Title: Copyright on music reversed?

Question:
(US)
So there's a small clip of the beginning of the theme of Tara from Metal Gear MSX2 (http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/metal-gear-msx2-/02-operation-intrude-n313-theme-of-tara.mp3) that I edited slightly and reversed to use on an intro for gaming vids. (https://clyp.it/npb34wmv) I'm unsure of the rights to the piece, but would my slight editing and reversal of the clip make it so I can use it any way? Thanks so much for helping.

Answer: You need permission to use it legally.


Title: CA:Landlords telling me I'm on the hook for electric bill.

Question:
   So when I initially signed a lease for my place the landlord and company that owns the property mentioned that water, garbage and electric were covered under the lease. The last 11 months I've been living there I've had power and never paid a bill. The landlord sent me an email saying that electricity is not covered by them under the lease.

   I looked to double check the lease and it says they will provide water and garbage but nothing about electric! I don't know how I could have missed this signing the lease but I did. Am I now on the hook to pay the electric bill in full? How much time do I have to pay it is there a deadline? They haven't given me the bill yet but 11 months of electricity I'm guessing will be quite a bit. It's just super fishy they tell me electricity is covered, provide it and then try and get me right before I leave to pay it. I definitely dropped the ball not reading the lease properly but wondering what my options are.

Edit:formatting

Answer: Yes, sounds like you are, unless you have evidence that they agreed to cover it. Answer #2: Contact the electric company and set up a payment plan. Yes you owe.


Title: NY, Fired based on an arrest story, but charges were dropped, do I have any case against employers or any way to get the job back?

Answer: No and no. You can be legally fired for just about any reason, and an arrest is certainly one of them.


Title: [Chicagoland] Guy just ran me out of my lane. Caused an accident but he wasn't hit so he drives off.

Question:
Okay, so I apologize if I sound a bit all over the place, I'm still trying to process what just happened. The tl;dr is a guy runs me out of my lane while merging from the right lane into the middle lane I was in, causing me to swerve into the left lane and get bumped from behind. There is no damage, cops weren't called, but I got the plates of the guy who merged. I'm wondering what I can do, if anything.

&nbsp;

On my way to work, there is a 3 lane that merges down to 2. I was in the middle lane. Traffic isn't at a crawl, but it is still slow. A van merges into my lane when I realize that, to my right, is a black suv whose nose is at my passenger door. At this point, the lane has ended and there is not enough room between my front and the guard rail for him to safely get in front of me. I don't think he was paying attention as I see him come to an abrupt stop, honk, then accelerate hard. I think he may have hit the guard rail trying to squeeze past but I can't tell as I hit the brakes and swerve left. Thankfully, with traffic being slow everyone else around me was able to react as well and we all stop but not before the person behind me bumps me. I say bump as there was no damage to either of our cars miraculously. The suv who had shot past is still going but I manage to get his plates before I lose sight of him. At this point I get out of the car and check on the other driver. She is an elderly woman and I can tell she is frazzled. She asks if the suv had hit me and if I was okay. I tell her I didn't get hit but I did get his plates. At this point we both don't know what to do as neither of our cars have any damage. I realize now that I am most likely an idiot as we both agree to move on as people are now honking at us.

Anyway, I was wondering if anything can be done about the suv. I know it is highly unlikely but I hate the fact he is able to get away without any repercussions.

Answer: You can report it to the police. It's unlikely anything will come of it.


Title: Can an immigrant residing legally but working illegally in the U.S. pursue legal action against an exploitative employer? Details inside

Question:
My girlfriend is an immigrant on a student visa in the U.S. She is working under-the-table for a restaurant, and her wage is earned exclusively through tips, mostly cash but also those paid via credit card by patrons. The restaurant guarantees her a minimum amount if her tips fail to be above this amount in a given shift. Tips are aggregated in a pool and then split evenly to each waiter/waitress at the end of a shift. Since it's under-the-table, my girlfriend files no state or federal income taxes, as that would jeopardize her student visa. She also earns no hourly wage.

Recently, her employer has started deducting 10% from the entire tip pool per shift (before it is split) in order to pay for some kind of tax. The employer gives no specific details but says it's for something like "the city's tax on the tips she reports to the city". The employer does not deduct anything from the wages of workers who do not work under-the-table because they already pay income tax on their tips/wages reported to the government; that is the employer's reasoning.

My girlfriend did some research online and believes that it is illegal for her employer to do this. Is this true? If so, is it wise for her to pursue legal action against her employer?

She is afraid to approach a municipal labor agency because she believes they will call the immigration authorities on her and her coworkers. Instead, she wants to see a lawyer, but if she can do this, should she? Does she face any risks?

Thank you.

Edit: We are open to either reporting her employer to a labor agency or pursuing legal action in court.

Edit2: **No matter what she will quit this job.** We already realize that.

Answer:
 Your girlfriend needs to stop engaging in tax evasion.

Yes, she can file a complaint, but doing so will almost certainly expose her own illegal activities.  She should be less worried about immigration and more worried about the IRS.

Basically, if her complaint triggers an investigation, the investigation will likely uncover that her employer has been paying people "under the table" which will expose the fact that she has income.  Additionally, it will also almost certainly result in her employer having to fire anyone being paid under the table.  So she will make her situation visible to the IRS as well as almost certainly losing her job.

Honestly, did you really expect someone who is willing to illegally employ people to be completely ethical?


Title: I'm Argentinian. I've been offered an internship in NY... Using Turist VISA?

Question:
As I was saying I'm Argentinian and I've been offered an non-paid internship in a university in NY for two months. I would be a teacher in the summer camp. They said they would pay for the housing (I would be sleeping in the dorms) but they say I have to pay for everything else (food, or whatever). The most suspicious information: They said I can travel with a Turist VISA even though I know how severe the consequences are for that. Even if the Turist VISA is valid up to six months, I heard that if anything happens to me (sprain my leg or whatever) I'm not covered and I'm basically "on my own".
Has anyone ever heard of this kind of internships?  Is this really viable, specially considerin the current administration?

Answer:
 You absolutely need a work visa, even for an unpaid internship.Answer #2: Coming into the US to work while on a tourist visa is pretty much asking to get in trouble with US Immigration.Answer #3: Do *not* accept this internship unless they obtain a work visa. If you enter on a tourist visa and work, you can be prohibited from reentering the USA if it is found you had taken employment, even unpaid internship, on a tourist visa.

This is also a common scam, where businesses offer short term "internships" to international students and have them enter and work on a tourist Visa. When they get to the location, they are given work and no additional training or practice in their area of study. It is something to be very, very cautious about when looking at internships. These scams are successful for the business as they get someone to do labor/work without having to pay them, and if the duties do not meet the federal rules for unpaid internship, it is usuappy too difficult and expensive to try to sue them from, say, Argentina, since you would need to hire a lawyer where the business is located and bring the lawsuit in court there.

So absolutely do not take this internship unless they also provide a work Visa. If not, keep looking. And any internship you take in the USA will have rules about what you can and can't do as free work; many internships must be paid. Make sure you understand these rules and not allow yourself to be taken advantage of.


Title: Grandmother passed away a year ago. Joint owner on her bank account and received a notice that if she didn't show up in person, funds will go to the state

Question:
my grandmother died almost a year ago. I was placed on the account as joint owner because she couldn't get out, so I'd write checks for her.
When she died the will would have all gone to my dad. But he said he talked to his lawyer and since I was joint owner it was fine to just keep it as it was and not go through any legal proceeding. So I've been writing checks for him and he's been cashing it as if it's his money, I haven't pulled out a dime for myself.
I even asked him if this was legal and he said his attorney said it was, but now he got a letter asking her to show up or else the money would be given to the state. He wants me to call my life long friend that has 'friend in high places' ( her dad is best friends with the owner of the bank) to see if there's someone we can talk to to 'sort all of this out.' I was unconfortable with this from the beginning and now I'm kind of angry wondering how this is going to effect me, If I'm doing something illegal, etc all because my dad didn't want to go through some legal bs. I love my dad and he's done so much for me, but I can't help but feel kind of angry.
Does anyone know what's going on or what I can do from here? He told me not to call them, to wait and see if I can get the name of someone 'high up' which I feel totally uncomfortable asking my friend and her family to do. I want to call and figure out what the fuck I'm even dealing with as all the mail is sent to my dad anyway and I have no idea what's going on except every time I go home I endorse like 5 checks from the account to go to my dad.

Answer:
 The money is actually yours.  You can withdraw it all tomorrow and put it in your personal bank account and you will not have broken any laws.  The money isn't even hers to have willed to someone else, as you're the joint owner of the money.  (Unless you and she signed some kind of contract stating that you're not really the joint owner of the money, which sounds unlikely.)

In the future, you don't have to talk to "someone high up" to fix things or figure out what to do - you can talk to a lawyer, or in this case just to the bank manager.


Title: [California] My aunt and uncles murderer is up for parole after 25 years and I was wondering what the best course of action is.

Question:
So my family was notified that my aunt and uncles murderer is up for parole after 25 years and we were a bit taken back and not sure what to do. My mother (her sister) is already getting an attorney but I was wondering if you guys have any extra advice. The guy murdered both my aunt and uncle over a dispute. The guy was 16 when he committed the crime. They had a 1 year old baby at the time who witnesses say he pointed the gun at the baby but the gun locked and he ended up running off. She’s 26 now and does not want to attend the parole hearing because of the emotional trauma. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Your family undoubtedly has the opportunity to express your feelings on the subject to the parole board.

