Title: My Entire Life In Jeopardy

Question:
Background:

I'm located in the state of Hawaii

20 year old single guy enlisted in the army. Wanted to get some action but bad shit went down. Met this girl, L, on dating site. We start texting, then L lets me know she is only 16. Red flag and I should've bailed immediately. The conversation remains friendly.

I wake up to a nude from her(I keep my phone on do not disturb at night) and later this day her father gets in contact with me threatening to arrest me for sexual harassment of a minor.

Please help

Answer: Common scam. See the sidebar. The girl doesn't exist. He's going to ask you for money shortly if he hasn't already. Block and move on with your life.


Title: Credit card company let me spend $500 over my limit (Florida)

Question:
My location is Florida. I'm 18 now and I got my first credit card. It was so cool to have, I'm the first of all my friends to turn 18. I felt so cool being able to pull out my credit card at restaurants and stuff and say "put it on my card". I used it to buy some stuff online and some stuff in stores too. The highest limit they let me have was $1000 because it's my first card but I figured it wasn't going to be a problem because there was no way I could spend that much and I can afford at least the minimum payments no matter so it would be no problem.

I just got my first statement and they say I owe them $1500 plus some fee. My limit is supposed to be $1000 but when I called them they said I signed up for something and opted on to let them go over my card limit. I don't remember doing that but the guy who helped me with my application on the phone was going on and on and I didn't understand everything he said. My parents are going to kill me. I don't have $1500 and I thought this would be okay because my card would like be declined if I went over the limit. This has to be illegal right? They gave me a limit and they aren't honoring it. I don't even have that much money.

Answer:
 You have a weird definition of "cool" but ok.

Did you or did you not charge up $1500 worth of charges?

No, letting you go over your limit is not illegal. Pay your bill.


Title: Will this girl and I get in legal trouble if we date?

Question:
We have been talking for a month or two now but we are not sure if we can date or not considering she is fixing to be a freshman in college(18) and me a junior in high school(16). We are both in Arkansas so don't know if there are any laws not allowing it or something.

www.reddit.com/r/relationships/comments/8kt59d/me_16_m_and_my_friend_18_f_dont_know_if_we_can/?ref=share&ref_source=link

Answer:
 Age of consent is 16 in AR (https://www.ageofconsent.net/states/arkansas), since that seems to be what you're asking about. However, the age of majority is still 18, so your parents can tell you not to have anything to do with her if they want. Answer #2: Dating and sexual relations aside, do NOT send sexual pictures until you are 18 unless you want to be convicted of producing/distributing/possessing child porn.Answer #3: Dating isn't a problem, it's sex you might worry about. Though the age of consent is on your side.  Answer #4: The other commenters have answered your legal question, so I'll add: make sure to stay safe (both from STDs and pregnancy)! I don't know what sex ed is like in AR but if it's anything like it was in FL when I was in school it's probably woefully inadequate, and you definitely don't want to end up coming back on here asking about legal advice if you accidentally get her pregnant (this is sadly very common).

Planned Parenthood has some good resources for information, both in person (if you live near one) or online: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/teens


Title: I (WA) have a green card. I do not use marijuana. A marijuana edibles producer wants me to write copy for their product. Am I legally clear at the fed level to do so?

Question: It's just that I've heard that Canadians working in weed enterprises could be denied entry to the USA. I'm a freelance copywriter, so I'm not employed by the hemp industry in any way, but this would still count as working for them, wouldn't it? I'm not sure what my liabilities and exposure here are.

Answer: I would probably avoid this just to be on the safe side, or at least consult an immigration lawyer about the implications.


Title: Our daughter has lead poisoning and the City wants us to do a gut job (MD)

Question:
We bought a foreclosed house and spent a fortune fixing it up. The inspector casually mentioned all old houses have lead and pointed a couple of places (outside) where the paint was chipping and we had that taken care of. We found out recently that our daughter has a high amount of lead in her blood. After we had the city  test the place for lead, the lady comes after a week, gives us a violation notice (for something we reported ourselves) and brings a "Lead abatement inspector" that goes through the house and proceeds to tell us we need to gut a number of walls, replace a number of doors and windows, remove all the external paint. On top of that, the lady from the city was basically using the information we gave her (the things we did to minimize the exposure) against us in her report, acting like we committed a crime . (They told us if we don't get this sorted the City is going to take us to court!)

This was a Fannie Mae property and all the lead problems were there when we bought the house. We thought the initial inspection was supposed to catch these issues but it looks like the system is trying to screw us over by dumping this issue on us. We are planning on having our daughter and my wife stay with her parents but we won't be able to afford the expensive gutting and paint removal job. The city mentioned there is an assistance program but to qualify you have to basically be living below the poverty line (which makes it useless since there is no way you can afford the mortgage in that case).

&#x200B;

The question is, what can we do so we're not left holding the bag? There is no way we can afford to spend the estimated tens of thousands of dollars.  Can we hold Fannie Mae or the inspector responsible? What are our legal options?

Thank you

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Answer:
 I'd suggest you consult with someone who does real Estate law.Answer #2: In a case like this a sit down with a real estate lawyer will be well worth the price of admission. Without being able to see what type of contracts and stuff you’ve signed during the home sale there’s no way of knowing how much of a leg to stand on you may or may not have.
In the end, you’re daughters health is what’s important. Answer #3: When you buy a foreclosure you almost invariably buy it "as-is". I would look back over your purchase and sales agreement (or the auction agreement, as applicable), but I would be amazed if you hadn't waived liability against the bank as a condition of the sale.

Same with your contract with the inspector. You generally agree that their liability is capped at the cost of the inspection.

You may be eligible for the [loan program](https://dhcd.maryland.gov/Residents/Pages/lhrglp/default.aspx) to help cover costs, it does not have an income cap.

Finally, don't rely on the woman from the city for a description of what you must do. Hire your own contractor(s). The state provides a [list of approved contractors](https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/land/leadpoisoningprevention/pages/leadcontractors.aspx?all=1). Get quotes and scopes of work for complete de-leading or encapsulation. I work with City code enforcement a lot (although not in your state) and they can be significantly overly aggressive when describing the repairs they believe are necessary. I have never encountered a lead case that required gutting the walls to rehab lead paint. If you have a different professional opinion on the work she'll have a much harder time convincing a court that she's correct.


Title: I was Issued disorderly conduct for walking around

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 What is you defense?

You were throwing things, using loud profanity, then instead of leaving as asked, decided to continue walking around and leave whenever you felt like it. The officer continued to hear you even after you walked away and after you had been warned.


Title: My abusive aunt/uncle are trying to get power of attorney over my 93 year old grandmother

Question:
I live in Arkansas with my grandmother on my parents property in a separate house from theirs. My uncle got kicked out because he was using my grandmas social security money to buy alcohol and other stupid shit. My mom took control of the financial situation before he got kicked out and he flipped shit got wasted and did donuts in his car in our yard and got arrested.

Now my moms sister, in PA is coming down next week and i overheard her talking to my grandma on the phone (it was on speaker phone and she didnt think i could hear it)saying she wants her to give her power of attorney, and shes going to move down here too... My grandmother just didnt know what to do or say.. She told my aunt it was a sticky situation..My grandmother is 93 now and starting to get forgetful..She's pretty healthy for her age, but the last few months she has started getting really forgetful.

My parents have always provided for my grandmother and taken care of her just fine..they did my uncle a favor by letting him move in with my grandma to take care of her, until he fucked it up...I'm just wondering if there's anything we can do to keep my aunt from getting power of attorney..because she would move my grandmother out of her home and that would kill her.

update: my mother currently has power of attorney over my grandma, and has for years.

Answer: Since it's already a sticky situation yalls best bet is to have an attorney for your parents and also possibly an attorney (or some sort of advocate) for your grandmaAnswer #2: Elder law and power of attorney law is complicated; not to mention, your family situation sounds like a train wreck. You need a lawyer, go get one.


Title: Failed to stop a shoplifter

Question:
I work at a fairly big grocery store in Manitoba. About an hour before close, our customer service person informed me ( the Person in Charge) that a known shoplifter was in the store. I know they have stolen meat from us because the last time it happened, I didn't realize until after they left, but it was all seen on the cameras.

What they do is come in, three people, and go for the meat. One will ask an employee for help to distract them, one fills a basket with meat, and the other pushes a stroller. They go down an aisle with no cameras and put the meat under the stroller, then go through the till and either buy something small, or try to buy something, their cars is declined, and they say they'll go get cash.

Tonight we were lucky and had extra people working putting up sale tags who followed them around the store. While several employees watched them and followed them around the store, I waited at the doors. I was about to call the police so they could get there before they left, but the guy with the stroller tried to leave. I asked him to see what was under the blanket in the stroller, and he pulled back the blanket slightly. I saw the meat, and told him to get it out, but he said he had a receipt (he didn't). Before I could ask for his receipt, one of the girls with him came over. I reached over to pull back the blanket, and the woman started yelling and swearing not to touch her children (I didn't), grabbed my arm, and pushed her way through, pushing the stroller out of the store. I told her not to come back, and her other kid followed her out with a stolen magazine. I called the cops, they came, and said they can deliver a ban notice to her because one of the employees knew her name.

My question is, is this considered robbery? Was she using force by pushing past me? I didn't touch any of them but I did go to look under the blanket in the stroller, could that cause problems? I did tell the police that and they didn't seem to care. There were 3 other employees who saw it all happen, and it happened right in front of the camera inside our main doors. Is there anything else we can do other then banning her? There are so many people banned from the store who still come in and steal all the time, it's hard to keep track of them all. Our management won't pay to hire loss prevention either, even though our store is very bad for meat theft. We have people walking out with shopping carts full of meat every couple of weeks, and that is just the ones we see.

