Title: Today I’m going to fire a “recovering” addict for suspicion of using drugs. Is this enough evidence to terminate him?

Question: This “former addict says he’s been in recovery for a year. He has told me he takes Subutex as treatment for his addiction. When he started he informed us that he needs to spend at least 45mins a day in the bathroom to “take his medicine” and this was allowed. Every time he uses the bathroom the toilet gets clogged with paper towels. Two weeks ago a syringe fell out of his pocket and he said he was just holding it for someone. Given his history I thing I’m well within my right to fire him, but I was curious as to whether a doctor would allow you to inject Subutex? Any thoughts?

Answer:
  Massachusetts, or in any other employee-at-will state, can fire any employee at any time for any reason — or even for no reason at all.

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-law-about-employment-termination

If you are not 100% sure of your action, run it by a lawyer.

Edit: Subutex only comes in a pill. Crushing and injecting is signs of abuse. See section 9.2: Abuse

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2016/020732s014s015lbl.pdf


Title: People won't return their dog. Please help. (CA, La county)

Question:
My friend's dog escaped from their backyard and was picked up by some people. I have no idea how my friend found out where her dog was because as it turns out the people who found her dog out right refuse to reliquinsh her back to my friend. She called the police who said they couldn't do anything. She also contacted animal control who came out to the house and scanned the dogs chip showing the dog belongs to my friend and these people still refuse to give the dog back. This happened two days ago in Los Angeles County.

I did my own research and from what it sounds like this is illegal. What I found was the following text "A person who finds a stray animal and wants to adopt it should likewise make a reasonable effort to locate the owner and comply with applicable lost property and impoundment laws. The most efficient approach for a person wishing to adopt a stray animal is probably to surrender it to an animal shelter and immediately apply for adoption after the holding period expires."

What the heck does my friend do now other than break into that damn house, take her dog and end up on Jail. I am absolutely sick to my stomach for her and she feels completely helpless. Please help.

Answer: So if animal control came and scanned the dog, why didn't they tell the people to give the dog back right then?Answer #2: I feel like we're missing something in the story here. The police said they can't do anything. Animal control didn't do anything... how long ago did the dog escape from the yard?


Title: Ex. Said I am liable for vacation cost because I'm not letting my daughter go.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 If you have full custody, whether she goes on a cruise with your ex is entirely at your discretion. You can't make him pay for vaccinations, and he'd have to go to court for a modification before he can make you let your daughter travel.

However, on balance, your daughter should not be caught in the middle. It's $60, which isn't the end of the world. If that were the only issue, I would suggest eating the cost if that's what your concerns are, and letting your daughter have and enjoy this experience. Not everyone gets to go on a cruise at seven.

However, I have a somewhat loaded question: do you have any concerns about parental kidnapping?


Title: Neighbor is trying to get me to repair/replace a fence that isn't mine! HELP PLEASE!

Question: This neighbor insists that their fence that been there for 20+ years is mine and I need to repair/remove it immediately. The county has given me a warning violation without proof that I actually own the fence. Can anyone please help me with what to do next?

Answer:
 >warning violation without proof

The county obviously has some reason to believe you own the fence, otherwise they wouldn't have issued it.  You'll need to present the reasons you don't think you own that bit of ground.  A survey is the absolute best evidence of that.  You'll need one.

On a practical note, the survey may cost a good amount of money, so in the short run, it may be cheaper to just take down the fence yourself.  In the long run, if there's this much dispute as to the boundary line, you're gonna want a survey anyway.


Title: [WA] Psych nurses ignored signs of infection, my boyfriend almost died.

Question:
My SO was admitted voluntarily to a psych facility after having a median sternotomy that was still healing (about a week old). General surgery came by the unit to check in on him a handful of times, but mostly just consulted with his psychiatric nurses on his condition, who said he was fine.

He was largely ignored by psych nurses on a day to day basis because he wasn't expressing suicidal ideation and wasn't psychotic, and just about every other patient was higher needs than him. He mostly just watched TV and read his book.

When they would come by to take his vitals, his heart rate was always 130 or higher. He would say he felt hot and shaky. They kept asking him if he was anxious and he'd say no, then they'd walk away. He was only getting his dressing changed once a day despite soaking through it regularly.

The day before discharge, he was in lots of pain and surgeons came for a closer look and found he had a massive infection and was septic, nearing septic shock from MRSA. He was rushed to the operating room for debridement and had three subsequent surgeries to treat the necrotic tissue and put in a wound vac. He almost died of sepsis.

Gen surgery figures that the infection started brewing a day after he was admitted to psych. I feel like if he would have gotten nurses who weren't so narrowly focused on his psychiatric symptoms and would have taken into account that he was displaying classic signs of infection, the almost dying part could have been avoided, he could have been put on IV antibiotics way sooner and avoided numerous surgeries.

I'm not looking for money out of this, I just want to know, is there any way people can be held responsible for it? This shouldn't have happened. I know infections do happen, but with all these very obvious signs, it should have been caught quicker instead of being written off as "anxiety".

Answer:
 Not a lawyer, but ex-nurse.  Psychiatric nurses are not always qualified or experienced in medical/surgical nursing.  They may well be unfamiliar with signs and symptoms of infection.

&#x200B;

On the other hand, the general surgery staff that visited should definitely have examined him at each visit rather than consulting with his psych nurses.

&#x200B;

I hope your BF is recovering.Answer #2: Medical malpractice is a fiendishly difficult field to work and is very fact specific. It's generally thought to be beyond the ability of this sub to give advice on the matter.

I'd suggest calling some medical malpractice attorneys. Most will offer free consulting and will work on contingency (i.e they'll only charge if they win and will take the money out of your BFs compensation).Answer #3: I find myself wondering why he had a median sternotomy (open heart surgery?), why he was in a psych facility, and whether the pysch facility was part of the hospital where he had the median sternotomy?  Did the surgeons who visited him after the infection developed work for the psych facility?

Did the hospital that performed the original surgery release him directly into a psych facility or did he go home first or what happened? More of the story would be helpful here if you care to share it.  There may be someone at fault besides the psych nurses.Answer #4: I’m a nurse. I think the biggest mistake here is sending someone with a fucking wound to a psych unit! Why on earth would the doctors have done that?!?


Title: [TX] Wife's employer requiring her to drive her (the employer's) car.

Question: Hi all. My wife is a nanny and is employed by the parents of the child she Nanny's for. Whenever running errands, the mom is now requiring my wife use their vehicle because "they bought it for its safety." So my question is simply, what kind of liability does this press on my wife should anything happen in her employer's vehicle? (i.e. wreck, pulled over, etc) Should we seek for some stuff in writing? If yes, what? Thanks!

Answer:
 Your wife is using the vehicle with the permission of the owner.  The owner's auto insurance will be "primary."  You can ask if the car is insured, but I bet the mom will be offended.  You could ask them to add her as an authorized driver to their policy.  That way, the claim couldn't be denied based on her being a "regular user" who wasn't listed.  Your wife should ask the mom where the insurance card for the car is kept (like the glove compartment), so she can have it in case anything happens.

Your wife's own auto insurance would be "secondary" if anything happened.  However, it might deny the claim because she was driving "for work."  She could call your own insurance company and ask about getting coverage for driving for "business use" and see how much it would increase the cost.


Title: [Illinois] Prenup about attorney's fee

Question:
Hello

I am finishing up writing the prenup using online service.
I got encountered what they call attorney's fee and I dont quite understand.

So far the way I understood is that whoever is to file for divorce,
he or she is responsible to pay attorney's fee for the other partner?
Can somebody tell whether this is correct or not?

14. ATTORNEY'S FEES. In the event that either of the parties shall be required to bring any action or proceeding to enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement, the party prevailing in such action or proceeding shall be entitled to recover all costs of such enforcement proceeding, including reasonable attorney's fees as set by the court. No such liability shall accrue unless ten (10) days' prior written notice of the claimed default has been given to the alleged defaulting party, and such party may cure the default within that ten (10) day period without liability for the other party's costs or fees.

Answer: If you have assets where a prenup is necessary, you and your future spouse should each retain your own attorneys.  This is not something DIY.


Title: Double jeapordy question.

Question: Say someone was charged with 2nd degree felony murder but 1st degree murder was not included in the indictment and that person was acquitted of the 2nd degree felony murder charge. Could the state then change its theory and charge and try the person for 1st degree premeditated murder?

Answer: No. Double jeopardy prohibits different prosecutions for the same offense in this manner.


Title: Affirmative action laws seem contradictory. Is it mandatory or illegal?

Question:
As far as I can tell, it is illegal to hire, train, or promote based on demographics, unless you're a federal contractor or subcontractor, in which case it's mandatory to do so. Is that really the case?

From the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission: https://www1.eeoc.gov//laws/practices/index.cfm?renderforprint=1

>It is illegal for an employer to publish a job advertisement that shows a preference for or discourages someone from applying for a job because of his or her race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. For example, a help-wanted ad that seeks "females" or "recent college graduates" may discourage men and people over 40 from applying and may violate the law.
It is illegal for a training or apprenticeship program to discriminate on the bases of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. For example, an employer may not deny training opportunities to African-American employees because of their race.

However, from the Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/hiring/affirmativeact
>For federal contractors and subcontractors, affirmative action must be taken by covered employers to recruit and advance qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. Affirmative actions include training programs, outreach efforts, and other positive steps.

From EEOC again:
>What about affirmative action?

