Title: [WA] My shared lease on a 3-bedroom apartment is ending and BOTH of my roommates can't afford to pay their share of the rent. One of them believes I should pay for all of it or at least more than my fair share.

Question:
**TL;DR: If my roommates can't afford to pay our last month's rent but I CAN, what's going to happen? Are they going to get charged late fees that I will then also be legally obligated to pay? What will my legal obligation be to this situation if any at all? If I pay my share of the rent and walk away will I be free of any future issues they cause by not paying it?**

My roommates names shall be Daniel and Jessi for the sake of clarity.

We moved into a 3-bedroom apartment in May of 2016. Our lease was scheduled to end May 31st, 2017. The entire time we were there, Jessi was the person who took care of mailing off our bills every month. Jessi's name was used for our internet account, our utilities account, etcetera. Jessi was also the person who gave the rent check to the office every month. Daniel and I would give Jessi cash and Jessi would give the office a check. Our only copy of the lease was also in Jessi's room while we lived here.

Daniel quit his job about half-way through our lease due to unfair working conditions but he found another job not long after. Jessi quit her job (we work at the same place) 3 months ago and she has not found a new job yet. I have remained employed the entire time we've been on this lease.

At the beginning of April 2017 my roommates informed me they would not be renewing the lease and that I either needed to find two replacement roommates or move out with them. Totally fine. It happens. My deadline to find new roommates would be May 11th. I needed to either find new roommates before the 11th or move out with them. At the time I wanted to stay in the apartment and spent a month looking for new roommates. I didn't find any in time and decided it'd probably be best if I moved back home for a little while anyway to save money.

**Here's where the conflict begins:**

On May 9th I messaged both of my roommates in a group chat on facebook informing them that I would NOT be keeping the apartment and that I would be moving out with them when the time came. I requested to Jessi that she go ahead and inform the office that I would not be keeping the apartment on my behalf. I thought she would do this for me because (a): She has always been the voice for all three of us when it comes to contacting the office and (b): she had already done this on behalf of Daniel. About a week later we had all moved out and gone our separate ways.

On Tuesday May 23rd, Jessi messaged our facebook group saying we owe the office about $1600 for the month of June because we didn't give proper notice that we were moving out at the end of May. Jessi asked if I ever told the office I was moving out; I told her no because I had told her to tell the office we'd all be moving out. Jessi immediately blamed the situation on me for not telling the office myself. I realize this was my bad and I should have told the office myself to be extra sure. But that's not the issue:

It turns out the REAL reason we didn't give proper notice was because there was a "For-when-you-move-out" sheet at the very back of our lease that all three of us needed to sign and bring to the office. None of us even knew this page existed and so of course none of us had signed it. In addition, the charge for June is actually $2400, not $1600, because it's their month-to-month rate.

Yesterday, May 27, Jessi stopped by my house to discuss the situation. She told me that she thinks I should pay for this extra charge or at least pay more than my fair share. I told her no and that I would only pay one-third of the rent. I think she was probably grasping at straws trying to find a good reason to blame me because as I understand it, her reasoning for why I should pay more is that I caused her to have a mental slip/brain fart because of how I was considering keeping the apartment and that ultimately led to her never checking the lease and thus never finding the last page that we all needed to sign.

I stopped by the office one last time yesterday and briefly explained the situation (the lady was already familiar with it because she had been talking to Jessi on the phone). I told the woman at the office that my roommates want me to pay for the whole thing and she informed me that the only legal obligation I have is to pay my one-third of the rent. I already knew this but it's nice to have the office of this complex on my side.

Jessi and Daniel are broke. They've already moved into a new place and have started paying rent there. They do not have the funds to pay their share of the June rent. I do. I can afford to pay my share ONLY.

**What happens to me if I give the apartment complex my one-third but my roommates can't afford it?**

Thank you so much in advance. I've been losing sleep and feeling very depressed about this. It seems like I'm going to lose one of my best friends--maybe two--over this.

Answer: If you all are on the same lease you are most likely jointly and severally responsible. Meaning, you each individually are responsible for the entire amount of rent


Title: I work part time at a fast food chain in Massachusetts. Do I have a right to paid sick time? Or even unpaid?

Question:
Hello Reddit. As I mentioned, I work at a fast food chain restaurant in Massachusetts. I'm classified as a "part time" employee since I get scheduled for 39 hours a week as opposed to 40. I've been working here for about 5 years now, but I've never even considered that there might be a such thing as sick time, so when I'd call in sick, I just wouldn't get paid for that day, and sometime I was told I couldn't call in and I have to work my shift anyway.

However, recently I've read that all Massachusetts employees, whether they work full time, part time, seasonal, etc. are entitled to 1 hour of sick time for every 30 hours they work. It also stated that this can be both paid or unpaid depending on how many people are employed at the establishment. I believe it said that if your employer has more than 11 employees (which mine does) then they are required to give you paid sick time.

What I'm confused about it whether or not this applies to me, because under the "Careers" section of the chain's website, it lists the benefits offered to each of the different positions of employment, and "sick time" is only written as a benefit for the Managers, not the team members. Also, I don't know of any of the other team members who have put in for sick time, and I'm starting to wonder if that is the establishment being sketchy about it or if they have actual legal grounds to do what they are doing.

Now I'm not a lawyer and I don't now much about legal stuff in general, so I figured I should ask some people who know what they're talking about before I start pointing fingers at my employer for treating me unfairly. However, if I really am being sort of cheated out of sick time, especially if it's paid sick time, I would like to know about it so I can use it in the future and enlighten my coworkers.

Answer: Are you a school aged student under twenty years of age under the IDEA act?


Title: How long should I wait to remove a girl, who is alleging I sexual assisted her, off of my social media?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 I don't know why your lawyer is encouraging you to remain in contact with her, even tangentially.

Regardless, you should ask him this question, since it's his plan.


Title: Nevada - HELP my sister and her husband are getting blackmailed

Question:
Ok, I'll jump right into this.

My brother in law thinks his webcam was hacked. Either that or he thinks the site he was on recorded the video. He masturbated on camera for about 10 seconds and somehow these people found the video and have been threatening my sister and BIL for $800.

They keep creating fake FB accounts (in my BIL's name only) and then they friend request all his real friends.  They create posts and anytime you click on a post it is this same 10 second video. They even posted on my sisters real FB account this 10 second video. They've threatened to post this video on all of their families FB pages. They said 'I assure you one of your family will be involved now' and 'I can use one of them to share his video again'.

My sis and BIL have both deleted their FB accounts, but they continue to get texts and emails from these blackmailers demanding the $800. Every time they get an email it has 'CHA' and a bunch of numbers. I don't know if that means anything but I thought I should include it. Also, the emails always come from a gmail account. My sister has even gotten emails through her business page, so the blackmailers have gone to her actual business page to send an email.
They have also blocked the numbers they get the texts from, but within a few days they will create a new number to text them from.

Yesterday my sis got an email that had a screenshot of all of both her and his family and the blackmailers said they are going to start contacting all of their family with this video if they don't pay up.

So far they have reached out to google and FB but haven't heard back yet. My sis has started creating a folder with every single text/email they have received so she can go to the police when she gets back from out of town. They have told everyone, family and friends, that they are being blackmailed and to not click on any video that comes to them either on FB or email.

Is there anything else they can do to get these blackmailers to go away?? She is wondering if there is any type of person she can hire to make these people go away. They are desperate for help.. thanks!

Answer:
 >My brother in law thinks his webcam was hacked. Either that or he thinks the site he was on recorded the video

1. Just as an FYI, he's lying.  He was beating off for a stranger on the internet.

2.  Going to the police won't help.  They are probably in Morrocco or something.

3.  The way to make them go away is 100% silence.  Don't have any contact with them and they will lose interest.


Title: In Mississippi, I applied and paid for my record to be expunged, judge decided to take a vacation.

Question:
A little back story:
When I was 19, my (now-ex) husband and his best friend ran around at night every night. They would go ride and meet up with friends, go mud riding, etc., so I thought it would be a good opportunity to bring my newborn to ride around until she fell asleep, as she had colic really bad. We would go riding and as soon as she fell asleep, I would fall asleep and got some much needed sleep, even if it was for only an hour or 2. I rarely woke up unless she woke up crying - then it was immediately that I would wake up. I thought nothing of frequent stops, as we had car wash lots where the local teenagers/early twenties folks would hang out. Some decent, some of bad character. One of those bad characters invited the two previously mentioned guys to an empty car lot and there, they stole radios and things out of the dashes.

**Long story short,** when they were caught, the husband AND his best friend pinned everything on me. None of the officers believed me, mostly because the one that I was married to was pressing hard that it was all my idea. I was arrested and jailed for 4 days, was charged with burglary of an auto on 4 counts, $40,000 to bail out, and overall I have complied with everything asked of me.

My lawyer wasn't concerned with helping me fight this, and he was court appointed because my parents spent their last dime getting me out of jail and couldn't afford one of our choosing. He was my second appointed after the first one got tired of hearing "I'm innocent". He just wanted to get me the shortest penalty as possible - which was 5 years probation, restitution, and court fees.

**Here is the problem as of late.** I got a good lawyer who has never lost a case as simple as mine. It's cut and dry. I have complied in every way, paid off every fine, and been a model citizen - even though I had never actually not been. I went today to check on the progress of my case, and she told me it would be a couple more weeks before court would be in session for them to hear these sorts of cases. Then she decided to check her docket email before telling me anything for sure. Turns out, the judge that was selected to handle my case has opted out to be in court for that (I believe she said) 3 week time span of hearings. That means I have to wait until March before the next set of hearings. I live in North Mississippi, and I know some people come to expect this kind of thing down here, but I have worked my butt off trying to do and be everything the court wanted me to do and be, but now I'm getting the shaft.

