Title: As a restaurant manager, do I have a legal obligation to keep two guests from having sex in my restaurant?

Question:
Maybe the dumbest of hypothetical questions here, because obviously this wouldn't be something anybody would encourage. (I assume, at least.....)

But while closing up the bar last night, we got into the discussion of catching guests in the middle of getting it on while still in the building, which led to anecdotes about sex in guest spaces and whatnot. And we realized that nobody had a definitive answer to this question.

In short: let's say two guests are incredibly brazen, strip down and start going at it on a table in front of guests. Am I merely allowed to throw them out because that's against house rules, or would I run afoul of the law by allowing them to keep at it on the table?

I know that there are a lot of nuances to laws and restaurant health codes based on jurisdiction, so for sake of discussion, let's just go with what would be true in most jurisdictions. I'm not looking to start a new swingers club meets Golden Corral concept anytime soon, and I don't see myself ever actually dealing with this, so I don't care about the one small town where it would be legal. Just thinking about the big picture.

Thanks LAOT!

Answer:
 You would run into all kinds of health code violations.Answer #2: >https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/hotels_and_restaurants

>Generally speaking, there is a mutual relationship implied between patrons and owners consisting of reciprocal obligations and duties. The owner is under a duty to furnish proper accommodations, and to exercise proper care for the safety and tranquility of the guest, while the guest must exercise due care to refrain from any boisterous or otherwise distrustful or offensive conduct.

Their actions, unless encouraged or requested by you, should not subject you to criminal liability.  BUT:  Proper care for the safety and tranquility of your other guests would seem to establish a duty of care that would require you to do something about it or face possible civil charges.Answer #3: Apart from the issues others have brought up, failing to do something could support claims of sexual harassment from employees required to see it while doing their jobs.


Title: Landlord damaged our property while evicting, can we sue in small claims court to get it count against our back rent we owe? (Wisco)

Question:
My girlfriend and I rented an apartment from an older woman (not like a corporate owned building). She used to work with us on back rent but eventually we were three months behind and she said we would have to move out Dec 1. We agreed but couldn't find a place and she agreed to extend it Dec 15.

We found a place but we have jobs and couldn't move out so she said we had until Dec 19 to move out and that the extra days would all be added to our unpaid rent pro-rated (so three months and 19 days, about $2180).

We moved out all the furniture and stuff but still had a few things, some work clothes and some food/drink in the refrigerator and glasses/silverware in the cupboards. I should say we spent the night of Dec 19 at our new place and though for was OK we left a few things in the old place. In Wisconsin it was below zero temps and a blizzard which made moving harder. We mostly cared about the work clothes because my girlfriend needs to meet a dress code for her job. Well we weren't totally out by Dec 19. We came back and her adult son was there changing the locks. He said we were out of time and he was throwing away whatever was left. We threatened to call the cops and he said go ahead and left.

The cop came and listened to our story and said legally our tenancy was terminated Dec 19 since her and us agreed to that and even we moved out bc we weren't there. I should say we didn't have a lease and were just month to month. Ok. He said we could arrange a time with her to get our stuff back or handle it civilly in small claims court.

So we called her a bunch of times and finally got her. She said we could come back Dec 20 and get our stuff. My gf went over there and nobody was there, door still locked, but our shit was just outside the front door of the building in boxes. Our food and stuff froze and burst in the cold weather and some glasses and plates broken. We think this is pretty outrageous she let some of our food and stuff get ruined when she knows we're hard up for money. Also my girlfriend had to call in sick for work because she didn't have the right clothes to go to work on Dec 20.

We estimate $130 in damages ($80 in missed work and $50 in damaged possession) and would like it to count against the $2180 we owe her. We called and told her this and got all pissy, basically turned into a screaming match on the phone, and she said she cut us all these breaks and now we're fucking her around and we're pieces of shit and to pay we we owe her or she'll sue us and report us to credit reporting agencies. She also said there was damage beyond the $600 deposit and that she could add additional charges to our bill if she wanted.

Can we take her to small claims court to get the cost of the damages taken off our rent bill?

Answer:
 I was with you until you mentioned your food which will be at the point the judge rolls their eyes at you.

Then I read on and most of your claim is missed work. You want the landlord to pay you cause you missed $80 of work to go get $50 in possessions you left behind after landlord twice extended your time?

Ever seen a pissed off Judge enact the full authority of the law on ungrateful tenants? You will if you pursue this. Send her a letter with payment plan for the 2 grand you owe and never mention the 50 dollars in food you "lost" ever again.Answer #2: > Can we take her to small claims court to get the cost of the damages taken off our rent bill?

Sure, you can.  You'll likely fail, miserably, as it's not on them to protect your stuff when you left it behind in a place you weren't supposed to be.  In other words, you can't abandon your shit and then claim that they had a duty to protect it.  Answer #3: Yeah, you should absolutely take her to court so the judge can levy a large judgement on you and your gf.  The sooner she gets that, the sooner she can garnish your wages.  I'm a landlord and there's a 0% chance I would have been nearly as nice as she was.  Answer #4: This has Judge Judy written all over it. You get called out for being an entitled deadbeat, landlord gets called out for being a pushover, and everyone gets paid.


Title: [17 AUS] Hit a car in a car I am uninsured on. We agreed to settle out of pocket. Am I safe from legal repercussions?

Question:
 Today I hit someone in a McDonalds carpark with a Nissan Navara I am not insured under. It was a small scratch and took minimal amounts of paint off. When he surveyed the damage he asked me how much I thought it was going to cost, and I said somewhere around 200-300 dollars. At first he agreed for me to pay $200, and then lowered his offer to $170 which I agreed to. We exchanged regular contact information (names, numbers, addresses) but insurance was not brought up.
I am asking here if I need a lawyer, and am I still going to be chased after by his insurance, even after we have agreed to pay out of pocket. I've just graduated high school, and this wouldn't help my social or work life if I had to cover his insurance's cost as well.
I have documented everything and will be sending a copy to his email. Thank you in advance.
Topic:
Insurance

Answer:
 if you get a receipt for payment, and some kind of written agreement that you have settled the debt in full, it shouldn't be an issue.

but if it isn't in writing, it didn't happen.


Title: My first name carries debt.

Question:
>new mexico
This really sucks, me and my grandfather have the same first name and today i got rejected a car loan which i really needed because his debt keeps coming up under my name and this has been going on for a while i've called all of the major credit agencies to get this sorted out but the same debts always come back.They say this is because we lived under the same adress for many years and alot of the systems dont read the middle  initial. My question, would the problem be solved if i swap my first and middle name ? if so how much would it cost and what are the steps. im just so frustrated of being held back. thank you.

Answer: It is attached to your SSN. Changing your name will do nothing.


Title: [Denver, CO] What are the implication of writing a new lease?

Question:
I've posted here about this before, but my roommate has essentially let her boyfriend move in for a few weeks. This is not at all okay. My parents own my apartment so they are our landlords.

Both my parents and I are uncomfortable with this. She never even asked if this was okay or asked if he should pay rent. Anyway, over the last few days, we have redrafted the lease and added a house rules addendum and pet agreement, both separately. I know I can ask her to sign the last two, but are there any implications of her signed a new lease?

All parts that have been revised are very obviously marked and I will go over them with her. They are mostly specific guest policies that will make it clear her boyfriend is not welcome to live here. At all.

If she signs it willingly, it should be binding right? It states that it negates the previous contract. But does the old lease, that allows guests for longer periods of time, still hold in any way?

My parents have also told me that if she doesn't want to sign the new papers, they will ask her to move out and pay for her movers. If she refuses, we don't really have a right to make her leave?

TL;DR made a new lease, is the old one still binding in anyway?

Answer:
 You can't force a tenant to abide by a new lease while an existing lease is in force. You can _ask_ (and negotiate), but "no" is a complete sentence; both she and your parents will remain bound by the existing lease agreement.

If all parties agree to the new lease, and part of that agreement is that the new lease supercedes the previous lease in its entirety, then the new lease is the only lease in force.


Title: I was fired without notice. Can I get compensation?

Question:
Hello.  My boss told me I was banned from working with the client I had, gave no reason for the banning, and I was fired.  Since then, they have laid other people at my level (we were senior level) and have brought in junior level people to do our work.  Any way we can get compensation from the company?

Update: Location: California
Further, we have a contract with the customer to deliver the project and we were hired on our understanding that we were going to remain with the company until the completion of the project - engineering, design, & construction.  We were all fired at the end of the design of the project, and I had recently approved the final design and the client approved it.  We were about to begin the construction phase when they let us go.  Is assumption of completion of the contract/project fall under wrongful termination?

Answer:
 Way too few details. Unless you are one of these:

* In Montana
* In an employment contract
* In a union
* Being fired for a discriminatory reason

then no, you have no case. You can be fired at any time for any reason.

You can, however, file for unemployment.


Title: LegalZoom for change of last name?

Question:
Apologies for the lack of appropriate flair, I didn't really see an option that directly applies:

&#x200B;

I'm currently working through a divorce and would like to change my last name to something other than my pre-married one. Upon doing a Google search, LegalZoom popped up as an option. Their process seems nearly too good to be true, which to me means that there's probably a hitch somewhere. Has anyone used this service for a legal change of name?

&#x200B;

Link for reference: [https://www.legalzoom.com/personal/marriage-and-divorce/name-change-overview.html?utm\_source=167350&utm\_medium=affiliate&clickId=2563887190](https://www.legalzoom.com/personal/marriage-and-divorce/name-change-overview.html?utm_source=167350&utm_medium=affiliate&clickId=2563887190)
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Why would you do a separate action when you can most likely get your name changed through the divorce? In my state, you just request it at the final hearing, it gets incorporated into the order, the judge gives you an executed form you take to the appropriate agency and they change your name back at no additional charge. Find out if that's the case for your state too. There's no point in paying for something you can get free for something you're already doing anyway.


