Title: [WI] Buying a house, sellers are now saying they cannot afford to pay for repairs agreed upon when signing our contract

Question:
Our real estate agent can't get back to us on the issue until Monday but I'm impatient and want to know our options.

Basically when we signed our contract the sellers of the house already stated they were going to replace the well on the property. We agreed to 45 days for closing and it's already been a month and they're just now telling us that it will be too expensive to fix the well and they will not be able to do it. They then said they want us to pay for half of it.

There's no way we can afford $10,000 to help them fix the well. They've also been dragging their feet with other things that needed to be fixed in order for us to get our VA loan (like how long is it supposed to take to screw on a shower head or replace a doorknob, seriously?)  We also found out that their agent is going to drop them because they are too difficult to work with (they take at least a week to get back to him about anything according to our realtor).

My questions are: is this considered breach of contract on their part? What happens if stuff isn't fixed by the time our closing date gets here? Will we be able to get them to reimburse us money for the two home inspections (one from a guy we hired and one the VA sent out) if they are in breach of contract? Are there any other consequences of them backing out of the deal?

Editing because I'm getting some flack about the showerhead/doorknob thing:  the VA inspector wrote those two things down as fixes before they will loan us money along with some other things (putting a door on the pantry, etc).  We actually offered to make the simple repairs but the sellers never got back to us on it.  VA loans are a pain in the ass if you're looking at buying a house that needs some work.

Answer:
 IANAL, but honestly, if you have a signed contract with the sellers that they would be responsible for the fix then it would come out of their share of the sale price and you should be given a credit at the closing for the cost of the fix if they don't pay for it beforehand.

/going thru a closing right now, and learning a lot about contracts.Answer #2: If the seller refuses to satisfy the terms of the purchase agreement, and you can't reach an agreeable compromise, then you can rescind the agreement and demand the return of your earnest money, and you can sue for any damages that you suffer. I'm not sure you'll actually suffer any damages though. Can you think of any money that you stand to lose, or extra costs that you will incur, if the deal falls through?Answer #3: My first instinct is that you should just take the cost out of the sale price, but I don't think it will work. My guess is that the VA won't approve the loan if the property doesn't have a working well. Unfortunately you are likely SOL. I hope somebody else proves me wrong. Good luck.


Title: Texas: MIP

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Do they have the authority to where I am required to show id?

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.  Yes.


Title: Do lawyers ever go F it, I'm doing it for free?

Question: I was reading about the [three legged car dui](https://www.reddit.com/r/bestoflegaladvice/comments/8cfexu/girlfriend_received_a_dui_in_a_car_that_only_had/) and it sounded so absurd to me. That is assuming that the OP was being honest of course. Do lawyers ever take *pro bono* cases because of the sheer injustice of a situation? I know that their strange breed has to eat as well, so I understand why many don't. Maybe you just have to have a certain level of detachment because this sort of thing happens too often on many different levels?

Answer: My criteria for pro-bono cases relies on three factors: 1) the likelihood my presence would resolve the issue with minimal costs on my end; 2) whether the client would be unable to get any other effective aid and a great injustice would be the result; 3) my current caseload permits me to take your case. Pro-bono cases require all the same commitments and responsibilities as any other case. So I'll do it if its cost-effective, a legal aid won't take it for various reasons and it would really screw you over not to get any help, and I am not too busy. Otherwise I leave it to the legal aid foundations in the area.Answer #2: If you're an attorney who doesn't have requirements within their firm for a certain number of billable hours, then this can happen. More often than not, even if an attorney wanted to take a case, it's financially careless to do so because your rate is probably between 350-500 per hour depending on where you are. Add up two days of work for a poor client and you've effectively spent several thousand dollars on someone.


Title: Can I challenge a lease amendment that I was pressured into signing?

Question:
I inherited a building which my parents owned in a commercial zone located in San Francisco. Two years ago one of the tenants used some serious pressure tactics to get me to sign an amendment which I did not want to sign, but I signed it anyway in fear that they would leave. A few months later, we signed a lease extension that made no mention of the amendment (there was no pressure there).

Do I still have the ability to challenge the lease amendment in court, even though I signed a lease extension a few months later?

Answer: Define "serious pressure tactics". Did they say "if you don't agree to this, we'll move" or "if you don't agree to this, we'll kill your wife"?Answer #2: What grounds would you have to challenge it? I mean, it doesn't sound like they coerced you, just that they leveraged their ability to move in negotiations.


Title: My stepmom murdered my dad. I am trying to gather proof, but unsure of my options to prove her guilt.

Question: My stepmom slowly and methodically murdered my dad.  He was an alcoholic, and drank for most of his life, so his liver has been compromised for many years.  My stepmom filled out all of his medical forms, never admitting to his alcoholism or liver issues.  A couple of times she said he maybe had 1-2 drinks per day, socially.  As a result of her lies, the doctors prescribed dad medicines, such as methotrexate, that actually cause cirrhosis of the liver.  In addition to giving dad medicines that destroyed what was left of his liver, she overmedicated him.  There are many examples of her inexcusable behavior.  Once, he went to the ER (after several days of chest pain).  The ER doctor made my stepmom sign a form that heart failure was eminent, and he needed to see his primary care and cardiovascular physician within 3 days--he never went.  At that same ER visit, he was given prescriptions, such as Naproxen, which is never recommended for people who drink.  It was clear to my family, as well as many of dad's friends, that she was trying to harm him.  He eventually died of complications from the cirrhosis.  Before his death, my family called adult protective services, and there was an investigation underway.  I believe protective services was very suspicious of my stepmom, as evidenced by their questions, and presence toward the end of his life.  When dad passed, they turned the case over to the Sheriff's department.  I've made several calls to the Sheriff's department, but no one has even heard my dad's name. I'm trying to collect medical records, but it is difficult with HIPPA laws.  Many of dad's friends have witnessed her mistreatment of dad, and obvious attempts to cause harm to his health.  There is a clear motive--my dad was wealthy and she now has everything.  In addition, her first husband died of sclerosis of the liver, just like dad.  I might add that she was dating my dad while her first husband was on his death bed.  My stepmom also has Hepatitis, so in addition to having 2 husbands die of liver disease, she has liver issues herself.  My dad's death occurred in their winter home in North Carolina, but we do not live there, which makes collecting evidence a challenge.  I want her to pay for what she did, but I'm not sure if the proof I have is enough.  What steps could I take to prove she murdered my dad?

Answer:
 Was there a reason that your dad allowed her to falsify his medical forms? And everything else?

>>Before his death, *my family called adult protective services*, and there was an investigation underway.
>I believe protective services was very suspicious of my stepmom, as evidenced by their questions, *and presence toward the end of his life*.

 You called them. Right? Doesn't that explain their questions and presence?Answer #2: There is no chance that if he was taking methotrexate that he wasn't getting 3 monthly blood work done. I take methotrexate: it's a requirement. Now the blood work doesn't always show possible problems, which is why I am now looking down the barrel of a liver biopsy. What I'm trying to tell you is: there are checks and balances and it doesn't sound to me as if you have anything except your dislike for your stepmother and your grief.

Did your father have dementia? That might change my view somewhat.Answer #3: None of this sounds like murder, or even anything remotely illegal. Was there a reason your father couldn't do anything - like going to see a doctor/specialist/taking his medicine, himself?Answer #4: I am sorry for your loss.

All you can do is wait for the police to investigate.  It is not what you know, but what you can prove, which right now is not really anything.

Your best course of action is to move on with life while the police do their job.


Title: Name change on High School Diploma

Question:
So I went through a Full Legal Name change, meaning that I changed the entirety of my name so that I wouldn’t have to use my original anymore. In the process of changing my name on all my legal documents I ran into some trouble with my old high school. They’ve stated that they don’t have protocol to change their past documents because I earned them under my original name. Is that legal for them to do?

The reason it’s an issue is because if I would have to give out my previous name to every employer I ever have in the future in order to verify that I’ve graduated high school, as i don’t have a higher degree as of yet, and i feel like it defeats the whole purpose of me getting it changed in the first place, to not use that name anymore.

Any and all help is appreciated!
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 Employers will request previous names during the background check process. They will use SSN databases to ensure that information is being provided.Answer #2: >They’ve stated that they don’t have protocol to change their past documents because I earned them under my original name. Is that legal for them to do?

&#x200B;

Yes, even if they are a public school.

It's just the way it is.    Retroactive changes to documents about identity, like amended birth certificates, are simply a different category of law addressed by specific statutes.   Your high school diploma is not a "vital record" maintained by the State of Michigan or your County.

Background checks and employment histories virtually always require you to disclose "aliases" and previous names, just like any person who changed their name in conjunction with marriage or adoption or any other reason.Answer #3: they probably wont change it. on a separate note, i have never had anyone check any of my degrees.


Title: (WA) Bank involuntarily closed my account because of a fraudulent check and negatively reported me to ChexSystems.

Question:
Location: Seattle, WA

Back in July, I opened a new account with KeyBank. In August I deposited a cashier's check I had received from craigslist sale. Unfortunately, at the time of deposit, I was not aware that the check was fraudulent. I deposited the check inside the branch with a teller. The teller did not inform me there was anything suspicious with the check and continued with the transaction. He did have to step away to speak with his manager (and took the check with him) but he did not mention anything being wrong with the check. When the deposit was finished he informed me that $100 was made available and the rest would deposit the following day.

It wasn't until the following week that I noticed something was wrong. I tried to make a deposit at the ATM but it kept rejecting my deposit, so I went into the branch where I found out that a) a block was placed on my account b) the rest of the funds never deposited and c) the initial $100 deposit was reversed.

