Title: [CO] Car dealership neglected to put oil in my car after 90k service without my knowledge, 1 week later engine seized and entire car suddenly locked up at 75mph almost resulting in major accident.

Question: As the title states, I took my 2010 Subaru in to be serviced under warranty for its 90k servicing. Everything seemed fine, no dashboard lights were on afterwards and the car seemed to run fine. On the highway about a week after the servicing, the car suddenly started making noises and within 20 seconds of this beginning, every dashboard light came on, the steering wheel locked up completely, the brakes stopped working, and the accelerator locked up forcing me to use the emergency brake going over 75mph which very nearly caused a serious accident. Upon towing the vehicle and removing the engine from the car, the technicians realized there was no oil in the vehicle, yet no leaks within the motor or the oil pan, and they determined it was a seized piston bearing and traced the cause for this back to a different dealership failing to put oil into the car after draining the old oil at its 90k servicing a week ago. There was no reason for me to check the oil or to believe anything was wrong with the vehicle prior to the catastrophic failure, no lights, no temperature warnings, or noises whatsoever. What is my legal recourse, if any? The car was under full warranty, so they are replacing the engine, however, I feel as though a new engine in the old car is not enough recourse for me granted that this resulted in my life being physically and immediately in danger because of the negligence of the technicians at the dealership that did the servicing and because the car completely locked up, which is never supposed to happen. I still owe ~$10,000 on the car for what it's worth.

Answer:
 > I feel as though a new engine in the old car is not enough recourse

It's likely all you're going to get.  Your engine was damaged, they're putting in a new one.  There are no damages available for stuff that might've happened, but didn't.Answer #2: None of the symptoms you describe would be caused by a failure to replace the engine oil after a service appointment.

If the oil were not replaced, the car would have made it 5, 10, maybe 20 miles before the engine died screaming.

The symptoms you describe on the highway also aren't consistent with an overheated or seized engine.

All the dashboard lights wouldn't come on;  only the overheat and oil pressure lights would.

The steering wheel would not lock up;  that's governed by the ignition switch interlock in the steering column.

The brakes would not stop working.   They would be diminished because of the loss of the vacuum booster, but would still work.

The accelerator "locking up" and requiring you to use the emergency brake also doesn't make sense;  is the engine stopping catastrophically or accelerating in an uncontrolled fashion ?   I realize that in your story there's a panic factor, but you're describing impossible simultaneous behaviors.

And you managed 2,000 miles in a week ?  You must drive a lot of highway miles, which would definitely get the engine up to temperature and make a low-oil situation evident.

But even if we take your story completely at face value, you cannot generally recover damages for things that "might have happened" due to somebody else's negligence.

Ordinary negligence doesn't make for emotional distress damages, either.
Answer #3: How far did you drive the car for the week with no oil?


Title: (GA) Ex voluntarily quit her paralegal job making 65k and took a sales job making 8k this year. Which job will factor into child support modification worksheet?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Your mileage may vary, but you can ask her to be imputed an income equivalent to what she is capable of making.

Typically you can request she produce her last three years of income tax returns.  That should show a pattern of what she is capable of earning.
Answer #2: The term you'll want to research is [voluntary underemployment](http://www.albany.ga.us/filestorage/1800/2889/3011/3518/4781/PROOF_OF_INCOME_IN_FAMILY_LAW_CASES.pdf).


Title: Need Help on possible copyright laws. I don't want to make a mistake. It has to do with Party Favors for my upcoming wedding. Southern California

Question:
My fiancé and I have ran into a really big obstacle. We had a great idea to distribute a CD with all the songs that represent us as individuals and songs that remind us of our relationship with a short description of each and why it is significant. We had the cover of the CD and back and everything. we have the songs picked out and everything is going great.. It looks amazing.

It was brought to our attention that we may be violating some sort of copyright laws by distributing a mixed CD. There will be approximately 70 CD's in total.

I was then talking to some people and they said as long as you aren't selling the CD's and making money off of the artists work it isn't a problem. It then becomes like free advertising for the artists so to speak. Please, if anyone has any information or has had experience with any of this, it would be greatly appreciated.

We are somewhat running out of time and are open to any other good suggestions for party favors for the guests I would love to hear them.

Thank you !!

EDIT: Thank you for the help. We will be throwing that idea out the window and thanks for the down votes. It was just a question so that I don't break any laws. .. Awesome.

Answer:
 > It was brought to our attention that we may be violating some sort of copyright laws by distributing a mixed CD.

[You will be](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement).

> I was then talking to some people and they said as long as you aren't selling the CD's and making money off of the artists work it isn't a problem.

That is incorrect.

> We are somewhat running out of time and are open to any other good suggestions for party favors for the guests I would love to hear them.

iTunes gift cards and a list of the songs?


Title: Hanging on tree laws

Question:
In San Diego county. Was hanging from my hammock in a tree when I was approached by a park ranger. He told me I could not hang from a tree. When I asked him what law I was in violation of, he pulled out a piece of paper and struggled for several minutes with shaky fingers to finally find a line regarding vandalism. It honestly seemed that he finally settled on it after trying to find something I was violating. After he settled on the vandalism clause, I suggested using towels to protect the tree on the contact points of my straps, but he didn't have it. I also don't see how he could prove that I was vandalizing the tree in court...there was no damage to the tree at all. Was hanging from a tree with a diameter of at least 4ft and there was no visible damage to the tree. He tried to pull a line saying that many limbs have been broken. Beats me that his house is built from 2'x4's and I believe the tree could easily support me without any damage to the tree.

Can the park ranger legally enforce this/issue me a citation or was he acting outside of his authority and was did it mostly surmount to harassment?

Answer:
 >Can the park ranger legally enforce this/issue me a citation or was he acting outside of his authority and was did it mostly surmount to harassment?

He can absolutely issue you a citation. You'd be free to challenge it in court. I can see a case for vandalism, but you'd have a defense if no damage was done.

There's no way to construe this as harassment.

What kind of park is this? State? National? Local?


Title: [TX] Employers distributing new policy changes - including some dubiously legal additions

Question:
I've worked with this company for a handful of months. When I first signed on, there was some standard boilerplate paperwork. Don't sexually harass people, we might film you, safety precautions, that type of thing. Last Thursday, there was a new packet passed out, trying to make sure everyone's paperwork was in order.  The new paperwork contained similar standard items, but clearly had non-standard additions, such as:

* A drug policy in which drinking 'high amounts' of fluids is considered admission of drug use.
* The company's right to search personal vehicles.
* Full-time employees requiring to be present for 35 hours per week, rather than 30, otherwise being 'variable hour', despite hours never dropping below 30 throughout the year.
* Keyloggers and audio recording.
* Requests for social media passwords.
* Oddly specific dress code changes targeting specific employees.
* Oddly specific scheduling changes targeting specific employees' medical visits.

This is a (relatively) small company of roughly 50-60 employees, and it is abundantly clear from the way these additional provisions were added that no lawyer has come near these documents. I have three questions, though:

1. Texas is at-will, so I'm assuming that refusing to sign means I just quit, and lose unemployment, or am I protected for being fired 'for cause' because they're changing the terms of the job I've already been at for months?
2. What happens if I do sign, but the provisions are illegal - am I giving up those rights, or are they on paper, but still cannot be exercised?
3. Which of these are actually illegal, and which are just things that rub me the wrong way/feel scummy?

Edit: Thanks to everyone who responded, it gave me a good baseline as to what to look for. (Although I knew Texas law was pretty loose in this regard.) From what I can tell from my own research, the Full-time and Variable-hour redefinition is designed to skirt the ACA requirements (Making them not a 'large company' under the ACA if they have 'less than 50 full-time employees').  The rest of it looks like ways to ensure they can fire someone for 'policy reasons', so they don't have to pay out unemployment for anyone they fire. Both of those are probably not how it actually works, but it's how they **think** it does.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 So here's the pieces I'd be wondering about:

> A drug policy in which drinking 'high amounts' of fluids is considered admission of drug use.

Fucking what? No.

> Oddly specific dress code changes targeting specific employees.

In what way?

> Oddly specific scheduling changes targeting specific employees' medical visits.

In what way?Answer #2: 1.  No, it means that they could choose to fire you for not signing it.

2.  If you do sign it, and then refuse to do one of the items (such as giving them your social media pw) they can choose to fire you.  This is not a contract and they can't force you to do any of them.

3.  IANAL but they last two *might* be illegal if enforced.  Depends a lot on the wording and specificity.  Also, I don't understand you on the present for 30 vs 35 hours.  The rest they can ask everyone to consent to.

As for the high amount of fluids I laughed.  They can fire you for drinking too much water (barring ADA / medical issues) and didn't need to associate it with drug use.

I'd start looking for a new job if you plan to either a) not sign it or b) not follow through with any of the requirements.  Personally I'd tell them to pound sand if they want my social media passwords, but I am privileged to be in a position where I can be fired and not have undue hardships.

Good luck to you!


Title: CO - Sent to Collections before Bill's Due-Date

Question:
I received a bill for a $4.50 toll-road charge. The bill says the due-date is July 24th, 2018, so I set the bill up in my bank's BillPay system to distribute the funds on 7/23/2018 (which happens to be tomorrow).

