Title: [PA] Sending 'Notice to Quit' to roommate who is never home when the mail is delivered

Question:
Our adult child lives at home.  He is becoming unbearable to live with.  His room is so filled with garbage we are getting flies in the house and there is a smell when you walk past his closed door.  He won't clean it.  He smokes.  I have asthma and won't let anyone smoke in our house.  I have two places with chairs, a small garbage can, and ashtrays set up to smoke outside.  Our agreement was that it was his job to keep the area clean and there be no butts in the yard.  Both areas look like garbage dumps with cigarette butts, liquor bottles, beer bottles, soda cans, and other garbage.  I have to clean it up every few days before our gardener comes so he can do his job.  He also has one friend that is a thief that I have banned from our property.  It has caused a lot of fights but I don't feel comfortable with someone who my son himself has told me that steals from everyone including my son in our house.

Those are only three of a long list of things he does that go against our agreement when he moved back home after moving out.  He does not pay rent or any other bills but his own which is fine since his father and I own a business that makes very good money.  But I expect him to not trash our home and to not be verbally abusive to me when his father's not around.

Since he doesn't have a lease I understand that he is considered a month to month renter.  I want to send him a notice to quit and stand by our agreement when he moved home or find a new place to live in 3 months.  3 months because I know he has no money saved and I don't want him to end up homeless.  We have tried talking about this with him for months.  This is our last resort.  His father wants him out now because of how he treats me but he has agreed to try this as a last effort because we both love our child.

I know it is best to send this letter certified.  The problem is he is never home when the mail is delivered.  He has a job and is at work or if he is off then he is out with his SO.  I work at home most days so I am the only one here to sign for it.  I can't send it to his job since it's fast food and would surely get lost.  How can I do this please?

Answer:
 You should also be able to post the notice in a conspicuous and easily visible place (such as on the door to his room).

Also, you can serve the letter to him personally at his job. You do not need to mail it.


Title: Girlfriend wants to place baby for adoption. I am listed on the birth certificate, but found out I am not the biological father. Do I have any options (MD)?

Question:
My girlfriend has a two month old son. I believed I was the father until a couple of days ago. My girlfriend always wanted to give him up for adoption, but I was against it. She agreed to raise the baby with me.

After he was born, it became clear that he wasn't my biological child. We eventually got a DNA test that revealed that I wasn't the father. My girlfriend claims that she doesn't know who the father is. She still wants to give the baby up. I would prefer to raise the child even though he isn't mine.

Is there anyway I could try to adopt him? My girlfriend started contacting adoption agencies and plans to meet with some lawyers soon. She told me to stay out of it. I was just wondering if you guys can give me some advice. I would hate to be in a situation where I never see the baby again.

Answer: Not gonna lie, this is the first time I've seen a guy find out he isn't the father after DNA test and wants to be the dad on this sub. Props to you OP, good to see that there's still good people in this world. Answer #2: If your girlfriend has a son that isn't yours and doesn't even know who the father is, this doesn't bode well for the future. And if you're on the BC and she doesn't want to raise a child, you may be looking at a big custody fight down the road. In addition to the DNA test, you might want to get an STD test for yourself and consider what the future looks like if you continue in this relationship.


Title: My Crazy Dad is Threatening to Smash my PC

Question:
Heres some info:

I get mostly straight A's and have always gotten standard exceeded on my state tests.

I did skip a grade.

I spend 90% of my day on my PC, mainly because my family is boring and I have nothing else to do.

&#x200B;

My dad gets mad at how much I am on my PC, and blames it on everything. I could show up to the hospital with a broken leg and my dad would tell the doctors it's probably because of how much time I spend on my PC. He is threatening to smash my PC if I continue being on it, and 'not obeying him'. Now this might sound normal until you take into account that his version of 'obeying' is basically being his little slave. Oh yea did I mention I was 14? Well I am, I wash his car twice a week, mow the lawn twice a week, fix any car related problems *he* has, do things for his job so he doesn't have to do them, and I am supposed to never disrespect him in any way, that includes ignoring a question, or talking in a tired tone when I just wake up. Oh yea, did I mention I don't get anything for this? After doing all that, I get limited housing, a hot house in the summer, cold house in the winter because apparently we spend too much on electricity even though our bill is less than half of the national average, without solar panels, for a 2000 sqft house.

Basically, just to make sure I don't get my ass beat, I need to be his little angel/slave. Recently now, he has started to threaten to smash my PC that I **FULLY** paid for by **myself**. (Worth about $1300)

I just want to know if there is anything I can do legally, because him smashing my computer means that I don't have to do anything since my only negotiating item has been lost. I just want to know if the American law can help me get my money that I earned for my PC, back to me.

Answer: In [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/b6tg1x/financing_a_salvage_title_vehicle/?st=jxkqcpft&sh=1243a468) post you claim to have found a Benz on CL, have a credit score of 840 and can put a $10,000 deposit on the vehicle.


Title: Important

Question:
I just found out over the weekend I was going out of town until the 5th for Christmas. I’m in gatlinburg at my aunts cabin.. I only have the office number for my probation officer so I can’t reach him, but, like I left a message &’I’ve taken pics. Am I gonna be okay? I’m only freaking out cause I have probation on the 28th & this was a last minute thing & he asked me a couple weeks ago if I was goin out of town & i said no cause I really didn't know.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Probation isn't something to play around with.  The best advice is to do anything you can to make that appointment.

If one of the terms of your probation is that you have to have permission to travel, you violated probation.

Remember,  probation and the law override your vacation plans and your family plans.  Answer #2: Sounds like you can't go. What do you mean you "just found out" that you were going out of town? You are an adult right, you decide where you go.


Title: Being harassed by classmate online, what can I do?

Answer:
 Have you tried blocking her?

>Would my university still be able to do anything about it if I report it to the Dean of Student Relations & Affairs?

Maybe, if they're convinced that the harasser is the student you say it is.


Title: UK - Just received a letter from a lawyer threatening legal action for a bad review online. Help?!

Question:
Hi Reddit, I wrote a stinky review for Streetshirts.co.uk after receiving stinky service.
Today I received an email from Streetshirts lawyer (and it's a real lawyer - I checked) threatening me with legal action if I dont take down my review. I don't want to be bullied into taking down my review because they really do suck (and there are lots of other reviews that agree!). I also think that if it was defamatory then Trustpilot, the review site, would have taken it down on Streetshirt's request.

Here's my review, dated 7th April 2014:
https://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.streetshirts.co.uk
I would be really grateful for some advice...
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 On what basis are they demanding you take down your review? Have they claimed that it is untrue?

Here is a good summary of the Defamation Act 2013: http://uk.practicallaw.com/8-526-7636

Having seen the other 1 star reviews on Trust Pilot for them it looks like their lawyer is going to be pretty busy with all these defamation suits.

What do you need help with? It looks from your review that they would  find it very difficult to show serious financial loss as a result of one review among many other poor reviews.

Personally I think they're fishing and are hoping that you'll be intimidated. Can you post the letter here without including any personal info?Answer #2: get hard copies of all those other reviews.


Title: In Colorado, is a person legally required to disclose being HIV positive to sexual partners?

Answer:
 I can't find a law stating that disclosure is required, however you can be convicted of other crimes / have your sentence enhanced due to HIV status.

[Info from HIV Law and Policy Org.](https://www.hivlawandpolicy.org/sites/default/files/Colorado%20-%20Excerpt%20from%20CHLP%27s%20Sourcebook%20on%20HIV%20Criminalization%20in%20the%20U.S._0.pdf)


Title: Large cable bill illegally ran up in my brothers name

Question: Me and my brother are moving into an apartment soon and I just started calling today to set up the utilities. I call Armstrong, the only available ISP for the apartment, to set up service. The rep then says my brother has a past due bill with them for $500 dollars from 2013. This is 100% identity theft, but I don't know what my next step should be. We live in Ohio.

Answer:
 As someone who is very familiar with said company,  call them and ask them to investigate it.Answer #2: Are you sure that the $500 bill from 2013 isn't for the ADDRESS you're trying to get cable at ?

I know that some cable providers will bill an address as well as a name, so if you move to 123 Sunnyhappyville Lane, and there's a $500 bill for services provided to 123 Sunnyhappyvile Lane, then they won't provide ANY service to 123 Sunnyhappyvile Lane until that's paid off.


Title: Had a party at our place last weekend, random dude nobody knew showed up. It took a while to get this dude to leave. Then last night, he showed up again unnanounced at our place again all fucked up. What can my roommates and I do?

Question:
So we live in a three family house, and we're all around the same age and decided to have an end of the summer party for the whole house.  Invited a buncha friends, it was great.  Thing is, we had our doors open so anyone can come in and out and travel up and down throughout the floors.  Towards the end of the night, this random thuggish looking dude shows up in my roommates and my apartment.  He was all fucked up, and so were we.  We did not want any confrontation.  So, we stupidly gave the guy a beer (so dumb shoulda just kicked him out) so he wouldn't try to pull any weird shit on us, show him some hospitality (hey man idk who you are, don't hurt anybody have a drink and leave calmly type deal).  Took us forever to get this guy to leave, like nobody was there anymore and we had to be like ok dude you got to go now.  He finally leaves, and my roommate had to basically talk him off the ledge outside on our porch.  Party was over, but for some reason he thought we were doing him dirty (he was totally out of it).  Then, today, my roommate says he came back last night at our apartment, all fucked up.  I wasn't around so I had no idea this happened.  Same dude, high off of his ass on something.  Roommate said gtfo man idk what you want or what you're doing here.  He left without any incident, but this still weirds me the hell out.  What are we supposed to do about this guy?  I feel like he's gonna come back at some point, and who knows what the hell he's gonna be like then.  He's the unpredictable type.  I'm worried he might try to hurt someone based on the things he was saying to my roommate outside the night of our party (talkin about how he's killed people and shit).  According to my roommate it sounded like all talk and bullshit, but with this type of guy idk what to think.

