Title: I kicked my girlfriends door and cracked it and now landlord wants to call police/make girlfriend pay for new door

Question:
In KY

One night recently when me and my girlfriend were drunk, she misplaced her keys so i had the bright idea of kicking the door in. Mind you this door needed to be replaced to begin with since it was letting air in and out bad with 3 inch drafts cracks at the top. I have since replaced everything to make the door work better actually but now there is a crack and her landlord has told her if she doesn't call the cops he will. He is doing it tomorrow.

Her roommate had the bright idea of texting him telling him it was me her boyfriend, not mentioning my name. When she was confronted by landlord she said it was a friend. Can she and her roommate reneg these texts if approached by cops firstly? Or just not cooperate with law enforcement at all and face no charges or guilt of any kind?

Just a little info on how shitty the landlord is not including the door letting healing amounts of air in and out. He has been late on the electric bill several times and always blames his wife. They went without water for a week last year because of his negligence and there is no heating at all or air conditioning for that matter. They use space heaters and window units they bought with their own money to provide comfort. The heat did work when they moved in (old metal things that emit heat, can't recall what they're called) but has never fixed it. All this is documented through texts by my girlfriend.

This is a pretty shitty situation and due to his negligence my girlfriend is reluctant to cooperate but its a legal matter now and i need advice on how she needs to handle this.

Answer: If any guest of your girlfriend's damaged the door (you included) then she is going to have t pay the landlord to repair it.


Title: [VA] Employer requires all of it's employees to train for months without pay, and has a significant penalty for quitting.

Question:
This occurred just over a year ago, however the company (Revature) is still using this practice.

As W4 employees, we were told our training would be six weeks, however the company lacked jobs to place us on, so it turned into more than twelve weeks of training for most of the 15 people in our training group. There are hundreds of trainees, yet all of them are unpaid during this time.  In addition, after the first week of training, we were required to sign a contract stating that we would owe the company $23,875 if we decided to leave after that point and before the two years of our contract had finished. We were expected to attend training every day from 9-5, and many of us were concerned that we would have to pay the full penalty if we chose not to show up for training. They made an effort to impress us the first week so that we would sign the agreement, then the quality of the training dropped significantly. Additionally, after the 12 weeks of training, they told me I had to show up at one of their clients' offices to train there for another two weeks, for which I also was not paid and I was never placed at that position.

After reading about FLSA laws, it seems to me that the company is in massive violation of the rules.  We are software engineers, however we were making only $150 a week during training (as stipend to compensate our relocation, unrelated to the hours we were working. The company even refused to pay the first week, despite it being part of our contract). After 11 months with the company, I made less than $14,000.  If we were working constantly, I believe I would have been FLSA exempt, since we would have made above the hourly cutoff, however I didn't even receive my first paycheck until September 3rd, nearly four and a half months after we began training, and a month after my first day on a project.  My yearly salary was agreed to be $40,000, however they only kept me on a project for four of the eleven months, leaving me to struggle paying bills and rent. Again, I could not quit the job because I could not afford to pay the penalty. Since we are not contracted and I couldn't select my hours, and the company actually requires you to move from city to city for each project, I was unable to get a second hourly job.

I discussed this with the company, and they insist that they will not change the agreement.  They are convinced that it is normal to charge employees for training. I am planning on filing a complaint with the DOL, however I'm looking for insight before I do so.

Answer: This sounds shady as hell.Answer #2: Hmm. My first reaction is to go and talk to an employment attorney immediately, and to bring all of your records available with you.


Title: What makes an unfit mother in Florida?

Question:
I am currently pregnant with my first child and the father is going on about me having to pay him child support and getting sole custody of my child and claiming I’m an “unfit mother”. I admit I did some stupid stuff before getting pregnant such as heavily drinking and smoking marijuana(I’m in my mid twenties) but I stopped drinking completely two years before I  got pregnant and stopped smoking three months before I got pregnant(I was actively trying to get pregnant and I thought smoking was affecting my fertility) however he has proof that I had a bong and so forth. What worries me is that I’m on disability for mental illness and he plans to use this against me. I live with an RN(family) who can attest that it does not affect my ability to be a good mother. He also had me arrested for domestic violence against him(long story, we both had marks on us but he was making a story up to the police because he thinks this will help him win sole custody, he claims I strangled him which I DID NOT and would NEVER do) I’m awaiting arraignment on this charge and I’m embarrassed that I’m even being accused of this crime. I’m just curious what chance he really has of winning sole custody based on all of this information? I can’t really afford an attorney.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: The answer is that it’s going to be fact specific, if you are expecting a contested custody hearing you need an attorney.


Title: When is it okay to shoot at a police officer with the intent to kill

Question: I would like to know when is it alright to shoot at an officer. I carry my firearm with me at all times and do of course get nervous whenever speaking to the officer. I openly told the last officer that I had came in contact with that the firearm was on my person in my possession and he had then repositioned his hand closer to his firearm. So I guess the question is “If I do believe the officer will cause major bodily injury or death to myself, am I allowed to fire at the police officer in self defense?” [Minnesota, USA]

Answer:
 This is one of those situations where there's a huge difference between what is legal and practical.

Realistically, you'll end up like Philando Castle. A legal gun-owner, shot to death, with the officer getting off the hook entirely (happened in MN coincidentally).

Legally it seems as though MN has a 'duty to retreat' law which means you really have to be in trouble to use deadly force in any scenario.

You'd be better off investing in some sort of camera setup that will livestream to youtube or facebook when you feel threatened.


Title: Sold used car and now buyer demands refund

Question:
Hello to everyone. I live in the US, New York and I recently sold my car, this past Sunday. It was a 2008 BMW 535i and now the buyer wants a refund. He came, checked the car out for about an hour ( half of which was spent driving the car around), and he liked what he saw. I suggested we take it to a mechanic since he was so eager to pay me before going to one, so we drove around on a Sunday looking for a mechanic for a good half hour (no mechanic was open) before he decided he just wanted to buy the car without having a mechanic look at it. After we agreed on a price he paid me in cash and I signed off the title and bill of sale. However, I didn't keep a copy of either of these items because of my inexperience with selling cars, and my idea that everything with the car was fine. About 5 or so hours after he left with the car he texts me to let me know the car shut off on him, and i immediately thought he ran out of gas since the tank was running low. However, the next day he tells me he had the car towed and that a mechanic told him he would need a brand new engine costing him 6,500.

Now, the question is will I be forced to return the money he paid for the vehicle? I told him everything that was wrong with the car to my knowledge, this being the paint damages, and to me the car was in perfect working order since i drove it daily and just had my mechanic fix the last known problem (power steering hose) a month ago. During the 3 or so months that I had the car there were no engine problems, or any stalling or anything that would lead me to believe the car would completely go bad within 5 hours of selling it. If it were up to me I would've kept the car, but since I had to pay tuition and I spent all my money on the car I decided I should sell it - $1,000 less than what I paid for not including the power steering fix - in order to be able to pay tuition. He has called me/texted multiple times, and the last thing I've heard was that he will have his lawyer involved. At this point I'm not sure if I am being scammed or what since it is so odd that the engine fails completely 5 hours after selling it...

Will I be required to refund this man for his purchase?

This was the Ad i posted on craigslist, Im not sure if I could be held liable for saying the car was in perfect condition and telling him that the car was mechanically 100% (it was that way as far as I knew.) I even drove the car every day for the month I had it up on Craigslist.

"For sale is my personal Monaco Blue 2008 BMW 535i. Comes with Sport Package and Winter Package.
This car has:
leather seats
heated seats
Heated Steering Wheel
dual temperature control
heads-up display
bmw sport steering wheel
bmw sport suspension
Navigation
Logic 7 Surround System
Smokers Package (never been smoked in)
Memory Seats
Xenon Lights

And so much more. No issues with the car whatsoever, new brakes and rotors and new tires on the car. Very fun car to drive, nice color combination, and very fast. Perfect condition, only selling because I really need money to pay for college!

Reasonable offers will be considered. Cash or trades!!!"

Thank you all in advance!!!!! If I'm missing any information please let me know, I tried to be as detailed as possible.

Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 no.  car sales are as is, he accepted the condition when he gave you cash.  he waived his choice of going to a mechanic.  what happens after the transaction is on him.

just make sure you clear your self of any liability.

read more here

http://www.dmv.org/ny-new-york/title-transfers.phpAnswer #2: There's no way for you to know what the heck happened to that car in the time after you sold it.  People don't always tell the truth.  That's why a private used car sale is usually AS-IS.Answer #3: Someone buys a new BMW and it dies 5 hours later... He was racing it. I would just cut contact and wait for him to sue.


Title: Seattle, WA - Can a landlord keep a tenant from having guests in a shared house?

Question:
My mother recently rented a room from the owner of a house on month to month basis. Two weeks after she moved in, she was given her thirty days notice. At two thirty in the morning. Via yelling and angry texts. Because my mother had let in someone with a work order signed by the landlady who installed some blinds. Landlady says this violated the lease, as my mother made alterations to the house. My mother was so upset that she came to stay with me instead of in the room she has paid for. While my mother was gone for a couple days, the landlady took all of her things that were in the common area and put them in the garage.

Now the landlady is saying that I can't be in the house. I need to be there to help my mother pack. She also says she is going to charge my mother for the extra garage storage. This has to be illegal, but what can we do to fight back? My mother is a disabled vet on Social Security. We have very little money for any kind of court battle.