Title: Big phone company damaged our driveway. Kept trying to force us to accept patch work. We refused... two months later, phone calls ignored, came home to a giant, ugly crumbling ash fault patch in the middle of our driveway. Company says it's "fixed and are not legally responsible any longer."

Question:
So I am so angry right now, I could spit! I will try to make this as short as possible. This is in Ontario, Canada.

At the beginning of June, a major telephone company was coming through our neighborhood to dig up and replace old wires. One afternoon, I came outside after the contractors left and discovered that the bottom half of my driveway, right in the middle, had three deep and wide gouges right down to the concrete. Probably about one foot by two feet. We called the phone company that day and made a complaint. They said they’d send someone out.

The next morning, the contractors were walking by so I flagged them down. They looked at the damage and said that it was their jack but they didn’t know how the damage happened because they put a piece of wood down (I highly doubt it but whatever). I asked why no one knocked on my door to tell me they damaged it. No answer. They just said that they’d patch it. Having just sealed our driveway and with how deep and wide the gouges were, I refused the patch and told the men that I’d contact their superiors.

I call the phone company. I call the contractor’s head office. Each say they are going to review the issue and call me back to discuss what we could agree upon.

A week goes by. It’s Thursday morning and I was late for an appointment, and it was a good thing I was. I was in the shower when I heard someone using a wet saw. I go to the window and see the contractors have cut a giant rectangle around the damage, getting ready to patch it. No one had called me and the “lead hand” told me he was told to patch the driveway with a double layer of ash fault. I again, asked why no one had called or knocked on my door before tearing up my driveway. They had no answer… so I told the “lead hand” that no one was to be touching my driveway until I came to an agreement with the phone company and I was present to see the work.

I called the phone company. Who apparently had no idea of my problem even though we had called the week prior. So I retold what happened and warned them that if there was any work done without my knowledge, there would be legal repercussions. They assured me that nothing would be done without them calling me back and reaching an agreement.

Two months go by. No phone call. I was nine months pregnant when this started and delivered half way through, so my husband and I decided that we’d call at the end of the month to see what was up.

WELL, when I came home today… my driveway was patched. They came on the only day I wasn’t supposed to be home (again) and patched my driveway! And it’s a horrible job. It’s unevenly cut and the ash fault wasn’t laid property. There are even gaps between the original driveway and the new ash fault they’ve put in. It’s already crumbling away. There’s now a giant, ugly rectangle in the middle of my driveway… and now the company is giving us the run around.

The “lead hand” told me that now that the patch is there, that’s too bad. It’s done. They fixed the problem so they were legally free of the issue and good luck trying to get it fixed properly… but I never consented to any of this! And I can’t be sitting on my front porch every day making sure that they don’t make any alterations without my knowledge. I guess I don’t have to though…because it’s already been done.

So now I just don’t know what to do. We’re a young couple and every time we’ve spoken with a representative, they treat us like we’re stupid kids. This is our first time owning a home and can’t afford what it would cost to properly fix the driveway. They’re saying the patch is all they are responsible for since they only damaged a portion of the driveway.

I’m so angry and frustrated that I just need some advice on what to do. We can’t afford a lawyer… we can’t afford to fix the driveway… but I won’t be bullied like the other people on the street into accepting this awful job.

What do we do? :(

Answer: Call around, get some estimates for how much it would cost to fix the driveway properly.  If it's less than the small claims limit in your jurisdiction, sue the company in small claims.Answer #2: Asphalt?Answer #3: Do you have homeowners insurance (HOI)? If so, this is exactly what it's for.


Title: [WI] Is there anything I can do about my dental situation?

Question:
I have been told my whole life that "my teeth look great." I am 22 and have been going to the same dentist as long as I can remember. Every visit to my dentist was the same, a quick cleaning, asking if I had any pain, and a quick look over of my mouth, and xrays once a year.

I recently switched dentists and was expecting the same routine. They did xrays, but this was an xray of my whole mouth and jaw instead of just the molar area. Turns out my mouth wasn't so perfect. I ended up having impacted wisdom teeth and my upper canines are also impacted. And because I have impacted canines, I STILL have my baby canines. The thing is, my last dentist pulled my "last baby tooth" when I was 16/17 because I was "too old to have baby teeth." The new dentist also wants me to get braces to fix some crooked teeth, and I was prescribed a toothpaste because my teeth are weak because I didn't get enough fluoride in my diet/water when I was younger.

 So I was referred to an oral surgeon for my wisdom teeth and impacted canines. When I met with him he talked about how it would have been easier and safer to fix if this had been discovered when I was younger. But to fix the impacted canines I will have to have to get braces, so I have a meeting with an orthodontist later this week. But insurance likely won't cover braces because I am over 18, so they consider them adult braces.

Is there anything I can do or am I out of luck and I should be thankful that it was discovered now and it can be treated? This is going to be a lot of money, and I feel that my old dentist missed a lot and should have noticed these things. Especially since I still have baby teeth!

Answer:
 You have two differing opinions on the condition of your teeth.  Get a third opinion and find out who is right.  Either your mouth is fine, or it isn't.

Otherwise, you can consult a medical malpractice lawyer to see if your old dentist was negligent in his overlooking of these conditions.Answer #2: Yeah, this happened to me once. Turned out the new dentist was a quack. Generally older dentists don't do more than necessary and younger dentists want to fix every single tiny imperfection. Find another dentist, that's what I did, turns out he agreed with the first dentist. Answer #3: Get a Another opinion


Title: Sexual assault advice

Question:
I was raped. It happened in Australia. I do not want to go into detail. I would like advice on.

1. What can the police actually do given the perpetrator does not live in Australia and is not an Australian citizen.
2. My therapist is 250 an hour and I have at least monthly consultations. Can I access victims of crime financial support for this?

Answer: If the crime occurred in Australia, the Australians can charge the other party and can move to have them extradited, if they'd like.  The success of extradition depends on the crime, the available charges, the citizenship of the other person and their current location.


Title: in new mexico

Question: i think I'm about to be fired over a hangover. Went to work yesterday super hungover. Might have still smelled of booze. (Trying to connect with my nieces boyfriend by way of having a few drinks.) Get a text from my supervisor that i need to come in to work tomorrow cause i missed some things on the schedule. The rest of the department is off. I"m pretty sure I got everything I could. Anyway get a text on my way home saying i need to come in tomorrow cause i missed stuff. Funny thing is no one else on my team was called in. I've had a bad feeling all day and this just makes it worse. I think I'm going to get fired tomorrow. Because I was hungover. That was just background. My real question is, is it legal to lure someone in under false pretenses for them to just have to go to HR for termination?

Answer: Yes, it is completely legal for them to tell you to come into work so you can be fired. Why would that be illegal?


Title: [AZ] About to move into a new place. What's legaladvice's general to do list for new tenants?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 1. Read your lease carefully before signing.

2. Do an initial walkthrough (make pictures) and let the letting agency/landlord/other kind of representative of said landlord sign of on the documented state of the appartment.


Title: Can company demand your SSN to receive payment AFTER you have already done the work and with no prior notice?

Question:
One of those research study type companies hired me to do a relatively involved study. One part was a home visit/interview, which paid $350 upfront. I got a check that day.

The other half involved doing a progressive interview online over the course of a month for an additional $300. I finished that two weeks ago.

Now I got an email today saying that in order to release my payment for that work, they required my SSN for tax purposes.

Can they demand this of me AFTER I have already completed the work without telling me in advance that this is how it's going to be?

I mean I'm not stupid, I know you have to pay taxes, but I don't make enough in a year to even have to FILE taxes. This just bugs the shit out of me, and I'm curious if it's legal.

Answer: They have to issue you a 1099 since it's over $600 so they need your SSN. if you don't they can not pay you. If you sue them then you will have to provide it anyway. So either provide it or forget about your $300.


Title: Served with restraining order. SC upstate

Question:
I have been served with a restraining order.

I am fully fine with accepting the order if it means she can't contact me. She filed two days ago and has talked to me each day since then.

I 100% disagree with her version of the story but don't care to argue that.

My question is: am I allowed to present video evidence of me trying to remove myself from previous situations and her not allowing me to and physically attacking me? Officer said I could and I would like it as part of the official record regarding the case.

I would also like it presented bc I know she has claimed these events a certain way to hide her drinking issue to go along with not taking the meds.

I can add more details of what was claimed compared to happen along with video if desired

Edit: I have only received a summons to family court. She has said nothing about it to me but contacts me daily as if it never happen.

Answer:
 > I am fully fine with accepting the order if it means she can't contact me.

You'd better learn to be fine with accepting the order. Period. No matter what else she does or what happens.

Otherwise you'll be learning to be fine with jail.

Did you appear in court for the hearing prior to the grant of this order?


Title: My Grandparents recently passed, My aunt has power of attorney and put her name on their house deed with survivorship rights before they died.

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer: Of course. The classic estate case is the POA who just so happens to get personal interest in the estate's assest just before debt. Seek out an appropriate attorney. Answer #2: Don't wait, call an estate attorney now. Answer #3: It would be worth it to me. Anyone who selfishly takes advantage of the elderly and infirm, especially leading up to their death, deserve some comeuppance as a matter of principle. Get the house properly divided, force a sale, then set your third of the equity on fire (or donate it to a charity that your grandparents would support, that might also be good) while your aunt watches.


