you'll need to know. You may need to appeal if your employer fights, but if you win, you'll get money for the time you were appealing.


Title: Can't receive the full contract amount because of attorney fee's even though the court awarded us the attorney fee.

Question:
I recently went through a lawsuit against my dads insurance company over an under-insured motorist policy that was capped at $900,000.  Due to the laws in my state, if we are awarded an amount that is over what the insurance company offered then we can make the insurance company pay our attorney fees.  The jury awarded us $1,900,000 but since it's capped we only get the $900,000.  Since this case went to court, the attorney fee's are set at 40%.

The problem that we are running into is that even though we were awarded payment of the attorney fee, our attorney is saying that he gets 40% of that as well.  If this is in fact the case, it is impossible for us to recover the full amount of the contract just because the insurance company decided to try to fight it.

Does anybody know if there is anything that we can do in order to get the full amount of the contract?  I don't care what the attorney ends up making in the end, but I don't see why we shouldn't be able to recover the full amount of the contract.

Answer:
 Former auto adjuster here in CA not KS, but it sounds like you have a "bad faith" case against your insurance company if I'm reading correctly.

Just to be clear: you or your dad was injured by an underinsured driver. Insurance offered 900k but a jury awarded 1.9 mil?

I need more info: what was the policy limit?
Was this in fact an underinsured motorist claim against your own insurer?

It sounds like bad faith and that's a whole mother ball game likely worth millions. Forget the attorney fees.


Title: Every time someone says something wrong about HIPAA, Harry the HIPPA Hippo gets bigger. And now it has taken flight. (MS Flight Simulator 2020)

Answer:
 *every time someone mis spells HIPAA, the hippo gets bigger.

By now, if it was based on HIPAA mis-cited, the hippo would be larger than Jupiter.Answer #2: My favourite is the insistence that HiPAA applies to bosses, landlords, or other authority figures. Also that HIPAA prevents people from asking you your own medical information.


Title: My mom was fired after a day for "medical reason"

Question:
Before we start I might be in the wrong askreddit, I'm a bit new so I wasn't sure where to ask...

For context, my mom is a social worker living in Quebec, Canada and has a master's degree and 2 years of experience with no issue.

About 10 days ago, my mom had an online interview for a new job as a social worker in a CIUSSS (essentially dealing with mild mental illness and/or elderly people). The interviewer was impressed and contacted her the day after to "immediatly accept before she gets taken elsewhere". She had to move (she took a temporary apt for 3 weeks since it was so quick) and start working the following monday. She works there and everything goes well for a day. The next she is called in the office of management and fired stating that they finished looking at her medical records of the last 5 years.

They stated that she could no longer work there because she had eczema and fibromyalgia, both of which nearly never appear (and when they do it's very minor), has never affected her previous job, wouldn't affect the new one either since it's nothing physical and to top it all off are not contagious diseases.

My mom is very kind so she didn't fight back despite being angry and sad about the situation.

After she told me, I was fuming, I couldn't believe such a thing would ever make sense in a VERY needed job especially in these COVID times.

In short, I was wondering if anyone knew if this reasoning for firing her is legal or not, and what she could do about it aside from a formal complaint (tbh those rarely do anything) and also if anyone knew if she could somehow be compensated for the "moving" she had to do

Thank you for your time, feel free to guide me if I'm in the wrong place for such a question and feel free to ask questions

Answer: Contact Labour Canada and the Quebec Labor Authority. This sounds fishy since neither condition should.have any affect on her job performance.


Title: My boyfriend (at the time) assumed my identity using my nudes and catfished other people, posing as myself. We were both minors at the time and there are other potential complications, what can be done? Is suing a possibility?

Question:
This happened about a year and a half ago and I hate to admit it, but it still really bothers me. Regardless, the premise is, we were both minors (and are still both minors) that exchanged nudes while we were dating, meaning we were both technically in possession of child pornography. What he did was take my nudes to this app called Yubo and assumed my identity (aka he posed as a lesbian) using his mother's phone, because his was lost at the time.

The only reason I found out is because one of the girls he was texting through Yubo messaged me on Instagram (because the username he used for the account was the same as my Instagram username) and asked me if I was the person she was texting. Obviously, it was not, and I asked her what was going on. She sent me screenshots of the account that was using my photos and told me that she had been texting someone whom she THOUGHT was me, but sensed some fishy activity because they said they did not have any other forms of social media, so she looked "me" up.

The only person who had my personal photos was my boyfriend at the time, and he told me this password that he used for ALL accounts, so I typed in the username the girl showed me and the password he told me he used for everything, and successfully logged into the account.

I went through all of the messages between him and other girls and found that he told what school we both went to, he combined both of our hobbies, he even adopted my racial stereotypes and used jokes that I've made with him before. Most importantly, I found a phone number that the owner of the account gave to someone to send videos (because you could not send videos on the app), and I looked up the phone number in my contacts list and it was my boyfriend's mother's phone number.

The whole situation messed with my head and I confided in some friends who went and told the school administration, which led to a student court date, where he was served a three month suspension, other wise, no other legal repercussions took place.

I currently still have access to the same account that he used, I have screenshots of previous chats that could be called "incriminating", I still have the whole conversation between me and that very girl on Instagram. All in all, I'm wondering what can be done about this situation. Any advice that would let me know about the possibilities would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Answer:
 This is above our paygrade. Regarding your nudes, you should speak to a criminal defense attorney as you *could* be prosecuted. You should delete all nudes that you have of yourself from when you are a minor.

As far as your ex is concerned, he is effectively distributing child pornography, which is a crime. He can get in big trouble for this. However, I would not contact police until you speak to a criminal defense attorney so you don't get prosecuted.


Title: UT - IT administrator and child porn

Question:
Hi all,

I'm an IT admin that works for a private community center. We have computers that our members can freely use. Recently, a member was looking at porn on these computers, and was searching for 'daddy daughter' and 'young teen' porn, as well as 'dog and woman' porn. We were able to catch him and we called the police. Police took those computers and are contacting witnesses.

My question: should I be prepared to personally hire a lawyer? I have not given a statement yet, but intend to via phone/email today. For some reason the officer on this case wants to meet in person, but I am not willing to do that.

I need to know what I should expect. I want to be as compliant as possible, but feel like I should insulate myself as much as possible.

Answer:
 I'll point out that if you're just doing google searches for those terms, you're very very very unlikely to turn up any ACTUAL child porn.

You are not at legal risk here.  You can talk to a lawyer if you want, but I'm confident that you'll be told the same thing there as you are here... this is not a situation where you need to be worried.


Title: Is it legal for a doctors' office to charge for MAKING an appointment? (MA)

Question:
Hi everyone,

thank you in advance for your assistance with this (very specific and direct question)!

