Title: Is this tweet by AOC legally actionable?

Question:
[https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1354848253729234944](https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1354848253729234944)

&#x200B;

In it, she twice makes the claim that Ted Cruz is trying to have her murdered. I am not a lawyer, but *to me* this seems like libel *per se* and, as nobody has ever suggested that Ted Cruz played a role in the planning of the Capitol attack, if not knowingly false at least a reckless disregard for the truth.

Obviously I do not believe it would be *politically expedient* for a Senator to sue another for libel. But it seems libelous, to me.

Answer:
 I think it's a far reach to say it's libel, especially since Ted Cruz is a public figure.

Her defense would be that this is obviously hyperbole meant to highlight the fact that Cruz tacitly supports/supported the insurrection, in which she was a prime target, not a literal description of a specific action Cruz took.


Title: Subpoena'd Unexpectedly

Question:
Back Story - This happened around June 2018 - I am a 34yr old White Male. All parties involved are White.

A friend of mine, who I shall call May, and her husband recently took on a lease for a home. They were living with a woman, who I shall call Pat, and her children for about 3-4 months. Pat owns the home and decided to lease the house to May and her husband because Pat's boyfriend wants them to move in with him.

Pat's boyfriend does not want Pat's teenage son to move in with him. Pat's teenage son, say around 16/17 - Quinn - has grown up rough with no real father figure in his life and the boyfriend wants nothing to do with him. Quinn has gotten in trouble with Police previously for assault, drugs, etc. Quinn has been kicked out of the house for about 2 months prior to June 2018.

Quinn would repeatedly sneak into the house using the house key and steal stuff to sell, including May's things.

Come June, Pat had completely moved out of the home and had packed up everyone's things with some of Quinn's things still in the garage. Lease has been fully signed over to May. First thing May does is change the locks and gives a master copy ONLY to Pat but with the contingency that Pat must give notice prior to coming over to the house.

One day May asked me to come over to help do some repairs around the house since her husband works a lot and I'm handy with minor household repairs. I arrive at the home and May looks distraught. Quinn had entered the house through the dog door at the back of the house and was in the shower. He did this while she was home and in another room with her newborn child.

She had been trying for several hours to get him out short of calling the Police and he had been aggressively telling her, according to May, to fuck off. I told her to ask him one more time while I made a phone call. During my phone call I heard her ask him to leave and he responded again to fuck off. I finished my phone call after about 10min and said "Okay what do you want to do?" May asked me to tell him to leave and see if my presence would help him to leave. She asked Quinn again, through the bathroom door, to leave - he responded for her to fuck off. I said "Son. She's been asking you to leave her home. You don't live here anymore and you're intruding. We're going to call the Police." He came out and got in my face. Words were exchanged but no physical interaction but ultimately he agreed to leave. He grabbed his backpack and promptly walked right into the garage.

I said "Excuse me but you need to leave. NOW." He told me to fuck off that he was getting some of his stuff then he spat in my face.

After cleaning my face, I told him that was no good and that he would have to leave now and come back later with his mom to get his things. I opened the garage door. He told me to fuck off again and spat on me again. I then started grabbing his things and throwing them out the garage saying if he couldn't wait for his mom then he could just take the things now but either way he was leaving this instant. He was cool with me throwing several trash bags of stuff but when I reached for his backpack he exploded and shoved me/tried to push me over.

I put him in a headlock, grabbed his legs and lifted him up and outside onto the street calling for May to call the Police. She already had them on the phone just minutes before this but they said they couldn't send anyone unless things got physical and just as the operator said that is when the altercation began between myself and Quinn.

When I reached the street, I then dropped with him to the ground, using my elbow to cushion the blow so that he would not get hurt and held him there for several minutes as he struggled to get free. When he stopped I asked him if he was done and if he would back off. He said he would. I let him go. As we stood up he tried to take a swing at me. I pushed him back down to the ground and told him to stay down.

I went back into the garage and tried to close the garage door - he kept tripping the sensor but did not re-enter the garage. I told him to stop. He told me to fuck off and spat in my face again. I stepped into his space and pushed him back and he began to act like I had punched him in the gut, rolling on the ground in pain saying "HELP ME HELP ME CALL THE COPS!"

Cops literally showed up 15 seconds after that. May saw just about everything minus the part where he was tripping the garage sensors and the final push.

Cops came and ironically one of the officers recognized him and asked Quinn what shit was he getting into now.

Statements were taken. Quinn was forced to leave minus backpack. May's husband arrived. May and husband went through Quinn's backpack and found meth, marijuana and some other items. They gave the backpack to Pat when she arrived, along with the rest of Quinn's things. That was that.

Fast forward to two days ago and suddenly a Sheriff shows up at my work and hands me a subpoena to appear in court on the 27th of December and that the Judge wants to talk to me personally about what happened.

Nobody has sent me any paperwork. No one has called me. I was entirely unaware that Pat and May are pressing charges against Quinn or maybe Quinn got into some other trouble. I don't know.

I've been calling the DA in charge of the case listed on the Subpoena but he is not returning my calls and he is never "in" his office when I call or go there after work.

I realize I'm not on trial and I'm only being called as a witness but I don't know any of the details. I know the obvious answer is to "lawyer up" but would I be over reacting doing that? Should I be worried?

Thank you.

Answer:
 > Lots of Springer-ish drama

Literally none of that matters.

You have a subpoena. A subpoena is not a polite request. It is an order to appear in court on the listed date.

Appear. Answer questions honestly. Move on.Answer #2: You need a TLDR cause this is a freaking novel. If you are being subpoenaed you must comply unless the subpoena is quashed and you must testify truthfully, you cannot refuse to answer unless the testimony would incriminate you in crimes for which you have not previously been convicted of or do not have an immunity agreement in place for. If you are concerned about incriminating yourself talk to an attorney.


Title: My sisters ex is threatening to kill my family and soon to be BIL

Question:
Living in California;

My sister was dating someone who used to be very close to my family. She ended up breaking up with him and started dating another guy she met later on and now plans to marry.

Ex bf is extremely obsessed with her and will not stop calling her. She rejected his calls so he called her at work.

Ex bf bought a plane ticket and came out here from Texas to visit a friend. At that time, he somehow got my sisters fiance's phone number and called him and proceeded to threaten several times to kill him and my sister. He also called other family members and told them he would kill my family and will make it his life mission to destroy my family -mainly my sister and her fiance.

This guy has no criminal hx here but is very capable of doing physical harm, I personally feel unsafe as well as my family. I feel that my sisters fiance is even more unsafe, because the ex is obsessed with my sister.

Not sure if this matters or not but he's here in the US on a green card and currently living in TX.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

Answer:
 Call and report this to the police, especially since there is a threat made to inflict serious bodily harm to people including yourself and your sister.  While they can't really do anything at this point if he is not in the local area, it would be enough to start the paper trail and you would be able to get things rolling.  Also, as a precaution, you might want to have your sister contact the courts to see if there is a way she can file for a restraining order.  Answer #2: Call the police.Answer #3: NAL

I work in LE

She and her fiancé need to call and fill a threats report with their local police.  Save any voicemails or text messages to show the police.

She can ask the officer while he’s there for the process on obtaining a Personal Protection Order(or whatever the equivalent in CA is).
Answer #4: IANAL but worked in immigration.

Please inform USCIS by email asap.


Title: [TX] My mom recently passed away (I was her caregiver) now my father posted a letter on refrigerator that I have to be gone in 3 days

Question:
I had cancer and then shortly thereafter, my mom was diagnosed. I moved in to her house with her and have lived her for 5 years.

My parents were still married, but my father was rarely around. He worked out of state and did whatever else. He never divorced my mom because he didn’t want her to get half the estate.

Anyway, since my mom’s passing, he’s made my life a living hell. I want to move away, but I simply don’t have the financial means. I don’t even have a bank account or car.

This evening I come home and he’s posted a note on the fridge that I have to be gone in 3 days or he’ll call the police. Needless to say, I am heartbroken and devastated and feel more lonely than ever. I have no other family, I don’t have a dollar to my name and I certainly don’t want to be arrested.

He owns the house. I never had to pay rent because I cared for my mom (she was paralyzed). Do I really only have 3 days to leave? I literally have no one to ask for help and I’ve never felt so alone and afraid. Thank you for the advice
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Technically, he needs to give you more notice than that. However, if he fails to do so and just kicks you and your stuff out, your only recourse would be to sue him. Obviously suing him isn't going to keep a roof over your head in the meantime. The writing is on the wall, so you should start looking for a new home ASAP.Answer #2: You need to go talk to a lawyer. Other people commenting here have no idea what they are talking about.

[Texas Property Code Sec. 24.005](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.24.htm)

Here is a website to help you [find one. Call them asap](https://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/practicestate/landlord-tenant/texas). If he specifically gave you 3 days notice he is probably ready to file an eviction suit once you don't leave.

Seriously you need a lawyer not reddit. Time is of the essence.


Title: [MO] Is a disclaimer enough to stay out of defamation trouble?

Question:
There are 3 ex employees in my area who did some outrageously evil things with my practice.   I really feel the need to warn the community about them.   They hid their identity very well when they did this, so I have no legal recourse.   If I could prove it was them, they'd likely be in prison for it.

So I'd like to let others know about them.   But I'm terrified one of these people is going to claim defamation.   If I disclaim at the beginning of an email that "what follows is 100% my opinion and is not offered as a statement of fact"... is that sufficient?    Doing this will likely (hopefully) affect their chances for employment in this community.

Answer:
 > But I'm terrified one of these people is going to claim defamation.

You should be, because:

> They hid their identity very well when they did this, so I have no legal recourse.