Beyond that this process has relatively little to do with you.Answer #2: What is your mother getting an attorney for?


Title: Can my employer NOT pay me?

Question:
I am a maintenance technician in the state of Alabama and recently, my employer has started cutting overtime. When we are on call, every other week, and we get calls, we are supposed to take off the same number of hours that we get in OT. In other words, if I get 9 hours worth of overtime, I am supposed to take off 9 hours before my pay period ends. Therefore, I won’t get any extra pay for the time I put in after hours. On top of that, they aren’t paying my mileage. I average about 5 calls every weekend, which totals to around 200 miles of driving in my personal vehicle. I’m actually losing money on after hours calls at this point. Can they get away with this? Shouldn’t they at least be paying mileage?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 From what I know (and I am no expert), there is nothing illegal about giving you an extremely varied work schedule that adds up to 40 hours per week. and I don't believe there is anything illegal about requiring you to get to a lot of different locations and not reimbursing your travel costs.

But there is also no reason that you need to keep working under these circumstances. You could either find a new and better job, negotiate a better deal with your current employer, or some combination of both.Answer #2: IANAL. I have been in a similar situation in the past. Once you hit 40 hours you stop working. If you are mid repair, stop, call your boss, let them know that you have hit your 40 and that the repair is unfinished. A little bit of malicious compliance. If they OK the overtime to finish that repair, get the authorization in an email or text so you can prove it to HR if they try to not pay the OT or reprimand you for going over.Answer #3: When a Company starts pinching pennies that hard, it's a sign to start looking for employment elsewhere.


Title: Girlfriend quit her job - Employer wants reimbursement (Ontario, Canada)

Question:
My girlfriend worked at a hair salon for over a year and over the past couple of months the work environment became toxic. She decided she had enough so she got another job and quit.

Her former boss messaged her and said she will be looking to recuperate the cost of training classes. The last class she had was mid October and they are mandatory. Is an employer able to recuperate money spent on employees for work training purposes? What about in the case that there is some weird clause in the work contract?

Answer:
 >What about in the case that there is some weird clause in the work contract?

Guess what question I was just about to ask?

She'd need to read her employment contract to see what she agreed to, then ask the Ministry of Labour if that's legal.


Title: In trouble at work for asking a coworker a personal question? (Germany)

Question:
Hi,

So I have a new coworker, who is quite quiet but seems very nice. I tried several times to spark a conversation with him to make him feel welcome, and my last attempt has failed miserably, resulting in him reporting me to HR.

What I said was stupid, I know that now, but at the time I was just trying to get him to talk to me, socially, which I do know that he shouldn't have to. How ever, we're all very friendly where I work and I didn't think it'd be a problem.

Excuses out of the way, here's what went down. I approached his desk and leaned against the wall, asking him, "How's it going? I see you've got your desk all set up. Is everyone treating you well?" He gave a generic, noncommittal response without making eye contact, "Yes, everything is fine. Thanks for asking."

I lingered a bit longer, perhaps hoping he'd elaborate or give me another point of conversation. As I waited, I was looking at his desk. Then I said the terrible thing. "Why do you have a picture of yourself on your desk? In case you forget what you look like?"

The picture to which I was referring was one if him and his girlfriend, together. I was honestly joking. However, he reported this to HR and, while I'm not in any trouble, a report was made to protect other employees against me should this behavior continue.

What can I do? Should I avoid this coworker, or apologize? I honestly didnt mean anything by it and feel terrible.

Answer:
 This might be a cultural thing, or maybe I'm just an asshole, but I don't really understand why he felt the need to report that. I've been insulted worse by uncreative toddlers.

You should just ignore him. If he can't take a joke, why would you want to talk to him in the first place?Answer #2: Leave him alone.


Title: How can talking as fast as humanly comprehendable at the end of an ad be considered legal?

Answer:
 I mean, you said it was humanly "comprehendable" (comprehensible), right? Why would it be illegal to speak quickly but in a way that can be understood?

What's not legal is to have fast-talking fine print that totally undercuts the point of the ad. You can't generally advertise that something costs $100 and then quickly say "actually it costs $5000" since that would be wildly misleading. The things that are said quickly at the end of an ad are generally required regulatory disclosures, stuff like licensing requirements for mortgage lenders or "do not take DRUG if you're allergic to DRUG" statements in pharmaceutical ads.  It's not misleading and they're said at a pace that can be understood, it's just kind of nonsense nobody wants to say and nobody wants to listen to but has to be said anyway.Answer #2: So you did comprehend it.  which means you heard it got the information you needed and the company didnt waste any time in the advertisement.  Sounds like its a best of both worlds costumer understands and you dont have to pay any extra since ay faster and it wouldnt be understandable.Answer #3: Probably because they're legally required to say it. So, might as well get it out of the way fast. I mean, we all understand, it's better that it takes 15 seconds than 30 seconds.


Title: Feel like the building is running us out bc we’re gay? [NJ]

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You don't really have a whole lot of evidence other than some feeling you fabricated. $300 from lease period to lease period (in a non-rent controlled area, am from South so never had to deal with this) is pretty par for the course from what I've seen. At $300 I'd move too, unless they were willing to freeze my rent at $1600, or only up it to $1700...there's some negotiating wiggle room there.

Regardless, if you're dealing with all this shit AND can find similar places with nicer amenities, I'd just move if I were you.


Title: Can someone hold my stuff for NO reason? CALIFORNIA

Question: So pretty simple story, I moved in with my cousin and her husband temporarily was supposed to be a 2 month thing. Before the 2 months is up their marriage falls apart and my cousin files for divorce. One day I am at work and they get into and she leaves and now he wont allow me access for even 5 minutes to grab my clothes. Police have been there, they say its his property. My cousin has been involved, they say they cant help there either. It has been a month now and he hasnt changed his attitude as we thought he would. He has about $5000 dollars worth of my property. Are my only options to sue him? Never done this before so bear with me.

Answer: At the time, it sounds like you could of said you'd been illegally evicted, and had quite a lot of leverage (depending on how long you had been there)Answer #2: The police say what is his property?  That makes no sense.Answer #3: If your cousin is still married to him she has as much of a right to be in the home as he does. Therefore she could grant you access to get your stuff. Id have the police there while she does it tho since the guy is acting crazy. The illegal eviction someone else suggested might work too but you would have to take that to court i believe.


Title: School security software requesting control of personal email

Question: My school uses securly to "Keep there computers safe" and since I also have a personal email that I use on a rented computer it wants control and access to what I do on my personal email and browser on my desktop. On my desktop I logged in to my school email once and securly was installed and after I logged out I cant uninstall it because its "Enforce by system administrator" So on both my own computer and a rented one I cannot do much without using a vpn or letting securly control my own email and computer.

Answer:
 You can say no and not allow it control.

They don't have to let you use personal email at all on their network.


Title: (MN) Boss asking me to consult for another company he owns with no paperwork involved.

Question:
I work for a private company owned by a single person and we currently have about 600 employees. I work in IT and the owner of the company (company a) recently purchased a new company (company b). I work for company A and my boss is asking me to do consulting for company B. He is claiming I can work on projects for this new company and should track my hours so company B can be charged a consulting fee. I feel like I am doing something wrong by agreeing to this work. I am not getting anything extra for this work, my job description has nothing in it about being a consultant. Mostly I feel wrong being an outsider coming in and telling people at company b how to do things, feels like I am telling people how to raise their kids when I have none of my own, if that makes any sense. The last meeting I had with my direct boss I discussed this matter with him and said I really wish they would look for an outside consultant because I really don't have time to do two jobs. At that point he said, well you really don't have a choice in the matter, the owner wants you to do this work. So here is my question, does this fall under "other duty's as assigned" or is this something I should be concerned about? No paper work at all has been signed and I worry I am putting myself at risk if something I do for company b goes wrong. If I were to crash out their servers or accidentally destroy data shouldn't I have some sort of "statement of work" or other documents to protect myself. Is this kind of thing normal in anyway? Thanks for the advise if I should be posting this else where Im sorry and I can remove it.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 Nothing is amiss here. Your boss is asking you to do something and you're getting paid for it.  It doesn't matter which company "benefits" from the work, so to speak. Most larger companies have wholly owned subsidiaries, etc. and employees do work that benefits all of them.

Now, if you feel you're being overworked, you can try to negotiate for a raise or quit.  But those are really your only options.


Title: Developer just bought50%+ of units in my condo complex. Am I screwed?

Question: Hi all, I'll try to keep this short. I bought a little condo years ago right before the housing crash. The complex was originally apartments, and the owner/developer was fixing them up and selling them off. However, he was unable to see more than 50% of the units prior to the crash. Fast forward until now, he has finally sold off his remaining interest in the complex to someone else, and I've already received word that this new group wants to buy my unit. I'm aware that in most cases, someone with more than 50% ownership can do some hinky things to force you to sell (often at a much lower than market value rate). My unit is located in NC. Can they force me to sell? Am I screwed here?

Answer:
 >	Can they force me to sell?

No.


Title: Being taken to Claim Court by Roommate

Question:
So while I was unemployed I was told if I looked for a job I wouldn't have to pay for rent. I was unemployed for ~4months and then I got a job and started paying for rent.

I left the apartment about 1week ago and was thrown against a wall several times (not the first time my roommate has gotten violent against me). I left the apartment and was able to collect almost all of my stuff. Be my roommate wanted to pawn off my laptop and valuable art equipment. So I had to call a police officer to get my things back.

In the process of getting my things back my roommate was yelling, swearing, and shouting homophobic slurs at me  along with disturbing the peace (9pm quiet time for apartments).