>Affirmative action may be required of your company as a condition of entering into a federal contract. The EEOC has no responsibilities for the administration of affirmative action requirements. Affirmative action requirements are administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

I guess it makes sense that such a controversial issue would be legislated inconsistently.

What got me interested was Microsoft's LEAP program:

>LEAP’s mission is to create an environment where diverse candidates can build strong engineering skills and help increase diversity in our company. ... We are particularly interested in recruiting women and underrepresented minorities, but we encourage anyone to apply.

I would apply to this program if its goal was finding promising recruits, but it isn't; the goal is finding people who aren't my race or gender. I understand the reasons for programs like this which help minorities, and I don't want to get into a debate about it here. I'm just curious about the legality. I'm sure Microsoft is a federal contractor.

Answer: Learn to read.


Title: (TX) Canadian Ex-Boyfriend has been cyber stalking me for 5 years straight

Question:
So, about 5 years ago I finally broke off a very toxic, very horrible LDR with my ex. We were together for 3-4 years and also never met.

Throughout this relationship I was told to kill myself and that my life has no meaning. I suffered (and still do to this day) very horrible depression, self harmed myself to quite the extent, and am still extremely traumatized from all the events that happened in those years.

Starting about 5 years ago immediately after the break up, I began receiving multiple messages, and threats from different accounts he was making. Threatening to release nudes, to tell my family lies, to call my job and get me fired. Endless amounts of harassment from multiple instagram and xbox accounts.

This has been continuously going on for 5 years straight. I have blocked over 120+ accounts. I have changed my username, yet he still always finds me. He constantly has multiple accounts I don’t know about to make sure he can see my profile and all my information. I am a photographer so I can’t exactly just “leave social media”.

My daily life has been constantly put at a halt due to all of the distress. I have no will to do anything anymore. I can not keep a job in fear he will find out and get me fired. He has befriended my friends and lied to them to make me seem like the bad person, so they all befriend him. Therefore I have no more friends in my life. He’s contacted my current boyfriend multiple times calling me names, and telling him to leave me and that I’m worthless. He’s contacted my mother through facebook trying to act like we got back together in order to get my phone number.

He will never stop making accounts and I don’t know what to do to make him stop.

I am having a difficult time finding any information about trying to get a restraining order against anyone in a different country, and I’ve honestly been so bothered by this for the past 5 years and it is time for this to stop.

Answer:
 Contact you local police let them know what your going through. They can then contact the RCMP if he is even in Canada.

What he is doing is harassment fet the authorities involved.


Title: [MI] Is asking to see what statue approved the speedlimit a legal defense

Question:
In Michigan only the legislature has the right to create new speed limits, so I am planning on using this as a defense against my speeding ticket.

Michigan law states that if there is no speedlimit posted, then the type of road that I was on would automatically be 45-55 not the BS 35MPH that the sign said. It was a 2 lane both sides paved road.

If there is no legislation allowing for that speedlimit then my ticket is null and void because I would have been going 5 under or 5 over the state wide speed limit.

Answer: No. It’s a waste of the courts’ time. If you are relying on a procedural defect in your defence, you - not the prosecution - need to do the research.


Title: Is this some form of child abuse? What can be done?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Yes, having your parents' drunk friends in your bedroom and having sex in your bed constitutes a kind of abuse. If this isn't being taken seriously by the parents, then your friend should be reporting this situation to his counselor at high school or reaching out to the Swedish child welfare protection agency.


Title: My husband’s employee cut himself at work, my husband took him to the ER. Their employer is going to fight the claim because of not following company procedure. Husband is scared of being fired. What are his rights (Illinois)

Question:
The company procedure is to call security, then security calls HR, and HR will tell them where to go (as in, what hospital or what urgicare etc.).

Instead of this happening, when the employee cut his hand, my husband contacted his boss and the boss verbally said to take the injured employee to the hospital and my husband drove him to the nearest emergency room.

The employee got 7 stitches and when he got back, they had my husband fill out an incident report. When he turned it in, they said that he didn’t follow proper procedure because he was supposed to call security, and then security would have called HR for HR to determine what medical facility the injured employee goes to.

They want to deny the claim based on my husband and the employee not following procedure.

Now, the injured employee obviously plans to fight their denial. Does this put his job or my husband’s at risk?

Answer:
 The employer will have no luck fighting a workmans comp claim. The employee was injured at work and needed emergancy treatment.

They could fire your husband for any reason. We can't say whether they'd say following his bosses instructions is a reason they'd fire him or not.

If he is fired he should apply for unemployment and look for a new job.


Title: Establishing paternity - Ohio

Question:
Posting for a friend -- NO, REALLY.

A friend is currently knocked up (20 weeks), via one night stand with a friend (again, not me). Dude has moved on and wants "nothing to do" with the baby. When she tells me I basically say, "he can't just sign his rights away unilaterally, that's not a thing" and thereby inadvertently signed up to now help her through the legal process...the problem being I don't actually know Ohio law and after perusing the archives I thought I'd reach out to your helpful folks.

Mom wants paternity established so she can secure rights to child support, she is fine that this means father has rights as well. What's the best course of action? Wait until the baby is born? What time of court action needs to happen to compel dad to pony up a DNA sample? After paternity is confirmed she files a juvenile case, yes? Is this  a "lawyer up" situation?

Answer: No court will do anything until the baby is born. In the meanwhile, she can consult a lawyer to determine the best course of action. She can do it herself is she wants, but getting advice on the best way to do it is a good idea.


Title: NY Can a soon-to-be ex change their name before the divorce is finalized?

Question: Say the divorce is going to take months as most of them do and you just want the stench of their name off of you. Is there any reason you can't change your name while that's ongoing? Is it going to mess up anything with the court fillings if your legal name is suddenly different?

Answer: Mostly about the paperwork, it’s easier to change your name with a marriage or divorce decree than just without, but yes doable


Title: How can I make sure doctors don't resuscitate me?

Question: Let's say I get into a car accident and I slip into a coma, how do I make sure that the doctors don't keep me alive. I'm 26 so I don't have any sort of will with a "Do Not Resuscitate" on there.

Answer:
 > I'm 26 so I don't have any sort of will with a "Do Not Resuscitate" on there.

Then get one.  More properly you're looking for an advance directive.Answer #2: *Get* a living will drawn up with such stipulations, and discuss your wishes in depth with your next of kin.Answer #3: A quick review of OP's posting history reveals that he is actively suicidal, which suggests that the "car accident" comment is a fig leaf, just like his claims to be a teacher when purchasing compressed gases for asphyxiation suicide.

Factual discussions of living wills, advance directives, and POLST registrations are legally applicable, as is a reminder of the 24/7 Lifeline:  800-273-TALK.

I personally find OP thoughtful and intelligent and I hope he gets some help with the depression that is hurting his mind.Answer #4: I have a friend who wears a DNR medical alert bracelet and necklace.  He also carries a copy of his documentation in his wallet.  This way if something happens while he's out of his home area, he's pretty much assured that his wishes will be followed.


Title: [NJ] Applying to job - Asks if I shoplifted before, including non-conviction, been about 7 years

Question:
I was asked on a Criminal Conviction Questionnaire for a bank if :

Have you ever signed an admission that you shoplifted merchandise (even if it never went to court)

I was 18, and I was caught trying to steal some racquet strings from a Sports Authority. Stopped by the LP, no police came, and was told I would be banned from the store for about 7 years, and my name would supposedly go on a database of retailers for those years.

It's been those 7 years. The question seems pretty self-explanatory, and should be answered yes. But just curious as to how they would even find out that information, consult that database?

Answer:
 It seems unlikely that a single poor decision from seven years ago will impact you getting hired.

You know what WILL impact it?  Lying.

Answer #2: Contact the NJ civil rights division; they generally find questions like this to be unlawful.

It may also violate a recently passed NJ statute which is written up [here.](http://www.forbes.com/sites/theemploymentbeat/2014/08/12/new-jersey-becomes-latest-to-ban-the-box-prohibiting-employers-from-inquiring-about-applicants-criminal-record-during-initial-application-process/)

In general, the EEOC and many state civil rights agencies take the position that it is unlawful discrimination to ask questions about arrests or other LE contacts that did not result in a conviction.

There are exceptions and qualifications, though, so it's hard to say absolutely that this is an unlawful question, although in general these kinds of questions are becoming more and more risky for employers.  (But maybe there is an exception for banks).


Title: Connecticut Possible Child Neglect

Question:
My BIL called me this morning. His brother's wife is apparently going thru something that is causing her to neglect their two children (ages 4 and almost 2).

She had been having some mental issues for awhile, and BIL's brother had taken her to counseling, but after going twice, she refused to go back. She didn't want to talk to anyone, and she just said, "no".

So she's home with the kids all day, but not making sure that they're fed or cleaned or otherwise attended to. So her husband comes home, to hungry kids, and one in a dirty diaper. She is no longer interacting with the kids or otherwise attending to them. She is a SAHM so she is not leaving them to go to a job.

He's reached the point where he's afraid that the neglect will become outright abuse or endangerment and he doesn't know how to legally remove his wife from the kids or the kids from the house. His fear is that he'll go to work, and she'll then leave the house, and leave the kids alone.

Are there any channels he can go thru, or services he can reach out to, to make sure that his kids are safe from their mom? We don't know if this is going to be a long term thing, or if she'll just walk away from it all, or if she'll wake up one day and accept help, but given the ages of the kids, he's afraid of what she could do if she decides that the kids are what are causing her mental problems. She has a car, and we are a little afraid she could pack up the kids, leave and do something that will not be able to be fixed.