You have no evidence, apparently.  Accusing someone of something terrible without evidence is a bad idea and increase your possibility of a defamation claim.  **Especially** since your stated goal is to cause them harm.

As is, to answer your question, a disclaimer isn't enough to override a defamation claim.  You can't simply disclaim away liability.  If you write something that **actually isn't** defamation, you'd have a defense but couldn't prevent a suit.  If you write something that is defamatory, a disclaimer stating otherwise won't help.


Title: [Sweden] my parents just got a letter from Ramberg advocates saying they have to pay fine for torrenting a tv show

Question:
It says the fine is 5500SK for two episodes of Black Sails i probably torrented last year. I ask  here because I don't live here permamently and I don't speak swedish, and in my country sometimes this kind of letters are basically scams.

So do you guys know what are our options here and if it is legit?

Answer:
 IANAL, but a swede.

The recommendation is to pay nothing, admitt nothing. If they take you to court they have to prove that you, personally, downloaded the files. If you tell them that you give out your wifi password freely to any guest you have, and any of them could hade downloaded the files it’s pretty much impossible to prove it was you.

They generally don’t spend time on people who have downloaded an episode or two, but on the people torrenting massive amounts of data.


Title: Exploring on top of school roof

Question:
2 of my friends and I went on top of a high school to simply explore. It wasn't my high school, but it was one that is apart of my school district. This is all of our first offense. We are all good. Go to school, get good grades... just wanted to try something new. We didn't do any damage to the property, nor did we intend to do that. We simply wanted to explore. The cops came and arrested us, and the let us go saying that we will get a court date, which we did. I was charged with a misdemeanor: Trespass on School Property. We live in Minnesota and we are all 18. What will my charges look like? And should I plea guilty or not guilty if I want to take the charges off my record? Do I need an attorney at the court date?

P.S. I have read that I should plea guilty (if the charges are not what are expected) so I can negotiate with the prosecutor and influence my charges by presenting my story.

Answer: This is one of those scenarios where you really need to talk to your attorney. If you don't have one, you need one.


Title: Roommate refusing to acknowledge he has to leave, what’s worst case scenario?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 He is a subtenant, renting from your previous roommate. If she wants him out she needs to give proper notice. If he refuses to leave she can evict him.

If you leave and he doesn't your landlord is going to come after everyone on the lease for rent for the time he remains in the apartment.


Title: Can a company I don't work for require a drug test and receive my personal info?

Question:
#

I am a truck driver and pick up daily at a Duke Energy facility (I do NOT work for Duke nor signed any paperwork with them). Their employee while loading me damaged there equipment, not mine. I do not do anything but pull up and sit. Because I was "involved" they held me for 6 hours (which cost me pay!) and required me to take a drug test before I could leave. How can they receive my personal info?

Answer:
 You can refuse if you would like.  Duke energy's policy would be to ban you from all of their properties if you do though.

Also, your company may have policy in place regarding this.Answer #2: Your company should pay you for your time and charge the company who detained you.  If you are an owner-operator you should be able to send them a list of detention charges at your normal rate of pay.

You should be compensated for your time.

You may have to go through small claims court to get them to pay. If you go this route don't be surprised if you are banned from their facilities. Answer #3: Sure they can require it. You don't have to comply.

However your company can fire you if they choose.


Title: My dad works for my bank, and pulled all of my bank records. Is there anything I can do to prevent this?

Question:
So, I turned 18 last August, and started my first job at the end of that month. My mom and I went to go set up my new non-custodian account, so that I would have my own, independent bank account. This all went perfectly fine, we pulled all of the money out of the old account and moved it into the new account where my paychecks would be going.

I can’t drive yet, and don’t have any car-related bills, so I’ve been steadily saving money over the last few months, roughly 2 grand by April/May. Until recently I had only been working part time while I was going to college, but during May I started working full work weeks. That’s not strictly necessary, but it explains why my balance usually didn’t increase by a whole lot month to month, usually only increasing by $2-300 each month.

My dad works in the mortgage underwriting department of my bank (it’s actually a credit union if that makes a difference at all). A few weeks ago, he pulls out a big packet of paper stapled together and says something along the lines of “You go to x restaurant a lot.” Or something like that. I’m immediately confused, so I ask what he’s talking about? Turns out he went and pulled my entire banking history, every transaction in or out of my account (I believe all the way back to when I opened it). He and my mom went through it all with a fucking highlighter.

Once he showed me that, I said something along the lines of “How did you get access to my bank statements!?”
He said something like “I can pull anyone’s bank statements I want.”
He read me off a few other charges from it, back to at least January. He said they hadn’t looked up where any of the charges came from, but frankly I don’t care. I said something to my mom a few weeks later about how that was **way** over the line. She just said “Okay” and completely blew me off like she couldn’t give two shits about my privacy.

My thinking is this: Sure, my dad has access to all of that, but he has it so he can decide whether to approve someone for a loan. If I called the Credit Union and told them an employee had pulled my banking records for personal reasons, and then contacted me about them. I really doubt they would say, “well, he is an underwriter, so he can do whatever he wants.”

At this point, they both seem like they have no intentions of respecting my privacy or any logical boundaries. I’ve started using my PayPal for everything I can online, so that if they do it again it just says PayPal. But, honestly I feel pretty powerless at this point. Is there anything, short of switching banks, I can do to prevent him from having access?

tl;dr: I’m 18, and have an independent bank account. Dad works for the underwriting dept of my bank. Used his position to pull all of my bank records. Neither parent gives a shit about how big of an invasion of privacy that is. Can I do anything to stop them from doing it again?
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 Practical answer: Change your bank account to another bank.

Legal Answer: Your dad will likely get fired if you complain and if the investigation reveals he accessed an account without some work related need to access it.Answer #2: I used to work in HR for a credit union. This would be a fireable offense. Absolutely.Answer #3: If reported to the bank he would likely be fired.   If reported to a regulatory agency the bank's management would trip over themselves to fire him.  Consider how that will impact the family dynamic.

&#x200B;

As a parent of a teenager I can think of some fatherly reasons for his actions, but also some douchey reasons.   As a former bank employee who has gone through the annual ethics training that covered this type of scenario, I recognize there are NO reasons that are considered acceptable, and that this could end his banking career.

&#x200B;

Just saying that if you rat him out, that might be the end of your relationship with him.  Consider that.

&#x200B;

If you don't want him to see your day-to-day expenses between now and when you switch to a new bank then you can get a new account somewhere else but don't \*move\* your existing balance.  Start using the new account, get your paycheck put in there.   When you go to move out you'll be set up and ready to go.


Title: Aunty and her ex-boyfriend broke up. It’s been 4 years since and now he’s back to claim his “contribution” towards her house.

Question:
We are based in Western Australia. Before she met him, she bought the house already. A few years into the relationship, he wanted the house under his name as well so she put him on it.

When they broke up, they signed an agreement in front of the Justice of Peace that basically says the house is now hers and the land that SHE bought in his hometown is now his. My aunty was left with heavy debts because of him plus he stole all her jewellery.

A few days ago, he was messaging her about wanting a part of the house. My aunty didn’t reply to him and said that she would only talk to him once he has heard from a lawyer.

Her ex has bank statements of his contribution towards the house i.e. helping her pay off the loan of the house. Apparently, he can claim this contribution.

He just wants money because he has gone broke because she’s out of his life.

What can my aunty do?
Topic:
Non-US

Answer: Talk to an attorney.


Title: (IN) Can some be charged with manslaughter after they have been charged with maiming?

Question:
My nephew drowned while my sister was supposed to be watching him. He survived but was not 100%. She was charged with neglect of a dependent and "child maiming" is what my mother said.
However my nephew just recently succumbed to his injuries and passed this week. She had been charged four months ago. I was wondering if she would get tried for manslaughter since my nephew did end up passing
Thanks in advance
Edit:This is in Indiana

Answer: Yes, she can now be charged with manslaughter or another crime related to his death


Title: [US/VA] Question on photo copyright and Facebook.

Question:
Hello all. I'll try to explain the situation in as much detail as possible, to give a clear picture. Last year, I was the editor for a local newssite, and decided to leave the position this fall to take another position in business.

My new boss decided that he wanted to make a community lifestyle news website, **which we make no profit or gains from**, to help promote what's going on in our county, and get some exposure.

Because it's only a side part of my job, I'm not always running around taking photos of events. As an SOP with my old newssite job, I was told that I could use photos that were marked Public on Facebook, as they were fair game. I have since been doing this for photos, when I'm not able to take some myself or get them submitted, and have had no problems until today.

My old boss is jealous and upset about our newssite, even though we have a different market and angle, and don't want to compete with him at all. He has tried to make things as difficult for us as possible.

Last weekend there was a parade in town, and the Town's official Facebook posted photos of the parade with Public setting, that had no water mark, logo, or 'taken by so and so' on the photos at all. We have used photos from the Town's Facebook before, with no issues.

Then this morning I get an email from my former boss, telling me that the photos are his copywritten property, but provided no copyright, and like I said there is no watermark or annotation stating they are his on the Town's Facebook, so I had no way of knowing that they weren't taken by the Town employees or parade participants.

We removed the photos in question from the site, but I want to know what the parameters are with using photos that are Public on Facebook, particularly when there's no watermark or caption asserting ownership, especially since the former boss himself uses the photos as his SOP.

What's the accepted standard with this?

Answer: As soon as an item is created copyright is assigned to the creator. You can not use the copyrighted creation without their permission. It doesn't have to have a watermark or anything else to be protected by copyright law. Facebook has a license to use the posted copyright creation with the user when they sign up for the service.