I spoke with a branch manager who spoke with the bank's fraud department and confirmed a hold was placed on my account due to suspicious activity. According to him, the cashier's check came back NFA. I explained I wasn't aware that cashier's checks could bounce (supposedly, according to him, cashier's check aren't guaranteed funds?) and discovered I was the victim of a craigslist check fraud scam.

 He said there was a hold while the bank investigated. He said that I should receive a letter in the mail with a copy of the returned check but that he was going to personally look into it to get it cleared up that he would call me back with the results.

I never heard back from the branch manager but I did receive a letter informing me that KeyBank had decided to longer continue doing business with me, was closing my account due to fraudulent activity and that I would be receiving a check in the mail for the remaining balance of my account.

Since I wasn't sure if I would be keeping the account (I ended up going with Wells Fargo) I just let it go. It wasn't until October when I was being added to a business account with a credit union, that I discovered that KeyBank has submitted a negative report to ChexSystems, resulting in me getting denied.

Fast forward to mid-October where I'm joining a credit union so I can be added to a business account as an authorized agent, and I was denied due to a black mark on my ChexSystems Report. The Credit Union explains to me that a negative report had been submitted from KeyBank.

What are my options for fighting this? I had called and spoken with a branch specialist who informed me that this apparently standard procedure to report all returned/fraudulent checks and there was nothing they could do to remove it. However, I don't understand why I have to be penalized when I wasn't the one who wrote the check. Is there any recourse available for those who are a victim of check fraud?

Answer:
 You're going to want to dispute the report with ChexSystems.  Submit a dispute with all the proof you have available.

You should also (if you haven't already) file a police report and provide them with all the information you have available about the check and the buyer.Answer #2: You can dispute it but if Key Bank's reports is accurate then the grounds for for fighting pretty much boil down to "I don't link the consequences" not "I didn't do what they said I did". Frankly it showed bad judgement to cash a cashiers check from a craigslist sale. That's going to be a scam in the vast majority of cases.


Title: Can you photograph children without their parents’ permission? (Not creepy I promise!)

Question:
My sister petitioned our township to renovate the jungle gym at a local park next to our house, because it was both unsafe and unsightly. After a lot of hemming and hawing, they finally caved and redid the whole thing. It looks great!

My sister feels like she had evidence to support her former claims. The playground went from barely attended to frequented. She wants to take photos of the kids playing to send to those who fought both for and against the money for the new jungle gym, so that they might consider putting money towards other projects that are kid-centered.

The thing is, most of the kids go there after school without their parents. Is it okay for her to take these photos and send them to those who manage our township so that they might fund more stuff for kids? It is a public park, and we are in Delaware, if that makes a difference.

Answer: It's not illegal to take pictures of children when they are in public. Having said that, there's nothing stopping parents from confronting your sister about why she's taking pictures of their children.


Title: Can the police have you empty your pockets at school.

Question: A couple of times each year at school the police bring drug dogs. They come to every classroom and tell every student to put everything in their pockets on their desk and tell them to step into the hallway. They that walk around with the dog in the room then after their done they tell everybody to go back in then they go to the next class. And this is in Alabama.

Answer:
 No, they may not. They may have drug dogs perform random searches, but to search their personal belongings requires reasonable suspicion. Also, to perform an individualized search also requires reasonable suspicion.

[This is an older resource](http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec01/vol59/num04/The-Right-to-Search-Students.aspx), but goes into a lot of the case law.Answer #2: To second the other poster here, no. They can go into your locker, but they cannot search you personally without reasonable suspicion (this includes emptying your pockets). Not at random. I would alert your parents of this happening. I don't know of any resources for your area, but other posters or the ACLU might have some.

If you are asked to do it again, you have the legal right to refuse. If you are given trouble for refusal, ask to speak to your parents or a lawyer.


Title: The state of Alabama has us in a weird, almost humanly impossible situation. How to proceed?

Question:
My husband has a charge from 2014 for paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.
He is currently enrolled in court referral/color code (for those that don't know this is basically a phone number you call everyday except Sunday and if your color gets called you must report between 8 am and 11 am or 1130am-4pm to take a mandatory drug screening.)
It's $80.00 the 10th of each month and if you miss a payment, you get $20.00 added to your expenses.
If you owe $100.00 or more, even if you pass your drug test, you are considered to test positive if you do not have the funds to cover the drug screenings.

He is expected to do 30 NA/AA classes between now and the 16th of next month, and go to psychological evaluation classes (either 9AM to 2PM for 10 weeks, Monday through Thursday for free classes or 530PM to to 730PM for 14 weeks, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for $490.00 that can be paid in payments of $35.00 a week.) and hold down a job working third shift from 9 to 6 AM.

We are expecting a child in 12 weeks and recently lost our home due to unrelated reasons.
If you miss one day of any of these you are expected to start over.
If you start over and are not compliant, you can be arrested and when you get out expected to do it again, except longer.

He has passed every drug test, enrolled in all of the classes and been compliant with everything but there is only so much that can be expected of a single person before it just seems like they are intentionally trying to get him to screw up (80% of the money we pay is going to the paychecks of these people that have us under their thumbs) so he will stay on the programs and this is not uncommon for many people that are enrolled in CRO.
He has never tried to dilute his urine for any screenings and the test before the last one he took was claimed to be diluted, even though they didn't tell him until his next visit.
These people have enough power to just be able to say that a test has been diluted 3 times and have you start over.
If you want to fight you, you must pay an additional $35.00 to have it sent to a local lab and screened for the exact levels of chemicals, which they have also been known to tamper with as well while in the process.

Is there anything I can do to possibly do these things one at a time, considering we've done exactly what is expected of us for 5 months now? I just want to be through with this so we can focus on our little one coming into the world this April.

Answer:
 OP, you already know that he has to do this, because the court ordered it, and because you don't want him to go to jail. Therefore, the only advice I can give you is to support him as much as possible, and pay the $35 to get that one test re-tested (if he really didn't dilute it--remember that dilution could be because he drank too much water that day, simply because he felt dehydrated).  If you think this system is unfair, well, I do, too.  So you should start a community activist group to fight for other people in the criminal justice system, make sure that you vote regularly, and write letters to your local papers.  But in the short-term, *he has to do what the court ordered.*

Have him set an alarm on his phone and on your phone so that he never forgets to call-in, schedule all of the classes now, figure out how to schedule the NA/AA meetings, and set aside all the money you'll need for this immediately (you may have to borrow money from family, etc.--start planning now).


Title: What happens if you are detained/questioned and need a public defender?

Question:
This is all hypothetical. I am not in this situation. But say I am detained by police and I do not want to talk to them. In movies/TV they always say "I want my lawyer". Well what happens when I can't afford one? This would be my case if I was put in this situation.

edit: NJ/PA/USA for the locationbot

Answer: You won't get an attorney right then. That doesn't happen until you've been formally charged. The effect of asking your lawyer is to permanently stop all questioning.


Title: Should I consult an attorney after concluding an over the counter medication made two of us ill?

Question:
I bought a large bottle of ibuprofen that I kept in my office desk.  After taking some IB about six weeks ago, I broke out in a full body rash.  It took a long time to figure out what was causing the rash but skin biopsies were involved (scarring) and they determined I had a drug eruption.  I had taken IB from a few different sources (bottle at home, office).  Doctors concluded I had an IB allergy.  In addition to well over a thousand dollars in medical bills (co-pays, co-insurance), the treatment for the rash made me ill for a few weeks and I missed work (self employed).  One week ago, I gave the bottle in my desk to a co-worker since I was now allergic and she had a headache.  She just texted me that she has a full body rash after taking the IB for a few days.  I am concluding there is something wrong with these pills.  Other than notifying the FDA of the potential problem with these meds, should I consult an attorney to try to recover money spent on medical bills?
In U.S. - Florida.

Answer: before you do that, you'll need to contact a doctor to make sure it was that bottle of ibuprofen that got you and your coworker sick, and not some other environmental factor that you both share. it's unlikely an attorney will take on your case without proof that it was indeed that ibuprofen


Title: [USA] Wife's Insulin pump provider screwed up in 2010, refusing to provide pump supplies now.

Question:
December 2010, my wife tells her Insulin Pump manufacturer (we'll call them Company A) that they cannot process a new order for supplies until Jan 1 2011 or insurance will refuse to cover.  They agree to wait, but order on 12/31/10 anyway.  As expected, insurance refuses.  She fights with Company A on the phone for months, offers to return supplies etc., yet they refuse to correct the situation and continue to attempt to collect ($900 usd) which wife doesn't pay.

Fast forward to present day (Jan. 2018).  Her current insulin pump provider (Company B) is purchased by Company A.  She needs pump supplies, so she calls Company A to place an order and they refuse to fill until she pays the 8 year old debt that she never should've owed.

Do we have ANY recourse?

Answer: They can refuse service for unpaid debts. Ultimately, she's responsible for it. She used the supplies.


Title: [IA] My boss withheld payment from my check because clients haven't paid... is this legal?

Question:
I work for a small business in a therapy related field. The workers are signed as independent contractors and are paid a percentage of the overall client payment for each visit. Our contracts are with the business. Each individual client also has a contract with the business. The contractors are in no way responsible for collecting/recording payments, sending invoices, etc. That is done by our boss.

We are paid monthly on the 20th for the entire previous month's work. So Sept. 20th I got paid for the entire month of August. When we get paid we get a print out that is itemized by each client and the number of visits. Then there's a "received" section in our check which is where she details the money we are being paid that day. Then there's a "not received" section, which is where she lists the money we will be getting paid but we don't get it that day because certain clients that we see are behind on payments.

