Title: Gun rights

Question:
Hello! I need some advice on a situation.
I have a domestic violence (misdemeanor) and it's been expunged now for 4 years. At the hearing to get it expunged I was told that I couldn't get a gun for 10 years still: anyways I heard that you can pardon the governor. Expect it seems that that's only for Felonies and people who don't have a explunged record and since my record is explunged I can't pardon the governor so I am a little confused on how I can get my gun rights back. Just a FYI: I want to try my rights back to do shooting range with family and friends who go often and I have to always make excuses why I am to busy to go (to embarrassed to tell the real reason)

Sorry my location is Northern California

Answer:
 >anyways I heard that you can pardon the governor.

You mean receive a pardon from the Governor? In some states, it is not just him that decides that. Your location is important here.

>Expect it seems that that's only for Felonies and people who don't have a explunged record and since my record is explunged I can't pardon the governor so I am a little confused on how I can get my gun rights back.

Pardons can cover a wide range of crimes or infractions-- including misdemeanors, generally speaking.

Sounds like you'll have to wait another 6 years to be able to legally own a gun, if that's what the court told you at your expungment proceeding.


Title: [PA]My son is self-employed and is seventeen.

Question:
I sent an email to the local PD about this but they haven't answered. My son is a baseball umpire. He is self-employed and will get a 1099. Sometimes his games start at 8:00 PM and, if there are extra innings, they go late.

As a PA driver having had his driver's license for only six months, he can't drive after 11:00 except for certain exceptions. One of the exceptions is going to or coming home from work. For that, he needs a note from his boss saying what he is doing. Thing is, he's got no boss. Can he sign his own note since he is self-employed? Is that a no-go since he is a minor? Should either my wife or I, as his parents, sign a note for him? Thanks, legal minds.

Answer: He'd be considered a contract employee by whatever league runs the games. Have someone up the chain write a letter explaining what he does and that occasionally the games get out late, and contact info for at least the league office.Answer #2: Your local police department isn't really a source of legal advice. Since I doubt they will care to investigate his formal classification as employee/contractor, the easiest thing to do would be to just get a note or even just a copy of the assignment paperwork from the company that is contracting him.


Title: [TX] I sold my friend drugs via SMS. He just got arrested. Am I fucked?

Question:
I go to university in Texas. I've been selling some drugs to make cash on the side. My friend Cole bought some off me a while ago (arranged over text messages). Now, he sells weed and maybe other drugs too. I bought weed from him recently. He was arrested today, and "investigators" (what I was told) were apparently in his room at some point dusting for prints and/or residue.

Am I fucked for having messaged him about buying and selling drugs from each other? Is that enough evidence to convict me?
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 > Am I fucked for having messaged him about buying and selling drugs from each other? Is that enough evidence to convict me?

The text *alone*? No. But that won't be the end of the evidence the state finds. And if your friend is smarter than he is loyal, he'll flip on you.Answer #2: TIL there are college students dumb enough to arrange drug purchases via cell phone text messages.


Title: [Florida] I have to take my 'friend' to small claims court because he owes me $1,250. I have to pay $250 in fees but can not afford it. What do I do?

Question: I invested $3,500 into his company upon the agreement that I receive 100% back if I take my investment out. I have now taken $2,250 out but he still owes me $1,250 (he paid me $2,250). I have to pay $250 in court fees / summons serving fees but I can not afford it. What do I do?

Answer:
 Start saving money while your window for filing a claim is still open.

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/florida-law/florida-civil-statute-of-limitations-laws.html

>I have now taken it all out but he still owes me $1,250 (he paid me $2,250).

If you had taken it all out, you would not need to sue.

And by the way... you just received $2,250, but do not have $250 for court costs to recover the last $1,250?Answer #2: IANAL, I am a court clerk.

It appears Pasco County has an Affidavit of Costs form where you can ask that costs be taxed against the defendant if judgment is entered against him. I did not see any forms that would allow you to ask to proceed in forma pauperis (without paying the filling fee), but you may ask the clerk and see if that would be an option.


Title: Friend wants to start a homestead type community with 5 other families, mine included. What would be the best way to finance this little venture?

Question:
As of now, he seems to think that 6 people can just co sign on one big consolidation loan. He wants to basically umbrella finance..well, everything. Land, houses, buildings..everything. I'm hesitant but dont wanna go against the flow without solid info. So,

Is it even possible to get a loan between 6 families? If so, how would one go about doing so? If not, what would your best alternative be?

Answer: This sounds like a cult. Run.


Title: My son caught "sexting" at school (California)

Question:
2 days ago, my son was caught with texts saying that he sold drugs and was planning to buy drugs. He got suspended for 5 days and I was told today he would be coming back to the school after the suspension. But when they were looking through his phone they found evidence that he had sent pictures of underage girls at our school (most of them were just of them in their underwear, some of them were topless without their faces revealed at all, there was one where the girl was inserting her fingers in her genitals) to around 7 other kids (around 20-25 pics in total). What are the consequences for this? I am honestly curious because he didn't send anything back he got them from his friend and sent them to his other friends. Currently I haven't even heard anything from the school but I think police were involved. They didn't even mention it at the school either.

He is a sophomore, and please do not state that he is an idiot, I already know he is. He is a kid and he makes mistakes.

Answer:
 > He is a kid and he makes mistakes.

Well, the "mistakes" are potentially going to lead to charges of production of, possession of, and distribution of child pornography.

The absolute worst case scenario here is registration as a sex offender, years in prison, and thousands of dollars in fines.


Title: Grandpa [WI] wants to give me [CO] all of his guns. How can we legally transfer them?

Question:
My grandpa has not gone hunting in a while and he's offered me three of his firearms to use for the same. Two lever action .308s and one bolt action 30\-30. In speaking with him, I don't believe he will ship them and I am doubtful I would be able to convince him to. It sounds like my two options are to drive to Wisconsin \(17 hours each way\) or to fly out. With the politically charged nature of everything I really don't want to screw something up relying on my reading of Google search results and end up in jail. I also don't think I can realistically get enough time off work to drive out. So I feel like my only option is to fly.

I have passed the background check to own firearms in Colorado, but I had to go through extra processing due to a Disorderly Conduct conviction from my college days, and it took a few weeks to get that approval back from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. If I'm reading my Google search results correctly, it seems like there isn't any requirement for a background check between private parties in WI. I'd also assume it'd be best to fly into/out of a Wisconsin airport to avoid crossing the border into Minnesota \(I usually fly Minneapolis when I visit him\) and further complicating matters. So, is it that easy? Can I bring a hard case with me, he can just hand them to me, and I can fly back to CO without worry? Or am I not reading something right?

Answer:
 You could have him send (ups or fedex) them to an FFL (Gun shop) in CO. Then the FFL could make the transfer. It may cost $25 or so per firearm, or they may cut you a break.

Just an edit on this one. Your Grandfather would need to take them to a FFL in WI and have them ship to FFL in CO. He could not ship them directly.Answer #2: If they are all long guns (rifles) you can transfer them at any FFL in Wisconsin. Rifles can be bought at any FFL in any state, it’s only handguns that require you to be in your state of residence. Many FFLs won’t process sales for out of state residents as a matter of policy, but it’s not illegal. Call around, tell them what’s going on (briefly), and you should be able to find a smaller FFL who’d be happy to do the transfers for a grandson who’s receiving rifles from his grandfather.


Title: (TX) Towing company impounded my legally parked vehicle

Question: Happened last night/this morning. The towing company that works for my apartment complex towed my car, because they said there was no residence sticker, which is untrue. It's in the top left corner of both our vehicles where the apartment complex told us to put it. They wouldn't release our car without paying a $300 towing fee, which we had to pay. I would like to get our money back because this is ridiculous. They towed at 9pm according to the lady I spoke on the phone with.

Answer: Check with your apartment complex and see if they’ll be willing to intercede on your behalf. They have a contract with the towing company, and if your car was in compliance with all rules they’ll be unhappy that it was towed. Check and be absolutely sure your car was fully compliant before bringing it up.Answer #2: You've already taken the proper first step which is to get your vehicle released so that you're not incurring further storage charges.  Speak with the complex management to get reimbursed, but you may have to sue in small claims to recoup your losses.Answer #3: I just went through with something similar. In Texas you can file a Tow Hearing with a Justice of the Peace court, and you have 14 business days to do it. Then you just to JP court with your evidence and the judge can make them repay the costs + filing cost. And since it's JP court it's super simple, chill stuff. I filed and got all my money back very painlessly.


Title: Auto accident. No collision. Illinois.

Question:
Today in the suburbs of Chicago we had freezing rain. The roads were slick and iced over. I was driving eastbound on a 2 lane highway. As I took a turn I lost control of my car, slid over the center line and then regained control. During this a person traveling westbound swerved right in order to avoid collision. He ended up in the ditch, hitting a snowbank and eventually a tree. We were both going maybe 20mph. No airbags deployed and there were no injuries and no tickets issued. The other driver asked me to be sure to file a insurance claim with my agency so he could get a rental. The police officer told both of us to file claims with our agencies.

When I got home I called my agency and was told that since there was no collision, no injuries, and my car sustained no damage that I had no need to file with them. A few hours later I received a phone call from my insurance agency as the other driver had called and opened a claim. They wanted to gather more info from me. After explaining the situation they said that the accident was ruled a no fault accident. The other driver should have maintained control of his car, and not run it off the road.

I was told the claim would be closed and that's that. I am now awaiting a phone call from the other driver when he realizes my insurance company is not going to pick up his rental and he will be stuck with his deductible. If he calls what is the best way to diffuse the situation? Obviously I understand he got the short end of the stick here. Is there anything legally he could do, such as come after me in small claims court to cover his deductible, even though my insurance says no one was at fault?

