Title: Greedy mom won't accept child support terms. Can I take the check from my father personaly?

Question: My dad is about a year behind on child support but my financial situation is just fine. Just today he contacts me and claims his employer messed up and they are willing to start paying again and pay extra to catch up. My mom won't accept it and wants to go to court to get the amount increased. It's roughly 400$ per month and all I'd use it for would be a car payment for my own vehicle since she can't afford one for me. I was planning on purchasing my own car anyways and this would just help me out. I am perfectly fine with the amount and want to see if my dad will direct deposit it I to my bank account. Can I do this? I'm 17 and live in Alabama.

Answer:
 Your mom is the only one in this story who isn't greedy. She's been paying full freight to support you while your deadbeat dad is avoiding his obligation, so you want to take that money from her to pay for a luxury item?Answer #2: No. Assuming there is a support order, the payment needs to be made to your mother.

And really: you'd throw your mother under the bus for this? You do understand that it's not just about your car payment? She's providing you housing, utilities, food etc. And that's what your father should be paying for.Answer #3: Your father owes the child support to your mother not to you.  He can give you any amount of money he wants, but he will still owe your mother the same sum.
Answer #4: No you cannot. You are a minor and the money is to go to your mother for her to use for your care as she sees fit.

Sorry!


Title: Converting a firearm for display in felon's home

Question:
My father-in-law, who is a felon living in Illinois, recently discovered his dad's prized shotgun. He was curious if there was anything he could do (such as rendering it inoperable) so that he could possess and display it legally.

I personally thought the BATFE sees it as "once a firearm always a firearm" unless it is demilled to their specs.

Thanks for your help!

Answer:
 It's always best to use the laws of the individual state, not the general US definitions. From [720 ILCS 5/24-1.1](http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=072000050K24-1.1):
> It is unlawful for a person to knowingly possess on or about his person or on his land or in his own abode or fixed place of business any weapon prohibited under Section 24-1 of this Act or any firearm or any firearm ammunition if the person has been convicted of a felony under the laws of this State or any other jurisdiction

There's the law that specifically relates to your father-in-law. The Illinois [definition](http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1657&ChapterID=39) of firearm is:

> "Firearm" means any device, by whatever name known, which is designed to expel a projectile or projectiles by the action of an explosion, expansion of gas or escape of gas; excluding, however: . . . (4) an antique firearm (other than a machine-gun)
which, although designed as a weapon, the Department of State Police finds by reason of the date of its manufacture, value, design, and other characteristics is primarily a collector's item and is not likely to be used as a weapon.

If you can get the gun classified as an antique firearm by rendering it inoperable by a trained gunsmith, you may be able to meet the definition of a collector's itemAnswer #2: How about you just take a really nice picture of it, have it framed, and hang that on his wall? Then have the firearm on display at your house or some other close relative he can visit whenever he wants.


Title: I, an ebay seller, am being sued for selling counterfeits?

Question:
Hey guys, I am an eBay seller.  Basically I find good items off Amazon and resell them on eBay.  My paypal was recently suspended and eBay said they got a court order to do so.  It seems I am being sued now for selling counterfeits.

https://www.ferencelaw.com/lawsuit/airigan-artifacts/

The above link is what they send me, all the legal docs are also on the bottom of the page.

https://www.amazon.com/NEGG-BOILED-EGG-PEELER-RED/dp/B01MT9U0HK

The link above is the item in question.  Not sure if it is a counterfeit or not, but if it was I had 0 idea it was.

It seems that 5 other sellers also got sued and 1 of them even reached out to me.  The other sellers are telling me they are demanding $2500 to settle.  I have only sold 1 unit of this item and that was to the laywer suing me, so I really dont want to pay for it.

It seems they are suing me in Pennsylvania, but I live in Canada, so I dont think I can even make it to the court date set ( I think in the documents it says Nov 28, but theres a lot of legal terms).

I have about $1700 locked up in my paypal account and not sure too its even worth hiring an attorney.  If I pay the settlement, I'm scared they will come after me again for another random item.

Really need some ideas.  Thanks guys.

Answer:
 This is a complicated situation.

Basically, it looks like the original manufacturer sued a counterfeit manufacturer for infringing their IP.  They got an injunction (court order) preventing the infringer from reselling their product.

You (presumably) were not a party to that suit and so you shouldn't have been barred by the injunction.

The best advice is for you to hire an attorney.  Unfortunately it's probably not worth the money to hire an attorney.

There are some avenues to attack this, but that strays too close to the attorney-client relationship and I don't know enough about all of the facts.

Some thoughts:

* The court doesn't have jurisdiction over you as a Canadian citizen

* They may not have IP rights in Canada, so their recourse is against the seller

* Even if you are liable, the seller provided you with an implied warranty of noninfringement so you should be able to recoup your losses from the seller

But you would need a lawyer to explore whether these are legitimate avenues for you to pursue.Answer #2: OP, did you look at the reviews of that item whatsover? There are literally reviews from 2017 talking about how this isn't from the original company in Connecticut and buying these are a scam.

&#x200B;

Legally even if you had an avenue to fight this, it would be hard to argue you couldn't have known seeing as there are comments on the product stating its inauthentic. I know a lot of people that drop ship and this is unfortunately the problem with it. You can't verify authenticity.Answer #3: Are you drop shipping or actually reselling the products, boxing and shipping them yourself?


Title: Bought a used car with "no problems" from a private seller and the check engine light came on as I was leaving the parking lot after buying it.

Question:
So, I live in Alaska, and I bought a car nearly a month ago off of Craigslist from this guy who seemed trustworthy. He told me that it had been a family car for years, and he hadn't had any problems with it. He let me take it to a mechanic to get it checked out and they noticed some leaks, but they didn't know how serious they were because the engine had been cleaned. The car was listed for 5500, but he sold it to me for 4000 to fix some problems on it, insisting that he'd never had any trouble with it, and that the repairs to be made were most likely preventative, and not immediate emergencies. He also said that he never noticed any leaks. He also told me that all maintenance had been done on schedule, and that it had been garage kept.
He met me at the bank to give them the title so I could get a loan, and then we exchanged money and parted ways. Before I was even out of the parking lot, my check engine light came on. I asked if we could undo the deal if it turned out to be catastrophic, because he said there were no problems with it, but he said no trade backs.
Turns out the car has about $6000 worth of repairs that need to be made, it leaks oil like crazy, and the car is undriveable. I have talked to 5 mechanics who said (and we're willing to put in writing) that there's is no way he couldn't have known about the leaks, and that the check engine light had to have been reset. Also, while I was super cleaning the inside, I found a receipt under the drivers seat that shows that the car had been bought from an auction a week before he sold it to me. He now won't answer my calls. It turns out that EVERYTHING he told me about the car was and its history was a lie.
I'm wondering if someone could tell me whether I could get my money back in small claims court with the mechanics' letters and the receipt from the auction lot that I found as enough evidence?

Answer:
 > that the check engine light had to have been reset

The mechanic that inspected this could have easily verified it. All he does is plug in an OBDII reader (which literally every mechanic will have) and it will indicate 'readiness' state (basically an indication if the check engine light has been reset recently). If the car hasn't completed a successful drive cycle, it should throw huge red flags. On newer cars, you can even see when the last time the codes were reset as.

>  found a receipt under the drivers seat that shows that the car had been bought from an auction a week before he sold it to me.

I'm guessing the title wasn't in his name, either.

Basically, you just fell prey to a curbstoner. You did the right thing by taking your car to a mechanic, but said mechanic was not sufficiently thorough (unless it was a pre-95 car).

You, unfortunately, do not have any recourse. Sales are as-is, generally speaking.


Title: Question about liability after a sale.

Question:
I'm about to sell something, and I'd like to get an idea on the legalities involved, and in particular those involved after the sale has been made.

I got a gadget earlier this year. I'd rather not mention exactly what it is, and I don't think it is relevant to my questions.

I had planned to really get in to learning its inner workings, and customizing/modding its hardware/software/firmware. I took a great deal of it apart which takes quite a while (weeks) as it is pretty intricate. But in the middle of that, I got a much newer, bigger, even more intricate, and all-around better gadget to work on.

In the meantime, I abandoned working on the old one. I only got back to it because it was taking up space I needed to work on the new one, and I want to sell it just to get it out of the way.

I put the old one back together pretty half-assed (there are screws and other small parts left over, things don't line up like they used to, and many other bits of sloppy and otherwise poor assembly). It works now, but I can't imagine that it will stay working for long (days, maybe hours).

I plan to advertise it as working, in excellent condition, hardly used, and selling it because I need space - all of which are true - and will make it clear that the sale is final.  Also, I am in Virginia, selling it privately. I am not a business, and haven't sold anything in years.

My question is: **if it stops working for whatever reason any time after the sale is made (payment made, receipt and gadget given, buyer leaves property), it's the buyer's problem as far as the laws are concerned, right?**

I ask because when it breaks, it's likely to be expensive to fix.  As in "almost as much as it cost in the first place" kind of expensive, which is several thousands of dollars.  Or maybe they'll get lucky and it will keep working for them, or they are buying it to mod (like I did) and take it apart themselves before it breaks. But it is what happens if they don't get lucky that my question is about.

The bottom line is that I want to know if I can be held liable for breakage that happens after a sale has completed.

Thank you for anyone taking the time to read and answer.

Answer:
 >I put the old one back together pretty half-assed (there are screws and other small parts left over, things don't line up like they used to, and many other bits of sloppy and otherwise poor assembly). It works now, but I can't imagine that it will stay working for long (days, maybe hours).

The above is inconsistent with:
>in excellent condition

Yes, fraud can be actionable.


