Title: [MA] Want to rent a parking space, owner requires car keys

Question:
I'm in the Greater Boston Area of Massachusetts, and I'm hoping to move in with my boyfriend for a few months this summer.  Problem is, his apartment doesn't have a parking space for me, and I was hoping to find off-street parking for my new car.

I found a *very* convenient space for rent on Craigslist, but the owner is asking me to give them a set of keys to the car, in case they need to move it.

I have very little experience with this sort of matter, so I'm not sure if their request makes perfect sense, or if I would be crazy to give my keys to a Craigslist stranger.  Should I speak with a lawyer to draft some sort of contract protecting my property in case they damage (or steal...) my car?  Is there a simpler way I can protect myself?  Or is the perfect parking space not worth any of this mess?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Do you really think it's a good idea to give your keys to a complete stranger? Answer #2: Rented a space in Boston (Back Bay). It's pretty normal to swap keys, especially if it's tandem parking. I gave the guy my valet key, he gave me his, we moved each other's cars when necessary, no issues.

Go see the spot first obviously to make sure it exists, but i doubt it'll be a scam (knock on wood).. as you're obviously aware, boston blows for parking. What if they need your car moved and you're hours away? (just to play devil's advocate)Answer #3: Think about it this way why in the world would they need a set of your car keys just in case if they need to move it? They couldn't contact you or even if it was some kinda emergency, they could have a towed truck to tow your car away, anything is better than giving away your car key, because anything valuable inside your car maybe missing or worse case scenario your car will gone missing for no reason as soon as you handed them your car key very shortly...Don't ever agree to something that ridiculous.


Title: [Virginia] Applied for apartment, was asked to pay deposit to "hold apartment". I wish to cancel application and now they're refusing to return the deposit.

Question:
State of Virginia, for location.

About 2 weeks ago I found a really good apartment which I viewed and found no problems with whatsoever. I went through the application process, and the leasing office asked me to pay my deposit of $300 with the application to "hold" my apartment until move in, which I found nothing suspicious about so I obliged.

A few days later, due to work circumstances I had to delay my move-in date and was told by the leasing office that the apartment was for "immediate move-in" and would now need to be placed back on the market. However, they did verbally offer a guaranteed spot for my later move-in date in case the one I signed up for was taken so I agreed. Nothing terribly wrong here.

A few days ago, I was given a chance to speak to my finance counselor (provided at the courtesy of my employer) regarding this entire situation, and considering I have student loans to pay off, she suggested that the apartment might be a bit more on the expensive side and I can pay off my loans much faster if I lived more frugally. This suggestion was also backed up by other reddit users.

I just visited the leasing office today, who claimed that there's a clause in the application (for which I don't have a copy and was not provided one) that deposits are forfeited if the cancellation is done after 72 hours, and I need to either forfeit it entirely or continue to sign a lease with them.

I am not sure about the validity of this claim since I wasn't smart enough to ask them for a copy of my application after signing (though they did give me a bunch of papers regarding the move-in and "Apartment Rules" that I've read thoroughly with 0 information on cancellation of applications). However, I am 95% certain no such clause exists because I'm the type to read all documents completely before signing, and wondering if this is worth taking to small claims or just chalk it up as a $300 loss. At this point I am reluctant to lease from them seeing how inflexible they are (I politely asked ~~more like begged~~ for just half which they declined)

Just to clarify I did NOT sign any lease with them. The only thing they have that has my signature is the application (for which again I'm 95% sure has no clause regarding the application process or forfeiture of deposit), and the check for the deposit + application fee.

Any suggestions regarding this situation is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Answer: If you have read through all the contract and application paperwork and see nothing stating what they are telling you about the deposit, then small claims court would be your only option.


Title: Oregon: Elderly woman, low income, having surgery in February. Could I write down a few directives like leaving my house to my son and my 2 cats to my son w/o having to pay and attorney?

Question:
I don't own much but I do have a home.  I don't have much money in my bank account but there is some.  I've been disabled since 2000 so I think they'd (the State) would quickly put liens on my possessions.  I just did my Advance Directive (free) and was hoping this would be legally valid.  I just would be so comforted to know I can leave him something.  I read your guidelines and hope I've met your requirements.  Thank you /r/legaladvice
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer:
 You could certainly write a will yourself, but you would need to have it signed by two witnesses.

Oregon does not prohibit interested parties (like your son) from being a witness.Answer #2: Not a lawyer.  Did you have legal aid in your area?  They may be able to help.   But please make sure your fur kids are taken care of by someone.

I worked in pet rescue for a time.  Kitties have a special place in my heart.Answer #3: Do you have a husband or any other children?


Title: Road Rage in [CO]

Question:
Okay, I did something where I know I was totally in the wrong and I wasn't behaving as well as I should've. Let's just get that out there. Onto the situation:

Today I was driving in Colorado and a car with a young woman (mid-20s) tried to cut me off. Having none of it, I accelerated to prevent her from doing so (it was the best way to avoid an accident, she seriously had NO ROOM to get in). Naturally, she got furious and started doing everything she could to pull alongside me. She was flipping me off, screaming and swearing at me out her window, and doing all the usual things. Normally, I wouldn't engage, but today I wasn't in the best mood. Thinking stupidly, I did the thing that I thought would piss her off the most. Instead of your usual middle finger or something like that, I did the "eating out" hand/tongue symbol, where you make a "V" with your fingers and put your tongue in it. I was upset and knew that would piss her off WAY more than if I just flipped her off in return. Not surprisingly, I was right. She went berserk.

She immediately whipped out the camera phone, and stopped her car in front of me to start getting video of me and my license plate. Then, I saw her on the phone (I'm assuming with the police). Normally, I wouldn't be too worried about this because I'm 99% confident I didn't break any laws. From what I've been able to find, the Supreme Court has ruled that giving the finger is protected by freedom of speech, but this wasn't exactly the middle finger.

Full disclosure, I am on probation for something completely unrelated.  My biggest concern is that because I'm on probation, this will be made into a much bigger deal if she pulls the sexual harassment card.

As far as I know, she has no concrete evidence that I even made that gesture, but you can never be too sure these days. Short of the gesture, I didn't engage her in any other way. I stayed in my lane, went the speed limit, and went off on my way home. She didn't follow me, I made sure to check.

Does she have any legal recourse? Would cops actually show up at my door and try to arrest me for this? Did I break any laws?

To anyone who is going to send me hate mail, let me just say I know what I did was wrong, and I don't feel good about it. Sometimes I have a tendency to "hit where it hurts" when I'm upset, and that's what I did here. It was a stupid mistake and the fear I'm in right now has ensured I'll never do anything like this again.

Answer: You broke the law when you sped up to not let her in. That’s a no-no.


Title: As an employer, am I required to pay an employee for hours worked beyond her regular shift, if they were not scheduled?

Question:
Ontario, Canada

I have an employee who consistently stays 30-45 minutes past the end of her scheduled shifts.  There is literally zero reason that she would need to stay late.  She tells me that she has to stay for ratios (in a childcare center), and I have told her that she needs to ask me to cover her if her partner has too many kids for one staff.  She continues to stay late, and is threatening to file a complaint with the labour board for unpaid wages if she's not paid for this time.  We have a written policy that staff are responsible for ensuring they can leave on time, even if that means asking for coverage from admin staff.

Do I need to start checking in on her every day to make sure she actually leaves?  Will the policy be sufficient to say she shouldn't be paid?  Or should I be paying her for the extra time?

Answer: You are required to pay for all hours worked. You are not required to continue to employee people who do not follow the rules.


Title: Question about texting a minor

Question:
I live in the state of Ohio.
I met this girl on a dating app (plenty of fish) and she began messaging me one day and said it would be easier to text her so I obliged and gave her my phone number and she began texting me. Now we only talked a couple times a day for maybe 2 or 3 days general conversation stuff, school, work, day to day how's it going. She had told me she was 17 about to turn 18 ( I am 19) considering I was only looking for someone to talk to after a bad relationship I didn't really see a problem. Today I received a text message from her number saying that this is her father and I shouldn't be texting his "extremely underage daughter"  and that he is going to turn the phone into the police and have them deal with it. The closest thing to inappropriate she had said was when I told her I was going to bed one night and she said I wish I was there and I replied "lol do you like cuddling". She replied "I think everyone does" and said goodnight. I'm probably over thinking this but should I be remotely worried and what to do? No pics other then of her face and no sexual content of any kind. I don't believe this is a scam because he was very persistent with going to the police and no "do this and I won't do that talk".

Answer:
 There was a similar post like this.

It's a scam apparently, might want to crosspost in /r/scams


Title: [CA, USA] I was sexually assaulted and nothing is happening with my case

Question:
Background: I was sexually assaulted (rape and sexual assault are not quite the same thing. His hands where used.) at school by my close friend April 23 2013. I reported it to a teacher, who told the principal who called the cops about a week later. I had to talk to some very rude detectives who lies to me about going through my phone and I spoke to a DA who hasn't called me back since July after saying my case was being reviewed and they'd call back. I was 16 at the time, I'm now 17, Only one parent knows.

Question 1: Was it legal for the detectives to lie to me?

Context: They asked to take my phone, I agreed after they swore they'd only look at the person in questions texts. After I got it back they called a close friend of mine and said they say his texts too.

Question 2: : I feel I am being ignored by the DA. Is this unreasonable?

 Context: Like I said they said case was under review in July. I sent the office an email about 2 weeks ago (I can find it if it's important).

Question 3: Can I do anything? Being a minor sucks.

