Title: new york: can i take money off of rent if super keeps me home waiting all day for him to show for appt, then never shows up?

Question:
i have a slumlord in nyc  and i wonder if there is a different sub for tenants' rights i should be posting in. what has been happening for years is when something breaks and the landlord is obligated to fix it, he'll say ok the super will be there monday morning, for example.  i will wait home all morning, and no one ever shows and no one even texts me to tell me theyre not coming.  or they'll say "i'm coming at 6 pm." at 6 pm: "i'll be there at 9 pm." and then...no show with no notice.

the only thing these idiots respond to is monetary fines or rent withholding.  they respond every time i call 311 because the city issues them violations and fines. so far that's been the magic bullet.

so 1. can i dock them from rent for not showing up?
2. is there a better sub for tenants' rights?  i feel like i'm going to be posting a lot about this guy.

i also just found that the management company is listed as one of the 10 worst in NYC https://ny.curbed.com/2017/6/12/15781680/new-york-worst-landlords-stabilizing-nyc  and i will see if i can contact that group stabilizingnyc.

Answer:
 While that's annoying, you certainly can't deduct rent for that.

When something needs fixing, the landlord is obligated to get it fixed in a reasonable amount of time.  You do *not* have to actually be there in order to get something fixed.  Just go about your life.  Leave a note for the super about what needs fixing.

Keep calling 311 when it's appropriate.


Title: Assault while depressed/bipolar

Question:
My relative is in Los Angeles, CA. He is a few years from retirement and has been struggling with depression and bipolar disorder. There was a workplace bully who has been antagonizing him for years. Finally my relative snapped and assaulted him with a dumbbell unprovoked and gave him a few stitches. The police were called and also found a knife in his pocket which he brought that day.

Otherwise, he is a very peaceful man. Never had anything other than a few speeding tickets. Has really struggled with depression and bipolar disorder for 20+ years, but his doctor recently started trying to adjust his medications. He is currently placed on unpaid administrative leave. Any thoughts on what next steps to take? Or if it is possible to take disability from depression and bipolar disorder? Thanks so much in advance for your help.

Answer: If he is being charged criminally he needs a lawyer. As for collecting disability he should have that conversation with his doctor.


Title: Custody battle against my older sister for our little sister

Question:
I live in California and my older sister lives in Tennessee.

I'm going to give important background that may seem irrelevant. My two full siblings and I were adopted by our grandparents (dad's parents) and was raised by them basically our whole lives. Parents were in prison most of our lives. They also got custody of our half sister (same dad, different mom) when she was around 6-7 years old. Now she is 16, our grandma died back in 2015 and grandpa gave her up due to her being a troubled kid. She bounced around and lived with my mom, tried living with our dad, ran away a few times and was in basically juvie for a while, then she went to live with our older sister. So basically, none of our parents ever had anything to do with us and never had custody of us.

Our older sister treated her like absolute garbage. Used her as a live in nanny for her two kids and also as a maid, and also sold drugs. She'd go on trips far away to transport/sell drugs. Little sister would end up missing school a lot and basically had straight Fs. She frequently wouldn't have anywhere to sleep since our older sister would bounce around and rent 2 bedroom houses and never got her a bed. One room for her, one room for her two kids. Random men or friends would take the couch most of the time.

I talked my older sister into sending her here to live with me last September. She gave me a power of attorney so I could get medical for her and put her in school. Since she got here she has thrived. No more straight Fs, and hasn't really given me a problem.

Our dad didn't like something political my little sister posted on Facebook and hopped in there calling her names, and she defended herself and called him stupid after he called her stupid. He didn't like her disrespecting him because he is her "father," even though he has never had custody of her and has never supported her in any way. I have not received any kind of child support of any kind from anyone this whole almost year I have had her. My older sister messaged me about it and told me to tell her to stop being disrespectful or she was going back to TN to live with her. Then my dad called me screaming at me and cussing me out saying he was buying her a plane ticket to go back and live with our older sister again because "I let her do what she wants." I told him I was going to go to the courthouse and file for emergency custody of her.

I blocked them both on social media and older sister messaged me on Snapchat basically saying she's going to come here to get her soon and she will call the police dept and get her back because she technically has full custody of her. I have been asking for months for a new power of attorney because the old one expired after like 4-5 months and she just hasn't done it.

Will she be able to take her away from me because she only gave me POA? Do I have any rights since I have been her provider for almost a year? Since she's 16 can she tell police and/or judge she wants to stay with me and not go back to TN? She has done astronomically better here with me than she has with anyone else. Does California technically have jurisdiction over her now since she has lived here for almost a year and has been going to school here with me or will TN have jurisdiction since older sister still technically has cusyody? What exactly is it I need to do?

Also random, dad and older sister both have criminal backgrounds and drug charges (recent). I have only ever gotten a speeding ticket. Older sister recently lost custody of her children back in January due to going to jail for a few weeks.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 You need a lawyer who does family law.  If you cannot afford it, legal aid may be able to assist.  They will likely at least be able to answer your questions.

Please make sure to ask for an independent GAL for your sister.  That person’s job is to make sure that the minor child is appropriately represented.

Since your sister lost custody of her own children, you likely have a strong case for a judge to order your sister to remain with you and make it formal.  In this instance, see if you can get her formally placed as a kinship foster. That way, she will qualify for free breakfast and lunch and SNAP benefits if you do not already receive them.  Additionally she may qualify for post high-school training via scholarship.  Discuss this with the lawyer before anyone else as there are many ramifications to formalizing this.


Title: Being 'threatened' by someone who bought a car from me on Craigslist

Question:
I recently sold a vehicle on craigslist. It was 21 years old with 205k miles, and I put all the recent maintenance that had been performed on the vehicle in the listing. This is in NC in case that matters.

The individual I sold it to texted me the night I sold it saying it started leaking fluid on his way home. He took it to a shop and they told him the radiator was bad and needed to be replaced. As a gesture of goodwill I replaced the radiator, hoses, thermostat, and valve cover gasket myself, while paying for the parts. After he picked the vehicle back up, he started mentioning other issues unrelated to what I replaced and I let him know that I would not be assisting in further repairs of the vehicle, it was his now.

He then contacted me threatening to call my employer, friends, and clients and complain about how the vehicle I sold him wasn't reliable. I forgot to remove my email signature, so he has my work information, and obviously knows where I live and what I drive from coming to buy the vehicle (I know, I should have met him at a separate location, that was dumb of me)

Should I do anything to protect myself if this guy decides to further escalate the situation? I have the listing, email correspondence, and texts all saved on my computer just in case this gets out of hand, but I don't know if I should speak with a lawyer proactively or at least file a police report.

Other than that, does he have any ground to stand on? I never said anything about how reliable the vehicle would be, and certainly never signed anything promising reliability or giving a warranty. In fact, when he asked how long the vehicle would last, I told him I don't know, just that it had been solid for me and the previous owner who had been a friend of mine.

I'm probably worrying about this too much, but I am very much not a fan of confrontation and have more than enough other things on my plate to worry about without some guy threatening to slander me to my coworkers and friends over a car I sold on craigslist.

Answer:
 You the sold the vehicle as-is so it's his problem now. It could have broken down 2 feet from where you sold it and it would still be his problem so long as you didn't lie or misrepresent the vehicle during the sale (which it certainly doesn't sound like you did).

I would notify your employer/HR about this guy to give them a heads up and file a police report for harassment if it continues to bug you.


Title: Landlord did not disclose that a tenant is a felon on probation; at least $800 worth of my stuff stolen [Utah]

Question:
So, I moved into this place two weeks ago, and the felon tenant (EDIT 3: his felony is burglary of a dwelling; he's on probation) informed me (claims) that one of his friends had stolen my xbox one. Next, a pair of sweatpants go missing, then two pairs of my nice running shoes. I think my digital SLR camera has also been stolen, which would put the value of things taken at over $1400. EDIT: felon absolutely stole my stuff and is lying about it. He blames "friends" but all he does is sit in his room all day and smoke weed. He's pawning my shit for money. EDIT 2: sorry I'm new to being a victim of a crime; your patience is appreciated. I don't have strong evidence except that he's the only one home when things go missing. Doors are always locked, no evidence of a break-in. I don't have a way to track my stuff and I didn't have cameras set up. I didn't even think to do such a thing.

The landlord lives in the home and has had is TV and his PS4 stolen. I feel bad for the guy, but he should have kicked the felon out immediately. I'm not even sure he did a background check.

Is there anything illegal about not disclosing a tenant's criminal status to potential tenant? I feel bamboozled, paying rent to a place where even if I get my rent back, I'll still be at a loss financially. I'm going to file a police report and get this felon asshole in trouble as best I can, but unfortunately, my stolen items are hard to track. Thanks!

UPDATE: I have filed a police report with all relevant details. Not sure what'll come of things, but I appreciate the advice. I have a case number and should be contacted by an officer this week for follow up.

UPDATE 2: The thief is a scarier person than I realized. Can't get into details, but I'm not screwing around. I've moved myself out, although most of my clothes are still locked in my bedroom in the bedroom, along with some of my other stuff. I will be loading up a moving truck this weekend and getting the hell out. He's stolen up to $1800 worth of stuff, but I'm washing my hands of this whole situation. I filed a police report and I'm out. My safety matters way more to me than getting my stuff back.

Answer: Felon isn't a magical word that makes someone a terrible villain or automatically arrestable. You don't mention having any evidence whatsoever and you do mention that he even said who did do it. All that stuff isn't exactly stuff you can pretend not to have if you steal from people you live with. File the report if necessary but I would get the details on that friend and check pawn shops. Contacting thr police isn't a bad step but you'll want to go to them with whatever evidence you can scrounge up because there's nothing illegal about being a felon or on probation.