Is it legal for a doctors' office (conglomerate of doctors, private office-- not a hospital or anything) to charge you to MAKE an appointment? I called a new office, they found a time and everything, and then gave me a whole spiel about why their office is the best (24 hr nurses line or whatever the hell--NOTHING special) and then stated that because of this, I had to pay $99 to make an appointment! I couldn't schedule it without paying this over the phone (weird). They also charge a $100 fee every year I'm a patient there. This cannot be paid by insurance and is not an amount of money that then goes towards paying for appointments, I still have copays for each office visit.

Thank you.

(I'm in massachusetts, I have insurance and they said they take my insurance).

Answer: There's no legal issue here. Only a policy issue between you and the doctors office. If you have a problem with the fee then find a new doctors office.


Title: [MS] [Hypothetical] If an 18 year old ran away from home to Tennessee, would they then be considered an adult or could they be brought back to MS?

Question:
The age of majority in Mississippi is 21. In Alabama and Nebraska it's 19. Every other state it's 18.

This comment just got me wondering what would actually happen if a minor from one state went to another state where they would be an adult.

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/41v5w6/alabama_can_i_change_my_school_at_18/cz5zm6j

Answer:
 The police in the state where the "runaway" is will use their local laws. It's not illegal to be missing as an adult so they'll write a quick report and remove you from the system Answer #2: TIL some states have the age of adulthood at something other than 18.

Also, that the term for this is 'age of majority'.


Title: What are my options if family gave away my car while I was away?

Question:
For work purposes, I had to live in another state for 3 months, and I decided to leave my car, a 2012 Audi A4, at my parents home's driveway. A month in, my parents called and told me they needed the space in their driveway back and suggested that they could have a charity take the car away + so they could have their space back and I'd get the tax writeoff. I agreed, as I was open to buying a new car anyways when I returned home.

&#x200B;

I'm now back home, and my dad has told me that he actually did not give the car to a charity, but had his "friend" from a car dealership take the car away with no compensation. I'm not really sure how this "friend" convinced my parents to take the car away for free, but I believe they were taken advantage of. They're giving me this person's contact information, and I'm wondering what my options were legally in terms of getting my car back. I don't blame my parents for this and would like to not involve them if the best option is legal recourse.

Answer: Who's name(s) is/are on the title of that car?


Title: Signed a lease that was too long.

Question:
I live at an apartment complex in Oklahoma owned by a large company and I have a thousand dollar security deposit with them. I renewed my lease last summer through next July. I recently graduated college and got a job 50 minutes away. I asked the office if I could get out of the lease and they said I had to find someone to relet the apartment.

I read the reletting section of the lease and it didn’t sound very encouraging. It says I have to pay a $400 fee which is fine with me. It also says that until the person reletting my apartment is approved, signs a lease, and pays rent, I am required to continue paying rent. It also says that me and the person reletting my apartment are both responsible for the cleanliness of the room. It also says that the complex can void the new lease for the person reletting my apartment and enforce my original lease if that person doesn’t meet unspecified standards.

Does this sound as bad as I think it does? It sounds like if everything doesn’t go perfectly with the new renter I am responsible for paying off the remaining lease. Is this going to be more of a headache than an hour and forty minute daily commute? My roommates are pretty awful as well. They sometimes smoke in their rooms even though it is not allowed and leave trash all over the place.

Answer: If they end your lease completely and start a brand new lease with somebody else you're off the hook. If you to sublease to somebody you're not.


Title: Found a really nice apartment for a low price but it seems fishy to me. How do I make sure that its not a scam ?(Europe/Netherlands)

Question:
So I saw an apartment on a student forum. The apartment looks nice and is really cheap compared to other options in the market.
The rent for the apartment is around 500 euros whereas other apartments in the city cost like 650-700 euros per month.

However, here is where the fishy part begins. When I contacted the owner he told me that he was living in a different country with his family due to his job and he wont be coming back for 5 years. He said that I should view the apartment from the outside as he has keys with him and he has to come back to show me the apartment. He has also had some bad experiences in the past when he came back to show the apartment the people told him to lower the price or told him that they will pay him after they receive their salary.

In the end he said something like "The interior is the best you can ever imagine, so don't have doubts because this apartment is cheap compare to other apartments in its category"

I have asked him that I would like to view the apartment from the inside as I cant make such a big decision based on some pictures. He has not yet replied to me. What should I do and how do make sure that I dont get scammed out of my money?

I dont want to take the apartment and later find out that he didnt even own the place
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Yeah. Scam.


Title: Toyota used car dealership sold us a car that they didn't have the title for.

Question:
Location: Florida

My wife and I purchased her a used 2018 Toyota Camry from the dealership. At the time of purchase there were a few dings on the rear bumper that we agreed (and in writing) to get repaired at no cost to us.

We purchased the car outright with cash and drove off that day. We scheduled a repair appointment 2 days later and they have had the car for a week now. We call today to get a status report and find out the car's bumper has been repaired however they cannot return the car to us..

Turns out they don't have the title of the car since the previous owner still owes them $4,000 on the lien. The manager who oversees the used car aspect of the dealership explained this to me and said that he will have more information tomorrow.

Having not finely read over our contract (nearly 20 pages..) do we have any legal standing to go recover our vehicle from them since we purchased the cars outright from them?

And if we do in fact have to release the car to them can we get any leverage either in or out of court? This whole ordeal is costing me quite a few days of work and not to include my wife stressing out.

I figure I can only do my best and at the end of the day we may just receive out entire cost back and go somewhere else.

Answer:
 Walk in there and demand that they either provide you the car and the title, or refund the full purchase price including fees and taxes.

If they give you any flak, call Toyota's corporate customer complaint line in front of them.


Title: Can they take me off workers comp then also remove me from the work schedule?

Question:
Hi friends! I'm really in a pickle and I dont know what my rights are in this situation. I'll try to condense it as much as possible.

I work at safeway in the bakery and I injured myself, damaged a bunch of muscles and tendons in my right shoulder and elbow. This happened June 11th and fiIed a claim same day, still had to work the remainder of the week, though I couldn't lift anything.

Fast forward to last week. Doctor gave me a note saying I cant lift push or pull anything more that 5 pounds with my right arm. They brought me back to work, and I cant do bakery work, and I was informed that safeway doesn't do light duty. I was sent back to work, and just stood there, no joke, because they didnt have anything for me to do.

The manager told me to my face that j was only out back on the schedule so that they didnt have to pay me workers comp anymore, and that it was easier for them. I had 3 days of work last week and was sent home early after only 2 hours.

I check the schedule for this week and I dont have any days so I'm not making money.

TLDR; job took me off workers comp so that they didnt have to pay me, and took me off the schedule. Can they do this?

