Title: Living in a duplex with shared utilities, I am currently the only tenant, but remodel on the second unit started last month and now my electric and water bills have more than doubled, obviously due to 3 weeks of power tools and pressure washing. Can I really be held responsible for this bill?

Question:
My rent is $1,200, while average electric over the past 6 months has been $80, and water/sewer has averaged $60.

The other half of the duplex was rented when I moved in a year and a half ago and the lease states that utilities are split between tenants, but since the other half has been unoccupied, I have been solely responsible for said utilities since the old tenant left about 6 months ago. The landlord just started major renovations at the beginning of the year. Now this week I  received my electric bill for ~$230 and water/sewer for ~$110. My personal living habits have not changed a bit, but the workers next door have been using power tools for 8-10 hours a day and spent a week pressure washing the whole exterior and long driveway. It is very obvious where these extra charges on the bill are coming from, and in total it is about $200 more than normal. My landlord is citing the lease and says I am responsible for the full amount since I am the only tenant, but that seems like such BS. Do I have any recourse? I am located in the state of WA. Any advice is much appreciated, and I obviously won't be renewing my lease.

Answer:
 This is probably going to have to be settled in small claims court after you move out or when the renovations have been completed. Don't try to deduct anything from your rent payment in order to recover your dollar damage, unless you have the landlord's agreement in writing allowing you to do so. Nonpayment of rent makes it too easy for the landlord to evict.

Also, I would urge you to contact the City or the County where this property is located and see if this is a properly permitted duplex. The fact that the power is not separately metered strongly suggests it is not. If the electrical service is dodgy, it is entirely possible that it was done without permits. If there are no permits, then the division of the property into two units is likely unlawful. If this is the case then you might even have a claim that you have been provided substandard housing and could sue for 3 months rent


Title: [Massachusetts] 13-year-old rides bike, scratches parked car; what is the liability?

Question:
My 13-year-old son was riding his bike on a suburban street in Massachusetts and fell against a car that was parked on the side of the street. My wife looked at the car and didn’t see any damage; the owner of the car, who was home at the time, didn’t say anything about it; however, my wife got a call the next day saying there had been a scratch on the panel.

Of course my wife and I would like to settle this amicably, but the car is a Mercedes, the owner wants it to be “presentable”, and the owner is only going to get a quote from a single body shop.

The car owner did not send us any picture or more detailed description of the damage, and my wife is now kicking herself for *not* taking pictures of the car at the time. (But why would she? There was no damage!)

My wife called a body shop to get some idea of how much we might be on the hook for. They couldn’t give a quote without seeing the actual car, but they said that even for a small scratch, getting the car back up to its pristine state could involve sanding and repainting the entire panel.

Some of the information I’ve found on the Web [here](http://nationalparalegal.edu/public_documents/courseware_asp_files/domesticRelations/FamilyRelationships/Torts.asp) and [here](http://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/parental-responsibility-in-all-50-states.pdf) suggests that a minor would only be liable for *willful* damage, rather than negligent damage, in Massachusetts, and there is even a question as to whether this behavior by a 13-year-old would fall under the legal standard of negligence. I suppose one could argue that *we*, as parents, should not have let a child inexperienced at bike-riding be riding his bike near parked cars. (But where *aren’t* there parked cars?)

So... in the worst case, if we get hauled into small claims court and hit with a mumble-thousand-dollar body-work bill, what is our defense, and how strong is it?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: I scratched a car with my bike (in California) when I was about your kid's age, and my parents just called their homeowners' insurance and let them duke it out with the driver. If you don't want to deal with the hassle, you might have a similar option.


Title: [CA] I am being sued; my insurance company wants to settle, I don't. Do I have a choice?

Question: I was in a car accident a month ago, rear end, but the situation surrounding the other driver wasn't clear cut. So without getting into the details here is my question. Initially the insurance company refused to pay out but now that I am being sued, they are suddenly trying to settle. I don't want this. Do I have a choice?

Answer: No.


Title: [WA] How to nullify/dissolve a marriage of only 2 months?

Question:
Hello, I got married to my husband on May 11th 2019. We live in WA state. Since then he’s been distant, cold, and never home. He said he never wanted to get married in the first place and wants a divorce. We have no kids, but do own a house together (both names on mortgage). I am the sole income and pay all of the bills. I don’t want him to get alimony from me either.

Is there a way I can nullify (dissolve) the marriage instead of divorce since it’s only been less than 8 weeks?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Annulment is only appropriate in limited circumstances outlined in RCW 26.09.040 - they are rare and you will likely have to go through the divorce process. Because you own property together should consult with an attorney, but may check with a (free) family law facilitator if they are available in your county.

Because the length of your marriage will be relatively short, your exposure to spousal maintenance (aka alimony) should be limited. See RCW 26.09.090


Title: Can I legally walk around my apartment naked with the windows open?

Question: I'm in the US. If my windows are open and I'm in my own home, and my neighbor sees me, can they do anything since I'm in my own home?

Answer:
 This varies a LOT by State ...

In Alabama, you're at fault, unless someone has to go to great lengths to peep on you ...

Whereas in Vermont, as long as you aren't in Burlington, feel free to walk down the street naked, just don't actually undress where you can be seen.Answer #2: if you are not being lewd and not doing it in front of children then it is legal. here in sf people walk around nude all the time in the street. we just wish they would bathe and wipe their butts...Answer #3: It varies a lot by state and city even, that said the general case is that if it would take someone some amount of effort to see you you're in the clear  but if a persona walking by could easily see you then you're not.Answer #4: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/crime-scene/fairfax/woman-flipped-off-naked-guy-th.htmlAnswer #5: From what I've read, it varies by jurisdiction (by state, and even within each state).  The most it most commonly works is that you're fine if you aren't visible from a publicly accessible area.

So if your bedroom faces the parking lot, you're best off keeping the shades closed.  If your bedroom faces the woods and people aren't allowed behind the apartment building, you're probably fine--but still keep the shades closed in case a maintenance crew or something is back there!


Title: [New Jersey] Tenant w/ severe allergies, neighbor smoking pot

Question:
Posting on behalf of a friend. She has severe allergies, and had to move out of her old place due to a neighbour burning incense. Now, at her new place - a non-smoking building - there's a neighbor smoking pot almost nightly and the smell drifts into her apartment.

She's unable to stay the night in her own place anymore or she gets sick. She put a (polite) sign up, and it got ripped down. The property managers have made a half-assed attempt to intervene, but don't seem terribly concerned.

Understandably, she's at the end of her rope. She'd prefer the guy just stop, so she doesn't have to break her lease and move again.

What are her options? Her mom thinks she should call the cops, I think she should threaten to withhold rent... any better ideas than these?

Answer:
 Was your friend guaranteed a smoke free environment and surroundings? How do you know this tenant isn't a medical marijuana patient?

She should most definitely not withhold rent. She can call the police if she wants to, I suppose, but I'm not sure what good it's going to do.


Title: My dad kepps claiming me as a dependent on taxes, i havent lived with him in 2 years

Question: From Texas Ok, so I'm 21 and am living with my fiance. He tried to claim me as a spousal dependent on taxes, but wasn't able to, which we thought was weird as i definitely didn't file for myself, and my mom hasn't done taxes for the past 3 years. So, i called my dad and asked if he claimed me as a dependent. He said he did, as he needed the money to get a new truck. When i asked why he thought it was ok to claim me, he said it was because we ( me and my fiance) had stayed there for a week during christmas. He said there wasnt any reason for my fiance to claim me anyway. So now the coronavirus is going around and both me and my fiance can't find jobs in the town we moved to, so we were excited about the stimulus checks to catch up on bills and get food. Except i wont be able to get a stimulus check because my dad claimed me as a dependent on taxes. How can i keep him from claiming me as a dependent moving forward, so something like this doesnt happen again?

Answer:
 You need to file a paper copy of your 2019 return. The IRS will get it, see the issue between your father claiming you and you claiming yourself, and will then investigate.

Its not going to happen anytime soon. But it will eventually work out.

When you file your 2020 taxes next year you should get the additional stimulus money then. But there is no chance you are going to get it anytime soon if he filed and claimed you on his 2019 taxes.


Title: Can my neighbors plant invasive weeds along our property line?

Question:
(Oregon) My neighbors and I do not get along, are having a property-line dispute (their fence is on my property, lawyers are involved). So along one border they just today planted invasive blackberry, literally one of the top 10 invasive weeds in our region, a weed that our state and the federal govt spend millions of dollars trying to control every year. Everywhere in our valley we try to slow it down, eradicate it even.

Do I have any legal way of stopping this nonsense?

Answer:
 You may want to check local regulations. It is illegal to plant some of these invasive plants. Check to see if it is on the list and report it to whatever agency handles this.Answer #2: If i read it correctly, this link says they have to report the invasive weed within 48 hours of discovery and they have to take steps to eradicate it. https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/viewSingleRule.action?ruleVrsnRsn=158408

Main link - https://www.oregon.gov/ODA/programs/Weeds/OregonNoxiousWeeds/Pages/Law.aspxAnswer #3: Cultivation (intentional or otherwise) invasive weeds / plants are generally an ordinance violation. Code enforcement would be who to contact.


Title: My 18 year old son got 2 DUI’s (both weed) within 2 months in PA.

Question: One was from our local city PD & the other was from the state police  in a different county.  We received his paperwork for both offenses this week.  What options do we have?  Thank you.

Answer:
 You can hire a lawyer for him or you can force him to pay for a lawyer himself.  For multiple DUIs within a short span, I would not recommend going without counsel.

