Title: My boss contacted me Monday and told me he'd been stalking me on my worksite for two weeks

Question: Deleted bc he followed me home tonight.

Answer:
 > I'm afraid for my safety

At this point I'd be more afraid for your job. Which is likely goneAnswer #2: Your boss catching you sleeping at work is not stalking. Its supervising.

He's watching you at work. Where it is his job to be accountable for you. There is no reason to believe he is watching you at home.Answer #3: > Is my boss allowed to do this?

Your boss is allowed to watch you work.

Or in your case, not work.  So work.  And then you have nothing to worry about.


Title: Relative of deceased woman demanding back money that was given to us

Question:
First off thank you to whoever is reading this. There was an elderly lady we bought a house from many years ago, we became close friends with her as she often help in our garden, invited us to her own home, and would love to talk for hours. Over the years she helped us financially and would send large amounts of money via mail. She never requested we paid her back, and when we would, she would tell us she doesn't need that much. I would often send letters to her about very personal things and we became very close. She did keep track however of how much money was sent and how much we paid her back, even though she never requested, nor wanted payment. All in all she was a very close woman to our family.

She has since been deceased for several years, out of the blue we were notified that a sister of this lady (who claims to be extremely close to her, but is much much younger and has lived in a different state the whole time) had found all these personal letters including the amount of money given to us, and amount we repaid. She has since gotten a lawyer and is requesting that this money is repaid to her. I am not sure if this affects anything, but this lady is definitely not in need of this money and her family lives a very lavish lifestyle. She was very unhappy when I brought up that this elderly woman was very close to us. It is very clear to me that she is only in it for the money. She has blocked all social media from me (understandable I guess, because they don't want me to see that they don't need this money). We are in no position to be able to pay this money back. I am scheduled to meet with a her and her lawyer in a few days in order to get more information on this, I expect them to try to convince me that paying it back is the only option.

Overall I feel very stressed and uncomfortable that this lady has seen these letters and is requesting this money be repaid and is putting on a persona that they were very close. This elderly lady never talked about this sister and it is clear to me this is just an act to get the money. I greatly appreciate all advice and help anyone is able to offer. Thank you so much.

Answer:
 Don’t go to that meeting without a lawyer. While the onus is on them to prove it was a loan, or potentially that you were getting money by defrauding or taking advantage of the woman, you certainly do not need to help them with that by providing any information without being subpoenaed. Get advice from a real lawyer. Answer #2: Are you aware of any communications or notes that included a promise to repay?

Also, their need or lack thereof for the money is irrelevant.Answer #3: If I were in your situation, I would talk to an attorney ASAP before meeting with their attorney. Actually, I would postpone the meeting (without telling them why "scheduling conflict") until I spoke with an attorney.Answer #4: As a general matter theres nothing she can produce that entitles her to the funds, if it was a formal loan and she had a document however remedial she could produce there might be something. However that doesnt seem to be the case, if she lawyers up and you get served then you need to speak to an attorney, but it seems through your post that all you have to do is nothing and it will equate to telling her to pound sand.Answer #5: >The last couple checks were being cashed in a different name/account so I tried to contact this lady through phone calls and mail only to find out she had passed away.

Would OP be able to counter sue for this money back? If she was cashing the checks leading op to believe her sister was still alive wouldn't that be fraud?  Just because she gained control of her sister's accounts doesn't mean she can  cash gifts meant for her sister.


Title: I want to not pay my last months rent, should I?

Question:
I signed  a lease in october of last year that ends this june 30th. The issue is that i had a roommate that signed the lease with me, and he midnight moved on me at the end of march. He responded to phone calls and texts and basically told me he left because we didnt hang out enough. Ive been stuck paying the last two months rent by myself as well as him leaving me behind a $402 hydro bill that came after 6 months of equilazed payments that we had both gone over apparently. My plan is basically to leave here this month without paying, I already have another condo set up to live in, as well as a condo i own myself in Canmore, Alberta that worst case senario i can always move back too.

I do not have the means at the moment to chase him down for small claims court, I also work for a company under the table so its not like my sin is registered for me paying taxes somewhere, the only bill i have is my cell phone which I am sure if they wanted to contact me they could. I almost want the property managment company to come after both of us so that i can counter sue him at the time.

I also told the property managment company that he left and i was fucked over and they told me tough luck. I just dont care anymore honestly and i dont understand how it is fair that i get stuck with everything while he goes and does whatever he wants.

I understand this may be a little immature but am i assinine for thinking to do this?

Answer: Pay your rent.  You can sue your former roommate for his part of the rent.  You're on the hook for the full contract.


Title: I bought a car a week ago, and drove it home. Today the dealer called me and said that I have to come back in to “resign a credit application.” What is going on? Do I have to go back in?

Answer: Did you finance the car through the dealer? Most likely the original lender turned down the application and the dealer is trying to get you new financing. If they can get you the same terms, it's not a big deal to get a new set of paperwork. If they cannot get you a loan with the same interest rate and term, you may have to renegotiate the deal or undo it entirely and walk away from the car. Yeah, you're going to have to do something, because if that is what happened, right now you have no loan and are driving around in the dealership's car, which they will want to repossess if the loan doesn't get redone.


Title: MO - cyberharassment

Question:
So, first of all, law enforcement has been notified. just wanting to get some advice or thoughts.

met guy on tinder. have lunch. give fake first name, he tells me his and so happens he's married, in Rotary and director of a huge non-profit in town. Totally googleable, it all checked out. he made lunch res under his own name, I mean no fear.  okay so you are thinking wow luck of the tinder draw...."nice upstanding guy"...right? wronggggg.

we leave, ive got bad vibes but we walk to his car - he tells me he's actually taken a van from work (they do home construction for poor/needy family). I peek in - lol - he's got a bunch of curtain/towels hung for privacy.

okay so he wanted to have sex like right there in his borrowed work van, at 1255 pm on the side of busy street. I NOPED and left.

2 hours later...I get an email from him - well, several. One of them telling me that he has my car plates and  luck for me he's not a vengeful man yada yada. he sends me several more  - he's pretty pissed he didnt get sex in his party van. I flat out say im not interested. then I stop responding. He the finds me on OkC. I dont respond.

over 2 weeks go by a few emails nothing too exciting.

THEN last night I get a visit from cop. at my door. with a message to call a Lt in a neighboring cty. I call, the Lt says that he got a call "from his friend in XXX city" asking if I left a coat at a place on the highway. . Let's be clear...I DID not lose a coat anywhere and was nowhere near that hwy at anytime. I recognize immediately it is the stalker guy!!!! and now he's lying to law enforcement (through his personal connections) to have them run my plates.

I was a bit leary to talk to this Lt given he his  a friend of my stalker but I did detail the situation in email.  and I named the guy in email, which likely impressed the LT as he had not given me the name on the phone. but I knew. the Lt responded back taht I should talk to detectives today. I will.

so didnt he commit 2 things - lying to law and harassment.

what should i say to this detective to get this guy in max trouble.

see, given that he was a known pillar in the community I was perfectly content to let it die but now he needs to be stopped.

Answer:
 > what should i say to this detective to get this guy in max trouble.

You only say the truth.  Don't lie or mislead.

Give the detectives your statement(or don't, it's up to you) and let them proceed.

Separately, you can look into getting a restraining order; his conduct may or may not qualify yet.Answer #2: met guy on tinder...so happens he's married..."nice upstanding guy"...right?  You must have a different definition of a nice upstanding guy than I do.  :-)


Title: Pled Not Guilty for DUI in CA, while waiting for my Court Date I received an Arrest Warrant, please help

Question:
I received my first and only DUI back in March and bailed out the next morning.

Went to court on the assigned date and I received a public defender.

Public defender advised me to plead not guilty.

The public defender informed me that he would go to my next court date for me on May 1st.

I called him to follow up and he informed me that he let me know when my next court date and I would receive info via mail.

I asked him for a rough estimate as to when my next court date would be and he said a month or so at the earliest.

I haven't received anything in the mail or a call from my Public Defender.

I've been checking the mail religiously and always answer random calls..

Today I received a Warrant of Arrest letter for the DUI with a bail amount of $1000.

I'm really nervous and scared as to what to do or what's going on.

What happened here? Did my public defender screw up? Is this somehow a mistake? I received nothing via mail\email\phone.

**update**

spoke to my public defender this morning.

he told me to go to the courthouse and put myself on the docket at the business center.

and that i wouldn't be arrested. i said he attempted to contact me but was unable to.

i asked what number he had on file but he said he couldn't recall.

he said he had a hearing and was in a rush, but to go and put my name on the docket for next week and it's not a big deal.

still a little paranoid about going to the courthouse and my public defender's lack of detail in his explanation..

is there a possibility i get arrested. i've never had a warrant for my arrest but from what i read you get arrested on the spot and either post bail or wait for a court date
Topic:
DUI

Answer:
 Call your public defender ASAP. He's the one who can answer these questions.

Edit: Be polite even if you think/know he messed up. Getting verbally hostile with him will not help you. You need to get this fixed. He's your best ally now.


Title: My parents have been asking for financial help in the last two years, and I have let them "borrow" more than 50k and they are asking for more

Question:
Hi r/legaladvice,

My step dad has lost his job in 2009 since then he has not had a decent job. He stopped paying the mortgage and eventually, my parents got sued by the mortgage company and they asked me to help paying for the lawyer last year. I just started working at a big tech company as a software developer last year so they knew I had a good income. I helped them.

They ended up keeping the house by some bad refinancing but now my step dad still struggles to find a decent job, and cannot afford the house with a high interest rate.
Since then, despite of the fact that I moved out of my parents place, they have been "borrowing" about 2k every month. Now I think the sum might be more than 50k. They keep saying they are looking for jobs and interviewing but they also seem to think that this is not much a burden for me because I earn six figures as a single guy in my 20s. But I am tired of this and I also want to have some savings to plan for my own future...