Title: My cousin is owed alimony and child support from her ex. If someone is paying on his behalf and the money is not coming from him, is he violating the court order?

Question:
Asking this on behalf of my cousin. She lives in Florida She is divorced from her husband. She has a daughter from a previous relationship where that guy isn't involved but because she was married to her ex for 5 years and he provided for both of them he has go pay her child support and alimony too. He was a soldier and the marriage suffered because he was deployed and gone lots and he started to have mental health issues.

She is getting the alimony and child support payments on time. She has not seen her ex husband in almost 2 years but she has found out he was homeless for a while and is now staying with friends probably. She has also found out the payments are coming from a friend of his who may or not be his girlfriend. Since my cousin's ex is not paying and the court order says he has to pay could he face penalties from the court? My cousin doesn't want to go to court again but she is upset that he is not following the order. I live in a different state from her and I don't know the laws in Florida so I don't what to tell her. Thanks to anyone who offers advice.

Answer:
 Let me get this straight... Your cousin is receiving child support and alimony from a soldier who isn't even technically the biological father and is now about to be homeless, and she wants to find a way to punish him...and you heard this story and though...I'll help??? Seriously?

I'm all for holding people responsible for their children but come on. ಠ_ಠAnswer #2:
> She is getting the alimony and child support payments on time.

Great! Issue resolved.Answer #3: >He was a soldier and the marriage suffered because he was deployed and gone lots

So, the not-biological-father worked his ass off, including deploying (potentially to dangerous areas) for long periods of time, to support his dependents--and now she wants to take punitive actions against him because of it?

>She is getting the alimony and child support payments on time

I fail to see the problem then.  As a military retiree who's raising 2 kids on her own with zero child support, I really, really don't understand what she thinks is wrong here. Answer #4: It sounds like he doesn't have any money. So if she forces his friend to stop paying on his behalf, chances are she won't get any payments at all. What exactly is her goal here?Answer #5: It sounds like your cousin is just being a jerk.  Her ex probably doesn't have money, so else someone is graciously paying for him.  It's pretty messed up in the first place to make someone pay for a child that isn't his, but he is doing it anyway.  I'm quite amazed that she is complaining about this.


Title: Judge posing absurd fine

Question:
Location: VA
So today I got convicted of speeding (61/40) and my fine was $250 + $60 court costs.
My uncle had the same thing (21 over the speed limit) yet his fine was only $126 + $66. How is this possible??? Is this even legal? Should I appeal this?
My record is -10
His is 0

Answer:
 You should be thanking your lucky stars to walk away from a 20+ over speeding ticket in VA with a mere $310 in fines. Nothing about that is excessive. Answer #2: Different defendants, different situations, different evidence, different punishments.

"I want a lesser punishment" isn't grounds for appeal.  You'd have to assert a legal error of some kind.


Title: (North Carolina) If I intend to dispute a parking ticket, do I need to pay it first?

Question:
I got a parking ticket for parking in two-hour parking that wasn't indicated as two hour parking.  (Pictures:  http://i.imgur.com/dq0L61O.jpg and http://i.imgur.com/sVoV1ed.jpg; My car is the gold Nissan.)

I'll go to court if I have to, but should I pay the fine in the fifteen day window they've given or not pay until/unless a court orders it?

Update:  City code states that if any sign is posted anywhere in the city then that is evidence that the entire city is a time-limited or no parking zone.  The signage is still terrible, but them's the breaks.  I'll write a strongly worded letter to the mayor when I pay the fee.  Thanks everybody.

Answer:
 Are you arguing that the two-hour parking sign applies only to the one spot that it sits in front of?

Check the citation, but you payment is probably an admission of guilt.  In most cases you would not pay, but request a hearing or show up at the court date indicated on the ticket.  But do what the ticket says to do.


Title: Incessant Noise in Apartment Above Fitness Center: Can't Sleep, Dog Scared.

Question:
Hi, r/legaladvice, I apologize in advance for my novella but I'm venting and want to be as detailed as possible:
My girlfriend and I and our small dog are renting an apartment in a town a little north of Atlanta, GA.  We moved in last August to an apartment directly above a two story fitness center (as it's officially named).  It is not a full "gym", but has treadmills, climbers, free weights and machines, and yoga balls and spin bikes on the upper level.  When we moved in, there was no mention by the leasing office of noise from the gym below, but now it's obvious they conveniently forgot to mention/ acknowledge it.  It appears the apartment itself was an after thought during construction, as the plaque on the building with the apartment numbers stops just before our number (XXX0-XXX3, ours is XXX4).  There is not sufficient sound deadening between the ceiling of the gym and our floor, as every single free weight drop, machine slam, stomp, and jump is heard and felt in our apartment.  It's a heavy bass type of sound, so not only is it heard, it transmits up through the walls and rattles pictures and objects on shelves.  The saddest part is that it terrorizes our dog and he shivers thinking the world is ending.  It is not an exaggeration when I say that the noise and pounding is constant.  We can not go to bed early, because there will be an asshole dropping weights or making noise at night.  We can't sleep in, because there will be an asshole there in the morning too.  And there will be a parade of assholes throughout the day.  At 11:30PM, midnight, 1:30AM, 2:30AM, 4AM, any inconceivable time, there will be slamming and rattling coming up through our floors.  There is a rule posted about no unsupervised minors, but I have observed young teenagers in there alone, bringing in basketballs to bounce (maddening) as well as play grab-ass and dodgeball with the oversized yoga balls upstairs.

We both lived in the same complex in different buildings last year before moving into this one together, and previously the gym hours were whatever-in-the-morning to 11PM at night.  However this year the gym is advertised as 24hrs, and when I first complained to the office manager, he said it was always 24hrs (not the first time he's acted shifty, he gypped me on an advertised $500 referral saying corporate bumped it down to $300)  After numerous complaints to the office, their response thus far is still to call the courtesy officer every time there is a problem.  We are on a first name basis with him.  There are times late at night when I cannot wait for his response time and go downstairs to speak to the neighbors myself.  Some of them are apologetic and say they assumed the gym was soundproof (but really, when has anything in an apartment building ever been soundproof?), or were unaware of an apartment upstairs, and then agree that it's a dumb idea in the first place.  Others just act indignant when I ask them to please keep it down.  Fuck me for sleeping at 2AM, right?

My question is, do I have any recourse or leverage to put on them to fix the situation?  We can't enjoy the apartment or even sleep and our poor dog is miserable.  At the time this was the only apartment available, and we both needed it for close proximity to our school, so please no snarky comments about us being the ones that picked it.  It's clearly a subpar construction/ fucktard engineering issue. (Who thinks it's a good idea to stick an apartment over a gym?)  The Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment looks good, but please correct me if I'm wrong.  It's not the usual issue with neighbors next door, but a design flaw on the part of the apartment complex.  They have the ability to make this right, either through realistic hours for the gym, or remodeling it and providing proper insulation.  Even if we deal with it and when we ultimately move out, it will just make the next tenant as miserable.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Quiet enjoyment doesn't mean what you think it means. It doesn't apply. You're pretty much sol.


Title: Public Urination Charge - TX

Question:
I was driving a friend of mine and we stopped so she could pee behind a church. A cop saw it and issued her a ticket. She's never had any tickets before (not even for speeding) and is unsure what she needs to do next. The cop didn't know anything about the charge (he even told us this) and said "just call the court and find out what needs to happen" before driving off. On the ticket it is written as "Disorderly Conduct (indecent Explosure) (URINATING IN PUBLIC)". So I have a few questions.

1. She wants to be a nurse, so would this be the type of charge that would be problematic to have on record?
2. Is it worth contacting an attorney and, because this happened in a city an hour away, do we need to contact one from that city or can we call someone locally?
3. Given that this is the first offense, is there any chance of getting it struck completely from her record?

Answer:
 > indecent Explosure

For christ's sake, how much pee did she have?!?!?!?

Anyhow, what statute number was she charged with violating?


Title: Is it usually a good sign or bad sign when a judge doesn't hear your defense?

Question:
[CA] Yesterday I went to defend myself in small claims and after hearing the plaintiff claims said he didn't need to hear my side and dismissed us. Is this a good sign or a bad sign?

A little back story regarding this case. In September of 2018 I hired a painter to paint the interior and exterior of my house for $5,700. After 3 months of little progress I confronted the painter and he quit without finishing the job. I took him to court and won the initial case and the appeal. However the painter still refuses to pay so I brought him to court for an oral examination of his assets. In retaliation, the painter decided to sue me claiming that I didn't  pay him (even though I did). His reasoning is because of the money he spent on materials plus the money he has to pay me back in small claims he hasn't been paid ( doesn't make sense I know).

I pointed out in the hearing yesterday that this case had already be tried and gave the judge the case number to review.

I know it looks like this trial is in my favor and it helps that yesterday's judge was the one who handles the appeal. But I would feel a lot better about the case had he heard my defense.
Topic:
Small Claims Procedure

Answer: It's a very good sign.Answer #2: When a judge doesn't need to hear your defense, it's because you're going to win and he doesn't need to spend more time.Answer #3: It's not a "sign" it was the resolution. You won. Basically, their assertion/assertions were *so* absurd or inapplicable that the judge could see they had no case based upon their very best version of events.


Title: We are kicking my dad out

Question:
After finding out he has been texting others girls on Facebook, SMS, Whatsapp (We have photo proof). My mom is finally kicking him out and divorcing. The house is only in her name, and it's still in her old name(before she married my dad), does that mean he can take half the house, it's really the only thing we are worried about. We live in NC. He doesn't help with bill but insurance (cars). I pay TWC, my mom pays ATT and the light bill. Is there anything we need to know?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: She needs to get an attorney. There are no simple, easy answers in a divorce when it comes to marital property.Answer #2: Save all the evidence you have of your father's cheating. NC is one of the few states where marital misconduct such as adultery can reduce the share of marital assets the cheater is entitled to.