And again, this is Connecticut and they are married and he is the father of both children. He is working full time and can not stay home with the kids, but his parents live near by and his brother (my BIL) is not too far. We have other, safe places for these kids, but we don't want to just tell their mom, "you suck, we're taking the kids". We want to be sure that what happens is legal, and if possible, allows a road back to her being with her kids, either full or part time, depending on if this marriage lasts.

Thanks for any advice or help.

Answer:
 He can take the kids somewhere safe, like a relative's.

Edit: seriously the sooner the better. Right now nothing major has happened. But God forbid if something happens to the kids then the situation will get a lot worse (for everyone involved).


Title: Suppose a woman is a non US citizen & heavily pregnant, suppose she goes into a US embassy (or an overseas US military base) and gives birth on the ladies’ room floor. Can her kid claim birth right US citizenship?

Answer: No.  Contrary to popular belief, embassies and foreign military bases are not actually US soil.  They're said to be such as a summary, but it's not legally accurate.


Title: [TX] Someone from nearly two years ago is asking about consent

Question:
So, this might sound stupid and/or paranoid. But regardless, I’m a little anxious about this.

A girl I talked to about 2 years ago texted me out of the blue the other night saying she had a question. Mind you, we haven’t spoken since the summer of 2017. I asked her what was up, and she said “I’m just wondering if everything we’ve done before was consensual.”

Immediately I thought back to 2 years ago. Now, this is where it might sound stupid: we are both very young (l’m currently 18 and she’s currently 19) and we never REALLY did anything that could be considered sex. Neither one of us openly objected to anything we did. Granted, we were both clearly nervous about new things, but we just went with it. Nothing was ever said or made clear about a possible lack of consent on either side, so I have no reason to be worried. But for some reason I still am.

Now, this is where it might sound paranoid: I think it could be her or her parents trying to get me to confess to something. Something that could land me in deep trouble. Of course, I’d like to think that she’s being candid and genuinely wants to talk about experiences from the past. But as someone with major trust issues, this is the scenario that pops into my head.

Would I rather have this conversation with her in person? Yes. Am I overthinking this? Possibly. Any thoughts or advice on what to do next would be much appreciated.

Answer:
 Don't respond.Answer #2: > Would I rather have this conversation with her in person

No. No, you would not. Never have this conversation with her. Never have another conversation with her. She's gone 24 months without talking to you. Don't talk to her under any circumstances, and *especially* not in writing.


Title: Deaf woman suing government/prison over break Ada law and brutality

Question:
This is for my mother. I am still learning the story, but this is the general issue. She cannot afford a lawyer and wants to represent herself. She is Deaf and was recently in jail for a couple days before being released. The failed to provide accommodations for her, and she was struck a couple times on a couple of occasions when she turned to face a guard in order to lip read and attempt to understand them. She now has a broken hand and fingers (which is the hearing person equivalent to having your jaw wired shut) and now has nerve damage after the guards hit and shoved her. The prison intro videos where the glance over rules and the rest were non captioned. She was repeatedly denied accommodations for phone calls.

She is trying to take them to court, but they are denying her information on the guards who. Abused her, they will not relinquish video tapes of the incident, and are denying her any evidence so she can build a case. Her PO wrote to her and said if she was in prison she is not able to represent herself in the case against the government. She attempted to contact organizations that assist with situations like this, but they won't help. Can anyone direct me to some reading? I am a student and have no income either. We don't know what to do and a nudge to some cases or reading about this type of thing would be helpful.

This is in Colorado.

Answer:
 I would contact NAD (National Association for the Deaf) with any and all questions you have regarding this situation. They have a legal team that can tell you how to proceed.

[email them](http://nad.org/forms/contact-nad)

Or call them at:

Voice/VP: 301.587.1788 or 301.328.1443
TTY: 301.587.1789Answer #2: Hi OP. What's happened to your mother is absolutely terrible.

Whats your location?
Answer #3: Get in touch with the ACLU; reasonable accommodations during interactions with the police has been one of their big pushes lately. Answer #4: They are not just going to hand over what you want because you ask.

Get a lawyer, file a lawsuit, and get court orders for the documents and information you are looking for.


Title: [GA] Contacted a lawyer for employment discrimination. Boss isn't budging, and has even gone into potentially sexually harassing her himself.

Question:
[Updating the situation from this thread.](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/a0zyf6/ga_wife_being_bullied_and_discriminated_at_work/)

My wife and I have already gotten in touch with a lawyer and she's already reported the vandalism to the police. She's going to have to find another job as her boss is escalating the harassment himself.

He sent an e-mail to her last night that she'll be forbidden from using women's clothing and be required to cut her hair short to be on par with the dress code for men in the workplace as her "cross-dressing", to put it in her boss' words, is making her coworkers uncomfortable. He also completely dehumanized her in the process with this response to her clarifying her genetic issues.

>You are not and never will be a woman as you are a mutilated and a mentally unwell man. I will never consider a person with testes, an XY chromosome, and who cannot menstruate to be a woman. A women gives birth to a child and they then nourish their offspring with their natural breasts, while you lack the capability to do so as men cannot bear a child nor breastfeed.

My question now is would it be possible for my wife to sue him for both discrimination and sexual harassment over this response and how would she proceed with this?

Answer:
 INAL, however... I don’t normally comment on these posts as most advice has already been covered, but I don’t see that anyone has commented this specific bit of information yet: speak to your attorney about also filing a complaint with the Federal EEOC about discrimination covered by the 2008 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. It is one thing to have a law firm and ex employee sue you, it is a completely different thing to have the EEOC crawling up and down your backside scrutinizing your every move. Answer #2: INAL, but, if your wife has legal documents that list her as female- her drivers license, passport, birth certificate, etc; then that furthers the proof that she legally is female, regardless of genetics.

You could use that to help with defence.
Also, print and make digital copies of those emails, as others have suggested.

I'd reccomend forwarding them directly to your lawyer if you can as well, or a police officer if you have any contacts in your local law enforcement office.


Title: Arrested last night for domestic violence. Help!

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Hire a lawyer. A domestic violence conviction can have life long consequences.


Title: My girlfriend is still married but we are looking to get married next year

Question:
I posted earlier about one situation but here is another one related

My girlfriend was married to a woman in Colorado. At the time she had her daughter last year but they were split and had been for awhile. They have had no contact for a year and her she was not put in the birth certificate.

The woman refuses to sign paperwork to finalize the divorce but we are also looking at me adopting her daughter since the dad is out of the picture.

What kind of issues will we run into and how do you divorce someone that won't sign paperwork? What kind of weird issues will I run into?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Well, first off, you won't be able to get legally married until she gets a divorce.

You can still get a divorce if one party refuses to sign the papers.  However, you're likely going to need a divorce attorney to help navigate this situation.  It's also not likely to be a fast resolution.


Title: Pressing charges on sexual assault case when both parties were minors- AZ

Question:
I am 18 now, but when I was 16 (it’s been a year and a half) I was sexually assaulted by my now ex boyfriend of a year and a half. My boyfriend was 16 also.

It was a very traumatizing experience, and at first I was unsure if I wanted to press charges.

It obviously took me a long time to decide, but I had a lot of outside influences try and persuade me not to, which really confused me. A lot of threats, and confusing opinions from therapists. On top of that, dealing with that trauma at such a young age was a juggling act.

How would you go about pressing charges? My situation is a little different, as I have some “evidence” showing it happened.

I have multiple screenshots of him admitting that he assaulted me, threats from his family (saying I deserved it, they would beat/kill me if I pressed charges), also phone records of him calling me multiple times after the assault after me confirming I did want NO contact with him.

Also have therapy records of me talking about it, I don’t know if this would be helpful but it’s worth mentioning.

While I don’t like looking at the photo I have, I also have a photo of his back after he assaulted me, where there are deep scratch marks on one shoulder blade, from me trying to get him off me. (I have this because he wanted me to take a photo to show “how I liked it”).

I also have eye witness’s for some texts I don’t have records of, of more heinous threats from the family.

Going to a lawyer is something I know will need to happen, but I am still hesitant based on the usual outlook of cases like this.

So my questions are:

Would the evidence be admissible in court?
Would anything be able to be done due to both parties being a minor?

In AZ, I believe I read this is well within the statue of limitations, but if not-feel free to inform me.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 You don't "press charges". That's the DA's job.

You may report the incident and all the information you have to the police. They will decide what action to take.

If they pursue it, they forward the info to the District Attorney, who will decide if the state will be pressing charges.

Lawyers have nothing to do with you at this point.


Title: I am an illustrator and had some custom products made which were not as I expected. They are trying to get out of refunding me. Can I get a refund? (UK)

Question:
Hi legaladvice, first time posting here so hopefully I get the posting etiquette right! Apologies if not.

I'm an illustrator/small business owner and I sell products I have designed but use manufacturers & printing companies to produce them.

I ordered some designs for tote bags from a manufacturer - I sent them over designs and was given an estimate for production date. I repeatedly asked for proofs, as my design is quite specific, but they ignored this request on every occasion, but they took my artwork and payment and proceeded with the order.

When the designs arrived, they were wrong. I immediately contacted them to complain. The issue is that they are unable to print the full size of the bag, but had I known that, I would not have ordered.

Initially they apologised about the lack of proof, but told me I should have specified on the order form that I wanted a proof. I was never sent an order form. Their T&Cs say than an order can be cancelled within 5 days of sending the order form, which is what I would have done, had I actually had one, and had I seen a proof which would have shown me the print was too small.