Thanks!

Answer:
 There's really nothing for you to say to him. You weren't the one who decided you weren't at fault.

He could certainly sue you if he believes he's owed compensation. If he does sue, contact your insurance company promptly, and they'll help you out.


Title: Girl I've been talking to online just told me that her dad screamed and cussed at her, then shoved her head.

Question:
We've been talking for around a month, she's a real person, we video chatted and stuff and sent letters to each other. She just told me that her dad called her a useless piece of shit etc. and at the end of the argument he went away and shoved her head ( Not at a wall or something ).

The gal is 5'0 so she can't possibly defend herself if he becomes more violent, she told me that he has cussed at her and her 2 little siblings for a long while but this the first time he got literally physical.

I have her address and name, she's located in Roseville, CA.

She's asking me to please not call CPS, but I think she's saying that because she's afraid CPS won't do anything and just leave, and her dad will treat her worse.

What should I do ? I'm afraid of the exact same thing she's afraid of, any and all advice would be appreciated. She is 16.

Answer: She needs to discuss this with a counselor at school, who will determine the proper actions.


Title: Need to apply for green card for my husband. We cannot afford an immigration attorney at the moment. Is it possible to go through this process without one? Can anyone recommend reading material for the process?

Question: Hi! As the title says...we need to apply for green card for my husband (I am a US citizen, he is from Brazil and overstayed his visa 2 yrs). Unfortunately it is not within our budget at the moment to hire an immigration attorney. Is it possible to get through this without one? There is SO much information on the internet about this....can anyone recommend any reading resources/material for us to get the process going? Is it stupid to do this by ourselves? Thank you.

Answer: You're starting out with a major strike (visa overstay) against him. I'd beg or borrow to get the money necessary to hire an immigration attorney. In answer to your question, "Is is stupid to do this ourselves?" I think you need to ask yourself, "Are you prepared for him to be removed from the country and barred from returning to the United States for 10 years?" In the long run, it will probably cost more for both of you to relocate to Brazil and for you to fly back to the US periodically to visit family.


Title: Coworker read personal journal

Question:
Throwaway account :)

My coworker read my personal journal that had fallen out of my bag. It was in a cabinet, a space only the two of us share, and it was closed and sealed with a strap around it. They then shared details about what they saw on social media. What can I do legally/job wise regarding this issue? Job is in New York, USA.

Thanks!

Answer: You can not bring your journal to work and place it in a shared space that you both have access to?  It was an accident, and they were mean about it.  Nothing you can do but ask them to stop.


Title: Girlfriend just found out she's been making under minimum wage for 6 months, how does she ask to be paid retroactively for what she's owed?

Question:
So my girlfriend has been working for a small company for about a year now painting and staining. She gets paid over the table and was making minimum wage up until January when minimum wage increased by a dollar.

She has different hours each week and gets paid through direct deposit so the fact she wasn't making extra went unnoticed until this week when the direct deposit system went down and she got a physical pay stub.

She already talked to her manager and they are now paying her minimum wage again, but they're referring to it as a "raise" and not offering to pay her the money she should have made over the last 6 months. What's the best way for her to ask for the money she's owed? It seems like paying her under minimum wage over the table at a non-serving job would be illegal. We live in Massachusetts if that is any help with labor laws.

TL;DR, girlfriend has been unknowingly making less than minimum wage for 6 months, wants to know how to ask for them to pay her the money she's owed.
Topic:
Labor Law (Unions)

Answer:
 > how does she ask to be paid retroactively for what she's owed.

"hey boss. I noticed I didn't receive an increase since minimum wage went up in Jan and I've been making less than minimum wage. Here's my documentation and invoice. If I could be paid sooner rather than later, that would be great. If this is an issue, I can file a wage complaint. Thanks."

End, full stop. She doesn't have to say anything else. Say this, walk away. This isn't a negotiation; don't let them make it one. Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself to get what you deserve. Answer #2: "Hey boss, it seems minimum wage went up in January. I'd hate for either of us or the company get in trouble if there's an audit. I should be paid for the difference between my wage and minimum wage for each hour that I worked since the new minimum wage went into effect. It'll protect both of us after the fact."Answer #3: She simply asks, and when they refuse you file a wage claim.Answer #4: To add to the other's advice, just a clarification:

> It seems like paying her under minimum wage over the table at a non-serving job would be illegal.

Paying her under minimum wage under the table would be illegal too.  Paying her under the table at all would be illegal.


Title: What circumstances might make a certain breed of dog not a easonable accommodation as an ESA? [Boston, MA]

Question:
Apologizes if this is more of a r/legaladviceofftopic type of post b/c I’m anticipating a problem I haven’t explicitly encountered yet. I’m happy to remove this and repost it over there if necessary.

I moved into an apartment with my girlfriend and 4 housemates a few months ago. Around that time, my (in real life, licensed) therapist whom I had been seeing for awhile wrote me a letter recommending an emotional support animal. I haven’t seen the letter (she sent it directly to my propert manager), but I assume it references my depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, as those are the things my therapist and I discussed her helping with. My property manager and I talked about it and he said everything sounded good as long as all housemates are on board, which they all are, we’ve talked extensively about it.

At the time I said we weren’t looking at breeds deemed “aggressive” like pit bulls because of restrictions at the daycare my partner and I work at, but we’re currently looking at our perfect pup, an English bulldog/American bulldog mix, whose breed isn’t an issue for our daycare. Our renters insurance does not exclude American bulldogs, just “pit bulls,” which is technically different. Additionally, per our policy, breed exclusions do not apply in our state at all.

TLDR: I need to get written confirmation from my landlord that he’s okay with us adopting a bully breed as an ESA. If she is covered under our renters insurance policy and none of our roommates object, can our property manager refuse to let us get her?

Answer: You mention the daycare where you are employed several times. Are you aware that an ESA isn't entitled to the access granted to a service dog?  In most cases, being an ESA doesn't ensure them access to your workplace. Your employer would be within the law to tell you the dog isn't allowed at the daycare. Answer #2: Has a mental health professional told you that you need that specific breed?


Title: Legality of collecting a DNA sample from long-dead ancestor?

Question:
I have great passion for genealogy and have a lot of practical experience with genomics and genetic testing. For parts of my family it has been quite difficult to find living relatives because most of my family has been here since the early 1800's but kept very poor records.

With the recent interest in personal genetic testing (SNP tests like AncestryDNA, 23andme, etc.) it has increasingly become possible to find relatives that you never knew about. However, the more distant the cousin, the more difficult it is to pinpoint the relation.

So I have been wondering for a while if it is generally legal (or feasible--but that's another question) to collect DNA from long deceased ancestors to use for genetic testing? Who has the right to say that their ancestor wouldn't mind?

(I have not plans to go out grave digging, this is just hypothetical)

Answer: Depends on jurisdiction, but usually you have to have a court ordering the exhuming of a body for some reason.


Title: At my school at parent pick up, they make us stand on the sidewalk, even if it’s raining, even though there is a shelter at the door. Is this legal?

Answer:
 It's not automatically neglect just because you got wet, at least.

You should be wearing appropriate rain clothes, though, and that largely falls to you to plan your day (if you're old enough), or your parents (otherwise). If the weather is so severe, or if you are so unprepared for it, that it's _unsafe_ for you to stand out there, talk to your parents and your teachers and work out a solution.

Standing in the rain does suck, though. I get why you're asking.


Title: Girlfriend and I split, we own a house together. I want to buy her out but she demands 20 000.

Question: We bought this house two years ago at $280 000. I put the down payment on it of $20 000. right now the house has been appraised at $274 000 with $255 000 left on the mortgage. The way i see it I dont really owe her anything except $2500 to buy her out. Am i wrong on this or has she lost her mind? Plus through out the last two years she put 800 dollars a month into our joint savings account and i put in roughly 1200 a month. In her mind she thinks she should get that 800 a month back. Im in Manitoba, Canada

Answer:
 She has no legal obligation to let you buy her out. This isn't a matter of what you *owe*; you're attempting to engage in a voluntary transaction with her, and she's free to set whatever price she'd like.

e: I've been asked to clarify here. In some jurisdictions, of which Manitoba may be one (I don't know), there's something known as "partition by sale". With this procedure, a court can order jointly owned property to be sold, and then divide the proceeds of that sale among the owners by their equity. But this requires the sale of the property as a whole; there's no "unification by sale" where only one of the joint owners is forced to divest.Answer #2: I think whatever outcome you choose, the main lesson here is to not enter into major financial situations with someone you're not married to....Answer #3: > The other option is for us to sell the home and both lose money.

Make a counter offer of 10K? Point out that neither of you have to agree to sell and 10 K would be money now and she did get to live there for awhile.


Title: Online stalker claims he cannot be sued when in another state

Question:
Hi all, I've got a stalker issue that I've been dealing with for the past to years. It's been strictly online and the stalking and harassment has been on and off. I finally got around to filling out paperwork but I'm wondering if I can actually get him if I'm in Cali and he's in Connecticut? And if I sue him, and showing the fact that he suicide baited me, what are the exact charges I can press?

I know I can get him for cyberstalking, bullying, harassment, slander, libel and defamation of character (I draw art to make a little money and his spreading of lies and rumors about me has lost me some customers) but I want to know if there's other charges I can put on him and what would be a reasonable amount to sue for.

Answer:
 You’re conflating civil and criminal issues.

If he’s committed a crime (such as stalking or harassment or making threats), you call the police, and they decide whether to press charges. Sometimes they ask the victim if the victim wants charges to be pressed or not, but the victim does not get final say in whether charges are pressed.