You can also encourage him to get help for his problems with substance use.  I have 0 issues with weed, but anytime someone's use is causing them to commit crimes, their use is irresponsible by definition.


Title: Bank ruined my credit by messing up loan payments. Can I sue?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 If your bank is local, get what paperwork you have together and go speak directly to someone at your local branch.  Be persistent, run it up the chain as much as you can.

If you can't visit, call their customer service and keep pushing it and TELL them you are going to keep pushing it until it is resolved.


Title: [IL] Update on shelter that adopted out a dog to me, found chip for oringal owners

Question:
So I posted [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3aar2c/il_adopted_a_dog_shelter_found_no_chip_vet_found/) a bit ago.

I really debated on calling the owners. Surely if your dog had gone missing you'd contact local shelters/rescues and let them know about your dog right?

I called them, told them that I adopted their dog from a shelter and they just flat out told me to keep him because "he was a shitty dog and we didn't like him anyways." It turns out they had posted on some local FB groups about their dog going missing but they never even had any pictures of him to use on the groups, just generic photos of the breed :(

I couldn't understand how this could be your pet and you had no photos of him but you had him microchipped? It didn't make a whole lot of sense but now I don't feel as shitty about owning a dog that still had owners when I adopted him.

Answer:
 > I couldn't understand how this could be your pet and you had no photos of him but you had him microchipped?

They either got him from a rescue program or shelter that chips all their dogs or they had great intentions before the novelty wore off and they realized they needed to actually train the thing and interact with him.

Good for you for calling and congrats on your dog. Sounds like he's in a better home with you.Answer #2: Wow, they sound like shitty people.  Good on you for doing the right thing, and providing a fantastic home to a great dog!

You should look into getting that microchip reprogrammed with your information!

I am, however, docking you points for not providing pictures of said dog.


Title: If you remove the door from your tenant's flat as punishment for not paying and the tenant gets hurt as a result(e.g. assaulted by an intruder) is the landlord liable? (UK)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 I would be amazed if removing the door were even legal, let alone the liability issues. In the united states typically as bad as it gets is changing the locks.

But when you do that in some places, the LL has to turn over the new key on demand. The point of the exercise isnt about locking the tenant out, but forcing conversation with a tenant who is dodging the LL.


Title: (MN 20yo) Two parents own the house, one wants to kick me out

Question:
Me and my father have budded heads last week and the arguement got heated and he asked me to leave. I responded that although it wasnt my house this is my home and he would have to evict me if he wanted me to leave. He called the police and they said the same things to him about how he would have to lawfully go about doing so. We havnt talked since then and today he served me an actual eviction notice with the county papers and everything. From what i know, this is a notice and not an actual eviction that a cop would have to enforce.

My problem is that i really have nowhere to go but i do have a job and some savings so i would need like 30-60 days to actually find a place and move out. Now i looked up the property records and BOTH parents are listed as homeowners. On the eviction, it was only my dad taking action. Me and my mother are close and she actually helped convince my dad not to kick me out but that doesnt matter.

 If i could write out some sort of understanding with my mother as my landlord for a 60 day lease until i find a place would that placate the courts from actually kicking me out?

The county papers state:

"There is no rental agreement, written or oral. Tenant is the emanciapated child of the of the plantiff landlord, having attained legal age (he is 19yo). The tenant has never paid rent. Tenant refuses to vacate the premises, after being asked to do so."

My dad is also hardheaded so if he's doing this i expect him to not let me off so easy. I also would like some actual legal advice and i dont know where to find that. Im not sure i want to pay $100 an hour for some prelimanary questions so where would i find cheap/free lawyer to bounce some questions off?

Any advice welcome.

Thanks

Answer:
 You're 20 but your dad thinks you're 19?  Kind of irrelevant, but interesting.

Best advice is to go to your dad and set up a plan for you to move out.  If he won't talk to you in person, send him a letter or an email with your timeline.  60 days seems pretty unreasonable to me, so ask him for a 30 day timeline. Once you guys agree, write up the agreement, sign it, and start looking for a place to live.Answer #2: If your mother is willing to go to court and defend you against your father, you can certainly go that route as a defense to the eviction.  To be frank, I wouldn't bet on that.

Practically speaking, you don't want an eviction or an attempted eviction on your record.  You should negotiate a departure with your father as a condition of dropping the eviction suit.


Title: How screwed am I? Lol

Question:
So first off I already have a criminal record in Kentucky, when I was 18 I like got caught selling drugs with a gun (pills Xanax and a handgun that was actually mine not stolen or anything.), so than I went to prison and did my time, got out on parole, finished parole, so I'm not on parole anymore. Lol.

I have a full time job, I also am a full time college student now, I work up to 7 days a week 10 hour shifts and shit, its at night tho so I go to classes in the AM, and well I smoke pot.

So I'm otw to white castle and I havent smoked yet but i had a blunt rolled in my car, and like this cop puts his lights on and pulls me over right literally right after I leave my street lol, he asks me where I'm going and I'm like "white castle", and hes like "ok u know why I pulled u over?" I was like... "No " and he was like something about my license plate light or some shit.

Ok as a felon im real nervous, he asks me why I'm so nervous and I explain cause ive been in trouble before lol, and he runs my background and tells me to keep looking for my insurance, and than comes back and tells me to exit the car and he searches me, he asks if he can search my car and I was like yeah sure, his partner watches me while dude searches the vehicle, we make small talk and he asks where I work and shit, I explain my shit, than his buddy gets done searching my car, and he found my blunt. :(

Well he says I cant have my blunt and than tells me to go back to my car I'm like well, I'm screwed, than im chillin in my car and he comes back and gives me a citation for possession of marijuana, and tells me go to court in 3 weeks.

How much trouble can I be in for this with my current background? I dont want to lose my job and college shit. I worked hard for that. Its been 3 years since ive been in trouble at all.
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 You need to go to your arraignment, plead not guilty, and hire an attorney. You are facing 45 days in jail and fines and court costs.

Also student aid eligibility might be suspended if the offense occurred while you were receiving federal student aid (grants, loans or work-study).


Title: I need a lawyer to please look at this- Wrongful termination/fraud

Question:
I am looking for advice not legal action on this matter\~

I;m in the process of calling every lawyer in my city, as well as about to file a police report but I'm still not sure if I should proceed, everyone I know feels like this situation is greasy I need an authoritative, educated, experienced opinion please and thank you!

I'm going against grown men that have been experienced in this game and have dealt with things like this, this is the first time i've had to stand up for what I believe to be the truth, especially in this legal matter.

The event; Upon mentioning a theft incident in privacy to my boss and wanting to report it,  my claim was INSTANTLY dismissed and discredited, my boss sent me home and fired me that same day.

I have reasons to believe this event was a setup in order to fire me for accusing staff of theft, which I have detailed why I believe that below. Wrongful termination and fraud/defamation.

Here is the incident report/ investigation report I intend to give to the police. I spent 10 hours going through the events and dissecting them.  Personal identification in the report has been edited with \*\*\*\* to prevent identity and retaliation.

My Vaporizor was left on the desk for Thursday,Friday,Saturday...Sunday is when I showed up to get it, placed on the table because I dont like having it in my pocket while doing hoisting work,or where my pockets might crush on the equipment-breaking the vaporizor. I left it there because I trusted my coworkers and the environment, I was going to grab it saturday but it rained and figured my boss told everyone to stay home anyways, I went sunday morning.

The vaporizor is valued at 300$ including  all of the parts, I'm trying to quit smoking.

Upon noticing my belongings missing, checking everywhere, and all the drawers in the desk and then going to ask \*\*\*\*\* about it, instead of the incident being civily discussed and documented, he turned it on me for '' accussing staff of theft '' and used the situation to tell me to go home; get out of here..pretty much firing me while I was trying to make a legitimate theft report, I know I personally placed the vaporizor on that table and left it there thinking it was safe. It stayed there until the last known sighting at saturday afternoon by my stepfather who works there. ( \*\*\*\* )

He got mad at me for naming potential suspects or his words '' accusing my guys '', but how can he say that when I went straight to him to talk about the situation in private, where is the trust in me being able to do that?

I suspected it was the person who was told to clean the desk that morning which \*\*\*\*\* told me \*\*\*\* did.

\*\*\*\* wouldn't have known who owned that vaporizor as he rarely works the season, it could have been \*\*\*\*\* for all he knows.

I suspected the highschoolers (\*\*\*\*\* and \*\*\*\*\* ) to have taken the vaporizor becuase it looks cool and one of the kids ' \*\*\*\*\* ' kept telling me he's leaving in a month to work an apprenticeship, so he had nothing to lose by taking my vape and leaving, but realistically that kid wouldn't risk a criminal investigation like that right before starting an apprenticeship. They would have nothing against me personally because even though I boss them around when they're lazy I do so with respect, If I asked them to do something I say please and if they do the job I say thank you. simple.  \*\*\*\*\*  mentioned the smoke clouds smelling good. I don't think it was either of them. They wouldn't be bold enough to steal something that heavy and colorful that was left on a main desk, 5 steps from \*\*\*\*\* office, while it was \*\*\*\*\* weekend. Meaning \*\*\*\*\* was the only supervisor working that weekend.

Only someone bold and sure of their immunity would try something like this but I trusted \*\*\*\*\* enough and thought \*\*\*\*\* and I had moved on to not suspect him personally.

( I had left the year before to go work construction and I left the workplace immaturely, no call.  I texted him the next season saying I was sorry for how I handled it, that I was just too scared to face letting him down again and call in saying I couldn't keep the job '' I worked weekends only '' and that I appreciated the lessons he has taught me because he truly did help me grow as a person, my work ethic was non-existent when I first got hired on 4 years ago.  I realize it was immature of me considering he has helped me before and that i'm sorry )

He forgave me and let me come back with a promise that I'd stay for the whole season at 13.60$ an hour, and to come back with a smile. I happily agreed.