I was able to get all my things back. But since I had to use police intervention instead of having my things pawned off my roommate wants to me give him  2,738 USD by the end of the week or he will take me to Claim Court and get more money out of me.

How can I defend myself? Any advice will be helpful.

I am in Wisconsin.

Answer: It sounds like your roommate expected you to pay that 4 months of rent back and that's a pretty reasonable expectation unless you both agreed that you didn't have to. I am assuming you don't have this deal in writing and it was just verbal? If not and without any other evidence saying so I think a judge is going to rule against you as this sounds more like a loan than a gift from the roommate. Him being a dick will have no bearing on whether you owe this money or not unless he somehow caused you to lose money somewhere.


Title: jury duty

Question:
Hi! I live on Long Island New York and was summons to jury duty in brooklyn.  I wrote them a letter explaining it'a almost impossible for me to travel to brooklyn (almost 70 miles one way) and I would serve on the island somewhere.  A few days later, I was summons to Riverhead and served there for a week. (i already served in Riverhead back in early April)  Two weeks later, I get another summons to serve at the Central Islip court house in May.

I'm confused because I served.. one is state and the other is federal, so they are a bit different?  My dad suggested writing them another letter with the summons from riverhead stating I served attached, because he doesn't think I need to serve again.  Is this true?

Answer: The Eastern District of New York is [willing to excuse you](https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/summons-information) if you can show proof of jury service in state court within the preceding two years. So yes, it is worth getting in touch with them (and with the supreme court in Riverhead, if you don't have proof of attendance). Answer #2: You can be summoned to serve at the state and federal level. Two different jurisdictions.


Title: Attempted Theft at Walmart

Question:
To start off, I'm going to say that me and my friends are minors (I'm 17, friend is 17, friend's sister is 15, and sister's friend is 15.)

   So we went to Walmart after school, we usually just chill there (exhilarating place to hang, isn't it?) but today we all decided we wanted ear buds. We couldn't afford any, as we're teenagers and careless with our money, one thing leads to another and we're all in the headphones aisle, deciding which of the ear buds we want to make our prey (I know it was stupid to all be there at once, hell, it's stupid to steal.) We collect the head phones that we want, and start wandering the store as we're taking them out of the packaging.

   I'm pretty sure I'm the one that set off the LP guy, cause I was the most careless. He approaches me and asks if he can help me, and I, trying to play it cool, say that I'm looking for my friends (whom I got separated from,) and he replies saying that they're at the other end of the store, which they were, so I turn the corner to go look for them, and they're right there. He then asks them if they need help too, my friend asks where the hamburger buns are, and we head there, the LP guy follows (can't see why he wouldn't trust us /s.)

   On our way, my friend's sister, and her friend, depart from us down another aisle with her friend, LP guy follows them. Once we get to the bread aisle, I dispose of the half open head phone package from my pocket to the shelf just in time, the sister shows up with the LP guy straight behind her. We then ask where the BBQ sauce is, trying to still play it cool. We pick up the sauce and head to the register, pay (apparently my friend had her mom's card,) and leave.

   After we're out of the store, I find out that my friend's sister successfully shoplifted her ear buds. While getting in the car, we notice an employee is taking down the license plate number, which makes us even more nervous. We go home, and that's where you meet me now.

 A bit of further info: my friend has a history of vandalism, and her sister a history of theft, not sure about the sister's friend. I, however, have no records. Straight edge for life, amirite? /s

 I'm sure they have our faces on camera, not sure if they saw us dispose of our loot. We're pretty sure an employee took down our license plate number. And friend's sister actually did
 manage to steal head phones.
 So my question is, what could happen to us? Thanks for any help you can give, and we know we're stupid, but hey, what're your teenage years for anyways?

EDIT: Forgot to mention that we're in Utah, if that helps any.

Answer:
 The person who stole can be charged with theft, the rest of you charged as accomplices/co-conspirators/accessories, depending on what evidence they have.  That usually carries the same penalty as the crime itself.  Walmart can also sue you for the value of the goods you stole and the goods you damaged in trying to steal.

FYI, they have everything on tape.  There isn't a single square foot of a Walmart that isn't covered by a camera.  They're probably pulling the footage right now.


Title: Can I back out of a home purchase on an inspection contingency, even if the home didn't have any red flags in the inspection?

Question:
MINNESOTA - I put in an offer on a home, offer has the typical inspection clause. I had the inspection done today, and there was nothing really wrong with the property, very minor things to fix. I'm starting to get cold feet over the purchase because the inspector kept talking about how old the house was, and the way he was saying it made it sound like he didn't like the house, but nowhere in his report does he put any conclusions about the age of the house in it. I even asked him at one point if the age of the house gave him any concerns and he paused, grimaced a bit, and then said 'I can't really say anything opinionated like that out of fear of being sued' - major red flag for me. I'm also coming to the conclusion that trusting my realtor on pricing was wrong, and I think I put in way too aggressive of an offer (over asking price, no seller concessions, etc). I'm just feeling sour on the deal, and having my parents look at it today and tell me they think it's a bad purchase is making me think.. it's a bad purchase.

I spoke with my realtor and she told me I can't just flat-out cancel the home purchase, I have to tell them (the sellers) what's wrong via the inspection and give them an opportunity to fix it. I frankly don't trust my realtor because she has been a wench this entire transaction, so I want to double check. It seems like the verbiage in the inspection contingency says I can unilaterally withdraw my offer without penalty here:

> Buyer shall have these options following an inspection:

> ...2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this purchase agreement, the buyer may, based on this inspection, declare the purchase agreement canceled by written notice to the seller within 1 Business Day of the inspection.

The other two options state I can either submit issues with proposed remedies, or I can waive any issues and move forward.

Am I reading this wrong, or isn't that saying I can decide against the house purchase after the inspection? I don't *have* to give the sellers an opportunity to rectify it, right? I feel like my realtor is just lying to get me to buy it for her commission check.

Answer:
 You can just cancel without giving any reason. I've had buyers do it to me.  To be clear, you have to give the reason that the inspection was not satisfactory - but I asked for details and they refused to provide any. Nothing was really wrong on the inspection, they just found a place they liked better. Answer #2: Your agent is trying to get her commission. Send her an email saying you don't want to buy the house, and per your contract you can back out with written notice in one business day. Tell her to draft that letter for you to sign ASAP and get it to the seller's agent within that timeframe. Include the section of your contract you posted here, and tell her that you know you don't have to give them a chance to "fix" anything.

AFTER that is done and you have your earnest money back, go to whatever company she represents and ask to be released from your agreement with her. You need a new realtor, because it sounds like she's looking out for her instead of you. Make sure you get something in writing releasing you from that contract. Otherwise, she could still go after her commission, even on a sale she has nothing to do with. Answer #3: ALmost always, within the inspection period you are entitled to  cancel the contract and get your earnest money.  That's what it appears like.  If you think your realtor is telling you the wrong thing, call their broker and ask to speak to them directly.  You need to get this resolved in the inspection period.  I would also put in writing (email) to your realtor that your preference is to cancel the contract and you don't understand her interpretation.


Title: Take my case to Judge Judy? I got a letter from their producers, how common is this?

Question:
I've got a small claims case set for next month, but I got a letter today asking if I would consider taking my case there. Is this common?

I'm in TX.

If this is the wrong forum for this, I'll take it down.

Answer:
 They comb through small claims cases in a number of places looking for cases.

It's basically binding arbitration.  You also might look like a complete ass on TV, whether you are one or not.Answer #2: It may have changed but when she first started on the air,  the show pays the winner and the loser has no further obligation.

As the plaintiff it's a great deal because there's no collecting.  As the defendant it's a great deal because you don't pay anything even if you lose.

Be prepared though - the producers will have you embellish your story to make it more entertaining.

I'm curious what's the details of the case? Answer #3: I would do it for the sole purpose of trying to get yelled at by Judy.  That would be cool.Answer #4: A friend of mine appeared on Peoples Court in the 90s, he lost and still got $100 for showing up.

Judge Wapner was very mean to him though.


Title: (CA) Co-parent states she can no longer care for our daughter.

Question:
So my daughter’s(8 years old) mother who is my ex-wife has now told me twice in two weeks she can no longer care for our daughter. Once was verbally on the phone eater weekend, which was her holiday to have our daughter but left her with me instead. She told me the same thing again over text, but she also stated she cant afford to buy food. I recently started going back to school and we now have equal paying jobs with equal custody so my child support is set at zero which seems to have really set all of this off, it was at 400 a month until February of this year. Im genuinely concerned for my daughters well being at this point. My ex acts very unstable and is now expressing that I need to take our daughter. Do I file for an emergency custody order?

Today she also said that she is going to take me back to court and get back everything she couldn’t fight for during our initial divorce. She didn’t show up for court and I was granted a default judgment (4ish years ago). I didn’t have custody until the beginning of last year because I was in the military but got a step up plan that granted me equal custody, we were both supposed to attend a coparenting class according to the custody order but she did not attend. She also stated that I have violated the custody order which I have not done, I follow exactly what the order says to the letter. The only portion of the order that is not followed is I communicate with her through text instead of talking parents because she never responds to me or acknowledges my messages, she basically refuses to communicate that way.

I don’t want to screw her over in any way. She does not like me and that is fine, I am happy in my life and want her to get to a place where she is as well. I only want to do what is best for our daughter, and at this point I genuinely feel that she is unable to adequately care for our daughter just based on her words. I just need to know what I can do to make sure my daughter is given the best life possible. Its sad to see her mother act this way but its pushing our daughter to not even want to go to her moms house during her custody time.