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 That sounds like an illegal notice of eviction to be honest, but I can't be sure. Have you tried talking to your local tenancy board/authority?Answer #2: It is an illegal eviction.  If she will not let your mother into the house, she can call the police and they will escort her onto the premises if she's still legally a tenant (which it seems like she is, since she paid for a full month of rental).  She cannot charge your mother for storing her stuff since she should've have been moving her stuff to begin with.Answer #3: We should just start a sub on crazy landladies. Answer #4: There is a legal clinic that provides help to low-income individuals with eviction-related issues in King County: [the Housing Justice Project](https://www.kcba.org/pbs/HJP.aspx). That link contains the clinic's location and hours, as well as information to have prepared if you visit.

Best of luck.


Title: Feds came to question me about eBay purchases

Question:
Connecticut, USA

Hi, so something interesting happened this morning to say the least.

Two federal agents came knocking on my door to inquire about my historic eBay purchases. I am a university chemistry student and I have an interest in amateur chemistry, so I have made various chemical purchases on eBay over the last couple of years, though I haven't ordered anything in the last 5 months or so since I've been at school most of the time concentrating on studies.

The federal agents want to question me later and they want permission to search the house. They're threatening me telling me that if I do not comply, they will reach out to my workplace and university so they can tell them I am a "person of interest".

I am definitely going to consult a lawyer regarding this, but I'm wondering if anybody here has advice pertaining to this kind of thing, or has heard of similar problems elsewhere that could shed light on my situation? Also should I consult a particular kind of lawyer?

The federal agents also asked me "why I purchased so many flashlights" and said "flashlights can be used for making pipe bombs".

Nothing I have done or purchased is illegal.

Answer:
 IANAL but I managed a pool chemical sales place for a while and we were legally obligated to report purchases of certain things to the FBI. We reported one guy, turns out he was a taxidermist who used peroxide to  strip aninal skeletons as a hobby. They reported back to us that we could sell to him with no concerns. As long as your not making bombs your probably okay. Answer #2: Even if you did nothing wrong, FBI agents are trained to ask questions that will trip you up.  As soon as you say something that isn't true, even by mistake, you can be charged with a crime that will ruin your life.

The only answer you should give to any law enforcement officer is "I don't want to answer any questions without my lawyer."  They cannot use that statement against you in any way.  Then, you need to stop talking, because if you don't, they can start questioning you again.Answer #3: Remember it is a crime to "mislead" them. Do NOT talk to them without an attorney present. Answer #4: Being a university chemistry student and having an amateur interest in chemistry seems like a plausible defense. They didn't arrest you.

Also do you have these chemicals in your house? Genuinely curious...

My bf poured transmission fluid out in the yard and I was genuinely pissed.

Answer #5: Also OP you are most likely innocent. But You can't without a doubt be certain you haven't broken some federal law. There are so many laws even the federal government has lost count. Get a lawyer but you seem to know that  already.


Title: Landlord is trying to sell my house do I have to let him show my house? AR

Question: I live in Arkansas I go to school at the university. I rented a house and now my landlord wants to show my house. Do I have to let him show my house, its invading my privacy? I have only had the townhouse for 2 months now my lease isn't done until July 2016. He is trying to sell the townhouse not rent it to new people. What are my rights? He has hired a real estate company and they put a drop box on my door after I said no.

Answer:
 > Do I have to let him show my house

[Yes, you do](http://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/2010/title-18/subtitle-2/chapter-17/subchapter-6/18-17-602):

> A tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to enter into the dwelling unit in order to ... exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers

In short, you can't ban him from showing the house.  You should focus on negotiating a reasonable showing schedule that covers both your needs.


Title: (NY + OR) I need assistance in ensuring my mentally disabled adult sister receives necessary care for herself and her unborn baby.

Question:
* Me: 28M, currently in NYC
* Sis: 25F with physical and mental disabilities, unable to live on her  own. Currently living in OR with...
* Boyfriend: 32M, and her primary caregiver
* Parents: Out of the picture

Sis recently called me and informed me that she's pregnant with Boyfriend's child. She intends to keep the baby. This is not in her best interest for a multitude of reasons:

* She is unable to care for herself without assistance, let alone an infant
* It is uncertain whether she understands the physical changes of pregnancy, or that she will be obligated to support another person for the next two decades. As indicated below, she is also unwilling to make the sacrifices all parents must make for the wellbeing of their children
* Boyfriend has informed me they were not trying to conceive and they have no arrangements in place to have a child at this time
* Finances are already tight without a child

I am a strong believer in adoption over abortion, but in this case I believe that would be catastrophic for both Sis and the baby. Sis is already in poor health, and she takes multiple psychiatric and pain medications. She has informed me she plans to continue these medications throughout her pregnancy, despite my trying to explain how harmful those substances are to her baby. If she were to make it to term, there would seem to be an unacceptably high risk of the baby suffering birth defects.

I have spoken with Boyfriend, who has his own misgivings about having a child, but ultimately believes that she should have the final say, and is adamant that they'll "make it work" despite already struggling to support the two of them.

My questions for r/legaladvice are:

* What is the process for determining that someone is not capable of making their own medical decisions, and how do I initiate it on my sister's behalf?
* Given that he is her primary caregiver, and she is mentally disabled, is there an argument to be made that Boyfriend abused his power over her, and sex between them was not consensual? Would making this argument ease the process of ensuring a responsible individual is responsible for Sis's medical decisions?
* If it isn't possible to ensure she gets an abortion before it becomes too late to do so, what legal complications would she face for knowingly taking medication that harmed her unborn baby? Could it be argued that she isn't responsible for this, as she doesn't understand that the medications she takes can be harmful?
* How can I go about ensuring Boyfriend does not get custody of the baby, if and when it's born?

Thank you for your time.

Answer:
 I assume she has been declared incompetent?  Is she capable of consent, legally?

How is he her caretaker? What's that arrangement through?

IF she is competent enough to make choices and give consent, she has the right to make choices of this sort.


Title: Garnish pay due to register short I caused.

Question:
I work at small business retail store while I’m finishing up my college degree. The owner is threatening to garnish my pay/ make me pay for a register shortage cause by a mistake I made reading a computer screen. She also threatens us everyday that anything we damage or cause a monetary loss to the store it will be garnished from our pay or we have to pay for it out of pocket. I can’t find anything solid online about whether this is legal or not in PA.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: You can be fired for that but your pay cannot be docked without consent.


Title: I've been served a Writ of Garnishment. What steps can I take?

Question:
This is in Washington state. So I've been served a Writ of Garnishment for the amount of $2,153.96. It's from a credit collections agency. No idea where the original debt is from, maybe medical bills?

Aren't there any steps I can take to avoiding this, or getting it reduced? It says I need to respond within 4 weeks, but the only form provided is exemption claims, nothing to dispute the debt. Can't I just say I've never done business with, or never received service from the person who is suing me?

Any help is appreciated.

Answer:
 >Can't I just say I've never done business with, or never received service from the person who is suing me?

You're well past that.  At this point, the agency has already sued you and (likely) obtained a default judgment.  The appropriate time to challenge it was in those proceedings.

I would suggest contacting the creditor and trying to settle for a lump sum.  Often, they will accept fifty cents on the dollar immediately to settle the entirety of the debt.Answer #2: > No idea where the original debt is from, maybe medical bills?

You have no recollection of ever being sued or served?


Title: Do I Get Him a Lawyer?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 He needs a criminal defense attorney.

Whether you should pay the bill for his attorney is a question for /r/relationships and/or /r/personalfinance


Title: (NJ) I just found out a homeless guy or two is living in the empty house next to my apartment.

Question: And one of the guys tried to break into my apartment once. So these are not good people. What should I do?

Answer: Contact the police when you think they're back, and also talk to the fire marshal. Abandoned house squatters are known for causing fires due to passing out while smoking, using candles, indoor cooking fires, etc.


Title: Is this real?

Question: A cop answers a complaint about a man inappropriately touching himself in his publicly viewable car in broad daylight. Multiple cops show up and catch him in the act. They write down his info, pat him down, search his car, question him, and then tell him the person who called in the complaint doesn’t want to press charges. The cops scare him, give him a pamphlet for a self help group and leave. Is the guy actually off the hook legally? Is this the kind of thing that is up to police discretion or the witness can drop the charge after the complaint is called in? Will the police possibly follow up at a later time? Would this be recorded somewhere without a charge being pressed?

Answer: The police can decide not to make an arrest. The contact/warning will likely be recorded in that department's record, but won't be publicly available or searchable. The guy in question should seriously consider getting with a group or a therapist. He is unlikely to escape arrest twice.


Title: [California] My landlord is trying to "fix" a broken heater in my home/daycare, and I have carbon monoxide concerns. Should I pay rent? Or pay for a new heater installation?

Question:
Thank you, in advance, to anyone reading this. I'm in a bind, don't have a lot of money, and really appreciate your help.

My landlord is taking advantage of me, and I am not sure how to stop him.  This landlord has always been shady.  I would be happy to give more examples.

But here's my current issue.
I am 27 and run a daycare out of my home with my fiance. Together we watch babies three and under.  I live in California in the US, and two weeks ago, December 15th, my heater broke.  I emailed my landlord, a property management company, that day. (In the past, phoning them has been unreliable; messages get lost, no one remembers my issue when I call back, etc.) On the 16th she responded and verified what kind of heater it was (central heat). A few days later a repair company made an appointment with me and came out to fix it.  By this time it was the 22nd of December, one week later. The repairman, I'll call him Don, was great! He opened the closet door to check out the furnace, kind of chuckled, said it was older than him and I combined, and took a look.  After a little while he said "Yup.  This one's done." He showed me some frayed wires and explained a bit more about how it is a very old unit and even if he could possibly fix it, it wouldn't be worth fixing. He said he would let the landlord know what he found, but that we were probably going to be without heat for a while because of Christmas and his booked schedule.

