Question:
Hello, I am a student at a university in the state of Illinois and I also work for a certain department in the university.

I am going to try to describe my problem without giving myself away, incase there are any repercussions.

I work for a certain department that has many "offices" that overall fall under the same department but do different things. For example, let's say we are in the cooking department but every office cooks a different kind of food. Since they’re trying to make cuts to save money, they merged my office with another office.

I was away this past semester since I was doing research with my professor, and during that time the manager from the previous office took over. I still kept up with the online trainings (since I still technically work there). A few weeks ago I asked for an update on when I was to register for shifts for the following semester [usually we picked our shifts over the summer] and she told me that all the shifts were filled and she would keep me in mind for the Spring semester. This meaning that I "still have a job" but don't have any shifts to work.

Yesterday I looked at our university wide job board, and I saw my position on there paying $2.25 less than what I get paid per hour. I personally feel like that’s a slap to the face. I have had two internships in the field doing more difficult work than what I do for the department at my university. I know what I am doing and I do it very well. It’s not like I am a bad worker or anything for them to fire me, especially when I've worked there for 3 years and have never been called in for review.
They’re looking to hire 5 people, but won't give me shifts.

Sorry for the long story, is there anything I can do ? Is this legal?

I pay me way through college. I take out loans and have scholarships. I use the money I make from that job to pay for my rent, food and books even though my pay check barely covers any of those things. If I go searching for another job, I’d be getting paid $3 less an hour than I do at this job and that would just screw my budget [better than no income I suppose].

TL;DR

My boss told me there aren’t any shifts available for me to work [not fired], but is still hiring more people and paying them less. Is that legal?

Answer: This could be considered constructive dismal (think that's the term), this is where you have effectively been fired by reducing your hours and work to zero. They are hoping you'll quit so they can avoid paying your unemployment. Give a quick call to the DOL or go straight to an unemployment claim, they'll challenge it and on the appeal you state your case.Answer #2: Yes it's legal.  They don't have to give you any hours.


Title: My 18 year old son has just started dating a 16 year old and I'm concerned about statutory rape laws (Illinois)

Question: So, my son is 18 and he recently introduced me to this 16 year old girl that he's dating. I'm a bit worried about legal problems down the road, so is there anything he should know? Also, what would be the legal consequences if the parents pressed charges on him?

Answer:
 There's no law against just dating or even kissing (provided all parties consent), but he should be aware of the law if things turn sexual:

>[720 ILCS 5/11-1.50](http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=072000050HArt%2E+11+Subdiv%2E+5&ActID=1876&ChapterID=53&SeqStart=14600000&SeqEnd=16100000)

>    Sec. 11-1.50. Criminal sexual abuse.

>    [...]

>    (c) A person commits criminal sexual abuse if that person commits an act of sexual penetration or sexual conduct with a victim who is at least 13 years of age but under 17 years of age and the person is less than 5 years older than the victim.

>(d) Sentence. Criminal sexual abuse for a violation of subsection (b) or (c) of this Section is a Class A misdemeanor.

And bear in mind that the statute of limitations lasts for several years, not just until she reaches 17. So say they have a messy break up down the road, she could still go to the police with evidence of pre-17th birthday sex and he could be charged. If he waits until she's 17, then that possibility is off the table.Answer #2: Age of consent in IL is 17. If they have sexual contact while she is still 16, he could face charges. This is not something he wants following him around all his life.Answer #3: Tell him to keep it in his pants until she turns 17.


Title: What exactly constitutes a poisoning case, in relation to things you put in your lunch you bring to work?

Question: Like, is the bar just never to put anything not considered food into your meals (i.e never mix your medicine in with your food)? To inform HR that you're doing it, so they can notify everyone for the sake of "reasonable forewarning" or something? Where's the bar for putting things like extremely spicy sauces/peppers in/on your food, or potential allergens?

Answer:
 It's poisoning if you put something there with the intention that someone be hurt eating it. Various dodges like "Oh, I just eat my laxatives this way" generally fall flat because criminally, the requirement is that the prosecutor eliminate reasonable doubt, and a jury is not required to find reasonable doubt in what is clearly an unreasonable excuse.

There's no amount of warning you can give that makes it okay to hurt people on purpose.


Title: From the news: Can a felon be ordered to carry a photo of the victim on his person for 6 years?

Answer:
 Probably.  If it's a condition of the probation or parole, a wide variety of weird things can be ordered.

Because the person is essentially agreeing to do to those things in lieu of going to prison.


Title: (Long Island NY) Looking for a way to get married for reglious purposes without it being recognized by the United States

Question:
Throw away account. So, to make a long story short, I did the old in-and-out without a rain coat, and we're looking at a happy little accident. While I'm not too worried about family drama or the like, she comes from a more religiously conservative family, and she's not looking to be shamed any more than she is. So getting married is the only real answer (I'm not against getting married).

Here's the tricky part. I work a full time job with shitty benefits, and she gets disability from a trucking accident that happened a few years ago. If we get married in the eyes of the State and the Federal Government, she may lose her benefits and our child would lose those benefits too. Everyone we talk to says it would be better for our baby if we did not get married. It's just that we haven't told our families yet.

I am trying to figure out my options on this. Would it be possible to be married in a way that we have a few rights with each other, or should we be abandoning the whole idea of getting married for the sake of the better life of our child?

We are both 32. I'm full time employed.

Answer:
 You can have a religious ceremony if you can find a pastor or priest who will perform it. Be up front. I suspect you'll be looking for a while, since most men and women of the cloth tend to take marriage pretty seriously and want you to _actually get married_ if they officiate.

There's no half-way kinda-marriage, though, no. The closest there is is common-law marriage, but NY doesn't recognize the creation of common-law marriages (otherwise you might already _be_ married). Get married, or don't.


Title: Update: Wrong police report

Question: I went to the ER and got the help I needed. What are the consequences if I went to the police and told them I made a wrong report due to mental issues. Would I be given jail time and a criminal record? I don't want to bear a guilty conscience but I'd like to be able to move on from this without too permanent of an impact. The report was about someone telling me they liked child pornography whereas they only told me for sure they liked rape pornography. Thank you.

Answer:
 You can go and tell them. Explain you had mental health issues. You got help. You nor want to make sure you straighten out a likely misunderstanding when you made the police report.

Glad you got help and are feeling better


Title: Accused of fake ticket on Stubhub

Question: Hi all. I previously briefly posted about this to look for advice on a separate subreddit: [Link to Previous Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/musicfestivals/comments/8d2nox/anyone_accused_of_fake_tickets_on_stubhub/). Basically I bought 2 tickets to Coachella this year, I couldn't go and listed both tickets to sell on StubHub. Both tickets sold to separate individuals. I received an email from Coachella directly that one of my tickets had not been activated and would need to be activated in order to get in the festival. I later got an email from Stubhub stating that one of the tickets that I had sold was reported as fake. I sent Stubhub my proof of purchase, copy of the email from Coachella that the buyer had never activated the ticket, and even reached out to Coachella's ticketing service to confirm that the ticket was valid and sent a copy of the exchange. Stubhub continued to fine me $1,029.92. I then tried to fight off the charges with my credit card company \(Bank of America\) and they denied my claim, stating that they cannot intervene with third party exchanges and that I would need to go back to Stubhub to deal with the claim. Is there any kind of legal action that I can pursue? I'm not very strong when it comes to these sort of things. It has been about a month since I last attempted to fight these charges.

Answer:
 You agreed to be subject to Stubhub's terms (which include buyers protection) when you opted to sell there.  If they have ruled against you in a dispute with a buyer, you have an uphill battle ahead of you.  You could sue StubHub, but this is likely cost you far more than your $1000 and it is questionable whether you would win.

This might just be one of life's unfortunate lessons.


Title: (California) My wife and I have to split 12 weeks of leave for a new child?

Question:
So I'm being told by my employer that because my wife and I work at the same place, county government, that we have to split the 12 week leave for a new child. For example, I take 2 weeks and she gets 10. I was told that that is not policy but rather California state law. But I also heard that changed.

I am garbage with Google as it is only explaining that there is a paternity leave. I need help with this matter. Please any advice would be appreciated.

Answer:
 I’m in NY, so I can’t say if this it is the same in CA, but me and my husband recently had a similar situation. Our HR told us that when filling out the paperwork, I had to apply for FMLA to recover from a medical condition (giving birth to a child) and my husband had to apply to bond with the child.  If we had both applied for bonding, we would have had to share 12 weeks, but since we applied for two different reasons we didn’t.