I have attached a copy of our text exchange today. https://imgur.com/a/R20y8ld
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Not a lawyer.

Stop texting her back and meet with an attorney in your state ASAP for an ex parte custody order until you can get a finalized custody order.Answer #2: > Im genuinely concerned for my daughters well being at this point.

If your ex is trying to cede custody to you, and you are concerned for your daughter's well being, then take the offered custody and don't look back.Answer #3: If she is giving over custody to you temporarily, you may not need an order.  If she isn't, and you believe the child is in imminent danger, then seeking an emergency order to modify may be appropriate.  You would need more evidence, though, than just text messages from her when she's obviously very upset.

If you have a lawyer you worked with previously, you should contact them.Answer #4: You are concerned for your daughters safety- contact a lawyer and get an emergency custody order. Save all texts and pass them on to your lawyer. Once you have started the process direct your ex that all communication should be through your lawyer.

After getting the temporary order, file for a permanent change to custody, and then file to change child support payments. If you want your daughter to have the best life possible, her mother must contribute to her well being and future, and that includes financial support.

Finally, talk to your lawyer about your ex’s threat to relitigate the divorce. I am not familiar with California law but where I live she is well past the window which that would be possible. It is very possibly an empty threat.


Title: Given a ticket for "conspiracy" in CT with a court date, missed the court date and now I'm in NY; what happens?

Question:
I was with a girl in Walmart in CT and she decided to swap some tags from cheaper items with more expensive items so she could pay less. She gets caught. I'm with her (even though not even around her when she does this) and on the way out, security brings us to the back room. A cop comes in, I get charged with conspiracy.

I was using drugs at that time. I don't have any recollection of getting a ticket nor do I have a ticket. They didn't arrest us but said to show up on the court date. The girl won't talk to me anymore - I have no knowledge of where the court is or when the trial was. All I know is I missed it.

This was back in the summer. I've since gotten clean and moved back home to NY. I believe I gave the officer my current address at the time and not my home address in NY, so I won't be receiving anything by mail, I doubt.

What will happen to me if I get pulled over and they run my name? Will CT police bother to come get me for something like this across state lines?

Answer:
 I'm not a lawyer but it would depend on the Department. If you get pulled over, sure they could detain you if someone would be willing to come get you. However, depending on how much she tried to steal it is probably not worth it for them to do so. If you really wanted to find out. Its public record, you could do a docket look up. I think it might go by county I'm not sure.  You could search her by name to see what she got in court for it. You might be able to look up your name to see if anything is pending for you.

If nothing else call the store, to get the police stations number. Call the station to get the number of the courts they use. Then get the info from there.


Title: 18-20 Can legally drink in the US?

Question: My friend was giving their son alcohol at dinner the other night. The son is 19. He said that it is legal in the US as long as it is the parent giving it to their kid. Is this accurate? Been finding mixed info online.

Answer: In varies state by state- but some states allow minors (18 or over but under 21) to consume alcohol when in the presence of/sanctioned by their legal guardian.


Title: Is there anyway to seek justice for a mother who abandoned her children?

Question:
Okay, let me explain this a bit. When I was 14 years old (4 years ago) my mother left my family. Gone within in a week. Completely destroyed my Dads credit ruined his finances which quickly spiraled us into deep poverty. We're currently living at my uncles house and have been since I was 15 after we lost ours. I live in a place where there is little work opportunity and we have no way of getting on our feet, and we simply can't stay is this house any longer. My uncle isn't the most capable of people and mentally ill. Never took car of the house dogs run wild ect. Couple that with meager food and no money typically we have it very rough. My parents have joint custody of me and my sister. But yet she moved to Arizona from Indiana sells cars and live in Phoenix. Even when she did live in the town I live in she made next to no effort to see me or my sister and only came around to ask my Dad for money. We get no child support at all and never had. She barely sends us any money and barely comes to see us. Her idea of help is 50 dollars through western union. Meanwhile she's buying new cars and can afford front row tickets at concerts. Is there any legal action that I could take? I'm 18 so I know I can enter legal contracts now or whatever they're called. My family needs help really bad and we have none. Can I file some kind of lawsuit for this so we can the money she owes us (at least in my eyes she owes us) any help is very appreciated. Before anyone says your Dad should take of it he's convinced that it'll cost more money then we could ever have right now. If this isn't clear I want to know if I can make my mother give us the money that at least from where I've been sitting she owes us.
Edit: I'm in no way saying me personally could get any money. I'm posting this asking if there's legal action that can be taken here period. Not for me specifically but for my family in general. Since it does in fact effect everyone.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Your mom owes you no money.

She *may* owe your dad back child support, but even if she gave it to him now he has no obligation to give any of it to you.

So step one is your dad sues her.  If he wins, then she owes him the money.  If and when she pays him, he can choose to give you some or all of it.


Title: [NH] I just found out the used car i bought is missing its subwoofer. To my knowledge the dealership didnt disclosuse this verbally and was not listed in the paperwork. Are they allowed to sell me an in complete car without my knowledge?

Question:
I bought the car a year ago and i just found out becuase i am upgrading the audio system.  Its missing its subwoofer, I know this sounds petty, but the sub is the most important part of the audio system.  They didnt tell me it was missing the sub and i dont remember seeing the fact in the paper work.

Once again i know its not the same as the car not coming with brakes or something but it is still a somewhat vital part of the car.  Are they legally able to sell me the car missing a important part like this?

Answer:
 It took you a year to notice.

What makes you think they knew?


Title: Since weed is federally illegal but some states legalize it, does that mean it's still technically illegal according to the supremacy clause?

Question: I don't do it myself but a friend of mine brought it up. Just super curious and I figured I might get a better answer from here than from /r/ask or /r/answers, but I'll probably crosspost.

Answer:
 Marijuana is illegal everywhere in the United States, because the states can't stop the feds from making it illegal. However, in states that legalized it, marijuana no longer violates *state* law. That means you can't be tried in state court or by a state prosecutor; only federal prosecutors can charge you for marijuana crimes. As a practical matter, the feds aren't really set up to do mass enforcement like the states are. Federal agents don't do normal police work; a DEA agent isn't going to catch you with pot while responding to a noise complaint or giving you a speeding ticket. Also, the feds have generally decided to turn a blind eye to marijuana activity that's legal under state law, so *in practice* state legalization means you can pretty safely buy/sell/grow/use pot. But the fact that it's still illegal results in some odd edge cases (like many banks won't serve pot businesses, and state laws against firing someone for legal off-duty conduct don't protect marijuana users, etc.)Answer #2: Not technically illegal.

Just illegal.


Title: Can I protect myself as a cosigner for a student loan with a written contract?

Question: My boyfriend asked me to cosign a loan for 11250.  We are waiting for climb to approve documents to proceed with the loan. I am unsure about this. I will also be linking my bank account to the loan to insure payments are made on time as I am the financially responsible one. If I get a written agreement with his signature agreeing to pay me every month on a designated date will that be a legal agreement? If we were to break up and he stopped paying me could that document hold up in court or will I need to get a contract notarized and written by a lawyer?

Answer:
 This is one of the stupidest financial things you can possibly do. You don’t need a separate agreement for him to have to pay you if he doesn’t pay. That’s because if he flakes and you have to pay, you can sue home. And all that separate agreement would mean is that you could sue him to make him pay you, which you already could do without that agreement. But if he doesn’t pay the student loan, he will never pay you. So suing him would be a waste of time.

If you do this you may as well assume you are paying the whole thing. Because of will be. Or you will have your wages garnished until you do.

Edit more/different words. Answer #2: >If I get a written agreement with his signature agreeing to pay me every month on a designated date will that be a legal agreement?

Yes, but that's exactly the same as his written loan agreement to pay the lender back for the student loan.  The fact that they're not comfortable letting him do that without a cosigner should probably give you some pause.

>If we were to break up and he stopped paying me could that document hold up in court

Yes, but bear in mind that you'll have to keep making the student loan payments in the meantime to prevent damaging your credit score, and there's no guarantee that he'll even have enough money to be **able** to pay.  That's one of the main reasons that the lender wants you as a cosigner in the first place!  And if he can't pay you, that's too bad, because you still have to keep making those student loan payments.


Title: My apartment complex wants to charge a new punitive fee

Question:
I live in Texas.

Here's the notice they sent out to everyone this morning:

[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/EBmYvOF.jpg)

I'm just curious if this is legal.  I don't discard mail like this, but when I asked the author of this notice some of the questions I had he confirmed for me that if a piece of mail has your unit number on it you will be charged the fee -- despite that our mail is frequently misboxed and the notice specifically addresses the idea that people are littering with mail that *doesn't belong to them*.

I mean, this is just fucking stupid, right?  If I were to get charged this fee, what would my options even be?

Answer:
 You're correct, they can't actually levy this fee.

If you do receive mail that is not yours, you should be dropping it back in the mail so that it can be re-delivered to the correct box, or in the event that it made it to the correct box and isn't for you you should be doing what the letter says. Hypothetically, someone could get in serious trouble with the Postal Service if they're just tossing mail that is misdelivered, but the problem is that they have to prove who did so. A piece of mail on the ground with your address isn't necessarily proof that you throw that piece of mail on the ground due to mis-delivery or multiple people having access to the box.

