Title: [Minnesota] I was at a stoplight in my car and I received a notification on my phone. I picked my phone to see what it was, and I put it back. I was then pulled over by a policeman and I was given a citation for texting and driving even though I didn't even unlock my phone.

Question:
I was sitting at a stoplight and I heard my phone give off the notification ring. I keep my phone in the cupholder, so I picked it up and checked the lock screen to see what the notification was. I didn't unlock the phone though. A few seconds after I picked it up, the light turned green and I put the phone back in the cupholder. A few minutes later a cop pulls me over and said that he saw me texting at the stop light. I told him that I was checking the notification and that I didn't even unlock my phone. He proceeded to tell me that using your phone behind the wheel is illegal and he gave me a citation for texting and driving.

I am planning on fighting this, but I just wanted to see if anyone here knew about how this law is enforced. The actual law says that reading or writing a text message is illegal and using the internet is also illegal. However, dialing a phone number, calling someone, or even holding your phone isn't illegal as long as its not being used to text or go on the internet. How can the officer declare that I'm texting and driving even though he never saw me actually texting. Will this be difficult to fight in court? They have to prove that I was texting, correct? I don't see how they can without any hard evidence, since it's his word against my word.

Answer:
 https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ots/laws/Pages/distracted-driving.aspx

 Distracted Driving Laws
Texting and Web Access

It is illegal for drivers of all ages to compose, read, or send electronic messages or access the Internet on a wireless device when the vehicle is in motion or part of traffic. This includes being stopped in traffic or at a light.

The law does not apply to devices that are permanently affixed to the vehicle or global positioning or navigation systems.
 Texting and web access statute — M.S. 169.475


Title: [NYC] Landlord has refused Coned access to the meters for 2 YEARS.

Question:
I just found out today that my landlord has refused access to the meters to be read for two whole years.  A rep from Coned told me this, obviously they aren't supposed to, but there you have it.  My current bill is over $3000 because my landlord "wrote the meter reading on a piece of paper and left it for the coned rep" back in November.  Which is also not what you're supposed to do, but that's what happened.  I've been fighting with coned, my landlord, 311, the New York Utility complaints line, and I've come up empty handed.  I'm now left being forced to pay this outrageous bill on top of the new estimated bills that are upwards of $300/month.  There's no way my roommate and I use this much electricity, it's absolutely impossible.  I've lived here for six years and my bills are regularly around $150.  The meter is in my landlord's apartment, therefore if he doesn't give Coned access to the meters, then there's nothing I can do without keys to his house.  Coned constantly says to me "we fine him if he doesn't allow us in to read the meter" to which I consistently reply "he doesn't care, isn't that obvious?"  I went to my landlord's wife, who was so kind as to let us into the house to read the meter over the phone to coned.  Coned then told us they couldn't update our bill because the discrepancy between the readings was so vast.  They HAVE to send someone out in person to read the meter.  Coned was supposed to come by for the monthly reading today, but they didn't show because for two years my landlord has failed to answer the door.  Today they told us, that even though we're completely at the mercy of coned and my landlord, and even though they were supposed to come read the meter today and didn't, that we have to pay up or the electric will be shut off.

I'm worried my landlord is leeching our electric to someone else and that's the reason he won't let the meters be read and also why the bill is so high.  I don't want to pay this bill because I know it will take months for him to get anything done, just as it already has.  He's been pulling my chain and lying to me about having the meter read since November.  I have threatened withholding rent, which I was advised not to do, so I just paid it anyway.  I'm tired of this guy walking all over me, this isn't the first time I've had to deal with utility bills like this with him.  Is there anything else I can do?

Edit : New information -- the meter has made a full revolution according to a photo my landlord took today.  That means thousands of dollars of electric usage in two months.  They now have to come out to determine whether or not he is tampering with the meter, which is a reason he may not be letting them in to read it.  What can I do to make sure he lets them in to read the meter??

Answer:
 > I've lived here for six years and my bills are regularly around $150.

Where is ConEd getting the $150 figure from? Old estimates from before you moved in?


Title: Got a ticket under a fake name

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Hire a lawyer and stop breaking the law.


Title: Prosecutor dismissed my case. Can I be charged again? (MI)

Question:
Hi,
I was being charged with possession of marijuana, which is ridiculous because they filed charges 1 day before legalization. My trial was adjourned in March because they didn’t have evidence and now I went in today for trial and the prosecutor never filed a witness list. So the judge barred him from presenting witnesses and he dismissed the case, and was VERY upset.

Can I be re-charged or arrested again? If so, can the prosecutor present witnesses? Or should I expect this to be over and done with?
It was just small amount of marijuana. Barely even enough for one hit.

Answer: was it dismissed with or without prejudice?


Title: Dropped my truck off at the dealership for an AC leak, when I got it back it had been driven 83 miles

Question:
I bought this truck brand new and with only 7,800 miles on it, the AC line started leaking. I took it to the dealership and of course it was covered under the warranty, so no charge.. The problem is that when I picked it up, it had been driven 83 miles. It was in their possession over the entire weekend because they had to order a part. When I confronted them about the miles, they were surprised and offered me 3 months of satellite radio to make it up for it.... Um No. I told them I wanted the extended warranty added onto my truck at no charge, and after a few phone calls up the management chain, I was granted my request. Now, here is where I need your help. They asked that I come to the dealership this week to sit down and make sure the terms are agreeable for both them and myself. Is there anything I need to be mindful of or any advice that you have?? They have been shady throughout this whole ordeal and I want to be prepared for anything.

EDIT: I bought this truck in the metro Atlanta area. I am a 25 yr old male

tl;dr person at dealership drove my truck while under their care, they agreed to add extended warranty at no charge, I have to attend a sit down to sign paperwork for this to happen, and I want to be prepared.

Answer:
 Read the paperwork.

Decide if it meets your needs.

If YES, sign.  If NO, don't.

Be aware that any sort of suit to recover damages is likely to be far more expensive than you stand to gain.  The extended warranty offer sounds like a great deal to me.  Answer #2: I'd check the cargo area carefully for damage before agreeing to anything. Sounds to me like a mechanic was moving.


Title: Time fraud?

Question:
I work(ed) at Neiman Marcus in fl, as a hand bag sales associate but here’s the thing, we get paid 100% commission, but we do make an hourly rate that comes out of our commission check, so technically it isn’t really our money to keep, but moreso money we are borrowing from the company that we have to pay back until we make enough commission to cover it.
I would sometimes have my close friend clock me in if I was late, or clock me out if I left early, and I would do the same for her. But then we started clocking each other in and out on days that we weren’t even scheduled to work... really stupid of me to say, but it honest to god never occurred to me that this could mean legal trouble. I figured if we got caught we’d be fired, but I never thought about jail time or anything like that or else I wouldn’t have done it. Well anyway, I went and clocked in today, and my manager stopped me and asked me to come to her office. She then asked how come I accumulated so many hours last month, I told her it was because I was working from home (which we are technically allowed to do, but we have to report it in a different way) she asked me how come I didn’t report via the computer and instead somehow magically clocked in when i wasn’t in the building. I got really nervous and lied. I told her that I didn’t know how to report time on the computer, and would just come and clock myself in on my days off to get the time i worked reported. She obviously didn’t believe me, but asked that I produce proof that I was working from home (via catalogue printouts of my activity, but I obviously don’t have any since I wasn’t actually working from home) I told her that I would produce them and then I left.
I knew we were caught big time. I called my friend and asked if she had gotten caught as well, she said she hadn’t and had in fact worked a normal shift earlier that morning without our manager saying anything at all to her.
I went home and spoke to my sister who fussed at me (we’re roommates) about how stupid this was, and how illegal it was, and how fucked I could be if the truth came out. That’s when we started actually googling everything and i saw for myself that it is indeed quite illegal with GREAT consequences. I asked her what I should do, she said to call my manager back and tell her I couldn’t produce the activity log, and so I did. My manager was quiet for several seconds when I told her, but then she told me that I’d been paid for 145 hours that were unaccounted for from last month alone (not including my working hours) and that the sum total of money that equated to was upwards of 4500 dollars, and that if I didn’t produce the activity log, that she would reach out to HR and have me prosecuted. But here’s the thing, of that 4500 dollars, she didn’t calculate the hours that I really did work (which has to be included in that amount because we have to pay it back) the returns I could have possibly gotten, or the customer theft that could have happened during my shift (which we are responsible for), my question is, I know I’m in deep shit, but if the calculations are accurate, could this possible felony charge turn into a misdemeanor? Also, do you think she will really go through with it? How much time could i face? And will there be a way for this to be expunged form my record? I also have a shoplifting charge on my record from 10 years ago, which I know will also affect me. Thanks for every one who answers

Answer: I also work.


Title: Got scammed by a 17 year old kid posing as a freelance developer

Question:
I posted a job on one of those freelance sites and got a reply from someone who agreed to do the work for $600. He wanted $300 up front and $300 after it was completed. Based on his portfolio, and my experience with other freelancers, I was ok with sending him $300 up front. After a few weeks of prodding him about the work, he stopped replying, so I did some detective work and found out he was only 17. So, I contacted his parents on facebook who said they'd take care of it, but three months later nothing has been resolved. Considering that he's only 17, would I have any success taking him to small claims court? He's in a city only an hour away...

edit: I'm in the bay area

Answer:
 > Considering that he's only 17, would I have any success taking him to small claims court?