TL;DR: did this shoplifter use force to steal, and is that robbery? Can I or the store press charges, or can we do anything other than ban her?

Answer:
 It doesn't matter whether it's robbery or not. If the police are not interested in pursuing a criminal case, then there's nothing to do about that; it isn't up to you.

You could file a civil suit for both this and the past theft, of course. Since you have witnesses and camera footage, that should be fairly easy.


Title: Banned Dog Breed in My Apartment Building

Question:
Pit bulls are banned in my city. I have no problem with pit bulls, but the one living in my apartment building has become aggressive toward my dog. He attacked my dog once, knocking me down and leaving a small bite on my dog, not a serious injury. The pit bull was on a retractable leash at the time and when he attacked the owner couldnt pull him back.

Recently he would have attacked again, but the owner basically ran back far enough to get the retractable leash taut and pulled him off.

Just last night I was pulling into the parking lot with my dog in the car and the pit bull owner was walking to the trash with the pit bull not on a leash at all.

I dont want to get the dog taken away and destroyed, aggressive as he may be. He seems to only be aggressive toward my dog.

My question is are the landlords legally allowed to rent to tenants whose dogs are banned in the city we live in?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 You need to report the dog, regardless of breed. Even if it is only aggressive towards your dog, which you can't know for sure, the fact that it is aggressive at all is a problem. What if next time it is aggressive towards a kid? The owner walking a dog that is know to be aggressive without a leash is completely irresponsible. Answer #2: Landlords have no obligation to enforce the cities laws, they don't even need to enforce most their own policies.

You report animal control issues to animal control.Answer #3: This neighbor of yours sounds as though he's being willingly negligent towards how his dog is acting around other people's pets.

If he wants to be an idiot, don't let him get away wth hurting yoh or your dog. Next time it could very well be someone's young child. And nobody wants that.

Short version, call animal control & tell them everything. For that poor damn dogs sake, he needs someone who understands his temperament & how to deal wth his energy level. Not someone who just owns him so they can pretend their a badass.

Answer #4: Report it to animal control. Answer #5: Yes there are situations where a city breed ban is superseded by another law. Answer #6: Report immediately to landlord or management office and file police report. Then Google San Francisco Diane Whipple dog mauling case. You have a disaster waiting to happen there and a dense dog owner violating the law. Bad combination.


Title: Nevada: used car sold as new

Question:
Last november I totaled my car and needed to get a new one.
I went to the Chevrolet dealership because that's where I purchased my last one. They were going on about rebates and end of year sales. I took some of their estimates home with me and then went to another Chevy dealership. Both were seriously trying to take advantage of me (25f) so I took a day to think it over.
It being the end of the year they didn't have much inventory for 2017. They tried pushing me into a Demo (tester) it has 2000 miles in it but they swore it was technically new. " in the eyes of the state it is considered new because it has never been registered before, it doesn't matter if it has 200,000 miles as long as it has never been registered it is considered new" well I looked it up and the sales guy was right. I was negotiating for 5 hours!!!!
My credit score was 740 and they wanted the interest to be 4.9. I told them the other dealership offered 1.9
They said if the interest is that low they will have to lessen the rebate for 5k to 3k. I told them that if that is the rebate they were offering that is what I want, I shouldn't be penalized because I have decent credit. Brought it from 430 a month to 240 a month. I still wasn't happy but after 5 hours I was exhausted.
So I register it the next week and the lady at the DMV tells me "just so you know the car is used your the second owner" I was pissed. I look at the registration papers and the dealer checked new so  falsifying records.

I go back and they don't understand why I'm so upset "you got a good deal, what else do you want" I tell them I want what I bought a NEW car not a used one. "Well you knew it had miles on it what difference does it make" I tell them that there is a big difference in The eyes of the state and insurance companies of being a first owner and a second owner.

So they offer to tint the windows, I decline.
They offer to pay for registration, I decline
They offer a check for 700 dollars, I decline.

We agree upon a 6 year unlimited warranty.
I get a letter in the mail saying something wasn't signed and the warranty is now void.

I don't know what to do. And also the inside of my car is melting (the plastic surrounding the air knobs is ripping off)

Was what they did illegal? Misrepresenting cars?
I doubt I'm the first person, probably the first to catch on (nobody goes to the DMV in person anymore)

Answer: Probably best to speak to a lawyer here, if what you signed was marked as new and what you got was used I am sure this voids the contract. You should be due back all your money you paid into this so far and be able to return the contract. you might be able to get more, but I am not sure. This is where you should talk to a lawyer over this.


Title: My apartment complex refusing to give a gate code without a local phone. Oklahoma

Question:
My apartment complex says they won't give me the code for the gate. I either need to either purchase another keycard( they gave me one when I moved in), or I need to have a local phone number so I can use a system that calls my phone to let people in. In the past they gave me just a gate code that opens it. They changed it recently and won't give anyone the new one.

I'm in the military so changing my number every 3 years would be extremely inconvenience. Can they not give me a gate code just because I do not have a local number. I can't have friends or family come over without getting each one a 15$ keycard. Is there anything I can do about this? Or do I just have to fork out and get extra cards?

Answer:
 google voiceAnswer #2: Legal answer: Unless the lease says otherwise, they don't have to give you anything.  You can try arguing that this restriction interferes with your right to enjoyment of the premises by having guests.  I don't know how far you will get with that argument.

Practical answer: Download a texting app such as TextNow which gives you a virtual phone number and lets you choose your area code.


Title: Can you legally pay an employer to hire you?

Question:
Hypothetically, I want a six figure job that I am not qualified for. I am willing to give my employer 25%-30% of my pay for the first year, in cash if necessary, During this time I would receive on the job training to competently perform my job duties. Once the one year is up, I get full pay and continue as a regular employee.
 Are there any legal issues that could arise from this type of arrangement?

Answer:
 It may be construed as tax fraud in that the employer gets to write a higher deduction from their taxable income due to the increased salary.

Why wouldn't they just pay you $70,000/year instead of $100,000 and you give back $30,000?


Title: I have to have a special accommodation at school and a student found out and told everyone. What can I do?

Question:
This is in New York.

I had to talk to the director of my school about a special accommodation I might need. I haven’t been to a doctor due to no health insurance, but I will be going to one soon. A student found out either through the files or through word of mouth and has since told everyone in my class since “she thinks it’s unfair I get special treatment.”

What can I do from here?

Answer:
 It's not illegal for a student to tell others what accomodation you recieve. It's also not something you should be ashamed of.

Edit: also without a diagnosis you don't really have any legal protections yet.Answer #2: Flip her off and walk away. Nothing illegal happened. She is allowed to have opinions


Title: I got fired over something my boss found on Facebook, what are my options now?

Question:
I was called into my boss' office on Monday after my shift ended. Then my boss proceeded to ask me if I was a toy collector. Yes, I am an avid fan, and my social media accounts do reflect this. He told me that he saw that I was after looking through my Facebook and he wasn't comfortable with someone under his employ having a hobby that "includes having to be around children" (I don't hang around kids at all...) and fired me.

I've been with them for five years now. I have always been a model employee. I felt attacked for having a hobby that is "unconventional" for a man my age. He also told me not to expect unemployment benefits.

I am panicking right now. I have a disabled son, a daughter about to go to college, and a wife who doesn't make enough to support the rest of us. I'm desperately job hunting to no avail. I needed that job for my family to survive.

Is there any way I can get my job back? Is it legal for him to fire me over my hobby? I also felt he was implying I was a child molestor even though he didn't come right out and say it. What are my legal options? Location is Pennsylvania.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 It was ponies, wasn't it?Answer #2: Sounds to me that for some reason he wanted to fire you. So he went on Facebook looking for an excuse and that was the best he could come up with.

No way you don't get unemployment though.  Would love to hear how he thinks toy collecting is "misconduct".Answer #3: I have to ask, what are your facebook privacy settings?

You should have that locked down, people who are not "friends" shouldn't be able to see **anything** but your profile pic.


Title: Can making fun of the opposite sex, legally be considered sexual harassment?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >I would call it sexual harassment because she felt like she was sexually harassed

That's not how it works.  There are legal definitions for things, it's not based off feelings. Answer #2: I highly, highly doubt it. It was a single instance of non-sexual harrassment. Unfortunately for your friend, she just had a bad encounter with an asshole, it's not really something that has legal repercussions. I would simply say to file a complain with the bar manager saying that the bartender was rude and demeaning, it's not really a question of rights. It's the same at any other service-based establishment, if the service is upsetting, notify the manager and hopefully they'll do something about it.Answer #3: Not sure about Maryland law but in Canada I'm pretty sure harassment of any kind has to follow a pattern over a long period of time, i.e. it has to be several incidents, not just one.


Title: (California) Coworker wrote up his manager for a number of things, now he's getting fired

Question:
My question is, is this legal? Can they fire you for complaining about your manager? I was told that since CA is a "right to work" state that it's legal but it seems like this shouldn't be ok.

Guess it's legal. Thanks all.

Answer:
 "Right to work" has to do with union membership.  "At will" is what you're looking for.  You are able to quit at will, and they are able to fire you at will.

Yes, they can fire you for complaining about your manager.  Your co-worker should file for unemployment insurance and find a new job.

PS:  They can fire you for anything, or for nothing, unless you're in a union whose contract forbids this; unless you have a contract with the company which forbids this; or unless the company fires you for being in a protected class.

Edit: [Here's a doc](http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/01/art1full.pdf) from the Monthly Labor Review discussing other exceptions in the various states.


Title: [TX]Did a dentist violate hippa by giving an attorney my wife's home address to mail a letter to us regarding a bad yelp review?