So I guess my only question is... is this legal? I've seen it on other contractor's check printouts and have seen notes about back payments for services from other contractors. I could see how it would be legal with independent contractors but at the same time I could see how it wouldn't be because we are contracted with the business and not with the individuals. Halp please. Thanks.

Answer: Check your contract language - your payments may indeed be dependent on the prime contractor receiving payments from clients.


Title: University police called me and left a voicemail yesterday. What should I do?

Question:
Today, I looked into my voicemail and noticed that a University Police detective called yesterday and left a voicemail, asking to call him back. After doing some online searches, I learned that the detective, along with the number, was apart of a university threat mitigations unit, and the detective himself was responsible for investigating behavioral concerns, threat mitigation, and crisis intervention.

I think this could be related to my online activities, but I’m not sure. I do make accounts on Reddit to troll people regularly - I have an account where I post extremely racist things against blacks and jews, and also pretend I’m an incel, and say extremely vile things toward minorities and women, and these comments DO NOT reflect who I am. The issue is I don’t think any comments I’ve made are illegal - the worst I’ve ever said was that there needs to be a genocide of x minority and that “Chads and Stacys should die slow, painful deaths.” I also regularly post racist material on 4chan.

What should I do? I’ve already tried to call him back and actually left a voicemail asking why they called (and nothing more). Please help, I’m worried.

Edit: I am in Texas, the USA.

Answer: Those comments absolutely do reflect who you are, and now that you've been identified, expect extensive real life consequences for your behavior. Now that the university police are contacting you about it, they'll determine if you've committed any crimes and refer what they find to the district attorney. After that, they'll tell your dean what you've been up to and you may face expulsion. Your parents will want to know why you're being thrown out of college, and they'll find out eventually.


Title: Did my mother break HIPPA?

Question:
This happened just a couple of minutes ago and i was confused. So my girlfriend cut herself awhile back and still goes to therapy for it, all unknown to my parents of course. Well my mother works in the same building as the therapist so she seen her in there and asked me about it. I talked to my girlfriend and she told her mom. Well her mom now proceeds to accuse my mother of violating HIPPA. My mother used to work in (if any of you know this place) Hamilton center so we're pretty sure she is not violating any laws. I'm just looking for some experts advice.

&#x200B;

For context my mother is now a teacher for the child development classes in the same company

Answer: No, that's not how HIPAA* works. Your mother didn't discuss any medical details with you, just mentioned to you that she saw your GF. Like wow.


Title: SF red light citation advice (right on red)

Question:
I received a traffic citation for failing to stop at a red signal in San Francisco with pictures: one that shows my car at the marked limit line (when the light was red), and another that clearly shows me making a right turn (while the light is still red).
There was no sign prohibiting right turns, so I can only assume my only possible violation is if I failed to make a complete stop at the light - however I honestly do not remember if I failed to stop completely, and nothing I see in the before picture seems to indicate that I did or didn't.
Is it worth contesting? Is there some evidence that I'm missing from the pictures that shows I didn't fully stop? I did not get sent any video.

Answer:
 > There was no sign prohibiting right turns,

You still have to yield to traffic. You have to stop and make sure there's no one coming before you make a right if you're sitting a red light. A sign doesn't make a difference.


Title: Issued a Citation for Texting & Driving, Not Guilty - Help!

Question:
Yesterday I was pulled over in Michigan by a police who asked me why I was texting. I replied that I was not texting, but was briefly checking my email, as I was expecting an important one to come through. He also stated that he saw me swerving on the road and almost going into the ditch. (A gross exaggeration, I'm 95% sure I never crossed either the middle line or the line on the side of the road)

He proceeds to write me a ticket for violation of 257.602b of the Michigan Vehicle Code (257.602b states "a person shall not read, manually type, or send a text message on a wireless 2-way communication device that is located in the person's hand or in the person's lap, including a wireless telephone used in cellular telephone service or personal communication service, while operating a motor vehicle that is moving on a highway or street in this state.")

I reiterated that I was not texting, and he responded that all use of a cell phone was covered under that law (eg. texting, emails, watching videos, etc.)

He also wrote "Checking Email" in the comments section of the ticket. I know that I am not guilty, and plan to fight it in court.

**Here are some of the points/evidence I plan to use:**
*1) The law clearly states Text Messaging and does not cover any other use of the cell phone (other than making phone calls)
2) I've printed off my text message records from my cellular carrier which shows I did not place any text messages during that time. (I have an iPhone so the record I have does not include iMessages - Can the court use against me by saying I don't have enough evidence to create reasonable doubt?)
3) The officer wrote "Checking Email" in the comments section which means he believed that that is what I was actually doing. (Under risk of perjury)*

Do you think I have enough evidence to convince the judge that the preponderance of the evidence does not point to me being guilty?

Answer:
 by "checking email", would you say that you were reading messages? and would "text" be an accurate description of how these messages appear on your phone?Answer #2: >Do you think I have enough evidence to convince the judge that the preponderance of the evidence does not point to me being guilty?

No, that's not a good defense. It's a downright bad one, actually.Answer #3: I believe that there is a good chance that you are confusing the generic term "text message" for the specific term of "SMS message".

It would be reasonable for a judge to interpret the intent of "text message" to mean that the message is composed of text (as opposed to voice), and not the protocol (e.g. SMS, MMS).

But, I have not researched case law.  If you wish to mount a defense of this, an attorney would be advised who will be familiar with the case law.Answer #4: This is the law you violated. "It wasn't a text message" might be a defense, but I'd bargain not as they restrict even reading text messages while you drive or even holding with one or both hands a cellular device. Consult with a traffic attorney and stop making terrible selfish choices that get people killed every day.

www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(f4jbespehsuunqtmejyaeczo))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-257-602b


Title: Please Help. Unmarried Dad trying to get to see my 17 month daughter.

Question:
To be upfront.  Ex Nurse who was charged with 6 felonies (F-4).  Have recently had case dismissed and records sealed.  I'm am self described "grateful recovering drug addict" with 16 months of clean time and currently receiving random drug screens from Ohio Board of Nursing AND a Professionals Recovery Program that I freely participate in.
  My Ex-girlfriend and I have a verbal agreement that I pay her 200.00/month in child support and I get to see my daughter.  However these visitations have become more infrequent and she is denying me to take my daughter to my apartment or visit my family.
  I haven't seen my little girl in 2 weeks and my heart is breaking.  Baby mama is standing firm on me only visiting.  Need help PLEASE.  I don't want my daughter to forget me.

Answer: File for an actual visitation scheduleAnswer #2: Get a family lawyer and have them write up a visitation agreement.


Title: Bloomingdale's accidentally gave its customers $25,000 in store credit. Can Bloomingdale's customers legally keep the stuff? (NY)

Answer:
 If those customers accidentally gave Bloomingdale's a hundred instead of a ten when buying socks, would Bloomingdale's be able to keep the extra $90?  If they were paying their credit card bill and wrote $1200.0 instead of $120.00 when they owed $120, could Bloomingdale's just pocket the money?

No, these people can't keep the money or anything they bought with it any more than Bloomingdales would be able to pocket money they accidentally gave. That would be theft.


Title: Taking on a Toyota Dealership that blatantly lied to me (California)

Question:
In Nov 2017, I needed to get a new vehicle. I shopped around, and finally went to a Toyota dealership that was in my hometown.

While I was looking at vehicles, the salesman told me that Toyota had recently redone their leasing policy, and I could put whatever miles on the vehicle and NOT BE penalized, as long as I returned it to THAT specific Toyota.  This seemed too good to be true, so I asked MULTIPLE people on the sales lot, as did my friend that was with me. They said that this was true. The aspect of unlimited miles was appealing because I commute, and also visit my hometown frequently.

I decided to lease a Corolla, and additionally asked the contract agent who came out and told me what my payments would be and the woman who ran the final paperwork and gap insurance whether or not this new leasing thing was real. They both said yes. My friend who was with me witnessed this as well. I put down $1000 plus $300 for the trade in of my old car.

Now I’m almost at my miles, almost 2 years in, and I called to make sure the leasing agreement was still true. I was flat out told “no”. He said he had never heard of this before. He basically told me I could trade in the car and purchase another one from their lot, if my car is valued at enough. Conveniently, the sales person who leased me the car is no longer there - however, I believe I have a way to find him to see if he will put it in writing that he lied.

My question is, do I have any legal recourse in this matter? The sales people all lied to my face, and I feel they should really be taking some responsibility for that.

* to clarify- I understand I have a responsibility also to have read the lease in detail. They went over it with me saying “blah blah blah and this doesn’t matter cause you can put whatever miles on it....”. I’m quite ashamed of myself for falling for this obvious falsehood, however there was so many people telling me that it was true. I needed a new car quickly, because mine had thousands of dollars worth of repairs that were needed.

Thanks for your help!
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: If it's not in the contract, it didn't happen. Salesmen lie all the time. Ignore everything they say unless it's written down in a signed contract.


Title: California thinks I owe $6000 in taxes for a year in which I was unemployed and homeless

Question:
2012 was a terrible year for me. Both my husband and I were laid off from our jobs in late 2011 and we were eventually evicted from our apartment in San Francisco. Our sole income in 2012 was unemployment and a tiny monthly commission (about $20 a month) from selling a single Aflac policy in 2011. We couchsurfed with various friends and family members for a few months.

I started working again in 2013. A few months into the new job, the California Franchise Tax Board started sending my employer wage garnishment notices. Every notice has been answered with notification that I don't make enough to garnish. They still send a new notice every few months.

Every time I called the number on the notice to find out what's going on, the rep told me my account is now being handled by a different department and to call another #. I call and I wait on hold forever. I sat on hold for four hours once.