I guess let's go with this...
**TLDR** Is it legal for a judge hearing my case to opt out and prolong the time I have already waited to have my case done? I am currently at 7 years, 5 days and am expected to have to wait nearly another 6 months.

(Hopefully I followed all of the rules to this sub. Thanks in advance if so)
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: Yes, like everyone else, you have to wait until the court has space on its calendar for a low-priority matter like this.


Title: I live in Cyprus. I own a convenience store and the mayor gave me a 21 day notice to demolish the pergola outside where I keep my newspapers, magazines and other stock items.

Question: I own a convenience store and the mayor gave me a 21 day notice to demolish the pergola outside where I keep my newspapers, magazines and other stock items. The mayor gave verbal instructions on how he wants all convenience stores' pergolas to be but he had not put anything down on papers. I live in Cyprus. Is there anything I can do in order to earn time to get the amount of money needed to make the modification needed to be legal.

Answer:
 Not an expert on Cyprus by any means, but whether the pergola is legal is probably a matter of local ordinance or zoning.  Is there an easy way to access your local ordinances?  If the pergola is legal, there should be administrative procedures in order to object/dispute the notice (maybe the notice tells you what you can do if you disagree).

That said, you can always call and ask for more time and see if they agree.


Title: Just got sentenced to house arrest but I travel for work. Can I make this work?

Question:
30 days house arrest for probation violation.

I travel for weeks at a time, I could ask my employer to keep me in the same state (Washington) but I definitely would need to stay in hotels.

Is there any way to make this work?

My other option is to ask the judge to change it to work crew and I can do that on my off weeks.

Answer:
 You can ask the judge for a change.

However "this sentence is REALLY inconvenient" isn't a good reason to change.  It's not supposed to be pleasant, easy or fun.Answer #2: Currently on house arrest myself and frequently travel for work, school, medical, and religious events. I negotiated the exceptions into my plea. If the Judge didn’t make exceptions in your sentences, your lawyer may be able to file a modification.


Title: Unconventional Rents

Question:
[MA] Is it legal to charge rent in terms that aren’t legal tender? For example, a yearly rent where the tenant needs to bake 3650 pizzas per annum for the LL, or give him 12 Troy ounces of gold.

Asking for a friend

Answer: It's legal generally, but it might complicate both parties' tax returns, and may make eviction for non-payment difficult. There are exceptions: a depressingly common one is sex in return for tenancy, which is illegal - it's plain old prostitution.


Title: Involved in car accident where the other driver was at fault. Her insurance isn't paying enough. (Florida)

Question:
To spare you some probably useless details, I was hit by a car who I *think* ran a stop sign. Regardless, she claimed fault, and the police report reflected that. My car ('99 Toyota Camry) was smashed in on one side and declared by her insurance to be a total loss.

I was negotiating a settlement with her insurance (State Farm), and they offered me a check for $3,183.82 after taxes and title fees. Now, here is a little bit of relevant backstory.

In October of last year, I completed an installation of a refurbished engine, which costed me $3,858.93 after labor and taxes. Without the new engine, my car wouldn't run, and I didn't want to buy a new car because mine was in great, working condition besides the engine having a hole in it. Also, on 1/29/15, I had new brakes and two new tires installed, which costed $855.34.

I'm a university student who commutes and works part time. I had to take out a loan for the engine. I just paid the rest of the loan off with my tax refund.

I discussed this with State Farm, and they had me send them my receipts. After review, they decided to offer me an additional $680 for the engine and $50 for the brakes/tires, bringing the new check to $3,964.92. This didn't even cover my recent repairs. So I fought with them.

I found the Kelly Blue Book value of my car's equivalent, which came to $2,169. I added this to my repair costs ($3,858.93 and $855.34), and came to a total of $6,883.27. I do not know how to put value on depreciation or whatever (I was taking the roughly five months of engine use into consideration), so I approached State Farm with my figures and sources, and instead requested $6,600 as settlement. State Farm was adamant about their previous settlement of $3,964.92.

State Farm reasoned that they only reimburse for the value of the vehicle, and that the engine and tires I just paid my loan off for were "necessary maintenance." I reasoned that if their client/insurance holder hadn't totaled my car, while I was being a safe driver, I wouldn't have to be taking a huge monetary loss for the engine and tires.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I have contacted a handful of lawyers, but have been turned down by all of them because my case doesn't involve personal injury. One lawyer did suggest that I file a small claim against State Farm.

If you made it this far, thank you very much for reading. My questions are:

1. Does this scenario sound like something I could possibly successfully file a small claims against?

2. If so, would I be suing State Farm, or the driver who hit my car?

3. If I did end up needing to sue either party, and had a monetary figure as reference (which, by the way, how would I get this figure, by law?), could I contact the other driver and discuss settling out of court by her providing the rest of the money I would be due? Is this allowed/legal?

I appreciate any help or advice that you could graciously provide.

EDIT: Thank you for the replies. I agree that State Farm's settlement number is great for the car itself, but I'm saying that I basically just lost a couple thousand dollars because this lady hit me. Is there really no legal justification behind that?

EDIT 2: Thanks again for everyone's insight. I guess I'll just have to take a loss here. State Farm is offering me a tidy sum for the car itself, so I'm not left so empty-handed.

Answer:
 You are entitled to the value of your car. What you spent on recent repairs is largely irrelevant. They are looking at it as what it would cost you to go buy the identical used car tomorrow to make yourself whole again and put you back in the same position you were in the minute prior to the accident. Whatever that cost is is what you are entitled to.  Answer #2: I think State Farm gave you a reasonable settlement offer. I don't see you getting much more than the amount they offered.

If you think you would get anything close to $6600, I would say you're crazy.


Title: Ex-GF wants to change our son's last name to hers; what are the unintended consequences?

Question:
My ex-GF has had custody of our son since we split up about 3 years ago now. She has asked me if I will consent to changing his last name to hers. I told her I was okay with that as I grew up with my mom's maiden name myself, but there's a big difference in the two situations.

When I was growing up, I saw my biological father once every couple months, and then he wasn't around at all after I was around 8 years old. Now, he never had custody, but he had visitation where I would go stay with him for a few days and he had to pay child support.

I also have visitation with my son where he will come stay with me for extended periods of time and I am paying child support. But, legally, we have joint custody of him and must coordinate major decisions. As far as I know, the last name of the child doesn't determine anything in terms of legal power, and ultimately I don't mind him not having my last name.

Bottom line is, I just want to know if I'm unintentionally giving anything up by letting his last name be changed.

Answer: His name has no bearing on anything else related to custody or parental rights.  It's just his name.


Title: [WA] Can my boss require me to get a Wells Fargo account?

Question:
I work for a non-bank related retailer. I've always received my payment via check. I'm part time, and don't receive any additional benefits.

My boss has texted me out of the blue, asked if I had an account with Wells Fargo. I said no, she said get one ASAP. I told them I wasn't comfortable with that, I already have a bank account and do not want to move funds. I asked her repeatedly why it's needed, and why a check will no longer work.

She says she refuses to discuss it further, a Wells Fargo account is mandatory.

My questions are
A) Can an employer require me to open an account with a certain bank for payment?
B) Can they fire me if I refuse?

Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 That is ridiculous.

That said, it's not (on its face) illegal. Take a look at the [getting paid](http://www.lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Wages/PayReq/Wages/default.asp) section of the labor board's FAQ.


Title: (CA) Best Friend owns a dog boarding & grooming facility. Manager of said facility lost a second dog in less than one year.

Question:
My best friend in the whole world started a dog boarding facility in CA about seven years ago. We met because I took my dog there around the time it opened and we've been super close ever since.

The first few years, she put her blood sweat and tears into the place and was finally able to staff the place with people to a point where shouldn't have to be around every day in order for things to run smoothly. Last year, on New Year's Eve, (12/31/17) a dog escaped the facility and was never found. The family who owned the dog sued my friend for $10k. Emotionally and mentally, my friend barely made it through that.

Fast forward to last week, shortly after Thanksgiving, the same staff, loses another dog. This was about 10 days ago and the dog has not been found.

We all have been scouring the internet looking for the dog to see if anyone has reported it found or had it's chip scanned, to no avail.

People on [NextDoor.com](https://NextDoor.com) are tearing her apart and accusations of all kinds are being thrown and I honestly don't think she'll make it past this one.

Does anyone have any advice as to whether or not she should remain quiet and not say anything online to any social media sites, OR should she release a statement stating the facts of what happened to clear up the accusations of "selling the missing dogs" or "paying Yelp to remove bad reviews"...

Any help is appreciated... thank you

Answer:
 If a dog has been lost twice under the same staff they need to be fired. I would be livid if I left my dog in the care of someone professional and I came back and it was gone. Most dog boarding places have a fenced in outside area, if they can tell where they got out from it needs to be fixed and if not she should be questioning the staff what happened. If I were her I would invest in some camera for her business.

If she does fire them, make a public social media statement about it. She should be assuring everyone that she is doing everything she can to find the dog.


Title: Is my cousin being scammed?

Question: My cousin randomly got a check in the mail for almost $2000. He doesn’t have a bank account, so he used mine to deposit. A few days before it clears, he gets a text from an unfamiliar number. It claims to be from Whole Foods, asking him to keep $400 and use the rest to buy various gift cards. I didn’t like this from the start, but now I’m 100% sure this is a scam. So what happens when the money clears? What happens if he takes the money and spends it on something else? What happens if we don’t use it at all? Thought I s?