The extent of the damage is loss of feeling in my ring and pinky finger, swelling in my hand, shoulder, fingers and collar bone area, loss of mobility and just overall extreme pain.
Topic:
Labor Law (Unions)

Answer: I worked at Safeway in California a few years ago and we had a union. I would contact the union and let them know what's going on.


Title: Someone Stole My Dominos Pizza Points and Ordered Delivery in BC

Question:
So, Someone 'hacked'\* into my Dominos account and used my Pizza Reward points to order 2 free pizzas for delivery.

I am located on the opposite coast of the country. I have the address that the person used for the delivery. What should I do?

&#x200B;

\*I definitely just didn't update my information after a potential data breach because I don't reuse passwords and really, who cares about a couple shitty pizzas?

Answer: The person that did that committed fraud, but far more serious is the person that hacked the Domino's website, but since you're in Canada I don't know what law that is because I can't seem to find any Canadian laws relating to cyber crimes on Google. Answer #2: Have you called dominos customer service?  They might be willing to credit the two pizzas to your account.


Title: In the middle of a split, before divorce, if you buy a house and put it in your sons name, will the divorcee have rights to the house?

Question: This son was from a previous marriage, so it’s not her kid, just worried that she might try to swoop in on something she wasn’t apart of

Answer:
 Best bet is to wait until the divorce is finalized.

Second best bet is to run it by your divorce attorney and get their opinion on the matter.

It's *possible* that the house would be seen as marital property, and it's *possible* that putting it in the son's name would be seen as a form of asset-hiding, which is really frowned upon during divorce.


Title: Roommate threatening to not pay rent on a joint lease (Fort Collins, CO)

Question:
So, long story short, my roommate is so "stressed out" by me asking her to clean up after herself in the apartment, that she says she won't be paying rent anymore. I have this in writing. Unfortunately, we are on a joint lease, so all three of us are responsible for rent. There is only half of a month left on the lease, (we paid this month's rent already) so I can pay the rent if I must without any problems, but I'm wondering if I'd be able to press charges on her if she doesn't pay?

Again, all three of us signed the joint lease, so we are all responsible for rent, but the Landlord basically just cares about getting their money. I've gone to them already and they aren't going to do anything about it, so I suppose that I have to take matters into my own hands if it does come to it.

Answer: You can't "press charges" in the sense of police action, no. There's no crime here. What you can do, if necessary, is sue your roommate for her share of the rent.


Title: I am a clueless 17 year old boy charged with a Class C misdemeanor in Texas, and I have no idea what I’m doing.

Question:
Today, I was charged with Trespassing at a local high school I do not attend, and I was told by the officer who caught me that I’ve committed a class C misdemeanor. I was taken into his office, my phone was searched, and I was charged with trespassing. I was on school property during the school day, and I don’t attend the school where this took place. My intention was to eat lunch with my friend.  (Yes, I am a jackass. Yes, I am a dumb stupid idiot. I recognize this fact and I won’t do anything like this again.)

I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life. My parents are pissed and I’m scared that this will follow me for the rest of my life. I’ve been told that i’ll be contacted by my principal and that i’ll receive paperwork in the mail for the hearing.  From my research, I’ve determined that I can’t be fined more than 500$ for my offense.

What do I do? What should I expect? Do I hire a lawyer? Am I going to be labeled a criminal for the rest of my life?
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 Get a lawyer and take their advice. They may be able to get this dismissed or a deferred sentence that will be dismissed upon successfully completing your probation.

Class C misdemeanor is the lowest level. Most traffic tickets are also class c misdemeanors in your state. You’ll be as much of a criminal as someone whose received a speeding ticket. Answer #2: A Class C misdemeanor in Texas is basically a traffic ticket.

I've had a few background checks done, and when they ask about criminal history, they all say something like "Do you have any felony or misdemeanor convictions (excluding Class C misdemeanors)"

FYI, your lawyer may well be able to get this deferred or dismissed.  Just be polite and remorseful if you go in front of a judge.Answer #3: >What do I do?

Beg your parents to hire a lawyer: Mom, Dad, I didn't know that I was trespassing or breaking the law, and I'm not really convinced that I did break a law. I need to defend myself against these allegations. Since I am incapable of doing this on my own, I require a lawyer. I've already called (lawyer you're going to call now) and he said I need to pay $1500 and s/he will defend me. Will you please call them and pay the bill?Answer #4: Hire a lawyer and refrain from discussing this on social media. And your lawyer will give you the harsh reality of what the citation means. Good luck.🍀 Answer #5: Why did he search your phone? Did you consent?


Title: Newborn daughter's social security number stolen in the mail

Question:
My daughter was born in mid-May. USPS recently launched their new service "Informed Delivery" (https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action) which emails you pictures of your mail you can expect to be delivered that day.

On June 5th, I received an email from USPS with my Daily Digest of what mail will be delivered that day. There was only one piece of mail to be delivered - addressed to my newborn daughter from the Social Security Administration. The picture of the addressed letter was included in the email as well.

The letter never arrived and still has not arrived up to this day. I suspect it was stolen because I have received all my mail that USPS Informed Delivery stated that would be delivered on all other days.

What necessary steps do I need to take other than contacting the Social Security Department? I have never seen my daughter's SS# and have no record of it.

FYI - I live in Utah.

Thanks.

Answer:
 Start by contacting the SSA. You can't do anything until you know the number.

You should also contact the US Postal Inspectors about the stolen mailAnswer #2: When I changed my name after marriage my new SSC came in the mail and the envelope had clearly been opened. The USPS tried to deny any fault at first, but I escalated it up the chain and they ended up paying for a full year of credit monitoring. Answer #3: I use that informed deliver service (it's free - they e-mail you the images of scanned mail or you can check it on the USPS website). Did you check off the 'I didn't receive this mailpiece' box under the scanned image? Answer #4: It might make sense to pull credit reports and to a background check for your child.

Apparently, my son has a case of identity theft that happened about 20 years before he was even born. Hmmm. Apparently, somebody used his SSN sometime in the late nineties, many years before the number was ever issued to anybody.


Title: [Il] does my ex actually have rights?

Question:
Throwaway cause my ex knows my main.

Im going to break this down into bullet points because im not sure how to explain this clearly.

·i am married
·i have been legally seperated for 6 years
·5 years ago i had a child with a boyfriend
·when baby was 1, we broke up
·almost a year later, ex boyfriend takes me to court. We get 50/50 legal and physical
·ex boyfriend is NOT on the birth certificate, my husband is.
·ex claims birth certificate is fake because he had his lawyer fix it. I saw no mention of this in any of the court documents.
· now, 3 yearrs later, im preparing to take ex back to court to fight for full custody

Does my ex actually have rights to our child since he is not on the birth certificate?