Title: [VA] My date's dog broke my finger and killed my tooth.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 First: you don't use his health insurance. That isn't a thing. You would use his home owners/renters insurance if he has

Second: if he doesn't pay you sue him in small claims. You cannot force Jon to give you any infoAnswer #2: > my face is especially sensitive to dogs

Wait, what?


Title: Leasing office contacted to say they cannot provide the room in question because the old tenants don't want to move now?

Question:
So my brother-in-law and his wife signed a lease for an apartment in North Carolina, and a few days ago the leasing office told them they'd have to choose a new apartment size/design because the old tenants changed their mind and want to continue living there. The new "offer" is exactly the same size and design as the original option, but with stainless steel appliances--and therefore costs an additional 75 bucks a month.

Is this legal? Seems shady as hell, but there's a contract provision written in that says the leasing office is allowed to cancel the lease at any time before the move-in date if something like this happens.

Honestly, it seems like a bait and switch, which feels illegal to me. I know it has a provision in the contract for such an occasion, but I also know that there are some things you simply cannot write into a contract and I'm wondering if this may be one of those things.

Thanks!

Answer:
 > Is this legal?

Normally, your friends would consider the contract broken and could seek damages.  However:

> there's a contract provision written in that says the leasing office is allowed to cancel the lease at any time before the move-in date if something like this happens.

They specifically agreed to this possibility, and that if it happened the lease would *not* be broken.  They're stuck here.Answer #2: > there's a contract provision written in that says the leasing office is allowed to cancel the lease at any time before the move-in date if something like this happens.

OP- This is a common business practice for property managers. The reality is that sometimes an existing tenant doesn't move out of their unit they were supposed to vacate. It's not your BILs or the property manager's fault.

I would suggest your BIL negotiate with the landlord to get the other unit at the same rate he was originally going to pay.


Title: Theoretical question, US Law: If you're fined a very large sum of money you have no way if ever paying back, what happens to you?

Question:
I saw this video on the BBC app:
BBC News - This baby gender reveal sparked a week-long US wildfire
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46366674

The starter of the fire has been fined $8m, the cost of damages to the local area. In general, people have no way of ever paying off an $8m fine. My questions are these:

1) Would wages from any work be garnished $x to pay towards the fine?

2) If the individual is in a situation where they will never pay this off, do they just end up going to prison?

Answer:
 1. Yes, wage garnishment can be ordered in order to pay off fines.

2. If paying the fine by some specified date is a condition of your sentence then yes you can be jailed for failing to pay it as agreed. Likewise you could be jailed for hiding wages from garnishment. It wouldn’t make sense to give someone a fine they have no chance of paying, or a fine for which garnishment could never cover in their lifetime - just sentence them to jail and be done with it.

There is more detail on this specific case [here](https://www.thedailybeast.com/border-patrol-agent-ordered-to-pay-dollar220k-after-starting-47000-acre-wildfire-at-gender-reveal-party). It says he pled guilty to a misdemeanor and was fined $220k, which he can likely pay back via garnishment of his federal pay over many years.


Title: [CA] False accusation of rape leading to expulsion. How to fight it?

Question:
One of the athletes at my school was recently expelled for sexually assaulting a girl -- this is now very public and I am not as worried about confidentiatlity. Now, I understand that this is a very serious accusation but I have reason to believe that this accusation is completely false and I am wondering if any of you would be willing to help.

One of the athletes at my school, and more notably, one of my very close friends, we'll call him Dan, had sex with an athletic trainer -- who is a student. Doing so is against the rules, and will lead to the trainer being fired and thus unable to get proper recommendations for grad school. Well, Dan stupidly had sex with one of the student trainers. The first time he had sex with her, they were both drunk and she ended up feeling sick so he laid her on her side to make sure she was okay. The next time this happened, when the alleged rape occurred, the girl texted Dan at around 1am to hang out. She noted in her texts that she was sober that night, and apparently told her friends before that she was just going to go hang out with my friend -- not have sex with him. We all know that feelings regarding who we want to publicly admit to having sex with, particularly when doing so could get us in trouble, can not always align with who we actually end up wanting to have sex with -- especially since the girl is a senior athletic trainer having sex with a freshman athlete. Anyways, Dan and the girl have sex and everything seems fine until Dan stupidly starts bragging to his teammates that he had sex with her. Now, after it becomes public lockerroom talk that the two of them have had sex, the girl panics. A few weeks after the alleged incident occurred, and once a lot of Dan's teammates know about the two of them having sex, the girl turns around and accuses Dan of rape. There was a long process through our student conduct office, and I'm sure as you know schools are very sensitive to sexual assault allegations because of the current Title IX investigation going on. Additionally, the girl has accused other athletes of rape before -- could this be seen as putting Dan in some sort of danger that he was unaware when signing to the team and thus merit a lawsuit?  She also was unwilling to take her accusation to the police claiming she didn't want it to turn into "a big deal." Her parents are both alums at the school, and huge donors. Dan on the other hand is first generation college, who sometimes doesn't have enough money to put food on the table. As of now, Dan has been expelled from the school.

Since the accuser's family is a wealthy donor to the school, along with the fact that the school recently faced issues with allegedly not handling a different legal case regarding an athlete properly, I feel that the institution as a whole has a bit of a bias. Additionally, the accuser would have had a hellish if not impossible time applying to grad school without any recommendations from the staff who she worked for, and it being on her record that she had sex with an athlete who she was supposed to be training. She didn't accuse Dan of rape until it became clear that coaches were going to find out about the situation and thus her job would be compromised.

I am asking for Reddit's help on how I can go about helping Dan. Since his resources are slim, I need to do my best to crowdsource what I can. Can Dan accuse this girl of slander? Is there a way to bring this case to court? How can I help Dan be reenrolled in the school or is that even possible?

The only idea I've had thus far is creating one of those online petitions, where if it reaches 5,000 signatures or something the school will reopen the case. Does anybody have any advice on what I can do to help Dan?

Answer:
 Dan doesn't need /r/legaladvice.
Dan needs *legal advice*. He needs to find a lawyer to help him out.


Title: Can you sue a murderer if their actions decrease your property value (PA)?

Question: This is a hypothetical, but if someone were to break into your home and murder someone in your house, could that person be sued for any decrease in property value that their actions caused? For instance, (and I realize I'm simplifying things a bit here) if similar homes are selling for $400,000 but after a murder is committed in your home you can't seem to get any offers above $300,000 could you then sue the murderer for $100,000? *** I guess the better way to phrase this is do you think it's likely someone would win such a case. Since this is a hypothetical I'm not too concerned about whether or not the murderer would be able to pay up, just if the law would provide for compensation for the homeowner.

Answer:
 Sure. But what do expect to get from someone spending the rest of their life in jail? They have no income.

Anyone can sue for pretty much anything.


Title: Can a land owner legally keep or destroy other's property that falls from the sky onto their land?

Question:
From a discussion with my skydiving friends. Occasionally, a skydiver will experience a main parachute malfunction, release this parachute, and activate their reserve parachute and land safely under that. The malfunctioned main parachute is still fine and may be worth anywhere from $400- $4000, for the sake of discussion. It then lands on the property of someone who just doesn't like skydivers and that person decides to keep or destroy the parachute to spite us.

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Is this legally theft if we saw it land on the property, but the owner will not return it or allow us to retrieve it? Are they liable for damage if they intentionally cut or damage it? I would think so, as this is not functionally different than if they went up to your car and keyed it just because it was illegally parked on their property. Their recourse should be to have the property removed, not to destroy it, right?

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Similarly, am I liable for their damages if my parachute were to get ran over by a tractor, and gets entangled with the blades, causing damage?

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If someone damages my parachute that lands on their property, do I have a good chance of winning if I take them to small claims court for the value of the parachute? Thanks.

Answer: Since there's no clear law on stuff dropping from the sky, I'm going to assume that this is the aerial equivalent of jetsam in maritime salvage law; stuff deliberately discarded, but sometimes out of necessity, and not always discarded voluntarily. In such a case, the rightful owner does not lose their rights to the jetsam, and if it can be proven the finder damaged the goods, the owner may be entitled to compensation.Answer #2: i don't know, but replace parachute with my body and i'm curious


Title: Can I take my children and leave the country to another country without permission from their father?

Question:
I’m in NY, am an American citizen, but have dual citizenship with an EU country. My children were born here but share my citizenship. We all hold passports for both, my husband only has American.

I need to leave my husband and need to take our children. He will kill us. Police have done nothing but threaten me with charges. They are on his side because of his background and his words.

Can I leave the country with my children? He said I’ll be arrested. Will the country I’m a citizen of send us back? Will they send my children back?

Answer:
 If your home country is also a signatory to the Hague Convention of on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, there is already a formalized process in place to guarantee the return of the children, assuming he gets a child custody order in New York (which he will almost certainly do if you leave the country). You need to win custody first before trying to leave the country.

Find a women’s shelter or some other safe place if you feel you are in danger. But do not attempt to abduct your children over international borders. Answer #2: Many foreign countries require some sort of documentation showing you have the other parent's permission to travel with the minor child. If you are fearful for your safety and the police are not assisting you, you should file a Family Offense petition with your local court.

 [https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/family/faqs\_domesticviolence.shtml#op1](https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/family/faqs_domesticviolence.shtml#op1)

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Title: Heroin addicts almost killed my family [Central Indiana]

Question:
My mother, brother, his girlfriend, and their three year old daughter live in a house that has been converted into three apartments. The downstairs is split into two, and the top floor is a small third one.