TLDR:  Dude showed up to our party nobody knew, he showed back up at our place last night all fucked up.  We're worried he's gonna come back, what should we do?

Answer: Call the cops if he shows up again. It's not that complicated.Answer #2: If he comes back, tell him to leave, and if he fails to immediately comply, call the cops on him for trespassing.


Title: Competitor ordered from my site. Can I cancel their order without having to give a reason?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Could you send it anyways in really poor packaging so there is no inspiration?Answer #2: She'll just have a friend order for her. Might as well fulfill the order because she's going to find inspiration one way or another if she wants to


Title: I need to sue my father quickly. What is the best route to do it in, and what should I expect?

Question:
Keeping all personal matters out of this, my biological father owes over $21k in unpaid child support. I am 20 now, and I'd like to sue him myself as well as pull bank records to make sure he is not scamming my mother or I. I live in the same state as both of my parents, but we're all located in different cities.

How do I go about ordering a subpoena against him? What should I expect when it comes to the procedure? How should I expect payments to happen after the fact?

Answer: You can't. You aren't a party to the matter.


Title: App Alibi

Question: Can an app be used to prove your location as an alibi? For example, say I was accused of a crime, but I was out for a run at the time. I use the Nike Run app that tracks your location and time while you run. Now I know it'd be difficult to prove it was me using the app, but what if you use the app at the same time everyday and in the same locations? What if I run past a camera on the run?

Answer: All of those things can help prove your alibi.


Title: [CA] Employer forcing me to adhere wholy to either Male or Female dress code, even though I'm Non-binary. Claim I can switch which one I adhere to daily if I wanted, but that isn't actually able to be done with how seperated the codes are. Do I have a discrimination case against them?

Question:
A more expanded upon explination of the issue is as follows: As mentioned in the title, I'm a non-binary Southern Californian. I work for an extremely large and well known worldwide entertainment company (🐀 👀). I've been presenting as male at work since I worked for our, er, east coast division, since 2017 with only minor issues, and no issues at all since I moved over here. However, I recently came out as non-binary to a manager, and was taken into a meeting with an HR rep who specifically deals with Trans employees to make sure they're being treated properly. In this meeting I expressed my concerns with our dress code, and how I wasn't comfortable being forced into a binary that I'm not a part of. The HR rep told me, "At this time, we do not mix dress codes". She also told me that I was free to switch which code I adhere to on a daily basis, which she seemed to think was an acceptable answer, despite my own obvious discomfort with the idea.

See, this might not seem like too horrid of a thing, however it's basically a herculean task that imposes even more restricting rules. It means that I would never be allowed to have both long hair (defined as hair that touches your shirt collar or goes past your ears at all), and facial hair. Even if I dared to have long hair and throw out the idea of facial hair altogether, I'd beforced to wear the women's costume for any shifts in locations with gender seperated costumes, which is not at all something I'm comfortable doing, as it would absolutely subject me to constant misgendering by guests at work. This means that, by default, the only true paths I have are Long Hair or Facial Hair in place of "Female" or "Male". The outcome is the exact same, just wrapped up in a progressive sounding sparkly package. This didn't feel right to me, both on a personal level, and from a legal standpoint based on my mild knowledge of Trans Rights laws in this state.

Looking up the actual laws, this definitely reads like it probably isn't legal. The law bans any sort of discrimination against anyone, of any gender or trans status, and specifically has a part about how employees cannot be forced to adhere to a dress code that goes against their gender. This means that by them forcing me to adhere to either male or female, when I am neither, isn't legal, right? Do I have any sort of case here? Do you suggest I go back to HR and try reasoning with them again first, or do you suggest trying to contact someone in the law field since they've basically already given their stance on the matter?

Answer:
 I’m gonna level with you. Disney is not the place for you. Everybody Hass to conform there, Almost nobody gets to express themselves in their appearance – because they’re all wearing uniforms. They’ve already offered you what appears to be a very reasonable accommodation.  If that’s not enough for you then you should find an employer that does not require employees to wear uniforms.Answer #2: >Do I have any sort of case here?

Do we think a lawyer is going to jump at fighting a very niche edge case against one of the most valuable companies on Earth with some of the most hard-nosed litigators ever to walk the earth?

I'm not sure you'd have a great case against a run of the mill company.Answer #3: Sounds like they have given reasonable accommodation here. You could ask for additional accommodation but they are under no obligation to provide it.Answer #4: The mouse has been strict dress codes, and set costumes.

you're aren't going to get them to bend on that. you'll just lose your job.Answer #5: What solution to this issue have you requested of them?Answer #6: > Do I have any sort of case here?

The law is clear that an option must be offered for non-binary individuals, just not what it is. If they're firm on this being what they're willing to offer in terms of accommodation, you should speak to an attorney

Given the nature of the business though, they probably have a better argument than most that relative uniformity in the dress code is a BFOQ or that this was a reasonable accommodationAnswer #7: /u/locationbot recall


Title: My safety lock was cut off

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > I WANT HIM FIRED!! I don't think I'm out of line for wanting that.

You're not out of line, but you can't force it to happen.

There was a safety violation made by an employee, due to incomplete training.  They addressed the issue, disciplined the employee, and put him through training.  That's a legally appropriate response as far as OSHA is concerned.


Title: Person purchased my car in CA 6/15, drove the car to VA and never registered it. His unpaid Tolls are now showing on my Collections.

Question:
When I first received notice of this last year, I went through the process of spending time/money to reach out to the DMV to get a copy of the Transfer of Liability and got it properly sent off to the Collection's Agency as well as the ExpressLanes company for VA.

Even after sending them this information and getting them to tell me it would be removed from my record as well as I wouldn't receive anymore bills, I am still seeing it on my credit and it appears to have dropped by over 30 points.

The agency and ExpressLanes are still not removing this and I've done everything they have asked of me to clear myself of any liability in this.

I am in the process of reaching back out to the Collections company today, but I am just trying to figure out where I can go from here in regards to this.

Where do I go on this from here?

Answer:
 Dispute the accounts through the credit reporting agencies, and send notices to the agency and EzPay via certified mail with return receipt asking again for these items to be removed from your credit report. Answer #2: Did you file the Notice of Sale and Release of Liability, red form at the top of your title, with the state DMV?

This is how the state knows you sold the vehicle. Hopefully you have a copy of this to provide to the collection agency.


Title: Being cheated on paycheck

Question:
I am a twelve month employee that works for a school in Tennessee. During the summer they offer all employees summer hours. Instead of our normal 7:30 - 4:00 M-F work day we get to work 8:30 - 3:30 M-Th and 8:30-12:30 on Friday, making it a 30 hour work week and we still get paid for 40. The only caveat is that if we are unable to complete our work in that time then we have to work, up to, the full 40 hours.

Recently I was forced to take a Monday off because of an emergency at home. The rest of the week I worked a total of 32 hours, two more than required. But, my employer will only pay me for 40 hours if I take a vacation day for that Monday, otherwise I only get paid for 32 hours.

Is it legal for them to pay one, or more workers, for 40 hours of work when they only worked 30 hours, while paying another employee 32 hours for 32 hours of work?

Edit: Added State

Answer:
 Provided that they are paying you for all the hours you actually worked (or properly treating you as a salaried exempt employee) this is probably legal.

How they treat other employees generally isn't relevant.  The arrangement to allow you to work 30 hours and get paid for 40 is generally legal, including a provision that you work the schedule or to some extent lose your eligibility for the extra pay.  The requirement that you use PTO for a day you missed or not be paid for that day is generally legal.


Title: [MA] Professor Following and Photographing/Filming Me

Question:
Hello, I go to University right outside of Boston. This past semester I've been dealing with a professor who claims to be afraid of me, therefore she wishes to document my presence around campus. Additionally she has likely distributed those pictures/information to people outside the University as I recently had to deal with Campus police after one of her neighbors saw me walk by her house (less than 3 miles away from the school) as I was on my way to a park. I had been walking around 7-12 miles a day for the week leading up to this event as I was recommended by my counselor to get off campus because I felt like I was being treated like a freak whenever this professor would film/photograph me. I've gotten in touch with the Dean of my college about this, and he assured me that she act more professionally in the future. However, it took to the point where I was ripped off campus by the police and thrown on the street the night before a final exam to even get a response. But I'm worried it might still continue and it seems to be a losing game for me because I'm the man in the situation despite being half her age. How can I protect myself?

&#x200B;

At this point I believe she has 3 pictures/videos of me.

1. I'm walking away from her towards a staircase in the building we both spend most of our time in
2. I'm laying on the grass beneath a statue sunning myself and relaxing
3. I'm sitting on a bench, playing on my phone outside of a different building near campus

Answer:
 > This past semester I've been dealing with a professor who claims to be afraid of me, therefore she wishes to document my presence around campus.

What events lead to this stance by the professor?Answer #2: > I was ripped off campus by the police and thrown on the street the night before a final exam

I feel like this could use some more elaboration. Understanding _why_ this prof feels the need to photograph you on campus, and why the police felt justified in removing you from campus, might help us give you better advice. What's the story, here?


Title: [CA, USA] Room rented in house. Can landlord legally shut off internet if behind on rent?

Question:
[California]

I rent a room in a house with a "landlord" (I guess I'm a lodger?)

I am behind 1 month's rent and I believe he is blocking my internet access through a MAC filter on the router. I'll be caught up soon, but I was wondering if this was legal?

I checked the rental agreement and while most utilities are included like gas, electric, water, etc., there is no mention of internet. If the WIFI internet is shared, but not explicitly listed in the rental agreement, is he not responsible if I cannot connect?

Thanks.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 > I checked the rental agreement and while most utilities are included like gas, electric, water, etc., there is no mention of internet.

