Title: Found out my dad reported my car stolen on a background check from my new company!!!

Question:
Hey Reddit,

So this is a long story, but I will do my best when it comes to shortening it. I really just confused on what to do next. My dad and I have never had a good relationship. He used to beat me up as a kid, but that is not the topic of discussion. Over the course of my life ever since I moved out to college we would go on years of no talking then me "missing" my dad I would try to rekindle the relationship. Well this happened again last year. I legit hate my father, but he is my dad and I do have those feelings to get together etc. He has just this dick attitude because he makes a lot of money (in the millions) that he is always correct and throwing money solves issues. So I was moving to Souther California for the military and to get out of Northern California because of the crazy rent/housing costs because of Silicon Valley.

I did not have a car at the time because living in Silicon Valley you did not need one. Uber, Lyft, etc.. with public trans was all you needed. I did need a car to borrow for my move, and we spoke with a verbal agreement to let me borrow his extra car that was meant for my grandparents; but they unfortunately passed away and the car was sitting on the sidewalk for months. To the point the battery would have to be replaced because of lack of use. It was a verbal agreement like I said for a couple months with no one else present to confirm this story.

Right before I left, like clockwork, my father blows a gasket and another fight ensues as I am en route to Southern California. He threatens me to report it stolen, but I thought this was him being the huge asshole he is. I recently got a great job with a major renewable energy company, and for legal reasons they do drug and background tests. I pass no issue with the drug, but a red flag shows up on my background where I had to speak with the top HR person. She brings to my COMPLETE attention my father did report it stolen, and I was supposed to appear in front of court but I was a no show. I now have a bench warrant of 2,500$ for not appearing and a charge of misdemeanor vehicle theft (CAN THAT HAPPEN IF I AM NOT CONVICTED OR EVEN ARRESTED???). I was not notified AT ALL. NO LETTER, NO CALL, NO EMAIL, etc..

Needless to say I explained and got the job, but now I do not know what to do. My dad does have a lot of legal connections and I think this may have been pushed through because he knows people. What can I do? How should I proceed? I am looking into shipping the car back because I do not want to be associated with that car anymore and any ties to my father. He basically is not my father anymore, but I need to get it back to him somehow. Any advice and help would be greatly appreciated. I would like to maybe countersue him somehow for defamation of character or any way possible for fucking me over like this. Any advice on that too would be GREATLY WELCOMED!

Thank you all again!

TL;DR borrowed car from father he reported it stolen behind my back and found out by a company background check I have a misdemeanor vehicle theft charge and 2,500$ bench warrant for no showing without proper notification - I NEED ADVICE!!!

Answer:
 You need a lawyer and you need to get that bench warrant addressed before you get pulled over and they address it on the spot.

Work with the lawyer on your legal issues and just accept that your relationship with your father is done.  However this time be serious about it and never contact him ever again.  He tried to ruin your life and if that's not enough of an indication that you need to purge him from your life I'm not sure what is.


Title: Abandoned Catering Equipment Left At Event - No communication from owner - When Can I Sell?

Question:
Back in June 2018 ( 4 months ago) I had a event where a taco man catered. He brought a large flat grill that had steamers built in. It's worth is somewhere around $500 - $1,000.

He left his grill at our home and told us he would pick it up during the week. We texted him later that week asking when he was coming by. No response. Then after 2 weeks, we asked again... "Oh I have been so busy!" Nothing about picking it up.
We emailed him, we were 1) unhappy with his service in the FIRST place, but we were also trying to give him a chance to pick up him grill. No response.
Once a month, I'd say we text or email him about his grill in our garage...

**How long do I need to wait before I can sell it or get rid of it??** This is in the state of California.

&#x200B;

Thank you

Answer:
 That’s nacho stuff. You can’t sell it Answer #2: You can return it to him or possibly arrange to charge him for storage of it. Which he would probably default on, and then perhaps you would have legal recourse. Until then you have his stuff with no arrangement to be compensated for storage and you cannot just make it yours and sell it.Answer #3: IAMAL   In NY: I had an employee leave a $2000 tool chest behind and he disappeared. Six months later I was advised we'd have to store it for two freaking years and could only sell it after that.

I'd say just because he hasn't gotten it doesn't mean it's yours.

ETA: I also had to send him a letter by certified mail demanding he contact me to make arrangements to get it. The day it was received, his fiance contacted me to try to claim it to cover child support he supposedly owed. I couldn't release it to her though because it wasn't technically hers. I don't recall if the two year timer started from the date he abandoned it or from the postmark date.

Can you check with local prisons? Maybe he's uh, away at camp?

That or death is the only reason I can think he would abandon the property. Either way, a certified mail to any address you can find for him is your best bet to find him.


Title: [IL] On a scale of 1 to Judge Judy, how likely am I to be laughed out of the police station if I try to file a report about an out of control ex?

Question:
Throwaway because this is too much drama to be associated with my main account. Persons involved will probably see this, so, err, hi.

**Long version**

I moved in with my boyfriend (John) and girlfriend (kelly) in November. Things were mostly ok, other than some mildly concerning behavior on Kelly's part. My other boyfriend (Morgan) moved in as well.

In January we all went camping, and Kelly got exceedingly drunk. She screamed awful things at all of us all night, and shoved and tried to punch me (with no provocation other than me calmly suggesting that she go to bed because she was drunk). It turned out that she was unhappy, unwilling to communicate in a productive manner, and was hiding a drug problem in addition to the hefty pot habit we all knew about. End result, she moved out, and blames me for literally everything.

A few weeks after the breakup, Kelly began contacting me on Facebook, and told me she wanted to see me burn alive. Very well, I blocked her on Facebook. In March, she sent me a message on another website I frequent, telling me that if I didn't stop my generally shitty ways, forces neither she, nor John, nor the law could control would give me what I so richly deserve. I told her to never contact me again. John apparently spoke to her about this, and she apologized. With a gift. Of knives. Which she said she couldn't be trusted to have around her. I mean, free knives, I guess, but it was unsettling.

I should note that Kelly still works for John. Yesterday, I got the mail and saw that Kelly had gotten a magazine. I made an admittedly cruel joke via instant messenger to John about whether it would be nicer to lose it, because it would just be rubbing salt in the wound (the magazine was Destination Weddings Monthly or something). He laughed, and we went about our day. He left the office, at which point she apparently started going through his computer, saw the IM, and flipped. her. shit.

The first I knew of it was when she came charging in through the unfortunately unlocked back door, screaming about me stealing her mail and how I'm a terrible pigwhore and so forth. She grabbed her magazine, and then started knocking things off of shelves and taking the shelves (which I think are hers, so whatever, I guess, probably not technically stealing and I don't care about them). I told her that she had to leave, and she screamed that she was on the occupancy permit and was allowed (she isn't. Even if she was, she's lived somewhere else since February). Then she shoved me several times. She's got six inches and 50 lbs on me, so it wasn't like a tiny push. I decided that retreating was a good plan, reiterated that she needed to leave, and got my phone to call John, who would have gotten there sooner than the police.

Kelly resumed knocking things off shelves, and started carrying the shelves/dressers out to the porch. I am a resourceful person, and also I have watched too many cartoons, so I followed her to the porch and once her hands were full, shut the door and locked her out. More things were shrieked at me, and that was when John drove up and made her leave. I'm not hurt, none of the knocked over things were broken, and nobody got shot, thank God (morgan is a combat vet who has been a victim of a home invasion. Luckily, he was asleep upstairs for all but the last bit of it, so things stayed relatively... Unescalated).

Ok, that was the backstory. I, err, what is a good thing to do? I have screenshots of her threatening messages, but it seems very, I don't know, kindergarten. "SHE PUSHED MEEEEEE", you know? I don't feel a burning need for her to be punished, I don't care what she does (John is taking her for a psychiatric evaluation today. Apparently her various mental issues are, you know, being issues), I just want her to leave me alone. Is a police report enough of a paper trail in case she does anything else? I don't want to ruin her life, I don't want to give her yet another reason to hate me, I just don't want to interact with her in any way, ever again.

Is this too much silly drama to bother with a police report? I keep feeling like I'm overreacting, somehow.

Answer:
 Am I to understand you are having sexual relations outside of lawful wedlock?Answer #2: Contact the police.  A crazy person is barging into your residence, destroying your possessions, going through people's personal computers to find private correspondences, threatening you with physical harm, and mailing you knives.  This is most likely (depending on your state's laws) criminal harassment.  Show the police all the saved internet messages.  Get yourself protected.  While this may seem childish to you (and frankly I would agree that Kelly is behaving poorly), this is how big problems start.  They start small.  Have the police put an end to it now before this gets out of hand or you end up dead.  If this reply frightens you, then good.  Call the police.Answer #3: > On a scale of one to Judge Judy

Ma'am, I am afraid you have exceeded Daytime Court Shows and are now on the Talk Circuit.  You left Maury well behind, are currently in view of Steve Wilkos, and we all know where that leads. I hear Mr. Springer is a really nice guy, but unless you're a stripper trying to make a name for herself, you don't want to meet him.

What you're eventually looking at is a protective order/restraining order.  The required showing varies from state to state.  A police report regarding yesterday's events might help substantiate the need for it.

The "should I really do this?" question is one only you can answer.  If you don't feel genuinely threatened by this person, then perhaps now's not the time.  However, if you think she'll return and possibly hurt you, you should start looking into what's necessary to get a TRO.


Title: [NYC] Wife is threatening to sue me and refusing to pay me alimony because she got fired?

Question:
Got a divorce 6 months ago. The judge ordered her to pay me a $1850/month in alimony. I'm a writer and she's an economist. She doesn't make a lot of money, but she comes from a very very rich family.