Title: Mutual non-consensual intercourse due to alcohol

Question:
This is a serious question.

I realize that when two people have sex and one of them is very intoxicated the person under the influence can not legally give consent and thus puts the sober individual at fault for taking advantage of someone in such a mind set. (sorry for run on sentence)

However, if both people are under the influence and could be proven so at the time of intercourse, if one person were to claim rape because he/she was not legally able to give consent, what would happen?

Unfortunately our judicial system has seemed to favor females in rape cases in the past so I feel like an accused male would have a difficult time getting off, but lets assume everything is fair...legally, what *should* happen?

Edit: also I'm in New Jersey, not sure if that makes a difference. Would any laws that would affect a situation like this vary in different states/countries?

Answer:
 >if both people are under the influence and could be proven so at the time of intercourse, if one person were to claim rape because he/she was not legally able to give consent, what would happen

Depends on the circumstances and the venue involved.  In a Title IX proceeding, we've got this very fact pattern playing out.  Both male and female were admittedly equally drunk and had consensual sex (consensual insofar as both specifically stated throughout the night to multiple people that they wanted to have sex).  The TL;DR is that [they expelled the male and refused to investigate the female](http://reason.com/blog/2014/06/04/occidental-expels-student-for-rape-under).  Their handling has [triggered a lawsuit alleging that a slew of actions by the school amounted to a total denial of due process](http://www.thefire.org/sexual-assault-injustice-at-occidental-college-railroads-accused-student/).

Criminally, they'd unlikely press charges against either party.  Answer #2: In every state I'm aware of, merely being intoxicated does not negate consent to sex for the purposes of rape and sexual assault law. So, it's possible to consent to sex while drunk.

That changes once somebody is so drunk that they're incapacitated - if you're passed out, you cannot consent.

College investigations are another matter entirely outside of criminal law. Answer #3: I don't know about legally what *should* happen.

But what *does* happen, is that the man is ~~usually~~ almost always the one in trouble.


Title: [NY] I'm a hobbyist who creates his own perfumes and body lotions, which I sell people for cash - is this a risky endeavor without forming an LLC?

Question:
For instance, if someone were to have a breakout or allergic reaction, what would be the consequences for me? For example, could someone effectively sue me for 10% of my income for the rest of my life? On the other hand, are there any laws that protect me as a hobbyist?

Thank you.

Answer:
 There is no ,"I don't know what I'm doing" , so you can't sue me law.

You from an LLC to avoid the worst case situation. Erm lets say you sell some products that were contaminated and people develop staph infections with significant scaring.


Title: (TX) I have a 12 month contract with AT&T for internet service. They recently announced they will start limiting data usage. Can I break my contract without penalty?

Question:
This article was recently posted: http://blog.chron.com/techblog/2016/03/att-charging-extra-for-unlimited-u-verse-internet/

I've had internet from them since January.  This seems like they're trying to change the terms of the contract.  Can I cancel my existing contract without an early termination fee?

Answer: My guess is that the contract you agreed to gives them the right to impose data caps whenever they choose to do so.  You will need to read it to be sure, but I'd be surprised if it doesn't.


Title: Fire or lay off employee? At-will employment in MA

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Can I fire her if I don't go through our company's progressive discipline policy?

Yes.

> Also, if I fire or lay off, is she entitled to unemployment?

Depends how well you can document her attendance issues.  If you can clearly show she was warned multiple times and continued to have these issues then you have a good shot at denying her unemployment. document document document.


Title: AZ/USA Work accidentally paid me 11 dollars in salary instead of hourly for first paycheck, bills due

Question:
Pretty much title, worked my first pay cycle at my new job and my first check noted that I had worked almost 40 hours at 11 dollars an hour, however I guess payroll put me in at 11 dollars salary instead of hourly because my total was 11 dollars exactly before taxes and 9.38 after.

&#x200B;

I got car payments and rent coming up, is there anything I can do to get my money faster? Is this even legal? It's been 48 hours and my bank account is still dry.

Answer: Did you let your HR or manager know? What did they say?Answer #2: Skip your manager and go direct to payroll/HR. My first pay check was $0.35 for two weeks of work. They cut me a check the next day for the difference.Answer #3: I worked in payroll for a little bit and that shit is serious, go directly to them and they should cut you a check same day. We moved payday from Thursday to Friday and had to cut people checks for gas money so they could get to work the next day, we know things are tight for some people.Answer #4: Go to HR. They are supposed to cut you a check day of if it is short.


Title: Evicted in Colorado for using marijuana in my apartment?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >  The lease says no use of federally illegal substances. It says nothing specifically regarding marijuana.

It also doesn't specifically say you can't commit treason, but you can't do that either.  Your lease is extremely clear: no marijuana smoking on the premises.Answer #2: >The lease says no use of federally illegal substances... is this enough to get me evicted since it's federally illegal?

What part of that is unclear?  No illegal substances.  Weed is illegal substance. No weed.

>Also if it is grounds for eviction are they allowed to evict me without a chance to resolve the issue?

Yes.

>Everything I looked up says they need to clearly state that marijuana is prohibited and that federally illegal substances doesn't apply to something legal on the state level considering evictions are done at the state level.

Wrong.  If your lease says that you can't paint the walls blue, you can be evicted if you paint the walls blue, regardless of blue paint being legal anywhere.  You are violating a contract, not violating a law.


Title: At my apartment complex, I found out the employees who work at the leasing office look through peoples records to snoop and find information about their tenants such as credit score, and employment. Is this illegal?

Question:
so 2 employees who work at the office were trying to find out information on this one girl to set up their roommate. the 2 employees at the office went through all the tenants files and found out where that girl works, what her credit score is and all her other personal info so they could tell their roommate to see if she'd be interested. Is this illegal, i witnessed the whole thing happen when i was in the office?

Florida, USA

Answer:
 Landlord here. I'd shitcan these fuckwits and blackball them to everyone that would listen. This is unethical in the *extreme*, and the potential liability issues are literally fucking endless. Not every employer is going to care, but this is a big nono if you don't want to get bent over in court when the employees were acting as an accessory to a violent crime like rape.

Some of the stuff that they did could very well be illegal depending on how exactly they did it. If they actually took her social and pulled the credit again that's one issue. If they gave her social away that's another issue.Answer #2: Former property management company employee. Part of my job was to do all the things listed above: background checks, credit scores, rental history, employment, plus dealing with the local and state housing authority. However, it was in strict confidentiality. Generally, when an applicant fills out an application to rent/lease a property, they sign a waiver giving the landlord permission to access that information.
If this is happening, the person has full legal rights to request a copy of their application, including the signed permission form. Review the form and take any necessary steps. Depending on the state and signed documents, this may be not only unethical and grounds for termination, but also illegal. Answer #3: if the head landlord finds out, could this cost the two employees their employment?Answer #4: Bad form, but unlikely to be illegal.


Title: A child has admitted to animal cruelty and badly broken the leg of a friends cat. The police say he cannot be prosecuted due to being 8 years old - What can be done in the UK?

Question: A friends cat was attacked by an 8 year old boy a few days ago. The leg was broken badly and the vet has managed to repair the breaks. It was claimed to be the hardest surgery he has ever completed. I am based in the UK and the police have reported that due to his age \- he cannot be prosecuted. What can be done? Please help!

Answer:
 What can be done? Can talk to his parents and suggest arranging therapy for him, since that's not normal behaviour. If he does it again after age 12 he'd be criminally responsible, so everyone wants to get that out of him before then \(since it would both benefit the animals that don't get injured, and keep him out of trouble\).

As you've been told however, this isn't a legal situation since he's below the age of responsibility.


Title: Father passed away. His girlfriend still living at the house. (CA)

Question:
My Father died battling cancer. His Girlfriend moved in to help out. It's been a little over a year since she moved in.
My father passed away 2 months ago, and she's still at the house with her daughter (my step sister) and it seems like she's planning on staying for a while.....
Just a little information.
She has and owns her own house, that she is currently renting.
She wanted nothing to do with me until now
She's continuing on buying more and more stuff for the house and is trying to make change things that she wants, etc.
The house is in 100% my name, but the will states that she's to stay as long as she wants. I don't know if she knows that or not.
I've talked to my family and no one understands why she's staying. I'm paying 100% of the bills. No one trusts her and thinks she has a plan to screw me over.
I have talked to my lawyer and he didn't really say too much about it.
Input or advice on whether or not she can cause major problems? or questions I should ask my lawyer - I see him in 2 days.

Answer:
 >The house is in 100% my name, but the will states that she's to stay as long as she wants

What exactly does the will say?  Does she have a life estate?  Why are you paying the bills?Answer #2: Why are you paying the bills at the house?Answer #3: You really need to understand *exactly* what "she's to stay as long as she wants" means in detailed legal terms. You may also need to discuss your father's intent with the attorney who drafted the will if it isn't clear. I don't know what legal relevance the attorney's perception of your father's intent may have, but it will be useful to you in figuring out what the *right* thing to do is.

It's one thing if your father didn't want her given the bum's rush, but it's another if he expected her to live there for the rest of her days. Your father's attorney may know which it was.

You need to understand exactly what your legal obligations are to this woman in this scenario.

It doesn't seem clear whether you're living there or not. If you're not living there, you should be paying the real estate taxes and that's about it. If she needs electricity, cable, telephone, gas, water etc. then she should be responsible for paying for that.


Title: Homeowner is threatening to sue because landscaper trimmed community trees

Question:
I am a volunteer board member of my HOA (Home Owners Association) for a small community in Delaware.

The community is surrounded by 25-30ft trees.  Months ago the landscaper was told to trim the trees so a lawnmower can get underneath them.  He trimmed 6ft from the bottom to the top.  He was expected to just trim "a little off the bottom" but there was a misunderstanding.