If it's not promised in the lease, he's not required to give it to you.  If he started giving it to you, he's not required to continue.


Title: Can my landlord legally keep my deposit for needing to reschedule a viewing?

Question:
Hi, all. Hopefully this is the correct place to post this.
At 6:42, Saturday, July 6th, my landlord emailed me, saying "Want to show unit at 3pm tomorrow." I was at work at the time, but responded quickly, and politely stated that Sunday afternoon wouldn't be a good time for me, as I was working all weekend, and didn't have enough notice to make arrangements for the unit to be seen. She emailed back saying that she only needed to give me a 24hour notice to enter the unit, and that if I deny her entry and she can't rent the unit, that she would withhold my deposit, and that my apartment needed to always be "show ready". I emailed back, and politely pointed out that she had missed the 24 hour window, and that I wasn't denying her entry, I was just requesting it be on a different day. She responded back with "Monday at 1pm, thank you for denying me in writing." While there were a few more emails exchanged, where I explained my rights as a tenant, and her getting angrier, that was the gist of the exchange. Am I in the wrong? Can she legally withhold my deposit for asking to reschedule? I'm in NYS, I'm sure that'll help with any responses. Thanks to anyone that can help out.

Answer: No, It appears she is in the wrong here as she didn't give you 24 hours noticeAnswer #2: She cannot withhold your deposit, but as long as she gave you the 24 hours' notice for the Monday showing, your lease likely entitles her to enter at that time.


Title: Classmate Expelled/forced to leave school over findings in an unwanted search of property.

Question:
I’m a teenager who attends school in Ireland.
After lunch we came back to our class but my classmates coat was missing. Apparently one of the teachers had taken his coat to search it. They found some stuff he shouldn’t of had on him in the coat.
I was wondering if it was illegal for them to search his coat, considering they didn’t get a warrant or permission from his parent.
I understand that if it’s his locker than it is the school’s property but this was his coat.
He is being forced to leave the school (Expelled) over this.
I was wondering if there was any way to stop this as we all enjoy having him as a member of our class.

Thank you in advance.

Answer: r/legaladviceireland would be a better place for this, but school officials aren't police.  They don't need a warrant.  I doubt they'll tell you over there that anything is wrong with this.  If it was bad enough to get him expelled, he must not be too bright if he brought it anyway.


Title: Never posted but this is important ! Involving my friends dog!

Question:
A friend of mine likes to bring his dog to the car repair shop he owns and operates.

Said dog decided to have an explore of the delivery truck. Delivery man took off and the dog died after being trapped in the truck for two days.

Does he have any legal footing to take action against the company? Surely someone should’ve heard the dog barking at some point, especially the delivery guy!?

Answer: That's an unfortunate situation but I don't see how it is the driver's fault. The owner of the dog is responsible for supervising itAnswer #2: The negligence lies with your friend. Was the dog not on a leash? If it was allowed to roam freely, not under supervision, where there are trucks moving around this seems to have been an accident just waiting to happen.


Title: Package delivered to my house, my address, not my name...mine?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Package delivered to my house, my address, not my name...mine?

No.


Title: Ford Dealership screwed me. NEED HELP ASAP

Question:
I got a 2015 Ford Fiesta from North County Ford in Vista. CA. Long story short I got the vehicle and the Finance guy Jonathon said, The bank has approved me for the car. I drove it for 2 weeks and 1 day and now he texts me today saying the bank declined my loan and I have to return the car. Is there any advice for me. I have to take the car back to the dealership tomorrow but I don't think I will because I told Johnathon I want him and his manager there and we will sit down and talk about this. John said he is off for 2 days but hes trying to dodge this fuck up of his. I have in text messages proof to provide and is there anyway I am able to lawyer up or something to help myself from being screwed? I also said I want in writing that this will not affect my credit score in anyway, shape, or form.

Edit
I don't know what to do exactly. I dont want a repo, but I know as soon as I bring it back the dealer is going to tell me to go F-myself. I dont want it reposed as I think it will show up on my report if so... I'm not sure and if it does it looks bad on my part and I don't want that. Also it would look bad seeing a repo in front of my house and neighbors watching. Id be embarrassed.

Edit Part 2:
I went to the dealership today. I spoke with the manager. Apparently they fired Johnathan for doing stuff like this to there customers. The manager is for my inconvenience lowing my car total cost and lower payments. The manager helped me out and told me what was happening. I showed the manager the proof of Johnathans texts of what he was saying.

Answer:
 Are you some kind of mental case? Nobody cares what Jonathan did. If you don't qualify for a loan then you don't get a car. That should not be hard to understand. It should have been done quicker but it wasn't. Return the car and get some therapy.Answer #2: This is exactly your problem. If you don't return it promptly, the dealer will certainly have it repossessed. You may be able to pursue financing independently of the dealer for the price of the vehicle, or if you entered into an agreement for financing, it may be enforceable. A lawyer may be able to examine your financing paperwork to determine if you have the ability to enforce a contract with the financial institution.

http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=31148


Title: I got written up at work today for something that i don’t think is technically legal for me to get written up for.

Question: I work in a refinery. We are behind on a project and my boss made it mandatory for us to finish a task before going to lunch. My regular lunch is 12-12:30 but today we went to lunch from 12:30 - 1:00. Every Tuesday we have a safety meeting at 12:30 for about 20 to 30 minutes for the whole company. So as I’m walking into the lunch tent where everybody eats lunch, they are starting the meeting. I go and heat up my food and start eating and pull out my phone while the safety meeting is going on. Nobody seems to mind. I’m not distracting or making any noise. But I’m on my own personal time while everybody else is on company time and getting paid. I’m casually just on my phone when one of the safety guys pulls me aside and makes a big scene and puts me in front of the whole company and talks to my supervisor and tells her to write me up and she’s stood up for me and said we’re in lunch and that we just got here. He then says I can’t be on my phone during a safety meeting and to write me up and she says no. I told him I won’t get on it again and said I’m sorry t won’t happen again. So about an hour later some other guy who is a regular worker writes me up and I refused to sign the reprimand because I told him it was very unnecessary and that I was own my own time. I then get taken to upper management and told them that I was forced to take a late lunch by the project manager and that I can have my phone out since I’m not getting paid for the meeting and that it was my own personal time. He talked to me kindly but also told me I had to follow rules and they need my undivided attention at safety meetings. We talked for about 5 or 10 minutes and I ended up signing it because I have a child to take care of and I don’t wanna take it further than it had to go. My question is: can I get written up for being on my phone during a safety meeting even though I was not getting paid for it? While everybody else in the company is getting paid since they were not forced to take a late lunch?

Answer: The answer is yes but you should be paid for attending a mandatory meeting.


Title: Banana Cake

Question:
	First time posting a reddit- But I really need someone’s help ... anyone's help
I've been working in the restaurant industry/same job for 6.5 years now and I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time on this day. I came in to work a table offered me a banana cake and told me that it they were going to leave me a cake. Because it was my birthday they happened to have one. It was a marijuana cake. I didn't believe that I got such a thing as a tip for the first time in a bajillion years. I left the table dirty and cleaned it up after I did my side work and clocked out. As I left work I realized that it would be more convenient to cut the cake inside work. I went back inside with the cake went back to the kitchen cut up the cake people started to gather around. The smell of the cake was a little over whelming I am sure the world could have known that it was a marijuana banana cake. I told everyone what was inside it. I was slicing up the piece and people started taking it. It happened so fast. I told this one guy what was inside he thought it would be funny to feed it into the manager’s mouth. He fed it to her she ran over to me and asked me if it had marijuana inside it. I started to doubt that it had any in there I didn't have a piece just yet. As I got to the final piece of the banana cake I ate it and as I was eating it I was for sure what was inside and was like yes there is marijuana inside. She told me that I take u.a's I can’t have this I was like I am serious there is some inside I can taste it. I left work and went to the mountains that very day. I got a phone call from a police officer that very day and he told me that I put someone in the hospital and asked if I was stoned etc. I did not know what was going on... I was super stoned at the time because it was one hell of a cake. I am now being charged with 2 charges of second degree assault. The reason why. "Was because I did not inform the guy that went to the hospital and my manager that there was any pot inside. I didn't force feed her he fully was aware what was inside and is trying to save his own ass. 5 other people had the cake and they did not fill out a witness form report which all remember me ANNOUNCING CLEARLY WHAT WAS INSIDE. Now I can’t use them as a witness? I am being summoned on November 22nd anything helps I have never ever been in this situation before. I live in Colorado so pot is legal. Yes I understand I should have just kept it and gone home with it but my mom is con marijuana so that is something that crossed my mind....The situation the cop mind fucked me while I was in the mountains and I told him I possibly could have not told him he tricked me and now he’s giving me a ticket.

Fast version - Went to work got a marijuana cake from a table a guy ends up getting sick sent to the hospital because he was also on other "medicated drugs". I told them what was inside they can smell it ... I end up getting charged with two sets of second degree assault. Other people that had the cake didn't fill out a report. Am I Done for? I end up telling the cop I might have possibly not told him. But why would he try to feed it to the manager if I didn’t tell him. That guy... SIGH

Answer:
 You should try to re-write this post when the cake wears off.

Hire a criminal defense attorney ASAP, you need one.

>My thought--let me give you 100 dollars i put "$100 dollars in a book" Ill ask a few questions about this $100 dollars how many 0's are in each corner? Answer 8. How many bills is it? Answers 2 Did i really give you a 100 dollar bill? Answers yes you could have given me two $50 dollar bills. Real answer No i gave you two $20 dollar bills.... The Cake could have not been pot or could have had pot...I was not 100 percent sure until i had the last piece... I was just being nice and people attacked the cake.. If you ever served before you know what i mean..

Jesus fucking christ what does any of this mean? I'm literally laughing out loud at how incoherently retarded this paragraph is.