I immediately emailed my landlord again to let them know the furnace needed to be replaced.  This was one week after the furnace had broken. After emailing I called too, just to make sure they were aware of the issue before they were closed for Christmas. As usual, the person who answered the phone was rude and dismissive, and just kept repeating, "yeah, Bob's on the phone with the owner." Bob is the owner of my property management company.  I don't know if he was on the phone with the owner of my house, or the owner of the heating repair company, but that's all I could get.

I waited through the holiday, the weekend, and through Monday, and heard nothing.

Tuesday morning, December 29th, (this marks two weeks since the heater broke!) Don's repair company called me to schedule another appointment to repair the furnace.  I explained my confusion since Don had said it needed to be replaced, and the receptionist told me my landlord/property management company would not approve the replacement, and wants Don to fix it. We made an appointment for next Wednesday, January 6th.

Again, I emailed my landlord (on Dec. 29, two weeks later).  I stated my confusion over Don's return to fix a appliance he had already declared broken.  (But at this point I really didn't care if he fixed it or replaced it, I just needed heat.)

I also told them that I found another repairman, I'll call him Ken, who could come check it out, and had an installation appointment available all before Don.  Ken could come out the next day, Dec. 30 and give me a quote. I also asked to be reimbursed for the firewood I've been using, for the spike in my electric bill for the use of space heaters, and requested my rent be prorated for these two weeks without heat.

No response.

So Ken came out today.  He had an almost identical reaction as Don, in terms of the heater's old age, and decrepit condition. He too said that it was done, and needed to be replaced.  He also said that if someone did attempt to fix this, it would be dangerous because the unit would leak carbon monoxide. If I left it on for several hours, the carbon monoxide could reach dangerous levels. Ken said he would replace the unit, but he needs by landlord's approval. He sent in his quote.

I have sent them another email. I explained the carbon monoxide bit, then said,
"[Ken] has sent [landlord] his quote.  Once approved he can have a new heater in place within a week!  [Don] was great, but he isn't available on time.  I found [Ken] who [is] capable and available Tuesday. Unless you have someone who can resolve this matter before Tuesday, January 5th, [Ken] in our only option. If you do not approve this repair you are deliberately prolonging this uninhabitable living situation and we will seek reimbursement by whichever manor necessary.
If you would like me to pay January's rent to [landlord], you need contact me tomorrow through email. If you continue to neglect me and this property I will pay [Ken] myself and will deduct the amount spent from my next two to three month's rent.
Please respond in writing."

Back to the daycare and babies.  I'm doing my best with space heaters and layers, but it's not good enough.  Some of my kids aren't old enough to sleep with loose blankets. Babies can't regulate their own body temperature. I can't even fit bibs over all these puffy jackets. This is not okay for my business, but I haven't mentioned any of this to the landlord.  They know I run a daycare there, but they don't like it.

But babies are in even more danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. And I am terrified of that.  Terrified is an understatement.

And my entire business is at jeopardy. Rent is due by Sunday, and Friday is a national holiday-they'll be closed.  I don't make enough money to hire a lawyer.

So what do I do if I don't hear from them tomorrow (Thursday, Dec. 31)? I told them I was going to withhold my rent and pay Ken for a new furnace unless they could resolve the problem before Ken could.  From what I can read online it seems I am within my rights to do so, and I can use 3 consecutive month's worth of rent on repairs at a time. Is that right? Was I stupid to even say this? There is a line in my lease prohibiting me from paying and deducting like this. Does that still matter when the landlord is not providing me with a heated house, like we agreed contractually?

Or should I pay rent so that I am not in breech of any contract, and because I haven't actually gotten a bill from Ken this month, before rent was due? (Like, if I could pay him by the 3rd and get a receipt thats one thing, but since he has to get the landlords approval, and can't instal until the 4th, then I'm not paying anyone by the 3rd...so I'm not paying rent technically...even if I pay Ken on the 4th.)

I am scared that if I pay my rent on time, they are going to send someone out to "fix" the heater, and dismiss my carbon monoxide concerns. They did a pseudo fix like this a couple of months ago where they sent someone out to fix the leaky faucet.  The guy told me it was broken and leaking, but my landlord required him to jimmy-rig it, and for me to call back and complain again before they would approve him replacing it (!!!!!!!AHH!!!!!) , forcing him to come back on a different day.  I can't play this game with babies and carbon monoxide.

I actually think this fake-fixing, and the landlord's history of fixing things badly, is what scares me most.  I don't trust him, and this could actually be dangerous.

I'm scared they are going to say they never received these emails. Or that no one opened them because this specific person was out of the office for holidays.  Although she didn't have any I'm-away-from-the-office types of automated responses I would have expected if that was the case. And I do know the office was aware of this problem before Christmas.  They responded to the first email, and we had that split second on the phone.

I'm scarred that if I pay my rent then I won't have that money to pay Ken with out of pocket until the following month, and I will have to wait another three weeks-this doesn't fly because of the babes.

I'm scared of the worst, and being evicted somehow out of this mess.  I don't have the money for another security deposit right now, especially since I probably won't be getting this one back if things end ugly. I'm scared that could be the end of my daycare.

So thats the story. What do I do r/legaladvice?

TL;DR:
Heater broken in an in-home daycare with babies under three for two weeks.
First repairman declared heater broken and needing to be replaced.
Second repairman declared heater broken and needing to be replaced.
Landlord wants first repairman to fix it anyways.  Second repairman says this could release dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. Landlord has a history of fixing things badly, and insisting on poor-fixing attempts to be made before he will replace obviously broken things.
Should I pay rent and trust him? Or withhold my rent to pay the second repairman?

edit: added TL;DR
omg sorry it's all so long.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 tl;dr Location: California

- Dec 15th Heater broke,

- Dec 15th notified landlord,

- Dec 16th response from landlord,

- Dec 22nd repairman assessment,

- Dec 29th repairman call to book repair (for Jan 6th),

- Dec 30th repairman 2 assessment (CO concerns), repairman 2 can *replace* by Jan 5th.

Question:

1. In what circumstances can OP use rent abatement to fix the heater issue?

2. Can OP refuse to have the heater repaired due to CO poisoning concerns?

3. What damages can OP sue for? (uninhabitable property, business damages, electricity for space heaters, firewood, etc)


Title: (Illinois) Name change after marriage for a man

Question: My fiancé has a hyphenated last name because his parents weren't married when he was born. His biological father was a shithead and he hasn't seen him since he was a toddler, and has long wanted to drop that half of his name, but in IL that costs a few hundred bucks - I know I can change my name for the cost of the marriage certificate, but can he? And will I have an issue taking just half of his name when we get married, or do I have to take his full legal last name? I found an article from 2007 about how men can't change their names in IL with marriage but I'm hoping that has changed since then, especially since gay marriage is legal here.

Answer:
 the cook county clerk says

>What if we want to change our names after we’re married?

>Newlyweds are entitled to a one-time change of their last name after they are married. You will need copies of your marriage certificate when seeking a name change with Social Security, the Illinois Secretary of State (for driver’s licenses), your employer, banks, credit cards, etc.

so it seems like both of you could change it for free after marriage. you can always call the court clerk and ask for clerification.

there are no legal requirements about what your name is after marriage. plenty of people don't change their names at all after marriage. why would you think you'd be required to have the same name as him?


Title: My (25F) mother (48F) wants to take away my condo because she is unhappy with the relationship I'm in.

Question:
I have been in a relationship with someone who is significantly older (55M) than me for almost 3 years. My parents found out about it and were incredibly unhappy, I told them that I would break up with him, and then I did, but we got back together again. Then a year later they found out that I was in a relationship with him again. This time we all went to see a psychologist who basically said that I am an adult and I should be able to make my own decisions and we need to communicate better with my family (I still have a lot of resentment towards my mom from past situations starting in the 9th grade). I told them that I would break up with him, and again I did. Anyway, at this time I was planning to pass my professional exam and I had a job lined up in a different state (FL). I ended up moving there (he also had plans to move down there too but separately from me even before we met), and eventually he moved there too so we've been living within 45 mins from each other and our relationship picked up again.

I bought a condo in that city, but my parents paid cash for the condo through their bank, even though my name is on the deed and on all the legal documents. This was under the pretense that I will pay my parents back all the money for the condo (practically like renting but without the legal papers/mortgage).

I came home for a weekend and my mom found out that I am still together with him and started raising hell. She is now saying that she wants me to move back to my home state, that she will make me quit my job, and just rent out the condo. And that she is buying a one way plane ticket and coming to stay with me indefinitely. She is now saying that she also plans to take away my condo from me, have her name put on the deed (so both of our names are on it) and make me move back because I am "sick" and that I need their help and professional psych help since I am "addicted" to this person and this relationship. And like someone addicted to anything, I am the only one who fails to see the huge addiction problem.

I think they are being ridiculous, but I am beginning to get worried and was wondering what if she can really legally take it away and what I can do in this situation. I am cross-posting this for more help.

tl;dr: my mom is unhappy with my relationship and wants to take away my condo from me.

Answer:
 > my name is on the deed and on all the legal documents.

You own the condo.  You can do with it as you please.

> I will pay my parents back all the money for the condo

Additionally, you owe them the cost of the condo according to the terms of your agreement.