I will probably have more if anyone can help me out. Thank you so much for your time.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 First of all, I'm sorry this happened to you.  In response to your questions:

1. The police are under no obligation to tell you the truth.

2. It's not at all unreasonable to feel that the DA is ignoring you.  You might see if they have a victim advocate who you can speak with.  They might be able to provide you with some more information regarding your case and their entire job is to communicate with victims so you probably won't get brushed off.

3.  I'm not sure there's really much more you can do.  You could talk to your parents about consulting with an attorney to see if there's anything else that might be done.  That could potentially lead to even more adverse interactions with the police/DA though as they typically don't like to think that someone else is attempting to control their investigation.


Title: Photo Credit Question

Question:
I recently posted a picture of an unfortunate happening regarding some "work boots" I purchased.

Since posting, things escalated quickly and multiple sources have posted stories.

My question is, since the picture is original content from me, and these multiple "news" sources are using it in articles, that have ads, am I entitled to any compensation from potential revenue?

I just want to know what my rights are, as my photo is being used, yet I was never asked for permission.

Thank you.

Answer:
 uploading the image to imgur means you basically grant a license to imgur to use your image royalty-free, however they want, perpetually. Imgur also mentioned a clause that allows news sites to use their images, with a catch that those sites must mention their name.

https://imgur.com/tos


Title: I have some questions in regards to a "traffic stop"....

Question:
So, back in May, I was flagged to the side of the road by a traffic officer in CA after super accidentally turning left at an intersection with a sign (I didn't see it....d'oh!) that read "no left turn between 4-7 pm". My bad. I was in an unfamiliar area and honestly have no dash clock in my in my old-ass truck. He wasn't willing to hear me out. Yay First Ticket Ever. With my screaming toddler in the backseat, to boot.

So here are a few problems I have with the scenario:

1. The officer did not properly identify himself at first, and failed to inform me that he was recording (which I asked about, but was asked in return "how do you know if I am?", basically). My Mom was in the passenger seat and was witness to this.

2. Another officer pulled up and flagged four cars on that did the same thing right behind me, with no consequence. Kind of feels like I was singled out. Also, the dude circled my perfectly legal truck several times looking for anything he could. That seemed odd. He told me my insurance was expired, which it clearly was not, when I handed over the card. Nothing happened with that, because, not expired.

3. I got a letter today from the Chief of Police stating that my complaints are unfounded (yes, I called as a concerned citizen). Can I request to hear the recording? I am SO not lying, I wouldn't have even said a thing had I thought there wasn't a reason to. This letter is basically passive aggressive Thanks/No Thanks, Sorry/Not Sorry.

4. I have court to either try to get this ticket reduced to a warning or make payments (I'm not rich...LOL). What should I expect, having tattled on a member of the LAPD unsuccessfully? Are they going to treat me like crap because I tried to right a wrong?

Sorry if this seems trivial or silly...but really, it was my first time being "pulled over/flagged to the side" in my life (I'm 34). I've never been to court. Is there anything I can do to make this....uh....not shitty? Is the judge going to look at me like I'm an asshole for reporting things that this particular division isn't willing to be truthful about? I'm not trying to get out of anything, I know I made a wee mistake, but holy crap....there are just some fishy smelling things about in regards to it, on the behalf of the pd.

EDIT: Thanks, those of you who offered useful advice and answered my questions. I am truly ignorant to how this stuff works, and some things seemed off to me. I'd never been pulled over or ticketed prior, nor have I dealt with law enforcement in any other direct capacity, fortunately. I don't hate law enforcement, I'm not holding a banner up to "get them". Thanks very much, it appears I was incorrect in my assumption of certain processes. :)

Answer:
 He did exactly what he was meant to do.

They don't have to tell you the stop is being recorded nor do they have to state their name (it's not law, usually depends on department policy)

Every officer works differently some write alot of tickets some don't, it's not a "you must write tickets for this and this violation" officer discretion always comes into account when stopping drivers.

If you wanna goto court go for it but be prepared if your representing yourself of you will look extremely foolish if you are not. Or the latter you can go and they may give you a plea and reduce the fine amount.

In regards to the whole stop I see nothing wrong with what the officer did. He did his job (regardless of sounding like a drone) and left. Again every officer is different and approach traffic stops differently. Next one could be very friendly and laughing and smiling or could be very stern and probably give you a ticket. But there isn't anything illegal about it.


Title: Unlicensed driver hit my car and admitted on bodycam she was looking at phone. Now said I hit her. Her insurance (Geico) is saying they need police report and seem to not want to accept cop's. There is a fee for me to request it. Can I refuse without hurting my case?

Question: (MD) I was sideswiped by an unlicensed driver. In addition to admitting on body cam to the officer that she was at fault, she was ticketed for driving w/o license and for not paying attention to the road (I'm unsure of the exact charge). Her insurance (Geico) is believing her new story that I ran into her. She has already made up claims that were easy to disprove to my insurance: claiming I made a U-turn into her lane in when that area that is divided by concrete and a small grass hill with trees. Geico found her not at fault but I insisted they speak to the officer. They called me saying I need to get a copy of the report and gave me a lot of resistance when I said to speak to the officer. Now I'm seeing there is a nonrefundable fee to get the report. Additionally, I don't see why I have to take time and energy to do the adjusters job. Am I being ridiculous? Can I refuse without it reflecting poorly in me? Do I have any other recourse?

Answer: I would advise paying the fee and getting a copy of the report.  I don't really understand what you're doing trying to make a claim, but not wanting to show the police report.  Are you sure it's her insurance that wants the report?  She is possibly (  probably ) uninsured if she has no license.


Title: [KY]Girl lied about her age I think.

Question: So I've been sexting this girl on snapchat claiming to be 21 and all of a sudden a sheriff came with a warrant to take my phone away to be searched for child pornography. If the girl is actually underage and lying to me am I still in legal trouble? What kind of information can they get from Snapchat? If I am in legal trouble how bad is it?

Answer: I have trouble believing that a county sheriff would come to your home with a warrant and seize your phone due to suspicion of CP being on it and you weren't arrested.


Title: [GA, USA] Just out of a Ch. 13 bankruptcy that saved our home, just discovered that HOA sent us to collections for HOA dues they never billed us for during bankruptcy

Question:
So basically [long story](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2vt6jj) short, my parents were able to save our home from foreclosure by filing a Ch. 13 bankruptcy back in Spring 2010. The 5-year Ch. 13 case concluded this past spring (2015) and we believed that we were now finally caught up with our HOA, whose lawyers had made an almost $3000 claim in the Ch. 13 case. Apparently almost half of that was attorney fees. We originally only owed about $800 in past-due fees (back in 2010).

During the 5-years of the bankruptcy case, we made our mortgage payments and also a trustee payment. We assumed that our payments to the trustee were being distributed to all creditors and claimants which we thought included the homeowners association (or their lawyers) since they were listed in the Ch 13 case.

In April 2015, we received our first HOA dues notice/bill in a long time, which said we were behind just one assessment of $250, plus the current dues. So, we paid the $500 that the bill said we owed, and as far as we knew, we were now in "good standing" with the HOA.

Now our HOA fees are due twice a year in Feb and Sept., so *recently* we received another bill, and this time it said we owed over $5500 in past-due dues and fees. Immediately, we called the HOA and they refused to talk to me about the fees, and just said that we needed to talk to their lawyers (aka debt collectors). The next day, I received a generic debt collection letter from the HOA's alwyers, saying I owed the $5500, and that I needed to reply within 30 days.

I replied to them via registered mail, asking the lawyers for verification of the debt and how they were getting such an enormous figures, and explaining them that as far as we knew they were being paid during the past 5-years via the Ch. 13 plan, and that we paid our current dues back in April 2015.

Today I got a response from the HOA lawyers, that included a printed spreadsheet and a summary that says, that I am behind $2,450 in unpaid HOA dues, plus $723 in interest, and a **whooping $3051 of "ATTY FEES"**!

We are willing to try to pay any past-due HOA dues, but we can't afford to pay these ridiculous attorney fees... how is that even legal to owe more for attorney fees than the alleged principal balance!?

I need some help as I have no idea how to approach this. I am going to try to call the HOA's lawyers next week, but I have no idea where to start or what I should even say?

The HOA basically never continued billing us during the Ch. 13 case, and now they immediately sent us to collections?! Is what they are doing legal? I know that our HOA contracts out the management of the association to some management company, and it has changed companies at least once during the past 4/5 years. But they are basically sending me to collections for something they never billed me for.

Edit: spelling. Plus more info.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 I am an attorney practicing bankruptcy law, although not in Georgia.

1. Contact a bankruptcy attorney (maybe not yours, see #4).
2. What I believed happened is  this:  any pre-petition (from before the Chapter 13 was filed) debt *is* included in the payment that was made by the Trustee.  However, it sounds like your parents are being billed for post-petition debt (debt incurred after you filed).  Post-petition debt IS NOT included in disbursements by the Trustee.  Effectively, the HOA dues that were incurred after you filed bankruptcy were not included.
3. If your bankruptcy attorney cannot help you, you may want to contact a real estate attorney or consumer debt attorney.  While my guess is that the unpaid HOA dues are legitimate, some states limit the amount of interest and attorney's fees that can  be added.  You may also have some defense regarding the statute of limitations.
4. Many ongoing accounts, like HOA dues, can be tricky for creditors in bankruptcy.  Oftentimes, what happens is that a debtor's account is put in a NO CONTACT status.  That means, essentially, that there is absolutely no permission to contact the debtor.  This is to prevent violations of the stay protecting the debtor from collection actions.  This becomes problematic when unsophisticated creditors do not delineate post-petition debts and fail to collect on those.
5. I would ask the HOA to provide copies of collection letters/bills sent.  If they did send anything, the letters may have been sent to the bankruptcy attorney (this sometimes happens in my office). If that's the case, you may have some leverage against the bankruptcy attorney for failing to alert you to the mail.


