Title: TX, apartment management holding my mail for months without my knowledge

Question:
So my apartment complex has the letters and mail delivered directly to their leasing office, and the employees distribute the mail to the community mailboxes around the complex. The problem is that they’re forgetful at best and neglectful at worst when it comes to actually getting out all the letters. There was this instance where i was waiting for my credit card in the mail, and it was running late, so i called the leasing office, and i end up with 5 letters that have been just shoved aside until now, some of which being two months old (including one from the elections office denying my voting application for the midterms because GEE I SURE COULD OF USED THAT NOTICE A COUPLE MONTHS AGO). I talked with some friends and they said that the leasing office shouldn’t even be handling my mail let alone having it sit around for so long.
I dont want to have to call up the leasing office every day when i feel like i get mail. Is there something i can do about this?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Look into [USPS Informed Delivery](https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action?iom=B807-82ID-USRS-PS-USP-GO-XXX-AW-XX-X-INF&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_content=b807_82id&utm_campaign=informeddelivery2018&gclid=CjwKCAiAs8XiBRAGEiwAFyQ-ekqxSypNm0d8QQxvhu_rZFODGJkWfMMMCuQv1ghCZ0Jjzueu6XR64RoCKrUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds). You get an email every day with images of all the letters and packages sent to your address so you would know if something is missing. There is also a link to report missing mail at the bottom of each email.Answer #2: I would talk to your local post office.  The USPS has laws and investigators specific to it.


Title: (Charlotte, NC) My wife (38 weeks pregnant) terminated for reasons we are questioning

Question:
Hello legaladvice,

My wife was a teller supervisor at a local credit union.  Her manager accused her of "force balancing" the branch vault and terminated her as a result.  She however, did not balance the vault on the official balancing log.  Her manager used a scrap sheet of paper, that my wife mistakenly never updated, as "proof".  The system will verify that the vault was correctly out of balance.

What we actually think it happening, is that they were searching for anything to let her go due to her currently being 38 weeks pregnant.  They have another employee that is set to return to this branch as a lead teller who will be getting paid less to do essentially the same job.  Letting my wife go prevents them from having a position vacant for my wife's leave time and from paying disability.

I'm more than curious if there is any worth to this situation.  Would you pursue legal action if you were in her shoes?  Thank you!

EDIT/UPDATE: Thank you for all the advice, this sub is fantastic! We have decided that we are going to at least get a consultation. It seems like the law is more than likely on their side, but it just doesn't feel right.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 Terminated and pregnant, I totally misunderstood the title at first glanceAnswer #2: I was fired in at-will state two months before I was due.  I was told I "Wasn't a good fit"  However the company had a policy that you had to be written up 3 times and taken to HR.  I was never written up and was always told I did a great job.  That is until my boss found out I was pregnant.  Then he started to pick on little things - but I was able to prove none of the items he brought up were my fault.  I sued and won.  Most lawyers will tell you to file with the EEOC first.  Answer #3: It is likely that she can find an attorney to talk to about the termination at no cost for at least an initial consultation.  The best directory for the type of attorney you are looking for is here:  https://www.ncaj.com/index.cfm?pg=FindALawyer

She has potential claims because of the pregnancy and upcoming FMLA leave.  If she thought they were discriminating against her because of it, then she should consider at least filing a claim with the EEOC.  Pursuing a lawsuit may not be worth the cost.


Title: Custody rights as a stay at home dad.

Question:
Im a stay at home dad. I live in PA in the US. I know the laws are very favourable towards the mother, but my situation is different than most around here. I have taken care of my son since the day he has come home from the hospital. His mom works full time. I was attending tech school when he was born and couldnt get a job that was even close to replacing her income or insurance. Shes threatened to kick me out before and still talks about getting rid of me. Im tired of living in fear, trapped in this house wondering when/ if ill be homeless with no money and no way to take care of my son.  Im wondering since im the primary care giver and she works full time, do i have more rights to our son? Is child support somthing ill have to worry about? If she kicks me out can i take our son with me to my parents an hour away to live? Thanks in advance
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 As you're still married and there's no custody arrangement ordered by the court, you're both equally entitled to custody.  Which means you can take him to your parents' house and live there with him.

You being his primary caregiver won't matter in divorce proceedings.  They'll evaluate both of your ability to take proper care of him and that will weigh in on whether they approve whatever custody arrangement you come up with.

She cannot kick you out of the house with no notice.  If she owns the home, she'll have to evict you legally through the courts.  Just booting you out and changing the locks would constitute illegal eviction.  If you are a co-owner of the house or if you are renting jointly, she has no standing to force you out at all.

Be aware that some spouses get around that by claiming domestic violence and seeking an order of protection.  That *would* force you out of the house and likely limit your access to your child as well.

I highly recommend you reach out to resources for abused spouses in your area.  Domestic violence shelters or hotlines are a good place to start, even if you're not a victim of that particular thing.  I also strongly recommend you meet with a divorce attorney now.  Borrow money if you have to.  If she's as nasty as this post makes her sound, you do not want her making the first move.

Good luck.


Title: Getting FAFSA loans discharged?

Question:
I was young and dumb. 17 years old and got my girlfriend pregnant. I ended up leaving school but they said that if I want to go back I owe them over $1500.

There's no way I can come up with this, and I want to know if there's a way to get this discharged under some sort of law or what?

I live in Florida and the college was Seminole State.

I really want to go back to school and that was years ago. I made a mistake but I want another chance.

Answer: Yeah there is literally no way to discharge this.  Get a job and start saving.  You probably will be ineligible for future grants and loans as well.


Title: [Nevada] Please help. I have just received notification from Facebook that Law Enforcement wants info from my account.

Question:
I'm so scared. I'm only 14 years old and if my parents find out about this I'm screwed.

Okay so you guys know the Orlando shooting? I created an account under Omar Mateen's name just to see how people would message me. I was really curious. It was shut down within a day and I created an account again with another email. It got shut down within a few hours. That's when I stopped.

Now I'm getting a message from Facebook that Law Enforcement is seeking more info. WTF? I'm so scared, what's going to happen to me?

"Hello,

 We have received legal process from law enforcement seeking information about your Facebook account. If we do not receive a copy of documentation that you have filed in court challenging this legal process within seven (7) days, we will respond to the requesting agency with information about the requested Facebook account. We may need to respond to this legal request within less than seven (7) days if we have a reasonable belief that we are legally required to do so. Please respond to this message with a copy of any documents you file with the court.  If you would like additional information about the legal process, please let us know as soon as possible.

Thank you,
Law Enforcement Response Team"

This will probably offend you all but please help me please. I don't know what to do. What are they going to do me? Are they going to come to my house?

Answer:
 > I was really curious.

Let's go with that.

Facebook is going to turn over the information you used to create the account, including your IP and whatever other info you provided, to the authorities. Those authorities will compel your ISP to identify you, and they may very well send a marshal or something to your house to talk to the account holder and find out who created the account and what's in that person's head. The account holder will say "My son, and lots of sand."

While you're waiting, you're going to mention this to your parents before the cops show up so they won't be completely blindsided, and then you will visit a lawyer to discuss what you're going to say.


Title: Boss is acting weird and about to break a contract

Question:
I work for a dealership as a salesman/photographer. When I was hired I was hired as a "youtube" guy. I put videos of our inventory online so we could get more exposure. Worked amazingly well. Lots of good sales and lots of videos with 100k views +. This is all written in a contract saying that I get paid a base salary of $12,000 for videos and the rest is commission. Now here is where it gets sketchy on the contract it says that it is an experimental position and could change... We had a guy who ran the "internet dept" basically he maintained the website and took pictures of the inventory (obviously not needed since I was shooting videos). He ended up leaving and so did the manager who had hired me. Now I am the person who keeps up with the website and takes pictures AND sales. My base salary didn't increase I just went from shooting videos to pictures. I never bitched about that. Even though im now the guy who scans and emails things for other salesmen and get none of their commissions even though im assisting in the sale of the car. Anyway boss came to me Monday and said that our sister store has somebody who will shoot pictures for less money than me and want me to no longer have the base salary and go strictly to commission. And they will have him take over pictures. What options do I have because Im not going to cower down when 12k is on the plate and I have a contract that says that's what I should be getting paid. I know that's not a ton of money but 12k salary + 40k in commissions isn't bad for a high school drop out.

(PS another reason im worried about this is because me and the original boss had discussed my intentions of going back to school and doing the videos part time. That 1000 would cover most of my rent and allow me to keep student loans down) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I live in the southeast. not really comfortable saying more than that. Pretty easy to find on youtube.

Answer:
 >What are my options?

You can quit. You could go to commission only, but if you refuse your boss can fire you. Unless you have a contract that specifies an amount of time and a dollar figure, you're pretty much SOL.

You could also try gathering stats on how many views you've had, how much sales have increased, etc, due to your work. Try to convince your boss you're more valuable that commission alone.


Title: (LA) Sue ex wife to drop married name

Question: Hi just for a short background. Ex wife and I were married for 5 years, when we got married, she changed her name to mine. Now that we are divorced she has refused to give me back my name. My last name is well respected in the community and my family is well known. We are kind famous. Because of my family name she has advanced her career. Since we are divorced I feel like she has no rights to my name. She has refused to drop my name and I am trying to see how my family and I can go about suing her. Thanks.

Answer:
 A random stranger off the street could decide to change their surname to yours, following the appropriate legal process. You would have no recourse there, and you have no recourse here.Answer #2: >She has refused to drop my name and I am trying to see how my family and I can go about suing her.