They offered to re-print with an altered design, but again, had I known that the print size is so small, I would never have ordered in the first place. I have pre-orders for these totes based on my very specific design, so it is too late to alter the design, in any case.

They tell me that refunds for custom orders are "difficult" and are trying to get me to call them, but I am worried they will try to intimidate me into caving as I am not a good phone-talker!

their T&Cs say that once an order is in production, no refunds, but had I known the print size, I would never have placed an order, let alone allow it to go into production.

It seems to be their fault for not providing an order form, and no proofs even though I requested them several times.

Essentially what I want to know is, legally, am I entitled to a refund in this situation? Could I take them to small claims if they refuse? What can I do? I'm terrified of being left considerably out of pocket for their mistake, which is a serious hit to a business like mine.

Answer:
 I am an online seller, and from talking to other sellers in the UK, I was under the impression that UK law is very strict on this, a customer can get a full refund, including shipping, so i would think you can easily get a refund. I'm thing to go Google, and sew if I can get you a link. Answer #2: This will not help your current situation but for future designs you may want to go to a print broker instead of going direct to manufacturers. A good print broker will take your desires for the product and find the right manufacturer then handle it from there to make sure you get what you want.

It is very helpful to have someone on your side who has a vested interest in getting what you want out of the manufacturer and a lot of knowledge about the industry at their disposal when you want custom stuff.

Using one won't necessarily be a lot more expensive either since they can usually get better prices from a manufacturer than a "walk in" customer.


Title: Property manager ignored complaints and now without a kitchen and livable downstairs for a month -- Ohio

Question:
I currently rent a duplex apartment in the state of Ohio. I have a property manager, John, that handles everything for the landlord, Allen.

Before I get to the current issue, I want to explain the incident before this current one. During the summer I heard raccoons walking inside my stairwell ceiling and attic. I alerted John and he said he would immediately contact the owner and get it taken care of. I didn't get any callbacks and assumed John was taking care of it. My memory is terrible but there was at least a month gap between alerting John and the first big situation. So prior to my current predicament, I've already had a terrible experience with negligence from John the property manager.

September 4th - I come home to a big hole in my ceiling that collapsed due to raccoons chewing through the roof and rain and rotting caused it to cave in. After a week of nothing happening I finally call Allen the landlord and turns out he was never told about the raccoon situation to begin with.

September 11 - While the ceiling and roof are being patched I hear running water in the unfinished basement. The neighbor and I share the same outtake pipe that goes into the sewer system, which runs through my basement vertically and then horizontally underground. There was an outlet on the vertical pipe angled 45 degrees with a plate that was leaking out water whenever a shower was taken or washer was ran. I notify John about this and he calls and says Roto Rooter will be out.

September 15 - I text John again asking if Roto Rooter stopped by yet and he calls back saying that they came out. I text back later that day informing him that I still hear leaking water. No response.

October 9 - I text John again informing him that there's still water shooting out of the pipe plate and it is getting nasty. Keep in mind, this is everything my neighbor or I put down a drain or into a toilet. No response.

October 19 - I text John again informing him that there's still water shooting out of the pipe plate and that there is now water backing up halfway into my two kitchen sinks as well as little bit of water leaking behind the washer. He replys that day by text: "Yes. Calling now"

October 21 - John texts back to let him know when they call and set up an appointment. I get a call 30 minutes later from Roto Rooter and get it scheduled 2 days later since I was working all weekend.

October 22 - I wake up at 4 am to use the restroom and I hear what sounded like a shower coming from downstairs. I go downstairs into the kitchen and both sinks are overflowing and this sewage water was coming down through the cabinets and drawers. It continued towards the basement door and furnace vent running and completely saturating the floorboards and stairs going into the basement. I try to stop it but realize I can't do anything. I text John and call Allen but get nothing. I call Roto Rooter and they can't have anyone out until 8 am and I need it authorized by John or Allen.

Roto Rooter shows up finally and they set up 2 industrial sized dehumidifiers in the kitchen and basement to completely dry out before tearing apart cupboards and walls and floors. The dehumidifiers ran for a week or so. After the drying cupboards were torn out and flooring torn out as well. The landlord Allen has decided to do all the work himself with help from a friend and brother when available.

Today is November 20 and I have all my salvaged kitchen utilities and items scattered throughout my living room and in my front entrance living room. I cannot use these rooms in their current condition. I cannot do laundry because the laundry room is in the kitchen area. I'm basically confined to the upstairs which consists of two bedrooms and a bathroom.

I received my electricity bill and it went from $30 to $105 due to the electricity spent drying out the kitchen and basement. So I am a couple days shy of not having a livable downstairs for a month. I've mentioned getting a deduction in rent and Allen says he'll have to see what his insurance can do. I mentioned taking the extra electricty expense out of rent and he had the same response. I'm left here wondering why I should ultimately be the one footing that bill when I brought up the problems properly and I was ignored until shit hit the fan (thankfully my heat wasn't or on or that would be literal).

After seeing my electricity bill and his response I was determined to put my rent into escrow until the construction was done and going to small claims court to get reimbursed for the electricty bill and some rent back due to not having a livable downstairs.

As of now I am planning on paying rent as usual but once the construction is done informing Allen that if I can't get my rent reduced to a reasonable price and him covering the extra $70 on the electricity bill that I will be pursuing a small court claim.

Does anyone have input on this process and what best route to take? When it comes to small claims court, would it look/work better in my favor to continue paying rent to the property manager or doing a rent escrow?

Answer:
 Take pictures. Lots of pictures. Answer #2: IANAL

Quick google search and I found [Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 5321.07](http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5321.07)

Which states you can deposit your rent with the city/county clerk (guessing that's what you were referring to with escrow) and seeks damages/ performance through the courts. This section has a clause saying it does not apply to landlords with 3 or fewer properties BUT also they must inform you of that fact in the rental agreement. Not having a kitchen or laundry room is a pretty significant disturbance, and all the damage and repairs that have to be done make that even worse.

For the time being I would try to argue they need to put you up somewhere different until it is repaired (and if no kitchen they also pay per diem). That might at the very least encourage them to finish it faster. But again, not a lawyer here. Answer #3: This is probably practical advice over legal, but to deal with the raccoon issue, you had to call the landlord, and that was the first he heard of a hole in your roof.  The manager has continued being unresponsive.  Perhaps another call and/or sharing your text history with the Landlord would be more useful?  It sounds like the manager is shrinking from his responsibilities just to collect the $$$ while the landlord is clueless.


Title: Neighbours visitor has just hit one of our vehicles late at night and then driven away.

Question:
(Australia Victoria)

So we live in a unit complex and park our vehicles out the front of the unit in our own designated driveway. the neighbour directly opposite our unit has had a visitor (who is a regular) over. At nearly midnight this visitor has left there unit and reversed into one of our cars. we heard the impact and then saw the vehicle leave after. we have gone over to the neighbour and confronted him but he barely speaks English. The neighbour has taken photos of the damage and we have as well but he couldn't (or wouldn't) give us the details of his visitors car. We are gonna take more photos in the morning including the position of the car in the driveway. We have never had to deal with this kind of thing before. what should be our next move? Thanks

Answer:
 Call the police, ASAP. Report a hit and run. That happened in front of your house. Tell them the neighbor knows who did it and refused to help (more or less).

Then wait for the police to track him down and let your insurance company handle it.


Title: Is This a Crime of any Kind - Prostitution Related

Question:
In Kentucky or Indiana:

I am an older gay guy.  I never, ever, ever nevernever pay for sex.  Ever.  I am  not starting now.

I got a 22 year old guy hitting me on a gay hookup website a few days ago.  Today he started chatting again and asked me if I was "generous", which is code for will I pay for sex.

I told him I never pay for sex.

He said (yeah, I know) he's in college and broke.  I support young people doing higher education, so I told him this is what I'll do.

I told him text me at 6:30 when I'm home.  We will pick a place to meet and I'll bring him $70 (what he wanted).  No strings attached.  But he has to bring his ID and his last grade report (to prove he's at least a student).

He was all grateful, and he pointed out I was like a "papi", so he wanted to have sex anyway.

Two questions:  Assuming I go meet him, get my proof, give him the money, and we never see each other again, am I doing anything illegal?

and...

If, after all that, say the next week, some sex does take place (I don't think it will, but stranger things have happened), am I then commiting a crime?

Thanks

Answer:
 >I never pay for sex. Ever. I'm not starting now.

Apparently you are though, as you're about to give a college student money for sex. Twist it how you want, but that's what this situation is, at the end of the day.

And yes, exchanging money for sex is illegal, even if the sex doesn't happen right after the exchange.Answer #2: This isn't legal advice, this is life advice: Don't do this.  He's just guilting you into giving him money.


Title: Sister Refusing to Return Passport

Question:
I'm staying at my mom's for a few days before moving to the UK for grad school. Saturday I got my passport out to show my dad because he'd never seen one in real life. I left it at the table with him while I went to the bathroom. While I was gone he set it down by my spot before leaving the table and my oldest sister took it. She has it hidden in her room somewhere and is refusing to return it. She can't just not give it back, right?

TL;DR sister doesnt want me to leave the country so she took my passport and won't give it back.

Answer:
 File a police report.Answer #2: The State Department says you should report the theft to them.

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/lost-stolen.html

But I recommend contacting your local police first since the passport should be easily recoverable and then you won't have to go thru the bother of replacing it.Answer #3: What are your parents saying about all of this?  Can they compel your sister to give the passport back to you?Answer #4: File a report for stolen property. Maybe she'll just return it then.

