Title: [UK] my mother has been given 2 weeks to live.

Question:
This is a sad post a one I never wanted to make.

My mother has been diagnosed with a brain tumour she has around 2 weeks left to live.

Around 6 weeks ago she married a man who me and my family all despise. She has told us that her will says that he can live at her house until he dies or wants to leave and then the estate will pass to her children.

However he is going to contest this as he says the will was made before she was married and  he owns half of it. He has no intention of following my mother’s wishes.

This is the last thing I want to be arguing over when it’s the last few times I’ll see my mother. But she worked so hard as a single mother to buy her own house, and now this man who has never worked and been in jail more times then I can count will living and profiting  from  my mothers hard work.

My question is can he do this ? And will he win if he contests the will.

Answer:
 I'm sorry you're in this situation. /r/LegalAdviceUK will have better advice for you, though this is definitely "get an attorney" territoryAnswer #2: Get a will/probate/estate attorney (they're called various things) IMMEDIATELY. Better to get one now than have this man scam you all while you're mourning your mother.

As a side note, and this probably doesn't really need to be said, but make the most of the time you have with your mother. Towards the end of my father's life (he died at 45 of lymphoma) we spent as much time as possible with him. If your mother is still mobile and out and about, go do things she's always wanted to do. If you've saved up a rainy day fund, now is the time to spend it. Visit another country, see a play, hell, play board games if she can't move; just do what she wants to do.

My heart goes out to you. It's very painful to know how much time somebody has left, because then it feels all the more pressing to spend time with them.


Title: [Arizona]. My partners ex wife works call center for an insurance agency. Today somebody committed suicide while on the phone with her. The company offer no grief counseling or anything other than removed from taking calls for a day. Is this legal?

Answer: Worker’s compensation should cover counseling or psychiatric care if she needs it.


Title: Are drug tests an invasion of my privacy?

Question: I feel like a business cannot inspect my house as part of their hiring process so what gives them the right to my body. I for one feel that my body is my highest form of personal space and for them to stand over me as I piss in a cup is grossly personal.  It has nothing to do with my capacity to perform the job as evident of my constant career progress despite the bowl a day habit. I just feel nasty and violated.

Answer: So then find a job that doesn't do drug tests. Answer #2: No one is forcing you to do it. It is optional. Answer #3: Feel free to decline the drug test then.


Title: (MA) I went on an interview last week and now my current boss wants to speak with me, what can he do?

Question:
I work as a contractor at a pharma company. Last Thursday I had approved vacation time and I had an interview at another business that went well. I then had Friday off as well. First thing this morning my boss asks to speak with me in private later, would not elaborate. My other manager for the location I work at was contacted by the interview team on Friday and mentioned it to me. He discussed it friendly and openly. I am currently the longest tenured member of a team of 4.

What can happen if my first boss asks for more details? Can they fire me for going on another interview? There is nothing in my offer letter or contract about this.

Edit: turns out despite not listing him as a reference the company called him for one. Within the rules of our company a direct superior cannot give a reference for an employee that reports to them.

He understands why I would want to keep my options open and just wants as much of a heads up if I do leave.

Answer:
 He could legally fire you.

You could legally come up with a believable BS excuse :

"Money is a bit tight, so I felt like I had to go on the interview just in case it ended up paying super well.  I really like where I am and want to stay, though."

"I don't plan to go anywhere any time soon; I did the interview as a favor and because I had always wanted to meet (interviewer) personally."

"It was my evil twin brother."

"I take Ambien and one of the side effects is interviewing for not-as-cool places with no memory of the event afterward."

Probably not number 3 or 4.  But if he's a good boss then what will go through his mind is, "clearly he has some reason to leave. Maybe he's unhappy or feels slightly underpaid. Either of these may be fixable situations as long as I don't have to go much out of my way, and replacing an employee is expensive and time consuming."


Title: I am a tenant in NY and I think my landlord is going to try to screw me.

Question:
I notified my landlord on September 11th that I would be moving out by October 1st. He keeps giving me a hard time about it not being enough time. He's been showing the apartment and put an ad up in craigslist but every time I talk to him he says something about how it's short notice. He has been a pretty shitty landlord, we had 5 bats in the apartment and he refused to send a professional to look because it was too expensive. He just sent "his guy" and the only thing the guy did was close a window. He also never fixed the heat after myself and a tenant in a different unit called to complain about it not working. I'm worried he's going to not give me my security deposit back because I didn't give him enough notice that we were moving out. Our lease expired last July and he never had us sign another one so am I legally obligated to do anything? If he does try to screw me out of it could I hold the bat incidents over his head?
Thanks
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Your tenancy automatically converted to month to month lease if you never signed a new lease when your old one ended in July.

Unless you signed a rental agreement stating otherwise, [you are required to give your landlord 30 days notice to terminate a month to month tenancy.](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/new-york-notice-requirements-terminate-month-month-tenancy.html) So you are going to owe rent for October.

Edit: Forgot to add that yes, your landlord can take your deposit in lieu of rent, since it'll be the same amount. The bats thing doesn't have any bearing on this situation.


Title: My boss sent out my SSN to multiple coworkers?

Question:
There was a form pre-filled with our social security number blatantly at the top. Instead of sending each form to us individually, he mass messaged us and sent it out. I am in Colorado by the way.
At the bottom of the original message sent to him was this:

" This communication contains confidential company business information, and is intended for the addressee only. If you have received this message in error, or if there is a problem with the communication, please notify the sender immediately. **The unauthorized use, disclosure, reproduction, forwarding, copying or alteration of this message is strictly prohibited.** Participants in this communication are not permitted to exchange or transmit Personal Identity Information (PII) via unsecured email. PII includes: **Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, bank and credit union account numbers**, health insurance plan identification numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, and other similar information associated with an individual that, if misused, might compromise that person's personal or financial security."

Now I'm no legal expert, but I assume you can't send credit card information and just say "don't send this to anyone else." When I responded to his email I stated
"Sir, This email contains all of our Social Security Numbers. I understand the PII clause "prohibits" my information being misused, but this could have been sent to each of us individually."

He then responded, very childishly as "Could have been avoided if she was contacted as previously instructed."

I was supposed to get in contact with a woman whom I had left voicemails for and never was able to get a hold of. He is trying to put the blame back on me for sending out my personal information. Should I just accept it and move on, or is there anything I should do about this?

Answer: The "disclosure" that people put at the bottom of their emails is typically not binding in any capacity.  Answer #2: Your boss screwed up. What is it you wish to see happen here?


Title: "If you don't pay me, I'll sue you for the money." I know it's not extortion, but why?

Question:
I found this in another reddit thread ages ago, and it had me thinking.  It wasn't a legal advice thread, but the gist of the conversation was that if someone took something of yours and didn't give it back, you should call the police or sue.

Another poster mentioned that this would be extortion or blackmail, to tell someone that you'll call the police if you don't get your stuff back.

That doesn't sound right, of course, but I can't sort out why it wouldn't be correct.  I'm a layperson, and nothing I've found explains particularly why this wouldn't be blackmail or extortion.

Answer:
 Basically, it's criminal versus civil.

You cannot threaten to report someone for a crime unless they pay you.  Theft is a crime, so you can't threaten to report someone for theft if they don't pay.

Filing a civil lawsuit isn't an accusation of a crime.  It's just a way to have the government compel the person to pay what they owe.  Since it's not a criminal conviction to be ordered to pay, it's not extortion.


Title: I owe back HOA dues so they are preventing me from leaving my home.

Question:
I live in a gated community and owe back HOA dues. They will be taking the property via foreclosure within a month or two. In the mean time they are preventing anyone from visiting unless I accompany them through the gate personally. The gate is about a mile or two from my home.

I recently crashed my car and now have no way to easily get to the gate. I cannot admit taxis, cannot have my friends come over to pick me up and cannot go to doctors appointments without walking the couple of miles to the gate to be there in person to let the taxi/whatever through.

I live in Dallas, TX. Is this legal? If it is not are there any options at all out there for someone who cannot even afford to pay for his house, let alone a new car or the legal expenses associated with a lawsuit? What kind of lawyer would even handle such a thing?

Right now I am sore but able to make the walk. If I get worse and cannot make it what options do I have besides rotting in my home? Note: Ambulance rides (at $500 a pop) seem a ridiculous waste of emergency services to go to the doctor but they do have to be admitted without me being there.

Answer: What do your hoa bylaws say about it? That is likely going to be the governing document.


Title: Landlord changed locks on house before lease move out date, Toolbox stolen. GA

Question: I had a lease with My landlord (management corporation who owns tons of rental properties) for me to surrender possession of the house on Oct 30th 2017. sometime during Oct 25-27th they sent someone out to change the locks on the house while i still legally had possession. When they finally gave me the lockbox code claiming they had no idea why it was re-keyed (oct 29) I discover my Matco Toolbox was stolen. (tools, Ipad, Bluetooth speaker and all of my aviation, garage tools) All I had left to move from the garage was the box and my pressure washer. Once i mentioned it to the company they still have not answered my calls or emails. I'm not really sure how to proceed at this point. any advice appreciated and im happy to offer more details if needed. thanks,

Answer:
 File an insurance claim and call the police. You were robbed. You will probably have to sue to recover damages though.Answer #2: If you had legal possession of the residence call the police first. You will need a lawyer, and to file a civil suit. Do you have evidence of your items being in the residence at the time in question? They probably have someone that goes, and checks the residence near the end of leases, and checks whether or not it's still occupied. If all you left were tools, and a tool box. They could claim that you had abandoned them, and the residence before your lease was up. I'm not a lawyer, but I've been through nearly this exact thing before. Even though I had take a vacation 2 weeks before my lease was up, and when I got home all of my shit was gone, and someone else was moving in. They claimed abandonment. What got me my money, and what few possessions they could return was the fact that no attempt to contact had been made before they rekeyed, and rented.Answer #3: Travel back in time and file a police report as soon as you discovered this.