Question: My wife took my son to a dentist who specializes in anesthesia. He's autistic and didn't stay still with his primary dentist. My wife made a long trip to visit him and he was rude and basically said my son doesn't have enough cavites to be put under. When I spoke to his regular dentist and my son's behaviour Dr they told me he shouldn't have been turned away. He's 10 and it's effecting his adult teeth. My wife wrote a review on yelp and Google. A few months past and today we get a letter threating suit (which we aren't the least concered). After we started thinking the easiest way the attorney could have gotten out mailing address is through the Dr. In the yelp review my wife only has her first name and last inital nothing else. Could they have violated hippa or would it be too hard to prove? We don't own the home (rent from family no real lease agreement). Also the Dr doesn't own the practice just works there.

Answer:
 1.) It's "HIPAA."

2.) No, it's not a violation for the health care provider to provide that information to a lawyer (who is also bound by confidentiality).Answer #2: Name and address are most certainly PHI and protected by HIPAA. However, giving that information to a lawyer would not be violating HIPAA. All it means is the lawyer would be a Business Associate and would need to protect your name and address as PHI and with respect to the laws of HIPAA. If one of the lawyers clients walked in and saw your name and address on a notepad the lawyer was working on, that would be a breach.


Title: Looking to pull a report from 2003 regarding my friend being raped by a Chicago PD officer. They will not release it.

Question:
14 years ago, a friend of mine was raped by a CPD officer at age 5. We are looking to pull the report that was made in 2003 so that we can pursue this legally. The issue is, the Police Department will not give us the report because it regards one of their buddies. When the cops weren't looking, the secretary gave us a case report number, and had her fill a form so that she could get a censored version of the report. She said the only way for us to get a full version of the report would be to get it subpoenaed.

My friend turns 19 soon. Once she does, we will no longer be able to pursue this, so says the cop we talked to. What can we do?

We have no money for an attorney, but we might be able to save some up.

Answer: You will need to proceed with a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request. If you believe that this is as serious as you say, you'll likely be able to find an ACLU or other advocate to work on this with.


Title: What To do after abuse at work? 20 F

Question:
Throwaway time. I'm 20 F with mental disabilities. I've been working at a grocery store for two years, and spent the last year working for a department once I was finally ready to be prompted to one. I found out that our female  boss was verbally abusive, controlling. and emotionally abusive. She didn't even allow us to have computer access to do our jobs, she wanted to handle it all because "there were people she couldn't trust" and sometimes didn't even Let us answer the phone for customers.  I didn't realize how bad this was until I made a few mistakes while learning over time, and that's when it started to show. Anytime I would make an honest mistake, I would be yelled at and shamed. The abuse continued, and I quickly lost confidence and joy in my work. I spoke with other members of the department only to find out she treated everyone poorly. I went to my big boss (store director) to tell him of the abuse, she apologized and I assumed all was well. But she began getting more and more abusive over time. Small mistakes meant being yelled at and made to feel stupid, while big mistakes lead to being written up. Others agreed she was targeting me.  I kept making mistakes I wouldn't otherwise make BECAUSE of the abuse. It was a vicious cycle. I went back to the big boss three times in total to tell him that the abuse was still going on, and always told he would look into it. But it never got better, and I began going out of my mind, messing up like crazy because I was always on edge and ready to be screamed at. I eventually kept fucking up so much out of fear and anxiety that I had recieved enough write ups to be suspended. I didn't know for how long, if another manager didn't help me out and find me work in a lower position in the store it would have been indefinite suspension. The second in command to the big boss said he agreed with my female boss' desicion to suspend me, even though I had explained why my performance was poor due to her abuse. In complete disbelief I sat at home trying to figure out what went wrong. I eventually went back to work only fear more, made another mistake and was permanently kicked out of the department. I can never do the job I once excelled at ever again.

So here I am, wondering why after giving my best and trusting the higher ups to help me, why I was kicked out. Why was she never punished? Why did nobody ever help me? Why did nobody ever prevent my suspension? Or my banishment? I cried out for help so many times. I spoke with another manager who told me this was a huge injustice and even illegal. So I'm wondering, what can I even do?

Answer:
 >So here I am, wondering why after giving my best and trusting the higher ups to help me, why I was kicked out.

 This isn't really a legal question, you should try r/advice.

> Why was she never punished?

 You have no idea what was said to her in private.

>Why did nobody ever help me?

 They weren't obligated to.

>Why did nobody ever prevent my suspension? Or my banishment?

 You should consider the possibility that it may not be everyone else that is the problem.

 Were you fired or just removed from the department? If you were fired, file for unemployment. If you are unhappy with your job, try going to HR or finding a new job.


Title: What kind of wiggle room is a custodial parent allowed when it comes to visitation?

Question:
**This is really long, it's not important to read it all to answer the question but I've given back story for anyone who wants the full picture. The last paragraph and TL;DR should summarize it well enough. This is in Georgia if that makes any difference.**

**TL;DR: the judge gave my ex husband supervised visitation at a center for domestic abuse based on his past mental instability and substance abuse. My lawyer has taken 2 months already and still doesn't have things filed, visitation hasn't been set up. Is it ok for us to let him visit with him in a public place under my supervision?**

Background: My ex husband is not a stable person. In the past he's had problem with pills, has stolen them out of friend's medicine cabinets, is on again off again with alcoholism, and has a history of suicide attempts. He's also a diabetic who up until a few months ago did not take care of it and I think it contributed to some of his craziness, diabetics can go into a rage if their sugar levels go off. He's unpredictable. He can be fine all day and then the slightest thing, a bad thought, not being able to accomplish something, it can set him off and he goes into a spiral. The spiral typically consists of one of his vices, whatever he can find, pills preferably but alcohol if pills aren't available. Then he'll get wasted, and often times tries to kill himself. He tried to kill himself 3 times in one month last January right before all of this court stuff started. He also has a history of animal abuse. We couldn't have anything other than a dog because he would joke that he wouldn't be able to keep from killing it, he made it sound like a joke in the begining but it became apparent that it wasn't as time went on. We had dogs because those were ok but if they bothered him at the wrong time, he would beat them, it ranged from caning them with a dowl rod, punching them in the face, to jabbing at them with a bat. I heard a commotion in the bathroom once and had to pull him off one of the dogs that he had pinned up on the wall choking. We had several talks about it, I tried (and eventually succeeded) to get them rehomed, and he always said he knew it was wrong, that he liked the dogs, but in the moment he just couldn't help himself. Now call me crazy but that sounds like some logic someone who beats their kids would have. Now, that explains why I and the court think he is mentally unstable, he never physically abused me though he did emotionally. So, unless he completely loses his mind one day, I don't fear for my life around him, I do fear for my son's life though if he were left alone with him. I did for a while because he would get drunk and go into detail with friends about the ways he wanted to torture me but now I'm thinking he was talking out his ass, he seems way more rational now.

We split December 2015 and after January's third suicide attempt he admitted he knew he needed help and would get it. We he didn't and in the middle of February I got a tpo after hearing about him talking of torture, I also took some safety measure around the house. He desperately did not want to pay child support, he told people this, and so he was trying for shared custody of our son who was 1 at the time. He managed to stall a court date back in April and we just now had it all done this past December. Now, the thought of having my son alone with him terrifies me and he wanted shared custody. Towards the end he would get to where he yelled at our some and reacted in similar ways as he did with the dogs before starting to beat them. I think he controlled it better because it was just a cute little 1 year old getting into shit  but I worried about the day when he would eventually snap. Add that to the fact that at the time, he had become a full alcoholic, he drank all day every day and couldn't stop. He took whatever pills he could find and mentioned digging one out from under the stove once so I know that clumsy fool was dropping them. A wasted adult can't watch over and take care of a toddler, random pills in places, the possibility that he could have a psychotic break at any given moment over anything, I swear I was worried there would be a murder suicide eventually if he was left alone with him or an accident that would take our son. What I wanted was supervised visitation and maybe years down the road, if there had been no more mishaps, our son could go off to places, and eventually even spend some weekends with him when he was older. For the time being though, I wanted supervised visitation. Well the judge gave him supervised visitaion given the evidence but he took it a step further. The supervised visitation is to take place at a center for domestic abuse where they have staff set up for supervised visitation, it's mostly for kids taken by dfcs to visit with their parents from what I've been told but they do this sort of thing too. Visitation is on the condition that he regularly see a psychologist and I've been given the go ahead to be able to check with his doctor to make sure he is going to his appointments before I allow visitation. I didn't ask for any of this, the judge decided this all on his own. I would have been happy with supervised visitation being supervised by his parents but I wanted the first few times to be in a public place.

Well my lawyer isn't the fastest lawyer around. She accomplished what I was going for and I'm thankful for that but she's very hard to get ahold of and she's very slow in getting things done. It was December 14th that we went to court and she still doesn't have things filed. From what I've seen, she fell behind by moving offices and then she realized that he moved midway through the year and she needed to redraft it and file it in his county. I don't see why it should take 2 months for that, all I can figure is she accepted way too many clients right now and isn't getting things done.

So all this still isn't filed and ex husband is antsy to see his son which is totally understandable, I'm glad he is, I want him to be part of his life. We recently started communicating via email and text about setting up visitation and him getting impatient. I used my phone to let him Facetime with our son last night for half an hour before bed (which I would be willing to do nightly if I could figure out a way to do it that didn't involve me following a 2 year old around with a phone and trying to keep the camera on him while still having the screen face him, that shit is difficult). He's getting very antsy to see him and my lawyer is taking forever so we were talking about maybe scheduling something in the meantime. We talked and we agreed to meet in a public place and let them play for half an hour, we agreed on a McDonalds with a large playground that is halfway between us. I would be staying there as supervision and we've been civil so far so I don't expect any kind of altercation. We've always gotten along well as friends and I didn't do any of this to get back at him or hurt him in any way, I was just worried about our son.