Title: [Delaware] I got a jury duty summons, term of service "2 weeks", but I'm working on my PhD, I have 1.5 months to get everything completely done, I cannot afford to lose that time

Question:
I'm very afraid that if I lose 2 weeks of work while sitting in a courthouse, I won't be able to graduate until next semester, and I have possible job offers coming in - which depend on me finishing the PhD by December...

My advisor (supervisor) will definitely write a letter to request an "excuse from jury service", but is there wording or reasoning he should focus on/emphasize to help my case?

Secondarily, if the jury service is deferred by 6 months or something, and I'm no longer living here, what happens?

Thanks everyone.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: You can't get out of jury duty because your professor writes you a note.  The best thing you can do is go and meet with someone from the State's Attorney's Office and explain the situation, and see if they can excuse you.


Title: Father's brothers wife is divorcing him and wants to take their land.

Question: My grandparents left my father and his brother 5 acres of land with a house on it. My father has paid the taxes on the land for the last 3 years and his brother has not pitched in for it. Also my father has loaned him 22k. My father wants to buy his half of the land so he can own it all. We just found out that he is getting a divorce and it doesn't look pretty. What are her options, if any, to the inheritance land that my grandparents left? What can we do to prevent her from coming after the land if she can? Texas, USA

Answer:
 Inheritance is GENERALLY excluded from community property in divorces.  This should be confirmed by your uncle's(?) attorney.

I am not completely sure if that applies to property.Answer #2: When did your grandparents die, where does your uncle live, and what has he been doing with the land since he inherited it? Answer #3: There is no way she'll be able to take all the land. Worst case, if she does get your uncle's share your father can just pay the wife for 'her' share of the land, rather than paying his brother.


Title: Can I be demoted at my job? (NV, USA)

Question:
I’m a student worker at my state’s school.

The first week I worked here I made a mistake (a student asked about a transcript and I told them to ask another department not knowing I was the department) and was demoted to a back room. I am isolated from my peers and other student workers. I have been “punished” (their words) for months. I have ADHD and asked for training to make sure I didn’t make mistakes, they told me “you don’t need training” (but the job is difficult because students come in with forms, and there’s tons of different procedures like how to order transcripts that I never learned). I asked for an action plan to remedy this situation and they told me to accept it or quit.

I tried looking up state laws to see if maybe I qualified for some kind of remedy but I don’t see any.

I have been “punished” for months and my current tasks are completely different than what I was originally hired to do. I complained to HR over a month ago and my meeting is tomorrow, my supervisor already told me nothing will be done.

I completely understand if this is just a dumb student job and I have no recourse here. Just wondering if there’s something I can do.

Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: CHanging your job/duties is legal. you are working and being paid for the work. If you dont like the job, find a new one and quit.


Title: [CA] Medical Marijuana patients aren't allowed to legally own guns. Will I be able to own a firearm when marijuana is legally available in 2018?

Question:
I feel like this is the best place to ask this question, if not please forgive me!

I am a medical marijuana user with a medical marijuana recommendation from a doctor. As I understand it, [from some casual research](http://www.laweekly.com/news/stoners-and-guns-dont-mix-california-court-says-7333960), I cannot legally own a firearm while I'm an active medical marijuana card holder. Will this law be applied to non-medical marijuana users who go to non-medical marijuana dispensaries when they start opening in 2018, or will the law have to be modified to apply to the non-medical users? Thank you!

Answer: No because it's still illegal under Federal law.  You cannot truthfully answer no to question 11e on the 4473.


Title: [VA] A dead man is libelling me

Question:
I filed and won a lawsuit against someone last year. After he lost, he went on a vindictive attack against my character, going so far as to add a page filled with libelous accusations of theft, fraudulent activity and abuse on my part to his publicly available (somewhat popular) website. This man had a terminal illness and just a few months ago, he renewed his domain name for 10 years through GoDaddy, knowing that he would die well before then, and he since has. I know that he didn't write the page himself but that someone did on his behalf, and I know who the person is. GoDaddy's policy on harassment by its clients seems to be that they won't get involved, and to contact law enforcement.

What do I do?

Answer:
 I'm guessing you would go after his estate for libel.  Even if he doesn't have an estate, it's possible that such an action could include a motion for the website to be taken down.  Answer #2: Is go daddy also the host? Just because you have a domain it still has to be hosted.

Contact the host and file a complaint with them. See if they will take it down while they ask him/his estate to answer. Answer #3: Have an attorney send a demand letter to the Estate.  I'm guessing the PR of the Estate probably doesn't care enough to hate you like this man did, and would rather agree to remove the content as opposed to litigating it. Answer #4: It is not GoDaddy's place to verify the accuracy of the content published on their client's website, nor is it GoDaddy's place to judge whether the content published is libel/slander.

With that said .... you need just that .... a judge. You would need to have a judge evaluate the contents versus your facts and then if the judge sees the speech is illegal they will give you a court order, which will compel godaddy to remove the content.Answer #5: Write a demand letter to the estate and the person you know to be running the site outlining the defamatory conduct. If they are unwilling, file a complaint seeking damages and injunctive relief against the estate and the third party. Godaddy will not be a defendant as they have no liability under section 230 of the communications decency act. The parties who control the content will be ordered to remove the libelous content and maybe pay.


Title: My mother owes my father nearly 14 years worth of unpaid child support.

Question: My father is unwilling to pursue this matter, and I'm not entirely sure wether or not I can sue my mother in his stead. If I'm being honest I'm pursuing this issue not due to the issue itself, but a personal hate vendetta for the large negative impact her actions left on my life. Can anyone offer me some advice on this matter?

Answer: No. You cannot sue because your mother does not owe you anything. Child support is due to the custodial parent and not to the child.


Title: [Tx] Coworker wants to sue because she gained weight.

Answer:
 Someone gained weight because they ate something they stole from your husband. They weren't poisoned or harmed in any way. Neither you nor your husband encouraged or were even aware of their theft for quite a while (one does not gain 20lbs overnight, even with an extra 800cal/day).

They have no case against you. Any judge would laugh in their face. I'm a little concerned you even had to ask.Answer #2: Where is management in this and why isn't she fired?Answer #3: Let's see here...  20 lbs = 70,000 calories / 400 calories per bar = 175 bars. 2/day, 10/week means that she must have eaten 2 bars per day for about 4 months.

If she does sue you (which is astronomically unlikely), you should countersue for the value of the bars.

God help this woman's next boyfriend.
Answer #4: Why is your company still employing someone who stole regularly from a coworker and is now loudly and publicly - at work! - threatening to sue them over it? What kind of employer does your husband have, and why do they treat him so terribly?Answer #5: What are her damages? She doesn't fit in her clothes any more? Cut some head-holes in some old sheets and offer them as an out-of-court settlement.

In case it's not already obvious, IANAL.Answer #6: i dont believe this happened.Answer #7: Wasn't this on Mean Girls?


Title: South Carolina- I was hired to work a job and was let go after working a few days and wasn't given a reason and haven't been paid yet, I'm 16

Question: I went to a job interview for a retail store that was opening in my town and along with the 3 other people that were at the interview I was hired on the spot. In total they hired about 40 people. They told us what day to come in for training and at training we filled out W4s and I had to show two forms of ID. Then for 4 days we all worked 8 hour shifts and then on the last day they told us the store only had 15 permanent positions and that not all of us were getting hired. I thought I already was hired. So basically I worked 32 hours and they never said I wasn't a permanent employee and they didn't give me a paycheck. This was on Monday and I still haven't been given one. Is it legal for them to not hire me even after I worked 32 hours and they never once told me it wasn't a permanent position, and if it's not legal who can I report them to? And how long do they have to give me a paycheck? I was supposed to get $9 an hour and I worked 32 hours so it should be $288 and I need that money. Does it matter that I'm a minor? Thank you

Answer:
 They owe you the money but it's fine that they fired you.

Have they told you that you won't be paid? Have you asked?


Title: Apartment staff gave away our only parking spot twice

Question:
I just moved into a new apartment in California. Our lease here is monthly and we moved in on the 14th. We've had two problems that I believe have broken our lease and I would like to see if there is a way we can be refunded and can leave this godforsaken place without a 30 day notice.

The lease stated that we would only have one assigned parking spot for only one of our two cars. We signed the lease and agreed that I would take the assigned carport for my car and my s.o would get permit parking. The permit parking here is on a first come first serve basis and is almost always full. We were explicitly told that she would not be allowed to park in my assigned car port and that I would not be allowed to park in permit parking, as the permits are issued by license plate. When I came on 4/15 to start moving in, there was another car parked in my carport. The car had a temporary parking permit with my carport number assigned to them from 4/12 to 4/17. We signed the lease, which has our carport number written in it, on 4/12/18. We were then issued the carport permit the next day, 4/13.

I asked the office on 4/15 to please have my spot returned to me as I had already paid the deposit and the first month's rent. Their fix was to issue me a temporary parking spot for reserved parking, which expired at 9:00AM the next day and was told that the tenant would have their car moved by that time tomorrow. They couldn't leave a message with the owner of the vehicle because the owner did not have a voicemail box setup. There were no more attempts made to relieve my spot until I asked again the next day. I wasn't happy about being issued a temporary spot on my first day, but I agreed.

The very next day, 4/16, my temporary permit expired at 9AM and my spot was still occupied by the same vehicle. I returned to the office again and had to ask them multiple times to call the owner of the vehicle to have them move. They were finally able to get me my spot back.

Problem two began today, 4/22 at 2AM when I found yet another car in my carport. This was a different car with another temporary parking permit assigned to my carport valid from 4/21 to 4/26. There is nowhere else to park for me. There is no street parking withing walking distance and I'm not allowed to park in permit parking. I had to knock at this person's door and ask them to move myself. Thankfully they agreed, but they had told me that this has happened to them multiple times also and that they had moved here recently also.