I finally got a hold of a rep who could help me. She said that because my medical insurance license was still active and because I hadn't filed a return for 2012, they taxed me based on the "industry average". I tried insurance sales briefly in 2011 and sucked at it. I sold only one policy during that time and made maybe $200 in commission off it, some of which was paid in 2012.

She told me if I could obtain my unemployment record for 2012 and fax it to her, it would be sufficient proof that I didn't have any income from employment and they would take the $6000 bill off my record. Unfortunately, trying to get a hold of the unemployment folks has been a nightmare. The hold times are impossible. I do not have the complete records because I didn't have a stable residence to receive mail at the time.

Shouldn't the California Franchise Tax Board already have the relevant records from the unemployment department and from Aflac?

Answer:
 No, they do not have the records. That is why you need to get them and provide them. I know it is a shitty situation for you, and I do feel sorry, however, you have to get them these forms they require to get this tax bill eliminated. Good luck.Answer #2: > because I hadn't filed a return for 2012

Your solution here is to file a return for 2012.  It will have a lot of zeros.  Yes, you can file it now.  Do Federal too while you're at it.


Title: [Ontario, Canada] Dad was receiving CPP when he was working and now owes the Government just shy of 100k

Question:
ONTARIO:

Update:
My dad became ineligible for cpp back in july 2012, and continued to receive cpp payments until April 2017. He owes 41k repayment. He worked from 2012-2015. There are no charges, and as of right now he has just received a notice asking for repayment. How to move forward? Does he need a lawyer or can he just call CRA and figure it out?

So my dad did this, it's pretty stupid, but now he seems to think that he has no recourse but to fall on his sword and accept whatever is thrown at him unconditionally. He doesn't want to get a lawyer and has asked my sister and I to come over later today and talk about helping my mom find a place to live when he goes to jail.
I don't have all the details yet, but I was hoping to get some advice from Reddit before I go talk with him. Anything at this point will help because he seems to have preemptively given up all hope.

I googled a bit on Fraud in Canada and it seems to me that Jail time of 10+ months is probably on the table for him. (I read this pdf and some other links. (not sure if pdf links are allowed so I wont link it) pdf: W-W-W-dot bankofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/sentencing_fraud.pdf)

As for aggravating factors:

A high degree of planning and deliberation , a lengthy time over which the fraud took place , and a substantial number of transactions required to commit the fraud:

I'm not sure how long it has been going on, but I imagine 1-3 years at least. (I'll know more later today) He knew what he was doing, his reasons stated to me was that he was just trying to get by. (he was denied for ODSP, or cut off, I don't know the details. My mom makes probably 30-35 K and his medical bills are HUGE and he can't really work, although he pushes himself to work regardless.(more below))

Greed:

I honestly don't think this was a factor, he leads a pretty meagre life and barely got by.

Personal profit:

I mean most of the money went to medication and bills and food (to my knowledge)

The size of the fraud:

As far as I know, it is just shy of 100k

The nature of the victim (e.g. elderly individual, institution, public agency, and the number of victims)

My dad is 58 and has a laundry list of chronic health problems. His heart and lungs are mostly scar tissue and barely work due to pneumonia and heart attacks(3+ attacks), HIV contracted from a bad blood transfusion in the 90s( or some kind of medical procedure I can't remember the specifics), severe back injury(work related in the 80's), chronic pain, major mental health issues, no substance abuse or suicide attempts, he has had several surgeries just to hold his joints together, he takes 10+ pills/day. He can barely walk.

If he goes to jail he will probably die, in fact the only reason he hasn't died yet is only due to my mom and us taking care of him. He ends up in the hospital's ICU at least once a year on average. This has all of us very scared.

We know that he fucked up, he knows it. We've all told him as much, but we want to help him get ahead of this and mitigate it as much as possible. However, he's given up already. I feel like he did this mostly because he thought he wasn't going to live this long and it was the only way to support himself and my mother. He's had many jobs that he worked hard at, often too hard, pulling 16+ hour days 7 days a week, often working himself to exhaustion and collapse because it was required to make money to live. Again, this is all to the limit of my knowledge and will provide update Later today.

What kind of questions should I ask him, what kind of things can I tell him to convince him to get a lawyer?

Any help is massively appreciated.

Topic:
Tax Law

Answer:
 You gave a laundry list of why you think he did something, but you barely even touched on what you think he did.  Do you even know of fraud charges are being looked at?  Maybe they just want their money back and there will just be administrative penalties.

You can collect CPP while working in some cases.

You've got to expand on the act you think he committed. And you and your sister should not be playing lawyer. You talking about sentencing and mitigating factors without explaining the crime tonsee if it even related could make things worse.

Also, 100k is a lot of months of CPP benefits...are you sure you know the full story?


Title: My (35M) brother (32m) was arrested for child pornography possession

Question:
The time frame and names have been changed.

My brother and his wife have allowed her 2 brothers to live with them in the finished basement of the house for the past 7 years.

Tim (My brother)

Casey (My brother's wife)

Danny (My sister in law's brother #1)

Harry (My sister in law's brother #2)

&#x200B;

Some time ago the local police burst into my brothers home at 6:00 AM on a Friday and took almost all the electronics.  He was out of town on a business trip when this happened.  Casey and Harry's girlfriend were at the house at this time.  The police interrogated both of them over the course of 4 hours.  During this time, the police would not allow Casey to get dressed (She was naked because she was in the shower when they came in) or to leave the situation.  They repeatedly told her to stay seated every time she asked if she could get dressed and leave.  She said the police kept asking her who had access to which laptops in the house and if they were password protected.  She said they had one laptop that had a password on it and 80% of the time it was in their bedroom but sat out on the dining room table the rest of the time.  She said that her and Tim would use the laptop and she would help Danny pay his bills once a month on it, and that Harry could use it if he wanted too. She said she really didn't know because she never paid that much attention to it.  She told me that they kept telling her that only her and Tim had access to that laptop.  She was naked, and scared and told me she may have agreed to what they were telling her.  She said they were very aggressive and forceful with her.  She was only allowed to leave when her mother showed up because her work called Tim and asked if Casey was OK because she wasn't at work and never missed work.  Tim tried calling her but couldn't get her and called her mother and asked if she could check on her.

&#x200B;

One month later the police arrested Tim and charged him with 10 counts of possession of child porn.  Casey hired a lawyer and we bailed Tim out as soon as we could.  The lawyer said they would meet again before the preliminary hearing after he had discovery of the evidence.  The lawyer advised to waive the preliminary hearing because they wouldn't get a chance to tell their side of the story while the prosecution would be able to spill all their details?

&#x200B;

Fast forward several weeks later, and his lawyer said the prosecution has a slam dunk case and if the trail goes to jury he would get convicted and get 25 years in prison???????  Tim has asked repeatedly for the evidence and the lawyer says he can't see it because of the type of charges, but could tell him that someone was using Casey's laptop to download a peer to peer file sharing software and downloading pictures and videos then deleting the files and deleting the software and this happened over a period of a couple of years!  Tim asked what evidence do they have that says it was him and the lawyer told him 90% of the prosecution's evidence is Casey's statement.

&#x200B;

My brother swears up and down that he did not do this but he absolutely doesn't want to go to prison for 25 years and his lawyer convinced him to take an Alfred Plea since he couldn't convince Harry or Danny to come forward and say they did it.  The lawyer said Tim would get a better sentence using the Alfred Plea?  Is this true? His life has been ruined and he swears he is innocent.  He is waiting to be sentenced by the judge.

&#x200B;

My questions:  What the hell is going on?  The police never questioned anyone else in the house?  Did they not care to vet Harry or Danny?  Within a month Harry left the house after living with them for 7 years.  Casey doesn't believe it was Tim and is still with him, but can't believe one of her brothers did it.  So, who the hell did this??  Could someone have accessed the laptop remotely and done this or did it have to be one of the people living in the home?  Why didn't the police question or investigate anyone else?  Could anything have been done to convince the police to at least rule out the other people living in the house?  Would a jury really give a guilty verdict and sentence him to 25 years or more if they were told the details of this situation?  Was the Alfred Plea the right thing to do in this situation?  I apologize if there isn't a clear legal question here I am just at a loss.

&#x200B;

Thanks for any insight or help anyone can provide.

Answer:
 Without knowing what happened with the investigation, it's hard to say.  Something here doesn't add up.  The cops don't just kick down someone's door over child porn charges without evidence that something was happening.  And your attorney doesn't just roll over and say "You have to take a plea" on a 25 year sentence unless there's some real evidence that you'd be convicted on.  You're not getting anywhere near the full story.

&#x200B;Answer #2: We should assume several things are true:

If your brother is guilty he would probably still deny it until his dying day.

If his attorney thinks trial would be a slam dunk for the prosecution, that means there is evidence that ties brother in particular to the crimes, rather than anyone else in the house. Otherwise his attorney would tell him they can probably raise a reasonable doubt by pointing at the other adults in the house.

Who knows what that evidence could be.  But the attorney representing your brother had seen it and is telling him his best chance is to plead not guilty ~~but responsible, essentially~~ but admit that the evidence against him would likely be sufficient to convince a jury of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This probably will result in a lesser sentence than a conviction at trial, but your brother’s life is fucked for sure regardless.

Take care of your self. Something like this inflicts a trauma on those associated with the accused. If you are feeling overwhelmed, get some counseling.

Edit to correct meaning of Alfred plea. Answer #3: So the police believed Casey and Tim had access to *Casey’s* laptop but concluded the culprit, between the two, must be Tim? Presumably there’s more to this story.