Title: Can I legally bring semi automatic rifles into Colorado for recreational use?

Question: I dont live inColorado. But a lot of my family does. We usually go hunting and do some target practice in Colorado once a year. Recently, the weapons I usually bring have been outlawed in the state. I'm not entirely clear on how the ban works. Is it just illegal to buy, sell and produce semi automatic weapons, or is it illegal to possess them aswell?

Answer:
 Colorado has 3 cities with Assault Weapons bans. Denver, Boulder, and Vail. On top of this Colorado has a 15 round limit on magazines so most standard 15 round pistol mags will be fine. 30 round ar/ak mags are obviously not.

Do not bring 30 round mags into the state, carry your weapons locked and disassembled in your trunk in a locked case. Do not bring your weapons into the three cities mentioned.

From wiki

> After July 1, 2013, magazines holding more than 15 rounds may not be sold, transferred, or possessed unless they were lawfully owned prior to July 1, 2013. Firearms with a tubular magazine which are either chambered in .22 rimfire or operated by lever action are exempt from this regulation, as are magazines "permanently altered" to limit the capacity to 15 or less. Boulder passed an ordinance in May 2018 banning magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Vail banned magazines holding 21 or more rounds in 1994.


Title: (CA) Dog breeder with our deposit for a puppy trying to scam us

Question:
Hello,
Last week we went over to see a puppy litter that was 3 weeks old and left a deposit for one. We drove over again the next week and the breeder puts in front  of us 2 large puppies  and one much smaller puppy. The 2 larger puppies already had their teeth grown out and the smaller one hardly had any. The breeder tried to tell us that they are all from the same litter but the small puppy is a runt. After an argument we didn't believe a word she was telling us and asked for our deposit back at which point she said no. All we have is a receipt for the amount we deposited and pictures of the first puppies we saw and the second for comparison. We never signed any contracts.

Any advice on how to approach this would be appreciated.

Answer: INAL, but unless it states on the receipt or you signed something stating the deposit was nonrefundable, it should be refundable.  However, if she is not cooperative, you will have to sue in small claims court to recover it.Answer #2: You can sue her for the deposit.  Work with legit rescues rather than paying ridiculous amounts of money to puppy mills.


Title: [CANADA] Accidentally made a very illegal Google search, am I in trouble?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 You're fine. Don't do that again.Answer #2: Calm down. Answer #3: So you looked up information about a crime.

And you think that is against the law? Answer #4: Don't worry, you're in no trouble whatsoever.


Title: [Ohio, USA] I want to marry my longterm long-distance foreign significant other. I have a legal disability and cannot work so I depend upon Medicaid for my insurance. I will lose my benefits because of marriage.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You're going to have to decide which is more important to you, medicaid or being married. I would like the government to pay to fix all my problems too, but they aren't going to. Medicaid is to cover people who have no other options. If you have a spouse who works then you will have other options and as a tax payer who is paying for your coverage, I'd be happy to see them cut you off. You can't have it both ways.


Title: Tenant in my newly inherited home.

Question:
Hello,

We recently had a death in the family and I have been left 1/3 of an estate in California.
This includes a home where the person who has passed had a roommate who lived with her but only paid rent sporadically over the last 3 years.

I have been staying in my deceased family members room and just trying to enjoy the last few memories of this childhood home before I potentially am forced to sell the home by the other 2/3 party (I don’t have the financial means to buy them out of a 800k home)

This morning the roommate and I had an argument and he claimed if need be he could call the sheriffs and have me removed because I  am technically not a resident and I have not established a residency.
I was under the impression with the permission of the executor I could stay in the house as she is now in charge of the estate via the irrevocable living trust.
Does she have the legal precedent to allow me to stay here or can he really kick me out of the home?
I have my own key at this time.
He is not a home owner and honestly I don’t know if he even has a lease.
I do know he is protected from being evicted because he has established himself as a resident, but can he kick me out as essentially nothing to the family / estate?

(Side note : I found an eviction notice for him form her back in late 2018 but clearly that never came to fruition)

Answer: Start the eviction process on the tenant (roomie) right away.  They may voluntarily move out to avoid the eviction, but you need to start the process.  Without a formal lease, they are a month to month tenant, so you will likely need to end their lease and tell them to move out by the end of August.  Do this in writing.  If they are not out by then you can evict.


Title: My cousin needs help identifying a real or fake law in Texas

Question: So my cousin is 17 living in Texas and he drives to school with his permit. Recently he had been stopped by a police officer and the officer saw that he only had his permit so my cousin called his sister to come pick him up. And the officer told his sister that if he ever saw my cousins vehicle on the road and it was him behind the wheel he would repo the car. Can police do this? Also he said that there were systems that would be able to track him down on the road and he would be stopped immediately. And yes I know that it's illegal to only drive with your permit but every single high school kid does it in Texas, and he really has no other option he currently has been having his dad drop him off at around 7 am and he has to wait for the doors to open an hour later since it's his only option. What should he do? Does he just have to wait until he is 18?

Answer:
 No, the police cannot repo his car, but they can certainly bar him from driving it any further and call a tow truck to have it towed.

> but every single high school kid does it in Texas

As someone who lives in Texas, no they don't.

> he really has no other option

Is there no school bus service where he lives?

> he currently has been having his dad drop him off at around 7 am and he has to wait for the doors to open an hour later since it's his only option.

I did this.  It's not that bad.

The law is the law -- if the law says he's driving illegally, then he's driving illegally.  If there are hardships that require him to drive, Texas has hardship license programs where he might potentially be able to legally drive by himself.


Title: Landlord Claiming Tenant Smoked in Property but tenant was only there 1 year and a NONsmoker, with no smoking ever in the house. Also trying to charge rent for not returning keys. HELP.

Question:
My boyfriend moved out of his rental on 7/16 after spending a year there, and fulfilled the full year of his lease.  He gave the landlord an intent to vacate within 30 days, and ended up leaving 2 weeks early (lease ended 8/1).  He was fully paid up until the end of July.  He informed the landlord via a phone call on 7/16 to let them know that he vacated; however, he did forget to return the keys as he was moving 300 miles away and had a lot going on.  The landlord emailed him last night telling him that he had not surrendered the property since he did not return the keys, and not only would they charge him to rekey the property, but they were going to charge him rent for every day that's gone by for not returning the keys.  They already have a tenant who plans to move in on Saturday, so they clearly have been in and showing the property.

They went on to say that he had been smoking in the rental, which he has always been a non smoker and very sensitive to it so there's no way he would have allowed anyone inside who would've been smoking.  The neighbor is apparently a smoker and they know that, but he absolutely has not had any smoking in the rental.

They are claiming other damages & that its unclean, which he understands and is willing to surrender his $800 deposit for, even though he moved in and had to clean it himself and didn't cause any additional damages.  But between the "additional rent" and the "smoking" that they claim they may have to have the duct work cleaned because of, that would definitely exceed the deposit he paid.  What can be done in this situation?  Is the landlord correct in being able to charge him rent past 8/1 if they he didn't return the keys, but had terminated his lease and they knew he was out 2 weeks early?  Can they actually charge him for smoking if he never has had a cigarette inside that unit?  (no weed either).  How can they prove this or how can he disprove this?

Answer:
 > The landlord emailed him last night telling him that he had not surrendered the property since he did not return the keys, and not only would they charge him to rekey the property, but they were going to charge him rent for every day that's gone by for not returning the keys.

No. They can't do that. Especially if you have it on record that you vacated by X date. He would be on the hook to pay to re key it, but I would refuse to pay the "rent" for somewhere I no longer live. If they sue him for it, he can bring popcorn to court as he watches them explain to the judge why they are owed rent from a tenant that no longer lives there and gave proper notice to vacate.

As for the damages, he can contest it and demand his deposit back. If refused, it's small claims territory where the judge will decide what is actually owed.


Title: California child support and court question....any help would be amazing, thanks.

Question: I have a friend who has a child support order from her ex husband regarding their son.  The father has filed a motion in his town to lower the support arrangement and to negate the back support owed.  My friend is unable to make it to the court appearance due to the fact that she has little to no money, cannot hire an attorney, and lives 10 hours away.  Does she have any recourse here, or will the judge just give the father what he wants?

Answer: she has to make it or have an attorney, she can attempt to get a continuance though. if no representative is there and she never answered otherwise yes they likely will modify to what the only present party wants. does the original court keep jurisdiction, because that's another option.


Title: BDSM and Illinois Law

Question: Hey Legal Advice. My girlfriend and I are both college students, and frequently engage in BDSM play. Her parents recently found out due to a keylogger they placed on her computer a few years ago, and do not approve. They have previously threatened me with legal action when I refused to report my girlfriend's activities to them, and I am worried that they may find some way to use our BDSM activities against us legally. We engage in light bondage and medium level impact play (I.e. Slapping, wooden dowels, etc.). All marks fade within a few hours at most and bruising is rare. However there are several photos in each of our possessions that show these injuries within a few minutes of their occurrence. Is what we do illegal in Illinois, and could it be used against us in any future court case?

Answer:
 Tell them to eat shit. Also, if they admitted putting a keylogger on your girlfriend's computer, and you have evidence of them doing so (emails, messages, etc), the police might be interested to know.
Answer #2: You & your girlfriend are legal consenting adults then her parents can't do anything legally to you.
Tell them to flick off. Answer #3: Are both you and your girlfriend legal adults?