> what if she can really legally take it away and what I can do in this situation.

If you do not hold up your end of the agreement, or if she is able to call the entire note due, then she may have legal recourse to get a judgment against you.Answer #2: Are you a grown up? Because you don't seem to be acting like a grown up.Answer #3: Change the locks, don't answer the door if she does fly to your city; get a security camera for the front and back doors.

She can't force you to quit your job, let you into your house, or put her name on the condo. So don't. Answer #4: Your name is the only name on the condo.  You as an adult can tell your mother to kindly bud out of your life.  She has zero ability to move in with you, make you quit your job or do anything in regards to your life and your choices.  If you are paying your parents back as to what was verbally agreed on then she would have no standing in court.


Title: [ohio] can I legally be terminated from a job for recording phone calls between me and my supervisor without his knowledge?

Question:
My supervisor has been telling me one thing over the phone and then claiming another later on causing me to be wrote up. I know ohio is a "one party consent" state but, in my employee handbook under "examples of conduct justifying immediate dismissal" it states "The use of tape recorders, hidden cameras or microphones, or other devices to make private recordings of telephone calls, conversations, or other exchange without knowledge or permission of all persons whose words or images are recorded."
So could they legally terminate me if I recorded our calls without his permission?

EDIT: words

Answer: Absolutely. And it could be grounds to disqualify you from unemployment. But file anyway if you go through with this and are fired. Answer #2: Absolutely.


Title: [Kentucky] Eviction process when newborns are involved.

Question:
Quick and simple. I've been told that a landlord must provide 3 months of notice when asking a family with newborns to vacate (in this particular case, not because they have done anything wrong, but because he is selling the place) but I can't find any sources. Is this true? Google search has got me nowhere, but I might be using the wrong terms.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 it's possible, but not likely, that there is a state law changing the eviction rules when an infant is present.

it's more likely that if you have an infant, the judge in your eviction case will make special concessions and give you extra time to move out.

do you have a lease?  if you do, the lease continues on even if the property is sold (in most cases).


Title: Could I get in legal trouble if I send my former employer and or coworker a dildo?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: How exactly does a 12 year old plan on purchasing a sex toy?


Title: Portland: My neighbor is harassing us and accusing us of elder abuse. Help!

Question:
I don't know what to do with this situation.

Help, Reddit.

Backstory:
We bought our dream home in Portland last October. One of our first nights here, while having wine with friends in our carport, our elderly neighbor came by to introduce herself. Since moving from SF, we were ecstatic to meet neighbors that couldn't actually see in to our windows, and being a sucker for elderly people, I quickly made friends with her. My partner warned me at she seemed a little "pushy", but I liked her. Plus, she's a widow and said her kids don't come to visit, so I wanted to treat her kindly.

We became friends, or so I thought.

Since I know nothing about gardening, she taught me how to use shears and when to plant grass. I gave her some starters for her garden. When there was an attempted break-in at our house she was my first call. I felt badly that she couldn't find a job due to her age and, since I was about to start my own company, told her I was trying to find a place for her so she could make money. She often told me she was having money issues, and that she needed to find something quickly. We also talked about buying her house since she said she couldn't afford it, and were trying to figure out if we would be able to let her live in the house for free to save some money for her later years.

One day we were trimming our arborvitae together and I expressed that I wanted to cut our side down to extend our driveway so we could both park in it (we live on a busy road and the bushes block our view and make it hard to park). She took me to where our property lines were (she thought), and told me I could cut down the one side but not hers. I said okay.

I had the bushes trimmed by a gardener and called a cement guy. When I returned to my house that day there was a note on our door saying we had cut down her arborvitae and she was calling a lawyer. I called her, asked her what the letter was about, that I had cut down my own bushes per her recommendation, and tried to talk to her. She wouldn't talk to me, said I had ruined her yard and that she was calling a lawyer.

She then brought out a surveyor to measure the land and, sure enough, one of the bushes was on her property. Okay, no problem. I looked at replacement bushes and they are $13.

But here's where it gets bad. Since then she has refused to speak to us about a resolution. She is on our property daily pounding in stakes and erecting "no trespassing" signs. Unfortunately the signs are so close to our driveway it makes us look like we are the crazy ones, but that's a small nuisance comparatively. Two weeks ago she checked and rechecked her handiwork six times that I counted, and that's just when I was outside. Last week we got a bill from her for $3350 for the surveyors and the replacement of the one bush.

I nearly hit her with my car coming home from work one day as she was in my driveway pounding in more stakes. She quickly walked off. I called her and asked if she needed something, and why she was on my property, to which she responded that I didn't have photographic proof of her being there and "to go jump off a bridge". She hung up on me.

Two days later I saw her on the dirt bordering our property and asked her why she was doing this. She said because I cut down her bush. I said, "okay, I get that, but I did what you had said, and instead of calling me you went to a lawyer." She said she had never said I could cut the bushes, and I reminded her the goal was to extend the driveway, which could not be done just by trimming. She's sticking to her story, which is false. I also apologized, said I liked her, reminded her we were friends and asked why we couldn't come up with a neighborly solution? I also asked her why she got expensive surveyors when the property lines are easily found on portlandmaps.com.

She told me she expected me to pay for the surveyors.
I told her we would not be doing that, as it was unnecessary on her part and she didn't consult with us first.

Since then she has put up floodlights on her garage that shine into our driveway, which I'm actually okay with since there has been some burglary in the area. She has also come by at least twice per day that I've seen to check on her stakes and signs. We've thought of putting up cameras but it's not an inexpensive fix.

I forgot to mention the area in question is the furthest from her home, and is roughly five square feet of her 12,000sf yard. She can't see it unless she comes to our driveway. I should also mention her yard is dead, an eyesore, and her fence is covered in graffiti that she refuses to have cleaned. Fine. Whatever. I can deal with all of that, even though it looks awful; it's her yard.

But here's the really scary part. Today I went to go for a walk and she was back in the space of dirt. I asked her if she needed something and she didn't answer. I was walking the same way, so I was behind her as she walked back to her own house. At the corner I asked again if she needed something and could we please come to a resolution? She turned around and told me she was going to sue me for elder abuse. I had no idea what to say other than "I'm on a walk. You have no right to dictate which route I take". She yelled again that she was going to sue me for elder abuse and walked into her house. I stood there like a fish out if water, started to cry (which I never do), and continued on my walk.

Why did I cry? Because she's made me a prisoner in my own home. My partner and I are trying to start a family and this is our first home and we don't know what to do. When she's not in our driveway she's peering through the bushes at us. When she's not doing that she's sending us hand-written demands for money.

One thing I forgot to mention: we have offered to put in a fence but one post out of nine would be on her land. She seems to be interested in a fence but "not one YOU would pick out." Ugh. We have to live with the fence; she doesn't. Yet she's fighting us on the fence, too. I've offered to put in a beautiful, mid-century-looking fence to go with our MCM house, but she wants the cheapest fence possible, and won't let us put one in until we agree to go with her fence of choice.

I need advice, reddit. We saw a lawyer last week who said she doesn't have a case, but this is like a dark cloud that won't go away (I know, I know, we should be used to dark clouds in portland). We are happy to take care of the bush in question and have it planted by a professional, as well as put in a fence, but she won't even talk to us. At this point I'm afraid she's just out for money, and must think we have some (my partner is in tech - it's a common assumption). We aren't wealthy by any means, and the thought of a lengthy litigation over a $13 bush is enough to make me want to leave our dream house - she's making us miserable.
What can we do?

TL;DR: Our 75-year old neighbor was my friend. I cut down a bush per her advisement. Now she wants $3800 and has threatened to sue us for elder abuse.

Edit: removed neighbor's name. Thanks fellow reddit user for pointing out my mistake!

Answer: Quit talking to her. You're only causing more drama by continuing to engage her. If she sues you, you can deal with that then, but seriously, quit communicating with her. Ignore her. She doesn't exist. Answer #2: Cease ALL contact with her, do not even make eye contact. If she starts yelling or won't stop talking then film her with your phone. When she seems normal, continue to have zero contact with her. You will thank me. Film her anytime she comes on to your property, take pictures of all the crazy signs and stakes.


Title: NY- Possibly set up to be the fall guy in a drug sting, now cops want me to act as informant, what can I do?

Question:
Apologies in advance for the wall 'o text but there's a lot going on in my head right now.

So the other day my friend calls me, he's stuck at work and asks if I could meet his step-brother [from here on called "the dealer"] to pick up our bag of marijuana. I said I would grab it for him. I go to the location (which was a location never used by the dealer before) and I had gotten there early. I sat in my car and had a cigarette and my friend texts me again saying the dealer will be there in a half hour. So I go for a short drive and loop around to head back. On my way out of the lot I noticed a white Chrysler minivan sitting in a weird place (on the shoulder of the back parking lot entrance where no sane person would park), and the driver seemed to be trying to avoid looking at me. On the drive, I noticed a black SUV that followed me on a couple of turns to back roads that not many people ever use. I get back to the location, meet the dealer, and grab the bag (2 ounces- a 2 week supply for our 7 person group). He leaves, I leave, and I get stopped by the cops less than a mile away. Drug investigator and drug dog in the car. They were prepared. They find the bag (I said I had some when they asked because I didn't want to be viewed as resisting or hostile), cuff me and take me to the station.

While there, they ask some questions and ask me to sign a few papers saying I'll act as a confidential informant and try to set them up with the dealer so they can get higher up the chain. I signed because I was panicking and they said if I didn't, they would impound my car and jail me. I had to work at 7 the next morning, so this way they promised I could go home at least.

