Title: How do I determine the value of punitive damages in small claims court?

Question:
I had a ride with Megabus back in December from Louisiana to Florida. The bus blew a front tire along the interstate and pulled off on a rest-area exit. I was catching an international flight to Denmark to spend Christmas with my girlfriend, so worried I would miss the flight, called a friend from Tampa Bay to come and pick me up. He arrived about an hour later, and we were told by Megabus operators that I could not exit the bus- couldn't even open the door for us to talk! The truck with a spare tire arrived about 2 hours later, and after changing the tire they let me off the bus, but would only let me grab my bag if it was the first one on top in the cargo hold- it was not, and they had no time to dig for it, they said. I apologized profusely to my friend and continued along to the next Megabus stop, Orlando FL, grabbed my bag, and skipped the final portion of my bus ride from Orlando to Miami, instead grabbing the nearest Taxi and paying him most of the cash I had ($350) plus all the toll-fares (~25) to get me to the flight on time. To my surprise, after sprinting through the terminal and some sympathetic people at TSA screening letting me pass, I managed to catch my flight.

Now, what has happened in the 6-months since has been a nightmare in dealing with Megabus. At first they told me 'tough-shit' basically, and after a few more email exchanges, they said they would refund me the $350, but not the fares of either of the bus rides (New Orleans - Orlando and Orlando - Miami, which I couldnt even take, total $120) or the toll-fares. So they refunded the two bus tickets transactions to my credit card, subtracting that from the 350 they figured they owed me, leaving $230 now. In March I received a check for $23. I emailed them once again asking, what-the-hell guys? and they told me an error was made and I would again receive a new check, for the new remaining balance, $207. Another month passes, I have received no check, so we email again, and they tell me it was sent, and if it went to an incorrect address they can't send me another until the incorrect address sends it back to Megabus.

At this point, furious, I looked into small-claims court.
I came across this article

*"Washington Mutual bank had taken overdraft fees of $58.00 even though the check was deposited and they didn’t clear it when they said it was immediately available. I took them to small claims and asked for $2,058.00. $2000 for the impact it caused and for punitive. They called 7 days before the court date and sent me a check, settling the case for exactly what I asked for. I have not had a problem with them since. "*

It seems simply being charged $58 is much less an inconvenience than what I have went through and he claimed $2000.

TL;DR -- I have been missing $350 for half a year, enormous amount of time lost (46 email exchanges), having my friend drive out from Tampa and back for no reason? How do I determine and justify a fair amount of punitive damages to sue for at this point?

**EDIT:** I see that if it went to court I wouldn't be awarded any additional costs, only if they settled before-hand as happened in the quoted article. If they did show up to court, would the added costs anger the judge and sway them from even awarding my original $207? Can I add in the fees I will be paying to sue them to get the $207?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Punitive damages in small claims court? Fat chance.Answer #2: > How do I determine and justify a fair amount of punitive damages to sue for at this point?

You can't.  Generally speaking, punitive damages aren't available in small claims cases.  There are exceptions to that rule, but this isn't one of them.  You can sue for money they owe you and any provable damages you have as a result.  Based on your narrative, it sounds like they've already refunded ~~all of the money and paid your damages~~ some of the money, but owe you the remaining unrefunded amount and overdraft fees.  So you have a claim for around $265

EDIT: Misread the repayment amounts


Title: [NJ] Open Container in Public violation - officer put an invalid court date on ticket. Chances of getting this invalidated?

Question:
Hi everyone,

I was holding a can of beer on the streets in public yesterday when a cop gave me a citation for open container in public. [145 23(a)]. Since it's so close to the end of the year, he put my court date for the next year, but accidentally wrote 1/4/17, which would have already happened. He didn't check the box that I was required to appear in court, but it says I can pay up to $2,000 so I really would like to try to get this invalidated somehow. Can anyone shed some light on how you'd approach this situation?

Answer: Clerical errors do not invalidate tickets.


Title: How can I retaliate if I have found that my employer pays two males 25% more per hour for the same position and duties as myself? Is this an OSHA related issue?

Question:
Title pretty much sums it up. Hopefully this is the right subreddit. Also, please let me know if my complaint is baseless. I'm not totally aware of what is legal and what is not--thus why I'm posting here.

Thank you!

Edit: My location is Ohio.

Answer:
 You can file an EEOC complaint, but the fact that they are paid more doesn't prove discrimination by itself.  They might have more experience, training, or time with the company or in the industry.

Be careful before making such a complaint.  Although retaliation for such a complaint is illegal, it's very hard to prove.


Title: Transgender name change paper trail problem?

Question: I legally changed my name and gender in the state of California and as most of you know, name changes have to be posted in a newspaper. The problem is that when anyone looks up my new name, the newspaper that posted the change has digital archives online showing my old name and new name, essentially outing me to anyone who looks up my name. I contacted the newspaper about blurring my name out since its been over 6 months since the name change and past the point that I am legally required to post in a newspaper. They literally told me there was nothing they could do and that I should contact amazon web services which is hosting the digital archive. I finally got ahold of someone there and they said its all on the newspaper to change things. I've been stuck in a never ending circle of phone calls getting me absolutely nowhere. I don't know what to do. I don't even know if a lawyer could do anything if I got one but this doesn't seem right to me, trans people shouldn't be outed like this for safety and privacy reasons. Also a recent bill passed in California making it so transgendered people do not have to have their name changes published in a newspaper, apparently it took effect before my name change but the judge made me post in a newspaper. The newspaper with the digital archives is no longer responding to my calls after basically telling me to fuck off, what kind of lawyer would I need to fix this issue?

Answer:
 > The problem is that when anyone looks up my new name, the newspaper that posted the change has digital archives online showing my old name and new name, essentially outing me to anyone who looks up my name.

Name changes are a matter of public record. It lets people who want to sue you, find you after you've changed your name.

You don't have a legal right to force them to do anything, they don't have a legal obligation to do anything.Answer #2: Sorry this is happening to you, OP.  I agree this is what the change in law was meant to stop.  There's a big difference between this info being available in public record where only those who  need it are going to go to find it vs. casual Googling.

Any trans-friendly civil attorney should be able to help.  A letter on an attorney's letterhead might do wonders here for not a lot of money.  If you need a referral, try a local LGBT organization in your area.  Good luck to you.


Title: (CA) Can my old landlord charge me because someone else on the joint lease is squatting in the unit?

Question: So my joint lease ended the other week and the whole unit was cleaned out and ready for inspection, one member of the lease hasn't left or moved their stuff out. I moved out a while ago but the rental company contacted me and said I will be charged for each day they are staying there and for the attorney fees for the eviction process. I don't understand why this has anything to do with me, I signed a joint lease a year ago and that ended last week. Does my former landlord have any right to charge me or involve me in this?

Answer: This is the risk of a joint lease. You are jointly responsible and just because you leave doesn't mean you're off the hook if someone else holds over. You can be named on penalties for your roommate who hasn't left.


Title: [California] Neighbor's cat is a nuisance - what can we do?

Question:
One of our neighbors has this unaltered male cat who comes into our house and sits outside yowling. We've contacted the owner several times and asked them to keep their cat inside, but they refuse and instead get mad at us for feeding him. We don't feed him - he finds a way into our house or garage and steals our cat's food. We've tried chasing him away and locking up the food but he keeps coming back.

We have a large upper deck area to our house with a sliding glass door. You can only get to this deck from inside the house, so on hot summer nights we would leave it cracked open to let some fresh air in. We have to leave it closed now because this cat will climb up to the deck, come into the house, pick fights with our cats and wander around our house yowling. It actually got into our house about half an hour ago, snuck into my sister's room, and peed all over her dresser. This is a recent thing, these neighbors moved in a few months ago and we've never had this problem before with other neighborhood cats.

We have five cats of our own, all female, all spayed, and all indoor (they can go out on the back deck because they can't get down and they have collars and chips), and this male cat is a nuisance. One of our cats is 19 years old and has no teeth/is pretty weak (she has kidney failure), and I'm scared she might get hurt by this cat.

Is there anything we can do? The owners ignore us and we can't get him to stay away. I think a big part of the problem is that he isn't neutered - if we were to trap him, get him fixed, and then release him could we get in trouble? Or is our only safe option to install some kind of alarm/water spray system to keep him off the deck?

Answer:
 Have you called animal control?Answer #2: While trapping him may be a good pragmatic idea, it's probably not a good legal idea.

If he damages your property (including your cats), you might be able to sue the owner in small claims court.


Title: Could you be sued or arrested for putting laxatives in your own food?

Question:
Let's say that hypothetically someone keeps stealing your lunch from the fridge at work. Could I be sued or arrested if I put laxatives or really spicy sauce in my lunch?

Would it make a difference if I put a label that said "Yesimdrunkthrowaway's lunch DO NOT TOUCH"?

Edit: Location is in Ontario, Canada.

Answer:
 Yes, you can be sued or arrested.

This question gets asked on pretty much a weekly basis. If you put bad things in your food intending to harm someone else when they eat them, you are committing assault/battery.

Putting a sign on it doesn't make a difference.Answer #2: My friend you need a Fridge Locker.

http://www.fridgelocker.com/Answer #3: If you were to put something potentially dangerous in food with the expectation that someone else would eat it, you'd have poisoned them. It might come as a shock to you, but that's illegal.

On a side not: it's really annoying that people steal lunches in break rooms, but this is a really stupid way to deal with it. Grow up.


Title: Can my friend take the money?