One of the neighbors is quite upset that his backyard can now be seen from the road.  He is demanding that either the HOA or the landscaper replace the trees with new 25-30 ft trees OR buy him a fence quoted at $11,000.

The trees that were cut sit 15 ft away from his official property line.  They are in no way his property but community property.

He said he is threatening legal action and has "deep pockets".

Does he have a case?

Answer: If the trees are not on his property, they are not owned by him. Unless there is some bizarre provision in the HOA's governing documents that obligates the HOA to keep the trees trimmed in a particular way so as to provide cover for the guy's yard, he has no ~~standing to sue~~ viable cause of action.


Title: New car was rear ended. Can i pursue diminished value in (Michigan)?

Question:
My car with less than 5000 miles on it was rear ended earlier this week.

Michigan is a "true no-fault" state. So my insurance company is handling the damage, but it looks like neither party's insurance company will pay for the diminished value of my car.

Do I just have to live with the fact that my car will be worth less now?

Answer: You can pursue diminished value, but you get it from your own insurance company. You can’t sue the other party for damage to your car beyond minitort amounts.


Title: My power was just shut off, even though I've been paying the bill; My landlord requested all utility checks be made out to HIM and NOT the local power company. Is this illegal?

Question:
I've lived in the unit for over 4 months, I've been paying SOMEBODY for power and water, the checks (apparently) where going "through" the landlord... but today my doorbell rang, but no one was there, then my power was shut off. When I called the power provider, they told me theres no record or account of anyone living at my address and needing power? Like I can't get it turned back on today and I have to make a whole new account with the company! And then they'll "Do their best" to get there before the weekend, when they wont do it. All they have to do it take the rubber stoppers out of the meeter!! Fuck this feels crazy.

I live in Maynard MA, I know my rent is WAY to high for where and WHAT it is, and I've seen my land lords do sketchy shit before (not fixing things, overbooking the parking lot with additional cars, putting LARGE garbage out on the sidewalk; like beds, tables, couches and waiting days for the CITY to deal with it, and other basic scumbag stuff)

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what the hell do I do here?

Answer: Massachusetts has some of the most tenant-friendly laws in the nation. I'd start by chatting with the Town of Maynard's [Housing Standards office](https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/municipal-services/public-health/housing-standards/) in the morning, as failure to provide water and power are violations.Answer #2: Gather the evidence (cashed checks, prints from your bank etc..) showing payment. Take the notice you received from the power company and file a complaint. While you're at it, I'd start documenting every little thing that is sketchy in terms of your actual apartment/unit (pics if applicable, attach to an email and make note of time and date, keep them in a google drive account so you can access from anywhere in case you get locked out of your apartment).


Title: Is it illegal to use a fake name and return address?

Question:
I want to write someone a letter and do it anonymously. No bad content, no monetary gain whatsoever. I just don’t want to reveal who I am.
Long story short, I HAVE to put a return address for the individual to get it.
Is this okay to do? I’m such a paranoid person that I’m wondering If I could get in trouble for it but I truly do not see HOW I can get in trouble how would anyone who possibly touches the letter know who it came from?

Answer:
 You can put a stamp on it and drop it in any mailbox with no return address at all, or you can put the addressee's address in both the return address and To: fields.

To be double sure, don't lick the stamp or envelope, use a wet sponge. Wear gloves when handling the envelope and contents.

The postmark will show the city or approximate area where the mail entered the postal system. If that would be a hint as to your identity have a friend drop it in a remote mailbox when they travel.

I've been sending an anonymous gag Christmas card to an old friend every year for over 20 years as a joke using these techniques.


Title: Retail pharmacist forced not to wear mask, gloves or eye protection (PPE) or else no pay and removed from pharmacy

Question: I am a retail pharmacist in Florida. I wore my own gloves, n95 mask and eye protection on two of my 12 hour shifts a week ago. My patients were happy that I did to protect my health and decrease the risk. My district manager called me on my day off to tell me that if I wore my mask, gloves, and eye protection to work again I will be removed from the pharmacy and given no pay, even if I had worked for multiple hours. I let her know I recorded the conversations I had with my district manager.  She told me that I must speak to Human Resources. Human Resources gave me an ultimatum of take all my vacation or take unpaid time off. Human Resources stated that the company is following cdc guidelines. Unless cdc guidelines change, I cannot wear my mask or gloves. I am being forced to take no pay. What can I do legally?  As a pharmacist I get coughed on in the consultation window during recommendations and I must be right up next to patients when I give immunizations. It is imperative that I protect my health at work to not infect my family at home. What can I do? Any advice would be helpful.

Answer:
 Hospital pharmacist here.  Was in contact with a family member who tested positive for covid19.  Was told to check temp twice a day and come to work.  Unless I have a fever, I must come to work.

However, I can be without symptoms and still have the virus....and give it to my fellow co-workers.  I really don’t feel comfortable with this.  I am wearing a mask wherever I go.

I was told by a manager not to inform coworkers of my exposure.

NYCAnswer #2: I am a nurse working in a hospital on a covid isolation unit and I am not even wearing an N95 mask unless I am there for intubating, CPR, and some other specific circumstances in positive patients because 1) there is a nationwide shortage of this equipment so we are using them responsibly and 2) we are following the CDC guidelines.  There is no way your N95 mask is doing any good if you are wearing it all day.  Wash your hands regularly, stay home if your sick, and for heavens sake, save the equipment for the healthcare workers and first responders that need it.  If we are all staying home sick in a few weeks because we are short equipment now, who will take care of YOU when you get sick after you've been wearing your PPE wrong all this time??


Title: Pep Boys Broke My Transmission During An Inspection (5-speed M/T)

Question:
Location: New York State.

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Background:

Brought my car in for a simple inspection tonight (10/22) after work and they somehow tanked me 5 speed manual transmission. The car is a '15 Impreza with approx. 50k miles. I have not had an issue with any of the gears recently nor has the clutch shown any sign of needing to be replaced. I drive this car daily and bought it from the factory.

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Dropped it off at 6pm and walked over to the chik-fil-a next door for dinner. Came back and by 745 I thought it had been a long time but figured they were busy and it would be ready soon as they were closing up. By 8pm it was just me and one other customer waiting for their vehicles. The employees began shutting down the store (including locking both the front doors) and all service personal disappeared into the shop area (it was seriously only me and this other individual commiserating about the situation for about 20 minutes). At approx 830 they come back out from the shop and give the other person their car and inform me that there is an issue with mine- it wont shift into reverse. Making light of the situation I reply "Ohh, its a manual! you have to press the clutch down and move the stick over." Needless to say, the shop manager did not find this humorous.

&#x200B;

He doesn't say much other than they tried to get it out and that there are no engine warning lights on, and that it passed inspection! The shop owner invites me into the back of the shop to look at the car. It is sitting in a bay.

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I hop in and start to assess the situation (I have some limited automotive knowledge and training).With the care off, the shifter does NOT move left into the 1st/2nd gear are AT ALL, nor does it slide into 3rd or 4th. However, it will slide into 5th and R. The car DOES start, but when you go to release the clutch with the stick in neutral it just stalls out and lurches forward. When you start the car and shift into reverse the reverse-camera turn on but when you begin to release the clutch the car begins to roll forward and shudders/stall without moving backward at all. They raise the lift up to show me that there is no damage/leaking in the transmission area and I take pictures before they lower it.

&#x200B;

Now, when I parked the car I backed-in to a spot near the service area to make this as idiot-proof as possible. The shop manager swears that the staff just moved the car from the parking spot to the bay and preformed the inspection. He offers to show me the video tapes multiple times while attempting to begin denying responsibility. Frustrated by the situation (It is now about 9pm and I have been there for 3 hours), I tell him I don't care what is on the tapes and I don't want to see them but I assume Pep Boys insurance company is going to want to see them (this was a mistake, I will be returning tomorrow morning to attempt to get a copy of all tapes). I ask if pep boys has a protocol or check list or something in place to deal with situations such as this and he questions me as if he does not know what I am taking about and is confused by my question. So I repeat my question and explain that Pep Boys is a nationwide, if not multi-national, corporation and as such has most likely had to deal with a similar situation before and that the corporation probably would have developed some type of procedure or system to deal with this exact situation. The manager keeps offering to show me the tapes saying that he had his best guy on the job and asking if I want to make an appointment to come in tomorrow to see the tapes (at this point it is about 930 and him, myself, and the few employees left just wanted to go home). I asked the technician that worked on the vehicle if 1st gear worked pulling it from the parking lot to the garage bay and he said it worked fine. All the gears worked BEFORE it went up on the lift. I then tell the manager that I will be contacting Subaru tomorrow (10/23) morning to have the car towed to the dealership to be fixed there and that I will have my insurance company/subaru contact pep boys/their insurance company to deal with the details but that I will be there in the morning to have the car towed. I ask them to leave it where it is and to NOT try to move it or work on it or fix it in ANY way, even to clear the engine bay by rolling it out in neutral.

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My plan is to see if I can have the car fixed at the dealership (it is still under warranty)/get a loaner from the dealership and see if they will bill pep boys directly for the damages? Do I file this as a comprehensive claim on my insurance (Geico)? Any info you can provide will be much appreciated. I am friendly with the Sales Manager at Subaru so I am hoping she can help me through this process. Again, I am SURE this is not the first time this has happened to someone and am just hoping that there is a clear and established procedure to deal with the situation.

Answer:
 Im not a lawyer, but I am a mechanic (background is 3 years as a Toyota/Lexus tech and 4 years working on medium duty diesels).