If you aren't a time traveler. File a police report right now. Also contact a lawyer as you might have to sue to get your money back from the company.


Title: Without insurance, can I move my car before it gets towed?

Question:
I had to leave my last apartment in a hurry and left my car there before moving in with a friend in a neighboring city. My previous roommates have made some noises about the possibility of my car getting towed, so I need to move it to where I am now. The problem is insurance on the car lapsed a while ago. Short of 'just do it and hope you don't get caught', do I have any legal grounds for being able to move my car before it gets towed, with no insurance?

I'm in Tucson, Arizona.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 In Arizona there is no legal way to *drive* the vehicle without having it insured. You are required by law to have coverage. If your car is parked on private property the homeowner or tenant has a right to have it towed at your expense, and if it is “abandoned” on a city street the city itself can tow it.

You have two options- renew the insurance, or hire a private tow company yourself to tow it to your current address.


Title: Can my friend be sued for patient abandonment

Question:
(PA)I have a friend working in an assisted living facility and she is currently running  a fever of 102+. They are refusing to let her seek medical treatment and threatening her with patient abandonment. They gave her a face mask and made her keep working. She is a new hire with no licenses. She is not a nurse or a physician. What can she do because at this moment she is fading quick and is scared and wont go to the hospital. Sorry for poor grammar and format but this is happening right now.

Edit: sorry i cant figure out how to change poat title. She is in Pennsylvania.

Answer:
 "Patient abandonment" only applies to doctor-patient relationships. As a non-licensed employee, she can (probably) be _fired_ - but that's the worst that they can do.

She should go to the hospital, and then stay home until she recovers. If any of the residents where she works are immune-compromised, she presents a massive risk.

Edit: seriously, [only licensed practitioners](http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/049/chapter16/s16.61.html).

> § 16.61. Unprofessional and immoral conduct.
>
>  (a)  A Board-regulated practitioner who engages in unprofessional or immoral conduct is subject to disciplinary action under section 41 of the act (63 P. S. §  422.41). Unprofessional conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:
>
> (17)  Abandoning a patient. Abandonment occurs when a physician withdraws his services after a physician-patient relationship has been established, by failing to give notice to the patient of the physician’s intention to withdraw in sufficient time to allow the patient to obtain necessary medical care. Abandonment also occurs when a physician leaves the employment of a group practice, hospital, clinic or other health-care facility, without the physician giving reasonable notice and under circumstances which seriously impair the delivery of medical care to patients.

Separately, taking a sick day does not constitute "withdrawing services."


Title: My cousin is doing stuff that sounds kinda shady. Is it legal?

Question:
We live in Georgia. His wife called me to come over one day, to help with something I couldn't make sense of. When I came over, they explained this:

1) People buy discounted items from Home Depot.
2) Some dude they know buys these items at an auction.
3) Cousin buys the things from Some Guy.
4) Cousin goes to Home Depot to "return" the merchandise.
5) Cousin has no receipt, so they ask for his ID and give him store credit.
6) If he does this too often, they stop taking his ID. So he has used his wife's ID, his sister's, his friends' I think, and eventually his stupid fatass cousin.

That's his story. Have you heard of a scheme like this? Was the merchandise stolen? It's all shady. He says they don't lose anything, since they'll resell the item anyway. But if they were cool with this crap, they wouldn't stop taking his ID.

UPDATE: I posted an update in the comments.

Answer:
 Probably stolen merchandise, clearly fraud and theft be deception. He's hosed.

Him saying they'll resell it is criminal and addictive thinking.


Title: Question about being Subpoenaed to testify against best friend as witness and a plea bargain he received.

Question:
A few months back my friend was driving me around to run some errands because I had recently lost my car. during the course of the events he ended up giving a ride to a guy he just met (he's the kind of guy who likes to help people out) They had discussed weed in the car and the guy we gave a ride to mentioned he would smoke my friend out. I got a little sketchy at that point and told him I didnt like this, but he told me to trust him. We get to this crappy extended stay hotel. I get out of the car and sit on the back bumper while he talks with this guy for a bit and while they smoked. We leave and about 1 mile down the road we are pulled over by an undercover sheriff investigator. After some standard intimidation by the police it was clear that motel we dropped the guy off at was being watched. I was scared so I don't remember much but my friend was arrested on 3 felonies for having 3-4 prescription pills in his car without a prescription. after patting me down, they took down my information, I asked to call his parents for permission(car was in his dad's name) to take his car and they let me go after I received permission.

I talked to him the other day and he said that his lawyer had forwarded him a plea offer from the district attorney that included 2 years of probation, some community service hours and a no contact clause with me. What would be the reason for this no contact clause? he's my best friend and I'd hate to not see him for two years but if it keeps him out of jail then It'd be worth it.

my second question is today I was served a Subpoena from the state saying I was being called as a witness if his case went to trial. It was delivered by a county sheriff in uniform. He asked If I knew the friend(I happend to be on the phone with said friend at the time, I think he may have seen my caller ID) I told him he was a good friend of mine and he said "I'll have to make a note of that then." Was that the wrong thing to say? I'm told to call at a certain date to see If I'm still being called. I'm really nervous I don't want to lose my friend but I also don't want to have to speak against him. does anyone have experience with this kind of situation or the processes of being a witness?

One other question, Should I be hanging out with this friend If i'm supposed to testify for the state?

This all took place in the state of Florida

Answer:
 >Should I be hanging out with this friend If i'm supposed to testify for the state?

Shouldn't your question be, "Should I be hanging out with this friend if he's getting me involved with felonious behavior and drug stuff that I am not comfortable with?"

As long as there is no order from the court you are free to talk with your friend.  I would avoid talking about the trial though.

If you are a witness just answer whatever questions are asked truthfully.  Guilt or innocence is not up to you, nor is punishment.  If they found him in possession of the drugs I would be surprised if there is a trial.  Maybe his attorney can get them to drop the no contact, if he can show that you don't have any criminal record.


Title: Do you think I was conned into opening a new Credit Card?

Question:
Hi all.

I don't know the most appropriate place to post this question, but I just decided to post here since there are knowledgeable people in here.

So today, I went to Macy's to purchase a cologne. When it was time to pay, the cashier stared talking about that I can get a 25&#37; discount, but we have to check if I qualify by providing some information. So I kept on providing all the personal information they asked for to see if I would qualify for this discount. And walah, they said I qualified.

I got to realize after everything, that it looks like I just successfully applied for a Macy's credit card without my knowing.

Now, the issue here is that I have a really, really great credit score which I have been building, and I am aware that opening a  new credit card will cause my credit score to take a hit \- and that I am against.

It however looks like I have been conned into opening a credit card (and possibly a hard enquiry on my credit score).

Is there anything I can do to cancel everything right away without affecting any of my credit history?

I just got back from the mall.

Answer:
 I don't believe your story about being conned.

You would have had to provide your SSN and sign something at some point to clue you into what was going on. Answer #2: > walah

Voila.

> I got to realize after everything, that it looks like I just successfully applied for a Macy's credit card without my knowing.

Actually it looks like you tried to apply for a Macy's credit card in order to get a 25% discount.  Congratulations.

Credit cards don't always hurt your credit.  For example, your debt to available credit is part of your credit score.  On the other hand, having a lot of credit cards can hurt your score.  It's a balance.


Title: I was caught shoplifting but I did nothing wrong

Question:
Recently my friend told me to come along with him and he’d get me some items from Kohls that I wanted. All that I did was try on some clothes and leave them in the dressing room and he put them in his bag and when he was walking out they grabbed him and me and brought us to a back room where they took pictures and filled out some form. They said Kohl’s makes as pay a $200 fine and then we have to go to court. I was wondering what my best option is here because I don’t believe i didn’t anything illegal but i also didn’t argue with kohl’s about my innocence. I’m 18 and can not have this on my permanent record, please help.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 When you left the clothes in the dressing room, did you know what he was going to do with them?

The way you describe it, I can see how Kohl's would establish that you were in this together. This sounds like lawyer territory to me.Answer #2: From Kohl’s perspective, you acted as a team with your friend to commit a crime. This happens in retail all the time.

Petty larceny and conspiracy, at least. It’s not a felony but you need a lawyer. DO NOT GET THE SAME LAWYER AS YOUR FRIEND as your interests are in conflict with each other. It would be nice if your friend gave a statement re your innocence, but if he’s represented by someone with half a brain, that probably won’t happen.

If you are young enough and have no criminal record, there may be ways to get this expunged -after paying a fine and some community service after a certain amount of time.


Title: What happens to a will and insurance policy if a person is murdered by the beneficiary?

Answer:
 In Indemnivania, they receive a double payout, in Fredonia, they are made Secretary of State and in Soviet Union, insurance policy murders you. There’s a reason you’re asked for a location.Answer #2: If this isn’t a question for specific advice, there’s r/legaladviceofftopic for theoretical questions.

FWIW, there are usually laws in place to prevent people financially benefitting from crimes they’ve committed.


Title: Can the DMV advertise for pharmaceutical companies? all their clipboards have Ads on them in Eugene OR

Question: Went to renew my license the clipboards had all these pen holders attached to them advertising a drug company, I took a photograph while there, it was all over the place. Can the government advertise for drug companies?