Title: [Boston, MA] Does a landlord have to provide notice before/after entering my apartment?

Question:
Quick question about a basic landlord/tenant law thing.

About two months ago I moved into an apartment in Boston, MA. I know the law says, as well a my lease says, that the landlord can enter my apartment for the purpose of inspection (among other things). It also says that he needs to be reasonable in trying to make mutually convenient arrangements.

My problem is this: In the past two months, he's inspected the place at least 3 times. I say at least because his version of 'notice' is leaving me a voicemail saying he's coming up in 10 minutes to inspect. I've only been home for one of these - so I don't know if he ever has inspected without leaving a voicemail while I'm at work.

I know some states require 24 hour notice - is Massachusetts one of these? Is there anything I can do to keep this guy from barging into my apartment whenever he feels like it, for the vague reason of 'inspection'?

Thanks guys!

Answer:
 http://m.cityofboston.gov/isd/housing/faq.asp

According to this, a landlord must give reasonable notice for non emergency entry, which is 24 hours. I would bring this up with him and let him know you expect 24 hours notice from now on. If he keeps entering, call the non emergency police line for a break in/trespass.


Title: In a divorce DOES it matter if one party moves out of the marital home? Because there are 2 current LA threads that take opposite sides.

Question:
[This one](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/8scsj2/wife_turned_in_papers_for_a_divorce_today_and/), where LAOP is being urged to stay in his house

vs.

[This one](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/8scsy2/left_my_abusive_husband_do_i_forfeit_my_home/), where LAOP who left her abusive husband is being told it's not that big a deal that she left the house.

Answer:
 I'm with u/phneri on this. Beyond the basics, divorce advice is so highly jurisdictional and fact-specific that you can't take r/legaladvice for much. The answer can easily be "it's both, and three other possibilities besides."

However, if someone's in immediate danger - and an abusive spouse can easily be that, especially when handed a crisis to manage, such as finding out their spouse and victim is leaving - then the prudent advice is to get to safety first. The law, including family law, is largely reactive and not proactive, and if OP dies or is beaten into a coma, the fact that they changed the status quo first isn't really the important part.Answer #2: Honestly, I’d suggest that LA is simply not equipped to talk about family law. Because it’s so weird and subjective and fact specific.


Title: I have a custody agreement that requires me to get permission from the court to move away. My husband just got military orders to move. Want to know how these cases usually turn out.

Question:
I share 70/30 custody of a ten year-old with my ex-husband.  We have a custody agreement and it says that either of us needs court permission to move out of the city we live in.

I remarried two years ago. My current husband was in the military. His contract has ended, but they have decided they need him again. They have notified us that we are being relocated.  We will be moved halfway across the country.

We have scheduled a meeting with a lawyer, but I am nervous about the typical outcome for this.  What is likely to happen as far as my child custody goes?  Since my son lives with me 70% of the time, is it likely he can come with me?  Or is it more likely that I will have to give up most of my time with him OR have to stay here (living away from my husband) in order to keep custody of my son?

Edit:  We are in the US

Answer: The courts will look at the detriment to the child if they move. They will be losing a lot of time with the other parent. Losing friends, school, and any relatives that are local. You will have to show how moving is in the child's best interest. If the courts do not feel it is not in the child's best interest then you can either not move and stay with your son or give the father primary custody and you get holidays. That will be up to you.


Title: [Texas] Can my friend (17) get in trouble for faking a HOME drug test?

Question:
My friend’s parents found crumbs of marijuana in her car, and made her go to the store to grab a urine drug test. After she left, she asked a friend to pee in the drug test for her instead so she wouldn’t get caught. She wants to know if she can get in any legal trouble for this. Again, this is NOT from a job or the police, but her parents. Thanks for any help.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 If she’s found out by her parents they can certainly punish her however they see fit. Grounding. Car privileges. Loss of phone.

Legally, she’s under no contract to provide her urine. This isn’t for a job, no money at stake.

If her parents were all that concerned they should’ve went and got the test themselves.  Had her take it at home. Having her get the test seems a little naive. Answer #2: She’ll be right, she’s under no contract to provide a legitimate specimen


Title: My apartment complex is threatening to tow my car? (Arapahoe County, Colorado)

Question:
I recently moved into a new apartment complex (~1 month ago) with my boyfriend and his brother. I have two cars, and while I was at work today, a sticker was placed on my second car stating:
"VIOLATION. IF YOU DO NOT IMMEDIATELY MOVE THIS VEHICLE, IT WILL BE TOWED AND STORED AT YOUR EXPENSE."  The sticker also notes that this is a "no parking area", and there is a hand-written bit that says "car has not moved in  over 48 hours"

First off, the car is parked in a designated parking spot, and there are no signs stating that it is a "no parking area". The other cars parked in this area did not have the same notice.

I immediately went to the leasing office to inquire why this sticker was on my window. I was told that the parking lot spots are for guests and residents with one-car garages. The office lady said that since I have a two-car garage attached to my unit, I may not park in the lot, and that my car will be towed if I do not move it off the property immediately.

My problem with this is that before I signed my lease I asked about parking permits, and was told that we can park extra vehicles in any available parking space, and that permits were not issued. Furthermore, my lease CLEARLY states that we are allowed 2 cars per resident. For my unit, that would allow us a total of 6 cars, which we obviously could not fit in a two-car garage. I combed through my lease, and the only reference to parking says that they may "regulate the time, manner, and place of parking of vehicles by anyone". It says that they may tow vehicles if they meet any of a given 12 criteria, of which my car meets none (it's not in a fire lane, it doesn't have a flat tire, etc.).

The lady at the office told me that residents with one-car garages may park extra vehicles in the lot, but since I have a two-car garage I may not park there. I never signed any lease addendum agreeing to this policy, nor was I ever informed of it before today. The lease does not specify who can and can't use the lot, but I was verbally told by a leasing manager that I could use the lot for any or all of my cars. There are no notices of this policy on their website, nor was any notice given to the residents. There are no posted signs that say who can park there. She said that any car that doesn't move for two days will be towed at the owner's expense. I asked her if my car would be towed if I moved it every 2 days and she said no, but basically called me a terrible person for taking up a spot for that car.

My concern is that if I go on vacation for more than 2 days, they are going to tow my car. If the landlord tows my car and I have to pay to get it back, can I take them to small claims? Again, the lease does not give them the right to tow my car. They basically made this rule up on a whim. The lease also allows me to have more cars than garage spaces, and there are already two cars parked in the garage.

I also looked up my city ordinance, and it states that they may not tow my car if it is legally parked, which I believe it is. Can they legally do this since it's private property, even though I'm paying to use it per the lease agreement?

Sorry I know that was a lot, I've just read that some people have paid a lot to get their cars out of tow lots, and I want to know what my options are, since I have nowhere else to put my car and would have to sell it if they won't let me park there. Any advice at all would be EXTREMELY appreciated.

UPDATE: I went back to the office yesterday to try to clear this up. The office actually tried to have the police tow my car while I was at work, but the cops wouldn't do it because it's private property. She said that the police told her that she can legally tow any car that has been parked for 48 hours on private property. We called the local police station afterwards and found out that she lied, and that the 48 hour rule only applied to street parking. She said that they are in the process of trying to get a private towing company, but fully admitted that they made up the rule two days ago, and that if I move my car every two days I won't get it towed. It doesn't really make sense to me, since moving the car around doesn't actually free up any parking. I'm going to call my lawyer today to ask about what my options are. If I'm interpreting the municipal codes correctly, they can't tow my car if they didn't post permanent signs before I parked it, and they DEFINITELY can't change the rules willy-nilly. I don't want to wait until they tow it to find out I'm wrong though.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 IANAL - but you say the lease states two cars per resident.  Are you sure that it doesn't say two cars per household - or residence?Answer #2: Go tot he office and point out the exact wording in the lease and make it clear they cannot change that unilaterally without breaking the lease. Also point out the stuff you found about towing and make it clear to them that they cannot have your car towed for that.

Finally, tell them you are keeping a copy of all of this to take to a lawyer the moment they do this and that it will be a pretty clear open-and-shut case to take to court and it will be expensive for them.

This may help.Answer #3: Is there a reason that you can't put your car in the garage? You say you can't, but why?

I know what the lady at the office, but try again, and play dumb, and act really confused, but very sincere in resolving the issue. "I'm confused, I thought my lease said we could have 2 cars per resident?" If she says that is incorrect, have her show you where it says it in your lease. Be nice, firm, and sincere in being slightly confused about the misunderstanding but wanting to resolve the issue.

Also, if you could link to the statute you refer to, that would be a help.


Title: (PA) A huge, major, mobile game, very recently changed its in game currencies, in effect voiding years of player purchases of the long standing currency without transfer or warning.

Question:
I live in Pennsylvania, but arguments can extend beyond as this effects people everywhere.
I will respect the sub rules and not name the developer of its effected games.
Here is the scoop;
A few weeks ago the developer changed the purchase currency for all major on game items from gold, to loyalty points.
The items in question range from shields to everything used to boost play of any importance.
Some players, over years of play have accumulated gold for in-game purchases.
One day, without warning or statement, players noticed while playing that items where suddenly being changed from purchase with gold, to purchase with loyalty.  When the changes where completed the players found their cumulated gold completely worthless and they needed to start accumulating a  new currency under new rules.
This also applies to me.  In PA or federal court is this illegal?  I find this to be the same as purchasing department store gift cards, then suddenly the department store says these hundreds or thousands of dollars are now only good for buying mentos or cigarettes.
Topic:
Consumer Law

Answer:
 The TOS almost certainly give them the unilateral right to make whatever changes they want whenever they want.  They could shut down the game tomorrow and you you would have no recourse.  You have no recourse here.Answer #2: This is not illegal. Games give you a revocable license to play and retain the right to change the system, delete accounts and access, or shut down entirely.