Title: Truck Driver Ran Me Off the Road, Damaging My Car - Nebraska

Question:
I was almost at work this morning and a Pepsi truck driver ran me off the road. I was driving in our industrial park when an oncoming semi was turning left, the Pepsi truck behind it tried to turn right across traffic. I swerved onto the grass to avoid getting crunched by the Pepsi truck and the curb blew a couple of my tires and screwed up two of my wheels. I saw the driver of the Pepsi truck look at me out his while he was pulling away. He did not stop.

Luckily there is a tire place like a block from there, so I was able to limp my vehicle there (the wheels were already beyond fixing, so I didn't change put a donut on and I didn't have two donuts). A coworker drove around looking for the truck, but he was gone by the time I got my vehicle to the shop and had a coworker come get me.

I called the non-emergency line for the police. They came and said they really can't do anything since it is my work verse theirs and there was damage to public property. I happen to know the officer since he was my high school resource officer a long time ago, so I don't think he was being lazy.

I have made a couple calls into the Pepsi distribution center and have not heard back yet.

I did stop and talk to the other truck driver that turned before the Pepsi driver and he said he saw the Pepsi driver turn behind him but did not see me or my swerve. I took a picture of his truck and the number on the truck in case I needed to get in contact with him again.

What should I do? If they aren't cooperative, do I have to sue them? It will be about $750 total to fix the wheels/tires. Not the end of the world, but I would prefer not to pay it. It doesn't seem like enough money to go through the hassle of a lawsuit.

[Here is a rudimentary drawing for clarification](https://i.imgur.com/tShJ7Ol.png)

Answer:
 I would wait until the Pepsi distributor gets back with you.  They should definitely be able to tell you who was driving that route on that particular day. But even if they can’t you should still be able to make a claim against their insurance that their driver’s illegal left hand turn caused you damages.

Edited for my egregious spelling error.


Title: [WY/OK] Debt Collector "forgot" about the settlement agreement, wants me to pay full balance.

Question:
Currently living in Wyoming but the debt is from while I lived in Oklahoma.

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Nationwide Credit Incorporated purchased my credit card debt from Chase a few months back.  My debt totaled around $7,000 on this particular credit card.  I started getting settlement offers from NCI and decided to take up their offer to settle the debt for $1700.  Over a recorded line, I agreed to make large payments over several months.  The first payment was made during the call, then I provided my bank account information, and they told me that I would be charged automatically on the 15th of every month until the settlement is paid off.

The 15th of November passed with no payments taken from my account.  I called NCI today and they told me "Your current balance is $6,750 and we have ZERO record of any settlement".  I immediately hung up and started calling lawyers but its a small town, and none of the lawyers where I live handle this sort of thing.

I went to my bank and paid a fee to put a stop payment on NCI in case they try to just seize my money.

What do I do?

Answer: Settlements need to be in writing and signed by both parties.Answer #2: Make a new settlement offer, and this time get it in writing.


Title: Being sued for 25k for car accident I wasn't at fault in.

Question:
Christmas day back in 2015 I was in a 3 car incident.
I was at a full stop at a stop sign,  a car rear ended me and pushed me into the vehicle in front of me.

I was never cited.  The person that hit me was found to be at fault.  That person had insurance and the case was closed with that person paying out.

I got a certified letter yesterday from a law firm representing the people in the vehicle in front of me. They are suing me for 25k in lost wages and damages.  They claim I didn't maintain enough distance.

The vehicle I was driving was my mother's.  It was in her name as well as the insurance on the vehicle. They are also claiming that I was driving without insurance.

My insurance company says I'll be fine. .. but I want to know if I need to get a lawyer.  These people have hired a known ambulance chaser and are suing me when I was not at fault.

This took place in Akron,  Ohio.

Edit- added location

Answer: Your insurance will provide a lawyer to defend you if necessary.  Save your money, you will be fine.


Title: Got tricked into the wrong apartment

Question: I am a college student, and decided to look into apartments. I found a complex I liked, and was given a tour of the building. The do not show the actual rooms, but they show a "sample room" which included a bedroom and a kitchen and a dining area. The woman showing me the room was firm in that this is what the apartment would be. She walked me through the paperwork and I signed on. Nothing in any of the ads or paper work indicated I would lot be receiving what was shown.  I was told I would not be able to see the apartment until after all the paper work and first rent was clear, due to tenants moving out. Today I got my keys and to my shock, the room was nothing as advertised. It was a 12 by 10 room with. A closet and bathroom. No kitchen, no dining area, no patio, nothing. I've raised hell with the managers and they said they will get back to me later today to see if they can move me into the proper room. My question is, what are my options? Do you have any advice for me?

Answer:
 NAL - When you say 'paperwork', do you mean a lease?

If so, check it.
Leases generally state what sort of amenities and appliances are required with them.

Also, where are you?


Title: Hypothetically speaking... should you tell your lawyer you are guilty?

Question:
I was just watching an interrogation of a suspect (without representation) the guy eventually admits his involvement in a murder. If he had representation, he wouldn't have been arrested on the spot, because the lawyer would refuse an interview. But I've also seen lawyers attend interviews, so maybe his would have allowed him to talk if he claimed he was innocent...

Should you, (can you?) tell your lawyer that you did the thing you are accused of?

If your lawyer knows you did the crime and can't convince you to admit it to the court, can they legally, continue to defend you as if you did not do the thing you did? How does all of that work?

Answer:
 Oh my god, some of the answers in this thread are so wildly wrong. It’s always in your best interests to tell your lawyer the truth.

Why? If my client tells me he wasn’t there when the shooting occurred, I’ll put work into investigating an alibi defense, finding witnesses and records to try to prove he wasn’t there. But if he was actually there, there are probably videos and witnesses that I’m not getting to in my investigation. But sure as shit the DA has that, and they won’t turn them over to me until the last possible moment. Now I’m out of time to investigate possible witnesses or other evidence of a self-defense theory (for example.)

ALSO, if I know what really happened, I can correctly advise you about whether you should testify. If your story is total bullshit and the DA is going to make you look a fool in front of the jury, you better stay off the damn stand.

Also, this whole “lawyers can’t lie” thing is total bs. We aren’t allowed to make knowing misstatements of fact to the court. But opening and closing of trial is ARGUMENT. If I say “the evidence you’ve seen here today points to that my client was not the shooter” — that’s argument.

TLDR: don’t lie to your lawyers.


Title: Wife no longer wants to change name after court agreed to it [CA]

Question:
After we got married, my wife wanted to change both her first and last name, so she filed a Decree Changing Name form (NC-130). However, in the long process between submitting the paperwork and getting a court date, she decided that she wanted to keep her original name and didn't show up to the court date. It appears, however, that it went through without a court date; the form was mailed to our address with a stamp of the Judge's name and in the corner is says ENDORSED FILED with the date. A few questions:

First off, it did go through  correctly I'm assuming?

Second, what happens if she never gets a new Social Security Card/ID whatever?

I guess what I'm really wondering is, is her name 100% completely legally changed at this point? Is there a way to cancel or reverse it without going through the entire process again?

Answer:
 Her name has legally been changed. If she didn't want to continue the proceedings, then she should of notified the courts instead of just ignoring it.

What happens now is interesting. California does recognize informal name changes so she can just continue using her old name and it is switched according to the state. On the other hand, the Federal Government and most other states require a court order to change your name, but California is not going to go volunteering this information, they would rely on your wife to inform them of the change and update their records.

So while technically your wife can continue using her original name for many years without any problems, if a third party were to perform a background check on her an the results passed to another government agency, it may trigger issues. Things like moving to another state and applying for a drivers license, or applying for a security clearance.


Title: [Illinois] I received a speeding ticket for going 35+ over the speed limit. What are my options going forward as I am in college and am praying jail time won't be sentenced

Answer:
 What exactly were you charged with? It should be listed on your citation/ticket.

You're most likely being charged with a misdemeanor, but just in case.


Title: [MI] My lease is up in 41 days and I am required to give 60 days notice, but my apt complex just made a change that will require me to pay $50 more/month and I now want out

Question:
Hi everybody, as the title says I live in Grand Rapids, MI and have been living in the same apartment complex for about two years. My lease is up on 7/25/16 and I was originally planning on renewing. The apartment complex just dropped a letter off last Thursday stating gas was no longer included, and they were raising the rent as well. All of this adds up to about a $50 increase in living expenses.

In my lease, it states I have to give them a 60 day notice to vacate, and if I do not renew my lease before midnight on the final day it will switch to a month-to-month lease and increase the rent significantly.

I don't want to stay here and pay that, and I feel like I am trapped with the 60 day notice even though they made changes I don't agree to. This is the first apartment I have lived in and I don't know where to look for legal  resources. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Answer: Why did you expect to be able to renew at the same rate you paid for the last year? That almost never happens. So long as their notice was legal, and they are following the terms of the lease, they can hold you to the 60 day notice.


Title: School through me under the bus

Question: My 15 yr old was counted absent for a week.  The school called telling me this.  I was shocked.  Turns out she was skipping 1st period and being counted absent for the entire day.  The school and my daughter indicated it was because the teacher of 1st period embarrassed her in front of the class and was rather harsh towards her.  The school promised an apology from the teacher. She never got it but I DID get a visit from dogs and a court date in FNS.  Apparently the school called me in saying there were "problems in the home." It's been almost a year later, numerous court dates, drug tests, interviews...it's like I've been caught up in a psycho pseudo reality tv show and it's just WRONG.  It's cost me time off work, money, and lots of undue stress.  What can I do to right this wrong and get compensated for this year long, costly hassle? Anything?  Btw, initially I told the court all this but it was as if I said nothing at all and they proceeded as if the ears went on "pause" when I was speaking.  That's when  I got an attorney.  She has been helping through this process BUT indicated that once we're through this I can go further with possibly a suit against the school.  Thoughts?