Answer:
 Obviously a scam. Come on now. Let's use common sense. No one sends that amount of money to strangers for them to buy gift cards. Anyone can buy gift cards. You don't need to pay someone else to do it.

That check will bounce soon so be ready for your bank to pull that money back

There is no money. There is no business. There is no job. It is just a fake check.


Title: Girlfriends sister was in an accident two years ago. Her car was totalled while the other lady's car was able to drive from the crash. Haven't heard anything about it in two years. She just recieved mail stating shes being sued 80,000 dollars for medical and psychological trauma.

Question: I know she needs a lawyer but shes already in a lot of financial trouble with student loans and her car. Are there any other things we should look for before starting this case?

Answer: She should be talking to the insurance she had at the time of the collision, more than anything. This is one of the services she paid them for: covering liability due to collisions. They'll provide a lawyer and negotiate or defend the suit, and if necessary pay out the award up to her policy limits.Answer #2: She should contact her car insurance company (whoever she had at the time).  They will handle the attorney and try to settle within her policy limits.


Title: Fired at work for discussing salary, but I signed a paper that said I won't sue them. Do I have any recourse?

Question:
Location: Nebraska

The NLRB is currently looking into my case.

When I was fired, I was told it was because I disclosed my salary and signing bonus in public.

As my manager handed me the termination agreement, she said, "it basically says that you will return all company property and if you decline to sign it, then you'll be required to pay back your $5,000 signing bonus."

I did not receive any severance package, but technically not paying my employer back the $5,000 was considered my severance package.

My manager then said I have 45 minutes to pack my personal belongings, return all company property, read the termination agreement, sign it, and the leave the premises.

I felt extremely pressured to sign this document.

She sat next to me during the entire time I was packing and the lead developer sat right behind me.

After packing my things and turning in my work items, I read the document and I didn't like some terminology in it. It said that I could not pursue any legal action against my employer for the termination.

I felt really pressured and anxious and I just wanted out of there, so I signed it and left.

My NLRA lawyer is saying that I probably don't have a good case since I signed away my rights to sue. If I didn't sign that, then I would have a really strong case.

Is this true? Can an employer make someone sign a termination agreement the way they did?

**TL;DR**: Can an employer fire me for something federally protected (discussing salary), tell me that I'll owe them my signing bonus back if I don't sign the termination agreement within the next 45 minutes, then have my manager and lead developer sit next to me while I pack my belongings, return my work items, read the termination agreement and sign it?

Answer: I was under the impression it was ILLEGAL for employers to prohibit discussions on salary.Answer #2: I can't imagine that a contract stating "you can't sue us if we break federal law and cause you quantifiable damages" could be enforceable. Otherwise, every single company ever would be adding these clauses to their employment agreements.Answer #3: IANAL, but this sure sounds like a contract signed under duress. Or does that only apply to physical threats?


Title: Police called my girlfriend to come to the station, to talk about her charge of theft under 5000 [Canada, Ontario]

Question:
Yesterday, there was a lady in her 30's or maybe 20's, came into our house (around 8PM). She claimed that she knew my girlfriend stole her phone from a grocery store. She proceeded to tell her that she has a video from the store that shows my girlfriend stealing an iphone from her (she was not specific), and that she also has an app (find my iphone) that shows the phone is in our house. She asked my girlfriend to return the phone before tomorrow, or else the cops are going to take over the case (she was pretending to a favor and it seemed sketchy as hell). The thing is.. my girlfriend has 2 expensive phones already, she does not need in any circumstances another phone. SHE DID NOT STEAL ANY PHONE. My girlfriend asked her to leave.

Today, the police called my girlfriend and asked her to come to the station (I was there). I called my father's lawyer for and advice, and he told us to do as the police asked, and to call him if anything comes up). We obliged and went there. When there, we met the police officer that called her. The officer took us to a back room which was not an investigation room, but it looked more like a meeting room. He started questioning her, but, because of the stress she answered some of the questions but not all of them. However, she did spew some stuff, but she was not confessing anything regarding the charges made against her. He gave her an appearance notice for court and we left.

The police officer did mention the video from the grocery store and some other things that I don't remember.

I will just mention it again, my girlfriend did not steal any phone. So what the hell?

Answer:
 >SHE DID NOT STEAL ANY PHONE

>my girlfriend did not steal any phone.

And yet, this lady showed up at your house out of the blue?  If she tracked her phone there, then someone in your house took her phone.

If they have video of it, you will see for sure who (if anyone) stole the phone.  But if you received a court summons, then that video is probably damning evidence in its own right.

>I called my father's lawyer for and advice, and he told us to do as the police asked, and to call him if anything comes up

It seems that something came up, so you should call him back.


Title: ( Missouri ) We own the road my neighbor's house sits on and he thanks us for letting him use our road by shooting our chickens. What should I do? ( Missouri )

Question:
We have been living in this house for 3 years now and after our old neighbor  (90 year old widow) died in a nursing home. After that our other neighbor died on his tractor. And then these people move in. Once they moved in they were nice, kindhearted people. At least until last weekend. They had admitted to shooting them with a BB gun. What happens next? Oh he sends me a threat and I quote " I will kill your entire fucking flock " Reddit I came here for this reason, so please help me.

EDIT: Yes, they do have another route in and they do not have an easement.

Thanks for all your attention guys. I really appreciate your help. :)

UPDATE: He threatened my dogs too. And 3 of our chickens gone missing.

Answer:
 Call the police.  A threat has been made.  Also, if you have evidence that he has shot your chickens, call animal control and report him for animal cruelty.

Likely no arrests or charges will be made, but it will either scare them into stopping, or lay the foundation for an arrest next timeAnswer #2: Call the policeAnswer #3: Call the police and file a small claims lawsuit for the value of the chickens. But are your chickens roaming on his land? Answer #4: does he have an easement to use the road? if not, and he has other access, can you block the road with a gate?Answer #5: IANAL or very smart but I believe threatening the life(s) of livestock is considered a "credible threat" under stalking/harassment statutes in Missouri.

On the other hand, you are generally required to prevent livestock from running at-large so if they strayed onto his property he may have been allowed to shoot them. On the other other hand many states require a landowner who finds escaped/at-large livestock on their property to attempt to ascertain who the owner is and give the owner a chance to come and collect the animals. But if your chickens weren't banded he could reasonably argue that it was impossible to determine ownership. All depending on Missouri's livestock and animal welfare laws of course.


Title: I broke a sprinkler in a hotel and they're charging me 1000 USD

Question:
I hung a cloth hanger on the door of the bathroom of my room and when I opened it, it hit the sprinkler and broke it.

A fuckton of water started coming out of the roof and it started flooding the bathroom and a small part of the room and a part of the hallway outside. The alarms went off, we called front desk twice, and they finally sent up maintenance guys, police and firemen. They turned off the sprinklers, quickly vacuumed the water and placed fans to dry the carpet.

We were asked to describe what happened and we said what I just told you. They told us to go get a new room, and that accidents happen. So we got a new room. In the new room we called front desk to see if we were going to get charged, they said they would get back to us, but they never did. The next day when we checked out we were told that we were not charged for anything, so we left.

Almost a week later, I realize that I have a charge of $1,000 on my credit card that I left for incidentals. They never called me or told me, they just charged my credit card without my authorization (can they do that?). So I call the credit card company and tell them to freeze the charge since it was a mistake of the hotel. Then I call the hotel and they say that if it was an accident or not, we get charged for the damage, and that they have a fire department report saying that we admitted to hanging a hanger on the sprinkler, which is false! We obviously never said that because that isn't what happened. We call again for them to send us the bill to know how they got to $1000 and they haven't sent it yet.  The manager didn't even know how they got to that number.

What are my options to fight this charge? How can I dispute this? Should I have a lawyer call them?

I think it's unfair that I will have to pay $1,000 for something that was a complete accident. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

EDIT: This happened in Atlantic City, NJ

EDIT 2: When we got a new room, I went down to the flooded room to get something we had forgotten and there was no sign of anything just 2 fans drying the carpet. In 15 minutes they had cleaned all but the bathroom and no sign of permanent damage whatsoever, which is why I see $1000 as an unfair amount for just a sprinkler.
Since it all happened in the bathroom, no furniture was damaged and it can all be power washed in there. Also, I'm almost sure no outside cleaning service was need since 15 minutes later it was all cleaned and it didn't smell.

Answer:
 > I think it's unfair that I will have to pay $1,000 for something that was a complete accident.

Accident or not, you caused it. Why would it be fair for them to have to pay for your mistake? You're responsible for damage you cause. Answer #2: >I think it's unfair that I will have to pay $1,000 for something that was a complete accident.

I didn't mean to run into your vehicle with mine.  It was a complete accident!  Why do you expect me to pay to repair your vehicle?Answer #3: It may end up being a lot more than $1000 depending on the extent of the damage and if they claim lost revenue from not being able to rent the room out. Water damage can be very expensive to repair.Answer #4: I am trying to imagine how a clothes hanger on a door could reach, let alone break a ceiling sprinkler. This seems like a complete fluke accident. Your travel insurance or home policy may cover the damage so you should look into it.