There may be a different policy in CA, but it might be worth looking into.Answer #2: Assuming the reasoning is that you are bonding with the child and no a medical condition this is accurate and permissible under FMLA.


Title: Money Collectors and Apartment Scam

Question:
Hello, this is my first post on here so bear with me because it’s a long story. On May 24th 2014 I signed a yearly lease with an apartment complex in Charlotte, NC. I was given 2 options when it came to the security deposit fees. I could pay $500 and get it back at the end of my lease or a non-refundable deposit of $180. I am a college student so I decided to go with the lower fee. Under the lease agreement it states that the direct deposit will be used for any damages/unpaid bills at the end of your lease.

60 days before my lease was over (February 2015) I turned in a notice to the apartment complex that I will not be renewing my lease like they requested. All the monthly fees such as rent and utilities were all electronically paid in their system and I was never late for any of my dues.

For some strange reason the electronic system failed to send a utility bill for the month of February-March so I contacted the office and they said that their system was down and I was going to be billed later for that bill. My utility bill was usually around $40 for water and I paid for electricity separately/independently.

Towards our final days of our lease we made sure the place was left in pristine condition and we even repair little nail holes on the wall. I ended up taking photos of every room in detail and I even had a maintenance guy come in and confirm that the place was in great condition and I was not going to be billed for any damages. We turned our keys in and moved into a new house.

A month goes by and I received an invoice in the mail with my final utility bill payment and my February-March utility payment of $86.29. I send a check to the apartment complex on May 28th which was cashed on June 1st. And at this point I was assured that everything was taken care of, done and over with. I never heard back from the apartment complex after that. There was a letter send to me saying that they welcome us back if we decide to live there again which I ended up discarding as spam.

Little did I know that my final bill that was paid in FULL was going to be turned into a collections office.

A year later I received a letter from a collections office in Atlanta, GA stating that I owe this apartment complex $86.29. I was sort of confused at first so I called the office asking what this amount owed was for and she said it was for the February-March utility bill. I informed her that I paid that in full and that I have evidence from my bank account of the check that was written to the apartment complex as well as proof that they had cashed it. She was very rude with me saying that the check does not prove that the $86.29 was paid for that purpose. Let me say that I never had a similar bill before down to the penny.

Frustrated I called the apartment complex and they claimed that they do not have my file on record because it was turned into the collectors and that there is no more information that they can give me. I called the collectors office asking for them to forward the file to the apartment complex and they claimed that there was no such file. So miraculously this file has vanished and according to them I still owe them $86.29. I have a feeling that the collections office is cooking up a scam with the apartment complex and many residents have claimed to have the exact same issues as me.

Unfortunately I no longer have access to the email that the confirmations of payment were send to and the apartment complex has since disabled my online account. I cannot see any statements.

I feel really scammed and I am not sure what to do. First they send me a final bill, I pay it in full...I don't hear from them again and a year later I am being turned into collections without even being send a SECOND bill.

Even if I hadn't paid this bill (which I did) why didn't they use the security deposit like the contract states? There were no damages left back at the place and the money could be used towards that. But they took my security deposit, they took my check and now I still owe $86.29.

I no longer have that invoice of $86.29 in my possession because to be honest not many people keep bills from years ago that they paid and took care of. I am very disappointed with the fact that the apartment complex sold my “debt” to a collector and washed their hands of all responsibility.

I am thinking about getting a lawyer and suing the apartment complex but I am afraid that they might say "we don't have your files anymore, it was sold to a 3rd party collector and you need to sue them"

Can a judge order the apartment complex to obtain all the files necessary for the case? And if not what can I do in this situation? I know it is just $86 and it can be paid off but it’s the principal that matters. I feel scammed by the apartment complex and I feel like my hands are tied in this situation. They are basically forcing me to pay this bill or my credit history is ruined.

I have since opened an investigation with my bank on that check and I’m hoping to get more information on it. I am afraid that the proof that I have is not enough evidence to relieve me of this debt. What would you do if you were in this situation? If you sue then who would you sue?

Answer:
 Contact your bank and request a copy of the 86 dollar check, front and back. You'll be able to see on the back of the check when and with what bank the check was deposited. Send a copy of this along with a letter to the collector stating that this amount had in fact been paid and ask them to verify the debt still owed.

You said you got an invoice in the mail for the utility bill, do you still have that? Try contacting the utility company to get a copy of that bill if not. Attach that as well.

The leasing office should have sent you an itemized list of any damages or necessary repairs to the unit after your move out, regardless of whether or not your deposit was non-refundable (you have a right to know if there will be any outstanding charges). Call the leasing office on this, inform them that they did not provide you with this information and for all you know they're taking your deposit for profit and not necessary repairs.

If it's still a no go, let them attempt to sue you over 86 dollars and take all your evidence for the judge.


Title: [Colorado] Disturbing practice by the Department of Revenue with minors convicted of alcohol-related offenses.

Question:
Guy who runs a liquor store here in my small town said, today, "You see that car out there? It's a sting."
I'd seen a girl coming out of the store as I pulled in, and the liquor store guy said, "As part of their deal with the court after getting an MIP, these kids have to act as bait in their sting operations against liquor stores."
Does this sound legit? Is it some kind of work release? Doesn't sound totally ethical to me.

Answer:
 >Does this sound legit? Is it some kind of work release? Doesn't sound totally ethical to me.

Sounds ethical to me; police agencies use confidential informants all the time. It is not work release.


Title: [OH]Friend found pictures of herself taking showers in her housemate's laptop. School is unwilling to take actions. What can we do?

Question:
Hello,

I'm trying to seek help for my friend who's an international student. We are both not too bright when it comes to legal actions, so I seek advice from you.

A week ago, because her laptop was broken, her housemate let her use his laptop. Inside the laptop she found pictures/videos of her showering, changing, etc. at various locations inside the house. She tried to reach out for the school (both office of conduct and their PD), but they were unwilling to help. At this point, other than moving out (which she did), we are at a loss of what to do. Do we go straight to a lawyer? If not, can someone direct us to finding a right one? Is there other ways of increasing exposure to force the school to take action?

edit: Local police was contacted, but they did not take action. I'm guessing they don't take non-English native speakers seriously?

Answer:
 Did she live on campus or off?

She can absolutely contact the city police department of the town she lives in and report the crime to them.Answer #2: Why didn't you call the police immediately?

The school isn't going to do anything.Answer #3: Under Title IX, the school may be required to deal with this if the housemate is also a student (that is, in addition to the normal criminal process). Report it to the campus authorities and have them coordinate with local police.


Title: The dealership gave me the wrong car, and didn't realize for months.

Question:
Louisiana.

I bought a 2016 Honda Civic. My deal says that my car had 46 miles on it. That's what all the paperwork said. I drove the car off the lot and had it for 2 months and 4 days then I got a call saying I had the wrong car. The car I'm driving at this point has 2,200 miles on it.

I get to the dealership, they take the car back and explain I have been driving around in one car while my insurance and registration was on another. They show me "my" car, the correct VIN, and it has 3,200 miles on it. A thousand more than what I drove and a hell of a lot more than 46!! If it was "my" car why doesn't it have 46 miles on it? Because somebody else has been driving my car and ran up a thousand more miles than what I even would have.

The dealership wants me to just accept this mistake and move on. Do I have any legal ground to stand on? As far as I'm concerned I bought a car with 46 miles on it and they did not provide that to me.

The paperwork and deal has already been finalized because it was over 2 months ago.

Any help is appreciated thanks.

Answer:
 So why exactly did you give the car back? And did you not notice when you originally took possession of the car that the mileage was (I assume) off?Answer #2: Honda has a fabulous customer service line regarding dealership complaints. You could file a complaint with them, and see what they can do to assist.

I used it once to complain about a dealerships attempts to kill me through idiotic mistakes when I took my car in. They assign a case number to complaints when you call. My brother also worked for a Honda dealership, and told me that those complaints do come back to dealerships.


Title: How good is my case? Insane ExGF False Rape Claim.

Question:
Hey, so my ex-girlfriend  I was dating for 3 years false claimed rape against me. I will try my best to explain everything that I currently know about the situation. This is some backstory.