You might.  Sue him and name his parent(s) on the suit as well.Answer #2: Living in the Bay Area and being an attorney here, I can tell you that your best bet is to file a small claims suit and name the parents as well.

The police here will not really entertain this as "fraud," they will pass it off as a civil complaint because on its face they see it as a contract or failure to perform.  You can also plead fraud in your small claims case, however they may defer you to filing an actual civil complaint (depends on the county).

After you get a ruling on your fraud complaint you can try and push it through criminally, however it most likely will not get picked up.Answer #3: You can definitely sue this person. You can usually include the $50 - $75 filing fee in your demands and the judge will include it if they feel it's reasonable. This person acted in bad faith, so I feel that's fair.

Also, definitely name their parents in the suit as well, since the person is a minor.

It sounds like this person is pretty committed to their fraud. I feel like continued and ongoing fraud is a police matter, albeit definitely a non-emergency one. Call the police in their area on the non-emergency line and say that there's minor in their area actively defrauding people. Depending on how busy the detective is, they may or may not care.


Title: (USA, TX) is it legal for my yoga school to keep my 2,000 dollars without provide me with the service?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 They didn't fail to provide you with the service, you decided to travel and not attend classes.

If you signed a contract stating no refunds, you're going to have a difficult time getting any money back.


Title: My friend left a company after suffering injuries on the job twice due to their lax safety standards, now they are telling a new company she is applying for that she is ‘unusable’ and would ‘destroy their workplace within a week’

Question:
So, my friend quit her job in Ohio recently due to the fact that their unsafe work practices led to her re-tearing the ligaments in her knee, which was an old injury, and then later cracking a vertebra. She filed for worker’s comp after the first injury and left the company after the second.
She recently applied for a new job at a different company but was denied and was told that the first company had told them that she was, as stated before, ‘unusable’ and would ‘destroy their workplace in a week’ as well as being ‘unreliable’ and ‘rude’.
This is patently untrue, as before the first injury, she had been offered a managerial position (at Company 1).
What legal recourse, if any, does she have?
(I’m in Louisiana and have no knowledge of Ohio’s legal practices.)

Answer: Report that company to OSHAAnswer #2: Your friend should contact the Ohio Dept of Labor bc even though Ohio law provides legal liability protections to (former) employers, that employer, in the scenario described, has surpassed that protection and stands to lose a case of defamation. However, that advice comes with a word of caution - your friend needs to make absolute certain she has her facts straight before choosing to file a defamation suit because due to the liability protection law, if your friend has misconstrued information and the former employer did not in fact provide false and malicious information in the reference, your friend could face penalties if she were to lose. Answer #3: File a slander case, and contact osha, that is not okay


Title: Wedding Venue Issues

Question:
Hi all, this is my first post on reddit! My fiance and I need a bit of advice. We booked a wedding/reception venue by placing a $2000 non refundable deposit in 6/21/16 for a wedding date 9/9/17 and signed a contract. In September of 2016 we discovered that the owner and operator of the venue (a music club in our city) is currently being sued civilly by 4 individuals alleging child sex abuse during the ’70s and ’80s at the a theater company where he worked and acted. These allegations were brought to light in Jan 2016 however we only became aware of them in September from various news media outlets. We were obviously disgusted by these allegations and do not want to have our wedding day at a venue whose owner is being accused of such things, nor do we want any profit from our event to go to someone accused of these things.

As soon as we learned of these allegations we immediately contacted the venue and spoke with the individual in charge who refused to refund our deposit or even consider giving us a portion of it back as compromise. She then told us she would be removing our reservation and removed our names from the wedding calendar on their website. Since, we have learned via this online calendar that another couple is now booked for their wedding and reception at the venue on our date, 9/9/17. The contract that we signed, states this regarding cancellation by the client;

"a.	Any cancellations of this event must be made in writing to your Event Sales Agent no less than ninety (90) days prior to the event."

We never wrote to them with our request to cancel our event. Therefore, they should not have cancelled our event and by doing so, haven't they then voided our contract? This is their Force Majeure wording (I have replaced venue name with ***).

"1.	FORCE MAJEURE AND/OR EVENT CANCELLATION BY VENUE
a.	The above terms of this agreement will be void in the case of events beyond the control of ***, its owner and management. The Client agrees to hold ***, its owner, managers, employees and agents harmless of damages and/or liability in the case of a need to cancel this reservation. In such an instance, all deposit monies will be refunded to The Client. *** will make every reasonable effort to relocate the reservation to *** (their sister restaurant) should a cancellation be required."

What is the best route for us to get our deposit back? Should we talk directly with the event coordinator or pursue legal action?? Thank you so much for your help! Location is Minnesota!

Answer:
 Well, they didn't owe you a refund at first. But since they cancelled your reservation of their own free will, they certainly owe you a full refund.

If they refuse to refund you, sue in small claims court. You'll win.


Title: How is it legal to have different pricing for the same good or service depending on the state of residency?

Question: I don’t mean things like insurance... but things like Disney, cruises, etc who offer different prices for residents of different states?

Answer: As long as the price differences are not due to membership in legally protected classes (gender, race, religion, etc...) anyone is free to charge for their goods and services whatever prices they choose to whomever they choose... in other words, there is no law that forbids David from charging Bob one price, and Ted another. It's no different than a store charging one price for its online customers and another for its in-store customers. Totally legal and happens all the time.


Title: Pulled over by Border Patrol because I'm brown?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 It sounds like a legitimate stop and your post makes it seem like you assume this was related to your race without providing any evidence or indication that such is true.

Maybe they did something to key you into that which you did not mention, but FYI assuming that people's actions are related to racism when you have no reasonable basis other than them being a different race than you is actually proof of your on racism and not theirs.Answer #2: They absolutely 100% have every right to do that. Answer #3: Oh good grief stop playing the victim and race card. That stop was totally legit.  Not everything is about race ya know even tho you're "brown".


Title: My former boss might be withholding a reference from me for thinking I sent him a glitter bomb.

Question:
Backstory:

I made a mistake in late April that let to me being let go. However, I owned up to the mistake when questioned about it, and my boss and I mutually agreed that as long as I didn't apply to a job in my very niche field, that he would give me a good reference.

Present day:

Well, I emailed my old boss a couple days ago to let him know that I was about to have final round interviews with a couple of places, and to be expecting a call from them. He then responds with a normal email but at the end of the of email he asks me "What do you know about this glitter bomb that was sent to me?"

I know absolutely nothing about this and I tell him so. He then insinuates that it was me because he remembers me talking about it with another person once. I don't even remember talking about it. He said he wants me to come clean and that it was very unprofessional and short-sighted. I told him that I absolutely did not do it and I don't know who did.

What should I do in this situation? Please help me.

Answer: You don't have a legal issue. He's under no obligation to give you a reference in the first place.


Title: I have an attorney who has done nothing for me, what can I do about it?

Question:
My house was severely damaged in hurricane Sandy.  Insurance companies were unable to handle the huge amount of claims, and because of that I did not have my claim processed for an extended period of time.  During that time I had to rent a place to live and ended up defaulting on my mortgage because I could not afford rent and a mortgage.  I have tried to do loan modifications and a short sale, but both have fallen through.  So I went to an attorney asking for him to perform a deed in lieu. I paid in advance and was told the process would probably take 4-6 months. Several months after, I received a letter saying that their office was splitting and they gave me new contact info.  Then I received a strange email from what appeared to be a disgruntled employee bad-mouthing the company (it seems all customer contacts are on this email).  I figured it was just an angry employee who got fired.  It has been well over a year now.  He rarely returns my phone calls, and when I start to harass him about the case he asks that I resubmit my forms that Bank of America requested.  I recently called the bank directly and they informed me that the process has been started several times and has been denied on all occasions due to failure to provide necessary information or failure to make contact.  So it appears that he starts the process, fails to follow up, and then just starts the process months later.  I was furious when I heard this and went down to his office to demand a refund.  He said that would be fine although he would rather finish the job.  I told him I just wanted the refund.  He told me he would mail the check, I told him I would rather have it now and he said he couldn't.  Of course here I am three weeks later and have not received a check.  I have called multiple times and he does not return my calls.  What are my options?

I was thinking file a grievance and see a legal malpractice lawyer.  I live in NY.  Should I keep harassing him on the phone, or keep showing up at the office?
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/ad2/forms/Grievance%20Committee%20Complaint%20Form.pdf

Update: I sent him an email that stated all the dates of our conversations and what was said, and said that I have tried to handle this amicably but I would be filing a grievance if I did not receive a check by the end of the day. He told me to come down and pick up a check. It was post dated for today, which worried me. But I just cashed it and it cleared. Thanks everyone!

Answer: Filing a grievance will get you your check about twenty minutes after he gets the grievance in the mail. In your situation, assuming everything that you said is true and accurate, making a grievance is appropriate. Answer #2: It sounds like he dropped the ball, but you should be aware that Bank of America does this all of the time. It really may be Bank of America. I've had several clients tell me horror stories about a never ending request for docs just to end up in foreclosure.


Title: (CA, US) Prospective roommate grows over 20 plants of Marijiuana for personal use. The legal limit is 6 plants. Can I get in trouble if I rent a room in the same house?