A few things I noticed that made me extremely suspicious afterwards:

* The last person they had me speak with was the "lead drug investigator" and when he came in the room I recognized him as the man in the white Chrysler.

* The arresting officers had the dealer's first and last name on a paper that they printed from the squad car, when I hadn't even said his first name (I didn't even know his last name before this). Sure, maybe they saw his car and ran his plates, got the info that way.

* The officers never read my Miranda rights. Are they supposed to in a case like this? If they are supposed to and didn't, how do I lawyer up and try to get off?

* When my friend called originally, he sounded really nervous asking me to do the pick up. He shouldn't have been, I've doe it a couple times in the past at the dealer's usual meeting spot (not where this happened).

* A couple months ago, my friend started bitching about always being the one that did the pick up. Our rationale was "He's your step-brother, and none of us have his phone number. If you want us to help out, we're gonna need that." So we started a new way of doing it- we would leave our money in a small box on the coffee table. Dealer comes and grabs the money, next day comes and leaves our bag in the box. Then he suddenly wants to meet at a new location?

* The past 6-8 months or so my friend has been pretty distant. Never wants to play games with us anymore, hang out with us, do anything with us. Just stays in his room playing games with strangers online.

I'm very suspicious that my friend may have set me up. If that is the case, I'm losing a friend that I've known for 8ish years and I would rather that not happen, but if it does I will erase him from my life and never forgive him... I *really* hope it wasn't him... Can't say for certain but if I find out he was involved, I'll probably take petty revenges for the rest of his life as a big "go fuck yourself, traitor," but I'm holding off and just not speaking to him until I find out one way or the other. The whole group is going on a camping trip in August where we all turn our phones off for the trip so I may talk to him on the trip.

Any help/suggestions/whatever you can give me is appreciated.
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 Hire a lawyer. You're already an idiot for committing a crime and then speaking to the police about it. The only chance you have to fix any of this is to hire a good lawyer.Answer #2: You need a lawyer. Now. Sell everything of value to get a good one. Answer #3: Playing informant is a good way to get yourself killed. Lawyer.

Being in debt to a lawyer is better than being dead.Answer #4: 1st off. Its pretty obvious that there are enough red flags that you can A: assume your friend set you up or B: Ask him if he set you up. Either way, you're probably going to lose the friendship. Too many red flags for it to have been anything else. Though, friend might have been busted and turned informant the same way they want you to so... I don't know if that buys him lienency from you or not.

2nd. Get a Lawyer to represent you now.
The reason the officers didn't Mirandize you is that they don't care what you have to say. They busted you and you already admitted freely that you had the drugs and they were in your possession. They don't need to interrogate you. You need to do alittle research on the internet about Drug informants. Specifically how they bust you, turn you on to being an informant and then start paying you after your "Deal" is up to keep doing it. You're about to go down a road that is littered with dead bodies and you might not want to.

3rd. GET A LAWYER AND STOP TALKING TO THE POLICE.

Answer #5: Take the other advice in this thread, and in the future, never get involved in anything over 28 grams.


Title: My father charged with 5th degree felony, need advice.

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 Nobody should be using weapons to settle a dispute over used clothes, *especially* not around their own kids and plenty of others in a parking lot after a school concert. I certainly hope that he does lose his concealed carry license.Answer #2: Ohio passed new sentencing law around 2013 so even first time offenders can be sentenced to prison.

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2929.14v2

>(5) For a felony of the fifth degree, the prison term shall be six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, or twelve months.


Title: (CO) DMV Gave Me Driver License Instead of ID

Question:
I'm under 21 and don't have a license or a permit. I went to the DMV to get my out-of-state state ID transferred to Colorado.

They ended up giving me a drivers license instead of an ID -- it says I'm licensed to drive class R vehicles.

Obviously an error, but am I subject to any legal recourse if I neglect to report it? Hypothetically, what happens if I get pulled over?

Answer:
 **Do NOT** drive with that license until you've verified you were supposed to get it.

Depending on what happened, there's a ton of things that could be the case. For example, you could have a card that says DL, but is actually (correctly) an ID in their system. A police officer might claim it's altered/fake if he were to check it.

If you drive with it and it's not a license, you would be guilty of driving without a license.


Title: My sister in 6th grade had a school business project where she sold plants but now her teacher wants to confiscate their money. Is that legal?

Question:
So, we’re in S. Cali and my sister’s class had a project where they had to make a product and sell it after school inside. She chose to sell plants.

Cut to the day in class a few hours before sell time and the teacher said he was going to confiscate $9 from every group for “talking” he also said he needed to take money from groups because he started a garden club and used “$120 of my family’s money and I need to pay that back somehow.”

They’re 6th graders. Is that even legal considering they didn’t sign anything?
Topic:
Douche

Answer: Did she pay for the plants she sold?


Title: Ran away from abusive home, parents trying to take child support

Question:
I (19) ran away from an emotionally and sexually abusive home about a month ago. I had lived in Ohio and now live with a friend in Michigan. Despite being 19, my mother and step-father still received child support from my biological father in back-owed payments.
I went to check the card the payments are loaded onto earlier today and found that it had been cancelled by them. Do they have any legal right to try to keep receiving child support payments when the child no longer resides with them?

Answer:
 At 19, it's not running away. It's called moving out.

The question about child support depends entirely on what the support order says. Answer #2: If they are back owed payments, the location of the child doesn’t matter.    They have a right to continue to receive the child support payments owed to them.Answer #3: Since these were back-payments, then whether or not you're living with them now is irrelevant.  They're payments that are making up for payments that were missed when you *were* living with them.  And child support is not money that is owed to the child;  it's money that's owed to the parent to allow them the financial means to provide for the child.

Also, as someone else pointed out, you didn't "run away".  Only minors can do that.  You're an adult, and you moved out.


Title: Pulled over in Wyoming, police found controlled substances in car

Question:
To preface this, Im asking this for a person I know.

About a week ago a buddy of mine and his buddy were coming back from a trip in Colorado to their residence in Wyoming, where they were staying for the summer. He was making a legal pass of a car in an 70 MPH speed limit zone and upon completion of the pass was pulled over by the cop for speeding. The cop went through the normal license and registration procedure and then said "Were you guys stuffing the weed and beer in the back of the car." They responded no. He went back to his car and when he came back he asked the two where they were coming from and going to. They told him the truth and then the cop asked where the weed was and they responded there was none. He then said "I can either call the K9 unit or I can search the car." They then confessed to have a small amount of weed in the car so the cop then searched them, handcuffed them, put them in his truck, and searched the car. Upon searching the car he found weed, edibles, and LSD. He then questioned both of the guys in the car and they both confessed to owning the weed, but my friend denied that he knew what the LSD was. The cop then said "well it could be nothing" and put it in the pile for testing. My friend also got a ticket for speeding.

So today they received their summons and they both got a misdemeanor possession of less than an ounce of controlled substance (marijuana). And my buddy got misdemeanor possession of controlled substance (lysergic acid diethylamide).

They have both already approached a local lawyer in the town the charges were based in, but my questions are thus:

- Do they have any case for illegal search of property? I know this may be a long shot, but my buddy says he pulled over normally and didnt do anything out of the ordinary to begin warranting questions (this guy does look a little hippy-ish). The weed was also in smell-proof bags from the dispensary so my buddy claims there is no way the cop could have smelled it.

- What punishment can they expect for these charges? It's first time offender for both. Clean records. All that jazz. So can they expect anything less than the typical punishment for these charges?

- Any other advice you would offer them with the proceedings? Obviously dumb mistakes were made from the very beginning on what was done and said, but what advice would you give them for the rest of this case?

I hope I haven't violated in posting rules and thanks a lot in advance.

Answer:
 Colorado weed is great for the economy. Colorado collects sales tax and profits. Neighboring states bust people taking CO weed home with them, levy heavy fines, and profit.

Legal advice to all the CO bound weed tourists. Don't try to take it home with you. All the neighboring states are well aware of your desire to take some home with you and are better at catching you than you are at not getting caught.


Title: What are my options if I do not qualify for maternity leave? [Washington State]

Question:
Long story short, I started a new position at a different company two days before I found out I was expecting!

Now, AFAIK, Washignton state does have a non-paid maternity leave law but only applies if 1) the company has more that 70 employees (which mine does, we are a large camping/RV retail and service center that has locations across the US) and 2)the employee has been at that company for 1 year (which I will have only been here about 10 months once my due date rolls around).

What else can I do? My current children's daycare accepts infants from 6 weeks on so I will need at least the first 6 weeks off. Is this something I need to speak with HR about? Or does anyone know what my options would be or if I am protected under any laws? Thanks in advance!

Answer:
 If you're otherwise a good employee, your company might be willing to grant leave and/or re-hire you... but since you've been there for less than 12 months, they're not obligated to.

Definitely check in with HR and see what they say.


Title: California Parent not taking care of Adopted Child

Question: So the sceanario is an adult woman decides to adopt a newborn(her nephew). However her daughter ends up raising the child for 2yrs while mother gets the title/tax benefits. Now the child is living with the daughter while the mother is living in a whole different town. The daughter is a 21yr old struggling college student living with her gma with no car/job due to being poor/no support from mother and stuck with the baby cause no one else can take care of him. is there any solution to help the daughter besides foster homing the child because the daughter doesnt want to lose her baby cousin. Both the child's parents are in jail and are incapable of taking the child.