Unsurprisingly, I often write about myself and my life. I've written a non-zero number of articles about how crazy she is and how she'd brag about fleecing her employer. Eventually her boss got word of it and fired her for it.

Now she's calling me up saying she's going to sue me for slander and she's not going to pay alimony because she has no income (WTF? her parents are still giving her $5K per month...)

What should I do? Do I need to lawyer up? Everything I've written is 100% true.

Answer:
 She is obligated to continue to pay the alimony unless she petitions the court to lower her monthly payment due to a change of circumstances (loss of job).

>I've written a non-zero number of articles

What does that even mean?

Non-legal advice: you've got a lot of nerve (and/or stupidity) undermining your wife's ability to pay alimony and then going after her for not paying.


Question:
https://archive.fo/nOb4O

>Anonymous ex JW April 17, 2013

>My adoptive mother is one of those JW shut ins. She writes these letters every week and expects me to take it to the mailbox. I now throw them in the trash. I also was guilty of writing these letters when younger and in the clutches of the cult. I wrote so many to the Columbine victim’s families. My deepest apologies go out to them and to anyone else I offended. What a great response that was, particularly the not reaching their full potential.

Is this Anonymous ex JW committing a federal crime here?

Answer: It's not "mail" protected by [18usc1708](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1708) until it's in the hands of the USPS. There's no law against not mailing a letter, otherwise I'd be facing a life sentence for all the [BUSINESS REPLY MAIL ](https://pe.usps.com/archive/html/dmmarchive20030810/graphics/S05.jpg) cards I've tossed in the trash over the last 50 years.


Title: Scammed out of $3500, What should I do?

Question:
Was selling my YouTube channel, dude never paid basically. I'm guessing he cancled the bank transfer.
I live in Texas, San Antonio. He lives in San Diego, California
I have his ID and everything we exchanged while dealing + I confirmed it's him.
7 days later he's ignoring me now + never sent the money

Answer:
 Does he have the channel now? If so you can sue, but 3500 may be more than small claims allows in either of your areas.

And are you sure his ID is legit? If he's a smart scammed you have some random persons I'd and no clue who actually has the channel.


Title: Atlanta, Ga. I have been assaulted and generally treated like shit at work once by a manager about three weeks ago. I then gave my two weeks but they have continued to give me hours which I figured why not I don't have another job yet. Any way Agin tonight by the food runner. Idk what to do.

Question: I know the title is shit sorry, but I've worked there for 8 months tension is not new the management is shit and I've watched so many employees jump ship as I am doing now. Idk what I can do, should do or if it's even worth doing anything about I don't really want to put anyone in jail.  it's not like a major assault, like threatening pushing and shoving like to start a fight, Iv backed down and threatened with the police. because I know if I were to fight I would be just as wrong and possibly arrested as well I have threatened one of my managers and the food runner with this now. The other manager has threatened to punch me like walked up to me with his fist up I told him to do it and he didn't. Those are two of the more excited moments I've had let me know what you think sorry agin for the writing.

Answer:
 I would quit and never return.  Why put yourself in this situation?

Be the more mature person and find another job.  I would not go back.


Title: Can someone take a picture of your back yard and send it to your city? (Michigan)

Question:
We recently got a ticket for debris, but our entire back yard is enclosed, except for apartments behind our house which overlook it. Can your neighbors complain about debris/take pictures of an an enclosed back yard in Michigan?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: As long as they can legally stand in the place that they take the pictures, sure.


Title: Court is asking my witness to testify against Me. Can they do that?

Question:
Today is my scheduled court date for fighting a ticket which I believe is wrong. It is a failure to control speed to avoid a collision. It was raining that day and I hit a bump in the road causing me to lose slight control and slide to the oncoming lane. I still could have controlled the vehicle because I let off the gas and let it run its course however a semi was driving towards me so I quickly turned my wheel and crashed into a water pipe and utility pole.

Fast word a couple of months to today. I'm scheduled to show up today at 1:30pm. ( 5 hours from now ) but my witness got subpoenaed to testify against me.  Is that possible? Can she switch to support me in the court? I don't know how that works but I was counting on her. Because I was going below speed limit. Even though the ticket says otherwise. I was in a bit of a shock and just told the police officer what he wanted to hear. So I can treat my passenger to the hospital because of an injury to his hand. She witnessed the crash and called 911.

Thank you! and hope I didn't break any rules. I lurk here a bit but never had a reason to post.

Edit: this is in Arizona. Speed limit was 45 I said 47. Witness claims I was going below 40.

Answer:
 First off, going the speed limit doesn't mean you didn't fail to control your speed. Frankly, it raining and a mere bump causing you nearly to have a head on collision with a semi is basically defacto you were going WAY to fast for the conditions...including cause the road is shit.

Second, of course they can force your witness to testify against you. Witnesses are witnessess. They get questioned by both sides. Heck, they likely want him cause they can't force you to tell your story but he can and if its the same as yours, again, pretty much defacto you were going too fast for the conditions.

Third, you lurk here and wait till day of for help?!?!? Have you learned nothing? Always prepare for court WELL in advance.


Title: What’s the legality of those signs that forbid you from parking in front of a specific store in a large shopping parking lot with multiple businesses?

Question:
If location matters, let’s go with my area being Los Angeles, California.

You know how shopping centers, especially those with a grocery store, usually have other businesses in the same parking lot as them? There will be a Ralph’s/Kroger/Aldi/Walmart/etc. and then some other stuff like a hair salon, drug store, donut shop, etc.

In front of some of the smaller businesses, right in front of their door where you can park facing the business and walk right in from your car without walking far from the parking lot, a lot of these smaller businesses have a sign that says that you cannot park here unless you are going into this business.

For example, the hair salon is beside the grocery store Kroger’s. I park in front of the hair salon and walk into Kroger’s to do my grocery shopping and never once go into the hair salon. Or maybe I park there and go to the donut shop directly beside the hair salon. Basically, I park in front of the hair salon but don’t ever go into the hair salon during my visit, not even to browse.

The hair salon tries to have my car towed because they say that their sign won’t allow me to park there and shop anywhere else, even in the same lot.

Would the hair salon be in their rights to do this?

Answer: If they’ve rented the space, and done parking lots do let businesses rent spaces, they’re entirely within their rights to tow you.


Title: Do I need a lawyer for this case described if I didn’t assault my wife? Maryland

Question:
Wife had an anxiety attack the other night. Wife has a history of them and they can get pretty bad. Neighbors unaware of the issue think she is in danger. Cops come and they think I’m pressuring her to say I didn’t hit her. Which I didn’t or anything, I would never in the 7 years married. Now they say you should find somewhere to stay the night. I say she’s having a panic attack and doesn’t know what’s what. So end of night I say ok, and leave. Hey didnt say they are chargin me. Later that night I come back.(knowing my wife’s attack would be done) says the police man said she could clear everything up in he morning. So we call police. No answer from the officer that took report. Weeks goes by I finally get in the mail a summons. How if my wife stated I didn’t assault her. My wife says they misinterpreted when she said I held her to hard when I was trying to keep her from causing herself hard.  Never had any kind of “record” besides speeding every few years. Should I be worried. Also my wife has been calling to have general attorney drop charges but he says they haven’t received the case yet.

Maryland

Answer: Yes, hire an attorney. The consequences of being found guilty of domestic violence are severe and life-long. (for example, you will be banned for life from firearms possession and ownership)


Title: Junkie Sex Worker former employer is holding my pay at ransom until I sign poorly produced Non-Compete Document – HELP!

Question:
Hi Reddit

I recently terminated my employment with a Sex Worker (SW); I was working as their personal assistant.

Throughout my employment my employer, had become scattered, erratic and unreasonable in what they expected of me as an employee. They would message me at all hours of the night. Demand chores be completed without direction.

They constantly told me unsupported accusations and crazy conspiracy theories that others in the industry were trying to ruin their career. These unfounded accusations have now been directed at me since I left their employment.

I strongly believe this is due to this SW’s drug use and abuse. I never did anything dishonest and just want this situation over and my pay ASAP.

I regard to my employment, in the beginning I signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement, I however never signed a contract and my pay was always cash in hand.

My final month of pay is being held at ransom until I sign the attached link Non-Compete document. I have only removed the names, monetary amount, address information and made my changes in BOLD.

http://docdro.id/hGgOoJP

On termination I removed all clients and other relevant data from my laptop to a hard drive and delivered it to the SW. I fully support others choice to be a part of this industry but would never work as a SW myself (I only mention this as it is a part of the Non-Compete request).

I have a feeling my employer may have been high when putting together the document parts that should have been removed and edited are left unedited. I also think unreasonable parts have been added.

Furthermore, signing this document will restrict future potential income. Working as a personal assistant is usually very easy and suits my needs for some part time employment. The NON-COMPETE COVENANT will restrict me from taking employment from any others in the industry.

Can anyone please help out telling me if this document has any legal standing written the way it is? Or is it just non-legally binding junkie trying to sound smart while screwing me out of future income? If it isn’t legally binding would just be best to sign and hopefully receive my pay?

Thanks for your help Reddit you're a gem!

Answer: While review of this contract is well beyond the scope of this sub, I would be shocked if a court in Australia ruled that a worldwide noncompete was reasonable or that payment of wages for work already done would be sufficient consideration (they already owe you that.)


Title: Georgia - Employment Contract says I will be provided a work truck. Truck was wrecked, subsequently totaled, and will not be replaced. Company is trying to circumvent contract by forcing two employees to share one truck.

Question:
Long story as short as I can make it: I work for a small (five employees) company in Georgia. I have been employed with the company for six months. In my employment contract, it states I will be provided a work truck and gas. The truck stayed with me 24/7. I drove it to and from work, as well as to and from job sites. Two weeks ago, I wrecked the work truck. It was my fault. There are no provisions for this situation in my employment contract.