Recently, a couple has moved in next door on the bottom floor that are heroin addicts "in recovery" (although not at all) and have caused nothing but issues. They fight, beat each other, yell and scream, throw things, etc. At one point, the man beat on my mom's door at 4:30am asking one of them for a cigarette, most likely high out of his mind.

There was one instance where my brother's girlfriend went next door to tell them to stop fighting because the child was sleeping, and the male pushed her up against a fence and pinned her by the neck with his arm.

Fast-forward to last night: They smelled a strong odor of gas in the house, so they were freaked out and went outside, and called the gas company. Long story short, the heroin addicts left the knob on their stove open with no flame for HOURS and weren't home, filling the entire building with natural gas. While they were most likely off scoring drugs and getting high, my family was standing outside in 20°F weather waiting to find out why the house reeked of gas. They're all smokers, once spark of their lighter could have ignited the entire house, killing everyone.

They said they have called the cops multiple times, nothing has been done. The building was recently bought by an Indian couple who don't know the rental laws here, because when they first bought the property they attempted to kick my family out with no notice, despite the fact they have a signed lease. When they were proven wrong about that, they tried to charge them an extra 2 month deposit, which they of course denied as well. So the landlord isn't really on their side, or doesn't care.

What exactly are their options? I don't want these hopped up assholes accidentally killing my family.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

Answer:
 > They fight, beat each other, yell and scream, throw things, etc. At one point, the man beat on my mom's door at 4:30am asking one of them for a cigarette, most likely high out of his mind.

They can always call the police for domestic violence on the couple if they think someone is being beaten.

They can also choose to move out of the situation by giving the notice due in the lease and finding a new place to live.Answer #2: Well first and foremost stop trying to confront the psychos. I used to live in a neighborhood with people like that, a ghetto if you will. The best option is to call the cops every time. Every time the people are loud, call the cops. Every time you think there is domestic violence, call the cops. Every time they knock on your door at odd hours, call the cops.

The one thing you don't do though is get all high and mighty and try to confront the people. No matter how vindicated you might feel the other party is crazy and there is a chance they will *literally kill* you.

Eventually the cops will get tired of coming over for those people and the cops won't be as nice in asking them to behave, or you will get a cop that just doesn't take shit. That's when the cops give orders in a snarky/bossy way, the addict freaks out and attacks, and you are free of the addict for a while, or in some cases leave.


Title: Quit my first "real" job on bad terms earlier this year because of batshit/verbally abusive bosses and coworker. What, if anything, can I do? [California]

Question: deleted

Answer:
 Jesus Christ are you for real? Did you just get released from a crèche? Deal with the overtime, that's completely inappropriate. But life is full off people who are assholes. Get used to it, or go somewhere where there are less of them.Answer #2: > emotional distress, racism, content royalties.

That's all I needed to see to know you're a douche. Glad the other responses confirmed it. Saved me (and hopefully others) tons of reading time. Answer #3: You can contact the labor board about over time. You will have needed to log days and hours.

You cannot (based on what you wrote) price racism. You have no damages from your "emotional distress". Let alone the fact that dealing with an asshole is not emotional distress, it is life. And I have no idea what royalties you think you are owed.


Title: (19 years old) Mom seized my passport.

Question: I’m 19 years old living in the US. My mom seized my passport about two months ago because she didn’t want me to visit my boyfriend who lives long distance. I live with her and I’m afraid she won’t give it back. I do not have any immediate places to travel to, but eventually I will want to travel. What are my options if she refuses to give it back?

Answer:
 You can call the police to help you get your property back.

Dont plan on you mom supporting you financially or allowing you to live there after this


Title: Need help ASAP! I’m 19 and pay rent. Can my mother force me to remove my computer from my room?

Question:
I live in Australia and my mother has just come into my room and told me to pack up my computer or she is going to throw it away. Keeping in mind this is a $3000 desktop that I paid for myself. She is annoyed that I spend so much time on it but it is the only way for me to keep in touch with my friends who live hours away. I have been paying her $200 per week for what she has said covers rent, water, electricity and internet usage. Does she have the right to tell me to remove my device.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 No, if you legally own it she cannot tell you what to do with it as it is your property. You may want to add extra protection like a table lock to prevent her from simply throwing it away when you aren't home.

 Since you can afford to pay $200 a month i'd  say find a roommate. The environment where she's in your business that bad can (and most likely will) get worse. You may want to look into moving out.

Also this forum deals mainly with US law so somebody else may link you a better subreddit to post this to.


Title: Sleeping in a car after a few drinks

Question: I had a couple drinks tonight, and decided to sleep in my car, rather than drive home.  It's cold here (Oregon), so I left the car running and hopped over to the passenger seat.  Cut to several hours later, I get woken up by an officer knocking on my window.  The interaction was more or less cordial, as he generally wanted to make sure that I was okay, and by the time he woke me up, I was pretty much sober.  The only time my internal alarm was raised, is that towards the end of the conversation, he asked me to step outside of my car.  I asked if I was in any sort of trouble, and he said no, so I stepped outside the car, he said okay, then I got back in.  That fast.  I'm incredibly curious why he asked me to step outside of my car or what he was looking for.  I assumed that I had done everything right, and that even if I was still visibly intoxicated, since I was in the passenger seat and not showing any intent to drive that I was not at risk.  Is that not the case?

Answer: If you had the car turned on, a case for DUI could likely still have been made. It's really not ever a safe option to sleep it off in your car. You should get a taxi/uber/lyft and go home. If you live in a rural area and that's not an option, call someone to come get you. If that's not an option, don't go drinking by yourself in the first place.


Title: adhd disability

Question: I have recently been diagnosed with adhd and my manager is aware of this fact. I recently had a situation happen where I forgot to do something important and may be fired over it and if this happens I will lose a lot of money. I believe this is a direct result of my disability. I would like to know what my potential options are if I have any. I can elaborate further if necessary.

Answer: Being allowed to forget to do important things is unlikely to be considered a reasonable accommodation.


Title: [TN] My wife's employer occasionally hosts unpaid lunch meetings

Question:
My wife works for a small doctor's office (less than 10 employees). Occasionally they will require everyone to stay during their lunch break for a meeting/training/etc. The doctor provides lunch but the entire period is unpaid. They don't clock out for lunches, but 30 minutes per day is subtracted from their total hours on the paycheck. They're also a HUGE stickler against anyone getting overtime.

The place is great and overall they've treated my wife wonderfully so I'm not "out to get them" or bring them down in anyway, but this particular scenarios bugs me a bit. Since we live about 5 minutes from her work, she runs home everyday to eat lunch and let the dogs out, etc. Am I wrong to think that if she's not getting paid for her time, she should be able to leave?

Answer: An employer must pay for all time actually worked. If the employer is directing your activities, you're working.


Title: [NE] Fired, without reason?

Question:
Got a serving job at a pretty fancy sit down restaurant. A very pregnant server was on her way to becoming a mother. I grew as a strong server, always on time or early. Worked well with customers/people and with coworker(s) (only one other server, plus the owner)

I got to work today, saw it wasn't horribly busy even with the eclipse. Saw the not-sop-pregnant coworker had returned!

Boss pulled me aside and said, "I think we're going to go a different route" and to which I replied, "right now?" and he said, "yes."

So I shook his hand, thanked him for the respectful way of putting it, and clocked out and left.

Was this 'without reason'?

All events took place in Scottsbluff county Nebraska

Answer:
 If he didn't give you a reason, yes it was 'without reason'.

You should apply for unemployment.


Title: Got a check from a lawsuit I didn't file

Question: (AZ) So i got a $40 check in the mail today from a settlement involving a class-action price-fixing lawsuit against manufacturers of DRAM. But I didn't file any lawsuit... My question is, is it legal to cash this check? It has my name on it. Could there be any legal action against me?

Answer: This was a class action lawsuit. You can cash it.Answer #2: If you're identified as part of a class action lawsuit you're included unless you opt out.  Verify if the lawsuit and resulting award is legitimate.  If it is, then cash the check.


Title: Signed car sale and finance agreement but changed my mind before i drove car off lot. Still havent taken vehicle off lot , what now?

Question:
Signed a sales and finance agreement for a new car a couple weeks ago. Dealership didn't have car in stock so I had to wait a couple weeks for it to arrive. Was not a special order. I paid a $1k non refundable deposit to "reserve" the car so someone else couldn't purchase it. In the week following I changed my mind and told the dealership I didn't want to go through. They said too bad , I'm in a contract and obligated to take the car. Car arrived last Wednesday and they're calling me telling me I need to come get the car. They have not processed the financing paperwork, probably because an additional $5k down payment was the plan. They're threatening to "cash the contract".

Is there anything I can do to back out of this deal at this time? What if I don't ever take possession of the car? I'm in MA.
Topic:
Consumer Law

Answer:
 Congrats!!
You’re the proud owner of a car.   Where I am, we’ll keep your deposit and if you want out, it’s 15% of the purchase price.

How do you get the that point and suddenly not want the car? Answer #2: Does the signed contract give you a way to back out? because if not then the answer is no


Question: Several weeks back, I received an email from the CEO of a company in PA (not located Philadelphia or Pittsburgh), welcoming me to a new role. The email specified that I was chosen out of other applicants but did state that “while not official until we make official selections…we have selected you…” . This past week, I received an email stating that I was not selected for the role. What are the hiring laws in PA, especially what makes an offer letter a binding agreement? If you know anywhere that I can find these laws that would also be helpful.