Question: Hey guys. I've been looking for roommates lately that are near my new university and found a place that looks pretty darn cool. There's a nice backyard, and the other two people there are cool, but there's just one thing: one of my prospective roommates showed me his weed plants today, and he has a lot. By memory it seemed like he had at least 20. I asked him if it was legal to grow weed at home and he said yeah, and asked if he was selling any of it. He said no. That information calmed me down a bit, but then after doing some research I discovered that the legal limit of weed plants that one can grow in California is 6. Since he has way more than 6, I'm not sure if it is safe to move in there. Is it possible for me to be charged or get in any kind of legal trouble if I live there and he gets caught growing so many plants?

Answer: IANAL but 20 plants with no plans to sell...? Come on! He’s definitely selling, and you’ll definitely be on the hook if he’s caught since the plants are in shared spaces. I’d look elsewhere


Title: Options when other parent won't disclose address

Question:
North Carolina. I have a custody order that says the other parent has unsupervised visitation every  other weekend. Recently the other parent moved and will not disclose the new address. I have a DVPO against the other parent so I prefer to keep communication limited. I also have a CPS worker investigating false claims made against me by the other parent during a failed attempt to file. DVPO against me and she would like to close the case because it was denied and dropped, but she wants to have contact with the other parent and see their home environment first. Our child has spent two visits at this new location and states that "parent's bed is at work", which is an automotive shop... I suspect they may be homeless or staying there. What are my options to ensure that the environment is safe and help CPS obtain an address? If the other parent will not return their attempts to investigate can I withhold visitation?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Personally, I would speak to the attorney that was involved with the custody. They might be able to hire a private investigator or have other means to find them. Answer #2: You will be in violation of a court order if you withhold visitation or otherwise fail to comply with its terms.


Title: Brother being stalked, harassed, threatened and police not doing anything.

Question:
(US/CA) Not sure if this is the appropriate subreddit, please redirect me if it's not.

Was seeking out advice on what to do about a situation that is affecting my family right now.  Some details have been changed a bit to provide anonymity but I’m not sure if that is even safe as these people have been hacking into stuff and have a knack for super sleuthing.

My brother had an “online relationship” with someone for a few months. He changed some details about himself, wasnt completely honest and eventually ended up breaking it off with this girl. This girl and her friends have since hacked all of his email and social media accounts-put my brother on blast via social media and threatened my brothers career by finding out all the projects past and current he has been working on as well as his current employer (all details that werent freely given during the duration of the ‘relationship’) as well as sent him pictures of his house with threatening messages implying that they will be causing harm to his person, personal life, and career.

I have proof that they have been hacking into his accounts as they were bragging about it and I have several screenshots proving this and the threatening messages they have sent out. They also made a post asking their followers if they would like his home address so that he could “get knocked the fuck out”. Now my brother is an adult, and petty cyber bullying is one thing, but threatening his career, his safety and publishing his personal info to thousands of people seems psychotic and scary to me. Make no mistake, I do not agree with what my brother did, as far as carrying on an online relationship with someone you had no intention of ever making a real physical relationship as well as hiding and skewing details about yourself to remain anonymous (my brother has a somewhat public career) but people do this everyday. It does not in anyway make it ok for these people to be harassing him the way they have been. I told him early last week that he needs to file a report because all of this is the very definition of cyber stalking and is a crime. He went to the police dept they brushed him off told him to file online with the FBI and that situations like this rarely if ever get resolved and if they do get looked at, it will usually take months or years to make any headway. This is absolutely ludicrious to me, but my brother had pretty much threw up his hands as the police dept didnt seem concerned or to take him seriously.

Now things have escalated to a terrifying degree. Four days ago, my brother received an anonymous package in the mail. He had been tipped off that this was a package from the online girl. I advised him not to open so he tossed it, as god knows what was inside. (keep in mind that he had never provided his address, this girl and her friends stalked him and found it by their own means) The situation is starting to play like a Lifetime Movie- and though worried, my brother was comforted by the fact that this girl lives thousands of miles away from him….until 2 days ago. Brother was woken up to loud banging on back door. He peeked out side window and saw the online girl and her friends (who have also been harassing him) standing outside waiting in the middle of the night!!! They eventually left. Shaken up, my brother called the police dept again they said there is nothing they can do about it. They next day, my brother went to work as usual-
The neighbor called him early in the afternoon to let him know that a few girls went and knocked on his door (neighbors door) and asked when my brother usually comes home. The neighbor felt something was off and told them he had no idea then called my brother to let him know. My brother immediatly left the office and headed to the police station to try and document these new developments and they did the same thing. Shooed him away. He even showed them screenshots and evidence of their threats and bragging about hacking all his accounts and they dont seem to care.

This is all absolutely insane to me. I dont understand how nothing can be done about this. Someone who goes through these lengths to harass someone else is obviously unhinged and I am worried about my brothers safety. My brother is also scared. He has put a surveillance camera outside his house and recorded their car (the same one that he saw drive off when they came over the first night) drive slowly by his house 10 times. They also left another package (about the size of a shoebox) outside his house this morning. This one was not delivered by post, it was dropped off by them personally. I have many other insane details and events to provide but I’m wary of giving out all in this public post and would feel more comfortable discussing this privately. This whole thing has me extremely paranoid and I wouldnt put it passed them to be tracking my online activity as well, thus alerting them to this post. What can we do to make law enforcement take this situation seriously, or are there any organizations that deal with stalking and harassment that can help my brother get this handled? I’m scared, my brother is scared, Please Help!

TLDR: Brother’s online relationship turned sour. Girl went crazy. Stalked and hacked into all my brothers accounts. Made threats of assault, flew thousands of miles to my brother’s city. Keeps driving by house, antagonizing neighbors. Leaving weird packages. Police are doing nothing. Please Help!!!

Answer:
 I think a lot of people in here get off on telling posters they're overreacting. Maybe it makes them feel smart?

Sounds like she's breaking the law, considering there are laws against stalking and threatening physical harm, and she's done both.

If the genders were reversed people would react differently. If your sister had been talking to a guy online, and he flew thousands of miles to where she lived, threatened to hurt her, spoke to her neighbors trying to find out where she was, constantly drove by her house, and left packages outside her door, everyone in here would be saying "restraining order."


Title: [TX] I am a witness to an animal cruelty case

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >  I'm not sure how the dog would have sustained such injuries from just being tied up

Severe dehydration and possibly severe sunburn/stroke. Vet bills add up fast.


Title: [CANADA-AB]Abusive Ex wife spreading rumors about me abusing her

Question:
My ex wife has turned everyone against me and no explaining from my end seems to convince people.

I have a protection order against her that covers me and the kids but I am so close to the end of my wits because she abused me but she gets to play the victim. I have a police report about her chasing me with a knife.

I have videos, texts, screenshots of her being hostile and being abusive towards me. Would there be any repercussions if I post all of my proof on social media?

Answer:
 The below is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship.

I am very sorry that you are going through this.

This is a very difficult situation, but it sounds like you are doing reasonably well legally, all things considered, if you have a PO. There is a strong bias in the Canadian legal system against male victims of domestic abuse, both in terms of the police and the courts. If you have a protection order, her behaviour is likely very serious.

I would suggest hiring a lawyer if at all possible to assist. If you can't afford a lawyer, you might qualify for Alberta Legal Aid, depending on your income. [ALA Eligibility Guidelines](http://www.legalaid.ab.ca/help/eligibility/Pages/default.aspx). Make sure to indicate that you are a victim of domestic abuse, that she has previously assaulted you with a knife, and that you have a protection order preventing her from contacting you or your children. To my knowledge, most provinces offer higher income thresholds for victims of domestic abuse.

You can claim against your ex-wife in assault and defamation, but this is only worthwhile if she has any assets. Usually in these kinds of cases, the abusive party is broke, dysfunctional, and/or suffering from some form of mental illness or substance abuse, which decreases your expected civil recovery.

I would suggest not posting **anything** on social media, and deleting your social media accounts outright. The information posted on these accounts will only be used against you if your matter goes to court. At the very least, make all of your accounts private and control them with an iron grip.


Title: Company took child support deductions from check but kept the money instead of paying it.

Question:
California. My friend had child support deducted from his check. The company (small business) kept the money instead of sending it to the child support agency. The child support agency said he is responsible for getting the money to them. They sent him to collections and he is seriously behind on payments he already made. He was fired from the job. He feels he can't do anything because he doesn't have the resources to hire a lawyer. Where can he go for help?

Edit: They owner of the business was doing this for years unbeknownst to my friend. The owner would not pay for several months and then pay some amount but she wasn't paying the late and penalty fees that were accruing. He has all his check stubs showing consistent deductions were taken from his check. He currently owes ~40k.
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer: He needs to contact the department of labor. He won't need a lawyer to do that. Show them the pay stub deductions and whatever proof he has from the child support agency that it wasn't sent to them. Answer #2: You need to consider the possibility that the company was forwarding the money to the state of California, but the state never properly credited his account.Answer #3: How much money? Small claims if the amount is low enough. Otherwise, a lawyer might take it on contingency and ask for legal fees in addition to damages.


Title: [California] My ex-bf posted my address online.

Question:
He was being douchey and even gave my address to mutual friends irl, who u3ave shown up unannounced before. Also a fan showed up because of the post online.