* We were dating for about 3 years, both of each other's first partners. (2015 - 2018)
* Engaged in a lot of sexual activities over the span of those 3 years. (Digital penetration, Oral, Vaginal)

**THIS IS WHERE THE RAPE CASE BEGINS.**

* She went to the police station on **April 16th** after I got her arrested the second time on **April 15th**.
* She claimed it happened on **March 15th** when she and I were drinking in my house.
* She told the police she does not know what happened. (Which is a lie).
* She said, "I don't know if I consented but if I did, I don't want him in trouble". (After she almost got me killed).
* No medical evidence or witness evidence which said I did anything, the only evidence is her statement. (He say, She say)
* **Stated she got me beaten up because I sexually assaulted her.**
* That day she initiated sexual contact with me and I didn't think anything of it because we were sexually intimate hundreds of times before.
* She enjoyed it, she told me she enjoyed it many times during the act and begged me to continue on multiple occasions.
* After we were done I called my friend over to chill and we left her at my home alone and got her coffee and a doughnut to sober up fully. (She was tipsy).
* She was still all over me when she was sober on that same day.
* Everything was completely normal
**AFTER THE DAY SHE CLAIMED IT HAPPENED**

* Made out a couple of times and I believe we also engaged in digital penetration after that day.
* Asked me to take her lingerie shopping because "I would be the one seeing it". **(March 22nd)**
*  I caught her cheating but I let it go and gave her another chance. (She assumed I was plotting to send out sexual videos of us).
* Asked me to meet her at a coffee shop to talk about it, I did and she said we should meet later tonight. **(March 29th)**
* She got 5 guys to assault me with weapons, Kidnap me, torture me and rob me. **(March 29th)**
* After, she was arrested and charged with: Unlawful confinement and robbery. (She was assigned a restraining order to stay away from me).
* **Stated she did it because I was going to send pornographic videos out of her.** (Differs from above)
* The guy she was cheating on me with got charged with: Unlawful confinement, Robbery, Assault with a weapon, Possession of stolen property under $5000, and Utter threat to cause death.
* Everything was calmed down.
* She was near me, I told her I didn't want any trouble and asked her to leave. She looked at me and laughed so I called the police.
* She got arrested again and went down to the station where they changed her restraining order with specific exceptions (School). **(April 15th)**
* The day after I got her arrested the second time she falsely claimed rape against me. **(April 16th)**

**SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND**

&#x200B;

* Everything was completely normal until I charged her with those crimes. The day after I charged her the second time she went to the cops.
* I got messages from multiple fake accounts apologizing and begging for my forgiveness.
* The judge says its a losing case for her.
* Her statements between when she got arrested and when she claimed I raped her are completely different.

&#x200B;

**TL;DR, My ex conspired my kidnapping then False claimed rape.**

* Ex of 3 years cheated on me, I let it slide.
* She thought I was planning to expose our sex videos, she got scared and got me assaulted kidnapped tortured and robbed.
* She got charged and is now a criminal.
* False claims rape because she's mad.
* The judge thinks its a losing case for her.
**Just want to know how good my case is.**

Answer:
 >The judge says its a losing case for her.

That's not a thing a Judge says.

&#x200B;

I'd hire an attorney ASAP.  This is not a slam dunk for you and could go very badly.


Title: I got charged with stealing a $200 bike I gave it back cop said they would drop charges and label misdemeanor I now need a lawyer please help.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Well, you are an adult in the eyes of the law, no matter what you think. You need an attorney, nothing else anyone can tell you.Answer #2: The judge isn't going to care that you don't plan on going to jail. Pretty no one plans on going to jail and yet they're sent to jail anyway.


Title: Fired for speaking out against a hostile work environment and having my job threatened (Oregon, At-Will state)

Question:
Hello everyone, first time post and currently under a significant amount of stress, so please help me out if more details are needed.

Long story short, I worked at a resort owned by a...less than affable billionaire, as a golf professional up until 4 days ago.

I have worked there from spring of last year until now and in that time have witnessed verbal abuse, intimidation, and all around toxic behavior towards coworkers, managers and myself by the owner. I have seen good people fired for no good reason and with no warning, who are then subject to character assassination by the owner when they are no longer around to defend themselves. In addition I have seen a slough of passive aggressive and degrading emails sent by the owner to various supervisory staff regarding their competence, despite each department head being at or near the top of their respective field and more often than not, doing an excellent job providing for a top notch guest experience despite running perpetually understaffed due to incomprehensible firings or resignations in response to the pervasive feelings of anxiety and dread when interacting with the owner.

Throughout all of this I have gone from a former firefighter specializing in incident command to a rookie with zero experience in the golf industry outside of competitive play working for one of the best managers of people I have ever met, to managing a golf facility with multiple courses ranked in the top 50 resort courses in the country after my boss was inexplicably fired and mocked for his weight by the owner to me, while he simultaneously offered me his job in a back room as I watched him struggling to serve a large number of guests without me. I turned down the offer, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with the situation and voicing my discomfort while expressing my lack of experience and knowledge compared to my boss, whom is still a close friend to this day.

Fast forward a week and I am managing the facility at my meager hourly wage, my former boss is gone, and I am being berated for trivial issues such as stock room cleanliness, bumping into overtime, and bar arrangements when our entire clubhouse is staffed by me, a bar tender, and a 15 year old girl only able to work 6 hours a day.

I won't get into my entire workload, but it should be noted that not only was it excessive to the point of ridiculousness, but also that it encompassed everything from cleaning the facility and bathrooms, but cooking and serving food, tending bar, running a fully stocked pro shop, giving lessons, maintaining the practice area, and full on database construction when our point of sale system suffered a server meltdown, but also acting as a cart bartender and fleet manager as well.

Well after struggling through the rest of the season, writing a SWOT report detailing the staffing issues and negative environment, and requesting a raise and a salaried position and being told it was in the works, only to telework all spring and train my new boss without any raise, I thought that at least the staffing issue had been solved only to find out that I was losing my bartender to another department and the Clubhouse/Pro shop was only to be staffed by my new boss and I.

My new boss moved to the area before season opening and was promptly berated by the owner for the same kind of trivial issues that I had been before, even though they had been changed to suit him at the time, to the point that a friend of mine was nearly in tears describing the incident to me later. Our GM, sober for 15 years, relapses my first week back on full time, as a result of pressure and stress from the owner, I find him drinking in the clubhouse after hours, and try to comfort him as best I can, being a recovering alcoholic myself. I am forced to rally the troops, as all other department heads are new and inexperienced with daily operations. I almost fall asleep driving home every day that week.

The owner's wife comes in on my last afternoon and threatens me with a "If You want to keep your job, "do this pointless and idiotic task" ", and I jump to it, completing the task and sitting down with a cup of coffee to contemplate my emotional well being and satisfaction with my job. I call our GM, on his second day back from relapse, and request a meeting at the clubhouse, but he's unable to make the trip to me, so I say I will go to him. I meet him in his office, tell him I'd like to discuss the hostile work environment created by the owner and his wife, and about my job being threatened earlier. He asks if I want to speak with the owner, who is still in the building, I say yes, he gestures towards the office, the door is open, i walk up and knock and request to speak, the owner says he is busy, I say that it can't wait, he gestures to a chair, I sit and tell him I am very close to filing a complaint, and he asks incredulously "what?!", I say "you heard me", he asks why, I say that I don't appreciate my job being threatened for trivial reasons, he replies "well your job is no longer threatened", "I'm fired?" I ask, "You're fired" he says. I stand up, extend my hand, and say "it has been a pleasure", he reaches halfway, stops himself, and says "I don't think it has", and I walk out. I inform the GM, there are hugs and many surprised and disappointed curses made, and I inform them that i am leaving the property because I do not feel comfortable remaining any longer.

Throughout all of this I never raise my voice, I never show any anger, I am calm, and professional. Thank goodness for the Golf teaching me to manage my emotions.

I am exploring filing a whistleblower complaint, despite no outright discrimination taking place, because I believe the harassment and intimidation meets the requirements of being pervasive and unhealthy. Please, I beg You, help me navigate this situation, I don't have the money to pay a lawyer, but I feel strongly I did the right thing.

Answer:
 You don't have whistleblower protection here.

Hostile Work Environment is a legal term of art that specifically describes discrimination or mistreatment on the basis of membership in a protected class. This includes things like refusing to promote women; having non-Christian employees paid less than Christians; sexual harassment; allowing a workplace that openly allows the use of ethnic slurs toward members of that ethnicity and so on.