Fast forward to yesterday - I received a letter from their lawyer's office saying they're sending me to collections for over $30 all said and done.

I have drafted a 'debt verification' letter and stated within it that the bill isn't due yet per their own bill (I still have my original copy). The original $4.50 bill is still set  up to be paid in full tomorrow. Is there anything else I could/should be doing as well? This company and their legal representation have a very notorious reputation around Denver and CO in general for being especially shady when it comes to collections and I don't want to leave any bases uncovered with them.

Answer:
 For future reference banks bill pay are just mailing a check for you. You shouldn’t rely on day before, you should schedule it at least a week before.

If it says electronic when you set up the destination, even that’s generally 2 days. Answer #2: Northwest Parkway?

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/10/23/drivers-on-northwest-parkway-sent-to-collections-before-receiving-bill/


Title: Violent and abusive ex trying to talk to me again. Would like to have the police start documentation for this and give him a warning phone call not to contact me further, but I have no # and it's "illegal" to pull up his contact information. Help me, help me please.

Question:
Throwaway for obvious reasons.

I live in Southern California and so does he. I'll name him Leo. Leo is part of the military. After 4 years of being broken up (we were together for 1/1.5 years), he has tried contacting me through third parties after realizing there is another military personnel (let's name them Fabio) whose hometown is my city, and Fabio visits often to see his gf (Riley) who is my friend. Leo tried contacting me two years ago to see if he can get back with me, but I told him to not do it again otherwise I'll contact law enforcement. He obviously didn't learn his lesson.

I haven't kept his phone number, obviously. His friends want to "stay loyal to him" and not give his information to me, despite it being at the cost of my safety.

------

I have started documenting all of these messages he's been trying to relay through Fabio, who passes them onto Riley, who relays it to me. I want to get law enforcement involved by having them make a warning call to him saying not contact me for any reason. But the sheriff's dept that I'm under jurisdiction in said that they can't pull up his Driver's License (which contains his contact information including his phone #) because it is illegal to. But I'm fearful that he will actually follow through with his plans to come to my family and I's house and do something that endangers our lives. It's hard for me to understand that they can't simply pull up his contact information to give him a phone call? I don't even need to see his phone number. I just want that call made, put down on record by police and archived so I can have evidence of this manipulative behavior.

Please please help. I'm desperate for any of the help that you can give me. Thank you all ahead of time.

Edit: space in between words

Answer:
 >I want to get law enforcement involved by having them make a warning call to him saying not contact me for any reason.

That's not how it works, and the police aren't the white pages, and don't provide telephone numbers. Answer #2: Stop talking to Riley, too. She's not your friend, she's just causing drama.


Title: People with suits and a nice car approaching my house at night

Question: This may not be the right place to post but I'm not sure where else to go. I moved away from my family in Washington state a few years ago for work, I currently live in California. A few weeks ago I received a call from my family saying they were visited by somebody asking for information about me, specifically who I voted for in the midterm election; I haven't been too engaged with politics but I am registered to vote in the state of Washington. My family refused to give out information so I assumed they were a salesman or maybe some MLM dude and didn't think anything of it. However this morning I received another call from my family saying they were visited again last night (around 8 pm), except this time there were 4 dudes, all dressed in suits, sitting in a nice 4 door sedan with the lights off. According to my father, when they were approached they got out of the car and pulled out a badge. They told him they were Washington election auditors and again, using just my first name, asked who I voted for in the midterm election. The only other information I have is that the badge they pulled out looked cheap, and they were described by my father as looking "mafia-like." Should I be concerned? Where should I go for help in this matter?

Answer: No part of the government would ask your parents who you voted for. That sounds like either a scam or a made up story.Answer #2: Have your family call the real police and make a report. Answer #3: The police should be called immediately the next time they show up. Do NOT give ANY information to them. Answer #4: Pretty sure just approaching people on the street and demanding to know who they voted for is illegal, no matter what kind of badge you carry. If the Registrar of Voters wanted to confirm your ballot, he or she would contact you directly and ask you to retake the ballot. They would never discuss it with anyone besides you specifically. This smells like some kind of scam.Answer #5: Did you vote in the mid term election in Washington even though you no longer live there? Did someone else vote as you?  Is it possible your family is making this up just to try to find out who you voted for?


Title: Just discovered disclosure fraud on the last day of option period (x-post r/realestate)

Question:
Just discovered disclosure fraud on the last day of my option period

Long story short-
My inspector came back with quite a few issues. Listing agent argued him, saying seller had those items fixed. When she tried to get proof from seller, she discovered they had lied to her, saying they had had these items fixed to code. They had a previous offer and previous inspection, fixed nothing and disclosed nothing

I'm not super interested in doing business with people like that, but I do like the house and if I could do the work myself it would be a great house. I don't really want to lose the inspection cost if I walk away either.

What are my options? Are there any legal steps? Thanks!

Edit: Fort Worth TX

Answer:
 First, since this is your last day of your inspection contingency, I would get an extension for a few days so you have time to work out the costs to repair. I would absolutely not trust them to get the work done, and done right. You don't want to be a week from closing and find out they never completed the work.

Once you have an idea of the costs, renegotiate your offer price. Depending upon your skill level keep in mind the things you may have to hire someone else to repair. You may want to request that the seller pay some of your closing costs in your renegotiation; this will help free up some of your cash at closing.


Title: Can I get in trouble for egging a house?

Question: I recently got in a altercation with a girl who’s older sister called me and my black friend “Dirty N*ggers” The school wouldn’t do anything about it since it was off school grounds, so I think I should do something about it (Egging her house on the last day of school). Could I get in trouble for this? If so, how?

Answer: Yes, vandalism.


Title: syringes,paraphernalia laws and the police. [california]

Question:
So from my understanding I can (and have) bought up to 10 syringes over the counter without a prescription legally, and can trade used ones in at needle exchanges.

but what about when im stopped by the police? If i just have say clean or dirty needles on my person or in my car with drugs are they automatically considered drug paraphernalia?

what if i dont have any drugs on me?

should i save the receipt to show that i bought just 10 at a time, and that the dirty ones are being traded in?

 If an officer decides to search me and asks "is there anything on you that can stick or poke me like needles?" do i have to answer the question? what if i lie and say no? can i purchase more than ten at a time?

I understand this is a touchy subject and yes i know you are not my lawyer i am just seeking some clarification on the law, It seems confusing.. I can buy them at almost any pharmacy, but they are also considered drug paraphernalia as far as i know.

Answer:
 >If an officer decides to search me and asks "is there anything on you that can stick or poke me like needles?" do i have to answer the question?

If you don't and the officer gets stuck........that is not good for you and you could face far worse criminal charges than paraphernalia

~~What are you using the needles for?~~

~~And why are you carrying around dirty ones?  If it was for legit reasons, then~~ purchase a [sharpes container](https://www.bing.com/search?q=sharpes+container&PC=U316&FORM=CHROMN) so there is no worry about carrying the dirty needles on your person.


Title: got pulled over for nothing?

Question:
i was with 3 of my friends in my dad's car ( with my dad's permission) because we had a school trip to the theatre. I saw a police officer make a u-turn and Come behind me, he then stopped me saying that he ran the plate and saw it belonged to an old man ( I'm 17),, he then took the insurance and car registration and my licence to verify everything. everything checked out and i went to the theatre.
so my question is, does he have the right to stop me for this? and does he have three right to run the plate at the first place?
( Canada Quebec montreal)
Topic:
Canada

Answer:
 > does he have the right to stop me for this?

Yes.

> does he have three right to run the plate at the first place?

Yes.


Title: Gave 2 weeks notice and then my boss' fired me should I get a severence fee?

Question:
Hey everyone, first time posting so I hope I'm not stepping on any toes here. Also I'm from Canada located in BC!

So as the title suggests, I work as a Customer Service Rep, recently one of our girls quit by giving one weeks notice which the boss' decide to accept her letter of resignation imediately and thus was taken away all of her shifts. After that whole ordeal they brought in all of their employees (the owners are two brothers) and basically told us "We understand if things come up, just please give us atleast 2 weeks notice."

So fast forward a month, I got a pretty great job offer, higher pay and way better hours and upon figuring out my start date, I informed my new employers that I would start in two weeks so I could fulfill my schedule to my current workplace.

On Friday night the 25th, I gave my boss my letter of resignation to which he replied "Oh, you're pulling a (her name here) on us?" (The girl who had quit with only 1 week's notice) to which I said, "No, I'm giving you two weeks notice. Of course I can work the rest of my given schedule and-," to which he just rushed me out.

The next morning the bro's had told all my coworkers that I quit and had no intentions on fulfilling my schedule and sent me an email saying to not come in to work. I guess that's why I'm here, I'm told I should ask for legal advice because what they did was unfair due to the fact that I held up my end of the bargain. What's my next step?

TL;dr
I gave my boss' two weeks notice and they decided to be babies and fire me instead.

Answer:
 I'm assuming you are not in Quebec, where the laws are different than most other provinces.

You gave two weeks notice. They are allowed to ask you not to come in for the rest of it and say your last day is right now. That part is fine. But, unless they terminated you for cause right there and then they still have to pay you out the rest of the two weeks. If an employer terminates an employee without just cause (e.g. stealing) then they have to give you reasonable notice or money in lieu. You giving notice first sets the reasonable notice at two weeks even if what would normally be reasonable is longer.