Title: People investing in my investment portfolio

Question:
Hey r/legaladvice

I hope I am clear enough. If I fail to do so, please tell me so. I will keep it short.

I am a 17 year old and I invest (shares and bonds). I live in Paris, France. My question is a more legal one. I am interested in selling 'shares' of my portfolio, which would allow my 'partners' in the to see their investment grow and fall in par with my capital gains/losses. The people I want to join are simply friends and family who would be interested. I don't plan to make this a big thing, but I am still curious whether this is legal or not, and whether this entails me to any risks if I fail (I plan on providing a document on this).
Simultaneously, I do not want to register anything if possible. My goal of doing this is to increase the amount of capital to widen my options so I can invest in more securities. I am not planning to do so until I feel more comfortable and knowledgeable investing.

TLDR;
I invest. I want other people to give me money. Their capital will track my portfolio (eg. my value +10%, their money invested rises +10%). They become minority owners of my portfolio, owning 'shares' of my portfolio/vehicle. They can sell the 'shares' to me or other 'partners' and earn/lose the difference. They have voting rights to the investment decision using their 'shares'. They sign document agreeing to all of this AND that they understand they may lose all the money.

ANSWER: After reading every single comment, many of them of very high quality, which I thank you for, I have been convinced that this is a bad idea for many reasons which merely appeared good to my young naive self. I will continue to invest and will allow people to loan me out money, but not in the way described above. I will however consider this in a year or two when I (hopefully) will be in uni in (hopefully) London, hopefully (hopefully) in LSE, where I will be able to have more opportunities open. For detailed reasons of my decision, read this great thread for those interested. Thank you so much ladies and gentlemen!

Answer:
 Some historical context: in the past, there have been lots of people who have done what you're proposing, but with less than honest intentions or without those people understanding what they're getting into.

So, an entire body of law has been passed to protect those individuals. Among other things, those laws involve registering people selling investments, specific disclosure and so on.

I can't comment on what that looks like in France. But, it's not going to be trivial.


Title: My [20F] boss [50sM] has a right to move me to another branch, but I don't want to. What are my options?

Question:
I have started this job 2 months ago as just an internal sales person and have since the beginning said I would like to learn more and progress into a higher position. This was recognised and I have been told I will be moving to another branch in July, but I do not drive and public transport cannot get me there. I have also realised I do not want to progress, especially because I thought it will be slower (maybe move in a couple years or so).

&#x200B;

How do I word to my boss tomorrow that I no longer wish to progress and just want this exact job in this exact location (7 minute walk from my (parents) house, I want to at least learn to drive and move out and do some growing up. How do I word this without completely going back on myself saying I want to progress?

&#x200B;

Also, it is in my contact that they have a right to move me to another branch (any of 12) to 'fulfil my full potential'. What can I say to him tomorrow to sort out some kind of agreement where I can be like some of the older and even newer starters who they have no desire in moving them and they do not have this worry.

&#x200B;

TLDR; I no longer want to progress in my job, I just want this exact position and do not wish to move branches as I cannot physically get there. How can I word this to my boss tomorrow?

Answer:
 >How can I word this to my boss tomorrow?

Politely.

And since you have no legal right to insist on working in this branch, try to explain how much you value your job and plan to work hard to perform well, and how this is just a delay in your growth plans.

Good luck.


Title: To what extent does freedom of speech/religion go on campus?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 In 2014, outdoor areas in Virginia's public college campuses were specifically declared to be public forums.  [Link.](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?141+ful+HB258)

In public forums, the government can't restrict people from proselytizing, protesting, or petitioning the government for a redress of grievances, unless the restriction is narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest.

Part of college is being exposed to lots of points of view you don't agree with.  Go ahead and argue with them if you want; that's protected speech, too.
Answer #2: As my 1st Amendment professor would say,

>The cure for speech with which you do not agree is more speech!

Your best option is to go hold your own rallies.


Title: What will happen to trust after a divorce?

Question: My wife and I have a trust that was set up by her mother about 6 years ago.  We collect the interest from the trust and can request money from it whenever we want for home repairs, medical expenses, etc., although we haven't yet.  The only other thing I know about it, that if / when we die, it goes to our kids.  What usually happens to a trust if we were to get divorced?

Answer:
 > What usually happens to a trust if we were to get divorced?

There's no answer to that because there is no "usual". In fact, this whole situation sounds unusual. It depends entirely on what the trust says.


Title: Is tickling someone without their consent considered assault?

Answer:
 Yes. Unwanted physical contact of any sort can generally be considered assault.Answer #2: So whether the crime is called assault, battery, or some other name the act of  tickling someone with out consent will fall under one of them, let’s just use assault in the common parlance from now on.

Yes, touching someone with out their consent can 100% be considered assault.  Depending on the context, possibly a form of sexual assault.

Now whether the police / da care or not is going to be a different matter.Answer #3: Is that why my dog keeps saying he's gonna talk to his attorney?Answer #4: It completely depends on your jurisdiction.  There are some jurisdictions that require a actual injury to take place for it to become a actual criminal assault.


Title: [USA][India] I’m a prospect scambaiter. Will be attempting to make content off it! How I have questions.

Question:
I’m working on becoming a scam baiter, which is the act of contacting scammers around the world and wasting their time and resources preventing them from targeting possible victims. This is all legal however there are lines I’m concerned could possibly be considered hacking that I want council on prior to engagement. I’m planning on finding a way to use rats to access computers of scammers and steal their files and render their PCs unusable. The files I then plan to use to contact the victims and warn them of their data being compromised. I also plan on using the information to work with proper authorities to have these firms taken down. Which is where I wish to work someone in India (which is statistically where a majority of scammers are found) to bring these cheats to justice. I also plan on having YouTube and live-streams about this which is what I’m getting from it for anyone who’s concerned. I don’t intend to show any private information on stream and videos will be blurred out.
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 > I’m planning on finding a way to use rats to access computers of scammers and steal their files and render their PCs unusable.

Your plan of breaking the law (and live-streaming it on top of that) to help law enforcement will only lead you to getting in trouble for breaking the law yourself.

Legaladvice: Come up with a new business idea.


Title: [Ont, CAN] Neighbor BLASTS Islamic chanting and music from 3pm-12am in mothers low-income housing complex, what can i do to get them to stop?

Question:
So my mother lives in a low-income housing complex in Waterloo,Ontario,Canada and a Syrian refugee family moved in down the hall from her. For the past 5 weeks between the hours of 3pm-12am they are consistently BLASTING(and i mean blasting, i can hear it over my mothers tv when i come to make her dinners every weekend) Islamic/Arabic chanting and music.
She has called the housing board about 5 times over this and each and every time they refuse to send anyone out to either issue a warning or tell them to turn it down. Twice i have gone over myself and told them to turn it down only to get the door slammed in my face.
What actions can i do moving forward to make this stop? i have no problem with them listening to whatever the fuck they want but honestly.....when i and my mother can hear it over her tv, and it causes my mothers dog to go haywire thinking someones in the hallway, it becomes INCREDIBLY disturbing.

Update: I called the bylaw officers and they're on their way, for my mothers sake(as this is a housing complex and issues like this get around like wildfire) i remained anonymous. Hopefully something is done.

Update 2: Bylaw officers stopped by and told them that they were in violation of the noise bylaw and if they happened to come by again and it was that loud they will face a fine, Will report back tomorrow if they have continued. Thank you all for the advice.

Answer: Your city probably has noise bylaws. Call 311 and find out what they are. For example, there may be a rule about noise after 10 pm. If so, you can complain to the city and/or police about the bylaw infraction.


Title: Medical-Legal Advice

Question:
Hi,

I have a few questions regarding medical-legal advice.

1) I have an appointment to see Neurologist #2, but it's far in the future. I don't want to wait that long. So, I see Neurologist #1. He says he can do nothing for me and that I should see what Neurologist #2 says instead, condescendingly. Is there legal recourse for getting back the $50 I paid to see Neurologist #1 when Neurologist #2 was able to find something wrong with me?

2) I go to the ER at a hospital, because I am barely able to walk, and they do some blood work on me. The doctor tells me that there is nothing he can do to help and also does nothing while sending me home when I am still barely able to walk. Can the ER legitimately charge me $1000 for this?

&#x200B;

Thanks.

Answer: In both cases you received services and need to pay for them.


Title: Logo I want to use in bookcover believed to be public domain is listed as copyright by Wikipedia.

Question:
This is a logo that could not be owned by anyone, yet Wikipedia is listing it as copyright.

I wish to use it as part of a book cover, but I want to confirm it is safe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Titor_insignia.jpg

I'm in Canada.

Answer:
 >This is a logo that could not be owned by anyone,

Please explain how it is impossible for someone to have the copyright on a logo that was created sometime around the year 2000.


Title: [California] Moved into a rental house and smoke alarms did not have batteries in them upon move-in, landlord just mailed us batteries and told us to install the batteries.

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice,

All the smoke alarms are located in areas which we cannot reach normally or reach by standing on a chair. None of us at my house actually has a car to go buy a ladder and transport it back to the house if we did buy one.

Are we legally required to install the batteries or is landlord suppose to do it?

The reason I am asking this is because money is short and we cannot just spend the money to go buy a ladder  for one use. Also getting transportation to transport the ladder from the home improvement store to the house would be a headache; we would have to find a car that can carry a ladder and convince the person to let us borrow their car.

Answer:
 Common sense advice? Install the batteries.

You don't need to get a car and buy a ladder. Ask a neighbor.