They can't. She can change her name to anything she likes. She could decide to copy your first and last name if she wanted. Answer #3: You have no grounds to force her to change her name.Answer #4: That's her legal name. That's it. You have no rights to change someone else's legal name. Answer #5: She will probably keep it for as long as she knows it bothers you.Answer #6: You’re last name anyone can change too. Answer #7: Lol. No.


Title: Amazon sold me pirated software and they refuse to give me a refund

Question:
Back in late 2017 I bought logic pro x off amazon. It was right after logic pro 9 hard copy’s became discontinued so I thought logic pro x was available as a hard copy.

fast forward to a couple of weeks later and I purchase a brand new macbook. I go to the app store to install logic pro and notice that it was wants me to purchase it again for $200.

I contact apple to see how I can transfer the license from my old mac to my new one. they tell me that it can only be transferred through apple id

after doing some investigating I noticed that I never registered my original copy with my apple ID

I contact apple again and tell them how I purchased it off amazon and that it is not associated with my apple id

Apple proceeded to tell me that the only way I can have logic pro without connecting it to my apple id is if I purchased pirated software, as it can only be purchased through the official mac appstore

I contact amazon and the seller, the seller tries to tell me he’s an authorized apple app retailer (that’s a lie) and sends me a link to a fake app store lookalike website where I can re download the pirated software

I contacted amazon about 10 times explaining to them that he is lying and that this is bootleg.

They tell me to file an a-z claim which gets denied

they then tell me to file an appeal on that claim which also gets denied.

I don’t really know what to do and I am furious as to how amazon let this happen and even more furious that they won’t do anything about it when the evidence is clear as day.

any help would be appreciated it

tldr; bought logic pro x on amazon, find out it was pirated, seller lies about being authorized to sell it, now amazon won’t give me a refund

Answer:
 Report the fake Apple software store to Apple, they would be interested in pursing legal action.
If you paid by credit card, contact your bank and request a chargeback.


Title: [CA] Younger sister received a seat belt ticket of ~$170 while with her friend's family, family agreed to pay it off. 1 year later, DMV says ticket was never paid and it is now $370. What do I do?

Question: Hello. So my sister went on a trip to the bay with her friend's family. They were sitting with 4 passengers in the back of the car and the police officer ticketed my sister and her friend, 17 years old at the time. The driver was the friend's older brother, (25+ y/o) Her friend's family agreed to pay it since they were the ones who invited her to come along. Fast forward 1 year. Sister goes to the DMV to take her permit test, turns out she cannot because theres some sort of hold on her name because of said ticket. Turns out, they never paid it. My mother just called the DMV/Court Office in the county of the received ticket. It is now $370. Court office told my mother that the ticket price can raise at anytime. Her friend's family doesn't want to pay the 370. The other city is 2 hours away.

Answer:
 The ticket was your sister's to pay. When you have a ticket issued in your name you need to make sure it is paid.

She has no real recourse against these people. I mean she could try to sue, but I doubt she would be successful.

If your sister wants her DL she's going to have to pay this fine.


Title: Woman hit my mother's car and refuses to give her the insurance informantion

Question: A woman hit my mother's after running a stop sign. My mother had an toddler and two children in the car during the accident. The toddler was scared and bawling and the woman gave my mother a fake address and phone number. The idiot forgot she was wearing a hat with the place she worked at on her head. And my mom went to confront her she gave her her number but the woman will not file a claim. Or give my mother her information. She made a claim to her insurance. And now she doesn't know what to do. We are in the state of iowa. Any advice?

Answer:
 Call the police.  This is a hit and run.  It can be reported after the fact since the other driver clearly tried to dodge her responsibilities.

That said, don't be surprised if she has no insurance.  That's the #1 reason for this scenario.Answer #2: Did she get a plate number? This is what you pay your insurance company to handle. They have ways to finding out her policy information.Answer #3: File a claim with your insurance company. Next time get police on site for a police report.Answer #4: Just give the license plate to your own insurance company. They specialize in twisting the screws on twits like this. Also, file a crash report with the police.


Title: [VA, USA] How to find a cheap lawyer to help me reduce reckless driving ticket to a regular speeding ticket?

Question:
Drove from PA to SC to see the Eclipse. Got caught doing 86mph in 70mph in Virginia. It's considered a Class 1 Misdemeanor.

I want to just call the court and pay the fine but that'll leave a mark on my criminal record forever. I'm a broke college student who can't afford a lawyer.

I heard going without a lawyer is a very bad idea. Help?

Answer:
 Consult your local Bar Association.

You definitely want an attorney.


Title: Me, my mom, and dad all got fraud alerts

Question:
I’m not sure what’s going on and I don’t really understand it so I’m going to try and explain.
I got a random text message, and they told me “alert for card beginning with #**** call 818203blah blah”
And I look at the card and it was expired a long time ago.

Someone got into my moms phone insurance thing, and ordered a phone? Idk how to explain it. But we called the phone company and told them to give us the address of the person or name and they said they couldn’t but they opened an investigation.

My dad also got a fraud alert, and that I have no clue about.
We have absolutely no idea what is going on. Should we all change our social security #s and credit cards?????

Answer: Let the adults deal with it. You can't change SSN's.


Title: Corrupt Post Office employee allowing my abusive parents to collect my mail; desperately need advice.

Question:
Location: West Virginia, US

Background: I moved out of an abusive household when I turned 18. For a long time after, my parents withheld legal documents from me (such as my social security card and birth certificate) in order to prevent me from being self-supporting and severing my reliance on them. Naturally, they had a history of opening any mail I received in our household, demanded my bank statements, and were just generally invasive. After graduating high school I was able to move in with my boyfriend’s family nearby (same zip code) and officially changed my address.

The issue: I recently discovered that my mother has been able to visit the post office and collect mail that has been addressed to me designated to my new address. She let it slip that her good friend who works at the post office will call her any time I receive mail that is to be delivered to my boyfriend’s address and ask if my mother would prefer to come pick it up. This explains why I have only received 2 bank statements since last summer. Most recently, this post office employee called my mother and let her know that my passport came in and allowed her to come pick up this legal document. Is this a federal offense, such as mail fraud? Can I pursue legal action against this employee in this circumstance? If not, who should I contact to ensure this never, ever happens again?

Many thanks for your help, Reddit!

Answer:
 1. Get a post office box AT A DIFFERENT POST OFFICE. I don't care if you have to take the bus 20 miles to get there once a week, get a PO Box.

2. File for a restraining order against your mother. TELL the court what she has done. If there's any incidents of physical or verbal abuse in the past year, tell the court. Hopefully, if you get a judge worth a dime, he/she will tell your mom to stop taking your mail.

3. Do every bill you have ONLINE. Bank statements online, utility statements, everything, online. Unless she hires a hacker, she can't get to those. Answer #2: I would confirm with your bank whether they have receives any attempts to access your money / account from her.  I would also recommend preparing to sue her for recovery of your personal property: birth cert, SS card, passport, etc.

I would also recommend that you immediately close that bank account and open one elsewhere.Answer #3: I know other people have mentioned it. But seriously...if you want to get every last bit of governmental power thrown at you right now then you have three departments to piss off.

The United Utates Postal Service

The department of Homeland Security

The IRS

Reading this, I assume you're from a small town(going off the volume of mail being small enough for the friend to notice yours). Feel free to skip the local authorities and go higher up.

There may be something like identity theft to toss in there. Don't go easy on either of them for this.


Title: Company changed PTO policy

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Will they give you an opportunity to **use** the PTO time?


Title: HELP dangerous doctor in CO

Question:
I have been seeing a doctor for the last 4 or so months since moving to Colorado. I do all that I can to be healthy such as proper diet, physical exercise, calming exercises and meditation like activities (music is very helpful). This generally can keep me comfortable when taken with my Atenolol. I could not afford insurance for the first few months. Due to some of my medical issues (hypertension, general anxiety, mild nerve damage, stomach and back pain) I needed to see a doctor who was willing to help me and not just over prescribe pills that I shouldn't been taking (PILL PUSHERS). Since I've been under his care he has prescribed me over 10 medications that I have had horrible side effects (I later read that a few of them said to not take if having certain conditions or taking certain other medications, both of which I had). As a result of trusting the doctor I was sent to the ER once and should have gone a second time. The last time I visited this bad doctor, I had been awake for 5 days straight due to building anxiety that he was fully aware of, with my resting BP at (144/98). He said I need to see another PCP because he wouldn't help me and didn't want to order the MRI that allowed me to find out that I have carpel tunnel (I occasionally hurt so bad I can't brush my teeth with my right hand). When I saw him this last time he printed me out paper work saying things that I can do to help me to sleep (I've been dealing with these issues for over 10 years on record and I am not new to my conditions) told me to stop coming to him and prescribed me DOXEPIN knowing that I was prescribed and have taken in the last 3 days Fentanyl and Trazadone, which its specifically says to not take in combination with DOXEPIN. I read the information before taking anything and I am glad that I do. This is the 3rd medication he has prescribed me that has a warning label for me specifically not to take due to other medication or health issues. This is just the tip of the iceberg for all of the dangerous and life treating treatment (Sent to ER 1x and should have gone a previous time from miss-prescribing medication) I have received from the doctor at Timberline Internal Medicine.

What can I do to help awareness of the poor treatment from this doctor, so others will not have to go through the same thing or worse and end up permanently injured because of malpractice. Also is there anything I can do legally for the financial, physical and mental hell he has put my family and me through.

