Title: USA WI. Pulled over because cop read license plate wrong.

Question:
So a little background on the situation. In 2012, I got an OWI (stupid decisions) and lose my license for 3 years on a first offense. Fast forward to 2015, keep a clean slate until just before I can drive again. Friends were at a party drinking and were going to drive to town. I hadn't been drinking so I made another dumb choice and decide to drive so they dont.

I leave the house and read in my girlfriend's car which had out of state plates. After a bit I notice the cop behind me. I'm not speeding, so seat belt on and all. He follows me through town about a mile. Then when I turn into the store, he actives his light signaling a stop. He comes to the vehicle and states the reason he pulled me over is because the plates on her Red mid 2000s car came back as a black 1994 truck but he seen the correction when I pulled in.

The issue was her car at the time had plates ending in a 0 (zero) but it had the slash all the way through it. The cop read it as an 8 (eight).

I pay the fine thinking it was done as I was able to get my license back. Now, end of 2018 and I find out I have a warrant because of it. I turn myself in and pay off the warrant. But I was informed I have to attend a court date and there is a chance they will pull my driver's license again for 6 months.

My question is do I have a case to fight this because he made the mistake reading the plates or do i just accept whatever they throw at me?

Thanks for the help and sorry for any formatting or spelling errors. I did this on mobile.

Answer:
 It sounds like you already plead guilty or no contest and paid the fine. You cannot fight the charge now.

As far as the legality of the stop its jurisdiction dependent but some jurisdictions have upheld “good faith” traffic stops when the officer has made a mistake when initiating a traffic stop.


Title: This was in Texas. A police officer pulled over my father and me...

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 >Am I-- are we-- legally obligated to answer such a question

Not explicitly.

>please tell me I didn't have to answer) what's the best way to refuse without getting assaulted?

Your question has a faulty, and frankly stupid, premise. An officer who is going to assault you for no reason doesn't need a reason. They're going to do it regardless of what you say.

But the best way to answer the question is just to answer it. It's not a nefarious question. Answer #2: The odds of you being assaulted by a police officer on a traffic stop are smaller than the odds of being injured in a car accident by quite a bit.

You don't have to answer the question.

The best way to convey that is "I don't mean to be rude, officer, but I prefer not to answer any questions without ~~myasyer~~ **lawyer** present."


Title: US - MA - Layoffs within office this week- I already have a new job offer. Can I accept both?

Question: If I get laid off at my current employer I will be given severance for my 13 years plus vacation time. I figured the office was not doing well a few months ago and began searching for a new job. I received a  formal job offer last week and was notified that my current employer would be doing a reduction in force round. Is it illegal for me to be laid off in the first round knowing that I have a new job I can start the first week of June?

Answer:
 IANAL

Financially, a very legal and smart move. The only stipend, which you didn't mention, might be a non-compete, but since they're initiating separation I wouldn't think that would be enforceable.


Title: Accidentally didn't pay for something at Walmart self checkout

Question:
I had something in cart I thought I took out. Was in hurry in store and was grabbing what I thought I needed and trying to shop fast. (I live a ways away and have to get rides so have to shop fast)...I just scanned everything fast and threw it in bag and apparently this didn't scan and I wasn't paying much attention.I got home and realized I had it in my stuff. It's only about $20 thing ( no excuse I know) . And I feel horrible.

Tried to Google taking it back and paying for it next day and bunch of stories about loss prevention or managers being horrible and calling cops and such.

So i have a few questions. Are they gonna come after me if I don't go back and charge me with crime? And if I do go back and pay is it a simple misunderstanding or should I expect to spend day talking to security and police?

Answer: Someone asked a [similar question](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/cbb8ri) a few hours ago and got some good responses. Don't go back to the store and admit shoplifting. I'm not a lawyer but that's the advice I see given here whenever this question comes up. You could try to send them the money anonymously.


Title: We are renting in Texas. Can our landlord force us to sign an addendum to the lease making us pay $20 a month to have an air filter sent to mailed to us?

Answer: No, he can't force you.  He can also not send the air filter, though.  This is a negotiation, so you can counter his offer.


Title: I NEED to get my car registered and legal or else I'm going to have to pay up to $1000 for a ticket!! PLEASE HELP!!

Question:
Hello I've been living in New Orleans for a couple months and I got a ticket the other night that is going to cost me about $1000 to pay for unless I can prove that I have registered my vehicle and got a new license plate.

Okay so here's the story: I was raised in Baton Rouge but I moved to Delaware for a few months after my grandmother passed away. I moved back to Baton Rouge after buying a used car from a private owner. Stupidly, I did not register my car for the state of Louisiana like I was supposed to. Three years later (GOD why did it take me this long to realize how stupid I was) I'm slapped with a ticket for $1000 for an expired license plate and expired registration and I'm pretty sure I wont be able to get my car up to snuff in the condition it's in. I can't open the hood and the check engine light is on. I barely make enough to live on as it is and I don't want to go to jail or keep paying fines!! What should I do to make this all go away???

Answer:
 > What should I do to make this all go away???

Fix the car so it's inspectable.  Get inspection, get insurance.

OR

Stop driving car.


Title: Speeding Ticket in CA 102 mph in a 65mph zone.

Question:
Hi, all, here is my situation:

While driving to San Diego from Los Angeles, I received a speeding ticket in a 65mph zone.

The officer stated that I was going over 100 mph. I was not paying attention to my speed, but when I noticed that a car was approaching very quickly, I assumed it was a police officer. I quickly checked my speedometer and it stated that I was driving at 82mph.

The officer said that he would knock my ticket from a misdemeanor to an infraction due to it being my first offense.

Since I was going over 25mph above the speed limit, I am currently not eligible for traffic school and must appeal to the court.

I have the tendency to zone out while I drive and I was about 30-45 minutes into the trip; it was also late at night and I was very tired from a long day. If my foot was resting on the gas, i can see how I may have been going at 102mph, but it was not my intention.

What is my best approach when I request for traffic school?

Should I admit that I was zoning out/ tired while driving or will that only ruin my likelihood of being able to receive traffic school?

My ticket is also $490 and I CAN NOT afford it. I work, but I do not have any money to give to the court. What is my likelihood of being able to reduce the ticket?

This is my first offense after driving for 3-4 years.

Answer:
 "I don't pay attention to my extremely high speed when it's dark and I am fatigued" is not a defense, nor a good thing to say to a traffic court judge.

Emphasize that it is your first offense and ask that the judge apply her discretion to grant you traffic school.

> My ticket is also $490 and I CAN NOT afford it

Most courts will accept a payment plan.  Courts waive fees and fines for actual indigent persons sometimes, but if you have a job and a car and live indoors, you are unlikely to be considered indigent.


Title: “Evicting” Family members?

Question:
This is in Texas.

A family member has been living in a house my parents own without ever signing a lease. Another family member and their significant other also moved in later without any permission.

About a week ago all of them moved the majority of their belongings (they have already purchased another home) and said they would be completely out of the house by December 30 (there is a text message that confirms this) and terminated their utilities accounts. Additionally, they have been keeping other of their belongings in a storage unit my parents have been paying for.

Now they’re saying they won’t be out of the house until the end of January (they haven’t been back to move more stuff, etc. since they first left).

These are my questions:

Do my parents officially have to serve an eviction notice? Or not because there was never a lease?

Do my parents have to pay for the storage unit until they get their stuff out?

Is it possible to change the locks or do something else to keep them from vindictively damaging the house on their way out?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Location means everything when dealing with tenancy stuff.

Just because this person doesn't have a written lease, doesn't mean that they aren't a tenant or have any of the same protections. Now I say tenant, but technically, they aren't a tenant, they are a room mate. It's likelt that these types of agreements are not covered by your local tenancy act.

The easiest way to solve this is to phone your local courthouse tomorrow, speak with a civil clerk, let them know your situation and ask what paperwork you need to file to have the person removed from your house.


Title: 55+ trailer park questions.

Question:
This takes place in Oregon.

I'm currently "living" in a 55+ community. I'm 24 and they have in their rules that no one under 45 is allowed.

My question is, they have been starting to come after us. I've been here 5 years with my mom and grandma who both qualify. I assisit with rent and utilities as none of us can afford to live on our own at this point. I'm not a nuisance(I don't drink, party, or listen to music without headphones) Do I have any grounds to stand on? The rent in my area is absurd and I cannot afford $1300 for a 2 bedroom.

Answer:
 >Do I have any grounds to stand on?

If your mom or grandmother is violating the lease by having you there then they could be evicted.


Title: If, hypothetically, I (NJ) would like to effectively object to the Penny Arcade Settlement with TD Bank, how would I go about it?

Question:
The [settlement](https://pennyarcadesettlement.com) will net me about $0.08, and will net the lawyers and preferred claimants an amount in the low seven figures.  (Note that TD gave me a bonus of $2 for "guessing" the amount of coinage I deposited, so I'm well ahead.)  TDBank withdrew the Penny Arcade machines, so, in the future, should I wish my coins collectively counted and cashed, my best option would appear to be via coinstar, at a net loss of 9%.

My objective as a customer would be to get the settlement thrown out with prejudice.

Answer: Can I get some background on what this is talking about? The link in OP's post is (as of right now) dead.


Title: My son's mother is receiving child support through SSDI but won't report it to child support office.