Tldr: ex is not on the birth certificate even tho we went to court. Does he have rights to our child?

Answer:
 Your ex can file a paternity action, and then be granted custody rights.Answer #2: Were you completely divorced when the baby was born? There's generally a legal presumption that a child born to a married couple was fathered by the husband.

In your custody action, was paternity ever established, like by a DNA test? It seems...unusual for someone to get custody of a child without paternity being established. If paternity was legally changed, then the BC should likely have been changed and a new one reissued.


Title: Can an investigation i that started about being sexually harrassed be stopped if i made the report.

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 >but my mom and grandpa said I shouldn't

This is horrible advice


Title: Cracked Amazon Fire Sticks, illegal?

Question:
My friend has been selling cracked Amazon Fire Sticks on eBay and Craigslist. With his ads, he's stating that the consumer is able to watch events such as the Super Bowl, PPV Fights, movies still in the theaters, etc.

I warned him that this is most likely illegal, but he always states that it's not. He's not hosting the content himself, he's uploading third-party addons to Kodi that are streaming of these type of events.

I don't want him to undergo legal action because he's making a quick buck. We are located in the United States.

I tried searching around this /r/legaladvice, but didn't have any luck. Any help what be much appreciated!

Thanks for your time and happy holidays!

Answer:
 Just off the top of my head:

* contributory copyright infringement by way of inducing others to infringe
* trademark dilution through tarnishment, i.e. the association of the Amazon brand with illegal activities
* possibly DMCA violations for bypassing the device's protection mechanisms in order to root it
* Breaches of any EULA that accompanies the device


Title: Landlord found 15 Pieces of Cat Food and Plans to Charge for a Cat that doesn't exist [PA, USA]

Question:
NW PA- Erie

After months of refusing to fix the furnace, the furnace gave out for 3 days in the middle of a terrible snow storm and the landlord refused to send anyone to fix said furnace till I texted a picture of the ice forming on the windows and screamed at me. Then the day before, showed up without notice demanding to show the apartment. He then walks into the home and agrees the house is not tidy enough to be shown. He then tells me that we will show the apartment at 3pm the next day, which about 20-21 hours notice, which our lease requires 24.

He then comes in today to tell me I am not allowed to be in my apartment during showings, which is not in the lease.

He finds about 15 pieces of cat food and says, "where's the cat." Which I promptly respond, there is no cat. There is not cat in our home. We're college students who can barely afford to feed ourselves, let alone a cat. In fact, our lease doesn't have a set price set for if there is a cat/pet. I told him he could even search the premise to find the cat that doesn't exist. This is excessive, and I need him to stop harassing me. Do I hire a lawyer or hope his rage will vanish?

Edit: It is resolved. Our landlord admitted to finding a cat in our neighbors apartment whom we share the stairwell with. He just wanted to charge us too.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 >  He then tells me that we will show the apartment at 3pm the next day, which about 20-21 hours notice, which our lease requires 24.

Unless your lease requires it, you are not required to tidy up prior to showings. You can't keep the apartment a pig sty of course.

> He then comes in today to tell me I am not allowed to be in my apartment during showings, which is not in the lease.

Bullcrap to that. Don't leave if you don't want to leave.

Can you explain the cat food? It's not an unreasonable question.


Title: In CA is my employer legally allowed to require me to report a DUI?

Question:
Hello, Pretty basic... I got a DUI last year around novemeber. I recently had a take a webinar stating that duis need to be report etc etc. It was very broad and wasnt specific. I work for a large transportation/logistics company in california. I am not a driver NOR do i have DOT card. Is my company allowed to requirement to report this dui? They also will require me to report to a course called ASAP or something along those lines...any info with would be greatly appreciated thanks
Topic:
DUI

Answer: They can require it of you and they can certainly fire you for not complying.


Title: Got fired from my job

Question:
Hello Reddit Legal,

I was recently terminated from my job for harassment. I had a girl co-worker friend that I was friends with outside of work we used to talk and text all the time and talk through skype messaging. Well one weekend i texted her and told her i liked her she rejected me and told me she wanted to stay friends. After a few weeks of texting her as friends she decided she didn't want to be friends anymore and reported me to Human Resources for Harassment I was told by human resources to stop contacting her through this Manner and stopped as requested. After this had happened I didn't speak with her for 6 months. I wrote her a letter asking her if we can be friends again. After this letter she kept it as evidence to use against me if i made another slip up. She had her Sisters wedding one weekend and decided to get a gift for me in Mexico to bring back for all her friends because when i was sad or depressed this was the person I would go to, to cheer me up or ask advice. One month later I had sent her a email asking her to be friends again she said no and said we were just co workers. Once I had done this she gave this letter to human resources and told them that i had left it on her desk before business hours which i did. According to Human Resources i was terminated for leaving this letter on her desk.

Is this something i can fight in court in the state of California or is this something that i have to just suck it up and just continue on in life with this regret? Any advice on what to do next would be great.

Answer:
 You repeatedly contacted her after she told you to stop.

You were terminated legally.

There is no chance you will win any type of court case against your job or against her.Answer #2: Sounds like lifes teaching you the hard way how to let go. Good luck mate. If you take the lesson, you'll never have to go through it again. If you blame others and choose denial the lesson will repeat.


Title: Father was arrested for domestic violence and has now violated a T.P.O by contacting me

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 STOP. TALKING. TO. HIM.

Every time you have contact with him is another TRO violation if he's not supposed to.

You're asking for help doing things only an attorney should do. You don't know what you're doing and may make it worse. He needs to get an attorney. You can help pay for that. Answer #2: You don't want to go talk to the prosecutor and give him more proof that your father committed a crime (violation of the TPO)

You need to let him deal with his problem.

We don't do PMs hereAnswer #3: If he has an alcohol and drug problem, have you considered Al Anon or Codependents Anonymous? It sounds like you're trying to control and take care of his behavior and help him, and that's really none of your concern. Let him deal with his charges, and seek counseling.


Title: [MA] Making nes classic console? Personal use and/or selling?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >assuming you can get those roms legally

I'm not aware of a way to make a non-infringing copy of a NES ROM in the United States.

The legality of selling the emulator and hardware would depend on the software licenses for those products.


Title: Our landlord kicked our roommate out because he’s black

Question:
We’ve lived in a duplex for 9 months. Originally there were three (A, B, and C). We don’t have a lease, we asked about one but the landlord blew it off.

A’s sister, J, needed a place to stay for few months so we let her live with us and pay rent. When J moved out we wanted to keep rent low so we asked a friend M stay with us. The landlord said yes and he moved in. We could all see how nervous the landlord was when they first met but she already said he could move in.