Bf is 28 btw, i turned 19 two weeks ago.

I never thought that he would post my address online on a mutual discord server, on my facebook cosplay/gamer fanpage, and on his facebook/other social media. The way the stuff is worded he is trying to set me up to get robbed or r*ped, he also posted that i live alone and uhm, when trash day is (basically only few times i leave my home consistently to bring out the trash...)

#I can afford to move, but I want to symbolicly sue him and press charges

Ive asked my family for advice and support but they blamed me for dating someone they didnt pick. Honestly this came out of no where. I always suspected he was fetishizing me for being half asian but this all started on my 19th birthday because when he came over to freshen up before our movie date he saw the yves saint laurent wallet my mom bought me and thought it was from a sugar daddy so i told him it was from my mom and showed him her photos of her with that stuff so he knows that its stuff she would actually get me and not a sugar daddy.

He flipped out because he thought i was struggling to get by, and saved up for a $150 gift. For some reason he thinks my family (who is paying for my place) is giving me thousands of dollars that i can spend willy nilly, when in reality my budget is $200 for entertainment a month. I have a feeling he looked up the apartment cost online and realised how much i order doordash... and somehow assumed that after that i still had a few grand?

He has also told people about my childhood abuse. Which sucks because i know they look at me differently. With my age and stature   (ive been told i can pass off for 13/14 years old) and what hes kinda posted online... i am afraid that someone will come and do something. He has never slept over so i am certain there are no secret pics of me, but i have some cosplay stuff and some i am in a one peice.

On my other post some people said i cant really sue him because there are no damages, (i know you can sue for anything but could this hold up?) But i feel like there is a reasonable fear for my safety with these posts, ive teken screenshots and saved the webpage (.html files) as well.

Also, a fan DID show up. Thats how i found out my ex also posted when i take out the trash! I spoke to the guy and he felt really bad but wanted to know if that was where i really lived. When he saw me cry he said he felt really bad and then kinda realised that my ex did it to be spiteful and put me in danger. I told him it was a good thing that he wasnt a bad guy but the next fan could be psycho. The fan gave me his social media, email and phone number because i asked for it and he agreed that if this does eventually become a court thing he would give his statement.

Answer:
 Your address is not protected information. You may well be listed in the Whtie Pages. You likely don't have any case, and if you sued, you'd be giving him a moral victory.

You could try getting out in front of it by reminding your fans that it's not cool to show up unannounced. Some of your usual options are out because of your cosplay.

I'm not sure about your last paragraph. Why would it be illegal to not tell people you're moving?


Title: We're suing our former landlord over the security deposit [Denver, Colorado]. Just want some general advice, tips on what to expect, how to act, etc.

Question:
We're calling him out for keeping the whole security deposit ($1500) and the pet deposit (another $300?), saying that our pets damaged just about everything at the house: the hardwoods, the doors, the carpet, etc. We have a very well behaved dog, but do admit he had some 'accidents' by the back door, but saying the dog scratched up the hardwoods is ridiculous, and we are stating that just about everything else is "wear and tear" by CRS 38-12-101.

So a couple of considerations:

 * the carpet was not new, likely halfway through its 10 year useful life when we moved in, and we lived there for 5 years, so we assert its improper for him to keep the security deposit just to buy new carpet for the whole house.

 * The spot where the pet stained... this carpet looked like shit in the first place, and we have pictures.  It right at the back door, so anytime someone crossed the backyard in the snow and came in through that door, the carpet would get filthy and wet.  We have an email from the landlord from the month prior to us moving out (he assumed we would be signing a new lease, but we moved instead) saying he would be replacing that carpet with tile, changing the locks, and doing some repairs in the bathroom.  Kinda seems like he was acknowledging the carpet was done already, and had his own plan to take care of it - until he got the idea that he could just pay for it with our money

Let me know if you have other questions about the situation. We aren't going to starve or anything if we don't "win", but we are suggesting treble damages, per the statute.

I've never been to small claims court before though, I wonder if he's bringing a lawyer.  I am hoping you guys can just give general advice about how to address the judge and the defendant, how to present my evidence, how/when do we explain our side of the story, what else to expect or prepare.  Any advice would be very appreciated.  We printed the email he sent, and copies of pictures we took before we moved in that shows there was damage to some doors, how old the carpet in the house is, and specifically how bad the carpet at the back door already looked before we moved in and lived there for 5 years.   We aren't trying to claim that none of the damage occurred whatsoever, but we think we make a good case that this is wear and tear, and up to him to fix, and not by keeping our money.   Please let me know if you have any thoughts, and sorry if this post is just way way too boring compared to the other fun stuff that typically gets posted! Thanks!

Answer: Was there a move out checklist/inspection performed? Did you take pictures prior to moving out as well?  Additionally, did he provide an itemized receipt listing out all the charges and what not?  Sounds like wear and tear based on the limited information presented.


Title: If my school is violating state laws (TX) can I get out of my contract and get a refund even if I signed an arbitration clause?

Question:
First off I should say I have reported my school to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation but they take 4-6 weeks to even investigate so I am posing my question here (sorry it's a long one) because my school is breaking the law and I would like to know if I can get out of my contract ASAP.

When I enrolled in school I signed an arbitration clause so I understand it's unlikely that I can fix anything.

* First problem: the school accepts more students than they can handle or have room for. My group started off in the main classroom which is where you barely learn anything from the books  and after 6 weeks we were moved onto the salon floor which is where you continue classwork in the morning and practice on clients in the afternoon. They do this to make way for a new group of students. However, out on the salon floor there are no desks so 11 girls are crowded around two massage tables and try work there. We barely have room to get supplies out and it's hard to see with the lights dimmed down.

* There are two doors to the salon but they **lock** the one going into the classroom so we can't socialize with the new students!! When we told them we were concerned about a fire hazard and were told a) they will not change it and b) if the teacher is in the room she can run to the door and unlock it provided we can't get out the only other exit. After a few weeks we can talk with new students but it's my understanding that we are initially seperated so they won't find out how poorly the program is run and leave while they could still get a full refund.

* Curriculum issues: they're barely teaching any of curriculum and lie on paper to make it look like they are. For example by law we are required to have 75 hours of makeup lessons and practice. For our lesson they brought a lady in to give us a sales pitch and told us to do certain looks (ex: smokey eye) on each other without any instruction on how to do those looks. This amounted to maybe 5 of the 75 hours but they reassured us that we would receive another class with a "world renowned" makeup artist but we had to pay $400 out of pocket for the class which is more than most of us could afford. They have no intentions of giving us anymore makeup lessens. They do this with other subjects as well.

* Many of our facial machines don't work so you never get to use them on clients. They simply explain how it would work and maybe give a demonstration with a machine that barely works or is out of order and count these as your hours. They reassure us a future employer will show us how which is ridiculous. An ex-teacher filed a work order to have some things fixed but was fired the next week or maybe because of it? I'm not sure but the school simply ignored the request and the other teachers don't want to place a new work order.

Some people have complained but many are scared because they fear the owner and management will retaliate and hold them back or kick them out and take their money. The way they get away with it is by forcing you to to agree on paper that you received your education because if you don't they won't sign off on your graduation papers when the time comes. If you stay in school past your estimated graduation dates they will charge you more money and most of us can't afford that.

**So my question is**: does this violate the agreement and mean my contract with them is null and void? Is it possible for me to get a refund so I can go to another school? I'm not looking to get anything more than my tuition back because I've invested enough to where I can't afford a new school unless I get some money back.

Thank you in advance /r/legaladvice!

Edited to remove personal info

Answer:
 > my school is breaking the law

So what law is your school breaking?


Title: Grandma has been abusing her elderly and/or developmentally disabled live-in patients. I've tried to report 3 times. What do I do?

Question: [removed]

Answer: Document precisely what you see and when it happened. If she is a licensed nurse, you could report her to her board of nursing


Title: Possible ramifications of a physical altercation between spouses

Question:
Throwaway account for obvious reasons. So, I'm really at a loss right now. I'm prepared to hear about myself and what I did.

Here's some background.  My(34 f) husband (33 M) and i have been married for awhile (less than ten years) and we have one child, age 5. we do not argue frequently and have had minor physical altercations earlier in our relationship. These were generally situations where I armed myself with something like a bat and he struggled with me to disarm me. This happened maybe twice over our relationship. I believe he shoved me once. None of these fights or the current one occurred with out child present. We live with my sister and brother-in-law and each time, they had our child safe on the other side of the house. I have PTSD and am currently in treatment. He works full time and is not the type to get upset by much.

Earlier this week my husband was in a minor car accident. While being checked out by a doctor for whiplash, they discovered he had pneumonia. He was put on antibiotics and steroids. He has never been on steroids during the course of our relationship.

So last night we started arguing over something silly : the kids (ours plus nephews) wanted to play video games in a room I wanted to relax in without kids. Normally we might get a little snippy with each other, but this time it escalated to an extreme. He had been drinking (wine, I believe). I don't drink. The kids went downstairs and he started railing on me for being selfish for wanting the room to myself (two hours earlier I had told the kids I was taking over the tv at 6.). I start fussing at him just to leave me alone and leave the room if he can't just let me chill. We argued some more and he dumped everything from a homework table onto the floor .