Question:
I live in Texas. I'm currently on SSDI for mental health. My  Son's mom is receiving benefits off of my SSDI. In the state of Texas it's considered a form of child support payment. She is receiving it outside of the child support help so they aren't considering the child support being paid. I've contacted the office many times for help and inevitably they won't do anything about it. They are telling me that she has to call them and report it or it isn't happening. She doesn't want to help in the slightest. (Hatred for me is past believable) I have gone up to SSI to request a form showing that he is receiving benefits but SSI will not allow me to have any type of information because I'm the non-custodial parent. Child support keeps demanding I pay them $323 which is almost half of what I get already and way past 20% and now has sent me a letter demanding $2500 in less than a month or they will take me to court. My question to you today is is there a way to request the information I'm seeking from SSI for the child support office or any way I can get sufficient information at all to satisfy the child support office.

I hope I write this up correctly. I had so much on my plate to write down. I've been dealing with this matter for 2 months so far. I just received the letter demanding $2500 today and I have til june 5th to come up with it or answers.

Answer:
 Forget going through the child support office.

Go to court an request a modification. You can provide your own proof of the money she is receiving. Presto. Problem solved.


Title: Drunk and Disorderly, This will blow your mind.

Question:
Dear readers,

I could really use some help/advice for the following situation.

Sunday May 28th 2017, Memorial Weekend, My friends, my fiancé, and I took a trip from Northwest Arkansas to Talequah, Oklahoma in order to float the Illinois river.

Fast forward to half way down the river, on of my friends friends who is getting pretty drunk, started to get carried away, she was getting loud and obnoxious. My buddy and I were trying to listen to one patriotic song about The American Military when we ever heard her say to the other half of the group "if y'all really want to see me dance out on some EDM (electronic dance music)!". My friend and I said "No, it's memorial weekend and we have been trying to play this.". So then she climbed across the raft and unhooked my friends Bluetooth and proceeded for almost 20 minutes to hook her phone us, to play EDM.

During that 20 Minutes the following conversation between her and I occurred.

Me: "That's cool, just turn off the one patriotic song we have been trying to play, on memorial weekend."

Her: "I don't care, it doesn't matter."

Me: "So we doesn't matter that we are trying to play a patriotic song, for memorial weekend, a weekend to honor fallen Soldiers?"

Her: "No, they don't fucking matter!"

Me: "So fallen Solders don't matter? Dead soldiers don't matter?"

Her: "No, FUCK FALLEN SOLDIERS"

Me: "You know nothing about the military."

Her: "My dad was in the military and I have a friend in the military, so fuck you, and fuck fallen soldiers!"

Me: "You are such a bitch"

Her: (proceeds to jump up in the raft and get in my face) "No one fucking cares about dead soldiers, you've been bitching about it for the past 20 minutes, and I don't care.

Me: "Okay, you are a bitch"

Her: "Oh, I'm a bitch, say that one more time, I fucking dare you."

Me: "You are being a bitch."

Her: (proceeds to reach in storage bag, grabs my key chain, removes it from the zip block bag, and storage bag, then throws them in the middle of the Illinois river, right in a strong current where the water was around three feet deep, and dark.)

At this point, I jumped in, so did my fiancé and friends, we tried to find the keys, but were not successful. On the key chain were two key fobs for two different rare foreign cars (one of which we drove from Northwest Arkansas), as well as three house keys. My friend and his group of friends proceeded to argue with her over being a idiot and throwing the keys.

Long story short, I called the cops and filled a report to press charges. While I was writing my statement she was yelling at a cop, who after multiple warnings, handcuffed her for public intoxication. Everyone left in the other two vehicles, except my fiancé and I, after paying Pop-A-Lock to get our phones, money, etc, waited multiple hours for my sister to drive from Arkansas to bring a spare key for my car.

Now I have a car I can't drive, because it was the only copy of the key I had, and because of the type of car it is, I have to replace the entire CIM module to reprogram a new key. I also need another key for the car I had a spare to, and my fiancé's house key was a special key, if she can't return that to her landlord she loses her security deposit.

Because this woman threw my keys in the river, it is costing me around $2000.

What can I do/what should I do.

Answer: You can sue her for the cost of replacing your keys.Answer #2: You can sue the woman for the damage she caused.  Answer #3: This is a pretty open and shut small claims case, especially with the police report. Just get statements (or a copy of the lease) about the girlfriends keys and a statement from the dealership or a mechanic (notarized) stating that the whole module has to be replaced. You can also add on any money you paid the person who brought you the spare and anything you had to pay (hotel etc) as a result of being stuck there. And because she did it with malicious intent you might be able to add in punitive damages. If the amount exceeds the small claims limit in your state you have the choice of taking the loss or going to large claims. If you're going to large claims I recommend a lawyer as the burden of proof is higher.


Title: Just moved into new apartment and girlfriend left. What do I do now?

Question:
First post. Looking for any help or advice.
Quick run down: Just moved into new apartment(Feb 1st) with my 2 year girlfriend. We got into an argument Wednesday night and she left. Haven't talked to her since. Rent was due yesterday (03/05). I paid in full. I texted her about her half the rent and electric bill. No response. So I texted her dad about it. He asked if I needed it that day. I told him no its paid so I don't need it that day. Then asked what was happening going forward. No response. So my question is what I do going forward? I can afford the apartment but I would really have to budget and would have little extra money. I would have got a smaller apartment if it was just me. So I feel she signed a contract and should have to follow through on her end also(kind of ironic, that is what we argued about when she left, her not keeping up her end). I live in Kansas by the way. Any advice is truly appreciated!

Answer:
 You can sue her for her share of the rent, but you are also liable to the landlord for the entire amount (as is she).

Your best bets are probably to either (1) get a roommate, (2) see if she'll give you a small amount per month, or (3) just live like a king for the next year and take the hit.


Title: Was on my way to lunch when this lady goes and crosses a double yellow into the parking lot and hits front of my car. Now damaged and pretty obviously other partys fault with pics and videos proof but her insurance keeps delaying. What can I do?

Question:
Ive been talking to both my insurance and other partys insurance and it seems both of them are trying to just brush off the incident.

Is this one of those things that you can do anything about?

EDIT: location is SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA
Topic:
Insurance

Answer:
 These things take time. Let your insurance handle this, that is what you pay them for. Stop talking to the other insurance agency. Answer #2: It sounds like you did not have collision coverage.  If you did, your insurance company would make you whole and go after the other party.

If you only had liability, your recourse is to either continue to go through the other party's insurance and/or sue the other party for your damages.

Without a location it is hard to tell you what recourse you have.


Title: Can a landlord double rent a place

Question:
I am moving soon and due to my lease I will be paying for it while I am no longer living here, I don't care I am moving.

My landlord told me I had to pay the whole lease out to be released from it, its a few months. Can they do this if they re-rent it. Originally I was told they would only charge me up until it was re-rented, but they changed that today and told me I would have to pay all the months even if it was rented. I was wondering if this is legal, I have seen deals where landlords cannot collect rent on the same place at the same time.

I am in Denver, CO

edit; note if this is the case I was just going to give my notice at the end of lease and pay rent regularly until out of it. Its the same cost either way

Answer:
 Unless your lease has a specific lease-break clause that imposes a buyout fee, then no.  The landlord can't double-dip.

You're liable for *damages* -- which means lost rent.  If there is someone else living there, the landlord isn't losing rent once they start paying.  So you stop paying at that point.

Most states require the landlord to make reasonable efforts to re-rent a unit (called "mitigating their damages").  That generally relieves tenants of having to pay out the end of their lease as your landlord is claiming you have to.

But CO is weird.   The current case law says that *commercial* landlords must mitigate their damages, but doesn't explicitly force courts/judges to impose that on residential landlords.  However, apparently, most courts will in fact require the landlord to do that.

Your landlord might think he's being clever, or may be ignorant of the case (Schneiker v. Gordon, 732 P.2d 603 (Colo. 1987)), and may believe he can stick you with the full price of the lease.

Courts go county-by-county, though.  Sometimes judge-by-judge.  It might be a good idea to contact a landlord/tenant attorney in your county and verify that the local court will require the landlord to re-rent the unit to relieve you of the cost.

Alternatively, many court systems have advice clinics for landlord/tenant, or your local law school or legal aid society may have resources for you.


Title: [CA] apartment complex requiring me to have a notarized form filled out for an emotional support dog

Question:
Title mostly says it all. I had my doctor write a note saying I needed an emotional support animal, and that he could be contacted for any addiontal information needed. My apartment complex then said I needed to have a specific form, of their own design, filled out and signed. There is a spot on the bottom for a notary to sign, and when I questioned them, they said it was "their policy" that it be signed by a notary. My doctor does not keep a notary on staff, and this seems outrageous to me, seeing as I already have the doctors note. What should I do here?

EDIT the note has to be notarized from the doctor. He does not keep a notary on staff, and the notary can't notarize the note unless he is present to sign it in front of her.

Answer: You should go find a notary and get the document signed.  That's assuredly way cheaper and easier than any other action you could take.


Title: Fired for poor performance reviews, but had no control over the circumstances and they won't tell me specifically why I was fired. I'm over 40 and make more than most in my department. Do I have recourse? [I'm in Colorado, company based in Texas/India]

Question:
I just got fired from a job of 5 years due to poor performance reviews.  However, the circumstances are a little wonky and I'm wondering what (if any) protections I may have.

Note: I plan to speak with an attorney if I can come up with a valid reason, which is why I'm asking here first.  Otherwise it's just being fired in an at-will state and an attorney won't be interested.

**The situation:**

* I was fired for poor reviews in my last two review cycles.  The last cycle ended 3-4 months ago, and we had our last discussion about it a 1-1.5 months ago.  At the time, they told me it wasn't negative and wouldn't impact my employment as it was just feedback to work on in the future.  (I have this legally recorded.)
* The reasons for the poor reviews was completely out of my hands and in the control of my managers.  (Details on this are below, under "Notes".)
* I'm over 40 and make more than most people in my department due to having nearly 25 years in my field.  I have received no paperwork or mention of the The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, though I'm not certain it applies to my situation.  (Does it?)
* I am owed outstanding money for past travel expenses.