Otherwise apply for a new passport, with an affidavit stating your old one was stolen. If this will cause you to have actual damages (new application fees, expedite fee if you need it quick, changes in travel plans) sue your sister for damages in small claims.
Answer #5: What country are you in?

I would suggest starting by calling the local police.  They can probably explain to your sister the consequences of stealing federal property.  If she still is foolish enough to refuse, you will have to report it to the Department of State, and apply for an emergency passport to travel.  When you get back, sue her for the cost.


Title: Landlord wants me to pay eviction filing

Question:
The other day my girlfriend and I were served by the constable for Eviction on grounds we havent paid for Dec 1 - Feb 1

We are usually a few days late each month because of my pay schedule but have never not paid her before the 5th pf the month.
We paid for December, had no questions or problems but for this month we told her she would get rent from us on Friday (jan 5th). We were served on Jan 3rd and thats when we called her. She told us to pay her January by the 5th (which we already planned on) and she would drop the suit.

We're now paid in Full and today she calls asking us for $100 because she did file it. I just want to call her back and say that her lawsuit said we owed Dec1 - feb 1 and december had already been paid. Theres no way in hell i'm paying you $100 because you went and filed ignorantly.

She's an independent home owner. She has a little over 100 houses in our city and her son is a real estate attorney here. The lawsuit has been dropped because we did pay her by the 5th on January. Do I owe this woman a $100 filing fee?

Edit: Location: Lubbock, TX

Answer:
 You probably don't *have* to pay the fee, but what you really should do is start paying on time.

As a landlord, you'd either be paying me substantial fees every month you were late, or I'd already be moving to have you removed. Habitually late tenants cost a lot of extra money because of all the extra clerical work they generate. If I have to send someone to stick a notice on your door every month, you *are* going to be paying fees to cover that cost.

Count yourself lucky that she doesn't seem to have all of her shit together. If you were my tenant, you'd be gone, eviction or not.


Title: (MI) Real Estate closing - can I call the cops?

Question: We are closing on our new home in a couple of hours. Our contract states that the sellers can stay up to 45 days after closing but they must pay a fee. Through our realtor, we have been told they do not plan on paying the fee for the 2 days they will be staying there. (They said they'll be giving us the keys on Friday at noon.) our realtor said that it wouldn't be worth it to go to court over the ~$90 that it will be, but my question is, since we're the legal owners after closing and they do not pay the "rent" fee for being there, can we call the cops for trespassing? Or is our only legal remedy to go to small claims?

Answer: Small claims is what you've got. They have a contract that says they can be there. The cops aren't going to collect rent for you.


Title: Bought a house, previous owner going through mail without permission. (NC, USA)

Question:
Backstory:

Closed on a house 2 weeks ago. Previous owner requested through our agents that we notify him if he receives any mail (he has completed the mail forwarding to new address, but things happen it’s understandable). We agreed to let him know. After 3 days, we noticed he had taken it upon himself to get his mail without us letting him know.

Fast forward a couple days and multiple conversations (on phone and in person after girlfriend caught him at our mailbox going through it without notification) and we now have a situation where he returned some of my mail partially opened. The letter in question was from July 1 and we had it in the mailbox July 8.

So now we are in a situation where we are unsure what we can do. We have asked him to wait for our notification multiple times and to make it even better, he works for the local police department. Girlfriend is highly upset because we don’t know if he has some of our mail or not.

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer: Let the Post Office know that someone is tampering with your mail.


Title: Is it legal to talk to a therapist about something that would be a HIPAA violation.

Question:
I am currently going to nursing school while working at a hospital as a PT. I had dealt with a really hard case and realized that I would not be able to finish schooling for this if I am unable to move past a lot of what happened. Is it illegal to speak to a therapist about specific cases that would normally be HIPAA if it was to help you and not just ramble about a patient. I was not going to give names or anything but even specific stories I am prohibited from telling.
Topic:
Healthcare Law including HIPAA

Answer: No, that would not violate HIPAA. In order for it to be a HIPAA violation, it would have to involve identifying info about a patient as well as PHI.  If you're just telling a therapist those aspects of the event that traumatized you and not giving info that could identify the patient, you should be fine. Plus, your therapist is required to keep your sessions confidential, too, except certain things like child abuse.Answer #2: Its only a HIPPA violation if there is identifying information. If you are talking to a therapist in a private room about scenerios without identifiers you should be fine. So you could say i had a patient with xxx and it makes me feel zzz because. but not i had a 6 year old patient named Sarah that has this condition.


Title: Moving company broke a window, Landlord is telling us he may be taking it out of our deposit [PA]

Question:
We hired a moving company to move us out in mid-July. During the process of moving out, one of the movers slid down the stairs while carrying our portable AC unit (After we warned him to tape up the box as it was somewhat unstable - he didn't) and broke a window. The moving company took down the information and pictures of the damage and said they'd be replacing it, just that our landlord had to get in touch with them to get things started. Shortly after, the landlord sent us an email saying he was going to hold our deposit until the window was fixed, which we were not entirely okay with, but we didn't want to rock the boat and figured the moving company would be true to their word.

We received an email from our landlord today that the owner of the moving company went out to the house to do the work himself, but has apparently not gotten around to actually doing it. The landlord has since contacted the window repair service that the moving company generally uses to fix window damage because they are ready to move back into the house and are done waiting. He says that they're going to have the window repair service bill the moving company directly, but if the owner refuses to pay, they'll be taking it out of our deposit.

I understand that the deposit is for covering damage to the house, but I don't think it should be on us to replace the window because we're not the ones who caused the damage. Shouldn't the moving company have insurance for this? What should our next steps be to make sure the moving company pays? Additionally, I have a feeling that this is going to drag on for longer than the lease allows for returning the deposit to us (30 days from end of lease). What are the implications of that?

Answer: Your agent damaged the home. You can sue the moving company for the cost of the window (and associated costs), but you are responsible for the damages. So your LL can take it out of your deposit.


Title: What if my kids don't want to see my ex?

Question:
I am divorced with 3 kids - 17, 14 & 13.  My ex keeps doing things that not only bother my kids, but myself also.  She's not physically abusive, but enjoys arguing with the kids and messing with their heads emotionally. There's also some other things she has done, but nothing that would probably allow me to call CPS or even the cops.  Her actions are more along the lines of making everything uncomfortable for the kids when they are with her.  I've tried talking to the ex repeatedly regarding these concerns, however the ex says she is just "parenting." She refuses to change, ignores what I say, and instead blames me for the kids hating her.  The kids feel like their mom is just driving them further away from her. My oldest daughter and ex have had some pretty heated arguments over concerns that my ex just ignores.  My middle daughter and younger son have also had some heated exchanges with their mom, but mostly follow along with the oldest sister and let the older sister speak on their behalf. It's gotten to the point where my kids prefer to no longer see their mom, although there is a 50/50 custody agreement already in place from our divorce last year.

&#x200B;

From talking to an attorney, since my kids are teenagers, they said that if my kids don't want to be there, there's nothing stopping them from walking back over to my place.  Since I only live a mile and a half away, they could walk over and they have access to my place since they live with me half of the time.

&#x200B;

I just don't know if that's solid advice honestly.  The attorney mentioned that my ex could file a contempt in court against me, but that it probably wouldn't amount to much considering the ages of the kids.  According to the attorney, the cops probably wouldn't be able to do much either since it's a civil issue.  I don't want to be getting into trouble with the law, but don't want the kids to continue to have to deal with the crap at my ex's either.  I just recently filed a motion to update the child custody with the court, but still waiting on a response and trying to come up with a temporary solution while we wait on the court.  I don't want to do anything either that would also make me look bad in the court's eyes. Also, once the kids are at my place, then what do I do?  Am I supposed to kick them out?  Let them stay?  I don't know.

&#x200B;

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Answer:
 > From talking to an attorney, since my kids are teenagers, they said that if my kids don't want to be there, there's nothing stopping them from walking back over to my place.

Although true, if your ex wants the kids back and it is her court-ordered time with them, you'd need to turn them back over or you'd be in violation of the custody agreement.

Your best bet is to go back to court and change the arrangement.


Title: Teenage delinquency in car

Question:
Long story short I was in my girlfriends car and she parks on the top floor of an isolated empty parking garage  at our local mall. Since it’s Christmas Eve the mall is closed so there’s basically no one in sight. So as hormonal teenagers do, we begin fooling around in her back seat. As things went on clothes started coming off and we both ended up shirtless but we were both were still wearing pants. But then after a few minutes, a security guard comes and embarrassingly busts us. We both quickly get dressed while the security guard looks at us with that disappointed father look. We apologize and tell him we’ll leave and my girlfriend drives off.

So hypothetically should this have been a police officer who pushed for legal action, what would some negative repercussions have been, should there be any. We live in Texas where laws are rather strict on actions like these. It’s important to note that we were both only shirtless and making out, nothing more. Please advise.

Answer: Not legal, but practical advice: if you decide to move your date night to a back road instead of a parking garage, make sure your car doesn't get stuck in the mud. Otherwise you might have to walk to the nearest person's house, who might end up being a friend of yours, which is definitely an embarrassing situation that  *definitely* didn't happen to me, nope, definitely not.


Title: MA Landlord/Tenant - how to prove damage to unit is wear and tear?

Question:
I am having a conflict with my Massachusetts landlady over some stains that appeared in the marble shower stall during my tenancy. She thinks that they occurred due to me not cleaning/not draining/otherwise abusing the shower. I am not really sure why the stains showed up, because I cleaned my shower regularly and it never had problems draining, but I have no idea how to prove that.