Answer: Not a lawyer but family sitution that is very similar. I love in Utah (no multiple wives for me). My Dad's cousin had 2 baby's lost them both to her parents because of drugs. After about 4 years they ended up with us full-time until the oldest was 15(2009). My parents being oblivious to how the situation works found out in 2007 that the grandparents were collecting the tax benefits and monthly care money (stipend?). They got a lawyer and took the grandparents to court, And we're awarded a cash settlement as well as child support moving forward.


Title: US My aunt got fired for not getting her drivers license

Question:
My aunt works for a fairly large nonprofit. She has been an employee of our local branch for some years, 7 to 10, not sure the exact number. Every since new management came in, things have been rocky for here. At one point she had to sign paperwork agreeing to not make any doctor appointments when she is scheduled to work, even with two weeks notice, and that she would never call out sick once her sick days are used. She had the benefit of Friday's off, but that's one day for anything important she has too do, appointments for her self or her kids. Also, she doesn't not have a licence, so gets everywhere on the bus.
Early last year, she was told about a new requirement to her position forcing her to need a license. It was due to the fact that one of her coworkers could no longer perform a task that required driving because she had her child at work with her, not allowing her to leave the building. (Which has already been determined to be a liability, and the manager was no allowed to do.) My aunt was told to sign paperwork, according her new responsibilities or be fired on the spot, of course she signed.
Later my aunt got her permit, and begin learning to drive, she had never done so before. In the process of learning, she realized she was having panic and anxiety attacks, which made it difficult to drive. She explained this to her doctor, who informed her that it would not be safe and that she was not allowed to get her license.
My aunt gave her manager the note from the doctor, several months ago. The manager did not seem happy, but said no more. Today, at the end of my aunt's work day, she was fired. I do not see how this is legal. The manager said it was because she signed paperwork agreeing to get her license, but my aunt had never tried driving before, and had no idea what would happen. She was unaware of how her anxiety would affect her.

Cali, US

Answer:
 1.	You probably don’t have the whole story
2.	This is perfectly legal unless she was fired for membership in a federally protected class, works in Montana, or has some kind of union protections.Answer #2: So her job indicated her responsibilities would change, she agreed to it, and now can't meet those requirements? Seems legal for termination, she certainly has a good claim to unemployment.


Title: [TX] Debt collectors garnishing all my money because of a debt my mother owes

Question:
Hello everyone,

I had my checking account garnished for over $75k from a collector for a debt of $25k, according to them, and $10k according to my mother.

Back story, my parents divorce was ugly and there was a dispute on an unpaid credit card balance. Judge ruled in 2009 that she is responsible for the debt. It never got paid. In 2008, I opened my first checking account with her name as the cosigner (co-owner?). According to the debt collectors and Bank of America, my account is legal for them to seize.

Is there any recourse for me to prove that this bank account has nothing to do with her and absolve me of this debt?

Thank you!

Answer:
 Can you prove that it was money you earned?

Get your own bank account asapAnswer #2: >Is there any recourse for me to prove that **this bank account has nothing to do with her** and absolve me of this debt?

If she was a co-owner of the account, then this isn't the case.

If she wasn't on the account, they would not have been able to garnish from it.Answer #3: That's a lot of money. You should buy an hour or 2 from an attorney.


Title: Can a judge facilitate a trust set up for kids? Oregon

Question: We know a sibling set in the foster care system. We were their secondary care givers for around a year. Following us having to report their foster mother for an unrelated issue, we have no more contact with the kids. Their case is set for adoption soon. Several parties have come forward to express concern for their current care, but this has always only resulted in an investigation and later the kids getting into "trouble" for "letting on" anything was amiss. We have no access to the kid's lawyers. After hearing their entire story, CASA strongly suggested we write a letter to the judge. We have heard several parties involved with these kids talk openly about the children's social security benefits they receive due to the death of their biological father. Things like,"its my income" and "wouldn't keep the kids without it" (insert cringe). The frustrating thing is that there are several loving options waiting for these kids, but are out of state. Is it futile to ask a judge to put that money on hold until the kids are 18 and only they can access it? We think this would clear up a lot and free these kids without having, for the third time, getting into months of grounding/yelling for something they have no control over and is not from their "saying anything".

Answer:
 Those benefits are for the benefit of the children, not for the children exclusively. The money is meant to provide for the necessities of life for the children, including shelter, food, clothing, as well as things such as transportation - gas for the family vehicle and other shared expenses as well. It is similar to child support in that manner; as long as the expenditures can be shown to be put toward the benefit of the child, it is not being misspent. It is not at all difficult to justify the amount of these benefits are used appropriately; it is not very much money and children are expensive.

You can express your concerns about how the money is being spent if you have evidence the children are being neglected or the money is being misspent. But your suggested solution of having these funds be placed in a trust for their future use would not bear fruit; the money is intended to be spent on their current care and necessities by their guardians.


Title: (Michigan)Someone is spoofing the CallerID of my business and prank calling a lot of people.

Question:
We are getting constant complaints of people receiving lude phonecalls when our business is not even open. The CallerID reads our business name and phone number when the phone calls are NOT originating from that branch.

Where can I even start trying to pursue this legally? Spoofing a CallerID is insanely easy and possible with almost every VoIP service on the planet. I am not sure if it's even possible to pursue legally or get these jokers to stop.

EDIT: I think we're screwed. This is something that is going to have to be accounted for eventually. The only way to spoof CallerID before SIP trunks came along was a BRI/PRI (that I know of anyways, and it was for good purpose. To identify all calls as if they were coming from ONE main phone number). BRIs/PRIs were NOT cheap, and neither was the equipment to utilize them, so this really wasn't an issue. Now, with a 25 cent internet phone starter account and a computer, YOU TOO can spoof CallerID's! No special equipment required!

CallerID systems are not verified AT ALL and are handled via separate databases on a per carrier basis. It's really hard to get non-technical people to understand this. And I can only see these problems increasing in the future. Carriers need to get together and figure something out.

It could be something really simple. If I set a CallerID and my provider see's it go out my trunk the first time, and I don't own that number through them. It calls said phone number and says SO AND SO provider would like to use YOUR phone number as a CallerID on xyz's customers trunk, do you agree? So simple.

Answer:
 Wow, that's a tough spot to be in, and technologically very difficult for you to do anything about.

My only thought on where you could possibly start would be to file a John Doe suit against whoever is doing this, then try to subpoena the top caller ID spoofing services for records of any calls made using your company's ID.

The trouble you might run into there is that I believe John Doe suits require there to be some identifying characteristic of the John Doe: that is often an IP address or even DNA depending on the type of case. I don't know that it would be applicable here. Maybe a voiceprint if the person left a lewd message somewhere?

That is one POSSIBLE place to start, but I don't know that it would be fruitful in the slightest.


Title: Dogs left in abandoned home by evicted tenants

Question:
Hello, I am in Texas and I work for a homeowner's association. We have had complaints from a resident for several weeks about their neighbor's dogs running loose and barking all night. I sent letters about the dogs but it continued to happen.

Now she's called back to tell me that the tenants were evicted (eviction notice on the door, no one at that house for the past week) and the dogs are still there. She says the dogs are locked in a single room of the house, and have been barking and crying so long they are losing their voices. It's starting to get hot here, and according to her she doesn't even think they have power to the house. She called the police and they said the tenants might be back, so they won't do anything. She is now calling animal control as well, but I've not had any luck with them in the past. I have tried to contact the owner but it is owned by a company, and all I could do was leave a message. I am scared for these dogs, they've been locked up over a week with no care or supervision from their owners, and I don't want them to die in that room.

This may be the wrong place to post this, if it is I'm sorry. I don't know what I can do for these animals and I'm trying to go the best legal route, and as soon as I can. I don't know how the state of Texas regards animals or if I can get anyone to help them, or if I will have to find a way to help them myself. I don't want it to go that way but I can't stand the thought of what's happening to those dogs.

Thanks.

**Edit - Thank you everyone for your help. I finally got a working number for the management company. They sounded concerned and have gotten their local office involved. Supposedly the tenants will be back to take the dogs tonight, if not, the company will handle it. If they don't, the neighbor will call the police again and do what she can to get them taken care of.**

Answer:
 Texas allows for non-emergency entry without notice. You should be able to free the animals. Notify animal control or a local shelter so they can be cared for.Answer #2: Call 911, make sure they know this is an emergency. Animals left in that state could be in imminent danger of death. Answer #3: Reach out to a rescue or no-kill shelter. They should be able to not only help you help get the dogs out but also provide rescue after...

 https://www.nokillnetwork.org/d/Texas/Answer #4: In addition to all this, I'd try to reach out to the landlord. The eviction notice on the door should have that info. I'm sure they'd be eager to let someone in to get the dogs out that have no other place to urinate or deficate than inside the home they own.

Edit: skimmed the part where you said you have. Keep calling, or show up to the address listed for the company.


Title: Prosecuted for fraud??

Question:
Hello-  I returned a voicemail (that was left on my sisters phone 2 weeks ago) this afternoon and spoke with a woman who said she worked with companies regarding fraud charges.  Years ago I took out several payday loans to make ends meet.  This obviously put me in an even worse position financially.  Eventually, it got to the point where as soon as my paycheck was deposited, payday loans withdrew their payments and my account was negative.  The account was always negative.  Eventually, the bank closed the account.  I ended up filing bankruptcy, getting a new bank account and never got another payday loan.  The fraud committed was closing the account that the automatic withdrawals were scheduled to come out of.

The woman I spoke with today filed a motion to stay(?) And that if I hadn't called today, I would've been arrested tonight.  She is going to call me tomorrow morning with an update.