The way he handled the situation and his wording made me suspect him when I got home and had time to think about what just happened, he got extremely defensive toward ''his guys'' '' instead of hearing it from a neutral perspective or my view. He made me feel like it was my fault. I was speaking to him in the privacy of his office with trust in confidentiality..I addressed the situation straight to my boss as I should have and got shut down.

Upon massive reflecting of the events, and prior. The way my boss handled that situation made me suspect him, who would be the one person there that considers himself bold enough and immune enough to do something like take my vape, either with good intentions to start like safeguarding it until I got back in Monday or that he tried to teach me something but let it get out of hand, and used that moment to fire me. He still siezed my property and twisted the situation if so.

I truly have an instinct he wanted to get rid of me weeks prior and straight up took the vaporizor to plot against me to fire me for false accusations against staff, he jumped on me instantly without letting me speak or defend myself and property, he attacked instead of defending, or even hearing the situation out first.

;reasons for him plotting to fire me- my work ethic was really good..he needed a real reason.

I was late on my third day back due to a technicality.

I look sad most of the time and don't really smile, he said to me twice '' same old guy ''

I made a mistake a week before this current event took place, I had lost a toque that I pretty much wear all year round. I know it's weird to wear a toque in the summer but I don't mind it, when I started wearing a regular hat my toque went missing and I thought it might have been a coworker because 1.) I thought he didnt wan't me wearing a toque anymore. 2.) He said losers wear their hat backwards and I said ''says you'', making him dislike me because I fired back.  I looked for it in all the carts, in the shop incase someone took everything out of the carts and brought it in and still couldn't find it so I asked to speak with my supervisor \*\*\*\*\* in private.

The mistake being, I went to one of my bosses ( \*\*\*\*\* ) and told him I suspected \*\*\*\*\* of taking the toque, '' he wears full DC gear, and now he's got my hat ''  which was D.C branded.

The mistake being, I should have let it go, it was just a toque. No one steals toques. Throw it away maybe, but not steal.

The mistake being I found the toque on my way home down the entrance road that same day, I parked and got out for a look between the shortcuts the golf course has betwen holes.

I found the toque right by the bush...OK...it escaped my cart somehow ...I immediately called him and said '' hey don't talk to \*\*\*\*\* about it, I found it...good thing I pulled you aside in private'' ...''yea''  that was the end of that incident.

The plot being if my boss ( \*\*\*\*\* ) found out about this mistaken claim, he would have surely been mad which I understand- and would have done something crazy like this to teach me a lesson while firing me at the same time using his own motives as well. As i'm still in the probationary period. If he lawfully disciplined me it would be different but he stole my property to try and teach me before he kicked me to the curb, then have the vaporizer mysteriously turn up on the ground somewhere '' if i come across it i'll give it to \*\*\*\*\* .Thanks.''

Further proving his validation of firing me for '' false accusation, stirring the workplace '' and making me look like an idiot and him the hero...now that I think about it even more. I was late on my third day back due to a technicality, I really didn't try to be late my alarm clock actually died, like I was cursed. Woke up late and rushed there, we had a talk and he said by having me come back and being late on my third day that it makes him look like an idiot..to which I replied no...it makes me look like an idiot...which is what I believe he's trying to do to me...

The plot being, using the previous mistaken theft claim to disquise a real theft claim, which was taking my vape and having a coworker clean the shop. Having me come in and not notice the vape where I left it..having me see and question who cleaned the shop/desk and name him as a potential suspect, giving him a reason to blast me  immediatetly for '' accussing my guys '' ...retribution for the mistaken claim against \*\*\*\*\* which gave him a reason/plot to use my vaporizor to teach me a lesson AND fire me for his own motives against me. He sent me a text on sunday July 8th shortly after sending me home stating '' I don't go around accusing people till I have the facts. Regards ''  Referring to the toque incident? I was speaking to him personally and privately in his office when I brought this up...how did I go around accusing people...

Seemingly he only wanted me back for a month anyways while his highschool kids finished their June final exams...I agreed to come back to workfor 13.60$ AND bring my A+ game. I had no reason to mess around. I wanted to be back to work for them. I missed the place.  He was the one who initiated a potential re-employement after I had apologized, he messaged me the next day and asked me if I had found work yet.  Upon first coming back to work I hear one of his staff members dislocated his  knee and that's why they were short staff and needed me there to get the sand bunkers done. Which I already knew how to do.

He was expecting for this to all go down on Monday right at the start of a new pay period but I showed up on my day off to go get what's mine, which surprised and rushed his plan making him speak more than he intended to,  in a time of MY crisis he said some questionable things.

\* He just got back from a vacation on Friday July 6th, and he was in that morning/afternoon to check the course.

On Sunday, July 8th

1. I asked him first thing before asking who cleaned the desk, '' have you seen a vape on the desk ''...'' no ''

\- He's the main boss, the desk is infront of a task board that gets written on daily. The marker is on the desk, obviously close to a colorful nebula designed vaporizor. He never seen it? Having it being his weekend, he would have filled in that board Saturday and Sunday, he didn't see it?

\-He said he never seen a vape on the desk but did he look at the desk either? Friday-Saturday-Sunday morning and see it dirty and ask someone to clean up shop that sunday gt

\- He just came back to work friday from a vacation, he would have been hyper alert looking at everything he's missed, he would have looked at the desk first thing walking into the shop unless he stopped to talk with someone. He didn't see the vape?

\- The timecards are next to and above the desk, he probably checks them to see who's late everyday. He didn't see it?

\- He asked me to send him a picture of what it looks like after telling me to go home so he knows what he's looking for..how has he not seen it.  '' Send me a picture of it and if I come across it i'll pass it along to \*\*\*\*\*.Thanks. Sent Sunday 11:12 AM txt''  If he comes across it?

Between the main door and his office, he walks past the desk/taskboard to get to his office. Why is he talking so passively all of a sudden and willing to help me when just before he was attacking my claim.

\- The vaporizor is a red, blue and orange nebula design and silver metal rested on a dark brown desk infront of a white marker board...how did he not see it. He would have had to reach down to the desk to grab one of the markers left on the desk to write on the taskboard...he claims he's never seen the vape. It was seen there saturday afternoon at the latest known time, 12:30 pm- regular shift hours are 5 AM-1 PM.

\- He's the one who's responsible for taking down everyones old time cards every second sunday morning. Which is right next to the desk which was the same day this confrontation happened... How did he not see it? Did he take the vape while taking the timecards down?

\- The vaporizor was placed on the table, in front of the task board, that gets written on or looked at daily by staff.  How did he actually not see it..

\- Having just came back from a vacation he surely would have glanced at least once or twice at that desk, looking for papers placed, or looking at the previous days tasks and who was assigned. Noticing the vaporizor in the process.

My stepfather who worked there on Saturday, July 7th; told me he seen it before clocking out saturday at 12pm or so, it was there, and it was seen, and if my stepfather seen it ( which he has no reason to gaze upon the desk like a boss would ), I bet \*\*\*\*\* noticed it Friday when he got back from that vacation. Playing dumb. Did he take it?

2) '' Ask \*\*\*\*\* about it I heard him talking about it'', well \*\*\*\*\* was only in friday.  Meaning hearing it friday was either from a conversation they had together upon \*\*\*\*\* returning from vacation and taking notice on the vaporizor.  Or \*\*\*\*\* talking about the vape to someone else, either way \*\*\*\*\* admitted to hearing about it friday, but also admitting to never seeing it on the desk at all when I asked him sunday, even though it was confirmed seen there at the latest 12:30PM on saturday.  And a supervisor such as himself would have tended the task board right infront of the desk every morning. How has he not seen it?

Why would he tell me to ask \*\*\*\* about it?  Why would he tell me to ask another guy about my missing property when I'm coming to him with the situation.  Almost as if he was passively mocking me for the time I mistakingly reported  to \*\*\*\*\*  my toque being taken?

Missing between 12:30 PM; Saturday July 7th to Sunday July 8th at 10:45 AM when I arrived.

3)  I asked him who cleaned the desk and he named Steven.

Being in a hightended sense of feeling robbed, I mentioned there was no reason for him to move what was left there, and that I think he might have taken it.

Immediately \*\*\*\*\* raised his voice '' hey don't accuse my guys, where were you last year? you left us.''   Why would he bring up a completely irrelevant event of that nature during a personal theft report? Why was he already so confident his staff didnt take it, because he did?

I say ''steven was the last one to clean it so '',  he asked steven about it and steven tells him he didn't see it. I asked to speak with steven myself, which I would have just asked what time he started today and if he was in yesterday. I was about to go to the clubhouse and meet up with steven since he was still on the course but first I went to triple check the desk and drawers/lockers..maybe steven put it away. It's still not there.

I say under my breath '' this is bullshit ''

He hears me and calls me to his office '' I heard what you said this is bullshit you know what go home, I don't want that here ''  Why would he dismiss my claim and send me home/fire me. When i'm clearly distraught from being stolen from. I almost started crying infront of him that's how unrealistic he was being I didn't know how to handle the situation and he knew that.  Why would he raise his voice and attack me and command me away when clearly i've been stolen from? From the start of bringing up the situation he talked as if he was already in control of the situation and the outcome...He didn't think I would challenge this, or him.

I don't believe steven had any part in this other than the fact he was told to clean up the shop or the desk specifically, he doesn;t work there often enough to know who's vape that belongs to and wouldn't dare take it for all he knows it could be someone he respects property.