Title: Huntington Bank refuses to deposit a settlement check for my totaled car, but tells me that I "have to keep paying it off every month until the check is deposited"

Question: Long story short, I got in an accident and GEICO declared it totaled. I did the financing through Huntington. GEICO, a month ago, sent them the settlement check which is worth just enough to pay off the car. I've been collecting interest over the month and am still paying it off despite not even owning it anymore. When I call Huntington Bank they basically tell me that I have to keep paying it off until the settlement check is deposited, but they refuse to deposit the check no matter how many times I call. It's been over a month and I really don't know what else to do. I've even called GEICO about it and they've done everything in their power to help me, it's all on Huntington Bank now and they refuse to do anything for me besides tell me to go away. Is there anything at all I can do? I live in PA.

Answer:
 http://www.dobs.pa.gov/Consumers/Pages/File-a-Complaint.aspx#.VDR-kSldXfk

Contact them.


Title: My cousin took dozens of my dad's clients when he started his own business, is there anything my dad can do?

Question:
This is my first reddit post, so I apologize in advance if it's sloppy. Some background: My dad owns a carpet cleaning business and has been in business for over 18 years. It's a small family owned business and my cousin has been working for my dad for about 10 years. My cousin has been like a brother to our family, my dad took him under his wing when he was 17, he is from Compton and my dad wanted him to have better opportunities and to get him off the streets. My aunt and other cousins have on been on drugs and go in and out of jail for years, so he was happy to live with our family and be working with my dad. For the most part, they worked really well together, my dad did all the back end stuff, he set up all appointments and did all the advertising, did all the billing and maintenance and my cousin showed up at the job sites did the actual cleaning. In a way my cousin was the face of the business and he did a great job, he was very charismatic and charming.

About two years ago my cousin suddenly wanted to start his own carpet cleaning company- it was a huge surprise but what can you do? They ended up having a huge falling out over this- my dad felt betrayed. Within these past couple months my dad has noticed when he sends out his annual carpet cleaning letter to some of his most loyal customers, and dozens have either not responded or have actually said that my cousin reached out to them and they will doing business with him now. Even just today my dad showed up at a job site and the customer cancelled on the spot on my dad because he was used to seeing my cousin. I think the biggest slap in the face for us was that a popular DJ, who was one of my dad's clients for years, did an advertisement for my cousin on the radio. My dad suspects my cousin has been plotting on taking his customers for years now.

I have no idea what to do. I understand that no business "owns" their customers, but it is breaking my heart to see my dad feel so betrayed and lost. HELL I feel deeply hurt, I haven't talked to my cousin since he quit. Every week dad tells me that he thinks he needs to sell his house and his company... I think this situation is every small business owner's worst nightmare. My dad spent years training my cousin in the hopes that he will help grow business, and the next thing you know, he quit and taken half of my dad's customers with them.

I know my dad didn't have a non-solicitation agreement with my cousin..but still is there anything he can do?

Answer: This is the kind of situation where your dad needs to consult an employment lawyer. Using customer lists from a former employer could be a breach of the duty of loyalty or misappropriation of trade secrets. You need to give your country/state for more info on possible legal claims.


Title: Fiancée is making a lot less then the previous year income despite a raise (Nebraska)

Question:
-------------------
- Update -

Thank you everyone for the great advice. After she discussed this further with the head doctor, he informed her that the yearly earned starts in March "business yearly cycle starts then". I haven't seen a business, especially of the smaller scale, do this. I assume once her W2 shows up in early January that it will reflect the missing January and February 2016 pay periods and better reflect her yearly income to date. Thanks everyone for the advice.

-------------------

Location (Nebraska)
I typically keep out of my fiancée's finances but recently I had to look at her pay stub to get an accurate estimate on her yearly income for health insurance. Since I did her taxes last year, she claimed she made 25k last year (and her W-2 verified this). I checked her pay stub for this Friday and it shows that she has earned only 17k so far this year. In March she received a raise from $13 dollars an hour to 14 an hour. In June she received an additional increase to 14.50 an hour. Seeing how she's hourly, her time can fluctuate a bit so I know it can't be completely accurate, however she almost always works 40 hours a week, give or a take an hour (rarely any overtime). At this rate she's projected to make 21k by the year end. She's averaging around $1000 every two weeks before taxes and she's always paid every other Friday.

She's a dental assistant in Nebraska and plans to consult the doctor who manages the payroll (along with his remote accountant); but is there something I could be missing that might explain the shortage of income? If the doctor claims her total income is accurate, is there any action she can take to investigate this further? The accountant is a third-party accountant so it's difficult for her to go directly to him/her.

Answer: She makes what she makes.  You need to examine her pay stubs to make sure she is getting credit for the time she works at the agreed upon rate.


Title: Coworker has been taking home an excel spreadsheet containing patient information to make phone calls on her personal cell. Does this violate HIPAA?

Question:
My workplace is located in Missouri if that matters. As the title states, my coworker has been taking home an excel spreadsheet that contains 3500+ patient names, phone numbers, and the date they were last in our clinic. The owner of the chiropractic clinic we work for assigned her this task so she could log more hours before the holidays. One of the chiropractors and I have some issue with this and are wondering if this is HIPAA compliant?

The excel spreadsheet is inside a dropbox that she accesses from home on her personal computer. She then calls each patient from her personal cell/home phone. If this is not compliant, what ways can it be made legal? Also which part of HIPAA does this violate?

Answer:
 Dropbox can be HIPAA compliant if used correctly. As is working from home.

It’s a risk, but as long as the connections are made properly it can be compliant.


Title: [MT] My dementia-ridden grandma is too scared to go home after calling the cops on her husband, who's also her PoA.

Question:
I apologize in advance for this, since my family is largely trying to figure this out long distance, as I'm in MA, and my mom's in IN. My dad flew out to MT yesterday to try to help my uncle with things.

On Saturday, we got a call from my uncle that the cops were called to my grandparents' house. My grandma had called because my step-grandpa, let's call him Bob, was 'scaring her' and wouldn't let up. When my uncle arrived, in talking to the police officer he also found out that this was also the eighth call in six months for a domestic dispute, either called in by neighbors or by grandma herself. After everything was settled, the officer suggested that my uncle take my grandma away from the home for the night to 'let things settle' for a bit. He did, but now she doesn't want to go back home, and Bob won't let her back in either.

The day after the call, my uncle noticed my grandma's confusion and agitation was more than just being upset that she had to call the cops on her husband again. He took her to the ER to have her checked out; there was some bruising found on her legs and ankles that APS was called in for, and the ER doc insisted on doing some cognitive therapy and testing to look at her dementia.

Once the tests came back, we (uncle) were told that her dementia was a Level C or Stage 3 and that she should have had bloodwork done for medication years ago. We followed up with a call to her primary care physician and he confirmed wanting to test her, but Bob had refused every time, saying she didn't need it. Level C, we were told, meant the disease was advanced enough that she was not fit to make any legal decisions for herself, and the ER doc didn't think she was fit to be left unsupervised at all, anymore. A fact underscored by that evening, my grandma packed up all her things in the middle of the night and wandered out of the hotel room. My dad and uncle only woke to notice when she walked back in because she'd forgotten why she'd left.

We'd suspected she had dementia for a while, but both with being long distance, and with Bob being very good at pushing people away, we hadn't known just how advanced it was until this point.

So. We have my grandma who cannot make legal decisions for herself and cannot be left alone without a home, and the person that can make all of her legal decisions scares her so badly that she doesn't feel safe at her house anymore. She says she wants a divorce, but I don't believe she can legally ask for one? My dad and uncle are running out of vacation time, so their jobs will be in jeopardy soon if my family doesn't figure out how to resolve this, and she currently will not hear of moving into assisted living. Nor do we have the right to use any of her assets to sign her into such a facility. My parents just moved into a small apartment after selling their house, and my uncle lives in a one-bedroom studio, so neither of them are very equipped to have her move in with them. All of my grandma's assets are co-signed in Bob's name, as well.

We've reached out to a couple senior advocacy groups in Montana for advice, but no one's called us back yet. APS hasn't followed up with us.

Answer:
 I'm sorry you're going through this. Your family needs to petition the court for guardianship over your grandmother. You do that in the probate court of the county your loved one lives in, in my state. I don't know about your state.That guardianship will likely trump the POA Bob has. Answer #2: Try to get hold of APS, the police, and a hospital social worker. All these agencies should be able to offer some kind of emergency answer since her situation is already on record with each of them. Tell them your grandmother is being threatened and is afraid to go home. Get an inmediate safe place for her to be first, then worry about the PoA.

I'm so sorry. It hurts so much when our loved ones are so helpless and we can't always actually be right there.


Title: My Boss wants us to change our LinkedIn passwords so that he can update our pages for "uniformity and consistency", is this Legal?

Question:
"Everyone,

Please temporarily change your LinkedIn passord to \*\*\*\*\*\* and send your login username to \*\*\*. He will be updating everyone's LinkedIn for uniformity and consistency purposes.

\*\*\* I'll forward you the new photos today along with resumes so you can make the updates.

Everyone, after this is done, change your password back to your standard password so that you and only you have access.

Thank you."

I told him I thought this was an invasion of privacy and that I don't think companies dictate what goes on their employees profiles. He said "Yes, they do bro. Every law firm does. We just haven't done it until now."

Answer:
 They are allowed to ask you to do that.

You are allowed to agree or refuse.

They are allowed to fire you if you refuse.

LinkedIn is allowed to terminate your account for sharing your password. Answer #2: A law firm? Your content is yours. They have no right to ask for your username and password, but they can give you a format, etc., for your current employer. I'd love to know what firm this is. --TX Lawyer  Answer #3: So, along with demanding access to your account, your boss just gave everyone in the firm access to everyone else's account? (He gave out a universal password. Now Chuck in Accounting, who's lunch you stole last week has access to your profile.) That's not terribly bright and I would absolutely respond to your boss with a diplomatic offer to find another way to accomplish his goal without compromising the security of every account represented by your firm. Answer #4: This violates LinkedIn's TOS.