To make matters worse, I never had a healthy relationship with my parents and whenever they ask me for help it often becomes an argument. Sometimes I get so stressed out,  I can't even function at my work place. It also caused some mental breakdown before. At this point, I feel that I have done enough as a stepson/son and need some space from them.

What is the best way to go about this? I would want my money back eventually although I am not counting on it right now. For now, I just want some peace in my life and don't want to have anything to do with them. Could you give me some advice? Should I hire a lawyer? What could a lawyer do for me?

Answer:
 Go talk to a financial planner. The next time your parents ask you for a "loan" you can truthfully tell them that your financial planner, who is an expert in the field, strongly advised you not to loan them money, and that you are going to follow the expert's advice going forwards.

Make sure that none of your finances are mingled with theirs. They should not be listed on any of your accounts, nor you on theirs.

You already know you're never going to see that 50K again. Don't throw good money after bad in the hopes that they'll somehow be able (and willing) to pay you back.Answer #2: No is a full sentence. Stop giving them money.Answer #3: Consider hiring an accountant or some form of financial planner for them. Basically, audit your parents. Have the professional look at their bank accounts, credit card statements, mortgage, etc and see how they're actually doing and what they're spending money on.

It's common in business for a creditor (you) to do some auditing of the books. If they were getting unemployment, they would need to present evidence of them applying to jobs. If they want more money, there needs to be a clear and actionable plan to get them self-sustaining.


Title: Craigslist took my $50, flagged my 10 ads, and refuses to refund the money. What recourse do I have?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 I would assume their Terms Of Service prohibit soliciting for illegal or fraudulent activities, which yours are.

You don’t have any recourse.   Don’t try to advertise your illegal activities. Answer #2: I would assume their Terms Of Service prohibit soliciting for illegal or fraudulent activities, which yours are.

You don’t have any recourse.   Don’t try to advertise your illegal activities.


Title: I reported bats, now I’m worried for my job

Question:
I work for a company in the UK that has buildings across the country. Today one of the buildings I was working in had a few dead bats on the floor and bats droppings on a lot of surfaces.

I called our company’s facilities help desk and asked them to see if someone could come and see if they can do anything (stop them getting in,, clean up?? ) I think bats carry diseases? So was a bit concerned about being around them.
I then got a call from a guy from facilities telling me that I have gotten the company in big trouble and they will be fined and the building will need shut down . He said it would cost the company less to buy new land and build a whole new building than what I’ve just cost them. ( he said they might have to do that now as ‘the building belongs to the bats now’)

I’m now terrified about what’s going to happen, can I be sacked for this or charged money? I didn’t call anyone outside the company I work for and I haven’t told anyone else.

I really don’t see why them having to follow the law was the wrong thing to do? Surely they should have given us some sort of briefing to tell us not to report bats if that’s what they want us to do?

I’m in Scotland if that helps, apologies for formatting I’m on mobile

Answer:
 Hi, post this in r/legaladviceuk

Bats are protected in the UK and cannot be removed as far as I am aware but you didn't make them move in.

Edit: some interesting reading https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/9827052/Holy-bat-protection-Thats-cost-me-10000.html


Title: Serious Magic the Gathering issue [Vancouver, Canada]

Question: A certain individual has become less than happy with the MTG Judge program and in the past hour, has posted on Twitter a list of all the Level 2 and higher magic judges in the world along with their membership number. This information previously was semi hidden information. I would like to know if there is anything legally that can be done about this. Oh yeah, the big part. He is saying that most of these judges are pedophiles.

Answer:
 Posting a list of the names of competition judges isn't a legal issue.  Even if not public information, it isn't required to be held confidentially.

Calling them all pedophiles is potentially defamation. Assuming they are not, in fact, pedophiles


Title: Guy hit my parents car in an 18 wheeler from behind and his insurance is refusing to pay because they don't believe he's at fault despite all the evidence to the contrary they refuse to even sen out someone to investigate our claim

Question:
Hey r/legaladvice I need your help. The day before yesterday my step-dad was stopped at a red light preparing to make a turn when an 18 wheeler slams into the back of our BMW to try and run the light himself. (He claims to have not seen it but given that from what my step-dad told me his eyes were redder than the devil's dick and he smelled like a skunk I think something else may have been involved.) He hit the car three times. He offered 1000 dollars to pay for the damages  but he did far more than 1000 dollars so he asked for is information instead. My step-dad also asked if he could borrow the guys cell phone to call the police and make a report (Step-dad had his phone stolen about a week ago) but the guy refused to let him.

&#x200B;

Well the insurance company is denying our claim. They said the car only had a dent even though they would never know the extent of the damage given they never sent anyone to investigate. In reality the entire back end on the right side is fucked, the trunk wont close right and one of the lights on the back had to be replaced. They said their client wasn't at fault despite everything pointing to the contrary and essentially told us a bunch of legal jargon that amounted to "We can do whatever we want because you're probably poor and can't afford to sue us."

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I have no idea what to do. We can't afford to repair or replace this car. We were barely getting to and from work on it and now it's fucked. We have no other way to get around. A we wanted was for them to pay for repairs and they refuse to budge on anything. I don't know. Do I even have a case? Sorry for wasting time if I don't.

Answer: If you haven't yet reported this to the police, you still can. Talk to your own insurance company; you might get some good advice at r/insurance also.Answer #2: What about your insurance company?


Title: Fire Sprinkler just Exploded in my Rental - Massive Flooding - Advice before I speak with Management?

Question:
Hi everyone, new here and still soaked with decades old sprinkler water.

So I was just steaming shirts in my bathroom, no flames or anything like that, when the sprinkler system literally exploded on me. My bathroom has three sections: the main area with double sinks and a shower, a walk in closet and a toilet room. I was steaming shirts in the main bathroom about 8ft from the sprinkler. I didn’t even know there was a sprinkler. It just looked like a black hole in the ceiling because the sprinkler did not have a plate on it (not my doing it must have been like that from before I moved it. I can actually prove this because a month ago I took a picture of the sprinkler hole (still not knowing there was a sprinkler inside) because I could see what I thought to be mold growing inside. I then came on Reddit, posted a picture of the sprinkler hole/possible mold and said “not sure what this hole is for in my bathroom but does this look like mold?”

Anyway, Black water came raining down and it was already up to my ankles before I had time to get out. I could have easily been electrocuted as I had an IQ air purifier (almost the size of a pool heater), a dehumidifier and a fan all plugged in, on, and sitting on the ground. The outlet wasn’t a GFCI. No windows and only a small air intake so poor circulation.

The fire alarm went off in the building it was mayhem. I called the fire department and ran outside the building. Once the firefighters were inside, it took them another 30 minutes to shut it off because the building’s security didn’t know where any of the shut off valves were. They also said that the sprinkler head was damaged. Does anyone know what that means/what effect that may have had?

So my apartment is under water. It’s about 1500 sq/ft. Two bedrooms with wall to wall carpeting. Not sure what’s underneath. Two bathrooms with vinyl flooring and about 700sqft of laminate wood flooring. The apartment below me has the same layout and he’s in even more trouble since his walls and ceiling is also damaged. It even went down into the subterranean garage. The hallways are also soaked. I imagine this is hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage. I have renters insurance which I’m sure will cover my loss of property. The building is a luxury rental property in Los Angeles. Built in 1976.

I’m now at a hotel. Is there anything I should/shouldn’t do or say/shouldn’t say when I go speak to management tomorrow? I have a tendency to be too nice so I don’t want to say anything that they can use to somehow stick the blame on me. Do I need a lawyer?

I don’t think this would have happened had there been a plate on the sprinkler head and I know that the damage could have been greatly reduced had security known where the shutoff valves were located.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Answer:
 This is not off-topic. You should post in r/legaladviceAnswer #2: Can’t help you with the law but just for some sprinkler background: Sprinklers are generally triggered by either physical breaking of the bulb or (as intended) heat boiling the fluid inside the bulb (generally happens at 135 F or higher). Any normal amount of bathroom steam shouldn’t trigger them. So if you didn’t physically contact the sprinkler and you weren’t boiling a pot of pasta 2 inches from the sprinkler, it shouldn’t have triggered unless faulty.

(Also note that even though that socket might not have been GFCI itself, it was probably down-circuit from a GFCI outlet and therefore protected.)

Do you have renters insurance?


Title: Prepaid rent for a year because credit was bad. Got evicted. Can my landlord keep the prepaid rent?

Question:
I'm a college student in NJ and I live in a house with 3 other people. I prepaid rent for a year in the beginning of the lease because I support myself basically and my credit is bad because of some negligence in the past. Fast forward 4 months, we are getting evicted because of damages caused to the house from some parties. She gave us a 3-days notice to move out before an eviction lawsuit is filed. I honestly don't care about moving out because I hated my living situation. However, can she keep my prepaid rent? It's approximately 2.5k and it is a significant amount of money to me.

Thank you for your help!

Answer: You are entitled to your rent money back if you are being evicted, but may be on the hook for any damages.


Title: A "private investigator" came to my house today to inform me that somebody had my information? (Virginia)

Question:
Sorry for the disorganized post im trying to remember everything correctly.

He showed up at my house today and introduced himself as a private investigator. He showed me some paper ID with Virginia stamps on it behind clear pouch in his wallet. (I didnt read it fast enough to get information).

I don't even remember his name.

He told me that somebody had my information ( SSN, DOB, NAME) on their computer that was seized by police.

He showed me a picture of the guy that had my information and over "400" others, and asked me if i recognized him. He strangely did look familiar, but I did not know for sure. He would not tell me the persons name because its an ongoing investigation.