Yesterday, I was informed that the insurance company was totaling the truck, and that the company would not be purchasing another.

There is another employee who is also contractually provided a work truck. His truck stays with him, the same way mine stayed with me. Yesterday, when I was told that my truck would be totaled, he was told to start parking his work truck at the office so we both could use the one truck.

Is their solution a violation of our respective employment contracts? Do we have any room to renegotiate?

Edit: Sorry it took so long to post this information. The salary and benefits section of my contract reads:

"Benefits are to include, but are not limited to:
   1) Work Vehicle
      a. Vehicle is for work use only unless otherwise noted by GM.
      b. Fuel for work vehicle will be supplied by Company."

Answer:
 A "polite" way to point this out to your employer is to talk with the other truck driver and work out when you will both need the one truck for two different jobs. At that point one of you takes the truck for his job and the other goes and complains that he doesn't have a truck to do his job since the other guy took it (to complete his job).

If they don't play along with that, you will need to closely read the wording of your contract to see when exactly they are obligated to provide a truck, and what strings are allowed to be attached to you using said truck.


Title: (TX and FL) Husbands aunt wants to sue us because she bought insurance on an already insured car.

Question:
When my husband bought his old car in Texas, we currently live in Florida but he bought it years ago, his aunt cosigned for him. We have ALWAYS had the car insured, it's never lapsed once. When he bought the car he told his aunt that he would handle the insurance.

Out of the blue his aunt wants to sue because she has apparently been paying $500 a month insurance on the car for the past 7 years.

Can/would she get any money from us?

Answer: Highly unlikely unless you agreed to repay.  $500 a month for insurance?????


Title: (MA) Sister wrote and signed a will before taking her life; did not have it signed by two witnesses, however

Question:
My sister wrote and signed a will before she took her life. She did not, however, obtain the signatures of two witnesses.

I also fear that the courts will find it contestable whether she was of sound mind while writing the will, as she suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. By all accounts, from my perspective, she was lucid and nothing in her will would denote that she was delusional or unaware of what she was doing.

She just knew that she would be taking her life shortly and therefore drafted a will beforehand. But like I said, she did not have two witnesses to sign the will. There is clear cut verbiage in the will that denotes she would be taking her life, which is why I believe she purposely didn't seek out two witnesses. And to complicate matters even more, she wrote this will and took her life while she was overseas with my parents.

My parents and I are at a loss of what do to from here. I've been doing some basic research online and it looks like we can seek an informal probate, but there are two sets of informal probate forms to fill out -- one set of forms in the case where there is a will, and another set of forms when there is no will. (forms here: http://www.mass.gov/courts/selfhelp/wills-and-estates/probate-options.html)

My limited understanding is that my sister's will is invalid due to the lack of witness signatures - does that mean we should proceed as if there were no will?

FWIW, I mentioned the cause of death because I read somewhere that certain types of death can nullify any pre-existing wills, suicide being one of them. Also, my sister did not own any real estate, nor did she have considerable assets (less than $25,000 in total I believe). She has no surviving spouse or children. It's just my parents and myself remaining.

Thanks in advance.. it's been a trying time for me and my parents.

Answer: In Texas, a holographic Will (written entirely in ones handwriting) can be valid. However, a typed up Will has to be witnessed to be valid. If its the latter (sounds like the case), then we treat the Will as an invalid Will and probate the estate as if there was no Will. As result, the state rules of intestacy control and the closet heirs (spouse, children, parents, and siblings) inherit instead of the way the Will stipulates. If this was in Texas, your parents would inherit 100% of the estate. Since its a smaller estate, in Texas you could transfer the assets to your folks via small estate affidavit and pay about $1,000-$1,500 or so to get it done.


Title: [UPDATED] [CA, USA] Left a freelance position last month. Money order payment never arrived, boss is refusing to reissue saying it's my fault for waiting too long to follow up. Is there any way I can still receive wages or did I eff up?

Question:
[Here's my last post!](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3n6htd/ca_usa_left_a_freelance_position_last_month_money/)

Hi guys. I would like to thank everyone who gave me advice. After the Reddit post, I decided to go with small claims court. HOWEVER, I realized that LA County provides a free "mediation" service, and I figured that if my ex-boss wanted to just put things to rest, this could be cheaper/faster. (I got this info when calling LA County, some nice lady was explaining how it's free and online etc.)

Unfortunately, mediation is voluntary. AKA, the government guy in charge of my case tried to flag down my boss via her cell number and work number (which I provided and know is correct, because she posts her numbers on her website) and she just completely avoided him for weeks. They had to close my case down because there was no way to contact her. She was obviously just trying to avoid paying me.

OKAY. So I realized my only option is small claims court. There's a small fee after I file it electronically, but I'm willing to pay. But I filed it and it got REJECTED, the reason being that the company name (the defendant, essentially) is incorrect. I called up LA Small Claims Court to speak to an advisor, and she told me I need to find out the business's actual, real name - either in city hall business records or at kepler.sos.ba.gov.

Here's my roadblock. I can't find any trace of her company. It's real because there's a fully functional website. The office location is even registered on Google - I can Google map my way to her office in seconds. The catch here, I know for a fact she never uses the office. It's basically just a placeholder so clients think she works in a cubicle (she told me this when I was working for her) but in reality she works at home in pajamas.

WTF do I do? I can't find the real name of the company. I've used the name they had before, and I've used the name they had currently. Both don't show up in the government website. So is there a different name? Until I figure this out, I can't file a small claims case. But it totally exists, there's a website and the business is verified in Google! (Unless that means nothing? IDK).

**Other questions:**

1. Say I miraculously find out what her business is called, and file my case correctly, and get accepted. HOW DO I SERVE HER THE PAPERS? I'm aware that I can't do it myself, etc. All I know are coffee shops she frequents and the gym she belongs to (which has multiple locations around town). And she never goes to her office. I know I can hire someone, but since I don't have a specific area they can go to (like an office or home) I'm not about to fork over $$$ for a lengthy stakeout at a coffee shop where she may or may not be. This whole "serving" issue is bugging me because if I pay for a process server, I'm losing MORE money without any guarantee I can get any money back.

2. Am I allowed to sue her for more than just my wages? Like an additional $100 for compensation from the HOURS I spent trying to figure this problem out AND hunting her down AND paying the court filing fees? I don't really know how suing people works, so I don't know if I'm pushing my luck by asking for "more" than what she officially owes me.

3. If there's no way to find the business, can I sue her as an individual? Would that be easier or harder to do?

4. Should I give up? Part of me is pissed she is "winning" and has avoided all attempts to pay me back. Another part is just soooo fucking tired. I recently got a new job, so it's not like I need the money or else I'll starve, but it's more like I want justice. But I also can't afford to be spending so many hours doing this.

SIGH. Please help!

TL;DR Still haven't gotten paid, trying to file a small claims court lawsuit BUT I can't freaking find any evidence of the business's city license/registration BUT it's verified as a business on Google as my only proof it exists? I'm truly about to give up.

Answer:
 I'm in CA and sued someone in small claims court this year.  I paid a nominal fee to the court when I filed and they had process servers or something.  I also got my filing fees and process serving costs back I believe.  You will not get compensated for your time figuring this out.

Do you know her name?  Why not sue her as an individual?


Title: Can I sue my roommate for half the bills & emotional distress? (Pennsylvania)

Question:
Full disclosure: My roommate used to be my boyfriend.

&#x200B;

About 5 years ago, I moved into an apartment my boyfriend has been living in for 25 years. After living together for 2 years, he stole some tools from his work on camera & was, of course, fired. Since that time I have been paying our bills, which are rent ($600 a month with a back balance of $400 owed) & electric ($250 a month with a back balance of $600 owed). Now, here's where things get a bit tricky...

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After my now roommate got himself fired he eventually began working with a handyman who pays him in cash. My roommate **NEVER** discloses how much he's paid. Anytime I ask, his eyes get wide & he starts to stammer, & I think to myself, "Here we go. Here come the lies." Basically, he would have me believe he only gets paid maybe $60 here & there, if he's paid at all. The problem with that is I witness him spending money all week. He always has cigarettes, cell phone service, & whatever he wants. Hell, he's even bought a riding lawnmower during one of those broke weeks. Meanwhile, I'm the one dealing with the debts that continue to accrue. Because of that, I'm always nearly broke or fully broke.

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Having to deal with his deception constantly, as well as his occasional theft of some rent money from me, has caused me to have mental breakdowns. The most recent was last month when I paid off half of our electric utility debt, & calmed the landlord with a big payment, all the while my roommate seemed to be enjoying life to the fullest. Oh, he does love his bill-free life. I'm trapped here because I was evicted once 8 years ago & haven't been able to pay that landlord the $900 I owe due to paying my current bills. So, that gives me an eviction history. I can't understand the law in Pennsylvania regarding emotional distress damages, but mainly, I'm interested in having the court system order him to pay half of all bills. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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Note: Gathering evidence from the landlord might not be an option as he is my roommates landlord due to a family connection. I pay the electric on the phone using my debit card though.

Answer:
 You can sue him for whatever he agreed to pay and failed to pay.

You will not be able to successfully sue him for emotional distress.


Title: [MD] Need drug-related criminal law advice to save my brother and I

Question:
My brother is a minor that was caught selling brownies at school because a kid freaked out from getting too baked. He was on the path to graduate and get into a good school, but now he's expelled.

When narcotics came to grill/search him, they found more brownies, ~3g of bud, a piece, and a few tabs in his possession. He gave some names of people he sold to because they confiscated his phone to look through messages later, and he got released without bail as a result. He also gave my name as the person who gave him the stuff to sell. I'm not a minor, and was at work when all of this was happening.