Question:
A friend of mine was talking to a shady guy on meet me. He said he was a sugar daddy and would pay her if he talked to her. So he sent $1700 to her account and it was pending until today. But I think she messed up because to get the money in there she gave the guy her bank info (obviously not smart), but then she changed her account info. The guy after putting the money in her account started threatening her to buy him amazon cards so he could “send them to an orphanage” and at this point I realized it was a scam. She obviously didn’t send any of the money and I’m assuming this guys angle was to scare her in to sending money. But where did this money come from? Did he mess up and not cancel it in time? The guy keeps threatening her and clearly isn’t legit, and isn’t rich. Is it possible that he somehow took out a loan with her info and it’s her own money? Or that this is some form of laundering? She’s going to talk to her bank today.

TL;DR: friend of mine got sent some shady money from a guy online and we don’t know if it’s legal to take.

Answer:
 The money probably doesn't exist. It's a scam, clearly. He sent her "fake" money and was trying to get her to send him real money back in the form of gift cards. Her bank will soon realize the transfer is fraud and remove the $1700. So no, she should not try to withdraw it and needs to contact her bank ASAP. And stop being gullible
enough to think someone online is going to actually pay her $1700 to talk to him. Answer #2: The money most certainly came from fraudulent means, it will most likely be removed from the account at some point.

> She’s going to talk to her bank today.

This is your friends' one and only move.


Title: I (22) am being sued for 10,000 due to a 5 car collision that I was found not guilty for that happened 2 years ago and I’m freaking out-California

Question:
Two years ago I was involved in a 5 car collision and I am now being sued for it. I was driving in the freeway and I was knicked by another car. After that I hit the car in front of me and that is where the 5 car collision happened. Unfortunately, the driver who hit me took off and was never heard of or found.

Police fame and I told my story, there was also severe damage to my car. At the time none of the people involved requested an ambulance and said they were all fine. The police, my insurance,  and the others insurance inspected my car, took multiple pictures and deemed that based on the damage on my car I was not guilty because there was sufficient proof that i had been hit. My insurance did not go up and they said everyone’s insurance would be responsible for their own car and I thought it was over with.

Two years have passed and today I was served papers saying that I was being sued for 10,000 dollars to compensate for losses and medical bills. The plaintiffs state that they do not believe I was hit by another car and that I never sent in proof, which I did multiple times and was constantly assured that it was very sufficient and that it was not my fault at all.

I am absolutely terrified, I am a struggling college student and I have no clue what is going to happen next. I am terrified to appear in court and then hold every ticket I have ever gotten against me.  The only thing that is helping is my family is helping a lot and don’t believe I have anything to be worried about. I plan on calling my insurance first thing in the morning bit i would greatly appreciate any knowledge or information on what i should do. Thank you

Answer:
 Calm down, and call the insurance you had at the time of the accident tomorrow morning.  They will cover any judgment up to the limits of your policy (the minimum of which should be $15,000).  If you were sued in small claims they will advise you.

This is nothing to freak out over.


Title: [Virginia] An underage girl tricked me into accepting/sending nudes, now is blackmailing me to hook up with an underage boy or she'll tell the cops about the nudes, and release my pics. What do I do?

Question:
Throwaway, obviously.

Tonight a random number I don't know texted me. I entertained it, and found out it was a girl. She said she was 19, and send me a picture of her face. She was cute. I sent her a picture of my face. I asked if she wanted to trade anymore pics. She sent me a fully naked picture, and asked for one in return. Reluctantly, I did send a picture of my penis, with part of my face visible.

Then shit got weird. She told me she was texting me on behalf of an underage boy (high school) I used to work with- who apparently had a crush on me. I'm straight, and didn't even realize this. She said in reality she was not 19, but underage (didn't specify the age). She said if I didn't let the high school boy suck my penis, she would contact the authorities and tell them I have illegal nude pictures of her. Also that she would release my photos all over the place for everyone I know to see.

I'm freaking out. Clearly I was manipulated and coerced into sending pictures to someone I was told was 19. And clearly she is BLACKMAILING me, which is also very illegal. I feel like, if she's serious, I would have a chance at a court case. But I don't know!

To be sure, I screenshotted EVERYTHING, from the first text to the last. Now I have proof she told me she was 19, I have proof she asked for nudes, I have proof she sent the first one, I have proof she blackmailed me into letting another underage boy suck my dick, and I have proof she threatened to release my nude pics.

After she started threatening, the last thing I sent was: "I am not comfortable with this. You told me you were 19, and I have screenshotted that. I also have screenshots of your obvious blackmail, and if you continue to contact me, I will contact my lawyer. Do not contact me again."

Do you think I'm in the clear? I'm worried... I have all the proof I was oblivious to her age, but I know sometimes that doesn't matter. Reeeeeally don't want to be labeled a sex offender for this shit.

**TL;DR** Underage girl tricked me into sending/receiving nudes, now is blackmailing me. I have screenshotted all proof, and told her not to contact me again or I will take legal action.

Answer:
 I hope you learned a very valuable lesson about sending lewd photos to total strangers.  Here's a little piece of life advice:  Real girls don't text randoms to ask for nude photos.  They just don't function like that.  You were almost assuredly talking to a dude (likely the one interested in you) and the pictures you received were almost certainly fake.

Preserve your evidence.  Block the number.  Don't communicate with anyone about this incident, ever.  In the unlikely event that the police show up, remain silent and don't say anything without an attorney.  And make better life decisions in the future.  Answer #2: This is a scam. They are preying on your fear. Ignore this person.Answer #3: in addition to what /u/litmustest1 said:

If we accept the premise that you broke the law by possessing pictures of an underage person, then the person who sent them to you ALSO broke the law (by distributing child pornography).

This is true even if she took the pictures of herself and sent them to you- that's still distribution of CP.

So if you can get in trouble, so can she.


Title: Car I bought 2 weeks ago doesn't work Virginia

Question: I bought a used car 2 weeks ago a 2007 bmw, From a small dealership. It came with a warranty. MESS I drove it for 2 days stopped working. I called they came and got the car it has been in the shop since then. I get a thing in the mail that says the warranty that came with the car doesn't cover that car. The owner said he's taking care of everything anyway...ok but still.. I was patient at first but now I'm irritated I call the mechanic everyday. Of course I don't understand car speak and I feel like because I'm a woman they keep putting me off its always "tomorrow". Of course I don't want them to rush and have an unsafe car but I'm so over it is there any way to get out of this deal at this point.

Answer:
 There's nothing quite so expensive to drive as a ten-year-old European car, so you were wise to purchase a warranty.  But warranties are limited and specific contracts so you have to be careful reading and understanding them.

Describe, if you can, the contents of the "thing in the mail".    Is it a letter specifically telling you that your warranty does not apply to the things that are wrong with that car, or did they send you somebody else's warranty information ?

If you're getting the car repaired at no charge, it sounds like the dealership is honoring the warranty.   Just because it's slow doesn't mean they aren't doing it.

Can you describe a little bit about what happened when the car "stopped working" ?

Nothing you've said so far suggests that an implied warranty or a lemon law might apply to your car.    If the dealership decides that undoing the transaction is cheaper than fixing the car, they might do so.   But that's based on their decisions, not on a legal action you can take.


Title: My Band's sound engineer has been fully paid, but left the state with all the files for our album, and has now become unresponsive. What recourse do we have?

Question:
Hi, I would really appreciate a general idea of our options here if worse comes to worst.

We have worked with him before on an EP about 2 years and he did excellent work, really understands what we want our music to sound like, so we worked with him again for the full album. The album is 98% done. It would only take about a week more of work to complete it, and it is woefully past our original deadline.

We received a grant from the City of Chicago to create the album and he signed a contract with us as part of the grant. We crowdfunded more than $10,000 to complete the album. As I said, due to various issues on our engineer's part recording and mixing the album has gone way past deadline, but we rolled with it. Then one more personal issue caused him to unexpectedly leave for another state with all the files.

Since then he has become basically uncommunicative. When he does respond he says he is working on it and will bounce files for our approval "tomorrow" or "soon." The bounces don't come. We spend days or weeks trying to get him to answer, and the process repeats. We finally got him to agree that if we sent him a hard drive, he would load it with all the files, mixes, STEMS etc. We sweetened the deal, saying that once we received the filled hard drive and confirmed that the files were usable, we would send him a little more money. He has once again ceased communication.

&#x200B;

We are beginning to fear that almost 2 years of work and files that are worth $1000's of dollars are in danger. What recourse do we have to come into possession of those files?

&#x200B;

Thank you inn advance for any thoughts or guidance you might have. We are feeling very helpless.

Answer:
 NAL, not from America, am a DJ working on becoming a soundtech/engineer. I work with clubs and bands quite often.

I’m almost certain that the first thing you should do, before thinking about suing, is just get a lawyer to draft a nice letter saying that he should absolutely give you those files or he will get sued. The mere idea of a lawsuit usually puts people in their place.Answer #2: Obligatory NAL, but I have managed professional recording studios for over 15 years. I've also been the sound engineer who has gone non-responsive on people when they are asking for a totally reasonable but difficult thing. I don't think you need legal advice yet.

&#x200B;

It sounds like he is having some personal issues. IMO your best course of action would be to do get him on the phone and explain that you understand his situation and don't hold it against him (even if you do). The thing is that going into the headspace necessary to do creative work can be next to impossible when you have distracting life stuff going on. In all reality he probably feels awful that he hasn't gotten it done for you guys and is facing the reality of deeply wanting to do the work but being incapable right now due to something beyond his control.