4) As I was walking out the door to go home, I told him I'm not a kid anymore I have to stand up for myself and he says '' I don't know what that means''

Proper answer would have been, yea you're right.

I told him to shut up, got in my car and left. I felt so betrayed.

5) He sends me a text telling me he's interviewed and supposedly taken written reports of 5 people in the span of an hour. Which he only offered me that information after I said he was diverting the situation at hand to beak me out and break me down.

He said he's talked to\*\*\*\*\*,\*\*\*\*\*,\*\*\*\*\*,\*\*\*\*\* and \*\*\*\*\*. Sent at 12:38 PM that same sunday.

. Implying he called the guys back to the shop during the after lunch hustle, to talk to them individualy, and take notes, in the span of the hour and a half or less that I was gone. I arrived there 1045 or so, told to leave  about 5 minutes later.

. He had interviews with 5 people in that timeframe...did he ask them to clock out during the incident questioning? Did he really make them all come in within an hour just for this right after so adamantly sending me off?

6) His text message that formally finalized the firing and my text message requesting his finality on the matter.

My text;  word for word.

'' I need to know if this incident effected my employement status. we both handled the situation badly I shouldn't have swore and you shouldn't have told me to go home for trying to solve an obvious theft issue.

I'd like to come back tomorrow. ''

His text; word for word.

''\*\*\*\*\*.

Obviously it's just not working out for either of us, so I think it's best if we part ways. Good luck in your future.

\*\*\*\*\*''

What kind of passive aggressive text message is that, I'm the one who got wronged here why is he making it seem like I wronged him?

I am willing to give all text records between \*\*\*\*\* and I.

The last text message I sent to \*\*\*\*\* before this happened was Friday July 6th at 1:54 PM          '' If you need extra help tomorrow let me know anytime. I can be on call no prob, I don't have a gf so ive got tons of free time lol ''  He didn't reply to it, probably not wanting me to come in during his time of plotting  the event to unfold on Monday.   I've asked to work some hours each weekend off since I started as I can't afford to live off of 13.60$ for only 80 hours...splititng the OT hours between Saturday or Sunday.  This was the only weekend he didn't reply to wanting me in.  Even though we agreed on being able to work 88 hours.

7) After he sent me that formal termination text, I asked him right away '' did you plan this to fire me''. He didn't reply. Why didn't he reply. If he was innocent that would have been the right moment to correct me and really rip into me. He didn't want to further comment. I also sent another text to him because at this point I was starting to think about his potential involvement I asked him  '' If you were intending to safegaurd my vape to return it monday but it got out of hand we'll leave it at that. No further questions asked or comments, if not it's still on going on my part. I'll have to make a report which I don't want to do. I just can't reason with the fact of how you dismissed me instead of appropriately making notice then and there. Like you were against me from the start.'' He didn't reply.

I spent the last night analyzing all view points and suspect view points, and the main person I keep thinking of, is my own boss.

I really hate to file a report against my boss but he left me no choice with how he handled the situation leaving me unable to defend my name and property there due to being immediately let go, and he himself sparked in the thoughts of him being the one who took my property.

I've been told he can deny everything, including raising his voice immediately and dismissing my claim and my person and sending me home without a real reason.  He can say I told him to shut up as I got into my car but that was AFTER he  attacked me and my claim and told me to go home and that he doesn't want me there, not any moment sooner- I respected this guy and almost feared him too ), but as I was walking out of his office a co-worker  ( \*\*\*\*\* ) stepped out of the washroom...he was there for a good moment because I didn't hear him walk back inside as when I arrived he was walking away from the shop not towards ( He asked why I was here and I told him I was in to grab something I left ), he had to have heard everything. If \*\*\*\* denies ever saying some of the moments I've mentioned if not all of them, I have to hope \*\*\*\*\* old ears are still in tune and that he's on the side of good not evil. I actually almost started crying infront of them both, because as he sent me away thats when \*\*\*\*\* emerged and I mentioned something to \*\*\*\*\* about how he would always tell me i'm the same old guy, '' same old \*\*\*\*, why don't you smile. same old \*\*\*\*\* huh'' it killed me when he said that because I am truly trying to be a better and happier person but it's hard when nothing is giving me a reason to do so.  I started tearing up and walked away to not let them see that, walked to my car- to which I stated I'm not a kid anymore I have to defend myself '' I don't know what that means '' then I told him to shut up and drove off...

Whats messing up my brain is that, If I said everything I wrote down here- as an investigation report that should have been conducted civily between me and my boss, the suspicions would have still pointed to him eventually if he let me piece it together.  It just would have processed slower, I would have been able to keep the job and covertly ask subtle questions or look into their eyes myself- how they look back at me,  are they avoiding me.

I wouldn't have had justifications of putting his name on paper but since he conducted himself so suspiciously I feel he gave me that purpose.

He thought I wouldn't check him or wouldn't have the resources to, mentaly and physicaly and that even if he did displace my vaporizer, he would have '' found it ''...It would have turned up the next day or two, lifting any theft legalities towards him or anyone.. branding me an idiot and his actions justified.

The only reason I thoroughly went back and processed everything so adamantly is because of the way he conducted himself, he made himself suspicious by not defending me in that moment but by attacking and deflecting to a different unrelated event '' where were you last year you left '' I would have never thought anything about our interaction if he calmly took notice of the situation and said ok i'll see what I can figure out and tell me to go home and come back tomorrow as it was my day off.

Why did he seriously have to attack my claim immediately. No chance for me to breathe or think.

I have emailed the golf course GENERAL MANAGER for a termination report as to why I was let go exactly;

July 9, 1:09 PM

'' Good afternoon \*\*\*\*\*.

It's \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*, an ex-employee as of yesterday.

Emailing you in need of a formal report of termination signed and emailed back to me at this address or have it in paper for me to pick up.

I was fired during an attempt to bring up a workplace theft issue. I was told to go home instead of having the issue heard and properly documented, so for my safety I need to ask for a termination report in regards to the exact reason I was fired.

Kind regards, \*\*\*\*\* ''

;His email response to my request; which I noticed something- he didn't address the workplace theft issue, or how I was told to go home while reporting a theft.

July 9th, 3:42 PM

'' Hi \*\*\*\*\*\*. You were employed with \*\*\*\*\*\* for less than 90 days. As per the employement standards act within the first 90 days all employees are in a probationary period. Your employement with \*\*\*\*\* has ended during the probationary period.

We wish you all the best of luck in your future. ''

I am willing to give the email records between \*\*\*\*\*  and I.

I know these people(s) are playing a mind trick on me, but I will stand up for myself as I'm done letting people like him leer and talk down to people that he thinks won't defend themselves.  I'll be 25 in August i'm not a kid anymore.

Please contact me at any time of the day for further questions, comments or concerns.

If you have taken the time to read all that I thank you so much and I wish you all the best karma in the world.

I truly feel something fishy is going on but i'm just a little guy, they're sharks.

Answer:
 OP, I realize that this all feels very suspicious to you. You are clearly very intelligent, so I hope that you can take a step back to really examine yourself here. The length and content of your post raises red flags for mental health concerns. Early-mid 20s is the standard age for a lot of mental health problems to crop up, even if you haven’t had symptoms before. Do you have any family or close friends that you could talk to to get their impression of how you’re doing?
If nothing else, your level of suspicion and difficulty moving past this could be a real barrier to you finding and keeping more work and having stability.Answer #2: Could you add more details please?


Title: Using a fictional place as a band name

Question:
San Jose, CA, USA here

My band wants to use a planet from the Star Wars universe as a band name. Would Disney come after us for that?

Answer:
 Yes. Here's a local case that is infamous in the small town I grew up in.

A bar named itself "The Mickey Mouse". Someone dropped a book of matches at Disney World while on vacation. Someone picked it up and it made its way all the way to the legal team, which forced the bar to change its name to "The Mouse", they then released shirts that said "Fuck The Mouse".

Moral of the story is, no matter where you're from or what you're doing, if it gets back to them, chances are they're going to go after you and you'll have to change the name. Being a planet in Star Wars, maybe you'll slip by unnoticed, but in my opinion is not worth establishing your name, only to be forced to change it because the name wasn't your own.


Title: [Texas] How can I drop harassment charges?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You can't.  Only the prosecutor can.  Contact them and see if they will agree, but they aren't required to.


Title: TP prank by my daughter’s bullies. Mom was involved.

Question:
Hi LA,

We’re an immigrant family living here for the last 10 years. We have 3 kids, 13, 5 and 2 years old. Around 3:30am this morning my baby daughter woke up crying and my wife went to check her out. As she was doing that she heard noises in front of our home. There was 4 teenagers throwing toilet paper and lots of trash in our driveway, porch and garden.

Again, we’re immigrants. We’ve never been exposed to this bully culture here in America. My home has cameras everywhere and we could easily see that the perpetrators attend my teenager daughter’s school and they are bullies that keep making her feel bad about herself all the time.

After cleaning the mess (at 4am), I checked the footage again and I could see the mother of one of the kids there giving instructions. Her car is clearly visible also. We don’t actually know her and never invited her to our home. We never had any issues with her, besides the feud our daughters are having. We never complained to the school or anything like that.

My wife became extremely agitated (what if this is because we’re immigrants and whatnot) and kinda destroyed our night.

We pay our taxes, we follow the law. We’re citizens now. We never got into issues with anyone, including neighbors, and this feels extremely violating.

What can we do? What should we do? Confront? Call the police and show the footage?

I appreciate any insights. Thank you.

