Title: Evicting tenant from house bought at foreclosure auction. Saw moving trucks today, when can I legally enter? Also worried about damage.

Question:
Hello folks,

State of Rhode Island

My father purchased a house at Auction almost 2 months ago. The house was foreclosed on, the previous owner had moved out, but was letting his mother live there (rent free, no lease) presumably until she was evicted.

My father spoke with them nicely when he first bought the house. He let them know he bought the house, and asked when they think they would be out. (he was trying to be nice before actually evicting them). After not seeing any movement from them, he sent a letter and offered money to move out within 2 weeks. They didn't respond to the offer. He hired a lawyer that specializes evictions, they sent the initial demand letter to leave, then served them with eviction papers a few weeks ago.

I live on the same street at this house, so I drive by it twice a day at least. Today when I drove by, I saw a moving truck, as well as several other pick up trucks outside. I texted my father to let him know it looks like they are moving out. My dad called me, and mentioned that once they are gone, he wants to go by to check it out. So he asked me to drive by every few hours to see if they are gone.

We live in a small town where everybody talks, and apparently my father heard through a friend that the owner plans to rip out all the copper and anything else of value from the house before leaving.

I drive by the house a few hours later and see that all of the trucks are gone, no one seems to be there. I call my dad and he drives over. We walk up to the house and hear a dog barking inside, so I'd assume they haven't completely moved out yet and will be back (I hope!). But what worries me more, I noticed almost all of the windows have a white cloth covering them (not a regular curtain, but something that looks like its taped to the window to cover it up so you cant see inside, something you might do if you plan on gutting the house before you leave).

Two of the windows aren't covered, I can see a coffee table and a few other items inside the living room, but not much else. (it was getting dark with no lights on inside)

So, my questions:

-What can my father do (if anything) to protect himself from the owner ripping out the copper, or pulling anything else out of the house that isn't his before leaving? If he goes to the police, they will likely say its a civil matter. I believe the eviction timeline still has about 10 days or so before they have to be out, but if we wait that long, the damage may likely be done. (it may already be by now). Is there anything the police can do if you suspect the tenant is damaging the place?

-When can my dad legally enter the house? I'm assuming they won't be calling my father to hand over the keys and give him the all clear. So at what point can he legally break in to the house (that he legally owns, deed in hand) and change the locks? Does he have to wait the full timeline of the eviction? What happens if he thinks they are entirely moved out, but they come back to changed locks? Can they reset the clock on the eviction? I'm also worried if they left the dog behind and don't plan to come back, I wouldn't want to leave it locked in the house for too long.

-If when my dad finally gets in the house and he does notice damage, I'm guessing his only recourse would be to sue? but would he go after the previous owner? or the mother? (or both?) Assuming they have no money to repair the damages (most likely the case) What happens at that point? Do they get off scott free or can they at least be criminally charged?

Thanks for any advice, I had my dad call and email his lawyer, but he hasn't heard back yet, and we believe we might not be able to wait until monday until damage has happened. I told my father to at least go to the police and tell them whats happening.

UPDATE: My father called his lawyer, who isn't around until Wednesday. I told him, based on advice from other replys, that he should go over and leave a notice on the door, as well as send one in the mail that he plans to go by and inspect in 2 days. When he went by, he saw a car in the driveway that we haven't seen there before. He can see now that ALL the windows are covered by cloth, and he can hear noise inside, he knocked on the door and all the noise stopped. He called the police to let them know he believes someone is inside gutting the house, he's waiting on them to arrive. I'll update again once I get more info.

2nd Update: The cops showed up, they arrived and knocked on the door, no answer. The lady who had just moved out walked up to the house with her dog. She said that the original owner lives here but is out of town right now, also said that she wasn't living there and it was the owner the whole time. (which is a lie, because she most certainly was, even told my father and I about a month ago that her son owned the house and was living with his girlfriend now, which is why she was living there). She told the cop they only stop by once a day to walk the dog. The cop said at this point he can't do anything because its a civil matter.

So now someone else is living in the house! (maybe the original owner moved back in? or maybe a friend hes letting live there? who knows) Do we have to go through the eviction process with the new person? What is to stop them from putting someone new in there every time we evict the current resident? It seems like an endless cycle.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer: Just as an aside, if they have left, I really, REALLY hope they didn't leave the dog behind.Answer #2: Take lots of pictures of the outside and maybe stake out the house from the street.  If you see them pulling out copper or other supplies video tape them and call the police for vandalism/destruction of property.


Title: Underage brother arrested for no reason.

Question: My brother(17) was arrested in Watertown massachusetts for no reason the officers said he was trespassing into a library and breaking into cars, this is a suburb of boston I think they don't have anything better to do, so he went to court today and they said he needs to go into a diversion program, the problem is my brother is 100% innocent he really is not the type , he got stuck out of town cause he missed the bus and he was walking home from a friend's when he was arrested for no reason, what can we do?

Answer:
 Did you read the police report?  How do you know it was for no reason?  Apparently a DA believed probable cause existed and filed charges. Answer #2: There was a reason. If he's been sentenced to a diversion program the court weighed the charges and found him guilty. The time to argue innocence has passed.

If you still feel he is innocent and wasn't given a fair trial you can attempt to appeal. You'll need to get a lawyer ASAP and it won't be cheap.


Title: Shoplifting Australia

Question:
My partner messed up and got caught shoplifting at a grocery store the other night, the cops were called no fine issued no mark on her record I think that it would be at least on the police network and they’ll have it record but she thinks that she’s fine and plans to continue shoplifting because nothing happens, is she right?
I’m in Australia too 🇦🇺 thank you for any help guys :)

Answer: So she thinks that it is ok to continue to break the law because law enforcement gave her a break once??? Oh boy, she is in for one rude awakening.


Title: [CAN, ONT] Past employer not providing me with the correct T4 and is asking me to text my SIN. What is the proper course of action in this scenario?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Call CRA. If your employer is withholding correctly but under-reporting (and under-remitting) your income taxes, they'll want to know, and they'll be able to advise you on the most correct way to file your taxes.

KEEP EVERY RECORD YOU HAVE.


Title: [NC] Paid cash for house and 2 weeks after closing attorney says we owe him more money

Question:
We paid for a house with cash.  We were given a settlement form and told to bring a cashiers check for $x.  We brought said cashiers check to clsoing and paid.

Now 2 weeks later, attorney says he forgot to add part of his fees and we owe him an additional $400because he forgot to include in settlement form. Seller was supposed to pay closing fees, with the exception of something special that we asked him to do which was paid for outside of the closing.

What should we do?
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 > additional $400because he forgot to include in settlement form

Because he forgot to include a form or because he forgot to include his fees in the sales contract you signed at closing?

Do you have any agreement with the attorney beyond what you signed at closing that discusses fees?Answer #2: You're not his client! A closing attorney works for the mortgage company. Tell him to call them, but you're bound by the terms of your contract (which, incidentally, he wrote).

EDIT: Or ask him to produce his copy of your contract with him regarding fees... You know, the client on-boarding letter he sends to all his clients, that you would have signed to show you assent to his fees... What he doesn't have it? You mean, he is unethically trying to charge you for something you didn't agree to?


Title: During rec. Hockey, stick intentionally broken by another player

Question:
After the last play of the game (whistle blown), an opposing player raised his stick overhead and took an axe chop at my stick, breaking it in two, and skated off.

In discussion with the rink management, they've called it a "hockey play", and told me that I'm lucky he didn't swing at my hand instead. They refused to help negotiate with the offending player to replace the broken stick.

I know the rink is covered for liability, but is this something worth going after the player for through small claims court to recoup the expense of the stick ($150)? I have plenty of witnesses that this was intentional, and after play had ended.

Edit: Sorry, guys forgot the location: Orange County, CA.

Answer:
 You don't go after the rink.

You go after the player who broke your stick.


Title: (Pennsylvania) Powerful Man Called me a Faggot.

Question:
So, I work as an assistant manager at a drug store and a couple of days ago, this guy came in to buy something and tried to use coupons that were worth a good amount. I tried to use them, but they weren’t attached to his account (something that prevents people from just printing off expensive coupons online). I told him, but he said that he only had one account. I offered to type in the email address (since the coupons were printed out from an email account) but they still didn’t match. I tot him we couldn’t accept them, but offered to give him the corporate number, so he could call if there was an issue with his account. He started screaming at me, asking him why I wanted to make his life so difficult, etc. Luckily, the store manager was also there and witnessed the whole thing. She comes over, tells him there’s no need to talk to me like that. He says he can talk to me however he wants and continues screaming. She tells him he needs to leave or she’ll call the cops, at which point he calls me a fucking faggot and screams the whole way out.

Well, I looked him up and it turns out he’s the CEO of a major recruiting firm in the country. It’s definitely the same guy. Part of me just wanted to drop it, but I deal with so much shit from people, working in retail, that I would kinda like to actually see someone face repercussions from how they act here. I doubt I have a legal case against him, but I’m sure this isn’t something he would want his company’s HR to find out about. Any advice?

Answer:
 >  I doubt I have a legal case against him

Because you don't.

> I’m sure this isn’t something he would want his company’s HR to find out about

That sounds like you're contemplating blackmailing someone. That would be a bad idea. Answer #2: You think HR has control over the CEO?