**My questions:**

1. Does the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act apply to my situation?  (I am 40.)
2. Does whether or not it applies have to do with whether or not they had valid reason to fire me?
3. Is a non-compete at all enforceable in Colorado, assuming I'm not an executive and am not actively involved in company strategy?  Specifically, can I go to work directly for my company's client, who is demanding that they allow this?  (They told him there is no non-compete in place, but there is.)  Does it matter that they lied to him about my having signed a non-compete?
4. Is there anything I can do to ensure I'm reimbursed for past travel expenses?
5. Does the fact that I questioned the poor reviews and was told that it would not reflect poorly on my position at my company have any bearing on the situation?  (I have recordings of these conversations.)
6. Does the fact that they refused to actually state why I was being fired, other than that it was consistent with company policy due to my poor reviews, have any bearing on the situation?
7. What (if anything) should I say to my ex-company to get my money back, a release from my non-compete agreement, and a settlement (such as severance, if applicable) for being fired without valid cause?
8. If I have to sue, who/how should I serve my company, which is an Indian company with a US headquarters in Texas?

**Notes:**

* I got my job while living in California, and lost it after moving to Colorado.  (The move was years ago.)  Both are at-will states.  Both appear to have prohibitions against non-compete agreements, but my employment paperwork included non-compete language (which I signed).
* My last/current client was thrilled with my work, and extremely upset that I was fired.  As an aside, my company breached contract with them by firing me and not informing the client of this.  (I had secure access to the client's systems, and they're an investment bank so this is a big deal.  My company they never notified them I was fired or that they should terminate my access to those systems.)  They also told the client I haven't signed a non-compete when I did, but I don't know if that's a breach of contract or just dishonesty.
* My poor reviews were due to:
  * Not participating in pre-sales activities (i.e. attending pre-sales calls and in-person meetings) that I cannot seek out myself; I must be invited to them and I never received a response to repeated requests for inclusion.  I have recorded conversations in which I repeatedly told them I was available for these activities.
  * Not being a "thought leader" (i.e. participating in company growth-related activities such as strategy and publishing documents), but I've made multiple recommendations for publications and types of leadership activities for which I received no response.  I have copies of those emails and recorded conversations.
  * Not billing a high enough rate to clients, but I am not involved in rate negotiation discussions; I only deliver design work to clients.  (Note, however, that my rate was increased a week before being fired.)

Answer:
 You should file for unemployment and seek employment elsewhere.

A non-compete has three main parts: industry, location, and duration.  If any of those three are unreasonable for your state, it may not be enforceable.  A local employment lawyer would be able to answer whether or not it would be considered enforceable.  You're also free to take employment anywhere, but you might have to pay your previous company damages as a result that would have been outlined in the non-compete.

If your employer owes you money and will not pay, sue them.  Your contract probably states where all litigation must take place.  Reach out to their HR/Payroll departments first to get a response on this issue.


Title: [Washington State] My brother got his girlfriend of two months pregnant, they broke up. WTF should he be doing legally?

Question:
Look, I know LA likes a good story with heroes and villains and justice boners but there's none here. I can't paint either my brother or his ex in a good light in this situation. She's no peach and lied about birth control because she really wanted a kid but he was stupid and didn't have the "what if you get pregnant even with it" conversation with her, and now refuses to take any responsibility including texting or calling her. So yeah, everyone's an asshole. Everyone is 25+ in this situation, and both parents low income so the legal help part will be difficult to find - are their family law attorneys that will help low income clients?

My brother "doesn't want to bother with a lawyer or paternity test" - He's also not sure if he wants to be involved with the kid, and doesn't seem to care if his ex's home is a safe place for the child.

I just want to know what he should do  next, legally. I'm trying to convince him to get a lawyer and see a therapist to deal with his depression so that he can actually handle this. I'm also trying to convince him to see a family law mediator/lawyer to talk about options BEFORE the kid is born. There's a 0% chance our parents will pay for legal help - they've been trying to get him to leave the house for awhile and this MIGHT be the straw.

Is there legal aid for low income parents? Are his wages going to get garnished more by the judges if he continues to show a complete lack of interest in his child's life?

I'm not even sure if this is an LA post more than a "I hate that someone closely related to me is going to be a deadbeat dad because that's so cruel to the child" post. Especially because the ex isn't mentally or financially stable either.

Answer: When the baby's born get a DNA test just to be sure. If its his he's gonna be looking at a nice child support payment every month for the next 18 years. Its up to him if he wants to be in the kids life or not.


Title: [IL] My Car got towed from our Complex's lot today...

Question:
Hi everyone!

So my car got towed from our apartment complex's (private) lot today, and I have some questions regarding it. First of all, I will admit to having parked in someone else's spot, as someone else was in mine and I was only going to be home for a short time (less than an hour) and was in a bit of a rush to get off on a road trip.

Anyways, I get downstairs to the parking lot and there's a tow truck pulling my car out from the spot ("P1"). I should mention, my vehicle is FWD, and I was parked face in, where the front is "P1" and the rear is "My", so he literally dragged my car out of the spot. I yelled that it was my car, he told me "once it's on the hitch, there's nothing I can do," to which I clarified that I have the keys and can move it right away. He said that didn't matter and I accepted this as a fact. I asked where I can pick my car up, and how much it was going to cost me. He offered to give me a lift to the tow yard, as "It's Friday and I'm in a good mood". Note, at this point, the car was still on private property, but I had my bags with me. I asked him if I could run my bags upstairs. He agreed. I came back down, and he had pulled towards the street/outside of the lot but my car was still technically on the sidewalk ("P2"). Anyways, we get to the tow yard, I pay and drive home so I can leave to my road trip. [DIAGRAM](http://i.imgur.com/USGm7oW.jpg)

I told a friend, they referenced an article that came up earlier this year about cars and private lots. The relevant text of the law is as follows:
> Section 1710.43  Relocating Vehicles Where Owner or Driver is Present

>No vehicle shall be relocated where the owner of the vehicle or the owner's agent is present or arrives on the scene before the vehicle is completely removed from the private property, produces the ignition key to the vehicle, and the owner or agent is able and does immediately remove the vehicle from the private property.

A couple more notes of possible importance: on our drive over, the driver stated multiple times they have audio/video surveillance in the trucks, so there may be a video of me arriving on scene, in addition to the fact that he gave me a lift to begin with. Also claimed there was a call in for the tow, presumably from whoever's spot I parked in. There are no "lot stickers" like there are in other places. Also, I'm not entirely certain that the tow signs are legal, As they are only in the "other lot" and the condo by-laws state: that the car bay is governed separately than the "other lot" ([full text pic](http://i.imgur.com/uD6z2q1.png)). The yellow boxes in the diagram are where the lightpoles with the towing signs are posted. There are none in any of the car bays.

Oh, also, it's worth mentioning that this company has [already been investigated](http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/11/07/police-raid-towing-company-amid-allegations-it-illegally-seized-vehicles/) for shady practices in the past

Now, my question: Did I screw myself here by paying the tow fee? By running my bags upstairs to the point where he was able to (almost) finish the tow (even though he deliberately mislead me as to the law)?

If not, what are my recourses here? I obviously am out on the towing fee, plus about two hours of my time (and some subsequent time loss in traffic because I hit evening rush afterwards). Is small claims an option, so as to not have to pay a lawyer?

Answer: You may be able to get the tow fee back, but you should forget about your time (particularly the traffic time)


Title: Sent home prematurely after surgery with next to no pain management

Question:
I don’t know if this is the right sub but I don’t know where else to post. I had a total hysterectomy today beginning at around 2:30 pm. When I woke up from the anesthesia, I was in so much pain right away. I have a very high pain tolerance, but I can easily say this was the most pain I’ve ever been in in my life. In the recovery room, I was very “with it” almost right away. I was asking for help and the doctors were mostly ignoring me. They kept leaving me alone closing the curtain while I was trying to talk to them and blowing me off like I was just in some kind of loopy state, when actually I was really laying there in agony. They only offered me a help button when I asked them multiple times, but really did almost nothing to help me.

They really pressured me to go home today, saying they were crowded anyway. They sent me home an hour after I was released from the recovery room, with only one nurse around in an otherwise completely empty ward.  They would’ve sent me home sooner but they couldn’t find anyone to wheelchair me out. They prescribed me 600 mg of ibuprofen and sent me on my way. I have been in so much pain ever since. I can’t get up on my own and am having difficulty breathing. Everyone there made me feel as though it was as simple as having a checkup. Its the middle of the night here, and I have really nobody to help me at home at this hour. During the day I do, but everyone is asleep and I am laying here groaning in pain with nothing I can really even do about it.  I do not have a history of opioid abuse or anything like that.

I don’t know if this qualifies as malpractice of any sort or if I can even do anything about it, but does anyone know of my rights in this situation? Thanks for any help in advance.
Topic:
Medicine and Malpractice

Answer:
 There is a systemic problem with doctors failing to properly manage pain during ob/gyn procedures - see this recent piece on IUDs: https://theoutline.com/post/6323/if-men-had-to-get-iuds-theyd-get-epidurals-and-a-hospital-stay

Obviously a hysterectomy is a much more major procedure than an IUD so clearly it should come along with better pain management. You’re unlikely to be able to make a case for malpractice because under management of pain is such a common thing, but I do want to strongly encourage you to reach back out to the doctor, or go to your general practitioner if they refuse, and get something stronger. Consider enlisting a friend to help advocate alongside you since you’re still feeling out of it. I’m so sorry your doctor is being a shithead and impeding your recovery :(Answer #2: I'd go to the ER or urgent care.