Sounds like the shifter forks or linkage is jammed and you're not able to fully select a gear. Does your gear shift have a little ring on the bottom that needs to be pulled up in order to select reverse? I know Toyota and vovlo do that. Maybe they try to jam it into reverse without pulling that ring up, causing the shifter fork or linkgage to either bend or jam up.

Get it towed to Subaru and see what they say. Your power train warranty through them is 5 years/60k, so chances are you won't even have to pay anything to get this fixed. Im not aware of there being any issues with Subarus current manual trans (the old wrxs used to lose 2nd gear, or gain a 2nd nuetral as they called it on the forums lol), but it's been a few years since I've even worked on a subie.

Best of luck, and it definitely won't hurt to get a copy of those tapes. Answer #2: Just a heads up,  there probably are no physical tapes. Modern CCTV (like for the past 10-15 years) is all digital and stored on a DVR. You will need to bring a flash drive with you so they can transfer the video from the DVR.  You should also get the make/model of the DVR because there may be special software you need to download to actually play the files.


Title: Raging alcoholic roommate is essentially holding me hostage.

Question:
Just this last Wednesday I [F, 23] moved into a nice, new apartment downtown. Literally a 5-10 minute walk to work. All new carpeting, appliances, nice big bathroom, excellent storage, good price, etc. I love it. My roommate [M, 22], however, is fucking nuts. Raging alcoholic. I mean this kid is BELLIGERENT. When he blacks out, he goes all the way down the rabbit hole and comes out a different person. Absolutely zero respect for those around him, he runs around the apartment moaning and groaning and laughing and leaving his shit all over the place. I hear him from my bedroom vomiting violently either in his room or in the bathroom that we share. He slams all the doors and cabinets in our apartment and runs around turning all the lights on at all hours. My poor friend [F, 20] who is staying in the living room til she finds another place has to deal with his nonsense every night. The other night, she told me that he was running into her things in the living room and about climbed in bed with her (she has an air mattress) and that made her extremely uncomfortable.

We’ve been in this apartment for a total of five nights. All of which he has done this. It is an absolute nightmare. I have two cats and my friend has a dog and I’m afraid he’ll accidentally let them out or he won’t lock the door and someone will come in.

A friend invited me over last night but I just couldn’t stay because I was so worried that my roommate would do something stupid. I was up til 4 AM this Monday morning (after having been awake since noon on Saturday) listening to him blast music from his room and stumble around getting more to drink. I let my friend stay in my bed last night where we also kept all of the animals.

I’m not going to live like this. I don’t want to be constantly worried that he’ll do something stupid and I don’t want to lose sleep because he doesn’t even have the most basic respect for me as his roommate or my friend who’s a guest that we BOTH agreed to help.

The chances of my roommate moving out (and then my friend taking over his room) are slim to none. But he also said he wouldn’t sign off on a subletter for me to move out. The guy is basically holding me hostage.

Advice?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 This isn't legal advice, more practical advice.

If someone in my home is having a medical emergency (vomiting, falling, incoherent) I call an ambulance.

If someone is aggressive towards me, violent or not, I call 911 if I feel unsafe.

Maybe if this apartment is an unpleasant place to live because there are firm boundaries in place - he won't want to stay. Answer #2: You signed a lease, you're bound to that lease.  His being a shitty drinker and bad roommate are not grounds to break your lease.  Unless the lease has terms to exit early, you're stuck.  Maybe he's willing to negotiate a buy out if you can afford thatAnswer #3: First off, have you tried talking to this person like adults? It's the simplest way to solve these conflicts, and a surprisingly large quantity of people skip this step.

If that didn't work...

\- Who is the landlord? The RM, or another party? If you have a separate LL, then they decide subletters, not the RM.

\- What does your lease say: specifically about frequent overnight guests. Because by your own statement you've been there for 5 days, and had your friend crashing in the living room the whole time with their dog. So before you start going down this route, remember you may be more at fault here than he is.

\- Beyond that, your RM sounds like an ass, but there's nothing in your description that is grounds for breaking the lease.


Title: Legal prophylaxis?

Question: I've never hired a lawyer, I've never been sued or sued anyone, and I've basically never been involved with the law.  Is there anything I should do to prepare/protect myself in general?

Answer:
 Mostly, you should be concerned with the costs of potential future troubles. For example, sufficient coverage on your car insurance, or liability coverage on a home owner's or renter's insurance policy. You don't need proactive legal advice unless you're going into business or you're doing something that you know is particularly risky.

It's also not a bad idea to get your affairs in order with regard to a will, advance directive for healthcare and durable power of attorney.


Title: [FL] No contact stepdad put name on title without consent

Question:
I confronted my stepdad recently about his abuse growing up (physical and mental, but now just mental because I no longer live at home) and am now in no contact, a sentiment he seems to also want unless I apologize despite continuing to write me nasty emails.

I am trying to untangle as much as possible and noticed when I paid my car insurance recently that his name is in the title. Before I went no contact, I purchased a car from the dealership he works at as general manager. He never told me that he would be putting his name on the title of the car and I would never had consented to it. I talked to my sister and appearantly he has done the same with her. The only part where it may get funky is that as part of my mom 'accidentally' spending thousands from my account and agreeing to pay for half of the repairs for a lemon of a car he had sold me prior, but failing to follow through, they paid for $3k of this car. I have this in writing.

Any suggestions for the car and advice on how to move on from the abuse (legally or financially) would be appreciated.

Thank you

Answer:
 1. How old are you?
2. How long ago did you buy the car?
3. How did you pay?   Did he pay?
4. What is the car worth today?

Technically, in the eyes of the law, he owns half your car, if his name is on the title.

The only way to get him off is to offer to pay him half the value, and if he does not agree, you sue him in small claims court.

>  agreeing to pay for half of the repairs for a lemon of a car he had sold me prior, but failing to follow through, they paid for $3k of this car. I have this in writing

But that is not what happened.  Instead of giving you $3k to help pay for the car,  what happened is he bought half your car...

Tell him you want him removed from the title.  If he says no, then you sue him and use the TXTs as evidence that the $3k was suppose to be retribution to you for moneys taken from you before.  Instead, he offered the $3k, but put his name on the title.

You should be able to negotiate all this in small claims court.

Get your sister on board, and sue him at the same time.  It may help your case.Answer #2: Does the title say "Your Name" ***AND*** "His Name" or "Your Name" ***OR*** "His Name"?

As silly as it sounds, it makes a difference.


Title: [Louisiana] GP Doctor checked me off as "not fit for employment" because I got a bad panic attack once, four years ago. Legit?

Question:
This might fall into a medical category, but right now it's the legal end of this decision that will screw me over, since it's with my company.

Went for my yearly work physical and was sent to a different doctor for various reasons. I passed all of it, minus a question on my preliminary questionnaire asking if I've ever suffered anxiety problems and if I've gone to the emergency room for it. I have- when I got a panic attack for the first time and didn't know what was happening. That was four years ago.  Since then I've been to therapy and psychiatrists and learned ways to manage it, but I am not currently on medication. I have documentation on ALL of this.

None of that apparently mattered - he listed me as "not fit to work" my particular job and suggested I talk to my company about a "less intensive" position. I'm a little steamed, since when I asked if I could be referred to a psychiatrist for this decision he shrugged and said it's up to my company (despite their being a box on my company form that said 'specialist followup needed before proceeding').

I talked to a relative who is a doctor, and he said he was under the impression that this doctor can't make this sort of decision about my mental health, but he's not sure. Do I have to live with this diagnosis or is this doctor actually overstepping his boundaries? Moreover, does my company have the right to terminate me based on this decision? I'm currently talking to my company to see if I can get another physical.

Edit- I've been working for this place for three years. I've passed every physical until now, so I have records that I've been cleared before with no changes to my record.

Answer:
 Did the MD document that the panic attack four years ago was what made you unfit? Did he say what changed in the last year that made you not fit?

> he said he was under the impression that this doctor can't make this sort of decision about my mental health

Why not? As far as I know any MD can do anything that any other MD can do (generally). A dermatologist can do psychotherapy and a psychiatrist can do heart surgery. Of course doing so would almost certainly be malpractice.

Edit: I am not saying that anything the doc did in your description would be malpractice.


Title: [OR][Slander] ex is apparently accusing me of sexual assault

Question:
What the title says. A mutual friend let me know today that my ex claims that I and another guy sexually assaulted her.

We didn't. She apparently made the accusation over facebook, and my friend has agreed to bring proof of her claim and accompany me to the police station if I go that route.

My plan was to speak with an officer and figure out what, if anything, I need to do to protect myself.

Any advice?

Answer:
 1- Do not talk to police without an attorney.

 2- Do not talk to  anyone without an attorney.


Title: Filmed without consent during sex both parties under aged (Canada)

Question:
Hey, my friend was filmed by a male last year without her knowing. Both her and the male were underaged. She recently found out about the recording because he had posted it to a group chat. Was wondering if possession & distribution of child porn applied to someone who is a minor or not. We're living in Canada, MB.

If there is any other details I could include that might help please let me know.
Topic:
Canada

Answer: You friend should call the police. The guy is distributing child porn and revenge porn. Both criminal in Canada.


Title: I have been falsely charged and don’t know what’s going on.

Question: (MT) I am in this town going to meet with the police Monday morning. They have already charged me with multiple accounts of distribution of dangerous drugs. I have confirmation I was speaking with a real detective. I am completely innocent here and don’t know what is going on. I asked if he was going to arrest me when I show up and he said “no lol if I wanted to arrest you I would have a long time ago” I just want to talk to them to figure out what is going on. Is this a wise decision? I do not have any money for a criminal defense attorney. What should I do in this situation?