Title: Social Security Overpayments

Question:
Hi, in the past few months I have been recieving letters of owing Social Security Overpayment. I live in Arizona.

I am currently 23 and the years stated would be for when I was 16~18- during of which I was living with my Aunt&Uncle (Court Ordered), and I assumed my mother was using my name to claim benefits. I have never once recieved benefits myself or even applied for Social Security.

When the letters first started coming in- I went down to the local offices, explained my situation and I thought it would be easy as that. Unfortunately both times I went in I was greeted with a 'Tough Luck, Fill out this Form' deal. I sent in the papers explaining it, then recieved a letter saying my case was on hold. Then a couple of months later they started coming back, this time saying I was 'Past Due'.

Here I am 4/6/2015 with a new letter saying again I'm past due- I have no contact with my mother, and even if I did she would not try to solve this. I am at a loss of what to do right now- I have been looking into local attorneys. If any of you could offer help I would be grateful.

Answer:
 Its likely that the people in your local SSA office are imbeciles. You can contact the SSA [directly](http://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-632.html) and see if they're more knowledgeable on how it pursue this.

If someone isn't sure ask for their boss etc.


Title: The only toilet and shower are currently inoperable in my rented house (MT)

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice! I'd like to say first that I plan on getting a lawyer, but I'd like some advice first.

I currently live in Montana. I am renting a house from a landlord via a property management company, and the house has had plumbing issues since before I moved in (even in the property management company's pre-occupancy inspection noted that the sink was draining slowly). Since I moved in Aug 15th, these issues have only become worse, to the point where the toilet was not functioning and plunging the toilet resulted in water backing up out of the shower drain and both sinks. This happened on a Saturday morning, which was outside of the maintenance department's normal operating hours BUT, because the only toilet was nonfunctional, this qualified as an emergency and I contacted the emergency number provided on their website. The phone simply rang continuously, with no one answering and no opportunity to leave a message. I spent the whole weekend avoiding being in my house and trying not to run any water. Honestly I don't think this is legal either, but in light of what else has happened I was willing to let it go.

When I finally called the maintenance department Monday night (after no response to my email all day Monday...), they told me they would have to get the owner's approval to have someone from a third party company come out and look at it. On Friday morning someone came out, and apparently what had happened was some very extensive plant system had taken root in the pipes, which was causing the plumbing issues. This is obviously not my fault. They are now going to have to tear up the entire bathroom floor and replace 25 ft of pipes. According to the head of maintenance at the property management company, it will take probably a week to get this all scheduled and then a few WEEKS to get this fixed. In the meantime, I have been provided a port-a-potty and no shower substitute. I did some research and according to MT state law, I found the following:
"Except as provided in this chapter, if there is a noncompliance with 70-24-303 affecting health and safety, the tenant may:
     (a) deliver a written notice to the landlord specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than 30 days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in 14 days. If the noncompliance results in a case of emergency and the landlord fails to remedy the situation within 3 working days after written notice by the tenant of the situation and the tenant's intention to terminate the rental agreement, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement. The rental agreement terminates as provided in the notice subject to the following exceptions:
     (i) if the breach is remediable by repairs, the payment of damages, or otherwise and the landlord adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, the rental agreement does not terminate by reason of the breach;
     (ii) if substantially the same act or omission which constituted a prior noncompliance of which notice was given recurs within 6 months, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement upon at least 14 days' written notice specifying the breach and the date of termination of the rental agreement;
     (iii) the tenant may not terminate for a condition caused by the tenant, a member of the tenant's family, or other persons on the premises with the tenant's consent.
     (b) make repairs that do not cost more than 1 month's rent and deduct the cost from the rent if the tenant has given the landlord notice and the landlord has not made the repairs within a reasonable time. If the repair is required in a case of emergency and the landlord has not made the repairs, the tenant may have repairs made only by a person qualified to make the repairs." (link: http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/70/24/70-24-406.htm)

This leads me to my question. My interpretation of this law is that, if I notify them via email on Monday of their specific issues of noncompliance, they have 14 days to remedy the problem or I have the right to terminate my lease (which I fully intend to do). However, I'm not a lawyer and I want to make sure: is this what this law is saying? Are there any other legal ramifications of this that I haven't considered? Any input would be appreciated.

Edited to add: I do have renter's insurance, and they have a section in my policy for claims regarding "loss of use." I'm talking to a claims specialist Monday to see if I can file a claim for this.

Answer:
 Not a lawyer and I don't know about Montana specifically, but I know it's been stated in several places in this sub that if your living space is inhospitable (which I'm assuming is the case for a lack of shower, toilet, and possibly other conditions), you're able to essentially get a hotel room and ask/sue your landlord for the cost back.  It's possible that things work differently in Montana, and it's possible that providing you with a port-a-potty is enough to keep this from applying (even without a working shower), so definitely make sure that this still applies to you before doing anything.

Also, I'm not sure how it would work with the lease being broken at the same time; it's possible that this could keep you from getting a hotel stay reimbursed.


Title: Suppose I live in the US & own a Lake. A new species of octopus is found in my lake, they display intelligence comparable to early hominids or possible even actual humans. Can you prove in the Supreme Court that me claiming ownership of the lake & thus octopus, violates the 13th Amendment?

Answer:
 I think that your premise- "I own the lake and therefore I own the intelligent species in the lake" is flawed.

If you inherit the apartment building your great aunt Wanda owned, you don't also magically own the tenants.


Title: (VA) Next door nail salon’s fumes making my employees ill.

Question:
Apologies for formatting; on mobile.

I currently am the assistant manager at a corporate-owned retail store in Virginia. We work right next door in a strip mall to a nail salon. The acrylic nail smell is god awful and “leaks” into our building, to the point where customers walk in and immediately complain about the smell. We’ve had several customer complaints about the smell being too strong, causing them to feel dizzy, and have had several customers leave while waiting in line. It is also important to note that we also have many children in our store pretty much throughout day so they may be affected as well.

Recently, it has begun to affect all of my team, ranging in severity of symptoms from mild headaches, eye watering, and sneezing, to triggering migraines with partial blindness. We all work 7-8hr shifts constantly inhaling this. We’ve opened our door, used air freshener, we’re using fans, and it only dissipates the smell for a short period of time, if at all. I have personally had to leave work on multiple occasions because of how bad of a reaction I had whether it be throat swelling or partial blindness migraines. For whatever reason, it seems to be getting worse, with the smell lasting longer and being stronger than before, possibly because of the spring weather?

I’m sure the nail salon must follow some sort of ventilation code, but I suspect that their ventilation system is inadequate because of the severe reactions my team and I are having, and it is causing us to lose business as well. Can I address this issue with anyone being that it is affecting my place of business and my workers’ health? Are there any protections from OSHA for my employees about inter-business issues like this?

Answer: I would address it with the landlord. Talk to your boss and have whoever is the owner of your business address it with them. Part of the landlord's responsibility is leasing you a property that is inhabitable for you to conduct your business operations. The landlord could potentially arrange for an adjustment to how the HVAC system operates and bill it to the nail salon. (Im a Commercial real estate broker of 7+ years)Answer #2: If it's that bad for your employees, it may be worse for the nail salon employees. Call OSHA and report it and perhaps also your local air quality regulatory agency.


Title: My SO is being told her money to replace a missing phone at a day care will be taken out of her pay, is this legal?

Question:
My SO was working at a daycare which is now shut down and being investigated by SCP. She was very poorly trained and was very aware of the many rules being broken as she is a early childhood education major. Her second day being allowed to over seen a room of kids by herself she took child's phone and set it out of reach to be returned before the child left, unbeknownst to her the child had be picked up by the parents without getting the phone. Now that the daycare is shut down the phone can't be found and the parents want a replacement, her manager is telling her she's taking it out of her two weeks of pay she hasn't received yet. What grounds does her employer have and is this legal?
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 ~~Location is not optional~~

Not legal to deduct for lost property in Kentucky.

http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=45514Answer #2: No, an employer in Kentucky may *not* deduct from pay for lost or stolen items. [Source - PDF](http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=45514)


Title: [CT] Landlord says I'm a co-tenant. I never signed actual lease or saw it when I moved in. I only signed a simple lease between myself and main tenant. I thought I was subleasing. Basically, confused about my rights. Landlord claims one thing, Roommate another.

Question:
   I'll try to keep this as simple as possible.

   I moved in September. It was explicitly discussed I was renting a very small room for $450 a month. It was discussed I would be subletting, or renting the room from my roommate. I made it very clear, this is what i could afford and I **could not** pay for another roommates share if one had moved out. Roommate had not at all discussed this as a potential responsibility of mine.

It is now according to roommate my responsibility to cover half. No where in the agreement I signed with her states this increase or that I would be responsible for it if other roommate left.

To be very clear, when I signed my lease/agreement I belieived this to be the lease and terms I was agreeing to. It was not until after the fact, that i was able to see the lease. Landlord is sending me a copy. But, I never signed that lease.

Of course the landlord wants his rent paid, which is fair. He claims I'm on the lease, but I never signed it and until yesterday I was under the impression I wasn't actually on it.

Roommate well, wants me to cough up half or leave. Landlord says she cannot do so.

I'm just sitting over here willing to honor my side of the agreement not sure what rights I have.