Answer: More or less nothing makes an offer binding.  PA, like all states other than MT is an at will employment state.  This means you can be fired at any time for any reason, including a bad one, or no reason at all so long as the reason isn’t in violation of some other law, 99% of the time the illegal reason would be membership in a protected class.  You don’t allege any discrimination, so they can rescind an offer at any time, just as they could have had you show up for one day and then fire you.


Title: My friends wife had an affair, now he's at risk of losing everything.

Question:
(Michigan)

Their marriage lasted from may 2015 to may 2017. He owns a pizzeria that I currently manage. He opened it with his own money in 2008. They were in a relationship at the time and she worked there with him and put all profit in their combined personal bank account. She's now suing for lost wages. Since their marriage he's allowed her to pursue her hobbies and be free from work. She had the affair in august 2016. He caught her. They gave it another shot. May 2017, she's at it again. He had to end it. She's also trying to sue for a piece of the business. Any advice would help.

Answer:
 He's got a shitload of potentially complicated issues, with the business being part of the equation.

The only advice he needs to hear is to get a lawyer.


Title: Was what I did illegal?

Question:
I was goofing around on YouTube and replied to someones comment and said that I was a cop and gave my opinions on a political topic.

Did I just break the law? I thought impersonating the police was if someone went outside, dressed/posing as a cop and using it to take advantage of people.

Answer:
 Real cop here, not just Internet police:

You are fine. Find a less worrisome way to troll.


Title: Looking to get out of a lease. Sewage dumped in yard.

Question:
I apologize if I'm cross-posting incorrectly. I posted in /r/kansascity about an issue I'm having with my landlord, and I'm curious if the plumbing problems are severe enough that I would be able to break my lease. Or is that even the correct terminology? Because it seems like the landlord is the one breaking the lease, not me.

Here is the link to the thread (which has a video you can watch if you're okay with looking at feces): [https://www.reddit.com/r/kansascity/comments/9cpe9f/looking\_for\_advice\_on\_how\_to\_deal\_with\_landlord/](https://www.reddit.com/r/kansascity/comments/9cpe9f/looking_for_advice_on_how_to_deal_with_landlord/)

And here is some relevant info I posted there:

~~~~
So the story is \~two months ago I complained about my plumbing not working. Toilet was backed up, and I could hear bubbles coming up from the sinks, shower, and toilet tank. I contacted them the first time, they fixed it. It would occasionally back up, but was usually fine by the next day or so.

Fast forward to this Saturday... It backed up again. I was able to get a hold of the lady that works the office and inform her in no uncertain terms that this was not acceptable and that it needed to be fixed.

Well, the plumber came by, “unclogged” it, mentioned to me that this wasn’t going to be fixed until “Dave” digs some collapsed thing up and replaces it. I think he said it was a “collapsed tile”? I’m not sure.

Anyway, this is what I found out they actually did (what’s in the video). I guess they were just hoping I wouldn’t notice they’re dumping raw sewage into the yard.

At this point, I want out of my lease. Does anyone think that what I have here is sufficient evidence to break the lease? The lease states that the Lessor’s responsibility is to maintain the building so it complies to building codes (pretty sure it’s against code to dump your sewage in your yard). It also states the Lessor is required to maintain, among other things, the plumbing and sanitation.

I’d love any advice. I’m a new renter (this is my first place).
~~~~

Answer: Call code enforcement and get someone from the city out there to inspect.


Title: I have no idea if my mother is deceased or not

Question: In 2012 my mother had went to the hospital due to her lymph nodes under her arms being swollen. Two years later she calls me to say she has Hodgkin's lymphoma. She lives 3 states away, is a drug addict, most likely still homeless, her exact location is unknown, and probably hasn't gotten proper treatment. The number she had is disconnected, my brother has sent her packages and pictures to the address of a friend she was staying with without any reply. My brother and I haven't heard from her since 2015. It wasn't unusual to go without hearing from her for a few months, but it's been two years. I'm wondering if there is any way to find out if she has passed. I live in NC and she is probably in Florida or Georgia.

Answer:
 You can check with the offices of vital statistics for each state to see if they have a death certificate on record. It might be worth hiring a private investigator if you don't have much information on her whereabouts. Answer #2: I believe that the Red Cross may be able to help you with this.  On this link...

http://www.redcross.org/local/new-york/greater-new-york/services/restoring-family-links

...notice the "Health and Welfare Inquiries" paragraph.


Title: Builder of Development changed CC&R's to effectively permit him to never give control to the homeowners. What Can be done? Utah

Question:
The original CC&R's were recorded on 6/9/11 and stated that control of the HOA would be transferred to the homeowners when 67% of the lots were sold or after three years.  I purchased my home in May 2014 and my building was the last building the developer attempted to build (the original plans included many more units).  According to the CC&R's, the three years had lapsed and HOA control should have been transferred to the owners in June 2014.  Later in November 2014 an amendment was filed to change the conditions of control to remove the time period entirely and change the 67% of lots sold to 100%.  Again, this amendment was filed months after control should have been transferred since the original three years were over.

Sometime in 2015 or 2016, a large majority of the undeveloped land was sold to another developer but a small lot in the back of the area was retained by the original developer.  Nothing has happened to that lot since 2011 and there are no plans to do anything with that lot.  According to the amended CC&R's, homeowners cannot get control of the HOA until that lot is sold.  Also, this lot is in a terrible location.  It borders a light rail track and is mostly undesirable (would make a nice area for a city park though).

What does the developer gain by sitting on the undeveloped lot and retaining control of the HOA?  Can a developer arbitrarily change major parts of the CC&R's without homeowner approval?  Is there anyway to enforce the original CC&R's since the amendment was filed after a crucial date?  Is there any recourse to homeowners to get control, if the amendment is valid, since the developer is just sitting on a small piece of land?

Thanks for your help!

Answer: The CC&R should describe how/when it can be revised.


Title: Discovered tenant was legally growing marijuana in basement. Next steps?

Question:
We recently found out that our tenant's been growing pot in our basement for the past three years but failed to notify us of this before she signed the lease agreement and during her rental period.

1. She is doing this legally and is a caregiver. Among her six clients, she includes herself.
2. We live in CA, but the house is in MI.
3. She did not notify us of her plans to grow before or during her lease agreement, even though she has been a caregiver since 2008.  We discovered this through coming to MI and checking up on the property.
4. Our lease agreement has a controlled substance clause and an alterations clause.  Both of which we believe she has broken.
5.  She's made several alterations to the house including installing a new filtration system and a second set of air conditioning in the basement.  She's put up drywall and a lighting system as well.  None of this with our approval.

The controlled substances clause states:
The Lease may be terminated if Lessee, a member of the Lessee's household, family, employees, guests, invitees, or anyone on the premise by reason of association with Lessee, its family, employees, guests or invitees, has manufactured, delivered, possessed with intent to deliver, or possessed a controlled substance on the leased premises.  Lessor may terminate the tenancy by giving lessee a written seven day notice to quit.  This subsection applies only if a formal police report has been filed by Lessor regarding the unlawful activity on the leased premises. For purposes of this subsection, "controlled substance" means a substance of a counterfeit substance classified in Schedule 1, 2 or 3 pursuant to Sections 7211, 7212, 7213, 7214, 7215, and 7216 of Act No 368 of the Public Acts of 1978 (other listed sections, let me know if you want them ) of the Michigan compiled laws.

The alterations sections states:
Lessee shall make no alterations, additions or improvements in or to the premises without LEssor's prior written consent, and then only by licensed contractors in accordance with workmanship and quality standards agreed to in writing in advance by lessor.  All alterations, additions or improvements to the premises made by either party shall become the property of Lessor and shall remain intact and surrendered with the premises at the end of the term.  This includes, but shall not be limited to permitted locks, antenna, carpet, paint or any other improvements.

We're not considering evicting her as her lease agreement ends at the beginning of september.  We are considering two steps to take with her.
1. Sell her the property as is.
2. Not renew the lease and have her move out by September.

We're concerned about legal culpability for knowingly renting to a grow-op.  Under federal law marijuana is still illegal and if the government ever decided to pursue her we would not want to be found liable for anything.  What can we do to eliminate this possibility?

We want to make sure that if she buys the house as is, we can't be held liable for her grow op and she can't find a legal loop hole in any way. What can we do to stop this?

If we do rent out to another person or in the future sell to someone, we're worried that her grow-op will have to be disclosed to every potential lessee or buyer, significantly reducing our chances of renting out or selling.  Is disclosure a requirement?

Finally, she claims that she hasn't smoked in the house.  It's a bit difficult to believe anything she says at this point though.  If she does smoke, I think we have to disclose because THC is considered toxic.  Is there anyway to force her to prove that she has not smoked?

Please let me know if you'd like more information and thank you for your help

Answer:
 I think this is one in which you need a real live lawyer.  I have heard too many horror stories about civil forfeiture to assume that you would not be culpable for your tenant's misconduct; because even if you are not criminally culpable, your house could be seized because it was used to violate drug laws.  Answer #2: >because THC is considered toxic.

Thats a good one.

[But seriously I'd be more worried about the mold.](http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/03/25/mold-in-pot-grow-houses-threatens-workers-law-enforcement/) If she installed those filters and stuff to prevent that, it might be okay. But I would definitely try to sell her the house. Lol, I think it might be a "cash deal".


Title: website owner threatening to release my personal info after argument.

Question: After me and a person ''owner of website" got into a argument he i revived threats like so "leak your password" and "Kick your ass offline". The site with my info on it is connected to his company. The company was a auto repair shop.  The branch of the company i was associated with was his Computer repair / entertainment side. Is there legally do something i can due to keep my data on his server private.