Answer: Do not speak to the police without an attorney present. Having a criminal defense attorney would be in your best interest. If you cannot afford one you will have to wait until you are charged.Answer #2: Refuse to speak without an attorney present.  Get a public defender if you can’t afford one.  No one has ever “explained it all away” you will only dig whatever hole you are in deeper.


Title: NYC - Food Delivery Truck for Public School Across the Street Always Parking in Front of My Driveway

Question:
I have a quite a story to tell, please bear with me.  I live right across from a Public School and they have this large food delivery truck parking outside of my driveway at least 3 days a week. Sometimes if their truck couldn't fit all the way they would pull up onto the sidewalk. I have complained to the school's principal in the past and she said she will take care of it.
Last Thursday I left the house later than usual and caught them parking in front of my driveway again (there is a fire hydrant not too far from my driveway too). I went straight to the school and asked to see the principal but she wasn't available. Instead the AP was. She came out of the school with me to take a look, but she didn't know how to handle the situation. I told her it already caused extensive damages to my sidewalk, I showed her where the cracks were and I already repaired it myself. She tried speaking to the delivery guys, of course they denied it. But hey I had all these documented in photos from the past dated back to 2014. I asked her for a solution and she told me I should be calling 311. "They probably parked here because it's convenient for them (so they don't have to make a long trip to get to the door that receive deliveries) and also because of the fire hydrant". I was furious by what she said and told her well it's inconvenient for me. She didn't like my response and said I should call 911 if it bothers me so much.
I have called the delivery service and spoke to the manager but I don't think the delivery guys care. They won't provide me their names either. I recently got a letter from the DOT that I need to repair my sidewalk with the same damages (hire a professional or the city will repair it and bill me). I went to the Community Board office and they help me write a letter to the city with the photos I had of the large truck parking up my sidewalk. But the City will take up to 120 days to respond. I've been trying to reach the principal to talk things out again but she haven't responded and it's been a week. I'm getting really frustrated and wonder if I should be calling 911 if this continues to get out of hand. What are my rights as a home owner of the driveway and dealing with a school food delivery truck blocking my driveway multiple days a week? The school has their own driveway and the delivery truck doesn't utilize it.

Edit:

Hello all, thanks for all the advice thus far. Yes I did take pictures of them and will continue to take photos whenever I see them out there. I spoke to a Community Board president this morning and she said she is not sure how much the vendors will listen to the school principal. She told me to contact the food service supervisor of the school district. I was able to reach out to the food service supervisor and he said he will follow up with my case. I have yet to hear from him since our last correspondence via Email this morning. I have been repairing the sidewalk multiple times but since they're always up on my sidewalk, it got pointless. If the City decided I need to pay for the damages on the sidewalk, I can bring a legal case against them.

Answer:
 Call the police.  Obstructing a fire hydrant is a big no no.  Not to mention your use of your own property.

Speak to the owner of the business ASAP and let it be known in no uncertain terms that what they are doing is unacceptable and demand that it stop.  Do it in writing registered letter,  return receipt requested.

 Meanwhile park in the street whenever possible or as a neighbor to park one of their cars in its space in the meantime. Answer #2: Find out the name and contact information for the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services (or NYC equivalent) for this school district. They should be able to help you out with communicating forcefully with the vendor that the damage to your property must stop.

A principal has no control (and minimal communication) with vendors so I'm not surprised they weren't helpful.

If business services doesn't help you can go another route but they would absolutely be my first stop.Answer #3: This isn't legal advice but can you park an extra car or something there so they can't? LolAnswer #4: Can you have the truck towed?


Title: "employer" says I can't leave building during paid lunch?

Question:
I'm a security guard working for a large contracting company in Washington state. I work at many different sites for many different clients. On the weekends, I work at a high end fashion store. At every site I've worked at so far, I have had paid lunches and have been able to leave the area within reason. The manager of the high end store has told me this, "I pay for your lunch so you cannot leave the store. We let other guards leave to move their car, or go to the bathroom but since you don't drive here, there is no reason for you to need to leave during your lunch." He then threatened to change my contract to have unpaid lunches if I wanted to leave the "break room" which is really just a stock room that has a table and a desk chair by the door to the main floor. I've already informed my manager about this and he said that it was weird and I should be able to leave and walk around the mall. It's not an indoor mall, it's California style with most entrances to stores being outside. The street is about 25 feet from the entrance to the store and I go out there to smoke for 10-20 minutes while chatting with the valet. The entrance to the store is always within vision.
Is it legal to be detained to a very small backroom during my paid lunch?

Answer:
 "This meal break required by Washington law may be unpaid, but only if the employee is completely free of his or her duties during the break time. In addition, employers are required to pay employees during their meal break if they are required to be “on call” with the possibility of returning to work during their normal break time (even if they are often not actually working during this interval)."  [source](https://www.laborlawcenter.com/education-center/washington-lunch-and-break-law/)

In my state, generally paid lunches mean you can't "leave the premesis," for the same reason as quoted in WA law.

Do you have a walkie?  If so, you could still be "on call" 20-ish feet from the storefront.  If not, I could kind of understand why they'd want to switch you to unpaid break; being outside the store would make it hard to intervene if they were getting robbed, for example.


Title: [MO] Electric company just doubled their rates.

Question:
My electric company just doubled their rates this month
(recieved a bill for $400 instead of $200) without warning.  When I called them they stated that this is their "summer rate", although I have never been charged this before.  They also increased the other fees ("Fuel Adjustment charge" 10x higher, "City Annex Municipal Charge" 3x higher, "Energy Efficiency Investment Charge" 1.25x higher). Is this legal?

Answer:
 Many utilities do charge seasonal rates, but sometimes the higher rates only kick in if your power consumption goes over a certain level.

Check with the [Missouri Public Service Commission ](https://psc.mo.gov/General/Consumer_Information)consumer hotline to see if they can give you more information, and if you're being wrongly billed, they can help you file a complaint.


Title: People on /r/legaladvice have a very interesting definition of "friend."

Question: Seems like if I got screwed over by a person as badly as some of the stories on the mother sub, I wouldn't consider those people friends.

Answer:
 I'd rather they just say "friend" instead of a drawn-out explanation of their relationship and all the drama behind it.

Frankly, I'm also annoyed by the tags that tell every single person's age and gender. This isn't r/relationships. Unless somebody's underage it just doesn't matter.


Title: California- A teacher physically threatened students; Principal did nothing after complaints

Question:
A 9th grade earth science teacher was teaching with a hammer (rocks and how they break when smashed) and she yelled for quiet and preceded to say "You know, I oughtta hit some of you in the head here and here and here." While motioning to different spots on her head.
Later that week, a student came in with a black eye and she said (very seriously) she gave him the black eye because he never did his homework.
Multiple times she physically restrained kids who were having panic attacks and when they tried to leave the room, she threatened physical harm.
The class did an unplanned walk out to boycott her since the principal refused to do anything and the next day the principal locked the students in the class. No one was allowed to leave, no matter the excuse they gave (from needing to pee to starting their period.)
That happened last year, and the same patterns are starting up again and we (sophomores) want to know what we can do.
Sorry if this was difficult to understand.
EDIT: Okay, people are taking this the wrong way, so I am going to shorten this a bit: She left bruises on kids when she grabbed them and she made kids legitimately afraid of her and they couldn't enter her class without bursting into full blown panic attacks. Yes, the kids did call the police and the principal just made it sound like we were overreacting. I got a video of the teacher grabbing and shoving a kid back to her seat, and the principal had me send it to her and delete my original for "legal reasons".

Answer: Each and every time the students felt seriously threatened by her actions, they should have called the cops. Did they do that? Or was it just a teacher who got pissed off with a bunch of students and said something that didn't make them feel all warm and fuzzy inside?


Title: Gym Manager Accused Me of Selling Steroids Based on Complaints

Question:
I am in the state of Florida. The gym in which this took place is a large chain.

**Full story:**

Hello everyone! I have recently joined a local gym and have been accused of selling steroids. Apparently a group or individuals have complained that I am "selling steroids." I am a very extroverted individual and as such tend to speak with anyone and everyone around me while I work out. I have introduced myself to just about all the regulars within the week that I have been at the gym. In doing so, I have brought up the topic of steroids in conversation to several of the members. Now, when I say I have brought up the topic of steroids, I specially ask what the individual thinks about them in terms of morality, if they have ever considered doing them/have done them, and depending on the response I will get deeper into the subject. The conversation will lead to the types of steroids, effects, cost, and on occasion, I have pulled up a website that supposedly sells them to show prices/pictures/etc. Now, I believe because of this, the manager/members has accused me of selling steroids.

I came into the gym as usual and after swiping my card the manager immediately pulled me aside and said we need to talk. She told me that a group/individuals have complained that I am/would selling steroids. Now, I immediately denied doing so of course but she said regardless that this is a first and final warning. The next time that anyone complains regarding me my membership will be revoked. She gave no merit to my rebuttal. These individuals complaints were taken for face value and no evidence of said activity was actually presented but I still suffered a consequence. Essentially, in speaking about steroids and pointing out a website in which they can be ordered, I have been reprimanded.

**Summary:**

Walked into gym, manager said some members have complained I am/would sell steroids and that this was first and final warning. Next complaint my membership would be revoked. I denied having anything to do with steroids beyond conversation but she gave no merit to my side. Essentially, in speaking about steroids and pointing out a website in which they can be ordered, I have been reprimanded.

**Questions:**
* Does this fall under freedom of speech?
* Is showing someone a website in which steroids can be ordered somehow considered me selling them?
* I assume they have something in their policy that states they can terminate any individuals membership at any time for any reason?
* She essentially told me I am not allowed to talk about steroids in any capacity or I will be warned/revoked. Can they do that?
* Do I have any course of action to take?