General crappy, rude, uncomfortable, and assholish behavior of co-workers and management is not unlawful or a HWE.

You just describe a high-drama workplace, not an unlawful one. Your termination appears to be lawful, but you are free to consult an employment attorney all the same.


Title: Would I be able to sue my local pets plus?

Question:
In June I bought a bunny for my friend because her bunny died a couple weeks before plus she was going through a crazy shitstorm breakup. I go into pets plus and buy the bunny for 60$ plus another 100$ for cage and food. I briefly signed a waiver and made my way out because I was excited to give her the new bunny. Fast forward to October and I ended up taking primary care of the bunny for the most part. My bunny looks extremely ill so I brought him to the vet. The vet comes out and looks deeply concerned. This is the best part- she tells me that my bunny has fucking syphilis. An STD. I did not know that was possible. The vet says the bunny had to have contracted it from birth or from other bunnies in his litter from pets plus unless he’s outside having sex with wild ones. There’s no way he could’ve gotten it from my house because I have no other animals and he stays in a cage. The bill was 300$ and I am a college student working part time. I really don’t have that kind of money to be spending. I go to pets plus where I bought him from and ask if there’s anything they can do to help because it’s ridiculous. I told them that if I knew the bunny had an STD I wouldn’t of bought it in the first place. The manager says I signed a waiver and that there’s nothing he can do. I ask to see the waiver and this is where things get sketchy and I get confused. He says he threw the waivers from the month of June out. He only has the ones from August until now. I am pissed. He didn’t sell me a chair- he sold me a live animal. He still refuses to do anything for me. Now I am left with nursing a sick bunny back to health (a needle of Penicillin every week for 6 weeks/eyedrops & pain meds every 12 hours).  What can I do? Is there anything I can do? Sue for negligence? Any advice will help! Sorry for the long post!
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Youve had the bunny for 4 months at this point.

You don't know that he didn't contact the disease while he was under the care of your friend.

I don't see any way the pet store is liable for this. And I bet that waiver says they warranty the animal for a few days, maybe a few weeks but not for its entire life.


Title: Scammer Using Our Rental Property as Bait on Craigslist

Question:
Hello /r/legaladvice

We run a vacation rental in the SF/Bay Area.  My mother recently found a scammer on craigslist who was using our photos and description word for word from our AirBnB listing.  I baited them into sending me their information for a bank transfer.  What's the best course of action to nail these scammers?  Here's the email they sent to try and get money:

"*Attached, you will find the booking terms and agreement form. You are required to fill in the necessary paperwork and email us the signed contract. Here is the bank account info where you can send in your deposit. The total deposit to secure your dates will be $1,550 for the rental fee and the refundable security fee. Please go into your bank to initiate the transfer and make it same day delivery, whatever charges that it incurs while transferring will be given back to you along with the security fee on your departure*

*Bank Name: Wells Fargo Bank*

*Account Name: <Omitted>*

*Account #: <Omitted>*

*Routine #: 122000247*

*Routine Wire # <Omitted>*

*Please kindly get back to me immediately with the payment information given to you while deposit is transferred to our bank account so i can prepare your receipt asap, please remember to print and come along with the payment receipt that i will attach and forward to you after confirmation of deposit.*

*Once the deposit is confirm , You'll receive your Receipt immediately to confirm your reservation for your chosen date*

*Thanks for your reservation with us.*

*Joe"*

Thanks,

ScholarlySailor

Answer:
 > What's the best course of action to nail these scammers?

Report the fake ad to craigslist.Answer #2: Contact Craigslist to get the ad removed, contact them each time it is reposted.

Contact Wells and let them know that this account is being used for fraud, they will lock it down quickly.  Wells does not tolerate this sort of thing.

Beyond that, you have no other provable damages, save for possibly some loss of reputation, but that is hard to quantify, and you would have to know the identity of the scammer to pursue.Answer #3: Add a watermark to your photos.
Report to craigslist.
Report to the bank.
Answer #4: Contact the local police (local to rental) and advise them of the scam.

The bank account is most likely being accessed with stolen credentials as well.Answer #5: Great advice from everyone.

It also doesn't hurt to put up a sign indicating that there are scam posts of your property for rent on CL (and anywhere else you may find it) and nobody should send deposits in to those posts.

This, of course, is a courtesy to help others out, not a necessity.Answer #6: There's a good chance that the scammers aren't even in the US, which is why the responses here are pretty pessimistic.


Title: [Update] | [Update] Moving forward with pushing for a trial for my 1/2 oz of pot

Question:
*Beep Boop Beep Beep Boop*

---

[Report Inaccuracies Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/LocationBot/) | Data Sourced From [GitHub] (https://github.com/ianpugh/LocationBot2.0) | [Author](https://reddit.com/u/ianp)

---

Original Post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4p21u0/update_moving_forward_with_pushing_for_a_trial/

Author: /u/offtotrial

#**[Update] Moving forward with pushing for a trial for my 1/2 oz of pot**

> Original link here
>
> https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4osckg/i_got_caught_with_12_oz_of_weed_in_ga_i_want_to/
>
> I took off from work today and sat down with 3 different criminal defense lawyers.
>
> Lawyers A

Answer:
 37 comments in that thread. Only one of them answer the question the OP asked (Where is a good place to check for lawyers?). The other 36 ignore the OPs question to derail the thread and fall over themselves to tell the OP just how wrong he is.

Look, I get it, OP is dumb. But attacking the OP just further promotes the hostile environment which encourages trolls to ruin these subs.

If the point with all of the rule changes is to clean up the sub and take legal advice back to giving *advice*, then it seems that 36 of those comments should really be deleted. And to make matters worse, most of them are by starred users, who should know better.


Title: [UT] Mall sold us shop that doesn't work, says we have to stay for entire contract anyway.

Question:
In Utah, my wife and I recently opened an arcade that uses virtual reality.  For some reason there is some kind of signal interference in the mall space we bought.  It prevents our machines from working properly, the system cannot properly track the player's location.

Despite the best efforts of ourselves, and the company that produces the VR gear, we have not been able to pinpoint what exactly is causing the problem, but we can confirm that there are parts of the mall where this problem does not exist.  Unfortunately the only shop available is one that is not compatible with our business due to factors like room layout.

When we first started our gear could function, but barely.  The slightest issue would make them lose tracking.  Then the problem started to flare up where there would be days at a time where tracking would be completely unmanageable.  At first we thought it was a technical problem we needed to fix in the equipment, but after many many conversations with tech support they suggested moving to a different location, and that worked.  We have continued to try and find the problem, and have been able to eliminate possibilites, but at this point we are down to the theories that say "If we spend thousands of dollars tearing out and replacing all the lights that MIGHT make a difference."

We approached mall management less the 30 days into our contract and told them about the problem.  The leasing manager was going on vacation, so they told us to temporarily relocate to an empty shop and they would get back to us in about two weeks.  Now they're back, and their statement was, almost word for word "Well, we didn't know that there was going to be a problem, so it isn't our fault." and said they would not be letting us out of our contract.

Our contract says that we need to give 30 days notice to leave, and cannot leave between October 1st to February 1st.  I pointed out that since we started our business in early September we would have had to give this notice before we even opened our shop.  They basically shrugged and said a contract is a contract.  When we said this was an extraordinary circumstance they basically shrugged again.  They said they are going to contact the regional manager because the manager doesn't even have the authority to allow us to leave.  They even offered to look into what the penalty for leaving early is.  And actually seemed to think this was something helpful they could do.

Our temporary location is in a low traffic section of the mall, and we are losing money every day we have to keep it open because we are not making enough to cover operating costs.  We weren't making very much in our original location either because our equipment kept breaking down.

It's a pretty infuriating situation.  Not only are they saying we can't leave, but we spent thousands of dollars improving the store they gave us and apparently we might as well have just set fire to that money.  Something along the lines of "You made your old location look so good, you need to fix this one up too.  It looks like a yard sale in here."

In summary, we need to at least be able to get out of our contract.  It would be nice to get some of the money we poured into the old shop back, but I seriously doubt we'll be able to get that without a lawsuit.

So I guess what I need to know is, what are our options?

Is there a way to force an end to the contract?  Will we need to take this to court?  Do we stand a chance of winning?  Are there precedents we could cite to help our case?