Answer: Presuming you're in the USA, he has no particular duty to keep your data private.  If you have a contract with him to do so, then maybe.  Answer #2: If you suffer specific identifiable damage due to him leaking information you may be able to sue him.


Title: [QLD, Aus] One of my housemates had a psychotic breakdown and ran away. Not sure what to do.

Question:
Hello. I live in a sharehouse with two other people. We're all living here together but I'm the only person on the lease (a decision made because I was the only party who could commit to 2 full years). My housemates are not on the lease but they pay me rent fortnightly, which I forward as a bulk payment to our landlord. Our landlord is aware of the situation and is okay with it.

On to the issue; one of my housemates had a mental breakdown. It started small but over a month's time it progressed to him coming into our rooms at 3am screaming wildly about how we keep shouting his name and that he'll 'catch us' soon. It got too intense for us and so about 2 weeks ago I, the other housemate, and crazy housemate's partner (who doesn't live with us but had seen the crazy), had an intervention with him. We explained that he was being weird and seemed psychotic and tried to get him to see a doctor but instead he ran away and hasn't came back.

We have filed police reports, called his work and local hospitals, but he hasn't shown up. His emergency contact was his partner, who was there at the time, so there's no one else to contact that we know about. He was using Facebook for a few days but ignoring our messages. Apparently he hasn't logged on for a week now, though. He missed rent payment two days ago and so that's what prompted me to post this.

In all, I am concerned about him but I'm pretty sure he has abandoned his tenancy. He wasn't on the lease so I think we may have no issues kicking him out. What can I legally do with his stuff, though? Am I also liable for anything here? Can I get in trouble for kicking him out when I can't issue him a formal notice due to him being missing?

If this is messy, I'm happy to supply any details necessary.

Answer: I just want to slightly high jack this after reading your update and say it's a really good thing what you did.  It's a very noble and considerate act to try and track down someone who may have been going through a crisis to make sure they're OK, especially since you barely know them.  As someone who has gone through a nervous breakdown, I'd have really appreciated it if I knew someone was going out of their way to make sure I was alright.  You're a good person.  Keep it up.


Title: I was laid off earlier today, but now my boss is changing it to being fired.

Question:
Earlier today I was laid off, and I was given an explanation as of why, etc.

My boss later sends me an email telling me that I've actually been fired,l.

Are they allowed to just change it to whatever they want? I don't think she liked me.

I'm a 19 M and I was working for the USPS, if that's any difference.

EDIT - Battleground Washington

Answer: Doesn't really matter. File for unemployment and look for a new job.


Title: [PA] Filing a police report without wanting to pursue anything immediately?

Question:
I live in PA. Over the weekend, there was a domestic violence incident in my house, my SO against me. I have a lot of things I need to figure out how to handle before I am comfortable actually pursuing any kind of action against my SO for what happened. I want to file a police report now, so that the details are fresh in my mind, but I don't want him to know that I've done it. My worry is that a police officer will want to get a statement from him immediately. I can't have that happen until I get all my ducks in a row regarding other things. Is this even feasible? Can I tell the police officer that I am only filing a report now as a way to make sure I get all of the details correct, but I don't want him tipped off yet, as I'm not yet pursuing anything?

I called the station to ask this in a general way, but the woman I spoke to would not or could not give me an answer either way and kept pressing me for my information.

Answer: Your whole question makes no sense. If you want to remember all the details then write/type them and keep that someplace safe.Answer #2: If you file a police report, it's no longer in your hands. They may go arrest him immediately, or they may not. The police are not your administrative assistant.


Title: I was witness to a murder in Michigan. Need advice

Question:
I was witness to a murder in Albion Michigan on Jan. 21st.
I was interrogated by the police on 2 different occasions.
Now the police are requesting I take a polygraph.
I have nothing to hide.. but I feel uncomfortable about taking it.
Should I seek council?
Should I answer anymore questions from the police?
Should I take the polygraph?

Answer: Get a lawyer, it sounds like you're a suspect.


Title: Selling real estate agent provided paid invoices for work that was never done when I bought. Can they be held accountable now that I am selling?

Question:
First time purchaser of a home in Denver, CO in June 2014. As part of the inspection, knob and tube wiring was found in the attic. The sellers agreed to have it replaced.

The inspection resolution read:
>Licensed electrician shall replace knob and tube wiring in attic and repair any unsafe electrical issues identified by the electrician in the house and crawlspace

The invoice provided stated that all knob and tube was replaced. The invoice was provided by the sellers agent, and was paid for by the sellers agent.

Fast forward to 2018, I am selling my home - quickly under contract and have found that none of the knob and tube wiring was ever replaced. I am now paying to have it replaced as part of my selling contact.

I obviously am not happy and want to figure out what to do. I tried to contact the electric company from the invoice. They either never existed, or no longer exist.

Because of this I have been writing the sellers agent stating that I will take her to small claims court if she does not reimburse me for the knob and tube removal. Even though I sent inspection reports showing active knob and tube, she is claiming the work was done and the contract was satisfied. I figured going after the agent makes sense in this case since the sellers did not pay for or provide the invoice.

Is the selling agent liable here?

My thoughts are the invoice was:
>
1. Forged.
2. Collusion with a contractor to get a fraudulent invoice made.
3. Verification of work was not done before payment.

If not, what are my options?

I completely understand this might be a hard learning experience for me (to verify everything and do not trust anyone), but would love for whoever was fraudulent to be held accountable.

Answer:
 File a complaint with the agency that regulates realtors and agents in your area.  If she’s smart, she will quickly resolve the issue with you to avoid problems with her license.

Or, file suit and name them both.  This makes sense strategically and psychologically. It’s always better for a judge to be resolving WHICH defendant is liable rather than WHETHER a defendant is liable.


Title: I recorded my attack, Police refused to charge my attacker & 911 hung up on me 3 times

Question:
UPDATE:  I tried contacting the local PD and they will not return my calls or request for a meeting, my emails have been read (I have a receipt system) but not answered.  What now?

---

I was attacked by my sister nearly two months ago. She has mental problems and I am her caretaker. She went off her medication, got paranoid, and choked me to unconsciousness. This was not her first time attacking me and the local PD had been called in before - I am on a first name basis with most of them. They know to come right away when I call.

Before the attack she was stomping around screaming and I knew she was about to get violent. She had taken my cellphone, and we live out in the middle of nowhere, so I sneakily opened up my laptop and used Skype to call emergency services. I had to put the laptop on mute, but I dialed the number for emergency dispatch and when my sister left the room, I said "Please help, I need help at [my address] right away."

About half an hour passed and nothing happened - I snuck a peek and saw that the call had been disconnected - so I tried again, the exact same call, the same words. Another 45 minutes and no police had arrived. I tried a 3rd time, and she caught me, and then started choking me.

When I regained consciousness she had left the house. I quickly connected my laptop (she had thrown it on the floor, but it still worked once I reconnected the battery), took it off mute, and called dispatch again. I gave my address, the dispatcher asked what my emergency was, and I told them I had been attacked and that I needed help immediately. I stayed on the line with the dispatcher until police arrived.

The officer was someone I knew. He did not believe I had been choked, as I "was not bruised enough". (A medical student later told me that not all strangulation leaves bruises) He advised me he would not be including the attack in his report because it would "embarrass" me. He did look for my sister and when she was found a little ways away she verbally harassed him and was arrested for that (charged with "breach of the peace"), then taken to a hospital for mental treatment.

**The thing is, I have an accessory on Skype that automatically records the conversations. I had completely forgotten about it.**

Now I know that when I called the dispatcher the first three times, he hung up on me. He clearly heard me give my address and say that I needed help, asked me for my name, and when I didn't answer, he said, "whatever" AND HUNG UP ON AN EMERGENCY CALL. THREE DAMN TIMES.

If he had just held on to the line the third time a little bit longer, he could have heard me being attacked, which (because my side of the line was still recording) is CLEARLY audible.

So now I have a dilemma. Are there any legal repercussions for the dispatcher who hung up on me multiple times, or for the officer who refused to take down my statement? Or would there have been, if I had discovered the audio file sooner?  I live in Tennessee, I think one-person recording is legal but I'm not 100% sure.

Answer:
 I wonder if the hang-ups had something to do with Skype not displaying a real phone number (and GPS coordinates) on the dispatcher's display? Not that that is an excuse for him hanging up if he heard you say an address, but I'm just trying to put myself in his shoes.Answer #2: Go to a lawyer.
Go to a newspaper.
Go to the police.

Press charges.  If this was anything more violent, someone could have died... and this guy would have done NOTHING, which is the exact opposite of what a person in his position is supposed to do.  In that job, OVER-reaction is a shit ton more tolerable than no reaction at all.


Title: (ON, Canada) Person fakes driver’s license and a bank draft to buy an SUV in my GF’s name and sells it before anyone finds out. GF was served papers. HELP.

Question: My GF just got a legal document in the mail 3 days ago. According to the document last year someone claiming to be (GF) purchased an SUV for around $30,000 with a bank draft from a used car dealer.  This person then registered the vehicle under GF's name, they then went to a second dealership and sold the vehicle, meanwhile the first dealer finds out that the bank draft that this person used is fraudulent and reports the SUV as stolen.  So this person fakes a bank draft to buy an SUV and sells it before they find out now this whole time she is using GF's name and driver’s license so they leave GF holding the bag on this even though she(GF) had nothing to do with it. Only now are we hearing about it. So we contacted the police and reported a case of identity theft (this is the second time (GF) has had her identity stolen), and we contacted legal aid but because this is a civil case and not a criminal case they can't help us and so we have contacted a lawyer that they recommended but because it was the weekend we have yet to hear back from them and the court date is the 14th of February. Any legal advice? We’re worried about how much this is going to cost…

Answer: She is being sued for $30K? Yeah she needs a lawyer for sure, asap.Answer #2: For $30,000.00, you'll need a lawyer. Really no way around it. Hopefully the dealer will have copies of documents signed by Faux-Gf, and it'll show the signature is nothing like your Gf's. But to get those documents, and to make that argument properly in court.... you need a lawyer.