If your employer balks, contact whatever government agency in your province governs employment standards legislation and they will help you get paid.


Title: Signed A Lease And Now I Have A 30 Year Old Roommate Who Has Been To Jail? How Do I Get Out Of This?

Question:
I live in North Carolina and I'm a 20 year old college student. My girlfriend, best friend, and myself thought we would get an apartment together. After some trouble with all of us signing, they ask if we can go to a four bedroom. We say sure, and we sign the lease. Then they give us our roommate, another college student our age, perfect. Then, they switch her with another college student our age, that's fine. Then they switch with a woman I will refer to as S. S is 30, recently separated from her husband who is a pimp (an actual, real life pimp), she has been to jail for smashing a glass bottle over someone's head, she smokes pot in the apartment, she is currently romantically involved with her husband's best friend (you can see why this scares us), and she brought all the furniture (which was nice of her).

My girlfriend and my best friend don't feel safe anymore, and I have no idea what to do. We didn't expect something like this, we didn't know they would match us with someone who wasn't going to school and we didn't think they would match us with someone who has been to jail. My girlfriend refuses to stay at the place without other people spending the night, my best friend feels unsafe and locks everything. My girlfriend moved in a few days ago, I move in tomorrow and my friend moved in today.

We spoke to our landlord, who said that she won't move her, because that's discrimination. We all plan on meeting with her tomorrow and saying that if S doesn't leave, we will. We just don't feel safe around her, or in our own apartment.

I don't know how we can get out of the contract, I don't know if we can, but I really really need some help. So, please, even if it's just saying that she can be thrown out for smoking pot, I need some advice on how to handle this. I got my friends into this situation, this was my idea, and I just want to fix it.

Thank you.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 She smokes pot in the apartment?

Sounds easy-peasy.  Every lease I've ever seen includes a clause that basically says "We'll throw you the fuck out if you're doing illegal shit."  And I haven't seen it worded as a "we might" but "you will be."

Check your lease, call the cops, and there you go.  Just make sure your own house is in order first, because you know the cops are going to want to search everyone's stuff.

To be extra dirty, call the cops and have your girlfriend or best friend stay on the porch to let the cops in nice and quiet like and while the cops are on their way, head over to the office to file a formal complaint.  Print up two copies of your complaint, and have the office person sign both copies.  One for them, one for you, to prove they got it and saw it.  North Carolina is a one-party consent state, so I would also suggest audio recording your conversations with the office regarding this situation, especially if you can get them on tape saying that they're not going to acknowledge your complaint.


Title: [GA] My Lawyer has Requested a Head Shot/Short Bio for Demand

Question:
Motor Vehicle Accident with the other driver at fault. My lawyer has requested a head shot and a short bio to be included in the demand letter so that they see me as a person and not a claim number. I am wondering what I should include(or leave out) to convey how much this accident has hindered me (chronic pain and acute while doing everyday activities). My lawyer has said that the picture can be either formal or informal and I might want to include: job, hobbies, family.

Background: This MVA has left me with a herniated disc and several bulging discs. I was working a delivery job at the time and lifting packages doesn't mix well with a bad back. I am single, used to be active and currently don't work there anymore. Note: It was a 1099 job and I was not let go from the company, as I was just an independent contractor.

Answer:
 Make a list of all the activities that you used to be able to do that you can no longer do. This should include chores, hobbies, and anything else in your daily living. Think through your day from wake to sleep and list all the times that you can't do something, or have to do something with pain, or your life has changed in someway.  Be as specific as you can be. Don't say housework or yard work. Say folding laundry, emptying the dishwasher, scrubbing toilets, raking leaves, pulling weeds, trimming hedges etc. you get the drift.

The insurance adjuster has to document very carefully why they are offering you a certain amount of money, so give them ammunition to do it. This all assumes of course, that liability in your case is clear, and you have injuries that are well documented in medical records.

Also, make sure to discuss how this injury has affected other members of your family who now have to do things for you. Especially your spouse if you are married


Title: Should I bother fighting a speeding ticket if I confessed? [Los Angeles, CA]

Question:
Before anything I just want to say that yes I accept that I broke the law and I wouldn't mind paying the fine if they weren't charging me $367 or $431 if I want traffic school. I feel this is an absolutely ridiculous fine considering the conditions of the road when the incident took place, and the fact that I have a spotless record.

When I got pulled over I was hoping that being honest with the officer would get me off with a warning. Therefor during our conversation I admitted to going 20mph over the limit. It didn't work so now I am dealing with a 50mph on a 30mph ticket. I've done a lot of research online about what steps I should take but I'm not even sure if I should try since the officer probably made a note about what I said. Should I try fighting it? Should I get a traffic attorney?

Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

Answer:
 You do know that posted speed limits are maximums, right? As in you should only be going up to that speed under absolutely ideal road conditions?

You exceeded that limit, you were fined appropriately. I see no legal argument in your post that would get this ticket dismissed.


Title: What would be the legality of jumping in front of a train?

Question: There's a freight train that runs through Waco, Texas, and I need to know if someone jumps in front of it, what would be the legal ramifications? If the person survives, would they be arrested or have to pay for property damage? If they don't survive, would their family be held accountable for the property damage?

Answer:
 There are resources available to you, phone or chat online if you don't want to call someone.

Here's the Lifeline chat:  [https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/](https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/)

You can call 1-800-273-8255.


Title: Caterer made food without a signed contract? [IN]

Question:
In Indiana.

My workplace was considering doing a catered dinner, and I called several places up to get bids. I never responded to the bids or placed an order. I was very clear on the phone that it was just a bid, and that we didn’t even have a confirmed guest list or date.

One place “The Inpost” called today to confirm the delivery address. They had made up all of the food (2k worth) for us. I told them that we had never made an order.

We don’t have to pay, right? We didn’t order and we didn’t receive food.

Answer: Without a contract, you're not liable.


Title: “Disadvantaged” Roommate wants to Sue for $368 Dollars

Question:
Location: USA - Illinois

An ex roommate of mine has recently been hitting me up for money due to the fact he has recently fallen on hard times. He has been contacting me relentlessly through every form of social media and through text message to the point that it is bordering harassment, asking me when I am going to pay him what I owe him. I have simply ignored his messages and slanders on social media to an extent but the day before he threatened to take me to civil court for the alleged money I owe him.

My question is what.. if any.. grounds does he have to take me to court and win?

Here are the details:

We lived together for two and half years between three rental properties. I Worked part time during college to pay for my rent, utilities, and other basic necessities. I used student loans to pay for my tuition due to not qualifying for FASFA. I had several unforeseen circumstances arise on multiple occasions that left me financially strapped. One month I was unable to pay rent and utilities so my roommate agreed to cover for me with a verbal promise that I would pay him back; this wasn’t till closer till the end of my college tenure. My final year of college I learned that I would be able to graduate a semester early. My roommate and I had a one year lease on a house together with both the bills and utilities being in his name. So by the time I graduated I would still have six months left on my lease. My roommate just had his girlfriend move in with him which I didn’t mind either. They had been in a long term committed relationship and I considered her a friend as well. I advised that I was leaving to move back north with my family in order to find work and to pay off my debts and student loans. Due to being on the lease and not knowing anyone in the area to sublease I bit the bullet and continued to pay rent on a house I wasn’t living in. At the time of my departure from the residence I owed him somewhere in the neighborhood of $600-$700 dollars. Again I verbally agreed that I would pay him back whatever I owed him. Due to the lack of money and his name being the primary on lease, I agreed that in order to help pay my debt to him I would simply allow him to keep my half of the security deposit. Fast-forward to the final month on the lease. He contacts me and asks if his girlfriend’s brother could sublease my room in exchange for one months rent ($365) off the sum of money I owed him which again I agreed to at the cost. I had left a majority of my property inside the residence in storage seeing that I was still paying rent on the place. I figured I might as well get some use out the place and at least use the attic as a storage unit until warmer weather and more favorable moving conditions arrived in the spring. When I went to remove my property and do a final walkthrough with the landlord my roommate informed me that I owed him approximately $1,200 in total. I asked him to explain why I owed him such an outrageous sum. He advised that I owed him this money because he charged me the monthly base fee for utilities if the house were to sit empty despite the fact that he and his girlfriend lived in the residence the last six months full time. I advised him today that he had no grounds to charge me for utilities in a residence that I wasn’t living in. At the termination of the lease he had recovered roughly $565 of the total debts I owed to him from the month sublease to the girlfriend’s brother and through the returned security deposit. Feeling bad for the amount of time it took for me to even pay that sum.. I sent him two additional checks totaling $300. At this time he had now recovered about $865 despite the initial debt only being $600-$700. I wanted to pay him some form of interest because at one point I considered him a friend as well. To this day he claims that I still owe him $368 for the utilities during the time of my absence. I have since replaced my cell phone but we never had a written agreement to pay/exchange for these debts. His name was the only name legally binding to the utilities/bills. I verbally agreed to pay him back whatever debts I owe him and I may have even sent him a text message or two stating the same. Those texts perished with the loss of my last phone so I may have promised more but I simply can not remember. I don’t believe I owe him that money, and I have fulfilled my promise as verbally stated “to pay what I owe”. He constitutes that I owe him more and I disagree. Does he have any legal justification to even win this? Maybe a few text messages and a verbal agreement? I believe he is just trying to use scare tactics to get more money out of me.