Answer: Can the government sell advertising space? Of course.


Title: Taxi driver kept telling me I 'smell good', kept touching me during the drive, and tries to take an extra $50 off me, then the company makes out its my fault when I complain?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Well, first of all, his employer has no real reason to make sure something is done about this. So stop trying there.

If you want to make a police report, then do so. It may not really get anything done, but it will at least help if something else happens in the future.

>He for some reason sat in the drive way for 20 minutes after.

This is when you should have called the police.


Title: Was in an accident in a cab, left with back and neck pain and can't get the cab company to call me back to get coverage for chiropractic visits that I need.

Question: I got in an accident while taking a cab a couple weekends ago and since my back and neck have been in turmoil. I have called their corporate office 4 times (I would have called more if I didn't work during their open hours) and still have not received a call back despite leaving messages. Should I just go to a chiropractor and send them a bill? Or should I get an attorney involved to handle the matter? Is it too late for me to have them pay for it since it's been a couple weeks even though I've tried contacting them? I should also note that the accident was not the cab drivers fault. We were rear ended by a drunk driver who fled the scene but was caught by the police. Any help would be nice as my back is killing me and I really don't want to pay the bill if I don't have to.

Answer:
 Go to a doctor. Not a witch doctor, not a chiropractor and not your neighborhood shaman. A doctor.

Failure to do so may exacerbate the injury, reducing your potential recovery.


Title: Brother Co-signed on a motorcycle that was stolen. What's his next step?

Question:
Miami, FL here, I'm looking for a little help to see where i can start with my brother. He is young 21 years old and made the stupid mistake of co-signing a motorcycle with his friend. My brother doesn't even know how to ride but wanted to help his "friend in need". I'll break down as many details as possible with out dragging this out.

&#x200B;

In September 2017 my brothers friend asks him to co-sign a motorcycle so he can get around, the bike was a Yamaha something and was financed by Yamaha. My brother did this with out telling anyone in our family but he is a adult and really WTF can we do. The dealer sold them the bike knowing full well that the bike had no insurance but still sold them gap insurance anyways, go figure. Now in the state of Florida insurance is not required for motorcycles and its up to the financing company if they would like to require it. Yamaha financial does not require insurance. I find out my brother signed with his friend in December when a letter came to the house, as you can image i was livid but at that point it was to little to late. Fast forward to 10/10/18, i take my brother to get him a new honda for himself. His lease was up and the idea was to lease him another one, when they pull his credit they see he has a repo order on the bike.....FUCK. I knew this would happen, my brother and his fabulous friend had stopped talking a long while back and i knew some shit like this would happen. I was able to get my brother into another lease but that stupid repo is now on his record. Once we leave the dealer and my brother has a new car, i call his stupid friend. His friend is pretty clear about what happen with the bike, basically the bike was stolen in JAN of 2018, he offered me the police report proving it was in-fact stolen. He says he "thought the insurance for the bike was the gap insurance" i explain it is not and even tho he had gap and it would cover something he never even filled out the paperwork and he only had 60 days to do so and now that time has come and gone. I verify with the police department the police report is real, there is video of the bike being stolen and the police actually knew who they kid was because he is a know bike thief in the area. The police actually put out a warrant for his arrest march 2018  and turns out he was already in jail for some other stuff. My brothers fabulous friend never filled out the gap paperwork, never followed up with the police, never did ANYTHING. I confirmed with the police the bike has still not been found and around March/April when he saw he didn't have a bike anymore he just stopped making payments as if that's the end of his responsibility. At this point my brother has a repo on his credit for the bike, i image Yamaha is going to sue my brother and his fabulous friend and i need a little help in what his next step should be. I should mention i recorded the convo between myself and his friend where he openly admits it was his bike, it was his responsibly, and that because of "drama and depression" he didn't do anything. He blamed his family for not helping him even tho they said they would and basically the SOB clean's his hands of responsibility.

&#x200B;

Where do i start?

&#x200B;

PS i should mention this Motorcycle was 16K FUCK.

Answer: Your brother should pay for the bike like he legally agreed to. He can sue his friend for that money if he so wishes.


Title: Postal service claims they tried to deliver package when I wasn't home (I was) and now they want me to pay extra to get it.

Question:
Location: Thuringia, Germany

Hi, during the past couple of weeks I have been awaiting an international package sent from Japan to me (in Germany). We used DHL to send the package, but they sub-contract (?) the actual delivery out to Deutsche Post.

Anyway, yesterday at 09:30am the DHL tracking site stated that my package was "delivered". This seemed strange since I obviously hadn't received anything. The next morning I received a notice from Deutsche Post stating that the delivery failed, and that I would now have to travel more than 50km (I don't have a car) to pick up the large box myself.

The thing is I know they didn't even TRY to deliver the package. I was at home during the quoted "delivery time" and didn't see or hear anything. My roommate didn't either. My window faces the road, so it's impossible for me not to see if a delivery truck pulls in. I also live on a uni campus so it's not like there's a lot of traffic.

What I suspect (and what I have heard from friends), is that because the package was fairly large the delivery person felt it was too much of a hassle to actually try and deliver so they just sent the failed delivery notice. Remember that I paid (a lot) to have this package delivered.

I have the tracking codes and all the relevant information at hand, but it just seems to me like it's a case of their word against mine. "We delivered it", "No you didn't", etc. Is there anything I can legally do to get these guys to actually do their job?

Answer:
 DHL is Deutsche Post.

AFAIK they have the possibility of ordering another delivery attempt. Did you look at the DHL website? There should be a appropriate choice in their customer service section.


Title: Having a child from a coworker.

Question:
   I am living and working abroad of US but in an American company. My question is, if a female security guard in an American company wants to have a child just for herself and she chooses a coworker male security guard to have the child from, if they both agree to that, does it  according to US HR regulation have negative effect to their employment in American company? If the male guard has a wife and children.
   I don’t bother about my country law about it. My concern is US HR regulation about such an issue.  The company follows both US and the host country regulations.
  Thank You all in advance.

Answer: It may not directly affect employment but, depending on the country's laws, the male coworker/sperm donor could very well find himself liable for child support, which his wife might not appreciate.


Title: [IL] Employer prohibits employees from leaving store premise during unpaid break.

Question:
So, this is a place I worked for briefly about a year or two ago. No longer work there, but was always curious as to me this did not seem legal.

Workers are required to take a break. They clock out for this break and are not paid for this time. However, they are told they must remain on the premise and cannot leave, or else face disciplinary action.

Could this possibly be ok? If you're off the clock, can't you do as you damn well please? This place has two locations and a very decent number of employees.
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer: There is no law that says you cannot be fired for leaving the premises during your unpaid break. However, if you are fired for this reason, you stand a good chance of qualifying for unemployment.


Title: Car towed at a parking garage I’m paying for.

Question:
Background: I moved to Chicago from California with my boyfriend for a job lasting about 2 years. I’m paying off the remaining balance of my car, but realized that not only is having a car expensive in Chicago, I didn’t actually need to use it to get around. I kept the car registered in California since I decided I wouldn’t drive it or take it to public streets. I registered the car with CA DMV as non-operational storage and have been parking it at a private long term monthly parking lot with SP+ parking. I would check on it every month without issue, but did not check up on it the past 3 months because I felt it was safe in a parking garage with a security attendant, and that they had my home address and phone number if needed.

Car towed: I received a notification yesterday that my car was towed over a month ago. The amount owed is approximately 3000 (which accounts for the initial fee plus 45 dollars per day). The kicker is that the parking garage was still charging me for the parking within the past couple of weeks when the car was already towed. Furthermore, the parking company never notified me about a potential unclaimed car notwithstanding the fact that it is registered to me, the paying renter. This would have slipped past me if the only notification was paperwork on the dash from the parking company.

I will be getting my car out ASAP from the towing company and will have to pay the accrued fine. However, I’m considering bringing this to small claims court but I don’t necessarily know what my legal options are. Paying this amount of money will put me in a hole that would be very hard to recover from, and I never expected it as I have paying all my monthly bills on time. Any advice?

Answer: Why did they tow it? Do you have a contract with the parking garage? If so, does it specify any reason the car can be towed?


Title: I used my phone at a red light. Officer mispelled my name on the ticket. Do I need to pay.

Question:
I was at a red light in NYC using my phone and got stopped by an officer. There is a spelling mistake on the ticket.

Whats the worst that can happen if I don't pay?

Answer:
 The worst? A bench warrant out for your arrest

Spelling mistakes don’t invalidate tickets


Title: Can I get my pet back? [NJ]

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You can sue for your $200 dollars back. You might also be able to sue your BF for the value of the animal.Answer #2: Not legal advice but I'm pretty sure you meant to say ex boyfriend right??Answer #3: Call the police.  Pets are property and taking someone's pet without permission is theft.  That's on your bf.  The people who have the pet are aware that they received stolen property and have not only refused to return it, but conned you out of $200.

You can tell the police you don't want to prosecute the theft, but you do want your property returned.

Answer #4: Pets are property. Your boyfriend stole your property, and therefore the people who have your pet are in possession of stolen property, and can't claim ignorance.

They have also committed theft by deception, which means they acquired your money through means of a lie. They told you they would return your pet, but kept both. A verbal contract is tough to prove, but is still a contract.

You need to file a police report immediately and report stolen property. Then you need to contact a lawyer to make sure the police don't half-ass it.