Title: It it legal for me to take pictures of peoples dogs and post them on Facebook?

Question:
I live in NYC and created a new page to post up pictures my pets and other people pets.
Is it legal for me to take pictures in the streets, at shows, and other placed and post them on to my fb page?

Thanks!

Answer: Yes as long as the dogs aren't underageAnswer #2: If they are in public when you take them,yes.


Title: Does this constitute fraud? (Ontario, Canada)

Question:
Jim, a married man, is having an affair with a married woman, Jane. On Day 1, Jane's husband finds out about the affair, and Jane tells Jim this information. Jim says he will tell his wife, but does not. On Day 6, he signs a five-year mortgage with his wife on their family home. On Day 12, Jim admits to the affair and leaves his wife. She is now signed on to a 5-year mortgage with a man who, it would appear, put his signature on it under false pretense.

Did Jim break any laws? Is he liable in civil court?

Answer:
 Liable in civil court for what?  Does Jane have losses?  In their upcoming divorce Jim and Jane are selling the house or one is buying the other out.  If someone is staying, the judge is ordering that someone to refinance. If they can’t they still can’t.

And if Jim and Jane are going to a counselor instead of divorce court there’s nothing to talk about.


Title: [NY] I got my a speeding ticket

Question:
I have a peculiar situation where I was caught speeding in a town apparently know for giving speeding tickets all day. The ticket was given to me in Madison County, in Town of Nelson, NY which has about a population of 2000 so my best guess is that they need the revenue.

I was given a ticket for going 74mph on a 55mph.

The officer who stopped me was a state trooper. He came with his hand on his holster before he came to my window and he was shining his flashlight directly into my face rather than into the car.

I was driving a Uhaul truck for a temporary moving job where I took people's packages and moved the to Syracuse for summer storage. I did not have the registration or the insurance because I did not rent the car myself nor the people in the truck did. There were 4 people sitting in the 3 person truck so only I had my seatbelt on while not of my passengers did though he just gave us a warning about that.

He thought it was peculiar that I am from Texas, my three other passengers were from New Jersey, Hong Kong, and Indiana respectively. They also had to provide an ID. We were driving a Uhaul truck from Arizona and we were in upstate NY so he thought it was weird and then I explained we were all college students. People tell me that cops up here are very racist because literally there are like no minorities in upstate NY. He was aggressive at first but toned it down. My black friend was super nervous because of the agressiveness in his tone. It was me, the Mexican, a chinese kid, and two black dudes.

I was not looking at my speed so I cant confirm my speed. I know I was driving 45mph on a 45mph zone and then the sign went up to a 55mph on a steep hill. So I think me accelerating to overtake a car combined with traveling downhill on a huge box truck made me go over the speed limit.

Things I want to note are that I have a clean driving record, am 20 years old and am out of state. The ticket literally cancels out a week's worth of working for this moving company. I send my parents money because I am from Houston, Texas and our home got several thousand dollar's worth of damage. I was planning on staying here over the summer to work, but with this ticket, now I can't go home to visit my family at all.

I am trying to get a lawyer because I can't have points on my license. Insurance premiums are already too high for a young male in Texas, and when I am home the only reliable transportation in a city built for cars is to drive. This could potentially leave me out of a job there and here where I have to drive a vanfull of students up to the adirondacks to go camping.

Should I contest it, plead guilty or not guilty, or just get a lawyer to handle the ticket?

Answer:
 So to break down this wall of text with a fuckload of irrelevant information:

You were driving a UHaul box truck with over the maximum legal passengers with only one person using a seatbelt and were overtaking a car causing you to speed which miraculously is the only thing you were cited for, not even counting the lack of insurance/reg/rental info?

Feel free to hire a lawyer but you're a very lucky guy.


Title: (NJ, USA) Purchased RV and payed Landlord monthly. Went out of state, Landlord sold RV without title.

Question:
And disposed of all my possessions. I am in the process of sueing in Special Civil court now, but is there any way to make formal criminal charges as well?
Landlord made no effort to go through official process of eviction or RV abandonment laws. Simply stole the keys then sold it without any legal documents.

Answer: Did you call the cops when you realized the RV missing?


Title: (IL) Landlord wants to "inspect" and replace air filter in apartment every 6 months.

Question: Ill try to condense this best I can, so my lease states the my landlord will have access to my apartment twice a year to change out the air filter and clean the furnance coils.  I read this and agreed to that in my lease.  About 2 days ago i got an email saying they were comming to do that but also will be comming with pest control and spraying everyones apartment with chemicals.  It also states they will have to open cabinets and will be inspecting the apartment.  Im like WTF I dont want chemicals being sprayed where I live, it's a nice area and we have no bug problems.  And secondly, inspecting the apartment? Really? Thats sounds like an unlawful search.  the lease made no comment about "apartment inspections".  Im assuming the inspection is to make sure im following all the rules of the complex (no pets, no extra people living here, own a plunger, yes thats in my lease too) So this was two days ago and I have been so busy at work I didn't have time to call and say anything so I took the day off and will be standing right over their shoulders as they "inspect" my apartment, which is happening today.  So for future reference can they do this? Do i have to even let them in?  What if I refuse them entrance? Its my apartment I live here.  What are your thoughts?  My lease makes no mention about pest control or apartment inspections.

Answer: It sounds like you have a good landlord who cares about the up-keep of his property.


Title: Apartment complex won't return security deposit

Question:
I'm writing from Charleston, SC. My previous apartment complex won't return my $250 security deposit.

I rented an apartment for a little over a year. I signed a 1yr lease then paid month-to-month for an additional several months (all approved by the apt office). I ended my lease and officially moved out on 9/23/2017. The apartment manager and one of her coworkers came by and did my moving-out inspection. She said verbatim "Wow it's clean in here we need to hire you to clean up after tenants move out" joking around and I got her to verbally confirm that everything was perfect. She said I would get my full security deposit back. I dropped off my keys the next day and that was that.

I was told I would receive my security deposit back within 30 days. The paperwork I signed when leasing the apartment says the same thing. Well, it's now 1/9/18 and I haven't received a penny. I’ve called at least once a week after 30 days passed. I've left messages. I've spoke with the property manager and receptionists. I've let voicemails. I've stopped by in person 2-3 times. And while everybody has always been extremely polite to me, I have NEVER received a call back. I ALWAYS have to follow up or I won't hear anything back. I've even had my phone calls ignored - I know because I called twice and it rang and rang and went to voicemail twice. I stopped by less than 5mins later and the office was empty with 2 employees inside. The property manager and receptionist always say the same damn thing "ok let me email corporate and see what's going on" but I ever hear back after the email. I'm not a confrontational person but the last time I went by I made myself be very firm. I pressed it a lot and asked why there isn’t a number they can call at corporate instead of sending all these emails because the emails clearly weren't doing any good. They said no they can't call anybody only email.

I haven't been told why I don't have my deposit. Also, last time I spoke with the apartment manager she said "oh yeah let me check on the status of that. ok I see we mailed you the deposit 20 days ago on 12/1/17." I said ok why didn't you call me back and tell me it has been mailed? She said it's MY responsibility to follow up and check. She didn't even apologize. So now I'm actually getting really mad. You drop the ball on returning my money to me when I was the best tenant you could possibly ask for but you don’t even apologize. In the past I’ve always paid late but this time leasing I made it a point to always pay on time. In fact, the one time I paid late the office was so surprised they actually assumed I was paying in advance for the next month. If I were in their shoes I’d be freaking out that a customer of mine doesn’t have his $250 back after THREE MONTHS. I’d be contacting the customer every few days with updates, apologizing profusely, making phone calls, etc. But they just don’t care.

They won't even give me a number I can call at corporate. Hell, they won't even tell me who "corporate" is. I did some research and found the corporate/management company name but when I called a number I found from Google searching the company said they only manage one apartment way up north. But I KNOW they're the company who manages this complex in Charleston and several others locally.

I'm sending the apartment manager a demand letter via certified mail tomorrow morning. I’ve never had to do this before though. I’ve found example demand letter drafts online. I want to make sure I cover my bases. I don’t have records of contacting the apartment all these times because it’s always been in person or via phone, but I do have dates/times of when I’ve called at least. And I know the names of the two people who I always talk to (property manager and receptionist). I wish I had a paper trail but I don’t. So I at least want to get this demand letter right before I go to small claims court. I’m giving my apartment complex 10 days to get me the security deposit or I’m filing a small court claim.

**Can I ask for extra money on top of the $250 I’m owed for my security deposit refund?** It’s been over 3 months, approaching 4 months, since my lease ended. That money could have been earning me interest at the very least. **Should I add anything else to my demand letter?** I’ll be putting all the basic info such as my old apartment number, how much money I’m asking for (see previous question), my current address, dates, and dates with the times I’ve called the apartment complex.

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**TL;DR: Last apartment is 3mo late on returning security deposit. Can I ask for more than my $250 back, like for damages or something? (I don't know the legal terms). Any tips I might not find online for writing a demand letter or filing a small claims case?**

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Thank you so much for reading! Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act:

> SECTION 27-40-410. Security deposits; prepaid rent.