I know this is silly and not some huge legal issue. My reputation has been severely tarnished as a result of this nonsense. If there's ANYTHING I can do, I most certainly want to do so.

Answer:
 If someone wanted to sell steroids, that's exactly what they would do.  They would not say "hey, would you like to buy steroids?"  Instead, they would do exactly what you did: casually mention the topic, see if the person is receptive, and then quietly make an offer when the time is right.

This is a private business, so they can ban you from talking about bicycles if they want to.  Answer #2: You are so dumb it hurts. Stop talking about juicing and showing people sites to order roids and no one would ever connect you to it. Answer #3: >* Does this fall under freedom of speech?

Absolutely not. The First Amendment is intended to prevent the government from suppressing free speech. Your gym can set whatever policies it wants regarding the conduct of its members as long as those policies don't discriminate based on a protected class (race, sex, gender, creed, orientation, etc).


Title: Boss uses fake company info to scam Google, Facebook and more out of $1.5m+ in advertising costs

Question:
First off, I am not a native English speaker so please bear with me! I work in a very small marketing company (9 people). My boss gets into advertising agreements using a fake name with Yahoo, Google, Facebook to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising through credit terms. We never make enough from advertising to pay them back in full. i.e. Last year we spent $600k on Google advertising, we only made $400k, he kept it all for himself and we didn't see any bonuses. When its time to pay them back he claims our company is bankrupt and starts a new C corp or S corp (I'm not sure which) with a new fake name and does it all over again.

We always get emails from lawyers addressed to the previous corporation and fake name and office address he used for that corporation. He has our IT guy go into our email accounts and delete them, and he thinks we don't know anything about it. We have been slowly realizing this shady business practice and people have been leaving the company.

Would it be helpful for the plaintiffs if I anonymously emailed the lawyers his real name, real office address, real cell phone number and real personal address? Should I do that at all? Is it likely that he will get in trouble for any of this?

&#x200B;

TL;DR Boss uses fake name and info to get into advertising agreements with Google, Yahoo, Facebook and more. He pockets all of our earnings, doesn't pay them the amount due and claims the corporation is bankrupt. He then starts a new corporation (C or S) with another fake name, rinse and repeat. The fake businesses and names he used are currently being sued for more than $1.5m all together. Would it be helpful for the people suing him/us if I emailed the lawyers his real info? Is it even likely he will get in trouble for any of this?

Answer:
 I’m no expert and not a lawyer, but this sounds criminal. You can report bankruptcy fraud to the U.S. Department of Justice:

https://www.justice.gov/ust/report-suspected-bankruptcy-fraud

They will take action if they believe it constitutes a provable crime.

I’m pretty sure you can’t knowingly and purposefully keep putting yourself in a situation where you can’t pay creditors like your boss is. Our bankruptcy laws are meant to give people a fresh start, not let them repeatedly get away with obtaining services they never intended to pay for.

I’m not so sure about contacting those corporate lawyers. One thing to be aware of: before reporting this to anyone, including the DOJ, make sure that there’s nothing you’ve done wrong or complicit in this apparent fraud. You might be able to get whistleblower protection for that, but you would definitely want a lawyer to guide you through that process.

Thank you for your concern about this; any action you take is a public service to the rest of us who want to play by the rules.


Title: Can I take small parts off my car if insurance totals it?

Question: Hypothetically, if I was in a car crash and wanted to take a couple things from my car like the badges and steering wheel before it went to the junkyard, would this be legal  if insurance declared it totaled?

Answer:
 The price you negotiate with your insurance as the payout for being totalled includes everything in the vehicle at the time the offer is made. An adjuster should have looked at it and would have taken those things into account.

You can take personal items, of course, but this does not include everything you did to customize the car. If you had a set of, say, Powerpuff girls floor mats, you could take those. If things like the radio, rims, shifter, etc., are aftermarket/have extra value, you need to either ask the insurance to include those numbers in the payout total, or have them reduce the payout in exchange for you keeping them.

Remember, the payout offer is literally them purchasing the vehicle title from you. You do not have to accept their initial offer; you can always negotiate with them on this sort of thing. This isn't to say you can just name your price, but there is wiggle room. Heck, I got an extra 1k from Progressive when their insured totalled my old car, just because I had replaced the CD changer in the back a month before. So there is room for accessories and upgrades in the numbers.  Answer #2: You can keep the whole car if you want, the insurance company will deduct the salvage value from your payout. If you’re going to keep parts just discuss it with them first and agree on a fair value for them.


Title: [CA] It is illegal to exchange money for sex. But is it illegal to exchange money for sex on film?

Question: With the advent of "amateur" and "homemade" pornography websites, and the ease at which people can record themselves and create websites, what exactly are the laws for this type of thing? Do all of these "amateur" websites have an actual company and attorneys dealing with their legalese? Or is it simply legal (in California and other states where filming pornography is legal) to hire a person for sex on film?

Answer: If you can afford a lawyer to help you set up your own adult entertainment business, knock yourself out.


Title: Why do criminals talk to police?

Question:
I'm thinking this question in regards to the Gabby Petito & Brian Landrie case.

&#x200B;

I have no doubt that he killed her, but since her body was out in the elements for three weeks there may not be much physical evidence.  Let's assume there is no physical evidence, then I assume they could arrest him and bring him in as the main suspsect, but if he just sits there and doesn't say anything, then technically all the evidence is just circumstantial, isn't it?

I guess my questions goes to a wider level, when people who have actually committed crimes (murder, let's say) are arrested and interrogated, whiy don't they all just completely shut up.

If Brian tries to explain why the van was caught on video near the site where Gabby's body was found he will be caught in a lie, but if he stays quiet then will be very hard to prove 'beyond a reasonably doubt' that he did it.

&#x200B;

Or am I just dumb?

Answer:
 >  then technically all the evidence is just circumstantial, isn't it?

Circumstantial evidence is still valid.  In fact *many* cases rest partially or entirely on circumstantial evidence.

People talk for a variety of reasons.  For one, talking does often help and doesn't always hurt.  We hear of the times when it hurts but not of the times when it helps.  People who get a good deal generally don't complain.

Some talk out of guilt.  Others because they think they're smarter than everyone.  Hard to predict human psychology.Answer #2: People think they can talk their way out. And cops lie to them to make them think so. They think of they say the right thing, they'll go home. That's most of the reason right there.


Title: Construction workers were knowingly exposed to lead and asbestos and want answers.

Question: So the company I work for is currently building/renovating a bus garage for a transportation outfit. The roofing material that was torn off was asbestos and the paint inside the building is lead paint. We were exposed as they ripped it off and as the steel contractor ground the lead paint to make new steel connections. Everyone on site was told by the superintendent that everything came back negative, so there was no reason to worry. Through some digging by my direct boss we came to find out that department of transportation, the engineering company, and the company doing the project actually knew about the asbestos and lead but tried to cover it up. As you can imagine everyone is furious and would like some type of recourse. Our boss has spoken to a lawyer and he told us unless you're sick and dying there is nothing that can be done. Is this true? I'm very new to everything legal and would like to know if something can be done? I am in Pennsylvania. Thanks!

Answer: You could report the issue to OSHA.Answer #2: You can file a complaint with several state agencies.  Talk to a better lawyer about perusing this.


Title: How can I legally make my friend’s rapist’s life a living hell?

Question:
   Thanks for reading. A young female friend of mine was drugged and sexually assaulted in November of 2015. I became aware of the assault a few months after it’s occurrence, but refrained from being anything else but a supportive listening ear. In other words, I didn’t pry or ask technical questions about the legal proceedings, the perpetrator, etc. Her parents were aware of and active in the situation, I was a non judgmental, safe person to whom she could confide. On her terms. I was unaware of most of the facts surrounding the rape until earlier this evening.
   Initially, I believed her attacker to be a relatively unknown acquaintance. I’ve now discovered the rapist is someone I know through my industry, someone who still works in the area in which both she and I are employed. The realization that she has to walk around to and from work in the same neighborhood as this piece of shit has really hit a nerve, and I now feel a kind of productive, motivational rage which I haven’t experienced before, and frankly don’t yet know how to best put to use.
    A police report was filed one month after the incident, but she wasn’t able to follow up with a detective due to emotional distress (not to mention it would have meant meeting with an intimidating power figure in a strange place days after an assault discussing likely the most sensitive subject possible).
   It sounds like ultimately she and her family will take legal action, but I imagine when a considerable amount of time has passed, such as in this scenario, the process will be draining and long.
   Is there anything I can do in the meantime to make this guy as uncomfortable as possible without breaking any laws and hurting her chances in court, if that day ever comes?

Answer:
 To clarify, you'd like to know how to participate in vigilante justice and torture someone who hasn't even been formally accused of a crime? If you proceed down this path, you'll likely harm the investigation and/or will yourself be charged with a crime, sued or both. No one is asking you to do anything, so don't. Answer #2: >Is there anything I can do in the meantime to make this guy as uncomfortable as possible without breaking any laws and hurting her chances in court, if that day ever comes?

No.  Stay out of it.


Title: Staying on a parent's car insurance while in college out of state

Question: Here's the rundown: getting the first car that will be fully mine, my name on title ect, and need to stay on parent's insurance plan for cost reasons. Problem is that I will be living on campus out of state. What are my options? Will a parent need to be on the title? Can we both be on the title?