Answer:
 Call the police or go down to the station and make a report. Make copies of your security cameras and give a copy to them.Answer #2: You could go to the police, who will likely talk to her but may not take it beyond that.

You could go to the school's principal.  They will likely talk to the kids and consider suspending them.

Depending on your state, you may be able to get an order of protection or anti harassment order against the kids and mother due to the incident.Answer #3: If the principal doesn’t immediately intervene appropriately, go to the school district and the state board of education. Your immigration status is irrelevant. No one deserves this.


Title: [FL] How much trouble could I cause someone who is making $3,900/mo in unrecorded wages while collecting SSI disability and not paying income tax?

Question:
I work with someone who is doing this, and it really irks me to think that I'm busting my ass and paying my dues and they are basically living off of my tax dollars while they drive a new car and go on cruises and other vacations.

How likely is it that they will be held to account if I report them to the authorities?

Answer: Well, if they were found guilty then they'd have to pay it back, would possibly face criminal charges.


Title: [CA] Being sued for a car accident that happened 2 years ago. What do I do?

Question:
Hi!

So long story short, 2 years ago around december I rear ended someone causing damage to this old guy's car. At the time I didn't have insurance but I have it now. (I'm just 20 years old). I gave him my contact info at the time of the incident to discuss what we were gonna do. I gave him my number but I don't think he got mine, he was in a rush to go somewhere.

So weeks,months came and I never got a call back. He said at the time of the accident that it was okay (he sounded like a really chill dude) and that accidents happen and for someone my age (I was 18 at the time) it was okay.

But I never got a call/message/etc anything from him. Until today. I got a stack of papers saying I'm getting sued for 25k. Is there anything I can do? Please help. I am so lost. I am young and don't know what to do.

Answer:
 You didn't have insurance.  You were breaking the law.  This is what happens.

Find a lawyer.  You're on your own to pay for the lawyer and any damages, which wouldn't be the case if you had had insurance.  Answer #2: Yo! IANAL, but I do work at a law office in CA. Important question: was the accident *actually* over 2 years ago?

Because if so, a personal injury suit has a Statute of Limitations of two years. Unless the dude filed a law suit with the courts *before* that time period passed, he's SOL and you're in the clear.

That said: were you served papers, or did you get a letter saying he was going to sue you? because if he's actually suing you, you need to not ignore it. Answer #3: > So long story short, 2 years ago around december

Can you be more specific? December 2015 would be past the statute of limitations, December 2016 would not be.

With that amount, he's probably suing claiming that he was injured and not for repairs to his car.


Title: Crazy ex GF help ASAP

Question: Getting advice for a close friend. His ex girlfriend, moved out of the apartment 2 months ago. Her name is on the lease but his mom is the co signer. The ex wants to throw a party in the apartment that she hasn't been living in for the past 2 months. My friend has been paying rent regularly and doing upkeep with all the bills. What can we do to stop her from doing so. This is very time sensitive and I will provide any information if more is needed

Answer: If she's the one on the lease, it's her home. She can have people over if she wants to.


Title: My uncle suddenly left his daughter and is marrying a prostitute who claims they’re “in love”

Question: Okay so basically my uncle is a white sixty year old Jewish man with some slight aspergers who is living in a YMCA shelter in Chicago. Suddenly one day we realized we hadn’t heard from him for about a month and then he called my family (we live in the suburbs) that he fell in love with a woman who would send these crazy texts to my mom about how they’re in love. My uncle would have no reason to fall in love with this person given that he already had the mother of his heart young daughter around. We think this prostitute is manipulating him or threatening him to take his monthly disability check but every time we call he claims he’s fine. It’s also obvious that he’s reading from a script when he leaves voice mails. Basically we want to know whether law enforcement can intervene if he is in a situation against his will. We called non-emergency and they said they can’t do anything because it sounds consensual and that he could leave if he wants, which isn’t true. All communication to him must go through her phone and given that this woman is nuts we aren’t sure how the handle the situation. I can provide more details, we are concerned. This is been happening since May, 2017.

Answer:
 > Okay so basically my uncle is a white sixty year old Jewish man with some slight aspergers who is living in a YMCA shelter in Chicago.

Genuinely curious, has your sixty year old uncle seriously been diagnosed with ASD?

> My uncle would have no reason to fall in love with this person given that he already had the mother of his heart young daughter around.

Uhhhhhh, that's not how it works.

> Basically we want to know whether law enforcement can intervene if he is in a situation against his will.

Sure. You can also contact adult protective services or whatever agency in your area deals with vulnerable adults being neglected, abused, or taken advantage of.Answer #2: I understand that I am skimming off the top of the situation here.

But, you are not presenting a very compelling argument that he is doing anything against his will.

He does not need a reason to fall in love with a person.  Sometimes it just happens.

Every time you call he says he is fine.

This seems like an awful lot of work for someone to go through in order to get disability checks from someone living in a YMCA shelter.

I like both suggestions below.  Call APS... AND, go take him out to lunch or something.


Title: (Washington)Prior to sale of triplex landlord did not notarize or mention any need of it when signing an 18 month lease. New owners sent letters that not being notarized at execution, we are month to month and sent a 60 day notice for a 56% increase in rent.

Question:
This is a renewed lease from the last year period, our owners liked us so much they asked us to commit longer. The landlady’s age and health really took a turn and she sold this and other properties to minimize responsibility. We have copies of our signed leases and are in touch with the new owners.  Apparently they have succeeded with removing tenants all around the Seattle area with their aggressive methods and successfully emptied the 3rd unit on this triplex.

Landlady is getting in touch with her attorney. Roommate is calling his family lawyer and I’m getting on the phone with the tenants union legal advisors.

We received the letter yesterday. 18 month now month to month. Have 60 days before rent increases 56%.

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: They are correct. In Washington state, any lease over 1 year needs to be notarized. If it's not, it becomes a month to month tenancy after the first year. In a month to month tenancy, the landlord can increase the rent at any time with proper notice.


Title: Is it reasonable to ask for an itemized 'receipt' of how a retainer was used?

Question:
I hired an immigration lawyer here in Utah to deal with my father in law's immigration case and to liason with the public defender for his related criminal case. He required a 5000$ retainer up front which I and my mother in law paid for.

Unfortunately my father in law was embarrassed and would not sign to release information to me until a few days ago when things went down so I was the victim of horrible communication from his wife (not her fault) until this week.

Basically he had asked for another 5000$ retainer that he believes will allow him to see the case through to the end. To start with I told the lawyer that he had to force him to sign the release so I could know what was going on, so he did that and gave me access to court documents online, so I now have a clear picture of where we stand.

The question is: is it standard procedure for him to have a list of who spend x amount of hours doing what that took up the first retainer? And can I ask for it? I honestly don't think he is jerking me around but this isn't chump change to me, I am in the process of selling my gun and a few other valuables to even get this second retainer. I just want to know exactly what I'm paying for.

Is it normal for me to ask him for this?

Answer: Any good attorney will have notes about how their hours were spent. I don't think it's unreasonable for you to ask for a run down. Just don't expect it to be an extremely detailed list. Most of the time it will say something like "phone call to client", "drafting interrogatories" and the most dreaded "research".  Answer #2: Yes its normal to ask.  Just say you want an itemized bill for your records or something.


Title: [USA IL] Email has no unsubscribe button or contact info, is it legal?

Question: I opted in for this email service but after getting one it has no "footer" or anything to unsub. It only has the "From..." and that's it. Tried to read up on email spam and what I can do, besides block the address, and I got lost :(

Answer:
 Not legal.  It violates the CAN-SPAM act if it's commercial in nature but not transaction (i.e. sending you an e-mail telling you what's going on with the company rather than sending an e-mail that says your purchase has shipped).

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business

The e-mail needs to (among other things):

Identify the message as an ad.

Tell recipients where you’re located.

Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you.

If it's determined to be in violation of the law, it's a hefty, hefty fine.  If you really want to, you can report it.

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0038-spam

Instructions at the bottom of the page.  If you actually like the company, let them know first (and send them the FTC link about CAN-SPAM requirements) and give them a chance to fix it before being fined out of existence.Answer #2: Depending on a variety of circumstances, an email without an unsubscribe link may violate the CAN-SPAM Act.

That said, what is your objection to simply blocking the sender?


Title: Old Landlord Sent Me To Collections, Not Because of Delinquent Payments

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice,

So last March, I moved out of my apartment that was in North Charleston, South Carolina. I had lived there for about a year and 9 months. I moved to Iowa for a new job. My apartment was run by an agency and I did all the necessary paperwork for moving out, I moved out early which under their stipulations forfeited my right from receiving my deposit, which I was fine with. While they were looking for a tenant to replace me I was also responsible for the rent until my lease was up or they found a new tenant to move in. It took them only about 2 months to find a new tenant, and throughout all this communication between me and the landlord had been fine. Then I received the itemized list of repairs they had to make.

In the itemized list they listed a 187 dollar carpet cleaning charge but they were apparently unhappy with those results because they then also charged me for 4,178.37 to replace the entire first floor with laminate flooring. In inquired about this and they responded saying the carpet needed to be replaced because of the wear it had sustained. Now the carpet only took up maybe 400 sqft of space on the first floor, as it was only in the living room area. The rest of the first floor was extremely cheap tile flooring.

I disputed this with my landlord asking why I was being charged for the entire first floor being replaced with laminate flooring and why they were charging me the full cost and not what it would have cost to just replace the carpeting with something of equal value. I got a response saying they'd look into it.

Fast forward a few months with no response from them after their last message and I got a letter from a debt collector located in Durham, North Carolina. I did my research online and sent them a dispute letter asking to prove the debt. I didn't hear back for a few months and today got a letter back from them "confirming" my debt. It has all the bills that were sent to my landlord for the services that were done.