I have a small cast iron skillet on my desk that I use as an ashtray (it came with a Paula Deen candle in it). When he dumped everything, I picked up the skillet and dumped the contents in the trash. I warned him that if he didn't leave me the hell alone I would fully defend myself with my little skillet (5-8 lbs). He told me all of this was the result of me being a massive bitch. He lunged at me and grabbed me by the arm and started what I would describe as man-handling me. I started screaming, "Help me!!!" as loud as I could. I really did not want to hit him and I knew if my sister or brother-in-law got involved he would be super embarrassed. He immediately let me go and left the room.

My sister came in and asked me if everything was ok. I told her that he hadn't hit me, but had man-handled me and was being an ass. I told her I was ok. She asked me if I needed her to stay or if I needed her to keep him away. I told her I was fine and I was sure he was going to sleep. She left and within five minutes he was back. He said he needed my phone (we only have one cell between the two of us) so he could figure out work cause of transportation issues. After a few minutes I ask for the phone back and he says he should call in and quit work because I don't give a shit about anything but myself and wouldn't care if I found him dead from self inflicted injuries in the morning. I turn around to face him and am yelling some nasty things back at him. He jumps up and grabs my shirt collar and before I realize what Im doing I pick up that skillet and I swing it at him. he kind of deflects it off his hand and tries to grab me again (it's a little confusing at this point). I rear the skillet back and toss it at his forehead. It caught and his head instantly swells up. He runs out of the room.

&#x200B;

In the aftermath my husband has a gashed and swollen forehead and a swollen (possibly broken) ring finger. He is completely over it and says that he was overly hyped. He even said that he didn't understand why I would feel threatened enough to attach when I should know that no matter how aggressive he gets he would never physically hurt me. He isn't mad and says he should have left me alone.

&#x200B;

Here is where I need advice. My husband doesn't want to do anything. He thinks the injuries will be fine. I feel like we should get him medical attention, even if that means I have to face some type of legal consequence. I understand that this is domestic violence and he is the one with injuries. My sister and brother in law think that his head is ok but the finger may be broken and we should just come up with a story about how he hurt it. I'm quickly sinking into a depression about my actions. I cannot believe I did that.

&#x200B;

Please, no unnecessary insults, etc. I know I did a shitty thing.

&#x200B;

Answer:
 Get counseling before you both end up in jail and your kid ends up with DCF.Answer #2: You are potentially facing assault/battery charges if there are any reports filed. If he dies from a concussion or brain bleed (hitting someone in the face with a heavy cast iron skillet is very capable of that) you will be charged with manslaughter and have the very real possibility of facing jail time. Those are the potential rammifications of your actions. You are a grown adult with a child and PTSD is not a defense in your case regarding this. It sounds as if he won't press charges and if he doesn't I doubt any charges can be filled, fortunately for you.

If my husband hit me in the face with a frying pan, he'd be in jail right now. You're lucky.

You should put aside your shame at your actions and get your husband medical attention. If his bones are broken they need fixing or you can have a whole new host of problems (blood clots, infections, etc). You should also put yourselves into anger management separately and marriage counseling together. Delaying and hiding the incident will only cause more issues and bigger problems.


Title: Personal loan for a house, got screwed by a refinance

Question: Long story short I bought my elderly friend a house, we were both on the title and she was supposed to make payments for 15 years. About 4 months ago she informed me she was refinancing and could pay me off, I (stupidly) signed a quit claim deed and she refinanced. Now my "friend" is refusing to pay me off in full deciding instead to continue making mortgage payments. So far she hasn't missed a payment but I'm concerned about the payments stopping or what will happen with the loan if she dies. She currently has about 11 years left on the loan and owes approximately $72k. Through a property search I found I am no longer on the title and that she refinanced for $300k. She has cut off all communication except for a bank issued check that comes once a month for her mortgage. Do I have an recourse or any way to recoup my investment?

Answer:
 Yea, you went about this all wrong. Signing that quit claim deed was a really bad move, you basically gave her the house at that point.

You can sue her for the debt she owes you, if you have evidence of her breaching your agreement, but if your agreement was just that she makes you payments for 15 years, then you may need to just stick to that.


Title: Am I allowed to use Leonardo Da Vinci's art as an album cover?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: His art is public domain, but the photos of his art aren't. You need to photograph whatever you want to use


Title: Mom and work friends may have won the lottery but one of them may have stolen the ticket for themselves

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Your mom and her co-workers should consult an attorney.


Title: I have a green card, can I travel home to the Philippines(and back to the US) on an expired Philippine passport?

Answer: You can't travel anywhere on an expired passport.  Answer #2: Regardless of if the government will let you in or not; the airlines will likely refuse to carry you without a valid passport; because they’re responsible for the costs of returning you if the government doesn’t let you in. So they set their standard pretty high. Answer #3: Not a big deal to go to your local philippine embassy (chicago, NY, san fran, la, or DC) and get your passport updated.


Title: [MD] Employer quietly cut PTO hours

Question:
I keep meticulous notes on my PTO hours. I've been at the current company over 5 years, after 5 years you go from 4.62 hours a week up to 6.2 (3 weeks per year to 4).  I noticed the past two paychecks my PTO balance was low, I did the math and he quietly moved me back down to 4.62 a paycheck.

First of all, is this legal?
I confronted him about it, he said he would restore the balance and 'grandfather me in' but would have to cut it for other employees.  To be fair, he pays himself less than me, and we are in insecure times, but cutting a benefit, without discussion, is a serious trust violation.

I'm also curious, what are the implications for everyone else working here?  No one is near 5 years yet, and so technically it doesn't affect them yet.  Is it legal to cut out an incentive like this for people who have been here for 2 years, still far from earning 4 weeks PTO?

Answer: Only the people directly affected would have to be notified of the change. The people who have not yet received the PTO bump are not owed it in the future, unless you have contracts stating otherwise


Title: [CALI] I am being unfairly targeted and indirectly threatened by my soon-to-be FiL's new girlfriend. Should I get a restraining order?

Question:
Hi. My fiance and I are in the middle of a struggle to save up for a house while living in silicon valley. We live with our respective parents currently, but have been a part of eachother's lives and families for 5+ years. I like to think I have an OK standing with my fiance's family, as they seem relatively fine with me despite the occasional political disagreement, but lately I have been fearing for my safety when visiting them.

My soon-to-be Father in Law recently started dating a woman who been making my life a living hell for the past 6 months since she had an argument with my fiance that she has seemingly redirected to me, when I had nothing to do with what had gone on. She's become aggressive to me when I've come to visit. This woman does not live in this household whatsoever, just comes by without warning.

This started at a time when I had just come out of a sort of major surgery 7 days prior and was still in an extremely fragile state, in the moment all I could do in response to being yelled at for an argument I wasn't even involved in, was to have a nervous painkiller-fueled breakdown in front of her and cry horribly. The rest of the family doesn't seem to acknowledge the way she's been singling me out, and won't get involved or even stick up for me when she starts in on me.  My surgery wounds have at last healed, but the emotional trauma just keeps mounting and I'm afraid to think that visiting my fiance isn't worth this anymore.

I am questioning whether getting a restraining order against this person might be a good or even accessible thing to do, as she seems to be so filled with hatred towards me that she might decide escalate things at any time.

If a restraining order is not the way to go, I desperately need advice. I want to avoid putting a stop to visiting the family I kinda actually care about, or breaking things off with my fiance as much as possible.

Answer: If the only place you are seeing her is at the finance's house, you need to stay away from the house.  You aren't going to get a restraining order unless you can prove threats, stalking, a pattern of harassment (such as seeking you out or contacting you).   Yelling at you is not enough, especially when you have the ability to remove yourself from the situation.


Title: I was fired for refusing to work "off the clock"

Question:
Sorry for the ramble but here it goes.
I work at a small company of around 15 people. I take my job very seriously. I've never been late   in fact I'm always the first person in. I never sit around waiting. And I always work hard.
  The problem is the owner of the company expects us to do about 2 hours worth of office work in 1 hour every day.  Most of the time I spend doing this paperwork well after 5pm and im not getting paid. My other coworkers usually just charge one of the clients for this time but I refuse to. Sometimes I'm expected to leave my job site at 5 return the company car and do other work on my own time. Honestly I like the work so much this hasn't bothered me but recently I had been getting (pardon my expression) shit on for all my work and I wasn't up to spending my own time doing work if it goes without appreciation.
 So while we were working on the owners house  I told my boss I was leaving on time to go back to the office I get yelled at for not spending time after hours here and he complained about "everyone trying to leave work early and get off at 5" which isn't early. This was all in front of the owner too.
Anyway I had to call in sick the next day and today when I went to work my boss complained about not cleaning out the company vehicle  I told my boss that I have no probIem doing that but I need to be given time to do it  and he got super pissed at me for saying that saying it was going to cost to much money for me to do itkept on getting weird calls from my coworkers sounding like they were trying to entrap me into saying something to get me fired. I didn't fall into the trap I was honestly pretty confused and angry and when I got back to the office they told me I was fired for some made up reason which I'm not going to get into but is utterly laughable.
I honestly feel like they fired me for not working off the clock.
 It's going to be really hard for me to get a job now. Is there any financial action I can take against them?