Furthermore it sounds as if this in came currency is not purchased, but earned over time doing tasks or winning or something. This leaves users with no financial damages to claim. Answer #3: Great, and that whole I AGREE thing back when you started invalidates any claim you could ever conceivably make against them.  They can decide tomorrow to give away everything for free, or close up shop and shut down the servers.  That's what you get when you spend your hard-earned money on intangible make-believe goods.Answer #4: No this is not illegal. The TOS of the game is gonna allow it and the (very broad strokes) current way to avoid banking/gambling regulation in games is that they’re one way exchanges. You can never get money out, so the fake game currency being worthless causes you no actionable damages.

Your gift card analogy doesn’t work because there are specific state and federal statutes that apply to gift cards in the situation you describe.


Title: My father passed away and I'm trying to secure his belongings.

Question:
Sorry if this is not formatted properly, I usually only lurk on reddit.

My father passed away Monday (we live in Nevada) and I am next of kin.  The place he lived in is owned by his parents.  I would normally have a more clear mind to deal with this, but I'm too distracted.

My parents are divorced, so my mother has no legal say.  She is insisting that I am allowed to have unrestricted access to his residence, without supervision from the landlord.  Is this accurate?  His father says he has no problem letting me access the residence whenever I want, but he would like to be there when this happens.

Thank you for your assistance.

Answer: You are allowed that, once you have been appointed the personal representative/executor of the estate - not before. So probate the estate and get appointed.


Title: [IA] Movie theater pays my fiance as a carnival employee

Question:
My fiance works part time at a movie theater while he is in school. He is legally paid as a carnival employee, which means he doesn't have to be given breaks or be paid overtime for working more than 40 hours a week (which does happen during the summer). My fiance is NOT a carny, but he's being paid as one. Is this legal?
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 Not a lawyer.

I don't think there is a specific "carnival" exemption to overtime law.  The exemption in federal law (Iowa has no state overtime rules as far as I can tell), is for seasonal entertainment businesses.  A movie theater may or may not qualify, depending on if it closes seasonally, or how much business it does summer vs winter.  More information on those rules is here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs18.pdf


Title: My landlord called 911 on me and told them I was suicidal in order to evict me and steal my things

Question: [removed]

Answer: Evicting you without notice is surely illegal, but your location matters here. Answer #2: Call the police.  You were illegally evicted and your stuff was stolen.


Title: Would I be liable if my rescue dog bit a kid that came up to him?

Question:
Hi, so I just found this forum and it seems the most appropriate for my question.

Backstory: I have a two year old rescue at home. He's very sweet with adults once he gets to know them, but he's extremely afraid of kids. The owners that had him before me had two little brats who kicked, punched and threw him, broke his tail twice and just terrorized him since he was about 5 months old. They put him away because he bit one of the kids. He's now 2 years old and I've had him for 3 months.

Now he is very scared of kids. Like I'll be walking him and if he sees a child, he turns around and starts dragging me home. He's very skittish even around adults and sudden movements don't sit well with him, so usually if we're outside and there's a kid running by, I have to pick him up and carry him away.

About a week ago, I was walking him and had to take a business call while doing so. I was on the phone, not really paying attention to him when I heard him whimper loudly and saw two little kids running right towards him with their hands in front. I reacted and just as the kid was about to put her hand on him, I pushed her away. She started crying, I sort of yelled at her to never pet dog no matter how small without asking the owner.

Now I'm fairly sure I can keep him away from childer, the issue is my mom.

Whenever I'm at work, she comes over three times a day to take him for a walk. She also loves children. I spoke to her many times about his behaviour and that she is not to let a child near him. On Wednesday, while on the phone with her, she said that she tried to let a little boy pet him and that he almost bit him. She insisted that my dog needs to get over his fear so children can pet him. I blew up on her and now I drive home from work twice a day to take him for a walk.

Like I said, I'm pretty sure I can keep him away from kids, but in case I can't and he actually bites one, would I be liable? What would the consequences be?

He's an extremely sweet, playful pup and he didn't deserve what happened to him. I just can't imagine  possibly losing him because of a random kid who couldn't bother asking if he could pet him.

Answer:
 Can I make a suggestion, from a dog trainer point of view?

So you are the only person that can advocate for your dog, and often that means that before any shit happens, you take proactive measures.

And that goes double when you know your dog can be a problem with kids.

>She insisted that my dog needs to get over his fear so children can pet him.

So that's not going to happen without a great deal of training and understanding of dog, which is not happening here.

What I would suggest instead is conditioning your dog to wear a muzzle any time he is in public and being walked. No exceptions, ever.

If your mom can't handle that I would hire a dog walker who understands the terms of what the walk entails.

You can't let this dog keep being walked by your mom, sans a muzzle.

A muzzle serves two purposes: one is it keeps your dog safer because he can't bite a kid. And secondly, most parents aren't going to let their kid run into the face of a muzzled dog, so interactions are reduced.

There is a reactive dog subreddit and you may want to check it out.

But no way would I have that dog walking the streets without a muzzle. you know he can bite, and if he does actually bite a kid, you may well lose him, depending on the laws and AC where you live.


Title: [USA -- Georgia] - Seemingly predatory $1200 "End of lease notification" fine from landlord.

Question:
Hi all,

My brother is a Georgia Tech student who has been renting his apartment for 2 years. When he renewed his lease after a year, the landlord added an addendum to the contract that he must give 60 days notice if he did not plan to renew his lease, or pay an extra months rent.

The landlord made no effort to remind my brother of this and only told him days ago (the lease ends tomorrow). Is this legal? This is not a month by month agreement. This is a lease that had a defined ending.

It feels predatory at best, it puts my brother in a tough spot financially. I've heard of this sort of agreement with a month by month rental agreement, but never with a lease with a defined end date.

Any feedback you can give is greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 Did he sign it? Then it’s legalAnswer #2: There’s nothing illegal or predatory about a notice requirement in a lease.

Landlord fulfilled his requirement to let your brother know of the notice when he *wrote it in the lease*.


Title: Gave someone money for a trip, he doesn't want me to go, won't give me back money. What are my options?

Question:
I gave money to a friend to book a trip for us, there was a personal problem so he doesn't want to go on the trip with me anymore. But he won't give me back my money. What are my options?

I gave him the money in cash unfortunately, but I have text messages with him challenging me (i.e., what are you going to do about it, call the cops?). I have e-mails where he sent me the trip itinerary.

This is Canada. BC. The monetary amount is $1200.

Answer:
 Instructions on filing an action in small claims court to recover this money:

http://www.ag.gov.bc.ca/courts/small_claims/info/guides/making_a_claim.htm

If you win you get a judgement for the money. You can garnish his wages or bank account if he won't pay voluntarily.


Title: Created game/app concept as side project at work – now it's getting attention. How can I hold onto my IP if I leave this job?

Question:
So as an officially encouraged side project at work, we were invited to create and pitch app ideas internally. My idea was a success, and now that concept is being developed by the company with the intention of taking it to market.

My work contract states that what I produce for my work is the intellectual property of the company. But this is something way outside of my job description, and is not being produced for any particular client. I am afraid the company will claim the idea entirely and I'm not sure what to do.

My main questions:

1. How can I ensure I am acknowledged as the creator?
2. Is there a way I can stake a claim on revenue that comes from this idea?
3. Am I just shit outta luck?
4. Should I just try and develop this idea independently and get it to market quicker?

Answer:
 >My idea was a success, and now that concept is being developed by the company

If they're developing, they own it.


Title: I need help. It's the weekend and I need to know what to do on Monday morning. Please help and read.

Question:
I'll make a long story short.. I devoted 5yrs to a woman and have a 3yr old son with her. We never got married which is a testament to our relationship. I'm 25 and she's 29. She has a neurological illness that makes her tired all the time. Because our boy is very very high strung, I took what I thought was impressive initiative and learned to trade cryptocurrency and I've been paying all our bills with that... That way I can help raise our son. I actually make decent money and I do 100% of the cooking and 100% of the cleaning. I wish I was joking..

I am a GOOD daddy and I tried everyday to be a good partner but I couldn't fix our relationship. I don't deserve to have my child taken. She left me for a 34yr old with a big boy job. Can I blame her? I guess not but my ego is shattered and she's destroying my family for him. I'm an orphan and literally have no one but my son now

They've only KNOWN each other two weeks but he's managed to steal her heart and totally fuck up my life.

So now I have to figure out what can I do with my son? She wants to take him 9hrs away to another state to live with her dad. Here's the thing.. I know he needs his mom too, and he'll technically be okay there because he loves his grandpa (her dad) and her dad's house is big and the area nice. I'm crushed because I know that I can't take as good of care of him alone as she can with her parents. (I'm an orphan, no family)

****I want to structure custody in a way that's fair because I've been good to them and deserve that. I want to be able to talk to him everyday and even though it's 9 freaking hours I want to see him twice a week or whenever I want even.****

Here's the thing: she hates me and as I type this she's out with her new boyfriend. She's still living with me. She fucks this guy and comes home to me. I'm writing everything down, last night she was gone from 9:30pm - 5:30AM. At this guys hotel room.

I'm sorry to rant, just here:

I know this sounds crazy to say that my son is better with her at her dad's house when she's messy and doesn't do any cooking or cleaning, but in the eyes of the court I'm a Loser. I don't have a steady job and I'm on Medicaid. No wonder she left me.

Can I get more custody of my son later on once I get my life back in order?

1) though she's a cheating whore I know my son is better living with her in SC at her dad's house. Problem is that's 9 hours away.

2) how can I quickly do something to keep her leaving across state lines with my son? Can I call the police tonight and ask for a restraining order until custody is made?

3) since I agree he's better off with his mom, how can I secure as much time with him as possible? I want to talk to him everyday via video chat and I want to see him every two weeks AT Least.