Title: Unable to locate non custodial parent. Need the divorce paperwork amended. What can I do?(TX)

Question:
My divorce paperwork states that I need to have my daughter on my insurance. I was remarried in 2012 and since have had my daughter on my new wife's insurance through her job since it's better than mine. In October 2015 my HR dept was sent a court order to add us to the medical. They said I could have the paperwork amended to allow this. The problem is that the other parent has to agree and she can't be found. She last moved to Chicago a few years ago and I haven't heard from her since. The person I spoke to on the phone at the Texas OAG suggested a private investigator to get her address. Isn't there some way I can change my paperwork without her having to acknowledge it? She clearly doesn't care what happens in her daughter's life. There have never been any visitations or phone calls or letters or anything.

Edit: Thanks to everyone that commented. After this post and a couple of phone calls I am pointed in the right direction.

Answer: You can probably serve the papers to her last known address and be able to get a judge to grant the order. My state allows that. Your's might too. Call your local family court and explain the situation to them and ask them how to proceed.


Title: [NJ] Four traffic tickets including DWI

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > r would it give me some leverage to plea bargain for a lesser suspension?

You think giving the judge a full accounting of **all** your screwups will make things go **better** for you?

You need an attorney and you need one now.  Your tickets alone paint a horrible picture of you and your actions.  If you want any prayer of staying on the road, hire an attorney.


Title: Hospital Double charged me and wont work with me. What is my next legal step?

Question: The hospital double charged me around 3100$ worth of procedures. I have called them and they said the only thing I can do it make a payment plan. I actually have the money to pay it off since after insurance its only around 1200$ total from around 8k. But still that leaves 3100$ of things they double charged. They also refused to give me an itimized receipt for about a month. 1200$ is a lf of money for me, is there a way I can sue a hospital in small claims court? its there a better way to contact the hospital then their shitty billing department? Im not upset that I have to pay a bill (well I am since no one should have to pay to stay alive) but I am upset that I have to pay for the same thing twice and they literally wont even talk to me about it.

Answer: Call your insurance. If they’re helping pay and part of the portion that they’re paying is double billed, they’re going to care about that.


Title: Friend keeps asking guy to stop touching her, he keeps doing it.

Question:
I'm looking for advice on how to proceed in a situation, I have encouraged her to communicate clearly and as civil as possible, and she has, but it continues.  I will not accept any further behavior of this kind, but I would like to put an end to it in accordance with the law and as respectfully as possible.

It started I think around a year ago with a few incidents, they became friends but then he started to get physical when they were hanging out, trying to pull her into cuddling, etc.  Touching/grabbing parts of her body at a concert a while later, things like that.  Each time she told him in no uncertain terms that she was not interested and that he needed to stop, later severing contact with him entirely.

More recently, he tried making contact by text again, asking her to hang out.  She told him again that she had no interest in seeing him.  He called her paranoid, among a few other things, she has the text record of her conversation with him.  She cited the reasons she was uncomfortable, he was dismissive and she stuck to her guns, stating again that she did not wish to have anything to do with him.

We are all part of the same social circle, so they are often present at the same social functions, public and private.  Lately, he has been trying to talk to her when they meet in passing like this, and he keeps initiating small forms of physical contact. An arm touch here, a shoulder squeeze there.  Each time she has told him firmly to stop and that he is never to touch her for any reason.  He has consistently disrespected her by continuing this behavior.

I have suggested she write a letter detailing each instance that has made her uncomfortable and each instance where she communicated that the physical contact was unwanted, with a final request that he make absolutely no further attempts at physical contact.  No accusations or assumptions of motive, no more than necessary to communicate the offences that have prompted this response and the strict boundary she wishes to establish.  He can go where he wants, he can speak to her, everything will remain completely civil as it has so far, but he is not to engage in ANY form of physical contact with her.

I'm hoping that delivering this letter to him as well as two people who are close with both of them so that they are aware of the situation, will resolve things before this becomes an escalated incident.

Am I on the right track? Is there anything else I should be trying to do?

Any help is greatly appreciated.  I will end this behavior one way or another, I would preferit to be as kosher with the law and as respectful to everyone involved as possible.

Answer:
 >  I will not accept

Not to be a jerk, but why does that matter?  Don't be a white knight here.  Talk to the friend, urge/encourage her to report these incidents to police or school administrators or parents, etc.  But even if you disagree with her choices, she has the right to choose whether or not to make an issue out of this.

I think a letter to the offender is pointless.  If it started with him "attempting to pull her into a cuddle", then these are likely sexual batteries.  She's made her boundaries clear ("do not touch me ever again") and he is not respecting her boundaries.  That implies that he believes he has some kind of proprietary right to touch her.  A letter isn't going to stop him.

She should get authorities involved.  He's already crossed the line past which politeness and courtesy should no longer matter.  He is committing an evil act because he feels entitled to do so.  Fuck that guy and his feelings or his reputation or public image, etc.  She needs to call the police and file a report the next time it happens.  After a few of those, she needs to go to court for a protective order (if that kind of PO is available in your state).

But *she*.  Not you.  If she isn't at the point where she's ready to make a big deal out of this, there's a good chance she'd resent **you** not respecting her boundaries by making the call yourself.


Title: [US-NV] Employer is shaving off any extra minutes worked outside of 'scheduled' time

Question:
I'm a full-time employee in the USA in the state of Nevada, and I've been working at the same place for a few years and I've recently found a discrepancy on my time sheet.

I have a time I'm "Scheduled" to work, between the hours of 9 am and 5:30 pm, what I didn't know was that anytime that I worked outside those times, it would automatically be cut off to fit my "Scheduled" time.
So, if I arrived 5 minutes early, I might leave 5 minutes early. But my timesheet would adjust that to an 8:00 am clock-in time and I would only get paid for 7 hours and 55 minutes of work, even though I clocked in for 8.

I was never notified that I would not be getting paid for any time outside my scheduled time, nor was I ever reprimanded for my slight time discrepancies.

My boss has told me this is completely legal, but from what I could find by myself, it isn't. Is there some strange loop-hole that I'm not aware of that has to do with scheduled time versus actual time?

I'm pretty livid about the whole situation and I don't want to go spouting my mouth off about things being "illegal" without really knowing what I'm talking about. Overall its probably only a few minutes each week, but I think it's been happening since I got here, and I think they might be doing it to all hourly employees.

Any bit of help on the situation would be very much appreciated, I just need to know one way or the other.

*edited to include location and simplify.

Answer: It's not completely legal.  In fact it is completely *illegal*.  File a wage complaint with your state, they must pay you for all time you worked.  Though they are free to fire you for working outside of scheduled time if they like as well.  Sounds like you need a new job, definitely make a wage claim.


Title: I tracked down the scum that stole my brother's phone. Now what?

Question:
Hey Redditors. I'm hoping to get some good advice on what our next move should be. Here's the story so far:

My brother was selling his iPhone on the Facebook marketplace for $300. Someone contacted him and said he'd buy it. They met at a large store parking lot (because they have cameras) and made the exchange. My brother was only 13, and didn't think much of it, but he didn't check the money handed to him. The 'buyer' gave him counterfeit money before driving off. Once my brother got home, he figured out it was fake, and immediately reported it to the police. They were zero help because we knew nothing at the time.

We decided to go back to his Facebook account, which now had it's name changed to "No Witnesses". After a couple of hours, he deleted the account completely. My wife (Paralegal for our courthouse and Criminal Justice major) and I (Cyber Security major) worked our magic through the night. We found his name, address, school, previous offenses and even his mother's name. Here's what's even crazier: Our cousin works with his girlfriend (we found this out only because she said his name around my cousin, and it rang a bell, so he dug a little bit to confirm it was him).

So here's my question...what do we do? We can't exactly prove he did it (though we know for 100% sure). This was months ago so we don't even know if the parking lot still has the video, and from what we've learned, he's a violent person with multiple friends that are ALWAYS packing, and has multiple theft, drug and gum charges.

Please, no life lesson comments for my brother. I've talked with him, I've explained the steps he needs to always take to be safe when trying to buy or sell online, and he understands.

Any legal or just overall good advice would be great. Thank you!

Answer: Give the information you gathered to the police, referencing the police report you made for the counterfeit money.


Title: shower broken twice in 7 days, is that enough to break lease without penalty?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > is this enough to request breaking the lease without penalties involved?

No, not even close.  Ask them to come out again.  You have a long, long way to go before a broken shower would be considered a lease break issue.Answer #2: >is this enough to request breaking the lease without penalties involved?

No.  Your landlord is entitled to an opportunity to resolve the issue.  A pattern of consistent problems sometimes creates an argument, but a single recurrence of a problem is not yet such a pattern.

Notify your landlord in writing of the issue and ask that he correct it.  You might include in your written notice that your alarm will be disabled not armed so as to allow the maintenance work.


Title: [South Carolina] Wife's aunt, as the trustee, raided my wife's grandmother's trust and bank account, and now claims there is nothing left.

Question: When my wife's grandfather passed away nine years ago, he left a large amount of money in a trust that was to be used to care for his wife, my wife's grandmother.  My wife's aunt was the trustee and has squandered the money over the past nine years.  We know that she withdrew large amounts of money as loans that she never intended to pay back.  Anyways, two years ago, she liquidated all of the money that was invested, closed her mother's bank account, and moved all of her money into her own personal account.  So, she has been paying for her mother's care out of her personal account, but has no way to differentiate her money from her mother's.  The real problem is that my wife's grandmother recently passed and her aunt says that there is no money left to settle the will, which my family and my wife's father are supposed to get a decent amount of money.  She apparently has 30 days from the death to settle the will,  but is trying to drag her feet. Conveniently, we found out that my wife's cousins have already received their inheritance.  I don't know what we can do or what recourse we have.