Answer:
 >What can I do to right this wrong and get compensated for this year long, costly hassle?

Get a lawyer to sthraighten this out, don't expect compensation your daughter skipped school, you are responsible for her actions, make sure she is at school when she has to be there.

> Btw, initially I told the court all this but it was as if I said nothing at all and they proceeded as if the ears went on "pause" when I was speaking.

No their ears were wide open whilst you confessed about the fact that you were okay with your daughter not attending school. They still had to investigate further.

>That's when I got an attorney. She has been helping through this process BUT indicated that once we're through this I can go further with possibly a suit against the school. Thoughts?

So you already got an attorney, why the hell are you asking some strangers on the internet for advice (who don't know the complete case) and don't ask your attorney.Answer #2: I don't understand why your lawyer thinks you can sue the school because your daughter skipped class for a week.

What exactly is your question?


Title: New tenants of my old house opened my mail and "redistributed" the contents. [NC]

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 [18 U.S. Code § 1708 - Theft or receipt of stolen mail matter generally](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1708)

> Whoever steals, takes, or abstracts, or by fraud or deception obtains, or attempts so to obtain, from or out of any mail, post office, or station thereof, letter box, mail receptacle, or any mail route or other authorized depository for mail matter, or from a letter or mail carrier, any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or abstracts or removes from any such letter, package, bag, or mail, any article or thing contained therein, or secretes, embezzles, or destroys any such letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any article or thing contained therein; or
>
> Whoever steals, takes, or abstracts, or by fraud or deception obtains any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any article or thing contained therein which has been left for collection upon or adjacent to a collection box or other authorized depository of mail matter; or
>
> Whoever buys, receives, or conceals, or unlawfully has in his possession, any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any article or thing contained therein, which has been so stolen, taken, embezzled, or abstracted, as herein described, knowing the same to have been stolen, taken, embezzled, or abstracted—
>
> Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

TL;DR. This is a federal crime punishable by 5 years in Federal "pound you in the ass" Prison.

Please contact the [US Postal Inspection Service](https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/), the federal police whose job it is prosecute crimes relating to the mail.


Title: Do I have legal rights to the *area* beneath my property?

Question: Let's say I wanted to build a bunker under my house as large as a skyscraper. I don't care about the mineral rights, and I've already hired a company to verify there's nothing but dirt under it. Assuming I have the width and length, could I dig and build 500 feet down?

Answer:
 You have a 500' excavation project in mind. That's going to produce a lot of removed dirt and stone. Where's that going to go?

You have a 500' excavation project in mind. Where is the water table in your area? What are your plans for drainage? Will your excavation and drainage plans affect the water table on neighbouring lots?

You have a 500' excavation project in mind. Will the resulting subsidence - and there will be some - alter surface waterways or alter your neighbours' land?

You have a 500' excavation project in mind. Who is insuring you, and who is insuring the resulting dwelling? When you plan to sell, or when you die and leave the property to your heirs, what do you expect them to do with the property?

A lot of the legal issues around a project like this are either secondary to, or in support of, the practical issues. In the course of answering some of these questions, you'll discover negotiations you need to have, permits you need to obtain, and quite possibly statutory limits you need to find a solution to.


Title: [Florida] From [California] Dismissed case just showed up on FCRA private background check

Question:
Conviction was on January 11th, 2010 in California.

Successful dismissal [1203.4 PC of CA] of case was completed May 18th 2015.

I just moved to Florida and got a job at staples and passed a private background check, using only SSN and Driver's License Number without issue.

I just got my background check from Edge Information Management, Inc, using only SSN and Driver's License Number, for BEALLS that shows:

CHARGE:(Accurate information)

STATUTE: (none)

CHARGE TYPE CLASSIFICATION: MISDEMEANOR

DISPOSITION DATE:1/11/2010

DISPOSITION:Nolo Contendere

SENTENCE: (Accurate information)

COMMENTS: (none)

No other information is on the background report... and all information is accurate to the original conviction.

I have the paperwork for dismissal sitting next to me from the very same county court that the report was pulled from.

What the fuck?

Update 2/9/2016

I contacted the reporting agency and showed them the 1203.4 dismissal papers and they corrected the mistake. The new report is now void of that case. (or any case)

If you get a background check and it shows a case dismissed with CA PC 1203.4 it's a mistake, file a dispute asap!

Answer:
 Dismissing a case is not an expungement or sealing. It is just that, they decided to dismiss the case.

If you do not want it to show up in background checks, you will need to go through the process in California to have it expunged or sealed.


Title: Nevada- Same-sex marriage divorce and child born during marriage

Question:
Hello! Posting for a friend who has a question.

Backstory:

Mandy and Theresa got married in 2006 in California. In 2011, Mandy conceived a baby girl, Sam, via unconventional methods (donor sperm and diva cup, donor was Theresa's cousin). Sam was born in 2012.

In 2015, Mandy and Theresa split up, with Theresa having nothing to do with Sam anymore. Mandy wants a divorce, but is worried that Theresa would have parental rights. Sam is a special-needs child and needs care that Theresa cannot provide.

Her question: Were they to get a divorce, would Theresa have rights to Sam? Would she have to file for divorce as if Sam were Theresa's kid as well?

Answer:
 This question doesn't have a clear answer since the statutory scheme hasn't caught up with same sex marriage. However, under any other scenario, children born during a marriage are presumed to be from the marriage.

To compare to a case that happened in Florida (before same-sex marriage became legal), a lesbian couple had a child through artificial insemination and then split up a few years later. The biological mother ran away with the child to Australia. The Florida courts ordered the mother to return to the child to Florida and granted custody rights to the other since she was the child's parent. The partner had established a parent relationship with the child. She paid child support when they split up and she would spend a lot of time with her.

The big difference I see here is that your friends did not follow the proper procedure for sperm donors and the biological dad might be considered the father. See this guy http://nevadajournal.com/2014/01/23/judge-rules-kan-sperm-donor-owes-child-support/

The TLDR version is, you will need a lawyer and I would expect this Theresa person to fight for her child and she would have a good claim to shared custody.


Title: Can I get fired for not saying The Pledge of Allegiance (FL)

Question:
I've started as an assistant at an in home daycare run by an older couple. I love it! The kids are great and the hours work well with my college classes. I was skeptical about in home daycares, but this is a great place and not the point of this post.

Every morning, the class stands to say the Pledge of Allegiance before circle time. I have my personal and moral reasons for not doing so. I would just drift off to the back, sit, and stay quiet.

It hasn't been a problem the past two weeks, but today, the teacher said, "Oh, LunatikLucy, you need to stand for the pledge next time!" after the pledge today. The co-teacher (and her husband) kind of scoffed and said, "It's my pet peeve when people don't (stand for the pledge.)"

I smiled and nodded.

I really *don't* want to stand for the pledge. It may sound silly, but it's important to me. When I go in next, I'm probably going to find something to do during the pledge- like clean up toys or wipe tables.

But, if they still insist I stand for the pledge and I don't, can I get in trouble? I'm like 80% sure I can't, but I remember hearing that companies under a certain amount of employees have different guidelines about what they can fire you for- and there's like 12 employees here.

I'm not making a big deal out of it. I'm not spouting off about social injustices, I'm just sitting back and not participating. If I have to, I'll say it. It's not the end of the world, but I would prefer to stick to my beliefs.

Thanks for reading.  If there's any more questions, please ask!

Answer: Yes, they can fire you for this, you're in an at will employment state. Not complying with instructions is a great way to get fired and put your chances of unemployment at risk.


Title: Is it illegal to keep catch and release fish?

Question: So there is a park opening near me with fishing allowed but it says its catch and release only. I live close by and I really like fish, I was thinking of eating some once in a while. Would this be stealing? What is the worst they could do for it? Ban me from the park?

Answer: come on. "is it illegal to keep a fish clearly defined as a fish I cannot keep?" Where I live you are typically looking at fines of a few thousand dollars for that kind of violation. Answer #2: Yes. If it is a private park, it is theft. If it is public, it’s a likely game law violation.


Title: [Oklahoma] Am I liable for a customer parking in front of a neighbor's driveway?

Question:
I had a garage sale at my house in a residential neighborhood (and I did get the permit required by the city, if that matters). One of my customers parked on the street (by the curb) such that 2 to 3 feet of their car was in front of my neighbor's driveway. Somehow, the neighbor must not have noticed this, because she tried to pull straight out of her driveway and hit the parked car behind her. In case it's relevant, the neighbor's driveway is two cars wide and I think she would have had room to go around the parked car if she had tried at all.

It wasn't a bad hit, and they didn't even exchange information. But my neighbor yelled something at me about controlling where my customers park (I know she was already upset with me for the extra traffic my garage sale caused).

Who is liable here? I assume it is the neighbor who backed into a parked car.

This happened in March, so I don't think they can/will so anything about it now. But I'm having another garage sale soon and I need to know if I have any sort of duty to stop customers from parking poorly.

Thank you for reading.

Answer:
 >I assume it is the neighbor who backed into a parked car.

You are correct. The neighbor is responsible for hitting a stationary object.Answer #2: You are correct. Your neighbor is responsible for backing into someone. If I back into someone in the McDonald's parking lot, it's my fault, not McDonald's fault.Answer #3: There should be no liability to you for the accident. The driver is always responsible for checking their own clearance unless a case could be made you were standing there waving her through (that's the only reason I can think of a pedestrian having possible liability).

Your HOA, if there is one, may have parking rules against this. It's very unlikely though.