"Hi. I just moved in next door and I'm wondering - do you have a ladder I can borrow for about 10 minutes? I need to change the batteries in the smoke detector"

If you're in a larger building? Call maintenance in the building and see if you can borrow a ladder.Answer #2: If you're okay with dying of smoke inhalation because you can't be bothered to find a ladder and pop some batteries in, sure, go ahead and ignore it.


Title: Do we (or my sister) have a case here?

Question:
Ill try to keep this as short as possible and make sure to only highlight the important parts.

my dumb sister, who lives at home with my mother and I, got with a loser guy who has a pscyho ex-girlfriend. sister and loser went to stay at a resort; psycho ex found out about this and called the hotel posing as my sister over the phone. In doing so, she was given personal information such as home address, phone number, hotel bill, etc by an idiot hotel employee who emailed all of this to her.

psycho ex-girlfriend has been maliciously texting my sister (my sister has saved the texts) threatening fights, threatening to show up at her job, and threatening to show up at our home; which she did last night. she has been sending pictures of herself in front of our home to my sister stating "i know where you live". she has called my sister's job leaving voice mails demanding my sister call her and trying to get her in trouble with her boss.

my mother suffers from anxiety attacks and im very concerned for my mother who is sometimes left alone at home because my sister and I both work, im having to go out today to a gun shop and purchase a firearm to leave at home with my mother who was scared to death last night and had to call the police over due to this woman's actions.

tldr; hotel gave out personal information; pscyho ex-girlfriend stalking my sister and our home.

p.s. we live in california.

sister has also changed her number,but this woman still knows where we live and where my sister works.

Answer:
 Against the hotel?  No.

Perhaps your sister should look into an RO against the other wonderful lady.


Title: Abusive Parents; CPS doesn't care.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Nothing you stated is illegal. Parents can be shitty. That doesn't mean it is illegal.

You can move out when you turn 18.

Don't take a car without permission. That is a crime

Also, many of your things listed are normal parenting.


Title: [Immigration/Citizenship] English born, with American father, moving from UK to America in August. What steps to take to get dual citizenship established? Just a DNA test from dad?

Question:
So without getting too boring, here, I am American, and was stationed in the UK back in '89/90.  Found out that my English girlfriend discovered she was pregnant literally the week after I was sent back to the states, but was unable to ever get in touch with me here, and the USAF wouldn't give her my information.   Fast forward to very recently and I get a facebook message from a friend of hers asking if I knew her. Long story short, I met my 19 year old so for the first time in '09. He came down and visited, but for only a week, and went back.  Now, at 27, he's moving down permanently, and we want to get his citizenship established.  I'm guessing all we need is a DNA test from each of submitted and he'll be granted it automatically.

Do I have this correct? What else do we need to know?

Thanks very much in advance, guys. I seriously appreciate any info you can provide.

Answer: Your son will need to apply for a certificate of citizenship, then there is an interview. If you had not establish legal paternity prior to the time your son turned 18, he may not have acquired citizenship.


Title: Underage and in an abusive home... in a tiny, super-conservative Texas town. Currently homeless.

Question:
I am 16 year of age. I have been in fights (mostly verbal with scattered fistfights, always 2 or 3 on one) with my parents and brother. My older brother was  kicked out a while back at 14-15 and moved in with grandparents, but that is not an option for me. I have been kicked off the property, and when I did not return my parents filed me as a runaway and I was threatened with Juvee by the sheriff who picked me up.
   I have been kicked out again, and I am currently living in a friend's on an air mattress. What possible legal action can be taken beyond CPS (that is my last hope) and if I were to run away again and live with a friend (18 years old, I've know for years) what possible things could go wrong?
   Note that my parents will throw runaway, violence, and underage viewing of pornography at me should this go to court, and I'm fairly certain they will sign off on nothing.

Answer:
 Texas attorney here.

First, no one (not police, judges, literally no one) will care about you watching porn. There is no such thing as "underage viewing of porn". You can thank the 1st amendment for that.

Second, running away isn't a crime either. The police will care if you're truant (not going to school and don't have a GED), but for just generally not being home that's not a crime. It's possible in some cities to be violating curfew, but so long as you're in a private residence that you have permission to be in that's a non-issue.

The violence is an iffy one. Seriously you should call CPS. Get placed with a foster family where your parents can't find you, go to school, and make a life worth living.

Honestly, unless you have an absurd amount of money from a huge inheritance or something don't even consider emancipation. I'm not saying it's impossible, but unless you can meet the statutory requirements and pay an attorney or qualify for free legal aid then emancipation is a pipe dream. CPS is real, they will actually help, and if you're being abused then you need to go to the cops and report it.


Title: Turning 18 in 5 months, is there anything my parents can do to stop me from moving out as soon as I turn 18?

Question:
My parents don't have the best relationship. My dad  has been, while usually "normal" what could be considered verbally and once physically abusive, almost definitely tied to his drinking. This makes me feel conflicted because when he is normal I hate myself for having negative opinions of him and vise versa. He fights with my mom a lot, and my mom has been telling me she is "about to divorce" him as long as I can remember. She casually told me today that she loves the cat so much because my dad doesn't show much love to her. Not to make this about myself but this is not good for my schoolwork, having ADHD and OCD (which they know about) and depression, and anxiety (which they don't) I don't really need things complicating my life in high school and when I go to community and then transfer to regular college.

But most importantly I don't want to be a strain on the family. My dad lost his job a few months ago and is now working as an event staff for stuff happening at the arena making a fraction of what he did. I don't want to be a burden and affect my brothers ability to get into college because he is the most normal of the family and gets better grades. Especially since we live in a very expensive area.

My dad can often be controlling and manipulative, and my mom tends to be rather emotional and she has anxiety too, apparently since her dad died at 14 and I feel that either or both well guilt me into staying to the determent of at least one of us. Is there anything they  could do to stop me from living on my own through my goth school or otherwise? I live in Virginia if it helps.

Answer: Nope, unless you are dependent on them for some reason, sorry to hear it but take off.Answer #2: No. Make sure to take critical documents ( SS card, licenses, passport, etc).Answer #3: Be aware that you will need your parents' income and tax information for the FAFSA when you attend college. If you cannot provide it, you will not be eligible for any federal student aid except student loans. So if you do decide to move out, you should try to remain on decent terms with them so you can get their information on the FAFSA.Answer #4: If you have any money in an account your parents have access to, they can withdraw it all legally.


Title: What to Do When You Can't 'Do' What Your Atty Agreed to in an Order?

Question:
A friend of mine is going through a divorce and it's pretty nasty. He's under a temp spousal support order (no kids - just STBX) of $1850/month. It's a temp order - once a permanent order is in place, the amount will go down. (Statute change).

At the last court date, he settled everything due and owing to her at that point. They we're supposed to go to prove up that same day, but due to court issues (not his) it was rescheduled to 5/24. His attorney committed him to paying ANOTHER $1850 in maintenance for June, and said he'd pay it at the next session, on 5/24. He paid this woman $11k, and is broke. He can't pay this additional $1850...especially when he just paid her $11k less than 2 weeks ago. (Besides, the June payment would be subject to the reduced payment amount under the permanent support order.)

He's petrified - he literally cannot pay this money. His atty is ducking him now. What advice can I give him on how to handle this?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: You should not give him any advice.  He needs to follow up with his own attorney, persistently, until they discuss this.Answer #2: This sounds like he needs a new attorney; if his attorney isn't doing what he should be, a new attorney and a complaint to the bar about the old one may be in order.


Title: Brother taking his wife and children from the UK back to his home country . Can I stop it somehow?

Question: My brother is planning to take his children (eldest is 14 years old) back to his home country. They will be going to a place where they will have little education and their future prospects will not be very good either. His wife and children do not want to go but refuse to speak about due to social repercussions. The reasons they are going are bullshit. He thinks that a western country will corrupt his daughters and therefore he would rather take them back where he can properly control them.

Answer:
 You mean can you stop two custodial parents from making a decision about where to raise their kids?

No.


Title: [Indiana] The owner of my restaurant pocketed my tip

Question:
I'm an hourly kitchen employee at a mom and pop restaurant in Indiana. Yesterday we had a large catering order totaling $2700. The people who picked it up left a $685 tip on the order. The owner didn't give any of it to the other guy and myself who prepared the order and help the guest carry out. When I asked the owner about receiving my portion of the tip via text message he responded with: "Pressthenekey, you are not a tipped employee. The money from cater job, etc. is restaurant income, in any form it arrives. It wasn't your business to even see it." The servers who rang them up and had them sign the ticket were the ones who told us what the tip was. "If I pass on a cash bonus to the kitchen manager for any reason, that's one thing, otherwise, its not as a tip as you would believe it to be. My company will charge guests differently in many ways...you are not privy to my business, just do the job you're paid to do. Thanks."

Do I have any legal right to the tip? or am I just sol because I'm hourly and not working in a tipped position?

Answer: IANAL but tips are generally for the servers not for the kitchen staff.


Title: [Arizona, US] School is attempting to charge me an extra $4300

Question:
Not sure if we're supposed to post the name of the specific school, but if it's necessary I'll name them in an edit.

So I just got a call from my school this morning, telling me that I still had an overdue balance of $4300 and that it was about to go to collections. I'd only taken classes there for 1 semester (during last summer) and I'd paid for them through a combination of grants and loans, the latter of which I'm still currently paying off.

In January of this year, I'd attempted to get my transcript from them to apply to a different school's nursing program, but they told me that I had an overdue balance then ($4300, same as now) and that they couldn't release the transcript to me until I corrected it. I told them then that that wasn't possible, considering that all the payments for the classes came out of my grants and loans first before any remaining was disbursed to me.