Answer:
 File a claim for unpaid wages with the Department of LaborAnswer #2: File for unemployment and start looking for another job. Answer #3: whats the reason they said you were fired?  Thats pretty relevant information.Answer #4: You can file a claim with Washington's Labor department [here](https://secure.lni.wa.gov/wagecomplaint/#/). Start the unemployment process [here](https://secure.lni.wa.gov/).

Washington is an at will state, meaning you can be fired for any reason, so there's nothing to hold them liable for.Answer #5: If you kept records of the dates and times you worked off the clock, you might consider filing a wage claim.   Your boss may get fined if they find him in violation of labor laws.


Title: Not paying a Prostitute after services

Question:
Ok so first of all live in Canada where prostitution is legal.

A man recieved services from me and then didn't pay me. I threatened to tell his wife if he does not pay. Is this extortion??

Answer:
 If you want to do something to get back at him, just do it, don't threaten. For example, I would just report him to both his wife and the police. It's legal for you to sell your services, but it's not legal for him to buy them. Now whether the police will take action or not is debatable, but you could certainly try. Also it's perfectly legal for you to just tell his wife.

If you want to get back at him, you can do either of these things. But threatening to report him to the cops would be blackmail, and threatening to tell his wife would be extortion. The actions are legal, the threats are not. Answer #2: TIL prostitution is legal in Canada.

That said, is their any protective overarching agency you could turn to to handle this? Answer #3: Never threaten people as it can be seen as blackmail or extortion. If you are going to take action then do so without projecting your intentions. If nothing else, threats give them time to mount a defense and lets them know your strategy.Answer #4: Threatning to tell his wife is likely blackmail, and honestly you don't have any recourse. It is legal to offer your services but it is not legal for the buyer to pay you, so a court is not going to order that he do something illegal by paying you.


Title: Narcissistic ex husband keeping my daughter to spite me

Question:
Texas.
 My ex husband is a narcissist and to top it off a police officer.  When we got divorced he rigged everything in his favor knowing that I could do nothing.  As you can imagine all I could do was basically just bend over and take it.  I was left with no money and no means to defend myself against him, not that it would've mattered because he has all the lawyers and judges eating out of the palm of his hand.  The first night I ever spent away from my daughter was the night that the papers were finalized giving him primary custody, she was 6 years old.  I'm left with 1st 3rd and 5th weekends and wednesdays.  I'm ordered to cover her on my insurance and pay him child support.  Me, the one that was left with nothing has to pay him child support, knowing that he makes 3 times as much as I do.  Our whole marriage he had the upper hand and this is just his way to ensure that he keeps it.  When I was eventually able to consult with my lawyer he flat out said had he been anybody else I had an open and shut case but, considering he is a LEO and knows who he does, I didn't stand a chance.  Since we've been divorced hes had a 'babysitter' aka girlfriend that has kept my daughter and taken care of her more than he has.  He has no interest in taking care of her or anything even remotely close to parenting.  My daughter has stated repeatedly that she doesn't want to go back to her dads and she hates it there, shes miserable.  I believe that shes being emotionally abused by him like narcissists often do.  She is scared to death of her father and doesn't want to stay where she feels like she is unwanted.  She says he makes her feel like crap like shes not good enough, he makes her stay in her room all day, she can't have friends over or vice versa, shes been hiding things for fear of her father and what he'll do to her.  The list goes on and on.. How in the world am I to go about saving my daughter from him??  Shes 11 years old and so impressionable, I dont want her to suffer at the hands of her father the way I did.  I suffer from PTSD because of the things he did to me while we were married and I would give anything for her to not have to deal with the same.

Answer:
 As others have said, you need an attorney if you want to amend the custody/parenting order.

However, be aware that these are the kind of things that kids say. 11 year olds are dramatic. Hopefully you have more evidence than just her testimony. Answer #2: I'm willing to bet there's a lot more to this story than you're telling us. Why did your husband end up with primary custody?


Title: (IA) Is this considered child endangerment?

Question:
My psychotic SIL was running an in home daycare over the summer. On one particular day, with the children in her care, she called her Mom and said she felt like taking her own life (my brother was in the process of divorcing her and this was one of her tactics).

Now, we've heard two stories from my brother ... in one, he claimed she took a bunch of pills (sleeping pills and antidepressants) and had her stomach pumped at the local hospital before being committed to a psychiatric hospital for several days. Several weeks later, he said she didn't take any pills and was "simply committed for her safety."

Her mother told all the daycare parents that she had appendicitis.

So my questions are:

1. If she took the pills in an attempt to take her own life while the children were there, but then called and got her mom to come over ... is that considered child endangerment?

2. If she did NOT take pills but called her mother to come be with the children so she could get checked into a hospital, is that considered child endangerment?

3. If her mother lied to the parents about what really happened, is her mother legally on the hook for anything? And is anyone legally obligated to tell the parents the truth?

Answer:
 She is extremely unlikely to face child endangerment charges, because (unless her mother is a known child abuser) she didn't endanger any children -- her mother came over to care for the kids before the pills kicked in (assuming she took any) and she never left the children unattended.

She may face some consequences from the authority that licenses in-home daycares in your state, if her mom was not cleared as a backup provider, or if she didn't follow correct procedures for notifying parents of a change in provider.  But that's only an issue if she wants to continue providing inhome daycare.

The daycare parents are NOT entitled to know the nature of your SIL's medical emergency.  She had a medical emergency, she called someone else to care  for the kids while she went to the hospital.

Also doesn't really seem like your business since you talk about her providing childcare in the past tense and it's kinda shitty to attack someone getting treatment for mental health during a personal crisis as "a tactic".


Title: Can an employer tell me where I can or can't go for lunch?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Are you driving your employer's vehicle off of your designated route to the gym while not on the clock? Could be an insurance issue using their vehicle for non-work related travel. You're entitled to a lunch break. You're not entitled to use your employer's resources on that break. Answer #2: Do you get all sweaty and gross at the gym? I had a TA in college teach lab after he went to the gym. He smelled terrible. Maybe that's it?


Title: Truck rental place charged me 5 days of late rental because none of their employees would walk to the next parking lot and get the car. Meanwhile they charged my debit card instead of my credit card so I can't dispute.

Question:
I couldn't find a Uhaul or anything on short notice, so I rented a pick up truck from a little mom and pop store that has a few trucks available.  When I arrived to return it there was a sign on the door saying they closed early due to employee illness and to follow instructions for off-hours returns.

The off-hours return policy was to park and lock the car, then put the car into a special box thing that would mark the time when the key was inserted.

However, the entrances to the parking lot was blocked by a work crew repairing a water main bust.

I called and did not get an answer, and left a message asking for someone to call me back and tell me what to do with the car.  No one responded and my cab was there to take me to the airport.

So, I parked the car in the next parking lot over, which was a strip mall parking lot. It was as close as I could get to the shop - basically their lot -> strip of grass -> mall lot.  Then I called them again and told them where I left the car, and put the keys in the box as instructed.

I called the next day and talked to an employee who said they'd get it taken care of and as long as there was no damage I'd be good to go.  Then two days later I got a call asking when I was going to return the rental car. I explained and they said it didn't matter, I am responsible for returning it to the lot, and if it wasn't safe to do so due to work crews, I should have waited until it was.

I asked to talk to a manager and they said one would call me. No manager called me.  The next day an employee called again, same thing.  On the 5th day I sent my sister there, but she couldn't move the car to their lot without keys - and they wouldn't give her keys to do it. She convinced an employee to take care of it though.

Then there's the issue of the card they charged it to. I originally reserved it with my debit card, before learning I should use my credit card because of protection and dispute options. So I changed it to my credit card when I picked it up. I have a confirmation sheet showing my credit card number as the one being charged.

But they actually charged my debit card instead for both the original rental cost that I owed, plus 5 days of extra rental + late fees + a "service charge for off-site return"

I have now talked to them on the phone 9 times and still have not managed to speak to a manager.  My sister went in and they wouldn't talk to her about the situation.

What the heck can I do?  I am at a loss as I have never dealt with so much foolishness in my life.

Answer:
 That's unreasonable on several different levels, especially when they were closed *during* their posted business hours (on the return day) with the driveway blocked. You literally could not return the vehicle as agreed.

I'd take this to small claims court and ask the judge to award you court costs as well as the late fees and extra rental days.


Title: I was run off the road by an individual, he then proceeded to snatch my phone while I was with 911 [Texas] and tossed it.

Question:
I was driving down a main interstate here in Texas when a guy started slamming his breaks for no reason and then ran me off the road. As he did that, I got on my phone and dialed 911, I got through to the operator and as the guy approached, I let him know I was on the phone with the police. He interrupted the call by snatching my phone from my hand, he failed the first time but he tried a second time and managed to take it from my hands. He then tossed it, and continued yelling at me. We exchanged in some conversation, and told him he didn't have to do what he just did by endangering everyone on the road with his driving and tossing my phone. He then calmed down some what but making a threat that if I followed him he would "fuck me up." He then got in his car and left. I took the next exit and called the police again to let them know what had happened. I filled a report with the local police; got the license plate, his description, make and model. (I had made it a point to make a note of everything I saw, even which mile marker this was happening.) Turns out his car is registered in the city I live in, not the small town where the crime occurred.