He said my information was not used, and I was one of the last people he had to inform because it was not used.

He said if they need me to prosecute the guy he would "contact" me. He did not ask for my contact information to do that though?

He did not ask me for any of my information except for my first and last name and obviously he had my address.

He asked me if i had entered my name, credit cards, ssn online for anything in the past year.

He asked me if i had been hospitalized in the past year as well.

He said they were investigating how he got peoples information.

He said that the guy was a "collector" and not a "user" and explained what that meant; He collected a bunch of peoples information and sold them in big batches, instead of using the information himself.

I don't know if this was legit or what, but it seemed very weird. Is this how Private Investigators operate?

Should I file a police report?

Answer:
 ANAL

I would be very cautious with the situation. He should have already had your name. Why did he need to ask for it?

This screams scam to me. Why didn't he give you contact information? I would check my credit reports and confirm his background.Answer #2: Some general advice - freeze your credit with the big three agencies.  It's free and relatively simple.  It's possible that your information is out there and could eventually be used to open lines of credit in your name.


Title: Legal Advice for Defamation and Confidentiality Breach in College

Question:
Good afternoon,

I'm posting here just to see if I can potentially build a case to take this into court.
This sounds absolutely ridiculous, but a few weeks ago my adviser discussed private matters to another professor so that other professor could tell me.

I, of course brought this issue to someone above them both because it was over a sensitive topic that the other professor wasn't involved in and did not need to know. The sensitive topic was about an organization that I applied for and my adviser told the professor that she intentionally gave me a bad reference and to no longer use her as a reference again. My adviser pulled out my professor out of the classroom and then the professor told me the information immediately after finishing speaking to the adviser.

When I talked to the person above them and said that my confidentiality was breached and that they shouldn't have discussed this private matter, both school officials completely denied the allegations. My adviser holds a very high position at my school and they actually hired the professor that got brought into my private matters, so I can see why the professor wouldn't want to throw their boss under the bus. I'm in a difficult place because both of these professors have high positions at my school (so it would be ridiculous for me to bump heads with them) and they're tarnishing my name by calling me dishonest.

The only evidence I may have is if I can somehow obtain phone records proving that my adviser spoke to the organization before the incident occurred because I shouldn't know that the organization called my adviser (because she didn't tell me). Should I potentially try to have a consultation with a lawyer or do I not have enough evidence? This situation violates the FERPA laws followed by this school which could very well cost these individuals their job or the school could potentially lose public funding so I can understand why they're covering their asses.
Let me know if at any moment my post was unclear or if you want me to clarify anything.

Answer: Where do you think FERPA comes into play here? You don't think professors and advisors at the same school are allowed to talk about students?  What sort of "sensitive topics" and "private matters" are you discussion with your advisor? That person isn't your psychologist and has no duty to hold your conversations confidential. They work for the school not you.


Title: Overzealous PI

Question: Is it legal for a private investigator to track a significant other by GPS device (w/ or w/o audio), track by cell phone, or hack a cellphone or computer of the intended target?

Answer:
 PI here. It depends on a lot of things. (I can only speak to how it is in Texas.)

We’ll say Husband suspects wife is cheating. If the husband owns the vehicle, he is free and clear to track it without her knowledge.

If hubs AND the wife own the vehicle, he can still technically track it although it gets into a very grey area. Especially if Wife is generally the only person that drives it, despite it being co-owned by hubs. Wife has some expectation of privacy. So while Husband CAN, it may look sleazy in court.

If only Wife owns the vehicle, then it is 100% illegal.


Title: An employee is stealing from my moms company and has left no funds with major debt.(Canada_Vancouver, B.C.)

Question:
Long story short,

A relative opened a used car dealership under my moms name (they have bad credit and previous history of bankruptcy) with a loan of $700,000 CAD from my dad. My mom is the company owner and signed a loan agreement with Nextgear for a total of $300,000 and explicitly stated that under no conditions can that limit be raised. While my parents were on vacation (March-April 2018) my relative somehow raised the loan limit by $150,000 without the owners knowledge or approval. A key thing to know about NextGear is that they allow you to "floor" vehicles (they lend a portion of the cars value, up to the specified limit, and charge interest) with them while you try to sell them so you don't lock up all your capital in the cars. Once the cars sell, you pay off the loan with interest and make your profit. If you fail to pay back the loan, they repo the floored cars.

In addition to my moms company, my relative opened up a second car dealership without my parents knowledge and also has loans there as well. (not something that applies to us as it is under his name, just trying to provide as much info as possible). My moms company owns a total of 56 cars, and 55 of the cars have been floored with nextgear. The money that my relative obtained from flooring the cars is no where to be found. We suspect that they stole the $475,000 from Nextgear as well as any cash sales that were made for vehicles sold while my parents were away. All of the business accounts are negative (but have been recently paid off by my dad to prevent my moms credit from getting worse). We have absolutely no idea where the $475,000 and suspect they have it stored in a bank account for their kids, other relatives, or close friends. We also believe that they have forged fake registrations for some of the vehicles they have floored with nextgear as they have my dads car and my sisters car currently floored (since Feb 2018) even though they were fully paid for and are no longer registered under the company name.

My parents have been relatively hands on, they checked the account balances and car sale records once a week prior to their trip. My mom has recently been going to work every day to make sure things do not escalate any further.,

Is there any legal action we can take? Is there any way to force them to show their bank statements in court? Any advice is appreciated.

Answer:
 With over a million dollars and 56 cars in dispute, it would be extremely foolish not to consult with an attorney first. The Law Society of British Columbia can refer your mother. This situation is far too complex for random internet forums to be in any way competent or safe places to seek advice.

The answers to your questions are "maybe," "yes, if there is matter for a lawsuit in the first place," and "don't dally."


Title: (Real) Could the average citizen bring charges to Hillary Clinton over the email scandal?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: No. Feeling unsafe in my own country is not a basis for any lawsuit that won't get thrown out at first glance. Neither is getting upset that Obama won and you don't like it.


Title: WA - question about bar tabs and credit cards

Question:
A friend and I were at a bar and we stepped outside so my friend could have a smoke. While we were hanging around, some other friend showed up and we decided rather than get another round of drinks, we'd go with him to another bar. But first we had to close our bar tabs and get our debit/credit cards back. The bouncer wouldn't let us in to do so and told us we had to wait in a line. After waiting 20 minutes, we were getting impatient at being denied access to our property (cards) and asked again if we could go the 5 feet in the door to get them, and the bouncer said "you've had to 'get your credit card' 3 times now, I'm not stupid, so get back in line". Other people in line were getting indignant on our behalf, but the bouncer wasn't having any of it. It took us all in all about 35-45 minutes to get back in the bar for the sole purpose of paying our tab and getting our cards back.

In the future, what is the legality of this? Is calling the cops warranted when they deny us access to our property (credit/debit cards)? What can we do to ensure that no other bars try to keep our cards hostage? (As many people in line said, it was very much a hostage situation, as we weren't allowed in, and we couldn't go anywhere without forfeiting our cards.)

Answer:
 Next time close your tab before you leave. Problem solved.

No, they do not have to let you bump a line to get back inside. There was no hostage here. You had to wait in line. No one denied you access, just made you wait in line


Title: [Florida]I work the photo department of a major chain.A higher up has been giving me orders while referring to myself,an African American,as “boy” in a fake southern accent even after I’ve asked him to stop on multiple occasions.Am Quitting but afraid to sacrifice unemployment over the harassment.

Question:
This has been ongoing for a few months now. We don’t work together often but when we do he will throw in these off hand “Pick X up boy” or “Make sure you do Y boy” in these drawn out southern accents and I’m the only one he says it to.
**********

At first I would just ask him not to call me that but the most recent time just set me off and I got in his face and at this point I don’t even want to show up to work next week.

That person is the head of the photo department. I work under him in that department. Another manager is aware of the situation and told me “I take things too seriously.”
***************

I already wanted to quit just from not being happy with the work but this situation has made going to work borderline unbearable.

If I quit could I file for unemployment due to the grievances? My next shift is Tuesday and truthfully if I could avoid going into work altogether due to how heated things got last time it would probably be for the best.
**************
Should I try and go to the owner of the store? Should I try and go through the franchise’s report system?

Would I need legal representation or proof? It’s a he said she said situation and it’s myself Vs. 2 managers who are friends off the clock also.

If I quit today to avoid further confrontation how long would the process for filing for unemployment take?

Thanks in advance for any advice or thoughts at all.

Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 Not a lawyer here but food service manager in FL.

If you quit, you will not get unemployment if the company fights it. Which most large companies do. It will be documented as job abandonment and you will not be eligible. So if you want unemployment get fired...

Second off, you say large company. You need to go to go to your HR department as soon as possible and report the problem. (You don't need a lawyer for this)

They can not fire you in retaliation for reporting them. If they do, then get a lawyer and sue the crap out of them.Answer #2: yes to both, failure to use either could harm your later cases.

representation would be useful, if only to guide at this point. Proof is good but testimony is proof, the judge will determine who is more credible.

depends on your local office and if you do everything correctly. again quitting could impact your eligibility, as could failure to use the internal remedies.


Title: [Serious] USA. Mods: Can we find a way to verify those who are attorneys, LEO's, etc and give them flair?

Question:
I really enjoy this sub but I'm starting to see more and more people here giving advice and input that are definitely in no way shape or form qualified to do so. Is there a procedure that we can go through that adds some sort of 'Verified' tag to certain users?

/r/LEO has a verification process and does it for users who post on /r/ProtecteandServe.

I just think it'd be helpful to sort through what is pure speculation and what is actually reputable.

Answer:
 Bad idea.