I only have contention with this debt because I do not believe I should owe my landlord, now the collection agency, the full amount of re-flooring the first floor due to them deeming the carpet to worn out. I am wondering what options I have available to me to possibly get this debt of 3,706.54 reduced. I've already disputed with both my landlord and the debt collector and now don't have a clear path on where I should go from here.

TL;DR
Lived in North Charleston, SC for almost 2 years.
Moved to Des Moines, Iowa.
Debt collector is located in Durham, North Carolina
Owe 3,706.54 for replacing entire first floor with laminate flooring because living room carpet was to worn out.

Thank you!

Answer:
 Did you dispute w/the debt collector via certified mail? Was it w/in 30 days?

 All you can really do is put the ball in their court. You can't force them to agree that you don't owe them money. If they report on your credit, dispute it there. If your landlord can't legally charge you to replace the whole floor w/laminate (I suspect he can't), the CRA will close the dispute in your favor. If they serve you, be sure to respond. That's the point at which you might consider hiring a lawyer. Absent them reporting on your credit or suing you, this entire matter is nothing more than a conversation. If you want the debt collector to stop contacting you, you can tell them not to in writing.


Title: I recently hurt my back. Employer threatened to cut my hours because it looks “bad” for the store

Question:
North Carolina, at will state. Hourly paid employee with no work benefits (sick days, health, dental, 401k etc.)

Before I begin, I have been looking for a new job already for some time now. I’m not sure what my rights are as an employee  (if I even have any) in this situation.

Basically I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago for consistent back pain that radiates down my legs. My doctor thinks it’s just muscle strains/tension that’s pushing on my nerves. Most days I’m perfectly fine but sometimes, for whatever reason, my back will decide to really hurt and radiate down my legs. Normally this results in me having a limp. Nothing extreme or crippling. Just a normal limp. Heat and Advil usually fixes it and the next day I’m fine.

Today was one of the days where my back really decided to ache particularly bad. The boss has this nazi rule where we are not allowed to sit down. So I’m doing 8 hour shifts with no breaks. Obviously this makes the pain worse, so I was limping probably the last hour or so of work.

My boss decides to come in and notices me and instructed me to leave early. Before I left she pulled me aside and told me if my back didn’t get better she would cut my hours because having an employee limping in the store just “looks bad” and she can’t have that there.

I’m just completely in awestruck that she would be threatening my hours because having an employee with a limp looks too “bad” to warrant having them in the store. I mean I just don’t know what kind of power (if any) I have to combat this. If my hours get cut then I will have a VERY hard time paying for school and my bills. I am currently looking fiercely for a job but I still need to be able to cover myself until then.

Is that something she can really do? Is a “limp” reason enough to cut my hours. Especially if there’s no time off, insurance, or anything else? Part of me is guessing she’s trying to force me to quit without potentially getting herself in trouble

I’m just not really sure how to handle this and would like some advice please
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: To my knowledge unless your limp qualifies as a disability which would warrant reasonable accommodation, your employer can cut your hours for whatever reason they want. Answer #2: She can cut your hours for any reason she wants that isn't protected.


Title: Pretty sure got scammed after a Triple A call to unlock my car. My options? [GA]

Question:
Hey. So I had to drive to Hilton Head Airport to pick up my girlfriend from her flight and I accidentally left my keys in the ignition with the car on as I ran outside in a hurry to stop her from opening the back of my moms SUV full of stuff ready to fall out.

Called triple A and got transferred to what I imagine was a local technician with a New York area code. Guy said he was 15 minutes away and had driven out there 30 minutes after we originally talked on the cell phone after someone offered to open my car for free. Said I still had to pay the 60 dollar service fee so I might as well wait (even though the car was running, and I’m dumb, I know). So we waited. We waited 2 hours with 2-3 inbetween of him saying he was 10 minutes out. The guy finally arrives and pops my door open in two seconds. He doesn’t offer any paperwork and tells me to give me my debit card number and CCV, and he texts it to someone. He began to tally up the “manual fee”, the “size of vehicle” fee, and the service “fee”. He says the fee was 229 dollars, for a fucking 5 second open. I didn’t care as I was tired but I know I fucked up. He just drove off.

My mom called the tech people and was like “wtf??”

What else can I do?

This happened in SC but I live in GA.

Answer: Call AAA and ask what you should have been charged.


Title: My IDIPT mother sent me weed in the mail without telling me.

Question:
I haven't gotten the package yet. I'm in Michigan and she's in Arkansas. She just told me the package she sent has weed in it. I'm homeless and using a Po box. I half suspect she's doing this on purpose so I'll lose my job and have to move back to Arkansas.

She said she has the tracking number. I told her to  right now and have them send the package to her.

From our text messenger conversation, I think it's pretty clear I didn't know. Will a prosecutor even care if someone finds it?

Thanks.
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 > My IDIPT mother sent me weed in the mail without telling me.

Like, by US mail? Your mother is a goddamn idiot. Sending drugs in the mail can be prosecuted as multiple federal crimes, and that's what a prosecutor would be likely to follow up on.

It's very unlikely that you would receive the package. Postal inspectors have plenty of experience in detecting marijuana, and it's unlikely that your mother has taken any effective steps to conceal the contents.


Title: Company offered me a bonus not to quit and stay until such and such date [MA]

Question: But two months before that date they laid us off. I feel I'm entitled to the bonus. Is there something I should do before talking to a lawyer?

Answer:
 How much is the bonus because this might just be a DIY situation given the cost to pay an attorney.  if so,

1. Send a letter of demand to the employer demanding your bonus, which was due to you the day you were laid off.  State that if you do not receive payment in full within 30 days you will sue them for the amount plus treble, damages, legal fees, and also file a complaint with the MA attorney general.  Send it certified mail, keep copies.

2. do what you say in the letter

example of a letter of demand (but this isn't a 93a situation)

http://www.mass.gov/ago/consumer-resources/consumer-assistance/93a-demand-letter.html

then where you file a complaint if non payment:

http://www.mass.gov/ago/doing-business-in-massachusetts/workplace-rights/file-a-complaint.htmlAnswer #2: Did you have an agreement stating that you would receive the bonus if you were terminated without cause prior to the target date?


Title: What is the legality on duels

Question:
What is the legality if both parties consent to partake in a pistol duel to the death?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: Just use paint pall guns or something jeez.Answer #2: The legality of a pistol duel to the death concerns you, but not the fact that you may die or kill another human being. You have some interesting priorities, OP.


Title: NY Expelled from school for selling nootropics

Question: I was expelled last week from a magnet high school for selling nootropics. Nootropics are legal and everything I sold was legal, yet I was still expelled. My school is not religious, so there are no ethical/moral guidelines like "no selling performance enhancing chemicals". I was selling a mixture of phenylpiracetam, aniracetam, pramiracetam, and noopept. These are all legal. Is there anything I can do? I am a junior right now.

Answer: Just for the record, candy, OTC antacids, and Pokemon cards are all legal, but they could have expelled you for selling those things too. You've gotten good advice here, find a respected teacher who supports you, show contrition and that you've learned from your mistake, drop the "but it's legal" and similar arguments, and good luck.


Title: [US-FL] Restraining order for 20 years

Question:
1999-2000 my parents separated and had restraining orders placed on each other.

They were living in Georgia together at the time but the deciding court was in Florida.

My mom then moved to Alabama and my dad moved to Texas, now he’s lived in Florida since 2009.

Neither one has ever expressed a fear for their safety. It’s all about bitterness.

My dads now completely over it all and is just tired of dealing with it for 20 years. I’m tired of hearing about it. It’s forced him to miss my graduations, wedding, and the birth of my first son among other events.

My dad dropped the RO against my mom in 2009, but my mom never dropped the RO against my dad.

My dad is a pilot and is always inconvenienced by security whenever he flies back into the country.

Now he tells me that on Feb 27th of this year she renewed the RO. Can that be true? If it is, I know she’s just doing it out of spite and she knows it inconveniences him.

How long can an RO last? Can she renew it? How can she drop it? If I fail to convince her to, is there legally anything I can do as their child to put an end to the nonsense?

Answer:
 You could start inviting your father to things instead of your mother, and when she asks why, tell her the truth. She renewed the restraining order, so now it's Dad's turn to be invited to things until that order expires. And mean it. Tell her she's been warned, and she wouldn't want to voluntarily break the RO, as it won't look good in front of the judge if she tries to report him.

I bet one missed grandchild's birthday (where you post happy pictures of Grandpa and kids) will make her reevaluate her priorities.Answer #2: NAL but I volunteer with a domestic violence shelter. At least where I'm at ROs aren't given for bitterness.

They may have kept a more civil front for you than you realize.Answer #3: Holy crap! What an ugly situation. I am not a lawyer, and this does not constitute legal advice. But have you thought about appearing ex parte before the presiding judge to ask that he or she drop the ancient restraining order by your mother on the basis that it violates public policy and no longer is relevant? o\_o


Title: Landlord is charging $3200 in (unfair) damages after I move out and is threatening to go to a collection agency. What do I do?

Question:
This is a post for a friend, living in Mississippi. He and his wife moved out of a furnished apartment last month and now have received a $3200 for damages including replacement of furniture, replacement for counter top and stove and cleaning. I've personally visited the house when the moved out and I know the furniture does not have any damage worth total replacement. In fact my friends took pictures of the entire house (as memories) and these pictures show the house is very much intact and the charges are unfair. The landlord and the manager have two pictures as proof of damages. These 2 pictures show a burn mark on a dining table and a dirt on a stove top. Neither of which are worth replacement. And they do not have any pictures of any other furniture in the house. Even after repeated discussion, they refuse to show more proof or reconsider the charges. I need to add that the landlord also decided to not refund a $250 security deposit they had paid. Now they are threatening to go to collections. The deadline for payment is in a week.