So what I'm asking here, is this ok to do? Can I agree to some wiggle room in the visitation or does it have to be done exactly as the judge ordered? It's not like I'm taking visitation *away* from him, I'm doing the opposite, plus that center costs and I know he's broke right now too. Will this bite me in the ass later? Not like I'm showing I'm ok with him being alone with him, far from it, it's in a public place with supervision by me. I already said in court that I didn't fear for my life with him, the center was only even mentioned in the settlement offer as a default in case we couldn't agreed on a supervisor but the judge ran with it.

Answer:
 Your lawyer is the best person to answer this. I know you're having a hard time getting a hold of her but that's my standard answer when someone has already paid for an attorney.

But with that disclaimer out of the way: One of the ways this could possibly bite you in the future is you could possibly lose the option to have supervised visits at a center. Basically, a Judge could say, "Well, you had this option, and you didn't use it, so you must not need it. Your ex must not be as bad as you say." This could be a possible issue if you no longer feel comfortable personally supervising, or if things escalate down the road and you really do need a third party supervisor.


Title: My 14 yr old daughter does not want to see her father and he is being verbally abusive

Question:
My daughter is going through a tough time in her life, recently coming out of the closet.  My ex-husband is borderline personality although won't admit it.  He is very hard on her and feels she is using her new life choice as an excuse to get sympathy and to be lazy.  He is quite abusive verbally and she is very intimidated by him.  I told him she wasn't going to see him this weekend and he completely flipped telling me she runs my life and that she was a dirty pig.  He then told her to have a nice life.  He was done with her.  She is traumatized.  Her twin brother wanted to stay home as well but he was bullied into going to dads.  What do I do????
I'm in Massachusetts.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Do you have a court-ordered or approved custody schedule?


Title: My ex-spouse won’t let me see our son and has stopped paying the court ordered child support.

Question: My son has not been able to live with me for a year and my ex stopped paying for the past nine months. He says he doesn’t owe me for back support even though I rent a place with a bedroom for him. He is now trying to get custody. Can I still take him to court for the back support? Even though my son has not been living with me?  I am in Los Angeles.

Answer: Why has your son not lived with you in a year if you have custody? Did you move, or do something that yoru ex objects to?


Title: Can I sue an apartment complex?

Question:
I was visiting a friend at his apartment. That has covered parking for residents and open parking for visitors. The open parking is in the back near the exit. We had a huge storm the day I visited and I was advised not to drive in the rain because of vision and wrecks and all that so I stayed at my friends. The parking lot ended up flooding. Water got all on the floorboards of my vehicle and now my vehicle won't start or even turn over. Can I sue the apartment complex for not having signs with a warning saying that there is no functioning drainage system? If not..what are my options. To fix my vehicle is more than I can afford and my insurance is having some issues.

Phoenix Arizona.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: This is exactly the sort of thing your insurance company should be sorting out for you.


Title: Should I fight this ticket? (USA)

Question: Hello Reddit! One of my few posts here so far. Last Thursday I rolled my car and it's totaled, I'm fine somehow only a few cuts. While I was in the Hosptial I was given a 200 dollar ticket. I really cannot afford to pay this, I'm a broke college kid. I was not drunk/high or anything of that sort, I don't remember all to much of it other than I lost control of my vehicle.

Answer:
 You agree that you did in fact lose control of your vehicle, so you can't fight the ticket.

Now, if not paying the ticket would help you out tremendously, you can try to get the judge to go easy on you. Dress nicely, show up to court, and explain to the judge that you're very sorry for what you did. This may get you a reduced fine, but you shouldn't count on it. You'll need to make whatever preparations you can for paying the ticket in full.


Title: VA - Had affair with woman, ended affair, woman harassing/cyber bullying wife. What can she do?

Question:
Thank you first and foremost for your time in reading into this matter.

Situation:
I am an active duty service member stationed in Virginia and had an affair with another service member during 2016.  To keep the story short, we were caught, punished accordingly, and I have gone my separate ways and am working things out with my wife.  However, this woman has been harassing/cyber bullying my wife for up to a year now and we are unsure on how to handle the situation.

The woman exited the service in April.  Her home of record is in Chicago, however, she remained in VA I believe and has roomed with someone I do not know.  She has been CONSTANTLY harassing us since the affair ended.  She degrades my wife's appearance by calling her everything from a fat cow to a worthless mother and wife.  Just recently, she has escalated the cruelty in her messaging higher by literally encouraging my wife to commit suicide.  Messages like "Go hang yourself" to "I'm just fucking sitting here waiting for you to die bitch. Lmfao".  She also insults our kids by calling them "retards and abominations.  Plenty more but you get the gist of it.  It's definitely gotten to a boiling point.  I recently hired a private investigator to attempt to track her whereabouts but could not and am at a standstill.  We are at a minimum trying to get an address on where she lives or works so we can attempt to get a protective order in place, but what else can we possibly do?

The wife recently brought up trying to sue her possibly for "alienation of affection or intentional infliction of emotional distress".  We are the type of people however that do not jump into these types of things completely blind.  We will definitely get on the phone with a lawyer to get a consultation but want to know what other people think.

Please let me know if you need any further details or have any questions on the matter.  This other woman is definitely putting off as being relentless, crafty, and is under the impression we are not doing anything about her harassment.  We have archived a lot of her messages.  She sticks only to text messages and utilizes apps to generate phone numbers to text us from.  We cannot without a reasonable doubt prove it is her.

Answer:
 Virginia doesn't have an alienation of affection Tort.

Your wife should block any and all attempts at communication.  Change her number if need be.


Title: Does my apartment complex have to give me adequate notice to remove my car when lot work is being redone? I just got towed

Question:
My apartments parking lot is being redone and all cars needed to be out this morning. I knew about it but forgot, however my roommate was never informed. The only notice we were given was one sign posted by the front door. No email or anything.

My roommate always leaves the complex through the back door so she had no reasonable way to see the note. We received no email or other form of contact about this. Her car got towed. Does she have any standing to get the towing fees paid for?

I think it's bullshit notice, but I admittly forgot. But she legitimately had no way of seeing this note.

Answer:
 > Does she have any standing to get the towing fees paid for?

No, not at all.  They don't have to tell her personally - they just have to make reasonable efforts to notify people.  Posting on the entrance door is reasonable in nearly all cases.


Title: [MA] Chronically sick after starting a new job, out on short term leave now, what are my options

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Find a new job . . .and yes, you can be fired for refusing to come to work


Title: BURGER KING won't pay me

Question: So I worked for a Burger King here in Orlando sometime from Nov-Dec. I Worked full-time hours and I pretty much just showed up whenever the old GM asked me to work. I only got one check ($106) and the store manager kept telling me she lost the check and to come back. Well Jan 2nd I went in and found out she was being "let go" because money and food was missing. So I waited and spoke to the new GM and told her my situation and she had this guy call me (from payroll I think) but he said pretty much without the clock in clock out receipts theres no proof. :( somebody please help me I work too damn hard at minimum wage for somthing like this to happen.

Answer: Contact an employment attorney. Florida doesn't have a department of labor to help you, but an attorney should be able to.


Title: If a US President serves two terms, is there anything preventing them having someone else run in their place but openly admit they'll be making all the decisions?

Question:
Say Obama (as the most recent president to serve two terms) finds some guy off the street (let's call him Steve) and has him run, but publically admit Steve won't be making any decisions, Obama will.

The public basically would be electing Obama for a third term but TECHNICALLY not, getting around this limitation.

Is there any mechanism to prevent this?

Answer: The franchise. The founders assumed that the voters (or the electoral college) would not stand for such a deliberate flouting of the constitution and would reject that candidate. Obviously nowadays you can see some problems with this theory, but that’s the design of the system.


Title: Father-in-law in California, age 63.5, facing skin cancer without insurance. How can he protect his savings from medical bankruptcy?

Question:
Not looking for medical or insurance advice here, just looking for legal strategies to protect his savings via a retirement account or something similar. I understand the protections on home and car, etc.

He has a modest savings and lives on social security, which apparently gives him just enough income to be ineligible for Medicaid.

Thank you.

Answer:
 To some extent he can’t. This is exactly why the individual mandate was enacted. Insurance is the protection against this.

Your father-in-law has the protections afforded by the bankruptcy code. There may not really be any more for him in these circumstances.


Title: Terminating 2 year contract with Gas Company [Atlanta, GA]

Question:
Last October I decided to switch gas companies from GA Natural Gas to Infinite Energy due to the nest special they had. Due to how late in October I called them they couldn't hook up my new service until December which was fine with me, it meant we went one month paying whatever rate GNG decided to give us which was roughly on par with what we were going to pay. The plan I signed up for said I'd stay with them for 2 years at a specific rate and I would receive a Nest. Come January I had to call them because I wasn't receiving bills and they had my mailing address wrong so I changed it to a PO Box where I receive my bills. I had to call back about two weeks later asking about my nest and when I would receive it. They said they would start the processing for it then and ship it off to me, I figured it would take a few weeks at minimum. Come April we still haven't received it and we're about to move to a new house so I called them to cancel my service with them since they never shipped the product to me, at this point it's been 6 months of service roughly. They told me they tried to ship it to me but it was returned back to them since it was being shipped to a PO Box, which they didn't tell me are not allowed to ship to.