I paid my rent for January on January 1st in the morning. In the evening I have a written letter from Roommate demanding more money or leave, after I paid my rent.

I get she does have the right to do this, but there seems to be a clause that she cannot during the term I'm renting. In other words, she could charge me more for February but not January.... I'm not sure if this even applies to me.

Good news is landlord seems to be understanding. I just want to leave peacefully without paying more than I should, or can afford when I suddenly have to move right now.

What are my rights?

Thank You.

Edit/Update: To my knowledge it was a sublease while the title says "Sample Lease Agreement"
 Lessor has let onto the "tenant":
Lessee:Me
Lessor:Roomie
Rental amount and Security Deposit amounts : $450

To hold the same rights and privileges for (blank, unfilled line by roommate I was renting from),
to said lessor of a rent of (also blank) that premise shall not be sublet without knowledge of the lessor and that the lessor may resume possession of premise, their other rights/remedies against the tenant, pursuant to :
Deposits: First month/last month rent should be made payable to (for some reason she had me sign on that line?) At the time I was confused, it didn't make any sense, but she was pretty adamant that's where she thought my signature went.

Answer: Obvious question:  What did you sign?  Who were the parties?  What did it say?


Title: what constitutes harassment in colorado?

Question:
I am unsure of what my rights are in this incident and would love some advisement. State of Colorado, by the way.

I was walking my two dogs and my 9 week old daughter. She was in a front harness on my chest. The small young dog was on a leash and the older, larger, slow one was not. I was walking down a residential street - the street right behind mine - when two women approached me in a car and started berating me for my dogs walking across her lawn. I basically told her to quit whining as we lived in a neighborhood with literally hundreds of dogs and if she was going to complain about every dog waking across her grass, she was going to have a lifelong fight on her hands. I kept walking.

Next thing I know, they turn around and start following me and yelling at me through their car window. They literally drive at my walking pace and as I turn off their street, they keep following me. Now we are on a more busy street and they keep following me and yelling at me through their window. I then turn down my street and they keep at me. I tell them to stop following me as this is harassment. They keep following me. I kept telling them to leave me alone, but they would not.

Now I'm getting angry. I have two dogs and a 9 week old baby who is now crying because of all the hubbub but I keep walking, not approaching the vehicle. At one point, I told them to fuck off and flipped them off.

My wife, who was out grocery shopping, had just happened to be driving down our street as I was returning, with this car of two women still yelling at me. My plan was to keep waling past my house and get to a green area where they could not follow me any longer but my wife drove around them and got to our house first. She then started running towards us to figure out what the hell was going on. This was not good as these two now knew exactly where I lived. A larger shouting match then occurred.

My wife, child, dogs and I then went into our house and they drove away.

Half an hour later, a cop shows up at my door. He did not take my ID and I did not offer it to him but he was basically telling me that these women wanted me to not allow my dogs to walk across their property. Whatevs - I agreed that I would not allow my dogs to walk on their lawn.

They do however, live on a street that comes off a park so this has been a part of my regualr dog walking routine for the 5 years I have lived here so I am not about to change my dog walking route, jsut to avoid them

Today, I was doing that same walk, only this time walking on the other side of the street. As I approached their home, one of the women came out of the garage pointed at me and shook her fist/hand.  I was carrying a camera so I filmed the interaction but no words were spoken.

If I was addressed, I had a small statement prepared which was essentially, "If you ever approach me or my family again, I will charge you with harassment." While no words were exchanged this time, I cannot help but feel that at some time in the next few months, they will approach me.

I have three questions.

1) Could I have charged them with harassment after I told them to leave me alone and they kept following and yelling at me?

2) Do they have any legal recourse to prevent me from walking by their house?

3) If they approach me again, can I charge them with harassment? Especially if I am walking my dogs on the other side of the road.

4) I know I am technically breaking a law by having one dog off a leash, but do they have any way to have me ticketed because he is off the leash. And if so, does that negate their harassment of me?

Any advice would be helpful.

Thank you.

Answer:
 Dude, find another route and put a leash on your dog. When someone asks you not to have your pets on their grass, say okay and keep walking. Answer #2: Next time someone orders you off their property, get off their property rather than telling them to quit whining. You didn't need to tell her to quit whining.

Since you didn't leave immediately, you were trespassing. She followed you to identify you so she could make her trespassing complaint.


Title: Landlord laughed in my face when I told her about my emotional support dog

Question:
So I figured its easier to stick to the facts.

I live in Arizona.

My landlord required me to fill out an accommodation request from for my emotional support dog (I have the "approval" letter) even though I provided her with the documents from my doctor. Then upon telling her about my dog being an ESA she laughed in my face.

Then today I get an email saying that I don't pick up after my dog and I need to start doing it.. but.. I ALWAYS pick up after my dog when she poops. I have a bag dispenser I use when I take her out so I can throw it away immediately. I have friends who have seen me do this. I spoke with her about it and informed her of what I wrote about the dispenser bag but she responded with "yeah well I've gotten multiple complaints". To which I responded that she will need video evidence since I am not doing what she is accusing me of.

What legal avenues can I take?

I have the email and the accommodation letter as proof.

Answer:
 Legal avenues for what? The dog lives with you right? The landlord is allowed to tell you complaints are happening.Answer #2: You think there is a legal avenue to take merely because you were asked to pick up after your dog?Answer #3: >Nevermind. I keep getting resentful and hateful comments so fuck you guys

We've been trying to figure out what part of this might be legally actionable, and answering the questions we think you're asking. Nobody has been resentful or hateful to you here.Answer #4: They haven't done anything illegal. If she attempts to evict you for not cleaning up after your dog, you can fight it in court.Answer #5: >What legal avenues can I take?

Your dog has been allowed and you're not being evicted. So what exactly is the legal problem?


Title: Just got my first speeding ticket, officer advised I go to court?

Question:
Basically was going 70 in a 55, not going to deny that. I was on a desolate road coming home from school and to be honest I always speed on that road. There are NEVER cops on that road and he was in an unmarked state trooper cruiser. I just got unlucky, such is my fucking life I guess. Anyways he advised that I go to trafffic court to try and get the ticket reduced. It was a 175$ fine and 4 points off of my license. I have never been in this situation, never gotten a ticket, but I did get a written warning like 2 years ago. Dont know what to do, my court date is in a month and I really dont have 175 to put towards a ticket as I work a shitty part time job and am a full time student.

ADVICE APPRECIATED!
State is WI btw.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 * Go to court
* Request a reduced fine and traffic school
* When asked why you should get reduced fine, do a moderate sob story (you're a student for example)
* Under no circumstances do you say 1) Theres usually no cops there 2) I though it was ok to speed on a desolate road 3) Blame the cop  or blame the judge. and 4) Blaming it on your bad luck and life.

I'm just gonna say that it is difficult for me to believe the judge will throw out your ticket. Also in most courts, you get a limited amount of continuances plus many cop precincts are forcing their cops to go court; ~~a no show is often not in your favor~~ a cop not showing up is unlikely. Besides, the cop gets paid to sit in court browsing reddit, pretty sure they'll take that offer.

edit: wording.


Title: Florida- Someone I know posted my financial info on FB

Question:
Long story short, we have a long standing disagreement on how to run a non-profit organization. So in effort to prove me wrong, he posted an image of a check I wrote to the organization on Facebook. You can clearly see my name, home address, routing and bank account numbers.

I am pretty sure that is not kosher at all, plus he has no legal way to access that information. How do I proceed from here? I really have no idea where to start. Thanks.

Broward county, Florida.

EDIT: I have decided to go and file a police report tomorrow. I don't think the police are going to do anything but at least I'll have a paper trail.

Answer:
 Screen cap his post, then Have Facebook remove it as quickly as possible

Notify the bank your account may be compromised

I'd personally open a new account

If you get fucked over at all sue him

Answer #2: IANAL. Send him a cease and desist letter (usually through a lawyer) threatening legal action if he does not remove it immediately. Show him that you should not be screwed around with.


Title: Sued for credit card debt

Question:
I opened a discover card as soon as I turned 18 & was really irresponsible with it. Fast forward almost 5 years I forgot I even had the card & now I’m being sued for $2500. I just got served the papers, I pretended to be someone else when they came to the door because I freaked out but I said I was a relative so I still received them. This honestly couldn’t have come at a worse time, I’ll be moving states (only about 5 hours) next week & starting university in the fall. How will this affect me? How do these things usually go? I’m not gonna skip out on court, but I can’t afford a lawyer & I have no idea what to even say.

Edit: I live in Missouri if that helps with any info.
Also the court date is literally 3 weeks from today, that feels really soon & I won’t have $2500 by then

Answer: As someone who works in a similar area, do NOT ignore it. It will follow you and it will accumulate interest and legal fees and before you know it it will be 10x higher than it is now. Best to contact them and see if you can arrange a monthly instalment plane.


Title: Pathology reports mixed up, friend got someone else's diagnosis of cancer. Possible Lawsuit?

Question:
Event in New York, USA ..
I have a friend who received a pathology report stating that they found malignant cancer cells in his nasal area. So he thought he had cancer for a couple weeks. Then he got a call from the doctor (again, about two weeks later) stating that they accidentally mixed up his report with another woman's in the hospital. He is cancer free but the woman is about to find out that she has cancer.