What is the right thing to do here? Should they just pay? Or go to small claims court or approach a lawyer? Or is the onus on the landlord to collect the money and should they just ignore all further requests for money and consider that the $250 deposit is not worth retrieving? (They are not worried about the $250. They just don't want to pay the $3200.)

TLDR: Mississippi landlord is asking for $3200 in unfair furniture replacement charges. We have picture proof to show furniture is intact. Deadline to pay is in a week..
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Your friend has right to a detailed invoice of the damages and replacement. Do they have one?Answer #2: Someone will have to verify but I believe you need to be sued and lose the case to have something like this go to collections, not only that but you would have to be missing payments. Landlords can't just their made up debt and send it to collections.


Title: Absentee father suddenly attempting to gain custody of my three year old grandson who I have full permanent custody of. (GA)

Question:
We were served with papers today.  The absentee father is attempting to legitimate, gain full legal custody, and change the middle and last name of my three year old grandson.  We have raised him since he was three months old, and have had full permanent custody of him for just over a year.  His mother signed him over to us after we took her to court for custody.  (much of this is in my posting history)

We have never even met this guy.  He has has zero contact with us.  His father, (my grandson's grandfather) has visited with my grandson about once a month for about 4 hours at a time.  The father probably meets with him there, but otherwise has had ZERO contact.  He does pay child support, which was carried over from when the mother took him to court a few months after his birth.

We will certainly speak to our lawyer asap, but for the time being I can't sleep.  I have such a strong bond with him, I love that child more than life.  How could this play out?

Answer: Hire an attorney immediately. Plan for Dad possibly getting some visitation time.  Get counseling for the child immediatelyAnswer #2: Your daughter ordinarily wouldn't have the authority to sign away the dad's rights. There's nothing to do other than talking to your lawyer. Answer #3: The bad news is it's almost a certainty that he won't be completely denied rights so absolutely prepare the child for contact with his father. In fact I'd advise atleast being open to contacting him yourself, you've never met him so who he is, what he's about and his plans/intentions should be of vast interest to you. You may even be able to work something out between yourselves amicably and simply present that to the court instead of a contentious custody battle. If that's not an option though then essentially you'll just have to dig in, hire an attorney and argue for the best you can get. Answer #4: If he didn't sign away his rights, he could concivably gain full custody.


Title: New York State Noonday Lunch Laws

Question:
I work at a traditional office in New York City. This is my third job in the city and the first job I've had where we only have a 30 minute lunch. I've always had a full hour at my other jobs.

I've actually been working here for a few years and never really thought too much about the lunch rule, besides getting bothered by it from time to time. I brought this up over drinks the other day with some friends, who told me that an hour lunch is "law" in New York state.

I decided to look this up and found this: https://labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/wp/LS443.pdf

I actually cannot understand where my office would fall. A "factory" is required to have a full hour for lunch, but a "mercantile or other establishment" is not (only 30 minutes).

Would my traditional office (we are basically a content farm) fall under mercantile? I feel like I'm reading labor laws from the 19th century (I probably am).

Thanks!

Answer: Legally 30 minutes is it. The one hour lunch has been going away for a long time. If your office has flexible hours you can ask your boss for a longer lunch period.


Title: What can I do about a pesky neighborhood cat? (Ohio US)

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice! I'm having a bit of an issue with a neighborhood cat. In addition to finding my dogs eating cat turds from my back yard, I've been dealing with destroyed flowerbeds, scratches on my car, and dirty paw-prints on my windshield for the past few months and I've finally decided to ask what my options are regarding this annoyance. I've spoken to all of my surrounding neighbors to ask if they own a younger calico cat, and nobody within a 6 house radius claims to own it or feed it (knowingly).

Would it be cruel of me to set up a live (harmless) trap to contain the cat one night and drop it off in a neighboring town? Maybe offer it up for adoption prior to attempting to catch it (somehow) so when I do catch the cat, it has a place to call home?

I am certain I am sounding very picky and maybe even anal about my property, but noticing claw marks and scratches on my vehicles is the last straw, and I want to somehow remove this annoyance, without harming this cat.

What are your thoughts?

Answer:
 Your best option would be to Call Animal control to come collect the furry little vandal.

If you want to catch it yourself with a humane trap to save Animal Control the trouble of locating it then that should be ok, but don't drop it off in a different town or put it up for adoption.

Why?

- If it's a stray, moving it to a different town is only going to hamper the owner's efforts to find it. Similarly, adopting out a cat you don't own could result in two families claiming ownership of the cat - 'X person has my cat, says its theirs and won't give it back' and 'I recently got a cat, now Y person is claiming its theirs and wants me to hand it over' are fairly common r/legaladvice topics.

- If it's feral, moving it to a different town is going to likely cause harm to the cat.  Unfamiliar territory, other feral cats to contend with, it's not going to end well.  Neither will attempting to rehome it - true, some street cats will decide that they want to adopt a family and become a house cat, but Feral animals are generally called Feral for a *reason*.


Title: School District not Following Civil District Court Order

Question: I have a Florida civil district court order for modifying the name and gender/sex marker for my daughter (done pro se). Her school district is refusing to comply with the court order unless we provide further information / documentation which, although we can get, will take several weeks or months to obtain. The court order is clear on the matter and states that all state records shall be modified. How shall I proceed, and are there any legitimate reasons a school district could have to not obey a court order like this? They are making it sound like a record keeping issue (they need more proof), but the court order should be plenty to document the changes.

Answer:
 It is not illegal for them to request further proof that demonstrates that the court order is a legally valid and enforceable order. However, if the district still refuses to comply after the proof has been shown to them, you can return to the courts to seek an injunction against the district.Answer #2: Are they requesting documentation in order to verify that the court order is valid (that is, that it's real), or do that accept that the court order is valid?

If they are not disputing the validity of the court order and are just refusing to comply, that's something that I'd bring back to the attention of the judge. For that, I'd spend the money on a lawyer. He or she may contact the school district to confirm that they are knowingly ignoring a court order, which may be enough to get them to comply.


Title: Wtf neighbors

Question:
I live at the end of a culdesac. My husband plays basketball in our driveway with our son. He parks the car at the edge of the driveway. We have a sidewalk in our neighborhood that is continuous with the driveway.

We just had a police officer stop by and say that he was called and told to come by and tell us the car can’t block the sidewalk because that is a parking violation. Even though our car was still in our driveway and not touching the sidewalk?!

Is this real? I live in Georgia if that makes a difference.

Answer: Yes, no blocking a sidewalk is a pretty common law. The sidewalk is part of the right of way.


Title: Are there any possible repercussions for not inviting my child's father to any/all OB appts.?

Question:
Long story short, I'm 11 weeks pregnant with a man who in no way wants to be a father right now. I have decided to choose motherhood and see the pregnancy through. He knows this, is angry about it, maintains that this is life ruining for him.

We've not talked for a couple weeks now, after him accusing me of having unprotected sex with many guys/not being sure that he is the father, which he undoubtedly is. He told me (via text) to just let him know when it was time to take a paternity test.

My question is exactly what the headline says: Do I have to keep him up to date on progress, appts, etc. since he has shown absolutely no interest in it thus far? I would guess not, but he is also a fairly litigious person who has already contacted his lawyer regarding this, so I'd like to be sure.

I've contacted a few local family law lawyers (Indiana) and no one has gotten back with me yet.
Thanks in advance :)

Answer:
 At this point you owe him nothing.  Until the child is born there is no child, and he is not legally a father.  As an unmarried putative father, he has no rights until he sues for them.  Meaning, he has a court of law declare him as the legal father.  At that point he'll be given visitation rights and support obligations.  A paternity test may be required.  Before you spend money on an OTC test, be aware that they're not always admissible and you may have to use a court-sanctioned clinic.

I always forget to say:  I'm not a lawyer.  I've just done a lot of research on these types of issues for personal reasons.  Of course, don't make any decisions until you talk to an actual attorney.

This will give you a lot of information.  It's the Indiana Family Law code.  Search for "paternity" and scroll through.

http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2016/ic/titles/031/


Title: Falsely Accused of Child Molestation, What to do?

Question:
I live in Kansas, I have been accused by a girl I was once friends with that I molested her a year ago. She brought it up not that long ago and finally just now pressed charges and its been a year since the event in question of when she claims I molested her. I was with a friend at the time too. I already was called in to write a statement to the police. Her story has changed multiple times and I just wanted some legal advice. And it goes without saying I didnt do anything and I was shocked that she would accuse me of this.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: You should hire a lawyer, like yesterday. Unfortunately it sounds like you already have a statement to the police. You really should have had a lawyer then. Answer #2: The only advice you're going to get here is 1) Get a lawyer and 2) Don't say anything to the police or anyone else without your lawyer's approval. Certainly don't contact her at all.


Title: Jury Duty Summons for old address

Question:
I received a Jury Duty summons at my parents house, however I currently live in a different county in the same state (NJ). I never updated my address with the DMV so they're under the impression that I still live there.

I'm supposed to fill out a questionnaire before the date, but one of the questions is whether I live in that county. Should I just (truthfully) say I no longer live there and will that get me out of jury duty? Will I get into any trouble for not having updated my address with the DMV?

Answer:
 You should answer all questions truthfully.

You should immediately update your license, and always keep the address on it as accurate as possible.  You can see the procedure for changing your address [here](http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Licenses/ChangeAddress.htm).