Answer:
 Medical malpractice is very fact specific and it is unfortunately beyond the scope of this subreddit. It is highly recommend to speak with a medical malpractice attorney; your state's bar may be able to refer you to one. They typically work on contingency, meaning there is little up front cost to you. Similarly, consultations are typically free. It wouldn't hurt to meet with one, have them look over your info, and go from there.

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Title: I've been called into court after witnessing two men breaking into cars

Question: I was sitting in my car in a parking lot in a college town during a major college football game and saw two men testing door handles on cars.  I called 911 and followed them on foot until the police arrived.  They were arrested and I've now been called into court to testify against them.   Considering the potential consequences of my testimony against the two defendants, what steps do I need to take, or will the court take, to protect my identity in case these two fine upstanding citizens want to make me pay for my testimony?

Answer:
 You will receive absolutely no help from the state. You witnessed two bozos break into cars. You're not a mafia turncoat.

I would put the odds of retaliation at practically zero. People who commit crimes like this are not long term thinkers. They will not be sitting in jail for months or years plotting their revenge against the person who put them there. If they could think more than five minutes ahead and formulate complex plans, they wouldn't be breaking into cars in a parking lot to begin with.


Title: Drug interactions

Question:
So I was in college, junior year. I had been taking ssri's for depression/anxiety. Later on I was diagnosed with adhd and was given aderall. For two years, I was taking these drugs. Big mistake. I was fucked up, delressed, suicidal, manic episodes and serotonin poisioning. My doctor prescribed me something that ruined 2 years of my life. Never once, did he think it was the ssri, he kept xhanging my dose or the drug, still ssri's. This was 3 years ago. I'm not sure if I have grounds to seek legal council on the matter. The only reason I found out was because my new doctor told me that that was dangerous. A quick google search also confirmed that it was extremely dangerous for my long term mental health. Sorry about the format, mobile.
Topic:
Healthcare Law including HIPAA

Answer: I’m not a lawyer but a therapist who works closely with psychiatrists... taking medications for ADHD and depression/anxiety are pretty common- we see that all the time. There is always a chance that someone is going to experience a negative interaction due to a number of factors, but those meds are prescribed because the prescriber considered the benefits and determined they would outweighed the risks- sounds like they definitely didn’t agree with you which is definitely tough. Since adderall is a control, when you went back for monthly refills for that and told the doctor your symptoms, did they just switch up dose? If it was a GP, did they ever refer you to a mental health provider for a more specific assessment? Sometimes people with bipolar disorder are diagnosed with depression and given an SSRI which can induce mania... but mental health can be tricky to diagnose. Just chiming in to say the combo of an antidepressant and stimulant is not typically an issue, and seconding that mental health meds should be prescribed by a mental health professional, who will know more about diagnoses :)


Title: My younger brother is being bullied at school and nothing is being done. They want him to go to therapy but they won't help him. [IL]

Question:
Anon account

I apologize if the post gets longer than intended, I am beyond frustrated right now.

For the last couple weeks my younger brother has been afraid to go to school because people have been ridiculously mean to him. First we thought it was just kids being kids but he got sent to the school counselor because a "friend" of his told him to get the noose tight and kill himself. Nothing happened to that kid. This past hour I was informed he texted my mother that another kid drop kicked him (literally ran and jumped i guess, wasn't there so i can't say how true this is) and then other kids were throwing things at him. He is afraid to go to school and I don't live with him anymore so I can't be there to comfort him. The school suggested my mother hospitalize him so he can see a counselor or psych or something but I don't think it is right that these kids stay in school and my parents (who are already strapped for cash) have to pay for him to see someone else.

The students mentioned did not so much as get suspended, and were there the next day (I am not sure about the drop kick because again that just happened and we have no response from the school yet)

I am beside myself and my mother does not know what to do. We have called the superintendent, had meetings with the principal, etc but nothing (or even less) has been done.

At the very least I feel like the school recommending therapy is sign enough something is happening, and I did not know who else to turn to except for reddit. If this does not apply here I will gladly take it down.

Thank you for anyone who read this.

Answer: It sounds like the school doesn't believe his side of the story. Can he safely get proof of the bullying?


Title: [UPDATE] [WI] Had to break lease; landlord collecting continued rent despite new tenants. What are my next steps?

Question:
So, hey everyone! I'm back. I [didn't want to update](http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2ygtdn/wi_had_to_break_lease_landlord_collecting/) until I knew how this would shake out, and although you never know for sure, things are looking pretty close to resolved.

To recap, my landlord was *probably* double-billing me and what I suspected were his new tenants, as well as keeping my deposit because I needed to break the lease. Thanks to some of the good advice I got from reddit and my family, I decided to go forward with learning about my rights and possibly finding a lawyer to confer with. Around this time, my family member was able to meet the new tenants and confirm with them that they had moved in on March 1st. It's odd how relieving it was to know that my instincts were right.

When I started investigating, the first thing I found was a legal resource that informed me that in the state of Wisconsin, a landlord has a legal obligation to mitigate damages in the event of a broken lease. In other words, had I known, I could have completely stopped paying rent after notifying my landlord that I needed to break the lease, and he would have had to make reasonable efforts to find a new tenant and then could only bill me for the time the unit was unoccupied (as well as any costs relating to maintenance, repair, utilities, and finding a new tenant). So it quickly became clear that I had relatively solid grounds for a case. I did some research and found a lawyer who had a good combination of experience and free consultations. I had a brief conversation with him and sent him a copy of the lease to look over. He basically suggested three steps:

1. Talk to the landlord and tell him that he owed me March rent and my deposit back per the relevant state statutes;
2. If he ignored or refused, the lawyer would then write a demand letter for me;
3. If he ignored or refused, the lawyer would then take him to small claims court.

Because I didn't trust anything my landlord told me over the phone, I opted to send a certified letter laying out the situation and my request. I let him know that I'd consulted with a lawyer and was fully prepared to take it to small claims court.

Thankfully, although my landlord was slow to respond, he didn't let it get past that first step. About two weeks ago, I got an email from him saying he'd received my letter and was sending a check. He also couldn't help but include some jabs about how he had always "done what he'd said he would" and that he "wasn't running a hotel." I digress.

A little less than a week ago, I got the check along with a release he apparently wants me to sign, but that won't be happening--he didn't ask me to sign it, I didn't agree to, and I have no reason to sign away future rights just because he's finally doing what he should've done in the first place.

So, although I anticipate I may get a nasty message or empty threats of legal action for not signing his release, I think this chapter is pretty well closed. Thanks to everyone who commented on my prior posts, and I hope this is helpful for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation in the future!

tl;dr: got educated, got assertive, got paid

Answer: Well done.Answer #2: Good job.  I have found that in a large number of cases, a demand letter is all it takes.  The landlord knows you are right, but he also knows that most people won't do anything.  The demand letter sends the message that you are serious and ready to proceed. Answer #3: Bake that lawyer some cookies..Answer #4: I'm glad the LL came to his senses.  Thanks for the update.


Title: Is the name ''Mufasa'' Trademarked?

Question: I loved Mufasa from lion king as a child. I want to change my youtube channel name to mufasa (monetized). My channel has Nothing to do with the lion king, disney or even movies at all. I do gaming/music videos and i want to change the name to mufasa. Basically im asking if i can use the name ''Mufasa'' without getting stepped on by Disney? Sorry for my bad English and my stupidity when it comes to law. (Sweden) & (International)

Answer:
 >My channel has Nothing to do with the lion king, disney or even movies at all. I do gaming/music videos and i want to change the name to mufasa.

You're probably fine. Also, "mufasa" is a word in some other language, so it's unlikely that they're going to do much about your completely unrelated use of the term.


Title: [NYC] Mom wants to put my name on deed. How can I protect it in case of divorce?

Question:
My mom owns a house outright and after my dad passed, wants me to move in as she wants to downsize to a coop down the street. My wife, mom and I want to renovate the house by utilizing some cash and taking a mortgage out. We would have to change the name on the deed so it would be my mother's and my name on the deed. The persons responsible for the mortgage would be my wife and myself. She makes 4x what I make so the mortgage would be paid mostly by my wife. Now my wife and I are very happy together and I don't foresee this happening, but in case things go terribly wrong in the marriage, what's the best way to protect the asset? Since NY is not a community property state, her portion of the equity would essentially be the appreciated portion of the mortgage?

Putting some numbers down:

House - 800k

If I put my name on the deed, my equity vs mom's 400k(50%) / 400k (50%)

This is where I get confused.

Mortgage is 500k. So if my wife pays 4/5 of that, is her "fair share" 400k/800k (50%)? or since my mother is on the deed, only 4/5 of my 50% (40%)?

Obviously these things change as the relationship lengthens, going to court, and kids. But as for now, would my wife, if we divorce, be able to get more of the property and kick me out of my family home?

Answer: Protect it for who? Your mom is taking zero risk other than risking sharing property with you. Your wife is stupid if she does this. She would be taking on all the risk/loan with no stake in the property.


Title: MA - Apartment, roommate keeps getting dogs

Question:
Massachusetts- Looking for any advice on getting out of a lease, the situation is with my girlfriend not me.  She has about six months left on her lease, the apartment allows small dogs.  She met the girl through craigslist and subletted for a few months, then signed for a full year.

When she moved in her roommate had one small dog and had just gotten a lab puppy, now one year later the lab is close to full grown and the roommate is getting another lab puppy, same breed just different color.