From the sidebar:

>Advice here is for informational purposes only and should not be considered final or official advice.

I sure as heck wouldn't want to identify attorneys as attorneys, then it's even easier for a not so smart person asking for advice to falsely believe they are getting actual legal advice.  Can't be having that.

Downvotes do a good enough job in rooting out the shitty, incorrect advice.  Answer #2: Most attorneys don't want to officially ID themselves as such to avoid even the slightest hint of the appearance of an attorney/client relationship.  The starred posters, as noted in the sidebar, have consistently provided solid advice.  That's about as close as they'll come to acknowledging thatAnswer #3: Do we have zapopa flair yet?


Title: I bought a knife while in the U.S. and I have to travel through a state where non-US citizens aren't permitted to have one. Is this a lost cause? (PA)

Question:
So while in Virginia I purchased a knife for myself as a gift and I forgot to read up on the laws prior to doing so and going state by state I'm okay up until New York State. In this state I travel back into Canada.

In all of the states this knife fits within all laws except for NY state where non US citizens are not permitted to own any knife. I don't want to be doing something I shouldn't so I'm wondering if it's a lost cause. Because right now I'm considering going to a post office and seeing if I can send it to myself.

EDIT: Changed "carry" to "own".

Answer: Mail it to yourself.


Title: Is it Legal for a 17 Year Old to have a NON-Sexual Relationship with a 15 Year Old in the State of Illinois?

Question: I am currently 15 and my girlfriend is 17. My partner and I have both agreed to refrain from sexual contact until we are both of the age of 18. Is our relationship legal, according to the laws of Illinois or will we have to terminate the relationship at any point?

Answer: If you're not having sex then as far as the law is concerned, you're just friends.  To my knowledge there isn't a legal restriction on a 15 and 17 year old having a friendship.


Title: Boss is threatening to not pay workers for days they forgot to clock out.

Question:
I'm a manager at a car wash. My coworkers and I tend to get very stressed out at work sometimes (washing cars all day long is a lot worse than it sounds), and very seldom, we would forget to punch out one day. The owner of the company I work for came in one day to tell us that we forgot to clock out and followed it with a smart-alec threat to not pay us for those days, even though he knows for a fact we were there. Now, another thing about us clocking out: our computer in the wash to clock in/out is connected to a computer in a building separate from the wash, and when that computer is turned off, it turns ours off, too, leaving us unable to punch out. The lady who runs the booth (with the second computer) doesn't even consider asking us if we've clocked out before turning off her computer and that has screwed us on a couple days as well.
Is it legal for him to just not pay employees for the hours that we worked, just because they didn't clock out?

Tl;dr My boss is threatening to not pay workers for forgetting/being unable to clock out.

Answer: Your boss can't withhold pay. They can write people up and terminate their employment for failing to clock out.Answer #2: They are empty threats. You'll get paid.


Title: Can one be forced to pay child support if the parents have an existing agreement?

Question: I recently got a certified letter stating that if i didn't respond and request a hearing, there would be an automatic judgment against me and my wages would be garnished. I did so, and am waiting for a response,  however 12/15 the other parent and I wrote a contract between ourselves outlining visitation and child support.  We both are satisfied with our current arrangements as they can be adjusted as we see fit. We both work well together and there is no animosity. So i suppose my question is, can the state involve itself in our parenting arrangements without our consent? According to the other parent, their caseworker filed the order without their knowledge when applying for state assistance. Does that give them that authority?

Answer: Yes the state can take money to recoup any government assistance that the other parent is currently using to help raise the child.Answer #2: Yes. If your Ex is applying for benefits for one of your children the state has the view that you should be required to pay for your own children's needs before the tax payers have to step in.  We actually get this question rather frequently, [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/5sv3z5/ks_hypothetical_if_a_couple_of_co_parents_have_an/) is the most recent example.


Title: Constant accusations and police involvement in Arizona

Question:
I was recently investigated by CPS because a sticker that a police officer put on my kid left a red mark on his arm. My ex took him to the emergency room at 11:30 at night to have him stripped and phographed. Police showed up the following day as well as CPS later that day. There conclusion "She was just being careful"
No one seems to care that the kids have been in the hospital about 50 times for equally bullshit things like bug bites or minor sunburns. The woman is blatantly exhibiting all the signs of munchausen by proxy and continues to make my life a living hell as a scapegoat. I have had no less that 15 bogus police reports filed against me in the last 7 years alone. My FAVORITE by far is when the police investigated me for an invisible handprint that only she could see. They no shit stripped my kid and photographed him for a handprint that literally no one else could see but her.
Do you have any idea how I can make it stop? The courts here just don't seem to care.

*Edit* Munchausen by proxy syndrome (MBPS) is a relatively rare form of child abuse that involves the exaggeration or fabrication of illnesses or symptoms by a primary caretaker

Answer:
 >munchausen by proxy

Nothing you gave stated is even close to MBP.

You cannot stop anyone from calling the police or CPS. Period. You can talking to an attorney if you feel her over reactions are harmful to the child. Don't mention MBP, it will not make you look good


Title: In California, are employees allowed a 5 min. grace period when arriving to their job?

Question:
My two bosses own their first business, and nightclub. They have several rules that I am weary of in terms of their legality. I am not sure if it is because they employ a lot of young people that will not question them, or if it is because they genuinely are not aware that they may be doing something that is illegal. For instance, one of my bosses ("John"), told me that I may not be a minute late or that is grounds for termination. My other boss, "Casey", is very involved with the personalized of many employees including myself, and he is on a very friendly basis with most of us. However, when he gets into an argument with one of us, or if we get into any kind of trivial confrontation with any of the higher-ups, I know from experience that they have cut people shifts and in some cases, even fired people for things that have happened outside of the workplace and off the clock. Our manager, "Shane", is almost always drunk on the job, despite our liquor license agreement and insurance not covering employees drinking on the clock. Shane is the one that controls the schedule, so if either of the owners Casey or John, decide that they are irritated with us or have some personal issue with us that has nothing to do with our work they we'll have him car shifts, or he might just decide to on his own. I am the longest working employee there and after four years of working there I and getting very tired of not knowing all of the ins-and-outs of my rights. Another thing, I have worked every Christmas every Thanksgiving, every holiday we are open. I don't think we get holiday pay like time and a half on those days. We also do not get paid sick leave despite  the amount of days we have gathered showing up on our check stubs. If it says that I have three paid sick days earned on my check stub why have they not explained that? I were maybe 30 hours a week, 4-6hours 6 days a week.

Any info is appreciated. ✌🙃

Answer: no, you are not allowed a “5 minute grace period”. where would you have even got that idea from? if anything, you should be at work 5 minutes early.


Title: [Texas] I have a user on here who threatened to dox me earlier, they are now trying to get me arrested

Question:
This user is a known pedophile/animal rape advocator.

They said they sent screencaps of me sexually talking to a 9 year old girl.

They then said they made a facebook account which asks a 11 year old girl to send nudes.

https://imgur.com/n2IRYDN

What can I do? I don't want to be doxxed or have my image slandered or be arrested for nothing I did.

Edit: Here's him saying he sent screenshots of me sexually talking to a 9 year old girl;

https://imgur.com/vQTXYDA

Edit x2: Here is his alt threatening to post my dox because I didn't accept his olive branch...He deleted the account afterwards;

https://imgur.com/lbLevFl

Answer: Block and ignore. Report fake profile to Facebook Answer #2: Not a lawyer, but it doesn't take a lawyer to see that you're probably just being trolled. It's prettty easy to say "lol you've been doxxed but i can't show you cuz i'm a sneaky hax0r lol". I've personally witnessed a dox or two, the perpetrator usually wants the victim to see their fate unfold. This guy is probably just talking shit.Answer #3: FWIW, "doxing" isn't illegal.


Title: Can my employer fire me for refusing to clean?

Question:
The title seems very broad but hear me out. I started working in a large enough grocery shop in my hometown over a year ago. My duties were to serve costumers and sometimes stock the shelves. The only bit of cleaning I’d have to do was the deli before closing time (that was already a bit too much since I’d have to manage the register at the same time).
In May we were passed onto new owners, and word got around they werent so nice. Since then I went from a sales assistant to a weekend cleaner, only working Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and my only purpose in there is to clean the back of the shop from all the mess that was left for years. I’d have to clean black mold off walls, clean grease off walls, scrape rat sh*t off the floor and take out the rubbish thats been left out for so long it’s overrun by maggots.  The most ridiculous job was to clean trolleys. Im a very hardworking person but I cant clean places that aren’t familiar to me, I start to itch and my nose gets stuffy and Im still recovering from last weeks cleaning session. Im going back to work this evening and if I get asked to clean up more crap Im gonna firmly but professionally say no. Any advice on what I should do? Im so stressed out by this job.

Answer: If that is your job and you refuse to do it, they can fire you for it.Answer #2: Most front end grocery store jobs involve cleaning and most job descriptions state that your duties can be expanded as needed so yes, can can and probably will fire you.


Title: My sister [31] is currently squatting in my [29] apartment. She's threatening to call the cops on me because I want to kick her out.

Question:
Very long story short, my sister was homeless and came to stay in my apartment for a weekend until she could find a new place. That was 4 months ago. She has paid me $60 in four months (gas money for rides). She also brings her daughter on the weekends because she has partial custody (with out my permission). I pay all utilities and for groceries (she gets food stamps but doesn't shop for me, though she regularly eats my food), as well as all essentials for the house. I finally flipped my lid and locked her out. We got into an argument and she said she would call the cops if I don't let her in because she gets mail here and I can't keep her out. I am not familiar with local law (we are in Florida) and didn't know if this is true or not. She said I had to give her a formal eviction notice.

Questions:
Is this true?