Can he sue the hospital? Is he likely to win a lot of money if so?

Thanks guys

Answer: Why would he sue? He doesn't have any monetary damages. If he were to actually receive treatment, he could sue, but he has nothing to gain here.


Title: I turn 18 1 day after the election in Texas... can I still vote?

Question:
This November midterms fall on November 6th, one day before my birthday.

Unfortunately, as far as I know this means I cannot vote in the election.

However, in Texas you can register to vote 2 months before turning 18.

Can I vote or can I not?

Thanks in advance :)

Answer: no, you have to be 18 to vote...this reminds me of the Breakfast Club: "Why do you have a fake ID?" "to vote"Answer #2: nope. sorry. and dont try to get around it, voter fraud is no joke. best of luck in 2019 (yes it's an off-year but ALWAYS vote. not just in the big elections)Answer #3: You can register to vote, but cant vote until you're actually 18.Answer #4: Check your state laws. In Virginia, you become your age the day before your birthday. I only know this because I was legally able to buy alcohol on Oct 30th when my birthday is Oct 31. Although I’m assuming voting has stricter guidelines. Good luck! Answer #5: You can register. You cannot vote. Sorry, gotta be 18 day of the election.Answer #6: No


Title: [PA] Incident at work made the news. Manager is saying don't communicate at all.

Question:
Where I work had some trouble last night and it made the news. This morning everyone got an email saying if anyone contacts you to say no comment and hang up the phone. Also he said to put nothing in writing on the internet either. Communication is to go through corporate and not individuals.

I thought employees were supposed to not comment on behalf of the company but could comment on their own if they wanted to.

I know it's not a smart thing to do anyhow and could shorten their employment term.

Can the company legally tell a person to not comment on Facebook or whatever?

Answer:
 They can legally tell you whatever they want.

If you comment on FB about this on your own time against their wishes, they can 100% fire you.Answer #2: Yes. I could tell you to never post a picture of pancakes or I'll fire you. Free speech rights in the constitution are protections against the government doing something to you in regards to what you say. The business you work for is not the government.


Title: Call from an Indian man saying my mother owes taxes from 2011 and the police will come to arrest her for tax fraud today? Is this a scam? [Virginia]

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 The IRS does not call. They either mail you a nasty letter or show up with badges. Answer #2: Scam.  Answer #3: Definitely a scam!Answer #4: Its a scam. You can determine its a scam due to the lack of paperwork.

The government loves paperwork. If you get in trouble with any government organization or do business of any kind with any government organization you will receive a mountain of paperwork. They will mail you reams and reams of paper. Letter after letter of paperwork will be mailed to you. You will need to buy a file box to house all of this paperwork.

No paperwork involved? Its not the government. Its a scam.Answer #5: Scam.

What were they trying to get you to do, anyway? Why did they notify you?


Title: [CO] Renting from university-owned housing as a single tenant of 2-person "shared" apartment -- price was advertised as $760/month online, lease agreement said "resident shall pay ... at the current rate per month". But my + roommate's rent is $500 + $525. Price was NEVER MENTIONED. Is this legal?

Question:
I am renting a room from a graduate housing apartment owned by a university in Colorado. There are two rental options -- "full" (as in I agree to rent the entire place because I have a friend/spouse/etc.) or "shared" (the university itself organizes two people to fill the 2 bedrooms). The only price advertised online (of this I am positive; I've scoured their housing pages) was $760/month. Evidently, this rate is just for tenants who choose to rent the entire apartment. But there was **no mention** of a "family rate" or "joint rate". The only quasi-qualifier was one webpage called this rate a "family apartment rate" -- but no asterisk or any explanation; it was certainly not clear this was a "family rate".

I've also read the entire lease agreement -- the section regarding rent is as follows:
>Rate: Resident shall pay rent to the University **at the current rate per month** [emphasis mine], payable in advance on or before the tenth day of each month, and
shall be delinquent on the eleventh day of said month and subject to a late payment penalty as imposed under the University’s accounts receivable
policy in effect at that time. The University reserves the right to modify the monthly rental amount and other terms and conditions pertaining to
payment of amounts due hereunder upon thirty days’ notice to Resident. In the event the Term’s start date is not the first (1st) day of a month, then
the Resident shall pay to the University a prorated installment of monthly rent at the monthly rate.

Here also is the "premises" section:
>Premises: The University agrees to rent the assigned apartment to the Resident (the “Premises”). The Apartment is a Shared. A “shared”
apartment has another room or bed that may be leased to another person. For a shared apartment, the Premises include the non-exclusive right to
use and equitably share the common areas within the Apartment during the same Term.

As you can see, there is **no mention of the rate**. My current roommate and I both signed this document **without ever being disclosed the higher rate**, and only found out about the higher charge when we looked at our student bills.

This in my mind is intentionally deceptive. But my question is how can it be legally defensible to have people sign a lease agreement without disclosing the true rate to the prospective tenants? What recourse do we have?

Answer:
 If you signed a contract that said rent owed is "the current rate per month" you fucked yourself over.

An advertised price is NOT a legally binding price.


Title: My mom claims shes getting my abusive sister to move out, to invalidate my claim to welfare. (Switzerland)

Question:
To give some context, I (M20) live in Switzerland and the law here states that parents must pay all living and school expenses for their children's first education .
This usually doesn't cover the children moving out, but because my, verbally and at times physically abusive, sister has moved back in with us for a time, I was able to get an "Indicationsschreiben", basically a letter that states that my home life is not good for me and that I need to move out on the grounds of my abusive sister.
Fast forward a couple months of me alone calling, making appointments and filling out mountains of paperwork and I have finally been given a document from Social Services stating that my rent and living expenses will be paid for when I move out.
Now my mother has come to me and claims she will be moving my sister into an apartment and that I won't have any claims to social services anymore when she does because the ground for me moving out was my sister.
My sister is very difficult to live with and I don't believe she can manage living on her own. I have been given no assurance that she won't just move back in when she fucks up and I want to move out and move on with my life.
It's Saturday and everyone I can ask about this is unavailable , if anyone knows anything about this please help.
Topic:
Non-US

Answer:
 This subreddit focuses more on US and Canadian law. You might have a lot more luck posting over in /r/legaladviceeurope .

Hope you find the answers you need.


Title: Dish room at workplace is extremely hot, is it a violation of OSHA regulations?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 I think there are some roofers in Hawaii and Florida who may feel you're being a touch too picky. Answer #2: 80 degrees is not oppressive heat.

It is unlikely having to work in 80 degrees violates any OSHA regs.


Title: Landlord is making it more and more difficult for me to make rent payments. [CA]

Question:
Background: Approximately 5 years ago, I signed a year lease to live in the studio apartment where I currently reside in Los Angeles. For the first 4 years I made rent payments via a check from my banking account in my name without issue.

A little over a year ago, my girlfriend moved in with me (let's call her "Denise"). Upon learning that she was living with me, my landlord increased our rent, which I never protested or fought.

About 7 months ago, my landlord left a notice on our door stating that he would no longer accept checks from Bank of America, where I bank. So, we started to use checks from Denise's checking account to make the rent payment and have done so since without issue.

Yesterday, I dropped the check off at the dropbox at his home as I have always done. This morning, I just received a text from him that stated, " Hello, I cannot received[sic] this check from Denise. That name is ot on the lease and I cannot accept rent from people not on the lease. Rent must be paid either in form of a check coming from your account or in cash. Sorry for in inconveniece."

When I text him back to point out that he has accepted checks from this account for several months he stated that if he did accept them, it was in error and that he will have to return this check.

One issue that gives me pause in all of this is that he recently left a notice on our door days ago that addressed late fees - we've never ever been late on rent. So, I have reason to believe that he's trying to create this situation to collect late fees from us.

Can he do this?

Thanks for all help with this. I'm in panic mode right now.

Answer:
 Go to your bank and get a cashier's check today, or go to the grocery store and get money orders.Answer #2: Have you been renewing that signed lease periodically, or did your signed lease end and now you're month-to-month?Answer #3: What does your lease say about rent payment? If you weren't notified of the change in policy in time (30 or 60 days), it does not apply. Insist on any alterations to the lease to be agreed to in writing.Answer #4: > About 7 months ago, my landlord left a notice on our door stating that he would no longer accept checks from Bank of America, where I bank. So, we started to use checks from Denise's checking account to make the rent payment and have done so since without issue.

Why the hell would you put up with that? They can't do that unless you agree.Answer #5: I would not give him cash under any circumstances. I would get a money order from Walmart or even the post office.


Title: Advice - Son being medical neglected by his father.

Question:
I need some advice. My son is a type 1 diabetic, and my sons father and I share 50/50 custody. I would like to know how I should legally proceed with showing proof that he has repeatedly medically neglected our son. We are required to communicate through a court ordered app. I have six months of documented evidence of medical neglect, with me repeatedly informing him, yet getting no response every time. For example, our sons sugars being dangerously high when sent to school, being dropped off at school with too low an amount of insulin (per the endocrinologist’s recommendations) left in his pump to safely make it through the school day, not changing his pump site in the recommended time frame (per FDA and his doctor, it needs to be changed out every three days, yet he’s consistently exchanged him to me on the fourth day with the pump still not having been changed). I’ve told him over and over about the significant and dangerous health consequences this causes. No response every time.