Answer: You couldn't pay me $368 dollars to read that paragraph.  I think it's highly doubtful that he would sue you for $368 dollars, especially given that you apparently can't explain why you owe him anything in just a few sentances.  If he does sue you, then you will have to see what he claims, and then you can figure out how to defend against his claims.


Title: [VA]Father seeking primary custody (honestly just seeing if it's even possible as the father)details inside

Question:
Thanks for taking the time to read, ill summarize as best posible the details here to see if its worth it for me to even try to hire an attorney and take this court.

not to be cliche, but i am a great father, i am currently engaged to the mother of my youngest son (2). her family has taken my oldest son as one of their own (he has always been called nephew, grandson etc). my fiance treats him like he was hers (i am lucky af, i know). he has an amazing time with us, we provide a home and stability that is literally unmatched on her side of the family. His mother on the other hand has a history of going from man to man (dont know how pertinent this is)

currently my son's mother has custody, i have visitation rights. i have him every weekend now (friday to sunday), he is 5. Used to get him every other weekend (rotating per mother)

-i have never missed my child support payments (not even late, overpaid and got money back actually!)

-while i was getting my undergrad, working full time and serving in the navy (reserves at this point), if it was my weekend, i never missed my weekend, if i had drill, my parents took him until i got back sunday

-mother smokes in the car with him - his clothes REEK of cigarette smoke, to the point its disgusting and have to take his clothes and wash em before sending back. whenever she borrows my car seat, same thing happens, have to wash it as well.  (not judging her as a smoker, but in the car with him, come on now)

-during pre-k - 37 documented tardies to school, found this in the notes the school sends

-has wrecked at least 5 cars (totaled), my son was in at least 2 of them, has at least 4 reckless driving tickets, after the first two her license was actually suspended (making my drive to get him)

-a few week ago, upon pick up on friday after school, put him in bath, he had a tick on his genitals that led to the hospital, per doctor tick attached for at least 36 hours prior due to engorgement (negligence?). i let her know at 11pm when we got to the hospital, did not get a response from her until 5am.

-constant verbal harassment over texts (have most saved), from insults, to throwing her custody on my face.

-picks our son up on sundays at 1200 to 1230 (AM!!!!), has to drive 1.5 hours back to their house (i drive the fridays to get im)

-has been late for exchange numerous times, "overslept" and called us at 4 in the am to let us know she overslept.

i dont know what else to say, this is all new to me. i did the child support myself in court, so i've never sought advice before. just feels like at this point, whats best for my son is to be in a stable environment. i would never keep him from her, just want to know if in a courtroom, i stand a chance at being the primary custodian here.

thanks for your time!

Answer:
 Is it possible? Yes. Is it easy? No.

But if you want to do it now is the time before he starts school (1st). So now is the time to hire an attorney and make the fight. Judges dont like to change things but they really dont like disrupting school age kids. so do it now.

Also: document everything. Dates she is late for things. Dates the tick thing happened. Everything. Get a planner just to track these things. Keep any texts or emails. Print them off. Save them. Get is all together in a binder, all organized, for your attorney


Title: sister posed as me during a traffic stop

Question: resulting in a speeding ticket under my name. she did not have any sort of identification of mine on her. just gave him my name and i’m assuming my DOB as well! i’ve left a message with the police department days ago but haven’t heard anything yet. should i just go to court and fight it? what should i prepare myself with?

Answer:
 When you get in touch with the police, let them know that your sister provided false identity information.  Sister is in *a lot* of trouble!Answer #2: File a police report for identity theft. This is a big deal and can result in you getting arrested on a bench warrant that was supposed to be for her (it the ticket isn't taken care of).

After filing the report contact the court and inform them what happened.Answer #3: > i hate to put her down worse than where she’s already at.

She did that to herself. It's not your fault.

You are not the bad person, she is.

Look at what she has done : (a) driving without a license *for the second time* (b) speeding (c) lying to a Police Officer (d) identity theft (e) fraud (f) throwing you under a bus for her crimes

All you are doing is defending yourself and clearing your name.

You mention that she is *already on probation for driving without a license earlier this year*. So she's done this once before, been given a fair chance by the system, and yet she went ahead and did it again. Well now she pays the price for her decisions.

You're not sabotaging her, she did that to herself.

Don't let anybody (family etc) try to make you take the charges, or put guilt on you.Answer #4: If you let her get away with it and accept the ticket she will do it again. This is on her. I wouldn't swoop in and take the fall for it.


Title: [TX] Friend received eviction notice for "failure to pay rent" from September, but they did pay it.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 They can bring their money order stub to the issuer and request that it be tracked. The issuer will likely charge for this. It will either show that it has not cleared, that it cleared through the landlord's account or that it cleared through some other account.

If it has not cleared, they can request a stop payment and reissue (if landlord is willing to wait that long - tenant should have started the process when the issue first came up).

If it has cleared the landlord's account, provide an image of the front and back of the money order as proof.

If it cleared some other account, tenant may be out of luck if the money order was not properly and completely filled out.

The money order's purchase receipt is not proof that the landlord received the payment.


Title: Carwash Wrecked Our Car, Insurance Claims total loss (Illinois), but not high enough value?

Question:
Quick Recap of the accident:
My wife's car was going through an automated car was (she was not in the vehicle). An employee was pulling in the next car, something happened, and it accelerated over the guide rail and hit a piece of the equipment. That piece fell and damaged my wife's care.

The business' insurance is claiming a total loss on the car and is going to offer us what the car is "worth. However in their formula they don't consider equity I've paid into the car, or the value the vehicle has of being a paid off piece of property my wife and I to use around town, not having a debt to our credit.

How can i go about getting more money towards another vehicle? Do I go after the owner of the car wash? Do I still deal with insurance? Should I get a lawyer? What next?

Answer: They owe you fair market value. You can reject their settlement and sue for what you think is fair market value but those other things don't matter. If the car is worth $500 but you would have to buy another car at $1000 to replace it, you still only get $500.


Title: I "knowingly caused alarm by refusing deputy's orders to leave venue" in Ohio

Question:
On Saturday, I tried to go to a concert with two friends - a guy and a girl. We had been drinking before the concert, but I would not consider myself drunk at the time of this incident. A woman working the entrance to the venue told the girl in my group that she saw her swaying and that my friend had to walk around and sober up a bit. We started to walk around when we suddenly saw some police officers beating up a kid who was not fighting back. I generally do not like or trust the police, and with recent events happening in Ferguson, I decided to record what was happening in case it really got out of hand. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. I regret doing this now.

My video doesn't show much. You see the tail end of what was happening with that kid. Then a man who worked for the venue comes up to me and says "back the fuck up." I respond "I'm allowed to record the police." He says "I know, but back up." So I did, no problem, he was doing his job.

Suddenly I am surrounded by 3 or 4 police officers and a few people who work for the venue, and they are all telling me to leave the property immediately. I tell them that the man told me to back up and I did. They repeated that I needed to leave and that it was private property. I start getting very upset, because it was clear that I was being forced to leave since I recorded a police interaction. I began to walk over to my friends (same direction as leaving) who were standing off to the side for the last 30 seconds or so. They wanted to know what was going on so I told them the cops were fucking corrupt and were making me leave for recording them. I've only stopped to talk to them for a few seconds at this point when an officer comes up and puts me in handcuffs. I had every intention of leaving, even if I wasn't happy about it, but he hardly gave me the chance. I fell silent at this point as the officer led me to some small trailer where a couple other guys in handcuffs were. A few minutes later, the other guy I was with was brought into the trailer with me. I guess he was mouthing off to the police - he was drunker than I was and I guess he didn't want to see me go down alone.

The police were extremely rude during our time in the trailer. My friend asked why they needed to know his SSN, and they said "stop asking fucking questions or we'll throw you in jail." They wrote my friend a ticket and let him go. As they wrote up my ticket, I asked if I would still be able to fight it in court if I signed it. The officer said yes. The officer who arrested me overheard this and threatened me that if I took it to court he would add on three more charges including public intoxication.

As I was being let go, my friend was brought back in again - I guess for more mouthing off. The police told me he was going to jail. I left and found the girl we were with. My other friend called me a bit later and said they let him go. He was really drunk at this point and I was trying to get him to come meet with us. He couldn't find where we were for a long time. The cops found me waiting for him to show up across the street from the venue, and they made me sit on this golf cart with them for a few minutes. They said "we told you to leave, why are you still here?" I explained I was trying to find my friend. They said I was still standing on their property, and I needed to leave and stop waiting for my friend. I started to leave when my friend suddenly turned up. We all finally left.

What should I do? I feel like I was only given this ticket for a) recording the police and b) talking about how they were corrupt. They claim I was refusing to leave the property, but I don't think they gave me much of a chance. I only stopped to talk to my friends for a matter of seconds while the police were watching the whole time. I was given a misdemeanor and they said the ticket would be $130, but I'm wondering if I should fight it. I don't want something like this to show up the next time I am looking for a job. Is it worth it for me to go to court? Can they really add on additional charges if they don't really have evidence to back them up?