Title: [USA] Lingering doubts about childhood incident

Question:
I'm a male American student, I have lived here my whole life, and have recently started thinking (and worrying, a little) about something from my childhood. This incident was around 15 years ago, when I was in preschool/kindergarten. I had a very close female friend of the same age, who I played with very often. One day, at a gathering where my friend's family, my family, and another family were invited, we (myself, my brother, my friend, and another girl, also of the same age) decided to try out some dares. Now, given that we were all 4-6, there was nothing too weird until curious kindergarten me dared the two girls to take off their clothes. There was no force, no threat, no violence, just a dare, and so the two girls went into a closet, and, to my knowledge, took off their clothes and put them back on (the doors were wooden, with wooden slants taking away all view from the exterior, and I later found out that my friend didn't take off any clothing). My brother later told on me to my mom, who briefly told me off, and the whole thing was never mentioned again. I remained close to my friend for a few more years, and she never mentioned it either. I'm posting to this sub in the hopes that any doubts about this being illegal/punishable (which surfaced after I ran into the other girl who was there by coincidence) might soon be quashed. Thanks.

**TL;DR** Childhood dare with female friends of the same age involves clothing removal, never spoken of again, I would like confirmation that I won't end up in any registries
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: No, your actions from when you were FIVE YEARS OLD are not going to land you on a sex offender registry or affect you in any way at all.


Title: Uncle about to be deported I don’t know what to do

Question: Last night my (illegal immigrant) uncle was arrested for dui and although I understood why he was arrested and I’m not questioning it, it still pains me and my family and I’m not sure what to do next. He’s currently at the magistrate, he has an ice hold which is why I think he’s going to be deported, he’s going to be moved to a detention center in around 5 hours from this post, nobody has had contact with him yet I found all this info myself from calling the magistrate which is where he’s supposedly been since 1am (currently 2pm), and what about financially next? He currently is financing a truck and my mom says I’ll have to help pay for it which is around $500-600 a month and I’m not sure what else I may be missing. We’re in Texas and he has some handguns and even though I’m 19 I believe I can legally keep and I don’t have to register them (since they were inherited down to me I believe but correct me if I’m wrong please)and he also lives in a separate house with my mother, sister, and myself so if he has anything else I believe it would be either in his truck or there. Should I expect anything soon? The magistrate where he’s at pretty much told us we can’t visit him yet and that we have to wait till he calls us but my mom accidentally missed his call so I’m hoping he calls again. We have no relatives in Mexico that would be willing to help him but since I’ve already driven myself cross country twice my mom said if I wanted I could go down to Mexico in the summer to help him out with money and things like that. Also when we picked his truck up, he had $1600 on him, I’m assuming the worst that he’s going to get deported given the conditions but is there anything we can do to help him out as well? He’s really not a bad guy never been in trouble besides this and he was literally down the street from the house, he works every day doing backbreaking work, helping myself and my sister with school, my mother with rent, and whatever we might need, there were no cars at all when he was arrested no one was hurt, it was an officer who was specialized in looking for drunk drivers who pulled him over, and I don’t blame the cop. The cop even though he got him was very polite and let me take his truck home and explained all the questions we had and let us take his belongings that my uncle didn’t want with him. I don’t really know what to expect and need any advice on what I should do. I may have forgotten some parts since we’ve been worrying about him basically since then but if some parts don’t seem clear please ask and I’ll reply with it

Answer:
 > is there anything we can do to help him out as well?

You can hire an immigration lawyer to represent him.Answer #2: Sorry you're having to deal with this.  As you note, it is likely that your uncle will be deported if he is convicted of a DUI, so it might be worth considering a criminal defense attorney, too, if you think he could potentially beat the charge (in addition to an immigration attorney).

I would not mention to law enforcement that he owns any guns, because it is [my impression that a nonimmigrant alien may not own a firearm](https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-nonimmigrant-alien-who-has-been-admitted-united-states-under-nonimmigrant-visa), and this may lead to seizure of the guns, but I could be totally wrong on this point.

Best of luck to you and your family.


Title: Foreign National Wife fired for accent in USA

Question:
My wife was fired today for having an accent. Specifically a manager she had never met called her and told her she was fired because he wasn't comfortable with someone with her accent working as a waiter. She is fluent in English, but has a British English accent, being from Eastern Europe.
They knew her English was excellent and she had an accent when she was hired(and still does).

She received 2 notes on 2 separate checks in the last 3 weeks that probably influenced the restaurant a bit, but instead of having her back, they're firing her.

The first was a tip for $2 and a note saying "You can do better honey"

The second was a tip for $0, no complaints the entire time, but at the end, decided to write, "Watch your tone when you're talking to people"

I probably don't have to mention that these kind of people are probably the worst kinds of people you can meet. For some reason they were both late 40s early 50s sets of women but I know there's more people like that around and it makes me sick.

Anyways, I'm in the military and have some legal resources at my disposal. According to what I found on google, what they did was illegal. We are living in Minnesota.

Another event to note was that yesterday someone at the bar got burned for serving alcohol to a minor. When the officer went and asked who was certified, he found out that the girl (who was immediately fired) had not been given training for serving alcohol. The managers also stated that my wife would be getting certified as a bartender, as she was the only other one who didn't have the training/certification she needed to serve alcohol.

This is something they have never brought up with her or mentioned to her. I've told her to record every conversation she has here on out in case it's worth pursuing somewhere like small claims court or workers rights. The place has a strong chance of having their alcohol license pulled, and maybe more if it gets severe enough.
My wife is a legal permanent resident in the US, and is originally from Croatia.

She's been working these sorts of jobs for around 6 years and has never been fired, so she's naturally pretty tore up about it. She has had a bunch of panic attacks and increased anxiety since it happened as well.

My questions for legal advice are this:

Is this worth pursuing in small claims court or one of the workers rights organizations in Minnesota(or another venue)?

How would I go about it?

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. If you need any more details, please let me know in the comments! In the meantime I'll be collecting as much documentation as possible.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 It is illegal to fire someone because of their national origin, and because accent is intertwined with national origin, firing someone because of their accent can often be national origin discrimination. But when a position requires communicating with customers, an accent that materially affects their ability to do so can be a valid reason to fire someone.  That she actually got a customer complaint about "tone" makes this far from a clear- cut case of discrimination.

If she wants to pursue this, the first thing to do is file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

 [https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/complaint-process/](https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/complaint-process/)


Title: Friend hit someone with a glass

Question:
Kind of freaking out right now and desperately looking for some advice.

A small group of my friends and I were out this evening and one friend got involved in an incident. We were at a club, dancing, when some a guy comes out of nowhere and pushes my friend for literally no reason. I don't mean a push as in he backed up into him or just nudged him a little, the guy just walked straight up to him and full force pushed him, then stood with his arms out as to say "what are you going to do." - to which my friend took the glass he was holding and smashed it over the guys head.

He does not have any record of violence or assault.

The guys face was bleeding heavily and my friend was taken into the cells.
I'm just looking for someone to give me an idea of how badly this situation will end in legal terms, and what the best thing to do would be in his situation.
All help appreciated.

Edit: Apologies, I should've stated that we are in the UK.

Answer: Your friends needs an attorney and needs to talk to nobody else but this attorney. You didn't provide your location but this is likely a serious charge he may be facing.


Title: Need advice as to whether I should fight my alleged speeding ticket or not.

Question:
Today, in the middle of an Uber ride (I was the Driver), I was pulled over for going "55 in a 35". This is 100% not true, but that isn't the point.
I started writing up my case that i'll bring to court to show the judge whenever my court date comes around: (http://imgur.com/a/juQJL)

A lot of my friends are telling me to take defensive driving, just to get it out of the way, but I personally feel that I have a strong enough case to possibly get the ticket dismissed.

Should I go with my gut or listen to my friends? Any advice helps! Thanks in advance!

Edit: Location is Houston, Texas

Answer:
 Many things:

1. You can't introduce much of your evidence as you can't speak for it.  The Uber details, for instance.

2. You argue that you "had to" accelerate to get past someone illegally merging from the left lane. You also had a brake pedal and a steering wheel, which are the common ways to avoid accidents.  It's a rare circumstance where braking or changing lanes is impossible and acceleration is the correct move.

3.  Your calculation of average speed means absolutely nothing as the charge is a point value not an average value.

4.  Your defense as stated above admits that you *were* speeding, which is really all that matters.  Even if we believe your story, it's unlikely that you needed to get to 20MPH over and then hold that for a period before slowing back down - especially holding it long enough that the officer, miraculously, didn't see any of the lane changing or swerving on the other vehicle's part.

Here's the deal - your diagram is neat and all that, but it's irrelevant because you offer no new evidence.  It's still just your story, and your story is no better because you drew the diagram.  In your story, you admit to speeding but blame it on a phantom vehicle that caused a 1-in-100 potential accident that required you to speed but completely negated any sort of braking or swerving maneuver.  The chances of that story being accurate are pretty low, which makes your fight difficult to win.


Title: College has been overcharging me for almost three years. What can I do?

Question: Hi, I attended a local community college in MD. I started going to that cc at fall 2016. It is spring 2019 now and I literally just realized that I’ve been paying out of state tuition this whole time. I have letters from that college during 2018 and 2019 and I have a receipt that states me paying for my classes that contains my in state address during the 2016. Do you think I can get my money back as far as 2016?

Answer: You may have lived in state, but did you meet the requirements for in state tuition?Answer #2: There is generally more to qualifying for "in-state tuition" rates than simply living in the state.  You may have needed to live in the state for a specific length of time, or perhaps had a parent that lived in the state for a length of time, etc.