Document every interaction you've had up until this point. You need dates and times, and if you have phone records and bank statements you'll need them to make as strong a case as possible.Answer #5: INAL- but do you have proof of ownership? Is the pet microchipped?, licensed?, vet records? If you have those things that prove you own the pet I would call the police and animal control.
Pets are property, and your BF didn't have permission to give away your property. The new owners need to understand that, and might need some one with authority to explain that.


Title: 7 months ago I posted a video of my cat jumping and falling. I was approached by a media company for them to “buy” the video and pay me if it ever sold. I eventually declined because the contract excluded social media profits. I just found out they posted the video anyway. What can I do?

Question:
This media company has millions of followers on Facebook and Instagram (probably other places) and they post new trending videos.

I posted a video to Reddit of my cat trying to jump and he hit his head and fell (he’s perfectly fine). The video got almost 90k upvotes, which I thought was cool. A few companies contacted me and I exchanged a few emails with this specific company who is located in the UK, I’m in the US. After reading their contract I decided to decline their offer of using my video (I only uploaded it to Reddit). The contract basically stated I’d receive 30% of whatever money they make off the video, but it excluded all social media (that’s the only place they’d post it). I realized I wouldn’t make anything off of it and didn’t want to lose my rights to my video, that I took, of my cat.

7 months later I was searching my username to see what came up, and I happened to see my video, but with captions! I never posted anything like that, so I realized it was posted by that company! They mentioned my username, but didn’t say where it came from, and never tagged me or contacted me about it. I didn’t know it was posted and now 7 months later I realized I’ve been duped by this company.

Is there anything legal I can do about it? They stole my video and probably made some money off of it.

I found the original post they made on their Instagram, and I’m trying to find it on their Facebook page (which has 45million followers). I’m not familiar with UK copyright laws, but I’m sure they’re at fault for posting a video without the owners consent.

Any advice or information will help.
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 You can send them a DMCA takedown notice, and send one anywhere it's posted. I would do this ASAP.

You can sue them for actual damages (which may or may not be much) or statutory damages if you register the video with copyright.gov very soon. Realistically, this all may not be practical for various reasons, but regardless I'd register it with copyright.gov and I'd at least speak to an attorney who deals with IP.Answer #2: Hey, I can help answer this as a somewhat expert. I work for a major media company that clears viral videos for use. Find the original person who asked you and screenshot that conversation. Then reach back out to them and ask to speak to their legal department.
Make it clear you did not give permission and now you want x amount for every time it aired on their broadcasts and was put on social media. AND if they gave it to other affiliates and clients, you want x amount for each one who downloaded it. That could potentially be 100+ TV stations. If they gave it to an international client like Reuters, they may also have their own clients who downloaded it. You'll want x amount for each one of those downloads as well.
If they do not cooperate, you may need a lawyer to help move this along. But I know something like this has cost certain tv networks tens of thousands of dollars.
Note: the download is easy to prove. The use of the video not as much, especially months later.  Stick with downloads over usage because the number will be higherAnswer #3: If it's on YouTube you can copyright claim it and you'll get the money the video makes


Title: [NY] What would happen if I broke my private preschool contract mid year?

Question:
A little backstory: I'm a burnt out teacher of 8 years at a private preschool working 11 hour days. Going through a big change in my personal life and with such long work hours, I don't have time to work on my physical and emotional well being and just the idea of finishing the school year here has me in an anxiety attack. There's unfortunately no way they can rearrange the staff for me to work shorter hours at this point.

I have a September through June contract, I don't have the physical copy on me at the moment as I'm away from home from the weekend but it's very detailed complete with a noncompete (so ridiculous for me, a mere minion worker bee assistant teacher at a preschool with no plans to promote me to lead anytime soon but that's a different problem entirely) but there aren't any clauses about breaking the contract. I can post any needed details when I return tomorrow. (Although I suppose signing a contract from September through June is inherent that I won't break it in of itself.)

My retired lawyer parents are highly concerned that they will sue me if I break it and even worse, they will somehow have the New York State Education Department revoke my teaching certification (even though they are a private school so I don't see how).

I have read of teachers successfully able to ask to be released from their contracts via a note from their psychologist explaining that they are mentally/emotionally unable to continue their job at the moment, but my parents think this will somehow follow me around on my "record." (What record?)

I just know I have to take care of myself before I go off the deep end for real but feeling highly stuck and very confused about what my next move needs to be without facing too many repercussions. Got any advice? Thanks!

Answer: It depends what your contract says about termination of the contract, but I would assume they'd be consequences.


Title: Grandmother of my child is driving me crazy- Need to know if I can get a restraining order

Question:
My daughters father hasn’t seen his daughter in years. He pays child support through the state deducting it from his wages. We were never married and no custody case was ever made. I have never stopped him from seeing his daughter. My daughter is 11 now and doesn’t want a relationship with him. I have never bad mouthed him in front of her or anything like that since I knew she could form her own opinions of him. I’m going to refer to my daughters fathers mother as MIL just to shorten things. My MIL is not stable and that’s not just me being mean or anything. She had her son taken from her due to alcoholism and depression and he was raised by his aunt and uncle.

I’ve always tried to include her in my daughters life but it’s hard since she lives in NY and I live in FL. When I go to NY I make sure to let her know so she can see her granddaughter.

Back in May she messages me out of the blue talking about her son is living with his dad who is a bad person and is letting drug addicts couch surf and that she doesn’t want her son to have any contact with my daughter. We talked on the phone and I explained that he hadn’t seen her for quite sometime so it’s not a concern of mine. She says she wants to sue him for joint custody with me and that I’d hear from a lawyer. I freaked out and my family explained that it’s nothing for me to worry about.

June rolls around and she messages me saying I should make my daughter call her son for Father’s Day. I pointed out how he’s an absent father and she should be telling me happy Father’s Day since I raised her for 10 years on my own. Then I pointed out how the last time she talked to me she didn’t want them to have any contact. I told her that I didn’t want to play these games with her and I blocked her number and blocked her on social media.

I have recently moved and told my daughters father of a new mailing address. He asked for my physical address which I replied with”what’s your physical address?”. I am now getting voicemails in my blocked folder from MIL saying I have to tell him where I live. For the record I never said I wouldn’t I simply asked for him to disclose his physical address. And he never sent me another message.

I’m tired of dealing with MIL and she causes my anxiety to flare. Do I have grounds for a no contact order?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 I'm not to familiar with how Florida does it, but I don't remember there being any type of "grandparents rights" in Florida.

It might be she called a lawyer and found this out.

Also you should know your kids father's address and he should know yours. I think that might be part of setting up a parenting plan. I think they go over it now in the course of the class.

You should let your mil know the calls are unwanted and disruptive, and yell her if it continues you will follow up with law enforcement.Answer #2: NAL, but as a side note: IF it's the same as it used to be, without a custody order in place, the father can legally "kidnap" her in many states. If there is nothing that says he can't take her, he usually can. And vice versa, ie: the mother can take a child from the father and leave. If you are concerned about these kinds of things, get a custody order. Shouldn't be too hard or drawn out being that he hasn't seen the girl for 10 years or so. I think he's legally abandoned her, so it should be easy peasy. Good luck to you


Title: Father just died and owns a business worth over one million dollars [Illinois]

Question:
Just to start, I want to preface this by saying that I basically have no real knowledge of how all of this works and that some of the details of this post are going to be somewhat lacking.  I really don't have any experience with legal matters, so I'm hoping that I can find some help here.  Please understand that I will likely say dumb stuff and/or make assumptions about things due to my lack of legal knowledge.  I'll start with the base information:

&nbsp;

My father just passed away recently, but we do not know the time of death or the official cause yet.  My mother and father got divorced when I was 5 years old (I am now 26).  I have not been very close to my father throughout the last 20ish years, but I have kept up here and there.  When I was very young, he started a small business that he has maintained since that point (roughly 23 years?).  When I last heard, about 10 years ago, the business was valued at a bit over a million dollars.  Here's the major information:

&nbsp;

* I am my father's only known child

* He did not have a wife or girlfriend upon death (that we currently know of)

* I had not spoken to him in over 5 years and was not generally very close to him

* His will (last updated 12 years ago) had everything in my mother's name, not mine.  However, I am on very good terms with my mother and have no concern with this being an issue.

&nbsp;

So, here's comes the interesting parts:

&nbsp;

* I was told that he has not paid taxes on the business/property for at least 7 years

* He was, at one point, arrested for selling drugs (cocaine, heroin, etc. -- very large quantities), owning and distributing illegal, unmarked weapons, and a few other things that I wasn't told about.  Somehow, all of the charges were dropped (even though he had clearly been caught red-handed -- I have no idea how that happened).

* I cannot confirm this, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he used his fully legitimate business to launder his drug money.

&nbsp;

I have heard murmurings that my uncle (father's brother) will contest the will, since it is fairly old, but I don't know for sure how this will turn out yet.  So, my main questions are:

&nbsp;

* Should I be worried about the will?  Will it being in my mother's name affect anything?  How likely is it to be successfully contested?

* If it is found out that the business was used for cleaning dirty money, how will that affect my/my mother's potential inheritance of it?  Same thing with the taxes not being paid.

* What should be my general battle plan for tackling this situation?  I assume I should get in contact with a lawyer, but what kind and what all information should I start gathering first?

&nbsp;

I will update this post as I get more pertinent information and will do my best to update any lacking or incorrect information as I go.  If I missed something or said something contradictory, please feel free to ask questions.  I'm probably going to be better at answering questions, since I likely have missed a lot of important details.  Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Answer: If you're talking about an estate of this monetary value, you absolutely **need** a lawyer. Find someone experienced in probate law by contacting your state bar association and Avvo. We can't possibly give you enough detailed advice here.