Title: [Ca] Crazy lady walking up and down sidewalk for year and half.

Question:
For about a year and a half now, this crazy lady is walking up and down the neighborhood sidewalk everyday, from 5am to 8pm. Shes pretty dedicated. Pretty good energy for an older lady.

Anyway, she walks up and down the street in front of several houses all day smoking. One house is her families house. The family seems to just ignore her. Not sure what the situation is.

Yesterday it was like 100 degress and she was pacing as usual, but looked pretty pissed. She usually smokes all day too. Dropping cigs everywhere.

Obviously she is mental. But at this point, im not sure werher to call elder abuse, a mental help facility, the police, or what. Its getting kinda old seeing this and nothing be done. When i first posted about this, people said

Mind your own business, etc. Fair enough. But this is border line harassment now. Pacing up and down the street, 12 hours a day, starring at cars, walking in front of peoples houses. Yet nobody is doing anything about it.

She had a truckFor a few months, and  she would sit in her truck sometimes for 8 hours starring at the sun, or driving in circles around the neighborhood. Sometimes she would have 10 cars behind her.

What can be done. This is getting neglected on the family, by not doing anything. What if this lady has a heat stroke or dies in her car.

Answer:
 You can try adult protective services, but from what you say she seems capable of caring for herself.

Beyond that, you're out of luck. It's a public street, she can walk up and down it all day long if she wants. Answer #2: Borderline harassment?? No. She's allowed to use the public sidewalk even if you don't like it. Answer #3: It’s a sidewalk. It runs past houses. That’s a thing that people know.


Title: Are there any legal repercussions one should be aware of when exorcising a 12 year-old child in a potentially dangerous ritual?

Question:
Our youngest child is exhibiting all the signs of aggravated demonic possession. After an extended period of prayer and reflection, we have come to the realization an exorcism is the only viable solution.

The ritual is potentially dangerous and could turn violent should the demon resist the initial attempts. Unfortunatelly however, the truths of the unseen aren't comprehended by most, and so we worry our solution may anger the skeptical and incredulous.

Are there any legal repercussions one should be aware of when exorcising a 12 year-old child?

Answer:
 I don't even smoke and I need a cigarette after reading this.

&#x200B;

Surely shitpost.


Title: Told by new employer work will have to wait after I gave notice to old employer/my last day

Question: So I interviewed and got a job with a new agency. The agency told me that I would start this coming week on Monday. Yesterday on my last day of work I'm told by the new agency that there's been a setback and won't start until later. When I asked about whether or not I'll be paid for those days since it's no fault of my own I was told no and that the agency only pays for hours worked. One of the employees for the company is offering to *loan* me money in the interim but I explained to them that while that is a nice gesture I didn't want to take a loan and still be out money. I asked my representative that gave me the go ahead to give my notice if there's anything the agency could do like give me a temp role or something while the new position starts and she told me no. I asked to speak to someone in HR and was told they'd setup a conference call this week but I'm honestly at a loss here. Are there any law's against this in California? The kicker is that this will be a government role too, not some dinky hole in the wall.

Answer:
 Welcome to the world of employment agencies. Add to that that you state this would be a government role, and the government is still catching up after the shutdown of non-essential roles, it's not surprising it was delayed.

Unless you have an employment contract detailing how many hours you work, starting pay, term of employment, penalties for ending employment, etc... (I can 99.999% guarantee you don't), then that's just the way it goes.Answer #2: Welcome to employment in America, where nothing an employer says matters unless you have it in writing.

In the future, don't give notice until you're actually hired (and offer letters don't count).  You don't owe a 2 weeks notice to anyone, and taking care of yourself is more important than making things slightly less inconvenient for your previous employer.  The custom of the two weeks notice is a holdover to a time when employees could expect a bit more loyalty from those signing their paychecks, these days the situation is decidedly one-sided.

 I've learned the hard way myself that a two weeks notice is a scam, and I don't make it my personal policy to even mention leaving until the paperwork for the new job is signed and a concrete start date is set.  Then I'll offer my services at a competitive consulting rate to my previous employer during my off hours if they need any help with transitioning someone into my former role.

If they'd look at you crazy for making an offer like that, odds are your role doesn't warrant two weeks for them to replace you anyway.


Title: (UK) Speed bumps at my place of work trashed the underside of my car. Could I take this to small claims court?

Question:
My car has not been modified to make it lower, it was completely stock. It's a large family car so isn't low to start with.

There is not any alternative parking within reasonable walking distance, so I have to go over these humps to park. This didn't happen in one day, the damage accumulated over a couple of months. Any chance I could take this to small claims court?

Answer:
 I think speed bumps in the UK have to be at least 90cm front to back and a maximum of 10cm high (my info may be out of date) if it deviates then you may have a claim against the local council. If not then they're going to tell you you were going too fast.

Edit: I just realised you are talking about private property not a road, please disregard.


Title: Military charge art 82

Question:
Hello and good afternoon,

I need some legal advice. I am being charged under UCMJ for soliciting and NOW making a false official statement, Technically I am not going to a court setting (hopefully I won’t) but am standing in front of my CO (Big boss) to explain why I texted another sailor in February asking to purchase his adhd meds.

I have since been diagnosed with adhd and have started treatment with medication, and my texts from  almost 4 months ago were definitely sent impulsively which was a big symptom I was struggling with. I have heard of Mens Rea but am not too familiar with it.

I want to explain in my official statement to the CO that I believe my texts and official statement were made impulsively and absentminded.  At the same time I don’t want them to see this as a reason to kick me out because since I have been treated I have been all around better.

I had not been treated at the time these charges were made and I would really like some help putting this into words to submit while owning up to my mistakes and not making excuses.

Thank you

Answer:
 >I don’t want them to see this as a reason to kick me

Then don't make a full confession. You should talk to a lawyer or JAG office first.

Having ADHD is not a defense for trying to illegally obtain prescription drugs.


Title: Do I need to worry about this?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 I'm going to assume that by "nudist website" you mean child pornography.

No, you have nothing to worry about. If anything was going to happen it would have long ago. The authorities are not generally interested in people who see something illegal online once and never go back. They're after the people who produce it and the people who pay for it.


Title: Having to pay half for a washer/dryer unit?!

Question: So, i have been living at my apartment for six months and the stacked washer and dryer unit went out just now. No heat and the washer rattles like hell. I asked for a new appliance and the maintenance guy said I would have to pay half? Is that correct?

Answer: Call the apartment office. Maintenance might not be the authority.


Title: [Georgia] Did lawyer bill unethically?

Question:
Backstory - My brother has both a criminal lawyer and a divorce lawyer for the situations he is currently in. A couple weeks ago he had to go to the ER for acute liver failure. He was in ICU for a week and then was moved to a normal room. He is getting better however they won't release him until he stops hallucinating. He is hallucinating due to the ammonia in his blood from alcohol.

Present day - while my brother was in ICU he was heavily drugged. During this time my parents and I knew his lawyers would be wanting to get in touch with him. He didn't have his phone. So being the proactive older brother I am, I found his divorce lawyers name and phone number and called. Since the soon to be ex would probably be wondering where he was, I called my brothers lawyer and let him know he was in the hospital and unable to take calls and basically unavailable. Fast forward to this week and I found out the lawyer charged my brother over $300 dollars for my phone call which was under 10 minutes. I feel that is ridiculous. I was merely letting him know where he was cause otherwise people would have been looking for him and have no way to know where he was. Am I wrong to question this charge? I'm afraid to call the lawyer again as he might charge my brother again. Is there someone else I can call?

If there is anything else you need to know to help answer please let me know. Thanks!

Answer:
 I doubt it was overbilling. Your brother had two legal matters. If there were any court hearings coming up in the near future I could see that consuming several hours of at the very least staff time.Proving the hospitalization, contacting opposing counsel and the courts, extending deadlines, re-jiggering schedules, drafting and filing stipulated continuances with the court, then sending letters confirming the phone calls they made to opposing counsel and the court to make sure no one tried to screw your brother while he was hospitalized.

It's not like it was $300 for a phone call. It was $300 for the phone call and *everything* the phone call triggered.


Title: (SC) My boss demanded a list of my routine unavailability times during off work hours.

Question:
Is this legal or does it break some privacy law? He can easily extrapolate Sunday morning unavailability (or lack there of) to tell if I am religious or not. Is there a way that I can politely decline to provide him this information?
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 You can refuse to give him any information you want. He can also fire you immediately for doing so.

Your call.


Title: Can I get back stuff the cops took?

Question: I live in Ohio. A small backpack containing drugs and paraphernalia was taken from my car, is it possible to get the actual bag back? Or nah since it had illegal stuff inside?

Answer: If you want to stay out of jail, you probably want to let this one go. :)


Title: [California] Is my car technically blocking my neighbors driveway?

Question:
TLDR at the bottom...

I live in the suburbs, and have been parking my car in a spot that sits between two neighbors houses. I originally only started parking there because I'd usually have to park down the street (we have a lot of cars), and no one ever really occupied this spot in the first place. I was under the impression that my car fits, and I would have never parked there had I felt that it obstructed either driveway.

I'd been parking there for probably about a year but only recently I'd started receiving notes from one of the neighbors. The letters only seemed to indicate that my car bothered them, and not that my car was obstructing their driveway. I did write back once but not after they left a second letter saying the same thing.

And now just today the second neighbor came over to talk about how there's not enough clearance for his two cars to pull out without having to "maneuver" out of his driveway.