The shower is white Carrara marble, and some of the tiles have orange\-brown stains. From some Googling these seem to be caused by iron deposits that are common in that type of marble, which sometimes start to rust. It's odd because the shower has been installed for many years, but the stains only really showed up while I was living there.

I have a photograph from the very beginning of my tenancy last year, which shows a little bit of staining, but there is no denying that it got way more brown over the last year. It's not like the shower is completely brown or anything, it just has some brown marks along the bottom, and my landlady is very picky.

According to Google these types of rust stains can be pretty hard to fix, it's either a multi\-day cleaning process or replacing the tiles if that doesn't work. I am very sure that my landlady will deduct these costs from my security deposit. If she does, I fully intend to take her to small claims court, since I'm pretty sure the stains are from "normal wear and tear" but how can I prove that I didn't cause them through negligence? I'm not a marble tile expert. I just read a bunch of forum posts and cleaning\-related websites that say that rust stains are common in Carrara marble.

MA law says that landlords can't deduct for damage that is the result of normal wear and tear, and my lease says that I must deliver the apartment in "good, clean and tenantable order and condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted." I cleaned the whole place thoroughly before moving out and took lots of photos to prove it.

Answer: Ask for documentation that the landlord regularly sealed the tiles.  Marble is porous and needs to be sealed regularly.  The stains probably showed up now because the sealant gradually wore off and the iron deposits got wet.Answer #2: Could be because of hard water also, which is a plumbing issue and filtration issue which is landlord duty


Title: [FL] Can someone explain cable company "exclusive rights" to me and how this is not monopolizing?

Question:
I live in a neighborhood literally/physically surrounded by other neighborhoods. The neighborhoods around me are all serviced by Comcast, Spectrum, Verizon Fios, etc. Lots of competition.

When I contact Comcast and Verizon, their representatives tell me that another company has exclusive rights to serve my address, and that I have to speak to Spectrum. When I contact Spectrum, I am told that there is no such exclusivity agreement. My homeowners association also says the same.

I own my home and there is no agreement between myself and my HOA for cable services, Internet, phone, etc. So I'm curious - what is this agreement that gives Spectrum that exclusive right? Who are the parties to this agreement? Who do I contact for information? It's effectively a service monopoly, but why doesn't the law see it this way?

Thank you

Answer:
 It doesn't sound like there actually is an agreement. More likely it just happens that spectrum is the only supplier in your area. The other providers are not required to run lines to your home.Answer #2: When talking about cable companies, many people confuse a company having a monopoly with a cable company not wanting to service a particular area.

You can call your desired cable company and ask when they are coming to your area.


Title: [Florida] After moving to the state everyone in my family has been notified to serve jury duty multiple times.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Can they legally target

They're almost assuredly not 'targetting' you.  It's random.  The state has neither the resources nor the desire to fuck with you.

As is, there's no specific rule on how often you serve.  If you do get called and have to actually serve more than once(that means, get picked for a jury) then you can petition the court to excuse you for a period of time.  Most courts will do so.


Title: A website is posting my voter registration information and I would like to remove my information from it

Question:
Hello all!

I googled my name only to find many websites that post personal information of mine on the first page. Information goes from my cell phone number, my family members names and their phone numbers, to my home address. they are from websites that want you to pay to have access to them. One of them was the most terrifying though. it had all of my voter registration information including my full name, address, date of birth, etc. I would like to remove my information from google's search results and I am desparate to find out how. The voter registration is my first priority because it gives a lot of information.

The website (if I am allowed to link it I will) has a removal policy and links me to an order form. it includes information like name, political committee, mailing address, and requires a $10 charge. it says that the item description as "Statewide voter file CD". It makes the payment options as check, cash, or money order. I'm very confused and just want to protect my personal information from the internet.

EDIT: This is in Delaware.

Answer: Voter information such as name address phone number affiliations etc are public record. You have no grounds or right to take them down


Title: [MA] Wife's property claims in divorce.

Question: A stay-at-home-mom friend is being screwed, so to speak, by her husband.  Their condo is in his name, and she thinks he has plans to sell it out from under her.  He recently inherited a bunch of money.  He has lawyers, and she doesn't.  My understanding is that she has a claim to the condo, and she should be able to use "his" money to hire her own lawyer.  What are her options?

Answer:
 She needs to hire an attorney to protect her interests. Once paperwork is filed with the court, he can't sell or dispose of any marital assets. The inheritance is his to keep, but if the condo is a marital asset, half the equity is hers.

He can also be ordered to pay her attorney fees, so not having the money is not meaningful. Have her call around for some consultations. They're free.


Title: Looking to become a partner in a business

Question: I'm looking to make an investment in a business to become a 1/3rd partner.  I have no experience with any of this stuff but was wondering if there was anything I should be doing to isolate myself from the business?  Like if the business is sued, can my personal money/property become involved?  I appreciate any help!  Thanks! (CO USA)

Answer:
 Have an attorney draw up your operating agreement. Shop around as some will really overcharge you for boilerplate.

The various entities should protect your personal money, but you'll probably have to make personal guarantees until you've got proven revenue.

Your library/bookstore will be chock full of small business books to help you prep for your accountant/lawyer meetings.


Title: New York- Do I need to move over for a car that has flashing lights that is not police/fire/paramedics?

Question:
Ok basically I was driving in Nassau County NY and there's a kid in my town who put lights on his truck (I think he may be volunteer fire, but its on his civilian truck). Anyway this kid drives like a real jackass and while I was stopped at a stop sign with him behind me, he flipped on his lights and tried to floor it around me through the stop sign just as I was beginning to go through the intersection. He didnt make it around me and kind of gave me a "are you serious?" look. I doubt he was on a call because he was wearing a shirt for a restaurant that he delivers for and didn't have the lights on the whole time, only when going around me. Can he go through a stop sign and do I have to pull over to let him pass?
EDIT: I read over some NY laws regarding emergency vehicles and light fixtures on cars. From what I can understand he can only have one blue light attached to his car as approved by his fire department, and cannot have any flashing white lights unless he is in an authorized emergency vehicle (Which I am assuming does not cover his civilian vehicle). Can I call to get him in trouble for illegally mounting a flashing blue and white light bar on his truck? I'd love to get some justice on this kid for almost crashing into my car to deliver a hot sandwich. [law i am referencing- see section 375 and 1104](https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/ems/pdf/srgvat.pdf)

Answer: No. You only need to move over for *marked* emergency vehicles in NY. I would report this asshole because he is abusing his powers of the blue and white light. Answer #2: Volunteer firefighter here.  We are explicitly told to not drive aggressively with the blue light on and to NEVER use it in our civilian car when not on a call.  Doing either can get you both fined and barred from driving to fire scenes on your own.  It can also get you kicked out of the department in cases like this.


Title: [Quebec, Canada] Harassing mother.

Question:
This might be a long post - I feel it needs some backstory and I need to empty my heart ^^ So there we go:

I'm 31, male, I've grown up in a quite difficult situation, my parents divorced when I was 8 and until 12 I lived half a week with my mother, and half a week with my father. The problems started there. My mother would indoctrinate me with all kinds of ideas about how my father's girlfriend was a bad person, that she had broken our family and stole my father away from her. I would get back at my father's house and hit his girlfriend when she was trying to discipline me, I would call her the names my mother taught me too. Needless to say, this created quite a difficult situation.

Meanwhile, at my mother's house, I would have all the privileges I wanted, I could eat cookies for supper, I could play the computer all night long, I could skip school if I wanted. Everything I wanted, I got. When you are 8-12 years old, this seems like paradise! It was awesome really but I came to realize how manipulative and irresponsible it was of her.

The problems really started when I hit 12, since I had all that I wanted at my mother's, I ended up pressuring my parents to live at my mother's house full time, which they eventually accepted. When I hit my teen years, things started to get really hairy because I was now realizing she was constantly giving me propaganda about my father and his girlfriend. Also, you know, when you're a teen, you're slightly rebellious xD I think it happened to all of us. Of course, I wasn't perfect and I could've done a lot more, but that's another story. The privileges continued and I was now spending 12 hours a day on the computer, sleeping 4 hours, and then going to school 8 hours a day. My grades were fine at first but they eventually took a hit as I couldn't really maintain this rhythm and I was not conscious to realize it was hurting me. Now that I look back on it, I would've loved a little more structure and discipline, but I couldn't know back then. Instead, my mother who is a hairdresser would tell her clients stories of me misbehaving and how I was rude and mean to her, and she would often twist reality to attract pity. This became a recurring pattern, and most people in the family and in her immediate entourage (except my father who knew she could be manipulative) came to consider me a bad kid. My older cousin in the family even though for years that I got her kid who is my age into drugs, and actually, it's the other way around, he got me into it. But my voice and my opinion never mattered, my view of the world was skewed in their eye: I was the bad person, period.

It's important to know at this point that my mother is -diagnosed- with Parkinson's. Diagnosed is a very important word here - I'm not saying she actually has it. She's had 9 diagnostics and only 1 mentioned parkinson's, but she took it, it became a tool for her. A tool to attract pity and help. She's a lazy person and would much rather have someone else do her work instead of gaining pride for her achievements (the list of those is really short ^^)

So back to the story - She would often barge into my room into fits of violent panic because I forgot to shovel the snow in the driveway, or because I was doing too much noise or simple things like that - simple discussion was never possible with her when it comes down to things that go against her ? And when I got mad back at her for insulting me and calling me all sorts of names, she would say things like "Go on, hit me if you're so mad at me." or like "You can't be mad at me, I am sick!" so I never really could express my opinion or be heard - All of the family had her back, and I felt I was all alone. (I never hit my mother btw, although she did provoke me like a bajillion times) I didn't have many friends at school and I was never pushed to go consult a therapist, the option didn't really exist for me.