The lady I spoke to then said something along the lines of "Oh, you're right, sorry about that. This happened to a couple other students too. We'll take care of it, so just check back again in 2 weeks and pick up your transcript then." However, I never picked up my transcript as I'd come to a personal realization by then that I no longer wanted to do nursing and wanted to go into a different field.

Now, four months later, I get a call from the school about the overdue balance again and I was once again adamant that I did not owe anything. They kept repeating that no, I did owe them money and that they had supposedly sent my loans back to the loaner back in November (which I was never notified about, and if they did, then why am I still paying off loans?) until they read a comment on my file that mentioned the call I had with one of their staff back in January. They then said that they would try to get in contact with the lady I spoke to back then and then contact me again by next week.

What are my options here? I'm just worried that it'll go to a worst case scenario and they'll try to force me to pay $4300 that I don't owe in the first place. Thanks in advance for the help.

Answer: Is it one of the Maricopa Community College District schools or a private one?


Title: My girlfriends mother took away her phone, if I purchase her a new one, can she legally take it away?

Question:
My girlfriend is 17 years old and lives with her mom. After finding out that she was doing something her mother didn't like, her mom took her phone away. I am concerned that she might find herself in an emergency and have no way to contact help (domestic violence has been an issue in the past), and I would like to buy her a burner temporarily, and an actual phone later on. The phone contract would be in my name, and I would pay all the bills. If her mother were to find her in possession of it, could she take it?

EDIT: We live in Texas
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 Yes. To be fair, cellphones without a contract/minutes can still call 911 but not other numbers so if this is a real case of concern then you could give her an unactivated cellphoneAnswer #2: I can tell you as a parent to a teenager, if someone did that with one of my kids, it would not be a nice situation.

OP, just because we can do something, doesn't mean we should do something.  Legally, sure she would have to return your phone if asked.  But, do you honestly want to get in between an upset mother and her daughter?  I can guarantee you, if you poke your nose in that mess, it won't be pretty.Answer #3: She can take it away until your girlfriend turns 18.


Title: Professor is doxxing me, my family, and threatening me

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Dude.  Block them on Facebook.  End of story.

Sometimes even people in authority will have different opinions than you, and sometimes  even those people are not accepting of the opinions of others.

You seem entitled to force everyone to come around to your worldview.


Title: Are we liable after a dog bite surrender? [MO]

Question:
[Saint Charles County, Missouri]

So long story short, we adopted a puppy from the shelter. She was great for a while and as time went on (2 months) she got a lot more aggressive, possessive and uncontrollable. She all of a sudden started going after our other dog and cat with no provocation or reason. Long story short, she lunged at my hand (that wasn't going for the toy) and grabbed on. I had to pull my hand out since she wouldn't let go.

Anyways, we surrendered her to animal control, they did a bite report since she drew blood, including pictures and a 10 day quarantine. We told them everything. On the surrender form, you had the option to select "Adoption" or "Euthanasia". Meaning you would choose the latter if you wanted the dog put down right after the quarantine. You could select the first one if you didn't want the dog put down. The people told us to circle both, since we wanted the shelter to decide. Maybe she would be fine in a household with no other animals? No idea.

We got a call from the new owner today which is another issue all together. But my law school friend thinks that since we selected both adoption and euthanasia that it could come back on us if the new owner was bitten.

Would we be liable for damages if the new owner is harmed? We didn't really care what happened to the dog, we just didn't want her in our house since we had been having a ton of issues. We told the shelter everything.

Thanks!

Answer: Your law school friend is full of shit. You cannot predict the behavior of an animal, and you made his tendencies clear. Seriously,if your friend intends on pursuing law further, they need to get cracking on some books.


Title: Can my school punish me like this?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: They are not a court of law. They don't need 'beyond a reasonable doubt.' You can appeal to a dean


Title: Daughter's "punishment" at school (3th grade) to work with the special education classes. Is this legal in any way?

Question:
My daughter was being a brat at school and got herself into trouble. That's not an issue. My issue is that her "punishment" is to help with the special ed kids in their classes.

I don't understand this. What popped into my head was the phrase "discrimination is taught." I do not find this moral whatsoever, suggesting that a punishment be to help those with disabilities. What are they trying to teach my daughter by saying, "you did something bad, now as a result you have to spend time with someone different than you." As far as punishment with things that could be viewed as volunteer work or an actual job, I know this is used a lot such as sweeping floors or picking up trash, but this is taking your time to help another human in your presence who isn't as lucky as you.

I just wanted to know the legal view of this, if it's any kind of exploitation slander of the special ed kids.

I will be having a talk with my daughter before this "punishment" next week about those with disabilities and whatnot. She's very familiar with family members with physical disabilities and has known all her life not to be prejudice or judgmental. I really, really hate that that seems to be what the school is doing. Also, with it being the weekend now, I haven't been able to contact the teacher who gave out this punishment.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 You keep using the word “punishment.”

It’s sounds to be a lot more like “restorative justice.”  Your child was a brat, so to teach her a little empathy and kindness toward others, the school is giving her an opportunity to serve her community.    There’s nothing illegal about that.

But if you’d rather your child sit in detention or sweep the floor or whatever, instead of tutoring her peers, you are certainly free to ask.

Edited to add:  As both an attorney and a Special Education professional, the idea that this is“exploitation slander” of Special Ed kiddos is absolutely bananas.     I think you need to re-evaluate your own ideas of what special education is if you think having a general education student tutor a Special Education student is somehow exploitation or slander. Answer #2: This is no different than community service in the adult setting. She acted out in the community, now she must help the community.Answer #3: Maybe the teacher is thinking it is a way for her to learn empathy?  It would be interesting to know what the teachers POV is.


Title: Christmas packages were accidentally delivered to an old address. Current residents of said address opened packages and refuse to give them back.

Question:
I'm not sure how to describe locations since it involves 3 separate locations due to shipping.

My stepdads current location - Gate City, VA

Old location of my stepdads - Kingsport, TN

His mother's location - Washington DC

So, my stepdad's mother sent him Christmas packages to his former address on accident. She forgot to update the shipping history to his current residency. (Mind you, these packages were sent from her home. They were wrapped in Christmas paper, labeled with everyone's names.)

When she got the tracking notification, she called my stepdad to ensure he received them, in which he replied, that they had never showed up. She went to look back at her delivery confirmation and realized she had them shipped to the wrong address.

My stepdad went to his former address and confronted the new residents. They blanatly lied about never receiving any packages. Also, my stepdad witness TWO of the gifts opened and in use. (One of his gifts was a doorbell security camera system, in which the new residents had already mounted onto their door.)

Is this pretty much a sealed deal? Or can we bring the local police into it? What would be the best course of action?

Answer:
 You can call the police, sure.  Or your grandmother can sue the people involved.

Answer #2: It is illegal to open any mail not addressed to you. "Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both." 18 U.S. Code § 1702


Title: (WI) Would this be considered a form of police torture? Do I have any recourse?

Question:
I'll try to keep this short. This was approx 5 years ago so I assume I no longer have a leg to stand on, but I am still curious.

A few years ago I was living with a few friends. This particular weekend I had been out of town visiting family. I come back on Sunday night to hear that a different friend (not a roommate) had passed away from a drug/alcohol related overdose. I find out from my roommate (Lets call him 'A') that he had given the deceased a pill earlier that day that may have contributed to the overdose. We realize in an hour or so that the cops will be coming, probably to arrest my roommate, and potentially ask me questions.

That night, cops come with a warrant, and take myself and two roommates into custody. A is taken in a separate vehicle and I never found out where he ended up. My other roommate (Lets call him 'B') and I are taken into two separate but adjacent holding cells. Once we are placed here B and I start talking, we can't believe we're being held, we both begin to discuss whether we had any sort of contraband in our rooms / the apartment that would get us in trouble, etc. After ten minutes of us discussing an officer says we are not allowed to communicate.

The same officer brings a radio, places it on a stool in between our cells, turns the radio to static, and blasts it on as loud as possible. B and I were submitted to this for over 5 hours, (11pm - 4am) with the only break when I was asked questions by detectives.

My question, was any of this legal? Was I allowed to be detained for no reason? (probably since I was released within 6 hours) Is it legal for them to blare static the way they did?

thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any response

TL;DR - Cops placed me in a holding cell and blared static over a radio into my cell.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 > Once we are placed here B and I start talking, we can't believe we're being held, we both begin to discuss whether we had any sort of contraband in our rooms / the apartment that would get us in trouble, etc. After ten minutes of us discussing an officer says we are not allowed to communicate.

I find it really strange he would do that, since everything in your conversation would have been admissible evidence. A smart cop would have let you keep talking and taken notes.


Title: Scratched friend's car while she was directing me

Question:
I was driving my friend's mini-van while she was in the passenger's seat. We were stopped at a red light with a car in front of us and a car parked to the right at the curb. We needed to make a right turn. I wanted to wait until the light turned green and the car in front of us moved. She suggested that I had enough room to make the turn and told me go ahead.

 I squeezed past the car on the right and cleared it, but the angle I had to take to do so lead to the right, back portion of the minivan to scrape a very high curb jutting out that I could not see. There was a paint scratch and a dent. She wants me to pay for the damage. I guess she only has liability insurance.

[This is the turn](https://www.google.com/maps/place/San+Diego,+CA+92109/@32.7945005,-117.2548297,57m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x80dc01c58f8abccd:0x3d1f3f839fa40bb3).

 There is a ghosty type car image in this photo where the parked car was. I had to angle the mini-van a bit further clockwise than the red car appears in this picture, due to the fact that I was behind someone waiting at the red light. I had no clue that curb was out so far and could not see it from my point of view. She had full view of the parked car and the curb and told me I was clear to make the turn.