Thank you in advance.

Answer:
 You stopped to talk to your friends, that is not leaving and not following police direction. They did not say, leave in a few minutes.

You can fight it is you want but you chose not to follow police direction.


Title: Have owned/sold 10+ vehicles (motorcycles) in the last 5 years. Filed "notice of sale" for each one online, DMV says I haven't filed any "Notice of Sales" aka I am liable for all these vehicles still. USA, MN

Question:
Title says it all. In my state a "notice of sale" is entered online when you sell a vehicle. This releases you of liability until the new owner titles it.

I used the DMV/DOT's system according to their directions, got the "thank you, your information has been successfully submitted" screen for every one of these vehicles. Yesterday I found out that not only have half the new owners not re-titled these vehicles, but that even though I went through the state's required procedures for notifying them of a sale, the DOT's system has failed to register/record my notifications, without ever indicating an issue to me.

I have not had any incidents regarding a new owner crashing one of my vehicles, but i'm apparently playing Russian Roulette right now and have been for years, even though I thought everything was peachy.

I would like to relinquish ownership of these vehicles, however no longer have the titles. I have a bill of sale for some, and the info slip with buyers info for some, but I do not have all the info about every buyer of every vehicle I've sold.

Does anyone have any ideas for how I can release my name from these vehicles? I lose ownership of them if they are not registered for 7 years, but i'm not willing to wait that long to find out someone is running drugs with an old truck of mine or drives drunk and kills someone or something.

I will be calling the state today to discuss this.

Any advice is welcome.

Answer:
 Eh, from a strictly legal standpoint failing to notify the state of a sale doesn't automatically make you liable for any accidents the new owners may cause.  The accidents would be the new owner's fault.  Of course that doesn't mean a plaintiff wouldn't sue you and that it would be a giant pain in the ass to defend yourself in such a suit.

Just call the state and explain it all to them.  I'm sure you're not the first person to have this problem and they'll have some mechanism to get your name off the registration records.


Title: [WV] Mother of Child in a Domestic Abuse Situation

Question:
Ive read the side bar. I'm humbly trying to follow the rules of this sub. I'll try to cut the fat to cover the situation best.

Mother of Child (moc) and myself separated around a month ago. Infidelity on her part. She moved one hour away to her vacant grandmothers home. It's been cleaned and is a functioning house for her. There are two children. One, 8 yr old male, not my biological son. He has lived with me for 6 years up until separation. The youngest, 3 yr old, my biological son.

She has been wishy washy wanting to come back and forth and relatively undecided on whom she wants to be with. I have set forth proper boundaries as to letting her know that is fine. Yet she cannot date me or come home if the new boyfriend is in the picture. She has explained before that he told her he would kill her if she come back to me.

He is living with her. That's her choice. I respect that. Idk the situation that occurred last night but it was domestic. She only snuck to tell me that she was fine and that he hasn't hit her. I asked has he done anything else? She wouldn't respond.

My issue is we have a verbal custody arrangement. No court order, no custody plan. It is her day to have my son. I obviously don't want him to witness that sort of trauma. What can I do? I fear the only solid action plan is to wait until there is some domestic police record hapoens and make a move then. What can I do? I do not wish to withhold her son from her unless i have to for his saftey.

Answer:
 Contact a local family lawyer who can start the process to formalize a custody agreement.

Your child may be in danger, and waiting for something bad to happen could also put you in danger, should the ex flee him and come back to you.

Do not send your child back with her unless you believe the child will be safe.


Title: New Jersey - My husband has taken our Son without my permission to conversion therapy

Question:
[Previous post](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/5h9uhs/new_jersey_my_husband_wants_to_send_our_son_to/)

I had fully explained to my husband I did not want our son sent to this type of place under any circumstances, and I would file for divorce if he still insisted on it. My husband said ok, and it would be the last the mentions of it.

When I woke up this morning I thought my husband took our son to school, however I recently I noticed my son has left his bag in his room. I have tracked my husband using find my iphone and is currently recently passed (Hagerstown) Maryland. My husband got me a bit drunk last night (so I would oversleep) and he could send our son to conversion therapy before I woke up. I have tracked my daughter, and she is in school right now.

Do I have any legal rights to stop this?

Would the police have any rights to stop him, should I contact police in the state of  New Jersey, Maryland or West Virginia? I can provide the police with his current location.

Legally what can I do to stop my husband sending my son to conversion therapy?

Thank you

Answer: You can sign him out yourself. This was a common occurrence at a boarding school I was sent to that had to shut down due to allegations of abuse and rape (Élan School, if you are interested, the same one in the news lately from Michael Skakel). File for divorce as well, you son is going to be a high risk for suicide if this continues.


Title: Is this illegal

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 Are you remitting payroll taxes and income tax withholdings to the IRS?

If not, then what you are doing is illegal. You will likely be audited and the IRS will come down hard on you, but you may get lucky - you can probably prove that, although you were trying to do something illegal, you were double crossed and actually lost money, so you don't owe taxes.


Title: Can you ban groups of people from using a public library? Louisiana

Question:
My town's public library lies between the middle and high school. Students would often go there after school to do homework, read, or visit in appropriate areas. Recently they began denying entry to students during the after-school period.

It seems bizarre and backwards to deny entry to students, even if there is some kind of bad apple problem.  Unsurprisingly, googling "banned" and "libraries" is mostly giving me banned book results. Is there any kind of precedent for this? It's a public library in Louisiana.

Answer:
 IANAL- but a library assistant. It's such a double edge sword in our world. On the one hand, we want the library to be open to all but on the other, we don't want to be babysitters or responsible for the chaos middle school student can create.

I personally think an all out ban in unnecessary. While you can't sue the library, parents and kids have a say against this new library policy if they think it unfair. Since the manager seems to be the root of the problem, take complaints directly to the Library Board members. Meeting of the board of trustees (should) be open to the public.Answer #2: yes they can as long as it's not a protected class for that reason.


Title: Speeding ticket, plea not guilty?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 #1. Don't take legal advice from police.

#2. Don't use your dead cousin as an excuse to break the law or to get out of it when you're caught.

#3. The general advice for speeding tickets is to look respectable and ask for leniency. Answer #2: You really tried to pull the police card trick using your dead cousin's card. Wow.


Title: My rental homes ceiling just collapsed

Question: Unfortunately I was standing below it. My neck and head really hurt. Sorry I'm panicking just looking for some advice. I have health insurance but I'm worried about medical fees. I'm located in AZ. Pic in comments. Thanks for reading.

Answer:
 Go to the doctor and get checked out for head and neck injuries. Don't drive - take a cab or call an Uber if you don't have someone to drive you. Better to be broke than paralyzed if you have a damaged spinal column and don't notice until it's injured even worse, just for starters, and you may have a concussion. Go somewhere in-network if at all possible.

If your insurance doesn't cover the costs, you should talk to a personal injury attorney after you've been treated and looked over. They'll be best positioned to determine if this is merely an unfortunate but unavoidable accident, or whether your landlord has some liability here. There are a lot of factors to that, starting with why the ceiling collapsed in the first place.


Title: Can a company force you to prove your real identity if their service has nothing to do with government related services?

Question:
Say a gaming company allows you to use their services if you create an account using your Real Name and personal identifiers. They do not allow aliases and do not provide any information as to why they require real identification.

Despite having multiple ways in proving account ownership, they just refuse to allow users to use Aliases instead and implement a system where it now uses a users Real Id (real first name/last name) system to address you in their services, notifications, etc. despite asking to opt out. In order to change a user's name, they must provide government issued identification. The game company is not a middleman service to anything financial (I.e. Money laundering), it is purely an entertainment provider.

Why is this allowed while other similarly functioning companies allow the user to use any name they want?

Answer:
 >Can a company force you to prove your real identity if their service has nothing to do with government related services?

Yes.

>Why is this allowed

Because it's not against the law.

>...while other similarly functioning companies allow the user to use any name they want?

That's purely a matter of the company's policy.  All companies are *allowed* to require their users to provide their actual names.  Most of them don't do that, simply as a business decision.  But legally they could switch to requiring actual names if they wanted to.Answer #2: Used a fake name on your WoW account, didn’t you?Answer #3: > Why is this allowed while other similarly functioning companies allow the user to use any name they want?

Because they are under no obligation to let you use their service at all.  They are free to set whatever restrictions they want so long as they don't discriminate against protected classes, and people who don't want to give a company their real name or have their real name displayed are not a protected class.Answer #4: No, they can't "force" you, but they aren't required to do business with you, either.


Title: USPS/U.S. Customs seized money orders from a care package my parents sent me a couple years ago. They left the snacks...

Question:
(California, US)

A few years ago, parents decided to send money orders through the mail to help pay for student loans. I'm not sure why... I've always thought maybe they didn't know how to wire money at the time. English is my parents' second language.  I don't think they were aware that anything over $10,000 must be documented or recorded.  They didn't do so, and therefore, the government took all of this hard earned money.