Answer: It's time to talk to a lawyer.


Title: Do I need consent to post my own work?

Question: I am a Landscaper, and have done a lot of work on a customers yard. After We have finished the job, I took some photo's of the work I have done. I then posted our work on our website to show our quality of business. The home owner then had problems with us posting these photo's. The photo's just show the pattern of the paving stones and the size of the patio etc. There is no photo's with their house or address in it. Do I need their consent to post these photo's? We had permission to be on their property at the time these photo's were taken. Thank you!

Answer:
 Do you really want to make enemies with this customer? You need to approach this from a customer service perspective, not a legal perspective. The customer is asking you not to post the photos. Posting them anyways means they're going to tell all their friends what an unreasonable person you are, and not to hire you.

The customer is making a simple request. It's in your best interest in terms of public relations to agree to it. Most companies get permission from their customers no matter what simply to avoid bad blood like this.Answer #2: Is it legally required?  Probably not.  Is it a good idea?  Most likely.  You don't want to be making your customers upset, after all.


Title: S/O works 8-10 hour shifts and is not given any breaks including for lunch. He is also prohibited from leaving when his shift is over. Is this legal?

Question:
This is in NY. As stated my SO has a new job working 8-10 hour shifts. Nobody gets breaks including any lunch breaks. He doesn't eat anything all day. They also get yelled at when they try to leave once their shift is up. The manager has actually told them he doesn't care if they miss the last bus home or have other obligations nobody can leave. They are not allowed to leave when their shift is up, they leave when he says they leave, which usually isn't until about 3-4 am or even overnight where they then are expected to still show up for their shift the same day. Nobody says anything because they don't want to be fired. Is this legal? If not what can I do?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 Is he still being paid for the time after his shift ends and when he's allowed to leave?  Why does the boss bar them from leaving?Answer #2: Lunch breaks (unpaid) are mandatory in New York.  http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/new-york-meal-rest-break-laws.html

If he is compensated for the time after his shift, and he is getting paid time and a half for overtime, then it's legal.  The length of the shift is entirely up to the employer.

Answer #3: He should just leave when his shift is over. I mean what the hell. If fired file for unemployment and look for a new job. He's not being paid under the table is he?


Title: Sticky Medical Situation

Question: I'm not sure if this is the right sub to go to for this so I apologize if I'm in the wrong place. My sister (19) and I live in Illinois with our parents. For about the last 6 months she's been having these episodes that occur about once a month where she just starts vomiting all night long. When it started she said it wasn't anything serious and it didn't even bother her that much, but it's progressively gotten worse and worse. Last night she had another one of these things where she just starts throwing up and she told me she felt really really terrible, she was puking up blood, and that she feels like she should really see a doctor. She went to confront my parents about it and they refused to bring her to a doctor or get any medical help. My sister doesn't have the money to visit a doctor either because most of her income is going into paying her tuition for college. I'm wondering if anyone knows what she could possibly do, I'm young and rely on my parents to sort out anything regarding medical stuff so I don't know how payments and whatnot work. Any help is appreciated.

Answer: This isn't a legal situation.  Your sister is an adult and doesn't need your parents' consent to seek medical treatment.


Title: [NYC] I want to scrape a cloud-software's online forum to build a database to advertise my optimization services to the end-users of that software. Could someone talk through the legality?

Question:
The website does have a Terms of Use. The TOU states that you should not scrape. You agree to the TOU by "accessing" the site. You do not have to make an account to view the community or the posts; it is "open".

Thank you for any input!

Answer: NAL, all you need to know is in your question "The TOU states that you should not scrape"


Title: [USA]Can a doctor use my emergency contact info to track me down for billing?

Question:
My insurance company decided to neg a payment for a doctors visit. I didn't answer a call from my phone (didn't hear the number) and they called my father (emergency contact) a few days after.

for the record, I wouldn't have considered this if they hadn't thrown it in my face that they "told my father" over the phone.

I'm 26, make good money, and someone who will pay once I speak to my insurance.

Answer:
 If you gave the office consent to speak to your father then they can call your father and discuss any aspects of your visits/care with himAnswer #2: It sounds like you are sidling up to the idea of a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violation.

If so, remember that the FDCPA applies to third party collectors, not first party.  As a first party collecting their own debt, it might be rude to tell your Dad, but not illegal.

Disclaimer : Not an lawyer.


Title: Auto Accident yesterday

Question:
I was in an Auto Accident last night. Got rear-ended by some lady going too fast. I was parked at a red light and she just slammed right into me. The damage to my car is minimal compared to her car, but I guess my insurance doesn't cover collisions, which I guess is my fault. So basically, I'm asking any and everyone what the hell do I do. I have never been in an accident for one,  but I also have a fairly damaged rear-end on my car, and what appears to be no options. I can't accept that I was just minding my own business, and then this happens and I have to deal with it on my own.

Edit: Idaho, United states

Answer:
 You file a report with HER insurance company.

Your insurance is "liability only" which means it only covers damage you do to other people's cars or property.

If she does not have insurance, then you sue her for your damages.


Title: 15 yr old son in [ME], I live in [MN]. Grandparents filed for emergency order for protection to take son from mom. What happens next?

Question:
I have a 15 yr old son, in Maine.
Long story short, he was born in  2002. She filed her paperwork, and had a court appearance 5 months later. I was not notified of this hearing, as I was serving on Active Duty in the U.S. Navy at this time. The state of Maine had no idea where I was stationed, and the Navy wasn't very forthcoming with the location of its sailors.
The original judgement from 15 years ago states that she was awarded full custody due to my "Abandonment and mental instability". I did not hear about this hearing until almost 2 months after, when I was served by a local sheriff, where I was stationed. By that point, she had already been granted full custody. I have a copy of this order from the state records. This order hadn't been changed or challenged in any way since so far as I am aware. A following order for child support was created, and I started paying child support.
I have had periodic contact with him in the last several years, when he reaches out to me against her wishes. Her parents,  my son's grandparents have encouraged him to get in contact with me, and have told him basically everything he knows about me. They are of the opinion that mom is completely wrong in these matters. Things haven't been going well. She has constantly threatened things if I continue to remain in contact.
She had been living with her long-term boyfriend/fiance/whatever-he-is, who she has a 10 yr old daughter with, until a few weeks ago. They apparently broke up, and the 3 of them (mom, daughter, and son) moved back into son's grandparents.
After a week of living with them, they observed enough patterns of abuse to "kick out" mom, and told her to take daughter with. A week later, they filed for an emergency order of protection.
They were granted this order by the state, partially because there has been a total of 8 DHS visits to their home in the past few years. I was told about this on Friday, once the temporary order was granted.
They told me there is a hearing scheduled for the beginning of July, where they expect this temporary order to become permanent.

My question is, what can I expect will happen, when she loses custody of son? Obviously the state of Maine is well aware of my existence. I am on good terms with his grandparents, and I would imagine they intend to make sure I have whatever parental rights restored. Needless to say, they don't have much good to say about their daughter, especially with her pattern of lies and manipulation, abuse and neglect.

Answer:
 Okay just real quick- your child shouldn't be the one reaching out to you, you need to be the one reaching out even when it's hard and unpopular. You've been passive parenting this kid forever and I doubt he feels very loved or cared for in his current situation. Attend to that.

If you want custody, now would be the time to hire an attorney where he is. If you don't, child support will be switched to whoever is his custodial guardian and the amount made appropriate to accommodate their circumstances. So it could go up or down, but it definitely won't be paid to her.Answer #2: If you think the grandparents will be good guardians for him, you can contact their lawyer and ask what you can do to help them get custody and to get you visitation rights.  Together, you can make a pretty strong case.

If you'd rather have custody, you need to hire your own lawyer in the county where the case is being heard.  Courts don't like to move kids out of the State where they are, but they also don't like to bypass actual parents to award custody to somebody else, so this could go either way.

In any case, you should contact your son and let him know that you love him.  He's probably pretty shaken-up right now.


Title: Buying "carded" goods

Question:
some guy on a forum called altenen is selling "carded" (meaning bought with stolen credit cards) phones and stuff for cheap

he is even willing to use an escrow and everything

anyways is it legal to buy or will i get charged for funding a criminal organization or something

i am in ontario canada

Answer: You're asking if it's okay to knowingly buy stolen goods?


Title: [OH] Landlord is charging us for having a drain unclogged because the plumber said it was a tenant issue (hair). We have a signed report from the plumber stating no obstructions were removed. Landlord doesn't care and I'm not sure how to proceed.

Question:
I'll try to keep it brief.  Our shower drain was clogged and we couldn't get it open ourselves so a plumber came out but couldn't get his cables through the narrow drain, specifically the trap.  A new plumber came out days later and also couldn’t get his cables through the narrow trap.  Finally he resorted to using his shop vac after which the shower started draining.

In his written receipt/report he left us the plumber stated that even after using the shop vac, no obstructions were removed.  Now our landlord is saying in their phone conversation with the plumber they were told the obstruction was due to hair and therefor we have to pay the cost.

I disputed this with the landlord, sending them a copy of the written report that states no obstructions were removed.  They told me I could dispute it with the plumber and that I was still going to be charged because of what they were told on the phone.

Does that seem right?  Does what the plumber told them over the phone overrule what they wrote in their report to us?   If I have to pay it I will, but I was really curious to hear what others think about this.

Answer: What does your lease say about who covers the cost of repairs?