My question(s)--- Does this sound right??  Should I continue talking to these people?  Do I need a lawyer?  Can they really just show up and arrest me?  Does anyone have any advice for me?

Thank you!!

Answer:
 > And that if I hadn't called today, I would've been arrested tonight.

She lied to you. That is not how it works. She said that as a method to scare you to return her call and cooperate.

> Do I need a lawyer?

You might want to check with the attorney who handled your bankruptcy. Depending on the details, you might not owe them anything.


Title: Company with no registered trademarks threatening infringement

Question:
Hi r/legaladvice,

I run a small online store that launched in 2017. I sell many varieties of the same type of product, for the sake of this post we'll call it "cookies." In addition, my product is highly seasonal.

Today, I received an email from a brand new competitor who said I was infringing on her trademark because I had a product titled [obscure upcoming holiday] [product], so we could say in this case, "Earth Day cookies." The email came directly from the owner of the company and not a lawyer.

I actually have filed a few trademarks (not for this product though), so the first thing I did was search uspto.gov, and I found that no trademark had been filed. Second, I looked at their website and social media. (Their social media has existed months longer than their website, the website launched in August)

I launched my "Earth Day Cookies" product a full month before it appeared on their social media, and I have proof on my social media. Furthermore, I found out their entire website launched about a week after I launched my "Earth Day Cookies" product.

Finally, there was no use of registered ® or trademark ™ characters on their website, and only a few weeks ago did they use a registered ® character on social media and only with this product. They doesn't even use these symbols for her logo or company name!

I'm fairly confident I am not infringing on any trademark here, but my question is should I respond to this owner's email, should I contact a lawyer, or ignore the matter all together?

Answer:
 "For the sand, it is a-poundin..."

Best would be to register it yourself, ignore these communications, sell your President's Day Hummus, and eviscerate them if they try to stop you.


Title: [Canada] My mother got banned from Western Union. Anything she can do?

Question:
No illegal activity whatsoever. She has been sending me (living in Thailand)  $500-2000 per month for the last 6-7 months for our business. I was away so I asked her to Western Union the money to my business partner last week for him to drop in the company account. Western Union flagged the transfer then banned her from using their services entirely shortly after.

The only thing I think she did wrong was tell them that she has met my business partner before when they asked on the phone. She hasn’t. I already told her it was completely unnecessary to lie about that, etc. She was just anxious about the transfer arriving on time even though it wasn’t a big deal (she’s a worrier), This was the first time she ever tried to transfer to someone else.

So is it possible to get unbanned from Western Union? We won’t be using them anymore but she doesn’t want to be blacklisted obviously. I’m also running out of Nigerian Prince jokes so this is pretty urgent.

Answer:
 People still use Western Union for things that aren't scams?  There are so many other ways to transfer money these days.

With all the scams that tell people to send money through Western Union, I'm not surprised they are stopping people at the first whiff of something potentially shady going on.  A lot of elderly folks have handed over their retirement funds to scammers pretending to be their grand kids in trouble and needing money fast or whatever the scam of the day is.  WU probably thinks they are protecting your mother.

But they are a private company and can decide they no longer want to do business with pretty much anyone for any reason they want, baring some things that might be protected like racism and such.  That doesn't seem to apply here.

She will just have to find another way to transfer the money.Answer #2: I sent my kid sister $600 by Venmo every month when she was finishing school. She got it in her Venmo account immediately and it transferred to her bank account about 2 days after she would initiate the transfer.


Title: Renting a commercial space as a favor for a friend, am I liable for the actions of their business?

Question: I agreed to help my friend rent a space for a massage business.  Originally I was planning to sign on as a guarantor, but after having various problems with the landlord they want me to be the sole Lessor as far as they are concerned.  The rent is not expensive and I'm not worried about taking on the financial liability.  However, I know that there are a lot of licensing and insurance issues regarding massage, and that it is a criminal offense to perform massage without a license.  This issue shouldn't come up, but I am not comfortable accepting any liability for this.  Can I rent the building and take all responsibility for the lease itself, but have the friend's LLC take all responsibility for actually running the business?

Answer:
 To some extent your being on the lease commingles you with the actions and responsibilities of the business.

That is not to say that you automatically become liable for their actions. But you are obviously involved, and likely to be named in some potential lawsuits if that involvement is known. Your risk is certainly greater than zero.

And if the business is under criminal investigation, the lease starts to look like sone kind of sham.


Title: Condominium Board is harassing me to pay for damage to a balcony that is not even mine. Need advice please.

Question:
This is based on Brooklyn New York

My condo Board of managers sent me a letter, saying I needed to fix my balcony ceiling on the 5th floor, due to squirrels being seen burrowing under it. They gave me 5 days to remove and fix the ceiling. When I removed the ceiling, it came to my attention that the siding, between the ceiling and the floor of the 6th balcony, was loose. I then went to my neighbor's home, on the 6th floor above me and saw that the siding, to the building, located on the 6th floor balcony, above my balcony, was completely coming off. I quickly notified the board of managers about this situation, and they proceeded to tell me that I need to fix this problem. The problem I have with this, is that it is not even my balcony that the siding is coming loose of off. It is the balcony of the 6th floor resident above me. But the board of managers persisted to tell me that, since my lights are attached to the bottom of the 6th floor balcony (my 5th floor balcony ceiling), it is in fact my responsibility to fix it. I just said that I am not responsible and that was the end of that. A few days later the board of managers came to my home, with a contractor to assess how much this was going to cost to ix. Sill I have no idea why they were in my home, assessing the damages, to the balcony above me! Once we were all on the balcony, looking at the damage, I began to question the contractor, "whose balcony are we observing here?", to which one of the board of managers of the condo, raised his voice and yelled, "we are here for only observation, questions are to be asked." He yelled pretty loud, and startled my wife. I got pretty angry and yelled back at him, and asked them to leave my home. Two days later we had a board meeting scheduled to meet at Sunday 9:00 am. I showed up to the meeting, and no one from the board of the condo came to the meeting. When I called one of the members, they told me since I was confrontational during their home visit, they refuse to meet with me. And that was the end of that. Nothing was done to the balcony. Two weeks pass, and during 6:00 pm, the siding of the balcony collapses onto the 2nd floor patio blow, damaging the awning of the 2nd floor resident. Thankfully no one was hurt. Now I just got a letter in the mail from the lawyers of my condo, suing me. They wrote in the letter that I got physical with the board members and contractor in my home. I raised my voice back at the board member who yelled at me. And they wrote I Refused to let them in my home to work on the balcony. This is also untrue, as I tried to meet with them, in a meeting they set up, and failed to attend. I feel like I am being harassed, and not sure if I need a lawyer, or can I just go to the court myself and fight this. Also I would like to note the board member, who I raised my voice at, had confrontations with two other residents, and even spent some time In jail after a domestic dispute with another tenant. So this is not the first time he has harassed other tenants.
Letter form Lawyer: http://imgur.com/a/ouuvI
Picture of damage: http://imgur.com/pJzyCXx ( the balcony where the siding is coming off, is the 6th floor tenants balcony directly above mine.)
What do I do now?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 >Now I just got a letter in the mail from the lawyers of my condo, suing me.

Now you get a lawyer.


Title: [California] S.O. Demoted, told that men preform better at job and command more confidence in workers, also personal appearance mentioned. Discrimination?

Question:
Hello. A million thank yous in advance. Sorry if this is just nothing.

My S.O. Works for a large dog boarding and day care facility. Two months ago she was “promoted” to a shift lead position, but was told she would not get her raise until she proved herself good at the job. During the next two months she bust her ass, preforming all new responsibilities, but is always given excuses about getting her raise because she looked too “stressed”, which was never the case

Anyways, Fast forward to last Friday, as she was clocking out she was told that she wasn’t getting a raise and she was going to be demoted back to her old position. She was told by her manager that “she didn’t seem confident in the yard. Men do better at the job and command more respect and confidence amongst workers”. Then the manager goes on to mention that her hair and appearance is messy (she works with dogs, outdoors and it’s been 90+ In CA so anyone would be frizzy).

Is there any ground here for her to do anything? Even a co-worker in ear shot said that the manager was being sexist.

Answer:
 Her boss literally told her she was being demoted /denied promotion for being a woman?

Yeah that’s probably worth an EEOC/DFEH complaint. Answer #2: IANAL but a few resources:

Google for the Times Up Legal Defense Fund.  They created a network of lawyers who've volunteered to give free consultations to women facing discrimination/sexual harrassment.  The one caveat is that the lawyer may not be familiar with Employment Law, but it's a starting point.

Also, google for local women's centers or groups to see if anyone can recommend a lawyer who's experienced with gender discrimination.

Good luck


Title: (AR) I escaped an abusive husband years ago that has been refusing to divorce me. I have since had a child with my current partner and honestly dont thinl ex will sign a denial of paternity. I have no idea what to do. They won't let SO on birth certificate until ex provides denial of paternity.

Question:
My ex doesn't want anything to do with my child. He is only refusing to sign the denial because he's vindictive and it's all a game to him. I have a restraining order on him but I don't know what to do as far as letting him know that he has to sign this denial. I'm half scared that he won't sign it just to be a jerk. Is there anything I can do legally to get him to sign this paper that doesn't involve me personally contacting him? I don't have much money for a lawyer so that's kind of off the table.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 You need a competent family law attorney. The [AR Bar Association](https://mx.arkbar.com/ARKANSASFINDALAWYER.aspx) can help you find one.