I went over to talk to this neighbor after he went back to his home, and we had a fairly reasonable and understanding conversation, but honestly, their cars can be reversed straight back out without a problem. I stood in front of their house and saw it myself, but they'd pretty much have to reverse at an angle to hit my car. My car does not physically prevent or hinder them from reversing because it does not obstruct their driveway, but! I know that that really doesn't matter in terms of technicality, so...

TLDR: What is considered technically obstructing a driveway in California? Is there a specification in inches?

Thanks for reading if you did.

Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 To me, the entire paved area is the driveway and you are blocking it. Especially the driveway on the right.

Yes, you look like you are pretty much outside the curb cut, but you are clearly within the paved area.

Having family members who are less talented at driving in reverse, I would be calling the police every time you parked there. Answer #2: They are going to keep calling the police on you, you're going to keep getting tickets, and you're going to win some and probably lose some. That's going to take time and effort on your part. What is this worth to you?


Title: I think I'm being extorted

Question:
I was on a hookup site and had a girl asked for my phone number. She texted me and started asking for pictures while sending me some. After all the pictures she said she was 16, something I didn't know before then. I kept talking to her afterwards just asking general questions about her family and where she lived. I didn't talk about meeting or sex after that, though I did ask for a picture from her with my name in it so I could verify that she was real and she never said anything back. I dropped it, went to bed, woke up in my right mind the next day and deleted all the messages and photos. Tonight I got a bunch of angry texts from a guy saying he was going to go to the police and have me arrested for child porn and soliciting a minor. I talked to him on the phone and he agreed to drop it if I paid $314 to get their phone contract terminated and their laptop destroyed. I agreed to wire them money tomorrow at noon. After I reverse image searched the photos she sent me and they've all been on the internet for up to 4 years, so the pictures are at least fake, but I don't know if the people actually have a daughter or what or even if it's just some guy trying to scam me out of 300 bucks. If the pictures aren't real, do they have any legal precedent? Would the police investigate me out of state in a situation like this? What do you think I should do?

Location: Florida (me) South Carolina (her)

Edit : Even if the girl isn't real, could I still get in trouble for asking for a picture of her after she told me her age?

Answer:
 It's a well known scam. Block her and move on.Answer #2: Read the sidebar.

Scam

Move on


Title: Got offered a record deal from a small record label. They have given me a contract to look over. Any advice? Any lawyers looking to help a poor young musician

Question:
Got offered a record deal from a small record label. They have given me a contract to look over. Any advice? They advised me to seek a lawyer but that is way out of my scope. Any advice in terms of what to look for in the contract? Better yet any advice on how I could get free legal advice on this contract?

EDIT: I am currently in California and the label is in Florida

Answer:
 You should absolutely have an attorney look over this contract. I'm sure if you are in the biz you've heard horror stories of acts just starting out that got screwed. Unless this is a very long or unusual contract it shouldn't take more than an hour to review it and meet with you briefly to discuss any questions.

> Better yet any advice on how I could get free legal advice on this contract?

I'm not realistic to expect a lawyer to work for free reviewing a contract that is going to make you money. That isn't pro bono territory. Am I right in assuming you don't work for free?


Title: Accidentally accessed illegal site

Question:
Throwaway for obvious reasons. Before I start, please just take the following statement at face value: I would never search for cp intentionally and it absolutely does not turn me on, I find it revolting. I did not post a location for obvious reasons.

Basically, I have been using a legitimate porn site for years (as far I as I knew) and much of the material is user submitted. I wanted to know the origin of a particular picture, so I performed a reverse image search and clicked on several sites, one of which ended up having "jailbait" in the title of the forums. I immediately closed the tabs and shut down my browser.

Basically, I've been freaking out for days (can't sleep or eat) because 1) I was just using a normal browser on my apartment internet. IP logs would lead directly to me without any uncertainty. 2) It leads me to question whether the site I've used for months is actually legitimate or contains illicit material as well. 3) This would obviously ruin my life as well as my family and friends.

What is my liability knowing that there is absolutely NOTHING on my computer, but my ISP logs would show a long history of visiting what I thought was a legitimate website, and a short history of visiting questionable websites (I did not actually look at anything so I'm just assuming the worst).

It's ironic, because if I had actually wanted to see cp I would have used tor or something, but since it doesn't turn me on and I never wanted to see it, I didn't think of the possibility of stumbling upon it.

Answer: Calm down. You are not going to have the FBI burst through your front door. Just stop visiting that site.


Title: I was charged with an embarrassing crime. Local news picked it up. Any way to remove it from Google?

Question:
I was charged with a non violent misdemeanor.  The charge itself is not very damaging.  However, the back story behind it is very embarrassing, especially the way it was spun by the local news media.

My lawyer and I are fairly confident that the charges themselves will be reduced to a violation.  Unfortunately, the online news article (which mentions my name) looks like it is there to stay.  The same article was also reprinted on a few other small online news services in my area.

I am beginning a career in a very competitive industry in a different part of the country and I believe that if the articles were to be seen, they would seriously effect my ability to keep my current job and obtain jobs in the future.

I suppose my question is the following:
Do I have any ability to have my name removed from these articles and would having my charges reduced below the misdemeanor level affect anything?

My main concern is this article being seen when people Google my name.  If I understand correctly, there are also reputation services out there that will help "bury"  certain articles on Google. Any thoughts on my situation would be appreciated.  Thank you.

Answer: You can ask them to remove it. But there is no law in the US requiring it. Everything they reported (I assume) is factual. You were arrested for the charges they say.


Title: Incorrect Veterinary Diagnosis Leads to Loss of Intestines in Show Dog [WA]

Question: Last Friday, I noticed that my Papillon was lethargic and he began vomitting that night. I took him to the vet first thing Saturday morning and they told me that it felt like he had swallowed a foreign body. They wanted to do blood work and x-rays. The vet could see fecal build up in the colon. The radiologist repost came back saying no mechanical obstrucion was visible, but barium was suggested to rule it out and to consider an ultrasound. My vet administered an enema, gave fluids and $700 later sent him home. By Sunday night I was giving him water via syringe and Nutri-Cal to keep his blood sugar up until I coyld get him to the vet on Monday. On Monday I took him in where he told me he could feel another mass that could be more fecal matter or a foreign body. This time they took 4 x-rays, two without barium (a dye to light up the intestines) and two with. Now they tell me he has swallowed a foreign body and they are going to do exploratory surgery. After surgery, he tells me that he had Intessusception (telescoping of the intestines onto one another) and they had to remove 10 inches, roughly one third of my 4 pound, 9inch-tall dog's small intestines. After talking to the vet at the 24 hour clinic we had to transport him to, she said that it should have been caught via ultasound or barium on Saturday and that with such a rapidly progressing condition such as Intessusception, those 48 hours could have made a massive difference in the amount removed, or it could have been caught even before tissue died and then corrected. My dog is still touch and go and we are not sure if he's going to make it. We are over $3000 in vet bills now and his show career is likely over. We are in Washington state. Is this a case of malpractice that can be taken to court?

Answer: Just being wrong isn't malpractice; they would have had to not meet the professional standard of care in some way. You would need to speak with a lawyer, who would then have to consult with experts in the field to figure out the standard of care and potential breach.


Title: Can a defendent force a prosecutor to go to trial?

Question: Hypothetically speaking, could a defendent force a prosecutor to go to trial? I'm thinking in a situation where they get nearly to trial and it is discovered that a cop planted evidence. The prosecutor wants to drop the charges to protect the cop but the defendant wants to go to trial to ruin this cops reputation and get him/her to lie on the stand.

Answer:
 The prosecutor has a duty to ensure justice is served.

&#x200B;

Justice is not served by going to trial, wasting the state's time, and wasting the defendant, their lawyers, the Court, and the People's time.Answer #2: No.


Title: [CT] Involuntary Hospital Admittance Nightmare

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Medicine and Malpractice

Answer: You can talk to a lawyer. Medical Malpractice is highly fact specific and beyond the scope of this sub.


Title: [US, MA] Is my employer legally obligated to tell me if they are selling the business?

Question:
As the title says, I have heard rumors around the office that the owners are getting a divorce and that it can't be finallized until the business is sold. But we haven't recieved any official notification that they are seeking to sell the business. Should I not worry about it until I hear something official? Is it legal for them to hide this from their employees?

Edit: On my phone, can't add flair

Answer:
 Do you have an employment contract that says they are obligated to inform you of a sale?

If not, no they do not have to tell you this information.


Title: Parents of a housemate threatening legal action after I withdrew £8.50 from her deposit return that she owed me for a key replacement.

Question:
(UK)

So I'm lead tenant on our student letting and throughout the year this girl exhausted our utility allowance by doing stuff like putting her bedding on to tumble dry for 9 hours straight and leaving her windows open with her radiator on full blast.

One of the keys went missing before everyone in the house collected theirs so all 6 house mates agreed to chip in for a new key.

A whole year passes after me asking the girl repeatedly and being constantly lead on, and eventually we move out and I get given the responsibility to return everyone's deposit from the letting agent.

A month before the move out date the girl left and didn't clean out her cupboards or her room leaving it filthy. As we had gone over on our utility bills we got offered a 10% discount if the house was spotless which the girl knew. She literally contributed nothing to the cleaning after we repeatedly ask her to clear her shit up, which ended up in meaning 3 trips to the waste centre disposing of 19 bags of trash (which was charged at £10 per bag if left in the property).

So when I return the deposits I keep my level head on and stick to the details the letting agent gave us, but I take off £8.50 for the key she owed me.

Now I've received multiple calls and texts from her parents threatening to take me to court saying I had no right to do so and that it's their money. I spoke with the letting agent and they have no responsibility for the deposit once it's been returned.

What should I do as she has sent me a text requesting the money within 7 days?