Title: (PA) Boyfriend paid off old tickets to restore his license. Letter came stating he is receiving an additional 1yr suspension??

Question:
Hey guys.

*Let me begin by saying that I don't approve of how he handled this situation and he's a bit hard-headed about it. I'm trying to be a good partner and help him find a solution..*

BF recently paid off a series of old tickets amounting to $800+ dollars, listed on his license restorations requirements letter. Today he received a letter stating that he is receiving a new suspension of 1 year from the day he paid his fines. He mentioned that paying one fine required him to plea guilty. I believe this is because suspensions in PA don't take effect until a plea is made, regardless of time elapsed. He hasn't been driving since his first ticket in 2010, effectively having served 7 years of suspension until he could pay his tickets. He did not call or try to set up payment plans or make any effort to contact anyone about these tickets. A few weeks ago he paid them all off at once.

Should he appeal for hardship? I've also read he could apply for a probationary license but I'm not sure if he actually qualifies for having served over 5 years of suspension..

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

EDIT: Is it worth it to go through a license restoration service? It looks like it would cost about $350 for the "Initial Investigation."

Answer: He should seek out a lawyer that specializes in license restoration. Without knowing the details of the "tickets" its hard to say.  Im guessing because he had to enter a plea he was avoiding court for these past seven years.  He should have went to court when he originally received the charge and entered a plea then.  Hopefully he takes it as a lesson learned


Title: NC - Rehearsal dinner venue (a month later) says they quoted us wrong and are asking for $500 more

Question:
Hi all! We got married in December, and had our rehearsal dinner at a hotel. We paid them what we were quoted in full about a month before the dinner, and thought the whole thing was over and done with. We loved the venue and the dinner.

Yesterday I got an email stating that they had quoted us incorrectly, and that we still owe them about 500 dollars. There was no contract, but I do have her initial quote. I went back and looked at it, and sure enough, her math was wrong. I didn't notice at the time (I think it was a multiplication error, something that wouldn't have been obvious to me unless I had pulled out a calculator.)

Can a company do this? Can they quote you one thing, and then after everything is over and done with (and they've sent you a receipt suggesting that you've paid in full) send you another bill due to an initial math error on their part?

Answer:
 Something like this?

"Contract for $500 + $500 + $500 + $500 = $1500.  Pay on receipt."

This is pretty ambiguous.  It isn't clear what figure the two of you agreed upon - was it $1500 or was it $2000?  I would offer to split the difference with them (offer to pay them $250 if they agree the matter is completely settled).Answer #2: You do not have to pay. The responsibility for making sure that the contract is correct is on the party preparing the contract. This was not an obvious error that you could discern just by glancing at the contract. Instead, as you said, you actually had to pull out the calculator.


Title: I made a post awhile ago about our condo association and the problem has not changed. [Rockford, IL]

Question:
[Here is the previous post.](http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2t2q5z/need_advice_on_dealing_with_our_condo_association/)  Since then, we have stopped playing with our dog inside the condo to try to help.  We also talked to our neighbor and gave her our number so that she could call us instead of banging on our ceiling, which only makes our dog worse since she thinks someone is banging on the door.  We thought that might help and we were trying to be civil neighbors.  Apologizing for the noise and that we were trying to fix it.  Well she hasn't stopped banging on our ceiling, has never called or text us and complained again to the association and they fined us another $50.  I emailed the president the first time saying that we didn't think it was justified and that her form of communication was not talking to us, it was to bang on our ceiling.  He wrote snarky email back basically saying he didn't care what we had to say and that the fine was still in place.  We paid it.

Now, we receive another complaint.  Like I said before, we no longer play with our dog in our condo and try to stop her from running around as soon as possible.  The only noise she makes is when she gets excited and starts running, which we can't really prevent but we stop her from doing it as soon as possible.  Tops 1 minute.  So this neighbor bangs on our ceiling as soon as the dog starts.  I can't really stop her from starting so I'm not sure what she thinks we can do about that.  I emailed the president (haven't sent it yet) and said I can't preemptively stop her from doing it.  She is complaining about every single noise the dog makes and we feel like we have to walk on egg shells in out own condo, in order to try to avoid being fined.

I really don't know what to do at this point.  The association is basing all of this off her side of the story and doesn't really want to hear our side.  Is there nothing we can do about this?

TLDR:  Neighbor complaining about every little noise the dog makes.  We tried talking to her and gave her our number but she keeps banging on the ceiling.  Association keeps fining us based only on her side of the story and won't listen to ours.  Is there anything we can do?

**EDIT:**  So a quick side note that doesn't have to do with the dog but has to do with them trying to find every little thing to complain about.  So we have a garage and we have a spot out front for our cars.  My fiance takes the garage because he drives more, has he nicer car and pays the mortgage so it makes sense that he gets that.  My car is in the spot out front.  This last email, the president included that he got a complaint about my car being out there.  Said that no unlicensed cars are allowed to be parked out there and threatened to have it towed.  The car is licensed, registered and completely legal to be there since we are allowed one spot out front.  Now since I don't have a job, I don't have much use to drive the car so it just sits there.  Well they apparently don't like that.  The car is actually registered in my dad's name because it is his car that he lets me barrow.  They are digging deep to try to find ways that we have screwed up.  It's rather annoying.

Answer:
 IMO, it might be time to consult a lawyer that's well-versed in HOA law.  A letter reminding the board of its responsibility to have a process in place before assessing fines might carry some weight.

There probably is such a process in your bylaws or CC&Rs or other documents, probably including warnings and a hearing. Answer #2: Every time she bangs on your ceiling, I'd make a noise complaint to the condo association. I'd also try getting some audio/video of her doing it. Answer #3: Just to be clear, every time someone complains about someone else in your condo association, the target of the complaint is fined $50?   That seems...excessive.


Title: My wife was shot with a pellet gun in Cabela’s

Question: On Friday my family was shopping at Cabela’s. As we were about to check out my wife was struck in the arm by a pellet accidentally discharged from a gun another customer was attempting to return. This happen as the employee was inspecting the gun for the return, she was told that the gun had never been used before. We confronted the employee and customer, stating that my wife was just shot in the arm, her are was welting up pretty bad at this point. The guy making the return grabbed his stuff and angrily took off, upset to be caught in his lie and not wanting to deal with the fact that he shot my wife. My wife was not seriously hurt, but was a just in pain for a few days. More shook up and kind of freaked out that one of our 3 kids could have been hit, at the height of the shot it would have been right in the head. They took our statements and I have been contacted by the store manager and given some insurance info. Should I be making a bigger deal of this?Should I expect more from them than a sorry and medical insurance claim? We have never been involved in something like this. I feel at least there return process needs to be looked at. Thanks for your advice, it’s been a crazy weekend.

Answer:
 Paying any medical bills is what you're entitled to.

If you make it clear to store management and the corporate office that you are still very unhappy they may toss you some gift cards or something.Answer #2: I worked at a gun store, they definitely broke store policy. Where I worked our policy was every gun had to come into the store in a case, brought into a back room, pointed at a nonshared wall and cleared. The customer had no part in ensuring a gun was clear. This was a store similar to Cabela's.

I would definitely call the corporate number and let them know someone was able to walk in with a loaded air rifle and negligently shot your wife, they're lucky it wasn't a real firearm.


Title: Store owner gave engagement ring that was brought in for re-sizing to another customer.

Question:
I'm sorry if this is the wrong subreddit, but I didn't know where else to go. Also I apologize for the length, I would like advice on what to do.

Background: I took my engagement ring to be re-sized. It is a local shop on Tuesday, and was quoted a price of $70. She took the ring, and said she would contact me. Friday, having not heard from her, I contacted her and she said it would be ready the following day. I advised her I would pick it up late afternoon.

Fast forward, I arrive at the store around 4 p.m. and she goes to the back to get the ring, only to periodically step out to "retrace" her steps. She at this point believes she misplaced it. She asks me if I had anyone pick it up, I tell her no, and then she goes into this story that someone had picked it up already. There was no claim ticket, but the ring was originally placed in a jewelry bag (she provided) with all my information along with my fiance's.

Now she is saying that someone picked up my ring (a lady accompanied by an older lady), and that she felt that it was odd due to the time of the lady picking up. She admits to not checking ID but said she that since the lady didn't say it was her ring, she assumed it was me. She said the lady came in claiming to be me.

At this point I have her contact the police, we get a report, he takes a copy of the credit card receipt that the lady used and hands me a case number. The shop owner at this point says "you can claim the loss of the ring on your insurance, since it is a lost ring." and that "so many people are out trying to scam small businesses.

I'm heartbroken, and never had to face a situation like this before. I'm unsure of how to proceed. Do I give her a letter stating I want her to replace it? How do I word it without getting her defenses up. I'm only looking for a replacement for the ring or the original ring itself.

Any advice?

TL;DR - Took engagement in to get re-sized, store owner gave it to someone else thinking it was me.

Edit: Added TL;DR

UPDATE: I went in to speak with the owner of the store (same lady who gave the ring to someone) and she stated that she was not responsible for the loss of the ring, and that according to her "someone I authorized" picked it up. I held firm and stated that it was in her responsibility, and the fact that it was lost/stolen from her possession was not my fault. I told her I wanted the original ring back or a replacement. She states that she can not do that because she was defrauded, and would lose money to replace the ring due to depreciation. Next step small claims.

P.S. She asked if my fiance put me up to going back to get money for the ring. I said no. She asked: "Are you sure? Because some women are abused in more ways than physical."

TL:DR - It's not her fault she claims. Won't Pay. Says I'm an abused woman.