I would ignore this notice for now, but refuse to pay the fee if they attempt to levy it.Answer #2: So your complex wants to charge people that had their mail misdelivered because someone *else* tossed it on the ground?  That's asinine.Answer #3: If they try to assess it against you, just ask them to please point to the provision in your lease where it says they can do that. I guarantee you such provision does not exist (and would likely not be lawful if it did). Absent your consent to pay that money (as in, absent your express agreement to pay that fine in the lease), they are without authority to charge it.


Title: [MN] Can I be charged if I buy stolen items from Craigslist or eBay?

Question:
If I buy a computer or a smartphone from Craigslist or eBay and I realize that the computer or smartphone was stolen, am I legally in the wrong? Can the police arrest me because I bought an item from these websites even if I show them the receipt and transactions?

I am trying to buy used computers/phones from these sites and fix them and then resell them for extra cash. What could possibly go wrong with this plan?

Answer: If you knowing purchase something that is stolen, then yes you are breaking the law. In most states I believe it is considered receiving stolen goods.


Title: [IN] 'Christian Only' Stable

Question: [Indiana] - Would it be legal for a stable to only allow Christians to board their horses there?

Answer: NoAnswer #2: Is this a business that advertises to the public or a private person who invites their friends? Answer #3: So I'm guessing they won't be boarding any Arabians.


Title: (Iowa) Spouse opening mail

Question:
First off, I'm not looking to sue/divorce/report my wife to any authorities, I'm just curious. She has a bad habit of opening bills and cards with just my name on them and every time I jokingly tell her she's committed a crime and I'll get her thrown in jail. She says because we're married she can open my mail as her spousal right.

As my spouse, does she have grounds to open mail addressed to just me? Please help prove her wrong for once in our marriage!

Answer:
 She doesn't have a spousal right to open mail solely addressed to you.

She does have your permission, which means there's no issue here.Answer #2: It is illegal for her to open any mail addressed to you individually. It is legal for her to open mail addressed to you both.


Title: Is this an actual summons? Am i being sued?

Question:
Hey all, new here so i apolagize if im breaking rules. Im pretty new to legal stuff as well so im sorry if i sound dumb

On the 11th of april(important note) i recieved a notice to appear in court for a pretrial/mediation, over a car collision that happened 2 years ago. However, the paper said i was to appear in court on april 5th, and like i said, i didnt recieve this until the 11th. Im also being told that this isnt a real summons, because its not from the court. Its from the lawyers of the person whos trying to sue me. So im being told that this is just a scare tactic. Is this true?

I figured i should call the courthouse that i was "supposed" to appear at, and explain the information i have, but its the weekend so i need to wait, and i wanted to see if anyone could give me any advice, or have any info for me. Thank you.

Answer:
 The advise is to wait until Monday then contact the court or an attorney.Answer #2: I'm not a lawyer, but a former insurance adjuster.  Contact your auto insurance company immediately.  As part of your liability coverage, they will defend you against lawsuits related to car accidents, at least until you reach your policy limits.Answer #3: Where I live you don't receive a summons for a pre-trial. You receive a statement of claim, you file a statement of defense, and then there can be a pre-trial or mediation. You learn of this well in advance.

So if your system is anything like my system, this is BS. In fact, this would be statute barred because it is over 2 years ago, past the limitation period.


Title: Urgently need help regarding concert tickets, may be charged big fees by reseller for lost tickets. Need to know where I stand legally.

Question:
Hi, thanks for any advice, it's really needed here.

I had two tickets for the electric picnic festival in Ireland and I posted them to the reseller Seatwave. Someone ordered my tickets but I can't find them anywhere, they're lost and having gone through a half decade worth of documents they're no where to be seen. To clarify, I got them a year ago so I really have no clue where they are.

I immediately contacted Seatwave to inform them of the issue (on Saturday) , but no one replied until this morning to tell me that I am liable for the tickets. They want me to replace the tickets or they're going to source replacements and I will have to pay the difference which isn't good as I'm a broke student and they're now going for 1000 per ticket.

I'm able to get the tickets reissued but my bf and I have to collect them at the box office at the festival, so it won't work as I have to post them and to be honest if we have to travel to it anyway now we're going to go.

My arguement here is that I immediately removed the listing and contacted them while the sale was pending prior to its confirmation, but they are saying that the order meant the sale is confirmed.

I told them that pending does not mean confirmed and further to this requested they refund the buyer as they are holding the money in light of the issues that arose. I also requested they delete my profile.

My questions here are;
1. Where do I stand here legally, am I right with this and what happens from here because I only have 2.37 in my bank. Should I resort to closing my bank account?

2. Under the data protection commission can I demand them remove my personal and financial information from their systems?

Thanks so much for any advice. I'm just having a really tough time here and all of this is worsening my anxiety so I just need help to know where I stand.

Topic:
Consumer Law

Answer: you should have read the terms and conditions before joining up and also had found your tickets before posting to the site


Title: child pornograpy chrges to a minor who created the content

Question:
What happens in a situation a minor goes onto a public webcam site and broadcasts herself naked and masturbating

Only to later have someone get a hold of that video and blackmail her into more of the same

In a case charges would be brought against the blackmailer wouldn't the minor female be exposed to prosecution herself

considering the initial content was vulantery from her side unaffiliated with the blackmailer

In such cases would prosecution not rather drop the case or carghes to avoid prosecution towards the girl

Answer:
 >In a case charges would be brought against the blackmailer wouldn't the minor female be exposed to prosecution herself

Yes, there's a chance the minor would ALSO be charged. It has happened. But in many cases the prosecutors would choose to only charge the adult, especially if the adult were blackmailing, which is an additional charge.

>In such cases would prosecution not rather drop the case or carghes to avoid prosecution towards the girl

No, they don't have to prosecute the girl, they can prosecute the adult without prosecuting the girl if they want. It's up to the state or federal prosecutor to choose who to prosecute. There's no law that says if they prosecute one the have to prosecute the other.

paging /u/Cypher_Blue since he'll probably have a better answer.Answer #2: I'm very concerned about your recent post history. Whatever this situation is, you need to talk to a trusted adult (ideally a parent) now: full grown adults can't handle this by themselves, let alone children. Then you can get a lawyer who can talk you through how to go about reporting this to the police.


Title: Officer never gave me probable cause to search my vehicle and I never directly gave him any consent. Was his search valid? [VA] - [SC]

Question:
So a couple of friends and I were out at Myrtle (We were coming from Virginia) and before we pulled up to the house we were going to stay at, I got pulled over. The officer asked me to step out of my car and I complied as I didn't know how to exercise my rights and I feel like an idiot for not knowing how to handle the situation.

I was very tired and nervous as this happened very early in the morning and the officer asked me something in the manner of "If I go search your vehicle, will I find any illegal substances?" I said no (Lie). He said he was going to search my vehicle but I don't even recall giving him any form of consent to search my vehicle nor did the officer give me any form of probable cause.

I recall him approaching the passenger door where my friend was and the key was out of ignition so he couldn't roll the window down and I remember the officer opening my passenger door, not my friend. I don't know if he even had the right to do that but my friend gave the officer his weed and that's where everything went sour. I apologized to the officer in hopes of a better situation and then I was handcuffed and then my friend and then he questioned my other two friends if they had any weed and we were then all handcuffed and arrested and spent the night in jail until our bond was paid instead of being able to enjoy a great time at the beach.

Yes, I understand I made mistakes and I will make better decisions in the future to stay out of trouble as jail is just as shitty as I imagined and I wouldn't even want to know what an actual prison is like.

Please, if anybody has any good information just let me know and I would greatly appreciate it.

Answer:
 You should hire a criminal defense attorney.

In any event, the officer doesn't have to tell you what his probable cause is.Answer #2: You're friend gave him all the probable cause he needed. Also you have no rights to not get out of the vehicle - that's a lawful order. Answer #3: It isn't up to you or him whether probable cause existed - it's up to the judge later on. Get a criminal defense attorney and she will file a motion to suppress and argue that there wasn't. If the judge agrees, you may very well beat the charge.


Title: [GA] Friends creepy ex is trying to attack me

Question:
So to keep this plain and simple, my friend (who is 15) broke up with her creepy ass boyfriend (who is 18), for awhile things were normal until he thought she was just messing with him and that she truly loved him. Cut to a few days later where he's basically harassing her by blowing up her phone about how she may be mad now but she'll love him later and about how he will win her back (and before you say this isn't harassment, she's blocked him on every form of social media, and even his main phone number but he keeps buying proxy phone numbers or something and keeps messaging her).

This is where i got involved, my friend asked me to message him and to tell him to fuck off because he wouldn't listen to her, and now he's on some vigilante rampage talking about how he's tracked my number and knows where i live and that he has access to every single file on my phone (which i doubt) and how he used Python to trace me and how he's going to destroy my life. (which i'm 99% sure is very illegal and that he just typed my phone number in google and my facebook pulled up).

I do have screenshots of our conversation and have them backed up on many cloud servers and I'm sure he's just being a scriptkiddie and is trying scare tactics that won't work. But in the off chance he does anything what can i do? (Also i bet the police would love to hear about an 18 year old who is basically preying on a 15 year old)

Answer: Your friend should talk to her parents about going to the police or talking to a lawyer to discuss the option of a restraining order (or something similar).


Title: Just given 72 hour notice for eviction, what do I do?

Question:
HI, I have never been in this situation before but I struggled to make rent this month & now have been hit with a 72 hour eviction notice. I have no clue what to do in this situation, any advice or help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

In Portland, Oregon btw.

Answer:
 >  I have no clue what to do in this situation

Your options:

1.  Pay up.
2.  Move.
3.  Get evicted.

Unfortunately, there's not much to be done here.  An eviction for non-payment is pretty simple - he only has to prove that you didn't pay your rent, which you agree you didn't do.