I get depressed every time I think about this incident. I just think about how long it took my parents to save that. I picture them, aging, and in their broken English, just taking trips to the post office back and forth; to help ME... There hasn't been a day I regret asking for help or hated myself for this incident.

I just recently learned that USPS need a warrant to look through Priority mail packages? Is this true? If that is the case, they didn't have a warrant. (Even though seizure of funds was due to our carelessness for not recording it. Isn't it in trials, if police seize evidence without a warrant, that evidence is not admissible?)  The lawyer they hired to help them, basically missed a deadline and forfeited everything. He basically just took their money too.  I'm not sure he ever brought up the fact that they searched the package without a warrant. Sigh.  Is this possibly something I can fight for? I just want to give it back to my parents.

Answer:
 Your post seems to be missing something.  Was the money seized by the government?  Stolen?

Were they USPS money orders?  Did you file a money order inquiry with the Post Office (form 6401)?

> The lawyer ... missed a deadline and forfeited everything

You said you had an attorney and because of a mistake they made, you suffered.  When did this happen?

What state were you and your parents in when this happened?


Title: Credit Card Chargebacks

Question:
We had a custom table made for us through a website half way across the country. The table arrived two months late in  January 2017 and had numerous obvious issues. Runs in the stain, dirt embedded in the finish, uneven legs, and more.  We contacted the maker who declined to help. We ended up refinishing nearly the entire table and repairing what we could. It's still far from correct. I asked for a $300 credit on the nearly $2,000 table, but the maker refused. He also refused a return. I contacted my credit card company for a charge back, hoping to at least get the maker to respond with an offer for a fair credit. After supplying images, descriptions and a letter from a cabinet maker confirming the table was not built as described the credit card company ruled in my favor and issued a credit for the full amount paid for the table. This was June of 2017. Never heard from the maker again, until last week when apparently, the maker's credit card company unsuccessfully tried to rebill my card. The card was replaced so no longer was good.

Just received this email with the heading "Stolen Table".

 *I have had enough of your  chicanery.I am asking you to return the money from your last charge back  and desist with this current attempt.You got away with the last one  temporarily because the We Pay people are not motivated to protect my  interests.I am however and I cannot afford to give away free tables.I  have been talking to my own bank and they will get this settled.I am not  sure what fabrications you have used to get past the denied chargeback  but if you do not reimburse me for what you have taken from me already I  will take action against you for credit card and mail fraud.I have all  the proof I need and you can"t lie your way out of it.I have contact  info for your bank and place of  employment and I intend to contact them  directly if necessary.*

Does the maker have any good options to use against me? Should I be worried about this?

Answer: Why did you not return the table when you did the charge back? I trust that you kept it, right? The charge back is not intended to be a windfall.


Title: How is it legal, with child labor laws, for infants to 'work' on television?

Question: I've seen babies on TV, Movies, Commercials, etc. How is that legally permitted? Who gets paid, is it the child or the parent?

Answer:
 Broadly speaking, there are exceptions to child labour laws for entertainment purposes, because how else could you ever make a film or TV show featuring a child?

There are very strict rules about how much and how long they can work, and they have to have tutors and chaperones etc.

A lot of the babies and small children you see on shows are twins or triplets, because that helps productions get twice the amount of filming without violating those laws.Answer #2: Parents are paid to hold it for the child. How well that works out.... depends.


Title: Construction workers are blocking our residential street with their personal vehicles

Question:
We have had a building at the end of our block under construction for about 3 months now. It’s a major buildout where the house next to it was demolished and an entire new office building is being constructed. It’s almost complete but for the entire project the workers have been parking their personal vehicles on our street, taking all spots for the entire block. If no parking spot is available they will double park the cars already on the street making it unable to move your car. We have mentioned this to the Foreman/manager multiple times but he just keeps assuring us the job will be done soon and it won’t be much longer.

Recently last week the workers have started putting up temporary “no parking M-F 8am-8pm” along the sidewalks of the whole block and then move them when they park their cars in the morning on our street. To be clear these aren’t work trucks hauling building materials, they are the personal cars that the workers use to get to their job.

Is there anything we can do to park on our street again or have them remove the signs? They aren’t city workers, and there is no work being done on the street, it’s all inside the office building.

Answer: Call the city or county that controls that street and ask them to check it out. If someone is double parked on a street blocking traffic then call the police non-emergency line to report it. Once the police start issuing tickets and/or towing cars double parking will stop.Answer #2: Check with the city. They can park on the street if they want, but if they don't have a permit foe those no parking signs, the city will have them taken down.


Title: Oklahoma business needs your help

Question:
I have three investors they are motel/hotel owners. They knew I was already designing all their cabinets as an outside contractor. They got together and said if we set you up in a shop would you do our cabinets from now on. These guys guaranteed work.

In the first month I had to get the shop ready turned on all the utilities setup except for heat. Hired my first employee and during this first month the equipment arrived got it setup and the training began.

Within that month a storm came through and the whole space leaks, the plumbing has to be plunged with every flush and now the gas department cannot hook the heat up because they condemned the building heating system.  First of the month time to collect rent I explained to investors that none of this information was disclosed in the lease and I need the heat fixed.

One of the three investors wanted his 30k back via a cabinet contract. Instead of following the signed agreement he decided he wanted two sets of sample cabinets instead which was not in the contract but he paid for the material so I made them. He wanted the cabinets stained no problem.

The first half of the cabinets turned out great weather changed and without heat the second half of the cabinets didn’t turn out well. I explained that cabinets with stain or laminate need be built with normal room temps or they won't turn out right. I need the heating system fixed and I'm on month 3 and nothing has been fixed.

Trying to still stay in agreement with this investor to GET HIM PAID OFF. We came up with an alternative product that is special order but I have to be ordered as soon as possible it takes a month for it to arrive. That was a month ago. Today he requested a meeting with me saying he didn't like the alternative product after all and he decided to go with another cabinet shop.

Now he wants his 30k back to pay for cabinets at the other shop. Since you voided your contract you know I don't have the money to pay you.

Second and third investor has nothing in writing other than a verbal agreement to be a slight partners for 50% of the profit until paid in full. The second investor signed a cabinet contract only and he just happened to be the general contractor of his own job.

This job went well he was happy and we had a profit of 12k. According to our verbal agreement I should have received half but he kept it all saying he no longer wants to be a silent partner he wants out. He would like all his money back as soon as possible as well as the third investor who also wants his back.

We're only 3 months in and the investors who paid for everything say the equipment is mine but want all their money back. All of a sudden there are no more contracts ready to go live and even if they did I'm afraid I'll be pushed out before I could finish the job.

The bullying and strong arming has begun. They don’t want to work anything out or setup a payment plan of any kind they all just want their money back. It’s not a secret they knew I didn't have the money start my own shop which is why they offered to buy all the equipment and provide a space.

I lease the space from them, so far all the jobs have been theirs and they have all the control even though they said the equipment is mine and my LLC was already in place before this all started so that's mine but it's not worth the paper it’s written on if I have no capital.

I've got a little money in the checking account to pay my one employee  and utilities this month but that's it. Selling the equipment won't be enough to pay them in full but that's all I have. Should I dissolve my LLC and close my checking account? Can they hold me accountable for the balance of the equipment after they sell it?

Answer:
 You *really* need to shorten this. No one is going to read all of this.

You need a TL;DR or you need to delete and resubmit with a much more concise version of this story.


Title: Does getting arrested show up in background checks?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: It sounds like you were placed on an 72-hour involuntary hold for psychiatric evaluation rather than arrested.  As such, it should be a part of your medical record but not part of any background check.  But your free to check your record at any time for a small fee to see if that's actually the case.


Title: [UK] Landlord agreed to end contract, and now wants to reinstate it. HELP!

Question:
My SO was in a 12 month contract running Sep-Sep. In January she contacted the estate agent to say she wasn’t living there any longer (as she moved in with me). The estate agent said if he could find a new tenant the contract could end early with no penalty.

A new tenant was found and on 09/02 a final letter was sent from the estate agent stating the contract had ended. They also released the bond from the DPS. As my SO wasn’t on site to complete a final check out they did this without signatures.

They then called on 18/02 and state the new tenant is no longer moving in and want the contract to continue. My SO has asked for this in writing but so far hasn’t received this.

Where do I start and how likely is it looking I'm free of this contract?

Answer:
 >a final letter was sent from the estate agent stating the contract had ended.

That ends it. They can't go backwards.


Title: [NYC] Painted apartment with roommate, moved out with LL permission and roommate stayed rest of lease. LL sold building, roommate moving out, now what?

Question:
Lived in apartment for 4 years, painted the walls with verbal permission early on, with our old LL even saying he liked how we painted it when he stopped by.

I moved out of the apartment back in December, my roommate staying with 6 months left on the lease. My old LL was nice but very disorganized and lazy. After requesting a confirmation to be off the lease a few times, I finally recieved a text from my LL stating 'I got your request to be off lease it ok for Apt XX'.

Turns out a couple months ago my LL sold the apartment to a management company. I discovered this after they called me asking for late rent stating I was still on the lease, even though my old landlord told them I moved out. luckily it was no big deal, as my old roommate was simply putting the rent checks into the wrong place. Everything was seemingly ok again.