At this point they said they could ship it back out to me if i still wanted it. I told them at this point if I were to continue with them I'd want their current rates even if it restarts my 24 contract but I don't want to pay start up or ETF on the current contract and the guy I talked to said I would have to buy out my current gas portion of my contract which I did not find acceptable. They also stated if I wanted to cancel and not use them at my new house I would have to pay the ETF.

Where do I stand currently with them? I really don't want to continue with them but I do not feel like I should have to pay any sort of fees since they didn't they didn't uphold their end of the deal and me switching to them has actually caused my gas bill to almost double.

Thanks!

*EDIT*
I've contacted Mr. Paez via email and told him what happened. He then gave me the option to either terminate my agreement with them and he'd waive the fees or I could start a new contract using their new rates. Due to the amazing customer service the wife and I decided to stay with them and give them a second chance. Even the phone people were helpful they just weren't able to offer me these two options. Mr. Paez has also looked into why my problem happened and is on the way to ensure that it doesn't happen to anybody else.

Overall this is probably some of the best customer service I've had through a utility and I will definitely be telling others about this experience.

Answer:
 Hi there, Shade. My name is Richard Paez and I am the manager of Infinite Energy's Regulatory Affairs department.

Before anything else, I'm terribly sorry to hear about your experience. I'll be making sure that whatever caused this error is corrected.

I'll be sending you a PM with my personal contact information so that we can address your concerns.


Title: [TX] Sister accused of hit and run while not in the state.

Question:
So my sister received a letter that said a car matching her car's description, with her license plates, was reported as having hit a car while switching lanes on Sept 23rd.  My sister was however not even in the state at this time.  This is easily verifiable as she was away on business.  Big meeting, tons of witnesses that can verify, credit card purchases, etc.

Her vehicle shows absolutely no signs of damage, no scuffed paint, nothing.  She does have roomates who were home at the time and *could have* taken her keys (she left them in case the car needed to be moved).  They all deny ever having driven it.  Should be noted that these roomates are long time friends, like, 10+ year friends.  They are as trustworthy as anyone will get (although I realize sometimes even the most trustworthy people do some fucked up shit, I'm not that naive.).

Now I may be jumping the gun because this is all the insurance could say at the time due to them not having the police report yet.

So I guess my questions are where does this go from here?  Is she liable if someone else *did* take the car?  What if the person describes her as having been behind the wheel even though she can prove she wasn't there?  I guess what I'm asking is how much "proof" would it take for the insurance to fuck us on this?  Someone's word alone can't be enough could it?  Even with no damage what-so-ever to the car?

Answer:
 Who sent the letter?

Just save any evidence (receipts, itineraries, plane tickets, etc) that  shows she was out of the state at the time the alleged crime occurred. If you really want to go the extra mile, you can ask a business or hotel if they can send a still of your sister that they have from security cameras at around the time when the hit and run occurred. That'll show that *she*, and not just her credit card, was elsewhere at the time. We have no information on how serious the hit and run was, so it can be anything from "This will go away on its own" to "Someone died and your sister needs a lawyer." I'm guessing it's somewhere in between, but who knows.

Also, take pictures of the car now while it's still clear of any damage.


Title: Why does the government ban guns for nonviolent felons?

Question: I get it for murderers, rapists, and armed robbers-they physically harmed people in the past and might do it again. But, what about tax frauds? Hackers? Or even people who get drunk in public? What interest does the government have to waive their second amendment rights?

Answer:
 Theory 1: Most felony-level crimes have an element of *moral turpitude*, which is seen as a general indication that a person may not have suitable judgement to carry lethal weapons even if the specific crime had nothing to do with violence or firearms

Theory 2: It's a way to disproportionally prevent minorities and the poor, who are disproportionally convicted of felonies, from exercising their firearms rightsAnswer #2: The government has a Supreme Court that has punted all but half a dozen 2nd amendment cases for the last century and a half is the real answer.


Title: From a legal standpoint, do you have to delete your ex's explicit photos after you break up?

Question:
And what if she did a nude photoshoot, had the photographs printed and gave them to you as a gift? I would think the photos are now your property and you don't have to dispose of them. Am I wrong?

Edit: And if I want to have one of the photographs reprinted to a large size and then put it on the wall in my home, am I still in the clear?

Edit2: If I took the photographs somewhere to have them printed (as opposed to printing them myself), would that conflict with a revenge porn law?

Answer:
 You can keep them for your own "personal use" (so to speak).  But if you pass them around to friends or on the internet, then she might have cause to sue you.Answer #2: Well, these outcomes depend on the judge, lawyers, and anyone else involved. It seems like you really want to do this for some petty reason.

The general advice is "you might be breaking the law by trying to be in the grey area" and it simply isn't worth it. Sounds like you might need to talk to a close friend or family member about some issues you're having. Your intentions seem hurtful.Answer #3: If you forward them to your ex's new bf, that's a good way to lose a custody issue, that's for sure.Answer #4: You don't need to delete the photos.

Making a larger print will likely be a problem. Hanging it up is definitely a problem. I don't know what jurisdiction you're in, but the normally the law on the issue is "did you have permission to disseminate/reproduce the picture?" Not "did you intend revenge?"

You'd need to blur her face as well as any private areas, imo.

Just don't do weird, creepy shit with an image of your ex's  naked body and you'll be fine, essentially.


Title: My school took my phone and found photos of me smoking.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: This is almost certainly perfectly legal.  Put a password on your phone and quit recording your illegal activities.  This is the part of your life where you learn that being an idiot has consequences.


Title: (Nj) mom got hit by my dad trying to get restraining order. My dad tells his 3rd completely different story and the judge agrees with him even tho it contradicts everything else. Help?

Question: (Nj) my mom is trying to get a permanent restraining order cause my dad hit her. When he was on the stand he lied, contradict the police report, then his lawyer gave the judge pictures saying how we beat him up and the judge not only allowed the pictures she said she thinks my mom and my sister and I planned this its crazy is there anything we can do to get a new judge or something? The police report strait up says my dad shows no sign of injury.

Answer:
 The link below describes your options in NJ very clearly.

http://www.lsnjlaw.org/Family-Relationships/Domestic-Violence/NJ-Laws-DV/Pages/No-Restraining-Order.aspx#.V_FsxKTD8m8

If the judge says you guys beat your dad up but the police report says otherwise, maybe there was a mistake of fact. You can try calling this number to ask, or calling a domestic violence help center.

Legal Services of NJ legal hotline: 1-888-LSNJ-LAW

Here's a detailed list of NJ resources for domestic violence sufferers:

http://www.lsnjlaw.org/Pages/Non-Legal%20Resources/DV-Emergency-Resources.aspx#.V_Ftq6TD8m8

Hang in there, you and your family will get through this.


Title: [GA] Got the Robocall that broke the Camel's Back, looked them up beyond their number spoofing, and found what they were doing is illegal.

Question:
Okay, so a few months ago I got a phone call asking about SEO services for my business.

a) I do not have a business
b) These guys mine ICANN for contact information and Robocall people's brains out
c) I asked for them to stop contacting me clearly

A few weeks later, I start getting robocalls from the same number.  I picked up occasionally to ask them to stop.  When I called back the number didn't accept calls or have voice mail.  Later a new number started calling with the same message.  I have over 20 documented phone calls from this company, and finally got sick of them leaving missed calls on my phone.

I filed an FTC complaint, and did enough detective work to figure out they were based out of California, and spoofed numbers to appear local.  I called them and basically ran through questions that proved they were behind the calls.  I asked so you were using XXX-XXX-XXXX and YYY-YYY-YYYY, and things to confirm they were the company.  Which they were, and they said they would remove my number from their list.

I know there are fines involved with calling people after they ask for you to stop, and it had gone to the point of harassment.  Besides getting them fined by the FTC is there any basis to sue them for harassment?

They do this a lot, and more than for personal gain i really want to stop these people from bugging people.  They also run a scam business and screw over their customers according to their Google Reviews.

Any ideas?

Update: I found the AMA for the TCPA lawyer, and there are multiple class action lawsuits against these guys.  They're probably going to lose and become bankrupt.  They don't seem to have any legitimate business anyways and every review says they are a total scam for the services they provide.

I found them by googling the junk/spam/harassment logs online, and someone had gotten through to a person and buttered them up until they said where they were from.  The scale at which they were illegally robocalling is pretty big as there were hundreds in my Area Code alone (404 which IS the Main Atlanta Area Code) so I can't imagine they aren't doing this on a grand scale.   My only goal was to get them to stop, and I think that'll be in the works now.  Remarkable how they still called me yesterday with all of this going on.  I'm pretty sure this all a ploy by the makers of blood pressure medication.

I'm not going to identify the company, but I posted the comment thread in the TCPA AMA if you are interested.

TLDR; if you get a few robocalls, wait until you get a person on the line and talk to them until they tell where they are from.  Post this to as many online scam trackers as possible to empower others.  Any robocall to your cellphone is illegal unless you provide written consent, text messages too.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Look up the TCPA. There are many stories of people successfully suing companies for harassment/something else based on it. I'm sure you can find examples via google. Answer #2: >I filed an FTC complaint, and did enough detective work to figure out they were based out of California, and spoofed numbers to appear local

Can you tell us please how you figured out who was behind the spoofed numbers?  I'm sure a lot of people would find that info useful.  ThanksAnswer #3: so evidently robocalling or dialing any Mobile Phone is by default illegal without written consent.  If I were to settle rather than class action, what should I do?


Title: Found a finger/ toe nail in my tea. Jokes are cool, but real advice is cooler.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Complain, ask for a refund or replacement, and move on.Answer #2: You can take the item back to the restaurant for a replacement or a refund.  You can also notify the corporate headquarters of the issue and/or your local health department.  That's pretty much the extent of your recourse.


Title: [WA] Injured on the job. HR wouldn't accept complaint then forged one in my name then fired me.