&#x200B;

Your best bet is to get the sessions as they are and figure out what plugins and stuff you need to get them finished up. He's not going to like handing them over but you may be able to use this approach to force a deadline for him to get you raw tracks and stems. You can of course just get the raw tracks and have them remixed at additional cost.


Title: Partner and I own a home together split up now she wants to sell but I have nowhere to go

Question:
Myself (32f) and partner (32f) bought a home together about 1.5 years ago. Realistically with the amount of money we owe on the AC unit, fence and house there is no way to come close to getting our money back especially enough to afford to buy/rent something else. I am at a loss. We made this agreement so we would have a joint asset together thinking we would be together for (well ever). Now she wants to leave and keeps pressuring me to sell, but I don't have a place to live. On top of everything my dad died less than 6 months ago whom I loved dearly and I just lost my job. This feels very very shitty. And I honestly don't know what to do. I have a 7yr old son and 4 dogs. Where or what are we supposed to do?

tl;dr Can't sell house owe too much, not married. What now?

Answer:
 Location matters. She presumably could sue you to get a court order to compel you to agree to list the home for sale. If you don't have enough equity in the house and no one will buy it for more than what you owe, you may both be stuck waiting for the house to build up equity to sell.Answer #2: Have you offered to let her buy you out?  You can offer to remove yourself from the title for some amount of money that is sufficient for you to get back on your feet.   Of course, make it clear that you aren't signing the deed until she's gotten you off the mortgage/refinanced in her own name.

It's not a perfect solution, but if you're upside down on the home anyway, walking away free and clear and with enough cash for a security deposit somewhere else may be the biggest win you can hope for.Answer #3: You should speak to a local attorney.  This is well beyond internet advice, and a mistake in dealing with this could cost you a huge amount of money.  It would be well worth a consultation.


Title: (Florida) My mother is calling CPS on my husband and I and is threatening to sue us for custody of our children.

Question:
My moms a little off. I let her see my kids once a year, if I don't she'll randomly shows up at the house. At least this way they're only exposed to her insanity for 2 hours a year.

The reason she's calling CPS and threatening to sue for custody is that the kids know where babies come from. She thinks this is inappropriate and abusive. Just to give you an idea, I thought men and women had the same genitals till I was 16, luckily I had a friend who explained everything to me.

Can we get her to stop calling CPS? I'm confident that she won't get custody but could she get mandatory visitation?

Answer:
 This might be better for r/relationships.
If this happened to me, I would call my mom, cuss her out for calling CPS, and then tell her she's never seeing her grand-kids again until she apologizes for her little stunt. Maybe if you put your foot down, she'll stop acting crazy.Answer #2: > she'll randomly shows up at the house

This is referred to as "trespassing." There are people who deal with this issue, usually calmly.Answer #3: Get a restraining order, 3 counts of harassment is all it takes. Document them too, video, pictures, notes. IAINWALAnswer #4: Of course this had to be Florida. What is it about that state that attracts the crazies?

Anyways, you can't stop her from calling CPS but if I were you I would cut contact and when she starts showing up call the police. After a few times you may have enough evidence for a restraining order.Answer #5: If this isn't a one off event and she has acted in similar ways, I'll point you to head over to /r/raisedbynarcissists
A lot of the folk there have extensive knowledge of the restraining order process, and can help you with the emotional side-effects of it too.
Even if you just need a bit of help deciding whether you're crazy or not, this could be a helpful subreddit for you.


Title: NYC- Landlord whited out my notes on apartment conditions on "my copy" of the lease. Is this legal?

Question:
Hi reddit,

I recently moved into a new apartment, which had some pre-existing damage. The management company was very secretive about the lease, not letting us view it until a signing appointment one day prior to move-in. There were several pages that asked us to sign that the apartment had no signs of damage, leaks, etc. I wrote in pen a note about some leak stains under the sink, and signed next to it.

In addition, I sent an email to the management company with photos of the damage, and the acknowledged receipt of these emails.

The landlord just sent us a copy of our lease, but it seems like my notes on the pre-existing damage have been whited out or covered up on our copy. Is this legal? It now appears that I signed a paper that states there was never any damage to the apartment or signs of damage, which isn't the case.

Any advice would be appreciated. This is in NYC.

Answer:
 Ok so, they'll take your deposit. If you want to fight it when it happens, send them emails now. Create a paper trail. You may write the following email:

Dear Landlord,

Thank you for providing a copy of the lease. In reviewing the copy, I noticed that alterations I had made regarding the condition of the property are missing. In the margin next to section #,  I noted that X, Y, and Z were stained. I then signed beneath this annotation. This annotation is missing from the lease, which means the lease was altered without my consent. I would not have agreed to sign the lease without making note of the apartment's actual condition.

Please send me a copy of the original lease, with the annotation, by [Insert Date].

Best,
NAME

Now, this will be a good gauge of what is going on. If they argue there was no amendment, then you'll need to tell them that it wasn't true and document (pictures, with time stamp) the state of the apartment.

When they take your deposit, you'll have to sew in small claims. It is highly likely that a judge will not rule in your favor as the evidence of the amended lease is only alluded to, but it is worth a shot.

Answer #2: Tip for other renters:

>The management company was very secretive about the lease, not letting us view it until a signing appointment one day prior to move-in.

Don't rent from places that do shit like this. Not renting for companies that have sketchy business practices is the only way they'll learn.


Title: I'm a webcam model and I want to get a professional certification to work in a hospital, will my camming show up on background checks?

Question:
Hi, thank you for reading and helping me understand the implications of camming on the internet.

I work for myfreecams and receive a 1099 under the company's name "mfcxy" which, if you google, the first link seems innocent, but every page after that is about myfreecams. I'm going to school to become a diagnostic medical sonographer, and, while browsing the ARDMS website, saw that they do a background check before issuing the professional certification.

I know what I'm doing isn't illegal, and I've never actually got in legal trouble, but I was wondering if I would be deemed ineligible based on my experience in adult work. Would a hospital be able to pull up my previous employment records when trying to hire me? Is it legal to withhold a certification based on past employment? I'm worried that my temporary job just to get me through school is now going to come back to haunt me. Please help. Thank you in advance for your help.

EDIT: I live in Nevada, USA

Answer: Don't worry about it. It's very unlikely to ever show up and like you said, there's nothing wrong or illegal about it.


Title: [Alberta] Driving after using low-THC cannabis

Question:
Is it legal to drive immediately after using a strain of cannabis with <1% THC?  If no, after how long can I drive?

I have purchased it from a licensed producer with an MD's prescription.

Answer:
 You should not drive while under the influence of a drug.

You should speak with your doctor about how long the side effects of your strain will last and work around those limits. Keep in mind that even though you may follow those limits, you are still responsible for making sure that you are fit to drive before doing so and can be hit with a DWI if impaired.


Title: Who has more rights when it comes to apartment living: people without kids or people with kids? [VA]

Question:
I rent a privately owned condo, as does my downstairs neighbor. I live with my husband and our 3 1/2 year old. Downstairs neighbor lives with some bald guy - they're probably in their 40s.

My child makes a reasonable amount of noise during the day when she is home - but nothing excessive. This includes walking and sometimes running, which I always try to correct as much as I can. I work 8-5, my husband works 3 days during the week from 12p-11p; our kid is with a babysitter at their house during our overlapped time spent working.

Anyway, downstairs neighbor plays loud music, usually around 11-12p or 7-8p for about 1/2 hour each time, pretty much daily. It's loud enough that you can hear the melody of the song (and of course the bass). Also, they've had several late night, LOUD parties (that go from 10p-2/3a). They haven't had one since Christmas, but the daily loud music persists.

I understand it is stressful as hell to live under someone, let alone someone with kids. We (especially my kid) do not make noise at odd times of the day - always during. I walk as softly as possible and don't drop or bang things, nor do I play music. My kid can get a little heavy footed when she walks, but short of tying her to a chair for the rest of her life, that's nothing I can fix, IMO.

I've written the company that manages the condo community several times about the noise my downstairs neighbor makes (from the late night parties to the loud music). They said they sent a noise complaint but I'm not sure it was ever received because like I said the daily music persists. I've only ever called the police once; the day after I called them on a screaming match that was going on at 12a, my neighbor came and pounded on my door, called me a bad mother, told me to shut my kid up and to never call the cops on her again. The last party she held started at 12.30a (Christmas time),; she was playing LOUD music and her and whatever friends she has were talking loud and screaming. I pounded on the floor three times, she turned down the music, got a broom and pounded the ceiling with it and then turned the volume right back up and let the music play for another 45 minutes.

Anyway, we just signed another lease here - and if zillow is correct, she did too. There's no "switching units" because like I said they're privately owned/rented condos. Though the community has the same community manager, we have different landlords. I can't break my lease because of this either. We had the opportunity to leave but decided to stay here because her 1/2 boom box sessions are probably much more tolerable than other places that have units that are all landlord/managed by the same people - I didn't want to risk it.

**tl;dr** who has more rights to quiet enjoyment - people with kids or without kids? Are there protections for families here in VA?

Answer:
 Your neighbor plays music for an hour or so a day and had a party last Christmas?? Big damn deal. These are people noises. Nothing excessive. Your rights are equal. If the daily music bugs you, put your own music on or go out for a walk. Geez.Answer #2: > who has more rights to quiet enjoyment - people with kids or without kids?