Title: I posted on Reddit about doing illegal drugs. Someone from my workplace saw it and forwarded it HR.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Throwaways are your friend when talking about anything you wouldn't want people to find out about.Answer #2: As someone who has been fired for old online posts (literally facebook posts that were over a year old), they can definitely fire you for this. My facebook profile isn't even set to public, it's set to "friends only" so it was one of my facebook friends that I used to work with who reported me, and another girl that got fired on the same day. I learned an important lesson that day: don't add coworkers on facebook. Answer #3: You cannot legally be fired for social media posts that represent a protected concerted activity. For example, if you post "My place of employment is unsafe, and they've done nothing to fix it after multiple attempts." Or if you post, "we are paid lower than a reasonable wage for our work." Those could get you fired, but the NLRB has gone after companies that fire people for such social media posts.

There is no protection for people who post on social media anything else, whether it's about drugs or orange juice.


Title: husband has sent unsolicited pictures to a minor [NC]

Question:
A friend of mine, who lives in NC, discovered today that her husband (in his upper 30s) has sent unsolicited private part pics to at least one girl under the age of 18, who lives in their community, via Facebook Messenger.  She was 16 when he started messaging her, and is 17 now. His messages to her have continued for over a year, but she does not reply. Her facebook profile reflects her age and says she is a student at a local high school.  His other messages to her are very sexual in nature, including other images.

There are many other conversations (between her husband and other women) that my friend now knows exist, but has not investigated.

My friend's husband is a legal permanent resident who attained his residency status on the basis of their marriage. They have two very young children.

When I look at [the laws that I found just by a quick google](https://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_14/Article_26.html) search, I understand that he may be guilty of a misdemeanor (**§ 14-190.15** ) but not the felony since she was 16 when all this started (**§ 14-202.3.)**

1. Am I correct about it being a misdemeanor (assuming no other conversation is with a minor under age 16)?
2. Is my friend obligated to report this?
3. Is this constructive abandonment?
4. On the basis of this conduct alone, is a judge likely to award my friend full custody with no court-mandated visitation rights?

(Thank you for your patience.  I often read Best of Legal Advice, but as you can probably tell, am not very knowledgeable about law.)

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Answer: Your friend is liable to have her children taken away if she continues to keep a sexual predator around.  She should get a divorce attorney ASAP.  That attorney will help walk her through reporting this.


Title: [PA] buying a house - title search found out the guy only owns 10% of the home

Question:
Its unclear at this point if he knew this information but at this point weve put a decent chunk of non-refundable cash towards the sale

Heres the kicker - the seller is actually a realtor himself

Hes speaking with a lawyer to see if we can get this fixed(it seems he was honestly under the impression he owned 100% but idk) but we are considering backing out of the contract due to this

Can we back out?if we do can we go after the seller to be reimbursed for our expenses?does him being a realtor(and operating under his companies name) make a difference?

Thanks for any help

Answer:
 Not a lawyer, but I bought a house recently and it had language in it about under what circumstances either party could back out.  Do you have a realtor representing you as the buyer?  If not, I'd consider finding one and running the situation by them, especially as it looks like your home buying adventure is going to last longer than you thought,  Answer #2: Most real estate contracts in the US state that the seller can convey clear title - which means they own it or are authorized to sell it (say, power of attorney) and the contracted price is enough to pay off any liens.

If you got into a contract where the above won't fly, there's no way anyone can keep your earnest money.

IMO you don't need an attorney just yet. If the seller is a licensed realtor and they try to keep your deposit they'll be in all kinds of doo doo with the licensing board. I'd give the guy a couple days to see if he can sort it out, if you want to try to save the deal. But I'd be surprised if it has to go through probate if you can save the deal. It might not have to go through probate if title was held in a partnership of some sort, I'd let him talk to his attorney.

If he gives you a hard time about refunding your money threaten to file a complaint with the realtor board. If that doesn't get his attention then you need an attorney. Answer #3: That update takes this into weird territory.  A fractional foreclosure is most likely going to lead to a mess.   Probably time to walk away.


Title: The PT clinic I work at re-uses E-Stim Pads on all Patients - Is this legal? (Re-post)

Question:
(Repost from r/physicaltherapy)

I work at an outpatient clinic in CA. I'm only an aide, however, as I work to put patients on modalities, I am disgusted by the fact that our clinic only changes out our stim electrodes 2-3 times a week in an effort to cut costs. We are trained to apply some ethanol to the area that we will apply the electrodes to, however, this does not 100&#37; solve the issue of: hair, dead skin cells, residue, bacteria, and it's especially un-hygienic and can potentially spread disease as we obviously have patients with open wounds, stitches, and sutures. I've applied e-stim electrodes in the groin region to one patient, and 20-30 minutes later, apply it to another patients neck and shoulder. I feel like this is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Every other clinic I have worked in and volunteered/observed at, ALL patients have their own e-stim electrodes. It even clearly states on the paper/packaging of the electrodes that it is for single patient use only, do not share electrodes. Are there no laws to this?

EDIT: Does anybody know specifically where these laws are stated? I've spent the last 1.5 hours searching the FDA website and other pages with no luck as to clear laws against multi-use electrodes. They only talk about things regarding manufacturers of the TENS machines.

EDIT2: My intention is to let y manager know about this, and hope she forwards this information to our CEO/Main PT.

Answer:
 You could report as an anonymous patient to the state board of health or the FDA. Just say you are a patient but do not want to be banned from the place because you like you doctor. Do not go to your manager. I work in Healthcare. The physicians have no idea. It is the manager that is making this call to reduce costs.

That is nasty and a good way to spread MRSA. The electrode have gel on them, yo cannot clean the gel.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch/howtoreport/ucm053074.htm

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/contact_us.aspx
Answer #2: Does the clinic bill Medicare?  If they do, you can make an anonymous report to the Medicare Fraud and Waste reporting line (1-800-633-4227).

In theory, if Medicare is paying for these treatments, it is assumed that a new disposable pad is going to be used for each patient.  The cost of the pad is part of the reimbursement rate offered by Medicare.  If your employer is reusing pads, they are defrauding Medicare.  This is a serious issue; Medicare fraud is a felony.

You could potentially receive a portion of the damages if you make the report as well.   Answer #3: Yikes! I’m an OT and we always used dedicated E-stim pads, one set per consumer.


Title: Texas gun laws

Question: If a 15 year old shoots a hand gun for self defense in his own property and the gun is not registered what can possibly happen?

Answer: To many "If's".  Also fifteen year olds can't own property or handguns and guns do not have to be "registered".


Title: Does the Secret service protect former presidents in prison?

Question:
How does the USSS deal with it's obligation to protect a president who's in jail or prison?

Do the agents have to therefore stay inside the detention facility?

Is the lifetime protection actually required or is it possible to hand this responsibility over to the detention facility?

&nbsp;

Crossposted from /r/ask_politics.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ask_Politics/comments/a5egec/if_a_former_president_were_to_be_jailed_would_the

Answer:
 Unless there was an act of Congress stating otherwise, they would still be required to protect a former president even in prison, though they could hand off some of the responsibility to the Bureau of Prisons, inspecting the prison and its procedures before allowing the warden to take charge of the protection of the former president. Or they could post their own security detail in the prison.Answer #2: Theoretically yes. I imagine that if a president was incarcerated they would be kept in the nicest solitary you've ever seen with either a SS detail there for when the president left their area or the SS would have approval privileges for everything that affected the president in jail.

Practically I imagine that they'd just pardon the president and hope that he or she would quietly go away like Nixon.

I believe it would take an act of Congress or a massive policy change for the SS to strip protections from a president.


Title: [PA] Family member who's name is on my bank account is stealing money from me

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Her name is on the account. That makes it her account too. Get your own bank account.


Title: A dog has been barking for 4 hours like its dying. Animal control is closed and police won't help. Can I do nothing?

Question:
I don't know what the hell is going on. A dog has been crying bloody murder since I got home, so at least 4 hours, possibly longer. I don't know if the owner died and the dog is starving to death in the back yard or what, but I can't see why someone would let their dog bark nonstop into 11PM. Animal Control is closed and I fear that the dog is in distress, more than I'm annoyed. I called a non-emergency number and explained the situation and was told "we do not send officers for barking dogs" I live in Texas.

Do I just do nothing since the police won't help? Again, I am more concerned that the owner is dead and rotting in the house with it's dog starving outside, or that the dog is being abused or trapped or something.

EDIT: We do have a nuisance ordinance and noise is covered within it. I called again and got the same operator. I mentioned that we have a nuisance ordinance and also explained once again I was merely concerned about the owners and dog.
She told me the same thing. "Officers do not deal with barking dogs". I said "So I just wait 8 hours and hope the dog doesn't die before then?" she said yes.

Answer:
 What, specifically, did the police say when you called them on their non-emergency line?Answer #2: Could you check on the neighbors? If you're concerned something is wrong, maybe politely knock on their door and make sure they're okay?Answer #3: Honestly, if the non emergency didn't do anything about it, call 911. State that the dog has been crying for four hours and you're worried the owners might be injured. Be polite but insistent.

I had to call 911 for a noise complaint (the non emergency just routes you to 911 if you have a noise complaint in my city).


Title: Dad is losing his mind. We aren't sure what to do.

Question:
I'm in Georgia, USA.

Here's some history:

During my upbringing, my dad was a normal, sane, extremely intelligent, successful, upper-middle-class engineer who had a good relationship with me, my sister, and my mother. We had a totally stable family in the suburbs.

About ten years ago when I was in my early 20s, he divorced my mother. In the few years after the divorce, he descended into some degree of midlife crisis. This included frequenting bars and picking up women way below his status (trashy, drug-addicted, mental-disordered rednecks who he constantly admitted were screwed up and didn't have anything to offer him, but he wanted them anyway). He even made the mistake of marrying one of them. I'll get to her later.