Things soured even more when I got into my early adulthood, even though I got my high school diploma (barely), I had trouble maintaining jobs and couldn't manage to gain confidence in myself, I isolated myself more and more and eventually found out about hard drugs (amphetamines). I would stay up all day gaming on speed, and then I would go work all night, still on speed. I slept maybe two hours a day in this period, if I slept at all. At that point I had an appartment with two other people I thought were friends, but they saw me sink into drugs - they even often sold them to me. Eventually, they told my story to my boss at work, I had some pretty bizarre habits as well at that time. You know, when you're deep into drugs, things can get weird quick, specially with the kind of childhood I had. So all of this eventually made it to my boss and I lost my job. I had to go back to my mother's and "cure" my addiction at that point. Things went well for a month or so, then the manipulative and derogatory comments started again: "How could my child have turned into this ?" She would tell me. And yet, I had the strength to cure myself of my addiction -ON MY OWN- without medical help. "Lazy bastard, why don't you get another job ?" when I was barely back on my feet.

Eventually, I did find another job and moved out again. Things were starting to get better, I had a stable job as a bike technician and even though I had an abusive boss, things were starting to look up, until my mother started having troubles with her health. She went to the hospital a couple of times, and since most of family is outside of the city, I had to take care of her. So I did, until she went better, I never got a word of gratitude out of it though, it all felt to her like it was due and I had to do it. After this episode, I couldn't take the abuses of my boss plus the seemingly "taking me for granted" part from my mother. Also, I was realizing I was missing a lot of structure (I never learned how to budget, for example) and was under a lot of financial stress at the time. I finally left my job, and well, I kinda regret, because I still see customers I had back then that really liked my work and how I treated them.

I sunk into a deep depression at that time, for a year or so, I was without help, without work, only my father was still around in my life. As he is kinda loaded, he managed to help me financially for a while, but at some point he hit a limit, so he introduced me to a local organization that helps people in my situation. It did help me a lot but it took me three more years to get back on my feet and learn basic things about life my mother should have taught me. 4 years is a lot of lost time, really, it's quite distressing.

Maybe three years in, my brother once sat with me and explained current events with my mother to me: While I was in depression, he got married and fathered two children. This distanced him from my mother. She then started playing the same manipulative tricks on him to get him to see her. She would tell him "But I am sick! You can't walk away from me!" When this is not at all what was happening! He just was taking care of his own life. He didn't have time to take care of every little detail of my mother's life (This is what she really wants, complete dependance on someone else for everyday needs.) Eventually, the discussion ended with "You were right all along, she is indeed quite crazy and manipulative, and I am sorry I belittled you all your teen years. You deserved much better." This is the push I needed to fully heal.

But after those four years, I got back on my feet and I found a new job, eventually stopped seeing my therapist and the medication. It felt great when I stopped the meds - I felt I was reborn, and that it was time to sever the link with my mother once and for all so she doesn't bring me down with her again. So I told her that I did not want to talk to her anymore. This was 5 or so months ago.

Now, recently (Maybe 2 months ago) she finally realized I really didn't want to talk to her anymore, and started being really stalkerish. At first it was benign, she would add me on facebook and I would simply refuse. Then she would contact me on skype, I had to block her at some point. Then it was email - I had to block her there too. Then Google+, etc... etc... Then when she realized I wouldn't contact her on any kind of social media, she started calling me repeatedly. At first it was once or twice a day, I would just ignore the call or give her basic responses like "Hello. I am good. Great that you're good too, okay bye." But then it intensified to 4-5 times a day, up ultimately to 8 times when I called the phone company and had her number blocked. She then registered a new number. When I blocked that one too, she registered a new facebook account, then a new email, then a new G+ account, etc... etc...

Now recently, she started sending me suicide threats, which is... Kinda disturbing and it is bringing me down. She needs help, but I cannot provide it and I cannot direct her to it, she has to want it.

So I need legal advice about definitively blocking her out of my life so she cannot contact me anymore at all. Like a court injunction I believe it is called ? I have never had anything to do with the law before (At least on the good side of the law xD). I would like to know how I should proceed, what can happen and what I should expect.

This is the first time I post on reddit - I am really desperate, this is my mother, but I can't let her ruin my life again. Things are really good right now without her, and I want things to continue that way.

Thank you redditors for taking the time to read this long post ^^ I really hope any of you can help me.

Answer:
 The first 75% of that is completely irrelevant.

Have you made it clear to her that you do not wish to be contacted by her at all? If not you need to do that.

You should talk to the police, they can help you with either a no contact order, or possibly they will tell her that if she continues trying to contact you that they could charge her with criminal harassment.

Here are a couple useful links:

http://www.victimsofviolence.on.ca/research-library/no-contact-orders/

https://www.spvm.qc.ca/en/Fiches/Details/Harassment


Title: [OH] I called the cop's on my brother's girlfriend, he's now at my apartment, need advice on going forward.

Question:
My brother's girlfriend has mental issues and has cut herself deeply and refuses help. She has thrown tantrums before and destroyed some of his property. Today, it escalated to the point that she broke his big screen TV as well as the 32" TV he just bought.

Today, he asked me to call the police for him because he was trying to calm her down. They arrive, she claims he has substance abuse issues, and they ask him to leave and go to my apartment (I live a few units over).

He's here, I believe she's there, and I understand I need a lawyer. She's messaging me on Facebook saying "do not disclose any of my private information to an individual or organization without my authorization or consent" (not verbatim, but almost).

The police have left and I told them to come to me if they need a statement. They didn't tell my brother anything after he left for my apartment.

So basically, she's in his apartment (I assume, I'm not going back over) and she's not on the lease.

Where do we go from here? (aside from speaking to a lawyer)

Answer:
 You stop contacting her.  Don't respond to stuff she sends you.  Ignore her.

Doesn't matter she's not on the lease, does she live with your brother? Answer #2: *You* don't need a lawyer. Your brother might if she accuses him of abusing her. He needs legal advice with regards to evicting her from his apartment.

> "do not disclose any of my private information to an individual or organization without my authorization or consent"

This is her trying to get you not to report her actions to the police. She can't actually sue you for making a factual police report, if that's what you're worried about.


Title: [AUSTRALIA] Bank lost my $220 deposit, rejected multiple phone calls, After an Ombudsman complaint they offer $300. Take it or can i get more ?

Question:
A month ago i deposited about $220 in coins directly inside on of my bank's branches in a coin counting machine as I've done multiple times before. The machine takes the coins and prints me a receipt then i leave. (no error codes or anything on screen)

After a day of not seeing my funds i notice that the recipet says that it could not process my transaction at this time, and that the account will be updated in the next business day.

Fast forward a week and i've made about an hour's worth of phone calls to the branch and the bank's overall customer support line. I recorded all these phones calls (i told them i was recording.) still this got no where and they say they have no record of the money and cant help me.

I then file a complaint with the Australian Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). This gives the bank 45 days to resolve the issue themselves before the FOS intervenes. As i understand once the FOS intervenes it costs the bank quite a bit of money, but i can't find direct sources on this information.

So after about a week the bank offers me 14 days to accept an offer of $300. I waited them out the 14 days and emailed them saying i've passed all the info on to my lawyer and will be getting back to them. (Bluff i don't have a lawyer i'm a student without much money.) They extended the offer by a few days and said they would withdraw their offer after that.

So as it stands currently I have 2 days to accept their offer (based on their timeline.) and about a week before the FOS gets involved and possibly charges them a lot more money.

I understand taking the $80 profit for my troubles is probably the option most people would go for. I'm big on my principles though and don't like being screwed around and want more money out of them.

What should i do from here ? take their offer, wait for the FOS to see if i can get more, or try and really get a lawyer ?

In my head i can still only see the worst case scenario me only getting my $220 back, i can't imagine i scenario where i would actually lose the money altogether and don't think they could counter sue me or anything.

What's your advice/opinion ? The $220 isn't critical to my survival so i'm not really fussed about a fast timeline for resolution. I'm more about the principle of them just saying they couldn't help me till i threatened legal action.

I understand this is primarily a US sub but the Australian legal advice page has very little participation and would like any help i can get.

Answer: I know nothing about Australian law, but you are really not entitled to any "profit" from this. Take their offer and run.


Title: How to thank a lawyer for representing me pro-bono?

Question: I have a lawyer who has been representing me for a Title IX case free of charge. I'm so incredibly thankful since I couldn't have possibly afforded an attorney, but she has been fighting for me with full effort and genuinely cares about helping me and I don't have to words to describe how touched and thankful I am. What are some ways that I can thank her after my case is over?

Answer: Honestly, I'm a public defender. I have saved every thank you note and card I have ever received. They mean the world to me and keep me going through the rough days. I can't accept much in the way of gifts (anti-donation clause and all) but one client made tamales for my office. One client drew me a picture of a lilac.  One client gave me a friendship bracelet. A thank you doesn't have to be a grand gesture. It is the thank you that counts.Answer #2: A free way to help is to give a great review on Google and any other platform a person might use to search for their services.


Title: [TN] One week ago, an employee I fired sent me threatening text messages.