If it is true do I provide the notice or do I get my landlord to evict her?

My lease is up and I'm on a month to month. Can I just move and not take her with me? Or do I have to give her a notice for that as well?

Thank you for any and all advice. I will get a lawyer if necessary. I'd just rather keep it as drama free as possible.

Edit: Not sure if this is relevant or not but she has multiple felony convictions (grand theft and drug related) as well.

Answer:
 It is true that you have to follow your state's notice-to-get-out and then the ejectment or eviction policy.  Just look it up and follow it exactly.  Technically she is the tenant and you are the landlord in this situation.  [Start here](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/florida-notice-requirements-terminate-month-month-tenancy.html).

You don't need a lawyer.

Edit:  First you give her the 15 day (in FL) written notice to move out, and if she doesn't then you follow the eviction process, and if she keeps resisting, this ends in you getting the sheriff to escort her off the property and she's out.

Answer #2: Don't sign a new lease.  Give your LL the 30 or 60 day notice required.  You're under no obligation to take your sister with you when you move to a new place.

Do not allow her to stay or visit at your new place.

Good luck.


Title: Sent payment to landlord via Paypal. Later, he sells the home to another buyer and tells me he will send me a full refund. Still waiting and he has stopped answering my calls and emails.

Question: About 3 weeks ago I made a payment via Paypal to a landlord in Arlington, WA. I trusted him and I did not think anything was out of the ordinary. A week later he tells me he has sold the house and will have to cancel our contract (he had that right) and refund my money. He has told me to wait and that he will take care of it. It has been a week since and I have not received anything in my Paypal and he has not answered my calls. I am wondering if this is malicious. I emailed Paypal about this situation and I hope they can help me. If this guy is really a scam, what other actions should I take to safeguard myself? I saved all our emails and the contract. I also know where he lives and what business he runs. Should I go to the police? Thank you!

Answer: Could be a scam. Do you really know where he lives and what business he runs, or you know where he told you he lives and what business he runs?  Did you rent this apartment sight unseen? (which I know people have to do sometimes, but it's common in rental scams)


Title: Lawyer Has Disappeared Along with Property Damage Check (Ca)

Question:
I hired an attorney to handle my case involving a car accident. Long story short, on April 9th he informed me that he received my property damage check and he would send it to me in the mail. It is now April 28th and I haven’t gotten anything, he has been ignoring my calls, texts and emails for the past 20 days. Literally has fallen off the face of the earth.

So I googled him and on the California state bar website it says “Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA” as of late March of 2018........... So my question is what is my next step? The insurance company won’t talk to me because I’m supposedly represented by a ghost and I’m assuming I can’t fire him because he was hired on a contingency basis. Do I have any options here? I’ve already paid the damages out of pocket, so I’m concerned.

Answer:
 It appears that the bar association has suspended his license. Based on his behavior on what you've told us, I'm not surprised.

Normally your recourse would be to contact the bar association to file a grievance. They can still possibly help, but only if he cared about regaining his license to practice. They maybe able to provide you with information about him or is his practice has been absorbed by another attorney.

You may need to sue him for your portion of the settlement. If the amount is over $10,000, you can hire another attorney to sue; if under, you would sue yourself in small claims court. Unfortunately, you will need to be able to find him in order to serve the suit, and will still need to collect on the judgement if you win. Your funds should have been kept in am escrow account, but the fact he's been disbarred means it's anyone's guess if he misappropriated funds. I am very sorry this has happened to you, and there is no excuse for this sort of behavior from a member of the profession.

Contact the bar association and see if they are able to assist you. They can also refer you to a litigator who is able to take your case against him. Best of luck. Answer #2: Can't they just cancel and re-send the check?Answer #3: This is exactly why reputable insurance companies make settlement checks payable to both the Plaintiff and the law firm.  OP could sue to enforce (or set aside?) the settlement agreement on the basis that the Ins. co. never paid.


Title: Blue cross blue shield of michigan keeps withdrawing payments out of an empty bank account without my permission and costing me bank fees. They say theyre not liable and therefore owe me nothing.

Question:
I had no problems with bcbsm and then all of a sudden im getting letters in the mail saying i owe my credit union money from fees due to insufficient funds.
I call up bcbsm and they said my account was up to date, i owed nothing. They cost me $50 he first time bwcause they tried two times to withdraw a payment after they already received the payment and marked my bill as payed.
I have now received 3 more letters in the mail and i now owe around $140 in fees to my credit union because bcbsm has tried to take more payments out.
Bcbsm says i owe them $130 in back payments even though the month before i was told it was up to date.

What do i do? I just turned 20 so its not like i have hundreds of dollars to throw at a lawyer or something

Answer:
 The first thing you should do is stop the bleeding: Revoke BCBS's access to your bank account, either by using the bank's form or by closing the account, and by giving written notice of the revocation to BCBS.

In the future, don't give someone withdrawal authority from your bank account unless it is absolutely necessary, and even then, make **sure** you have a sufficient balance to cover any withdrawals they might make. It's never a good idea to give a non-fiduciary such access.Answer #2: This sounds like a problem with the bank. Have you called them to figure out why they are allowing someone to take unauthorized money out of your account? It's their job to stop that from happening and to get the money back. Go directly to your branch manager. And if the bank account is empty and companies have the ability to withdraw from it, close it immediately.


Title: Went car swimming

Question:
After dropping off a Lyft passenger I started heading back toward the big city.  It had been storming for a few hours but no major water on the roadways.  I started down a dark 4 lane hill where at the bottom, unbeknownst to me, a creek had flooded over the road.  There was no turning back as I hit the water at 30+ MPH not knowing it was there, but couldn't power through.  Upon coming to a stop my 2018 car started to flood and over the course of the next couple hours the water kept rising.  While waiting in the rain for a tow I watched my car put on an interesting light show (a car's panic'd cries for help I can only assume) before finally succumbing to the water and cooking the electrical system.

&#x200B;

I pride myself on paying attention to street sides and while waiting in the rain I double checked, there were no "Possible flooding when it rains" warning signs or anything.  Do I have any legal leg to stand on in getting the city (DeSoto, TX) to help out here?

&#x200B;

Unrelated:  I'm sure insurance will cover the car to the bank as I had it nearly halfway paid off but I can't go finance another car.  The previous week I had to leave my office job due to their inability to continue to pay me and so ride-share was my only income source while I looked for a new job, which is now gone.  So I'm at no job and no income in one swipe.

&#x200B;

Thank you for any helpful input.

Answer:
 You should at least tell your city councilperson that a sign should be there, but the city's liability is almost certainly zero. Answer #2: Your liability to not run your car into objects/hazards is almost absolute. It is unlikely the city would be held responsible for this.

You have talked with your insurance about your business use of the vehicle and coverage, yes?


Title: [WA] My husband and I are Irish, as are our children. Should the worst happen, the most sensible option would be for my parents to become their guardians. My parents are naturalised US citizens, what rights would our children have in terms of residency as their wards?

Question: Basically, if my husband and I (resident in Ireland) were to perish in e.g. a car crash, the best long term option would be for my parents to take our children in due to age and finances. Their paternal grandmother is nearly two decades older and would not be able for it. My younger sister is not financially able for it and is also in US. My parents are naturalised US citizens living in WA, financially I would expect they are better off staying there. If they were to become our children’s guardians, would the children have a right to become US residents and possibly eventually citizens? What about education etc. I am just trying to get this sort of stuff organised because you never know. Any insight would be most welcome.

Answer: I believe if they gained custody over the children as their official guardians they can bring them to live in US and apply for citizenship on the children’s behalf.  Hopefully this is only ever theoretical!!


Title: "I will take legal action if I have to." Crazy FMIL. I dont know how to flair this.

Question:
I want to know if I could get in trouble, or instead it's the FMIL I could get to legally LEAVE ME ALONE.

FMIL has hated me for years because I come between her relationship with her son, my FH. FH's therapist has diagnosed it is "covert incest."

I knew this was a problem when FH was gifted a car by FFIL.
I forgot something in the car, FH told me to grab it and bring the keys back on my lunch break.
Immediately, FH gets a text from FMIL saying "why does [ChrisHansen, Me] have the keys to OUR car?!"
FH says, "Why are you spying on us."
And she threatens to kick him out. FMIL says one of her friends saw me and told me.

FMIL has logged into FH'S Facebook, claiming "it was just up on the screen." Claims I called her names, which I did, in a PM with FH. The next day, FH was at my house. And after me joking earlier in PMS that morning about FMIL, FMIL messages me, through FH'S Facebook, calling me names and telling me I'm horrible for me joke. *CLEARLY going through his messages!!*

Over the years FMIL has still been pulling posts from my Facebook somehow, regardless of her being blocked.

One day claims FML has things for us, and HF texts her to drop it off. She knocks on our door, and instantly walks in without being let in by anyone. And I had two of my friends over to vouch.

Today she calls FH, saying she talked to her lawyer and needs to talk to him.
She pulls up more screenshots of my posts from my Facebook, and somehow knew about our wedding date from our Secret group. She says "I am being slandered, I will take legal action if I have to."

I'm going insane. I have not posted anything that calls her by name, or by being my FMIL other than a post from years ago joking about calling her "el diablo."

I'm scared because she is a wealthy woman, and I certainly am not. But I JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE. I feel like I'm being stalked and I cant even breathe in public.
Topic:
Douche

Answer: Any chance someone can explain the abbreviations as I am too lazy to look them up.


Title: How to legally cover my bases in terms of reporting hazing

Question:
Hey legal people! I’m on mobile so obligatory formatting apologies. I posted this morning on r/AmITheAsshole about some unfortunate behaviour on the part of my fraternity. Some of the responses included people stating this was hazing.