If you have a monetary loss (also called “damages”) whether or not there is a crime (such as he stole your belongings, or owes you money for rent or for a purchase), you can sue him in small claims court. You need to have a dollar amount for the money he owes you — “emotional damages” isn’t generally a thing in reality, it needs to be specific money or items he was supposed to give you and didn’t. This is a civil process, no charges involved.


Title: Girl assaulted me, now she's possibly trying to file a report of DV against me

Question:
[NY]

A girl I was involved with came to my apt at 4 AM last night uninvited. She was drunk and emotional and I decided to end the relationship (we were more like friends with benefits, but I wanted to be strictly friends).

She then refused to leave my apt. Eventually, I got angry (at this point she had been at my apt for about 2 hours) and started saying mean things to her because of her refusal to leave. She then started getting physically aggressive with me.

I told her if she didn't leave in 5 minutes I would call the police. I waited for 20 more minutes and finally called them because she was being extremely hostile and told them I had someone in the house that wouldn't leave. That's when she jumped on my back trying to take the phone. I was able to throw her off of me and she was slightly injured. She cut off the call before I could explain anything more than me trying to get her out the house (I wasn't going to mention that she was getting violent).

After that, she said she would call the cops and would get me arrested for DV. She said she was going to the kitchen to grab a knife, to cut herself (to blame me) or me. I followed her and she went to grab the draw handle so I had to throw her to the ground and jump on top of her to hold her down.

I pleaded with her to calm down and she eventually did, I finally managed to walk her out of my house at around 8 AM. She then came back and blew up my phone, rang my doorbell for 20 minutes.

She texted me an hour after that she was at the hospital and was going to make a report to teach me a lesson because "I have no emotions."

What can I do to protect myself? I should add that I was in a previous domestic dispute that I am still dealing with so I am very concerned.

Answer:
 Keep the text. Don’t talk to her anymore. And yes, politely decline to answer questions and get a lawyer if contacted by police. Answer #2: NAL. But general advice in this situation is document everything. Hell I might even be recording myself were I at home or alone. And of course cease all communication of any kind to her or any police who may come knocking.

Edit: save those texts. I wouldn't block her either in hopes she sends more incriminating texts. Just never respond.


Title: Early lease termination inquiry in Indianapolis- want to move because of ...

Question:
I've been in my current apartment for almost 2.5 years now and I've always paid my rent before the due date. When I first moved in, everything was good. My neighbors were very nice, but eventually those neighbors moved out and all new neighbors moved in. All of the new people are Burmese whom cook with the most foul smelling spices. The odor travels to my apartment and lingers for hours. It sticks to my clothes, bed sheets, furniture, etc. I have no problem with people cooking with said spices, but when there are 7 other people doing it, it becomes extremely overwhelming. To alleviate the stench, I've been propping open the apartment doors to "air out" the building; however, the Landlord sent everyone in my building a letter to keep the doors closed. I've complained to the office people about the smell and how ALL of my neighbors cook with the same spice. She could only recommend candles, incense, and Febreeze. In my lease it does state the following on their "rule" page that everyone must sign: "...Please do not omit offensive odors outside your apartment." I pointed this out last year to my Landlord and she just said that they "can't do anything about cooking smells. It's a gray area. I think that rule implies to cigarettes." Her words. In all seriousness, this smell gags me, burns my eyes, gives me a headache, and makes my stomach churn. Everyday I come home to this smell and I can't take it anymore.  FTR- I'm not trying to be rude against people that cook with curry and fish oils.

On top of that, I have a problem with centipedes/millipedes (I can't identify which one), waterbugs, spiders and ants. I've complained to the apartment people and they have had someone come out and spray, BUT it continues to happen. I can't keep spending my money on pest control when it does nothing. I also do not like the idea of using poisons that could potentially harm my pet and myself.

-My lease is up at the end of September, but I cannot deal with the constant smell of the spices and bugs. It's absolutely disgusting. I've looked up tenant laws in my area and none are helpful. I can end my lease early, if I pay three months of rent. I don't have $2400 just laying around. Can anyone recommend what to do? Or perhaps help me with a formal letter?

Answer:
 You have no legal cause to break the lease. The apartment is spraying for bugs when you complain. Other people can eat food you don't like. Sharing walls means sharing smells.

So you either pay the break fee or stay until your lease is up.


Title: Can Georgia legally prosecute resident women who get an abortion in another state?

Answer:
 From what I've read, the answer seems to be no. An old law forbids this and the new law doesn't repeal that one. Only the doctor would be charged. Case law also supports this. In 1998, I think,  a woman self-aborted by shooting herself in the stomach. The fetus died and the woman lived. A prosecutor tried to being charges and the courts dismissed because of the law saying the mother cannot be prosecuted for an abortion.Answer #2: A state would not have jurisdiction for crimes in another state, and there is no federal crime.Answer #3: No.  A state only has jurisdiction to prosecute crimes that happen in that state.

The more nefarious question is whether a state can criminalize the act of assisting someone in leaving the state to have an abortion.  And that may be possible.Answer #4: I always try to imagine these instances in other scenarios. I’m not inept on the new marijuana laws, but if one state made it legal and one didn’t, let’s say GA has it illegal and neighboring SC has it legal. You can’t be smoking in SC, a cop pull you to the side and be like “oh, you’re from GA, not here, you are under arrest.” Very dumbed down with my two years of college work but that’s how I imagine it. No jurisdiction and unconstitutional.


Title: [OR] Neighbors' ocean view blocked by new house.

Question:
This is more to satisfy my curiosity, as my neighbors are done with dealing with this issue.

They used to have a beautiful ocean view, but a huge house has been put up in front of them. They were upset enough to try sell their house and move a few blocks down to a new view, but couldn't sell the house. Is this something they could sue [the people who are building the house] over? It seems like they suffered a measurable loss without their ocean view (those are worth a lot of money, and they are having trouble selling).

Thanks for explaining!

Edit: I put [OR] in the title, but I guess the bot wants "Oregon."

Thanks for the responses! Looks like there isn't much that can be done. If you want to protect your view, buy the property that might block it.

Edit 2: I'm disappointed that my comments are getting downvoted here. My questions were valid for /r/legaladvice, and while they might have obvious answers to someone with experience, the reason I came here was because I had no idea what the answers were. This is the only *advice* sub I've been downvoted for *ignorance* in. I won't be posting here again.

Answer:
 If there was property between them and their ocean view that they wanted to keep undeveloped, they should have purchased it themselves.

You can't (successfully) sue someone for legally using their own property. Answer #2: Presumably they had permits to build the home and did so according to the regulations, restrictions, and codes that apply to that particular property.Answer #3: They have no recourse at all. My parents bought a vacation house and rebuilt it, the neighbor was crying (the wife was actually in tears) because the house and new shrubs they installed were "ruining their view of the ocean." They called everyone they could including lawyers and surveyors to try to stop my parents from building, but as long as all the contruction has a permit and is on the proper parcel, everything is good.

If the family didn't want to lose their view they should have bought that property to preserve the view (which is exactly what my parents told their neighbor).


Title: (Florida) Tenant eviction when in jail

Question:
Edit: Thank you for the responses. I am filing an eviction now.

I have done numerous evictions over the years for non-payment. I have a tenant who is 1.5 month behind. On Feb 4th tenant said would have the rent by Feb 15. 3 day was already served and lapsed. Just found out via a neutral 3rd party that tenant was arrested a couple days ago for bank robbery. Sheriff info says "Marshal Hold" so I guess he is gonna be a while and really won't have the money now.

I was advised by multiple people that some girl who "looked to have been around the block" was staying there the last few days and had been asking people to use their phone so I have changed the locks as she is not authorized to live there. I was also told that tenant has stolen from a few neighbors. He has been a great tenant while there but now look to have been going downhill the last few months.

Decision will be made within 5 hours of this post.

Should I file eviction for non- payment? $600 and 3 week timeframe.

Does the abandonment law apply for me?

Answer:
 Under Florida Statutes 83.59(2), you would still need to file for a writ of possession from the court. You cannot claim abandonment when you have changed the locks already.

Also this other person may be a tenant under Florida law, you may have wrongfully evicted her.


Title: [CA] Got a call saying they were trying to serve a family member of mine. Is it a scam?

Question:
I got a call from what seems like a local number telling me that they have been trying to contact a relative of mine that they named and whom I live with currently. They asked if I was a friend or relative and I said I was. They then informed me that my family member had been sent documents 30 days ago (did not specify if they were legal or not) to my family members home but it seemed as though they were not delivered or something similar along those lines. They told me then they have attempted to contact my family member but that my family member believed that it was a scam and hung up the phone, prompting them to inform me that this call is not a scam and they are only attempting to contact my family member so she can receive information about the case and documents about her. They gave me a file number and that the documents were regarding First Equity and that if my family member calls the number they would be more than happy to explain the documents with my family member over the phone.

I'm just not sure if the call is real or not. It was a real person on the phone but I still have a strange feeling regarding this call. If it is a lawsuit or something legal I was under the impression that you had to be served in person.

I'd appreciate any response I can get, thank you.

Answer:
 Not your circus, not your monkeys.

From the content, it does sound like a legitimate attempt to locate and serve your relative, but you have no obligation to get involved. Contacting you by phone is _not_ adequate service of process on your relative.


Title: Hypothetical: Anti-Vaxer and divorce

Question:
This is purely hypothetical, but I was curious to r/legaladvice's take on it:
What happens in a case where parents divorce with children; with say split join custody, but one parent wants vaccines but the other firmly does not.
On a side not what would legally happen in one parent vaccinated the child during a time in which they legally had custody of the child?