In February of 2011, after a few years of slight decline in mental stability, he had a minor stroke. This wouldn't have been so serious, aside from the fact that part of his mental instability involves the delusion that he knows better than any expert about every topic - including doctors/paramedics. He refused to admit that anything was wrong and refused to go to the hospital for seven hours after the stroke began, so I feel like he probably incurred some brain damage, leading to what has happened since.

On a related note, he also feels that he knows better than veterinarians, which is why he has adopted a half dozen pets since the divorce and they've all suffered a horrible end (one dog was euthanized for biting people in the neighborhood, one dog died of heartworms; one cat ran away into the desert, and another cat was inadvertently run over by my dad; his last dog is still alive and is fortunately staying with a friend of my sister, but I would guess that she has myriad undiagnosed medical issues since he never took her to the vet).

Despite being a brilliant engineer, he hasn't had a stable traditional job in years. For a time, he was doing engineering contract work from home, giving him potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of income, but his interest in this dwindled as his criminal convictions (which I'll address in a moment) piled up and he became more and more detached from being a functional human being.

His bar-hopping lifestyle eventually led to drinking problems, which resulted in three DUIs and an arrest for drunken domestic violence (including intimidation by discharge of a firearm) against his then redneck wife on Thanksgiving 2012 (this was when their relationship ended). He spent a month in prison. When I went to drive him home, he blamed me, my sister, and my mother for all of his problems and mistakes, unable to give any concrete reason why we could possibly be at fault. This should have been a huge red flag. Each of us had been living alone for years, but we were going to get together and spend Christmas with him (yes, even my mother after the divorce; they remained friends for a time). However, on Christmas Eve, the three of us started receiving text messages from him - insane, vulgar rants about how we were to blame for everything in his life, along with incomprehensible pseudo-philosophical ranting. These messages continued all night and into Christmas Day, eventually totaling several hundred.

This was when I made the decision to move out of that area entirely. I spent the last few years living several on the other end of the state, and I just recently went back to college to finish my Bachelor's Degree.

He dated one other woman since the redneck, and she was a similarly trashy woman with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

About the same time I went back to college, he quit his last remaining job (a software engineer programming flashlights) after a few months of exposing his boss to his unhinged behavior. Then, he bought a junky old camper and a junky old truck, packed in every single thing he owned, and went on a trip around the country to "discover himself". We all figured maybe this would help his mental state and he might get his head screwed back on. We were wrong. After a couple of months on his Hero's Journey, when he was on the other side of the country, we heard that his camper caught fire and was a complete loss. I'm still not sure if his story of a tire exploding and catching fire from friction is true, or if he was just trying to get insurance on it so that he could drive back here for his true quest which I'll get to in a bit. He used the insurance money to buy a car and drive back across the country to our state.

Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago, my sister texted me that he came to her house for a six-hour visit. He took every possible opportunity to shift the topic of conversation to his redneck ex-wife, and even when my sister would speak, he'd find a way to relate the conversation to the ex. She said he seemed completely obsessed and was speaking in a rambling, disjointed way. He then borrowed her car (I'm not sure why she agreed) for reasons he didn't explain to her.

A week later, my sister called me at my campus job and told me that my dad has been arrested for Aggravated Stalking (a felony in my state). I'm still unsure of the details, but she did find some really disturbing revelations. She said that he created a second Facebook profile where he constantly rambles and rants about this ex (three years after they divorced) and posts pictures of her as well as creepy status updates about their old sex life. He had voicemails recorded from shady-sounding individuals on his phone asking where they could buy some really hard drugs. He also had recordings of himself talking about how he wants to come back to this state, kill his redneck ex, and then kill himself. When my sister got her car back from impound after dad was arrested in it, she found a wig and baseball cap in the passenger's seat - presumably a disguise.

My sister made the mistake of bailing him out of prison, because she thought he needed to get his affairs in order before he goes back in. Last night, she texted me once again, saying that he came to stay at her house for the day. They eventually got into an argument, and he kicked down a door, beat her in the face, and stole her cell phone. Finally, today, she told me that he reported her car as stolen. Her title is still in his name, despite her having paid off the car, so the police came and seized it.

As you can probably tell, he's completely psychotic. My sister and I are trying to figure out our options. Unfortunately, with the mental health system being what it is today, it's really difficult to have someone involuntarily committed, and even if you pull it off, it's generally just a hold for a few days of evaluation followed by a release. We're just not sure what to do at this point.

TL;DR

Formerly awesome dad of happy, middle-class family has devolved into a violent, psychotic redneck. He's scaring the family and trying to screw with everyone's lives. We need advice on what to do.

[x-post from /r/Advice]

Answer: Unless a court declares him incompetent, you can not really do anything. You can contact a local attorney to see if they think it is possible, but from what you posted, I do not think it is likely.


Title: Can a civil law case be converted into a criminal case

Question: In Florida, when a couple not married but lives together breaks up and one person leave's, but only after a civil action taken by the court. Can the one that left legally claim residence a year later on sworn under oath documentation?

Answer: Maybe it's because I haven't had any coffee yet, but I don't think that anything you've said here makes any sense.


Title: Is it possible my landlord didn't notice a bounced check?

Question:
Hello all,

I am a new tenant in a California apartment held by a landlord for whom I write checks made out to a company (or, given the particularities of the way I have been instructed to make out the check) located many states away. I wrote a check from a checking account that bounced. Although I have more than the funds required, I had forgotten that I had moved a considerable amount into an associated savings account.

There has been no reaction - over a few weeks - by post, email, or telephone (which I know they have, and have previously been contacted through by them) or any other kind of notice. In less than another two weeks I will be due for a second rent payment, which I, of course, intend to pay as usual.

Is it likely that this detail has gotten lost in bureaucracy? Is there any legal reason that I need to notify them (as opposed to waiting to feign ignorance and just continue to pay subsequent rent payments unless otherwise notified, in which case I would certainly be able to make the payment plus the bounced check fee I was alerted to when signing my lease)? Is there any motivation for the landlord to surreptitiously allow this to go unnoticed?

I had no intention of dereliction, but I a) have no interest in paying a huge sum of money I don't have to and b) would - for some somewhat class-conscious reasons - not feel terribly bad about allowing this to go unnoticed.

I understand that some of the particularities here might be dependent on where I live in the US, but I appreciate any advice or information anybody can provide. Thank you so much!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 You have a legal agreement (the lease) to pay the funds. They can evict and sue if/when they notice the check bounced.

Lastly, pay your damn rent. You know you rightfully owe them the money. Answer #2: IANAL, but I am a landlord with criminal charges pending against an old tenant for bouncing a check. Bouncing checks is a felony.

Why hasnt your landlord or their company noticed yet? In addition to some banks being slow to notify about bad checks, they likely don't spend every day monitoring their deposits. Pay up now before they notice and begin to pursue action against you.


Title: [TX] My [18F] exboyfriend [19M] sent naked pics of me to my friends and family. What can I do legal wise?

Question:
I am in high school and had been dating a guy for a couple months. I had taken naked pics of myself and sent them through snap (I know, bad decision, don’t shame me please).After this whole corona thing started we broke up because I couldn’t do a relationship over FaceTime. Yesterday he texted me over snap that if we didn’t get back together “bad shit would go down”. He’s a manipulative guy so I told him that I would never get back with him. He told me he had all my nudes and would send them to everyone I knew unless we got back together. I told him to go fuck himself and went to sleep. Around 3 today my male friend texted me and said that my ex had sent him atleast 50 naked pics of me and said he had another 50 for 10 bucks. My friend sent me the pictures and I am 100% sure that they are me. About an hour later I found out that both my older brother [20M] and younger brother [12M] had been sent the pics too. He did not know their phone numbers and I do not know how he got them. By the time I’m posting this I know 15 people who have been sent the pics and asked for 10 bucks for the rest. I don’t want my parents to find out but if it comes to it they’re pretty sex positive so that’s not my main concern. I googled revenge porn Texas and was confused so I came here. Is there a way for me to save the snap messages after they’ve been deleted? Should I call 911?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: NAL, but you definitely need to contact the police. He sent pornography to your 12 year old brother — that’s a federal crime. Revenge porn is also illegal in Texas. Document *everything*. Screenshot your male friend telling you he sent them to him and offered to sell him more and email them to yourself.


Title: My friend got a DUI and she also has 4 prior speeding tickets, all under one year. We live in Arcata, California. What punishments/fines will she face in the California Court System

Question:
And a little side note, she was only held over night in the drunk tank and released and given a court date (which will be this week).

Thanks for the help reddit :)

Answer: DUI in general does not take into account prior traffic infractions. It's possible that the prosecutor will consider the prior offenses as a general disregard for law and decide not to drop her DUI to a wet and reckless.  She should expect about 5k in total fines and fees, a suspended license, mandatory DUI classes, and possibly community service in lieu of jail time.  That is pretty standard.  Answer #2: Hopefully enough to make them learn a lesson.


Title: 15 years and now an eviction?

Question:
Evicted from Kimberly WI

I've been at the same residence for 15 years. I met this nice old lady that had this place that was in dis-repair but the price was way cheaper than anything else out there. Perfect for me my wife and 4 kids.

We immediately began making this rental our home but a lot had to be done to make it livable. We repaired the floors because they were old and had black mold growing in them. we Painted all the walls twice since we lived there. I'm an electrician by trade and updated all of the lighting switches and receptacles in the rental. None of which was paid for in full but we were given small discounts on our rent. like 100 or 200 hundred dollars per project which was never really enough to even cover the cost of materials.

At some point we Replaced the cupboards in the kitchen and remodeled the whole bathroom. it cost more than 2500 dollars to do this and we got a month rent off. around 500 dollars.
I don't have receipts for any of this and I'm kicking myself for not saving them. At the time she was so nice about letting us do things and the small discounts were fine considering we got to live with the new amenities.