My lease has only been in effect for 9 days. I've already had two incidents where they have assigned my carport to other people and they have neglected to take this matter seriously. Based on these experiences and what I've been told by another tenant, I do not believe that these issues will stop. What can I do in this situation? Is there a way that I can bypass the 30 month notice before leaving and get my deposit back? Possibly a full refund? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 Start documenting every time this happens, so you'll have evidence. Answer #2: Two mistakes with your parking spot do not constitute a get out of lease free. Or anything like it.

You should notify your landlord in writing of the concern and ask that the matter be corrected. If your suspicions are correct then the ongoing recurrence could eventually be of substance. In that case you’ll need copies of the letters you sent asking for the fix. Answer #3: Sounds like a problem with the on-site office. Contact the corporate to inform them that the office isn't following policies, and that this shouldn't be allowed to continue.Answer #4: The big cities in California have tenant unions that might help you out.

If you are a squeaky wheel and a huge (but polite) pain in their ass they might agree to let you out of the lease, but this isn't reason to break it.

I'd find an offsite place to park where you have to pay, and figure out what it would cost you to park there and uber to the apartment.  Then tell the landlord you will be deducting the previous months' parking charges from your next month's rent, and when they try to evict you for not paying the full rent, you will let the judge sort it out. Bear in mind I would not actually DO that because you don't want an eviction on your record but you just want to get management's attention that they're on shaky legal ground.

This PDF seems to refer to rent stabilized apartments, and one section refers to loss of parking as worth of a reduction in rent. But hey you could try lodging a complaint with an agency like this, if you're not in the Los Angeles area.

http://hcidla.lacity.org/rac-410-reduction-housing-services


Title: Can I lie to a free health clinic or an urgent care clinic about who I am?

Question:
I might have contracted an STD - Herpes.

Can I lie to a health clinic about this?

Morality and ethics aside

Answer:
 You will probably have to sign paperwork at both of them.

Signing a false name would be [Forgery](http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/stathtml/57000000901.HTML) in Missouri.

> 570.090. 1. A person commits the offense of forgery if, with the purpose to defraud, the person:

> (1) Makes, completes, alters or authenticates any writing so that it purports to have been made by another


Title: Is it possible to legally cancel or undue an adoption in FL? Does it make a difference if the child is or is not still a minor?

Answer:
 There is no undoing an adoption. You can do an adult adoption.

If the child is a minor then no you cannot just stop being a parent to your child. If there is someone else willing to adopt, maybe but still going to be an issue to explain to a judge.


Title: [NY] 12th grade student's parents are forcing her to return to Yemen this summer to keep her from attending college in the fall. What are her options?

Question:
I'm a teacher in a public New York City high school who works with low-income, first-generation students as they go through the college admissions process. Right now I'm working with a student who is originally from Yemen but has been in the U.S. as a permanent resident since she was 14. She is incredibly bright (straight A+ grades) and although she is now only 16, she has senior standing and plans to graduate high school a full year early this spring. She hopes to earn her PhD in history and is currently applying to several selective colleges in the city.

Yesterday, she told me that her parents are taking her back to Yemen at the end of the school year for "at least seven months." Obviously, this will make it impossible for her to enroll in college as planned next year. By itself, that would be discouraging, but not disastrous, since she could still apply to colleges and request to take a gap year before enrolling. However, her parents do not support the idea of her going to college due to their cultural and religious beliefs. They have allowed her to apply, but now I suspect that this trip to Yemen is their way of making it impossible for her to attend college. In the worst case scenario, I fear that they may pressure her to get married once she is in Yemen.

The student was almost in tears when she told me, and I have no idea how we can help her. For instance, what if a teacher is able to host her over the summer until she can move into her college dorm? Could she get her own apartment or apply for summer campus housing? She just turned 16 in September, and as previously mentioned, she is a permanent resident. The situation seems hopeless right now, and I would appreciate any advice.

Answer:
 I think it is very likely that her parents may force her into marriage in Yemen. This article mentions an organization that helps get women out of forced marriages, but they might know of an organization that helps prevent them (I couldn't find anything in the US with a quick search):

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/14/399337562/thousands-of-young-women-in-u-s-forced-into-marriage

If she fears she will be forced into marriage she or you can try contacting CPS. It would probably be helpful if she lined up somewhere she could stay. She should destroy her passport if she can access it. As a last resort, I have heard of girls hiding a spoon in their underwear before leaving for the airport because it will set off the scanners and the TSA agents would have to take her into a private room to search her and she can let them know she is being taken out of the country against her will.Answer #2: Unfortunately I don't think there is much you can do. She's a minor and cannot live with you without the parent's permission. It's unlikely that she can get her own apartment being 16. If she applies for admission in the summer term, she could get summer housing at the university.


Title: Legal to take money from employee tips to pay for credit/debit fees

Question:
Hi there!
First things first I work in Ontario, Canada at a Salon & Day spa
At work my boss just put up papers around informing all employees that due to rising costs of credit/debit transactions everyone will be required to leave 2.00$ from their gratuities (tips) at the end of each shift.
I'm basically wondering if this is a legal thing to do?

Answer:
 IANAL and by reading Canadian and Ontario statutes here's what I found:

It appears that tips are not considered wages according to the Employment Standards Act of 2000.   This appears to mean that they belong to the employee and the employer cannot take them.

In Quebec there is clear law around this topic.  There might be an Ontario parallel that I am unaware of.

http://www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca/en/home/top-4-salaire-paie-et-travail/wages-employees-receiving-tips/

Sorry I couldn't find exact case law for Ontario.Answer #2: The status of the law in Ontario on this issue is not quite clear. Previously, it was legal in Ontario for an employer to take a portion of an employee's tips. There has been recent legislative attempts to fix this. See this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/11/ndp-ontario-tips-labour-law_n_3054337.html

Based on the Ontario legislative website, it seems like the bill was adopted, but it was a little unclear. See here: http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=2768&detailPage=bills_detail_the_bill

I would contact the Ontario Ministry of Labor and talk to someone there about it.


Title: [NE] I loaned out a lot of money and now she won't repay me. What can I do?

Question:
Bit of a long story, but I really need some help. An old friend of mine from High School hit me up in December asking if my employer was hiring, as she was looking for extra income. I told her about the available positions and put in a good word. A few days later, she messaged me asking if i could help her pay her rent, saying that she would pay me back out of her next commission check. I gave her $500 that day, because hey, we all need some help once in a while, right? A few days later, she hit me up asking if i could help her with a payday advance, saying that her landlord was going to evict her and her son if they didn't pay up more. After much resistance on my part, I gave her $425 more (which was my entire paycheck plus a chunk of my tips for the week). I lied and told her that I had taken out the advance she wanted. During and after this time, she was talking about how she wanted to get with me and have sex, but I told her that I'm not just interested in sex, that I was helping her out because she was in need. At this point we established a sort of FWB situation, which fortunately never came to fruition.
Over the next several days, she continued pressuring me to help her get more money, while insisting that she wanted to be with me and such. She claimed that she and her son we're sick, and that they needed money for the copay at the Clinic. Also claimed that her phone was shut off due to nonpayment. I gave her $60 for the copay,  and $40 toward her phone bill (which apparently never made it to the phone company). She pressured me into taking out an actual payday loan ( which turned into 3)
I tried to explain to her that it's a bad idea to take out all of these loans, but she swore she would pay them back on time. I should have stopped it, but I didn't. I wound up giving her the 3 advances, totalling $1117.65, along with $200 out of my paycheck on Dec.18.
When the time came that she was getting paid, she said that she couldn't cash her check for some BS reason,  and that she needed  $75 more to be able to cash her check to pay me. Clearly BS, but I didn't really have a choice because she refused to budge. So I gave her the $75 and she still refused to pay me unless I gave her my paycheck in exchange for hers. Obviously, this is a ridiculous idea, so I refused, and so she refused to give me what was owed as my deadline loomed a week away.
A few days later, she asked if I would take out a loan to cover the advances, claiming that she had never received her paycheck. When I told her I couldn't get a loan, she said she would give me all of her next paycheck if i gave her all of mine first. Once again, ridiculous,  So I refused.  I wound up borrowing  $1000 from my grandfather to pay off the advances.  I told her that, and told her outright that I could no longer help her out financially.  I asked that she pay me back as she was able. Her response was to threaten to call the police and tell them that she had solicited me for sex, and that I had given her money for sex. So I did the only thing I could think of- I went to the police first. I told them that she was threatening action against me if i didn't give her more money,  and the officer told me that she had no case unless we had agreed to exchange money for sexual services. All of our communications took place over Facebook messenger,  and I'm in the clear on that front, but I'm not sure what to do now. It has been several weeks since I spoke to the officer, and I still haven't shared the messages.  The police are looking at it as an extortion case, but I don't want her to go to jail or anything,  I just need my money back. The total she owes me is $2,492.65 So what can/should I do? I'm so lost, and I really need your help. Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 Small claims is your only real recourse, but you're trying to get blood from a stone here.

You're also lending out money you can't afford to lend. Stop doing that. Alternately, can you spot me a $50?


Title: PTO was accumulating incorrectly and I was denied PTO that had already been approved.

Question:
I requested to use 2 weeks of PTO from 12/23/2019-01/03/2019 and it was approved by management all the way back in August 2019. Received a text from management on the Friday after I left stating that “I just got word from *boss* that she cannot put your PTO on because you were already 9 hours over.”
Which means that I would be missing out on an entire weeks worth of pay, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but I would not have missed two weeks worth of work had someone told me in advance that I’d only be paid for one week. I had enough PTO to cover what I was requesting, and I was informed that my PTO was being calculated incorrectly. It should have been accumulated at 3.33 hours per paycheck, but it was actually accumulating at 5.01 hours per paycheck.