It's a small 2BR apartment, neither of the two current dogs are fully house broken, the third certainly wont make that any easier.  Is this any grounds to break the lease? Either due to the apartment being uninhabitable or the dogs violating the allowed pets in the lease?

Answer:
 What does the lease specifically say about pets? A lot of leases specifically state how many dogs and the weight and size of the dogs allowed. Answer #2: >neither of the two current dogs are fully house broken

Damage caused by animal urine is often mentioned in the list of reasons to start the eviction process. Does your lease and/or local tenancy law say anything about that?


Title: Leaving for military deployment wife is cheating

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Let your chain of command know, first and foremost.  Then talk to a legal representative on base.  They deal with this stuff all the time.Answer #2: >RLSOs are dedicated to providing professional legal services and solutions in support of military justice and other legal issues involving Navy (and Marine Corps upon request) commands located within their area of operation, as well as other functions and tasks necessary in support of the mission and core capabilities of the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. **The highest priority will be given to fleet and operational units, particularly those deployed or preparing to deploy**.

http://www.jag.navy.mil/legal_services.htm

Best of luck, I'm sorry this happened to you.Answer #3: You will not be able to get a divorce in 2 weeks.

Navy JAG will be fine for advising you on what responsibilities you have in regards to giving your wife some of your BAH etc.  Then you will need a civilian lawyer to handle everything.

It sucks that this happened before deployment.  Get on the phone with a divorce lawyer ASAP.


Title: My neighbor says if I block his prescriptive easement he will sue me

Question: I have a neighbor claiming he has a prescriptive easement on my property to drive to his backyard where he has a garage. I just bought the property in December 2016. he claims he’s been using it since 2007. Can I legally block him from accessing my property? We have been having a lot of issues lately cause He has cut down trees on my lot and also did some grading to the mountains in our back yard to reroute all the runoff from the mountains into my land so he doesn’t have to clean up the mess after every rain. My lot is vacant right now I have plans to build a home for my family in the future. The civil engineer who did my land surveying says the neighbors have no claim over my property and the 5 year period to claim prescriptive easement restarts with the new ownership. How do I proceed? I’m in California

Answer:
 Get. A. Lawyer.

There is SO much going on here.

You say he cut down trees on your property? That is highly illegal, and worth suing him over, if you have proof.

He redirected water run off? This could be illegal, also worth talking to an attorney about.

Everything else? Attorney. This is WAY too big and just too much in general. You NEED an attorney or this guy will keep walking over you.Answer #2: Get a lawyer.

I’d also look carefully at your long legal property description, and see if there are any easements on the property, also, is his property “land locked” with your property being the logical access to it?

Depending on these things you may have a claim against your title insurance.Answer #3: Save up money, get an attorney, and beat the neighbor to the punch. Answer #4: I believe an easement should have been listed in the documentation when you bought the property.  I'd check that check with the people that you got (hopefully) your title insurance from and have them verify whether or not that easement actually exists.


Title: GA, possible parental neglection of a teenaged child.

Question:
I'm too stressed to add any fluff right now.

14 yo female is stressed depressed anorexic and suicidal inside of a family who does not show much attention.

I have known this person for 5 days and it has come to my attention they need alot of help.

details

-girl recently attempted suicide and is suffering from a bleeding wound that is not properly dressed and has not been looked at by a registered doctor.

- father believes that the anorexia is just drama and not a real issue, shows very little respect towards the girl

-mother believes the anorexia is a real issue, cares for her but not enough to help the girl.

- neither parents are aware she has relapsed back into anorexia.

- often times the parents are gone from the  house hold for many hours and take the younger siblings.

- 14 yo female is more or less the 'mother' of the house hold. She cares for the siblings, both under 11, and previously took care of the grandmother who used to live in the basement for multiple years while the mother obtained a college degree and often worked late hours forcing the daughter to deal with too much for someone her age.

Can I, unrelated to the family and just a bystander, help press legal action on the neglection of this girl? If so, what specifically can I do?

I don't have enough information right now it seems, but if there is anything at all any of you souls can do for this girl, pm me immediately. I will be reading everything at 7 am EST, I can't deal with all of this stress right now. please help if you can, thank you.

Answer: You can call CPS, but you should also recognize that you probably don't know or understand what is *really* going on here, especially if you are communicating with the 14 year old.


Title: Ex Fiance (27F) ran off with my (22M) daughter (2 Months)

Question: I'm military and not allowed to leave Hawaii currently for medical issues. After my daughter was born, the ex immediately denied me visitation. I tried going to her house and my daughter wasn't there. I wasn't there for her birth because my ex switched hospitals and lied behind my back, and I don't have a DNA test. She stayed at a friend's place that I didn't know where she was until she moved from Hawaii to Texas (allegedly). She claims to have changed her last name too so she couldn't be found. I don't know where she or my daughter is. Is there a way to serve her a subpoena without knowing where she is? I just want to meet and hold my daughter.

Answer: You will need to hire a private investigator to locate her.Answer #2: I would talk to an attorney about immediately filing for custody. Part of serving her will be locating her and the lawyer may have resources that can assist.


Title: Harassment

Question:
I'm not sure this is the right place to post this...if not can someone send me in the right direction

There are specific reasons I cannot list my location.
This is serious even though the beginning is going to sound weird.
Also, sorry for the terrible grammar I'm not very concentrated on it atm.

This girl from reddit added me to snap chat....and sent me a picture of her boobs. This was unasked for. She wanted a picture of mine. I told her I didn't want to because I had a girlfriend. She said a few more things then I stupidly said okay...but then I deleted her. Somehow she still messaged me (  I don't understand snapchat well).

I told her I felt uncomfortable and just didnt want to do it.

She said that she sent one, and I was a liar for not sending it back. She then says that she is going to post all my information and social accounts to pornsites and forums, and give my information to hackers. "Hope spending the rest of your life on pornsites is better than telling me the truth"-her words, and by truth she means send nudes.

I then I asked what she was going to be posting to these sites, and she said "I don't like liars so I will make sure the rest of your life is living hell"

^^is the above statement a threat?

So she continues on with the same old stuff for a while...hackers, photoshop, pornsites, forums (remember this girl has no nude pictures of me). She says is putting me on porn sites so I can never get a job again.

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART:

She said she is going to sue me and take me to court for sexual harassment because she sent me a picture of her boobs, and I didn't send one back (I NEVER ASKED FOR A PICTURE WHATS SO EVER). Then goes on and on about how I Have sexually harassed.
 her

Then she continues to beg for a picture saying she can make it all go away if ill just send her nudes.

So I feel this is all bullshit. They have nothing to take me to court over right? If anything I could be the one trying to sue for sexual harassment, blackmail, threats correct?

Do I have anything I should be worried about. I'm pretty sure it's all bs from a teenage boy, but I just want to make sure, or talk to some one lol.

Answer: This sounds like a variation of the underage nudes photos scam. I would ignore/block this person.


Title: in AZ - paraphernalia charge has turned into trial. What can I expect? Please help.

Question:
There's a few nuances to this that may or may not matter.

I was pulled over, had a packed bowl of weed on me. Admitted, cooperated, the cops were very nice and understanding. They chose to ignore the weed, writing only a ticket for paraphernalia.

This is my first offense. I went to the courtroom a month later. I was expecting a fine. When read the charge, I plead guilty. The judge then asked what it was used for. I said tobacco. She then pressed on whether that is all it was used for. I said not recently, but in the past. She said that wasn't adding up basically and called for a trial. Stunned.

I'm worried now if it goes to trial they'll try to get weed poss on me. Most I've talked to seem to think a trial is avoidable. I've talked with a lawyer who thinks he could possibly get it dropped or get some deal with taking a dumb class. Which is ideal. I just want this over.

So, would it be worth going with a lawyer? I do think it'd be an easy charge to deal with but the law in AZ is so broad. I do not have any extra income really for this, but would rather pay a lawyer than the state. What would happen if I let it go to the court date? Should I worry about what the cop ignored? Could they add to the charge?

I appreciate any advice, recommendations, idea. This is ruining my October.

Answer:
>This is ruining my October.

Get a lawyer, as a drug-related conviction has the potential of ruining the rest of your future.Answer #2: So let's count your mistakes here.

1. Using illegal drugs. Eh, it is what it is at this point.

2. Talking to the police. You're in this mess because you were "honest" instead of shutting the hell up.

3. Mistaking the police being "nice" for a good thing. Of course they were "nice". That's how they got you to stupidly admit a crime.

4. Pleading guilty at an initial hearing to a misdemeanor instead of negotiating and/or getting a lawyer.

5. Lying to a judge during your allocution. Mega stupid.

Don't compound this any further. Get. An. Attorney. Now. Answer #3: NAL, but maybe you should avoid lying to judges.Answer #4: To cover up your misdemeanor you may have committed a felony by lying to the judge. You absolutely need a lawyer and need to be honest with them.


Title: Renter blackmailing me instead of paying rent

Question: I rented a room in my house to a guy who has been late in paying rent for past two months. He paid last month's rent two weeks late and he hasn't yet paid for this month's rent. He kept delaying the date from 7th to 14th to 21st. Today when I sent him a text saying I am expecting the rent tomorrow, he responds back saying I am asking way too early and being demanding, and he also threatened to share my personal business with my parents. I respond back saying if you will tell my parents, you'll pay for it and now he is threatening me to take me to the court. How screwed am I in this situation?