Did you talk to him at all before the notice was given?  Did you offer a payment plan or anything?  Answer #2: That starts the eviction PROCESS.  He can't remove you or your stuff without an ORDER from the judge.  After the 72 hr notice, the landlord proceeds with the next step.  Has to wait the requisite time, and then a hearing.

Usually, the tenant has the right to remedy the situation by the court date.  Meaning pay all past rents and late fees by that time.


Title: Took my friend's xanax prescription, he then killed himself on the 30th. Am I legally accountable for his death in some way?

Question:
edit: not sure why this is getting a lot of comments deleted, but anyway, I know that what I did was 'wrong', I know looking back that it was not a considerate thing to do and i'm not a great friend because of this, I already know this, I said i'm wracked with guilt in the original post, I don't need people telling me that I'm not a great person, I know this, this is why I posted to r/legaladvice, not r/moraladvice

Montana - I need legal help I think, I was feeling a bit of anxiety during the end of 2015 but didn't want to go see a doctor because of the stigma around needing help for a mental problem like anxiety, so decided to just take a month's supply of my friend's xanax when I was at his house at the start of December since he said he was feeling fine now anyway. Then on the 30th, he apparently hung himself in his room and I was just thinking the past two days if me taking his xanax might have caused his death in some way, and that by taking his meds, I may be legally reprehensible for his death. Am I off base in thinking this? I've been wracked with guilt just thinking about it and considering turning myself in if it is a crime in some way.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 IANAL.

It's definitely a crime - theft, possession of a controlled substance - but it's not homicide.


Title: (MO) Asked to check up on dogs for owner twice a day. Came back in the morning and one had pulled up and destroyed the carpet in a small section. What do I do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Dont wait, send notification immediately. If it gets worse because and you didn't give her the option to correct it, you might run into problems then.


Title: Fired because I had a panic attack. Unemployment?

Question:
Long story short, after a few weeks of issues at work and trying my hardest to be the best I can be, I have been fired after all of this culminated in a panic attack.

There were a few days where I was a couple minutes "late", as we were asked to be at work no later than 10 minutes prior to our first appointment. I am a dog groomer, so these 10 minutes are unpaid because I earned commission only. I'm sure my reasons for being there a few minutes past the desired time are irrelevant. We do not clock in. There are cameras which could document arrival and departure to and from work, but I don't know how long footage is saved. This ten minute rule was put  into effect well after my acceptance of the job (December 10 would be my year anniversary there), and nothing was signed, though a packet was distributed. This is a small business with only 5-6 employees.

Over the course of the last few weeks, after another groomer who could groom more dogs was hired, my opportunity to work and earn had been diminished. I feel that the boss was looking for a reason to let me go. Of course, my diminished opportunity to earn impacted my anxiety and set in motion an eventual panic attack which unfortunately happened at work.

I was told that I am not interacting with customers in a way which is desired, though I have repeatedly said I do not understand, and have gotten no specific examples aside from telling me I apparently did not greet or smile at a customer yesterday morning (the morning of the panic attack) though I did verbally acknowledge the customer who was there ten minutes before their scheduled appointment. I was told I did not. I walked in and said, "hi, I'll be right there!"

I was confronted about this immediately, and this finally triggered the panic attack. I went to the bathroom to collect myself. The boss eventually came into the bathroom to speak with me, where I apologized profusely, explained what was happening and why it was happening, asked for accommodations (could I cut a day from my schedule voluntarily until I get this under control), and was told to go home.

I then took time to collect myself, and left 15 minutes or so later. Another employee was called in to do my work.

It is no secret among my co-workers and boss that I am bipolar and have anxiety. I have been vocal about it.

The boss is claiming that something had changed with me recently, and apparently my demeanor with customers has been off. I contest this, I pride myself on customer service, and I KNOW I have not allowed my demeanor with customers to be affected. This is made up BS to justify firing me. I have never been pulled aside and spoken to before yesterday about my interactions with customers. Not once. My arrival time in the morning, yes, but not what she basing my termination on.  But again, arriving 10 minutes prior to my shift is unpaid time which amounts to just under an hour per week and nothing was signed.

So, essentially I am being terminated for the panic attack yesterday, which resulted from a number of issues including feeling like I was already being pushed out.

I have record that I turned down another job offer after talking to her two days ago, in favor of remaining in my current position after discussing with her whether or not she wanted me to still work there because something smelled rotten in Denmark.

I have the texts to the potential new employer, the record of the phone call and texts to the current boss discussing whether she wanted me to stay put if I should accept new employment, and the record of the phone call in which she terminated me.

Can I claim unemployment and get rewarded unemployment, can she contest this and win, where do I stand? I have to do something, I am and have been looking for new employment because I had a feeling I was getting pushed out... But I have two kids, Christmas coming, a house I JUST rented, this will ruin me.

Please help me. Please.

Answer: Always claim unemployment.


Title: Almost had sex with a drunk(ish?) girl and wanted to know whether I dodged. Bullet. (Canada)

Question: So what’s the law regarding consent to sex here in canada, because I almost had sex with a girl who was drunk I guess. I met her at a bar and her speech was slurred. In like half an hour she wanted to come back to my place but I backed off at the last minute. I felt she was drunk and backed off because I felt it was wrong but what does the law state? Thanks

Answer:
 I think you made the right call from a moral perspective and a legal one.

Legally speaking, _R. v. JA_ is a good illustration of the distinction between consensual sexual activity and sexual assault. In that case, the accused and his partner included choke play in their sexual repertoire, and the accused continued sexual contact with her after she passed out from choking. While JA was not convicted of assault for the choking itself, he _was_ convicted of sexual assault for continuing with sex when his partner was unconscious, even though he believed that his partner had consented to him continuing.

The court found that sexual consent must be ongoing and conscious:

> This definition of consent is in harmony with the provisions of the Criminal Code  and their underlying policies and is also consistent with the tenor of the jurisprudence of this Court.  The jurisprudence has consistently interpreted consent as requiring a conscious, operating mind, capable of granting, revoking or withholding consent to each and every sexual act.  The jurisprudence also establishes that there is no substitute for the complainant’s actual consent to the sexual activity at the time it occurred.  It is not sufficient for the accused to have believed the complainant was consenting:  he must also take reasonable steps to ascertain consent, and must believe that the complainant communicated her consent to engage in the sexual activity in question. […]

An unconscious person, by that standard, _very clearly_ cannot give consent. In your situation, a drunk partner's ability or inability to consent is not so obvious: there's no bright line. However, your assessment that she was seriously impaired (slurring, etc) means you did the right thing by holding off, as there is some possibility she actually was too intoxicated to give consent.


Title: Stolen Gift Card Codes New York

Question: I have a "friend" who was getting $500 gift card codes off Alphabay for a discounted price (mostly American Express, visa, and EBay). No talk was ever made of how the codes were acquired but I'm about 1000% sure they were stolen somehow. Over the course of 6 months he bought about 10-12. Most of us now know that the fate of alphabay users lies in the hand of LE. How much trouble could he get in? Could he make the claim that he was unaware they were stolen? He only used alphabay to facilitate the purchase once. After that he purchased directly using bitcoin. Just wondering how they could go about prosecuting and if it was possible to plead ignorance since gift cards get bought and sold online all the time.  If they could not prove you were the one who stole them what can they do?

Answer:
 He received several thousand dollars worth of stolen merchandise as part of an interstate scheme. If he is prosecuted he is likely going to get reamed. He needs a very good lawyer.

"I didn't know the discount merchandise I was buying off notorious drug and child porn market Alphabay was stolen" is not an argument that is going to work well in court.


Title: Is my mom capable of doing this from the divorce?

Question: My mom is divorcing my step dad.They have a daighter together.My stepdad doesnt agree to the amount of child support my mom proposes he pays.(it is below the legal amount in Texas).So she is deciding to go for alimony and take half his business in court.(she is hoping once that happens,he will be forced to buy her half)He started the business when they were together.My mom mildy helped him start it up.Like she would help him with orders and stuff like that.But his business is doing very well now and is worth significantly more than it was back than.Is this  even possible to do in the state of Texas?I could care less if its morally right because he cheated on her.This might not be the right subreddit but i was just wondering if she can pull this off.She already gots an attorney.

Answer:
 > She already gots an attorney.

She should ask the attorney that she *has*. The attorney knows the facts and is in the best position to know the likely outcome.Answer #2: If they created the business together during the marriage then yes, she may have a claim to a portion of it (though likely not half.)

She may also be able to successfully make an alimony claim.

Her attorney should be able to advise her.


Title: [FL] I recently sold a home. Sale has been signed and executed, payment received. Fully completed on Feb 28. Buyer wants to modify the sale almost a month later.

Question:
Got a call today from MY realtor telling me that everyone missed the home warranty that was supposed to be included in the fees during closing.  I am being expected to return to the table and purchase a one year warranty now after the sale has been finalized.

Do I have any obligation to be held responsible for their realtor not providing due diligence when completing this sale?

The entire transaction was drafted by the purchasers agent and all documents were provided to purchasers agent to review before the close was completed.

I don't want to be an asshole, but I have no intention of returning to the table to make up for their lack of attention to what was being agreed upon signing the closing documents.