This morning we exchanged custody for the holiday, with his sugar levels dangerously high. He was at 510, with him eventually reaching 590 before I realized that his father completely neglected to reattach the tubing that provides insulin into our son’s body. This was also with numerous Dexcom failure notifications, which is the only thing that prompted me to inspect his pump site, upon which I discovered the tubing not connected. I messaged his father informing him of this, to which he read with no response. I again messaged him five hours later, address the medical issues and his lack of response. He again read it, with no response.

What do I do? Would Child protective services be the right route? Or maybe hiring a lawyer? My sons father is mentally unstable as he’s bi-polar, extremely narcissistic and has a history of domestic violence. I’m legitimately afraid to send our son back into his custody in a few hours, as I fear for his safety.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 Call CPS right now.  They have people on call for evenings and weekends, because you never know when an emergency is going to happen.  Follow their instructions to the letter - they may be able to intervene and get you temporary sole custody based on his father's neglect.  If they can't, you'll be opening yourself to serious liability if you violate the standing custody order.

Tomorrow, find a lawyer to help you file for permanent sole custody.Answer #2: Call CPS and the next time his sugars are that high take him to the ER right away. He is at risk of going into keto acidosis which is extremely dangerous.

This isn't something that can wait for the courts as he could die while in his father's care if this continues to go on.Answer #3: Diabetic here. How old is your son? Can he check his own glucose? Over 500 is ER time. If he checks it and it's that high, he should be calling 911.

If he's too young, can you have the school nurse check him before classes start? Keto acidosis is not something that you should take chances with.


Title: Hey aspiring lawyers! Can anyone give me some advice for a freaking smoking complaint? Would appreciate any thoughts on what I should do rather than outright quit.

Question:
The paper that I received says there is a violation of my obligations under paragraph 7.5(c) and (d) of the condominiums bylaws and house rule 10, 21, and 32 promulgated thereunder. This is in New York btw

Edit: It's not all cigarette smoke, for those of you who know what I mean..

Answer:
 If you agreed to abide by a condominium corporation's bylaws, and those bylaws restrict smoking, you agreed to restrict your smoking. If you don't like the rules, either join the condo board and try to change them, smoke elsewhere, or sell your unit and move somewhere else.

If you continue to break your condo corp's bylaws, and if the bylaws are enforceable (and no-smoking ones often are), then you can be fined. If you refuse to pay the fines, the condo corporation can place a lien on your unit to compel you to pay.


Title: My good friend was hit by a car riding her bike

Question: My friend was riding her bike and was hit by a car. She got the person's info and a police report was filled. At the time she thought she was okay and declined medical assistance then. She now is in the hospital exhibiting signs of internal bleeding and a brain injury. She was so scared of money issues cause she is living hand to mouth right now that i had to convince her to go to the hospital. Its why she declined medical help intially because she was so worried about money issues. Does she have any legal recourse? Is there something she can do legally that wont take all her money? I just wanna help her and i am so scared for her right now. And I know she is terrified about it all and then the money too. Please if anyone could help me with what her legal options may be please let me know.

Answer: Have her apply for Medicaid. It can be used 90 days retroactively. Find out when the next free legal aid clinic is in the area. I know there is one coming up soon in Longmont, for example.Answer #2: If the driver of the car was at fault, she should be contacting them to file a claim. Shock and adrenaline do funny things to a person, and it would not be uncommon for someone to report for medical treatment after initially denying it.


Title: Piggybacking on Emotional Support Animal thread (TX)

Question:
Several years ago my wife and I rescued a "large, aggressive breed"(Doberman Pinscher).  We owned our home and didn't foresee becoming tenants again.  Fast forward to now and we're moving halfway across the state (to a more expensive area) and rather than overburden ourselves financially for the area we'd like to live in, we're going to rent for 6/12 months to get established in the new city.  And here lies our problem.

Breed restrictions tend to be a default addition when property owners draw up leasing contracts.  In a city of 1M+ people we're looking at 20 locations that will accept our dog (and of those maybe five that we'd really consider).  While the 5 or 6 listed breeds might have a stronger tendency toward aggression, it seems arbitrary to stereotype the entire breed when there are no shortage of mean dogs of almost any breed.  We had a leasing consultant encourage us to register him as an ESA to open up other properties.  It seems like a cheap, (possibly) dishonest way to legally game the system.  If we decide to register him, will we be exposed to liability over and above a normal dog owner if we decide to go through with this and live at a "no aggressive breed" property?

NOTES:  While being an aggressive breed, he's not an aggressive dog.  We feel like we're responsible pet owners (he's socialized, even though I can control him off of one he's always on a leash, we pick up after him, vet checkups, always UTD on shots, heartworm/flea preventative, etc).  Although he's a large breed and exceeds most weight restrictions, we wouldn't consider the ESA to try to get by a weight limit.

**Edit:**  I understand why size and breed restrictions are in place.  Property owners want to protect their investment/tenants and limiting aggressive dogs and dogs physically capable of inflicting damage is a way of doing that.  This was brought up because we're making an effort to speak with properties we're interested in about their dog policy to see if they're willing to put him through an interview process or a similar program to gauge his ability to interact with people and animals.  Most are not which is understandable and we move on.  Suggesting we register him was not something we expected or had ever considered so I wanted to pose the question to the sub.

Answer:
 I'll say something that a lot of people don't seem to realize about the "aggressive" breeds.  While temperament can vary the reason they are commonly turned into say fighting dogs by others isn't only because of attitude its because the way they are built they are physically able to do more damage if something clicks in them and they bite/attack. Thats why they tend to get blanket covered as a "type"

I dont know the legality of making up a fake service dog but it sounds like fraud, normally you need a perscription from a doctor saying you need one I believe.  If he does end up hurting someone or damaging property you will still be just as liable to pay for damages caused.
Answer #2: >  (possibly) dishonest

**definitely** dishonestAnswer #3: People like you are the reason that disabled people face legal battles about their esas and service dogs. Good job.

You chose to own this breed. Being responsible and representing the breed is part of that. And that includes not doing bullshit like this.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you need a doctors note in order for a dog to be considered an esa. You could go the fake service dog route since being a shitty human being doesn't seem to bother you.


Title: free beer! if you buy a bag of ice for 20 dollars. legal?

Question:
Ok so I live in central fl.  Tons of people go out to disappearing island every weekend to party and have fun.

every time I go out there I see a guy selling bags of ICE and his costumers receive a "free" case of beer

he makes a killing when people run low on beer because the island is only accessible by boat and it's a huge hassle to boat all the way back in just for beer.

is this guy legit?

Answer:
 If I had to guess, he's giving away the 'free' case of beer because he doesn't have a liquor license. If that's the case, he's circumventing certain regulatory requirements around the distribution and sale of alcohol, which could get him in trouble.Answer #2: The whole "charge 10x as much for a cheap legal item but give away a restricted item free with purchase" thing doesn't work legally. Police/prosecutors/jurys aren't that stupid.Answer #3: think of all the drunken boaters this guy is keeping off the waterways...instead of several round trips to replenish beer, there's only one intoxicated ride home.Answer #4: Haha. Definitely illegal.

But for paying money, they would not receive the beer. It is a fact that they are purchasing the beer.

This is barely better than the old "Officer I didn't sell drugs, I sold them the plastic bag which may or may not have contained a **free** gift of drugs"Answer #5: It turns out that courts *are not* filled with morons.  I know, rite?  Who'd have guessed?

This kind of defense will last about nine seconds in court.  He's selling liquor without a license.


Title: My mother will disown me for getting a tattoo

Question:
This isn't very urgent, and I don't need immediate answers, but I also know very little of legal issues and laws so if I get anything wrong, I'm really sorry.

So about a week ago, my mother was talking to me and my brother about how she's written her will so that neither of us will get anything if we get into the wrong crowd, and eventually she revealed that she has a clause (? i can't remember what the word was I'm really sorry) saying that if my brother or I got a tattoo then we would be disowned, and all the money meant for us would go towards charity. Not a racist or hateful tattoo, even just a simple one, any kind. I also once asked her what she would think if I got a nostril piercing, to which she responded, 'That depends, how do you feel about being disinherited?'

Just to clarify, we're all from the West, and we're not from any groups or religions which are ultra conservative, or even where piercings or tattoos are taboo, as my cousin (my mother's goddaughter) has a nostril piercing and two tattoos.

My question is is there anyway I can alter that clause? Or make a rebuttal or case against it, should I be informed that I'm legally being disowned?

Btw I'm a 20 F and my brother is a 18 M

Answer:
 This isn't a legal issue. Your parents don't need to give you money and if you get a tattoo they can give their money to somewhere else.Answer #2: Try /r/LegalAdviceUK

But as a general rule people are free to dispose of their property as they choose, so unless there is some public policy issue, like “you can’t marry a black man.” I don’t see why it wouldn’t be valid.


Title: Roommate scheduled for his religious Sabbath. (IN, USA)

Question:
Explanation: Roommate just ran out of the house panicked because he apparently got a text last night saying he was scheduled today (Easter Sunday) and that any employee that was scheduled and didn't show would be terminated. He hadn't bothered looking at his phone till this morning because when he was hired he had said no Sundays and they agreed. The company is some subcontractor for amazon delivery

Question: Does this count as a breach of religious labor law and what can he do about it?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 There is no "religious labor law".Answer #2: Per the Indiana Department of Labor, employers can require employees to work holidays, as long as there isn’t a collective bargaining agreement or a contract stating otherwise.