Question:
This is ridiculous. Both the events that occurred and this wall of text.

&#x200B;

I worked for a very large and well known package delivery company as a courier. While on the job, I was rear ended by a distracted driver going very fast. After a couple doctor's visits it was determined I have at the very least soft tissue damage in my neck and shoulder. I was given weight restrictions.

&#x200B;

I returned to work and showed my restrictions to the OPS manager before morning sort. He just looked at me and said "I don't care." I asked where I was that day as I was a swing courier, covering any possible route in the station. He got a grin on his face and put me on a notorious heavy route that delivers to an industrial sector. I mentioned my restrictions again and he said "I don't give a fuck. I was hoping to ruin your day and make it worse." This was witnessed by other couriers who asked him "WTF, why is the injured person being punished?" He walked away. I asked the senior manager if this is right, he just said "Oh thats just XXXXX, everyone knows how he is. Just take your pain pills." The OPS manager was standing there still. I said "My pain pills are narcotics, I can't drive and take them." Senior manager said thats what he does and they both laughed.

&#x200B;

I had a miserable day and something didn't feel right so I went to Urgent Care after work. My restrictions were lowered even more. Too low in fact  to meet the lift requirements (75 lbs) for the job. I was told by one manager that I'd be put on light duty. OPS manager said that would absolutely not happen. The first manager who said I would be on light duty then said I could go on short term disability. That night I had a massive gallbladder issue out of nowhere and it needed removed. Three days later I had the surgery. The day after it was removed, HR called me and said I had no right to not be at work. I explained the situation and that another manager said I could go on short term disability. She said I need to stop being so lazy and get back to work. So I returned.

&#x200B;

I had several physical therapy an doctor's appointments scheduled. I would schedule these for early morning or late afternoon so I was available for my shifts. Often times, the OPS manager would call me while I was at my morning appointments an yell at me. I would put him on speaker and let the doctor or therapist listen. I was still in pretty severe and constant pain but my employer acting like they were doing me a favor for employing me and I better not mess it up.

&#x200B;

We're now to the beginning of February. OPS manager puts me in a truck with no heat. He said the cold would be good for my neck. HR said I had to do it. I ran that route for 2 weeks. Other couriers could see how miserable I was and kept asking me why I was there. HR wouldn't accept any complaints from me. I came in on a Friday and OPS manager told me to stand at the end of the belt and stack a huge bulk shipment. This was around 400 packages ranging from 45-90 pounds, most of them being over my restrictions. I mentioned this to him, and again got a "I don't give a fuck."

&#x200B;

I felt a pop in my neck and tingling down my arm about an hour into the sort. I told the OPS manager and senior manager I was leaving and going to Urgent Care. They rolled their eyes. Urgent Care ordered an MRI and put me on 25 pound weight restriction. The one manager who was trying to help me out had me fill out FMLA paperwork and I went on short term disability.

&#x200B;

MRI showed I bulged 4 discs in my neck and had moderate soft tissue damage. X-RAY showed my neck was all out of whack. Over the next three months I went through PT, massage, and a slew of doctor's visits. An independent medical exam ordered by my employer's third party workmans comp insurance determined I could probably return to work. My doctor disagreed with them stating I was still injured and when I returned the previous times my manager was negligent and retaliatory.

&#x200B;

The workman's comp insurance then had me sit for 10 months. I am now on long term disability. No doctor's visits approved except check ups and prescription refills. No procedures approved. Not even PT. My doc wanted to pursue trigger point injection, possible nerve ablasion, and wanted me to go to some nerve and pain specialists. Note: after the first round of prescriptions, I refused opioids. I would have accepted them if my doctors could say "this is what's wrong and it'll be fixed in so many weeks/months." They could not properly diagnose me and told me tthis is likely permanent pain. I would not accept permanent opioid prescriptions.

&#x200B;

 Finally insurance approved an extensive work rehab pt. This lasted several weeks and culminated in 40 hour weeks in physical therapy. Therapists helped me quite a bit but said I'd never fully recover. I finished, the state gave me partial disability on my neck and shoulder, and I was released for work.

&#x200B;

At this time were 18 months after the accident. HR finds me a position in my station. I say I want to file a complaint against OPS manager. I'm asked why would I do that? I give a short version of the story above. I am told by HR that she will absolutely not accept a complaint from me. I ask what will they do to prevent OPS manager from retaliating and injuring me worse. She suggests I can ask him nicely to not do it again but she will not accept a complaint. I tell her this sounds like a hostile work environment and I will go to the department of labor. She asks me not to do that because it will make her job a lot harder. She gives me a time limit to accept the job. I tell her I cannot unless that OPS manager has nothing to do with me or my work. I would not ever feel safe.

&#x200B;

I try to submit a reasonable accommodation form stating my grievance with the OPS manager and it is rejected twice. I wanted to extend the deadline as I was still undergoing pain management and also seeking permanent restrictions. The deadline comes and I am fired. I am then emailed by HR paperwork to fill out for a complaint. I call her and ask why would I now fill this out? She had told me she'd never accept it. A couple weeks later I get notice of my complaint being received and they will take it "very seriously". I call corporate HR and they say they have my complaint in their hands with my signature on it. I say that's impossible and tell them why. I ask for a copy of the report. They tell me I will need a lawyer and end the conversation. I receive another letter informing me they investigated the claim and found no wrongdoing.

&#x200B;

I retained a personal injury attorney initially, just a few weeks after the accident. They are very good and I like them. They have gone back and forth on including my former employer in the case. They subpoenad my employer for records and got almost nothing in return. My employer also wouldn't give them the falsified HR report. They have now settled on not pursuing my employer but will be pursuing the insurance of the person that hit me. They feel wrapping it up into one case would muddy the waters.

&#x200B;

I have talked to another employment attorney who was very interested but said by me not accepting the job in the end I don't have a very viable case. I have a couple years still to figure out an employment case. I documented all my interactions with my managers, who witnessed them, and those witnesses have said they would testify.

&#x200B;

Is the attorney correct? Do I not have a viable case? If me not accepting that job ruins a case, so be it. I am in constant pain and I was not going to subject myself to that company any longer. I will answer questions to provide more detail if necessary.

Answer:
 Try another employment attorney. Sounds like the one you got isn't interested in helping you or making money.Answer #2: Get a new lawyer if you're unsatisfied with your current employment lawyer.

I don't know what the fuck he thinks he is going to do with insurance of a private person.
There isn't enough reasonable documentation currently to support such a claim in their eyes.

>They have gone back and forth on including my former employer in the case. They subpoenad my employer for records and got almost nothing in return. My employer also wouldn't give them the falsified HR report.

Have you even been in front of a judge yet?

>I don't have a very viable case.

Yes he's right, your current lawyer seems to have a serious lack of effort.Answer #3: Not sure if I got the right company but if its the same one I work for, did you try to GFT it? That skips your district and goes straight to the big guys (you know where).Answer #4: You need a workers compensation attorney.


Title: Employer won't let employees discuss wages

Question:
Texas, United States.

I just got hired at a new job, and I was one of several new people hired at the same time. We had a meeting where we signed our official offer letters, and during this, our top manager told us that we are under no circumstances to tell anyone else what we make. If we tell someone else what we make, we can be fired. This made me feel uncomfortable.

So my question is, can they really ask us not to discuss wages? This is a fairly large company. And if they are telling us we can't do this, is there anything else I should be on the lookout for to protect myself?

Answer:
 The National Labor Relations Board has ruled against forbidding employees to speak about their salary.

However, you just started. Don't stir up shit already.


Title: [TX] PhD terminated while friend was away due to maternity

Question:
My friend was doing her PhD. She had finished all her classes and passed her qualifiers. The only thing that was literally left for her graduation was completing the write-up of her thesis.

During the early process of writing her thesis, she got pregnant and, naturally, had to put the doctorate on pause. The pregnancy was, in particular, problematic, as she was hospitalzied for long periods of time. There was a high risk that the baby would not make it. The baby was born about 3 months pre-mature and remained in the hospital under supervision for the next 2 months.

Following the departure from the hospital, she had to relocate to another city in the state, and had difficulty finding trustable babysitter. This was further made difficult because of the premature nature of the baby. The couple naturally felt further obliged to give full attention to the baby.

I believe her pause lasted for about a year and a half, when her professor decided to "kick her off" the team. I'm not sure of the formalities, but basically, she could still return to the program, but would not be allowed to complete her thesis and graduate as a PhD. I think her only options are to give up all claims and dropout completely or graduate as a masters. The problem with the latter is you are already rewarded a masters in her program after the first 2 years or so. She also does not have an opportunity to start fresh with another professor, unless she repeats another 2 years. (I believe they let her keep some of the basics and nothing else. She would have to pass quailifiers once again).

So all the hard work she put in seems to have gone to waste. Is there any legal advice that could be given? Especially, since her pause was not due to laziness or inconsideration but mainly due to maternity.

Thank you. I tried to include as much detail as I could. Sorry if any critical info is missing.

Answer:
 Legally, I doubt anything can be done. Her best bet is to petition the department to take her back. If all she has to do is write up her dissertation (which, by the way, is no minor detail in a PhD program) they may be willing to take her back, particularly if she doesn't require financial support. But I have a suspicion there may be more to this than your friend told you. For one thing, I think it's possible she was not all that far along in her research.Answer #2: Not a lawyer, not legal advice, but you say she "paused" the doctoral process. Do you mean she took a formal leave of absence from the program?

Her university almost certainly has a policy on medical and maternity leave, and to maintain enrollment, she would have needed to follow their procedures.


Title: Wife is placing marijuana use above safety of our 1 year old, what are my rights?