Everyone has the same rights to quiet enjoyment - whatever those rights are in a particular location. Having children does not confer extra rights upon tenants, nor does having children remove any such rights.Answer #3: No one has more or less *rights*. I am not sure what you want protected but there are no specific protections regarding noise and family's or singles.


Title: Anonymous person making false reports to police that I'm exposing myself from my window

Question:
I've had to spend the last month working from home and due to the warm weather I have been stripping off a few layers most days while going about the house. I normally wear at least a pair of shorts but on one day a few weeks ago I wound up with a situation where I didn't have any decent pairs on hand so had to go about in the nudy. I live on a side road that gets a lot of traffic from students on coming home as there's a school up the road and on that day in particular I'd forgotten and with it being warm had kept the curtains open to let some air in while fixing myself something to eat in the kitchen.

About half an hour afterwards I get a knock on the door, quickly throw on a pair of trousers and a shirt and answer - it's one of our local PCs who talks to me, asks a few questions - tells me someone reported me for exposing myself to some kids from the window. Tell them I've done no such thing, I've been wearing these clothes all day (a fib admittedly but I didn't want the hassle) and that's the end of it, they eventually go on their way. A few days later, I get another knock on the door, another PC asking about what I'm doing, is this my house etc and that someone reported me as exposing myself to their kids through my window. I was shirtless that day but still wearing shorts, even so none of their business. Yesterday I got yet another knock on the door by two PCs about the same thing, I'm getting a bit annoyed at this point as it's interrupting me in the middle of work. It's plausible someone would be able to see me as my bedroom/office and kitchen windows are visible from the front but whoever this busybody is should mind their own business.

If I choose to walk around in little to no clothes while I'm in the house, for my own comfort if nothing else, that's my call - I'm not flashing to kids. Usually it's just a pair of shorts because this house gets really warm whenever the sun is out. What happens if I don't answer the police at my door? It's the third time in the last fortnight and I'm considering just ignoring it because I have better things to do and I'm sure our local PCs do too.

This is England, UK btw - for some reason LAUK autodeletes my post

Answer: There isn’t really a legal question here... buy sheer curtains or keep your clothes on. If kids can see you from the street, that’s a problem.


Title: Charged with battery on police officer

Question: I’m 19 years old and male. So I got arrested at a soccer game for getting in a fight with someone. Outside the stadium, one of the security guards started cussing me out so I said a few things back and the cops got all over me and started slamming my next down. One of them stuck his finger or multiple fingers into my mouth and I reacted instinctively and I think I tried to pull my mouth away but ended up totally by accident biting his finger. He was fortunately fine but they got me with battery on an officer. Now I have a court date and even though the sheriffs told me they will let me off lightly most likely I’m worried they will manipulate the truth and not listen to me and act like I totally assaulted him, even though he wasn’t hurt at all. The penalty for it can be a prison sentence so I’m really scared it could go wrong. How can I explain what happened and have them believe me? The security footage won’t be able to explain that it was an accident and I bet the officer will exaggerate it so I really don’t know what to do. This is the first time I’ve been in any criminal trouble and I haven’t ever been prosecuted as a juvenile either.

Answer:
 You don't 'explain what happened so that they believe you.'

You call a lawyer, first thing Monday morning, and you don't do anything except follow the advice of that attorney.


Title: My friend left his healthy dog with his stepmom, who had it euthanized without telling him.

Question:
There's a friend of mine who took a job out of the United States, so he left his dog with his dad and stepmom who said they were more than happy to watch the dog. They had been talking about the dog's care nearly every day and he had offered to pay to get the dog boarded if he needed to. His stepmom assured him there was no problem at all and there was no need to spend the money to board his dog.

We just found out that his stepmother took the dog in and had it euthanized last week and she didn't tell him until today, while he's out of the country.

He definitely wants to file charges, but he's currently still out of the States for almost another year. Any advice on what he should do in this situation?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Slow down. Why was the dog euthanized? Who euthanized the dog? What level of authority did he leave his father and stepmother to take care of the dog? Did they take it to vet appointments? Did they consult with the vet about this?  It seems like he needs to at least get some more information about what happened before he can conclude that he “definitely wants to file charges”.Answer #2: INAL

I would do some digging into this. A vet typically will not put down a perfectly healthy animal, or an animal that can be easily treated. It is possible that she told him that because she sold the dog and doesn’t want him pursuing the person she sold the dog. Has he spoken to his dad at all about this?Answer #3: I'm not sure what crime he thinks they commited but his recourse is likely going to be suing her for the value of the dog


Title: Accidently shipped to neighbors address

Question: Was given the okay when I asked them about it but they ended up calling the police because they thought it was drugs. Police seized it and opened it despite it being from amazon and only being a phone. They then suspected credit card fraud but I showed them bank statements. They are not releasing the package to me because I put my friend's nickname on it (i dont usually put my own names on my package). Despite showing proof of purchase, they say only my friend can pick up the package (even though it's not even his name just his nick name, and not his last name either) State of Louisiana

Answer:
 You sent a package to your neighbor's house with a fake name, admit you usually use fake names for postal services, and asked them to hold it for you.

That is textbook "how to buy drugs on the darknet" behavior. The police are absolutely right to investigate.

Just go have your friend pick it up.Answer #2: Good luck getting that phone back any time soon. You do shady stuff and the police will suspect you of doing shady stuff.


Title: My niece and sister desperately need your advice! The paternal grandparents have been threatening them with lawsuits.

Question:
I have seen the reddit community help so many people and hope that you can offer some support to my sister and her family.
A little background on them: My sister was married to a guy, whom i will refer to as David, for almost eight years in the state of Delaware. Seven years ago, shortly after my niece was born, David started talking to a girl in Europe, and eventually my sister and David went through a moderately ugly Divorce. Everybody, including David's parents and my sister were trying to make the marriage work. This was my sister's first child, and she was obviously scared of raising my niece on her own. Anyhow, David ended up marrying the girl he met on the internet and moved to Europe. My sister got 100% full legal custody of my niece as David really did not want anything to do with the baby. I believe the court granted him visitation rights. David's parents, who are millionaires, decided to pay $300 each month to my sister, who ended up losing her house and having her credit ruined.

 My sister, along with the help and support of my parents and family moved on and ended up marrying a wonderful guy five years ago. Through out this time, my sister kept a very good relationship with David's parents, who have visited my niece and have had her for sleepovers.

Recently, however, my smart niece started questioning why she had a different last name than her sibling and parents. So, my sister explained the situation to her and how her father left when she was a baby. Furthermore, my sister filed a name change in court and changed my niece's last name (David's last name) to match her existing family name to make my niece more comfortable and avoid confusion. This infuriated David's parents, who have been threatening my sister with lawsuits to change back the name.

Additionally, my sister and her family are tired of the cold weather and the general lack of anything to do in Delaware and want to move to Florida to enjoy the warmth and all the family activities it has to offer. Ever since David's parents have taken the nasty route, my sister is scared that she cannot move out of Delaware because they will file a lawsuit that would force her to stay there so they could visit my niece and have her spend more time at their home. Is this a legitimate concern that my sister is having? My sister also just mentioned to me that she is being forced to reverse the name change for my niece because she is scared she would lose in court because of the $300 monthly contribution that David's parents have been making. I told her I would financially help her with any lawsuits that are brought against her, but promised her to ask this community for advice first. We would really appreciate your input.

Edit 1:  changed to paragraphs
-also my sister stopped taking the $300 contribution recently,  in light of what's happening,  and has no interest in it.
Edit 2: My sister has made an appointment with a lawyer for legal advice.

Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 The grandparents have 0 legal rights to the child.  Your sister was granted full legal custody of the child and my do as she pleases.

1. Yes she can move to Florida.  Will she lose the 300/mo? Most likely seeing as that was not court ordered and by the grandparents choice.

2. The grandparents will not win any lawsuit to change the child's name back, as they have NO rights to the child.  $300/mo does not give the grandparent's any rights to the child.  This was the grandparents decision to give the money.

Answer #2: > This infuriated David's parents, who have been threatening my sister with lawsuits to change back the name.

I have never heard of such a thing. I can't imagine how the grandparents would have any standing. Of course, anyone can file a lawsuit, which can get expensive to defend against. But the custodial parent is in charge of the kid's name.

In terms of moving to Florida, if your sister has sole custody then she's probably in the clear, but consult with a family law attorney, not just a bunch of stranger on the Internet. The grandparents could file for visitation but they can't decide where the child lives.


Title: Renting an Apartment, Pricing Error

Question:
I'm currently looking at apartments in Indianapolis. My roommate and I applied to one at ~$1500 for a really nice place. We've submitted the application and deposit ($200), pending screening. We have not signed the lease yet. Today they called us and said that the price we applied at was incorrect on their website, it is actually $2500. They will not honor the original price listed. They are giving us options for other 2 bedroom apartments now.

I understand this might truly be a mistake on their end, but are they in any way legally required to honor the price that we had submitted our application for?

Thanks!

Answer:
 Doubt theres a way to make them honor the 1k less price BUT you may want to file a complaint with your attorney general. Also, while the language is different all over this smells like an unfair trade practice and maybe housing discrimination. Check later today to see if they correct the error on their website and if not perserve it as proof they are advertising it at a different rate. Answer #2: Ask for your deposit and application fee back. They have the right to change the amount if the lease has not been signed by both parties, but whether this was an honest oversight or sheistiness on their end, you probably don’t want to rent from them. Answer #3: No lease was signed, so you didn't have a deal with them yet. Now, I would politely demand all money to hold the place be returned, since they advertised a mistake.Answer #4: Isn't this a standard "Bait & Switch"?