As far as your roommate’s specific situation, if he signed a contract, and it stated that he wouldn’t have to work Sundays, then the employer would be violating that.  If the employer said they’d accommodate a schedule request for no Sundays, they can change that at their discretion.  It being a holiday, and having a LOT of requests off from employees, they may have just said everyone has to work so that they couldn’t be accused of favoritism.

Indiana is an at will employment state.  If your roommate doesn’t want to work Sundays, and they start scheduling him, he can quit at anytime.

https://www.in.gov/dol/2345.htm


Title: I was evicted with no notice.

Question:
I've lived in this fairly run down apartment for a few months. When I moved in, the ac broke in a few weeks. It was leaking and caused considerable damage. I took pictures and emailed my landlord. It took a few weeks for the ac to be fixed. The ceiling kept looking worse and worse. A huge chunk of drywall fell and almost fell on my head. Anyway after months of it not being fixed I consulted a lawyer. He told me that withholding rent until this was fixed was very low risk. So I emailed my landlord. I emailed him about this constantly with pictures and questions about updates.

So it's finally fixed Thursday and when I get home from work Friday and I have been evicted. I called the police but they told me to call the Marshall's. No one answers because it's so late. Today the court is closed and no one is picking up at the number at the Marshall's office paper they left. The attorney I spoke with is not at work. It's the weekend and I'm homeless. I slept in a storage unit.

This is dekalb County in Decatur Georgia. Sorry I'm on mobile. I don't know who to call or what to do. Please help me. I didn't know I even did anything wrong. I even consulted a lawyer first. I have no one to stay with in this city. I don't have anyone but my girlfriend who is doing all she can.

Answer:
 >He told me that withholding rent until this was fixed was very low risk.

Fire him, he screwed you. And also, Georgia has some pretty harsh tenancy laws from what I read. The LL doesn't even have to give you a written notice, just a verbal one. He can have you out of the house in as little as 2-3 days.

Read this, it is pretty hard on non-paying tenants: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/eviction-notices-nonpayment-rent-georgia.htmlAnswer #2: > Anyway after months of it not being fixed I consulted a lawyer. He told me that withholding rent until this was fixed was very low risk.

I find that very difficult to believe, considering Georgia provides no statutory right for tenants to withhold rent.


Title: [USA-MO] My girlfriend recently took up a job at our university that listed the hourly wage and that it was 40hrs/week. A month later when training begins, they informed her she would only be working 20 hrs/week. Is this in any way illegal? Can we do anything?

Question: It's a summer job and over this summer and she needs to make a certain amount of money in order to get a massive amount off tuition. Now that they revealed they are only going to give her only half the hours they offered, she won't be able to hit that mark.

Answer: Federal work study limits hours to 20 hr a week, which makes out to 40hr a billing period. Perhaps this is the cause of confusion? This is not illegal, in fact the 40hrs would be illegal.


Title: Sold product online, it didn't arrive, threatened with police report

Question:
As title states, I sold a product online and the buyer claims it never arrived. I don't have proof I ever sent it as the buyer did not want to pay extra for tracking and my post office (non-US, located in Europe) does not keep track of envelopes that are being sent with solely a stamp.

The buyer has given me a deadline to pay him back but I don't have the money right now and meeting the deadline would be impossible. He stated that if I don't meet the deadline he will file a police report.

I have a police record already (bad childhood decisions) and am pretty sure the police report would escalate into a lawsuit or something.

I have no experience with any of this so I'm sorry for any mistakes, bad writing and or bad formatting. I'm scared.

Thank you for reading.
Edit: I am located in Belgium.

Answer:
 Tracking numbers are to protect the seller, not the buyer so it's not the buyers responsibility to "purchase" it from you no matter where you are shipping from. Especially for high price items that you can not easily refund or replace.

The police will most likely ask the buyer to file for a charge back with their payment processor to get their money back so either way, you'll have to refund the buyer.


Title: Neighbor trying to start something

Question:
About 2 weeks ago, my neighbors got into a knock-down drag out fight in front of our apartment complex. Choking each other, banging their heads against the concrete, the whole nine yards. I got scared and called the cops because no one was out there trying to break it up, and I didnt want to be witness to a murder.

Somehow, they found out I called the cops despite requesting to remain anonymous on the call. Ever since, they have been making loud, ambiguous threats about me in front of other neighbors. Whenever I'm out walking my dog, they purposely try to jump out and scare her, I'm guessing to try and make her bite them. Whenever I ask what the fuck they simply respond "if your dog bites me, we're gonna have a problem."

What the fuck do I do? I'm not sure if I'm able to do anything since they haven't technically done anything to me. I've complained to my apartment complex, and they said they cant do anything. I really regret calling the cops but I was scared they were really gonna hurt each other.

Thanks in advance. Will be happy to answer any follow-up questions if this seems unclear.

Answer: Your best bet is to start recording your walks. Then file a police report for harassment each time they do something like hid and jump out/follow you/threaten you ect. If it doesn't cease, you can use those reports to possibly get an order of protection. They may also convince the landlord to evict them though they are not obligated.


Title: Abandoned car in my driveway

Question: All I have to do is get the car ticketed and I can have it towed, but parking authority won't ticket it without my landlord present. She is old and can't/won't drive over here. I need it gone today. What can I do?

Answer:
 You should be able to show them on the lease that you are a valid resident and that should allow them to ticket.

Unless you have somr weird shady subletting going on then ur solAnswer #2: Have you called the non-emergency police line yet? We don't have a parking authority where I am from, so I'm not sure if they have the same power as a cop.

Also, the next time you call someone, have your lease handy where it says you are the only one renting and that agreement entitles you to use of the driveway.

Do you know who the car belongs to?


Title: Employee possibly stole a laptop what can we do?

Question: Recently our IT department showed that 4 laptops have gone up missing.  Im pretty sure I know who it is but have to video proof or other proof.  What can we do?  Were in WA.

Answer: Call the police.


Title: (California) 17 year-old high school student, father being accused of "doing LSD with me".

Question: Not going to go into too much detail about my grandmother that I haven't talked to in 4 years, since it's such a long story, but she has a long history of being psychotic. A few days ago she called my school's principal and told them that my father has been dropping acid with me. Have never done drugs with my dad, but now they have a social worker that is investigating it. Just want to know if there's any danger at all of a custody battle with her, or if I can just deny it and live on with my life.

Answer: They're going to investigate, but if everyone is honest and nothing has happened you shouldn't have anything to worry about.


Title: [PA] Legal to discriminate against the wife of a sex offender?

Question:
Asking this on a throwaway because some of my real life friends and family know my account and the people involved, and I'd rather it not get out to them.

My cousin's husband is a registered sex offender. He was found guilty of possession and distribution of child pornography about nine years ago, and is on a list for the rest of his life. He's not a child molester or anything like that - he had a porn addiction as a young adult, downloaded a torrent which contained CP, seeded it automatically, and wasn't able to delete it before the cops found out. He is a wonderful guy, has totally turned his life around, and I couldn't be prouder to have him in my family. We all love him.

My cousin works in child care. She currently works at a daycare with children under the age of five. When she was applying for jobs, one of the parts of the application asked her to list her relatives and close relations so they could be background checked. This understandably made her nervous, because she was worried about being refused a job due to her husband's status. She got the job and it was never brought up, but it scared them both.

My question is, would that be legal? Can the wife of a sex offender be turned away from a job because of her husband being registered? What legal ways could his conviction be used against her, and what isn't legal? I love them and want to make sure they aren't treated in ways which aren't legal for his mistakes.

Answer:
 Probably legal.

Also he's probably lying about the torrent with "secret CP in it".

If his story was true his lawyer would have been able to beat the charges because intent is pretty easy to show or disprove with computer forensics. (large collection of files written to disk and the illegal content mixed in not accessed or only accessed once or twice, vs dozens, hundreds, or thousands of illegal files with write and access records spanning weeks, months, or years)


Title: legality of buying rx drugs overseas(USA)

Question: I have quite excruciating muscular spasms occasionally and have been prescribed and zanaflex in the past; however because I now lack insurance and money is extremly tight and I have ceased seeking treatment. Would it be legal to import these medications ( zanaflex or baclofen) which are unscheduled but Rx for personal use, generics from other countries are significantly cheaper but I don't want to run afoul of the law.

Answer: I know you said that you don’t have insurance. Have you ever good rx. Com? I plugged in baclofen and a 30 day script is like $13. (I didn’t want to link it here just in case it’s against the rules. Xanaflex is like $17. These are coupons that you just take to the pharmacy. It’s 100 percent legit and super easy to use too!


Title: Home seller giving us a hard time

Question:
We live in Connecticut and are buying a home in Connecticut.

We are locked into a VA mortgage, and have two things to fix prior to closing on July 27, 2018. One was to repaint the deck due to peeling paint, the other is a septic inspection (which is taking place next Monday) and we are cleared to close.

The deck has been repainted (at our expense) but the seller is giving us a hard time about the septic inspection. She is refusing to allow it because she doesn't want them to ruin her lawn when they have to dig a small hole around the tank to inspect it.