Is there anything I can do in a situation like this? I didn’t even know that the PTO was not correct and I feel that I should not be affected by their mistake and that I should still be paid for that second week I was gone.

Answer:
 This is not a legal issue. This is company policy.

You are not entitled to more than your benefits because you and they failed to track it appropriately. It is being discovered now and error does not supercede a previous agreement.

If the error had been in accumulating at only 1 hour instead of 3.33, wouldn't you expect it to be corrected? It works in both ways.


Title: Garage did $1200 repair without my permission (va)

Question:
I was having unknown engine problems with my car and left it at a garage to be looked at. They told me it was a broke valve spring, they had the pieces, and could fix it for $1200. I declined and said I was considering a new engine for that amount of money. They said, "that's fine, no pressure".
I then stopped by there yesterday to find my car was already fixed and I now have a bill for $1200. I explained that I was considering a new engine at that cost and his reply was that I could still replace the engine if I wanted and not pay for the repair, but they would keep my current engine that they have already done unauthorized work to.
I drove the car and it seems to be fixed. Maybe the repair really did cost $1200 but I cannot believe they have done it already without my permission and am very uneasy paying that and going on there word for what they have done.
They made no attempt to contact me after the work had been completed. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Answer: Garages should never do unauthorized work on your car, but a couple of things to consider:  A broken valve spring would have done damage to your car if you continued to drive it.  A new engine would probably cost much more than $1200.  Unless you intended to tow your car from shop to shop to get a different quote, or sell it as-is, they were going to be doing the work, a small shop probably figured they'd just get it done.  They are in the wrong here and the price seems a little steep if that's all they did, but if you generally like the shop and want to keep going there, you might consider paying for it, after you let them know their actions were not authorized and maybe negotiate the price a bit.


Title: Mother is threatening to sue me [18] off the deed she put me on half a year ago

Question:
Sorry this is so long:

My grandmother owned a house and had my mom and her other daughter put on the deed (and another daughter who passed away).

My mother and I have had a VERY turmoltous relationship. She is bi-polar but refuses to be medicated and has been mentally and physically abusive to me throughout our relationship.

When I turned 18 my grandmother and her wanted to add me to the deed. I agreed. Shortly after this, my grandmother passed away, which left my mother in charge of everything.

I have chosen not to be in much contact with her. But about a week ago she told me I had to immediately come in to a notary with her to take my name off the deed. I refused, partly because I do not want to be near her and partly because the house is where my grandmother is buried... and losing the chance to visit her grave would be heartbreaking.

She then proceeds to send me a string of emails, telling me I am now responsible for paying for the mortgage (1000 dollars a month) and is sending me handmade "invoices" for the money on Google docs.

She is threatening to sue me for 100,000 dollars and I quote "going to destroy my life like she did my father's " (which is true, he's in financial shackles after the 10 year court battle she put him thru).

Does she have legal ground? Should I lawyer up? (Oh she just went to law school, and I think she may have faked a deed with my name on it?)

Answer:
 Save any threatening correspondence and immediately consult with an attorney. Probably real estate since it’s an issue with a deed and not probate, but ask.Answer #2: If your name's on the title to the house, you're generally the proud owner of an equal share of the equity. "Taking your name off the deed" is tantamount to giving away what may be a substantial investment. Leaving aside the sentimental reasons you should refuse, the mere fact that they're not offering to pay you what your share is worth is enough to get a lawyer involved.

If you suspect you were added to the title fraudulently, then even more reason you should get a lawyer of your own. Immediately.

Your local bar association or law society can refer you to someone. When you speak to them, ask if your mother's threats are worth reporting as ethical violations, or whether she's just being hot-headed and rude.


Title: [MB, CAN] Legality of carrying keychain pill bottle?

Question:
Looking for more info on legality and best practices for throwing a keychain pill bottle on my keys in case I sleep over at a dudes house.

Med is Concerta aka Methylphenidate HCL ER which is a schedule 3 drug here. Do I just photocopy my perception recipient and fold it in there?

Answer: Best practice if you have to carry medication is to keep it in its original pharmacy container, label intact. This goes double for scheduled drugs.


Title: Is being discriminated due to being from a different state illegal?

Question:
I moved to NJ from KY in order to be with my girlfriend, whom I met online. Since then I've had a lot of trouble getting work. One interviewer today asked me why I had a KY address under my list of addresses from last five years. I said I moved from there. She then stopped everything, handed back my resume, and told me "I can't hire someone from the south. Sorry." I was startled by that. I asked her why not. Her response was, "Look, I don't like southerners. You people tend to be uncooperative, bigoted, and hypocritical. Now, get out of here."

I can't look up anything online that indicates this is illegal or discriminatory. I'm not a minority, I am white. However, being told that was hurtful and insulting. Do I have any legal standing here to report this? I was thinking of calling some lawyers but it's late, and I guess I'd rather get an idea on here if I even have a case.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: It is discrimination, but not *illegal* discrimination, AFAIK.


Title: Received a subpoena in the mail; got a call saying I don't need to show up.

Question:
I was a witness to a car accident, and received a subpoena in the mail a week ago saying I need to show up in court to testify. Today I got a call from someone claiming to be from my city's attorney office saying that the case was resolved and I don't need to show up, but the call seemed kind of sketchy. I Googled the phone number and I couldn't find out whether it was actually from the attorney office or not.

Is it even possible to cancel a subpoena by phone call? How can I verify whether or not this phone call was legit while covering my ass?

Answer: My office does that quite often; we need to let witnesses know with enough notice for them to appear, then the case pleas out so we call them to let them know ASAP.  You can call the court or city prosecutor tomorrow to make sure though.Answer #2: Call the court.


Title: [NY] What are the consequences of getting caught with expired xanax prescribed for my cat while I fly out of JFK? My cat won't be with me.

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 Prosecution for unlawful possession of a schedule IV controlled substance.

Edit: oh, and you'll miss your flight.


Title: My neighbor put up a motion detecting light aimed right at my back porch, so I can't use my back yard without this light activating. Is this illegal and/or is there anything I can do?

Question:
I live in Pennsylvania, Allegheny county.

To clarify, my issue is that his light keeps me from enjoying my back porch. This light does not shine onto his property - it is aimed directly at my back porch.

Answer: Some local governments have ordinances for light pollution. Your best bet may be to read through and see if yours does. ( I'm not doing it for you)Answer #2: Have you asked him to turn or move the light?


Title: My mother is opening my personal mail without permission.

Question: I am a freshman at a college in California. My legal address is still my parent's home address in New Jersey, zip code 08628. This NJ address is where is get most of my mail, including important things like bank statements and insurance policy information. While I'm away at college, my mother has been opening up my personal mail, with my name on it, even though I have told her to stop doing that. Originally she was doing it without my knowledge, and the only way I found out was because my father informed me that he saw my open bank statement on the kitchen table. Isn't it a crime to open someone else's mail (I'm over 18, if that matters)? Is there anything I can do to make sure she stops opening my mail? I don't want to get my mother into legal trouble, but at the same time I want to enjoy my privacy.

Answer:
 You can forward your mail. Pick your battles. Answer #2: Yes, it's a federal crime to open someone else's mail.  If you don't want to get her into legal trouble and you've already asked and she won't stop, then all you can do is threaten to report her (and risk damaging your relationship more).  The better option would be to forward all of your mail to school while you're there and get as much as possible, including all bank statements, electronically.  I travel full time outside the US so my mail goes to my mom.  Everything is electronic though so aside from the occasional fund prospectus from Vanguard she gets next to nothing.Answer #3: Same thing happened to me. They'd come to my house (across the road from their house), get my mail while I was at work, open the bills and call me to tell me off for how expensive they were.

I told them to cut it out or I'd call the police on them. Made sure they knew I was serious. They cut it out quick smart. Answer #4: It seems easier to chance your address than to call the police on your mom or threaten to call the police on your mom.  If you want to be an adult, and be treated like an adult, stop having mail sent to your mom.


Title: Are CA state parolees allowed to grow marijuana now since it's legalized in their state?

Question: It is my understanding that growing marijuana is still a federal crime. But with the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in california, im wondering what if a person is on state parole and their parole agent didn't care they smoked weed even before it was legalized? if a parole agent goes to their parolee's house and sees their parolee is growing weed, can the parolee be arrested and charged, or in violation of parole? (Assuming the parolee is growing under the 6-plant limit, of course)

Answer: I would say, ask your parole officer to be sure.Answer #2: It's possible to have "don't drink alcohol" be a condition of your parole, despite the fact that it's legal for adults to do so otherwise.  So it depends 100% on the terms of your parole.


Title: Thanks to your help I've drawn up a contract for monster slaying! Comments welcome.

Question:
/r/legaladvice was very helpful in providing me what I needed to draw up this contract. I'd love to get your comments on how I did. I am very much not a lawyer, so I'm sure I've screwed something up!

[ROUGH DRAFT OF CONTRACT](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PZxAy3ZYwHqMQS0bDIxFmfApg6A8WRnuLhkx91aC3xs/edit?usp=sharing)

**Setting**
-----
The player's characters are being hired by a mining company (No Stone Unturned, LLC, refered to as NSU from here on). You see, monsters keep appearing in the mines, and workers have to collapse mine shafts to keep them from escaping and wrecking havoc in the countryside. The adventurers (as well as several groups of NPC warriors) have answered advertisements put out by the company. They will be hired to clear out monsters in the mine.

Edit: I forgot the location again, thanks bot. This would be in the City of Reliant, in the Irinian Kingdom, just south of the Upper Ridge mountains.