Answer: Then give him notice to pay or quit then file eviction. But stop sending vague threats to people. Grow up. You are running a business. So follow the law and give him notice


Title: Refusal to sell cigarettes in Ohio

Question:
Hi people,

I was telling the story of how I had been denied buying cigarettes in a store two years ago and people were telling me that there was no such thing as a right to purchase in this particular case.

It was back in 2011, I was an exchange student from Europe staying in a university near Cleveland, Ohio. I went to the CVS next to the campus where I was staying at. The guy behind the counter asked for my ID. Being 24 at the time, I showed him my ID (Something like [this](http://ielanguages.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IDcard1.jpg), which is the official ID in my country). The guy denied it, so I said that I could go back to my dorm which was 10 minutes away and come back with my European passport. He asked if it was a Canadian passport. Obviously, it wasn't, so I told him. So he said that it wouldn't work.

I don't know how the law works in the US but here's how it would go down in my country. The seller has a right to ask me to prove my identity or my age with an official document, but if they have doubts on the validity of this document, they are the ones that would have to prove that the document is fake. Concretely, they would have to call the police who would then come to check the document and make their decision.

The thing that bothers me in my story is that I could technically be denied cigarettes in the whole state whereas I had done nothing wrong. It doesn't seem really fair to me.

Could someone here explain to me how things work and if the guy had indeed a right to deny me service ? Can a store owner arbitrarily decide what documents they recognize as a valid ID in the US ?

Thanks in advance !

Answer: Yep, he was allowed to deny you. In at least most of the US, the party who is fined if an underage sale happens is the clerk... not the store, and the fines are pretty hefty. As such, a clerk is allowed to be as comfortable as he or she wants with age verification. Stores can decide what IDs they'll accept. Some won't accept completely legit IDs issued by their own state they were issued before someone was 21.


Title: My 16 year old girlfriend is pregnant, can her parents refuse to let me see her?

Question: (New York) I myself am 17, but will turn 18 on August 11th. My 16 year old girlfriend (who will be 17 in October) is pregnant. I am afraid that her parents will not let me see her. Do I have visitation rights here?

Answer:
 > Do I have visitation rights here?

The right to visit your girlfriend? No.


Title: Mass EZ Pass was stolen and I have to pay all fees

Question: My Massachusetts EZ Pass was stolen and I am responsible for over $500 of payments they caused before I noticed my pass was stolen. There is nothing I can do about my charges other than pay they have told me 3 times now. So it seems it is completely legal to steal and use an EZ Pass and get away with it. Any advice? This seems illegal... Anything I can do about this?

Answer: That's a lot of fees. How long was it missing? How many individual fees make up that money?


Title: (VIRGINIA) My son's father passed away unexpectedly, how do I go about getting a death certificate as someone not related to him?

Question:
My son's father passed away a little under a month ago. I am not really on great terms with any of his remaining family, and he had very little to do with my son while still alive. I also am stranded feeling like I have no right to bother them in their grief about something that may come off as me only being concerned about money. I know that as the mother of his child, I have a stake in this here, but that doesn't make it any easier as our relationship was rocky to put it kindly.

I do not know how to go about getting his death certificate so that I can go through the motions of viewing and obtaining any social security or other possible benefits owed to my young son now that his father has passed. He is no longer receiving the child support and insurance and dental his dad was required to pay and I may sound insensitive, but I relied on it in times of emergency and now it's gone. I am a single mother that lives completely on my own income and it is important to me that I at least get this box checked off.

Essentially, I have looked through the online answers in several different wordings and formats and I still have no idea how to get a copy of the certificate. Even if my son doesn't qualify for any SS, I will need it for when he is entering school I think, and other reasons- even just a simple as to show my son one day when he understands these things.

I am located in Hanover, Virginia. I do have my late ex's social security number and birth certificate information, as well he is on my son's birth certificate and I have custody papers and court documents proving his connection with my own self in the manner of our child.

Please excuse me if I sound odd for the situation. It really was very complicated. Any advice on this would be appreciated. I have never really dealt with this kind of thing before and I am having a bit of a time coming to terms and getting it all straight.

Answer:
 You can order vital records [here](http://www.vdh.state.va.us/vital_records/vtlapp.htm).  The relationship of "father of my minor child" is a valid relationship to request such a document. Answer #2: Death certificates are usually public information. Look up your state's vital records office. They'll probably have a form for you to fill out and there's usually a small fee. Answer #3: > no longer receiving the child support and insurance and dental his dad was required to pay and I may sound insensitive,

Nonsense, this is business (so to phrase it), not personal. You are the mother. Your son is entitled to his inheritance plus [social security](https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/onyourown4.html) benefits (assuming under age). Contact the county (or municipality) where your ex died and ask what you need to do to get the death certificate.


Title: I sold a man my used laptop on the 1st and now he wants his money back.

Question: What are the laws on buying a used laptop as is. I sold a man my normally $2,600 laptop for $700 on the 1st, and at the time it was working properly. The man inspected it and downloaded a program to test it out. After a week he wanted me to help him with the graphics card and I referred to a site that would help him. He then called repeatedly telling me he wanted to come over so I could help him and I told him I can't and referred to people that could on the website. The next day when I checked my phone he blew it up with messages telling me he would take less money back in order to give me back the laptop, this is about a week later by the way. He also threatened my wife on her facebook page about it as well. Later on that day he told me to just delete his messages implying everything was fixed. Then the 2 days later he started up again telling me he's taking me to small claims court. That laptop was in full working condition when I sold it and there was no warranty offered or guarantee . But now I have no idea what he did and what he was tinkering with after he took it. What is the law in Texas about obsessive telephone harassment from a man that randomly just changed his mind and has buyers remorse after a week of being happy with it.  What are my implications in small claims court, does this guy have a case, how should I protect myself?

Answer:
 > What are the laws on buying a used laptop as is.

It means as soon as they walk away, it's theirs. Period.

Legal advice: Block and ignore. If he does sue you, don't ignore it. He won't win. Answer #2: Whatever you do, DO NOT DELETE THOSE TEXTSAnswer #3: You sold a laptop to him as is. It did not include you providing him with additional labor, help, or laptop support. Nor did it include an agreement that he (or you) could void the deal after ten days if one of you changed his or her mind.

Tell him to take a hike.


Title: Las Vegas, NV. Trade school is telling my brother he cannot speak Spanish in Class.

Question:
My brother goes to a trade school here in Las Vegas, about a week ago he spoke Spanish to his friend after  class was dismissed while still in the class room. The next morning his teacher told him he cannot speak Spanish in class it’s the rules. My brother felt horrible when he came home.

He spoke with the principal, the principal told him that he emailed corporate and corporate told him he cannot speak Spanish on school grounds. My brother doubts that he emailed corporate but that is what the principal told him.

Is this true that he may not speak Spanish in class? Or legal advice for us.

If it makes any difference the school does accept FAFSA so I don’t know if that means it’s a government building?

Answer: They are correct. It's a private business with rules. Their rules say no foreign language. Answer #2: I'm assuming the class is being taught in English so he should know the language enough to communicate in it.


Title: Am I legally required to board a plane if my parents want me to?

Question: My parents need to go somewhere, I need to know if I am required to go as well (they want me to) . I am fully aware of any consequences they may give me if I don't. This may sound like an overreaction but I would rather not give many details

Answer: It genuinely depends on the circumstances of what's happening, sorry. If it's for a family vacation to Florida? For sure they can do that. If it's to go to a different country to be forcibly married? No, tell the TSA agent at the body scanner/metal detector what is happening. Answer #2: Frist off your age should be included


Title: My Employer gave bad advice - could cost me $60,000+

Question:
Hello, I am not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I guess I'm jusy overall not sure what to do. I know it's a really long post, just trying to be detailed as possible.

I had my first child in January. It was an absolute chore having him added to my insurance, but after 3 months of paperwork, arbitrary waiting periods, and tedious phone calls, he was finally added to my coverage.

About a month later I received a bill for $825 in the mail, from my employer, but with no indication whatsoever what the bill was for. Just an amount, an invoice number, and a due date. I have a picture of this document, but no longer have the original.

I called HR, and was told the $825 was to cover the difference in the insurance premium to retroactively cover my son from his date of birth. This is what I suspected, but, again, no indication at all in any paperwork I received.

I asked if I could pay in installments (directly from my paycheck), and they referred me to accounting. Accounting says, yes, sure, there's a specific form to fill out.

I fill out the form and submit it to my direct supervisor, per the instructions I received. This was all done on April 30th.

A few days ago I tried to pick up a prescription and was told my coverage "shows as cancelled".

I call HR, and they tell me all sorts of bad news: due to lack of payment ALL insurance for myself, my wife, and my child has been cancelled retroactively to the date of my son's birth. We cannot simply pay the $825 to fix this, and we will not have insurance going forward until another qualifying life event. And the real kicker, we will be billed for anything insurance has paid out during this time. This would include the birth of my son, a 2 day readmission to the hospital for my son, a 6 day readmission to the hospital for my wife, and the normal requisite checkups and vaccines for a newborn.

The accounting department tells me that the form I submitted is not useable for people in my job title, and that they also don't do arrangements for payments on insurance. They have a record of my call on April 30th, but the contact log left by the employee doesn't indicate that I was told to send this document in. They also claim I should have gotten other documents around the same time as the invoice, or at the same time explaining I would lose coverage.

They say that my application for this payment arrangement was rejected on May 8th, but again I was not in any way notified. I was on the phone for several hours today about this with HR and accounting, but am waiting to hear more tomorrow from payroll. Accounting did confirm that they do keep recordings of their calls, which should include my original April 30th call.