The cops show up at our house with a warrant and search the place, finding some more cash, as well as a few grams of shrooms, but they were gone by the time I arrived. It's been over 24 hours now, and we haven't heard anything from them, but I know they'll be back soon to take us in for questioning. At this point I'm pretty sure I'll be given jail time, but I'd like to lessen the mandatory minimum if possible (using the safety valve option). The problem is, I'm not sure what to say when they question me about where I purchased the shake to make the brownies. I obtained them from the deepweb but saying that will probably just add more charges and make it less likely for me to get off with less time. Is there anything I can possibly do to alleviate this giant fuckup?

I had a little over 1 yr left before I would graduate with my BA, and this is my first possible criminal offense. We're both good guys with high aspirations (no pun intended) that just wanted to spread some love and make some money before the holidays, but now we're forced to try salvage our lives that seem to be crumbling at an unreal rate. My parents are a bit ignorant unfortunately, and as a result, are doing more harm than good.

To paint the picture, my dad pulled a freaking gun on me as his initial reaction, then proceeded to go see a lawyer without taking either of us or getting the full story. He came back home and told my brother to deny ever getting the drugs from me (despite LE having my brother's phone w/ all the incriminating messages on them), and told me to deny ever giving him anything. I understand that he's doing this so I can avoid jail time, but I honestly don't see this plan working out well.

If there's anything I can do to salvage this situation, please let me know as soon as possible because I don't know when we'll be taken in. I can provide more info if needed. At this point I'm willing to do anything just so my life isn't ruined by our nation's misguided, destructive laws.
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 >We're both good guys with high aspirations

"Good guys" don't sell drugs to kids. There's no interpretation of this situation where either of you come off as anything but a scumbag.

Regardless, replies should have legal advice. So shut up, get off reddit, and do exactly what your lawyer says. Answer #2: > Is there anything I can possibly do to alleviate this giant fuckup?

For the most favorable outcome, hire a competent criminal defense lawyer.

> At this point I'm willing to do anything just so my life isn't ruined by ~~our nation's misguided, destructive~~ **my inability to abide by** laws.

FTFY


Title: Texas - are there any steps my friend can take in her will to ensure that her kids don't have to live with their emotionally abusive father if something happens to her?

Question:
My friend left her abusive husband when their kids were 2 and 4 years old. They are now 9 and 11, and she's noticed that he's been using a lot of the same controlling and emotionally abusive techniques on them that he used on her while they were together. The kids are old enough now to see what he's doing, and resent him for it, but not yet old enough to legally say that they don't want to spend their court mandated time with him - even though they tell their mother all the time that they don't want to see him and the horrible way he treats them.

My biggest fear is that if something terrible were to happen to my friend, her kids (my godchildren) will have to go live with him full time, and they won't have anyone to protect them from him. When they were together, they asked me if I would raise their kids if something happened to them both which I agreed to, but there was nothing official drawn up.

I know that the courts favor family over friends, and that emotional abuse is a lot harder to document than physical (as far as I know, the only times he was physically abusive to my friend was sexual abuse, and as much as I detest him, I don't think he'd sexually abuse his own children).

What I'm wondering is:

* are there ways to adequately and accurately document emotional/psychological abuse? (The younger child is currently in therapy, and the older one is likely to be starting it soon, but I don't know if that would be usable or sufficient)

* Could this sort of documentation be used to further restrict his contact with the kids? (She doesn't have the money for a lot of legal battling, and she's already gearing up for a fight in a year or so when she's finished her master's degree because she plans to pursue a PhD out of state on a grant, and he's flat out told her that he's going to fight her over it.)

* In the event of her death, could this sort of documentation be used to keep them out of his primary custody?

* What sort of wording would she need to put in her will to ensure that the courts know what her wishes are regarding custody of her children?

Any advice would be appreciated, especially if you guys know of any legal aid she could look into (to maybe get them out of their toxic situation sooner).

Edited to add: I hope I chose the right flair, since it's partly about current custody arrangements, and partly about a will and possible posthumous custody arrangements.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 > I know that the courts favor family over friends

It's not just 'favor'.  It's that **he's their father**.  He has the absolute right to be a parent to his children, and they're not going to take his children away and give them to someone else because you think he's mean.

If he has custody now(and it sounds as if he does) then he's not going to lose out on custody if she passes.  She can certainly make her wishes known, but the courts are not required to(and likely won't) follow them.Answer #2: The bar for being considered a "fit"
Parent is depressingly low.  Emotional abuse will likely not be factored in at all.

If he feeds them, provides them with a roof and some sort of clothing, and they have access to food, there's little she can do but try to stay healthy.

Also, she need to get her live approved well in advance because Texas is not very move away friendly.


Title: Does jeopardy attach in cases that are ejudicated by peers/board at a private school? Or can these be reopened in the state court?

Question:
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 No. Boards or committees, whether chaired by students or faculty (or both), are not courts of law.Answer #2: No.
The victim has the right to go to the actual police and file actual charges.


Title: 17-year-old versus adults

Question:
Hello reddit.

I am a 17-year old high school student residing in the Netherlands. Last friday, another student (whom I did not know) accidentally knocked my phone off some lockers. No biggie, but my phone was still busted. I didnt see who did it so I went to the Janitors to take a look at the surveillance cameras to see who knocked my phone off. With the help of a couple of teachers I was able to identify the young man who did it.

So I contacted him asking if he was truly the one who acidentally broke my phone, and I was with the right guy. He was sorry, and we were going to fix this. Alright. So I asked him for his parents phone number (He's 14) so I could talk to them about it. It took him 3 days to build up the courage to admit to his parents what he did. This in itself is a problem since you need to file an insurance claim AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

I told him this because I honestly don't want anyone paying for the repair except the insurance company. So 3 days later, I get a phone call. It's his dad. He's telling me he is going to need some evidence and other paperwork. So I tell him fine, and jump on my bike to collect all the paperwork associated with my mobile phone. He also requested the camera footage to make sure it's actually his son. Nothing weird so far, he's being pretty helpful and reassuring me we're going to figure this out.

The next day rolls around. I've sent him the info he requested except for the video footage which was still being rendered to my usb stick at the Janitors office. Then I get a text message, from the same number. It's his mother, and she's mad. She starts of saying it's a crime that I saw the footage, it's invasion of privacy, I should NOT have seen that footage. She then says her husband works for the police and I really fucked myself here. For the record, I was being polite and professional the entire time. This is her driving me in the corner with claims that I'm going to be legally fucked.

So me, while being VERY scared look up all the laws that surround this incident. According to European Law, all INVOLVED people have the right to see the video footage. According to what I'm read I'm not in the wrong, but I'm not sure if I can take the internet's word for it. I also was completely unaware it's illegal to see surveillance footage. The janitors just let me access that data. After all I was collecting the footage for both the insurance claim AND the father.

I'm still scared shitless. I'm not sure who to trust and what to do next. I don't really have a guy i can call about this and this woman is pulling all her legal cards against me.

Has anyone had a similar situation? What's the best course of action I can take?

Answer:
 Go to your parents and tell them a crazy person is threatening you with nonsense over trying to get your phone fixed. Answer #2: You will be fine. Maybe bring in the principal or teacher into this if you need.

You will not get in any trouble.

Just like how some kids are immature, so are some adults. It may be scary now but you will be fine.

You did nothing wrong. Get someone higher than the janitor involved and I guarantee it will go in your favor. Continue to be nice and civil and make a record of any interactions you have with the parents or kid just in case.


Title: Apartment complex towed our car hours after getting it

Question:
Location: Texas

The apartment complex that my fiancée and I live in require parking permits, they gave us  1 resident parking sticker (which she uses for her car), and 1 visitors parking permit (which I use for mine because I’m not on the lease yet) to hang from the rear view mirror.

Last Friday my fiancée and I bought a new used car in the evening and she gave her old car to her grandma who was on the title of the old car and agreed to keep it when we got the new car. After dropping off the old car and arriving home, we realized we forgot to grab the old parking permit to put on the new car. We decided not to drive all the way to the other side of town to grab it and that it would be fine because we’ve never seen anyone else been towed and would let the apartment office know first thing in the morning so we could receive another parking permit or put it on the lease.

When we woke in morning our car was gone, we called the towing number outside the apartment gates and they verified they had our car. When my fiancée went to retrieve the car, she explained to them our situation and they were surprisingly nice and agreed that our situation was not fair and that we should contact our landlord to try and get reimbursed. She paid to get it out and then spoke the the apartment property manager who refused to give her a reimbursement for the tow. She told her that she could’ve used the visitors pass, but when my fiancée said she had a visitor using the pass, the manager said she should’ve came to the office before getting the car and got a 24 hour permit.

Are we out of luck on this one guys?

Answer: Yup. Tow truck company was sympathetic just to get rid of you. They don’t care. They already got paid. Expensive lesson learned my friend.Answer #2: Legally, they don't owe you anything.  You didn't have a pass and they didn't know the vehicle was yours.


Title: Is it legal to drive with 2" PVC pipe sticking 6' out of the sunroof of my car?

Question: I was supposed to pick up a 10' long pvc pipe from Home Depot (USA) after work today. I drive a Hyundai Elantra and wont be able to fit the thing in the car but I can fit it by sticking it out the sunroof. Other than worst case scenario of it falling out and damaging someone else's vehicle, could I possibly get a ticket for just driving around like that?

Answer:
 Don't be one of those idiots driving around like that.  Just have the damn thing delivered.

Holding a 10' piece of PVC just at the base while the majority of it is outside the car swaying back and forth in the wind will be a lot more impossible than you think.