Unfortunately, the management company seems to be renovating the building and raised the rent 40% forcing my old roommate to leave. My old roommate thinks he can just forfeit the deposit instead of re-painting, however, I am nervous about the cost of repainting going beyond the deposit, and the management company trying to come after me.

I don't even live in NY state anymore, nor do I have keys or a means to re-paint. Is there anything I can do to protect myself?

EDIT: We have no proof they've been renovating, but they have been working extensively on other empty units.

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: They bought it with the walls painted, you don't have to do anything


Title: Being Sued - unusual situation

Question:
Hi, this is a throw away account. I am living in Canada ... the marriage was in Atlantic Canada.

So, I had left the marital home in late Jan., 2014 to seek psychiatric treatment for depression. My life was spinning out of control - I was making lots of bad choices, personally & professionally. I bought a franchise after 16 years as an independent business owner. I had suicidal ideations and was making plans to acquire "supplies" to end it all.

I first went to Vancouver to get help at an outpatient program; however, I could not find work or housing there. Then I settled in Toronto after a toll free call to CAMH and then a 5 week stay at CAMH. I was diagnosed with a major depressive episode due to my GP not tapering me off Paxil correctly. I was served divorce papers while at CAMH. In my divorce settlement, I agreed to walk away from my property (and not impede the sale of the house) in exchange for not having child care or alimony payments.

I ended up on ODSP and I am now working and trying to get my life together again. The problem is that the house buyers are suing for an unreported defect with the septic field. I have no idea what was discussed between my ex's real estate agent and the buyer's agent. I was homeless, living in my car, then living in a shelter.

Am I on the hook for this? Can I get a legal aid lawyer who will help defend me? Does anyone have any advice to help me tackle this?

EDIT: sentences to clarify

Answer: Its really not necessary to talk about your personal problems to ask a question about the sale of the house. Everyone has problems, have some dignity and keep it to your mates. In terms of being sued, based on your post it looks like you gave the house to your wife in the divorce settlement. She sold it and then the alleged defect was found. The new owners sued you and her. I don't know why you were sued if you were not part of the sale. It would seem if you were not the owner of the house when it was sold, absent your participation in some kind of fraud, you would not be on the hook. I don't know what the rules for legal aid are in Canada but I would suspect this is not a case for them. It's an ordinary contractual dispute. You may be able to eventually be dismissed because you were not part of the ownership or sale of the house but I think you will need to have a lawyer to do it. Good luck.


Title: Can I violate someone else's NDA?

Question:
Okay, so a friend of mine is settling with a company, and they want my friend to sign an NDA that mentions both him and I.

If I don't sign the agreement, only my friend, is he able to be sued if I were to say something?

Answer: IANAL but signed NDAs. My understanding has always been if you're BFFs with someone under an NDA, and you violate that confidentiality, it'll probably land them in court and it'll be fact specific from there.


Title: Mom is withholding my RX and took my Kratom. Help

Question:
I am 18 years old and was involved in a terrible car accident in January when I was still 17. I have been prescribed oxycontin and tramadol for my chronic back pain. I haven't been wanting to use that as my only option so I also purchased Kratom and THC vape pen for pain. I understand it was illegal for me to own the THC but it is legal in Oregon for 18+ to own Kratom.

How do I go about getting my pain medication back along with other property (scale, P.O. box keys, cash ($200) she took from me, etc)? I do live with my parents and if worse comes to worse my girlfriend is willing to let me live with her, I also am leaving out of state for college in late August.

Obviously it seems that my THC vape pen is lost and I can accept that but since she has it in her possession currently and has no proof of it being mine other than heresay it shouldn't be a problem for me. I also think if the police decide to persecute the THC (personal amount) they wouldn't get too much on me because of the accident and I am unsure of how that would hold up in court, but that isn't what I am worried about here.

Answer: Any legal advice we can give you here is probably not going to solve your problems. You're young and you're already on some pretty strong prescription medications and are now self-medicating. That's not good. I'd suggest you sit down and have a long talk with your Mom and see if there's some help you can get like going to a pain management specialist combined with alternative treatment options to help you treat your pain. You could be on a path to addiction and that's not good for someone so young.


Title: Is it illegal to not have fire alarms in college dorm rooms?

Question:
We have them all the way at the end of the hall. It just went off at 1 am and I was just barely asleep. If I was in a deeper sleep, I would not have woken up. I think it took me a good minute and a half for it to register and I had to wake my roommate up. This is kind of ridiculous because if we don’t wake up and evacuate there’s a $500 fine. I know at my friends schools they have an alarm in each dorm room. If this isn’t required, I might try and pass a legislation with my student government because I think this is so weird.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: You might want to talk to your cities fire marshal.  They will 1. know where and how many are needed and 2. are the people you would report such an issue to.


Title: I want to take out an ad. Can it get me sued? [CA]

Question: [deleted]

Answer: I just want to point out that while truth is a defence to defamation - it's not a defence to other possible crimes like incitement, tortious interference, etc. At the end of the day, personally I'd let it go, maybe tell close family and friends about the guy, but certainly not do something with as visible and solid a paper trail as literally an ad in a paper.


Title: (NY) If someone barbecues inside their apartment and their neighbor gets sick from the gas could they be charged? It was an accident.

Question: This wasn't me but someone I'm related to. He had a steak he wanted to barbecue but it was a bit windy and chilly on his balcony so he moved his barbecue inside his apartment. He cooked the steak and some vegetable skewers. He said he felt a bit weird but thought it was just because he was really hungry and had worked a long day. He actually was sick because of carbon monoxide poisoning from the barbecue. But it wasn't the end of it because his upstairs neighbor also got sick from it going up the vents. She had to go to the hospital because of it and the fire department came because they thought there was a gas leak at the apartment building. They found out he used the barbecue indoors. He did a stupid thing but he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. Could the police get him in trouble or charge him for this?

Answer: Could be a violation of fire code or other ordinance. A criminal charge seems unlikely for this sort of thing since it was accidental. But he could definitely be sued for medical costs, pain and suffering, etc. It's pretty clearly negligence on his part.Answer #2: It's unlikely that there would be any criminal charge. The neighbor can and sue him for the injuries she suffered from his gross negligence. Hopefully he has renters or liability insurance.


Title: Sextortion on facebook, looking for advice

Question: So like an idiot I fell for a pretty obvious sextortion scam on facebook, where a fake account couersed me into beating my meat on camera via Facebook messenger. Now I know it's not a big deal and I can just ignore it, but what gets me is that they claimed to have taken it then sent me a message that I was able to skim saying they'll share the video blah blah blah, but then all of a sudden the message and the entire account got deleted and disappeared as If it never happened. Should i be worried that they still have the video and can unleash it at anytime? And if they do where would they upload it? I'm probably just being a little paranoid, any advice?

Answer: They will not post it. Because they have other ppl to scam and they will not waste time on u. Seems like Facebook blocked their account. Just forget about it. Absolutely nothing will happen. Answer #2: If they saved the video they can do what ever they want with it now. Take it as a learning lesson


Title: What if I dont show up to trial I am subpoenaed to appear for?

Question: I was a witness to a road rage incident back in January. I have already had to go to court twice for this case. Basically they said if the person goes to anger management they will drop all charges. I'm on vacation next week when the trial is supposed to happen. I have sent a letter to them asking to postpone and I also attached a receipt for my condo I'm renting. I have not heard back from anyone and I sure as hell don't want to come back from my vacation for a day for this stupid trial. I've already lost out on hundreds of dollars from having to take off of work. I spent all morning running around the city because no one new who I should contact about that. I eventually talked to someone that told me to email them a copy of my receipt, but like I said I haven't heard back.

Answer: A subpoena is not a request, it is a court order. You should not ignore it.


Title: Worked in a Voluntary company last year, accidentally put an invoice in my name instead of company name, Company now gone bankrupt. (UK)

Question:
So its not a huge amount of money to some, but it is to me.
I have been told recently that i owe £260 for some equipment hire for a company i used to volunteer for. Turns out they never paid the invoice and they have just been sending solicitor letters to everyone saying "sorry we are bankrupt" unfortunately in this one case the letter doesn't cover this as it is under my name (must of filled it out stupidly in a hurry)
Now the old owner (who i thought was a friend) won't get the money to pay for it as they have non to give. So i am liable to pay money i don't have, if i don't pay by next week i will receive a court summons.
I can prove that it wasn't a personal hire as i have many people and companies that can personally vouch for me, all thats happened is a silly mistake of me using my name instead of the company name.
Any more information i can give to help out would be great, but i am just looking for some advice to approach the situation.

Answer: Try r/legaladviceuk


Title: My neighbors phone went missing, neighbor takes accusatory tone and cops show up at my door.

Question:
As the title says, last night around 1030pm my doorbell rings. My neighbor across the street, visibly shaken/crying and saying she lost her phone and the last place it pinged was my house. (We live across the street from each other in a ticky tacky subdivision if you catch my drift.) I had a friend over visiting last night and he saw the whole thing happen. She initially said she left her driveway and that she remembered the phone being on the 'bonnett' of her car (she's from the West Indies, I'm an NYer; I'm assuming she means hood?) She took an accusatory tone like I stole or lifted it and playing stupid like I picked it up and didn't know whose it was so 'finders keepers' kinda thing. I tell her I'm not sure about any phones but I will go and look around the yard and street maybe it just fell off her car when she was leaving the neighborhood or something. I go up and down the street with my flashlight looking in the gutters on the sides of the roads, sidewalk, etc. I'm just being a good neighbor. (or so I thought).