I know that his car is registered under two names to the same address. I know the police from the small town aren't going to capture him, as he lives outside their jurisdiction. So my question is what can I do to make sure he is captured? Can I transfer the case to this jurisdiction?

tl;dr : Man ran me off the road, threw my phone, and left, but he lives in the same town I do, not where the crime occurred.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 You may not believe this, but people often commit crimes in jurisdictions in which they do not live. Police departments are aware of this. If he has a warrant for his arrest, they will coordinate with the other jurisdiction and handle it.  Answer #2: Did you recover your phone? Was it damaged?

You could sue for damages.


Title: We got pulled over and got a citation today, but I don't think we were in the wrong.

Question:
Today near Daytona it's bike week and it's absolutely crazy traffic wise. Well as we were coming up on a red light and this grey imapala is going a solid 5-10 miles per hour like 30 yards from the light. I'm all for coasting to a red light so you don't stop and go constantly, but this impala is going way to slow way to far back for the amount of traffic were experiencing.

She honks twice and the police officer puts on his lights whips out of his car and comes up to the window yelling "what's the rush ma'm" and she said something along the lines that he was going to slow and he said "the lights red Ma'm" my mom then replys "actually no it's not" we all look at the light and its green. Which means in the 5 seconds it took him to whip out of his car the light already turned green. This reinforced the fact that he was way to far back from the light for how slow he was going.

We get a citation blah blah blah he goes on a power trip.

Who was in the wrong?

Edit:We also got a ticket for, I kid you not, "improper use of a horn". Wtf does that even mean. Why even have a horn.

Answer:
 > (3) The driver of a motor vehicle shall, when reasonably necessary to ensure safe operation, give audible warning with his or her horn, but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway.

source - http://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2011/316.271

Well today I learned.  Sorry OP, I have no advice to give.


Title: Charged With Felony Grand Larceny

Question:
I was working in a store - running the cash register and I saw a phone sticking out underneath the counter. Me being stupid, I took the phone and hid it. I didn't know who the phone belonged to. A few moments later someone came up to the counter looking for the phone. I was really scared so I didn't say anything. I froze up. They then told the managers and they started investigating.

The following day I went back and retrieve the phone from where I put it, and looked up the address to where the owner was living. I then drove there that day and placed the phone on their doorstep in an envelope, along with a letter of apology. I didn't reveal my identity. I felt really bad and I couldn't sleep because it was on my mind everyday. About a week later I resigned from my job because I couldn't take the guilt.

In the apology letter I had placed in the envelope, I explained how sorry I was but apparently that wasn't enough.

Yesterday the police came knocking on my door and  I was arrested for grand larceny and I got out on a $2,500 unsecured bond. Apparently they had me on video.

 The Virginia Crime Code is "LAR-2359-F9 GRAND LARCENY STEAL PROPERTY >=$200 NOT FROM PERSN."

From what I read the penalty could be 1-20 years in prison.

I have never been arrested before and this is my first offense. Now I am awaiting arraignment. I am really scared because I don't want to go to jail. Should I hire my own lawyer or go with the court appointed one? Any advice would be helpful.

Also, the magistrate told me since I returned the phone it's going to look good in court.

Again, any advice would be extremely helpful.

Thanks

Answer:
 > Should I hire my own lawyer or go with the court appointed one?

Public defenders are, on average, no better and no worse than hired attorneys.  If you can afford a hired attorney, though, you likely won't be afforded a public defender.  Answer #2: What did you say in the apology letter?


Title: Can I get in trouble for making veiled threats of violence to people online?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 It could be perceived as a threat so yes. Control your anger. Answer #2: It's very likely not a criminal act.

But you could still get in tons of trouble, particularly when your parents get home and ground you.


Title: [MO] I posted recently about how Wal Mart oil change center ruined my engine. Their insurance company denied my claim. Hypothetically, if I take them to small claims and they don't show up, will I automatically win and will they be forced to pay?

Question:
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: You still have to do what's called "proving up" your case.  This means testimony and documents sufficient to establish both liability and the existence and amount of damages.  You aren't just going to get any amount you ask for.  Plan to bring documents.


Title: (TX) Maternity/FMLA Leave question

Question:
My wife and I had our first child about 6 weeks ago. Four weeks prior to her due date she gave a four week notice of her resignation to stay at home with the baby. Her manager talked her into an “as needed” position where she could work 1-2 days per week (or more/less if she wanted) and take her maternity leave (technically 6 weeks of short term disability) and 6 weeks of FMLA prior to transitioning to her new role. Her maternity leave ended yesterday and she’s second guessing whether or not she really wants to continue working once FMLA ends.

She tried to resign prior to the birth because she didn’t want to take advantage of the leave with the expectation to ultimately stay at home.

Would it be a moral or legal (or hopefully a nonexistent) issue if she did decide to not work and resign while on FMLA? If it is a legal issue, would we need to be prepared to pay back the disability pay she has received?

Answer: She will need to look at her short term disability and leave policies at work to see what happens when you leave within a certain period of time after return.Answer #2: She does not have to return just because she received disability pay, that was something she paid for out of each check


Title: If I wanted to reproduce and sell a board game from 1920 (that was not in-print past then), would it be considered public domain and legal?

Question:
It's a fantasy property that's well known and whose books fall under public domain (like HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu, Shelley's Frankenstein, etc).

Location: Seattle, Washington, United States.

Answer:
 If the actual art and text were published in 1920, then it will be in public domain now.

For example if you were making and selling your own copies of Jetan, Mars Chess, you are 100% able to do that.


Title: Can I sell my middle name?

Question: I'm changing my legal name for personal reasons. But I don't actually have a middle name in mind. Is it legal in the US to auction off the rights, or to sell raffle tickets and have the winning ticketholder choose what I change my middle name to? If I disallow swear words/slurs/copyrighted terms, can I enforce a "no refunds" policy if the winner disregards it and I move on to the runner-up?

Answer:
 What's your location?

If you're in the US I'm 99.99% sure you can do whatever the hell you want with your name. There have been parents who've auctioned off the naming rights to their children.

Heck, last year KFC ran a promo that any baby born on September 9 that was named after their founder ("Harland") would get $11,000 put towards their future college education - https://www.10news.com/entertainment/around-the-web/kentucky-fried-chicken-offering-parents-money-to-name-their-baby-harland

Now, the rules might be different in Europe. I've read that they have more strict laws about what parents can name their children, and such legalities might also apply to a person wishing to change their name.


Title: [CA] Baiting and catching a college dorm thief.

Question:
People in my dorm have had their stuff gone missing because they keep leaving it out in the common rooms. I suppose it's irresponsible to leave valuable possessions out in the open, but my roommate and I would like to catch a thief. We have purchased a set of devices that will flash light and emit a loud beeping noise that is meant for finding lost objects.

Our general plan is as follows:

- We will put the flashing and beeping devices into a pair of (broken) headphones, and leave it out in the open as bait.

- After letting our bait go missing, we will go around the hallways pressing our remote until we detect which room our bait is in through the beeping audio.

- We knock on the room door with our Residential Adviser or similar housing authority, and confront the answering person while remaining outside the room.

- We plan to make the one of the two following statements: "Give us back our stuff, or we may press charges." or "Give us back our stuff, or we will not press charges."

We do not intend to pursue charges at all because we do not want to spend a lot of time in court if we need to, and my roommate and I are not locals and will be returning home for the summer.

One of our main concerns is if making such a statement is safe and will not get us into legal trouble from the suspected person. If the suspected person calls our bluff and refuses (despite the obvious beeping), we'll just settle with the social shame from everyone knowing that the person is a thief.

- If the person agrees to give back the pair of headphones. We also plan to state the following, "You better give back anything else you've taken now." Will we be at risk for legal trouble if we say this? Should this be worded more nicely? We are hoping that the now-confirmed thief will return any stolen items out of morality or possible leniency for possible consequences by housing or school authorities.

There is also a possibility that the thief is a foreign student. What difference would this make if it were the case?

Answer:
 a) If the RA is involved, then the school is involved, which means they're going to dictate if the police are called or not.

b) Threatening to call the police to report a crime isn't typically extortionate, but if you want to be cautious, avoid anything that is a "Do X or we will (or won't) do Y" statement.

c) You won't spend much, if any, time in court over this.  It's a criminal issue.  This person stole.  The police and DA handle that, not you.

> We are hoping that the now-confirmed thief will return any stolen items out of morality or possible leniency for possible consequences by housing or school authorities

That's a pretty stupid plan.  If morality was a concern, they wouldn't be stealing from people who live near them in the first place.  I'd expect this person to flat-out deny everything and refuse to give anything back.

> There is also a possibility that the thief is a foreign student. What difference would this make if it were the case?

NoAnswer #2: > but my roommate and I would like to catch a thief.

Then become cops.

Don't be batman. Answer #3: > If the person agrees to give back the pair of headphones. We also plan to state the following, "You better give back anything else you've taken now."

Or what?

Seriously.  If they don't give back other things, then what will you do?  You have no evidence that that person took anything but the headphones.  So if they tell you to screw off, what will you do?


Title: [FL] My SO is a teacher and is being accusing of assaulting a 7th grader. Evidence proves not true. What recourse do we have?

Question:
So after coming home to a rough day, I come home to find my SO nearly on the verge of crying and having a meltdown.