Title: [NC] My mentally ill sister destroyed government property and is now in a psych ward, has no idea what to expect when she's released (probably directly to jail).

Question:
My sister has bipolar disorder, is medicated and currently visiting a psychiatrist regularly. Only mentioning the mental illness in case there are extra resources available to people in her situation. Though I'm fairly unclear on the details (have only been able to talk to her for fifteen minutes twice this week from the hospital), it sounds like she had an episode that resulted in her destroying government property, her being immediately arrested, and her immediate transfer to a psych ward (she had caused serious harm to herself at some point during this episode).

She doesn't know when she'll be released from the hospital or how they will determine when she'll be released, and she doesn't know what she's been charged with as a result of the property destruction and what the repercussions of those charges may be. She's completely in the dark, has no internet or unsupervised phone access, and doesn't know what to expect when she is released. I live several thousand miles away but I would like to help her in any way that I can, possibly by doing research for her to find out what she should expect and connect her with some legal resources in her area (she lives in Durham).

Any help at all is appreciated!

**EDIT:** Specifically, I need to find out how I can determine what the charges against her are, and how I can get her in contact with an attorney as soon as possible even though she is in the hospital for the foreseeable future, with very little means to communicate with anyone.

**EDIT 2:** I spoke with her again today and learned that it isn't quite a psychiatric hospital. The facility (Holly Hills Hospital) bills itself as a "Psychiatric & Addictive Disease Health System". Her description of events leads me to believe that she's been placed in the mental health branch of this facility, but her description of her first meeting with her assigned "doctor" today tells me that she might be in the addiction ward (*or* that these people are entirely unequipped to actually treat bipolar disorder).

Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: [This PDF document](http://ncpls.org/how_you_can_help.pdf) appears to provide you with some answers to your questions and what you can do to help your sister.


Title: Can i sue my University?

Question:
I was supposed to graduate in Spring of 2018, but I received a D for my seinor design course. I feel I completed all of my requirements, but the professor thinks I did not. I then filed an appeal with the department, and the department recommended that the professor and I work out a solution to increase my grade to a C so I can graduate.

Next I contact the professor, and he wants me to redo the whole 9 month project before Fall semester starts to change my grade. The problem is, I do not agree to this as it was a difficult project, that I feel I have completed. Also seinor design is a year long course, so I would have to go back for another year in order to graduate (Which I am not willing to do)

My question is, can i hire a lawyer to sue the University? I feel I completed the project requirements which were self assigned. Can I get a lawyer to sue the school, and make them change my grade to a C?

I can provide more details if needed.

Answer:
 I’m the US, you can sue anyone for just about anything

There is just about zero chance of you winning this case

Do your project. Earn your grade. GraduateAnswer #2: >My question is, can i hire a lawyer to sue the University?

I mean, yeah?  You can sue anyone for anything.  But I doubt you'll be able to find a lawyer who will suggest that you have any chance of winning.  Because you don't have any chance of winning.

>The problem is, I do not agree to this as it was a difficult project, that I feel I have completed.

And the professor believes that you haven't completed the project to the level required to show mastery of the course material.  If universities provided degrees based on "the student feels like they did well enough", everyone would have a degree, which would make them worthless.

The fact that you got a D, and you're pushing for a C tells me that you did a very poor job on this senior project, and that you *know* that you did poorly based on the fact that you're not insisting on a A or a B.  You're essentially admitting that the best case scenario, from your *own perspective*, is that you barely did the minimum required to pass.  Based on that, I'd say that you don't have a strong case for any kind of lawsuit.  You'd have to show some sort of obvious discrimination, which appears not to be the case.

Your only real option (other than retaking the course) is to escalate within the university.  Perhaps start by contacting the university ombudsman and go from there.


Title: Roommate destroyed the house we were renting, and we were given a California 3-day notice to "Perform or Quit". I have just been given an invoice for $29,000+ to pay in 10 days.

Question:
In the end of August, three friends and I moved into a house down the street from our university. The four of us signed the lease and my mother co-signed the lease. One of my roommates brought a dog (husky puppy), and it was agreed that we would put extra into the security deposit for the dog.

Over the next three months, my roommate's dog trashed the place. The dog dug holes in the backyard, damaged the fence and gate, and chewed holes in the pool pump, which ruined the pool. On Thanksgiving weekend, the landlord gave a three day notice to my roommate with the dog to perform or quit, but my landlord didn't move out. This resulted in all of us receiving a perform or quit notice two weeks later. The roommate with the dog left and left me to clean up and move all of the furniture and appliances out of the house.

Today, we received an itemized invoice from the landlord to pay damages of $29,000. On the invoice are a lot of large amounts, including pool for $15,000, kitchen cabinet refinishing for $9,000,  landscaping charges for $1,000, and various other charges for cleaning and labor. We are also being charged rent until the end of the lease in August.

Currently, the itemized deposit is addressed to the four of us and to my mother who co-signed the lease. No other parents co-signed the lease, and my mom is the only one who has any ability to pay, but it would deplete her savings and retirement completely. A lot of these charges seem in excess, as most of these invoices look like renovations where there weren't major damages or they were existing damages when we moved in.

An obvious step would be to hire an attorney, but is there a specific type of attorney that we should hire? Is there any way to defer most of these charges to the person responsible, even though the invoice is addressed to all of us who signed the lease?

TL;DR: Roommate destroyed the house we were renting, now all of us are being charged $29,000 for damages.

Answer:
 It sucks to have one person ruin it for the rest of you, but did you ask him to get rid of the dog?

A friend was in the landlord's situation where she understood that the humans did not chew up all of her furniture, urinate on the hard wood floor in one corner of the dog owner's bedroom for several weeks, and wreck the gate to the back yard.

She did point out the fact that the dog was there for an entire year and none of the other tenants reported the damage, or asked the owner to get rid of the dog when the other tenants argued that they knew who'd done the damage.

Answer #2: Presuming that you all had a single lease and didn't sign individual leases?

You can cross-sue the roommate with the dog for the damages.  If he ever gets any money, you can go after him then.Answer #3: You definitely need an attorney. Generally speaking though, in my state at least, a landlord can't evict you AND get rent going forward.Answer #4: You have renter's insurance, right? It usually has some sort of liability coverage for this kind of event.


Title: [Canada] What can I do if I know someone near me had just robbed me?

Question:
Asking this after a confrontation where I felt incredibly helpless and wanted to know what I could've done. Few weeks ago someone on the bus took my wallet but the thing is I didn't have any solid proof nor did I catch him the act. But he was the only one near me and was rather close on an empty bus and I'm positive I had my wallet before being near him. I asked him several times if he'd seen or took my wallet, and said I really didn't care that he committed a crime I just desperately wanted my wallet back. Then calling 911 lead to no prevail as they connected me to a non-emergent line (acceptable) and the non-emergent line basically told me that they could do nothing but send police, however my suspect was transferring onto a different bus at the same time. What could I have done in that case to search him/help myself so if this happens again I won't be as helpless?
ps. there were cameras on the bus and I told the police that when I filed a police report but I think this case is too low to attempt to retrieve access of the footage.
thanks

Answer: You contacted the police and filed a report. There's not much else you can really do if you don't know the individual. I suppose you could have called 911 while you were still on the bus and attempted to surreptitiously follow him while speaking with police, but that's not really safe. You have no legal authority to search him and since you didn't see the theft, you have no authority to detain him either.


Title: This would be in reference to prenups

Question:
My gf, who's from the Philippines, and I are talking about getting married before her work visa is up. I'm confident that it's partially her desire to remain in the states, but she genuinely loves me too. I've discussed prenuptial agreements, and she's willing to do this.

I'm curious if I am able to have some degree of the following:

-My assets are mine, her assets are hers. Meaning if we get a divorce, only the money in a joint account, is divided equally. This account would be for bills and what not.

-If she were to flee upon receiving a green card, then it would make the marriage bill and void. Or something along those lines.

- If we were to have a child, the child would remain in the states, and in my custody.

-Additionally, she talked about her parents coming over. Her dad is most likely too old to work, but her mom can. And I feel like I would want some sort of protection there too.

I love her, and could see myself with her. And again, I feel it's mutual. I know she wants to do it partially to remain here as well as she told me. And I'm ok with that too. I just want to know how I can beat protect myself should it all go to shit.

Can the prenuptial agreement be basically ironclad in what we agree to before getting married?

Edit: Just to thank you in advance for your advice!

Answer:
 Any clauses purporting to terminate the marriage without a divorce are unenforceable. So are any clauses purporting to establish legal custody of your future children without a court order, or establishing child support. They can set out what you intend to do and would prefer, but the courts are free to ignore those clauses, and various enforcement systems will not enforce them without review by the courts.

The clauses purporting to structure your separate assets so as to remain separate in the event of a divorce need to be handled _extremely_ carefully, both before and during the marriage. You each need your own lawyer, and plenty of time to change your mind after signing the agreement but before you get married and the agreement comes into force.

Furthermore, your prenup cannot discharge your responsibilities to the state if you sponsor your future wife for permanent residence.

It really sounds like you don't have the level of trust needed to enter a marriage with her yet.


Title: [USA, MO] Neighbor says the rainwater dripping off my gutter is causing their slab foundation to crack even though there are three large trees growing approximately 30-50 feet from their house.

Question:
Every Spring when we start getting heavy rains my neighbor writes me a letter saying that my leaking gutters are causing their foundation to crack. I disagree but want to keep things civil so this past fall I helped them put in a French drain between our houses. Now with the heavy rain again they are saying that didnt fix the problem. My gutters do leak a bit during heavy rain but none more than I've observed from any of the other neighbor's gutters.