Answer: Updated the original post. :(Answer #2: Make sure you trash her on every online review site you can find. Add in the part of her accusing your fiance of abusing you.


Title: (Virginia) Lease forbidding drinking on premise

Question:
So I just moved into a room in Arlington VA. My roommates said they’ve never had a lease before and now the landlords are giving us 14 days to sign one. The main clause that stuck out to me was one that stated that no drinking on the property would be tolerated. Is this within her right as a landlord to enforce something like that if we are all of legal drinking age?

She also has a clause stating no overnight guests. That one didn’t seem as outrageous but was curious about that too. Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Answer:
 >Is this within her right as a landlord to enforce something like that if we are all of legal drinking age?

>She also has a clause stating no overnight guests.

There is no legal issue with two parties agreeing on a contract containing such clauses.

If the clauses are deal breakers, negotiate them away or refuse to sign the lease.

Once you sign the lease, all that is enforceable.Answer #2: You shouldn't sign a contract without expecting to be held to it.

"No" is a complete sentence and without a lease you're month to month tenants with no such restrictions and have to be given 30 days notice in writing if your LL wishes to terminate said tenancy.

I would suggest this is time to negotiate.


Title: Emotionally abusive Ex keeps threatening to take custody of our daughter from me.

Question:
Sorry for the super long post.

My Ex threw me out in Dec of last year, since then he's bought a box of diapers, and a box of wipes every month for our 2 yo. Sometimes he buys me a $35-$45 phone card despite my asking him not to. He visits once or twice a month. He was in a mental institution (after a friend called suicide intervention on him) for a week last month, refuses to seek treatement for his anxiety, depression, or ptsd.

He's always been really controlling, to the point of being emotionally abusive while we were together. It hasn't stopped since he broke up with me. Every time I set a boundary with him he blows up my phone the next day threatening to take me to court and take custody of our daughter from me.

First it was because I told him I wasn't comfortable spending a week at a time at his house without a way home.

Then It was because I told him I didn't want him calling me all the time, he has scheduled video chats with his daughter every day, he calls the other times to talk to me.

Then it was because I told him I'm not interested in being his friend or having any relationship with him outside of co-parenting our daughter.

Now it's because while he was visiting her yesterday He put his hand on the back of my neck and squeezed. I pulled away and politely asked him not to touch me again. He spent the rest of the visit pissy. He just started messaging me to tell me that our current arrangement doesn't work for him, and he "can't handle" being around me anymore. That he shouldn't have to spend his visits with our daughter with me.

Last time he was here we had discussed it and he told me he's not in the right mental state to have her alone. Now because I've told him "no" he "can't be my friend" and "our current arrangement's not working out"

Idk what to do guys. I'm stressed and I'm scared. I can't get a job, I can't even afford to work until my LO is in pre-school or something. I don't have anyone who can care for her while I'm working and I'd be spending almost as much on childcare as I would be making.

I've filed for wellfare (SNAP and Medicaid) but I haven't heard back since dropping off my application.

My daughter and I live with my Mom and my uncle (who's on probation for a DUI/DWI but he's attending group, AA, and drug court and has been clean for 2 years).

The women's shelters in my area can't help me. I spoke to a few different legal aid charities and none of them can help me. My ex has legal representation through the VA. He's a vet and he's on disability for his ptsd.

When I get approved for wellfare through family services I'm hoping they might be able to put me in contact with a lawyer or someone who can help me find one.

My Ex has about 30k due in backpay to his previous Ex-wife over childsupport, spousal support, and legal fees from when they went to court. She also has a restraining order against him. I'd considered asking her If she'd be willing to help me with my case but I have a feeling she'd either refuse and ask me not to contact her or just ignore me.

I keep record of all our messages and I record our phone calls, if he cancels a visit I mark it on my calendar.

I live in MO

Is there anything I'm not doing that I should be? I'll take any advice at all here.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Abusive guys always seem to threaten to take custody. Just another tactic to try to get you to notice him and his demands. Unlikely he would take the time to try, or would be successful. Maybe a domestic violence hotline could help with information and resources in your area.Answer #2: Has he actually filed any legal paperwork at all? This guy is unstable and 30k in debt—I really doubt he can scrape together enough cash to pay a lawyer to start a custody battle. And the VA isn’t gonna waste money giving him a free lawyer to sue for custody, I promise you.

If you’re served with legal paperwork, then get a lawyer. Until then, assume he’s just blowing smoke. He gets a thrill out of making you worry.


Title: A girl has been cyberbullying my friends and the police won't help

Question:
We all used to be friends with her, until they cut off contact due to her physical abuse towards us, suicide baiting, and constant negativity.

For examples; she hit me so hard I couldn't breath once, said she was going to kill herself  and that we hated her because she wasn't invited to a friends (family only!) birthday party, and she always had something bad to say about anything we liked.

Now for the legal side, I don't know what to do which is why I've come here. Here is our situation. She has been posting on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. It began as posts like "I'm not grading because awful people at our school abused me" and had progressed to several posts with my friends full names in view, calling them bullies, abusers, liars and people who hate the mentally ill. To be clear, all they did was cease contact on the advise of their school councillors because they couldn't handle her anymore. We tried coming up with plans for her, we hugged her when she was upset, we took her knife from her when she tried to kill herself, but we couldn't be her only support.

 I remained friends with her throughout the separation because I was scared she really would kill herself, and so I heard a lot of the nasty stuff she said, which included wishing my friend be raped, as well as her giving out personal information of my friends to strangers in the internet. (I always tried to lead the conversation away or told her not to think about them because I really thought that would help)

After she posted, with my friends names in full, on Facebook about how awful they were, I confronted her, and she claimed repeatedly that she was "spreading the truth" I don't doubt that she thinks this is the truth, but in reality it isn't. I have her admitting to threatening to kill herself repeatedly but I don't know if that will help.

My friends had her admitted at the beginning of all this because she pulled a knife in the washroom of her school (the details are fuzzy because it was a while ago) so could that benefit our credibility? She's had multiple knives taken away from her.

My friends are scared and upset that the police won't do anything, because she's been so venomous for the last six months, and now she's posting libel about them. We've reported the posts, and the friends have all blocked her, but we can't get anyone to make her stop harassing them, and they're genuinely scared of her because she carries a knife. This has escalated so much, and she's clearly unstable and is diagnosed with psychosis, so I don't know how far she'll take this.

Does anybody have advice on what can legally be done? Or even what angle to take this to the police with? Would a restraining order force her to stop posting about them? Thanks for reading all the way to here, I know it's disorganized but this is really upsetting. We're from BC and she'll be 18 in September if that helps. I'm also willing to elaborate on any points or give more examples of it helps.

Edit: she's also posted pictures of my friends yearbook photo with mean messages written on it, and screenshots of other people making fun of another friend claiming it's "constructive criticism"
Topic:
Canada

Answer:
 Ignore her. Stop checking her social media. Don't post about her on your social media. Block her on everything.

She is doing it to get a reaction, stop reacting.


Title: Can a parent force a sign a child up and force them to go to a summer camp when the child does not want to go. In Canada, Child is 14

Answer:
 Have fun at camp!

Yes your parents can send you to summer camp.


Title: The problem(s) with not allowing update comments.

Question:
I personally feel very disappointed with the rule of locking all update threads to comments. But beyond my personal feelings, I think there are some very good reasons to allow update commenting.

1) **Comments provide context**. Comments allow un-experienced individuals (the majority) to get context from the experienced minority. For example, if an unusual resolution occurs, the only way myself, and others would know that it is unusual or not is from experienced commentators.

2) **Comments encourage updates**. Often the only reason to post to a social media site like Reddit are a) advice or b) feedback. Comments are feedback. Stripping away the reward of posting discourages posting. What a tragedy if the redditor with the landlocked neighbor hadn't posted their update. We need to encourage update posting, rather than the reverse.

3) **Comments can provide support**. Even when a issue is resolved, often further steps can be taken. For example after resolving a auto-accident claim, recommendations on types of insurance to carry are useful. A similar piece of advice lead me to expand my insurance coverage. Allowing comments allows additional people to weigh in on practical suggestions for legal support and preparation for future events.

4) **Focusing on history is easier than predicting the future**. In business and law school, classes look at case studies of past strategies that either worked, or didn't work, and then look at the historical resolution of these strategies. Often it is useful to discuss the past, in order to learn what to do better, or how to better avoid the situation altogether. By necessity, legal advice, has to make suggestions of possible outcomes of actions. But discussion historical consequences of actions is possibly even more useful as a learning tool. And r/legaladvice is a learning tool. For every person being directly helped with advice. Hundreds and possibly thousands are being helped indirectly as they learn from others experiences. Without comments, it is extremely difficult to see this valuable piece of the puzzle.

There are other reasons to allow comments, and I'm sure many reasons to dis-allow them. I'm aware that commenting is occasionally allowed for updates as-approved by a moderator, however this post is for discussion the blanket auto-moderation that is occurring. Please be respectful of the mods. Their job is difficult, and they are all volunteers.

edit: This post was removed from r/legaladvice.  Unfortunately this will greatly reduce the visibility of the post.

Answer:
 I actually *agree* with their view for /r/legaladvice -- have it only be a place for actual *advice*. If you're not giving/getting advice, you shouldn't be there. And I see how that pertains to updates.

My issue with it is that they don't enforce that rule evenly. If you have a star, you can go off topic, attack people, and derail threads. If you don't, your posts are removed and you're told to follow the rules. It's a very do as I say, not as I do thing. I feel like a lot of this blowback would be alleviated if the mods took a hardline and enforced the rules evenly across the board.