I looked it up and legally it looks like they’re right. And apparently me and all my pledge brothers as well as the other members of the fraternity could be liable as well.

I’m looking for advice on the best way to go about reporting the situation, specifically the issue with the president berating the girl directly. She apparently screamed at her and cussed and humiliated her in front of the group to the point where she left the organization. Legally this is hazing.

There have been other instances of humiliation in front of the group you can find the other post here for reference:

[LINK:](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/9p0ptm/aita_for_not_supporting_my_fraternity_whose/)

I need to know what me and my friends within the organisation can do to protect ourselves against potential legal ramifications.

Thank you in advance!
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: A brief review of the Texas hazing law (http://www.lonestar.edu/departments/studentactivities/TexasHazingLaws.pdf) has me unconvinced that the activity you've described is hazing. It might be under part (6)(D) of the Definitions--IANAL--but it isn't obvious one way or the other. If you think the fraternity members are committing the crime of hazing, I suggest you make a police report.


Title: Overcharged by Hertz and they say there's nothing they can do.

Question:
So my sister recently went on a trip to California. She had a package through Expedia that included car rental, with insurance. All she had to do was give her voucher from Expedia to the Hertz associate and it would be taken care of.

So she got home yesterday and received the bill from Hertz. She was billed $607 more than she was supposed to. I am receiving this info through her and my dad so I don't know exact numbers, but while on the phone with a representative, they found out she was charged $607 more than she was supposed to be.

The rep said that since she signed the papers there is nothing she can do. We asked to speak to a higher up and got "They will tell you the same thing."

So my dad said he was going to call the credit union and tell them to cancel payment on the card. I said that he should just issue a chargeback for an unauthorized purchase.

Since she was never presented a total, just a line and told to "sign here to confirm everything" she signed it thinking she would pay what was included in her package.

Could we do this? I feel like it falls under unauthorized charge. However, if we do, can Hertz dispute it? I have some knowledge on chargebacks from dealing with Paypal and Twitch donations, but I don't know about real businesses. Does it end at us telling Visa it's an unauthorized charge, or can they dispute it and come after us?

I can get more info from my dad if needed. I haven't inquired on the specifics really.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Answer: Contact Expedia.  They should step in.Answer #2: It really depends here on what exactly your sister agreed to with the Expedia purchase, and what she signed when she picked up her vehicle.  She could have opted-in for additional insurance or services that wasn't part of the Expedia package.


Title: Tree Law! Maine lawmaker sued for cutting 4,344 trees on neighbor's property.

Answer:
 4,300 trees? Holy cow. That's one heck of a mistake.Answer #2: Do the mythical "treble damages" for trees come into play here?Answer #3: >The Malones are saddened and hurt that eight acres of their beloved home forestland was illegally clear-cut

Holy crap. How do you call that a "mistake"?Answer #4: I can see accidentally going 10 or 20 feet over the property line, especially in rural forested areas, but you don’t mistake 8 acres of land for yours.Answer #5: Am I reading the article right in that "supplemental complaint that would add counts related to allegations that the Sampsons trespassed and tore down the barn last fall after the original complaint was filed by the Malones"...

So the barn raisers went back onto property that was not theirs and tore down the structures after they got sued? Was that some sort of willful "you can't make use of them if we paid for them" kind of thing? Because once they knew the land was not theirs they should have straight up halted any activity, right?Answer #6: Jesus that's gotta be millions of dollars worth of trees.Answer #7: So the offenders cut down 4000 trees and built structures on land that didn’t belong to them.  Ontop of the incredible amount of damages they’ve incurred, who owns those structures now since they’re on someone else’s property?!Answer #8: They were cut in 2012 but the rightful owners didn't notice until 2020.

Beloved trees indeed...


Title: Social Security office will not change my name on card that reflects my name change.

Question:
Not sure if this belongs here, but i'm wondering if i have a legal right to all of this. Here goes:

This has been an extremely frustrating process. I've gone to my local SS office a few times with certified copies of my name change that stems back from over 10 years ago. They have refused to change it, as I do not have the original documents of my name change. By original I mean the document where the writing is in ink. They specifically said it can't be a photocopy. Even though i have certified copies.

For context: My last name on my SS card is both of my parents' last names. I changed it to strictly my mother's last name. It's the name that I have gone by all my life. Additionally, it's the name on all my IDs, including my passport. It is my legal last name.

I moved very far away from the county where i got my name changed 10 years ago, so going to their office to gain more understanding is not an option. Fortunately I contacted them and they were very helpful. They sent me certified copies of my name change. Upon going to my local SS office and finding out they wont accept these documents, I asked if i could obtain the original name change document.

They were super perplexed as to why the certified copies weren't sufficient enough to change my social. They were adamant about how they cant just give out the original copy bc they need that on file. Which TOTALLY makes sense. Additionally they said, in all the years they've worked in that department, they have never experienced this specific situation as a problem. I honestly dont know how having the original document is a requirement/ remotely possible bc the county clerk needs that on file. Is there something I'm missing?

Having my social differ from a lot of my IDs has been a challenging process in terms of renewing my identification.

Do i have a legal right to get my SS card changed to my legal name without the original document?

Answer:
 I've found that in situations like this it can be helpful to reach out to your House representative (the federal one). A large part of their job is cutting through these issues for their constituents.

I agree that not accepting certified copies seems strange, have you told SS that the court will not release the original copy?


Title: Received a letter of demand from an attorney. Smells like bullshit?

Question:
Hello /r/legaladvice,

My father just received a letter of demand from an attorney claiming his small business is subject an estimated $228,150 in punitive damages because he "intentionally mislabeled" a type of fish. [Sushi Restaurant] The entire notice consists of random facts about how the fish that the restaurant has labeled "Ono" is not actually tuna, but is the fish called "Escolar." I did a quick google search and ended up at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tuna
that clearly distinguishes that white tuna can refer to 2 different types of fish. Here is a quote from the notice:

> Lastly, escolar is not on your menu. Your violation is not a simple mistake. The decision to serve escolar and label it as "Ono (Super White Tuna)" is a deliberate and intentional act. This subjects you to additional punitive damages, in our estimate, in the amount of $228,150.)

I also found out that the same attorney sent similar notices to an estimated 50 restaurants in my area. Should I be worried at all about this? It seems so absurd that I almost posted in /r/funny instead of here.

Thanks for any advice you can provide!

Edit: The bot wants me to include this info. The business is in Riverside County, Southern California

Answer:
 It is *probably* bullshit. That said, have an attorney look at it. Many states have a DTPA (deceptive trade practices act) that provides harsh remedies for misrepresenting goods and services you are selling.  I'm guessing he uses the word "intentional", because if it's intentional, he can get treble or punitive damages. Many attorneys love these statutes because they allow for significant damages, and those attorneys will take on any "claims" that can be couched to fit within the statute. Every now and then, one turns into a good case.

Your father should spend a few hundred bucks to protect his business and his livelihood; have a lawyer look at the letter, and if the lawyer recommends it, send an appropriate response.Answer #2: > My father just received a letter of demand from an attorney

An attorney for who?Answer #3: It sounds like a shakedown.  The bar and the courts have been cracking down on these, but they can't stop every one preemptively.  He needs a lawyer to represent him.  If he has a general business liability policy, he should contact his carrier right away.  If he doesn't, he needs to find an attorney on his own.


Title: All men are pedos?

Question:
I just got hired at a well-known US airline. I was told by my trainers that we should not seat kids next to men travelling alone. If we see this, we should find another seat for the children.

My first instinct was that this was wrong. My trainers said it wasn't because we were protecting kids and that men are more likely to inappropriately contact children.

I personally don't see how this is much different from saying let's reseat kids if they're seated next to blacks or Jews.

I was thinking about filing a report with HR but didn't know if there was some legal basis allowing this policy.
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 A few foreign airlines have had such policies, which were typically repealed after widespread media attention.  I don't believe the policy is illegal per se, but it might be illegal if it results in unequal treatment, for example, if a man is forced to move to a less desirable seat on account of his gender.Answer #2: Nope.  Not all.

But most by a very wide margin.

That is a perfectly legal policy.Answer #3: Reseating children is not discriminatory. Unless you’re arguing that single men traveling alone are legally entitled to have seatside access to unaccompanied minors, which is a fascinating idea to have in your human brain.Answer #4: Most men aren’t pedos, but I can’t see how this policy hurts that demographic.


Title: Roommates argue over consequences of terminating a ride sharing agreement, Oregon

Question:
I'm adjacent to a strange fight over an apartment lease, and some of the claims I've heard have seemed a little dubious to me. Because none of it involves me directly I don't care enough to contact a lawyer, but I am curious enough to ask Reddit! Thanks in advance for indulging my curiosity.

Person A wishes to break an apartment lease.
Person B does not wish to break the apartment lease.

Could someone give me an idea of the legal obligations if Person A forces the issue? Can they be held liable for 100% of the rent for the remainder of the lease? It seems to me the default would be that both would be responsible for half the rent if they don't break the lease according to the contract. Is there some legal mechanism where Person A is "forcing" Person B to break the lease and then become liable for everything?

Additionally, Person A and B have a verbal agreement where Person A will provide transportation to and from work (both people work at the same employer if that matters). Person B has agreed to pay $40/mo in exchange for this service. If Person A cuts off this service it will almost certainly result in Person B losing their job. Person B cannot drive and would have no reliable way to report for work and loss of ability to pay rent. Would this scenario be equivalent to the above "forced" lease break?

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Both parties need to agree to break the lease. If Person A dips out, Person B needs to pay all the rent and then sue Person A to recoup the costs of covering their portion of the rent.