Am I liable for the damage to her vehicle?

Answer:
 >Am I liable for the damage to her vehicle?

You were driving, so yes.  Sounds like you have a terrible friend though.


Title: Delta lost my gfs luggage and is refusing to reimburse more than 25% of value. Anyone have experience dealing with this? Should we contact Delta Airlines risk management?

Question:
My gf flew from LA to Paris 3 months ago and Delta / Air France lost her bag. After 3 months of stonewalling, they finally agreed to give her $600, although the bag and its contents are worth approx $3000.  Any recourse for this? Would it make sense to file a claim with Risk Management for the difference?

Seems like a clear case of them losing property and refusing to pay for their mistake, but I've never had this happen so I'm not sure where this situation falls legally. Any and all advice welcome.

Answer:
 >Any and all advice welcome.

Never ever put anything valuable in checked luggage.  Electronics go in carry-ons.  Large items and gifts should be shipped home.  Checked luggage is for clothes and toiletries.  That's it, unless you want to buy travel insurance that covers luggage, and even then, it's just asking for a hassle.Answer #2: Not to add insult to injury, but $600 is only 20% of $3000, not 25%.


Title: Prepping for custody case: Do I need to prepare to be accused of practicing 'visitation interference' with my son's father? I stopped letting them have contact after he abducted our son on mother's day

Question:
I'm trying to round up enough written proof to show that I've done every single thing I can to foster a relationship between my son (2) and his father, up until the point where his threats to steal the child turned into actual abduction (on mother's day, thankfully dad's dad talked him into returning our son). I've got writings/audio from dad that make it (I think) pretty clear he never wanted to be on his own with our wonderful son, and just wanted 'us' to be together - and still I tried to encourage his right to access. Of course there's a whole slew of other issues/events going on as well, but I'll stay on precise topic as I can. This whole court case is causing so much anxiety that I'm desperate to make sure all my t's are crossed and i's are dotted so I'm not caught off guard by anything that may come up.

Two lawyers (one at a free clinic, and the one that I hired with LA) both suggested that I ask for no visitation, due to various circumstances, and said that while I likely won't get it, it can't hurt to ask. Since then it's been suggested to me (and I've seen it suggested in a few articles) that trying to do no visitation is a huge red flag for vindictiveness.

I'm really really truly just trying to look out for the best interest of my toddler. While I feel our son's most stable life would be one without his dad in it, I'll be comfortable with supervised access at one of those court appointed buildings. I am absolutely certain that if my ex gets any sort of free access to our child, he WILL abduct him sooner rather than later, and next time no one will be there to talk dad out of it.

 There has been absolutely no safe way to do visitations. My toddler was traumatized (yet again) and for the following month he was very clear that he did not want to see his dad (and still has nightmares / replays the event). I put a NCO back in place, so even when my son started missing his dad, I couldn't offer to try video calls.

So is it going to look horrible that I tried for no visitation? Is it going to look horrid that dad got cut off from his son? Am I overreacting and the court is used to seeing a volatile parent and a protective parent?

Thank you to anyone who responds
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Supervised visitation with a graduated schedule. Also have it where the supervised visits are completed through an objective third party (like a service) and that you and him do not interact. A graduated schedule shows that, if he truly wants a relationship with his son, he has to meet xyz criteria to receive additional visitation. It’s reasonable and puts the onus on him.


Title: I'm renting a house (Massachusetts), my friend left a LOT of stuff in my garage when he lost his job and apartment. He now refuses to pick it up or answer my calls.

Question: Title is pretty much it. I currently rent a house in Massachusetts. My friend who lost his job and apartment needed to store “some stuff” in my garage. It ended up being a LOT of stuff and my garage is packed with big bags of clothes, a huge TV stand, a full bed set, a bag of electronics (phone chargers and stuff nothing crazy expensive). He mooched off me for a week without offering to pay for one thing and mooching food. He would stay in the room he was sleeping in all day with the door closed and not look for jobs.  Every conversation was poor me I can't find a job but no I won't stop smoking pot or doing drugs. The last straw was when while jobless and homeless he decided the most important thing he could do with his time and money was to spend penny he had on drugs and going to follow some band on tour for a month. He turned into a straight up LOSER. So he left but kept his stuff at my house. Then we had a falling out and I asked him to come get all of his stuff out of my garage. When he came by he only took his TV and left EVERYTHING else and now refuses to pick up my calls. He’s staying at his aunts house a few towns over so I figured last resort is to rent a truck and take all his stuff and drive it over to him and put it all in his aunts front lawn. I don’t want to break any laws or cause any more problems, but his stuff is taking up a lot of room and I just don't want to be responsible for it, especially because I am renting and my landlord wouldn't be happy if HE was the one who had to deal with it. Any help or advice is much appreciated.

Answer: Send him a letter telling him to retrieve his belongings by a certain date.  Give him a couple of weeks or so.  Outline how much you will charge him per day for storage beyond that date, at what point you will dispose of his belongings, and explain that you will invoice him for both storage costs and whatever expenses you incur for disposal of his abandoned property.


Title: My friends dumped bugs in a restaurant...

Question: So I was hanging out with a group of friends when we bought crickets for shits n giggles (we are in highschool) anyway we were hungry an went inside our local fast food chain. 2 of my friends proceed with to go into the bathroom an dump the whole bag of crickets into the bathroom leaving the bag. My question is how much trouble are we in when they check the cameras and track us down.

Answer:
 You'll be responsible for the cost of the exterminators to clean them up, and the money they lost being closed while they did it.

It won't be cheap.Answer #2: Assuming you’re minors, your parents could be liable for damages should the restaurant care to press charges.  That was a pretty despicable thing to do, by the way, to the staff and other patrons.Answer #3: There will be several thousand dollars worth of damages between removal, clean up, post care, closure time, and other expenses. If you knew they were going to do something like release them in a business (it seems you had no legitimate reason. "For shits and giggles" sounds like "to pull a prank later on") you could be partially liable for helping plan this.

Edit: I'm sure there's some kind of a criminal mischief charge in there somewhere for all of you too.


Title: Can I wright you congressman and claim to be from your district.

Question: What if I wrote a letter claiming to be a constituent when I'm not registered to vote in that district or state? Is this voter fraud? I'm picturing a road trip driving threw USA so each letter has the wright return address. Could I make a living doing this?

Answer: I’m not sure any letter you “wright” is going to have the impact your customers would want.


Title: [FL] Can I legally prevent future re-releases or presentations?

Question:
I was asked to give a short interview for an amateur documentary created for YouTube (I'm trained in the specific field they covered). There was no consent given in writing or any contract signed, but I did agree to the interview.

Long story short, I have since realized that the interview was given to a sect/cult (!!!) and that the video contains some controversial elements and statements you probably wouldn't find in an actual documentary. And I do feel misled and would not have contributed knowing what I know now.

Can I legally block/prevent any future use of my interview? For example, make it impossible for them to show the video publicly elsewhere or re-release it (as long as I appear in it)?

**Clarifying**: I don't want to sue anyone. I just want to NOT appear in an already published YouTube video again ever anywhere else.

Answer:
 It is factual to report that you said what you said, so, barring creative re-edits that make you appear to say something significantly unlike what you actually did, there's no help on that front.

The cameraperson, or whoever hired them to film the interview, owns the rights to the footage, so there's no way you can assert any kind of copyright claim.

You agreed to the interview, knowing that it would be part of a documentary. You don't get to go back and add conditions to your consent after the fact, either.

Basically, no, there's nothing you can do about it now.


Title: [PalmBeach County, FL] I was charged with the wrong crime.

Question:
I am on felony probation.

I was arrested with less than a gram of marijuana and less than a gram of hash oil.

Marijuana being a misdemeanor and the hash being a felony for a controlled substance.

I was pulled over recently and the officer said I had a charge for over 20 grams of marijuana, which is false I was never arrested for that charge.

Also my probation officer gave me a sheet recently with the offense on it stating that I was arrested for possession over 20 grams.

This is the felony on file which I am on felony probation for however as I stated before, I never had possession over 20 grams when I was arrested.

My question is, should I take this to court and try to have my case dropped because they will in fact not have any evidence of this charge?

So basically, I have a wrongful felony charge on my record and I want to remove it if possible.

Answer:
 >My question is, should I take this to court and try to have my case dropped because they will in fact not have any evidence of this charge?

No they will not drop the case, they will just amend the charges.

Regardless, you need a lawyer yesterday. They can deal with all this stuff for you.Answer #2: If I am reading this correctly....

You are on felony probation.

You were arrested on another felony.

You need an attorney.


Title: University dorm admins are blaming me for damages.

Question:
(Australia) I'll keep this short:

I lived in a uni apartment on campus from November 2015 to Nov. 2016

On arrival I filled out a room condition report, wherein I stated some wear and tear on the walls among other things. I also noted that my provided chair was broken.

I handed in the physical report to the admins and stated the chair was of importance, they said they would handle it. I just bought a new chair for myself.

Checked out a few days ago and they have charged me for the damages on the chair.

I stated I made note on the condition report, they said they lost the report.

I need some advice guys, I'm a uni student and I can't afford $60 I shouldn't have to pay. Thanks heaps in advance.

UPDATE: So I emailed them back disputing the charges, stating that I won't be paying the fee until they find my report. They eventually found it with some other documents, and it turns out I did write about the chair being damaged. All fees have been dropped on my account, thanks for all your support :)

Answer:
 > I stated I made note on the condition report, they said they lost the report.