My question is who do I contact to get this lady off my back? I've done what I can to appease her but she seems to have nothing better to do as an old retiree. And assuming it somehow is the fault of my gutter do I have any legal recourse since this issue wasn't disclosed and definitely was going on before I bought the house? Thanks so much for any help! I'm losing my mind over here.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer: Not a lawyer, but it'll pay to have your gutters fixed anyway.  That takes the bullet out of her gun, and saves you money in the future.  Basements leak when it rains, she'll have to find something else to blame it on.


Title: Father commits suicide, wife won't tell his children anything, seems just to want money and to box kids out.

Question: My Father committed suicide last week. His wife won't tell me anything. I drove from Maine to Virginia to try and get information. I have spoken with the sgt on his case to get information and I have to call the funeral home to get any information on that.  His wife seems more concerned about money than us losing our father.  I was never concerned about money or things but ...she had everything planned before she even told me what happened and she almost forgot to call me in the first place. She didn't want me to even come to Virginia. Just 2 days after it happened she said my father had some things he wanted my brother and I to have...I don't know how she knew that...the sgt said there was not a will as far as he knows and I didn't want anything until she started acting this way, downright cold and evasive. I don't know what else I can do but it just seems fishy to me the way she is acting. She sent a really insincere text to me when she knew I would be gone from Virginia and it just seems like she's trying to make sure she gets everything. The last time I spoke to my father he said he wanted a divorce and I don't know if he did go to a lawyer or not and I have no money to fight with her...she has done this to another dead husband's kids and I just can't wrap my head around the whole situation. I know my father wouldn't want her to take everything. In the case of suicide without a will does everything automatically just go to the wife or is there something that also helps their kids out (not that I want anything from this horrible situation...just so angry at how she's treated us)

Answer:
 Get thee to an estate attorney. It appears children in VA inherit 2/3 of their parent's estate in your situation (father and mother no longer married, father is remarried).Answer #2: I would let the investigating officer know about the wife's previous dead husband. Maybe it's nothing, or maybe you have a "black widow" situation. If she was really responsible for the death, many states have "slayer" laws that automatically disinherit a murderer.Answer #3: Request an autopsy? might be a black widow.Answer #4: > she has done this to another dead husband's kids

If you don't mind the question, what were the circumstances of the suicide?  How?  Was there a note?  Did your father have a history of depression?  Did he have some extreme stresses?


Title: Custody

Question: Long story short. If my wife cheated with a lesbian, than quit her job once the ap left the state. What are my chances at full custody?

Answer:
 Impossible to tell from the information you’ve given.

Adultery has no impact on child custody, and being in a same sex relationship has no impact on child custody.  Quitting a job can *sometimes* impact child custody (usually only if its part of a pattern of instability or if they did so to take a new job that makes them less available for parenting time) but it usually doesn’t.

Joint custody is the likely outcome unless one of you becomes actually an unfit parent.  If one of you ends up with more parenting time it will likely end up being whichever one of you currently does more of the day to day parenting stuff (unless her quitting her job and/or starting a new one changes that drastically).


Title: Unwanted separation and no contact by demand from spouse. (Illinois)

Question:
About two weeks ago my wife left me while I was at work. I came home to a letter stating she was leaving and wanted a divorce.

She wouldn’t speak to me except through text and the one time we did speak on the phone she told me she was recording it. (The recorded conversation was about financials and getting that stuff in order)

She told me to give her space.

I left her alone for just over a week and took care of everything financially and got it in order (took her off all of our joint bills and put them in mine, paid off the only credit card we had and whatnot). The only thing left is our joint bank account.

(A little background, she got her own bank account over a year ago specifically for her online business that she had just started. We lived off my income since she didn’t work beyond her online stuff. So when she prepared to move out and did so, I hadn’t seen any bills giving me a heads up as she was using her business bank account.)

Today I saw a bill for electricity come through on our joint bank account and texted my wife to see if she charged her bill on our account. It turned out to be the last bill in both of our names before she left, she texted me a picture of the bill.

I sent her a plant for her new place and paid off the credit card as my Christmas gift to her in order to close the account and reopen it in my name alone.

When I asked her about the bill and she texted me a picture of the bill showing it was the last one from us jointly I also asked if she got my gift for Christmas gift.

She said yes and told told me that she had asked for space and that she wasn’t going to ask again. She doesn’t want to speak to me.

My assumption is that she is either thinking of or planning a restraining order if I bother her again.

Being that in the 12 years we have been together, neither of us ever raised our voices at each other or a finger to each other, is this a concern that I should have of her possibly doing this?

Personally, I don’t want to divorce.

What should be my legal concerns and options?

Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 It's unlikely but not impossible that she could get a restraining order based on what you describe, but this is something you don't want to test.

However, whether you want to divorce or not, it looks like you will be. Your legal concerns should be handling it fairly.


Title: Free speech hypothetical

Question:
Hello legal scholars!

Suppose I am a journalist and wish to interview members of a political party. However, a leader in the party (say the third in command) bars members of the party from giving me an interview on the record. In addition, I am barred from speaking to members in the party.
Is this a violation of my first amendment rights?

Double points for citations. Thank you!

Answer:
 No. Your right to free speech doesn’t compel anyone to speak to you.

If those people choose to not speak to you (which even if this 3rd in command is telling them not too, they are still choosing to follow his wishes) that is an exercise of their rights as well.Answer #2: No.

Because they're not required to talk to you, and "freedom of speech" does not mean "freedom of consequences of speech."

If they tell the members "If you give an interview, we'll strip you of your assignments within the party" they can absolutely do that.


Title: [Denver, CO] My [M63] uncle, tricked my [F96] grandmother into putting himself on the deed of her home, she realized this and is extremely upset but refuses to take himself off. Is there anything that can be done?

Question:
Some history on my uncle, he's been living with my grandmother for the past 25 years. He originally moved in to avoid getting a job because his ex wife was demanding child support, now if he gets a job he will have to pay back child support, so he refuses to do so. My grandma has been very self sufficient for the majority of the years that he has lived with her. She did all of the cooking, cleaning, payed bills etc. Only recently (past 3-4years) has my uncle had to help out with anything around the house. My grandmother has paid off her mortgage so there is nothing to pay in terms of that. She used all of her own funds to pay the house off.

In 2006 my uncle brought over a real estate agent who was a friend of his and made up some story to get my grandmother to sign paperwork but was not clear on what she was signing. Recently my dad found out that my uncle had actually gotten her to put him on the deed as partial owner. My dad let my grandmother know this information and she became irate. She did not know that he had done this and it was not her wish to add him as part owner. My grandmother is still pretty sharp, so she understands that he basically tricked her and now if she dies the house will belong to my uncle. My grandmother's house is worth about 550k at this point which again, is completely paid off. My grandmother has 7 children total and she had wanted the home to be sold upon her death and have the funds be divided evenly among her children.

I'm wondering what can be done at this point and what type of lawyer to use if any. And tips or advise are helpful. I feel so bad that my grandmother was tricked and now has to live with the person who took advantage of her.

Answer: She needs to talk to an elder-law attorney with experience in real estate issues. Basically, she's alleging he defrauded her into signing the paperwork. That's tough to prove, especially long after the fact, but may be possible.


Title: Boyfriend and I were made to seperate our car insurance after 2 years because we are not married.

Question:
Hello Legaladvice,

This happened about a month ago, but i have been thinking about it a lot since it happened. My boyfriend and I were on the same insurance plan for right around two years with no accidents or claims.

A couple of months ago we were contacted with a statement that said that I would be cancelled off of our insurance plan and to call for further details. We went into a store of this insurance company in our area. They told us that since we are not married or engaged to me married we were not able to be on the same policy. We have been together for 5 years, we live together, and we are sharing a health insurance policy though my employer. They said that this is not enough. I had to open my own plan which ended up costing a good percentage more than my boyfriend.

I feel as though this is discrimination. Not all couples rush into marriage or get married at all. Am I wrong about this? Should I call the insurance company? Should I just get coverage through a different company? What can I do?

Answer:
 >Am I wrong about this?

Yes.  If the terms of the policy require that you be married to be in it together then those are the terms.  Not offering a joint policy to people who are not married is not illegal discrimination.

>Should I just get coverage through a different company?

If you can find a carrier willing to issue a joint policy to unmarried individuals who cohabitate (you may indeed be able to) then you should likely do so.


Title: [Meta] LegalAdvice Bingo

Question:
Location: Every poster's mind

EDIT:

And Another:

http://i.imgur.com/EwDLgtY.jpg

Bingo Card #1:

http://i.imgur.com/FKOPO36.jpg

Bingo Card #2:

http://i.imgur.com/yghLGvM.jpg

Answer:
 The center square should be "free advice that you argue with and then ignore".Answer #2: Needs more entries with randomized placement across multiple cards.  Really hard to win when we all share one card!Answer #3: There should be a free space that just says Zapopa!Answer #4: "I did great on all the FST's."

"Hostile work environment."

"My name was spelled incorrectly on the citation."

"I missed court because I was traveling, busy, car wouldn't start. Is that a problem?"

Answer #5: There needs to be one with LocationBot's go-to line:

*It appears you forgot to include your location in the title or body of your post. Please update the original post to include this information.*Answer #6: I would change "Do you have renter's insurance" to "I don't have renter's insurance".  Because they don't.

And maybe add, "I don't want my insurance rates to go up so I didn't report the accident to them. I won't get sued, right?"


Title: Court Officials, please help me with this assignment.

Question:
I'm taking a business law class and I was asked to interview a court official with the following questions:

Name and title of person interviewed (This can be made up)

How long have you served the courts?

Where did you go to school?

What was your most memorable moment on the job?

What was your most challenging moment on the job?

How has the court system changed in the past few years?