They reel you in with what seems like a god deal, then say it's not available anymore but here's some other crap we're trying desperately trying to pawn off on people!


Title: Recently accused of hacking my school's system and threatened to be kicked out

Question:
I'm in the US and I go to a private school. We also use MacBooks for school work everyday.

-
So this is a throwaway for obvious reason. I'm a senior in high school and I have about a month and a half before graduating.
There was recently an event that had kids at my school hack the login admin system.
Today I was called upon into the Principal's office and the new Principal for next year was also in the room.

-

3/28/16
At around 12 I was called up to the front office in English class.

I went up to the front office and was told that Mr. Principal wants to see me.
I went into his office and Mrs. Assistant Principal was sitting next to him.
He told me to sit in the chair and have a talk with him.
He asked "So you've been involved with some issues and you can come clean or I can have an investigator come which will cost 600$ and if they find anything then you will
be asked to leave the school"
I told him I'm not involved and asked him what type of things I am accused for.
He said that I hacked into the school's lightspeed system and that they KNOW I'm associated with this because I closed out my "things".
I told him the only thing I closed out was my google tabs
He asked what is that?
I said it's google chrome and I had multiple windowed tabs opened.
I asked if anyone accused me and he said that I'm associated with KID A and I have been iMessaging.
I told him I have never spoken to KID A once in my entire life and that I have never iMessaged before in my life as well.
I asked him if there's an estimated time for this to be resolved and he said he has no idea.
I exited the room.

I went back to my classroom and asked my teacher if I can call my mom and she said I can.
I went back to the front office and asked if there's anyway I can call my mom privately. She said if I have a cell phone I can go outside and call her.

I called my mom telling her that Mr. Principal called me into the office.
She gave me advice and I walked back to see Mr. Principal on my own.

Mrs. Assistant Principal was about to leave and then she said "oh you're going to talk to him?" and I said yes, so she sat back in the office.

I said, "I just called my mom and she told me to stand my ground and that she's behind me and believes I did not do this."

Mrs. Assistant Principal asked if I hacked into the lightspeed system and I said no.
She asked if I have ever logged into it and I said yes, but only on my account. I said I have never used an admin account.

Mr. Principal said okay thank you and I left the room.

When lunch happened I went to Mr. Techguy and asked if I could talk to him.

He said okay and I asked if he knew about what was going on and he answered yes.

-
I told him I was just threatened to be kicked out if I don't confess, which I have been and that I don't even have an iMessage account.
I said that he could be the only one to prove my innocence and asked if he already checked the logs.
He said that there's already an investigation and that there's a 3rd party involved and they even told us to stay out of it because there needs to be no one with the school
affiliated doing this.
He reminded me of what I did last year on my computer and knew I was playing around, and I told him that I have kept my promise with him and have never done that again.
He said he believes me and that it's going to be alright.
I asked if he knew any time estimate or if they were going in A, B, C order.
He said he has no idea.

Before I left school he told me to go over there to talk to him.
He said "I believe that you didn't do anything". It's going to be alright. You just have to keep calm and act quietly.

Edit: What should I do and how should I solve this problem?

-
Edit 2: There were 9 computers in total that were taken up.

-
Edit 3: I got an email earlier today around 3 from my principal saying "The assessment team will be looking at your MacBook hard drive tonight. If it shows no activity as applies to the hacking of school systems, it will be returned to you tomorrow. If you were not involved, there is nothing to worry about, you will be cleared by the assessment team."

Edit 4: I got my computer back and they sent me an email saying I was cleared. They didn't even apologize for all the bs that they accused me of though...

Answer:
 They are fishing. Stick with your story and you should be fine.

Remain calm. If they kick you out for something you didn't do - then you would want to retain counsel.Answer #2: If you didn't do it, and they have a professional investigation happening (which may or may not be a lie) than the best you can do is just shut up and not pursue this. Keep your head down, do nothing to arouse suspicion, and get to graduation.Answer #3: That post has a lot of rambling in it.

Know what it does NOT have?

A single question.Answer #4: What do you *do*? You don't do anything. Stop trying to play detective. Stop walking into the principal's office to declare your innocence. The more involved you get in this the more suspicious it looks, you understand?

WAIT until the principal asks more questions, or the school files charges, or something else happens. Trying to *escalate* the situation only makes you look guilty af. Because, why would someone who was innocent be so scared of a simple investigation? Why would they start obsessing over how to prove their innocence?

**My advice: sit down on your ass and take a few deep breaths. You do not "solve" this problem. You do not go on the offensive. You wait to see if this all blows over, and if someone tries to pin ACTUAL CONSEQUENCES on you, THEN you start "solving" things.**Answer #5: $600. It's written $600.


Title: Attorney for HOA attempting non-judicial foreclosure on my property Utah

Question:
I am expat living overseas for the past 5 years. I own a property in Utah that I have been renting out for the past 5 years. I have a property manager who takes care of the management of tenants and collecting payments. I pay the HOA fees myself through bill pay on my bank which they HOA has been cashing each month.

Earlier this week I was forwarded a letter from a law firm threatening non-judicial foreclosure on my property for failure to pay outstanding balance on my HOA account.

Last year I was notified that the property management firm collecting fees for the HOA had changed so I updated the name and address and they have been cashing the monthly checks of $105 I have been sending them.

Apparently at some time before that the HOA fee had increased to $135 and then $145 so I have essentially been shortpaying them each month for the last year plus. They have also been assessing late fees, interest and attorney fees. The outstanding balance is now around $2,000. I've never missed a payment on a mortgage credit card or otherwise. I never received any notification about any of this and I have requested the attorney validate the debt. He responded by providing a ledger showing an outstanding balance, I then requested he provide any evidence that the HOA attempted to notify me of any rate increases or prior demands for outstanding payment.

A compounding factor here is that they may have actually attempted to send the notices to the tenant and they were never forwarded to me or that the HOA did not have my current email or mailing address.

I have the money to pay the debt and agree that rightfully I owe them ( I have not told this to the attorney) the increase in HOA rates but since I never received any notification I would like to settle for less than the attorney fees and less any late fees.

Answer:
 1. Start paying the HOA the correct amount
2. Send the HOA managers a paper letter (and e-mail) reminding them of your contact information (and that you are a non-resident). With some luck they have an online portal for owners where you can check the status.
3. Pay the amount in arrears directly to the HOA management company since you own them that money.
4. Discuss the situation with the HOA management company.
5. Now all that's left to worry about is the late fees, interest, legal fees.
6. It's important that your tenant notify your property manager of any notices that they receive for you.  The property manager can work out the details with them. Your reasonable defense is that you would have paid if they had asked you directly.


Title: Mom's divorcing stepdad; he won't let us have our stuff

Question:
My mom left my stepdad after months of complications and having problems from raising his intolerable kids for eight years.  The day after she left she went to pick up her stuff; they had hidden mostly all of it, such as her laptop, iPad, mini iPad, her work iPad, and all of her chargers.  To make matters petty, they even hid her coffee, which she needs for her strenuous job.

She said she'd be back to pick up my great grandmothers china and china cabinet, and, quoting my stepdad, "You'll get what I tell you you can get."

My mom works hard; she raised three out of five of his kids, who did nothing but disrespect her the entire time; and when she got sick of it, she left, and now he's basically stealing from her by not letting her get priceless family heirlooms.

Any advice on what we can do about this?  We reside in Northeast Florida.

Answer: Get the police to go over there with her. Keep any evidence she can get just in case she needs a restraining order. Answer #2: Your mom can call the police non-emergency line and request an officer go with her to the home. She can remove her personal effects.


Title: [USA] How is it possible for someone to file a claim on my free music ?

Question:
Hi all.
I got a copyright claim on one of my videos.
Here is the story...
I created this instrumental using my computer, my keyboard and a program called FL Studio(music making program).
I released the instrumental on YouTube and I wrote under it that its free to use.
Year later, guy makes a song using my free instrumental and he now filed a claim on my video, claiming its his instrumental.
How is this possible ?

Answer:
 Its automated and an error, he's a dumbass, he's lying, or you're actually infringing. Those are the usual issues.Answer #2: Because anyone can claim anything.

If you want to dispute his claim, you should do so.Answer #3: If it was up on YouTube, you have ample evidence that you wrote it before him. So dispute his claim.


Title: I'm 90% certain one of my former employees had been steeling from my company. What are my best steps here?

Question:
I am a part owner of a custom clothing company.

A few weeks ago, we noticed that ~1000 dollars worth of products were missing from a storage closet in our office. There really was no way to figure out where it could have gone, only the company owners (me and two others) actually have access to this closet.  We all scratched our heads and just tried to be more careful about it in the future.

Beginning of last week, I let an employee go, simply because we needed to downsize.  He was kind of like an errand boy, packing boxes, making runs to the post office, etc.

A week before I laid him off, I passed some boxes on to him to bring over to the post office. There were 3 boxes for 3 different  clients, all with time sensitive, rather expensive contents ($500 each).  Today, I find out that none of those boxes, which should have arrived 2-3 days later, have arrived.

I then looked through our credit card records to see if I could find the shipping charge (it should have been a lot of $$$ on that day or the day after).  Nothing. I then called up the former employee to ask him to confirm whether or not he had actually shipped the boxes. He ensured me he had, but when I told him there was no charge, he sounded nervous and said something about how he accidentally used his personal card, and they had to void the transaction. It didn't really make sense.