A week in M walks into the communal sitting area in the front of the house and looks through one of these big 4x4 windows that both places have in there living rooms and sees the neighbor in a towel because she always leaves the blinds open. The neighbor has always been great to our face. Letting us come over whenever she’s not busy and hang out, drink, or she’ll offer some of her dope to us. M thought nothing of the towel and walked in to say hi and give her a hug. M is affectionate in a wholesome way and probably never thought anything of it at the time. The bedrooms are across the hall from the bathroom but she the neighbor was in the living room in a towel with the blinds open

The next day A gets a text from the landlord saying M has to go by the end of the month. Apparently the neighbor complained about the incident. The neighbor likes to complain. It’s so common that the landlord will even complain to US about it. Every now and then the landlord will have a legit complaint and we’ll correct our behavior but we’ve always tried to respectful to both the landlord and the neighbor.

Because of the previous attitude towards complaints we thought it was weird. We subtly brought it up to the neighbor and she said it was because the landlord was a racist. We believe the neighbor because of other things the landlord did started to corroborate this.

This was last month and M is out now but in a shitty situation and A is moving because we can’t save money with three people. So now all of us have to move out because of one person leaving.

TL:DR Landlord kicked out roommate because he saw the neighbor in a towel even though she had every opportunity to prevent it. Everyone believes it’s because he’s black. Now we’re all fucked.

Answer:
 >M thought nothing of the towel and walked in to say hi and give her a hug.

So that sounds really creepy.

You're all month to month tenants so your landlord can terminate the tenancy at any point. Answer #2: Wait, so M walked into a neighbors home, while she was wearing nothing but a towel, and he gave her a hug? That seems wildly inappropriate.

If she complained to the landlord about that, and the landlord is just responding to that complaint, I really fail to see how that has anything to do with racism.


Title: Someone at worked backed into my car at work and threatened to take me to small claims court

Question:
On Thursday while I was driving through the parking lot at work another employee was backing out of another stall, I stopped my car and honked at her to let her know I was there. She continued to back up into the front of my car.

I pulled into the stall next to her and we assessed the damage. It was nothing major on my car just a gash in the bumper and some missing paint. Her vehicle had a scratch where she backed into me. She then proceeded to tell me "I'm sorry I didn't see you, my backup camera isn't working"

We decided we didn't need to report it since it's wasn't anything significant (hindsight is 20/20) she gave me her phone number and told me to contact her and her husband. She said they could either help me repair the damage or they could give me the money toward the repair.

I ask my friend who does auto body work on the side and he looked over the damage gave me an estimate. I also tried getting in touch with my dealership to get an estimate as well but I haven't been able to make an appointment with them. So I texted her today and told her the amount my friend told me and said I was still waiting on a professional opinion as well. She tells me she's going to discuss the situation with her husband and he will get in contact with me.

Earlier today I receive a text from her husband and right from the start I can tell he's going to make everything difficult. He tells me, "I've been looking at our damage today since it's daylight, don't see much of that in the work week. I'll be making an appointment to take the van to dealer to inspect bumper, rear safety and airbag sensors.  Could be costly, who knows."

He proceeded to then tell me, "Because you two chose to do it the way you did, not reporting, legally there is no compensation due either way.  On my side, I guess I could take you to small claims if I wanted to recover cost but that's about it."

Now I'm not sure what I need to do to cover my bases. My co-worker saw the whole incident happen, would it be a good idea to get a witness statement from him?

She backed into me so I don't know why he would say something like that. Would it be wise to contact my insurance company and let them know what happened? I know my state is a "No fault" state but I'm not sure exactly what that entails.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: I reported the incident to my insurance company, they said I was not at fault. I plan on going to security and HR tomorrow to inform them of the incident as well.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 gaslighting you.  he's trying to scare you into inaction.  i would reply "Sounds good.  I'll file an insurance report when the estimates come in."

it's a bit unnecessary but ... i hate a bully.Answer #2: I am not a lawyer.  Go to the police department and ask to file a report.  You can do this after the fact.  Then, call your car insurance company and give them her information.  That's what you pay them for.Answer #3: > "Because you two chose to do it the way you did, not reporting, legally there is no compensation due either way.

 That's not true. Call your insurance, get that witness statement from your coworker, tell the husband you went ahead and contacted insurance so you can go through them instead because what he stated happened does not line up with what you know happened. You don't have to present this info as if its a threat, but he's being an ass and I think you should get on his level. Ask him for his insurance info, he's so confident that they aren't legally culpable that he shouldn't have a problem forking it over.

 Also, there's a chance that she lied to him about what happened to save face.

> I know my state is a "[No fault](https://www.answerfinancial.com/insurance-center/what-does-it-mean-to-live-in-a-no-fault-auto-insurance-state)" state but I'm not sure exactly what that entails.


Title: [NY] Me and a friend found a third roommate on craigslist to move in with us. He turned out to be a drug dealer, is accusing us of stealing his drugs, and has casually conspired to lace my other roommate's food with LSD. Can I call the cops?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 It's possible the cops will get a search warrant based on your tip, yes. The warrant would likely include either your roommate's property and possessions, or the entire apartment. I would _strongly_ recommend talking to a criminal attorney before tipping the police off that you have illegal substances in your home: you may well be arrested and charged alongside, either if your roommate has hidden drugs in your room or if the prosecutor decides there's enough evidence to support a theory of constructive possession.

If you're on separate leases, then you're each responsible for your own rent. If you're on a joint lease, then you're all responsible, individually, for the full rent. Your roommate's eventual arrest will not change that, but you may be able to sublet, or negotiate with your roommate (edit: and your landlord) to replace him on the lease.Answer #2: Are you all on the same lease together?


Title: [Canada] Want to file restraining order against my crazy ex-fiance, but they may be protected due to being a member of a First Nation's community.

Question:
I want to file a restraining order against my crazy ex-fiance, but I'm afraid that the law will not on my side if I try. I'm of Caucasian descent, and my ex-fiance is a part of a First Nations band. I am not a lawyer, but I remember that when I took law during high school, there was a small part in the textbook that details how incidents involving First Nations members may be handled internally, which would be a very big issue for me due to being an outsider of their community.

I unfortunately do not have any evidence, because my ex was smart enough to destroy all of my cellphones and only threaten me verbally. However, I may be able to borrow a friend's phone and record him using it next time he shows up at my house and tries to threaten me or blackmail me.

A TL;DR of the situation with me and him is that he is violent, manipulative, completely crazy, physically abusive, verbally abusive, emotionally abusive, and unstable. He will not leave me alone and tries everything in his power to keep me in his clutches and is showing up in front of my parents' house and my work. A non-tldr explanation of my situation is at
https://np.reddit.com/r/relationships/comments/4c559n/me_18f_need_help_getting_away_from_crazy_exfiance/ where I was recommended to ask here.