Then tell them that sounds like their problem. *Absent* a report that states that the chair was undamaged when you took possession of it, and in light of your efforts to bring that to their attention, they're not going to rightfully be able to claim those damages from you.

The downside is that they may just do it anyway - they're friends with the bursar's office, after all, so they may just put the $60 on your account. If that's the case, you'll need to dispute it by whatever means are given; any evidence you have that they knew about the broken chair when you moved in will help you here. Any record you have of them acknowledging the loss of your inspection report will help you here. Answer #2: Where is your copy of the report? Both parties are supposed to retain a copy of the lease and check in list. Answer #3: Well tell them to get fu.. (i mean pound sand) then contact you states tenancy authority, each state has different rule in regards to tenants so which state are you in? for example in QLD there is an entry condition report called a form 1 every tenant and agent completes.


Title: Paid less than the male I recruited and trained

Question: I recruited and trained my co-worker who is male. It came out he was given a higher hourly wage though hold the same exact same job title. After annual reviews he was also given a higher raise than myself and our other female co-worker. A lot else has happened involving favoritism which ultimately ended in me being laid off. My husband thinks I have been discriminated against. Should I hire a lawyer?

Answer:
 When my wife was hired at her current job, she negotiated the salary she thought was fair, and the company agreed. After a few weeks other people in her position were discussing their pay, and it turns out the salary she gets is about 38% higher per hour than the other two girls she works with. They've been there longer, they trained her, but get considerably less (and it's even worse because they have about 12 hours of mandatory overtime each week).

This has nothing to do with the fact that she's a woman (they all are); it's soley because she negotiated her starting salary better.

That being said, is it *possible* that there is discrimination going on? Sure. But you're either going to need direct evidence from a manager admitting that (to prove per se discrimination), or a boat load of statistical data to prove implicit discrimination. Answer #2: Did he negotiate his starting rate and wage? Seniority doesn't mean higher salary. Answer #3: Just because you hired and trained him doesn't mean you're necessarily a better or more valuable employee.

Favouritism also isn't necessarily gender discrimination.

You can definitely hire a lawyer, but short of a clear pattern of behavior (many women being paid less than men in equal positions working equal hours, etc), or incriminating emails from managers/those in charge, it would be a long shot.

You *can* also always consider just a report to the EEOC, and let them take it from there, but again short of solid evidence there may not be anything they can do.


Title: Defamation of a foreign deceased person in US possible?

Question:
Hi, all.

Can a person be vulnerable to a civil lawsuit by family members of a deceased person for defamation/libel?

Here is a brief summary of the situation.

- A random American paid for an ad to be shown on a big screen at Times Square NY.
- The ad, which contained several photoshopped images of the former president of South Korea, Moo-Hyun Roh. The images were photoshopped with intents to degrade his reputation.
- The family members of the deceased are pissed off and looking to take the person who paid for the ad to the civil court in the United States for libel/defamation/infliction of emotional distress.

It is my understanding that the reputation of a deceased is not recognized in the eyes of the law in US, let alone considered not important to the family.

Defamation is a big thing in South Korea; however it is hard to prove in the US as most cases are quashed due to the first amendment of the Constitution.

Thanks for your time.

Link to the whole story:
https://www.allkpop.com/buzz/2018/01/ilbe-users-put-up-billboard-ads-in-times-square-nyc-mocking-former-president-roh-moo-hyun

Answer:
 You are correct that dead people cannot be defamed under US law. Also, defamation in general is pretty hard to prove in the US -- we
are not an honor-based society and you have to prove monetary damages -- and it's nearly impossible to win a defamation suit where the defamed person is a public figure, especially a politician. People call Hillary Clinton a murderer and claim she's involved in a Satanic child-porn-and-human-sacrifice ring, and legally there is basically nothing she can do about it.

To prove infliction of emotional distress you generally have to prove that it was severe enough to damage you in some obvious (preferably quantifiable, like lost wages from taking time off work, or time spent seeing a therapist) AND it generally has to result from "extreme or outrageous conduct" on the part of the inflictor. Publicly claiming that a politician is a super terrible person, even if the reasons are all made up, is not extreme or outrageous in the US. It's common.


Title: Do I really need to sign this Post-Employment NDA?

Question:
US, MA

To keep it brief, I worked as a Security Guard as a contractor for a civilian Defense Contractor in the US. Given the nature of the client I had to obtain a Security Clearance. One of the many things I had to sign when I was first employed was a [SF 312](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Standard_Form_312_2013-7.pdf).

Fast forward a couple of years and it was time for me to move on. I quit my job, and several weeks after I had terminated my employment I received an email from my ex-supervisor reading, "I need you to print and sign the form SF312, Security Debriefing acknowledgement section."

Under normal circumstances I'd be happy to do this. However, my employment experience left me a little bitter and if I can help it, and I'd really rather not do them any favors.

The section I "need" to sign reads,

>I reaffirm that the provisions of the espionage laws, other federal criminal laws and executive orders applicable to the safeguarding of classified
information have been made available to me; that I have returned all classified information in my custody; that I will not communicate or transmit
classified information to any unauthorized person or organization; that I will promptly report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation any attempt by an unauthorized person to solicit classified information, and that I (have) (have not) (strike out inappropriate word or words) received a security debriefing.

Then there is a field for my signature, the date, and the signature of a witness.

The thing is, the main portion of the SF312 already had me agree to do the same. I am ex-military and had a clearance then as well; I am no stranger to the safeguarding of classified material. I have no intention to disclose anything classified, and do intend to report any attempts to obtain said information from me to the FBI. But, do I really *need* to sign this? My employment was terminated by myself weeks ago. I have not received a security debriefing, and given my ex-supervisor is asking me to do this over email I am of the opinion there isn't a witness for my signing.

I have two separate questions:

If I decide to block their email address, and let them figure it out on their own, can they come after me legally? This is a very appealing idea to me.

Years ago on reddit I read of an individual who refused to sign a non-compete when they quit their job (at a bank I think), and HR offered them a check as incentive. While the SF312 isn't a Non-Compete, is there any way I could obtain some from of compensation by initially refusing to sign, however without stating that my signing would be conditional upon compensation (stating that it would be conditional sounds like extortion)?
Topic:
Contracts

Answer: I don't have any specific advice, just keep in mind that it's not your employer that wants this form signed, it's the United States Government. Not cooperating with security regulations/procedures is a pretty good way to disqualify yourself from ever getting a security clearance again in the future.


Title: Cousin, who is a minor, used his life savings to buy a car and less than a week after he bought it the brakes went out, causing damage to the underbody and bending the frame.

Question:
So to start with, my aunt is divorced. They have three kids together and he usually wants nothing to do with the elder too kids, both of age.

My aunt's youngest son is sixteen, and her ex told him of a car his neighbor was selling. So he looks at it, and asks his dad if he thinks he should buy it. His dad says yes, so my cousin goes ahead and forks over his entire life savings (~$2000).

Fast forward about a week where he was driving from his friends house who has a super steep driveway, his breaks fail causing him to hit a ditch which bent the frame and scraped all up under the car. His dad was completely unhelpful, even going so far as saying it was all his son's fault.

Now we're wondering if there's any way for him to get his money back from that skeezeball neighbor of his dad's.

I'm actually not sure if this is the right place to post this. If it's not, if y'all could point me in the right direction? Thanks reddit!

EDIT: this is in Virginia. Sorry, I didn't even think to put a location!

Answer: Unless he made a specific claim that the brakes were in good working  order, then no.  It was sold as is, where is in most places.    And not to get preachy but just because a car has a mechanical failure after you buy it, that doesn't make the seller a skeezeball.   Sometimes stuff just breaks.


Title: (Michigan) State denied my tax refund despite the fact I never lived or worked there in 2014. Do I need a lawyer?

Question:
Hi everyone, just got a letter in the mail that a ~1700 tax refund I'm owed is being denied, and looking for some help.

The employer I worked for in 2014 was headquartered in Michigan, despite the fact that I was living and working for them out of Chicago for that year. One day in August '14 while looking at my pay stub for something else, I realized that they were withholding Michigan taxes but not Illinois, despite my having told them multiple times I wasn't working out of the HQ (this had come up in other places before). I finally got this corrected, and when tax season rolled around I filed in Illinois and paid what I owed and filed in Michigan to get the money withheld there refunded.

Late April I received a letter from the State of Michigan saying I had been "randomly" selected (I doubt it was a coincidence that I was asking for all my money back) for further review, and they asked me to send over my W-2 and 1099 from my employer as well as the rest of my return to be looked at more closely. I did this, and when I called the state in August '15 was told that they had received my paperwork and I should be hearing something soon.

Yesterday, I received a letter from the state saying that my refund had been denied because I had not sent them the paperwork they requested, that the ruling was final, and that if I still wanted to contest it I needed to lodge an appeal either with the state department of revenue or in claims court. What's killing me here is that I actually DID send the paperwork, and they even told me that they had received it. Now I can follow the instructions and write a letter to them, but should I be hiring a lawyer at this point? It's a lot of money, but am I basically SoL on ever seeing it again?

Also note: I'm no longer with the employer who messed all of this up, although I could potentially get someone in HR to write a letter confirming I didn't live/work in Michigan if I pushed them hard enough.
Topic:
Tax Law

Answer:
 You're going to want to exhaust all your administrative options before you get a lawyer involved.

Write a letter recapping everything and including copies of everything.  Make a complete copy for your own records while you're at it.  Send them the letter, certified mail, keep the receipt.  Wait.  Also follow their appeal process, whatever it may be.

Just keep writing letters/appealing with copies of everything.

Your whole process to date is basically file, they object, you respond, they make an error in handling your response.  That's only one error.  Bureaucracies move slowly.  Give it time.  You're not even close to being SOL, just be persistent.