I'm in FL BTW, not sure about other states

Answer: This is actually mentioned in my family's (25 pg.) parenting plan. Mind you, both parents are provax, but I didn't want the chance of a crazy future step parent changing anyone's mind on this. It specifically says that the vaccination schedule is to adhere to the (named) pediatrician's recommendation. If there is a disagreement, we go before the court at the expense of the parent that wants a modification.


Title: (NY) i was in a car accident on saturday, other party refuses to talk to insurance.

Question:
i was in an accident on saturday and its a clear cut case of the other party being at fault, we both have geico so i reported it sunday morning and surprise! the other party did not, even though being told to do so by the cop and given a ticket. i finally was able to turn in my car today for estimates and apparently she has been refusing to talk to geico so they cannot pay for a rental until they talk to her. i have already missed 2 days of work and from the damage, im sure its not going to be fixed by monday and i will have to miss school and work. now my question is, will i be able to ask for miss wages and for the devaluation of my vehicle since it has never been in an accident and it was in pretty much perfect condition before this.

update: they finished looking at the car and it turns out that theirs almost $6000 in damage and that it will take 2 weeks (10 business days) which means i definitely need a rental and geico still not offering any help.
Topic:
Insurance

Answer:
 Call your insurance company again and find out why they are not paying for your replacement transportation right now.  Find out what is supposed to happen if, say, they are never able to talk to her.
Answer #2: > i be able to ask for miss wages

Nope. Take alternative transportation.  Only way you would have a wage claim is if the car WAS your work and even then, likely no.

> and for the devaluation of my vehicle since it has never been in an accident and it was in pretty much perfect condition before this.

Probably not. Your car devalues every day. It was not in perfect condition given you were using it and it will be repaired to make it whole.

>  so they cannot pay for a rental until they talk to her.

Who the hell told you this? If you have rental car coverage doesn't matter. If you don't you have no right to a rental car. They may offer you one if she is at fault to avoid further suit, but guess what they don't need her to talk to make that determination.


Title: Shooting a Drunk Driver While They're Driving

Question:
Context: I was reading an unrelated thread about a drunk driver going the wrong way down the road, and causing a fatal accident and wondering about how I could prevent being hit if I were on the receiving end of such an incident. (Also, this is specific to US laws, though I'm down to hear how other countries might handle this if it's happened)

The gist of my question is; If someone was driving in a way that could be interpreted as a threat to my life and I had done everything I could have done to prevent it, would I be held legally accountable if I used extreme measures, in this case shooting the driver in a last attempt to save my own life, to prevent the drunk driver from causing me harm?

A specific example would be a wrong way driver coming at me on a road where there was nowhere to swerve out of the way safely. They are not responding to any honking or light flashing and it's obvious they are about to hit me head on at 65mph. If I were to take my legally owned gun and somehow be able to shoot them, or the vehicle, with the sole intent to prevent my demise, would I be held at fault for any death or injury (to the drunk driver, or anyone who was injured as a result of my shooting the drunk driver or their vehicle)? Or would it be considered an act of defense?

*just for the record, this is entirely hypothetical and I doubt anyone would have time to consider this as an option if someone was about to hit them head on. Im just curious about the legalities behind such a situation.

Answer: How would them dead behind the wheel be and better than drunk?


Title: Is changing into uniform considered a work activity?

Question:
My shift starts at 7:30 am. I’m required to wear a very specific uniform which includes grey dress pants, grey vest, white button down shirt, purple tie and black shoes. If I clock in for my shift at 7:30 am and then change into my uniform am I in the wrong? My manager is requesting I be dressed in my uniform ready to work before clocking in for my shift.

Is changing into such a specific uniform considered a work activity?

Answer:
 Unless they require you to arrive not in uniform, and then change into your uniform, changing is NOT considered a work activity.

Whether or not you arrive dressed to work is under you control.  They expect you to be ready to begin work promptly at the time they designate and this include being dressed appropriately and present.


Title: 17 and want to demand ss card and birth certificate from mother

Question:
Hey, my friend is 17 and lives in redding,california; USA. He's wanting to leave and they are saying they wont stop him, also, little extra info: there's nothing bad happening to him nor is he running away, just wishes to finish school elsewhere and get a job, etc etc.

He's worried that if he asks for the social security card and birth certificate that they may tell him to "Be the adult you act like you are and get em yourself"

Do they have a right to keep his ssc and bc?
Thanks!

Answer: Yep, he can get his own copies.


Title: Dorm sent an email saying blanket room access over break [IA]

Question:
I'm living in college dorms in Iowa. Recently we were sent an email saying that maintenance personnel and RA staff are allowed to enter our rooms at any time over our Thanksgiving break which is a little bit over a week long. I'm going to be home for the entirety of break. I have nice stuff in my room that I can't take home with me and would prefer that people I don't approve of are not entering my room while I'm not here.

My question is a) can they do this and b) if not, what can I do to stop them given that they already have a key to my room?

Answer:
 This is VERY common, btw.  You should expect similar blanket statements for most breaks where the dorms are not closed.

As a former RA, I can tell you the MOST common reason we enter students' rooms during breaks from my experience is alarm clocks.  Do you know how many students forget to shut off alarms and then they go off FOR HOURS?  It's a lot.

Otherwise it's usually for weird, noxious smells (yep, people forget to take out the trash/food before breaks).  Neither of these I would say fall into the category of an "emergency" entrance, but they definitely are things that impact the whole dorm and create severe nuisances for the people who remain, so they do need to be actioned in a timely fashion.

It's uncommon for Res Life staff to do organized room checks during this time or otherwise enter without cause.  Most schools require RAs to do (annoying) paperwork if we enter your room, and it's our break too, so we're NOT looking to create busy work for ourselves.  If you make sure nothing in your room may potentially cause an issue for others if not dealt with, I think there is a very low chance your room will be entered.

Also, maintenance tends to REALLY make a dent in their tickets during this time.  It's a really important time for them to get caught up, especially with tickets regarding heating/cooling issues.


Title: My Grandma in Germany passed away 3 months ago. Should I ask about inheritance if I haven’t heard anything or just wait?

Question:
My Oma passed away 3 months ago. She is a German citizen.  I haven’t heard anything about a Will so far from my aunt and I’m not sure if I should ask . I don’t want to look greedy but she was rather well off and my dad said I should ask now.  She had 3 daughters but my mom passed away, I am not sure about the will. I am interested in what happened but I don’t know how to bring it up. Are there any other options in finding out? I just don’t want to damage a relationship and if I should ask or not?
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer: You could go stealth and just hire a lawyer in the same town your grandma lived with the brief to look up her probate and will. That would be a lot easier. Other countries have quite different processes for probate, so you need to find out what it is. Many Hermans speak good English.


Title: Hypothetical, who’s liable - me or landlord if they left my apartment unlocked?

Question:
This might be a stupid question but what does everyone think...

In NJ...I left my apartment for a week for work. While away, building management sent around an email saying they’re coming by to change everyone’s AC filters in all the apartments (this was 2 days notice).

On my return, I realised my front door was unlocked! So the maintenance people failed to secure my apartment and anything could’ve been stolen from my home. Nothing big has been taken and I’m now going through all of my stuff to ensure nothing is gone like jewellery or paperwork but essentially it looks like no one else has been in other than the maintenance people (can’t believe my luck...).

If something had been, or has been, stolen - who’s liable?? I’m worried my insurance company wouldn’t pay out if I’d have had a break-in because I failed to lock my home, even though it wasn’t me.

Or if someone had come in and trashed the place while I was gone - surely management couldn’t expect me to right any damage?

I guess I just want to know in case this happens in the future as I go away a lot with work and now I’m terrified of leaving my property alone again! Unfortunately I can’t just tell management they’re not allowed to come by unless I’m home because they outsource stuff like this and there’s hundreds of apartments so they get everything done at the same time.

I’ve filed a complaint with management but really I know nothing is going to be done about it! They might give whoever did it a telling off but that might not stop it happening again.

Answer: If you have renter's insurance, they probably wouldn't deny a claim if you had proof that maintenance was there while you were gone. The email would most likely be proof enough.Answer #2: It's so weird to me that in the US it seems to be completely normal for your landlord, even if it's a huge faceless apartment management company, to have keys to your home.Answer #3: IANAL so can't answer the question about liability for theft or damage, but as a practical matter you might want to create a record of you locking your door when you leave for trips, e.g. using your phone to record you locking your door (not dispositive, but the video + an Uber receipt to the airport 2 min later is pretty convincing) or if you are really worried, install a camera facing the door. Even if management doesn't do anything, having a complaint on the record was a good move. If the hypothetical you describe actually happened and there was a dispute with management, legal or otherwise, having some evidence would put you in a better position.


Title: Beneficiary to girlfriend's life insurance. Next of kin has told the funeral home not to give me a death certificate. What do I do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 First of all I am very sorry.  Some people hide their mental health struggles very well.  I cannot image the pain you feel.

You can order a certified copy of the death certificate from the state.

https://www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/vital-records/certificate.html

I was an executor of an Estate.  You need a claim form and death certificate— insurance company will verify and it is usually straight forward.  It would be hard for someone to argue against a beneficiary designation.Answer #2: I can't comment on the legal aspect of everything, but I know exactly how you feel. I lost my fiance 4 years ago to an overdose of Rx meds. His family lived halfway across the country and he was somewhat estranged of them. We had drawn up living Will's that we hadn't gotten notarized yet, I was to get his pension (city firefighter), and the house. I got nothing, which I was fine with. What pissed me off the most is that everybody knew he wanted to be cremated. Nope, his mom wanted him buried. Did she bury him back halfway across the country? Nope. Here in our city, where all he had was me and his friends. At least I get to visit him.