What recommendations would you make to students who want to become educated?

(Judge question only) How would you like to be remembered as a Judge?

Your help would be appreciated. Thanks

Answer:
 I can't speak for everyone here, but I know that many of us value our privacy on the Internet. Certainly, I would be unwilling to give my personal information (such as name and department) to a stranger over the Internet.

You will likely have better success with this assignment if you try to make contact with someone in person at a court.  You will also almost certainly get more out of the assignment if you do it that way, and your professor will appreciate the additional effort.Answer #2: I had an assignment similar to this in school and, it being before Reddit, ended up going downtown to the courthouse where I found a clerk who located a judge who was willing to help me out while having lunch. It ended up being a fascinating experience, and the face-to-face was a big part of it. In the spirit of the assignment, why not give that a shot? You never know who you'll meet. People are fascinating.


Title: (Indiana) paternity rights absent of a court order.

Question:
Hello all. My son is one month old, and was born in Kentucky. Both his mother and I live in Indiana. My name was submitted as the father on the birth certificate, and I had a DNA test done to confirm paternity.

My question is, what would the legality of keeping my against her wishes be? We had originally agreed to 50/50 custody, now she has changed her mind. What would happen if I simply refused to allow her to take our son with her?

Answer: Just go to court and get a custody order. Nothing else will turn out well.


Title: I was assaulted at my place of work.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Yes, call the police.


Title: If you became a superhero with flight capabilities, who would you have to notify about your flight patterns?

Question: I'm asking for a friend. Specifically, if possible, I'd like to know for the laws around Perth, Western Australia.

Answer: I am not a pilot nor a lawyer but I believe it depends on the height. If you stay below a certain height and away from airports you might be legally able to, dare I say it, fly under the radar


Title: Monopoly copyright help

Question: Yesterday I was scrolling on Facebook and came across Friends monopoly. I thought to myself “that’s no fair. There’s no monopoly for my favorite show.” So I decided to make one. I have made property cards as well as undisclosed unique chance and treasure chest cards. I personally sent them via Instagram messenger to all the cast members! This morning to my surprise I woke up to a message from one of the main characters commenting how awesome it is! Needless to say today is the greatest day of my life. My question is... what do I do next? I really want to get this sent out because I know many, many fans would LOVE it!!! Any advice would be wonderful! Thank you! Much love ❤

Answer:
 "Monopoly" is trademarked, and whatever show you're referencing is likely also trademarked and/or copyrighted.

Your next step is to get permission to do what you're doing from Parker-Brothers as well as the copyrights holder of the show, setting your expectations accordingly as, "No, stop doing that," is a very likely answer you might get.Answer #2: You could be sued by whoever owns the rights to that show. You would have needed to secure a licensing agreement with them beforehand.


Title: [Canada] Being asked for 800,000 in damages over a car accident in which the plaintiff's car rear-ended mine. Any advice or reassurance?

Question:
I got served papers this evening and I'm having a minor panic attack.  I'm 12 weeks pregnant and literally cannot cope with this right now as I'm currently stewing in my own hormones to the point where the slightest upset results in bouts of uncontrollable weeping.

A couple years ago I was involved in a 4-car accident.  Dude in a mini-van was texting and drove into the car behind me at about 60km/hr.  He pushed that car into mine hard enough to push me a full car-length into the car in front of me (I was braking to a stop behind this vehicle at a stoplight.)

My car needed about $1200 in repairs to the rear end, and I did no damage at all to the car in front of me - my agent never received a claim from her.  I also received about $3000 in compensation to cover massage therapy after the accident due to whiplash, but I was unable to take time off work to actually use up the full amount - honestly a couple sessions were fine to take care of the issues I was having.

The thing that gets me is that the plaintiff in this case is the person behind me, not the person who caused the accident (the guy in the minivan who was texting).  She is asking for 800,000 in damages and I have left a message with my insurance agent but haven't heard back yet.

How difficult is it going to be to make it clear to the courts that there was no way I could have prevented being rear-ended in this circumstance?  I was not found to be at fault in the police report, and my insurance company did not find me to be at fault for being pushed into the car in front of me, given that I was braking to a stop and was attempting to leave a full car-length in between me and the woman in front of me.

Thanks in advance for any reassurances or advice you can offer!

Answer:
 Call your car insurance company. This is why you cut them a check so often. They handle all this stuff for you. Let them worry about the car, you worry about that sweet little flesh sack growing in your tummy.Answer #2: It seems to be the week for Canadians trying to sue for funny money.

http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2utve7/my_mom_is_being_sued_for_1mil_over_a_car_incident/

Call your insurance. Let them handle it. Honestly, it will be fine. And take care of yourself.


Title: LA Jury duty selection - got in an accident and am severely late

Question: In the process of juror selection (showed up multiple days now) and today I am still supposed to return but got into a minor car accident on the freeway. I can still make it if another friend drives me but that will make me even more late. What should i do?

Answer: You should call the court, and you should bring your documentation of the accident.  Answer #2: Ummm... call them, provide the police report that you were given for the accident.


Title: I'm pretty sure I'm screwed, but I need some advice pleeease.

Question: Female from Colorado springs, Colorado. I have a red license and it expires on Feb 17, 2017. I just got pulled over for speeding and I didn't beg for a warning, which I should have because it could have worked, but I was too nervous to even talk. I have a choice to pay online or go to court on Feb 14th and I'm getting hip surgery on the 16th. If I push my court date after surgery would I have a better chance of possibly getting my probation extended instead of my license being 100% suspended because I need a car for work, school, and physical therapy, I know I screwed up, any advice helps?

Answer:
 Any particular reason you couldnt got to court on the 14th since your surgery is 2 days after?Answer #2: Advice specific to Colorado Springs:  The city police almost never give out warnings, they will almost always write you up for exactly what you were doing.  14 over will be 14 over on the ticket.

Everyone who gets a ticket goes to court, because that's where you get leniency.  A 10 over ticket, assuming an otherwise relatively clean record, will often be bargained down to a "broken tail light" ticket, typically 0 points, but you pay the original amount of the fine.


Title: [FL] facing possible eviction for pet’s behavior while away

Question:
Setting: renting an apartment through my university, with one roommate.  I have a dog from a shelter with a known history of abuse.  The abuse history was written into the adoption contract, and is well known by everyone who knows him, especially my roommate.

Story: I was recently on a trip out of the country, during which time my roommate took over caring for the dog.  The night I got back from the trip, I noticed that he had developed a limp in a hind leg.  I scheduled the first available appointment with the vet that doesn’t require skipping class, and have been monitoring him for any other issues.  Within a couple days of getting back, I receive a text from my roommate that she was feeling around on the injured leg, when the dog bit.  Earlier today (18 October), I had a meeting with my landlord, who informed me that there were multiple other complaints about the dog, all of which happened while I was either abroad or in class.  The landlord is giving me a very limited list of options, and obviously reserves the right of eviction.  My issue is that all of the incidents being complained about have occurred when I was not present, and the dog was under the direct supervision of my roommate.  Further, the landlord has already involved an associate dean of my university, as well as the head of the school’s public safety office.  Earlier today (18 October), the landlord demanded that I skip a critical scheduled meeting with a professor in order to take the dog to the vet to get an anti-depressant prescription.  I did not comply with this demand, and kept his existing appointment.  Outside of the above-mentioned incident with my roommate, the dog has not bitten any other person, in the apartment complex or elsewhere as of this writing.

Question: what steps would be advisable to take in preparation for any possible action by the landlord or other entity?  Outside of the emails that have been sent back and forth, what types of info should I be preserving at this time?  If the landlord were to press for eviction, would it be advisable to offer to find the dog a new home as an alternative course of action?

EDIT: Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply.  Honest bad news is better than nothing.  I’ve started the process with the shelter he was adopted from to find him a new placement that will be better suited to his needs.

Answer:
 Your dog, your problem.

Unless your roommate is a professional dog sitter, he doesn't have any independent responsibility.

You can preserve all the documents you want, but the landlord can evict you for having a badly behaved dog, especially one that's a potential risk to others.

If you're in class all the time, or abroad, maybe a dog with issues is not an optimal pet.   I'm impressed the dorms allowed a pet at all.  Most of them don't.


Title: Can my manager hold my paycheck?

Question:
I work third shift at a certain donut shop so I get my things done with time to spare all the time, but my fellow 1st and 2nd shift coworkers do not. The staff consists of young college kids, myself included. My manager has threatened to hold all paychecks until people get their jobs done right. Can she do that or is that total bull?

Edit: whoops, forgot to mention this is in Illinois

Answer:
 So no one gets paid on any shift until everyone get's it all right?

Nope.

Can your manager make you stay 10 minutes late and pay you for the time if you didn't cash out your drawer and you just chucked it from across the office and said "I want my paycheck now!" and she replied with "count out your drawer and then I will clock you out when you're done and will hand you your paycheck" ???? Maybe.

Because the GM is mad because some people can't get there in time to "make the donuts" or can't figure out how to take out the trash isn't going to delay your paycheck. That's your manager being a blow-hard.

You CAN call Corporate HR about it or you can approach your manager and say "I understand you're mad at 1st and 2nd shift but I do need my paycheck on-time and I don't think this has anything to do with me" and watch your manager buckle and hand you your check.

If she gets irate? Call corporate HR. HR'S job is to protect the company from getting sued within an inch of their budget and this is wrong.... HR will back you.


Title: Accidentally tossed a dog collar and hit my dad, being charged with domestic abuse. Can i avoid a fine and probation?