Question:
I've made a couple posts documenting the past couple days in another subreddit and was suggested to post here. To avoid a wall of text, here's the links to everything so far.

https://old.reddit.com/r/Parenting/comments/9l726s/ventneed_opinions_i_feel_my_partner_is_being/

https://old.reddit.com/r/Parenting/comments/9lk4wv/update_on_irresponsible_marijuana_use_around_a_1/

At this point I am incredibly concerned about the danger my wife seems to have no problem putting our daughter in and the fact that her family also does not see these things as dangerous issues. I'm looking for any and all advice I can get right now as to what I as a Father can do to limit the danger my wife and her family seem willing to expose my daughter to. Oh and also I'm in California

Answer:
 Legally: your options are to get a divorce, and then file for as much custody as you can get and document the behaviors you believe are unsafe as justification.  It's going to need to be more than casual marijuana use, because it's legal in CA and using legal drugs isn't going to be solid grounds to prevent her from having joint custody.

I'd suggest some couples counciling.  You're getting into screaming matches with your wife while your kids are around.  Regardless of your feelings about marijuana use, that's not the sign of a healthy relationship from either of you


Title: Need assistance in filling out a Juror questionnaire

Question:
I'm in NJ, USA. I don't want to be wrong, but I don't know what exactly the following means:

>Are you employed as a PUBLIC EMPLOYEE (full-time), including by any agency, independent authority, instrumentality,
or entity, or by any political subdivision of the State.

Does this mean someone that works for the government?

Answer: Yes. Somebody who works for a private employer but performs tasks for the government would answer no.


Title: Just got a promotion to "manager" small raise, job duties have not changed, but now don't receive tips?

Question:
FL, Orange county

Posting for a friend, on mobile, sorry in advance for typos!

My friend recently received a "promotion" at his job that serves food to customers.  His job was specifically tending the cash register, making the food, and delivering the food to customers.  He and the other employees split the tip pool at the end of the week with those who worked.  All of the employees were making full minimum wage, not "tipped" wage.

His promotion gave him the title of "manager", small pay raise, but none of his job duties have changed.  He still does the same thing but now does not receive tips.  I was under the impression that if any employee worked a position where the customer tipped you for your service they would be entitled to those tips as well for those hours worked, but all of the documentation I can find list managers as not receiving tips because they "work in the back" or "are a representative of the employer".

Is this legal?  Or is he just as entitled to those tips as before?  He now effectively makes less than before despite the pay raise (because of the lack of tips) while the other employees supposedly under him make more because he's not a part of the tip pool anymore.

Thanks in advance LA!

Answer:
 Managers can't legally participate in the [tip pool](https://www.dol.gov/whd/FieldBulletins/fab2018_3.pdf) (PDF)

Did *anything* change about his duties/authority/etc? Can he now fire/discipline the people under him? He may not meet the duties test

He should be allowed to keep any tips he receives directlyAnswer #2: That is correct... sounds more like he should be a “supervisor” though if his duties didn’t change, he could then collect tips.

If he just got promoted, he might need to give it some time before his training and new tasks start.

He should track his pay with his old pay plus tips. If the tips pay out more, he should show his boss and see if he’s willing to bump his pay. Not guaranteed, not worth a shot.


Title: Newspaper identifies a victim of sexual assault (15 yr old) in PA

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Not identifying victims of sexual assault is a journalistic custom, not a legal requirement. It would be legal to print her full name and age if they wished.


Title: Uncle gave me money and then died. Other uncle wants me to pay back the money. What do I do?

Question:
When my uncle was alive he gave me 4000 for my house and we agreed I would pay him back after a year. After the year was up, I tried to give him the money back, he told me to keep it as a gift. Before he died he also said that if his brother (my other uncle) asked for the money to not pay him a dime. 2 years after my uncle died, his brother asked for the money back at a reunion and I didn't a chance to answer him before a cousin came over and started talking to us. My question is since my uncle who loaned me the money is deceased and told me I no longer had to pay back the loan, do I have to pay it back since my other uncle is asking for it? Its been 4 years. I no longer have the funds. There is no documentation of any of these exchanges. I told my mother and she says I should talk to a lawyer, which I can't afford at the moment. Any advice is welcome.

Edit:We reside in Ohio

Answer: He can sue you if he wants, but he won’t win. Have no idea why he thinks he’s entitled.


Title: Company acquired. Do I have rights if I refuse my position with the new employer in a transfer of business?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Do you have rights to what?


Title: [IL] adding BF to current lease - he has bad cred and eviction, and has no ssn

Question:
Hi all, hopefully some one can give me some advice.

i want to add my bf to my current lease. my lease ends at the end of feb. i would also like keep him on for next year when I re-sign. now the problem: He either has no credit or not so good credit, and an eviction now. I on the other hand have good credit (around 740-750 on credit karma- not delinquent on anything.) and pay my rent on time every single month. I've been a good tenant, there should be no complaints from my landlord.

I spoke to my landlord asking what the preliminary steps would be to get this started. He said that my bf would need to an application/credit check/background check. We plan on being up front about his eviction- i just want to know what the best way to go about it would be.

When we fill out the application for him- do we preface it? We don't plan to make excuses for the eviction. It shouldn't have happened and my bf takes a lot of the blame for that. right now we just want to move on. Should I be very concerned with my landlord denying his application? I will have lived there for a year at the end of feb and have always been on time, is my good credit/on time payments enough to outweigh his bad history? I don't need him to live with me to afford the rent, I currently make 3x the rent amount every month. The rent being paid is a non-issue.

another complication: he is here on a student visa, so he doesn't have a ssn. I have been told he should have a credit report even w/o a ssn, but from what i can tell, a common person can't just pull it up online without a ssn. We don't know what his credit looks like, i assume non existent or not good. Does anyone know how we can look this up so we know what we are getting into?

He also doesn't have a job, because his visa does not allow him work. His parents support him fully. His parents are fairly well off and could pay months in advance or an extra security deposits if needed. But I've been told this can be good and bad to offer to a landlord. As it can be perceived as suspicious/ or a diversion from his eviction? should we put it all on the table when we apply or wait to be possibly rejected?

last part- i want to continue living here next year, regardless of whether and accept him or not. It would be ideal if he could move in with me, but if it doesn't work out he will find other accommodations. Is trying to do this so close to lease ending a bad idea? should I wait to re-sign for next year and then try and add him?

I know this is a lot, thanks all if you read this far.

Answer: I would highly advise you against adding him on the lease. It just becomes a bad situation in the event things go south. What's a better idea is simply to get your landlord to agree to let you sign a sublease or sublet with him. Then you go in and sign your own sublease detailing what he owes you each month, what chores he needs to do, etc. That way, if anything happens, he can leave if you mutually agree to end the sublease without having to cancel the original lease and pay any penalties therein.


Title: Just got a job at 17 is what I'm doing legal

Question:
My job is as a dishwasher, but after that I was told to use an electric cheese grater and then make pasta.

But, the thing with the pasta is its in huge buckets and the water can get over 200 degrees, and is splashing all over the place. Would that count as a hazardous condition or would the electric cheese grater break a rule? Thanks for any and all replies!

Answer:
 Your location is important in determining what labor laws might be applicable, as labor law varies from state to state, sometimes wildly.

Not really sure any state has a law against a 17-year-old working with an electric cheese grater or making pasta.


Title: Please Help!

Question:
Ok so my family is being sued for Defamation of character and I am having a hard time finding an attorney who can help us. Some, who I have contacted want thousands of dollars just as a retainer. So here is a little background as to why my family is being sued. (This is going to be a bit long so please bare with me)

My grandmother passed away back in 2010 and my mother hired an attorney who took the probate to button things up. Mind you my grandmother was already in another lawsuit because she was poisoned by a pharmaceutical company, and was going to win a lump sum award but she passed away before she was awarded any money. This Attorney my mother hired was handed my grandmothers case as it was now a probate and put in to her estate. When this attorney was given the case it was already 90% finished and all he had to do was the final paperwork.

But instead of finishing he slowed things down and dragged his feet causing more fees and more problems for my mother. He would also say things to her like. "You don't seem to understand, We are in a place that has the Good ole boy's club and we are going to take your money and spread it around this town." Now I should also mention this lawyer had full control over the bank account where the money was. My mother did not know it was illegal for that attorney to take the check book and to be given the monthly statement from the account. She was only doing as she was told. Fast forward about 2 years in a court hearing it was found that this attorney committed fraud when he forged court documents and took $80,000 out of the probate estate account. This was all said on court record but the half of the transcript that is needed has mysteriously disappeared.

So in my mothers anguish to get the money back that was stolen from her she made a web page showing what this lawyer did to her and she put the actual factual evidence she had on the page. It should also be known she had past court filings from past clients he has stolen from posted on her web page as well, and not limited to reviews from past clients to.

The attorney eventually found my mothers page and demanded she take it down or we would take legal action. But she did not do that she wants everyone to know what this man did to her and my family. That being said he is now suing myself and her for the web page. I was given the opportunity to sign paperwork pretty much admitting to guilt of something I myself did not do so I cant sue him in the future, Which I plan to do because he has brought me in to this and I have nothing to do with it other then the person who had the page put up is my mother.

Any advice as to what I can do would be greatly appreciated. Or if there is anyone willing to take this on and help us. We don't have a lot of money and I am willing to do what ever paperwork is needed if I can be guided as a pro-se litigant. I should also say this is in Florida in the Ocala area.

 Thank you for your time to read this.
   DJ.

Answer:
 You can pay for an attorney. Going pro se is not an option for you guys, since you clearly don't know anything about the law or the legal process.

Also, I highly recommend eating at Ipanema Brazilian Steakhouse -- it's the best in the area.