What are my legal options, and could I successfully get a restraining order?
Topic:
Canada

Answer: you go file for an order and testify (evidence) as well as bring in the destroyed phone. next time he shows up you call the cops and don't answer the door. his status is irrelevant. Answer #2: IANAL, but I am Canadian. I see First Nation's people charged with crimes in the media all the time. Go get the restraining order.


Title: Drone keeps hovering in my yard (below roof line) and taking pictures of inside my house

Question:
I have a log of when they have done this and how long they stay. They have come four times.

Indiana law says they cannot take photos of my yard or inside my home. I do not know who the drone belongs to, and the police have not been very helpful.

Theyve taken photos of my bedroom while Ive been sleeping. The flash wakes me up and i see it hovering out there...

You know I wouldnt care if they hovered like above my house, but this is like really creepy and sketchy.

Can I shoot it down or something? What can I do when I dont know who is operating the drone and the police arent doing anything about it?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Some states have laws that permit you to shoot down drones under certain circumstances. Contact a lawyer about that. If I was unsure, I would just toss a net at it or hook it with a fishing pole or something, grab it, and wait for the owner to come looking. If they do, tell them you need to see their driver’s license before you give the drone back, that way you’ll have all their info. Then tell them if it happens again they’ll hear from your lawyer.Answer #2: > What can I do when I dont know who is operating the drone and the police arent doing anything about it?

If it lands/crashes in your yard, there will be the user's FAA registry number clearly labeled on its chassis. You can use that to locate the owner. [If not, then they're in violation of FAA regs.]

Depending on how close your house is to a published airfield, you may also be in airspace requiring the drone's pilot to undergo coordination with local ATC. The [FAA](https://www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_fliers/) has great information on their regulations, and a report to them (if it looks like you're close enough to qualify) may also help your case.


Title: Can upvotes/downvotes be used as evidence in court?

Question: Could someone subpoena a user’s Reddit history and use their upvoting or downvoting history as evidence? For example, if a redditor was accused of murder and had upvoted violent posts. Or they’re on trial for making a bomb and had upvoted posts related to the materials and methods they used. Just curious because it’s different from making a post or even commenting. Thanks!

Answer: There's nothing inherently inadmissible about upvotes or downvotes but I can't imagine a scenario where they would realistically be considered relevant.Answer #2: I’d imagine if a user used that function while viewing CP, they would have a hard time arguing they “never saw/look at that stuff”Answer #3: There could be merits to a few objections like relevance, its prejudicial effect outweighing its relevance, and potentially character evidence (particularly in the murder example), but yes.Answer #4: Possible use for maybe showing a violation of a restraining order since some courts have determined likes count as violating a no contact order


Title: Do I have grounds to press charges for being ""assaulted"" at a psychiatric facility?

Question: In spring 2017, when I was 15 years old, my parents put me in a  youth residential facility in Indiana (USA) after a suicide attempt. I was there involuntarily, but I was minor so I couldn't do anything about it. I had already spent a week in a psychiatric unit of a children's hospital trying to convince them that I wouldn't try anything again but they didn't believe me. My first day in the new place I was desperate to get out. After being told that I would be there for at least a month, I lost it and pulled a fire alarm (which I knew was illegal and dangerous, but I was desperate). I was told before hand that if I tried pulling a fire alarm I would get put in a hold (no one ever explained to me what this was, so I assumed it meant I got locked in a room myself like in the first hospital and that was a risk I was willing to take.). I used the word assaulted very loosely in the title because I did do something reckless to warrant it and they did warn me. So basically after I pulled the cover off the alarm (I didn't pull the actual alarm, only the [clear casing](http://survivability.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/alarm-cover-stopper-ii-pull-station-cover-w-horn-spacer-clear-spacer-covert-alarm-sensor-security-alarm-coverage.jpg) over it) and started to walk away, one of the staff members grabbed my arm and pulled me to the ground. Immediately, 3 staff members were surrounding me, 2 holding my arms down with all their weight and 1 watching ([this](https://thumb1.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/572953/104373974/stock-photo-businessman-lying-down-on-the-ground-104373974.jpg) was the position I was in). I was in shock to say the least and to begin with I was very calm, albeit terrified, and after a few seconds of saying nothing I asked how long this would last. No one answered me. I asked again and again and no one would give me an answer or even acknowledge I was talking, but they would talk to each other making remarks like "I guess this counts as arm day" and "let the other girls walk past and see where stupidity will get them" (which did happen and it was humiliating). I began to panic and started to resist, crying and pleading with them to just let me go, that I'd be good I promise, but they said nothing. Eventually, I gave up and went limp and after awhile they released me. I couldn't stop sobbing the entire night. Judging by how painful it was, I was sure that I'd have big bruises on my arms from their grip, but the next day I only had a few small ones that went away within a couple days. I'm pretty sure my parents know about this considering they are required to report everything that happens to me, but I never confirmed that they did because I was so ashamed. I know this sounds overdramatic, but I feel permanently scarred from this and 2 years later I still want to scream if someone touches the top part of my arms. I don't necessarily want to press charges or seek any legal action for this, but if I did, could I (when I turn 18 in a couple months)? Did they do anything legally wrong or were they just doing their jobs?

Answer: It sounds to me like you know you did the wrong thing and they used the least amount of force necessary to restrain you. That’s not illegal.


Title: [FL] My dog was attacked, unprovoked, by two other dogs

Question:
I'll try to give a detailed account of the event before I pose my questions.. This event happened in an apartment complex in Florida. I'll try to make it short, please let me know if I'm unclear on anything..

While walking my dogs, a woman had her two animals WITHOUT LEASHES right OUTSIDE the dog run. She was kneeling down, trying to handle both of them and put their leashes back on. They spotted my dog and started struggling, one slipping away. The first one ran over, circled my dog while my dog play bowed thinking it was friendly (he's a puppy), then her dog bit my dog by the throat and pinned his face to the ground. It happened really fast and out of no where. Woman lost control of second dog at this time, second dog ran over and started biting my animal. I got bit on the finger while pulling my dog's harness over his throat to protect him the best I could. The woman got bit on her arm by her second dog while trying to pick the first one off of my animal (but we couldn't remove it, its jaw was locked). This entire time my dog had his face pinned to the concrete.

At this point I'm sobbing because the first animal won't let go of mine, which attracted the attention of other residents who came over to assist. A large man kept hitting the dog on my dog's neck until it finally released him. He held it back but it kept lunging towards my dog, snapping and growling. The second dog was removed from my dog by the owner with the help of two other bystanders and it too was still lunging towards my dog.
I quickly picked my dog up and examined him for wounds. The woman kept trying to approach me, apologizing, but she had the second dog in her arms and it was trying to snap at my dog still. Bystanders yelled at her to stay away from me, saying her dogs were violent.