Talking with the other owners about this, we recalled that he may actually have had access to the key to that storage closet for a few days. He normally would ask permission to go into the closet and remove items, but for a few days, the key was left out for him.

What are my best steps? Clearly my proof is far from conclusive, but there's a lot of evidence pointing towards him. What should I do? I'm out almost $3000.

**TL;DR. $1000 of stuff went missing from a closet in our office.  Then, boxes I gave to an employee to ship at the post office seemingly never got shipped. I then laid off this employee for completely unrelated reasons, only to find the he was one of the only people with access to that closet.**

Answer: Write it off as a loss and learn from this to institute better inventory controls. You could also install video surveillance of the area that has your high value inventory. These are all very cheap things to do, likely less than the value of the missing inventory.


Title: Need help applying for minor's passport (US/TX)

Question:
Throwaway

I have full custody of my minor child. Other parent has visitation, but not overnights until they finish a court ordered drug treatment program. They visit once or twice a week for a total of about six hours. They live 25 miles away. They are a narcissist and very controlling. In the past they have been adamant, beating their fists, insisting our child cannot go out of the the country.

Well, I plan to marry out of the country next year and would like my child to attend, but need to get a passport. On the DS-5525 it asks for "Reason for my request to issue a U.S. passport book without the non-applying parent's consent". It'd be nice and easy to simply say "Other parent is a controlling asshole and just doesn't want a passport for kiddo just because". I'm not sure what legalese I can put on this passport that basically says just that. I'm hoping my parenting plan and divorce decree will say enough.

Answer: He has some custody. He needs to sign. He has a right to refuse to sign. Then you can file in family court for a judge to order him to sign it.


Title: Any laws re: requiring a leased office space to allow emotional support animals (NC)?

Question:
Hi. My place of employment is moving locations. I have been able to bring in my dog occasionally to the office at our old location. I just checked our new signed lease and dogs aren't allowed. It wasn't part of the lease, but it was part of a list of rules that was attached to the lease \(after the page where our director signed, but still sort of in the lease document\). The rules do say that dogs for blind people are okay... which seems a bit antiquated because aren't all ADA dogs required regardless?

I have been diagnosed with ADHD, depression, anxiety, and am going through a divorce currently, and would love to be able to continue to bring my dog in occasionally, but am not a trouble\-maker or rule breaker. I would be willing to get a letter from a mental health provider saying she is my emotional support dog and think that one of my two mental health providers would do it. But I don't want to cause drama or trouble \-\- which would also spark my anxiety!  She is not an ADA service dog that performs a specific medical task, and I don't want to go through the hassle of doing this for a task that is not needed and abuse the system that way.

Are there any laws or legal backing for allowing for an emotional support animal in a leased office space \(state: North Carolina\)? My boss says to bring her until/unless they say something... but that feels wrong to me.

Thanks in advance.

Answer: ESAs are protected under the FHA (housing) and ACAA (air travel).  There is no law that protects them in the workplace.  While they could be treated as an accommodation in the workplace, they'd have a much higher bar to clear than a service animal, and it's not likely your workplace would be required to allow you to have your ESA in a building that explicitly doesn't permit dogs other than service dogs.


Title: Refused to renew lease until some very necessary repairs are made and have been threatened with eviction

Question: About a month or two ago my landlord was updating the bathroom and in the process caused a lot of issues. The shower is leaking through the ceiling causing a lot of water damage and mold while the toilet is leaking across the bathroom floor. Its gotten so bad that the other day i found mushrooms growing off the wall. My girlfriend and I have been telling him about it constantly but he just wont do anything. Our lease is up and he's been on us to renew it but we reufused to do so until he fixes these glaring problems with our home so he said he's going to evict us. Im almost certain this ia illegal but im not sure where to to from here. I live in Illinois.

Answer:
 Your landlord doesn't want to fix the problem. Since you're not in a lease anymore you can leave if you give proper notice. So that's what you should do. You can't force the landlord to fix this.  Maybe they want to do serious renovations and it's not worth fixing.

> but im not sure where to go from here

Anywhere else.


Title: (X-post advice) Landlord is a dick and I can't break lease. [Illinois[

Question:
Hello /r/legaladvice! I was told to post my question here.

I'm a bit at my wits end with the situation here. Several months ago my wife found a job located an hour and a half from where I live. A position then opened up sometime in November in this new place and I applied for the position. Good news: I got the job. Bad news: We're both commuting now.

The landlord at our current place is pretty much an asshole. Just after our wedding we received a bill for "air conditioning fees" that were not agreed upon in our lease. The landlord claimed that this was something everyone paid and that it was a "gentleman's agreement." I pointed out that our lease specifically stated that utilities were paid for and that it said nothing about an air conditioning fee. After a verbal disagreement, we sent him a stern letter stating that we would not pay this fee.

Now flash forward to our current situation. Using the property manager as a mediator, we found someone who would be willing to take over our lease for the duration and agreed to surrender our security deposit if we could break lease. He flat out told us "no." Subleasing is also not allowed according to the lease terms.

Now we're looking at potentially getting a secured bank loan and buying it out that way, but obviously that's not an ideal situation. Currently we both have to commute and cannot carpool. There are no immediate problems with the apartment so it would be terribly difficult to break lease in that capacity.
I'm frustrated. What do you think could be done so that I could break lease and move close to my employment? Thanks in advance for any advice that can be given.

Here is the thread I'm x-posting from: http://www.reddit.com/r/Advice/comments/2rj26k/landlord_is_a_dick_and_i_cant_break_lease/
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Offer the landlord money.

If he takes in a new renter he is even on money.  Since he doesn't like you he doesn't want to help you.  Plus he is probably hoping you will just buy out the lease and then he will get a new renter anyway.  Tell him you will pay him X if he agrees to let the new renter in.


Title: Unknowingly purchased “allegedly” stolen goods

Question: December 2018, I purchased an atv and trailer from a private seller.  Fast forward to today, no longer need trailer for atv and posted it for sale on a marketplace.  Receive a private message from a guy, stating the trailer I bought was originally stolen from him.  Showed me the correspondence between them that proved the trailer was stolen.  Guy wants his trailer back.  I’m okay with that, what actions do I have against the seller?

Answer: You can sue the seller for return of what you paid him for the atv and trailer. Unlikely to get anything from it but you'll get nothing by doing nothing so you can decide if it is worth your time. I wouldn't just be handing over the allegedly stolen goods to the 'original' owner without substantial proof including police reports.Answer #2: This don't sound right at all. Like a scam. Don't fall for it.


Title: Company located in Hong Kong keeps sending me mail even though I unsubed from their newsletter and now there's no button to unsubscribe. Under German law I can claim at least €3000-5000 just for that. Is there any merit to actually going forward or will their residency probably shield them?

Answer:
 Looks to me like you're in a situation where you could get a judgment against them, but be unable to collect because they have no assets that your court could reach and grasp firmly enough to give you.

There's probably a German word for that.


Title: [North Carolina] My girlfriend had a child when she was 14 gave the child to the father's mother, and now 15 years later is getting letters from child support

Question:
When she had the child, she tried to take care of the kid for a year because she thought she had no choice. The father wasn't able to help being 14 himself. So she ended up giving the child to the father's mother. She doesn't remember signing anything over for the child. No official adoption papers. Just gave the kid over and that was it. She was 14 so she didn't know any better.

So fast forward to now. My girlfriend gets a letter from her boss. It shows a request from Child Support in Wisconsin. It's asking for her place of work, how much she makes, and current address. The letter wasn't for my girlfriend, it was for the employer, but her boss helped her out and gave her a copy of the form.

My girlfriend is pretty upset about the whole thing. She thought she put the whole thing behind her. The whole situation was fucked at the time. The father was abusive and she never wanted the kid. But she ended up giving the kid to the grandmother and they went up to Wisconsin with the father as well. There was a verbal agreement that they would leave her alone.

I'm just here to ask what kind of lawyer we should be looking for. It seems to me that my girlfriend shouldn't be held responsible since the grownups took over the situation at the time. The woman that is taking care of the child also lives off of the government and knows how to play the system. And that's what we think this is.

Answer: The mother is almost 100% on the hook for child support. Underage fathers have been deemed liable in the past, no reason underage mothers would not be held to the same standard. She needs to find a family attorney that is lisenced to practice in Wisconsin.


Title: hostile work environment (oklahoma)?

Question: i've been working at this place for 8 months.  in that time, i have been continuously harassed by a co-workers comments.  nothing belligerent but constant embarrassing and degrading remarks.  i have asked him (which he says he never heard) to not talk that way to me numerous times.  Until last Friday when something he said made me slam my hands on the desk and say "STOP!  that's enough!"  The supervisor in the room immediately reacted, "you can't take this anymore" and went straight to HR.  I was asked to write a statement explaining all the things he has said to make me uncomfortable.  I did.  I was summoned to a meeting with the global HR director to explain my feelings.  I had this meeting today, told them what i knew and felt and was dismissed (supervisor and worker meeting after).  After the worker's meeting was over (and he had the president of the union in the room), my direct supervisor and i were called back for an "apology".  He spoke his words and (we) i was encouraged to accept them.  In the moments after, in the room with me, the HEAD OF HR, the DIRECTOR of OPERATIONS and the PRESIDENT of the UNION, the worker looks me straight in the face and says, "i'm sorry...you're just too "shiney" and it makes me uncomfortable and grumpy.  NO ONE SAID A WORD!!!!!  NO ONE!!!!   i replied, "i don't know how to shine less" and walked out.