Title: my bestfriend sexually assaulted me

Question: my bestfriend of 3 years slept at my house about a month ago after i had been away all summer. before i left my girlfriend broke up with me while she was at my house, she slept over and as it got later, i was upset and things happened, consensually. fast forward to a month ago, i had been talking to a guy and i was so excited, all i talked about all night. we fell asleep and i woke up around 3 am and then fell back asleep. i woke up maybe 10 minutes later to her feeling up on my legs and my side ( i was laying on my side facing the wall) and i didn’t say anything or move. she started to try and grab my boobs so i held them down so she couldn’t but she fought me and it led to her fingering me and i didn’t speak this entire time. in the middle of her fingering me i guess she got the hint and stopped and turned back around . we didn’t speak for a while and then we ended up in a room alone together and i decided to confront her because i wasn’t sure if she knew what happened because i was in denial but she admitted to sexually assaulting me and said she didn’t care . keep in mind we are both girls, both not legal adults yet. i don’t want to press charges because she has a lot of things which she could blackmail me with and ruin a lot for me ( not legally or anything, just socially ) but i was asking if i were to confront her again & secretly record her response ( i live in a one party consent state ) and save it for when i graduate & take the case to court would that be smart? like i’m just confused as to risk everything and report her now or wait . is the affect going to be the same a year and a half later?

Answer:
 To be clear, here, you are the victim of a serious crime. Depending on jurisdiction, this may be prosecutable as rape or as sexual assault. Your only meaningful legal risk here is that your allegation goes nowhere: you will not be in trouble with the law if you choose to make a police report.

If you want to report it, sooner is generally better than later. The details are clearer in your head, your testimony is likely to be more complete and more convincing, and it will be easier for the police to find and interview the accused. However, if you want to wait, you can - you increase the risk of an acquittal, by some degree, but the statute of limitations on serious crimes tends to be multiple years long.

You may want to speak to someone with experience counselling victims of sexual crimes. Your police department may have access to counselling services, but I'd start with organizations like RAINN. Speaking to a counsellor will help you figure out what you want to do with the law, and will help you heal.

Do not put yourself in further danger by confronting your attacker personally. At best, your confrontation will likely be useless for the prosecution; at worst, she may lash out at you violently or try to assault you again.


Title: Will the SCOTUS LGBT employment ruling apply to Catholic schools firing teachers?

Question: Catholic schools across the country have fired LGBT teachers and other employees simply for being gay. Does the SCOTUS ruling also apply to religious institutions?

Answer:
 "Ministerial Employees" are exempt from Title VII, but there is a [pending case](https://www.reuters.com/article/employment-religion/ags-urge-scotus-to-rule-that-catholic-school-teachers-not-exempt-from-title-vii-idUSL1N2B538K) to define what a "ministerial employee" actually is.

If Catholic school teachers are not exempt from Title VII protection, they cannot be fired simply for being gay or trans.


Title: [VA] What is my liability for fraudulent use of these stupid balance transfer checks?

Question:
Located in Virginia.

My wife and I have a few credit card accounts. Just about every week we each get a letter in the mail from one of them with "IMPORTANT ACCOUNT INFORMATION" or whatever jackassery printed on the outside. We open it, and sure enough, it's not important account information, but another set of balance transfer checks for whatever promotion they are running.

I know credit cards have pretty good liability protection, but I was wondering &mdash; what my liability is if someone uses one of these checks fraudulently? Are they governed by check rules? Credit card rules? Both? Neither? I'd rather just throw them out and not have to tear up or shred each set.

**Edit:**

To synthesis the advice here, it seems like my best course of action is:

* Call the issuers and ask them to stop sending checks
* My liability is limited similar to credit card charges, but
* Destroy the checks anyways, because it would be a pain to go through the fraud reporting process

Thanks everyone!
Topic:
Credit Debt Bankruptcy

Answer: This exact situation happened to me several years ago: Someone stole the envelope out of my mailbox (it's pretty obvious what IMPORTANT ACCOUNT INFORMATION means) and used the checks fraudulently. I reported it to the bank and was not liable for any of the charges (similar to if someone had stolen my physical credit card). So it did not cost me any money, but it was a HUGE PAIN IN THE ASS and I highly recommend taking the 2 seconds to shred the checks.Answer #2: I'd call up your card company and tell them to stop sending you this stuff because you're concerned about potential fraud and threaten to cancel your cards if they don't stop.


Title: Importing unapproved drug for self-medication?

Question:
I think I am smarter than my doctor.  I am considering self-medicating.  I have found an antidepressant called moclobemide that is approved in Europe and Australia but is not FDA-approved in the United States.  It is not a scheduled controlled substance (afaik).  I want to know if this drug is legal to purchase online, import, and possess for my own use, and where I might find the relevant laws regarding this? I live in Virginia.  Thank you.

Edit - I should add that I am not terminally ill and there are probably alternatives.

Answer:
 > I think I am smarter than my doctor. I am considering self-medicating.

Do you have a decade of medical-based research?

It is illegal to import unapproved medication into the USA except in specific cases, which your situation is not one of.  [Here's the law.](https://www.fda.gov/forindustry/importprogram/ucm173751.htm)


Title: Roommate suspicious that the apartment next door has a meth addict, how do I not get killed by this maniac?

Question:
[TN]

We are suspicious of next door apartment, my roommate is almost sure he smells something in his room, at first he thought it was paint from the place they are painting up stairs but now after knocking on the door to tell them something, an apparently really bad shape looking woman answered the door all jittery and meth-looking.
They have some kids in there too I hear them yelling at them all the time. What are the options where this meth head doesnt try to retaliate us if we "tattle tell" ?

Answer:
 I work with meth addicts. None have tried to kill me.

You can call CPS if you are concerned for the safety of the children.


Title: Denied entrance to US

Question:
Thanks for reading my post.

Here is the story.

I tried to go visit some relatives in the states last year. Everything went as planned until...

(this part is stupid but I was naive and uninformed) I mentioned that I would like to get a job in the states someday.

Although my purpose of visit was genuinely to travel, the fact that I didn't have a return ticket(I wasn't decided whether id stay for days or weeks) along with my tmi prompted the officer to deny my entry and issued me a "Withdrawal of Application for Admission/Consular Notification".

On this paper is a list of documents then it says,

"At this point in time you do not appear to be clearly admissible to the United States as a temporary visitor for pleasure. In order to satisfy U.S. Officials as your status and intentions, please provide this office with the indicated items below." ***

It says that the "Basis of Action" is "Application for Admission Withdrawn"

Then, on the last page, it says :
"Instructions : For withdrawal procedures, see Inspections Field Manual Chapters ... Aliens who appear admissible pursuant to section ... may choose at any time to appear before an immigration judge for a hearing in removal proceedings."

At this point I am pretty confused about the process and what my next steps are. When it says "provide this office with the documents" *** does this mean the office where I was issued the document or the address on the mail (a US Dep. of Homeland Security in New York)? Do I mail them these documents or is there an application?

I tried to do some research on my own it only created more confusion.

I called some lawyers in Toronto and was told that they cannot offer any guidance unless they represent me and that cost amounts of money that I have never seen in my bank account.

So my questions at this point are :
1. What are my options at this point to be allowed to visit the states again?

2. Is it an option for me to try to visit the states again with the required documents(evidence of employment,tax return forms etc) and the officer may let me through?

3. Does this status last forever? Will I never be able to visit again until I figure this out ?

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thank you !

Answer: So I’m assuming you applied for a B visa, correct me if I’m wrong. The US assumes everyone wants to immigrate which is why they want documentation showing that you have significant ties in your home country (employment, property, kids etc.) so it should be a matter of submitting the paper work to the office at which you applied for the visa. You can apply for a B visa again but you have to pay the fee again. What is your home country?


Title: [Massachusetts] Owner/occupy property next to commercial lot, driveway is an easement to my house that gets blocked - towable?

Question:
My house is next to a commercial building that has legal parking spots, but sometimes certain cars will park in front of my easement - not an all day thing, but enough times this has happened that it can be annoying.

I'll be asking the commercial owners (who are very nice) if I can put a "No Parking" sign up.  My question is around towing - can I put a threat of tow sign up and legally have a car towed if they are indeed blocking?

I live in my house and will soon rent a floor to a tenant, so a renter will be in the mix here. My tenants will need access to this driveway and just because it's an easement and not technically "my land" is what makes this confusing.

Answer:
 Not sure about in Mass but here in CT if access to or from your property is blocked (even an easement), you can have them towed and no posting is needed. Bw sure to check Mass laws though. Answer #2: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter266/Section120D

Some highlights:

>No person shall remove a motor vehicle which is parked or standing on a private way or upon improved or enclosed property unless the operator of such vehicle has been forbidden so to park or stand, either directly or by posted notice, by the person who has lawful control of such way or property.

IANAL, but "lawful control" sounds to me like you, if you indeed have an easement.  Also sounds like you need to have both "No Parking" and "Will Tow" signs, along with the tow company's information.

Reading on also sounds like you need to inform the police, as well.


Title: Can someones parents press charges?

Question: If I sold someone weed (im a minor, so are they) and they're parents wanted to press charges on me? This is in Washington state of that is relevant

Answer:
 Someone's parents can file a police report, which is the first step. It's up to the police as to whether charges will proceed or not.

_Anyone_ can file a police report.


Title: Can I get a refund for donating to a presidential capaign?

Question:
Donated through ActBlue , I want my money back since they dropped out of the race.
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer: lol


Title: Need advice: Stole information but never disclosed or shared it, terrified and do not know what I am facing.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Your homework for today: Read 26 U.S. Code § 6103 and fantasize about all the things you could do as a felon. (edit: Wait are you a tax employee of the government or of some company?)