Tl;dr employer tell me to send in paperwork to set up withdrawals from paycheck for a balance owed on insurance, then later says that that was never allowed, and I have no more coverage, and owe a ton of money.

So uhhhh... What recourse do I have in this situation?

Answer: This is going to be difficult to fix and I don't think we're the best people to ask. I'd crosspost this onto /r/insurance and see what they say. They'll likely be of more help.


Title: Can a survivor of domestic abuse/assault share the name of and evidence against the abuser online?

Question:
Regarding a case & potential situation in Wayne County, MI.

**Past Details:**

A former coworker had been in an abusive relationship for over 10 years.  She's a single mother, lives with her young daughter.  The abuser has all the [traits of a narcissistic sociopath](http://www.wisegeekhealth.com/what-is-a-narcissistic-sociopath.htm), and physically & mentally abused her in increasingly horrible ways.  Luckily, she never allowed him to move in with her or gain a foothold on her finances, which made the breakup *slightly* easier.

After the victim ended the relationship and requested no further contact, the abuser scaled her house and broke in through a second story window- after assaulting and nearly killing her, he was apprehended by the police.  The prosecutor in the case proceeded with a domestic violence charges (first conviction is a misdemeanor), rather than the more serious home invasion (felony), because they had been in a relationship prior to the event and because it would be easier to get a conviction.  The abuser was sentenced to a year of wearing a tether and probation.

**Current Situation:**

The tether was removed from the abuser early due to 'good behavior'.  The victim feels like justice hasn't been served at all.  She's considered publishing the evidence of the abuse & his name online, in an effort to make sure that nobody falls victim to him again (she is not the first victim- his ex wife fled the country to get away from him).

**Things she would publish:**

* audio recording of a conversation wherein he tells her that he'll ruin her life, kidnap her, and make her disappear
* audio recording of him admitting to having his dead dog and cat in the freezer, and telling her she's next
* audio recording of him claiming that he's breaking into her house and going through her belongings when she's at work or away
* text message exchanges where he's threatened her and her young daughter
* evidence photos from when she's been physically assaulted and hospitalized
* copies of threatening emails from the abuser
* copies of the booking records & court records from the assault case
Nothing slanderous or libelous, just evidence and no opinion or personal slant to the story.  These pieces of evidence, on a site with enough SEO to guarantee that it's a top result in a search for the abusers name- something that would be hugely detrimental to career advancement and new potential relationships.

**Questions:**

Does the abuser have a right to privacy in this? Is this something that would be covered under under the privacy tort of public disclosure of private facts?

Answer:
 This is a terrible idea.  The odds that some new woman he dates will find some random blog about him are close to zero, so let's forget the protection angle.  Publicly shaming an abusive  violent narcissistic sociopath is like throwing gasoline onto a fire.  Don't go there.

Could he sue her?  Sure.  You can sue someone for just about anything.  Tens of thousands of dollars spent on attorney defense fees later, she might win.  Or not.  More important, he could kill her!

Taking the middle ground, it is very possible she might need to seek a domestic abuse restraining order against him in the future.  Let's see how that works:  "Your Honor, I am very afraid of X.  He threatens my safety."  "Your Honor, the plaintiff posted a public blog with my client's name on it, composed solely of his alleged bad actions and what a terrible person he is.  This was obviously done to incite and anger him, so she doesn't seem to be all that afraid of him."  Do you really want to go there?  Bad idea.


Title: ~3 years ago, my parents stole a $2.5k private scholarship under my name, what can I do now?

Question:
Not sure on where this should be legally handled. I was in school in Colorado, but my legal address was my parents house in Indiana at the time. The scholarship fund is based in Texas I believe.

My first year at a private university, I was awarded a scholarship from a private scholarship fund for $2.5k. I filled out paperwork with my university that I accepted it and that should be considered on my financial aid need decision made by the school. I also filled out paperwork with the scholarship fund stating that I would use the money only for school-related costs.
Well fast forward a couple of months and I’m wondering where the check is. I’d been adamant to my parents to let me know right away when the check came. There was a school break and so I went home and it’d been longer than I expected for the check to come. I started calling the scholarship fund quite often; they told me the check had been mailed weeks ago. Finally after a few calls, I talked to their finance department who told me the check had been cashed. I confronted my parents and they denied cashing any check. I told the scholarship fund and during my last phone call with them they told me they were forwarding me to their legal team and were ready to take action. I never talked to them again, too scared at the time.
I went back to school and kept confronting my parents and they finally said something like “we do alot for you I’m sure it all evens out in the end” (by the way they gave me $0 for school between then and now).
I started emailing them records and payments of their lack of payment and how I’d been buying everything I needed. So when the tuition bill came that quarter, I told them I needed that scholarship money, the school is expecting it, and they told me something along the lines of “you need to stop having so much fun and start working harder to pay for school.” (I had a job at the time but had to get another one because of this.) So I had to scramble to pay the $2.5k which is a whole other story.

TL;DR my parents cashed a $2.5k private scholarship check mailed to their house while I was in my first year of college about 3 years ago.

Now that I’m out of school, I want to see what I can do. I was scared I didn’t have enough money to pay for legal fees and also not enough time with school and jobs. But now I do.
Can I sue them? Could I actually get any money back since it was supposed to be for school? Should the scholarship fund be the one that gets money back?

I just want to know my options, I haven’t decided if I actually want to take legal actions against my parents.

Answer:
 you can usually get 30 minutes free to talk to a lawyer, I'd suggest that.Answer #2: Your university's bursar/financial office should have a detailed record of scholarship checks cashed and by what account they were cashed in by. Get those records if you can and sue your parents in court. However this most likely will not work as these are the steps you should have taken 3 years ago when they first stole from you, your university mosr likely won't still have these files and the court might say it's been too long for a small claim case like this.Answer #3: Call the scholarship people back and ask them to email proof the check was cashed.  Then take that evidence and report it to the police.

Give the scholarship people a copy of the police report and ask them to report the fraud to their bank to see if they can get the money back.

Being this is 3 years old, hopefully the scholarship people will still help you get proof that it was cashed.
The statute of limitations on check fraud is 6 years.  Answer #4: Small claims is no big deal and the standard of evidence is rather low. You don't need an attorney. You may be asked why you didn't sue sooner.


Title: MO/ Landlord of 10 mos threw me and S.O out, without notice, and kept all my possessions and vehicle

Question:
It's a long story so I'm going to try and keep it pretty dry and to the point.

My partner and I rented a room, off the "books", from a friend's mother who owns her home and rents her rooms out to young adults who need help. We moved in last July (after ironically an almost irriely related incident). Everything was off books, she always does that. So there was never a written lease agreement. However my partner did register his ID while we were there with that address. On top of filing our taxes with this address. Plenty to prove we resided at said residence.

In December the homeowner bought us a car as a gift and said verbally we could pay it off with her. As taking care of people seems to be her thing. We worked, we tagged the car in both her name and my name, me primary her as secondary. She told me it had to be that way, and it's hard to argue when someone is gifting you something that can change your life.

In April the owners mother passed away, it was a huge breaking point for her I believe. And no matter how much we helped around the house, the yard, etc it wasnt enough.

In May the owner lost her way of working due to a shoulder surgery. I believe that broke the straws back.

As the weeks in May passed she kept talking about her credit debt and possibly loosing the home. We offered solution after solution, and even ended up taking some time off work to assist her when she had surgery and was worried about getting things done (mowing, laundry etc)

Last weekend the homeowner and her very violent son woke us up in the dead of the morning telling us we had to leave and if we didn't they'd make us, told us to pack what we could carry and get out. A normal person would ask why leave if you had a right to be there, well the same son pointed a gun at my partners face last Sept in a stupid argument over dishes. So I wasn't taking any chances. We left with the bare minimum, I didn't get any of my clothing, my son's pictures (whom lives with his father) the only photo of my biological dad, the amount of sentiment behind most of my items outweighs the 3000$ in property she kept (the number we came up with after making a list). We have her in writing signed saying she won't touch our belongings and we can come back for them, then proceedes to message us saying she's going to donate our things if we refuse to give her the car!

In the time we lived there (10 mos) she also kicked out 2 other people without any notice, and did the same thing went through their belongings and then set it all outside. I had a friend suggest I reach out to them, but I'm not sure if I should.

The owner is an RN (and I have mad respect for nurses) but she was stealing drugs from hospitals, and when her mother passed she kept a ton of her intense pain meds. Criminal and civil cases are different I know but if it plays into her psyche right?

Her reasoning behind kicking us out was because she was so behind in credit debt, wants to sell the car she got us, and she decided that it would be easier to make it an irrational situation rather than talk about it. I was also informed she asked to borrow money from her dad who's condition was that he would loan her money if she stopped letting people stay there that werent family.

Now we hear she actually wants to give her 16 year old son (different than earlier son mentioned) the car she supposedly needs to sell. Even though we have made payments to her and covered tags, I kept insurance on said car, etc.

The owner wrote us a verbal agreement stating that if we came and signed the car over then she'd leave our things be, I mean one coherencing me doesn't look good right? And then openly admitting you've gone back on that agreement and broken the law too.

There was nothing filed with the city to have us evicted we took pictures of her letting the air out of our car tires, we have screenshots of her older son texting us threats and saying he is burning our clothing right now. I plan to meet with an attorney this week who works with cases regarding landlord and tenant, I just figured getting second opinions doesn't hurt.