When she went to school today, she was immediately pulled aside and was told there was an investigation against her for assaulting a child and the parent of said child was raising hell. Threats to sue and asking for her to be fired, she was gonna tell all the parents, she has connections in media, and so forth...

The parent gave the investigators the time frame of when she supposedly "shoved the child into an empty room and held on to her, creating bruises, and verbally assaulted her".

However, when the investigators looked into the security cameras ALL around the school on the date the incident supposedly took place AS WELL as the day before and the day after and they found NOTHING other than the child approaching my SO for a hug in which she gave back a half-hug because she was holding on to books (nothing looked like abuse even in that footage) which occurred yesterday.

As everyone knows, even a slight accusation (however untrue it may be), this ruins a teacher's reputation in the eyes of everyone and there are already students who are afraid to be around my SO and some fellow teachers are already giving her looks.

She has the backing of most of the school though, including the current principal and the future principal, who even before looking at the footage, know that my SO couldn't and WOULDN'T do such a thing and the evidence even back that up.

Does this parent's threat of suing have ANY grounds for it? And could my SO, if she decides to pursue it, counter-sue for defamation?

Answer:
 > As everyone knows

You're overreacting. An accusation was made. Evidence reviewed. No evidence of wrongdoing found.

> even a slight accusation (however untrue it may be), this ruins a teacher's reputation in the eyes of everyone

> She has the backing of most of the school though, including the current principal and the future principal, who even before looking at the footage, know that my SO couldn't and WOULDN'T do such a thing and the evidence even back that up.

You just contradicted yourself.


Title: My pipes just burst (tenant in apartment)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Depends on your situation, You are unlikely to be reimbursed for your stay unless you have renters insurance to make a claim against. That being said, your apartment is going to be a mess for a few days. That's awful cold, was your heat functioning correctly to your knowledge?
*Edit for more complete answer*
Your LL needs to start water extraction within the next day or so to preclude the growth of mold. This is done most often by a combination of specialized vacuums, air movers and dehumidifiers. Make sure you've reported the issue through the "proper" channels under your lease and LL's policies. If you haven't heard anything at all from your LL by close to end of day today... well that would be a very bad sign. I don't know CO's rules on withholding rent, but your water is almost certainly off pending repairs and that creates a habitability issue if not seen to promptly.


Title: [VA] ex girlfriend is posting my phone number on her dating profiles and asking random strangers to call and text me as if it were her

Question: So I had a bad break up with an ex girlfriend, she wouldn't stop trying to get back together  despite me telling her no many times, even after I treated her like shit she still wants to get back together for some reason. Well because she isn't getting what she wants she's posting my phone number on random dating sites as if it were hers, she has her pictures up but putting my number as hers. She updates her statuses telling people that she needs company, send pics, to text or call, I'm getting texts and calls from many different men and of course pics of penises. This is really annoying and I'm wondering what can I do legally, I haven't retaliated because I want to take the legal route. Any advice as to what I can do other than changing my phone number.

Answer:
 Probably not the best advice but when you're contacted just give them her number and that the listed number is incorrect.Answer #2: Try contacting the site and ask them to take her profile down.Answer #3: The quickest and least expensive option: get a new phone number.  Don't give it to her, and inform all of your friends of her shenanigans so they don't give her your number.

It's a hassle sure, but I think it's the easiest option here.


Title: (PA, USA) I want to start keeping cash on hand as a hedge, but am concerned about civil forfeiture (xpost from /r/personalfinance)

Question:
**Addendum:** I am reposting because I'm not really getting many decent answers about defending my assets from civil forfeiture, and I think legaladvice might be a better venue for the question. I am located around Philadelphia, where between 2002 and 2012 there have been well over 6500 cases for Civil Forfeiture, over one case for every 228 people. Philadelphia is one of the worst areas in the country for CF. What can I do to prevent my assets from being seized if I am unlucky number 228?

**Original post:**
>Hey everyone. As part of my investing strategy, I want to start keeping some percentage of my portfolio on hand as cash. It's liquid, it's easy to spend, and in the crazy scenario where there are runs on banks I'll have some livable amount on hand already.

>My big concern though, is if police ever search my home that money can be seized in civil forfeiture. This is hardly unprecedented, especially not in my area.

>For those who aren't in the US, civil forfeiture is a method used by police to confiscate items they believe are suspicious without proving that the owner has performed any wrongdoing (thus ignoring the spirit of the fourth amendment). Its abuses are extremely well documented and a real concern if you are going to have a large amount of cash on hand.

>For people who try to have some amount of cash "under their mattress", does this concern you at all? What do you do about it? Is there anything you can do about it?
Topic:
Searches and Seizures

Answer:
 There's really no guaranteed way to avoid it, aside from not keeping large amounts of cash.

The next best option is to just do everything in your power to avoid situations where it can be seized. That means no illegal activities, and don't keep it in your car or on your person.


Title: My (TN) grandmother’s landlord scared her into a heart attack.

Question:
Hello everyone!

So on Thursday afternoon, my grandmother’s landlord stopped by her house to complain about having some tables on her porch. Instead of asking her to move it, she began to threaten to evict her is she ever saw anything on the porch again, along with yelling over being asked when they will fix some of the utilities.

Friday morning, she was barely able to get out of bed and we ended up needing to call an ambulance and she has been in the hospital since. From what the doctors have said so far, she had a sudden heart attack, which were unsure if she can recover from.

What are my options in reporting her landlord? In the case of the landlord stressing her into a heart attack, do I have any options there?

Some backstory, my aunt and uncle were there when this happened and may have recorded some of it. My grandmother is on governmental assistance with her rent, this is what the landlord keeps complaining about. We have pictures and videos of her roof leaking, oven/fridge either not working or randomly quitting for days as well as windows getting jammed open in winter. The landlord has refused to fix anything until my grandmother “pays the rent she is due” which is 3x more than what her government assigned worker has negotiated with them.

I’m not sure if this is the correct flair, I can change it if needed.

If any other info is needed, let me know and I’ll try my best to get what’s needed!

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Sorry your grandmother is experiencing heart attacks, but yelling isn't illegal. Her health is at the point where it's a risk no matter what.

I will admit, I am THE LAW, but not THE DOCTOR, so maybe some medical pros can chime in. Answer #2: That is not how heart attacks work. Focus on your grandmothers health—if she’s on rent assistance she should qualify for Medicaid for her hospital stay and rehab.


Title: Ran over in Walmart parking lot. Officer refusing to file paperwork what can I do?

Question:
I was run over on a crosswalk in Columbia County Oregon at a Walmart. The officer is refusing to give me the other drivers information.

4 days after him not contacting me and refusing to talk to me... He today says I must meet with him again to do a follow-up interview on Friday.  He said he reviewed the camera footage and needs my statement again.

How is this legal? I told him I have a right to that information and I'm injured and need it for my claim. He still refused. What can I do? I have injuries all over my body and still hurt with many cuts and bruises and bumps. I haven't even been able to get sleep the past nights because of the pain my bones are in.

I feel the officer knows the person who hit me and is trying to brush this under the rug. What can I do guys? The guys who hit me kept begging me not to call 911. Luckily the Walmart manager called for me before the guy could leave.

Answer:
 Why not escalate this issue? Officer will have a supervisor, go to them with a complaint and all correspondence between you and the officer.
I'm not a lawyer though. Just some general advice this.


Title: Online harassment, please help me stop it

Question:
I am an 18 year old girl from Norway and an American (United States I assume) man has been sending me dick pics on Kik and instead of just blocking him, I want report him.

The interaction basically went like this:

*Dick pic
*Dick pic
*Dick pic
"Hey babygirl wanna have some private therapy with your private doctor?"
"Do you know the laws for indecent exposure in your state?"
"Yes.
 I know them all.
I am a lawyer 😂"
"So you know I have evidence of indecent exposure then"
Yes, but you can't do anything. I can turn the tables on you"

Is there a way I could have him arrested? Maybe make him lose his job as a lawyer for acting in such a perverted way? I know international law isn't that easy, especially with online stuff. I just don't want this to go unpunished. For all he knows I could have been underage.

Answer:
 Sending dick picks to another adult, while assholish, is not illegal in the way you described.  He would not be arrested in the US (if that is even where he is from) for this.

Just block and move on.


Title: [MA] Appealed speeding ticket and was found not responsible, however, I'm confused as to that the clerk said

Question:
Hi. I'm 17, last week was my appeal date for my speeding ticket. Long story short, the clerk told me I was only allowed to drive to school & to work, and back home, until May1. My ticket was dropped, so I don't lose my license due to having a JOL, my insurance doesn't go up, etc.

The only question I have, is how would this be enforced? No, I'm not thinking of risking it at all, I'm just curious as how to how it would be enforced.

Answer:
 This doesn't sound right. Either you're missing something, or the clerk was messing with you, or you misunderstood her. If the ticket was dismissed, then it is as if you never got a ticket. Unless you were found guilty and handed a court order in writing, or you only have a provisional driving permit that restricts your driving privileges, you can drive wherever you want. Answer #2: Cop pulls you over.

Where you going to?
Where you coming from?
Is your location between these two points?

Answer #3: You may have gotten the ticket dropped on condition of a probationary period.  If that's the case and you get pulled over, there's probably a note on your license about this -- if the cop feels you violated it, you'd get written up.