Title: Artist who said she was doing artwork for free has now decided she wants payment after its published

Question:
My band is currently going through this. Basically our drummer said that her gf word do artwork for us for free to work on her portfolio, and just for fun apparently. So we went with her over many other choices because of this offer. Many times we offered payment but she declined, saying that it made her feel weird putting a price on her art.

A while later, due to reasons I don't think appropriate to go into, we had to remove the drummer from the band. A few weeks later we get messages from her gf saying that she changed her mind and wants payment for the artwork that was previously offered for free, citing copyright infringement. Nothing was ever signed.

There was never a clause that if the drummer was removed we would then have to retroactively pay for art. As an artist I do understand that it is tough and getting no pay for your work is not the best, but we did offer before and she said free was what she wanted. We are now in the process of removing everything with her artwork attached.

What is the best course of action?

We are located in the United Kingdom
[UK]
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer:
 Do you have emails or text of her saying it was no charge ? Answer #2: Oral contracts are still contracts. You said you have also proof of her stating that at the time of commission she understood that the art was for free, hence you are good, you have the proof that a)an oral contact was in place and b) the terms were that the artwork was free.

She cannot do anything about that. Just make a backup of your evidence in case you'll need it in the future.


Title: Just bought a truck. Literally less than five minutes after I signed the paperwork (including As-Is documents), the truck won't start, and I can't drive it off the lot. Truck lot says it's my responsibility with no recourse. Is this true? (Colorado)

Question:
The truck lot said they might or might not cover it, depending on what it is.  They also said they might cover it if it's just a fuel pump or something, but might not if it's more expensive.  In other words, they won't commit, and may insist that it's my responsibility.

I've been told that if I wasn't able to drive it off the lot, and the keys are still in the possession of the sales lot, I haven't "taken possession" of the vehicle, and they may have a responsibility to unwind the deal.  I don't want to have to go that far, but may if the repairs are excessively expensive and they won't pay for them.

Is there any truth to this?  Do I have any recourse, or am I completely responsible due to the as-is status of the used behicle purchase, even though I couldn't drive it off the lot?

Answer:
 In general, unless you can prove that they directly lied about something, you don't have much recourse.

People buy non-running cars all the time.  Answer #2: I'm from Texas and know this is covered under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act; you may want to look at the DTPA for your state. http://businesslaw.uslegal.com/deceptive-trade-practices-laws/colorado-deceptive-trade-practices-laws/

I know someone who bought a boat and motorcycle that were misrepresented during the sale, friend audio recorded them and under the DTPA the selling consumer is liable for (i think) 3 times what was paid for the item. Not a lawyer, but you may want to check that out. Both the cases I referenced were solved without a lawyer and to my friend's benefit. Answer #3: Did it start when you decided to buy it? Like, did you test drive a working vehicle and then sign, then before you'd taken possession it's now not starting? That seems like an argument for them having broken it while they still had it.


Title: [PA] What is my obligation to a vendor to whom I sent a signed acceptance of an estimate?

Question:
What the title says basically. Back in early november we had reached out to an electrician to get an estimate. He visited our home the next day, and was extremely prompt. 2 days after that we had received a quote. We thought the price was acceptable, signed the quote, and sent it back to him. We received an email confirmation that they had received it, and that they would be in touch about scheduling.

Immediately there was a difference in behavior. We didn't get any further communication for over 6 weeks. We reached out to them, and it took another 2 weeks to finally get a response. Finally they called to schedule the work, which is supposed to be taking place last thursday and friday. They were no-call, no-shows.

I contacted them, and they apologized and stated there was a mix-up. They said they would be here today and tomorrow. It is now 2 hours past when they were supposed to arrive (6am EST) and nothing.

We need this work to be completed because it will impact a home appraisal we need for a mortgage refi.

What obligation do I have to the vendor with a signed estimate? Am I contractually obligated to stick with them? Or can I just call another electrician? As it stands this could end up costing us a significant amount of money because we can't reschedule the appraisal of our home.

Answer:
 What does the estimate say? If it says something like "by signing you agree to pay (company name) to perform the work described", it gets a little tricky. But with two no-call / no-show appointments, I'd say they breached their own contract. Call another vendor.

If the quote doesn't say anything like that, call this vendor, tell them you're hiring someone else since they've failed to show twice, and that's that.

Document the dates and times that they were supposed to arrive and what work was supposed to be done. Keep any emails from them. In the unlikely event that you're sued by them, you'll need that information to defend yourself in court. The good news is that I can't imagine any judge handing them a judgement after they themselves failed to hold up their end of the deal.


Title: Can food products be used commercially without manufacturer's consent?

Question:
New to the food industry. Strongly considering opening a new restaurant in Canada (BC).

Let's say my new restaurant will be using Company A's spice (in powder form) in the food served to my customers.

In order for the restaurant to legally operate, should I contact the manufacturer of the spice and ask for permission?

Answer:
 No, you don't need permission to use ingredients in your cooking.Answer #2: I don't wish to be rude or dismissive, but the restaurant business is hard, and if you don't know this much, perhaps it's not the field for you. Particularly if you are, as you say

>New to the food industry


Title: Pennsylvania - 12 Hour Shift Alone. No break but they subtract an hour of pay for lunch. Is this legal?

Question:
Due to the assistant manager quitting Ive been working open to close alone every Friday. Im a sales rep at a store in Pennsylvania. The situation is growing stressful and the pay is bad. The 12 hour shifts are having an hour subtracted for "lunch" but im not "able" to take a break because its just me in the store and its a mall setting.

They want me to do the assistant managers work and promised an interview for it three times now, pushing it back twice. Now its not for amonth. They want to pay me 2/3 what the old one was paid. At this point i dont know if this place is on the up and up.

I have a bachelors in business admin and a lot of debt because of it. I feel trapped and the stress of dealing with the dysfunction is hurting my mental health a lot. What i need to know is given whats going on, am i being taken advantage of and are they trchnically breaking labor laws?

Answer:
 You need to be paid for all hours worked (including a lunch 'break' you're forced to work through). File a complaint with the PA Dept of Labor.

As far as the job duties/pay goes, your employer can pay you whatever they want (as long as it's minimum wage) to do whatever job duties they want you to do.

Find a new job.Answer #2: I would suggest that you start looking for another job. When an employer behaves like this you really cannot expect them to get better.

If you are working during that "break" then you have to be paid for it. The solution, as my colleague noted, is to file a wage claim. You can do so here https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Labor-Management-Relations/llc/Pages/Wage-Complaint-Form.aspx Answer #3: No, that's not legal. For a break to be unpaid you must be relieved of all active and passive duties. If you must attend to the store while you eat, you must be paid for that time.

Inform management that they are violating the FLSA by deducting hours for breaks you were unable to take and you want payment for all those past hours as well as for full shifts going forward unless they hire a second person to cover for your lunch hour.

If you feel this will result in negative consequences for you, you can simply track all your hours and note when break periods are charged to you that you weren't able to take. After you leave, you can file a wage claim with the PA DOL for unpaid hours.


Title: Home Owners Association filed complaint over Christmas decorations?

Question:
I moved into my first home early in 2016. I put some Christmas decorations up in my home over the previous weekend. Yes, I know it's still super early but I was planning on incorporating the Christmas stuff into Halloween by doing a Christmas Horror theme.

Well, I got a notice that I would be receiving a hefty fine ($300!) for putting holiday decorations up. Not only are the Christmas ones forbidden before December 1st, apparently, I can't have any signage that says Christmas on it or any "blatant displays that are not multiculturally sensitive". I read through the rules from the HOA and did not see anything about this on there.

What are my options here? Is there anything I can do to fight this? State is New Jersey, for the record.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: A first step would be asking them to show you where in the HOA rules it states the decorations requirements and how you are violating them. See what that/they say and then determine how you want to proceed.


Title: Fare Evasion

Question:
A relative and I were caught for fare evasion in NYC. My relative had identification, but I did not and as such was detained at the police station for three hours. A relative brought my id to the station, after which my fingerprints and mug shots were taken and given a court date.

What are my chances of getting my criminal record completely expunged instead of just sealed?

How does a misdemeanor affect my chances of getting a job, joining the military, getting a gun license, etc?

Could someone point me to any good legal consultants for this sort of thing in my area? And what are their fees?

Answer:
 NYC allows it to be charged as either a crime (misdemeanor) or a civil violation (ticket). It sounds like the cops decided to arrest you instead of just writing you a ticket. Bad luck for you.

> In New York City, officers are increasingly choosing to arrest those caught evading fares as opposed to simply issuing a summons for an administrative hearing. An NYPD spokesman told the Daily News that police will generally arrest a suspected fare evader if they have an outstanding warrant, prior criminal history, or no identification.
>
> Under New York's criminal code, fare evasion -- codified under "theft of services" -- is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail.

A misdemeanor is no joking matter. You will now have a criminal record and it can prevent you from more sensitive jobs in the military or government (ones that require a security clearance). Also, for the rest of your life, you will also have to disclose that you have a criminal record on every job and housing application if asked (and they always do).

Your best bet would be to hire a local attorney to see if he/she can plead this down to a civil charge instead of a criminal one.

No one here will recommend a lawyer though. The best way to get one is through a referral from someone you know who has had a good experience with one. If you don't know of any consider contacting the [NYC Bar Association referral service](http://www.nycbar.org/get-legal-help/) or the [NY State Bar Association referral service](http://www.nysba.org/lawyerreferral/).


Title: Could there any repercussions to admitting to a crime after you were found innocent in a trial?