Answer: Just to check, you have already planned for what's going to happen when the company's agent tries to screw them, right?  I'm willing to bet that your merry band of murderhobos aren't exactly going to go along with it.  Somebody's going to try and consult with the firm of Burleigh & Stronginthearm, Blacksmiths at Forge.Answer #2: Like all EULAs, I just skimmed it.  I am sure I'll be OK.  Where do I sign?Answer #3: Make the characters sign in blood.Answer #4: Yep, looks like a contract. If this is fictional you can take some creative license. Contracts don't have a magic formula.


Title: Can a restaurant not know the number of calories in a menu item when asked? | NJ, USA

Question: Trying to figure out how many calories are in an item at a small locally-owned business in my university town. Had a friend call them after not being able to find any info posted online. They said they didn't "do calories." Is this legal?

Answer: Yes. There's a regulation that restaurants with more than x locations need to list their calories on the menu, but this doesn't apply to when they're under that number.


Title: Car accident, no insurance NY.

Question:
I got hit by a utility vehicle for a sign shop yesterday. The damage to my car is close maybe more then the car value. The accident is 100% the guys fault. He admitted it was his fault and the police officer who wrote the report saw the accident happen and stated it was the other guys fault.

The car was NOT registered or insured. I question of the driver had a license. Their car was impounded and the cop took the license plates. The plates were commercial plates but who knows where they came from.

Gieco told me that eventhough they had no car insurance, their business insurance should cover it.  I have no collision insurance so Gieco is waiting for a call back from the company's manager.

Am I basically screwed on getting by car fixed by them without it being a giant pain and costing me more in court fees then the car?

Is this something a lawyer will take and get paid by the other person as part of a judgement?

Answer: You need to get an estimate and submit it to them and see what they say.


Title: Step Dad is suing me for money I don’t owe him

Question:
I’ll try to make this as simple as possible but there’s a lot of context required to understand the situation.

I currently live with my mom and her husband(not my dad). I am 26 and a full time RN. I’m getting married this year and planning on moving out a couple months before the wedding.

Now onto some back story:

In 2013 I used to drive his truck, a 1995 Dodge Ram. I caused some body damage and naturally took it to a mechanic to fix it. The mechanic however was a friend of his and he ended stealing the truck, stealing $3k from him, and $3k from me. He blames me for the stolen truck and the $3k he lost to his mechanic friend.

In 2015 he gave me a 2007 Chevy equinox to take over the payments for. It was clear this was my car now and he did it so he could buy himself a 2012 Dodge Ram. Now I didn’t want the equinox, but to help them out I caved in and took the car. Now he wants me to pay him $3400 that he had made in payments for the equinox. We never agreed that I would pay hi what ever money he had already put into the car, if that was the case I wouldn’t have taken it.

We moved into a house on August 2016 and have been living here since. He told my mom to charge me a third of the rent. My mom didn’t want to charge me that so she told me a different amount. He never sat me down before moving into this house and told me what my part of the rent would be. And I can’t move out because my name is on the lease as a tenant. I is a rent to buy for a 5 year contract. And I provided income information and signed the lease in the beginning. The lease doesn’t say how much each tenant is to pay. It only states the total amount the rent is due and how much it increases at every yearly renewal.

Lastly he’s asked me to co-sign on the house to help them buy it. Which is something I don’t want to do considering I’m moving out, getting married, and trying to buy a house on my own for me and my wife to be.

Because I said no to co-signing he has told me how disappointed he is in me for not helping him the way he’s helped me. Like give me citizenship and a better life here in this country (I’m from Venezuela). And also the fact that he “gave” me my nursing career.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m eternally grateful to him and how he’s helped my mom and I. But I haven’t lived at their house for free and I’ve helped in whatever way I can. He doesn’t own me.

End of context.

He wanted me to pay him for the stolen truck($2200), the $3k he lost to his mechanic friend, and the $3400 he paid for on the equinox.

Then he changed the story and wants me to retro pay him the difference in rent I was supposed to pay. Mind you I was never given the opportunity to agree on the amount I was supposed to pay, but instead paid whatever my mom asked me to pay.

Now he wants to sue me for my car insurance bill and cell phone bill that he paid since August 2016 according to him. I was giving them a flat $1k/ mo to cover all my expenses but he said that was only enough to cover the rent and car payment.

He told me today he is speaking to a lawyer to build a case against me. However, given the fact we never signed a contract other than the lease for the house, and he never gave me a verbal contract (it was all through my mom) regarding the rent, I don’t see how he has any grounds to sue me.

I appreciate any input, thank you.

Answer: He's being petty,


Title: [IL] My sister is trying to get out of a volitile marriage and there's a child involved

Question:
Hi so my sister is saving up her money to get out of her marriage that is emotionally/verbally abusive and its heading towards being physical. She's working three jobs right now trying to save money for a divorce and getting a new place.

My biggest question is ( and this is her concern) she's worried that because she takes Zoloft for PTSD she'll be considered unable to take care of her son or her husband can take custody of him based off that. Is that feasible?

Answer:
 A person who is getting treatment for a mental or physical condition is not precluded from parenting.

So as long as there is nothing that makes you unsafe to parent and you continue to file medical advice for your diagnosis, it shouldn't be an issue


Title: (US) Amazon wants me to file a police report

Question:
My order was supposedly delivered on the 24th but I never got it even though I was home all day and I sit adjacent to the front door where they said they had left it. Amazon want me to file a police report but I dont think the item was stolen. Lasership was the delivery company. It was the first time I got them and I've seen a lot of bad reviews. Should I be contacting Lasership, Amazon or my bank to dispute the charge?

edit
calling them and on hold for 30 mins, checked out their facebook and several people are having the same problem. i'll probably be filing the police report

Answer:
 You are simply filing a police report. This does not require you to "swear" it was stolen, or even that a crime was committed. It's a record of your statement, given to a police officer. Your report to them is:  The package was marked as delivered, but I never received it. I don't know what happened to it.

Here's why Amazon wants you to file a police report:
Because it's a common scam for people to order things and claim they weren't received. Filing a false police report is a crime and people wanting to make a quick buck or get a product for free are less likely to file a report (they will just "drop it" instead of pursuing it). Or, if they DID get the product and are lying to the police about not receiving the product, then Amazon has more legal recourse if they find out you DID get it.

So, obviously don't lie to the police. We're talking Federal Prison (mail fraud, if the USPS touched the product at all) if you actually did receive the product.  Also, it's not your job to assume what happened. You didn't get your product. There's only 2 possibilities here: The delivery driver didn't deliver but said he did (which is theft), or someone else grabbed it from your front porch (also theft). But that's not up to you to decide.


Title: Is there a legal way for a Hotel to be taken off Tripadvisor?

Question: Im sick and tired of tripadvisor, its a bogus site,that does not confirm its reviews. Booking.com and Expedia are way better , they confirm all posting and the business owner knows the date and  room the guest stayed in.  my hotels in alberta canada , is there anything I can do to get my hotel off tripadvisor

Answer:
 You can ask Trip Advisor to remove your listing, but they don't have to.

If your hotel is bad enough to get lots of terrible reviews, people will just find another way to complain about your hotel if it's removed from Trip Advisor. There's tons of other hotel review websites.


Title: Collecting Unemployment but Still Working-TX

Question: I’m a salaried worker at a small business in Texas. My employer notified me yesterday evening that as of last Friday (5/22), I have been furloughed for 10 weeks and that I should immediately apply for unemployment, which I did. We discussed me coming in this morning to grab the stuff I needed and to clean out my office for the time being. I ended up staying all day today and am apparently expected to continue working throughout the furlough, for the next 10 weeks. I mentioned that I thought this might possibly be illegal and he said that the government just doesn’t want me ‘double dipping’ and receiving both my salary and unemployment. This doesn’t sound right. Is this legal? Can y’all please point me to some resources that definitely state whether this is legal or not? I appreciate the help!

Answer: Can you clarify what you mean exactly?  He wants you to work for free for the next 10 weeks while you receive unemployment?  That's incredibly illegal.


Title: Can I & my baby leave my bf from ND & go back to my home state of MN? (ND/MN)

Question:
My bf’s name is on the birth certificate and we both signed a Recognition of parentage in MN.

My baby is 6 months. She was born in MN & was there up until she was 4 months. My bf has been wanting to move to ND(his home state) for the longest. Despite not wanting to move I agreed jus to give it a shot.

We’ve been in ND for 2 months now and I do not like it. Things are changing, I no longer want to be with my bf and want to go back to MN

I’ve discussed this with him plenty of times before but it anyways end with him saying “you’re not leaving with my daughter” it’s discouraging...

Legally, am I able to leave my bf & take my baby back to MN?

Answer: Yes, you can leave. He can file for custody or visitation, but the proper place would likely be MN, as y'all haven't been in ND very long. Before you take any steps, you should talk to an attorney in ND where you currently live and an attorney in MN in the county were you intend to move.


Title: Mars mission, what if one of the people on the mission doesn't do what theyhe is supposed to? Like just treats it like a job they can't be fired from.

Question:
So I am going through a book called "The case for Mars" and it has me thinking about Mars and a mission there of. Well one thought I had was what if one guy got to Mars and just kicked back, and didn't do any science. Just wanted to get there and was done. After 600 days of Mars mission accomplishing none if what they sent him there to do, what legally would happen to him upon his return?

I am of course presuming that this person is non military, a civilian employee of the NASA astronaut program, an American, and almost certainly fired from all of this before hitting the Earth's atmosphere.

Answer:
 They would be under some sort of "military jurisdiction" either de facto or de jure.
Of course depending on the difficulty of the mission and the resources and possibilities available at hand, there is likely a little they could or would want to do with the person, while on Mars.