That's seriously so cold of them that they didn't care about her ashes, just the things. Sending warm thoughts your way.Answer #3: The life insurance, with a recorded beneficiary, isn't part of her estate.


Title: Age of consent across state lines (USA)

Question:
So I've started talking to this guy online (gay, but not that it should matter) platonically and we're really hitting it off well; like I've never quite hit it off with anyone quite like this.

Anyway, he's 17 and I'm 24. It's not a terribly huge age gap (from a mathematical perspective anyway; life-experience-wise, probably quite different, but that's a whole-other discussion that I don't want to get into ATM). He lives in Ohio and I live in NY. In both states, he's over the age of consent (16 in Ohio, 17 in NY). However, since this is a state-lines issue, I'm sure federal law applies somewhere. What's the skinny on what I can and cannot do?

Just to reiterate, I'm not looking for a discussion on the psychological or other non-law-related topics. I'm just looking for the legal facts. Thanks.

Answer:
 Wait until he is 18, and even then, make sure you have someone competent enough to examine his identification documents to see if he is in fact 18.

You should just walk away.


Title: Girlfriend moved into foster care- and no one can find money left to her by her deceased mother

Question:
This is sort of half legal advice, half how to, so I apologize if this sub isn't the best. I figure you guys might know a bit about insurance though so here we go!

My girlfriend's mother died when she was fairly young, leaving she and her sisters some life insurance money, which was split between the three of them based on various factors (age mostly). The one caveat was that the girls could not access the money set aside for them until they turned 18, and in both of her sisters' cases this was true. When they turned 18 their stepfather was able to help them retrieve their money.

Unfortunately said stepfather was a shitty person who decided to do drugs, drink heavily, and abuse my girlfriend, leading to a phone call to police and her being taken into foster care at 17 years old (~7 years after her Mom's death). Her stepdad was not arrested, due to lack of evidence (??)

Now she's looking at college costs and of course that insurance money would be very helpful, but none of her social workers seem to know how to handle the situation. It seems like they have no interest in helping her recover the money, and say that since they don't know where to start they can't/won't help her. She has no idea how to access her money, and is becoming increasingly concerned that her stepfather will take this to his advantage and try and withdraw it for himself.

So my questions are...

1. In this case how does she access the money left for her? Where does she even begin to look?

2. Hypothetically, what would she be able to do if her stepdad manages to beat her to it? Would it be possible/easy to recover?

Ninja edit-we recently moved from California to New Mexico
Topic:
Insurance

Answer:
 What do her sisters know about it? If they have any paperwork or remember any detail (like name of bank or of insurance company) that will help.

>1. In this case how does she access the money left for her? Where does she even begin to look?

You need someplace to start. The state will have a registry for money that has been seized through escheatment (when money in a bank account is abandoned for too long the government confiscates it and will return it to the owner if they can identify themselves). But presumably you want to locate it BEFORE that happens.

If the money is stolen (perhaps by stepdad) then even the escheatment registry won't help.

>2. Hypothetically, what would she be able to do if her stepdad manages to beat her to it? Would it be possible/easy to recover?

Stepdad *should* be unable to access it. But malicious parents in similar situations somehow seem to manage this all the time. Hypothetically, her remedy would be to sue her stepfather, or to receive victim reimbursement from him as part of his sentence for theft.


Title: Being charged with taking vehicle without owner's consent

Question: Can someone be convicted of taking a vehicle without owner's consent if there is no proof the vehicle was ever in their possession nor had ever been recovered? The only thing that links the person in connection is providing a false statement of finances and a thumb print used for identity purposes. There is no surveillance reflecting personal vehicle pick up from the dealership, no evidence of an exchange for keys, no witness verifying physical motor vehicle pick up and no other proof of transaction. Given this information please comment, advise and suggest

Answer:
 > Given this information

Given this information there isn't enough information.

What, exactly, happened?

&#x200B;


Title: Was I sexually harrassed at work?

Question:
Hey all,

Long time lurker, created this account to post a question on this sub.

I'm curious if I was sexually harrassed at work today and what my options are going forward.

I work for a small company (under 50 employees) without a couple of offices. I work with a small group within the company and very much like the group. The office manager works with a different group so we have minimal professional interaction.

I recently returned to work after the birth of a child and was talking in the kitchen with 2 other coworkers about how everything went. The office manager was passing by and joked that my wife told him at the Christmas party that my role in the pregnancy was very small and ened quickly, stated with obvious innuendo.

Previously he joked about whether we found out who the father was, clearly implying that it wasn't me.

Generally I'm not offended by this type of joke, and laughed it off both times.  I wouldn't care if a friend of mine made the joke. But this is obviously unprofessional conduct.

I have a lot of questions now as far as what to do.

I like the group I work with and wouldn't want to disrupt it or affect their ability to function within the company.  I'm concerned that any action could alienate myself and my team.

I also work in a very small industry and am worried I would effectively be blacklisting myself.

Other questions:
Does this constitute harassment? And if I do take action, what happens? Do I need to take my company to court?

Any input would be helpful.

Answer: While that was clearly an inappropriate comment, and I'm sorry you were subjected to it, it's unlikely that one or even two inappropriate comments rises to the level of actual sexual harassment, especially if you have not made it clear that it is unwelcome. You should do that before you do anything else.


Title: Accidental pornography viewed

Question:
My question is about accidental viewing of CP.

I was on one of the shadier portions of the net ( chat step)the other evening after a few drinks and feeling like a late night romp with myself was in order with my iPhone.

Things were progressing as expected until I clicked a blind link leading me to one of those " wait 5 seconds for your image " links. I waited and clicked and multiple, estimating 15 ish pop ups from pic paste loaded, many with CP. I quickly closed them and moved on.

Now stupidly I decided to just move to a different room instead of ending my session all together and selected another blind link leading me to a Dropbox type folder with videos. I selected one and again CP, it took about 5-10 seconds for me to realize what it was and again I closed the window and ended my session.

Now at this point I was pretty much freaking out, I just stumbled across CP twice in about 30 minutes.

Fast forward two days, the guilt and anxiety is eating me up inside and I accidentally leave my phone on the roof of the car and lose it.

So now I am pretty much in a complete melt down, I have young children, have no interest in CP but now I feel like I will be getting a knock on my door at any moment.

It is all pretty embarrassing posting this, but the guilt and anxiety is driving me crazy and any advice would be appreciated.

USA

Answer:
 You probably have nothing to worry about.

But for the love of god, man... there are thousands of safe and reputable porn sites out there.

Stay on them.Answer #2: If somebody turns your phone into the cops and they take enough interest in it, then it's possible. At which point you get an attorney. But that's pretty unlikely.


Title: Hotel brought a dead animal into my room on the first night of my honeymoon. Could I press charges?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Talk to a lawyer if you get Ill with the black plague.Answer #2: Are you or your wife prosecutors?  If not, then no, you can't press charges.

On what grounds would you even want to report/sue the hotel?  They gave you some points and replaced the fan.  Being disgusted is not grounds for a civil lawsuit.


Title: Absent father suddenly wants full custody.

Question: At our last hearing, father made many spurious claims against me, but namely that I continuously left my child in father's care. This is not true. I have medical records and sign in sheets to my child's school proving that I have been his primary caretaker since he was born. I am trying to figure out what else I need. We have a temporary parenting plan where father gets child one night a week. I just want full custody. My child has not received any child support from his father either, will this hold up in court? This is in Oregon.

Answer:
 You need a family law attorney. You need representation. Period. Don't DIY this. It's your child and custody and future years of chaos on the line. Lawyer time.Answer #2: >My child has not received any child support from his father either

Time to start getting this sorted out, especially since you have proof that your child is with you most of the time. If you had a legal order to begin with, you'd be in a better situation. Maybe he's trying to avoid paying child support by doing this?


Title: [SC] Boyfriend has joint custody of his son, but is suspicious that his mother may be abusing the child at home. Next steps?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 I understand financial difficulties, but you're not going to get anywhere without a lawyer. ESPECIALLY because she has one. Price is not always indicative of effectiveness. You don't need one as expensive as hers, you just need one that works in family law. You're not going to be able to do this alone.

If his visitation days are approved by the court, he needs to report her for not following the court approved schedule. If it was simply an agreement between the two of him, he needs to get it in writing and submit it to the court.

Nothing you have pointed to is evidence of abuse. Even if you were to report that to CPS it probably wouldn't result in them taking the child away from the mother. They'd open an investigation. Answer #2: Your post confuses me: are they divorced yet or not? Is there still an active custody case and is it part of the divorce or a post-divorce modification case?

If there is an active, pending case which involves custody:  what did the Guardian *ad Litem* say when your BF reported this to him/her? He has a court-appointed GAL right? Or did your BF roll over and agree to whatever mom's attorney said was going to happen?

I understand finances may be tight, but if your BF wants to do right by his son, he needs to get an attorney this week...no excuses. Sell whatever he has to sell to get an attorney to assist him in the custody and visitation matters. Furthermore, if mom is making so much more money and if BF filed for a fault ground divorce, why didn't BF ask for attorney's fees at the temporary hearing? (Is it because BF now also has a paramour?)


Title: I'm having a dilemma (possible trigger warning?)

Question:
So my mother and I got in a fairly heated debate a few days ago regarding what happened to me in March.

I classify it as rape, and she said it wasnt, that it was strictly molestation. Which hurt like hell, because it feels like she thinks I'm just over reacting.. And honestly, I'm obsessing over it now because if it wasnt rape then why AM I making such a huge deal out if it???