Title: Someone has access to my apartment and now my wedding ring set is now missing. Illinois

Question:
Mobile so I apologize

Over the past few weeks I have noticed things out of order in my apartment. I didn’t request a maintenance repair or receive notification that any work was going to be done on my apartment. I have only lived in my apartment for about six weeks and had previously lived in this complex three years ago. The landlords never entered my apartment in the three years I had lived in this complex before, so I would expect the same behaviors this time around. Today I was looking for a piece of jewelry and noticed my wedding ring set was missing. I had just seen it three weeks ago when I was putting my jewelry away after purchasing a new dresser. Since that time I have noticed things out of place on three different occasions. I messaged the landlord today inquiring to see if anyone had been in my apartment. I also let him know I was missing my ring. He responded that the maintenance person has been in my apartment and he is a trustworthy person. I filed a police report, but the officer didn’t seem like the ring would be found. I have torn my bedroom apart three times today looking everywhere for the ring. My question is what else can I do to protect my personal property to prevent more theft when I can’t control who enters my apartment. I feel very uneasy being alone with my daughter when people are coming as they please. The landlord didn’t seem to care and since my building has been renovated it has new doors and locks so he doesn’t think anyone else could have a copy of my key. I haven’t had anyone visit or been in my apartment without me being home. Any friends have only been on the porch or in my living room. No one has been in my bedroom alone or near my room to have snuck in without me knowing. No other jewelry was taken, I haven’t noticed if anything else is missing.

Answer: It sounds like you're thinking someone has been in multiple times, in which case this is somewhat closing the barn door after the horses have fled.  Set up security cameras inside your apartment.  They're not that expensive.  If you point one at each entrance and capture the living room, you'll be able to spot anyone doing anything worth mentioning.


Title: (TN) 19 yo DUI+Implied Consent Violation--Future Ruined?

Question:
Last night 1:30 am pulled over at a "safety checkpoint" for speeding--35 in a 20. I was unfamiliar with the area and unaware of the low speed limit but otherwise driving fine. I was directed to a parking lot and officer said he smelled alcohol on my breath. Conducted field sobriety test, he said I failed (though I believe I did great). The county I was in doesn't offer breathalyzer, just blood test. I did not consent to the test and was as a result slapped with Implied Consent.

Charges:
DUI 1st Offense

Speeding

Underage Consumption of Alcohol

Implied Consent Viol.

Questions:

1. Why do I have DUI 1st offense rather than minor DWI? My understanding (from attorney consultations) is that Minor DWI is a lower charge but it would seem to apply to my case since there was no accident or harm to anyone and I am 19, well under 21.

2. Is there any precedent at all for getting Implied Consent revocations dismissed or should I resign myself to a suspended license?

3. How do I drive if my license is suspended?

4. I have previously been arrested for disorderly conduct and MIP of Alcohol in the state of Georgia. Those charges were dropped after successful pre-trial diversion, but obviously the arrest record remains. Will this affect the odds of my obtaining the lesser Minor DWI charge?

I have consulted with 2 lawyers by phone so far and will be seeing another in person today, another by phone later, and another in person tomorrow. Also looking to get into contact with another DUI lawyer in Memphis.

Final Question:

1. Is there any good formula for determining what a "good DUI lawyer" looks like? Do the best DUI lawyers handle mostly (more than half) DUIs or should I go for a more generalized criminal defense, divorce, etc. lawyer who does maybe 10-20% DUIs?

Basically, how do I tell good from bad?

Thanks

Edit:

Additional Question:

Since many of you are lawyers, do you know of any lawyers who successfully applied to good top or state flagship law schools with a DUI or DWI conviction on their record (and subsequently were admitted to the Bar)? I have considered law as a career path but obviously that seems in jeopardy because of the disclosure required on the application.

Answer:
 >  Conducted field sobriety test, he said I failed (though I believe I did great)

Everyone believes that.  Simple question: Had you been drinking?

> Why do I have DUI 1st offense rather and minor DWI?

Either charge is applicable.  You have no right to the lesser charge.

> Is there any precedent at all for getting Implied Consent revocations dismissed or should I resign myself to a suspended license?

Under what theory would you get it dismissed?

> How do I drive if my license is suspended?

You don't.  That's the point.


Title: Neighbors tree dropped large branch on my truck in my driveway, what can I do?[OR]

Question:
Neighbor has giant Doug fir trees on their property. Today one of these tree dropped several large branches on my truck inflicting a decent amount of damage. I'm curious what legal recourse I have towards them. I'm just hoping I can have them pay my deductible at bare minimum.

I'm located in Portland, OR.

Answer: It's unlikely that you can hold your neighbor liable unless the limbs were visibly damaged (from the ground). Even then, the chances are slim because that works both ways. You will have to deal with the argument that you were negligent by parking your truck under visibly defective limbs (if they were).


Title: Pitching a software idea to multiple programmers. How can I avoid my idea being stolen? More inside.

Question:
I'm pitching an idea for a piece of software to a couple teams of programmers. I'd like to write up a contract that would prevent anyone from stealing my idea, as it will bring decent revenue (niche market, needed software).

I'm not really sure how to go about this, and furthermore, I'm communicating online with said teams, so I don't even really know how 'signing' this contract would go.

Would any kind person point me in the right direction? I know it isn't much, but there's Reddit Gold in it for someone.

I'm in Kentucky, USA. One team of programmers is located in Nebraska, and the other is in Sweden.

Thanks!

Edit: Can I pay someone to write an NDA? Or is that against the rules here?
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 This is called a nondisclosure agreement.  Tech companies sign them with each other all the time.  They provide that the company being disclosed won't use the information, and won't share the information outside the company (and, often, won't share the information even inside the company, except on a need-to-know basis).

Electronically transmitted signatures are valid in the US.

You won't want to hear this, but ideas are thick on the ground in the software world, and each individual idea is 99% likely to have no material value.


Title: My Unlicensed Son Crashed A Brand New Car. What Can We Do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Well, first off, cross your damn fingers your insurance doesn't drop you. Highly, highly, highly likely, and you may be held liable for *all* the costs of the accident personally. You will likely be found liable for this accident, not your son. Your sons will have a ticket to pay of not more than $200 for the unlicensed driving, not sureo f the fialure to control speed. Answer #2: Former insurance adjuster in CA. I imagine things are similar in TX. Your insurance may cover him, even unlicensed.  Hard to say for sure. He's 18 so it's really his problem, not yours. Generally the party with damages cannot come after the vehicle owner unless there was gross negligence. E.g he was drunk, you knew it and gave him the keys.  If you had collision insurance your car will be covered. Again your insurance may or may not cover your son. If they don't he's liable for the damages as he caused the collision.Answer #3: How old is your son? Does he still live with you?

> we have a court case

Only your son has a court date, correct?


Title: [help] my dog broke my window because some guy was pressing his face up to it in rental

Question:
I rent a very shitty apt in Tacoma Wa if tgat matters
My front window is on the ground floor facing the street.  The set up is one 4ft picture window in between 2 2 ft windows to create a bay window.  One of the smaller windows has burglar bars and the other is nailed shut. The picture window is single pane and rattles on windy days.

Today some guy stood outside yelling for my upstairs neighbor to come open the building door. Eventually he came to my window (I'm assuming to see if I was home and would be willing to let him in) and pressed his face against the glass. My German shepherd mix launched herself at him and bashed herself against the window until it broke. The guy took off before the window busted completely, but now there is a jagged hole about 1.5sft and the whole window needs replacing.

I haven't called my landlord yet and the window is duct taped over with furniture to cover the hole so the dog can't get out.
Wtf can I do?
Edit: i understand from the first 2 posts that apparently this is legally my fault. Don't tell me to train my dog. Details tgat weren't necessary but apparently you need to know so I don't look like an irresponsible douche I live in a 'bad area' there have been 2 fatal shootings within a mile of my apt. inthe last few months. I share my building with multiple felons. There is a battered women's shelter and 2 halfway houses with 1/2 mile of me. There is sex offender housing 4 blocks away and a homeless shelter with emergency capacity of 250 people on my street about 6 blocks down. I'm 5ft122yo female I live by myself with my dogs. My dog needs a lot of work and was previously abused but she did her fucking job and fuck anyone who says otherwise.
Edit: Home Depot carries a vinyl double pane in these measurements for 178. I get that cost of labor will suck but the fact that better windows come prefab. Is pretty annoying when the current one is single paned with rotten wood.

Answer: Sounds like your dog broke the window. So unless your dog has a job and can pay to replace the window you'll have to pay for it.


Title: Employer wants me to drive 6 hours to get my check as punishment

Question:
I live in western Massachusetts.  I work in a divisional office with about 30 people, most of whom have direct deposit.  We have an external financial audit coming next week from corporate and my boss told me and 5 of my co workers (the finance department) that if any of us score below 94% on the audit categories we are directly responsible for, he will cancel our direct deposit until we correct the deficiencies.  He said our checks will be available on payday, but at corporate where they are printed, which is 3 hours away from our division's office (I live 5 minutes from the divisional office).

The staff in other departments who get a paper check will continue to have their checks delivered directly to our divisional office.

Is this legal?  I can't find any federal protections against this, but our state seems to offer stricter laws.  Looking for something i can print out, i think he's just an idiot and would change the punishment if he knew it was illegal.

Answer:
 Man it's time to get a new job. Any place that behaves like this blows.Answer #2: Have you contacted the payroll department about this? If whomever is in charge of payroll is halfway competent they will laugh at your boss and his silly threat.

Here are the wage payment laws in MA if you want to try and find something saying it has to be mailed upon request.

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter149/Section148