Answer:
 In the documents you signed did you agree to purchase and provide a home warranty?Answer #2: Sounds like the buyer's agent made the error.  Since he/she drafted the purchase contract, they should have include the home-warranty.  They failed to do so.  If I were the buyer, I'd be having a conversation with my agent.  In the same token, the buyer failed to thoroughly review the purchase contract and even went as far as signing closing documents that omitted any mention of a home warranty.  The buyer's agent is hoping you'll cover down on his fuck up, basically.  I'd ignore.  You have the purchase contract and closing documents to fall back on.

Answer #3: Realtors get a *commission* for selling clients these warranties, so they are asking you to pony up time and money while they get a cut.


Title: I need help understanding open carry laws in Michigan...

Question:
I am not totally sure where to post this, but it seems like it could be considered legal advice.

I live in lansing, Michigan currently and would like to learn more about the open carry laws. I have a revolver that I am used to open carrying in Oregon, but I'm not sure how the laws here in Michigan really work. The wording is so confusing.

Over in Oregon, I had a cop friend who was able to explain it simply enough but I don't feel like getting in trouble here in Michigan.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

Answer: I could look up the law and tell you, but it is much better advice to tell you this: go to a local, well established gun dealer/shooting range and sign up for the range class and the concealed carry class. They will give you the best, most current answers, and you will leave with state-sanctioned certificates proving that you know your rights and responsibilities. Best of all, you will have a relationship with experts who can advise and update you.


Title: Ex-fiancé wants ring back and donated all my clothes

Question:
My ex and I broke up about 6 months ago. We used to live together. I recently got a texted from him asking for his ring back. Not too long after we called things off,  I asked for my stuff back. He said he would after he gets settled in his new place (he moved to a different state). I never got my clothes/shoes back.

Now he’s asking for the ring and when inquiring about my clothes, he said he apparently sent some of my clothes (which I never got) back in October and donated the rest.

Now question is, do I have to give the ring back if he donated all the clothes and shoes he had of mine which is about 75% of my wardrobe.

Answer:
 Who broke off the engagement?

> he said he apparently sent some of my clothes (which I never got) back in October and donated the rest.

These are two separate issues. If he agrees to let you keep the ring in exchange for the clothes that's one thing. If not you can sue for the value of your clothes.Answer #2: Basically the ring and the clothes are two separate issues. He *is* entitled to the ring and you are entitled to the clothes independently.

Here's a NYT article that does a good job of clearly explaining that you do have to return the ring: [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/fashion/weddings/should-you-give-the-engagement-ring-back.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/fashion/weddings/should-you-give-the-engagement-ring-back.html)

The fact that he lives in Florida and you live in New York doesn't change anything in terms of your duties.  All it means is that if he decided to sue you for the ring, he'd probably have to do it in New York. You probably can sue for the clothes in either New York or Florida but at that point you'd already be talking to a lawyer who would know more about the specifics. Answer #3: Who broke the engagement?


Title: Elderly neighbor that lives alone, physically fine, mental capabilities are all fine; I just think someone is taking advantage of her financially.

Question:
This is California.

Update if interested -

I talked to the granddaughter and she is going to fly her grandmother to Japan for a few weeks.  I'm going to watch the house and cat.  Everyone thinks distance will help and the granddaughter can make sure there is no abuse going on.

Thank You everyone for your advice.  I adore my neighbor.  She is one of the most inspirational, courageous remarkable women ever.

Original Message -
It's the middle of the night and this is keeping me up alot at night. My neighbor is in her 80's, physical and mental capabilities are all great. She has no memory issues - recent or long term. She takes care of her house, cat, and herself with little assistance other than us friendly neighbors helping out occasionally.

The issue is one of her grandsons. He is a deadbeat & keeps coming around. He keeps asking & receiving money & other items from my neighbor. I talked to my neighbor & she keeps saying this will be the last time but then it still continues. The grandson doesn't threaten, but is relentless.

Of all her other relatives, there is an excellent granddaughter but she is currently stuck in Japan. However, she is willing to fly back for a few weeks & take legal action against her cousin or whatever is needed. The only living relatives are the grandson, granddaughter & a son (that lives far away and hasn't talked to his mom in years).

If this makes a difference, my neighbor is a war veteran.

Any suggestions I can give the granddaughter to help out her grandmother? I'm writing this on phone, at night, instead of sleeping, hopefully I have all the information straight.

Answer: If she is mentally competent then she can give her money to whomever she wants. Answer #2: If she has all her mental faculties as you say and she isn't being threatened or coerced then there is no legal action to pursue as nothing illegal going on. She has a legal right to be stupid with her $$$ and enable a deadbeat grandson. I have an elderly relative on very limited fixed income in similar situation. Has a leech granddaughter who has a full time job living with him.  She pays no rent or utilities. He pays her cell phone bill (including new $800 phone she bought and is being financed thru that bill), her car insurance and sometimes her car payment. But it's his choice to be used. Unfortunately there is no law against being stupid


Title: 15 yro f, 17 yro male sexting case [Prince Williams County][Virginia]

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice,

I'm not involved in the case mentioned but I have questions about the childs rights, civil liberties, constitutional law, etc... I hope you can provide some insight.

[The initial story can be read here.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2014/07/09/in-sexting-case-manassas-city-police-want-to-photograph-teen-in-sexually-explicit-manner-lawyers-say/)

[The police department press release here.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2014/07/09/manassas-city-police-release-statement-on-teen-sexting-case/)

Virginia police arrested the 17 year old male on child pornography charges for exchanging pictures and videos with his 15 year old girlfriend. Prosecutors seek warrant to obtain pictures of the boy's erect penis (which they will inject to make hard) so they can run it through recognition software.

The press release states the male was asked to stop but doesn't expand.

* Would the records become public after the case has been 'completed'?
* Doesn't this constitute an invasive search?
* Shouldn't the female be charged with production and distribution of child pornography?
* Could the police department be charged with production of child pornography?
* If this causes permanent emotional/mental distress for him does have the right to sue?

Are there other questions this legal issue raises? Are there other defenses that could be argued?

Answer:
 -They are both minors so it will not be public record.

- that will be determined by the judge if a motion is brought before him/her

- she could be. But that is up to the DA

- no

- he has a right to try to sue. But since it is on a judges order I doubt it would go anywhere.


Title: TN/GA - I am 29 years old, but I just realized that my father should have been paying child support from the time I was born until I was 18 and my mother was too poor/prideful to go to court over it. Is there any way I can sue him for back child support?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Yes, it has to come from your mom.

He owes **her** the money, not you.Answer #2: No, child support was for your mom, not you.  You have no cause of actionAnswer #3: I don't think you have any standing on this. Your mother could, but you aren't the injured party or subject to the child support order in any meaningful way (even though the support was nominally ordered for your benefit). If your mother's not willing to pursue this, that's on her.


Title: Father of my child is trying to file joint custody to hurt me, doesn't even really care for the child.

Question:
We lived together for awhile, but the fights and threats were getting too much and he ended up kicking us out. Since then he's said back and forth move back, get out of my life, don't care about the baby, my life is miserable without the baby, so on. Now he's threatening custody after we both agreed not to get into that. He lives with some family who I do not trust in the slightest to be alone with my child. They are verbally and physically abusive and extremely neglectful. I have no proof of this they are so careful to cover it up. I know if he gets custody he'll leave the child with them the majority of the time. This terrifies me I know he's only doing it to hurt me and I have no idea how to get them to deny the custody.

How can I get his family to not be allowed alone time with the baby. I'm terrified they will take the baby one day and I'll never see my child again. I'm afraid he'll get hurt from no one paying attention and I'm afraid he won't get the attention he's used to.

Edit: location Pennsylvania

Answer:
 It would be very difficult for you to ensure that he gets no custody at all.  The courts generally default to shared custody unless you can demonstrate that they are not capable of caring for the child.

So, document, document, document.  Really, the best thing you can do is get the best lawyer you can afford & document the hell out of this mess.  And yes, all those details about when he kicked you out, or said that he didn't care about the baby, or any of that stuff is evidence.

Your best chance is to ensure that he only gets supervised visits with the child for some period, to ensure he is capable of caring for a child.  Don't expect more than that.


Title: Do I have a case for wrongful termination in Florida?

Question:
I started a job on May 27, 2014 in the accounting department of a for profit hospice company. I was hired through an outside recruiter, but it was a direct hire and not a contract position. The position was located in Jacksonville (Duval County).

After a few months, I was finally told how to access the online portal to view my pay stubs for my direct deposit payments. I did the math and found out my salary was lower than I was told when I was given the job offer.

The day I discovered this (Thursday, August 21), I emailed the outside recruiter I worked with and she confirmed that I she was told I would be given the higher salary (I have record of this). The confirmation email came at 4:30PM

I immediately went to my coworker who ran payroll and explained the situation, as payroll was to be run the next day. She emailed someone in a different location who was officially in charge of HR/Payroll and was told it would probably be taken care of in time for payroll submission. This conversation would have happened between 4:30 and 5PM.

The next day, I received an email from HR saying it had been corrected and would be receiving the back pay (less taxes) with the coming paycheck. I was 100% ok with this situation, I was sure it was an error in the first place and was happier to be receiving an unexpected chunk of change.

However, on the email I got from HR, their was a chain of emails below it between HR and the payroll person regarding the situation. My three bosses (Lead Staff Accountant, CFO, and Controller) were all attached to these emails but, as far as I knew, not involved in the discussion. (I'm not 100% sure on this detail, as I obviously no longer have access to my work email, but I distinctly remember seeing their names CC'd to one or more email regarding my pay). I didn't feel it necessary for them to be involved in the situation, but I figured it wasn't a huge deal.