Telling them that you no longer live there is not an automatic get-out-of-jury-duty-free card.

You're probably not going to get in any legal trouble for not keeping your DL address up-to-date, but you may run into difficulties like this in the future if you refuse to keep your address updated.


Title: MA: daycare breached contract, leading to additional expense. Legal recourse?

Question:
This is my first time posting here,  so let me know if there is some etiquette I am missing. Thanks for any advice.

My daughter's daycare stipulates in the contract that if we want to leave before the contract is up to give them three months written notice (excessive,  i know). It also lists reasons they might terminate the contract relating to harm or threats to them or children (very reasonable).

We gave the requested written notice. They later told us they found a replacement for a month earlier and that they couldn't accommodate the extra child because they are only certified for so many.

This has led us to seek alternate childcare that will end up costing up a few thousand more than we would have spent had they not breached the contract.

What are my legal options for recourse? Can i take them to small claims for breach of contract and damages caused? Could i file a complaint with their licensing board that they have too many children in their roster?

Answer:
 The business requested 3 months in advance notice that they intend to quit.  They kicked the child out of daycare after 1 month due to taking on another child to replace OP's child and are now overfilled.  So the parent is upset over the overlap of advance notice request and the dis-enrollment of the child.

OP has not listed the reasons the business can break the contract that relate to this so I can't tell if the business broken the contract.Answer #2: I'm assuming they cancelled your contract to make room for the new kid? Then they aren't over their limit if I'm reading this right....that is why they dropped you before your 3 months was up. Yes I would think you could take turn to small claims court since they required 3 months notice it was reasonable to assume you had 3 months to get a new daycare facility and no reason to expect they'd replace you before that. Answer #3: What is the exact wording of that termination clause? Does it apply to them as well?

The short answer of "do you have a case" is "maybe", though I personally suspect you might just be out of luck. They are perfectly within their rights to draft a contract that says you have to give three months but they can terminate without notice. It sounds like child care is in major demand so part of that may be very one-sided contracts.

At the end of the day it comes down to what specific terms you and the child care provider agreed to.


Title: Can the police order me to strip naked in the middle of the street?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: They can order you to strip if they have reason to believe you could be a danger. Refusing may end with you being killed. You can sue them after the fact, but if they have probable cause then you're not likely to win. Remember they were looking for bombers and suicide bombers. They are not rare in the world.


Title: Harassing phone calls from my ex-boyfriends wife won’t stop!

Question:
I got into a relationship when I was 20 years old with a man who was working remotely in my small community.  Long story short, we dated for 1.5 years and about half way through that time I found out he was married and decided to stay with him.  *I am not looking for judgement or harassment from anybody about this situation*.

After 1.5 years, I got fed up with the situation and him lying to me saying he was going to get divorced so I found her on Facebook and told her.

Things ended up getting nasty and we ended up blocking each other’s phone numbers.  This man continued to contact me every couple of months and tell me he missed me and wanted to be with me, I would entertain it for a while and then eventually end up telling his wife this was happening (spoiler: she did not like this).  This woman blames all of this on me and has stayed with him during it all.

Cut to 2 years after I told his wife, I haven’t spoke to this man in over a year and he coincidentally has to work in my small community again.  I start getting No Caller ID calls 5-15 times a day over the past week (since he got here).  I reached out to him and told him to stop calling me because I had assumed it was him, he told me that it’s his wife and he’s also been receiving the same calls.

I have her phone number blocked and her blocked on Facebook but she is still able to hide her called ID and call me.  She’s also in the past went onto spoof number websites and sent me nasty messages and is calling me from these spoof numbers as well.

What can I do in this situation? I’m basically a freelance researcher and my phone number is connected to work so I would lose a lot of opportunities if I had to change it.

TLDR; accidentally had an affair, things were nasty, moved on with my life but his wife won’t stop harassing me with phone calls I can’t block. Help!

Also I am in Canada if that helps.

Answer: Answer and tell her if she doesn't stop you'll contact the police. If you can verify it's her, you'll have a better chance of the police caring.


Title: What is the intent of squatter’s rights laws?

Question: Or, what is the good-natured intent of laws intended to protect squatters? I feel like I only hear stories of people having their homes broken into while on vacation and having to go through formal eviction proceedings to remove the intruder.

Answer:
 The intention is that someone finds abandoned property and takes it over so that the government doesn't have to handle it. It requires years of openly living there and paying taxes. In areas that have been around longer, it's entirely possible for families to own homes through inheritance they never knew about, so it's in the community's best interest to have someone take the property over.

What you seem to be thinking about is why tenant's rights apply to someone who broke into a home, which is a different issue. Unless they're caught in the act, the government prefers to err on the side of caution, since the alternative is a sleazy landlord removing all signs of a tenant and claiming he's never seen these people before and getting them thrown out of their home with no notice. You're seeing a very small number of instances of this happening. You hear about them because they're so rare and surprising.


Title: Lost Job Offer Due Driving History

Question:
My driving record is keeping me from obtaining a job. I am a broadcast journalist, and tv stations require reporters to drive the stsation's cars under their stations insurance.

I have not had any major convictions, but they occurred in Virginia where it seems impossible to seal or expunge violations.

I have had four speeding tickets in the past three years. And my license was suspended last summer because of a failure to pay fines of a HOV violation I received.

I currently don't have any points on my license, but my motor vehicle history has still lost me jobs.

Is there anything at all I can do to improve my driving record??

Answer:
 Four tickets in three years plus an HOV violation is quite a record.

You're not showing a pattern of behavior to give a company reason to trust you with a company vehicle.

Drive better, wait longer.


Title: Is there any legal way Trump could force Twitter to restore his account?

Question:
I don't think so, 1st amendment does not apply to private companies. There are many cases Johnson v. Twitter, Loomer v. Twitter, FAN v. Twitter, Brittany v. Twitter, Jared v. Twitter, Murphy v. Twitter, Prager v. Google... But some Spanish judges say otherwise, although I doubt US law.

Can a judge argue other violent accounts are not banned, so his shouldn't be?

Can a judge argue that since his account is a public forum (Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump), it should be shielded from bans? It's of public interest?

Answer: They’re a private company and can do whatever they want.


Title: [BC, Canada] Brother assaulted me, I declined pressing charges so his life wouldn't be ruined and he moved out but now my parents are letting him back in the house. Is there anything I can do to keep him away?

Question: So a couple months ago my brother [25] assaulted me when I [27] tried to get my parents to stop arguing. The police came and arrested him but I told the police that I would instead not testify against him (which would mean the police wouldn't have enough evidence to charge him and they would simply let him go) on the condition that he moved out. Well he moved out and now two months later, my parents are allowing him into the house again. I didn't want to ruin his life but I still don't want anything to do with him. Is there anything I can legally to keep him away? I live in Vancouver, Canada.

Answer:
 You're an adult, you move out. Your parents can allow anyone to stay in their home they wish.

If you don't want to be around him, your recourse is to remove yourself.


Title: What stops a person from suing another over and over again after an accident?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: This isn't supposed to happen. The doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel are designed to prevent re-litigation of cases and issues, respectively.


Title: Hotel is screwing me over 584 dollars. What can I do?

Question: I'm on vacation. I went to this nice hotel that charges 189 a night. I'm here for two nights. They said they wouldn't charge me till after my stay. I checked my bank account and now it says they've charged me 584 dollars. No where on the contract did it say they would do that. Except a 20% deposit for damages refundable, which would be 74 dollars. I now have no money for my vacation, or to get home since it take 3 business days with bank for refund of the 584 down to 378 total for two nights. What can I do to get the 200 some dollars back they stole?

Answer: Let me guess, [you gave them a debit card instead of a credit card](http://lifehacker.com/5815138/why-you-shouldnt-use-a-debit-card-when-paying-for-a-hotel-or-rental-car)?


Title: Was arrested and charged with faking a police report. Need help.

Question: I’m an 18 year old, I go to college. The other day I got so worked up and I genuinely believed I got mugged. Which was false, but I believed it was true because, according to a therapist, of a high stress and low sleep hallucinations. I was called in today and they put me under arrest for falsifying a police report. I did not intentionally fake the police report as I believed it was real up until the detective showed me footage of it, in which it shows nothing but me walking. I feel really bad about it, and I did not intend to lie, as I am not a liar. I hallucinated it, however the policeman believed I did not.  I’ve had immense amount of personal/family stress and barely any sleep before it happened.  I was compliant with the police and answered all of their questions. They gave me charges and I got a court date. I’m terrified. What will happen to me? Like what should I do? Am I going to jail? Is my future ruined? Should I try to fight this?

Answer: You need both a lawyer to defend you and a doctor to corroborate your symptoms.


Title: My dad bought my car with my money under his name. Says he's keeping it. Won't repay me.

Question:
I saved up enough money to get a $1,200 Buick. My dad was able to get the money out of my bank at the time because I was a minor, and he paid for the car with my money and proceeded to put it under his name. I planned to go with him to sign for the car but he went while I was at school. Now he says that it's not my car, he's keeping it for himself, and has said several times that he would pay me back but has forgotten to each time. He won't even let me have the proof of paid insurance for work because he doesn't approve of me using the car to be a delivery driver for local pizza chain since it's his car.

The biggest issue with this is that he's warned me that if I continue my relationship with my boyfriend that he would kick me out of the home. My boyfriend is now my fiance. That's the only car that I have. I'm worried that when I get kicked out that he'll have me arrested for grand theft auto if I take my car to leave. I don't know what to do.

Answer: You can sue him. You are correct you could be charged with a crime for stealing his car.