So my question is: if there was no male genitalia involved, only penetration with hands, is that classified as rape, or molestation? Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit, I cant find an exact answer on google and I'm having a freaking panic attack over whether or not I'm over reacting to what happened to me. Thanks in advance guys..

Answer:
 Why does the specific terminology matter? You were sexually assaulted. Answer #2: Unwanted digital penetration is rape. Answer #3: [Technically speaking]
 (https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title18/t18ch61/sect18-6101/) ...

>18-6101. RAPE DEFINED. Rape is defined as the penetration, however slight, of the oral, anal or vaginal opening ***with a penis*** accomplished under any one (1) of the following circumstances:...

That being said, it doesn't matter if it's called rape or sexual assault, or sexual abuse of a minor, or whatever the applicable term is: it's still a very serious charge. Your mother should be less concerned about the semantics and more concerned with supporting you, encouraging you to contact RAINN and the police, if that's your wish.


Title: [ON] Disabled daughter caught shoplifting but ran.

Question:
My daughter is 21 and has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which was professionally diagnosed shortly after we adopted her at 7. She's fairly high functioning, so she can work, take public transit alone, etc. but she has serious impulse control issues among a myriad of other things. This isn't an excuse, just some context.

She came home today and told me she had been stopped outside a Shopper's Drug Mart for shoplifting a container of acne cream that looks to retail for about $12. She purchased a chocolate bar using a debit card and a rewards card under her own name.

According to her, a plains-clothed security guard stopped her, said they had her on camera (which I do not doubt) and that they wouldn't call the police if she returned the item. She did so, and the guard grew agitated and told her to come into the store with her. She declined and walked away, and the guard told her not to return to the store but didn't give chase. This is in a fairly high traffic area in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

I'm at a loss as to what to do next. If she was younger, I would take her to the store to make her apologize, but her lines of reasoning are atypical, and this sort of exercise wouldn't benefit her. She doesn't have the item or much money of her own, and we're not in a financial position where I'm comfortable paying some sort of fee on her behalf if it can be prevented. I'm also afraid to expose her to the justice system and risk her having a criminal record, if I can avoid it. I have read that some stores distribute photographs of shoplifters to nearby stores - is she banned from that and all branches? Is there a risk of them pursuing this charge? What would happen then?

I'm sorry for the block of text. I've no experience with this sort of thing and I'm quite nervous.

Edit: My partner is curious as to whether they'd be able to identify her or "track her down" if she's doesn't return to that store. My instinct is that that'd be excessive for a theft of this size. We plan to keep her away from that Shoppers and the one closest by.

Answer:
 She should not go back and not do it again.

> Is there a risk of them pursuing this charge?

yes

> What would happen then?

What happens to shoplifters when they get caught.

Sounds like she got lucky, this time.


Title: [AZ] 22 male with 18 girlfriend, both living with grandmother, can we be kicked out earlier than a month?

Question: We've lived here for approximately 3 months while looking for a new place to live. She has relatively early stages of dementia, but has not to my knowledge been diagnosed. About two months ago she slapped my girlfriend out of frustration when we explained to her why something she said was wrong, and I punched a hole in the wall out of anger. We did not report it. She is saying that we need to get out, will call cops, etc, because we don't want to speak with her and have trouble doing so without her starting a verbal argument. We need to know if, when/if the law is involved, we can be forced to leave earlier than 30 days.

Answer:
 Yes and no.

By the letter of the law, you are supposed to be given 30 days written notice to vacate.  HOWEVER

If she feels unsafe because you are getting physical during disagreements, she has every right to call the cops on you.  You may be removed from the home if you represent a credible threat to her (one way or another).

More to the point, should she illegally evict you, the cops will NOT force her to allow you back into the house (especially with the history of violence), and I do NOT see a judge siding with you.  Judges already tend to be ill-disposed to grown adults who are living in a family home rent free.  Add in violence and the fact that she is an old woman who likely cannot defend herself against a grown man who has shown clear anger management issues, I don't know of a single judge that would take your side.  They probably would saddle you with a bill for the wall though.

You need to find somewhere else to live ASAP.  If you cannot refrain from punching things in anger, you need to find a lower conflict environment to stay in immediately.


Title: (Florida) Soon-to-be Exwife lied about domestic violence; charges were dropped by state prosecutor; evidence of wife's DV against me. Sue for damages?

Question:
Let me bulletpoint this:

* Wife plans divorce
* To maximize divorce payout, calls police and says I hit her
* I'm arrested, 26 hours in lockup
* Hire lawyer, give evidence of wife repeatedly abusing me
* Prosecutor drops all charges before trial
* In divorce, wife demanding half of assets and alimony

Is it possible to sue my wife for damages for falsely accusing me of DV and getting me arrested?

Answer:
 I doubt it is worth the cost unless you have a slam dunk like a tape of her admitting she was going to lie about DV to get you arrested. If you had that you could possibly sue civilly as well as try and get the police to charge her for making false statements.

Probably better to just spend the money on the divorce proceedings and trying to minimize the assets and alimony she gets.


Title: [AR] I got a ticket for expired tags but do not own the car, and was not driving

Question: My court date is on the 30th, and I want to dispute this as I neither owned the car nor was driving it. Do I have any legs to stand on? Does anyone have any tips? Thanks

Answer: If you don't own the car and were not driving how did you get a ticket? I think you skipped something


Title: Just got Fired for no reason, need some advice...

Question:
Hey guys,
So I am trying to talk to a lawyer about all of this so I'm gonna try and conceal as many names of involved people as much as possible.

I have been working at this retail print shop for the past 2-2 1/2 years. I started off an a low level associate, and over the course of my first year and a half, I had learned a lot. My then supervisor for my dept wanted a change of job so she quit. I applied for the position and after interviewing for the position and acting as the unofficial supervisor for about 2-3 months. I have been the acting supervisor for my department for the past year or so and our sales have been doing great and everything was going fine.

When I had first began working there, we offered a web hosting service at the store that customers could purchase a domain with a website assistant for building a site. Over the course of working with a particular customer, I developed a decent relationship with them and they were interested in purchasing a domain and making a site. He asked me if I knew of anyone that had done websites, and at the time the only person I knew was my then Assistant Store Manager, and I did a little photoshopping and freelance work from time to time to make an extra buck and help pay the bills, but nothing major at all. He asked me if I would be willing to work with him since we had a decent working relationship, and I said I wasn't really allowed to work on jobs like that at the store, but if he wanted I would be open to it, and provided him my number and email. That day, I checked with my ASM to make sure it was okay, and he said he would ask corporate about his situation to make sure it was okay for me. Our then corporate rep, said as long as all business was conducted outside of work that it would be fine. I proceeded to help my acquaintance with his site and had mentioned it would be about $300, to which he said, don't worry about the money, i have money.

I was excited to work on his site, so I knocked it out in 24 hours and told him to take a look and tell me of any changes he wanted. I made the changes and we proceeded to go back and forth for about a month about changes, and then an additional 2 months of me trying to get the money for the site after it was developed.

I finally was able to go to his house one day and he gave me a check for $120 i believe. I told him, if he didn't want to pay me the full amount, that i would cease any further work on the site and that i was dropping any responsibility of it.

2 years later, he comes into my work and complains that he wants his money back for the work I did or the files I worked on through photoshop. I told him I would not be willing to give him the files since he never paid me the full amount, and the issue went to my HR. I sent my DM an email saying if the true core of the issue was that he wanted the files and not money, that I would give them to him to get him off our backs.

I gave back the files yesterday, and was fired this morning for a conflict of interest.

What should I do?

I also never got any breaks and worked full time because there was never anyone to back me up to cover me. Like I said, I'm talking to a lawyer but idk what I should do. Any advice.

Answer:
 You didn't provide your location. If you're in the US, file for unemployment and look for a new job. Thems the breaks.Answer #2: Where do you live?  If you're in the US, the only questions that matter are 1) did you have a contract, or 2) were you in a union?

It sounds like the answer to both is no, and so you're out of luck.  You were an at-will employee, and you can be fired for any non-discriminatory reason (and some discriminatory reasons, depending on location).

As the other commenter said, file for unemployment and look for a new job.  Sorry, man.


Title: [GA] Insurance company executed my policy without a signature. Now collecting past-due balance

Question:
[Georgia, USA] Near the end of March, I was shopping quotes for home insurance.  Now today, I am learning that I am being considered as $3000 delinquent in bills to one insurance provider.  I called the company and asked then to confirm whether there were documents signed by me.  The Customer Support rep (somewhat ambiguously) confirmed that they DO NOT have a signed document on file.

Now, I can simply "cancel my policy" and I am told that there will be no harm to me or my credit score.  And yet, how can I trust that this is correct if my policy shouldn't even be active right now?  How do I know that other individuals are not being taken advantage of in the same way?

Should I just cancel the policy?  Could this warrant a legal case against said insurance company?  What can I do to guarantee my protection after (I think that) this is a done and resolved case?

Answer:
 Ask them to send you proof of policy. You shouldn't have to cancel because a policy shouldn't exist.

I would request a letter confirming their mistake and your balance as 0$Answer #2: Call them back, and tell them that they have until lunchtime tomorrow to either provide you with proof of policy or a letter confirming there was no policy and you owe nothing.  Tell them if they can't provide it by then, you will file a complaint with the Georgia Office of Insurance. Don't cancel the policy, and don't lusten to any runaround. They either have proof you had a policy or they don't, and they can get it by noon tomorrow. If they don't provide it by then, go ahead and file a complaint. (I only suggest noon tomorow because the Office of Insurance is likely off today.) If they call back after that, tell them to provide the proof or the confirmation of no debt, then hang up. If it appears on your credit report, dispute it.