Also stop talking about this yesterday, hire a lawyer and do only the things that person says from now on.


Title: [FL] Was infected by ransomware via email from a local car dealership.

Question:
I received an email from an employee at a car dealership I had been in contact with a couple of months ago. The email consisted of some text telling me to "check out the attachment" and an attachment which turned out to be ransomware. The ransomware was installed on my work machine and tells me I have 72 hours to pay or lose all my files.

I immediately called the individual who owns the email account and he acknowledged his email account was compromised and they had "an IT company working on it" and to just "ignore the email". I explained that my machine was already affected and asked if they were going to offer any solution. He told me that everything was fine on his end and this was my problem. Do I have any recourse?

Answer: It's unlikely that you can hold them responsible for getting their email hacked. You should know better than to open untrusted attachments, or to at least scan it for malware first.


Title: Can I sue Washington state for getting me addicted to weed?

Question: [removed]

Answer: Poor attempt at a troll post.


Title: [Oregon] I got screwed and Ebay say's its ok...help?

Question:
So a few weeks ago I purchased a $450 video card off of ebay, the seller sends it to me, I go to install the card and it is DOA. So I contact the seller and he says that I can return the card and he will refund me my money. Later that day he asks if I would mind contacting the video card support for an RMA, as I was not the original purchaser for the card this actually wasn't an option for me, so I proceed to go to UPS and I return the video card to the address that was listed on the package, which was printed via paypal ebay. A few days later the seller emails me asking what address I mailed it to saying that he lives in a city other than the one I mailed it to. So I escalate the claim on ebay and not 5 minutes later Ebay closes the case saying " You returned the item without authorization from the seller or eBay and did not provide tracking". When its there in the ebay messages that the seller DID tell me to return the item and I DID leave the tracking information. The fact that the seller selected an old or wrong address when he created the shipping label through ebay/paypal shouldn't be my problem....

I have already contacted my credit card company and started a chargeback i gave them the case info/included return tracking number, is there anything else I can/should be doing?

Edit: Here is a link to the ebay exchange http://imgur.com/dP7xPSM

Answer: I imagine you're going to get your eBay account banned because of the chargeback, if that matters to you. Answer #2: They aren't covering you because it sounds like you tried to handle it individually and not by going through the actual steps ebay outlines.


Title: Accused, but will not be charged with assault and rape. How can I protect myself?

Question:
I know this thread comes up pretty often around here unfortunately, but what I'm dealing with is kind of different. About three years ago I fooled around with a friend who works for RAINN. Weeks later she said I didn't engage in active consent. I was so sorry that I hurt someone I cared about and had no I idea I did something wrong. I enrolled in therapy and remained friends with this woman. We went on to have sex a number of times, and afterwards became good friends. One day she stops talking to me, and I find out it is because she talked to another friend I slept to around the same time.

She was upset and said that said I was leading her on. That wasn't my intention, it didn't seem like we were going to have a serious relationship anytime, but I again understood where she was coming from, and worked to change my approach to dating. From that point forward our friendship was completely platonic. I introduce her to all my friends, and everyone gets along.

About a year and a half ago, I sleep with this woman, it was great. We hang out in a big group, and I get fall down drunk (it was a hard week at work...) my friends make her walk me home, she isn't nearly as drunk as anyone else. We have sex, and in the morning have sex again. I feel weird about being that drunk and having sex, so I tell a few mutual friends. We stay friends but we never hook up again. Six months later a mutual friend told her I thought she assaulted me. I never said that, but then she gets on the defensive and says no, it was me who assaulted her... We meet up and talk, we reach an understanding that hey it was weird but nobody was at fault, we hug...

Now about a month ago, those two women are at brunch with some friends, I come up, and someone asks one of them about me, they talk, and over the course of a day decide that I have a pattern of assault, and should be stopped. So they contact everyone I know, all of my ex partners and girlfriends, and tell them that I am an abuser, and if they ever felt like I wasn't always 100% respectful of their consent. Suddenly I have no friends, and multiple people (who again were my friends) say that there were periods at which I didn't engage in active consent. One partner even said that I bruised her purposefully (I didn't). There are 4 women in total now. all from 1.5 years or longer. Now I am this villain in the community, and they're doing what they call an "accountability process" which so far has been a huge mess of my former friends getting together and figuring out how to issue 'restorative justice'. I had a breakdown, I tried to kill myself, went into a clinic, enrolled in daily therapy, as well as a specialist that deals with this sort of thing.

This is becoming a bigger deal the longer they talk about it. All the women and two of my former good friends have been meeting every few days to discuss how to handle this situation, and every time they meet, their accusations against me grow. One woman has even been messaging strangers with a picture of my face saying "this is a serial rapist, pass it along" and so my girlfriend has been getting texts from her friends asking whats going on. A few days ago I also got messages from numbers I don't recognize saying that if they see me in public they'll kick my ass. I'm so embarrassed and confused. None of the women want to take legal action, and they haven't posted anything publicly, so I don't know what I can do.

This all has been incredibly hard on my girlfriend (who I've only been dating for 6 months, and previous to this have had a really wonderful relationship with) and I just want it all to stop. I know I'll never get my friends back. I'm making peace with that, but I don't want things to get worse. Again, of the women accusing me of anything, 3 of them were my friends before all this happened.

Answer: Stop talking to all of these women, you will gain nothing from it. If you're contacted by the police, don't speak to them without an attorney. It would be in your best interest to speak to an attorney ahead of time.


Title: Is it illegal to bully/harass someone to the point where they try to commit suicide? *Repost*

Question: This is a hypothetical question for govt/law class mock criminal trial and I'm stuck between 2nd degree attempted manslaughter or gross criminal negligence. The scenario is that a teen, Bert Muppet, was sending harassing messages and spreading rumors about a depressed classmate, Ernie Muppet, (which sadly does happen irl :( except for the names, they live on sesame street). This leads the distraught teen to have suicidal ideation and later a suicide attempt which the subject survives. I'm having trouble with my group on what would happen and the different charges against the suspect. This takes place in Minnesota, I live near Duluth, Hermantown to be exact, but I think we're focusing on state law in this class. Sorry if this doesn't make any sense, I'm still in high school and I thought this would be the best place to ask for help since you guys are professionals in this discipline! Plus I'm interested in going into law, so hopefully I can be answering questions in like 10 years haha :D

Answer:
 I want you to formulate your own opinion, so I'm just going to give you two hints.

What did Bert intend to happen, and why is or isn't  that important?

What were the natural and foreseeable consequences of his actions, and why are they or aren't they important?


Title: Legal advice on out of state arrest warrant.

Question:
Ok so, long story short about 7 years ago someone I know was pulled over in Utah for driving on a suspended license, failure to register their vehicle, and driving w/o insurance in the state of Utah.  They didn't have money to pay the fines so they fled to California and have been living here ever since.  Now she/he has and arrest warrant out for them from Utah, and that brings me to my question which is, if someone were to contact the police in CA about this matter what would happen to this person?  Would this person be arrested here and charged for the failure to appear as well as the violations or would the cops just disregard it because its an out of state warrant?  If anyone knows or knows where to find this information I would appreciate it.

Also just to clarify, the reason I ask Is because the person is super paranoid and I want to be able to tell them confidently the cops are not out to get them lol....

Answer:
 > Also just to clarify, the reason I ask Is because the person is super paranoid and I want to be able to tell them confidently the cops are not out to get them lol....

If there is a warrant out for their arrest, then the cops **are** out to get them.

This will never, ever go away until the person gets it taken care of.

Legal advice: Contact a lawyer in Utah and take care of it.


Title: The legality of purchasing a human scull

Question: I have a relative who recently quit his job to go to med school. He's a bit of a collector, same as me, and a few years ago he managed to get himself a human scull from one of those antique model skeletons, antique as in when they actually used real skeletons, and to pay his bills he wants to sell it to me. I live in Texas and he lives in Utah, if that matters, and all the research I've done just tells me about the importance of proper paperwork. So my question is, can I legally buy the thing? Or should I just refuse his offer?

Answer: I have no idea why one would want to row a boat made of people. It seems pretty inefficient.


Title: [USA]Looking for tips for avoid searches

Question: It's annoying to always be asked to be searched because, I have a previous arrest for marijuana on my record.What are some simple things I could do to avoid this? Anything helps.

Answer:
 In what circumstances are you being asked for a search?

As is, you can't stop them from asking, ever.  You can deny consent; they may search anyhow, if they have appropriate cause.  You can't prevent that, either.


Title: family member got picked up on 4 felony drug charges.

Question:
Im pretty sure she was caught selling weed to a undercover cop and they found 39 marijuana plants. The charges were possession of a controlled substance, drug manufacturing and 2 others i cant remember. we're in PA just trying to get a general idea of how many years she could be charged with and since its 4 at once could that mean more? Also she has no record.
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer: She needs a criminal defense attorney, ASAP. That’s all there is to say here, really.


Title: Fiance is owed $30 000... without proof.

Question:
Hi there,

So, as the title states, five years ago (before he and I met) my fiance loaned a close family friend $30 000. The woman was a very close friend of his mother, and asked for the money very shortly after his mother passed away. She promised she'd pay the money back within a few months.

Obviously, that didn't happen. He has proof that he withdrew the money and gave it to her however, due to the nature of their relationship and the timing of the request, he did not make up any written contract, so he does not have proof that it was a loan.

We heard through the grapevine that she's planning on selling her house in the near future, and he feels this is his best chance to get the money.

My concern is that she will claim the money was a gift. He has no proof that it was a loan, only a bank slip showing the amount was given to her and the date.