Is what they're doing even legal?  They sold us something that doesn't work, and not only are they refusing a refund, they're demanding months of additional payments on it.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 Unless the functional requirements for your store's equipment were included in the contract, you're not going to be able to use them to get out of your lease. You rented a retail unit, you got a retail unit, what you do with it is not your landlord's problem. Similarly, unfortunately, when you improve someone else's property without an agreement in place, you're effectively giving them free work; having to walk away from your improvements is one of the risks you took.

Talk to your landlord and find out if you can sublet to another tenant for the remainder of your lease. If not, have a lawyer review the situation and advise you on the lowest-risk ways to exit the lease.Answer #2: @OP:

Why not just build a makeshift Faraday cage around the room ? Google how to make a faraday room, line the walls with the material, spray paint it whatever color you want. and it should block any outside interference.


Title: Should I allow Sex Offender information to be posted on my community Facebook page? Is that considered "harassment" and could I be held liable if something happens to the sex offender?

Question: I'm a member of a community Facebook group with over 4,000 members who all live in the same area. Every few months someone will post a picture of a sex offender. Can the forum be held liable if something were to happen because of the post? Pima county AZ

Answer: I honestly do not see the point of them being on the Facebook page.  Public, government maintained lists and websites exist.  To me, it is nothing more than a witch hunt sponsored by (what I am assuming to be) bored/scared soccer moms.


Title: So, Can an apartment complex bans resident online negative reviews and impose a $10,000 fine for posting. They also say they own any images of their property, including personal snapshots. (FL)

Question:
So, recently saw this. And thought it was interesting...  Can they do that? I mean, one can't slander anyone, including a business. but how do they justify this?

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/03/one-apartment-complexs-rule-you-write-a-bad-review-we-fine-you-10k/

Answer:
 California has passed a law specifically banning such provisions.  Maybe it's time for other states to get cracking.Answer #2: What's the over/under on the negative brigading of this place on Yelp?  3 days?  12 hours?Answer #3: >but how do they justify this?

you can put literally anything on paper, the question is going to be whether or not you can get a court to enforce what's on that paper.Answer #4: As far as photographs go, if you can take a picture of it without breaking laws to get to your spot of shooting, it's your photo.

As far as I know. Answer #5: >Adolf H.

>Gas appliances.

>Spacious ovens.

>My kind of management.

>FIVE STARS

I think this place is going to learn the hard way...

Edit: this was my favorite - "There is that weekly rectum check, as outlined in other reviews."Answer #6: Paul Alan Levy of public citizen has been litigating these issues for people for a while.  So I always suggest people having these issues reach out to him for help. http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=337.

Such a clause would almost certainly violate state law in any state with remotely robust unfair competition laws. Answer #7: If they are so afraid of pictures of their facilities being posted I must assume they are roach, mold, and rat infested crapholes.

The kind of place where you hope your neighbors are drug dealers because drug dealers are the classiest neighbors you can realistically hope for.


Title: Not sure this is the right sub but, can a company discount an item but jack up the shipping to double what it normally is?

Answer: As long as that is disclosed to the customer prior to purchase I am unaware of any law which would make this illegal.


Title: Can anyone explain why my trial was declared a mistrial during the jury selection process? Info inside.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Because juries aren't supposed to be selected based on how likely they are to award a big payout.


Title: Tinder case

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 So I went to check this out and I think your balance has nothing to do with that screenshot.  I see the exact same list myself, and I'm not even logged in.

That's just the list of top in-app purchases the uses of Tinder make.  I'm assuming the top two are the regular monthly subscriptions, and the other ones are either trials or multi-month subscriptions or something.

Start with your bank, find out how much has been paid to the Apple store, and then try to match that up with Apple store purchases you've actually made.


Title: My grandfather was threatened to be arrested for urinating outside [Buffalo, NY]

Question:
Hello, I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this.

This weekend, my Canadian grandparents went to Buffalo, NY. On their way there, my grandfather needed to go to the bathroom and he said it couldn't wait so they stopped on the side of the freeway to go. It was on the grass and there wasn't anyone around. A police officer came by and asked questions. He asked if my grandfather does this a lot in Canada, and also said he can arrest him. My grandfather said he's diabetic so he couldn't hold it in until he found a public restroom. He took my grandfather's ID and went to his car to check something I assume and came back saying he decided he will not arrest him.

Anyway, my mother and aunt are furious that this happened. They think it's discrimination and they think it's because we are Canadian or Asian. They can't believe that the officer would have arrested my grandfather, "it was an emergency". I tried explaining it to them that it is DEFINITELY illegal, but they don't care. They still think it's discrimination.

Anyway, I'm not familiar with US law. So my question is, how do I explain to my mother and aunt that this is not discrimination and the officer had the right to arrest my grandfather over this? Or am I mistaken?
Edit: Or is it just a matter of teaching my grandfather a lesson?

TL;DR Canadian grandfather pissed on side of freeway and Buffalo police officer threatened arrest. Mom and aunt are mad.

Answer:
 How would this be discriminatory?

Public urination is a crime.

It sounds like the officer used his discretion and gave your grandfather a warning.Answer #2: Did one of the cops say "urine big trouble now, " then another cop reply with,  "Depends?" If not they missed an opportunity.

"Person committing crime" is not a protected class. Answer #3: > They think it's discrimination

It's not discrimination to arrest someone for a crime they're committing.  It's illegal to pee outside.

Answer #4: You're looking for Atwater v. City of Lago Vista. If an officer has probable cause that you're committing a crime, it is always reasonable to arrest them. Answer #5: > how do I explain to my mother and aunt that this is not discrimination and the officer had the right to arrest my grandfather over this?

You could say something like this: New York State has a law against public urination. That law applies to everyone regardless of race or nationality. There's no reason to believe that race or nationality played any role in the officer's decisions in this particular case.


Title: Ex boyfriend won't stop contacting me months after I've moved halfway across the country.

Question:
This guy and I dated for about a year in the middle of our 3 year friendship, though we'd begun arguing a lot in the months before I left.
I moved from Nebraska to Virgina about 2 months ago.
I heard nothing from him until about a week or two after I had moved into my new home. He texted me on his personal phone number, accusing me of stealing a few plates from him from an Asian market we would sometimes frequent together. We had both bought dishes there before on several occasions, but I am definitely not in possession of any dishes that he purchased there.
After 4 unanswered texts over the course of 2 days, I messaged him back and told him that I didn't have his plates. He insisted I did, and threw in some cutting comments about people being happier without me around. This is when I stopped responding to him entirely.
He messaged me 4 more times on his personal cell phone number, with 5-6 days in between contacts.
Then he got an app that allows him to call/text from spoofed numbers, which I know for a fact because my brother mentioned it in passing in a text. And since he keeps messaging me on new numbers, I can't block him.
So far, he's messaged me on 3 fake numbers. I can go 4-8 days without a message from him. These messages so far have been accusations of theft, insults on my character, and mean comments about my family and friends being happier without me around, forgetting me, etc. One message even literally says, "just my weekly check up on my stolen property," which I think demonstrates that he does not intend to stop.
This has been going on for 2 months so far. I thought that he'd tire of this by now. It's getting to the point where it is distressing me. I tried to leave him behind and he keeps forcing his way back into my life. It's getting genuinely creepy.
I think that I would really like to file for a harassment restraining order or something of that nature, so that he would be forbidden to contact me.
I haven't contacted him back since 3/28. I'm concerned that any engagement on my part, even telling him to stop, would only encourage him. I've figured that my lack of response should effectively communicate my lack of desire to continue with this.
So I guess my questions are, how would I go about doing that? He's in Nebraska and I'm in Virginia, can I do that from here? Would I have to go back? Do I need to involve courts from both states? Do I even have a legitimate case? Nothing he's sent me has been THREATENING, only accusatory and insulting.
I do have his mother's cell phone number, and I can text/call her and inform her of the repeated undesirable contact and request that she speak with him, or something. I haven't yet because I'm not sure if that is advisable or not.
At this point, I just want him to stop contacting me, and I don't know how to go about it. Any help/advice anyone has in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Answer:
 Step 1 is to clearly tell him, in writing, in no uncertain words that you do not want to be contacted him FOR ANY REASON, including a response to the message.  Don't be sassy, don't be verbose, be DIRECT.
If the harassment continues you can talk about a no-contact order but it may be hard to grant if his attempts remain mild.
Beyond sending this message, block him everywhere and don't respond to ANYTHING he sends you.