Answer:
 Call the police.Answer #2: Uhm, I would have left the place once the older son pointed the gun at my partner over some stupid dishes many months ago.  Why the heck did you continue to live there and now subject to their wacko world?Answer #3: >We worked, we tagged the car in both her name and my name, me primary her as secondary.

Is your name on the title?


Title: Lease has handwritten changes, I did not initial them. Are they valid? (Georgia)

Question:
I noticed that my lease has handwritten changes made by my landlord and initialed by him. We both signed the last page of the lease and dated, but I did not initial these changes. Do the modifications to the lease still hold?

Does it matter if the copy I signed was the copy directly modified by my landlord or a printed copy with his changes already made? I only have a copy sent over email, so I am unsure if the copy I signed had his changes in pen or if he had scanned the version with pen and re-printed.

EDIT: the handwritten changes were on the lease when I signed it. The typed part of the lease states 30 days written notice. This part was crossed out and 60 days was handwritten and initialed by him. The fact that he initialed this change made me wonder whether initialing was required for the change to be valid and whether both parties had to initial.

Answer: Were the modifications there when you signed, meaning you agreed to them?


Title: Blackmail

Question: So this on Instagram has been threatening to give him a shoutout or he will get my 192k account deleted he already got my other account taken cause he used this report system that makes it seem like many people are reporting it could I get the police to step in and arrest this guy? Or would they just not care enough about it?

Answer:
 The police do not care about your instagram account.

You should report it to Instagram.


Title: [17/f co,usa] recently graduated, parents took 650$ in graduation money from me

Question: They took it so that I won't have money to move out when I turn 18 in a month. They told me not to worry about it, that they put it in a savings account for "college" when they know I'm not going. Since I'm a minor I can't do much but is there anything I can do?

Answer:
 Where did the "graduation money" come from, and who was it given to, specifically - you, your parents, or a bank account?Answer #2: Sorry OP, You're not getting the money back easily, even if you were to successfully sue for it..  Get a job, open your own bank account, get your own SS card, drivers licence, and your own copy of your birth certificate, limit your exposure to their nonsense, and save some money until you can move out of their house.

Life Tip:  Before you move out, and before you tell your parents you're leaving, take items you value that are yours (gifts, books, your electronic devices, clothes, etc.) in small batches to a trusted friends house for safekeeping.  Expect narcissistic parents to freak out and try to restrict your access to your belongings when you make your announcement.


Title: [CA] Woman I Am Subleasing From Ripped Up My Check

Question:
For context please check my last post.

I wrote her a check for 525$ and she claims I owe her 550$

I cannot check because I do not own a copy of the lease agreement (I never received one)

And she refuses to provide me a copy.

I wrote her a check for 50$ since she previously tried to raise my rent 25$ (nothing in writing, just verbally)

She ripped the check up and left a sticky note on it, leaving it on the counter saying.

"I asked for 25 not 50"

Am I obligated to write her a new one?

Should I write her a new one just to be safe?

I am also speaking to an attorney tomorrow.

Answer: Speaking to an attorney is much better advice than anyone here can possibly give you.Answer #2: Is everyone gonna ignore the fact that the Tennant is entitled to a copy of the lease? I'd check your local laws but I'd bet money something illegal is going on here.


Title: (Florida) Neighbor Harassment - Police doing nothing

Question: [deleted]

Answer: She needs to file a restraining order against both women.


Title: I'm thinking about turning myself in for a crime I was never charged with or caught, what are the pros and cons of doing this and how can I possibly figure out the charges beforehand?

Question: Texas. White collar crime. I'm turning over a new leaf.

Answer:
 Maybe instead of being a burden on the taxpayers you could devote that time to a worthy charitable cause while you continue to be a productive member of society and not sitting in a prison cell.Answer #2: Pros - Uh, none that I can think of. Maybe you'll feel better?

Cons - You will go to jail.

If you're serious about this you need to talk to a lawyer before you talk to the police.Answer #3: Is this why you wanted to speak to the judge?Answer #4: You'll get charged with a crime, do time, be a felon, never get a decent job again. Not buy guns. Not get to vote.  You'll always have a record.

All this on the tax payer dime.  The persons impacted by whatever you did might be better off if you assist with a college fund or some other assistance you can render them. Or work at a homeless shelter for a while. Or food banks. Or something.

Do something GOOD.  Exactly NOTHING good comes out of your limited future with a record.

If you did something whitecollar, start donating to charities or volunteer time to 'offset' your crime.

Move to a new city and start fresh. Don't move to a local cell.Answer #5: Its not a crime if you don't get caught.

-House of Pain 1992Answer #6: Go pay an attorney for an hour that specializes in white collar in your area and talk to him/her about the matter. Answer #7: Rick Perry?


Title: [MN] Started a social service agency, our first hire is a nightmare (and clinician) with history of suing employers

Question:
Hey, thanks for reading.

A friend and I started a social services agency in MN. We help person's with low income find housing. It's a challenging but rewarding job, we help people that have their first major medical event. We hired a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to help grow our business and improve the skills of other prospective employees. He has two Masters degrees. We hired him to be a Clinical Supervisor with our employees and a case manager with the clients.

He's been employed for six weeks and we are seeing huge red flags. He has not been completing the tasks we have asked him to and has been very behind in documenting his work. He's submitting billing without adequate case notes. We are trying to be a good company and require 7 hours of work in a 8.5 hour day. We've had discussions with him and given him multiple full days to complete his documentation for his case management. He has pushed back on us at multiple times about 'how he works best' and that he often procrastinates. He continues to push back on us... We've been doing this for years with another organization and haven't ran into someone like this guy...

We haven't started the 'Clinical Supervision' with him because of difficult cases and we didn't want to put to much pressure on him when he's starting and learning the job. The tough case is over and we are putting the supervision plan in place. We had a discussion on Wed. and he's trying to dismiss the importance of his role and thinks this should be a 'group sit down' and we can formulate a plan together. We have sat down with an attorney and our supervision plan is legit and very simple compared to others.

He's been mentioning his dyslexia on a daily basis and has told us stories about his previous employer. His previous employer, a large company, had to pay him out a settlement to let him go. I'm unsure of the details. He has also been involved in other lawsuits with the Counties and Governor's office... All this came out after he started... We're very concerned he's trying to set himself up for a similar situation.

We'd like to let him go, MN is a at-will state. We don't want to be sued by some conman.... Our idea is to let him go in a couple weeks and tell him that we no longer need a Clinical Supervisor and that we are eliminating the position. We would be eliminating the position, for the time being, but really do want a quality Clinician as a part of our team.

We don't know how to proceed ahead and are extremely worried. We bust our butts to help people, we barely make enough to pay ourselves and this guy seems like he's preparing to come at us. We don't care about any unemployment rate increase, we just want him gone without tanking our company.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks LA!!

Answer:
 Talk to an employment attorney.

Telling him you're eliminating the position and then recreating the position in a few months is going to look really bad.


Title: Are there any risks to being a class action representative?

Question:
I was asked to be a class representative, but I'm a busy/poor college student who wouldn't be able to afford lawyer fees is anything happened. I was just curious if there were risks to signing up to be a class action representative?

edit: I feel like this was more than I bargained for haha

Answer:
 The biggest distinction of being a class rep is that it is your name plastered over all the lawsuits, including the notices to other potential class members.

Well, that, plus instead of a check for $3.81 at the end of the case, as a class rep, you usually end up with $5k or $10k for your "troubles" (e.g. having your name plastered everywhere).


Title: Iowa- is there a law that requires the dr to get spouse permission for a hysterectomy?

Question: My daughter and her doctor had agreed that a hysterectomy would fix all the problems she's been having for years.  My daughter is 26.  She went to an appt and her husband went with her.  Mind you, he didn't go to any other appts, so was never there for all the other things they tried and discussed.  During the conversation the doctor asked her husband if he was ok with it, he said no he might want kids in a few years.  Mind you at this time he was being treated for leukemia. So the doctor said he wouldn't do the surgery.  Less than a month later, huband serves my daughter with divorce papers, and now she doesn't have insurance, and still has medical issues with regards to her ovaries and uterus.  Does anyone know if this is legal?

Answer:
 Is what legal?  Asking the husband?  Yes.  The husband saying no?  Yes, that's legal too.  The doctor saying "then I would rather not get in the middle of a fight between a married couple"?  Yep, also legal.  Divorce is legal too, of course.

There is nothing illegal here.

The doctor has no obligation to perform a surgery.

As a side note, she probably should still be covered under his insurance, even after he files for divorce.Answer #2: 1. Dick move on your daughter's future ex husband
2. Not illegal
3. Get a lawyer for the divorce and bring this event up, Judges typically don't like to see this happening.Answer #3: If your daughter is now still looking for a doctor who will perform the surgery, check out the sidebar at r/childfree, where people have listed doctors who weren't such shitheads like the one you ran into.  It may not be a legal issue, but it's an ethical one, and it's absolutely ridiculous for a doctor to refuse to do a hysterectomy when it's for the kind of quality of life changes you're referring to. Answer #4: Not illegal to deny medical services, unless it's in an emergency situation, then you're required to stabilize them.  However, to answer your question, there is not a state law requiring spousal permission for these procedures.