What is the best way to handle this? How can we get some sort of acknowledgement from her indicating she is aware this was a loan? I'm worried if we were to ask straight up that she would deny it and claim it was a gift. I thought maybe he could send an e-mail along the lines of "Hey, remember that time I lent you $30 000? Just wondering if you had an idea on when you might be able to begin making payments" in the hope that she might at least reply with "oh I don't know when, but it'll be soon!" So he'd have some sort of proof of this. Is that our best course of action and,if so, how should it be worded?

Thank you all for your help.

Answer:
 An additional problem may be that he is beyond the statute of limitations. For example, in CA the SOL for debts is 4 years for written, 2 years for verbal.

What is your state?

Edit: /u/ThievingRock, in Ontario, the term for the statute of limitations for loan debt is 2 years. This money isn't coming back to him unless she chooses of her own free will to give it.


Title: My phone broke while at work

Question:
While delivering food my phone broke because of water damage. It was raining and I asked for a small break so I could waterproof my phone. They ignored it and now it is broken, I need my phone for my work. They say they can not cover the costs, I think this sucks a lot since this was not my fault.
Is it true that they do not have to cover the costs?

Answer: I don’t see how your work is liable.


Title: Ex threw away all my belongings

Question:
Living with my ex for 2 years. Had a garage full of tons of stuff exceeding $15,000. We fight she kicks me out short notice and says I can't have my stuff back until we settle child support.  I attempt to ask for my things for the next 3 months.  She tells me she threw everything away.

What can I do?  Since she booted me short notice and withheld/stole my belongings and threw them away, can I do anything about it?  I have receipts for everything

Answer:
 You can sue for the replacement value of similar used goods which is likely much less than 150k of new goods.

As a practical matter, it’s probably not actually thrown out. That sounds like a lot of stuff to haul off.


Title: Can someone give me an idea if this is realistic when it comes to CPS?

Question:
If a child was taken from a father because the father was homeless and couldn't care for the child, how many months does it take for a child to be reunited with their father in Louisiana? Or can the father get the child back as soon as they have a stable job and a stable home?

In my novel, I have it where the male character gets his daughter back, four months after getting a stable job and a stable place to stay, because his daughter got taken away because he was homeless and her school felt he couldn't take care of her while homeless.

So I'm trying to find out, if I put the timeline for him getting his daughter back at four months, would that make it at least realistic? Because to delve into further info from my novel, while being homeless, my male character goes to rehab (because he develops a short term heroin addiction, but his daughter is taken away from him after he gets on Heroin), he gets clean and the owner of the rehab center helps the male main character get a job, get permanent housing, and so I figured that I would write that after four months of being on a stable job and having stable housing, he gets his daughter back, but so, is four months realistic?

Answer: Not sure about CPS timelines for returning kids, but homelessness is not a reason to remove the child in the first place. There would need to be something else that is placing the child in danger.  I've worked with many homeless families (who were sleeping in shelters,  or on the street or in their car) who did not have children taken away.


Title: Someone ripped off my registration sticker and I conveniently got an "altered registration" ticket the same night.

Question:
I live in Florida where I guess like most states you put a sticker directly on your license plate that shows the month and year of your registration expiration.

I bought a brand new car in October and am registered.  Well, last night someone maliciously ripped off my sticker and I got a parking violation for it.  "Expired/Altered Tag 15-52, FS 320.0".

My question is if I go to fight it will they realize I was a victim of vandalism and waive the ticket?  Should I try and fight this with honey or fury.  Personally I think the ticketing officer did this to me, but I have no proof.

Answer:
 I'd fight it. More Importantly, when you get a new sticker use a knife or razor blade to make diagonal cuts both waysvafter you out it on so it so it can't be removed in one piece making it useless to a potential thief. Answer #2: 1. I would take your registration into court and show them your copy.

2. I would file a police report about the stolen sticker, they will never look for it, but it gives you proof that there was a crime committed and you are the victim.

3. Get a replacement sticker before you go to court. (As Wascurious said, slice that baby up with a razor.)

4. Take it to court and plea your case.

Obviously I am not a lawyer.


Title: Employee Poaching Legality (NH)

Question:
I own a small tech company in NH and we are having a lot of issues with employee poaching from a direct competitor of ours. The competitor is a much bigger company than us and works in a lot of states in the northeast. The issue we have is that our trade is something not taught in schools and is learned through years of training and experience. Basically what the other company does is waits for us to train our employees then because they are competitors of ours they e-mail our employees/call them with signing bonuses/better pay etc. I was curious as to what the legality of this is, because what they are trying to do is take over all of our business.

They have already taken 2 of our employees and have tried 2 more. We are getting worn thin with this because as a small employer, it's almost impossible to compete with their supposed bonuses and benefits.

Answer:
 People don't work out of the goodness of their hearts. They need money to pay their bills and buy shit. You need to offer incentives for good employees to stay with you.

If you can't offer better pay, you need to be more creative. Flexible hours, working from home, bring your dog to work.Answer #2: Do you have a contract with the competitor promising not to poach?

Do you have an agreement with your employees that they won't work for a competitor?

Do you have any reason to believe that the competitor is stealing/wiretapping or doing anything else nefarious?


Title: [NJ] - Epidural company sued for a little over $400. I haven't personally received a summons. Now they just emptied/put a hold on my co-owned account that I put zero money into.

Question:
I gave birth last year. Afterwards, we suffered financial difficulties, and I haven't gone back to work since (daycare is too expensive). We're living off of one income currently, but will be changing that very soon as we found a schedule of family to watch our child affordably.

The epidural/anesthesiology company is suing me. They send a couple of bills and 6ish months later I get a letter from NJ that I was being sued. From what I recall, there was no date to appear, but a timeline of a date in April and I assumed I would hear/be served to appear, but it never happened.

Forward to today. My bank notifies me that the account balance is low. I check and it says $0 and there's a hold. I contact my bank, they say it's a hold through NJ Superior Court. I call who they say to call and they direct me to the company that put in the request to hold - the anesthesiology company. I called. No answer, of course, as it's urgent.

My issue is, I don't have an income, at all. All of the money they took is my SO's (we're not married). I understand I co-own the account, but seriously? They can take my SO's money and also the food out of my daughter's mouth and then not answer when I call them to clear it up?

My question is - what kind of recourse am I looking at, or do I have?

I know I need to pay them, but with our income, we've fallen behind on just about everything and are struggling to keep up. We can't let them keep this 'hold' or give them that money, as we would have zero money to survive off of for the next 2 weeks and we have a child to feed.

I also sent them a small payment before the NJ court letter came, and after it came, I sent them a letter explaining the situation, but I never heard from them. So they ignored my letter and then are garnishing my account making us unable to provide for our daughter.

What can I do? What should I say to this person when I finally get in touch with them? What are my options?

Thank you all in advance for your input, I'm fuming right now and need some guidance on how to handle this situation well, without going off on this company.

Answer:
 > I'm fuming right now and need some guidance on how to handle this situation well, without going off on this company.

You ignored a bill(s), you didn't follow through after you received the summons that you were being sued for your debt, didn't even try to go to court to defend yourself and you are upset that the epidural/anesthesiology company got a default judgment against you and want to go off on them for trying to collect? Seriously? You're mad at THEM and not yourself?

Once you were sued for your debt you should have been talking to the court to see when your court date was or to the office to work out a payment plan. As to your SO's money, if it is a joint account, they can attach. If he is someone who agreed to be responsible for your hospital bills (I assume he is the father). You can get a copy of the judgment/writ from the court to see if taking your SO's money is legit (it could very well not be).

But to answer your question, you can try talking with the company to work out a payment plan. They have a judgement and (I assume) a lien; they don't have to be nice and work with you. Just because this your mistakes has suddenly made this an urgent issue for you, doesn't mean it is urgent for them.  Keep in your mind, even if they do work with you, this won't change the hit your credit score has taken due to this judgement.


Title: Employment/ethical question and so much more.....

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Talk to a priest or therapist. Sounds like you need some help with life decisions, and there is nothing wrong with asking for help.


Title: How illegal is having sex in a car? (Florida)

Question:
-I'm of course talking about a car parked far away from any normal traffic, of course. Is it a public indecency no matter where you do it? What are the specifics about it?

And as a preemptive explanation for the inevitable responses
>just stay at home and do it

My girlfriend and I still both live with our families (although we're both of legal age where we live) so it's impossible to do the deed in conventional ways, but she has a car.

>just get a motel

We also don't have much money to spare on a motel right now. Poor dependent college students.

>just don't do it yet

It's been a long-distance relationship for the past three years, and we only meet in person less than one week per year so this is not necessarily something that can be postponed too much.

Answer: Very illegal.Answer #2: Get a tent and find a free campground.


Title: [SC] Can our neighbor take down our fence and build another we don't agree to, without our permission?

Question:
Separate post from a separate issue.

Our new neighbor took down giant bushes on our property without asking. We talked to him; he said he wants to build a fence around his entire property; right now, we only have a fence around the backyard.

He told us he'll be "taking down existing fence to put a new one." It's our fence, and it does the job. We asked that he tell us when he'll be working on it, since we have dogs in the yard and we'll have to leash them, he agreed.

Here's my question:

Our fence is a standard, solid wooden fence [like this](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/350x235p/s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/contentlab.studiod/getty/d12898bcc9d545008b34b415a8c84a30.jpg). We will discuss with the new neighbor what he intends to put up instead; if it has gaps or is too short, for example [like this](https://slswoodindustries.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/wooden-fence-garden-500x500.jpg), we don't want it. Either way, we also don't want to financially contribute, since we're perfectly happy with our fence.