Answer: Agent here. Every company I've ever written for allows for a child to have the car registered at their address of record (parents address), and remain on parents insurance. You just need to let your company know where the car is garaged and used (college location)


Title: [BC, Canada]Neighbor installed lock on our backyard exit gate

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >To exit our property from the back door there is a concrete walkway that runs through our yard and our neighbors yard

I am absolutely loathe to ask this: I can't picture how this is laid out. Any chance you can provide a drawing?

If you own the property, and can only exit the property through the back by taking this route, there's a chance there's an easement that allows you to walk through their property. Answer #2: Do you own or rent? If you rent, common landlord for the entire building?

I'm curious as to why you feel that using your neighbor's back yard as a short-cut to the side street is OK in the first place. Put yourself in his shoes and imagine your neighbor walking through your backyard past your back windows at random times without permission.

Unless it's required by code as a fire exit or there's an easement it would appear that you have been trespassing through your neighbor's backyard and they are tired of it. Why can't you go out the front door?

Have you tried talking to your neighbor about it? Answer #3: It is stratified. You just need to find the actual strata documents and determine if the back yard is (limited) common property or not. If you have a strata management company, contact them. Either way, the city holds those documents.


Title: [MI] Teacher giving out a C grade maximum.

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 Yes. He can give you a 0 if you are unable to attend a meeting. I think giving a C is pretty charitable as an alternative to not doing your assigned work. Answer #2: Let me tell you something about government meetings: there are *so goddamned many* of them. You've got your city council, your county council, committees for both, hearings for each committee, school board meetings, and more! It's absolutely insane how many meetings there are, and they happen all the time!

So why can't you go to one of them in the next month?


Title: [NL Canada] purchased house, large crack in foundation. Do I have options?

Question:
My husband and I purchased a home in July 2015. The home inspection was fine and the disclosure statement was normal. We had heavy rain and snow melt yesterday and I found water in the basement coming from a large crack in the foundation. The crack starts at the top of the foundation right to the floor and is visible on the exterior as well. I double checked the inspection report and found no mention of it and the disclosure statement was marked as no known leaks or damage to foundation but I find it hard to believe it showed up between July to now. Do I have any hope of compensation for repair? Is it even worth it? I suspect we will need to excavate to repair costing lots of money.

UPDATE: thanks for all the advice. I spoke with our lawyer and all we can do is take the seller to small claims court if we can prove he knew about the crack and didn't disclose.

Answer:
 I'm not in your state. But in my state, issues that have to be disclosed are things that wouldn't be immediately obvious. A visible crack like what you have wouldn't have to be disclosed, as it's easily seen. If you can prove there's been past flooding that the sellers repaired and wasn't obvious to the casual observer, you may have a leg to stand on, but finding proof would be really difficult.

If there had been a giant hole in the ceiling where you could see daylight through it would be another issue that wouldn't have to be disclosed because a prudent buyer could easily see it.

Now, you could possibly go after the home inspector for not noting it, but it'd be difficult to prove it'd been there when he/she did the inspection.

You're probably on the hook for the repairs.


Title: Harassed for Feral Cat Opinion

Question:
I'm in WA, USA.

I recently posted an opinion about feral cats concerning the chick who shot the infamous "Tiger". I said it was a good thing to shoot feral cats, as long as they didn't experience pain (the shot was a good one, it's unlikely the animal would have suffered long). I said that given the opportunity I might shoot ferals in the field, and mentioned many people in rural communities do.

The post blew up with around 53 people responding and 8 harassing messages including death threats. Then I got an email from my university concerning a vague "harassment". I wasn't sure if they meant me, or if I was harassing (I didn't threaten anyone), so I thought 'I can take care of myself' and deleted it.

I got 2 phone calls a week ago. One from the college I attend, the other from that local police department. I no longer live in that area and am graduating from that college. My phone was dead at the time, and its unlikely I would have responded anyway.

I'm kind of just ignoring this in the hopes it will go away. I mean, its a dumb facebook post. Yeah I got a little heated but why would that hurt me? Also the messages seemed to have stopped as of the 1st of May.

I don't know if it will continue. How screwed am I, legally? What can they do to me? What should I do?

Answer:
 > 8 harassing messages including death threats

Report them to the police.  It's not too late.  This is a crime, and you may want to have the paper trail later.

> I got 2 phone calls a week ago. One from the college I attend

Probably should answer that one.  What if it's "you forgot to fill out this form and pay this $10 bill you forgot about, and you need to do it or you won't graduate"?

> the other from that local police department

You aren't required to answer that one

> How screwed am I, legally? What can they do to me?

I don't know anything about Washington case law or enforcement history on this, but an enthusiastic police officer or DA *might* claim that you're complicit in encouraging other people to commit an animal cruelty felony under [16.52.205(1)(c)](http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=16.52.205) on the theory that killing feral cats as you recommend is "manifesting an extreme indifference to life".  Sounds like a longshot to me.  Area birds would testify to your strength of character if this were to occur.

If you're concerned about this, then don't answer questions from the police about whether you posted this or what you posted, and if somehow you are arrested, don't answer questions until you call an attorney and then only say what the attorney tells you to say to the police.


Title: An Instagram account took my photo and posted it on their account without giving any credit. Should I take legal action for copying?

Question:
I do photography and post my pictures on Instagram. A different account which shows other photographers works and talks about them posted one of my pictures. Should I be concerned and if so what should I do.

I am in USA
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer: You can file a request to have it taken down as you’re the copyright holder.


Title: do I have right of way on my my condo driveway?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 no, you don't have right of way in your driveway. yield to pedestrians.Answer #2: I have no idea what I'm supposed to have seen.

Generally, giving pedestrians the right of way when they are legally crossing a driveway, street, etc. is not only legally required, but common sense.  Because you are driving a two-ton steel death machine and they are an unprotected human.


Title: Gas station pump squirted gasoline all over my mother

Question: Hi reddit. A few hours ago my mother was trying to pump gas, but when she pulled out the nozzle, it immediately turned on soaking her face and clothes and also got in her eyes. The pump showed that 27 cents of gas was pumped and the nozzle never made it into the car. The gas was hot, so my mother yelled in pain and was basically sitting and sobbing while the gas was stinging her eyes and face. The employee working refused to help her and did nothing, claiming that company policy is to remain in the store (but later another employee and the owner were walking in and out freely). Bystanders had to come give her water and call her an ambulance to get checked out, and one of them said they saw this exact thing happen before at the same pump a week or so ago.  I contacted the owner who took his sweet time coming out and then used his credit card on the machine to pump gas to prove there was nothing wrong with it. During the multiple calls i made, he was incredibly rude and even hung up while i was speaking. He said that only stupid people can get gasoline on their face and that she must've intentionally done it for money. There are security cameras that may show the event. For some reason, the owner also claimed to be the manager, and he brought another employee who the owner then introduced as the real manager, but this manager told me in secret that he's just a random employee and the store has no managers. I am unsure how to move on, because my mother is adamant that she wants to sue or get some sort of justice. Thanks for the help.

Answer:
 Wtf?  This story makes no sense.  You cannot splash gasoline on your face unless you literally turn the nozzle toward yourself AND squeeze the trigger.  Sounds like a case of user error and then trying to sue for it.

In my many decades of driving, I have only once sort of gotten gasoline on myself when the auto stop feature didn’t work and the gasoline overfilled.  Is this what happened?  It MAY splash some gasoline out but you can always squeeze the trigger to stop the flow THEN take nozzle out of the gasoline tank from the vehicle.


Title: How can I make sure my father's estate is transferred to his biological children upon the death of his wife?

Question:
I'm located in Michigan. My father died a few years ago and left no will. He had a wife (my step-mother), four biological children and three step children, all seven children being adults. His wife (and her children) handled probate, being satisfied with sending my siblings and me a copy of the list of assets she submitted and the final "award" notice. The list of assets contained a small fraction of what assets existed in reality.

I'm in an awkward position when it comes to my father. He and I didn't have a great relationship and I don't feel like it is really my place to make any requests or demands when it comes to things like this. I feel like doing so will just make me seem like I'm digging for the gold...plus, it's not money I'm concerned about.

My siblings aren't the type to rock the boat and usually just accept things as unchangeable fact. When our father died, I suggested they at least speak with a lawyer, even if it was the probate lawyer, to make sure they are in the loop beyond a couple notices received by mail. Ultimately, they didn't, and were surprised to find that many of the things we knew should exist, no longer did or had never been heard of. When it came time to go through his things, we were presented with boxes of items, brought outside from the house we were not allowed to enter...some clothes, old shoes, books... essentially garage sale items.

In the end, we got a few meaningful things and the things his wife essentially didn't want or would never use. She kept possession of the house, property, two brand new vehicles... which her children are now driving...a boat, as well as anything in the house that was not set out on the lawn for his biological children to go through.

My concern is what will happen with everything when my dad's wife kicks the can? I can understand not emptying the house while she is still alive, but there are many things that should be passed on to my dad's children, not hers... which is what I'm assuming will happen. My family's history is still in that house, in the form of things like my grandmother's original Polish recipes, childhood family photos and records, the other half of the set of silverware that was split up in the divorce of my parents.... not monetarily valuable, but priceless in sentiment.

How are things like this handled? What do I need to do to make sure these types of things go back to my siblings and me? How can I present the fact that the original list of assets and inventory was far from complete?

Answer:
 I am a lawyer however I am not your lawyer.

I’m not licensed in your state but I can speak to the general process of inheritance. As you and your siblings are adults, absent a will to the contrary, your stepmother inherited everything that was your father’s/theirs. Upon her passing, absent a will to the contrary, everything will pass to her next of kin which would appear to be her children. If there are things that were your father’s that you and your siblings would like to have you would need to talk to your step siblings to see if they would be willing to give or sell those items to you.