Title: IL, USA- WWOOF Host Forced Volunteers To get naked

Question: My husband and I did a program called WWOOF and it's basically volunteering at farms and such in exchange for 3 meals a day and accomodation. We are only required 6 hours a day 5 days a week. Well, our experience was at an organic farm and we had spoken to the host for about a month prior to heading to his farm to begin the program. The host claimed that it was a nudist community and asked us if we were comfortable with it. We said yeah sure, we feel comfortable living in a nudist community and we don't mind being around naked people every once in a while as long as everything is as respectful as in a nudist community. Well when we got there it turns out he was the only one who ever got naked. Another extremely uncomfortable thing is that the first day we started working right before we even actually got started he tells us "its time to get naked". To which we respond with "we dont feel comfortable getting naked. You may do as you wish and we wont mind as long as everyones respectful and doesnt do any bullshit." Well he then goes to say that we had said we were comfortable with a nudist community so that we HAD to get naked before we started. There were 2 other wwoofers there who were also forced to get naked. The host used extreme intimidation tactics on all of us and forced us to work naked for 6 or so hours. He specifically waited until his wife went to town to not tell us but demand us to 'get naked' before starting to work in the garden for 6 hours or so in 90 degree weather and the sun beaming on us (we had already been working since 8am and his wife left to town around 10 or 11am, we ended work day around 4ish i believe. We all have suffered extremely painful and unnormal sunburn due to this and we honestly feel traumatized by the experience of having to get naked to work. We spoke to his wife who was actually raised in a nudist community but was NEVER actually naked at all at any time. She did express that it was extremely discomforting and strange and just plain not normal for her husband to make us feel that we must be naked ever. She specifically said she was raised in a nudist lifestyle and its never about ever needing to be naked if you dont want to. So basically just cus its a nudist community doesnt mean we need to get naked. She spoke to him and they got into several arguments because of her defending his wwoofers (she does not participate in the wwoofing program, it is her husband that is registered to host). We feel even more uncomfortable because this man seems to have pedophilic and psychological problems to even argue with someone that they must get naked to work or to get naked at all. The other two wwoofers expressed to us that the host was very intimidating and basically broke them down emotionally by forcing them and intimidating them to get naked to work in the hot sun for extreme hours. We feel the exact same way. Is there anything we can do about this legally to make sure this creep doesnt keep doing this type of thing?

Answer:
 You can complain to the company that placed you there, if you want.

However, as an adult, you are completely free to say "no" to these sorts of things, and unless you can show where he *forced* you to do so in a matter that's illegal - like, say, with a gun to your head, or at a time when he held significant actual power over you - then there's not a legal issue here.


Title: My wife recently Severed ties with her Mother and Stepfather and their entire side of the family (she did, not them). Her Mother and Stepfather showed up to our house yesterday claiming they will go to Legal Lengths to see their Grandchild (My son) if they have to. Can they actually do anything?

Answer:
 State is important. Some states recognize grandparents' rights (sometimes with special circumstances), others do not.Answer #2: They can initiate a partial custody action (partial physical custody and visitation are generally constructed as having the same meaning in PA), but if you and your wife are married, and haven't initiated a custody action yourselves or separated, the grandparents are VERY unlikely to prevail unless your child is being abused or neglected.  *See* 23 PaCS  § 5324.Answer #3: You already have good advice.  I just wanted to add that you should be prepared for a CPS investigation.  A lot of people panic if CPS shows up, but an inspection is very easy to pass.  Essentially, you need to show them that the house is clean and safe.  Common sense stuff, like don't leave cleaning products or medicine where the child can get them, don't leave moldy dishes lying around, that kind of thing.  They won't be concerned about general clutter.Answer #4: Grandparents rights is a thing.  And, it can be ordered through the courts.  Though usually not under the circumstances you describe.  Your location is important if you want details.

But, I'd say you are pretty safe to ignore the threats until actually served with court papers.Answer #5: You said "My" not "Our" is your wife child's stepmom, biomom or adopted mom? Answer #6: I’d start with a no contact letter by email and certified mail.  Keep it simple.  “Please do not contact me in any way for any reason.”
If they don’t respect your wishes, follow up with a letter from lawyer and document everything.

Their response to you cutting ties tells you it was the right thing.


Title: Google GSuite

Question: I own a Nevada LLC called GSuite.  It has been an active LLC since 2013 and I have many active social media tags that use Gsuite since as early as 2011.  Google just renamed its business app platform to Gsuite.  Do I have any legal recourse?

Answer: Well, first and foremost, how many millions of dollars are you prepared to invest in this legal battle?


Title: How can I fight a job termination after a mental health breakdown?

Question: I want to fight a job loss. I was in the psych ward over Christmas and lost my job after getting out.  They cited my work performance and numerous absences but I want to fight with the diagnosis of my (longstanding) depression. How should I go about doing this?

Answer:
 Were the work issues after you were diagnosed, did you advise your work of the diagnosis, and did you request accommodations from your work, with supporter letter from your doctor, for that diagnosis?

If any of the answers to the above is "No", you're unlikely to have a case.


Title: Divorce and cat

Question: I’m in Colorado, and me and my ex wife after a year are getting a divorce. I let her keep the cat for the last year because being kicked out of my own home so her boss/ bf can move in left me without stable housing. I want my cat back. We’re about to file for jointly for a divorce. Can I still contest property if we file jointly?

Answer:
 Is the cat microchipped and/or registered and/or has adoption paperwork?

If you have one of these (or more than one and they are all in the same name), the person whose name is on it is considered the legal owner of kitty.

If you have two or more of those and they have different names, things could get tricky, especially if the microchip and registration are different.

If you have none of them, whoever was paying the vet bills *prior* to the relationship breakdown would generally be considered the owner.


Title: (FL) Threatened to be banned from premise

Question:
Recently left a job, came in to get my last paycheck. A manager asked me why I quit and I complained about not getting the payrate promised during my interview, not being allowed to receive my tips, and underage drinking at the bar running rampant. I told him that I was seriously contacting the FL Department of Labor for missing wages.

The area manager heard me say this and the following conversation commenced;
Him: "Threaten anyone here again and I'll have you banned from this premise"
Me: "I would never threaten anyone?"
Him: "I heard you saying you wanted to go to the Department of Labor, I have no problem making sure you never come back here"

Obviously, this wouldn't be too worry some, but my gf still works there and it would be kinda shitty not to see her without being harassed.

Posted on their FB page which the area managers checked daily about the incidents, have not received any word.

What do?

Answer:
 They're well within their rights to never allow you on the premises again.

Florida has no Department of Labor; they defer to the US Federal Department of Labor for things of that nature, though the Federal DOL does have offices in various parts of Florida.


Title: Legality of receiving payment for adding authorized users to a credit card?

Question:
Arizona - I was recently told about a company that will pay the account owner of high limit credit cards to add authorized users and then remove them after the account posts on the authorized users credit history.  I guess the intention is to bump an authorized user's score in order to reduce their interest rates.

It certainly sounds kind of greasy, but I was curious to hear a lawyers point of view on whether there would be legal repercussions for the account holder if they continuously added/removed authorized users to boost their scores while also receiving monetary compensation?  It seems like the fraud word could be tossed around here, but would it be on the account owner or the authorized user trying to reduce their rates?  Asking for a friend of course.

Answer: What it certainly sounds like is how to get scammed.


Title: (Maryland) What is the legality of Social Engineering?

Question:
Hello!

I have been hearing a lot about "Social Enginnering" lately. There are a lot of ways to do it, but it seems like you basically:

1) Order something off Amazon

2) After it arrives, wait a few days

3) Tell Amazon Customer Service that it never arrived

4) Get your refund

You basically just get stuff for free. Seems like a pretty mean thng to do to a business. I was just wondering if it was legal

Answer: That's not social engineering, that's scamming. No, it's not legal.


Title: Wife resigned yesterday, employer backtracked the resignation to April 17th

Question:
So I live in Texas now due to my employment and my wife has been in NYC for the last few months due to her not being able to break the lease early without having to pay the entirety of the remaining rent. Her lease is now over on the last of this month and she's moving on May 2nd down here to Texas, so she submitted her resignation letter yesterday, and her employer, Cayuga Centers in NYC located in Harlem, backtracked her employment to the 17th of last month (the last time she got paid, so we're assuming is so that they don't have to pay her tomorrow). One important thing to note is that she has not been working, but no one in her workplace is working either due to COVID-19, so I don't know if that makes a difference, but is that legal?

Sorry for the bad formatting, I don't know how to format on reddit, and if I'm missing any information you guys need to know, just ask and I'll try to provide it.

Thanks in advance.

Attached are the pictures of the emails they sent:
https://imgur.com/HDUl65k
https://imgur.com/z8nZPvo
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 You need to remove the name of the employer.

Their statement and position that she was not eligible for their "EPS" hours, if established in their policies (it often would be) is probably reasonable and allowable.

An employer is not *required* to pay you for time not worked except as may be established in their policies.  When that obligation exists only in their policies then it is generally allowable for them to have conditions to that requirement.


Title: If I owned a company, is it illegal to sell 49% of it to a person, collect the cash, and then do absolutely nothing to run the company such that it fails and what they bought is essentially worthless?

Question: If I owned a company, is it illegal to sell 49% of it to a person, collect the cash, and then do absolutely nothing to run the company such that it fails and what they bought is essentially worthless?

Answer: It would sure be dumb to buy 49% of a privately held company without some sort of shareholder agreement, but that being said no you couldn't do this, you as the management have a duty to all of the shareholders.Answer #2: Part owners are generally held to a fiduciary duty to one another with respect to the operation of the company and the disposal of its assets, so that's a good way to get sued. The company's bylaws and the terms of the sale can alter that duty, and if your actions are in line with those agreements, then you have a stronger defence.