At no point will your husband ever be obligated to sign anything, but every part of this can be solved without his involvement. A rough outline of what to expect:

* A paternity suit alleging that your partner is your child's father, which will be settled by a DNA test and which will overturn the presumption of paternity due to marriage, and
* A contested divorce filing to allow you to get divorced over his objections or, if he continues to be obstinate, without his involvement at all, based on your extended separation.Answer #2: You could file for child support. That might convince him to deny paternity.Answer #3: You should be able to get an exception for domestic violence and/or the restraining order but I can’t speak to your state-specific laws. Contact the court and ask if there are any exceptions and explain your situation.


Title: This girl I've been with ruined my life by lying, now is threatening to report me

Question: Just to say, I'm male. So, long story short, she was lying to keep me with her, I mean, big, terrible lies, like being pregnant and threatening suicide. We fought both physically and verbally. And I don't want to defend myself, we were beating each other, I mostly self defended, and I still have scars from her. I threatened to her to reveal her lies because she keeps ruining my life, she told her parents (not even a little bit of a truth) and now they want to sue me.

Answer:
 In the nicest possible way: don't.

Both legally and personally, you need to separate your life from this person entirely. Wanting to "reveal her lies" means you'll be keeping her in your life, and keeping this conflict going. If you step out of line and harass her or her friends and family, they could seek a restraining order; it's easy to make fairly serious mistakes along those lines when you're angry.

Don't worry about her parents "suing you." A lawsuit requires some breach of a duty or some intentionally or negligently damaging action. If you assaulted your girlfriend, _your girlfriend_ could sue you to recover her medical expenses, but - assuming she's an adult - her parents cannot. Similarly, her parents could make a police report, but it'd be more credible coming from her.

Stop talking to these people entirely. Block on social media, politely change the subject if mutual friends mention her, don't take her calls or emails. If served with notice of a lawsuit, respond to that; if approached by the police, tell them you're not answering questions without a lawyer present and then shut up.


Title: CO - ex-boyfriend trying to sell living room furniture that he did not buy before he is off the lease, what options are there?

Question:
my friend has an ex-boyfriend who is on the lease for another month. She purchased all of their living room furniture as he did not have a credit card at the time, and she still has the previous bank statements to prove her purchase. The ex is stating that he is going to sell all of their living room furniture for $250 (much less than it was bought for), and he will give her half of the money. She has offered to pay him half of the money to just keep the furniture so he can get his cash and not have to sell, but he is doing this to be petty and is refusing to do this. What options does my friend have here? Does he have any claim to sell the furniture as a tenant? Even though it was in the communal living room, is it not still her personal property as she is the one who bought it?

She has already contacted the police and they did not offer any help, but is considering small claims court if that is an option.

Edit: thanks for the initial advice, trying to clarify if the cops told her that he had a right to sell, or they would not pursue arresting him for theft if he sold, potentially giving her options to store the items, or to go to civil court. I'm also advising her to find a free legal advice hotline if possible, so that they can provide her with any CO specific laws and advice, since im sure apartment/tenant law and general theft are pretty well covered by those types of lines.

Edit 2: According to her, the police told her that he has every right to sell the furniture. Sounds like they either don't want to deal with this, or there is some common property law at play here. Sounds like when purchased they agreed to share it, but it is all on her cards, and there was no written agreement as far as I know, so I figured that would pretty much be a he-said she-said situation.

Answer: Not a lawyer, but just because they shared a place doesn't mean they own each other's stuff. If he sells stuff she clearly bought and has record of purchasing then that is theft.


Title: Can you legally walk around town playing Pokemon go as an adult after midnight?

Question:
[AL]
Edit: Thank you for all of your responses. I will call my local police department in the morning.

Answer: Were you in a park or a public square? Sometimes those close at a certain hour. But if you're walking down the sidewalk, I'm sure it's fine. Curfews for adults are very rare in the US, usually only during, like, riots.


Title: [Texas] Was given 3 days eviction notice for putting stop payment on rent check due to black mold

Question: I've just spent the last month in and out of the hospital due to black mold being in the house. I've told the landlord about it several times over the past year, and he refuses to do anything. He finally came in after medics found me unresponsive and sprayed the baseboards, but we won't check to see how far into the wall it's gone. So I'm currently out of the house, and will not be back until I'm positive it's the mold making me sick. I told the landlord I put a stop payment on the rent check until he decides to properly look at the wall and deal with the mold issue, and he gave me an official 3 days eviction notice. With the house not being habitable, can he do this? Is there anything I can do to not be evicted?

Answer:
 You can get evicted, because unfortunately, you did not handle this correctly. Even if you have literally gotten sick inside the home from it. Have you informed your landlord, in writing, of the situation when you first discovered it? Answer #2: > With the house not being habitable, can he do this?

Yes, you handled this very incorrectly, and you probably owe the landlord rent + more now.

First of all, where is the black mold and what is causing it? That's important.

Secondly, what makes you think the mold is causing your health issues? Do you have any evidence to back that claim up?

Last but not least, in the event of a true habitability issue (which it's not clear if this is), you have to properly notify your landlord of the issue, in writing. Then, if he doesn't repair it in a reasonable amount of time, your options are to terminate the lease, have the condition remedied yourself and deduct from the rent, or sue for damages and injunction to do repairs not exceeding $10,000.


Title: [FL] My Grandmother is being catfished and has sent this man $48k in 13 months, what do I do?

Question:
My Grandmother lives in Florida, I live in Maine.

 For some context, my Grandfather has Alzheimer's Disease and my Grandmother is the trustee of all his accounts. More context, I sent my Grandmother my old phone a couple years ago, she just upgraded and sent me back my phone without resetting it.

While clearing the junk out I noticed some suspicious messages between her and another guy so I started reading more. She is in a long distance relationship with this man and he keeps asking for money for things, thousands at a time. This has been going on for 13 months and she has sent him over $48k, and intends to send more.

She has emptied out her own IRA for this, and has nearly emptied my Grandfather's IRA, and is now using his Social Security checks to send more money, sending them further into debt. Their car is about to be reposessed, their TV, Internet, and phone are being shut of regularly, she can't pay their bills because of this.

My mother (who lives in Maine as well) wants to get legal guardianship of my Grandfather and remove my Grandmother's name from his accounts, and bring him up here with us. My Grandmother has expressed interest in the messages with the scammer that she wants to get rid of my Grandfather as soon as possible, and my mother and I want him away from her now that we know what she's doing.

Problem is, I have no idea where to start. Please help!

If you need any more information let me know, my mind is kinda scattered at the moment.

Edit: not sure if it matters, but they are still married, living together, and as far as he knows still in a relationship. She is also his caregiver.

Answer: You need to consult with an elder law attorney to get the guardianship process started.Answer #2: I'd called adult protective services first while you work to find a lawyer to help you.  They can step in and investigate financial abuse.Answer #3: Is it possible your grandmother also has dementia of some form?Answer #4: What county? My sister works for the state of Florida as well as a personal friend of my is a Clerk Of The Court for my county. I can at least try to get a link or phone number from them.Answer #5: You've gotten tons of good answers, but r/personalfinance might also give you some insight on other avenues, they get questions like this on a weekly basis and the commenters there are top notch.


Title: Girlfriend's roommate choices are haunting her.

Question:
So - my girlfriend is in trouble.

About two years ago, she made a hurried and rash decision to room with an acquaintance of hers and a couple other people who had been in search of a living situation on Criagslist. For the sake of brevity, I'll spare some of the unimportant details and just say that the situation soon turned sour and she became a bystander of constant fights and rampant drug use. She decided quickly to look for other living arrangements and had worked out a deal with her roommates (three of them; four tenants total) that they would find someone to replace her.

The roommates located a candidate to replace her and she moved out. Prior to moving out, however, she had tried to get her name off of the lease but was unable to do so because the full amount of the previous month's rent had not been paid. Tired of dealing with the roommates, she agreed to help cover the missing portion of the previous month's rent on good faith that the roommates would follow up with the leasing office and exchange her name on the lease with the new tenant's. This was obviously a huge mistake.

Having thought that she had washed her hands of the situation, my girlfriend cut ties with the old roommates and moved on. It turns out that the new tenant backed out at the last minute and the money that my girlfriend had given to cover the portion of the missing rent had been blown on more drugs. The remaining roommates vacated the premises before the lease had been fulfilled, and did so in style - practically burning down the kitchen and leaving the place trashed.

Several months down the road, my girlfriend received a call from a collections agency saying that there was a rather large balance that needed to be paid. Accepting her stupidity for leaving without tying up loose ends, she agreed to make monthly payments to the collections agency for her portion of the remaining rent in order to save her credit from ruin. The agency gave her the impression that all of the previous tenants were paying. After about a year the payments stopped being drafted from her account. She took this to mean that the balance was paid off. Once again, she made the mistake of not following up.

On Christmas Eve, 2014, the collections agency called her and told her that because she had stopped making payments on a remaining balance, they were looking to settle with a lump-sum payment. It turns out that none of the other previous tenants had been paying off the balance. In order to save her credit, my girlfriend agreed to settle with the collections agency. She is now at a loss for what to do - she took a huge financial hit. Is it possible to sue the other tenants in small claims court for their portion of the rent? There was no division of rent in writing, but there are records of each tenant paying one-quarter of the rent before this whole mess started. I think that under the lease, they are all equally liable for the rent which is why she got stuck with the whole balance - she was the only one responding to collections.

A side note: this took place in Florida, she now lives in the Washington, D.C. area.

Answer:
 > Is it possible to sue the other tenants in small claims court for their portion of the rent?

Yes, and that's likely her only option.