We needed to supply our own fridge and stove but never complained because the rent justified it.

When we had a storm and the our service was ripped off the house, me and my dad re-installed it. The landlord never did anything about it.. just neglected us and left us there in the dark. When we offered up the bill for it, he gave us his insurance company's number who refused to pay for it.. I still have the bill for that.

Then She passed away and her husband took over. Things took a turn for the worse.
He refused to do any maintenance, which was fine but would not discount us for doing any ourselves.

One year our sewer backed up and he made me call roto rooter.
He refused to pay them to come because the cost was like triple because it happened on a holiday and he made us wait 3 days before anyone came and fixed the sewage backup.

A flood ruined half our stuff in the basement and again we needed to get somebody to fix the issue.

At one point we were told we needed to install railings or his insurance was going to make him evict everyone.
I installed the railings and got nothing for it.

Weve done so much more  as well.. We painted the whole exterior of the house. (didn't get re-reimbursed). We cleanup up the whole yard and spent money and time removing old tenant trash from the premise. Got nothing.
At one point he said we could have a 200 discount for rent if we managed both sides and kept the other side rented. We spent our own money to restore the other side the best we could so that renters would move in the other side. Again we painted everthing. We got the discount for about a year until he got mad that the other tents were not paying the rent.  He demanded we pay that side because we were Managing.  I told him we would not and refused to manage the property if I was responsible for both sides rent.

The last straw was when his wife died he said he was going to sell and wanted me out by summer. We found a place right away and I told him about it. he said that we only had to pay rent for the next month and that he would give me one month free. I assumed because he didnt have the security deposit we gave him so it justified everything by giving us extra time to move. Well he went back on his word and is now saying we owe rent for the last month. Now he says hes going to sue/evict me.

I made the mistake of getting nothing in writing and I found out that I should have given him a written notice to vacate the premise. Apparently verbal is not good enough and I know I screwed up.

Any thoughts on what I should do to prepare for court?

Answer:
 None of your upgrades matter with the possible exception of the appliance replacements (would require specific language upon purchase indicating it was for you, not the property, and you'd have had to keep the originals to return them). Why you made capital enhancements to a rental (with no rent-to-own agreement) is completely beyond me...you'd never see that equity. Ever.

Over 15 years you agreed to do the work. The emergencies (power and sewer) were probably actionable, but the rest you did on your own.


Title: Furry orgy - anonymity vs consent?

Question: [removed]

Answer: Being an a party where anonymity is the norm isn't a defence to statutory rape.


Title: My step-daughters biological father now wants back in her life after 7 years of being non-existent

Question:
(Wyoming) As the title says, after almost 7 years the father now wants back in her life. He said he wanted nothing to do with her when she was born and has never seen her. Now a message comes across today from his wife stating that we need to let him see her. My fiance and I want nothing to do with that because he was a terrible person and my daughter knows nothing of him. I have planned on adopting both kids after we get married at the end of June. My fiance has messages saved from him saying he was not going to apart of her life.

Do we have a chance of keeping him out of her life after all these years if we went to court? Do I have a chance to adopt her? We are just very stressed now and want to avoid this if possible.

Answer:
 If he wants visitation it will likely be ordered. Absent a court order she certainly doesnt have to allow him to see the child. But it is likely a judge would order some form of limited visitation. That is her father.

And if he is active in her life, you are not going to be able to adopt.

Your next best step is to talk to an attorney immediately about optionsAnswer #2: Do you know if he has any actual interest in seeing her?  The message coming from the new wife almost sounds like she thinks he needs to see her.Answer #3: Is he on her birth certificate?


Title: (FL) I bought my house before I met my wife. If we separate and I move out, is she legally entitled to the house in a divorce?

Question:
I bought my house in 2004.  I married my wife in 2011 and she moved into this house.  We now have two kids.  I/we do not yet own the title in full.

My question is: if we separate and I move out, but I continue to help pay the mortgage and help financially with the kids and the bills, do I still own the house?  Will ownership be split in a divorce?  Or if I move out, does that indicate to the State that I also relinquish all my rights to the house?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Florida is not a community property state, so the ownership percentages of the house would depend on the contribution of each of you to the property. You bought it in 2004 and made all the payments up until the marriage out of your own earnings, so you have a starting interest equal to the value of the house when you got married.

What happened after you were married in 2011 affects the percentage of ownership you each would have earned during the marriage. If you were a stay-at-home dad with no income while your wife paid the mortgage, then she would have an argument that the increase in the home value over the marriage is hers. On the flip side, if you paid the mortgage out of a separate bank account you inherited from your dead uncle Joe, then you would have an argument as to owning a greater percentage.

Chances are, you both work and deposit your checks in the same accounts, and use that account to pay the expenses. So there would be an equitable division of the increase in FMV over your marriage based on your relative earnings.

You moving out for your Wife and Children to stay in the home would not relinquish your rights to the home, but the courts may decide that it would be better for the children to stay put and for you to receive a cash payout on your interest.


Title: [CA] She wants MY truck!

Question:
I moved to California from Australia in 2014 to marry my wife. I had no SSN or US credit history and had to buy a vehicle, so my wife took out a loan to help pay. I paid $15,000 and we took out a loan of $15,000. She asked me for a divorce a week ago and wants to sell the truck. I believe because she is wanting to buy a new house, and asked to sell before the next loan repayment on 5/19. She has agreed to give me the money left over after paying the loan off.

Where do I stand legally with this? Can I keep the truck? I currently have possession of it. Can she take the truck away? I don't want to sell it, I'll have no transport.

Answer:
 When you are making multiple posts like this, it's considered polite to provide links to your previous posts.  Which are [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/34cjp6/i_married_a_woman_with_6_kids_xpost_rdivorce/) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/34mzu5/ca_leaving_the_country_after_wife_asked_for_a/).

The truck isn't "yours" it's a marital asset.  Under community property laws, such assets are divided 50/50.  So this is something you need to work out in terms of the larger context of dividing all your property.

If you are planning to leave the country soon, I'm not sure why this is such a huge deal for you -- there are multiple options for short-term transport, such as a short-term lease or buying a cheap used car.


Title: Legal advice, I'm not sure...

Question:
I was shot in the lower back with a 12 gauge shot gun (2' away, #8 bird shot, I have pics if you need to see).... I've contacted several lawyers and none of them want to represent me.   This happened in 2002, and my life has been in disarray ever since then.  I've tried to work the jobs that I can, mostly factory related.  Unfortunately, my soft tissue injuries always get the better of me and I am forced out of working due to pain.

I live with my mother, and she has horses.  She is 71 years old, and I have to struggle with meager 30 lb bales of hay.  The last couple of years, however, my sciatic nerve has almost always been inflamed and causing me issues.  I can only call 911 so many times without relief...  I can't drive the 2 miles into town without wincing in pain.  I struggle to even take a shit on the toilet.

I am at my wits end.  I drink myself to sleep every night.... I need help and I don't know where to go.

Answer:
 Speak to your doctor about documenting your inability to do your job due to pain.

On a personal front, don't lift bales of hay if you cannot /should not on your doctor's advice. Your mother needs to hire someone or get rid of her horses. Going against your doctor's advice could jeopardize any claim you may have.


Title: A friend has started a business marketing vitamins and supplements as damage prevention for drug use at raves. He is based in California. Can any one look at his site and give us an idea if he would face any legal trouble?

Question:
Here is the site.
http://raveshield.com/

Answer: No. He can hire a local lawyer to do that and pay them accordingly.


Title: My boss (woman) is being really sexually aggressive to me (man) and it is making me really uncomfortable and I don’t know what to do [Mississippi]

Question: I’ve been at my job for three years, 7 months ago my boss retired and the business was purchased by two sisters. Only one of them is really involved in the business, she’s always been nicer to me than the other guys but I thought that it was just because I was a good worker. A week ago I was out on my smoke break and she came out and joined me, asked me how I was doing and how my back was doing (I was out for a week because I pulled a muscle), I told her that it wasn’t 100% but getting better, she told me that I needed to stretch before I do anymore heavy lifting and then out of nowhere tells me that what takes her aches and pains away is getting fucked. I almost choked on my coffee and laughed because I didn’t know what else to say. Ever since then she has been weird, she smacked my ass a few times and winked at me, today she called me into her office and asked me if I was still single, I told her that I had a girlfriend (that’s a lie, but I wanted to seem as unavailable as possible) and then she said “so you’re single?” I said no and she said that if I’m not married then I’m single, then she started talking about the size of my feet and the length between the elbow and my wrist and I wanted to tell her to stop but she’s my boss so I couldn’t, she asked me to stay after work but I told her that I had to go to the chiropractor, then she asked if I could tomorrow and I said “okay I guess” and went back to work. I’m really freaked out and confused by this whole thing, to be honest if you asked me a month ago I would have $100 that she was into women. If she was tasteful about being attracted to me I wouldn’t be so freaked out, I would just politely decline (because I find her repulsive), but she is so aggressive and lecherous, like the stereotypical construction worker yelling obscenities at ladies walking by. I haven’t told anyone, if I told my parents or my brother they’d tell me to quit but I am a 23 year old man and I can’t have them carry my financial burdens until I find another job.

Answer:
 That's pretty much textbook sexual harassment.

You make a complaint with the EEOC for sexual harassment, presuming the business employees 15 or more people.

If you're touched by her without your consent you can make a police report.

If she fires you for in retaliation for reporting harassment it gets worse.Answer #2: I would first tell her, in no uncertain terms, that this is sexual harassment and you will take further steps if it isn't stopped immediately.

Unfortunately since she is the owner of the company, you can't go to anyone above her, other than perhaps to the other owner, who may side with her.