Title: My moms ex-husband keeps coming inside our house without permission. How can we make him stop?

Question:
This is a throw-away obviously. Tried to make the details in here as anonymous as possible.

A bit of backstory my moms ex husband who she has a child with left her after cheating on her. He just came home one day, and when she offered him dinner he told her he was leaving her for another woman. Since he left things have been much better around the house(he was an asshole to me and my brother), and she has everyone telling her they never understood why she was with him to begin with, and she is doing very well now. Now the child they share still wants to have a relationship with his father and my mother goes out of her way to make sure he can. This is where the issue arises. For some reason the EH cant seem to get it through his skull that he doesn't live here anymore and cant just waltz into our house without permission when he is dropping off/picking up his child.

We try and catch him at the door so we can stop him when we know he is going to be doing this but if we don't he will come right on inside. If he is supposed to be dropping off the kid he will come in and stay there sometimes for hours instead of just doing the drop off and leaving like my mom told him to do. For example, she was at work and told him to come drop the kid off for me to watch him until she got home when he was ready too. If he is picking the kid up off the bus after school for them to spend some time together he will drive from the bus stop down to the house and come inside unnecessarily. He has never once knocked on the door or asked permission to enter unless the door was dead-bolted. He just walks up and opens the door like he still lives here.

I want to know what we can do to make it so its clear he shouldn't be coming inside like this uninvited; as it makes us all uncomfortable. Do we need to make sure we have a record of telling him not to do this in case he does it again, and what do we do if he does it after we do this? As he didn't seem to care when my mom implied he shouldn't be sticking around before. Also since people might be interested to know his name was removed from the deed.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Change the locks?

What does your mother say?


Title: Dentist told my friends family she was pregnant before she told them (California)

Question:
My friend went to the dentist last week and she informed him she was pregnant.  This is a dentist her whole family goes to and she asked him not to say anything knowing her family is coming in next week.

Fast forward to today and her mom is calling her frantic because the doctor told her about the pregnancy.  My friend is obviously furious.  The problem is she doesn't know if she going to keep it and her family is very religious and she didn't want them to know if she did get rid of it.

What recourse does she have against the dentist?  By the way she is not a minor she is in her late 20's.  Thanks for your replies.

Edit:  Thanks for all the replies.  She did file a HIPAA complaint against the dentist.  She thanks you  toxdox for the link.

Answer:
 http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/

She can file a complaint wit HHS. Answer #2: File a complaint with teh sate licensing board. That will cover state level medical privacy issues.

Follow ToxDoc's advice and file a Federal level HIPAA complaint.

Should your friend decide to have an abortion, it can be explained as a miscarriageAnswer #3: I think it depends on under what context she admitted she was pregnant. Was it on a form, did the dentist ask before administering anesthetic, or was it brought up in polite conversation?


Title: What happens if the judge made a major mistake?

Question:
In Florida. I had a court date for a civil suit in which I am the defendant. During the opening of the court session that day, the judge called the first case and the attorney for the plaintiff in that case identified himself to the judge, and when asked by the judge confirmed that he had multiple cases there that day. However, of the cases that this attorney mentioned mine was not mentioned. (Should this be questioned, I am positive that I would be able to back this claim up with a copy of the transcript from that day's proceedings.) The judge then dismissed this attorney to make a phone call. I don't know if it matters, but the attorney never asked for the judge to postpone hearing any of his other cases until his return. (And again, I am positive that the transcript from the day's proceedings would reflect this.)

After he left, the judge called several other cases before my own. When my case was called, I stated my name and the judge asked if anybody was there on behalf of the plaintiff. When nobody claimed the case the judge then stated for the record that there had been no action on the case in over a year and dismissed the case. He told me that I was free to leave after that. I am unaware of whether or not the dismissal was with or without prejudice as the judge didn't mention it at the time, and the clerk's office has not yet updated there system.

I now have reason to believe that the attorney who left the courtroom may have been there to represent the plaintiff in my case. I did not, however, recognize him on the day of the court proceedings, though, because he was NOT the attorney listed for the other party in any of my court documents or on the clerk's page for the case online, and I had never heard of him before this day. While I was still present in the court room he never made any mention of the name of the law office that he worked for, and, again, I am positive that the transcript would back me up on this.

At the hearing that day I came prepared with a statement to read to the court, but I was never given the opportunity. The entirety of my interaction with the judge took less than a minute, since nobody ever answered for the plaintiff and he just dismissed it. The claims in my statement were extremely vital to my argument in this case, and I feel that my defense, should the case continue, may have been severely hindered by the court's mistake and my not being able to enter my statement. I am being sued by a debt collector and I have reason to believe that they do not have the legal authority to collect on my debt, with potential evidence (after a dispute with all three major credit bureaus the files were removed from my reports due to failure to prove ownership). Also, I feel that the plaintiff has violated the FDCPA by failing to provide me with a written notice of debt validation when they "obtained" my debt.

In addition to this, the court has made several other errors in my case, including the clerk's office issuing a court appearance paper with the plaintiff's name next to mine on the defendant's line (the plaintiff's line was left blank), and placing the case in small claims when the amount in question is over the state's small claims maximum of $5,000. I have a bunch of questions now, and I am super confused now because of the court's actions.

1. Will the type of dismissal even make a difference at this point?
2. If the case does continue do I have any legal recourse since I was never given the option read my prepared statement to the court at this hearing?
3. If the plaintiff files to set aside dismissal, would the fact that I had no way of knowing that he was there for my case, had never heard his name before, and his failure to ask the judge to postpone hearing his other cases until he returned be enough for me to realistically file an objection?
4. Would the fact that the court has been dragging this case out for over five years, have moved it between three different judges, and their errors be enough for me to have it declared a mistrial? Is this even an option for civil cases?

Thank you anybody who even bothers to read all of this. I am just so confused and frustrated at this point. I tried to fight this pro se, because I was so sure that this would be an open-and-shut case, but should it move forward I will certainly be consulting with and hiring an attorney now.

Answer:
 If the case somehow gets "undismissed" then you can read your statement at the next hearing.  Your case is no worse of later than it is now.Answer #2: Am I reading this right?  You are the defendant. And, the case was dismissed. And, you are frustrated that you were not able to mount a defense?

You won.  There's no such thing as allowing you to read your statement so you can "win with benefits".  The case was dismissed, so you won.

Since you don't know, we don't know if the case was dismissed with or without prejudice. We don't know if it will be refiled, or if they will file more litigation.

If and when that happens, you will have an opportunity to defend against whatever that case will present.  Maybe your statement will be relevant. Maybe it won't.

In the meantime, you won.


Title: Legal question succinctly phrased

Question: My neighbors used their security video system to videotape me on my property and showed it to police.  This video undermined my credibility and reputation. In Delaware, is this legal?

Answer: If you were in public view at the time then you had no expectation of privacy and can be legally photographed or videotaped.


Title: My bank is storing passwords unhashed, and more

Question:
I have discovered a vulnerability with my bank (in Ontario Canada but its one of the top 4 nation wide banks) that I believe stores passwords unhashed and the authentication process has been tampered with. I'd rather not elaborate more. I believe this has existed for a long time. It affects their apps, website and probably all account holders so it seems to be an issue with the authentication server itself and their authentication database.

What is expected from banks in regards to security and audits? With a little research it seems like they operate under obfuscation and secrecy rather than actual proper security audits. It seems that they can get away with anything. Isn't this not only a privacy situation, but also banking and PCI compliance issue? No banks seem to have a security page that promotes people to report vulnerabilities only pages that sell how secure they are.

**Also, I am afraid for a number of reasons:**

* 1) That if I report this through a teller or account manager at a branch that I will not be taken seriously.
* 2) When the issue is demonstrated it is hushly swept under the rug and no one is notified
* 3) That I could be in trouble for stumbling on the vulnerability and verifying that the vulnerability does in fact affect more than me. No I did not hack and I did not access anyones account but mine!!!!
* 4) That they will not receive a serious fine that will make sure that it does not happen again. I want to make sure that it is fixed as well as improved upon -- Get rid of those stupid canned question/response identity questions.
* 5) And that my printer and printer management software is more secure than millions of bank accounts across my country :/

**My questions:**

* a) How do I find a lawyer that can take on such a large entity?
* b) Is this possibly a class action lawsuit? I live in a small town, and I think this requires a big city law firm. No offence small town lawyers
* c) Will I have to fund this lawsuit myself? Because that ain't happening lol
* d) Is it possible to get a finders reward like [google vulnerability program](https://www.google.com/about/appsecurity/reward-program/)

And finally I do not want any sort of recognition for this I want to remain anonymous and have no intention of giving the vulnerability to anyone but my hired lawyer.