Person A not fulfilling agreement with Person B to offer a ride to work doesn't impact Person A's or Person B's obligations to pay rent unless the agreement is very specific. Something along the lines of "If Person A no longer provides a ride to Person B, Person A shall pay for costs associated with breaking lease." Person A can't be held responsible for the financial outcomes of not providing a ride to Person B unless their agreement specifically addresses this. Additionally, the landlord can sue them both for unpaid rent no matter what Person A's agreement with Person B's is.


Title: (California) Friend works at a news/media organization and accidentally went to a family member of a murder victim and asked for a statement before the family was notified. He was fired but wants to know if he has any recourse because it was his first mistake there.

Answer: Nope, he's dun goofed. He can be fired for that.


Title: How to recover my friend’s iPad successfully?

Question:
A few weeks ago, my friend and I exchanged locations on find my friends because I’m studying abroad at the moment and he wanted to see where I lived. The setting was set to share indefinitely, so we’d see each others locations until we turned it off ourselves. Anyway, cue to a couple days ago. I was bored after eating dinner so I went on the app to see where my friends were at. It said my friend was in NY, which was weird because we go to school in Washington DC. I texted him about and he told me that his iPad had gotten stolen a couple weeks ago; he had completely forgot about find my friends. So now I’ve been seeing the exact location of the thief this whole time.

It turns out after a bit of surveillance that the thief lives in the same town as my friend. What’s the right way for us to recover the iPad? Is there a way without it backfiring in our faces?

Answer: Contact the police and have an officer go with you to recover the iPad.


Title: Texas. A way to leave a paper trail behind or some sort of legally culpable documentation in case of a future violent incident?

Question:
I hope it's okay to keep this somewhat vague, but currently I am living with my father who is physically abusive. However he is also paying for my college and if I ever did anything legally I would be out on the streets and I have no clue how my life would recover. I just was wondering if there was a way to somehow allow my concerns to be stored and used in case, god forbid, I would not be able to speak for myself should something eventually happen.

Thank you!

Answer:
 You can certainly write down your concerns on a piece of paper, sign it(have it notarized) and leave it with someone trusted.

Whether this would hold any weight in court is dependent upon the facts of the situation.  In general, if you're afraid of being beaten into incapacitation, college should be the least of your concerns.


Title: HOA failed to fix garage door for three months and my possessions were stolen

Question:
Hi everyone,

I live in a condo building with an HOA and a below-ground garage. Part of our HOA fees go to a 24/7 security staff and of course, general maintenance.

In November of last year, the garage door that protects access to my garage broke and was stuck open. Since then, the staff has done nothing to get it fixed, despite there being plenty of money in the HOA budget to do so and the obvious security risk it poses, particularly given our location downtown.

Yesterday, another resident was the victim of an attempted robbery at knifepoint in the garage, and my
$1,300 scooter was stolen. My girlfriend is very shaken up and afraid to come home from work due to the robbery, and I’m in a real pickle because we only have one car, and that scooter was how I got to work, etc.

I believe the lack of action and negligence by the HOA and building staff to fix the issue in a timely manner led to this. In particular, they’re suddenly getting it fixed this Friday, so clearly, there was no reason it couldn’t have been done sooner aside from laziness.

What’s the best way to recoup the cost of my scooter from the HOA so I can buy a new one?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 I would send a letter return receipt to the HOA spelling out the problem, the steps you took to notify them of the problem, and the loss you incurred from their inaction. Make a formal demand for reimbursement.

Have you notified your insurance company about the loss? Also, while I understand it was the HOA's responsibility, once you discovered the issue, did you take any steps to protect your belongings?


Title: Payroll mixing up my pay with another employees, taxes are all messed up

Question:
[TX]

I am a teacher in a fairly large school district.  Unfortunately, there is another teacher with the exact same first and last name.  However, we have different middle names, employee ID numbers and social security numbers.

My school district keeps switching our supplemental pay.  This means that occasionally I get her extra pay and she gets mine.  This happens more than once a year.  Since I get direct deposit, I have to watch my bank account and pay stubs very carefully to catch this.

In May and JUNE of 2016 I got an overpay of a total of 600.  I noticed it in August (at first I thought it was supplemental pay I was due).  When I brought it to payrolls attention they allowed me to pay it back in increments of 200 per month for 3 months.  I should mention that I also had an extra $200 withheld on this extra money for taxes, healthcare, retirement, etc.  The payroll told me that the deductions would correct itself over the next few months when I paid it back.

In August I received $400 in supplemental pay, and the paystub also shows -$400 in supplemental pay.  My deductions reflect an extra $400.  In October the paystub shows -$50 supplemental pay and my deductions are $20 less.  In November my paystub shows $700 supplemental (I was supposed to get $400) and -$550 supplemental.  Deductions are increased by $50.

Obviously I have no right to money that isnt mine, but I have several legal questions.

1.  I have spoken with payroll all the way up to the director of finance about these issues every time they happen, and every time they assure me it will never happen again.  Is there anything I can do to make them fix this issue?  Are they required to?

2.  How do I get my extra taxes back?  Every time I ask they tell me that it will sort itself out when  I get supplemental pay removed, but I don't see that happening.  However, I may not understand enough about this to be sure.

3.  I have emailed them already and am waiting to hear back about November's check issues.  By my calculations they over paid me by $300 and then on top of that over deducted by $400.  I am not sure how they should legally sort this out.

Legal Advice, please help!  I teach middle school music and don't understand how to fix these payroll issues.  I am not yet a member of a union but am not adverse to joining one.

EDIT (Update):  They have responded to my latest email by saying they will no longer discuss this over email with me and I must come into the office (because it is too confusing?)  She did state that the Chief Financial Officer says everything is correct the way it is.  Besides printouts of my pay stubs and bullet points of the discrepancies, anything else I should take in to prepare for this meeting?  I am feeling nervous that she wants to switch to in person.  This also means I will have to take a half day off work and get a sub, since I teach the same time that the office is open and my 50 minute planning doesn't allow enough time to get there, have the meeting, and get back.

EDIT (Question 4): Is there any likelihood that my w2 gross taxes or take home will be incorrect if they have been correctly fixing this through negative supplemental pay?

Answer:
 > I have spoken with payroll all the way up to the director of finance about these issues every time they happen, and every time they assure me it will never happen again. Is there anything I can do to make them fix this issue? Are they required to?

Sounds like you are doing all you can.  Continue to hound them.

> How do I get my extra taxes back? Every time I ask they tell me that it will sort itself out when I get supplemental pay removed, but I don't see that happening. However, I may not understand enough about this to be sure.

When you file your returns the taxes withheld will be credited to you.

> I have emailed them already and am waiting to hear back about November's check issues. By my calculations they over paid me by $300 and then on top of that over deducted by $400. I am not sure how they should legally sort this out.

Sounds like they need to add $100 to your gross pay.

Answer #2: What proof of communication do you have with payroll?

At this point, it may be simpler for you and your coworker to just start filing unpaid wage complaints every time you aren't paid. They've had ample time to rectify the problems and have repeatedly failed to do so. Let the DOL knock their heads together for you.


Title: [PA/NJ] Can I ignore a letter from NJ State Police? I live in Pennsylvania.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > What are the odds they will come arrest me or that my probation officer in Pennsylvania will be notified?

Close to 100%.Answer #2: Ignoring a legal obligation is generally a terrible decision.

Hire a lawyer and address the issue.


Title: How long does an attorney have to bill me? (CA)

Question: About 4 years ago, I hired an attorney on an hourly basis to help with an employment issue I was having.  Everything got sorted out after a week or two, but the attorney never sent me a bill, and I didn't inquire about it (hoping it would just go away, and then really just forgetting about it).  Yesterday, I got a bill in the mail from the attorney's office saying I owe them $6k.  Can they still come after me for this, even after 4 years without a bill?

Answer: (...he asks the subreddit full of attorneys and aspiring attorneys)


Title: Starting a cognitive behavioral therapy group

Question: I have no therapeutic license and have not been formally trained in CBT. I have participated in CBT groups in the past, I am very well read in it, and have my undergrad in psychology. Will I have any legal headaches if I create a public mutual support group that states that it uses CBT to help others?  I live in AZ if it matters.

Answer:
 Just don't do it.  Aside from the legal issues, of which there are many, just think of all the harm you have the potential to do to people who may trust you. Answer #2: No license, no training. And you want to what? They don't teach you ethics in AZ's psych undergrad courses? Find a less perilous way to do this, because it is at its base a good idea. But you can't claim to use CBT approaches if you don't have the background. Well I mean, you CAN --  I can claim to be a basketball player. But you shouldn't. You're stepping on professional territory, you will honestly need to find ways to say what you want to say without resorting to the particular terminology that implies trained, licensed, professional conduct.

I'm not trying to be a jackass, this is just the truth. And I hope you manage to create a support group for people, albeit in a more properly considered way.

(Edit: Hell, you can even jut say "inspired by CBT techniques" and that would be better. Just please don't misrepresent yourself to people who may very well be in utterly tragic and horrible mental places. Your conscience might survive it, but your wallet might not.)


Title: Received Absentee ballot envelope, but no ballot

Question:
Hello all,

I have a question on voting law that I would love if someone could provide some context for.  My girlfriend and I are registered in Indiana and filed for an absentee ballot since we're going to be working in Michigan during that time of voting (midterms).  We recently received our ballots and were planning on voting together today to get them in the mail.  When we opened my girlfriends absentee ballot, she did not have a secrecy envelop or a ballot to actually cast her vote.

When calling the court house to see if they would be able to send her one, since they obviously messed up her absentee envelope and didn't include one,  the answer we received kind of shocked me to be honest.  They told her to circle the candidates she wants to vote for on the candidate list (instead of on a ballot) and they would make sure she gets her votes counted.  So, essentially she's entrusting this complete stranger to fill out her ballot and submit it on her behalf.  To my knowledge that isn't even legal, as she will not be the one filling out the ballot.