The home we are buying had a previous offer and septic inspection, and the company we are using said that they would use the ground that has already been dug up so that no new holes are created.

The seller has also informed our realtor that she will not be vacating the house on July 27th, even though the contract states she must be out prior to closing. We are currently leasing an apartment, and unfortunately it has been rented and we have to be out by August 1st so that the new tenants can move in.

What are our rights? Do we even have any? The sales contract for the house is pretty clear when it says that all of her belongings have to be out prior to closing, but from what we have been told, she hasn't even booked movers for her out of state move yet!

Please help if you can.

Answer:
 I would immediately demand that you, your realtor, her realtor, and her broker get on a phone call. Ask how they are going to talk sense into her and specifically ask what is driving this problem.

I would also be getting an attorney on speed dial. It may make sense to have a 30m consult to get a sense of your options.


Title: Reddit, I recently got a parking ticket for parking in front of a fire hydrant. Looking to see if it's capable to get out of!

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 [Texas law](http://codes.findlaw.com/tx/transportation-code/transp-sect-545-302.html) says:

>(b) An operator may not, except momentarily to pick up or discharge a passenger, stand or park an occupied or unoccupied vehicle:
>
>(2) within 15 feet of a fire hydrant;

Were you parked within 15 feet of the hydrant?

If yes, were you picking up or discharging a passenger?

If no, were you driving an emergency vehicle responding to an emergency, like a fire truck?

If the answers are yes, no, and no, then there's probably no reasonable way of getting out of the ticket.

I guess you could take it to trial, engage in a whole bunch of dilatory tactics, and hope that the issuing officer either eventually doesn't show up, doesn't have pictures, or doesn't remember the event any longer.  Or, you could throw yourself on the mercy of the court and beg for forgiveness or reduction.


Title: Someone comes into my backyard and trims the grass along one fence

Question:
I suspect my neighbor it's only on their fence. I really don't like this behavior because they did not ask my permission. They also left the gate to the alley unlatched which can damage the gate in high winds.

I only noticed today because the grass is neat and trimmed along that one fence but the rest of the parameter is not.

I am in Dallas, TX. Rental property and we are responsible for lawn maintenance.

What should I do to prevent this behavior from continuing?

Answer:
 Have you I dunno talked to them about it?

Not every issue between neighbors is a legal one.


Title: [Canada, Alberta] Wedding reception venue forcing us to switch caterers and bar staff at the last minute for ALOT more money.

Question:
Hello /r/legaladvice. I am about to get married (one week) and within the last 2 weeks we have hit a major hurdle with our reception.

We originally booked our venue 2 years ago (big family, lots of kids, only 1 wedding per year rule... whole other story). The venue at the time was locally owned, and they were more than happy to take a booking deposit for the space. Since that time, the Hotel has been bought by one large hotel chain, and then purchased by another after that. When the second chain re-negotiated our contract they gave us a better deal on the space rental under the stipulation that we use a particular outside catering company for food and bar staff as they had an exclusivity contract with said caterer. This was 9 months ago.

That time passed without a word to us. We made arrangements for their food and bar staff, and paid our deposits/signed contracts with the old caterer. Recently, the hotel opened a restaurant that uses the kitchen that used to be used for the catering staff. This (apparently) resulted in a conflict with health regulations and as a result, the restaurant took over catering responsibilities for the reception space.

That Restaurant opened a few months ago, however the hotel waited until 3 weeks until our wedding to inform us that we were no longer allowed to use their space. At this point there was no available venues that could host a wedding of our size. The Hotel said we had the choice of going with their new in house caterer or getting our deposit back and finding somewhere else.

We met with the new caterer as well as the hotel events manager, and their food prices were 50% higher than our originally contracted amount, and alcohol prices are nearly 100% higher. We were able to negotiate the food back down to where we were, but they will not budge on alcohol prices stating "We have made more than enough accommodations for your situations already".

We have spent the last 2 weeks since that meeting requesting the pricing in writing so that we at least know what we are going to be paying and have it locked in, but the hotel has been less than forthcoming as they know that we are stuck one way or the other.

I am scared to go full legal on them with a week before the wedding in case they just kick us out, and we do have a lawyer reviewing things right now, but I thought I would open this up to discussion here as I just want to know options.

Thanks!

TL;DR - Our wedding venue knows we are stuck with them and are finding creative ways to crank up the pricing. HELP!

Answer:
 If its in writing they need to abide by it, verbal agreements unfortunately wouldn't hold up.Answer #2: Lawyers:  Question...

IF this is considered a breach by the venue (changing the terms of the contract (Vendor B in stead of A)), and the venue returns their deposit- can they still sue for damages?  They have planned this party, invited guests, printed invitations, etc- all based on the contract that was signed and in place.  Would those damages be limited to money actually spent?  Or would they be able to sue for the cost of the contract, using that as a reasonable price for another venue?


Title: if i am on a medication, but a parent didn’t consent and they want me to stop having access to a prescription, can the medication that is already in my possession be legally taken away?

Question: i’m not sure if i posted this in the correct place. i’ve been on testosterone for a few months, without parental consent  because my doctor had decided that i was at a point where i could make informed decisions. my mother found out about it and kicked me out and lied to police and to friends and all that stuff, but she also wants to try and prevent me from getting the prescription again. right now i’m 15, i turn 16 in 6 months. can the vial of testosterone that is in my possession be legally taken away? also what if it is in my doctors possession? does anyone have the legal right to take it away once it’s already in my possession? I can’t contact the people i could think to ask right now because of timing, so i’m just asking here.

Answer:
 As a minor, your parents do have the right to control your access to your possessions. Your best would be to store your testosterone somewhere safe (a friend, maybe?).

Your doctor absolutely has the right to keep prescribing you medication without your parent's knowledge or consent if your doctor thinks you are old enough to make your own informed decisions about your health. Feel free to ignore any American commenters who tell you otherwise, because Canadian law is a bit different on this point than in many states.

Do you have somewhere safe to be? I don't know what your mom told the police, but your parents aren't allowed to kick you out. They have to ensure you have shelter (even with a friend) and are provided for.


Title: I started receiving robocalls demanding that I contact a toll free number to give them information regarding my whereabouts. They recently started calling my parents’ house as well. Is this legitimate?

Question:
Sorry for the wall of text, this got long. I am in Virginia, for reference.

Yesterday I received the following voicemail:

>Hello my name is David, this message is regarding our location and tracing efforts for [name], it is important that we speak with you regarding their whereabouts. If we cannot verify this information through you, the law does allow us to contact all references on file. Dial zero now to speak to a representative or call [number]. If you are unable to provide any information please call the office regardless.”

I ignored it, since it seemed to be phishing, but then not even three hours later my mother received a voicemail on their house line saying pretty much the same thing, but this time threatening to contact “the law” to “force” them to give them any information they may have on me. She was panicking, and was absolutely convinced that I was in some sort of serious trouble. I told her that it was very unlikely that any agency that could “make the law force me to talk to them” would probably not be contacting me via robocall, and pointed out that since I work for the school system, if someone was legitimately trying to locate me, it would be easy enough to find me through legitimate means. She was so upset I called the number back, which did not send me to a real person, rather, a voicemailbox, where I left a message firmly asking them to remove my phone number and not contact me further. I did not identify myself in the message.

This morning I received the following voicemail from what seemed like an actual person:

>Good morning this message is for [name] this is Amy with the NT group, uh, we did receive a voicemail message from you yesterday, if you want to give us a call back, we can let you know what’s going on. It’s [different number from yesterday’s message]. Thanks so much.

I am at work so I didn’t respond. An hour later I received another robocall saying the exact same thing as the first message I received but with a different voice from yesterday’s message and a different phone number.

I have a few concerns. First, is this legitimate? I used to work for a law firm that had a skiptracing department since we handled a lot of collections and unlawful detainers, and we were told we had to reach out in person, whereas these are clearly recorded calls. I do have a couple of accounts in collections, but I have been trying very hard to resolve those issues for at least a couple of years – every time I request documentation to show what I owe, they get extremely aggressive and refuse to send me anything. The worst one is for a store credit card that I paid in cash in the store, and apparently it was never credited to my account and whenever I explain that they refuse to send me proof that I still owe the debt.

Second, I have good (legal) reasons for not wanting to give out any contact or location information. A little under three years ago I went to court and testified against a man who raped me, and he was sent to prison. His family has harassed me, posted aggressive and libelous things about me across social media, and asked mutual acquaintances to tell them where I live (they refused). I asked the prosecutor who handled my case what we could do about it, but she said that because they were not being aggressive or threatening, there was nothing that could be done. As a result, I do not give out my personal contact information without very good cause.

Should I call these people back? How should I handle this? Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer:
 Do you still have a copy of the voicemail made to your parents? If so, back it up ASAP and go to a credit Defense attorney.Answer #2: Demand they send letter of validation Answer #3: It sounds like collections.

Also, next time you pay in cash for anything, especially a bill, get a receipt.