Answer:
 It's not a hostile work environment. Being mean isn't illegal. Answer #2: There's no law against people being mean to you. As long as it's not discriminatory based on a protected class, which it doesn't seem to be, there's nothing you can do about itAnswer #3: > you're just too "shiney"

Maybe you are. Is that a mean thing to point out?


Title: If I swim naked in my backyard's swimming pool and my neighbor pokes their head over the fence and sees me, can I get in any type of legal trouble with the law?

Question:
Assume the fence is made of wood (not see through) and 6-7 feet high.

Does it make any difference if it is a swimming pool or other body of water like a lake/pond?

Edit: Also does it make any difference if they have a multistory house and see me naked in the pool from their bedroom on the second story?

Answer:
 Location? There was a court case about this very thing in NC a while back: https://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/private-property-can-be-a-public-place-under-the-indecent-exposure-statute/

tl;dr: Yes, it could be an issue. Type of water does not matter.


Title: If someone is killed on federal land does that automatically make it the FBI's jurisdiction?

Question: Just curious. Every single episode of Bones the FBI takes over because the body was in Wa D.C. or in a Federal park. I know that isn't the worst part of the reality of the show but it always bugged me a lot.

Answer:
 The FBI almost never investigates murders.

My wife gets mad because I point out the lack of Federal jurisdiction in nearly every single episode of Bones...


Title: Possible "Hit and Run", no charges made yet. Kalamazoo, MI. Have questions about polygraph, mainly.

Question:
A fellow student at the local university made a piss-poor park job, but because my car is small, I was able to fit in the space next to her vehicle. Apparently, while I was in the university, she came back to her car and claims to have found damage to her car at that time. I am certain I did not hit her car, and my girlfriend can corroborate this. I saw her ( the other driver) standing by her car on the way back to my car that evening (although I wasn't totally sure it was the same car/driver, since she had apparently fixed her park job at this point). She made no contact with me. Apparently, she called the police, and told them that she told me to stay and wait for them, but that I drove off anyway (this is where the potential "hit and run" comes from, but again, she never said a word to me).

I know all of this because two cops showed up at my door this morning. One cop suggested I take a polygraph to support my innocence. I am *extremely* skeptical about this. Do polygraphs even hold legal weight, or can this only work against me? What is my best course of action? I have already completed a detailed report of the events in the parking lot, from my arrival and departure, and emailed it to myself to date it. The cop has only told me at this point that he will be giving all facts to his supervising detective, and that they will call me if they're going to issue a citation.

Edit: Thanks for the responses, all. I have also talked to some lawyers. I will not take a polygraph, and if I am called for questioning or charged, I will respond with "I would like to speak with a lawyer," or something to that effect.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 > Do polygraphs even hold legal weight

Polygraphs are investigative tools.  They are, in nearly all circumstances, inadmissible in court.

You can choose whether to cooperate with the police, and whether to sit for the polygraph.


Title: I fell at work, what do i do? (California)

Question:
So I work at a pretty well known retail store, that people make jokes about a lot. Anyways, I slipped on a dress I was putting back on the rack and fell on my ass, landed on my ankle (under my ass) and tried to catch myself on my hand and winded up hurting it and my wrist to the point where i can’t put ANY pressure on my ankle without it hurting, and same with my hand. My ankle didn’t really start hurting til about 30 minutes after my shift, when i’m assuming the shock and adrenaline wore off. I tried to tell my manager but she just laughed and brushed it off.

The way I told her was: “Well *managers name* I fell after making fun of you for slipping on a hanger. Like literally just now. I slipped and fell while putting a dress back.”

Answer: Go to or call HR, tell them you need to file a worker's comp claim.  Go to the doctor.  If you feel you must go tonight, look for an urgent care instead of an ER.


Title: Ordered from Subway. Arrived to sign my Credit Card slip, but was already signed.

Question: I did nothing this time cause I used a Gift Card. But if it was my actual Credit Card wouldn't it be fraud? What should people do if its something small like this, but you want action taken?

Answer: What exactly are you legally expecting to happen here?


Title: [OK] Detective asked me to come in, is being cagey. (Computer crimes)

Question:
I worked for a company that did coding for state agencies, and recently left that job and got another.

I have now been contacted by a detective from the White Collar Crime division, about a "computer crime" that "possibly" involves me, from when I worked at that company.

He asked if I could come in and talk about it.  When I asked what it was about, he repeated that it involved my old company, when I pressed him, he said he would be happy to discuss details when I came in.

I do not recall doing or witnessing anything that I knew was illegal while working there, but I am a developer, and I have had my dirty paws inside the innards for probably a majority of the government agencies in the state.

Thoughts?

Answer:
 Do not talk to police, talk to a lawyer.Answer #2: Do not go in. Do not talk to him. Do not do his job for him.Answer #3: Lawyer timeAnswer #4: So he won't tell you what he wants to speak to you about, until you come to him and into his territory? It's only a request?

I'd be ignoring him or telling him you're not going to bother coming in until he gives you an indication of what he wants to talk to you about. Then speak to a lawyer if he keeps trying and only with a lawyer present would I speak to him.

Also read up on your previous employment contracts and any non-disclosure stuff you signed and show them to said lawyer.

There seems to be zero benefit for you in speaking to him and a whole world of negatives. Answer #5: Ignore the request, if they really need for you to talk to them they can subpoena you. If and when you get a summons, then get a lawyer and proceed according to their advice.


Title: [TX] No added sugar

Question:
I work for a company that sells treats. They advertise that they serve treats with no added sugars. However this is 100% not the case given that we all pour sugar into some of the treats and make them by hand. I have diabetics that come in and I am worried about them. Is this breaking any law?

Also these are extra things and if you know were I cant post these it would be awesome. We reuse rags constantly. We have the same rags since from my knowledge a month ago, possibly longer, and I thought that you needed new clean rags every 6 hours (i worked at a couple of restaurants and they did this ). Also they are withholding my friends paycheck. It is from the first 4 days, and it has been more than a month and still nothing. So any idea?

Lastly their are wanting us to re purpose old treats into new batches. For example if 3 treats break and its a 3 week old batch, when we start to make a new batch they want us to pour the old treats into a new batch so that there is no "waste." Any help would be amazing.

Answer:
 Not legal advice, but something I would mention as someone who has lived with type 1 diabetes for my entire life: “no added sugar” is an utterly meaningless term.

What matters to a diabetic person is the number of carbohydrates in an item. (Carbohydrates are what require insulin to be broken down) It doesn’t matter how much of it is from sugar vs other sources, and whether it’s “added” or not is completely uninformative.

When I eat *anything* I look at the package and check the number of carbs. That lets me know how much insulin I should be taking. Any diabetic person doing their due diligence shouldn’t be eating treats as if they’re healthy or won’t require insulin because it’s advertised as “low carb” or “diabetic friendly” or “sugar free” or anything. It’s all irrelevant to how many carbs is in an item, which is all a diabetic should really care about.

This still sounds like a potentially bad situation that you may want to report, but please don’t feel like you’re tricking diabetic people or harming them. They should be looking at the nutrition facts regardless of the advertising.


Title: [Canada, Ontario] Please help! Recently fired for wrongful dismissal. Union will not take my case to arbitration. Can I sue employer?

Question:
I was fired for saying I'm looking to get pregnant in the near future.

My union says that I am not a union members because I am still within my 90 day probation, so they don't need to represent me. However I guess I might be part of the bargaining unit... so does this mean I cannot sue my employer for wrongful dismissal? I also don't pay union dues if that helps.

I've tried asking lawyers for advice but as soon as they hear union they don't return my calls

I am also aware of the Human Rights Tribunal and filing a claim. In my case I have physical proof of wrongful dismissal but not that i told my employer I was trying to conceive. Just wondering my options. Thanks

Answer:
 What's your "physical proof" of wrongful dismissal?

I agree that you cannot be fired under a protected ground, even during a probationary period. You are correct your recourse is through the Ontario HRC. You may have other recourse in the common law, even as a probationary employee, if the termination was unreasonable (e.g. *Mison v Bank of Nova Scotia*, [1994 CanLII 7383 (ON SC)](http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/1994/1994canlii7383/1994canlii7383.html)). Did your employer tell you in a letter why you were terminated?


Title: HELP PLEASE: ex-wife does not allow son to travel abroad to visit with father's side of family

Question:
## It is a long story and will be happy to elaborate but the short version is:

A minor needs both parents approval to travel outside of the US. In spite of all evidence to the contrary, my ex-wife fears that I will "steal" our 7 year old son and move with him to the country where I grew up.

I have a great job in the US (North Carolina) and have worked in the same company for 12 years, I own a house and have lived in it for 9 years. I'm refinancing my mortgage now. Last time I traveled with my son 2 years ago he and I returned as planned. Over the summer, she told me it would be ok to travel abroad only to deny permission the day after I bought the tickets. A few weeks later, she tried to prevent a trip to Atlanta to visit with my parents (who were here on vacation), because she believed my parents were going to take my son away.

She is using this as leverage to force me to sign her terms on the separation agreement. She has been clear about this. Unfortunately, I will no longer accept one of her terms of the agreement: She wants to keep my son's passport but I don't trust her judgment any longer and I am convinced that she will use it as a way to control us. I have the passport now and I have shown that I will not misuse it. That said, I would be willing to let her keep the passport only if she is willing to accept responsibility for mis-using her power, unfortunately she won't do this. For example, if she keeps the passport she should not be allowed to deny any reasonable request for travel and if she does, she should be responsible to pay for any cost or penalties from travel arrangements that were cancelled.