Title: Brother crushing family

Question:
My brother (18) is destroying my family mentally and he’s threatening legally. He has a violent temper which he has used on my dad multiple times then when my dad hits him back in self defence he’ll drop instantly burst into tears and claim all sorts of injuries (he once started swinging at my dad, my dad hit him and he dropped to the floor screaming about his arm acting terrified when my dad tried to help him up saying things like “please stay away don’t hurt me”. My parents weren’t sure what to do so they didn’t do anything (they take anything off him my mum will have hell when dads at work). They tried to support him through anything, tutors, driving lessons, when he said he had depression they paid hundreds of pounds for multiple sessions with a therapist just for him not to turn up. Despite this whenever anything doesn’t go his way he’ll completely flip, my mums been pushed and spat on, my dads been physically attacked on multiple occasions, I’ve been bit, walls been smashed the list goes on. This all was going on for a year or 2.

A couple days ago my mum was out with my little sister and he had friend round to roll weed which my parents don’t want in our house (they know he does it but I think they want it kept as far away from my younger brother and sister as possible) so when she got home she asked them to leave but he just said something like “nah we like it here” (he is a follower and attention seeker will do anything to impress anyone) while his mates smirked. Eventually they left to get weed from a dealer so my dad says he’ll go down and watch what they’re doing (not entirely sure why but there are a few decent explanations you can probably think of) when he gets there my brother goes to his car starts swearing at him hits the car window goes around the other side jumps in the passenger seat and starts assaulting my dad so my dad fights him off him while my brothers mates are swearing at my dad etc. My mum tells him to try and stay at a mates for a few nights he says “I’ll tell the police dad beat me and my mates will say the same” my mum said “why do you want to stay here when we live a completely different lifestyle to you” to which he replied “it easy I don’t care about you it’s just easier for me” my mum said she’s not going to let him in at which point he threatened to murder my mum and dad. His mates mum comes round to collect a bike he left my mum asked for her to tell her son to stay away from her house (he was very rude, going through draws, smirking when my mum said to leave etc) the friends mum replied that her son did nothing wrong and that she could call the police on my dads or beating his son. So this was when we found out he’d been telling people his dad beat him and he was terrified to stay at home how he’s hiding in a cupboard so my dad doesn’t find him (my dad was at work when he sent that). I think it’s all about how he has to be the victim to get sympathy and to shit on my family. I feel sorry for some people he sent this to as they’re very nice but he’s caught them in his web off lies.

The difficult bit is that my parents only want him arrested as a last resort as they still love him.

Any support is greatly appreciated I’m just very concerned for my family as apparently some people already believe my dad (calmest, most placid man you’ll ever meet) is a child beater and the stress is really affecting my younger sister and brother. Sorry if formatting is bad

Answer:
 I don't see a location but assuming based on your usage of "pounds", "mum" and "mates" I'm guessing you're in the UK. You might try /r/legaladviceuk.

Regardless, if your parents are allowing him to stay there when he's an adult there's not much you can do other than call the police when he threatens you or your family or brings drugs in the house.


Title: Real world experience with the "Good Samaritan Law"?

Question:
I'm in Los Angeles.
Yesterday we came across a man in his 30s who was unconscious, unresponsive, and who I think fainted. For imagery, he was face-first, headphones in, on foot in the gutter, hands under him holding his cell phone. EMT showed up in 2 min. and shook him awake and got right up. Everyone seemed to think he was drunk, but idk I left at that point. There was eggs benedict to be eaten.

Now of the 5 people standing around, there was one on the phone with 911 dispatch but no one was willing to touch him. I did. I checked for breathing and a pulse which he had so I stepped back.
talking with a friend later about why none tried to see if he was alive, he said maybe because I could get potentially get sued for what I did. I can see the argument for battery, but would that hold up in court?

Hypothetically, what would happen if I did turn him and somehow end up causing real unintended harm?

Am I protected under the "good samaritan law" assuming I'm not negligent?
How would it play out if I was sued?
what would a lawyer tell me to do?

This is the second time something like this has happened and if I can help, I really would like to. The idea of getting sued though for helping someone honestly never occurred to me.

Answer:
 >talking with a friend later about why none tried to see if he was alive, he said maybe because I could get potentially get sued for what I did.

[The bystander effect, or bystander apathy, is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases in which individuals do not offer any means of help to a victim when other people are present. The probability of help is inversely related to the number of bystanders. In other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. Several variables help to explain why the bystander effect occurs. These variables include: ambiguity, cohesiveness and diffusion of responsibility](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect).


Title: [OK] Arrested as passenger for driver's drugs and paraphernalia

Question:
I was passenger in a single cab truck where the driver was pulled over for "swerving" [he wasn't, it was just a police fishing trip]. Officer ordered us out of the vehicle after claiming to smell weed. Once I saw we were being pulled over, I started up my Bambuser app and had it passively recording [screen black]. The officers placed us both in the back of patrol cars and proceeded to search the truck.

They returned and found a single-hit pipe with some weed in it. They took me out and cuffed me and asked me why I "wasn't honest", and I once again stated "I am unaware of anything in the vehicle". They said I was lying and all I had to do was "be a man about it". I asked if I was under arrest and they laughed and said "obviously", so then I told them "I am invoking my fifth amendment". Then they laughed and called us "street lawyers" and put me back in the patrol car.

Now for a disclaimer, I am a known rights activist [if that's what an informed citizen is called]. And the arresting officer actually knew me because of this. Also the driver of the truck was also aware of this activism and knew I would not answer questions. The driver admitted that the drug and device were both his, but we were both still arrested and given the same citations.

The driver was released within an hour of being booked and they kept me there for 4 hours. The entire time they were making jokes about how I got my law degree and was going to be a big shot some day. I sat there in silence the entire time except when they asked if I could post my own bond, I said yes. When I was finally released 4 hours later they gave me all my stuff back and hassled me for actually taking the time to verify I had all my property back [including going through my wallet]. Like as if I was the first person to ever actually not trust they gave me all my stuff back.

That is when I found out they had turned off my phone. When watching the video, it is blackness as the phone is laying on the truck seat and you can hear the officer fumble with it and the video ends, there was no shot of his face or anything, he straight up turned it off.

So anyways, I don't use drugs and they were not mine. I have spoken with several attorneys and received varying answers such as "it will cost more to fight" [my bond was $809] and "You don't need an attorney, you just go and plead 'no-contest' and they give you your money back after court fees" [wtf?].

I am still talking to attorneys the rest of this week, but so far the answers have been super discouraging. And I feel I have been retaliated against for standing up for my rights.

Thanks for your time.

Answer:
 > "I am invoking my fifth amendment". Then they laughed and called us "street lawyers"

He right. How can you be a "known rights activist" (whatever that means) and say something so stupid?

Get an attorney. Don't talk to anybody else about this.

Answer #2: >And I feel I have been retaliated against for standing up for my rights.

Lol "activists" love this line. They smelled weed, found weed, and charged you for it.

You need an attorney to fight the charges and it likely won't be cheap. Do you have any more specific legal questions?


Title: I interviewed for a bank officer job today, and they mentioned pulling my credit report to work there.

Question: Can a bank pull your credit report as part of a job interview?  I did not have my credit pulled at my last banl job, but I was I'm card services and not an actual officer.

Answer: Completely legal assuming USA.


Title: Is it illegal to make bots that click ads?

Question:
If I made an army of bots to click ads on youtube or other websites so creators or website owners could make more money, would this be illegal? And what if I did this for myself? California USA
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 This is called click fraud. It is at the very least illegal on the civil side as run-of-the-mill conversion. You're not just letting the content creators or website owners "make more money," you're creating a fraudulent basis for them to bill google/youtube at higher rates, therefore converting their funds. Whether you face criminal penalties will turn on the facts as well as your motivation.

Just don't do it.


Title: [Los Angeles CA] Lawyer threatening me after default judgment against his client.

Question:
Hi all,

Myself and my roommate got a default Judgement against my ex-landlord. Sent her several emails, certified letters, and regular letters informing her I was going to take her to small claims. Now after a judge gave a default judgment against her in small claims for non-appearance suddenly she cares. She and her lawyer are trying to claim she was never served after I hired a certified process server who served her and then amended the service with the correct court date.

What are the chances of them overturning the default judgment? I have asked her lawyer what their proposal is and he said he'd get back to me 4 days ago. I have already filed a writ anyway and begun the process of levying her bank accounts since I have a legal judgement. I cannot really afford a lawyer if they escalate this to the superior court (they're trying to claim I owe her over 10k). She is just a generally terrible person who I could see using her deep pockets to fight me over this deposit, what are my best options? I am seriously considering just fighting her myself and if I lose just declaring bankruptcy, I am not in a position currently where my credit is very important. I do believe I have a strong case but I don't have as good a grip on the law as I may need to outwit her lawyer. She wasn't paid the last months rent because as per L.A.M.C. 151.05 she cannot demand rent if the property is not registered, and it was not as we have certified documentation from the city showing such. The property in truth didn't have anything beyond normal wear and tear, she's attempting to charge us 7k in damages and doesn't have an itemized bill to prove it.

&#x200B;

Here is the correspondence from her lawyer, names replaced:

(Plaintiff),

(Defendant) was never served w/ the complaint / notice of hearing.  As a result, she will be filing a motion to vacate the judgment, commencing a new action to recover damages against you and Mr. (Plaintiff) for damages in excess of the small claims jurisdictional limit and then file a motion to transfer the revived small claims case to the superior court.