Can he just ignore this and put up his own fence while taking ours down? Does he need our permission? If he just takes it down and puts something that doesn't work for us, what's our recourse? Would we have to split costs, even though we don't want a new fence?

Answer: Hire a land surveyor.  Find out where your property line is.  The surveyor can put marks down the line to show you, and your neighbor, exactly where it falls.  If the fence is on your property then no, they can't remove it.  Full disclosure, I'm a land surveyor, not a lawyer.Answer #2: From what you are describing with your property lines you need to hire a real estate lawyer immediately. They will be able to help you 1000% more than Reddit can.Answer #3: You refer to it as your fence; it is 100% on your property?  If so, it's your fence and can do - or not do - whatever you want; your neighbor has no say.  If the fence is along the property line, it's a shared fence and your local laws will apply.  Some areas force neighbors to split fencing costs even if they don't want to and others don't.Answer #4: You’ve mentioned a few times about ownership and possession being off.  He owns 15’ of yours and you own 20’ of the neighbors. How did you come to this conclusion?  I ask because if you’re looking at google or Zillow or similar, they are notoriously inaccurate. Good for a pretty picture or idea of the shapes but that’s about it.  Even the county tax maps can be off.


Title: [PA][USA] Can a private college search through your belongings?

Question:
My roommate was busted last night for possession and consumption of alcohol and said something that implied that I might have alcohol in the room. He said something along the lines of "There is no alcohol in my room that belongs to *me*." The campus security now has reasonable grounds to come in my room and search (which they will). I go to a private liberal arts college.

If I put any potentially contraband items in my personal bags (suitcases, duffel bags) in my closet, is the campus security legally allowed to open my bags in search of a substance that may or may not be there? They have no real evidence.

I have a student handbook but it had no mention of searches or rights.

Answer: At most private colleges, if you're in a dorm, they can absolutely search your room including your bags. If you're underage, police might be invited along with the security and they will most definitely be able to search your bags. Dump it.


Title: Controlling Parents Froze My Assets, Don't Know What to do.

Question:
So. I'm nineteen years old (currently living in Colorado) and I have ~$13,000 in fluid assets, plus a considerable amount more in long-term investments. I had an apartment, I have a car, just got hired by a prominent tech company (big enough to pay a lot). Everything was going great until my parents decided to freeze all of my accounts and assets. It's a joint brokerage account created when I was a minor so technically I think they legally have a right to do so. But basically my parents are terrible people, so they've forced me out of my apartment, are keeping me in their home, and are threatening to put a tracker in my car (I'm on their insurance). I'm currently in my second year of college, entering my third, and my parents' current plan is to keep me trapped with them until the end of the Summer, at which point I plan to transfer everything out and file a conflict of interest suit pertaining to medical documents they have concerning me that they could release to practically destroy me socially. I'd much rather get out of this sooner than later though, but I feel like there's not much I can do?? Please help.

EDIT: My parents are keeping me inside the house, making me ask permission to go do *anything*, basically treating me like a child (even though my investments return more than my father's), and I feel like I can't stand it even a day longer.

EDIT 2: My parents forced me to move out of my apartment by freezing the account with my money in them which were paying for the apartment. I'm paying for my own college (but again, with the frozen account). If I got my accounts back I could pay for my own insurance. My parents have my full medical and financial history which has information pertaining to specific medical things and police reports from people attacking me that I don't want getting out, and they would most likely photocopy the damn things and mail them to anyone and everyone I know; they're that kind of people.

Answer:
 For joint accounts, any holder has full access to the money.  The first thing you want to do is transfer as much money as possible to your own accounts.  Make sure your pay is being deposited to an account under your name only.  If you have a job that pays "a lot", then you shouldn't have any problem supporting yourself on your salary without access to the savings.  Answer #2: Unfortunately, as it's a joint brokerage account your parents had just as much access to the funds as you did and were legally able to freeze the account, withdraw funds, or do whatever they saw fit. I don't know how your parents forced you out of your apartment, so I can't comment on that. They can legally put a tracker on the car if their name is on the title of the car, or they can require you to put a tracker on it if they're keeping you on their insurance.

Speak to a lawyer if you're concerned about those documents, but I don't know what they contain or how they would "release them".

What I get from your post is that they're paying for your college and are controlling you in that regard. If that's the case, unfortunately you're just going to have to suck it up for a while until you graduate, get out of their house and off their payroll.Answer #3: I'd recommend waiting until the summer clears to try to get out. This situation could be cleared up, but it would require a transfer of ALL asset ownership to you. You could also try taking it to court, but it would take longer to do that instead of waiting. Just wait this one out.


Title: How can a huge company such as Amazon or Facebook legally avoid paying taxes?

Question: I hear all the time about how millionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg as well as their huge corporations avoid paying taxes but I have no idea how they do it without the IRS coming after them?

Answer:
 Probably because you heard wrong and they do pay taxes.

Amazon, for example, recorded an expense of 769 million dollars on their 2017 financial statements [as filed with the SEC](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872418000005/amzn-20171231x10k.htm).


Title: My girlfriends landlord isn't letting them discuss resigning because they are women

Question: Is this actionable? He said that he hates dealing with women and they are too annoying to rent to. He said he will never rent to women again. Sexism? Doesn't help that we live in Utah, and sexism is alive and well. Just curious, thanks for the help.

Answer:
 Even in Utah, this is discrimination. https://laborcommission.utah.gov/divisions/AntidiscriminationAndLabor/fair_housing.htmlAnswer #2: Resigning, or re-signing?

If he's got fewer than (trying to recall here) 4 units, then FHA doesn't apply and he can rent to whomever he wishes to.

In addition to that, if he's providing housing under Title IX (which mandates his tenants be enrolled in a local institute of higher learning), he's permitted to offer gender-discriminatory housing (ie, all male or female, or to mandate that any individual unit only be held by a single gender).

You can attempt to take action, which is done under the fair labor commission (which /u/expatinpa has already linked). Note that the commission's task is not to mete out punishment but to bring landlords into compliance, and the first step in that is conciliation - which means, basically, a meeting where he says "I'm sorry." You can't generally expect much in the way of damages for this.

Note, finally, that most landlords don't really care who their tenants are as long as said tenants generate a minimum of headaches. I'm a Utah landlord, and I've rented to plenty of women, unwed couples, etc. I've not found women to be any more or less annoying than men (my worst tenant, in terms of nagging me, was a thrice-divorced man).


Title: Car accident while taking free right as the driver at front stopped abruptly.

Question: So I had a black van in front of me which took the free right at the intersection and then I moved in watched the left waited few secs and took the right and then saw that the van at front instead of moving on the highway just had stopped abruptly there for no reason (there is absolutely no one else in front of him on the road). I slammed the brakes but still the right corner of my car hit the left corner of his van and both got damaged. We stopped by nearby parking lot and the van driver apologized me for stopping there after taking the right at the signal instead of keep moving. Now since its a read end collision scenario and I am probably at fault too since I didn't check my right while making the turn and was so focused on the left for the flowing traffic I am worried this would go against me. But then there was absolutely no reason why that guy abruptly stopped after making a right at the signal right on the highway so do I have any chance of fighting this out after the guy accepted to me it was his mistake for stopping the van after taking the right? If he changes his story when my insurance calls him is there anything I can do to minimize my impacts? This was in GA.

Answer:
 It sounds like it was still a matter of following too closely/not paying attention. Even if the other driver stopped for no apparent reason, we are supposed to leave enough distance between ourselves & the other vehicle to be able to stop.

Hopefully, it won’t ding you too badly. Good luck! Answer #2: > If he changes his story when my insurance calls him is there anything I can do to minimize my impacts?

The crash was your fault alone. Doesn't matter that the other guy said it was his fault. Fault is determined by the facts, not by agreement.Answer #3: Are you talking about "Right on red"? If he started to turn right then stopped and you did not notice and rear ended him, you are at fault.

The last I knew, unless posted, you COULD make a fight on red but it was not required. Right on red is in place to ease traffic flow but is not mandated.

Answer #4: So you turned right and accelerated while looking in the opposite direction? You are 100% at fault. What if it had been a pedestrian crossing the road?

Regardless of the van stopping for “no reason” you were driving without looking where you were going. That’s an extremely negligent and dangerous way to drive. You should reconsider your driving style before you get back behind the wheel. Take this as a learning opportunity and stop trying to weasel out of the consequences of your actions.


Title: [Oklahoma] Are bumpfire devices for an AR15 legal?

Question:
Thought I'd ask as the general opinion is kind of murky on this.  For those that don't know, a bump fire device is a special butt stock for the rifle that moves freely a bit.

When the gun recoils with a trigger press, and you intentionally keep your finger in the gaurd, the gun naturally wants to kick back relieving pressure off the trigger.  Since you are also putting forward pressure on the rifle, as soon as the recoil ends and the gun slides forward, your finger technically physically presses the trigger again.

The mechanics of it are one shot, one trigger pull, this device simply helps YOU pull the trigger at a much more rapid pace.

There are different opinions when it comes to the laws regarding automatic weapons fire but my understanding is that it doesn't meet the requirements to be considered automatic (press and hold the trigger).

Thoughts?

> Thanks guys for the quick response.  Puts my mind at ease before I purchase one.

Answer: I believe it's generally considered legal. For example, Bumpfire Systems, makers of a bumpfire kit, posted a letter from the ATF saying theirs is legal: https://www.bumpfiresystems.com/atf-approval/