My lawyer filed a Temporary Parental Agreement to travel during Thanksgiving and the other party asked to negotiate so we did not hold a hearing with the judge about 2 weeks ago. Once we started the negotiation they failed to respond for several days and then requested documents that do not exist at the last minute so we couldn't get this resolved.

I have a green card with an official extension stamp because it expired recently. I have also started the process to become a citizen but her lawyer is asking for a passport stamp that my immigration attorney says does not exist. The other party delayed the first hearing and is threatening to file a motion for Continuance on our hearing next week. I find it egregious that the law would allow the other party to delay ad-infinitum since the status quo is essentially what they want.

The laws in the US don't seem to protect me or my son's right to see family so there does not seem to be a way to compel her to give permission. I feel like I am being considered guilty before I have done anything. How can this be allowed by law?

I was hoping y'all could give me some ideas about what my legal options are.

At the end of my rope here...

Answer:
 I don't mean to sound dismissive. But, you are working with your attorney on this matter. We can't second guess your attorney. And, it sounds like he is doing everything in his power to address the matter.

Questions like this:

> The laws in the US don't seem to protect me or my son's right to see family so there does not seem to be a way to compel her to give permission. I feel like I am being considered guilty before I have done anything. How can this be allowed by law?

Are hypothetical, and should be asked here: [/r/legaladviceofftopic](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladviceofftopic)


Title: [Canada & US] My brother's threatening to sue me for slander/libel. But I didn't/won't lie about him, there just isn't proof of things that happened years ago.

Question:
My bigger brother is misleading a religious Hindu woman he's about to marry. He's probably one of the biggest hypocrites I've ever met, and the lows he can stoop to are almost comical. I just want to cite a few examples to give some context:

* When I was 10, I didn't know the word "porn". I searched "sexy women" on Google and didn't know how to clear history. He found the search, deduced it was me, and beat me for it (keep in mind he's 5 years older than me, so his beatings hurt a lot). He then kept me locked in the basement until my parents came home and he told me he wouldn't tell my parents about the Google search if I didn't tell my parents he beat me (which I agreed to at the time as I was 10 and my parents were super religious). How's this hypocritical? When I was around 12, I found porn on his laptop.
* When I was 13/14, he snitched to my parents about me bring a girl home in the middle of the night and dry-humping her. Keep in mind that my parents are third-world immigrants that are also really religious. How's this hypocritical? He later went on to find a girl on a religious-dating site, get her pregnant out of wedlock, and pay for an abortion after.
* He beat me multiple times during my childhood, while being 5 years older than me, and my parents let him off with (less than) slaps on the wrist because he's the "elder".
* After one of the beatings, he watched as I showered naked. He also pretended to be a girl on Facebook and flirted with a family friends' son as a "prank".
* Most recently, he tried to beat me again. This time, as I'd gone past puberty and he didn't have 5 years of pubertal growth on me, I won. Even though my parents held me back to stop the fight (only me, not both of us like normal people do to break up fights). He called the police on me after, and due to my mental health record I was the one who got locked up in a psych ward for weeks for psychiatric evaluation (even though he hit me first). He acted all innocent to the cops and lied about details and played the victim. To add insult to injury, he had once in my childhood beaten me so bad my shoulders got displaced or something, and I specifically remember lying to the doctor about the injury when seeking treatment so he wouldn't get in trouble. I NEVER called the cops on him through all those beatings, and that shameless fucking pig did it the first time I won the fight (even though he started it!).

Now the thing is... he's about to arrange marry a religious Hindu girl. The girl has no idea what she's about to get into, as he's pretending to be a great guy and what not (he's a master manipulator and shameless liar/hypocrite). He recently told me that if I ever said anything, he would sue me for slander/libel/defamation. I still want to tell this Hindu girl about him though, to give her a fair warning. She seems genuinely sweet and my stomach turns at the thought of that lowlife pig marrying her. Divorces are very taboo in our culture so she could possible be stuck for life once the wedding happens. Plus, I'm not gonna lie, I hate my brother and I'd love to get some semblance of justice.

I've heard that a defense for slander charges is that what the person said is the truth? I don't have proof of any of these incidents though. But it's all true! And I don't it's reasonable to have proof of everything that happened years ago. **Could he really sure me for slander/defamation/libel if I told people about the stuff he did when I was a kid?** I don't have proof, but all of it is true.

Answer:
 > Could he really sue me for slander/defamation/libel if I told people about the stuff he did when I was a kid?

Yes, anyone can sue anyone for anything.

Truth is a defense to slander / libel lawsuits, and yes, you don't have solid proof that all of these things happened.  But it's not like there is no evidence available.  Your story itself is evidence, for one thing, but you have more than that.  Your parents knew about the beatings for instance.  You could see if the girl he got pregnant would be willing to testify.  You could also have told other people about these events when they happened.  And .. did he threaten to sue you over text?  Because threatening to sue you for libel for revealing things tends to prove that you have true things to say, otherwise he would threaten to sue you if you lie to her.

The standard of proof in a civil suit like this is low.  If the judge or jury decide that it's more likely than not that the claims are true, he won't win anything.


Title: USA, PA - Employer offering additional bonuses for 'diverse' referrals. Isn't this discriminatory?

Question:
Short and sweet.  My company rewards employees for making a referral for an applicant who gets hired.  The bonus amount is generally dependent on the level the new employee will be brought in at, with higher levels bring in multiple thousands.

Now recently, they've started a new initiative for 'diverse' referrals.  Latest company newsletter (we've received a few) reads "Paying additional bonus for **diverse** referrals at all levels..." Emphasis mine.

Isn't this the definition of discriminating against certain groups based on their skin color / place of origin?

For reference, this is a huge multi-national company, and I believe this initiative extends to all of the US.  This might not be the right place, I'm just frustrated.

Answer:
 Sounds like they still have to be qualified to get hired. And where is the discrimination, exactly? It looks like they're trying to increase not only ethnic diversity, but veterans, disabled, and women. That's a pretty wide range of races and citizen classes.

It appears that your company has a bad case of White Guy Syndrome, and they're trying to fix it before they actually do get an EEO complaint. Answer #2: > Isn't this the definition of discriminating against certain groups based on their skin color / place of origin?

No.  This fits in with affirmative action mandates across the country, and in some industries companies even get financial incentives to hire diverse (depending on what definition is used...) employees.

A huge multi-national company has had their in-house lawyers confirm that they're not running into issues related to discrimination.  Put down your pitchfork.


Title: Pulled Over, License Suspended--Except it Actually Wasn't?

Question:
I was pulled over by a police officer on the highway. The interaction went fine and he allowed me to drive away. A few minutes later, a blocked number called my cell. It was the cop. He claimed my license was suspended and I wasn't allowed to be driving. When I got home I looked it up and this was untrue. What should I do?

Location: Maryland

Answer: You certain this was a legitimate officer? Was he in a fully marked vehicle? Was he properly uniformed?Answer #2: Just one question how did that cop get a hold of your cellphone number? It is unusual for a police to contact you with a blocked number and also he should have found out that if you have a suspended license or not before he let you go...Answer #3: Sounds phony. Did you give your cell phone number to the officer at the time of the stop? If not, odds are one of your buddies saw you pulled over and pranked you. Police almost always run a driver's license check over the radio or computer before letting you go.


Title: My psychiatrist stopped filling my prescriptions

Question:
So I've been seeing my psychiatrist every three months for about two years now. I've been on two medications, Prozac for about four months and Lamictal for the whole two years.

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For the past six months, I've been in school, so my expenses are very tight and an appointment with him is $350, which is hard for me to swing.  It's also hard to find psychiatrists in my area that aren't fully booked. I am on my last Prozac pill with no refills left. I wrote to him explaining my financial situation, and also that I am interested in weening of my meds this Summer, as my insurance is gone in October, and I will not be able to afford the medications.

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I want to go off safely, and not abruptly as I know there can be serious withdrawal symptoms. I haven't heard from him and am a bit nervous about stopping Prozac suddenly without a doctors care. I also wanted to stay on the meds for another month or so as I have finals and don't need a mental breakdown distracting me.

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So my question is, can he stop filling my medication since I can't afford an appointment with him?

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TL;DR: I need more medication and cannot afford to go see him in person, and my doctor isn't responding or filling my medications.

Answer: It would be irresponsible of him to continue prescribing that to you without verifying that it's still what is best for you.  You have no mechanism to force him to prescribe something if he doesn't want to.Answer #2: Hey this isn’t legal advice so maybe it’ll get deleted, but I know how awful abrupt withdrawal from antidepressants is so I wanted to suggest trying to get a prescription from student health. Regular doctors can prescribe antidepressants too, you don’t have to see a psychiatrist.


Title: How illegal is living with girl friend?

Question: Ok, so I met a girl at University and we have been together for 4 months now. I am renting a place the other side of town however am literally never there I stay at hers the whole time. She has signed a contract for a 1 year and I have not sorted my living arrangements out for next year. We both thought it would be a good idea if we both lived in the same room in which she is paying for/renting and I would pay half the rent theres a double bed and everything is workable however I am scared that what we are doing is illegal.

Answer: It depends on the lease she signed. The easiest way to make sure you do not face any potential issues is to get yourself added to her lease.