This morning at around 1000am my neighbor and her husband (who I have known and lived across from for over 10 years) comes to my door. Husband starts off with 'oh man, I thought we were friends and neighbors, etc. How is it you can just let someone take a cell phone like that? I said that no one took his phone and I searched all over for it last night, to no avail. He then accuses me and my friend who was visiting of conspiring to take the phone. When I told him who it was (a good friend who rented a room from us who stopped by to hang out and pick up some favors from our wedding recently) his tone kinda changed, but he said 'well maybe he picked it up not knowing who's it was and he's got it, just tell him to bring it back' so I called my friend and left a message for him. I told my neighbors I would again search the area of my yard and the street around but I didn't take it, nor would my friend and I don't associate with individuals of poor character and integrity. He leaves and that was that...

My friend calls back and I tell him the story and go back over and tell my neighbor that I talked to my friend he didn't take it nor see it. I again said I'm sorry for their misfortune, but can't really do anything otherwise. My neighbor talks about his series of unfortunate events (car crash that totaled their car, etc) and then tells me he's going on vacation and could I please keep an eye on his house. I tell him of course, as any good neighbor would do, shake his hand wish him good luck and safe travels.

30 minutes later I've got two sheriffs at my door asking about the situation. I have pretty severe anxiety, my anxiety was keyed up just dealing with the neighbors over this mess twice now and now I gotta deal with the cops? I again explained the situation, explained what they said, what my friend said, etc. At one point I put my hands in my pockets (apparently a no-no when talking to the police as I was told not to put my hands in my pockets - this furthered my anxiety, while it's 90+ degrees out and sweat is pouring out of every gland in my body in rapid release). I eventually tell the deputies (who were both really nice gentlemen by the way) that I went back over to talk to my neighbor about it and how he said he was going out of town and to keep an eye on his house which resulted in a chuckle out of one of the deputies.

Eventually they thanked me for my time and said no one is accusing me of anything, but they're investigating the lost phone. They went back and talked to the neighbor, got in their car, sat their for a few minutes and then drove off.

I guess my question is, should I be expecting another visit from them? Should I do something to possibly prepare to defend myself legally? He's saying it's a $1,000 phone (Galaxy 9 note, no insurance).

I'm afraid to leave the house now just thinking they're gonna follow me or try and see if I did something to their phone. I have known them for a long time now and never had an issue until last night. I really don't want them thinking ill of me or my family, or taking some sort of retaliatory action because they think I, or someone in my circle of friends conspired with me to steal their phone.

Any advice is appreciated, sorry for any formatting or rambling, I suffer from mental health problems and today just sent things into overdrive.

TL;DR:

Neighbor came over last night and this morning accusing me of taking their phone, even tho she says it may have fallen off her car when she left the house last night. Cops showed up asking about the situation now I'm freaked out!

Answer:
 Your neighbors may very well try to reach out to you again on this point.  If they do, you are free to speak with them or not speak with them.  If it becomes excessive, you can even talk to the police about a restraining order or protective order against them (the exact term here varies by jurisdiction).

I would not "keep an eye" on their house for them.  Particularly if doing so would involve coming onto their property.  This would seem to open the door for future confrontation.

It is possible they could call the police again.  How the police would handle such a call is at their discretion, but I don't think you have anything to worry about.  If they do choose to act, it is likely their interaction will be similar to the previous one.Answer #2: Phones use a combination of GPS, cell tower signal, and WiFi signals to determine their location.  If GPS signal was low (due to being under a piece of metal, or some other signal-blocking item) the phone may have resorted to using the WiFi signals to determine it's location.  If your signal was the strongest it had at the moment (plausible if it was outdoors between the houses) it could easily miscalculate it's location to make it seem to be further onto your property than it actually was.  Device location isn't nearly the 100% guaranteed last location that many people assume it is.  Often times I can bring up the map on my phone while in the basement of my home (no GPS), in a room where the cell signal is weak, only to see it think it's a block and a half away from where it really is.


Title: [OH] Can somebody tell me what department of government to contact about removing a blip on my background check that shouldn't even be there?

Question: Back in 2011 I was arrested after my friend and I were caught being dumbasses and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. I went to one hearing conducted by a magistrate in the town where I was arrested where I plead not guilty. It was then sent to the county's main court where it was thrown out before I even went before a judge, as in I never even set foot in the courthouse. It has never caused me any problems or shown up on a background check, that I know of, until the last job I applied for. I was emailed a copy of the background check results and it was on there, but there was nothing there to indicate that it had been thrown out and I was never actually convicted of anything. It only said that the case was closed. This almost cost me the job I was applying for and made me look like an idiot as I had to explain the HR that I didn't lie on my application. I don't even know where I would begin trying to get this taken off my record.

Answer:
 I manage a background check company's compliance department and your experience illuminates an ongoing problem in our industry.

We obtain criminal records from two main categories: Official public record sources (county courts, state police) and Proprietary Databases. Databases are cheap and notoriously inaccurate, and it's unfortunately perfectly legal to report unverified Database records if we send you a copy of the report. This is called "Contemporaneous Notification" and IMO it gives my competitors an excuse to be sloppy at the expense of job seekers like you.

You have the legal right to dispute inaccurate information (you can certainly argue that the record is inaccurate because it doesn't say it was dismissed, which is an incredibly important distinction). Contact the CRA whose name is on the report and dispute it.

The reason for the lengthy explanation: The CRA who prepared your report will update their files, but your record exists in other CRAs' files. This may happen again. Fortunately most of us will verify the record at the court and either 1. Report it as dismissed, or 2. Not report it at all. However, if your next job uses a CRA that also takes advantage of the notification loophole, you may need to repeat these steps again.


Title: [California] Can a landlord target a family for having a dog in a no pet apartment?

Question:
Hey /r/legaladvice,

So my friend's parents live in a low income housing area where the conditions to live there is to make under a certain amount of income.  Part of their contract is that there are no pets allowed.  However, a lot of families that live in this area have dogs and the apartment manager brushes it off.  Recently, a crazy tenant who lives in the same area has been causing hell for my friend's parents and they are now forced to either give up the dog, or pay a fine.  Is it legal for the apartment manager to target my friend's family and only require them to pay, while not asking any of the other families that have dogs to not pay?

Also, we will probably be going to filing a restraining order against the crazy tenant because she constantly harasses and makes lies about my friend's families.  Because this tenant has some grudge against my friend's parents, they are forced to give up their dog.  A recent example, my friend's mom was talking to another (different) tenant in a communal area.   The crazy tenant starts taking pictures of my friend's mom while saying nasty things.  The different tenant has no idea what is going on and tells the crazy tenant to live.  The next day, my friend's mom is brought into the apartment manager's office and is told that she has a complaint against my friend's mom for having a dog and for assaulting the tenant even though she did not do anything.   Any tips for filing a restraining order?

Thanks in advance.

Answer: Yes you can absolutely be evicted for violating your lease even if others are not. You can report this woman to the police but unless she has threatened violence I don't see that going anywhere.


Title: [Washington State] Do I have a Retaliation case if my employer takes me off the schedule for not wanting to work with someone who assaulted me?

Question: On November 11th 2018, a coworker choked me, I reported it to a supervisor and the coworker was sent home for the day. He wasn't seen until he came back on December 1st, and I was told by my manager on December 1st that HR said that if he touches me again, that he'd be fired. However, I do not feel safe working with this coworker. There was video of the incident as well, but I did not file a police report, as I felt it unnecessary at the time, that I would be protected by the company. However, I was scheduled to work today (December 3rd) with the assaulter alone. I felt very unsafe and called in. My boss picked up and I asked him to confirm that I would be working alone with him. He confirmed it and I let him know that I wouldn't be coming in today because I felt unsafe working with him. He then told me that I had to do that or else he'd take me off the schedule, as he cannot fire the assaulter and he has no options. Is this retaliation?

Answer:
 > There was video of the incident as well, but I did not file a police report, as I felt it unnecessary at the time, that I would be protected by the company.

HR isn't there to protect you, it's there to protect the company.

Why not just turn the tapes over to the cops and file a report?


Title: Got my son taken away

Question:
I was taken to court on bunch of things which made me seem unfit as a mother. However all the accusations are from one lady who told the cps case worker all these accusations doesn't like me too much and I read through all of them and they are all not even true. What actions can I take to peruse all this?
Topic:
CPS and Dependency Law

Answer:
 CPS doesnt take kids based on what the reporter says. So they obviously found substantial reason that the child wasnt safe

So you hire/ask for an attorney, do you case plan, and work to make changes so that your child isnt unsafe and can return home. Answer #2: > seem unfit as a mother

If CPS removed the child you didn't seem unfit, you were deemed unfit by a court.

>  I read through all of them and they are all not even true

So what did you present to the court in your defense? What number of the allegations were true?

/u/Napalmenator pretty much has it here. Answer #3: Does your homelessness have something to do with the removal?