They also informed us that yesterday was the last day that they could legally send out absentee ballots (convenient).  So this leaves her with two options, to trust that the woman will actually fill out a ballot with her exact votes, or drive 7 hours back to Indiana in order to cast her vote.  Should we be doing anything else in order for her to receive a absentee ballot in time?  In my mind, since it was the fault of the city, they should be held accountable and at least overnight a ballot to her.

&#x200B;

Appreciate any and all help you may be able to provide as we're both very frustrated with the answers the city has given us!

Answer:
 Try contacting the [Indiana Voter Fraud and Grievance line](https://www.in.gov/sos/elections/2653.htm). There are more contacts [here](https://indianavoters.in.gov/CountyContact/Index) if you click on the "state" tab. Don't give up, you've got a week to fix this.Answer #2: Are you sure you are communicating with the actual voting division of the state?  We have a problem here in my state with legal looking mail that offers to process your absentee ballot for you, from the "Voter Research Department" in the state capitol.  I wouldn't engage with a group like this in a million years, but I could see someone who hasn't voted by mail before being duped.

Just a thought.Answer #3: You also have the option to vote early assuming you aren’t in Michigan yet. Go to your county elections office or a satellite voting location and do it in person. Answer #4: How long did it take you to receive said ballot? I live in Indiana and always do an absentee ballot since I drive an hour back and forth to work. I sent in my application about 2-3 weeks ago and haven’t received it.


Title: Could I sue AND-1 for false advertising? [Serious]

Question:
I bought some AND-1 shoes at Walmart for $14.97. Now, normally I would not buy something like this but I needed some basketball shoes urgently. Anyways, the sole is clearly labeled as "Non-Marking." However, when I used them on the court, they left long black streaks of rubber residue everywhere. It was the equivalent of wearing black rubber winter boots on the hardwood.

Could I sue them for false advertising of the shoes being labeled Non-Marking? The gym I was playing at made me take them off because they were ruining the court.

EDIT: Shoes were purchased from Walmart in Marquette, MI.

Thanks!

EDIT 2: Thanks for the advice, I think I will sue them for $14.97.

Answer:
 If the shoes aren't right, return them to the store for a refund.

If they don't take the return, you could sue for $14.97.  That's not going to be worth your time, effort or money.Answer #2: > EDIT 2: Thanks for the advice, I think I will sue them for $14.97.

Are you retarded? Why wouldn't you just return the shoes for a refund? It's going to cost you way more than that to file a small claims suit.

Also, the court is going to want to see that you attempted to mitigate your damages. If you don't ask for a refund first, then you're just going to piss the judge off and get your claim, and any fee's you paid, tossed out.


Title: Not insured? The accident was my fault. What options do I have?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Expect the insurers of the two damaged cars to come after you for any damages to the cars and any medical bills suffered by the drivers/passengers.


Title: I (27f) own a home in an upper-middle class suburb of GA and rent it out to my immediate family. I just received this nasty letter in the mail and I'm not completely sure what I should do. Is this letter grounds for a discrimination claim?

Question:
A little background: I've owned this home since November 2016. My family is Mexican-American and moved to GA a few years after I settled down here. I was born and raised in Wisconsin, but the military brought me to GA. My family was struggling financially and my little sisters were in horrible school districts in WI. I told them that plenty of job opportunities exist here, as well as a great school district. My step-dad does lawn-care services for a living. He is a legal resident of the United States. Otherwise I wouldn't have a security clearance. At any rate, I now live with my boyfriend in a different home and my family still lives in the house I own. The house is located in a low-traffic, dead-end. Here's what it says:

&#x200B;

"We really hate to use this tactic, but we neighbors are very frustrated at your family's complete disregard of the Homeowners Association (HOA) rules for this neighborhood. This is a small street and we do talk to each other, and have talked to the Association about your construction of the backyard shed. We were told by the HOA that you built it without getting approval beforehand, but they made a visit and gave you the request to give it a finished appearance. That was over a year ago, and they left you another letter addressed to you asking it to be finished recently, and you have disregarded the request. It still remains an eyesore to neighbors on both sides and across the street, as well as anyone who passes by on the street.

&#x200B;

The HOA rules are established to keep the neighborhood attractive so property values don't diminish. We all have received polite letters from the HOA also addressing the constant parking of cars on the street. Your cars are always parked across the street from the neighbor's driveway. How would your father like it if they parked across from his driveway and it was hard to back out? So we really resent when rules aren't followed, and requests made by the HOA openly disregarded.

&#x200B;

And when neighbors resent a homeowner that doesn't seem to care about then or the rules, they notice many other inconsiderate things that should be common courtesy and common sense, even if they aren't written rules. One of those is the Hyundai that made a loud screeching noise due to lack of maintenance for the better part of a year (we could hear it inside our houses). And of course there's the noisy frequent pulling of the trailer with lawn maintenance equipment in and out of the garage. That's why commercial businesses are not zoned in residential areas.

&#x200B;

Since you are the owner of the house, you are responsible for maintaining HOA rules even if you aren't the one who built the shed or if you don't live there anymore. We all notice your father doesn't speak English and is running a commercial business out of a residential home, so that makes us all come to other possible conclusions. Maybe he isn't a citizen or in the US legally, doesn't have a business license, and doesn't pay taxes. If we can't get you to pay attention to HOA rules, maybe we have to pursue these with the county.

&#x200B;

But we would rather this not turn into an ugly situation. As long as we feel like you care enough to follow rules to keep this neighborhood attractive, we'd all rather get along.

&#x200B;

\-Your frustrated neighbors"

&#x200B;

This letter did not have a return address or any number to contact. I emailed my HOA and asked them to call me, because the only way of contact is through email or fb messenger.

&#x200B;

I told my step-dad to take down the shed, because I don't care too much for it anyway (it was his idea to build it in the first place). I did not ask HOA for permission to build it, because I didn't think anyone would care. I understand that I should have asked first. That was my mistake!

&#x200B;

This letter felt like a threat to me.  Is this letter grounds for legal action for discrimination?  I don't normally like conflict, but this really upset me.

&#x200B;

Thank you for your help!

Answer: No. It was not a threat. Follow HOA guidelines.


Title: Got a ticket..(Speedo is off because bigger tires)

Question:
I got a speeding ticket yesterday. The cop clocked me going 84 in a 70. So I ended up getting a 206 dollar ticket. I did tell him that I just got larger tires and she said that wouldn't matter that much.

I just got these tires before this trip to ATL. My previous tire size was 205/75/15, my new tire size is 235/70/16. I found a conversion speedo calculator online and it is showing that if he clocked my going 84 my speedo would actually say 79. http://imgur.com/GeRGtbd
This would reduce my ticket by about 70$. http://imgur.com/40YV3Kn
 Im not trying to get out of the ticket but I would like to not pay 200$. How would I go about getting this sorted out? I would rather not have to go to court.

I added pictures of the evidence I found online. If anyone can help out that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer: You were actually going 84, though, right? Just the speedometer is wrong? Keeping your car in proper working order (including the speedometer) is your responsibility.


Title: Is it still a hate crime if you didn’t know they’re gay?

Question:
Totally hypothetical scenario:

-Start arguing with someone you don’t know on the street
-Call them a faggot (classic 4chan insult)
-Turns out they’re actually gay
-Get reported for hate crime

Are you still liable for prosecution if there was nothing to indicate they were gay before you insulted them?

Answer: Simply calling someone a name isn't a crime. You'd have to actually assault them or something as well.Answer #2: The language of most of these statutes is “actual or perceived characteristics”. So it doesn’t matter if someone is actually gay.


Title: Car Crash - Stupid Insurance

Question: In January/February I was involved in a car crash. The guy was pulling out of his parallel parking spot and didn't notice I was in his lane. He ended up hitting my whole right side. The car is drive-able but the whole right side is scratched, bent, and busted. We filed a police report. I made a claim with his insurance and they took months to tell me that the driver was not insured and they cancelled their insurance. Am I wrong to want to sue the guy? I have tried to make contact with him and he keeps hanging up claiming he was gonna call me back.

Answer:
 Call you insurance company immediately. Start a claim and provide them with all of the information you have. They will tell you what to do.

You should never make a claim with someone else's insurance company. Always call your own insurance company and work through them. It is their responsibility to get payment through the other driver or his agent.  If legal action is required, they will handle it. This is exactly what you pay your insurance company to do.


Title: Neighbor won't divulge landlord's information - how can I find the current property landlord's information in California?

Question:
A huge tree in the neighbor's backyard is encroaching over to my backyard, to the point where it's actually breaking my fence nearly in half as the roots continue to expand over to my side.
I've asked the neighbor to contact the landlord to resolve this issue, as it's become a major eyesore (and will need to be repaired as I now have a giant gap in my fence); however, the neighbor is not very responsive to the situation. She refuses to provide any contact information, and told me to provide a letter detailing the current situation, which she promised to deliver to the landlord (this was six months ago, I'm also pretty sure she never followed through).
Where can I find this information in Santa Clara County, California for single family home properties? When I looked on https://sccassessor.org or https://scctax.org, they weren't fruitful in providing details of the actual landlord contact information.

Answer: Land records are a matter of public record.  They have to be for title insurance purposes.  Call your county clerk's office.


Title: Someone broke into my car and left their cellphone.

Question: Is it worth it to go after this low life who broke into my car? There was no damage I believe and there is nothing to take in my car so nothing is missing. [CA]

Answer: Even if you're not planning on going after the thief, turn it over to police anyway. It may not be the thief's cellphone, simply booty they'd stolen earlier in the night.