While I can recommend great restaurants in Ocala, you'll have to find an attorney one using something other than this sub -- we don't work for or refer to anyone here, and if we did, we'd charge the same as the quotes you've been getting.


Title: Open Container advice

Question: I was drinking at a college house and I took the side walk to get around.  Right as I stepped foot on the sidewalk the police detained me and charge me with open container. I’m thinking the best route to argue is that my drink may not have contained alcohol but I’m looking for alternative routes. Thanks

Answer:
 Your defense plan is lying to a judge?

Did the officer smell the drink?

Answer #2: So, you want to be charged with perjury too? No. Get an attorney.


Title: [GA] Can I request my ex-husband undergo a psych eval?

Question:
Long story short, my ex-husband currently has custody of our daughter because I'm not financially able to take care of her. I've been preparing carefully (budgeting, researching, etc) and unless something goes horribly wrong, I should be ready within about four months.

Lately, he's been trying (mostly successfully) to keep me from seeing or contacting our daughter because, in his words, I'm "unstable". He claims this is because I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety almost three years ago. Since my diagnosis, I have been getting constant treatment and have been taking my meds without fail, and I have *never*, even before treatment, been violent or attempted suicide. I plan to ask my doctor for a psych eval to prove that I am mentally and emotionally stable, supported by the immense progress I've made in the last three years.

However, would I be able to ask the court that he undergo a psych eval as well, possibly with a focus on anger issues? He has always had a very short temper and when I tried to take him with me to counseling, he'd go for a couple of sessions then say it "wasn't doing anything" for him and stop. He was controlling and manipulative (see above: not letting me see our daughter), and I know he won't cooperate with a psych eval. In fact, I could probably tell you exactly how he'd answer all of the questions.

Also, I'm not ignoring the fact that he's going against our custody agreement. I have it thoroughly documented and while not getting to see or talk to my daughter hurts, especially during the holidays, there's not much I, or anyone, can actually do until I'm financially able to take him back to court. So as I prepare, I'd like to know: can I get this final piece of evidence (psych eval) that I need to put him in his place?

Answer: My ex asked the court to have me psychologically evaluated and the court granted his request, I had no history or anything and even without any sort of “proof” or reason to request it other than him calling me unstable, the judge granted the request. However they did make him pay for it. I know from the experience that to even begin the process he had to make an initial payment of $4k to the evaluator. His lawyer and him picked the psychiatrist and my lawyer and I were able to say yes or no to their choice. However, my lawyer argued that if I was going to be evaluated that he and his wife should be too. Judge agreed and he and his wife also were evaluated. Also on his dime. Each of us was a $4k initial fee and then hourly rate after that. For all three of us (keeping in mind scheduling and missed appointments and then the multiple choice tests they have you do, plus home visits on both sides) whole process took about 10 months.


Title: Apartment complex elevator pinned my arm, permit expired

Question:
Hi legaladvice,

&#x200B;

Yesterday evening I was in my apartment complex elevator, and heard another person walking toward it. I figure I would hold the door for them as a neighborly thing to do. As the door was closing I stuck my arm/wrist out to break the sensor. For some reason the sensor did not trigger and the door didnt retreat. My arm was pinned against the doorway and I was scared shitless I was going to loose it. I tried to pry the door open while yanking it out to avoid losing it which worked but I suspect further injured it.

&#x200B;

I noticed that the permit is also expired.

&#x200B;

What is the advised course of action to deal with this whole situation? My apartment complex has done zero for me in resolving other issues.

Answer:
 If you have any injuries as a result of this which cause you medical bills or loss of income, you may cause for action against your landlord.  You would need to speak with an attorney familiar with the laws in your area, and familiar with landlord - tenant matters to get a better assessment.
You should document the expired permit immediately for your records.  This *could* be evidence of negligence on the part of the landlord.
You should also report the landlord to whomever the government agency that issues the permit might be in your jurisdiction.


Title: Cousin was arrested while he was high on heroin. He was left in jail to through withdrawal and after months has not been allowed to see a doctor - Florida

Question:
I'm not here to talk about his innocence. His crime was a capital one and he's going to plead guilty to take responsibility and if there is a trial the prosecutor will ask for death. My cousin has a court defender but he is very hard to get a hold of.

My question is about whether or not it is legal in Florida to let someone go through withdrawal without access to medication or doctors. When he was arrested he was high and he had a court appearance within a day. After that he spent almost 3 weeks in jail in cell alone. After that he went to court again and then was put into the general population. He had to go through withdrawal from heroin alone in his cell cold turkey and it's been months and he has not been about to see a doctor for his physical or mental health. The jail he is at says they don't do that and he can get that at wherever they send him once he is convicted. But that could be months. Is what the police and the jail did legal?

Answer:
 Heroin doesn't require medically managed withdrawal (it is apparently hellish but not life-threatening). Alcohol and benzodiazepines do require medically managed withdrawal (risk of life threatening seizures).

While being in jail for a violent crime a prisoner will get zero fucks given for a non-life threatening condition. Answer #2: He is entitled to reasonable medical care. In many ways Florida is an east coast liberal state.  In other ways it is very, very Southern.  The treatment of arrestees and prisoners fits into the latter category. What they did was probably legal within the ongoing farce that is prisoners rights in the South.

I'm sorry your cousin is experiencing this, and I'm sorry he did what he did. Good luck to your aunt and uncle and the rest of your family in what must be a trying time for them.


Title: Lawyer who know/love/understand bitcoin

Question:
Hi there,

I had a few questions I was hoping the community could shed some light on or offer some further guidance.

I'm starting to sell/trade bitcoins in volumes 10-20 btc per week and am curious about any legal holes I may find myself in.  I will be basically buying from a 'wholeseller' and trading them.

I'm still pretty noobish when it comes to business on paper, so any and all comments are welcome. If this post is in the wrong place or formatted incorrectly, mods please let me know.

Thanks :)

TL;DR
Buying in bulk to trade.  Any legal hoops?  Should I go ahead and file an LLC or incorporate to limit liability, protect assets and privacy, and use of business checking?

UPDATE: Thank you all for the fast/good feedback!  Will be making sure to find proper licensing protection (thanks /u/mytoysgoboom for coincenter.org), use bank deposits (wholeseller's bank), keep an eye out for red flags, and operate in good faith.  Any and all other relevant comments are still appreciated.

UPDATE:  Thanks again for all the comments.  There's a tremendous amount of red tape surrounding crypto (sadly).  Well back to the drawing board for how to make a buck on the side.

Answer:
 /u/Zapopa  come back!  We need you!Answer #2: Are you buying and selling, or buying and trading? The difference is big. If you're buying and selling to individual or institutional buyers, you're likely running an exchange business and need proper licensing to do so (be prepared to shell out a few million bucks).

If you're just trading on an exchange, e.g., speculating, then no license is required, but you will want to talk to a tax professional ASAP about tracking your prices and gains/losses properly. Answer #3: You'll need /u/Zapopa, as others have mentioned. /u/grasshoppa1 is in the pocket of Big Bitcoin.  Answer #4: /u/Zapopa, are you around to help this gentleman?


Title: How do I take a creditor to small claims court?

Question:
Hi all! Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer:

So I was a member of a gym for a long time, but I severely injured my ankle and stopped going. I was hopeful I could get better so I didn't cancel and they continued to charged me monthly dues. After a few months, the credit card on file expired, and they called me to change the card. I was still injured so I told them to cancel. They informed me I had to come in person to cancel. I said no, the trek wasn't worth it, and they wouldn't budge. My stupid solution was to just say fuck it and didn't give them a new card.

They continued to charge my account and after three months they canceled my account and sent my bill to a creditor.

The creditor first contacted me last week on the 4th of May. I requested a paper bill so I could have documentation of what I am being charged for and what not. I have yet to receive it. I planned on just paying the bill, but they've called me multiple times every day since I requested a paper bill and now I want to fight it just out of spite.

I live in Brooklyn, NY - what are the steps I need to take to bring this to small claims court, or will I definitely lose? Should I just consult with a small claims lawyer? Do those exist? Is there creditors court?

Thanks again!

Answer:
 > what are the steps I need to take to bring this to small claims court, or will I definitely lose?

You'll almost definitely lose.  You admit that you owe the money.  That's all the court's really going to care about.


Title: Father has to confess to crimes he committed but was never charged with for documentary

Question:
For my own sake I'm gonna paint this as hypothetical. So (hypothetically) my dad was running a criminal organization in the 80s and 90s. In '91 he was arrested but skipped his court date. He was still running the organization while on the run. He was on the run for 19 years until 2010 where the US Marshals found him. He knew it was only a matter of time until they busted down his door to his apartment (a white van with a very obvous computer had been near his apartment for a couple of days)  so he leaves the apartment and they chase him down until he decides he's tired of running so he just stops the car and let's the marshals do their job. He goes to court and what does this 19 years on the run felon get charged with?

Failure to Appear.

That's all they had on him.

Fast forward a year in prison and he gets out.
Film maker contacts him offering money for him to tell his story of how he evaded the police and kept raking in cash. The film maker was practically ready to throw every lawyer he could find at my dad so they could consult with him because to tell his story as accurately as possible he'd have to confess to everything he did.

My question after all that context is: Would it be safe for him to do the documentary?

Sorry that this is poorly written, I'm half asleep and tired.  If anyone needs any more context I'll answer all questions  (HYPOTHETICALLY!)

Also sorry if that's the wrong tag to use.

should also probably mention that the offer was made years ago and my dad turned it down but I think there's still interest and im just curious.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: The only answer here is that he needs an attorney to look over everything to make sure all statutes of limitations on ALL of his crimes has passed. No one here can do that.