4) how can I make sure she doesn't defame me to my son? She is crazy and hates me irrationally

***5) if she and this NEW Guy decide to get a place together how can I ensure its reasonably close by and they don't move to Canada or something crazy?***

Let me emphasize she isn't communicating with me. All day her face is in her phone talking to New Guy.

She's going out tonight again to fuck this person at his hotel room and probably come back early morning just like last night and crawl into MY bed with me and fall asleep again. I'm such a cuck, reddit. I am writing down all the times hoping that's useful.

I want to see my son now that I know he won't be in my life permanently anymore but I want her out. I'm bitter to be robbed of watching every minute if his growing up but I can't stand to look at her face. She knows she has the power. I want to see my son but I want her out and I want to be able to see my son as much as possible.

Please help me. I'm 25 with very little resources and she can take him any second I'm horrified. Tell me what I can do because my lawyer appt is Jan10 and I need to do something before then.
Thank you and sorry for the long post. I haven't slept much since I found out she's cheating .

Answer:
 You need a lawyer. Like, yesterday.

This is far, *far* beyond the scope of this sub.


Title: Is it legal to delay medical treatment to 2017 to avoid paying deductible + out-of-pocket max twice (once for 2016 and again for 2017) ?

Question:
I have an HSA. I have a high deductible of $2000, after which 10% co-pay kicks in (coinsurance max of $4000). The out-of-pocket max is $6000.

The treatment I have is 3 months long and each monthly supply costs enough to cover both the deductible and out of pocket max.

Therefore, if I start it now I will pay $6000 for 2016, and then once the 2017 calendar year's deductible and out of pocket max reset, I will pay another $6000 to get my 3rd month's supply.

My doctor sent in for a pre-approval of the treatment and I got it (yay), but the pre-approval expires mid January. This means I can start it now, and go through all 3 months before the approval expires. If I delay a month, then my 3rd month's treatment supply will fall outside of the pre-approval and my doctor would need to submit for a new approval. He said he didn't see why they wouldn't approve again, but you never know.

So now the question: Since I do not have a medical urgency to start treatment ASAP, would it be legal to delay the treatment until next year to avoid paying $6000 twice? Is it possible insurance may deny the 2nd pre-approval because I delayed to avoid paying $12,000?

**[Edit] I'd like to take a second to thank everyone that has responded so far! Thank you all! Your advice and information is extremely helpful!**

Answer:
 It is absolutely legal to delay treatment.

Anything is possible with insurance approvals. Answer #2: 3 month treatment approval? If it's for Hepatitis medication the manufacturers have copayment cards that basically pay your deductible and OOP and leave you with a $5 copay.


Title: (CT) Landlord's admin trying to enforce a different rent due date than lease

Question:
First time posting here so not sure of standard format- apologies if it's off...

My boyfriend and I signed a lease for an apartment in September with an October 1st move in. Unfortunately, shortly after signing his mother's health took a turn for the worse so the move got put on the back burner among other things. Basically I have taken the whole move on myself so it is going slow and I haven't spent a ton of time focusing on it.

Now we both have lived on our own, but this is the first rental for us both entirely on our own so we are not familiar with the details of a typical lease. This is why I never thought twice when it said the 15th as the due date for each months rent with a ten day grace period ending on the 25th. After which, a $150 fee would be charged.

Fast forward to this week when I finally turn my thoughts to paying our first rent bill since the original payment/deposit. I looked at our invoice and noticed it said November 1 as the due date. I emailed the admin who sent the invoice asking if there was a misunderstanding. Her response that she was sorry but clearly there was a typo in the lease and that our rent was due on the 1st and after the 10th we would be charged the fee.

Our lease was signed and executed with the 15th and 25th literally spelt out as the due date and deadline. I know that the lease should stand and I emailed the admin back with the attached lease pretty much saying that for this month we needed to stick to the lease, but would be willing to sign an amended lease for December on. That was two days ago and I have not heard back since. My questions are: Can they legally charge us the late fee after the 10th? Is it easy enough/likely that they will issue an amended lease and if so what is that process like? Is there anything we should look out for and can we get screwed over in this process? Whatever advice can be offered is welcome here. We are so up to our knees in shit from dealing with an ongoing family tragedy that we do not have much energy to deal with more.

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 The wording in the lease controls. They should know that they can't charge late fees before the lease says they can.

You might offer to agree to amend the lease (for their convenience - I assume they want people to be on the same schedule) if they waive this late fee. But if push comes to shove (i.e. court) the late fee won't be considered legitimate and you don't have to do this.

>Is it easy enough/likely that they will issue an amended lease and if so what is that process like

They can't "issue" an amended lease. They need to get you to agree to it.Answer #2: No, they cannot change those dates unilaterally.  You have to agree to lease amendments.  If they tried to use failure to pay the late fee as grounds for eviction they would lose.

I think you're doing the right thing by offering to amend it going forward.  No sense in starting a hostile relationship with your landlord, but you shouldn't let yourself be taken advantage of and eat a late payment you shouldn't owe.  Answer #3: It's not a typo. You don't mistake '15' for '1' or '25' for '11'. The lease controls. If it says 15th/25th, that's when rent is due.

They can't charge you a late fee, and if they cause a stink you just need to remember that any attempt to charge you will eventually end up in front of a judge, and judges can generally read.

Oh, and amending or altering a lease is easy. It's just a one sheet bit of paper that says "Paragraph X of the lease between parties starting on DATE is changed to read: Due date, late date." with a spot for everyone to sign.


Title: What can we do if another business is using our name, logo and marketing posts as their own?

Question:
Our daughter was typing our shop name in Facebook and found another business using our ads and logos.
We are Marylou's Coffee and Sandwich Shoppe in Mansfield, Texas
They are Marylou's Cafe and Sandwich Shop in Essex.
They even made a post showing off their "new" logo which is a screenshot of ours. I want to call them but unsure how to approach this.
Any suggestions what we should do?

Answer: Send a cease and desist letter, and if they don't comply, sue.


Title: Friend was Raped by her Step-father

Question:
So my best friends girlfriend was raped by her step-step father this pass weekend. I'm going to call her Kelly for the sake of this post. Also they live in Utah.

So Kelly has a step-father who she called an ass but he wasn't like abusive or anything. This Saturday my best friend (her boyfriend) hung out together and later he went home. Kelly told him that after he left her step-dad got was trying to get her drunk.  She at first resisted but he basically forced her to. So he got her really drunk and then raped her.

Kelly just told her mom and my best friend on Monday. Her mom decided to divorce the step-dad but they have decided not to press charges because everything is in his name.

I guess my question is what can they do that would protect them from basically having no home and no house?

Answer:
 IANAL. Go to the police. File a report. Understandably, your friend and her mom do not want to be put out of home, but chances are the step-father can or will harm someone again.

Edit: Is Kelly under the legal drinking age? If so, I'm pretty sure the charges will be much more severe. Also, if they have the funds, a therapist dealing with traumatic experiences may be needed to help Kelly through this ordeal.


Title: I was stupid and filed a tax return in the name of someone my friend hit with his car but who I didn't know, while she was in the hospital. Now she is out and in trouble with the IRS. How do I work out a plan to pay the money back? [NJ]

Answer:
 You are in a lot of trouble. Like Federal Prison trouble. You can pray she doesn't report the fraud and pay her any taxes she has to pay. Otherwise shut up and get a criminal defense attorney. Don't admit to anything. Don't answer any questions.Answer #2: Troll
Answer #3: My friend hit someone with his car and put them in the hospital. Let's steal her tax refund while she recovers!


Title: Can you sue the police if they raid your home because they think you grow drugs? (But you don't)

Question: [removed]

Answer: If you are speaking about in the US, not if they have warrant.


Title: Is class action worth it? (NY)

Question:
I saw an ad for a class action lawsuit against J&J because of a connection between talc powder and ovarian cancer. I used the powder for many, many years and have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer twice, this second time being terminal.

I just contacted one company online and after a brief chat, they sent a contract.  In addition to the normal 33.3% that they take (out of whatever they win), they charge additional fees for everything from photocopies to expert witness fees to investigations. In other words, they take 1/3 of the winnings, then take would take their expenses out of my portion. I know law firms charge $400+ an hour, so that would add up very quickly.

So I guess my question is: Is getting involved in a class action worth it? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Answer:
 This is not unusual:  it's common in contingency fee agreements for the case expenses to be added to the percentage. However, regular legal fees are included in that 33.3% so you aren't going have those deducted from your portion.

You also can negotiate the percentage down from 33.3%. (that's the legal maximum in NY actually) Depending on the case and your negotiation skills, you might get them down to 25% or less. You might want to reach out to other law firms if you can as well. Answer #2: If the alternative is not suing them at all (and therefore not receiving any compensation) joining the class action suit may be worth it, even if the law firm representing the plaintiffs takes 50% of the settlement.Answer #3: What you are describing are the standard terms for representation in a mass tort product liability claim.  1/3 plus costs.  Your claim could be very valuable indeed if it can be proven that your ovarian cancer was caused by the talc.  There was recently a significant jury verdict in Missouri.  This is not a class action, by the way, these are stand alone claims.


Title: May have ruined my life by not insuring property between exchange and completion.

Question:
EDIT - I'm in London, England.

Ok so I'm an inexperienced first time buyer. I had no idea I had to insure a property on exchange rather than completion (yes I'm a fool, but my crappy solicitors didn't tell me either - apparently most will ask for proof of insurance before exchanging - not mine!). I had a million and one other things to think about and missed this crucial one.

The exchange was on January 16th. The completion was on February 3rd, this is when I took out home insurance.

The day before completion (February 2nd) I received a call from my solicitor who said they had received a worrying call from the vendor's solicitor. There had been a burst pipe and leak at the property.