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice! I fired a relatively new hire on September 26th, and at the end of our conversation he said something along the lines of "you ruined my life" before leaving my business.  Fast forward to this past Tuesday, October 10th, when I was driving back from vacation in New Orleans, I received messages that said.
(Him) I'll see you later my friend.
(Me) huh?
(Him) I hope you have lube.
(Me)LoL
(Me) K, wrong person i hope.
(Him) Nope.

And nothing since. This person was extremely strange, would disappear in his car many times during the day, and one manager said he smelled like alcohol at one time. When I say strange, we had a manager kill his wife, chop her up, and put her in a freezer, then threaten my work place, before suiciding after a TBI manhunt. This guy is much stranger, smarter, and generally creepier than that guy ever was.

I have a baby on the way, and have not been able to sleep at all since that day. I have a home alarm, and made a handgun purchase (legally, thank you Tennessee) a couple of nights ago, but its offered minimal peace of mind. What should I do?

Answer: Feel free to report the texts to the police and apply for a restraining order against him.Answer #2: Not that you shouldn't take precautions but do you know this was him?  Some people have nothing better to do than mess with strangers.


Title: Need help to get back my robbed puppy.

Question:
We are a couple from India, we had to come to UK for some work and I gave my puppy to my sister in law in Delhi for few months but she then gave it to her boss for some personal favours and now the boss is refusing to give it back saying she asked him to adopt the puppy.

Since last two months they both are bullying me and my wife and my is under a lot of depression.
We can't believe if someone can do like that.

The boss and his sister runs a immigration consultancy and that's why don't care about legal threats. Her sister told me they have created a new owner's paper.

I don't know what to do guys, but please help me out in any way possible.

Summary:

I purchased the pup in March 2017, gave to my sister in law in last week of July.
I came in UK on 1st of August. She had some domestic issues and I asked her
that I can ask my friend to take the pup but she refused, she told me that she
is keeping it to her boss's house for few days and they are very good people.

At September end she told me that the pup is going to some other city with boss's
sister for which I refused, she told me that its now too late and she is already on the
way and convinced me that she will be back in 3-4 days. We constantly requested her
to tell me the status and she kept delaying it saying she will be back in 15days.
She then asked us to deal directly with the boss's sister.

Since October start we were in touch with her and told her that it was not in our
knowledge that our pup was going with you and she said its ok and she will take
good care of her and will return it once we come back to India in Feb.

After some time she started ignoring us and on the other side my sister in law
refused to intervene. It all started looking suspicious and I called the boss
directly, then told me that my sister in law asked him to adopt her and he can't
help me out.

Last week after trying hard to convince them, they finally told me that they would
not give it back and boss's sister has created a new document on the account that
we abandoned the pup and she was in very bad condition. They made fun of us
and said you people can't do anything and we would not allow you enter our if you tried to.

Today the situation is that my sister in law still works in the same office and she
hardly talks to us. I am really pissed of and finally decided to take against her
and get her on her knees. Hope that is enough information. I can provide more details if needed.

PS: I can share any proof if needed.

Answer: So India? Not a lot of expertise on Indian law here. But you might try an India specific subreddit, or just get a lawyer involved which is the surefire way to find out what's what when internet strangers fail you.


Title: My ex wife just drove my girls, while under the influence. What should I do? Washington State, serious

Question:
My daughter first sent me a text stating that mom was drunk and that Gramma was going to drive my daughters home. Mom refused and drove 2 miles home, with my daughters. My oldest, 13, sent me a text after they got home. She said that mom backed into a car, almost hit a power pole and yelled at my daughters when then said she was drunk. This is one of her 4 days a week that she has custody. This isn't the first time either. What are my options?
edit/ Just to add, our divorce was final July 2014

Answer:
 Go to court and petition for a modification to your custody agreement.  If she's endangering the childrens' lives by drinking and driving, you can probably ask for an emergency hearing to get things rolling quickly.Answer #2: You can also contact child protective services.  They take this stuff very seriously. Answer #3: Follow advice of others re: cops, CPS and court.

Until this is straightened out legally, give your 13 year old these instructions if Mom (or anyone) tries to drive with them while intoxicated:

1. DO NOT get in the car. Stay at the house, on the sidewalk, at the store, wherever they can safely stay out of danger.
2. Call you immediately. You get there ASAP and pick up your kids.

If Mom tries to force them into the car, she should call 911 and tell them what is happening. The most important thing for your oldest daughter to do is watch for signs (clearly she knows them already) and protect her and her sister's lives.

Mom will probably be very pissed because reasonable people do not drive drunk with their children. You need to get Daughter to understand this isn't her fault and it's extremely important for her to not be lenient with Mom, and if bad things happen to Mom because of Mom's actions, it's all on Mom. There will probably be some resentment and guilt and probably other feelings about all of this, and she might want to talk to someone about it, perhaps you. Also, remember to talk to the little one, too. Even if she's too young to fully grasp the situation, she knows something is wrong and you should talk to her and explain things as best you can.

/Daughter of a now dead alcoholic who drove us around many times while drunk.


Title: Sugar Daddy Possible Scam

Question: My friend had checks sent to her from her sugar daddy and she was allowed to write a check for $1300. we deposited the check into my account and almost immediately he was asking us to go to the store and buy an itunes gift card for $800. we immediately felt like it was a scam after we googled this, so we didn’t touch the money, afraid it would get taken out of my account and i’d be overdrawn. A week later, I called the bank the checks were from and they said it was a legit account and that the check had cleared and didn’t bounce. He is now threatening to go to the police if we don’t cash app him the money back. We definitely feel like he’s still trying to scam us and don’t know what to do. Her name was on the checks and we have proof he sent them. What should we do?

Answer:
 This is 100% a scam.

>A week later, I called the bank the checks were from and they said it was a legit account and that the check had cleared

No, they didn't clear after a week. The funds were made available. Soon, the bank will figure out that the checks are no good.

Under no circumstances should your friend buy gift cards with the fake money.


Title: [NY] Need deceased grandfather's birth certificate, however under NYS law no one currently alive is eligible to receive it.

Question:
In New York State, only the person themselves or their parent are eligible to receive a certified copy of a birth certificate.  Well, my grandfather and his parents are both deceased, which means that me (his grandson), my father (his son) & his spouse are all unable to request his birth certificate. The New York State Department of Health states that if no living person is eligible to request a birth certificate the only way to request a copy is by getting a court order.

I am applying for dual citizenship and need his certified birthcertificate in long form.  I have gathered that the way to do this is to file an Article 78 proceeding in New York Supreme court.  An Article 78 proceeding is used to appeal the decision of a New York State or local agency to the New York courts.

Having read up on everything article 78 I could find, I have written up a notice of petition, verified petition, and draft order. I also have found the application for index number and request for judicial intervention forms on their website.

Issue is: I am not able to figure out what I thought would be the easier part of this process. What forms do I file, and with whom (within the supreme court/county clerks office). In what order do I file those documents.

As I am doing this remotely (from California) I have been unable to figure out this process by mail. The clerks will not explain the process to me because they can't give legal advice. As I am no longer living in New York I am unable to qualify for any of the numerous pro bono legal services in the state, but am too broke to hire an attorney. Throw me a bone, r/legaladvice?

EDIT: Additional information from the New York State Department of Health Website (https://www.health.ny.gov/vital_records/dualcitizenship.htm)

>"Parent, Grandparent or Great-Grandparent's Birth Record:

>Only the person on the record, the parents on the record or a person with a New York State Court order may order a certified copy of a birth certificate.

>Deceased: If the person whose record is being requested has died.

>A court order from a New York State Court of competent jurisdiction is required. The Department of Health cannot advise you on obtaining a court order. You may wish to consult an attorney familiar with New York State Public Health Law. The applicant must submit a court certified copy of the order along with a copy of the applicant's identification, the appropriate fee and a completed birth certificate application form."

Answer:
 > need his certified birthcertificate in long form

That may not exist. I've seen my grandfather's (b.1909) and my father's (b.1932) birth certificate, both born in NYC, and they were pretty brief.

Do you know what county your grandfather was born in? If so, call up the county's department of health and ask them.

And this isn't an Article 78 matter (at least yet).


Title: I live with my girlfriend and another couple. We rent a 3 bedroom condo. We just broke up and, in the words of my ex, I am "not welcome here" and should be looking for a place to live. I want to stay and move into the spare bedroom because I like the location.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Your ex-girlfriend cannot, as it stands, force you to move out. Your landlord, if he's convinced to do so, can give you standard notice for your state about not letting you rent from them further.

However, there are a great many legal things that unhappy roommates can do to make your home life difficult and unpleasant, so I would gently recommend against planning on staying there long-term.


Title: Company is outsourcing my job and forcing me to accept a job with new company?

Question:
I live in California, my job is based in Michigan.

My company is outsourcing my job and having me transfer my knowledge to them. I have been with the company for a long time and so have severance, however the company they are outsourcing me to can offer me a job and if I take the job I get my severance reset and if I deny the job it's voluntary resignation. Is this legal? Seems like a crappy way to avoid paying my severance pay.

Is there anything I can do in this position to help me not be completely screwed in this situation?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 It really sounds like it's not voluntary resignation if you don't take the new job.  If you don't start working for the new company, and don't quit with the old company, what would they do?  I'm willing to bet they fire you, and them firing you isn't exactly voluntary.

Look at your actual severance agreement, make sure there's no clauses regarding them locating employment with another company.  There probably isn't.  Hell, they might even still owe you severance even if you take the new job!

An employment attorney can help you go over the specifics of your severance package and the policies surrounding it.

I'd take the opportunity to tell the new company that if they want you, they not only have to meet, but exceed the severance, benefits, and pay of your old job.