Question:
Like hypothetically, if I killed someone, was found innocent but then admitted to the murder would anything happen from a legal standpoint?

Also could I be charged with perjury if I had taken the stand and said I didn’t killed that person?

Answer:
 It's possible to be found civilly liable.

For a fantastic case study of this issue, I recommend you look into the entire OJ Simpson case and subsequent book.


Title: Has any Supreme Court judge insulted his peers in a dissent?

Question: So a Spanish judge called the others "laymen" and "armchair jurists". Do you know if something similar happend in SCOTUS or some other high court? Considering that people used to fart in the House of Commons, I wouldn't be suprised if this happened in the UK at some point.

Answer:
 It depends on what you mean by “insult.”

At some level, every dissent is an insult, in that it openly says, in effect, “Your legal analysis is wrong, and mine is right.” But obviously that’s “insulting,” only in a very exacting sense.

But how you convey that accusation of error can get pretty entertaining. Justice Sotomayor once began a dissent with something like, “The majority opinion reaches a very reasonable conclusion about a case that is not before us. I write to address the actual case that is.”

Justice Scalia once called the majority opinion, from which he was dissenting, “interpretive jiggery-pokery.”


Title: Landlord/lady is responsible right?

Question: So this is literally happening now. My dad is renting a house behind another, he's been here for years. He has warned the landlord that the tree limbs were falling for 3 years or more, well one JUST fell on the house in front. It's on power lines and is a fire hazard. Landlord is going to call a Friend to Try to take care of it. Shouldn't they be hiring a professional asap to avoid fire? Could we have one called then ask for compensation? No one here wants to see a fire happen. Not really my business as I am visiting but I'm still worried.

Answer:
  NAL , The Electricity supplier should be notified asap .
They want and encourage people to report tree limbs on wires
and have a protocol for whom is responsible .


Title: wife needs help but scared to lose children

Question: I live in California with my wife and 2 kids. She has mental issues like depression and probably more. We have been going to counseling and he has suggested she go to see a psychologist. She is refusing to go to them or call anyone or reach out for any help out of fear of having our kids taken away. If she reached out for help what are the chances of our kids being taken away? She is a good mother and  does not hit them or mistreat them in any way.

Answer:
 > If she reached out for help what are the chances of our kids being taken away?

Unless she confesses to hurting the children, slim to none.  Answer #2: Therapists generally have a duty to report when they think that people are in danger. If she said she had hurt the kids or had plans to, then yes, the kids could get taken away. But just suffering from mental illness doesn't make a person dangerous to their kids. If people with depression had their kids taken away, that would add probably several million kids to the foster care system, and that's just not going to happen.Answer #3: You're not going to lose your kids over common mood disorders.

The only way CPS will be called by a psychologist, is if she is showing signs of violence, self harm, or neglect (which is very unlikely since you are in the picture).

Tell her to go get help.  There should be no shame in seeking treatment, the same as if she went to a doctor for a broken leg.


Title: [TX] Took brand-new car in to be repaired. Car has been driven 400 miles since I dropped it off.

Question:
I recently purchased a new vehicle and, unfortunately, someone hit it and I had to take it to a shop to get it repaired.  Upon leaving it there, I took a picture of the mileage.  Odd enough, the place said it would take over a week to finish repairs (conveniently over the Memorial day weekend) and I didn't want someone using my new car as their personal vacation car.  Well it seems that this might have been the case.  I went in to pick it up and lo-and-behold there is an extra 400 miles on the odometer.  The damage was purely cosmetic to the vehicle so there is no reason why it should have been driven 3 miles let alone 400 in the process of fixing.  Since it is a new vehicle I am concerned that it may have been driven "hard," thus potentially damaging the vehicle by breaking it in improperly or otherwise in a manner that could potentially decrease the lifespan and value of the car.

**EDIT**:  after taking a close look it seems that all of my manuals are missing, the interior (roof, seats, door panel) has been severely damaged, and the shop claims the original set of keys were stolen while in their care. When I brought it up with the manager he pretty much said he has no clue how all this happened but that he would speak with someone else about it. He took photos of the damage I brought up and said if there was anything else I found I should tell him.

What steps should I take to ensure a proper outcome here? Is it reasonable to ask them to replace the entire vehicle? Should my next step be to have the car inspected by the dealer to see how far it deviates from "mint" condition? Thank you for your help.

Answer:
 What shop did you take it to?

The first step would be bringing this to the manager's attention, to see what explanation they offer and if they're willing to offer you some kind of compensation. After you have this information you'll have a better idea of what your options are. Answer #2: If the keys were stolen and car vandalized, I'd be calling the cops if they haven't.

P.S.  How about the fuel level?  Long shot, but if it's a distinctive car and they refueled nearby, someone may have seen it or have video.

P.P.S.  Does their shop/yard have cameras?Answer #3: After your edit, this kinda sounds like your car was used to run some drugs over the weekend. Answer #4: In most states there is something similar to the Garagekeepers act. In a nutshell it states that when a business is in possession of your car they are liable for all damages that may occur.
Just a quick Google search showed that Texas has something similar.

If the shop isn't playing ball and compensating you for all of the damages plus for someone joyriding in your vehicle you need to get a lawyer.  Look for lawyers that specialize in consumer protection in your area. They generally have free consultations and if you have a case they often work for free until a settlement is made.


Title: Academy Employee disclosed my purchase info

Question:
Hello!
I rarely use Reddit, so I'm sorry in advance if I'm out of bounds or not posting in the right place.

I recently bought a handgun at Academy Sports in NC. I applied for a handgun purchase permit from my local Sherriff office, took it to academy, and purchased the firearm. I dealt with two middle aged men (employees), and went early in the morning. I think I was the only customer there, or close to it. The only other person who knew this was my husband, as we just wanted a firearm for protection for our home. I was purposefully discreet about it as I wanted to keep the fact that we had a gun in our home private.

Anyways, I find out three days later that my mother in law, including her friends and employees at her restaurant, somehow know I have a gun. Apparently the daughter of someone my mother in law knows is some sort supervisor or manager at the same store. She supposedly saw my purchase paperwork in the office, and somehow knew my name, and told her mother. Her mother in turn told several of her friends, which includes my mother in law and my mil's restaurant employees.

I understand that my purchase permit might be public record somehow, but I feel violated that this woman told everyone about my application and purchase. I would like to express to Academy how I felt my privacy was violated, but I'd like to do so in an effective, poignant way.

Is there any course of action I can seek? Would I need to collect statements, or should I just send a letter or make a call? Or nothing at all?

Thank you. Please be kind, like I said I'm new to this and just trying to explain this the best I can.

Answer:
 >but I'd like to do so in an effective, poignant way

There is no surefire way to do this. You can complain. They may take action.


Title: Nystagmus and DUI

Question:
Been a lurker for a while, finally have a question.

So in this thread https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/5oiity/md_is_this_a_valid_strategy_to_avoid_a_dui/ I learned that there is a test called the HSG Nystagmus test that is admissible as evidence of a DUI. I'm curious though about this as I suffer from Nystagmus due to a musculature issue with my eyes where my null focal point is slightly to the right and my eyes shake quite dramatically when panning or forced to look off my null point. While I am allowed to drive (actual visual impairment is pretty minor) this makes me wonder if I should be concerned about the possibility of a false positive on a roadside test or checkpoint? (Alberta, Canada but curious generally)

I'm sure it would be thrown out when it goes to court if something like that occurred due to a documented medical condition but I can imagine it would make for a pretty shitty few days or at least evening and I have to wonder if this has ever come up. So Reddit lawyers and IANAL's ever hear of this happening?

Answer: You would fail the HGN test.  You would submit medical documentation to support your failure. If you're smart, you'd carry a copy of those documents in your car.  It's a rare condition, but it's certainly not unheard of.


Title: PA - Seeking a paternity test for peace of mind, concerned about consequences.

Question:
Long story short, about nine months ago, I (22 year old male) had sex with a 16 year old girl, and, through a combination of idiocy and alcohol, made an *extremely* poor decision to remove the condom for a brief moment, before putting it back on. Some time later, she told me she was pregnant.

**I'm going to take a moment here and ask that you please refrain from criticizing me for my actions. I've been ostracized by my community, lost job opportunities, and I've had plenty of time to bask in the insults and personal attacks, both from friends, family, and general strangers, and I did not come here for more of that.**

I've made it clear that I don't want a child. I can't afford a child(and neither can she, but that's beside the point). I've offered to assist in/pay for abortion and adoption multiple times, but she rejected(well, accepted, then backpedaled on her decision) each time. More recently, there have been doubts of who the father is, and she got a boyfriend. She's told me that she won't go after me for child support or anything like that. I told her I still want a paternity test done, so I can "clear my name" and officially put this behind me. Her boyfriend contacted me, told me that they were 100% sure the child is his(keeping in mind that she was "100%" sure it was mine just a few months ago), and have said that if I get a test anyway, I would have to pay child support, and would most likely go to jail, and that the jail part would be out of their hands. Seeing as how neither I, her, or the boyfriend are lawyers, I was hoping to get some guidance from people more well-versed in these matters.

Other relevant info:

- If the child is mine, I plan on terminating my rights.

- I plan on getting one of those $30 tests from Walgreens, which I believe aren't admissible in court(feel free to correct me on this if I'm wrong), but I do understand that in the event it goes to court, we could be ordered to do a legal test as well.

- The conception date is the day the boyfriend had sex with her, but only a few days off from the day I had sex with her.

My main questions are:

- What are the legal repercussions facing me, if the test returns that the child is mine?