In that situation, they would try to make the best of it and then slam the dude with some disobedience or disrespect charge when they get Earthside, or something of the like.

Granted, anyone who is selected to go to Mars is going to be a super gung ho person, it's not like some asshole who's flipping burgers at your local fast food place.

Disclaimer- Don't get me wrong, flipping burgers is a fine, honorable profession. I deliver pizza, myself.Answer #2: You can look at the 1700s and early 1800s at how it worked when explorers arrived in a new land. He would not come back.


Title: Girlfriends Ex-Husband Took her Car last Night (KS)

Question:
The back story is pretty simple.  My girlfriend kicked her husband out of the house over a year ago.  She then had to follow a Protection from Stalking order to try and keep his harassment to a minimum.  The divorce is final. He has broken this order many times and has even been arrested for it.

He had filed a small claims case against her demanding that she continued to make payments on the vehicle she drives.  They signed a contract in arbitration stating that she would make a monthly deposit directly to him and after the payments were finished he would take his name off the title.  She has made payments every month.  The last payment was scheduled for the 7th of this month.  We would be back in court to conclude this drama in a few more weeks.

When we came home last night her car was gone.  After looking at the security camera we saw his roommate come and unlock the car and drive it away.

We called the police to make a report and when they ran the car through the system it shows that he has instead taken her name off the title.  So the officer said there’s nothing they could do.  He said that we could press charges on the protection order since sending another person to our house is still a violation.

However that is a criminal matter and the car is a civil matter.  We are waiting to hear from a detective who might be able to give us some better news.

My questions are, Should we make the last payment to stay within the arbitration contract?  If the judge rules that he broke the contract what would come of it?  Can we file charges for theft of the personal property in the car?

What kind of attorney should I be looking for?

Answer:
 Given that the terms of the mediated order are that she will receive the car, if she talks to an attorney they can probably go after her ex to ensure that he pays her what the car would have been worth, or to ensure that he returns the car. That's the civil element. A divorce attorney might be a good idea, but just about any litigation attorney can probably handle this or refer her to someone who can. The state bar is a good place to start.

Depending on to whom the payments are made, she likely does want to abide by her side of the order. If she's paying the lender directly, then they're innocent here, and she should not create problems for them because of a dispute with her ex. If she was paying her ex, then things are muddier, but breaching the order without the advice of her own attorney is still a bad idea, even if the breach is intended to directly address her ex's symmetric breach of the same orders.


Title: Should I wait until I have better healtcare prior to getting diagnosed?

Question: I saw my doctor a month ago about some neurological issues that are likely neuromuscuar- (Multiple Sclerosis and ALS are two possibilities) but I lost my job (and my insurance) shortly after so I have been unable to see a neurologist. I am getting on Medicaid in the near future until I find new work, but I am wondering if I should hold off on looking into this until I have a new job (and better insurance) in order to avoid getting screwed over on a "pre-existing condition" with my new insurance. I'm recently out of college and still learning about adult-world things so I'm not exactly sure what the right course of action would be.

Answer:
 Despite what you might have heard, the ACA has not been repealed so pre-existing conditions are still covered.

Sign up now.Answer #2: Try r/insurance instead of this sub, you will get better answers

On a practical matter, do not delay as delaying treatment can be detrimental


Title: Debt Collector froze my joint bank account with my mom for deceased father’s debts

Question:
Exactly like the title - a debt collector has frozen funds in a checking account ($10,000) for a $30,000 debt that was owed by my late father. He passed away in 2011 - the bank account was a joint college account my mother started year and years ago. How do I rectify this situation? Clearly this money is mine and shouldn’t be held.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

State: Maryland.

Answer: It sounds like the account is being garnished on a money judgment. If so, you can file a written objection to the garnishment with the court. The instructions and other info, such as your deadline to object, should be on the garnishment writ (order).


Title: Created a Paypal account with fake date of birth, should I create a new one once I'm 18?

Question:
ITALY

Yesterday I created a new Paypal account, all the informations are correct except for the date of birth because I'm 17. I was born in 5/6/1999 and put 5/6/1990.

I was wondering if I should I really create a new account once I turn 18. It would be a pity since I used a mail I was planning to keep for a long time. I already have far too many emails and can't really keep creating new ones.

I needed to create an account because a guy is sending me money in a couple days

Answer: If it is discovered that you falsified information in your PayPal account, it can be shut down. I would highly recommend creating a new account with correct information.


Title: I know at least one justice in a mock Supreme Court trial is biased against me personally

Question: This person hates me for unrelated reasons and disagrees with me on everything, I’m wondering if there is a way to nullify this person’s ruling on the grounds that the ruling is motivated by a personal grudge. If this is possible, I definitively have grounds to do this, since everyone in my class saw them yell at me for trying to talk to them. Thanks.

Answer:
 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/455

Specifically (b)(1)


Title: Help! An innocent unlicensed driver at the heart of a mess.

Question:
This happened recently and I'm looking for some advice. It's winter in Illinois now and it can get pretty cold here. As a result a family member was asked to start up a manual transmission car to heat it up. Unfortunately they did not know the proper procedure and left the car in reverse on start up causing the car to fly back. My other family member was nearby and they were struck by the car. The house was also damaged. Now since they are uninsured I'm wondering how the various insurance companies will react: house, car, medical. Will my family be left holding the bag and is there anything we can do? I'm not looking for any advice on changing the story as the police have already received a similar report and so has the hospital. Thank you.

Edit:
Thanks for the responses guys. I understand that my family member is not really innocent but they are young and not malicious. I'm looking for any advice on how to proceed as we are looking at thousands worth of damages. Since the family driver was uninsured the fact that the companies might try to deny the claim or sue as after the claim is a pressing concern.

As for the car,  keeping the car in reverse is one of many ways of inhibiting the car from moving when it's shut down. You would usually switch the car to neutral before start up or releasing the clutch but as I stated they were unaware.

Answer:
 There's no such thing as an innocent unlicensed driver who starts a car.  I know it's innocuous - I did it and so did every other kid - but it's not technically lawful.

Insurance (house and car) depends on what types of policies they are and what exclusions are in the policy.


Title: Arrested for Possession of Condiments

Question:
Ohio, Butler County.

I'm a university student in Butler County, this past Saturday (2-18) a bar in my town was giving away free hotdogs. It was probably 4:30 or so and I grabbed two for my friend along with a bottle of ketchup and mustard. (bar was packed, there were many bottles of each condiment and I grabbed the two emptiest). I walked out the door past the bouncers with it all in my hands and walked to another bar a block away owned by the same owner of the previous bar.  I gave the two hotdogs to my friend who was bouncing at this bar and as I was on my way back to the first bar to drop the condiments back off two university police officers approached me. I'm 18 and was slightly drunk at the time but it was not noticeable (I could walk straight and talk normally). The cops asked me where I got the ketchup and mustard and I said I got it from home. They said I need to show a receipt or I am under arrest so I told them I took them from the bar. They took me to the station and charged me with criminal mischief (M3) and made me return the ketchup and mustard under their supervision.  The manager at the bar was confused why they were doing this and said he didnt care whether I took it or not because it was free and I took the two emptiest bottles. The police refused to drop the charge and I now have court for this whole incident.

I spoke to a lawyer about this and she told me this was ridiculous and had never heard of anyone being charged with something as stupid as this but I can not afford a lawyer to represent me in court.

I need some advice on where I should go from here, does anyone have any tips on what I should do to try and make this go away without having a criminal mischief charge on my record?

Answer:
 You were drinking underage, stole property from a bar you should've have been in, and then lied to the police. What part of that do you find ridiculous?

The best way to minimize this is to get a lawyer. Since you don't want to do that, you go to court alone and face the judge.


Title: Is it actually legal to drive an airplane stair car on public roads? [CA]

Question: The main characters on Arrested Development famously use a stair car as their family car, but the characters themselves concede that there are a lot of practical issues with driving it as if it were a real car.  Is the thing even street legal?

Answer: I assume the answer would be very similar to what [this person](https://np.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/119kpp/is_it_possible_to_rent_a_staircase_car_for_a_day/c6l57i9) got when asking the same question to the Michigan DOT.


Title: Someone creates an email account [with pseudonym as name] for public use, publishes the password online, then account is used for either criminal activity or links to election manipulation. What could happen next?

Question:
I know there is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in the U.S. but would this be a violation, someone creating an account on a webmail provider and openly sharing the password via social media? [Especially as I've got through *Mr. Robot* on Amazon Prime, an awesome series, if a bit dark]

If in this hypothetical situation, the email account [from a webmail provider] was found to be used in criminal activity or in something relating to election manipulation [like the Mueller inquiry], where would the legal system deal with the account?

Would they go after the person who last *used* the account, or try and track down the individual who originally *created* the account?

This is **not** the same thing as a shared email such as support@example.com where that's explicitly designated as such.

On the sidebar, it says this sub is for hypothetical questions, so I thought I'd ask.

I'm in the United Kingdom, but U.S. and Canadian law is interesting anyway, as are any legal topics, so I thought I'd ask.

I'm interested to know what the outcome of this hypothetical situation could be.

Answer: An account as you described would be handled similarly to someone hosting a TOR node. The existence of such and the presumed use of it is not normally criminal so no charges could be filed (unless the creator of said account did so specifically for themselves or other individuals to commit criminal activity). Thus generally they're subpoenaed and monitored for criminal activity.


Title: Michigan pizza delivery driver posted picture of elderly customers fecal matter on Snapchat as a joke.

Question: Elderly lady was a family friend, there face, and address was not in picture however being a small town people know who it was by the interior of her home, if the pizza place refuses to do anything what legal action can be taken?

Answer:
 I don’t understand. Why and how did they have a picture of a customer’s poop?Answer #2: > if the pizza place refuses to do anything what legal action can be taken?