My job is software development, I take security and privacy very seriously in my clients projects, I think my bank should do the same for all of us.

/Obviously throwaway account

/edited for formatting reasons sorry

Answer: Find another bank.  CS people take this stuff seriously, but pretty much nobody else cares, especially if there hasn't been an actual breach yet.  You could try reporting it to the bank itself or to banking regulators, but I doubt they will do much of anything.  Many banks have horrendous security.  In fact, I would be very careful about reporting this at all, and would encourage you to do so anonymously.  Many organizations react by shooting the messenger, and you could easily get sued or prosecuted under some computer abuse law.


Title: [OR] Trying to Subvert a subpoena

Question:
I have a friend from college who was recently served a subpoena to testify for the prosecution in a criminal trial in Oregon.  He is pretty pissed about having to be on the record in court and wants to contact the defense lawyer in the case and make them aware that the prosecutions wants him as a witness and he would rather cooperate with the defense. I guess his logic is that by being cooperative with the other side rather than the side that wants his testimony he can make himself too much trouble for the prosecution to want to deal with and they will excuse him.

My first reaction is that this is probably a bad idea, and I've told him that his logic basically makes no sense.  What kind of trouble can you get in for doing something like this?  Do subpoenas come with any restrictions on talking about the case? Can you be charged with tampering with yourself as a witness? Or would it just piss off the court and risk contempt?

Answer:
 The defense attorney is already aware of this. He doesn't get to decide who to "cooperate" with or not. His job is to answer questions truthfully while under oath. If the defense wants to talk to him, they will.  He's  not privy to the full facts of the case or what the defense is going to try to do so he can't know for sure whether he could even help them.Answer #2: It's stupid but not because of its legality but because of its stupidity.

1. You don't get to pick whose side you're on, you get the option of telling the truth under oath or commitng perjury.

2. Regardless what you choose (tip: don't commit perjury) you'll still be on the record.

3. Refusing to testify or appear can get him in very serious trouble.Answer #3: The prosecution can still call them and treat them as a hostile witness. Your friend could offer to testify for the defense, but that would still put them on record.

1. Your friend can talk about the case. They may be asked about who they've discussed the case with, but unless the subpoena included a gag order they should be able to discuss it.
2. If the witness refuses to testify, they can be held in contempt of court. Failure to appear can also lead to a warrant for their arrest.


Title: [Washington DC] How illegal is sidewalk chalk?

Question:
Hi, I already did a little research on this and found that sidewalk chalk can be considered graffiti vandalism and people have been arrested for it in a number of US states. The article gave a couple examples where this had happened but did not mention DC.

* Are there are any cases of people being arrested for using sidewalk chalk on a public sidewalk in DC?
* If someone were to be arrested in DC for sidewalk chalk on public sidewalks, what would probably be the charges?
* Is there a notable difference between chalking public sidewalks and chalking the side of a private building?
* Are political messages "safer" to chalk because of first amendment rights?
* What kinds of alternatives are there for sidewalk chalk? For example, would leaving signs run the risk of being arrested for littering?

Answer:
 > Are there are any cases of people being arrested for using sidewalk chalk on a public sidewalk in DC?

Yep. https://courthousenews.com/d-c-can-forbid-chalk-outside-white-house/

> If someone were to be arrested in DC for sidewalk chalk on public sidewalks, what would probably be the charges?

Depends on where chalk is and what was chalked.

> Is there a notable difference between chalking public sidewalks and chalking the side of a private building?

Yep.

> Are political messages "safer" to chalk because of first amendment rights?

Nope. https://courthousenews.com/d-c-can-forbid-chalk-outside-white-house/

> What kinds of alternatives are there for sidewalk chalk? For example, would leaving signs run the risk of being arrested for littering?

Sandwhich board. If you can't stand by your message, your message is worth saying. Otherwise go Federalist Papers rights and distribute anonymous essays. Even then though, if you aren't willing to be jailed for your message, what really is your message. FIGHT THE POWER!!!


Title: Coupon Fraud? It must be! I work retail customer service in CT, USA

Question:
A woman made [this comment](http://imgur.com/X78h6Lt) under an article about coupon fraud. She claims to have asked lawyers and they agree with her. This cannot be true, can it? It's quite a bit of text but I just want to know, is this legal? She claims to have made up to $900-1,000 cash per week doing this over 7-8years. http://imgur.com/X78h6Lt

TL;DR: Woman buys items with coupons. Then immediately returns items and demands for FULL CASH PRICE. If she doesn't get it, she then complains to the retail corporate or the manufacture who then reimburses her for full cash value price.
Topic:
Business Law

Answer: Why would the retailer care?  They're getting the value of the coupon plus eight cents.


Title: [VA] My car was rummaged through by a stranger. How easy would it be for them to take my registration to the DMV and have it changed over into their name?

Question:
I apologize for the stupid question. My car was broken into this weekend, and my registration and insurance information was in the glove box, which was also rummaged through. If a stranger had stolen that information, how easy would it be for them to take it to the DMV and change the info so the car could be in their name?

Other possibly relevant info, the car was unlocked at the time(yes, I know. Mistakes happen), so there was no forced entry. Would filing a police report be worth it? This happened in Virginia.

Answer: Damn near impossible. They would need your title, which should never be kept in your car. They would need to falsify your signature and a bill of sale, at minimum. The title wasn't in your car, right?Answer #2: If your registration was stolen you should report it to the police immediately. They can't use it to transfer the title of your car but they can use it to register stolen vehicles.  Even if it wasn't stolen, you should file a police report so you are covered in case anything happens, and they can tell you what further steps are necessary.Answer #3: Yes file a police report, especially since your registration was taken.


Title: Security Clearance

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >when would it be advisable to lie on the application?

Never. Ever. When you apply for a security clearance, you follow the 3 Ds: Disclose, Disclose, Disclose. You never lie. You never omit.

>What is the likelihood of this having legal repercussions if I am honest on my application (and polygraph if it is that extensive)

You may not get the job, but you're unlikely to be charged for disclosures on your SF-86 (unless it's child porn or something).
Answer #2: I had to fill out an SF-86. These are extensive. The FBI will show up and interview your friends/neighbors/coworkers/employer/teachers/ect. If you lie on this form and they find out, you committed a felony. Do not lie on a security clearance, ever.

Be honest about the drugs. You likely will not be charged with anything. You can, however, be denied clearance.


Title: Roommate Dealing Xanax

Question: So my roommate in college, who I am friends with, has taking to dealing Xanax (or a knockoff like it). I've told him to please stop, not do it out of our room but he won't. I can't leave, but I want to know how fucked I might be if this goes bad. I go to a private school in DC. Is there anything I can do? I'm terrified.

Answer:
 If you want to protect yourself you need to report him as soon as possible to the school office that oversees the housing as well as anyone overseeing your floor/area of the housing.  If you let it go and your roommate is taken down by the school/police you run the risk of being pulled into the same crap he'll be in regarding dealing, trafficking, laundering or whatever else they manage to nail him with.

Once felonies start happening on your home turf there are no more friends.  It's time to look out for numero uno.


Title: [Ontario, Canada] Employee's creditor calling my office seeking payroll department for wage garnishment. Employee has documentation to show debt was forgiven. What are my options to stop these calls?

Question:
The title pretty much explains it, but I'm wondering what my options are in dealing with this creditor.  They have called my office three times already this morning, and it's not even lunch.  First, they called to talk with the employee to "give her a chance" before they garnished her wages.  When she told them they were not to call her at work, they then called back and asked to speak to our HR department.  I told them we would not be getting involved, and told them to stop calling.  The third time I didn't answer.

If my understanding is correct, they would need some kind of court order to legally garnish her wages, yes?  And if she has a letter from the original debtor saying the debt was forgiven, she shouldn't have to pay this creditor?  I haven't seen the letter, but I trust my employee (and even if she's lying, I don't want them bothering her while she's working).

Is my best option just to keep hanging up on them, or is there something else I can do?

Answer: You can block their phone number. Tell the employee to work this out with them, you do not need to do anything until you receive paperwork from the crown requiring court mandated wage garnishment.