- If she names the boyfriend as the father on the birth certificate(I'm assuming she will at this point), what are her options for child support?

- If I terminate my rights(if the child is mine), would she still be able to go after me for child support?

Thank you. If there's anything here that I'm mistaken about(legally speaking, that is), please correct me.

**I just want to reiterate that while you may not personally agree with my actions or choices, my mind remains unchanged from the first day this issue came to my attention. I did not come here to be judged, I came here for advice. Please give me advice.**

Answer:
 >If the child is mine, I plan on terminating my rights.

That is not how it works, son.Answer #2: You cannot terminate your rights. She could come after you at any time for child support, and you'd owe until the child is 18.

Even if she DOESN'T file for child support, if she ever applies for state benefits (Medicaid, food stamps, etc) the state will come after you for child support anyways.


Title: Can Wells Fargo put my account on 72 hour hold for no reason?

Question:
Wells Fargo has suspended my checking account.  They claim it is under investigation for fraud.  And that's all they can say.  It has been on hold since Sunday.

I have been getting the same deposits (rental, pension, SS etc) for 15 years now every month like clockwork.  I had one $500 cash withdrawal 4 months ago.  I never use my debit card for purchases.

I feel they are holding my money hostage, and I feel helpless.  Is there anything I can do but wait?

Answer: Yeah, call them or go into a branch to see what the deal is. In all likelihood they're doing this to protect you because they detected fraud.


Title: Georgia high school grad here, just found out my social security number was getting hits in Arizona.

Question:
I went to apply for a summer job at a local company, and they informed me that, and I quote, "Your SSN was getting hits from a 40-year-old in Arizona." Apparently, the service that I was using to apply with called them right back after I submitted my information.

What the hell do I do? I tried to request a credit report, and several services returned that they were unable to do so, making me think that my credit is fine. What else should I check?

Edit: Sorry for being vague. I tried to get a free report through annualcreditreport.com, and all three services failed to process me. That is exactly what it said. Not "you've already done this". Just that it encountered an error and could not process my request. I then attempted to get a credit report for $1 directly through Experian, and that failed as well.

Answer:
 > I tried to request a credit report, and several services returned that they were unable to do so, making me think that my credit is fine.

I have no idea what you tried to do, and you should by no means think that, especially if your SSN may be compromised.

The Federal Trade Commission has [information](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports) on how to obtain your free, annual credit report (which you should be getting every year anyway). Go there. Do that.Answer #2: To build on the point by u/Rabl, being unable to receive a report is probably because someone has already gotten them this year. And that someone is probably the person who stole your identity.

[This document](http://investigative.gbi.georgia.gov/sites/investigative.gbi.georgia.gov/files/imported/vgn/images/portal/cit_1210/50/52/118391797FTC%20Identity%20Theft%20Information%20and%20Forms.pdf) from the [Georgia Bureau of Investigation](http://investigative.gbi.georgia.gov/identity-theft) has a section on steps to take as a victim.

I would start by calling the FTC's identity theft hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).

This is a really big problem and if you don't take steps to correct it ASAP it will only get worse.Answer #3: Assume the worst, hope for the best.

>  I tried to request a credit report, and several services returned that they were unable to do so, making me think that my credit is fine

Try again. You either responded incorrectly or, like bornconfuzed said, someone else got there first. In the first case, don't click the closest response. Responses are intentionally close but incorrect to catch identity theft. If it's the latter, you can purchase copies of your report as well from each of the reporting agencies. Do so, it's much cheaper in the long run.

And, of course, double check that you are using the right SSN in the first place with your social security card if you haven't already.


Title: Parking ticket with my rental- should I bother paying?

Question: [removed]

Answer: Are you saying you got a ticket with a rental car and you're thinking about not paying it because it's a rental? Uh, no dummy. The rental car place will just give them your information.


Title: Bounce House Trouble {TN-US}

Question: My Daughter (7) was at a local bounce house establishment, she was climbing one of the "ropes course" path up to a slide and fell back down landing with a rope between her legs. a few moments afterward she went to the bathroom and was bleeding from her vagina. we had them file an incident report, and went on to the ER to have her checked out. after the ER looked at her they sent us to a childrens hospital since it was such a delicate area that she was hurt in. now after finding out that it was a 2 inch long laceration and at least 1/2 inch deep, they stitched her up and we are now home, wondering if there is any legal recourse or if the waiver we signed is rock solid?

Answer: I hope she's ok. Those waivers are pretty solid. There are known risks. By all means talk to a lawyer, but if you can't prove some level of negligence on their part I wouldn't get your hopes up. They make you sign those waivers so you can't successfully sue when your child is injured.


Title: Might be taken to civil court and most of my assets are in both mine and my wife's name. What happens?

Question:
So I have a feeling that I may be sued over a legal matter after my case ends with the state. Most all of my assets are in both mine and my wife's name (Stocks, House, Cars, etc). If this persons win a civil case, can my assets be taken or seized if I'm found guilty in the civil case? My wife has nothing to do with the charges.

Case is in the US

Thanks!!!

Answer:
 IANAL, I work for a court clerk's office.

Yes, your assets could potentially be seized even if they are in your wife's name as well. I have seen some criminal cases where a spouse's wage was garnished, even if that spouse was not a party to the case. You should definitely seek assistance from an attorney.Answer #2: It may depend on your state. For example, in Texas, your homestead, personal goods up to a certain value (that I don't know), and your retirement accounts up to the legal amount you can contribute are exempt from seizure for judgments. Other states will have different laws regarding what can be seized and what cannot be seized. Answer #3: This very much depends on your state.

For example, if your state recognises the doctrine of "tenancy by the entirety", and your joint property is held as such, it would be protected.


Title: New job at shady restaurant, I have a few questions (OH)

Question:
Working for a new restaurant as a server and I have noticed the owners have a few, um, interesting way of dealing with money.

1. Cash Out for servers at the end of the night. Apparently as a server I am to cash out 13% of my nightly tips that are then taken and given to the bussers. Problem is, I was trained as a busser, we never saw a dime. The owner just takes the 13% and puts it right back into the drawer for the business.
2. Training paycheck. Apparently as  trainee, I am not allowed to get my training paycheck for 90 days, almost as in incentive to stay.

Are either of these things legal? If not, what would be my options as a broke student to help get things straightened out.

Thank you!

Answer:
 Nope, neither is legal.  You have to pay employees at least twice per month in Ohio, so the 90 day thing is completely illegal.  The Ohio statute allows the unpaid wages to collect interest as well.

The tip pooling thing is also illegal.  You can pool tips, but you can only pool them among tipped employees.  Ownership can't take any part of it under Federal law.

As far as your options, file a complaint for unpaid wages/wage theft with the wage & hour division.  He's not going to just hand them back over to you because this isn't an honest mistake.  He's stealing from employees.


Title: [LA] Non-classmate but participant threatening to remove content from project due to rest of team not signing his "contract". Can we show the project regardless?

Question:
Hi! So I'm going to try to make this super simple, but it's quite the escapade.

We have a group for a computer science course. One person contributed audio files for said project. He decided to make an LLC and attempt to have all of the rest of the group sign contracts entitling us as non-partners with 4% share in royalties for this supposed project. The contracts were not notarized, but they did have witness slots, which the signees signed for each other. Half of the team refused to sign without a law expert or lawyer present.

Fast forward to today. Tomorrow, we are supposed to present our project at a large, highly visible festival. We've already registered, etc. Said half non-signers have said we do not grant permission, after this presentation is over, for the remaining half to use our assets/work from this project for either free or monetized purposes. LLC-maker/non-group member says he is going to pull all audio from the game for tomorrow, and if we use a copy with the audio, he will film us, sue us for something, etc.

So, my question: Could we show the game tomorrow, as free use? He volunteered the content to us, he has no licensing signage, nothing. He just did the work and let us have it. Could he actually sue us tomorrow for anything if we go ahead and showed it with the audio?

UPDATE: Someone basically sent a long "apology" appreciating him for his work, and now he's "had a change of heart" and allowed us to use the audio. Thanks for all of your help with all of this though!

Answer:
 Was the purpose of the project to show it at the festival and the guy was aware of it or did that come up later?

A general note: a contract does not need to be notarized and it does not need witnesses to make it valid. Answer #2: Another thing that enters into it is that you may not be able to assign your interest, as it already belongs to your university. Lots of places started making IP grabs in the nineties when student projects turned into billion dollar commercial products after graduation. Answer #3: UPDATE: Someone basically sent a long "apology" appreciating him for his work, and now he's "had a change of heart" and allowed us to use the audio. Thanks for all of your help with all of this though!Answer #4: If you created this for school there is almost certainly a copyright clause in your schools handbook or similar that gives the school a license (or even full rights) to use student material.

You also arguably have an implicit license to his contributions. If you aren't making money from the presentation he has no non-statutory damages, and if he hasn't registered his work with the US Copyright Office he can't get statutory damages.


Title: My little sister is with her dad that I don’t trust and my mom is just handing over custody?