Title: How do you get help with an online impersonator when the cops won't help you? (It's a crime in my state--Harassment - 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2709)

Question:
For four years, I've been impersonated online--photo copied-and-pasted, name used to create accounts. Whoever has been doing this will start and stop for months, then start again. Unfortunately, his/her/their hate speech or just weird speech comments are showing up in Google searches of my name, to the point where even I wouldn't want to know me. I have absolutely no idea who might be doing this. The mistake (?) he/she/they have made is that in whatever blog/comment section/forum he/she/they post in, they also post under one other sockpuppet identity. I got one software company to "unmask" him/her/them, replacing my fake account with the real account originating the comments; and this sockpuppet identity turned up. I say sockpuppet because no such person exists in my area. I've spent enough time--four years is a long time--to be fairly sure no such person exists in my area, and the harassment always occurs in online discussions of local or regional political issues.
I've reported this to two sets of police forces (I moved in the past four years.) I even have had a local legislator call the latest police force on my behalf. They've done nothing.
Thank you.

Answer: You can keep reporting the issues to the websites and get them taken down as they occur.


Title: Landlord keeps adding on random services post lease

Question:
Hi,

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Really not mad about this or fighting it, its merely an additional $5 a month and I think its a good program to help make tenants more proactive about recycling. But this is the second time they had added a service post signing the lease. They first was a trash concierge service for $17.50/month. Why would I pay someone to walk my trash 300 feet? These are being applied to our rent whether we utilize the services or not.

&#x200B;

My overall question is can a landlord add services to their units after a lease is signed and force them to utilize the services? Seems like they are squeezing the cash out of me as I cant even use my own internet provider, I have to use their preferred. Outdoor parking is $100/month and indoor is $300/month. I pay water, trash, parking, sewer, electric, internet, rent, now trash concierge, and recycling. Its all bundled together at the end of the month into a lump sum and I pay the property management company.

&#x200B;

Originally parking was free, that changed unless you want to use the meter parking. (2 hour maximum) It just seems like they are intentionally taking advantage of the tenants. I know a lot of college and med students live in my apartment and they are apparently causing an uproar which is why I received the email below.

&#x200B;

Just genuinely curious how they can keep changing the prices and services and forcing people to use them.

&#x200B;

[Lease (personal info blacked out)](https://imgur.com/a/khm2aF9)

[Email received ](https://imgur.com/a/6gJmtMY)
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 No, the landlord can't require you to pay for these services if you're not using them.

Your requirement is the amount stated in your lease. Your lease doesn't mention any of these services. As you said, it's not a lot of money monthly, but it definitely adds up. Just the concierge service and recycling fee is $270 a year. Answer #2: The amount due each month is the amount stated in your lease. You can refuse to pay for extra services. You can also expect to not have your lease renewed if you do so.Answer #3: * The landlord can't levy any fines or charges that aren't listed in the lease.  There may be non-specific passages that apply though, so read carefully.
* As you are in Nebraska, I am pretty sure you don't have rent control.  This means that if you fight them on this, they may consider you a "problem tenant" and then refuse to renew your lease when it's up.  If you are already month-to-month, that means 30 days in Nebraska.  So consider your actions carefully.


Title: My employer requires a meal break but we don't always have time for it. Recently, I noticed my timecard had my lunch written in and a half hour deducted even though I didn't take lunch. (NY State, agriculture)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 "entitled to at least thirty minutes" means they have to offer it to you,and the offered time must be at least 30 minutes.

However, they have to pay you for all time worked, including lunch.


Title: Drunk driver hit my car, damaged my car and got arrested for DUI. Can't get insurance information. How to approach? [CA, USA]

Question:
I am in a long distance relationship with my fiancee. We only get few days in a year to spend with each other due to nature of our career. We were spending these days vacationing at Big Sur, CA.

We parked our car on the side of the road legally and went inside a park. When we came out, a State Park Officer flagged me down and told me that a drunk driver hit my parked car (which has damaged my read bumper) and other officer was chasing the drunk driver. They arrested her 3 miles down the road. They called CHP who made the report and handed it down to State Park officer.

The officer gave me insurance information and license plate number of the drunk driver. When I called their insurance company AAA, they told me that the insurance number is not correct and they can not look up the person with their license plate number. When I called the State Park office, they told me that they can only give me insurance information which was presented to them at the time of the accident. They are not responsible to verify if the information is correct.

So now I have damaged car and a full report saying that the other driver was drunk and she even got arrested for it. But I can't get the correct insurance information. So I am down couple of hundred dollars for fixing my car.

More than fixing my car, it also ruined our entire vacation. I only get few days out of a year with my fiancee and i didnt want it to go this way.

What are my options for,

- Getting the other driver/her insurance pay for the damage of my car?
- Is there any punitive damages I can claim to get compensation beyond the repair of my car?

Answer:
 You can either

1. file a claim with your own insurance, and let them sort it out, or
2. sue the other driver for the cost of the repairs and any medical expenses.

If you're going with #2, then get a few quotes and pick one of the lower ones.

An accident is not a windfall for you.


Title: I think I may have been drugged by (ex)boyfriend.

Question:
I filed a police report for assault and rape against my ex boyfriend. It's going to court soon. As I've been writing and compiling my victim statement and evidence, I noticed a pattern I hadn't noticed before:

Before he raped me the first time, which was something I consciously experienced, there have been 2 or 3 situations where we had sex where I couldn't remember it happened. We talk about this in Facebook conversations.

&#x200B;

At the time I was on birthcontrol pill; I started the pill after we were together for some months. I went off it within months because I felt mentally unstable and started getting black gaps in my memory. My doctor linked this to the pill.

&#x200B;

The first time we had sex I couldn't really remember either. That night we both had drunk alcohol, so I blamed it on that. I do remember that he jumped me that night and totally overwhelmed me. Of this I have evidence in conversations too, and where I describe how drugged I felt.

&#x200B;

The second time I could barely remember sex, was when I hadn't had alcohol though; but I was on birthcontrol pill at the time.

&#x200B;

All these events happened before he raped me when I was fully aware of it (not on birthcontrol pill anymore, didn't have alcohol, etc).

&#x200B;

I have written evidence where we discuss the fact that I couldn't remember the sex. At the time I blamed it on the instability the pill caused.

&#x200B;

I'm worried he now may have drugged me at those times, and that I've previously blamed other things because I never considered this option. If he drugged me during these times, would you be able to prove this in court based on the conversations we had before he (consciously) raped me, or would you need evidence like blood tests or finding drugs at his place? He had access to drugs and he talked about it regularly and there's evidence of this.

&#x200B;

Is this something I could prove, or is this useless evidence and should I just focus on trying to prove the conscious rape that happened?

&#x200B;

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Answer:
 (This will probably get removed anyway but..) if you can’t disclose the location it’s hard to give accurate advice for your specific country. Is it possible for you to state something like “North America”, or the country itself and not the province/state or any other info? That would at least be a start.

IANAL and I’m not 100% sure, but where I am you can make any claim you believe to be reasonably true in your victim impact statement, and if you have any evidence backing up the possible drugging include whatever you have. It doesn’t mean the charges will stick against him as there probably isn’t enough evidence, but it’s his and his lawyers job to defend against the claim, with evidence or without. If you think he did it, then say so, and I’m sure they will contact you with questions if they need any more info about it. Depending on the drug, it may still be something they could theoretically test for with blood or hair samples, however that can get expensive.

Looking forward to other responses here tooAnswer #2: Your doctor definitely linked blackouts/memory loss to hormonal birth control? That would be a very extreme reaction to those meds. Or were they just linking it to general mood swings?


Title: Accused of being pedophile. No charges(becaue no crimes) internet motering and police saying going around saying im sexual predator for childreng

Question:
[removed]
Topic:
Troll Post

Answer: Are you high/drunk right now?  Is your keyboard malfunctioning?  Did you complete elementary school?


Title: Got Robbed, he's pled guilty paying restitution

Question:
Hello, thanks in advance for reading my post. I'm curious as to what happens if the guy who robbed me doesn't pay up?

He finally made a plea deal saying that he's going to be on probation for 8 years, and he'll be forced to pay us restitution in the amount of $19,000. And he's going to be in a strict drug program because he's a pill billy(he's in TN/we moved to KY it happened in TN).

So what happens when this POS doesn't pay us? I'm 99% sure this guy isn't going to have some change of conscience and decide to become an upstanding young man and pay the money back.

He has several charges of drugs and receiving of stolen goods but this is his first robbery charge. So he's not a decent character at all.

That's all beside the point though, what happens if he claims he can't find work, or works under the table, etc? What happens when he doesn't pay up? Does he go to jail and work there and then we get money? How does that work?

Thanks for your time in reading this!
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: The restitution is probably part of the probation, meaning if he doesn't comply they can just violate him and sentence him to prison.  This is a  motivator, but it obviously won't make $19,000 magically appear for someone with a record.


Title: My girlfriend is being abused by her adopted father and I need help on what to do to get her out of this horrible situation

Question: My girlfriend(17) and still in high school is being physically and sexually abused by her adopted father. She feels like she is the horrible person and is not seeking help and is scared about calling an abuse hotline. She is concerned that they either A). Will not help her situation/make it worse or B). Will destroy her chance of paying/ going to college. I’ve tried talking to her but she won’t call. She is very fragile because of this abuse and sometimes I fear that she might take her own life. Please help me... I am in college and 19. this is happening in Georgia. Also throwaway.

Answer: Make an anonymous report to DCS or call law enforcement. There really is no good reason to not report physical and sexual abuse.