There is no legal action that can be taken.

Why does your elderly family friend have fecal matter in the interior of her home?


Title: Trying to get out of a horrible marriage situation, I have no idea what to do, please help.

Question:
Ok- This takes place in Florida: So I met/fell in love then married this man I met through a mutual friend, he’s from Argentina and looking for love and ultimately US citizenship.... This was back in Oct 2007. We go through the interview process with immigration and I find out (there) he was married before and that all of our papers, pictures, interview checks out, however they want proof that the first marriage was legitimate and real. I’m blown away, first because he never told me that info and secondly how does one prove a legitimate relationship besides the obvious sharing bills, insurance etc. apparently they didn’t add each other on insurance, all the bills were in her name, etc. basically looking like it was fraud because she fell out of love and ran off to New York which totally happens to US citizens and non. Nonetheless we were told his papers and green card would not be processed until some kind of proof was brought forward. We try to get a hold of her and surprise, surprise she’s changed her number, we try to track her down and nothing, zero zilch. 2 years pass and I eventually find out he has a secret girlfriend that he had a child with and was pretty much using me to gain his US citizenship. We broke up, he said he would handle/take care of the divorce and I never hear from him again. I’m getting ready to move to California and I stop by the courthouse to get a copy of the divorce, he filed the papers but we were supposed to appear in court and everything got dropped so here I am still married and now living in a state where after 10 years the law is 50/50 I’m freaking out, I work hard for everything I have and now I might have to split what I busted my ass for, what can I do? Where do I even start? Any advice would be appreciated.

Long story short: I married someone who was looking for citizenship and ultimately lied to me about who they were, looking to get a divorce even though I moved from the state where we got married and he is nowhere to be found.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 I hope this has been a lesson in the "I can take care of that" fallacy. No divorce can be conducted without both parties going through court, in every state in the union. You and your husband are going to need to get properly divorced. I would recommend you hire a good divorce attorney and consult with them on how to best protect your assets as the divorce takes place.

You're going to need to collect records, such as bank statements, vehicle purchases, etc. Be prepared to make a few trips back to the jurisdiction where you were married.Answer #2: Move to California, wait for residency, file for divorce there.Answer #3: You can still file for divorce even though you can't find your spouse but it is a more complicated procedure and you are best off to retain an attorney and to file in Florida where you currently live.

You may need to travel back from California for a court date, although usually your attorney can appear for you, and because the process is a bit more complicated you will definitely want an attorney in order to protect your rights.

https://info.legalzoom.com/florida-divorce-laws-missing-spouse-22104.html


Title: Today I was assaulted by a semi-famous person, how do I go about suing them?

Question:
Today I was assaulted publicly by a semi famous person. When I say semi famous I mean he has a music video on TV but isn't Justin Timberlake. It happened in broad daylight with about 10 witnesses, some of the witnesses took photos and got faces/tag numbers. Police were called and a report was filed. The cop told me my next step is to go to the commissioners office and formally press charges, which I'll be doing tomorrow. My question is how do I sue this person for compensation? What do I need to know about seeking legal counsel?I've never sued someone but I'm determined to sue this guy, he totally fucked up my day for no reason and I know he's got cash.

Im in Maryland.

Answer:
 >My question is how do I sue this person for compensation?

Slow down there, skippy.  What damages have you suffered?  You "knowing he has cash" will in no way put any of that cash in your pocket.  You have medical bills?  Anything quantifiable?


Title: Roommate in Jail - We are moving out, what do we do with their stuff? [CA]

Question: One of our roommates has been in jail for a few weeks for a felony charge, and they won't be out for at least 2 months. Our lease ends in 1 week and the apartment needs to be vacated. We spoke to the leasing office, and they said they would just throw everything away. How are we legally supposed to manage her furniture and belongings? We prefer not to contact her directly because we are afraid of her and one of us has a restraining order. Location: San Diego, CA.

Answer:
 Can you contact her family?

The landlord cannot legally "just throw away" abandoned property.  They must [follow specific rules including contacting the person](https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/handling-tenants-abandoned-property-california.html).

Note that they can charge the cost of storing such property to your security deposit.


Title: Hypothetical. I have a dash cam and get involved in an accident. If the officer notices the camera, can he demand it's surrender? What if I'm in no way at fault but might have rolled through a stop sign minutes previously?

Answer:
 I think the general advice for any of these hypothetical scenarios is:
*Don't break the law while you are being recorded on video*


Title: Can I sue my employer successfully? (California)

Question:
Hi all. My direct supervisor has been making me work 8am - 6:30 or 7pm, no breaks. He has asked me to work weekends, which I have in the past. I am seriously becoming burned out and my health has been suffering.

A recent Sunday, he asked me to come into the office. when I said I had plans - could I meet him at X time that day, instead of the suggested Y time? - he exploded on the phone, and threatened to fire me.

In addition, he constantly comments on my appearance (I'm female). "You're so cute," "you're so pretty." He has grabbed me and given me a full-frontal hug that was very tight and lasted several seconds. I feel unsafe job wise,  and very uncomfortable re: his behavior.

I would like to move on, but I'm wondering if I can make a case against him and win?  He has gone through many employees, all women. If it helps, I am salaried, no overtime pay stated in my contract. Hours are stated as 8-5 but that's never the case.

Thank you very much for any suggestions!

Answer: If you are exempt you can be required to work as many hours as your employer demands. Have you reported the comments and unwanted touching to HR?


Title: [NYC, NY] "I WILL FILE FOR TREBLE DAMAGES!" Former subletter threatens rent overcharge complaint

Question:
Hello legal advice! My GF has a problem with a former subletter in her rent controlled apartment. We are wondering how concerned she should be and what she should do to protect herself:

My girlfriend lives in a 3 bedroom apartment and sublets the two, furnished spare rooms in her apartment for 37% of the total rent, leaving the remaining 26% of the rent plus all utilities (gas, electricity, and internet) for her to pay. A guy moves in alone, for 9 months. He paid a month's rent as security deposit. The guy turned into a terrible roommate and problems arose when he demanded his full security deposit back.

My girlfriend's issues were that he had his boyfriend come to town and live in the apartment - he specifically claimed in advance that the boyfriend would NOT be living in the apartment and had his own airbnb. This was not the case. In addition, the subletter was an alcoholic and wreaked havoc on the apartment. It was apparent after he moved out that he had wet the bed with some regularity. My girlfriend had to regularly clean up his piss off the bathroom floor (not small amounts) and other drunken messes. As well as deal with a urine stained mattress meant for use by future subletters. So, when it came to returning the deposit, my girlfriend explained that she'd like to keep half given the unpaid rent for his (specifically-not-allowed-to-live-in-the-apartment) boyfriend and the effort to clean up after him (and keep the apartment habitable for the OTHER roommate).

Understandably, the subletter got upset. He wrote a faux-legalese email saying my girlfriend overcharged him for the room based on square footage. He cited this line he found from a tenants' rights guide - its (9 NYCRR § 2525.6(b)):

>The rental charged to the subtenant by the tenant shall not exceed the legal regulated rent plus no more than a 10-percent surcharge payable to the tenant if the housing accommodation is sublet fully furnished. Where a tenant violates the provisions of this subdivision, the subtenant shall be entitled to treble damages."

He said he would file for those damages unless my girlfriend gave him the full deposit. She backed down and returned the full deposit. Lesson learned: subsequent subletters have had to sign leases.

Flash forward a handful of months to yesterday. My girlfriend posts on facebook complaining about former roommates (in general) not having their addresses changed and how she doesn't want to continue receiving their mail. This morning, my girlfriend woke up to a message from the former subletter quoting her facebook post and threatening to file the rent overcharge complaint.

I told my GF to delete the facebook post, save all the messages, block him and ignore him until she hears anything real.

**tl;dr** Former roommate says he was overcharged when he sublet a utilities-included, furnished room in my girlfriend's rent-controlled apartment. Now threatening to seek treble damages.

Is his threat credible? What should she do?

Answer:
 > The rental charged to the subtenant by the tenant shall not exceed the legal regulated rent plus no more than a 10-percent surcharge payable to the tenant if the housing accommodation is sublet fully furnished. Where a tenant violates the provisions of this subdivision, the subtenant shall be entitled to treble damages."

> He said he would file for those damages unless my girlfriend gave him the full deposit. She backed down and returned the full deposit. Lesson learned: subsequent subletters have had to sign leases.

Even with a lease, you still have to follow the city's tenancy laws, and if your lease violates those laws, the laws prevail.

If she charged greater than the rent controlled amount allowed, then that threat is absolutely credible. She should save up the money to pay for those damages, and in the future, ensure that any subletting is done in full compliance with NYC law.


Title: How serious is it to (accidentally) shine a laser an an officer? How much would the ticket cost?

Question: First time doing this. I got a new laser off the internet and decided to shine it an a school behind my house to see how far it would go. Without knowing I shined it on a k-9 and past an officer onto the building. Then I saw lights all turn on and face towards me. Heart sank because I knew what those bright lights were. 5  minutes later a knock on my door and four squad tahoes are in the street and 5 cops at my door. I explain I had no intention of harming anyone and had no idea they were there. They take my I.d. and run it. They say that things could have gone worse (would have opened fire) but they gave me a citation having to appear in court in 14 days. I'm super nervous and have no idea what to expect.

Answer: I'm going to take this moment to offer a bit of tangential advice: do not ever shine a laser at an aircraft.  You run a high risk of spending several years in federal prison.  The Ninth Circuit recently addressed the issue, cutting a defendant's sentence from 14+ years down to around 5.  No damage was done; it was a brief flash of the laser.Answer #2: What were you charged with?