Well that's where I was wrong. I was terminated THE VERY SAME DAY. I was told I was being let go because they were closing locations and had to cut manpower. My issue with this is that they told me during my interview that they were closing locations, so they knew their situation for months before realizing they suddenly couldn't afford me. They also told me they chose me because I was the most recent hire (last in, first out). While the may have been true within the 6 person accounting department, it was not true within the office.

Is there a case here?

TL;DR: Was hired with job offer of X salary, found out i was actually being paid less than promised, was fired the same day my boss found out I brought it up and tried to get it fixed.

Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 No.

Also, as an aside, it was totally unprofessional of that HR person to forward that entire email chain to you.

You can sue them for the back pay you are owed if they don't pay it to you. Florida has no Dept of Labor.


Title: [California] Wiretapping laws / recording girlfriend

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >1.) Is notifying her im recording her while im recording her enough fr "consent" or NO?

Yes.

>2.) Does she have a reasonable expecation privacy when we're "arguing" in our apartment?

Yes.

> 3.) I heard if i record her with home security cameras, it's not considered wire tapping. How true is this?

Without consent, this is illegal.


Title: PLEASE HELP! FEELING LIKE COURTS & LAWYERS ARE DAP'in DAT ASS.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 So, I stopped reading that at some point.

You have an attorney now. Do whatever he says. Nobody here will second guess him, because he knows more about your specific situation than we do.Answer #2: Why do you write like this?  Any chance you could rewrite in a way that makes sense to normal people?


Title: Ex-business associate claiming copyright on content

Question:
Hey,

This is my first post on reddit, so apologies in advanced if I'm not following correct protocol.

****************

Here's the situation:

- We run an online blog in South Africa which started in 2010. It's a strong brand with a big following.

- In 2011 a new guest contributor (let's call him Jack) started writing lots of content for us (we've never paid for content, and always made this clear).

- In 2012, Jack and I met. We decided to try and monetise the blog by starting an online store.

- In 2013 we started the online store. We did not enter into a partnership - instead, we entered into a profit share agreement whereby I owned the blog/website/brand and all it's content and provided an ecommerce store where Jack could sell his products. In return for providing a sufficient ecommerce platform, I would earn a % of profits.

- The profit share agreement stated that all non-shop content, the brand/blog etc. is owned by me [the website]. All stock, profits & loss, shop content etc. is owned by Jack.

- During the last few years, Jack continued to write content for the blog, as this drives traffic to his shop. It's mutually beneficial. Never once was there any talk of him owning or needing to be remunerated for this content.

- Fast forward to 2017 and we had a fallout and terminated the profit share relationship according to our agreement.

- We agreed on a termination procedure which again stipulated that I own all non-shop related content on the website, all brand assets etc. And that Jack will get to keep all outstanding profits, stock and shop related content.

- Termination finally came to an end and we received an email from Jack something like this:

"I jack record that the copyright in all of my literary, photographic and video work reproduced on [website] vests in me.  I hereby exercise my rights in law and request that you remove the articles forthwith to prevent legal action to enforce my rights to the work.

Let's please not argue about my content. Have given [website] years of hosting payments and service without any remuneration received from yourselves for any of my work done or my content used, which has cost me great personal and financial expense to create.

It would be great if we can please be civil about this. I am happy to discuss the purchase of my content or loaning it to [website] in return for advertising space on the website."

************

It's important to note that we have the unsigned profit share agreement in google docs.
We have T&C's on our website that say we [the website/brand] own all content.
We also have the termination agreement on email which Jack replied to saying he agreed.

Also, in the many years that we had this relationship, we haven't seen any profit. It all went back into Jack's business and paid his salary, which we were all cool with because sales were slowly growing.

Additionally, most of the articles he wrote about were my ideas (all documented on email & chat), and every single article was edited by me. So it's not like he was solely responsible for all the content he wrote... Not sure if this last point is relevant at all, but thought it worth mentioning.

The only website expense Jack paid for was webhosting. The bigger expenses like development, design, advertising and newsletters was all incurred by me in order to provide a sufficient ecommerce platform.

*************

Does Jack have any right to the content PUBLISHED on my website?

As a writer, do you give up your right when you consent to publish your work on another website/publication?

*************

I hope this is sufficiently detailed to get some legal advice on.

It's kind of a messy situation with no real documentation. Please let me know if more information is required.

Huge thanks in advance!

Answer: Jack could well prevail. This doesn't sound like a legit work for hire agreement but it's sloppy and lacks documentation so I'd like to hear what others think.


Title: Help with Illegal Towing (AZ )

Question:
Hey guys,

I live in a college town in Arizona and there’s a problem with predatory towing. More specifically, my friends have been towed from their PAID spots because “their permits were not properly displayed (bullshit)”. I’m afraid that although I purchased a parking spot, I may be towed. I was wondering what my rights were, and how I might avoid the gigantic fees they try to charge me should I be towed.

Thanks!

Answer:
 What does your permit look like? Is it a sticker, a mirror hanger, or just a card you have on your dashboard?

Either way, make sure your permit or whatever is clearly displayed in the correct place, and take a time stamped photo on your phone when you leave the car. If you do get towed, go to the yard and show them the photo. If they apologise and give it back, great! If they don't, then pay to get your car out and sue them in small claims for the cost


Title: Religious Freedom Restoration Act As It Applies To Drugs - How Far Does It Go?

Question:
I'm asking not for myself but because I'm interested given there's a group setting up a "religion" with the explicit purpose of making their drug use legal.

So, the [Religious Freedom Restoration Act](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Freedom_Restoration_Act) exists and does let some legitimate religions skirt around the law to use drugs. Yet, in multiple decades, just a few religions have been able to [get an exemption to the law](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uni%C3%A3o_do_Vegetal#U.S._Supreme_Court_case) in this way.

This new religion is being created with the intention of having centers around the US that'll prepare and serve ayahuasca. Ayahuasca contains [DMT](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N,N-Dimethyltryptamine), a Schedule 1 substance.

Since this religion is new and clearly created with the purpose of enabling the use of a Schedule 1 drug, is there any way the courts would rule in favor of the group?

I can't imagine they would be successful. There'd be a lot of drug religions in the US if it was that easy to invoke the RFRA.

Also, their first center would be in California.

Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 You may have better luck posting this in /r/Jurisprudence or /r/law.  While plenty of users here enjoy intellectual frolics into unknown territory, this is generally not the place for it.

However, if you want to read a slightly humorous, but intellectual, collision between religious freedom and drug use, take a gander at *U.S. v. Meyers*, 95 F.3d 1475 (10th Cir. 1996)


Title: Bro(17) shocked during tree removal and in critical condition

Question:
My brother  was inadvertently shocked as the crane was parked too close.  It def has osha involved as well as workers comp.  My brother is in critical condition as the shock stopped his hheart and exited through  his foot.  He is in the process to see if they need to amputate it  at the moment, the  only  attorney we have been able to talk to said he only does workers comp and said his case is too wide for him to move forward with  as it is owner negligence, unsafe work conditions, and equipment. The crane was rented by the owner  for the tree removal. Is there an attorney that can help all aspects of this case as we are trying to fight for his justice. His job was only to pick up wood and put it in the truck  but safety was compromised so the owner could get done faster.

Slc,ut

Answer: We need some more information, I think. Where do you live? Your brother was employed by a tree removal company? Was he a regular employee or paid under the table? Some states have age restrictions for people working in that industry.


Title: HOA is threatening to put a lien on my house if I don't remove my air conditioning window units.

Question:
This is in Maryland, if that's important.
My air conditioning broke at the beginning of the summer and I can't afford to fix it yet. As a temporary solution, I bought a few window units because I have dogs and I refuse to let my house be 90+ degrees and risk their well being.
My HOA says that window units aren't allowed in my neighborhood and have threatened to put a lien on my house if they're not removed.
Do I have any options outside of taking them down? If it comes down to the $50 fine they usually charge for miscellaneous things like leaving out trash cans out too long, I'll happily pay that monthly to keep the units for the summer.
I checked the documents I signed when I bought the house and indeed, it says no window units are allowed. I feel that no window units is an unreasonable rule. I have lived in and owned this house for 21 years and have no prior issues with the HOA.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 Doesn't really matter if you think it's unreasonable  *now* that you feel you need them. You signed the paperwork that forbids them agreeing to those terms.Answer #2: >I feel that no window units is an unreasonable rule.

HOA rules do not need to be reasonable. If you don't follow the rules then the HOA can move to enforce them.Answer #3: Just to point out, you might end up paying $50 a day while the units are up. Not per month, per day.Answer #4: That $50 fine might not be monthly though. Depends on how the fines are laid out in the by laws.  Could be weekly, could even by daily until corrected.

Either way, you have no leg to stand on to keep the window units.  And if the fines accumulate and they do put a lien on your house, that is so much worse.

Look for a way to borrow to fix the AC.


Title: New government employee being paid above agreed rate. Should I say anything?

Question:
I was hired by a government agency almost 4 weeks ago (2 pay periods), I just noticed that ghe rate of pay I am currently receiving is that of a pay bracket above mine, or about $6 more per hour.

This an unexpected situation,  and I am unsure how to proceed. Per Section 221 of the California Labor Code (I think), there's no legal consequences if you do this under a private employer. As a government employee, I want to know if and what the consequences are if I do/do not report this.

There is the possibility that it is intentional, but if it isn't, and I must report it, I'd like to know how.

I appreciate your help in advance.

Answer: I'd report it personally. The army overpaid me and I had to pay it back. As a civilian I'm not sure but as a soldier that was my experience