The woman then looked at the bites on her arm and asked if MY dog bit her (he couldn't have, his face was pinned to the ground and I was right there trying to get the first dog off), but I informed her it was her second dog who did so, I saw it happen.

I called the police non-emergency and had a report filed. They spoke with her and she apologized to me multiple times in front of the police, to which I just nodded but said nothing. The officers found one of her leashes on the site of the incident.

It's worth noting that she also admitted in front of witnesses that her dogs have attacked other dogs in the past, unprovoked, and have bit her in one of those instances too. She amended the end part of that statement to the police and said OTHER dogs bit her, but never hers, when they asked about her dogs being in fights before. She stated multiple times that she had known her animals were aggressive to other dogs.

The issue now is that the woman seems to think this is a 50-50 fault situation and is treating it as such. I had to go to a clinic to treat my bite from her first dog and took my animal to a vet to be extra safe (luckily he has no puncture wounds, just swelling, irritation, and a single cut on his ear). I had to take off 5 hours of work to get these examinations completed because no vets or walk-in clinics were open after my work hours and I wanted the exams done first thing the day after the attack. I had her contact information and requested compensation for these treatments and the money lost from the work I had to miss. Her response was to keep telling me she was bit too, and she seems to keep acting as if her dogs weren't solely at fault. She is also acting like everything should be 100% okay since no serious injuries occurred. She eventually agreed to compensate me, but she refused to do a certified bank check (she said she has no time) and an hour later she texted me back saying she dropped a check off at the apartment complex but they have been instructed to not release it to me unless I give her something in return. She requested that I provide a notarized letter stating I will never take any legal action against her in any manner in the future. She said that only then will the office give me my check.

I feel like it's a bad idea to sign a letter forfeiting my rights to any legal actions when my dog and I are the victims. Today, while I was walking my dog, she drove up to me and lowered her car window to tell me I ruined her life and that she's being asked to leave the apartment building because of me. She said that the apartment complex stated they only have to evict her because I filed a police report. She told me she thought I did that on purpose, to get her evicted. She then continued and said she doesn't owe me any money but she's a nice person so she'll pay me if I do what she wants (the letter).

Should I give her the notarized letter?
What should I do to ensure I am protected legally?
I'm out of pocket around $500 and would like to be compensated and leave it at that, but now that she's being incredibly difficult and becoming defensive I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to make money off of this, I just want to be compensated for damages, but I don't feel comfortable providing her with that notarized letter when this attack is her fault.

Thank you in advance for any advice, I'm really stressed out from the terrifying event itself and now all of this is going on...

Answer:
 This is completely unreasonable. You can sue for the full amount of your medical and vet bills. And, at this point, you probably should right now. You can get a judgement to take what you are owed.

The notarized letter functionally lets her off the hook and protects her against facing the consequences of her actions. I don't see why you should. Small claims court is going to cost about the same and will get you more money.

She was being evicted because she violated her lease. You had nothing at all to do with that. Odds are she wasn't permitted to keep dogs and when the landlord found out that she was keeping dogs the landlord took reasonable steps the rectify the situation, probably handing her a 'cure or quit' notice.Answer #2: Is animal services involved?


Title: Grandparents rights?

Question:
I have a very annoying situation with my mother. My wife and I are having a rough time staying on my mother's good side.

For starters, the people involved are my wife, my mother, my son, and myself. We live in a small town in northern California. My mother has a history with mental disorders. She's been to multiple psychiatrists, therapists, doctors and has been diagnosed with depression, and I'm pretty sure she's bipolar. She won't discuss her problems with me, so I don't know what she has been diagnosed with.

Today she came to my house while my wife was out to tell me my wife is a liar, and she said this and she did that, the monthly routine. Well, I got fed up, because this shit literally happens monthly, and I told her if she doesn't want anything to do with my wife, she will have nothing to do with my son and me as well. She told me that I can't keep my son away from her, and that she has grandparents rights. I've heard of this before, but what rights does my mother have to my kid? Can I not protect my son from someone I may find too crazy to be around?

Any help would be appreciated, just looking for some knowledge on this subject in case I need to start looking for a lawyer.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Grandparent's rights are usually only a thing if the parents are dead. It basically means that if the parents are dead then the grandparents can still see the kids even if there's some sort of family drama. If the parents are alive then they have full discretion over who can and can't see their kids.

Tell her she isn't allowed to show up again and if she does then don't answer the door and call the police to trespass her off the property. If she tries to sue then you'll have to defend yourself in court, but she doesn't have a legal leg to stand on. But, just because you're crazy or wrong doesn't mean that you can't sue, and if she doesn't seem crazy and you don't bother to show she might accidentally win something so you *HAVE TO* show to any/all court dates.


Title: Is everything you do legal or illegal? Is everything you do regulated by a law?

Question:
Is something only legal because a law does not prohibit it?

Sorry for all the questions but i'm kinda baked.

Answer:
 > Is something only legal because a law does not prohibit it?

In the USA, yes.  Things are legal by default, and only illegal if specific action is taken to make it so


Title: Incorrect university advisement

Question:
Last year, I was advised to take 2 courses that I ultimately registered for. These courses ended up not counting at all toward my progression requirements and I now have to take extra classes during the summer. Is there grounds for a lawsuit here? I’m losing thousands of dollars just because I now have to pay for classes that could have been in place of the ones that I was advised for.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: Were you told they would count towards your graduation requirement? Graduation requirements are usually pretty well documented. Did you look at them yourself to determine if you needed to take the classes?


Title: Just saw child pornography on YouTube, what now?

Question:
Not sure this is the place for this, please let me know if there's a subreddit better suited for this.

I was on YouTube on my phone. I was looking for recent videos and I was searching sexual terms (I'm just gonna be up front, I'm into amateur videos and I've found many this way). However, one of the most recent videos had a title indicating the subject was considerably underage, preteen. Without being terribly familiar with the App I clicked the result to find the "report" button. Of course the video started playing, and I hoped that it was anything other than what the title said it was, then I would have nothing to worry about. Unfortunately it only took a couple seconds to realize it was exactly what it said it was, and I couldn't even flag the video without signing into an account. I'm confident that since so many people visit YouTube daily, within an hour the video will be taken down and the appropriate measures will be taken with the uploader, so I'm not gonna try and go back to flag it. But what position did I just put myself in? Like I said, my search terms WERE sexual, but vague. I wasn't looking for "teen" or "barely legal" or anything. So do I need to brace myself, or am I overreacting?