We contacted the estate agent and even spoke directly to the vendor for the first time. According to both parties there had been a leak but that the vendor had sent engineers in to repair the leak and that the affected areas had been replastered and redecorated. Quote - "it looks even better than when you viewed it". *roll eyes*

Nevertheless I went down to the property to inspect it that evening. Obviously I am not a professional but it seemed broadly ok. No evidence of leak, walls seemed in ok condition. Plastering and paint job seemed ok. Not that I had any choice at this point as I was obliged to complete, but we went ahead with completion.

Over the first weekend in the property we noticed a lot of condensation forming on the windows and colder surfaces of the property (e.g. windows, front door, metal sockets). We also checked around outside the property and noticed a fairly large what looked like damp patch outside (which is covered by a overhanging roof over a driveway into a rear car park).

So alarm bells have started to sound. Perhaps the repairs undertaken haven't been sufficient and there remains an underlying issue waiting to bite. By this point I have taken out insurance. I answered every question on the online form honestly. The one relevant one was has the property been damaged by external flooding. It clearly stipulated this only referred to flooding from outside the property (e.g. a river bursting to banks) and did not include from internal leakage (e.g. burst pipe).

So basically I'm screwed because there's probably not a cats chance in hell any insurance company will cover me for something that occurred before I took out the policy. So before I kill myself over the 10s of thousands this may cost me to fix I guess I'm going to have to explore every possible legal avenue.

Some things I'd like clarity on:

- Has the vendor broken any laws by conducting his own (substandard) repairs on the property without consulting me? We have found out from neighbours who noticed the issue (property was vacant) that it was first spotted and reported on January 25th. Over a week before I was informed. And clearly in the intervening period between exchange and completion where the property was my responsibility.

- My solicitors have mentioned that the vendor has an obligation to hand over the property on completion in the same state as on exchange. This has clearly not been the case. Do we have legal recourse here?

- As I answered my insurance application 100% honestly, and as this is an issue arising from a previous supposedly solid repair but only making itself obvious to me once moved into the property, do I have any angle to get this repaired by them? I'm assuming not.

- Was I poorly advised due to my solicitors not informing on the need to insure my property on exchange or indeed wanting proof of this before exchange. Is this even relevant? In any case I need to keep them on my side to work through this. Though I'm not sure how far my conveyancing fee which I've paid will also allow me to use them for further legal action. Any idea?

- Is my life ruined?

Answer:
 I'm not an expert in most of the things you're asking about, but..

Water-leaks in houses aren't exactly uncommon, and there's ways of dealing with them. Assuming the _repairs_ are done properly (as in, no more leakage, and replacement of the damaged parts, the most expensive parts are already taken care of.

Now, it depends a bit on how your house is built (crawl-space underneath, concrete/wood floors, etc), but what you're seeing might very well just be residual condensation. After a water-leak, you usually put heaters and dehumidifiers into the affected areas to get rid of it, and that might just be what wasn't done.

If I were you, I'd contact the company that did the repairs, and ask them. If they're a good company, they'll put the equipment in the house for you, and you'll be out a higher electricity bill for one month, and the inconvenience of having heaters+fans+dehumidifiers running in your new house.

What I'm trying to say here is.. Don't panic!  Before you assume the worst, give the company a chance to make good


Title: Do kids have any rights to see their full or half siblings?

Question: My son's dad's health has been going downhill for years, he went into icu a few years ago. I'm getting worried that his dad doesn't have many years left if he doesn't start taking care of himself better which isn't likely. My son is 4 and has a 2 year old half brother that he is absolutely crazy about. They see each other twice a month and play for several hours. His mom isn't fond of me, we don't fight but she prefers to act like I don't exist, she's never spoken to me even though I'm often sitting in the same room with her. I'm fine with that, not looking for a buddy and in keeps drama to a minimum. I'm worried that if something were to happen to son's dad, he'd never see his half brother again. We wouldn't have to be around each other, ex's parents already host their visits. I get the feeling that he'd just be screwed out of knowing his brother.

Answer:
 No. You have no right to force visitation with siblings. If something were to happen to Dad, mom gets to determine how much interaction, if any, the child was allowed to have with his siblings.

I know its heartbreaking and we can hope mom is compassionate but she doesn't have to be. There is no legal mechanism to force her.Answer #2: If and when the time comes, I'd suggest going through the ex's parents. I assume she isn't totally evil, and will allow her child to see his grandparents. I'd ask the grandparents to let you know when the brother is visiting, and to run in by his mother that their other grandchild come and play.Answer #3: No. You have to have permission from the parent to see the child. If mom says no then that's it.


Title: Friend stayed with much older friend who has secret camera in bathroom

Question:
One of my close friends in New Mexico recently got kicked out of her parents house and started staying with a much older gentleman(I don't know much of their back story). While he was out of town one of his other friends let it slip that they have cameras around the house. Well my friend did not know this before hand and realized that they have one in the bathroom as well. She always wondered why they always showed up when she was showering. So even though it is not her house she's been filmed naked without consent. Is there any type of legal action she should be taking? now that she found out she is no longer staying there.

UPDATE: my friend sent me screenshots this morning and I guess she told other people about this and word got back to him. He said it was a fan sensor in the bathroom and threatened HER with the police for defamation of character.

Answer:
 Definitely need to report this to the police asapAnswer #2: > So even though it is not her house she's been filmed naked without consent. Is there any type of legal action she should be taking?

How old is your friend? I ask because if she is 17 or younger then what you describe could easily be treated by police and prosecutors as "producing child pornography". Not that this is legal or appropriate for someone who is older, but if your friend is under 18 then this is *very serious* and if she reports it to the police it will almost certainly be treated that way.


Title: A girl broke into my house.

Question:
Texas FYI- She says we were in a relationship, I had no clue. She got jealous one night, and flipped out. Apparently she was on 3 muscle relaxers and drinking. &nbsp; &nbsp;

A group of us went out last weekend, saturday night she gets mad and  has friends drive her to my house where we all started. She is there 5 minutes before me, demands my door code to get in over the phone from my friend, I say no we are around the corner.  She breaks in through a window. The 2 people with her witness this and have written testimony. &nbsp; &nbsp;

I arrive home, with my camera on in my pocket. She basically yells at me says, "you break my heart I break your window". Then turns over a cabinet with more things. Throws plates at me, computer stuff. I ask her to leave, try to stay out of her way, she grabs for the camera and tells me I can't record her. She jumps on me and I ask for help, a friend intervenes and is able to get me away.  My friend is here at this point and also has written testimony.
&nbsp; &nbsp;

I was able to calm her down briefly, and I turned my phone off (I know stupid), tell her to call an uber and we need to deal with this tomorrow, but her anger escalated again. She runs to her car and tries to leave, but we have already called the cops. She is drunk and shouldn't be driving, I grab her purse and keys to stop her from driving while she is in her car.
&nbsp; &nbsp;

She is attacking me, so I drop them. Then she proceeds to beat my car windows with her bag, and pull up the windshield wipers.
&nbsp; &nbsp;

The cops arrive as she is doing this. I'm calm, they ask me if I want to press charges. I say no ( I don't think the law would help, or I'm just too nice), and they tell me it's a civil matter now.  They take her down the street till her friends can pick her up.  Right after I said I wouldn't press charges I heard her lying to the cops, saying we were barricading ourselves inside holding her stuff hostage for an hour and a half, etc. This was really upsetting because I feel like she will lie to anyone now.
&nbsp; &nbsp;

Guys- what should you do? I have a video of her when I walk up, and she is in my house, then starts breaking things, then attacks me as I'm asking for help.
&nbsp;

&nbsp; &nbsp; Right now she is saying I broke her phone and makeup in her bag (Not true, this is from pounding on my car windows over and over again while I had to watch).
&nbsp; &nbsp;
I just want her to pay the damages she caused, I talked to her twice since the incident, she said she would pay for the window and car, and when I sent her the damages today, she laughed and brought up her phone and makeup being broken and said she would deduct that from the cost.
&nbsp; &nbsp;

I have 3 witnesses and a video. **Her dad is a retired corporate lawyer, I really don't even feel safe after the stories she's told me of how they would screw people. &nbsp; &nbsp;

What should I do? File criminal, civil? Or can I send her a document stating I will not file charges if she pays the damages? What would legaladvice recommend?

Answer:
 >What should I do?

sue her in small claims court.

And next time, let the police drag her to jail. (because you don't argue with crazy)Answer #2: Should have pressed charges mate.

That said what you need to do now is sue her in small claims court for the cost of rectifying the damage she caused. Seeing as you have plenty of witnesses that shouldn't be too difficult.

Edit: [PDF link explaining how to do this](https://www.depts.ttu.edu/sls/forms/How-to-Sue-in-Small-Claims-Court.pdf)Answer #3: Go down to the station and file a police report. Show them the evidence and the damage. Then sue her in small claims court. Answer #4: Why didn't you press charges?Answer #5: File charges. "Being nice" allowing this behavior to go unpunished and making it the next guys problem is a bullshit move. Not nice, just irresponsible.Answer #6: Stop being a door mat and man up. Press charges so there is a record of her conduct. It would have served you well in the future for any legal issues.Answer #7: Based on your story, this woman sounds like a lunatic. Don't mess with that. Let the cops haul her off.Answer #8: You should have pressed charges, IMO. Being 'nice' doesn't mean anything when someone attacks you, breaks into your house, and says you and your friends held her hostage.Answer #9: Can't believe you didn't press charges - you don't owe that girl anything. In fact, she owes you!Answer #10: What the hell kind of pushover doesn't press charges in this situation? I would want this psychopath committed ASAP so that she couldn't hurt anyone else, especially me. Jeez.