Answer:
 No wonder their daughter is so irresponsible. Ignore them. Don't respond at all. If you receive an actual legal notice, show up in court with your evidence. Countersue if you wish. They will get laughed right out of court. Answer #2: /r/legaladviceUKAnswer #3: Do you have any evidence (written, text) that she agreed to pay for a share of a new key? I'm assuming it wasn't her key that went missing?Answer #4: I had a tenant writing me nasty letters for months after I rightfully kept part of his deposit. Sometimes it gets to a point where all you can say is "See you in court." (He never bothered to file once I stopped writing back.)

Edit: In this case I would absolutely not talk to the parents. If the housemate was over 18 it may even be illegal to discuss her financial particulars with anyone but herself.


Title: I'm being wired large amounts of money from abroad to reimburse my expenses while working onsite for projects. What are the legal implications?

Question:
My company is headquartered in Asia, but I am a US employee on an H1B visa. The pay my regular salary through a US payment firm (ADP) and that's taxed appropriately but my work expenses are reimbursed by wire transfer from Asia. My expenses run about a few thousand US dollars a month.

They always transfer the whole amount filed, and I'm never taxed by the US for this. Sometimes, because of the exchange rate and other reasons, I have some amount left over in my account that I invest with. I'm worried that this could bite me in the ass later. What can I do to make sure I'm covered?

Answer: The only thing you can really do is keep records (expense reports, receipts, etc) of all your legitimate work expenses. At the end of the year, you'll need to declare any amount received in excess of your expenses as income.


Title: My younger brother just got fired from his job because a random person said he sold her marijuana. What can we do?

Question:
My brother, let's call him Stephen, is 18 years old and months ago gave a good friend, let's call her Veronica, a marijuana edible because she had been begging him and forcing him for some kind of weed. He didn't feel comfortable because she was 15, but ended up giving in. Since then she's been hanging out with different people, getting drunk daily, and just bought 2 ounces of weed.

Here is the situation he needs help with. He worked for the Boys and Girls Club of America, and she does their summer camp program for 1 week a year (not how they met). Veronica's mom found 2 ounces of pot, flipped out (can't blame her), and asked her where she got it. She lied to protect her trashy friends and said it was my brother. Veronica's mom went to my brother's boss and told her that Stephen was selling weed to Boys and Girls kids. Stephen's boss gave him 2 options today, submit a UA that would get him fired for testing positive, or quit. Technically at some point he did supply her with a tiny amount of marijuana, but that edible is way gone by now, and the marijuana she got caught with Stephen wasn't even aware of until his boss questioned him about it.

Can Stephen do anything about this? Yes he should've never given her that edible, but he is in no way associated with any of the marijuana she has had over the past months, let alone the stuff she got caught with. The only tangible evidence they have that he supplied her with anything is a positive piss test, but Snoop, Tommy Chong, and Seth Rogen would have the exact same evidence stacked against them and people would laugh at thinking they supplied pot to Veronica.

Edit: Washington State
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 >Can Stephen do anything about this?

He can look for a new job, preferably one that doesn't involve the safety of children, and doesn't require a drug test.


Title: Worried about being kidnapped tonight (no, really) [NY]

Question:
**UPDATE**  So I'm in a bit of a financial bind right now, but otherwise safe.

I'm a Massachusetts resident, but I'm currently on a train to New York, and I am scared out of my mind.

If you haven't heard of "troubled teen wilderness retreats," I encourage you do do some reading -- hilariously enough, this [Cracked article](http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1270-6-shocking-realities-secret-troubled-teen-industry_p2.html) is a very good source, as it does link to more traditionally-reputable sources.  /r/troubledteens is also a good resource.  The tl;dr is that it's basically like those gay conversion therapy "camps," minus the gay part.  They work with "teen escort services" (unfortunate name) to literally kidnap kids in the middle of the night and haul them off.  This isn't a whacked out conspiracy theory, these people advertise this service.

Here's where I come in.  My parents have been meeting with a consultant firm called the [Goldberg Center](http://www.edconsult.org/).  They work with teens and young adults with mental illness, who are having trouble moving on with life, or who are just "troubled."  I'm an adult in my mid twenties, but these people prominently advertise that they offer their services to people my age as well as teens.  I can't find a single whisper about these people anywhere on the internet other than their own website, and they post some really weird stuff.

[Example](http://www.edconsult.org/educational-consulting-blog/bid/112665/Who-needs-a-consultant-with-the-Internet-s-information-at-our-fingertips):

>Is it possible for a great consultant with an excellent reputation to recommend a place for your child that has a terrible write up online? Absolutely! Every company has had a disgruntled employee who perhaps was fired or not rehired, who has an axe to grind and in retaliation writes some horrific lies about the school or program that has been recommended! They also may have poor write-ups from students who were dismissed and want the school to suffer.

My parents have designated me as "troubled," whatever that is supposed to mean, because I have a terrible sleep schedule and am still unemployed seven months after graduating college.  I have a history of mental illness, but am currently very stable, seeing a great doctor and have been on the same medications (finally found something that works) for years -- I am in no way a danger to myself or others.  Sleep and unemployment are their actual stated reasons, I am not conveniently leaving out a drug problem or something.  They've told me they'd like me to join some sort of residential program, and had me meet with somebody from Goldberg who pushed taking six to eight weeks off "somewhere sunny," and he was very vague about exactly what he meant.

I'm financially dependent on my parents until I get a job (hopefully soon, I'm just starting to hear back from potential employers), so they have that control over me, but more importantly they have a really strong psychological hold -- I have an extremely difficult time disobeying their instructions, and they know it.  In addition, I think they might have power of attorney over me.  I have signed a lot of financial and legal papers in the past, and stupid me didn't read them in depth and only vaguely understood what was going on.

I'm currently on a train to New York, and I don't know why.  My parents told me to come down and definitively refused to give me a reason why over the phone when I pushed.  I think I shouldn't have gotten on the train, but they are capable of making my life hell if I disobey them.

Hopefully I'm just being paranoid, but I set up a sort of dead man's trigger just in case.  I have a few friends in MA who are going to know something has gone terribly wrong if I don't check in with them by a deadline tomorrow (Wednesday).

My questions:

* What is the worst case scenario when I'm in New York?
* What are my rights in this situation?
* If the worst happens and they try to take me away, what do I do?

**tl;dr Legally an adult, strongly suspect my parents (who may have power of attorney) want to ship me off to a sketchy wilderness therapy program in the next twelve hours or so.**

Answer:
 If your parents do not have guardianship over you - which would have to be directly ordered by a court - they cannot make you do anything.

If someone tries to kidnap you(which is very, very very unlikely) you call the police.Answer #2: you can cancel power of attorney and as an adult refuse to go. if you rely on them for money you'll likely be cut off.


Title: Trying to rid ourselves of a stalker (Kansas)

Question:
Sorry in advance if this is sloppy or hard to follow. I’m just having a hard time staying calm while detailing these events. It’s caused us a great deal of collective stress.

My girlfriend e-dated a boy I’ll refer to as incel in this post for a span while in middle/high school. Their relationship, to my knowledge, was fairly normal but came to an end as they grew up. He still contacted her every here and there, but his messages became more desperate and frightening over time.

Enter me, we began dating just over a year ago. About 6 months back, well into incel’s decent into insanity, i noticed a text from him on her lock screen. I asked her about it and she deflected the question. I decided to let it be because i trust her. (I felt the truth would be known sooner or later) Low and behold, starting a month ago he began threatening her, her family, and her pets!

Initially, my girlfriend had been told incel had a new girlfriend in his home town. This seemed good, but incel then outlined a trip they were planning to take to our home state where he offered that my girlfriend could help incel kill his “new girlfriend”.. Thanks to dating, incel knows my girlfriend’s home address and has been threatening to visit her daily. She had to change her number and delete all social media just to get a break. However, he found the new number somehow a couple days ago. Last night he sent her 60 text messages apologizing, professing his love for her, and claiming she “shouldn’t force me (incel) to come to your (my gfs) house”.

Parting info: The police (US) have been contacted and they claimed because she was replying initially, it does not yet qualify as harassment. After last nights 60 messages (all screenshot through notifications) from two different phone numbers (none of which did she open or reply to.) I feel it’ll be a different story. I’m just nervous for her and her family’s safety though i understand the odds are low that he follows through. We, also, know his address. Please help me brainstorm! I have no idea how to get this guy out of our lives.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: https://www.kansaslegalservices.org/topics/2017/abuse-and-stalking seems to be a service that would be useful to you. Their phone number is on the bottom of that page. I would call the police again and then call that number and see if they can help you file a PFA or NCO


Title: Can a company be held responsible for the death of a client?

Question:
This is fictional, so hear me out...

If there is a company that provides a service, say technology that keeps you alive. For real world purposes, imagine if the company that developed a pacemaker could also "turn it off" at any given time.

If something like that happened, people designing such mechanisms in the technology, the person "pressing the button," and others that knew about it would be charged with something, right? Furthermore the company would face legal action, I assume.

Answer:
 [This isn't a hypothetical](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-cyber-insulin-pumps-e/jj-warns-diabetic-patients-insulin-pump-vulnerable-to-hacking-idUSKCN12411L).

The legal landscape around network-connected and actively managed medical devices is still unclear, but you can bet that regulators and insurers would look _very_ closely at functionality in a pacemaker that could allow it to be disabled while installed in a patient. Inappropriate activation of that functionality could lead to a whole host of legal consequences, ranging from a wrongful death lawsuit against anyone involved in turning it off, to a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer, to the suspension or revocation of the device's certifications and a recall at the manufacturer's expense, to murder or manslaughter charges if the deactivation isn't defensible in some way.