Question: So I tossed my dog's collar over my shoulder, when my dad turned the corner and it hit him in the forehead. there was a small mark on his head and he wasn't hurt, but he called 911 anyway (he does this kind of crap a lot for sympathy, its not the first time) and the cops came. When the police came I was not there anymore. I'm being told i have to pay a $395 dollar fine and most likely go to anger management/domestic abuse counseling for 6 months or 60 hours of community service. My pre-trial was yesterday and the victim's advocate told me I shouldn't go to trial and just pay the fine. Is there anyway to get out of this? Will I have a record now?

Answer:
 >Got beat by a cop 6 months ago, my neighbors had some drug-related issue outside. The officer wanted to come in my house and make sure everything is okay, I said no and we went back and fourth before he gave me the easy or the hard way, all of a sudden he threw me to the ground and i was arrested. It was a pretty rough take down so I was taken to the hospital. The sheriff and other officers were there, and really i was pretty fucking pissed so i antagonized them. also I was drunk. I was taken to jail for almost 12 hours before a judge came and told me what I was actually being charged for, assault. This was in December and I have had to drive all over to different courthouses to fill out papers, my actual trial is Late this month.

So less than a month ago you were arrested for assaulting a cop.  You need a lawyer please get a lawyer.


Title: Is it illegal for me to transfer money into my boyfriend's business account?

Question:
Hey,

So my partner runs an incorporated business and this last payroll ran his bank account into the negatives.

He is not going to be able to come up with the funds on his own. I offered to zero out the account with my own money using a zelle transfer. I don't care if he pays me back or not, I can afford to help him out. Neither of us are sure if this is legal. I am not involved with the business in any way otherwise. Would it be legal for me to do this?

FL, btw.
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 Putting money into the business as an investor is usually okay with most business structures.

That said, he should look into bankruptcy to dissolve the business if he no longer has any funding.  Make sure his employees are being paid else he risks being sued and/or having a wage complaint filed against him.


Title: Abuse by parents, what can they do?

Question:
A person in my life has been recently kicked, hit, screamed at, choked and lifted by the neck. Shortly after, they were told that they now owe the parents $100.

"They want to hurt me physically. Emotionally. And financially they said"

I trust this person, and I thoroughly believe they did not deserve this cruel punishment. What can they do to make it right to themselves?

Seeking legal advice for the Spokane, WA area.

Answer: They can call police and / or CPS.Answer #2: If someone is being abused by their parents, they either call the police or tell a trusted grown up, like a schoolteacher or school counselor.


Title: Can I fight this parking in a handicapped parking ticket in court?

Question:
This is in Illinois.

Alright, I understand that not knowing this was a supposedly a handicapped spot doesn't help anything. But take a look at this:

I parked in this spot:

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/03/b7c0dc522f28774db41d3ea76ddc1449.jpg

Notice there's no paint here. And the sign is super off centered - if it were dead in the center of the spot I could see this clearly a handicapped spot. Also, there WAS paint where the blue WRX was - however, not in my spot.

Here's another angle after I moved my car.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/03/63455c4106531ac2345bbc17c3772d3a.jpg

Let's take a look at all the other handicapped spots in the lot - which are CLEARLY marked with paint and signs that are centered.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/03/273ef5e965bd059a0275151f53ff8ebf.jpg

Signs in the center of the spots - lines and paint where the signs aren't.

Other side:

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/03/f3dda31fad77b2d140079f0b50801364.jpg

Again, paint and signs in the center of every spot.

A $325 ticket for this. I mean, cmon. Who would think that this is a handicapped spot when every single other spot is clear about it?

What's funny is after I moved my car, another non-handicapped person parks there.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/03/f0d5178d9022c8551adeb1e95af56270.jpg

I literally had no intention of parking in a handicapped spot.

Can I fight this in court?

Answer:
 Anyone with a shred of common sense knows it's a handicap spot. There's even the extra space on the side of the spot itself. Ya know,  that's for wheelchairs and what not having room to move between cars and load and unload.

If you try to fight it,  you have about a 0.2% chance of success. Answer #2: Your first picture makes it look clearly like a handicap spot to me.  The big empty space with the hash marks next to it is a big clue.


Title: Should I call the cop back or not? Accused of shoplifting! He's demanding a call in the next couple hours

Question:
The cops called my fiancée saying I had used his car to shoplift at a retail store. They say they have video evidence and that a cop personally saw it. I did see the cop in the store, but he never said anything to me and I don't know why he thinks I took something. The car is not under my name and they do not know my last name or where I live. The cop that called is threatening to "jump through hoops" to get a warrant by tonight if I don't call. Should I call or should I avoid it since he doesn't know my name? I have a traumatic past and have had massive trouble communicating with police in the past, and I also know that you should never talk to the police without a lawyer. I'm just afraid of what this cop is threatening. What would you advise?

There are no attorneys available right now and I'd rather not have a warrant out for me...whatever "jumping through hoops" means.

State is CO

Answer:
 Don't ever talk to the cops except on the advice of an attorney, especially ones that are accusing you of a crime.Answer #2: Just to be clear:  Did you, in fact, steal something from the store?

Don't tell us what you *think* they **know** or *think* they can **prove**.  Just the simple truth.

It is likely relevant to whether you should call the policeman back and to how worried you should in fact be here...Answer #3: Do **NOT** call him back!

Nothing you say can be used to help you, and you cannot talk the police out of arresting you. If you committed a crime don't say anything about it to anyone, including us. If you did not, good, but do not think that means you cannot be arrested and charged based on someone's mistaken belief that you did.

If arrested/charged, get a lawyer. Say NOTHING to the police if detained other than you would like a lawyer and will not be speaking with them further. Answer #4: > The cop that called is threatening to "jump through hoops" to get a warrant by tonight if I don't call.

It sounds like the cop would have to, or they'd already have a warrant.Answer #5: You sound like somebody trying to convince themselves there isn't enough evidence to get them into trouble. Don't talk to the police at all. If they have enough evidence to arrest you they know where to find you.


Title: (Northern Virginia) Do we have a medical malpractice case? Vaccine mistake.

Question:
So the nurse at our pediatrician gave our 4 month old son the wrong vaccines.  He was on a delayed schedule and instead of receiving his month 4 shots he got his 5 month shots.  Essentially he got double dosed of the same two vaccines.  Nurse admitted her mistake and doctor called to apologize.  We've pulled the records and it clearly shows in the Dr. notes the correct shots to give.  Nurse stated she didn't read the chart and that she was too busy.  Is there enough here to file a medical malpractice lawsuit?  Wife is extremely distraught.

Edit: Doctors office altered the vaccine record to show my wife had signed off on administering the wrong vaccine which she did not.  We only have the copy but obvious white out and "fake" initials are there.

Answer: You won't have any kind of suit unless you have damages.


Title: My friend has been tricked into being admitted into a scientology 'rehab' facility. Wondering how to help her

Question:
After my friend's girlfriend and my friend had on again off again 'breakups' her alcoholism spiraled out of control which caused them to break up 'for good'. She randomly met a 'rich' guy from NY that said he cared about her and offered to get her into rehab to help her. It turns out she went to Narconon

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/

She was sent out of state to CA and is not doing well there. Quote from my friend and I's chat "She's essentially there for a undetermined amount of time. She said they take her out into the country and make her look at objects like trees or fences and then explain why she is thankful for those things. They gave her all this niacin and put her in a sauna for a couple hours. This sounds horrible man."

and also

"I don't either man. She said this was the first call she's gotten in 4 weeks. She sounded terrified. She said the facilities were infested, the food was slop and the "counselors" were high school aged kids. It's apparently 20 miles south of Temecula, CA. That's in death valley dude. Even if she got out of there, there's no where to go. It's an internment camp."

She had no idea what she was getting into and had no idea this was a scientology thing. We're very concerned for her until I get more info I don't have much to work with. However, I'm curious as to how we can get her out. I was thinking maybe if her family hires a lawyer maybe something can be done. I do know she has signed a lot of paperwork and I'm not sure how they can hold her. At this point I'm just looking for general advice. Once I get more info I may post again under a throwaway. At this point in time I'm just wondering what we can do legally to try to get her released.

Thank you.

Answer:
 You might also consider asking this question here: http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/

It's a Scientology-survivors website. I wouldn't be surprised if someone there could give you a much better picture of what's going on and what to do about it.


Title: A member of staff damaged my property while away and is refusing to pay.

Question:
Hi so this has all just happened today. A member of staff at the camping resort I'm staying at in France drove over a longboard and has damaged the board making it no longer useable.

When the incident happened the couple in the car told us to come to reception in the evening and they will give money over.

I have since then gone to reception and had a conversation with the guy with the help of a translator and long story short the guy simply walked off. Now I wasn't being unreasonable I was simply asking for the damages to be repaired so it was useable again.

I'm now stuck in an awkward situation as the couple lives opposite us and also works on the resort we staying at for the next week.

I would be very grateful for any help you could possibly give me as I would like to resolve this issue  as I'm now feeling uneasy and angry.

Answer: You can sue them, but the process may be a bit different in France. There is no immediate remedy.


Title: Can you keep money you find?

Question:
I know that found money is taxable, but I'm curious about the legality of keeping money you find. Plenty of us have found a little bit of change on the ground and kept it, but what's the law when it comes to finding money (especially large amounts)?

If you find a bag with $1 million in it is it yours? Does it make a difference if it's found in public or on your own property?

Location - Both California and Arizona

Answer:
 > If you find a bag with $1 million in it is it yours?

No. It still belongs to the person who lost it. By law, you need to turn it in to the authorities. But different jurisdictions have different rules and timeframes as to *when* that money *might* become yours if the legal owner never presents him/herself.

> Does it make a difference if it's found in public or on your own property?

No. If someone leaves their car on your driveway, it does not become yours. It is still the owner's car. The same with a bag filled with $1M. You have to follow the same rules as if you found it on public property.