Defects in the two Proofs of Service and the alleged date / time of service confirm that no service was consummated.

Given the nature of your claim and (Defendant)'s claim against you and the amounts in dispute, it appears the parties would be served by disposing of this matter by way of agreement.  Per (Defendant), you failed to pay last month’s rent and vacated the Premises in a damaged condition.  She has photos, receipts, etc.  In reviewing your complaint, you allege that (Defendant) wrongfully withheld the security deposit.  Do you have proof that you paid last month’s rent?  If so, will you provide proof of payment?  If you cannot provide proof, such as a cancelled(sic) check, then your claim will fail in a contested trial.  If this occurs, after (Defendant) proceeds as above, you and Mr. (Plaintiff), jointly and severally, will be ordered to pay (Defendant)’s legal fees, which in the end, will likely dwarf the other damages she will seek.

As you may know, (Defendant) is strong-willed and will pursue this, even if she must go out-of-pocket on legal fees, in the beginning.  I am just being honest and direct.  So, either the parties resolve this or we will let the court resolve this.  I assume you and Mr. (Plaintiff) have better things to do, and I know dealing w/ a small claims matter and a limited jurisdiction matter is not something I would prefer to do.  So, let me know if you are willing to resolve this w/out the court’s participation.

Answer: Just ignore him unless you get served some kind of papers.


Title: [TX] Wife took cat she never took care of from home

Question:
Basically my soon to be divorced wife (she's not responding to me and my requests to sign papers) has taken one of my cats to her boyfriends house when I was out of town. For the last 6 years (married3 and  we got the stray  cat off the street) I have been taking care of it by buying everything it needs and cleaning up after it and feeding it. She has done nothing in terms of care.

Is there anything I can do to get it back? I've invested so much time and effort into it, it's like a child :/

Answer: It is property. Deal with it in the divorce.


Title: [WI] Granny getting scammed, leaking my personal info, stealing money from us - What can I do with all of this information?

Question:
I'm not 100% sure that this is the right sub but I'm really hoping it is and something good can come from this! Her we go...

Long story short: 76 year old granny has been getting scammed for 2+ years from a "soldier in Iraq" and is supposedly getting married to him when he returns home. Has now had her identity stolen - but isn't telling my aunt or uncle (whom she lives with). She leaked SSN, names, address, credit cards, bank cards, has stolen cards from stores, and stole 500+ dollars from myself, brother-in-law, and aunt. She has opened new loans totaling $8,000+ to help this scam continues.

My aunt and uncle have been dragging their feet for 2 years after I called her out on it originally about it being a scam. At the time, I deleted all accounts but they helped her buy a new tablet and recover all accounts. Recently, I have discovered that my name and my SO's name have been passed on to these people.

I have months upon months of conversations between the two of them, addresses of where she is sending packages and money, receipts, the cards she sent, and messages threatening to kill himself if she gives up on him.

I have an awful relationship with this woman, but I don't want something bad to come of this with my name being out there. I'm stuck with all of this info but unsure how to proceed due to its nature. So, I guess my question for all of you out there is: how do I utilize this information in preventing her from getting scammed further and get our names cleared?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Call Adult Protective Services.Answer #2: I would also call the police.  Especially if your information is used to apply for credit, etc.  From reading past comments on this sub a police report is required to help combat the fact that your information has indeed been stolen and you (the OP) are not responsible for the debts.


Title: My aunt is dating someone who is super shady. What records can we legally have access to (criminal background, verifying if he's actually divorced, etc.) even if we have to pay for them?

Question:
They have been "dating" for about two years. He is constantly saying he'll attend events and then doesn't show, always coming up with bizarre excuse or saying a work crisis came up that only he can fix (he's said this almost every holiday). When they do things together just the two of them, he does the same thing. If they are going to run a race together (more on that later) he never wants to ride together from his or her place--he has her meet him in a random parking lot and then they go. There are many more things, but these are just some small examples. He constantly lies about things and most recently said he was coming to a big party for my dad (my mom paid for his ticket) and supposedly was coming back in time from Chicago, but then texted my aunt that morning that a potential employer just told him they needed to interview him at 11 a.m. and that was his only chance (this was literally like an hour before the "interview"). We don't think he was in Chicago and that interview story was super shady.

She has completely changed because of him, including being pretty unhealthy now. She has always had issues with being health crazy, but is getting very thin. She hated running before but now is super into it and he pushes her too hard. We believe he is actually still married from the very minimal clues we've seen online, as well as his behaviors and some weird situations. He has told her this whole time he lives in a hotel but she has never been to where he is supposedly living. When I search online, I see a couple of addresses for him listed as current, and if we search his "ex" wife both are listed for her too, not just the house they used to/currently (not sure) live in together.

I know she is a grown woman and should make her own mistakes and deal with them. My cousin has called his bullshit out to her so many times and my aunt just makes excuses for him. She refuses to believe some things about him. The worst part is I believe she is going to start to give him some kind of financial access/benefit, and they aren't even close to being married. We believe he is playing her to have a side piece and to get some money out of it. I am sure she is probably paying for things for him as it is. It's really shocking this is happening, and we need to be the ones to help her finally admit he's a piece of garbage.

So even though it's not like she is in risk of her life, her relationship with her daughter is severely damaged and the rest of us are very concerned for her, and we are now getting really worried about her mental and physical health as well as finances.

We live in Minnesota. On the super basic/not always reliable googles, he doesn't have much info, but supposedly has some criminal records (when I search public records I don't find anything though). I don't know if we can legally access anything to verify if he is divorced like he says. What kinds of records can we legally access, whether it's for free or a fee, so we can have info to back up why she needs to leave him? How do we go about doing so in a way that he would not be aware of? Are there any other things we should keep in mind during this process?

If this should go somewhere else, please let me know--we need this to happen fast before more damage is done, and other events from this weekend have made us extremely uncomfortable about how far things have gotten with the two of them.

Answer:
 Best bang for the buck? A **reputable** private investigation service, which will likely charge in the area of $300-600 for a background check, depending on the scope.

Choose carefully. Beware of companies that will do little more than what you can do yourself with Google, or by using one of the many online background-checks-for-$19.95 websites.

Know upfront exactly what you're paying for, the cost, what you *don't* want to pay for, and limits on cost.


Title: Girlfriend gets paid $500 every two weeks after taxes as an activities director (licensed) at a nursing home. Average salary is 34k-57k. What can I do?

Question:
She lives in bellville, tx.

Edit: This is her first job and she's very adamant about staying at this location but her work doesn't even abide by osha, state, and work regulations. Also most of the employees are illegal. How can I fix it so they increase her wage tremendously or sue the nursing home? The owner is a lawyer.

Answer:
 You cannot fix it.  All potential actions are in her court.  SHE can report violations, if she wants to.  She can also attempt to renegotiate her pay.  She can look for better paying jobs.

However, just because the average pay is X does not mean she is qualified to earn that.  The average salary may by impacted by experience, qualifications, etc. that she does not have.

You cannot force someone to pay an employee more money.  The state can if they are violating minimum wage laws, but above that it is between the employee and employer...neither of which are you.  Answer #2: If she's being paid less than minimum wage, or less than her contract or union wage, or less than the regulated wage in the very unlikely case that her job has such a regulation, then she can file a wage claim with the Texas department of labor.

If her employer is violating OHSA rules, she can file a report with OSHA.

If her employer is violating immigration law, she can file a report with ICE.

If her employer is violating state laws, she can file a report with the state regulatory agency responsible for those laws.

In any case, odds are good that the result will be that her employer terminates her (retaliatory termination for those kinds of reports is illegal, but it'd be up to her to pursue it further), or that her employer pays enough in fines to go out of business, or loses a big chunk of its workforce and goes out of business, or any combination of the three.

_You_, however, can do nothing.


Title: ESA

Question:
Earlier today my sister and I received a 10-day notice from our new landlord stating that we are in default of the lease because my sister has an emotional support animal, a cat. Our now former landlord had sold the building we live in. Here is the difficulty. Our former landlord before my sister moved in with me wrote a note stating that she could have a pet, even though the lease we signed with our former landlord a lease that had a no pet clause.

When the new landlord took over he wanted us to sign a new lease that was a copy of the old lease. Before my sister and I signed it I explained to him about my sister needing her cat as an emotional support animal and showed him the note the former landlord had written. He added to the lease that it was okay for my sister to have a cat in writing and we all signed the new lease. Now we learn he has a partner who is a relative (both have the same last name) and this partner says that the person we had been dealing with cannot make any decisions, that the partner makes the decisions. Stated he had talked with his attorney and was told he does not have to make any accommodations for my sister. We live in Illinois in two buildings that are connected together each one having 4 apartments and the landlord does not live on the premises. Also, the partner did not sign the lease, the new landlord we were dealing with did, can the partner legally do this?

Answer:
 Did you just start calling your cat an emotional support animal one day, or did you actually get a letter from a mental health professional saying you require an ESA?Answer #2: Unless your sister’s mental heath professional has written a letter recommending the animal, you don’t have an ESA, so claiming the cat is one without it will just muddy the water and likely lose you the case if you assert that without evidence. The property sounds like it’s likely subject to the FHA, but the until you meet the requirement of the law, it’s a red herring.

So you’re arguing about a pet. You have a signed lease from the new landlord stating that you’re allowed a pet. That should be enough to protect you during the eviction process. The landlord’s partner is trying to make an agency argument; saying your new landlord isn’t an authorized agent to make that agreement. That’s a pretty poor argument, especially when the landlord voluntarily held themselves out to be authorized and signed the agreement.Answer #3: Does your sister have documentation from her medical professional recommending an ESA?