Title: City is building sidewalks and wants me to pay for them. (MN)

Question: My city is planning on building a sidewalk across the southern edge of my property that currently has none. Their proposal is for the property owners to pay for the construction and maintenance of said sidewalk. They are holding a meeting this Monday at 5 P.M. to gauge the public's opinion. I want to go but cannot and am sending my wife. Is there any ground the city has to stand on to make us pay?

Answer: Sure, assuming the city has a delegation from the state to tax (and they certainly do) they can tax as they see fit, they are assessing a tax on certain property owners and there is nothing wrong with doing so.


Title: When you turn 18, do your personal items, appliances, personal furniture, etc become legally yours immediately, or do they still belong to your parents until there's some official transfer of ownership like a signed document or (more likely) being allowed to move them to a new place of residence?

Question: Ok, so, as far as I understand,  in the eyes of the law, minors can't own property, and all of their possessions are legally property of their parents/guardians, hence they can confiscate or restrict access to it at any time for any reason. When a person turns 18, do their possessions that they primarily use and were "theirs" in an informal sense before become theirs legally immediately, or is it still property of the parents until some tangible acnowledgement of transfer of ownership is made, like letting them keep it when they move out? For example, if an adult lived with their parents, who imposed like a strict limit on how much they could use the computer per day, filters/monitoring software on it, something like that, and said that even though they were an adult they had a right to because they paid for it, would that be true legally? I mean, I suppose they would anyway because it's their house, but if the child refused to abide by their rules and they wanted them evicted, would they be able to keep their computer, phone, etc and kick them to the curb with nothing but the clothes on their back?

Answer:
 Minors can own property.

But parents can control that property on behalf of the minor.

If you're an adult and you still live at home, your parents can not force you to do many of the things they forced you to do as a child.

They can't say "no computer after 11" or "be home by midnight" or whatever anymore.

You're an adult.

So you can use the computer and stay out and do what you want.

And if they don't like it...

...they can evict you, and stop paying for your housing and food and transportation and insurance and utilities and phone bill and school and everything else.

Because being an adult and doing what you want means being able to take care of yourself with no help from anyone, too.

So choose your battles carefully.


Title: Driving regulations as an 18 year old

Question: I'm a licensed 18 year old graduate who is still under his parents roof. I do not have insurance due to how pricey it is. Would I still be allowed to drive my parents vehicle with them accompanying me (much like how the provisional license works) without any legal troubles?

Answer: You cannot drive without insurance. On you and on the car you’re going to be driving. Period.


Title: What laws allow me to keep my beard for religious reasons.

Question: I'm a muslim and am currently attending a military school in PA. They want me to shave but my religion forbids me from doing so. I am having a meeting with the head of the school very soon in order to discuss it, what laws allow me to keep my beard/ protect me. And which laws prevent the school for punishing me for keeping my beard.

Answer: If it is a private school then there is very little you can do. By going to a private school (your choice) then you or your legal guardians have already agreed to the rules, code of conduct and dress code.Answer #2: When you say military school do you mean the united states military or do you mean a private "military academy"?


Title: 90 in a 65

Question:
I recently received a ticket for a 90 in a 65, and ignoring a traffic control device (double white lines). In total this is 10 points in tickets. I received a 4 point ticket for 10 over last March but these are the only tickets on my driving record.
I am concerned that my license will be suspended, and if that happens I will lose my job.
I immeadiately contacted an attorney and will be working with him for the case.
He suggested I (23y/o) preemptively take an AliveAt25 course which is a driving safety course offered around here to show the DA I care about my driving privelages.

Is there any other similar courses of action I can take to make this easier for my attorney or show the DA that I really do care about my privelage to drive?

Answer:
 For future reference if you want to show that you care about your driving privilege you ought to stop breaking the laws.  You’ve received more tickets in one year than I’ve received in my entire 11 years of driving, and more tickets in one year than my entire family has gotten in the past several decades.

For advice for the present, be sure you follow your lawyer’s advice Answer #2: You've already retained an attorney. He/she understands your case much much better than we do. If you feel your attorney isn't serving your best interests feel free to get a new one.


Title: I’m renting an apartment and I’m trying to put down the deposit with PayPal for security but they are saying they don’t have PayPal, only Venmo. Does it matter?

Answer: Use of venmo for a rental screams scam. Have you actually been inside the unit? Do you know the potential landlord? Venmo is not for business transactions, it does not offer protections in case you are scammed.


Title: Can a landlord ban you from having any guest overnight, ever? (California)

Question:
I live in a small studio apartment in a 100 unit building that's in shitty neighborhood.  The building is run by immigrant landlords who sort of do things "their own way" breaking many housing rules, and one of the things is they have is a "no overnight guest policy" which forbids any guest at all after 9 p.m.  It's in the lease, but I'm wondering if it's illegal regardless.

I didn't have much option to sign or not unless I wanted to pay $400-800/mo more in rent at other nearby places.  I asked about it before signing, and the guy told me that they had problems with the fire department since some alleged "guests" were actually second tenants (it's a single-occupancy rule for the apartment, they're like \~250 sq. ft. units).  I suspect they simply took their burden of getting cited by the fire department for "renting" to go over-occupancy past what the fire code allows, and so they then pushed that problem onto the tenants by saying "no overnight guests, period" so they didn't have to sort out who's a secret second tenant or not.

I spoke with a friend who's an attorney in a different field and they said regardless of whether it's in the lease, they suspected it is illegal because it'd violate the right to "quiet enjoyment".  They said that usually reasonable limitations on guest are allowed (like X many days per months, no more than Y many days in a row, etc.) but not an outright ban on anyone past 9 p.m. since that would take away much of what makes your home your "home".

Does anybody know if banning all overnight guests like this is legal in California?

Answer:
 Not legal. Your attorney friend was right. It's a quiet enjoyment issue.

The landlord can restrict the maximum number of guests and prohibit guests from staying too many nights (the former for safety, the latter to prohibit non-vetted residency), but the occasional overnight cuddlepuddle is not something he can have any say in.

NAL.


Title: Can I make Animal Control pay for rabies shots? (TX, MO)

Question:
Hi all,

I'll try to make this as brief as possible. I an a TX resident, visiting MO for two weeks. My first morning here, I was attacked by a stray cat and suffered two bite wounds on my heavily tattooed leg. There's wounds bled quite heavily but I immediately washed the areas very thoroughly as cat bites are extremely dangerous. I waited a few hours for my family to wake up and let everyone know what had happened. Meanwhile, this cat was not afraid of me and continued to seek me out. We ended up calling Springfield ACS and explained the situation. They asked if I'd had time animal contained and I explained that, while I was not going to attempt to trap him, all I'd need to do is come outside and he'd be right at my feet. Shortly after, an older ACS officer arrived and we explained the series of events again. This cat was unprovoked by me and was otherwise known to be friendly by the neighborhood children. The officer proceeded to tell my sister that if he took the cat they would have to put him down. Fine, she said. He's not anyone's cat. We'd made sure to check with all the neighbors first in an attempt to find some sort of shot history. Basically, he didn't several minutes going back and forth with her, seemingly trying to talk us out of it. This entire time I had the cat at my feet ready for him to be caught. The officer asked to see my leg. I showed him exactly where the unmistakable punctures were and he made remarks such as, "that doesn't look like a bite to me" and "I don't even see any blood." I offered to show pictures of when it first happened and provide anything he needed but he ultimately refused to take the stray. Before leaving, he stated that I would need to see a doctor to confirm that these were bites and have the doctor call them to report it before they would do anything. This really put a bad taste in my mouth since we'd explained that there were several small children in the area and the cat was basically vicious. Fat forward to Saturday... I woke up with my leg hot, swollen, extremely painful, and oozing so I headed into the ER. Infection is to be expected with cat bites since being bit by their sharp teeth is the equivalent of injecting straight bacteria into your body. I was seen very quickly, has my wounds cleaned up, X-ray to make sure there were no tooth fragments left behind, and a tetanus shot. I explained what the ACS officer said to three different people and all of them looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. No one had ever heard of that before. Regardless, they are required to report all animal bites to the health department and they did just that. The doctor urged me to return to start rabies treatment if the cat couldn't be caught. I expected this so I took my antibiotics Rx and put all of the discharge paperwork in an envelope before leaving. Their office was closed all weekend so I waited until first thing Monday morning to call them back. I explained that I'd been seen by a doctor after they refused to take the cat and they absolutely had to come catch him. The city sent a different officer out who proceeded to apologize for the "misunderstanding" and took several pictures of my leg. At this point, the cat was still on the vicinity. So, out of desperation, I sat down on the ground and stayed very still while allowing the cat to approach me. Unfortunately, the officer did not text quickly enough and he got away. My sister then grabbed the cat by the scruff but, once again, the officer basically froze before taking action. She had no choice but to let the cat go. The officer then handed me a rabies pamphlet, told me to call the number on the pamphlet if I had questions, and then set a trap. We have been unsuccessful in catching the cat and after a few days of all the kids trying to do it he will only come around at night when I'm outside alone. Because of this, I don't think that catching him is very likely, although I haven't given up. So, my legal question. I fully expected my leg to get infected and was prepared for that. I'm not looking to "sue" or anything extreme. I would simply like to know if there is any way I can make Springfield ACS pay for the rabies treatment that I'm almost certain I'm going to have to go. I understand that if he is rabid I would have had to get the treatment regardless. I don't think he's rabid but refuse to risk it given how deadly the virus is. I feel like if the first officer had cooperated and done what he was supposed to do, the cat would already be finishing day 5 of a 10 observation and I wouldn't have the stress of returning to TX just to start the painful AND ridiculously expensive rabies treatment. They would have been able to definitively tell me whether the cat has the virus. Thank you so much for reading. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 Animal control isn't responsible for you being injured by a stray cat.

But you are right that you should get the treatment regardless, I would in fact be pretty concerned as it is not normal for feral cats to be aggressive with people. You may also want to see if animal control or a local cat rescue will lend you a humane trap to catch the cat.