EDIT: I am in Idaho

Answer:
 I wouldn't worry too much. If you hang out in some shadier corners of the internet, it's possible to accidentally stumble upon this kind of thing even with completely innocent searches. The kind of people who get in trouble for this are the ones who possess and distribute it in large quantities. This is too small potatoes for anybody to care.Answer #2: You are overreacting. The law states: >It is a third degree crime for a person to knowingly possess or view any photograph, film video tape, computer program or file, or any other production or reconstruction which depicts a child engaging in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of such an act, including on the Internet.

Clearly since you only watched it for a couple of seconds you didn't knowingly view anything. If by *somehow* you are visited by law enforcement your search history will prove you innocent as well.


Title: Trespassing at the local mall? Inciting a riot?

Question: So in the beginning of March, 2015, me and 9 other friends decided to go to the mall because we were bored. We ended up splitting up and half of my friends were sitting at the food court and the other half (including me) were just walking around picking up girls. We ended up meeting back up at the food court where a security officer allegedly asked my other friends to leave (all friends claim he didn't) before me and my other friends got there. We were sitting for about 5-10 minutes when a little less than 10 police officers in full uniform come running over claiming that we were now trespassing because the mall didn't want us there. Although we didn't agree with it because security never even approached me and the 4 friends I was with earlier, all 10 of us complied at once and got up out of the seat and walked towards the door. As I was exiting the door to leave I shouted "Fuck you pigs" out of anger as we were kicked out of the mall for no reason. After I said that and was already outside one police officer ran over to me twisted my wrist and threw me into a wall claiming I was "Inciting a riot" by exercising my first amendment rights and continued to search me. I was then brought to the police cars where I was forced to stand outside for over an hour in below freezing temperature with no jacket. While there, the police officer who charged me came out of the police car and claimed he was doing me a favor and dropped the felony charge of inciting a riot and instead issued me a summons for trespassing. I now have a court date in a little over a month which I personally believe is complete BS. I don't know how I was charged with trespassing when I was never previously asked to leave and I was attempting to leave the property after I was stopped and assaulted and had my rights violated. My question is did I do anything outside the boundaries of the law as personally I believe my first amendment rights were violated and I feel as though I was wrongly accused of such crimes. (New York State)

Answer:
 I'm sorry old chap. I'm a British Earl from Sussex so I don't know all the vernacular. But isn't bantering back and forth with a bobby and saying distasteful things to him considered "disorderly conduct" in the colonies? Frankly I'm surprised you that you weren't introduced to the good fellow's truncheon. But I'm sure you are glad you received a proper lesson yes-yes? Good day sir!Answer #2: > My question is did I do anything outside the boundaries of the law as personally I believe my first amendment rights were violated and I feel as though I was wrongly convicted.

Were you convicted?  Your story stops at the arrest.

As is, we can't really guess whether any of this was wrongful.  Your story is that you've done nothing wrong and you and your friends were all acting perfectly.  I'd suspect strongly that the other side has a very different story.


Title: Compensation - Westjet

Question:
I had a flight booked from Gatwick London to New York on November the 22nd with Westjet. Whilst up in the air, there was a malfunction and the airplane in the main compartment was extremely hot, where we saw temperatures hovering above 100F. They flew back, where we were delayed for the rest of the night.

Come Thursday (Holiday/Thanksgiving for US) we were delayed that entire day too, with me missing seeing family that I won't be seeing for another 8 months or so. That night, they also lost my luggage, but booked me on a direct flight with British Airways for Friday the 24th. That next morning they did find my luggage thankfully, but I had a question.

I emailed about compensation, and they offered me $715. The flight cost me $300. I feel like I should call, and counter that with more as I have never been put through such a mess before from an airline. Would it be worth it? Think I could actually inquire for more?

Answer:
 Look into EU 261 compensation.  You may be entitled to about double what they've offered you given that the flight was delayed twice.  I don't know about about the intricacies of that reg to say if you should get that or not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_Compensation_Regulation_261/2004


Title: [Illinois] Guy at fault for rear ending me while I was in a car rental is now claiming he's not at fault.

Question:
He guys. So I was wondering if anyone here could come out and let me know how boned I am. So in December2016 I was renting a van to drive family for an event. It was snowing and when I pulled up to a stop sign (2nd or 3rd in line) I was bumped in the rear after a couple second delay.

At the time the guy claimed responsibility, I filed a claim at the car rental, they said nothing would come of it to me and I'd be fine due to its nature. Fast forward 4 months and now I"m getting calls from a Claims Management company saying that the guy is saying I "stopped suddenly" and refusing to pay the full fee.

My insurance company is through my mom so apparently they don't' cover me even though I thought they did, and it's past 45 days for Visa. Is my only option to just pay and take him to small claims court?

Thaks for any insights.

Answer:
 >  saying I "stopped suddenly"

On snow?  LOL ok.  If he can't stop faster than a fleet vehicle in the same conditions, that's on him.

Anyway, since you don't have insurance on your side in this, it sounds like his company is trying to scare you off.  Do you have any coverage through the rental agency?  I am betting not, so yes; small claims is your next bet.


Title: Our ex-feiend is trying to sabotage our home loan by withholding our federal taxes.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Your former accountant doesn't have to give you anything.  You keep copies of your tax returns in case you need them.

In any case, there's a much easier way.  Just [get a copy from the IRS](https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/how-to-get-a-transcript-or-copy-of-a-prior-year-tax-return).


Title: [GA] Disabled/Elderly mother a victim of identity fraud by 'friend' that financially ruined her - is it too late?

Question:
Hello.

We're located in Georgia, US. My mother confessed yesterday that around 3-4 years ago, an old 'friend' had taken out credit cards and loans in her name to the tune of $20,000 forcing her to declare bankruptcy. She is 60+ and has schizophrenia as well as at the time had pre-dementia, which has now progressed. When it happened, out of shame, she had said that this person only hadn't paid her back $400 for something. Obviously, this is kinda massively different from what happened.

I'm seeing things that lead me to believe 2-4 years is the limit in GA on identity fraud. Due to her health and age circumstances however, is there anywhere I can look for to see if there are any other possible legal repercussions? This person knew of my mom's health and completely took advantage of this fact, and had stolen all this information under the guise of helping with her taxes.

Any information on who I should try to contact, or what sort of lawyer to ask, would be very appreciated.

(as a personal note - yeah, holy shit, my sister & I are working with my mother to take off her having to be able to handle her finances. We've never seen her to be very capable to, but now that she is open to handing it over we're thankful we can avoid trying to convince courts she's incompetent like we would have had to prior.)

Answer: You can still attempt to report identity fraud. /r/personalfinance has a good identity fraud section on their wiki. Chances are if this person has committed fraud before, they'd do it again. Answer #2: This sounds like there is elder abuse/exploitation on top of the identity theft, have you contacted the police at all?