>(a) Upon termination of the tenancy, property or money held by the landlord as security must be returned less amounts withheld by the landlord for accrued rent and damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with Section 27-40-510. Any deduction from the security/rental deposit must be itemized by the landlord in a written notice to the tenant together with the amount due, if any, within thirty days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant, whichever is later. The tenant shall provide the landlord in writing with a forwarding address or new address to which the written notice and amount due from the landlord may be sent. If the tenant fails to provide the landlord with the forwarding or new address, the tenant is not entitled to damages under this subsection provided the landlord (1) had no notice of the tenant's whereabouts and (2) mailed the written notice and amount due, if any, to the tenant's last known address.

>(b) If the landlord fails to return to the tenant any prepaid rent or security/rental deposit with the notice required to be sent by the landlord pursuant to subsection (a), **the tenant may recover the property and money in an amount equal to three times the amount wrongfully withheld and reasonable attorney's fees. **

So yes - it is reasonable to ask for $750 and I would quote the relevant legislation above when requesting this.


Title: Girlfriend was arrested for domestic violence and is being charged with felony...court date is tomorrow, what do I do?

Question:
I know people can't know for sure what's going to happen, but I'm so lost I don't know where to turn.  My girl and I were fighting and she was hitting my chest with her open hands, and I'm really pale so it stands out on my skin.  I am NOT condoning her behavior but CA does NOT fuck around with domestics, and now she's in jail with a felony charge.  She works full time, going to anger management, etc and if they keep her in jail her life is going to be ruined.  We don't have money for a lawyer and I don't understand why her bail is so high and why it's a felony.  What can we tell the judge to get them to understand that she's a productive member of society and keeping her locked up is not in her or the state's best interest?  We are obviously breaking up after this but that doesn't mean I want her rotting in jail.  Any help/advice is appreciated, I just have NO idea where to go from here and her court date is around 1pm tomorrow.  Thanks so much ahead of time, I appreciate it.  Oh and not sure if it's relevant but we are in the Central Valley of CA.

Edit- Just goes to show that you can't believe everything on this subreddit, other than u/WynnDuffysEyebrows and u/MajorPhaser literally every one of your responses was wrong.  I had NO problem talking to and securing an attorney, talking about her case, and visiting her twice before her arraignment this afternoon.  Thank you to the two redditors above for also just sticking to the facts of what I've said instead of adding their own personal commentary, it's much appreciated. It's knocked down to a misdemeanor and even the cops that arrested her spoke in her favor so we're hoping she just gets probation and some classes for a year or so.  She'll be released tonight so for all those of you saying I 'got my ass kicked and I'm going to be killed'....just shows you have NO IDEA what you're talking about.  Maybe see what's going on in your own personal life that makes you comment with so much anger about someone else's-especially when it's not asked for.

Answer:
 >and I'm really pale so it stands out on my skin.

And she was likely hitting you extremely hard, which is why marks lasted long enough for the police to respond, investigate, and photograph the injuries.  Here's the reality - you're incredibly lucky that the police understood that men can be the victims of domestic violence.  Anyone attacking you like this *while they are attending anger management* has zero business in your life, let alone as a partner.  You're not ruining her life, she's seeing the natural consequences of her misconduct. If you get back with her or stay with her, it's likely you'll be killed or seriously injured.

> What can we tell the judge to get them to understand that she's a productive member of society and keeping her locked up is not in her or the state's best interest?

No one cares.  I got annoyed when I worked these cases because the victims would scream for help and then race to defend their abuser. I understand it's a victim's mentality, but an independent party needs to break people out of the cycle of violence.  Realize that literally none of this is normal or healthy.  If she's going to her initial appearance, she can ask for a public defender and she should expect that jail is likely in her near future.Answer #2: > We are obviously breaking up after this but that doesn't mean I want her rotting in jail.

For real though, why do you care then?

Nothing you can do 24 hours before court date. You can go and offer yourself a witness but its classic abused behavior so it may not carry much weight.


Title: [NY] My parents are forcing me to change my address on my bank statement to pay less on their car payments. I don't really have a choice I just want to know how this will fuck me over in the future...

Answer:
 Tell your parents that you don’t want to be the cause of them paying extra for vehicle insurance, but that this would be fraud and in the event of an accident would be a reason for insurance to not pay out.

Also ask them to look into you being classified as an excluded person from the policy (basically formally promising that you never drove the vehicle). That should accomplish the same result (lower insurance premiums).

Answer #2: This is called insurance fraud, and in the unlikely event of an accident, if they find out where you live, you won't be covered.

There are about a thousand reasons why this is a bad idea.


Title: Keep getting pulled over for bright headlights.

Question: Seems like every time I drive at night I get pulled over because my lights are too bright. I will admit they're bright, but they're telling me I have to pay and have them changed. They are the factory lights that came with my car, and I have not raised it or done any work on it that would cause them to be brighter. They've never given me a ticket, but it's been over a dozen pull overs. I can't see it being illegal to have them if they're what comes with the car.

Answer:
 You've been pulled over a dozen times and still haven't fixed the headlights...?

Are you seriously asking us what you should do?Answer #2: It sounds like the headlights are adjusted too high. Look in your owner's manual for how to adjust them.


Title: I think I work for an unethical company.

Question:
I work for a company that deals with commercial clients who have contracts. Currently if a customer has a contract but is month-to-month we inform them they need to give us a 30-day notice. If they refuse we still bill them for that 30-days because of the contract.

On occasion, we come across the rare customer that has no contract at all. Our legal team has advised us we cannot force them to give us a 30-day notice. Our management still wants us to ask for it though, which I do. But if a customer refuses to give us any notice I tell them we'll close the account as soon as possible.

The culture at my work is such that they will hold the customer to a 30-day notice regardless of if they have a contract or not. This is an unwritten rule and my boss has said he cannot force me to do that and does not want me to do anything that I'm uncomfortable doing.

I've taken a lot of crap from my coworkers for operating the way I do despite what management has said. I guess my question is, what can I do? What should I do? I don't feel comfortable sitting by while customers are being lied to about their obligations. Am I exposing myself to being fired by speaking out? Management already knows that their employees are forcing customers to obligations hey do not have and has chosen to allow it despite legal counsel. I'm not sure how to handle this, or if it would be best to just walk away from it, though I don't feel like finding a new job and simply forgetting about it and letting this company continue to lie and cheat people is a good solution.
Topic:
Business Law

Answer: What are you hoping to learn here?  It's not illegal to ask somebody (your client) for something (to give 30 days notice).  Your management has already told you that you don't have to go for the hard sell so are you hoping to whistleblow that your company goes for a hard sell tactic?


Title: [California] 18 year old friend's dating a 16 year old female. Can he go to prison?

Question:
So, my best friend's dating a 16 year old. They've had sex and actually got caught by the police in a public place (the girl lied to the officer and said she was 17. He let them go). This girl is from a bad part of town, my friend is really wealthy. I don't want to see her turn around and go to the police if she thinks she's gonna get a payday out of him and his family. Plus I don't want to see him go to prison.

Would the DA prosecute him? It freaks me out cause I had two friends that had sex together at 16 and the dude went to jail for rape (until he was acquitted).

Edit: Also, he moved to AZ and plans to move her out here this next semester. I'm not sure how legal that is either. Anyone know if I could get a cop in on this and possibly scare him, just so he knows the risk is real?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 > I don't want to see her turn around and go to the police if she thinks she's gonna get a payday out of him and his family.

That's not really how that works.

The age of consent in California is 18. As long as she's under 18 and he's over 18, he could be charged with statutory rape for having sex with her.
Answer #2: >Edit: Also, he moved to AZ and plans to move her out here this next semester. I'm not sure how legal that is either.

Does sex trafficking sound bad to you? Because it is.


Title: How to legally get rid of a despotic manager from the NHS?

Question:
Ok, as a whole department we are in agreement that this manager has no place whatsoever in the NHS. let me know what you lot think.
1. Perhaps his greatest moment yet. In a meeting with the portering team he actually said ''My budget is more important than your health and safety''
2. He was leant over the shop counter shouting and screaming at one of the girls. If she deserved the bollicking fine, but that is no way to go about it especially as there was people from the public in the shop. Poor lass was crying her eyes out.
This latest is the worst though and the reason i am asking for help.
A womans son tried to commit suicide, so she didnt turn up for 2 days. Keep in mind this lady has had 1 sick period in 4 years. She was expecting support from us, instead they have put her on a 0 in 3 (thats 0 sickness in 3 months) and taken the 8 hours a week that they say was overtime from her. Just evil. how do we get rid of him legally?

Answer:
 Complain to whomever his supervisor is.

This really isn't a legal issue, it's a bureaucratic one.


Title: Thanks r/legaladvice

Question:
Long story short, my son got a ticket driving my car (WI).  The officer entered my name and DL number on the ticket, not my son's.  Searched the sub, found a few relevant threads.  It looks like we should show up in court and they will correct the information.

Just wanted to say thanks.

Answer: Holy cow, someone who needed help actually *searched the sub* for relevant information instead of just posting a question that gets asked five times a day?  Thank *you*, OP.Answer #2: Wow you included your location, even though you're not asking for advice. I think you may be the first person ever to follow all of /r/legaladvice's rules.Answer #3: yep, that's correct. clerical errors aren't a concern, show up, explain it to the judge, it'll move from you to your son, then he proceeds. Answer #4: Next week's update: "Went to court like you guys said, turns out it was actually an admiralty court and now my dog is dead, I'm somehow stuck paying child support for a random kid, and I'm drinking out of mufflers despite my arrangement with the local cops.  AND I'M BEING DETAINED."Answer #5: Out of curiosity, what happens if you show up, sans son, and just claim that you were not infact the driver of the vehicle, but refuse to incriminate your son by stating that we was the driver?