I disagree with the shutting down of /r/bestoflegaladvice to comments. It seems like it's a fundamental disagreement of what the words "best of" mean (a Hall of Fame versus the reddit "greatest hits of the day" ala /r/bestof). I personally feel like if they wanted a curated hall of fame, that could be established with less pain with a wiki post or a stickied thread.

But yes, a couple of the stared users attacking people in these threads, along with the mods doing things to retaliate against the community, is what's fostering the hard feelings in my opinion. Answer #2: Re: your edit:

Just so everyone's aware, meta posts haven't been allowed on the sub for, I think, around a year now. This applies to everyone, no matter what the mods think of your opinion. I'm not saying that you believe otherwise, but I wanted to jump on this before people get the wrong idea.

That's actually a perfect use for this sub, though.


Title: Neighbors are suing

Question: Almost 2 yrs ago I filed for a permit with the county I live in for a small farm on my property. The neighbors claimed I was breaking the CCR’s and sued me and the neighbor next door who also applied for a permit. The neighbor being sued and myself hired the same attorney. The neighbor was granted a permit and moved forward with full operation. I was never granted a permit and ultimately decided to pull it from the county. I asked my attorney to please negotiate for me to be released as I have committed for crime and have no permit application anymore.y attorney suggested I pay the defendants $5k. I said that’s asinine and asked for other suggestions. He gave me no other options. I emailed him repeatedly and was ignored. I fired him last week through email which he promptly responded too and told me I was foolish for not paying a “nuisance fee” to get out of the lawsuit. I am now representing myself. I would like to counter sue the neighbors for harassment and file a complaint against the attorney. Any advice?

Answer:
 What damages are they claiming?

Did you break any CCR’s?


Title: [Wisconsin] Is it legal to remove the label from a prescription bottle?

Question: After police searched my pockets, pills of my perscription were found, however I did not have the bottle at the time. They are asking me to send them proof of my prescription, however, I live about a couple hours away. I was going to mail the label to the police station, but I'm unsure of how legal it is to remove the label from the bottle. The bottle is currently empty btw.

Answer: The pharmacy can also give you a copy of your prescription.


Title: Mentally ill woman has multiple blogs accusing me of stalking and harassing her, but we've never met. Should I be concerned? (NY)

Question:
Okay. I'll try to make this brief.

I'm a minor celebrity (very, very minor - some people probably would recognize my name, but I'm no Brad Pitt).

Anyway, it recently came to my attention that I have a stalker ... of sorts. As far as I know, the woman hasn't actually tried to get in contact with me directly yet. But she has a number of blogs, and youtube channels, that focus on me (and other celebrities that she fixates on).

The stalker (?) is obviously severely mentally ill. I am no psychiatrist but it is pretty obviously schizophrenia or something very similar to it. She believes in a giant faceless organization called "the conglomerate" and that everything, from the news media to medical professionals to all celebrities, are a part of "the conglomerate." The job of "the conglomerate," in her mind, is to stalk and harass her until she commits suicide. She believes news articles, commercials, and advertisements are communicating directly with her. She also believes that various celebrities (including myself) are in love with, stalking, or trying to date her. It's really disturbing, as she has posted completely innocuous things from my professional social media accounts (such as, like, pictures of things I was eating, etc) and accused me of sending messages, stalking her and harassing directly to her via those unrelated things. I'm sorry this sounds insane, but it quite literally is insane.

Anyway, what I am curious about is, am I in any kind of legal jeopardy here? In technical terms she is accusing me (and others) of crimes we aren't committing, but it is transparently obvious that she is absolutely not in touch with reality. Is there anything I need to do to protect myself here? The good news is, most of the posts about me are old and she appears to have moved on to newer (And more famous) targets.

Let me know if any further details are needed. I am in NY.

Answer:
 > Anyway, what I am curious about is, am I in any kind of legal jeopardy here?

Not unless she chooses to pursue something, either by filing a police report or a lawsuit.

Note that literally *anyone* with any amount of celebrity has people like this.  It's noise that you have to deal with, and should be treated as such.


Title: (Ontario CA) workplace made my s.o. sign contract stating that if she doesn't work for them for three years than she will have to pay for specialized training that the company provided

Question: She had worked at this company for around a year, they offered to send her out of town for several days on a training course (they paid for the cost of the  training course, a per diem, and hotel costs) but she wasn't paid by the employer while taking the course. Also they didn't give her a raise after. I've tried looking at the employment standard act to see who is responsible to pay but haven't found anything definitive. Just want to know how the contract isn't valid ( I already know it isn't, just want to be able to give her the confidence to leave if she choses) please cite sources if you reply. Thanks.

Answer: Yes, employees can be held to repay training costs, see Alberta Ltd. v. Carter and Renaud v. Graham as examples.


Title: Advice about a car purchase

Question: My brother bought a Jeep Cherokee 10 months ago for 29k and chose it because there was no history on it and nothing wrong with it. Fast forward to now and he decides he wants a truck but just wants to lease so he goes to a Chevy dealer and they say the car has multiple hits for damage and he won't give over 18. He was obviously really upset with this discovery and went to Jeep and they said that due to the fact that they were sorry for giving him the vehicle with the issues that depreciate the value they would just give him the full worth of the car and pay it off if he got a vehicle from their lot. Should he seek legal counsel?

Answer:
 >went to Jeep and they said that due to the fact that they were sorry for giving him the vehicle with the issues that depreciate the value they would just give him the full worth of the car and pay it off if he got a vehicle from their lot.

That sounds like an extremely generous offer from them. Used vehicles are usually sold as-is.


Title: [NY, USA] Fired for falling asleep due to health issues

Question:
In mid-October I was fired from my position of 4+ years at the corporate headquarters of a decently large company. The reason given was for falling asleep/nodding off at my desk.

Due to several overlapping chronic health conditions, I deal with a fluctuating, but generally pretty severe level of fatigue. Because of this, my doctor had me submit FMLA paperwork stating that I should be able to work from home 1-3 days a week/as needed based on my symptoms. Working remotely took a lot of stress off my body and made the workday much easier to get through.

They were initially fairly accomodating to this, they even purchased me a phone and networking equipment to use from home and a laptop to bring back and forth, instead of my traditional desktop. After some time, I received an email from my Supervisor saying that it "was not a remote position" and that I "need to come back to the office immediately". I replied, and included his boss on the reply, indicating that after talking with my doctor I would do my best to make it in, despite it increasing the pain and fatigue I would be dealing with.

Not long after I ended up nodding off on a particularly bad day and was written up for it, despite my supervisor having communicated many times (verbally) that he understood that it was health related and he knew I was trying not to, because the Dept Manager happened to be nearby and saw it.

This same Dept Manager called me directly, while working from home, not long after and was yelling and swearing at me over a relatively small mistake, and was again implying that I needed to stop working from home, regardless of doctors notes or paperwork (even trying the "take the rest of the day off and think about your position with the company", which I talked him out of as I could not lose the money).

A couple weeks later and my Supervisor stops me in the hall near the bathroom, brings me to the Dept Manager's office and tells me that a member of Senior Management claims he saw me asleep that morning and that they had no choice but to let me go.

- The vast majority of the job was answering tickets/emails, not a public building

- At no point did the quality of my work come into question, beyond the occasional mistake that everyone made

- Working remotely did not negatively impact my work in any way, it only made it easier for me as I was not straining myself to get into the office

- The paperwork/notes from my doctor specifically pointed out that extreme fatigue was something I was dealing with.

Were they in the wrong for firing me? Do I have any grounds to try talking to a lawyer?

Answer: Get copies of any emails that discuss this if you're still able to access them. IANAL and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I know you need all the evidence you can get.


Title: In California, can I use the ladies room if I am a guy and there aren't many women around?

Question: My job has 22 employees in an office and 20 of us are male. There is one (edit: single-toilet) bathroom for "gentlemen" and one for ladies. Both lock completely. It's really difficult to get in the gentleman's one sometimes. The company says it doesn't care but won't change the labels outside the bathrooms. Could I get in legal trouble for using a ladies bathroom at work?

Answer:
 No, but be very neat about it if you don't want complaints from the women in the office.

ETA: Just because this isn't illegal, that doesn't mean the company can't discipline you for it.  It may violate policy.


Title: [NH] Was I actually breaking the law by maintaining a log of police movement?

Question:
Hey, my local police department recently started a new "community policing" initiative, and myself as well as several other citizens of our community are extremely happy with the results. I think this model should be applied across the nation, and I truly believe it would improve law enforcement relations with their communities.

I've decided that the best way to show people how effective community policing can be, so I planned on making a documentary about my local department.

First things first, I had to do my due diligence, and research the ins and outs of my local police department.

I started staking out the police headquarters, and been taking pictures of the officers as they came and went, then proceeded to identify each of them. After I figured out all the identities of the officers and had a distinguishing picture to go along with it by using facebook, I began keeping a log of their comings and goings.

I usually just sit a fair distance away from the department and look at it from afar using binoculars. I've been able to identify the shifts of individual officers and the time shifts that they work, as well as when they change shifts.

Today, I was just minding my business and maintaining my log, when I ended up being surrounded by five police officers. They were asking me all kinds of questions about why I had a camera, why I had binoculars, and what I was doing watching them all day.

I told them that I wanted to remain silent. Luckily, one of them was a really nice guy and he told me that he was going to let me off the hook, but that it was illegal to surveil to the police station like I was.

I'm pretty bummed out, because I have some more stuff that I need to find out about them. However, I looked it up and I couldn't find any law that was prohibiting what I was doing. I don't want to get in any trouble, but was he right in that what I was doing was illegal? What law prohibits this?

Answer: Not sure about the legality but this is probably not the best idea in todays current state of affairs.