Question:
if I can ever get this to post cause for some reason it keeps failing to post? Okay so this is gonna be a bit of a long story but I’m going to try to explain it the best I can. If more details are needed, I can provide them. For starters, I’m 18. I moved out of my mother’s house when I was 17 for mental health reasons. My mother has been a dope head since before I was born, and she’s gone back and forth from being sober and being messed up. I have a 10 year old little sister. We have the same mom but different dads. My dad passed away when I was 7, her dad was my step dad for about three years before he went to prison for molesting his 15 year old cousin. He wasn’t a good step dad either. He would beat my mom when he was drunk, and had a nasty habit of “accidentally” walking into my bedroom or the bathroom when I was changing clothes, bathing, using the toilet, etc. and even offered me drugs (weed and alcohol) when I was around 10 years old. My mom allowed him to see my little sister on supervised visits only but most of the time he got away with being around her unsupervised anyways. I don’t know the legalities, if he could get in trouble for being around her alone or not. Since he’s been out of prison he has been completely sober. Recently my mom let my little sister go visit her dad with school being out and everything. My little sister seems to really like her dad. She hasn’t said he’s done anything messed up with her but I’m still worried, so here’s where it gets tricky.

My mom is a felon, she’s been a felon since I was 2 years old. My little sister was living with my mom after I moved out but I have great grandparents that live on the same property that she spent most of her time with instead of being at my mom’s house. Recently she (my mom) was dating a guy that was a trigger happy gun freak, and she started using meth heavily. “The feds” (that’s what she called them) showed up to her house and found all the guns and a lab set up in her kitchen so it’s safe to say she’s going to prison for a long time. When I spoke to my little sister’s father, he said he is planning on taking custody of my little sister and that my mother already agreed to it and that it’s all legal. My little sister doesn’t want to live with him and he’s already started doing some sketchy things. He won’t let her see certain members of her family that he deems “toxic”, he won’t let her watch TV, he wouldn’t let me talk to her without talking to him first (but my sister has started messaging me through Snapchat), he threatened to not let me see her at all if I’m too aggressive about bringing her back, and she told me that he deleted all of her photos on her phone and told her that she has to start a new life. He also told me that she has “bad habits” that he wants to “break” her of. I asked my sister if he’s hurt her or done anything weird to her and she said no, but she also said that she doesn’t want to live with him. My friend keeps telling me that this counts as kidnapping and I need to call the cops but I’m scared. He lives in a different town and I don’t know the exact address. He keeps telling me that all of this is with his legal rights so I don’t know what to do. I could easily have her live with me and my great grandparents, I have a good job, there’s a bus that can take her to school, I just want what is best for her. She doesn’t want to live with him and some of the stuff he’s doing is just raising red flags. What should I do? Should I let him have custody of her since she hasn’t reported him actually hurting her yet or should I fight it since she doesn’t want to live with him and I don’t trust him? If I were to try to get custody of her, what would I have to do?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 > I asked my sister if he’s hurt her or done anything weird to her and she said no

> What should I do? Should I let him have custody of her since she hasn’t reported him actually hurting her yet or should I fight it since she doesn’t want to live with him and I don’t trust him?

It doesn't seem like he's doing anything wrong, and it's even been confirmed by your sister. I can appreciate your concern for your sister, but she's said to you herself he's not doing anything bad to her. He's still her dad and has every right to have custody over her. If you believe she's being abused, or is in a bad situation you should absolutely contact CPS and let them handle it. Otherwise, I don't see a reason why she shouldn't be with her dad if her mom is incarcerated.


Title: Store owner stole my phone then called the cops on me. (Washington, DC)

Question:
(This occured in a store located inside Union Station terminal in Washington, DC)
.
Hi all, I'm hoping to see if anyone has any recommendations on ways to legally pursue an (attempted?) theft.

Today I left my phone in a public restroom stall that had no lock on it. I returned for it maybe 2 minutes after leaving it, and upon pushing the stall door open a few inches, saw the phone on top of the toilet paper holder where I left it.

 However, the woman inside (I hadn't seen her) pushes the door closed, and said something indecipherable. I apologized and said distinctly "my phone is in there" and waited for her to leave. After maybe three minutes, I saw her come out of the stall to the exit without washing her hands. The phone was no longer on the toilet paper dispenser.

I caught up to her in the hall and asked about my phone. "What phone?" At this point, we were inside a store nearby she walked to. I began to repeatedly ask her if we could talk, that I just wanted my phone. She said she owned the store we were in, and her employee confirmed, and called the police as we were going back and forth about it. (I wasn't aggressive - I'm a 5'2 young woman who was overburdened with luggage. I was tearing up and pleading.)

The police show up, and the woman brushes past them back to the bathroom. I beg the police to come follow her with me and we catch up outside the bathroom as she emerges. I say "she went in to put the phone back," as I suspected she realized the police might search her. Indeed, I went in to check and the phone was now INSIDE the sanitary bin in the stall.

After claiming to me in the store that she was using the opposite stall (untrue because the cleaning woman was in that one) she is now telling the police I opened the door on her. (Her employee heard her first claim that she wasn't even in that stall).

There is no reason for the phone to have been in the sanitary bin between the time I saw it next to her and the time she left the stall and the phone was missing.

The police suggested I leave as I had recovered my phone. I left because I was about to cry and I had a bus to catch.

I have no doubts that she took my phone. However, its my word against hers, and the police in the train terminal likely believe her, as she is a business owner.

My question is, can I take any legal action against her? Could I submit some sort of complaint against her business, as she was working at the time? Or to Union Station, as they host her business? I'm only looking to ensure that someone knows about her scummy behavior.

TL;DR: store owner uses public restroom, steals the phone I left there, denied it, and then put it back when police are called. Can anything be done?

Answer: Yelp. Other places online. The police already decided not to do anything. A lawsuit is going to be pointless. Identifying the store and the woman *might* serve some purpose (mostly making you feel a bit better about what this scumbag did).


Title: Married less than a year in Ohio and need help

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You should leave right now and go see a local womens shelter. They'll help guide you through all the options available to you.

You do not need to stay in the relationship another minute longer It's unhealthy and it's not going to get any better.


Title: My university has put me on some sort of I-20 hold for years now!

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Please clarify your question.  It sounds like there was miscommunication between you and the DSO and, unfortunately, without accurate information we will not be able to suggest appropriate resources.


Title: Is it legal to blast “inappropriate” music right outside school zones?

Question:
(By the way I’m still a minor and not some weirdo)

I’m attempting an end of school year prank, and I want to know if it’s illegal to play inappropriate music outside of school zones.

Answer:
 It could get you in trouble with the school and probably the law.

Schools have their own policies and punishments for inappropriate music and whatnot on or near school grounds when you are a student. This punishment could be anything from calling your parents, suspension, expulsion, whatever they deem a suitable consequence.

 Disturbing the peace, dude. Just dont do it, it's not worth it.


Title: [CA, ON] Is it legal to include "agrees not to engage in any other employment or self-employment" in an employment contract?

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice,

Location: Ontario, Canada (Toronto specifically).

My dad has been presented a full-time work opportunity - was just given the offer letter earlier today. It has the below information, specifically this (Emphasis mine):

> Associate agrees to devote his/her full-time efforts to the position and perform his/her duties to the best of his/her abilities. **Associate further agrees not to engage in any other employment or self-employment.**

My dad has been owner of his own business (contract work/prior pay is through this entity, completely unrelated to his new job offer) for the past several years. He said he was the owner/major shareholder, and his business (numbered) is incorporated.

He is wondering if the bolded section above means anything for him - does him being incorporated mean he is "self-employed" already? His business has not made him any money other than one sale about two years ago, it's just sitting dead in the water right now. He is wondering if this can cause any issues with the company who made him the job offer.

Sorry if I'm not able to explain clearly - I do not know the terms of his business very well. He did send me the written job offer to look at, which is what I copied the above from. Any help or clarification would be appreciated!

Answer:
 It would be best for your father to bring this up with the offering company.  Better to be in the clear about such a thing.  They may not care about the LLC.Answer #2: My interpretation is that the employee agrees to not ENGAGE into any self employment. So if your fathers LLC is not actively functioning then I would not worry, as long as they are fulfilling the top half of devoting their work time to the hiring company.Answer #3: In general, these clauses are likely unenforceable because the courts recognize that individuals should have an opportunity to support themselves. However, if it interferes with his work, they can terminate (that means he wouldn't be able to do any business at work, even taking short calls).

There are also some regulated professions that prohibit people from moonlighting, even if it is completely unrelated. For example, the OTL designation for people who sell insurance specifically prohibits any work outside your employer.

Your dad will have to ask the company why they included it and if the answer is not acceptable, he can talk to a lawyer to see if it would be enforceable if he accepts the offer.


Title: Noise complaint about a business close by. What are my options?

Question:
I live in Denton, TX. My family lives in a fourplex of homes, 3 homes on this particular rural plot of land. About 100-125 yards away is a banquet center that hosts parties, quinceaneras, college parties, etc. These parties are usually held on Saturday evenings.

The days on which they are hosting parties, they begin playing music at about 5pm. And every night the music plays until at least 2am. The music, at 125 yards, is loud enough in our bedroom and our kids bedroom to wake us up and/or prevent us from sleeping. I've called the police department every time they've had a party and I'm always told they will send someone out. But here I am awake tonight listening to this music. The bass is loud enough to vibrate the walls.

What options do I have?? I've called the police on them. I've spoken with the owner. Neither of them are willing to do anything to help!!

Should I lawyer up and take them to court over the noise? Since I'm renting, is it up to my landlord to correct the problem? What should I do?!?!

Answer:
 First result on google.  City of Denton noise ordinances.  http://www.cityofdenton.com/home/showdocument?id=11973
Looks like anything over 65 decibels more than 50 feet from the source is a violation.  Get a decibel meter and have this printed when you call the cops back.

Another provision is your "catch all" and is as follows:

It shall be unlawful for any person to make or cause any noise of such character, intensity and continued duration as to substantially interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of private homes by persons of ordinary sensibilities.