Title: Large Hotel Fire, who is responsible? LA, USA (New Orleans).

Question:
Hello legal advice,

My wife and I were caught in a large fire two nights ago in the Olivier House in the French Quarter. Apparently the fire was caused by a cigarette in a room near our room. My wife and I are pretty spooked. We had to go towards the fire through heavy smoke to get the the only stairs down from where our room was.

The hotel was quick to get us new rooms they covered through the end of our honeymoon, and they got all of our stuff to us since my wife has some essential meds. We also saw the hotel after fire when we fetched a few other things they couldn’t get. The staff has been great in taking care of us, but I do wonder if they were obligated to have evacuation/fire maps in the rooms. I looked in the room when we returned and saw no map, and it probably delayed our evacuation trying to figure out if we should go towards the heavy smoke.

Some lawyer friends think I would have a case against the hotel for damages from smoke inhalation, fear, whatever else. I’m not entirely sure I would want to sue the hotel, but I would be interested in going after the negligent guest who is responsible for the fire. Is that even possible? Is the hotel likely to sue the fire starter guest in civil court? Am I missing anything else?

 We may have some counseling costs as well as cleaning costs for smoke scent later. Otherwise, since our hotel room is taken care of at other hotel, I don’t know if any other direct costs we would have. This was honestly pretty scary and possibly traumatic. I wish I could say our first hotel fire was just an alarm and some burned popcorn, but unfortunately not. I’m happy my wife and I got out and didn’t suffer losses of essential documents or anything like that, but we were close to major problems.

Answer:
 >Some lawyer friends think I would have a case against the hotel for damages from smoke inhalation, fear, whatever else.

You have no ER bills, no psychotherapy treatment documented ranging over time to treat you for emotional distress/PTSD. So no, not really.

>I’m not entirely sure I would want to sue the hotel, but I would be interested in going after the negligent guest who is responsible for the fire. Is that even possible?

It's *possible*, but not very likely. Neither is the hotel action. Hotels carry insurance policies for situations like this. The smart call would be to go after the hotel for the insurance, but as stated above, you haven no medical bills and no damages.

>Is the hotel likely to sue the fire starter guest in civil court? Am I missing anything else?

Doubtful; can't really squeeze blood from a stone.

You got your stuff, got a new room, you have no injuries. If you want to go get checked out because you're still experiencing inhalation symptoms or whatnot, go do it now as opposed to later, or insurance won't consider it.

Other than that, try and enjoy the rest of your honeymoon after this unfortunate incident.


Title: 17 year old girl sent me an unsolicited nude and her "father" is threatening to go to the cops? Am I screwed? Details in post.

Question:
Matched with a 20 year old girl on a dating site. Asks for my number, we text and she tells me shes gonna turn 18 in a month or so. Age of consent is 17 in my state. We flirt, nothing pornographic, in written word or message. I mention I work out, I end up sending shirtless pictures off my Instagram that anyone can see. we talk about kissing, I ask where she likes to be kissed (talked about neck specifically, nothing explicity beyond that) She sends a nude, after I explicitly told her to keep it legal. I don't want to end the conversation with her though because I am in to her. However, at this point, I was feeling very uncomfortable. she texted me to see more , I told her Snapchat. I still had no intention to send her pictures of a more extreme nature than what I had already sent, and I never asked her to send pictures of an illegal nature. However, I made a pretty big mistake because I specifically mention that snapchat is temporary. I know how that's gonna look to anyone that reads it but I was just trying to keep her interested in the conversation, I had no intention to escalate. I looked for the button to individually delete the explicit picture messages that night but I'm not sure if that functionality exists because I couldn't find it. I deleted the entire conversation because I wanted this to go away when I woke up the following morning.

&#x200B;

Well its not going away. Someone claiming to be her dad texted me and is threatening to go to the cops. I spoke to him on the phone,probably a mistake but I was hoping I could talk him down. The fact that he lightened up his stance whenever we were talking about ways to make this go away, particularly when money came up, along with the fact that this individual didn't really sound older than me, makes me think this is a blackmail group and not her actual father. To add to that, she was pretty direct about asking for more explicit pictures of me which girls tend to not do. This makes me think the goal was to get me to implicate myself. I could make a case to defend myself but I think I am definitely in the grey-area, because I played along with some of her requests. Like I said, I never intended to cross the legal line and even directly told her to keep it legal, but I didn't absolutely shut it down whenever asked, more of a coy stall.

&#x200B;

How cooked is my goose? Should I start searching for Orange jumpsuits online?
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 This is a super common scam. If you search on here, this gets asked all the time. Answer #2: immediately delete the photos but keep screenshots of any other communication block them both from further communication

this is a fairly common scam ignore them up until police come then get a lawyer


Title: How do I remove myself of a birth certificate.

Question: In 2004 while living in Massachusetts I started dating a girl. After 8 weeks together she told me she was pregnant. The baby was born in 2005 and I signed the birth certificate. i had no reason to believe he was not my offspring. In 2008 during an argument she told me he was in fact not my boy. I have had no contact with either of them until now. In March of this year she reached out to me. She needs me off the birth certificate so that she can get the real father to pay child support. Up until this spring he had been paying, but undocumented because he is married. I now live in Maryland. I need to know what forms I need to sign. Who I might need to see like a judge or a case worker. Also what to expect in out of pocket costs. She wants me off the certificate so I do not expect a problem there. Any help would be great!

Answer:
 You'll probably start with a paternity test to see whether or not you're the father for sure.Answer #2: The child is 13 years old.  This is not going to be so simple as signing a form.  She needs to hire an attorney and find out if it is even possible to do this in Massachusetts after so many years.  In some States by now you would just be deemed the de facto parent.
If it is possible then her attorney will file a child support action against the biological father and as part of that case the court will require at least an affidavit from you that you don't object to being removed from the birth certificate.  More likely the court will require your testimony to that effect but many courts are now allowing testimony over skype so you might not need to travel.

I strongly suggest you obtain a paternity test immediately and that she immediately consult with an attorney.  Answer #3: You'll need a paternity test, but with how old the child is it's unlikely unless the birth father is willing to adopt the child.


Title: Emotional and Physical abuse from parents

Question:
my parents (mainly my dad) recently have been constantly abusing myself and my sisters (we are all under 18). My dad grabs my arm, hits me and my mom has hit me with objects. This is all done in anger, especially when we question their heavy drinking. I have several videos and photos of this abuse. I have told them that i am going to call the police and they said that if i do the police will arrest ME for "being an asshole". Obviously i know this is false. I really want to call the police the next time they do something but i am scared of the consequences. I don't know if i want my dad to get arrested because i feel like he would hate me for my whole life and i am worried about what would happen to me. Could someone please tell me what usually happens in a situation like this.

I live in Rhode Island, USA btw.

Answer:
 i'm sorry. you need to call the police. please be more concerned about your wellbeing (and your siblings', for that matter) than if your dad will hate you for the rest of your life.Answer #2: If your safety is in danger, you should call the police.

You should also talk to a counselor at school about this. They will be able to give you specific advice on how to approach the situation and what your options are. If for any reason a counselor is not available to you, consider contacting Rhode Island Child Welfare services directly. Their website is here:

http://www.dcyf.ri.gov/child_welfare/index.php

Don't let your parents guilt you into protecting them. They're the adults, they are responsible for your safety and well-being, not the other way around. You are also not responsible for keeping them out of jail, if that's what it comes to.


Title: Not paid for 11 hours of work because boss not pleased with the outcome.

Question:
My girlfriend is graphic and web designer, and a very good one at that. Having said that, I'm a relative novice when it comes to web design, so excuse my lack of knowledge; I can only explain it as it was described to me.

She recently got hired by a Doctor who works at a chiropractic office in order to work as an in-house designer for the office's website. The first task was to essentially revamp the shitty website that somebody else had put together for them. My girlfriend spent approximately 11 hours building a website on her own host site only to find that the doctor's host site was incompatible in some way. If she had done a simple test at the beginning, she would have found that her site would would have been useless from the start, however she made a mistake and forgot to check on that.

The doctor, having been told this, was displeased and essentially suggested that they subtract this 11 hours of payment from her next paycheck. So that's what they did. Essentially, because the boss was displeased with the outcome of 11 hours of work (admittedly on the fault of my girlfriend), she will not be paid for that time spent working.

My girlfriend is totally ok with this, and thinks that it is alright based on the fact that she is a "private contractor". My argument is that they had already agreed to pay her by the hour, and not for a finished product.

Am I right in thinking there is something wrong with this picture. I'm not entirely sure that this is an illegal practice, but it certainly rustles my jimmies.

Opinions?

Edit 1: we both live in Texas

Edit 2: another thing that might be worth a mention is that she does most of her work from the chiropractic office, but some is done from home.

Update: this is for anybody reading this in the future. It turns out that she was (and still is) on an actual contract that she signed. This means that everything he did was legal and not a violation of... anything (as far as I know). Having said that, she DID sign a contract that was, by her admission, silly. She was used to working towards an end goal, but this context (which paid by the hour) was not only new to her, but also new to her boss.

His knowledge (and in my estimation, professionalism) was severely lacking as well however. He abused his contractual power and demanded my gf to do things that any employee would find.... excessive.

Since then, she has fine into her own as improved herself as a business woman. The problem shouldn't reappear.

Answer: If she is a private contractor, this is entirely legal. She's in business for herself. The doctor is purchasing a finished product at a (I assume) price they agreed on. The doctor shouldn't be liable for the extra time it took your girlfriend to produce the product.