Title: (BR) I'm a freelancer trying to move to the UK. What can I use as a proof of my income?

Question: I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask, but I was oriented to save as much paper as possible to prove that I'm financially able to live in the UK. I work as a freelancer and all the payment that I receive is made through Paypal. So what kind of document/paper can I start to save now, in order to prove that I have a regular income?

Answer: You might try /r/LegalAdviceUK, but don't you have to report your income for tax purposes? Your tax records should be sufficient to show income.


Title: Was burned by hot coffee in cup with unsecured lid, then defamed by business owner across social media.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Has he said anything that is factually incorrect? More than just an opinion. Answer #2: > Again, not my style at all. I don't even do social media

He says, then proceeds to post it all to Reddit.

Joking aside, make sure everything she said was true. Otherwise, ignore them and remove yourselves from the situation.  You have no real damages except for the cost of the aloe or however you treated the burns. So, like 4 bucks?

Its seriously not worth getting involved in a social media pissing fight with the soup Nazi. Let him screw his own business over by himself. Its not really your concern, just have fun with your kid.


Title: [Tennessee] Employee ''came out'', can I legally fire him if he has only been working here 3 weeks?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 It appears that in Tennessee you can be a homophobic bigot legally.

So congratulations on that.Answer #2: Depends on your city. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is not illegal in the state of Tennessee, but is prohibited by city ordinance in some cities.

Regardless, you're a dick.


Title: Was pulled over in NC by police for stopping in a church parking lot in the middle of the night to play pokemon. Did I have to show my I'd when asked?

Answer: You were trespassing, more than enough cause to demand ID.


Title: (Hypothetical) For the game Chardee MacDennis from It's Always Sunny, who own the rights to the game?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Based on some research, I learned that board games are not subject to copyright.

No, no no no no no, you have that wrong.

Many elements of game *design* or *operation* aren't copyrightable.  You can't, generally speaking, copyright gameplay or rules.  You **can** copyright the game itself, including the artistic design, some layout elements, et cetera.

You can't make a game called "Chardee McDennis".  You can make a game similar to it - the level of "similarity" depends on the specific game and its mechanics, and how you reproduce that.


Title: (Oregon) Im not sure if my boss is harassment me or if its just locker room talk. More info and a link to all of our text in the post.

Question:
So I was hired as a delivery driver with a contractor who works exclusively with Amazon ( I do not work for amazon )

In person and over text the boss is kinda a jerk. He makes a lot of sexual jokes about me because I use to work as a dancer.

I often feel belittled in the workplace when he dose this in front of others. But I dont know if what he is doing is harassment or just locker room talk.

If you read all the text it starts off pretty boring. Most of what he said is at the end. Also If you read the text and pay attention I looks as if I transferred. I didn't. He offered me more money to stay. I did how ever take three weeks off to go to warming weather.

I put the text in a link, because I can't screen shot on my old phone. But its word for word, misspellings and all.

If it is sexual or regular harassment let me know what to do. Where do I go? Who do I tell? Any advise would be great.

[Texts between boss and I](http://txti.es/textbetweenbossandemployee)

Answer: You texted your boss a photo of a dildo and gag? It seems like the inappropriateness is going both ways.


Title: Left turn accident while other car was passing in intersection. Who is at fault?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 If she was within a lane of traffic, you are probably at fault.  If she was not within a lane of traffic, you're probably both at fault.

If the road is 2 lanes before the intersection and 3 lanes after and she was where the 3rd lane is after the intersection, it sounds like you may both be at fault.  But of course there may be additional details we don't know.


Title: Zales (jewelry store in CA) will not return my wedding ring I had re-sized. Any legal actions I can take?

Question: I dropped my wedding ring off at Zales on 12/8/14 to have it resized. They said it would be ready on 12/29/14. On 12/30/14 I called and they were not able to give me any information or contact the jewelry repair center they sent it to. I call for a week and they were not able to give me any info. I have called and spoke to the corporate line and have been lied to multiple times. I have been told it would be over-nighted twice, that it would be here by the end of the week (last week), that certain people would call me back to give me an update, and they never did. They can only email their jeweler and can give me no information on my ring. Is there anything I can do legally? From looking online I am not the only one in this situation. I have wasted so much time contacting them and am emotionally exhausted. I haven't been able to sleep because I am so upset at their poor customer service and no inkling of when I will get my ring back. Please help!

Answer:
 File a small claims action in the county where the store is located.  Make sure you look up and serve their corporate agent for service of process in CA.Answer #2: Thank you guys so much for all the help! It is good to hear I am able to do something. I am going to follow-up with small claims court.Answer #3: Have you gone to the store you dropped it off with, in person?Answer #4: Call them back one last time and tell them you'll be suing them if your ring is not returned by (pick a date).  Assurances, promises of delivery in the future, etc. will not be acceptable.

If they don't get it done, file a lawsuit in small claims.  The CA limit is $10,000, so you shouldn't have an issue there.  A company that big will start moving if they get hit with a summons.  And if not, you can get a judgment and start repo-ing jewelry.  Which seems like fun.  Answer #5: Do you have any kind of receipt?


Title: [Virginia] How do I legally catch my thieving roommate in the act of stealing?

Question:
Hey all, I was hoping for some help formulating a plan to catch my roommate stealing money from me. Someone stole almost $200 from me last week in 2 installments and I knew it must've been my roommate because the first part of it was stolen from my car while I was home and the other part was stolen straight from my dresser drawer while I was out. Only he knew about either place that the money was, but I can't definitively prove it was him without direct evidence and the landlord (his mom) doesn't have my back for similar reasons despite that he's got an extensive record and an anectodtal history through family members of stealing money. I've already given up on ever seeing my money again and know he'd never admit to it without direct proof, but now I want to bait him and catch him in the act.

Is there any legal matter stopping me from, say, hinting to him that I've got money in my room, leaving a wad of cash on my dresser, then hiding a camera pointing straight at it so as to catch him taking it? What sort of repercussions would he face if I filmed this happening? As an aside, my goal here is to continue living here, so if you could please keep comments on the topic mentioned in the title I'd really appreciate it, even though you may disagree. Thanks!

Answer:
 Put a camera in your bedroom. Keep your car locked.

If you are going to have a camera in the bedroom though, make sure anyone you are going to have sex with knows beforehand and/or turn it off.


Title: Will a drivers auto insurance policy cover a road rage assault in the state of Massachusetts?

Question: I arrived home around midnight, I live in a quiet neighborhood with little traffic and there was a truck in front of my house with the lights on, I didn't know who he was or what he was doing so I pulled up to his vehicle to find out. before I could say much he jumps out of his truck and punches my fender then comes to my window and hits me in the face numerous times before I could get my door open to get out, knocking out my front dental crowns and breaking my nose, I still feel out of it, kind of in a daze, dizzy with a headache. I have the entire incident on my dash cam mostly audio, The police came, but they were no help at all, I got his licence plate on dash cam it was a little hard to make out, but I verified it on AutoCheck's website that it belongs to that make and model truck. Would his auto insurance cover this incident? What should I do at this point?

Answer:
 Auto insurance covers damage you cause while operating the *car*. Doesn’t cover while you’re operating your *fist* especially if it’s into someone’s property/face.

As soon as he hit you it became assault. Which is a lot more serious than hitting a car.


Title: Car crash on rural road while intoxicated; attempted suicide. Lived, told police/family/friend-of-the-family-attorney it was over correction.

Question:
Bot told me to add: I'm in the deep south of the US.

I'll try to be short, sweet, and to-the-point; some things going on and I had some scotch and decided it was pointless to be drinking, or living in the first place. Paced around for a while then got in my car and took it into some trees at about 60~70 mph. Managed to completely total the car, but the only area that wasn't crushed quite enough was the area around the driver's seat, which was rather counterproductive to the whole affair. Wandered to a house to use a phone, and they promptly ran me off with a gun (deep south), and called the cops on me. They pull up, I get arrested for DUI b/c .082.

So, have been saying I simply over-corrected and got in an accident, lucky to be alive, etc. Tried something similar a little while later and learned that losing consciousness from blood loss =/= not waking up, and that my blood is very good at clotting. Given up at this point, also family responsibilities etc. Back to the point, I guess I should try and handle this a bit better if I'm going to be here a while, but have lied to all involved. Should I tell the truth? Should I just suck it up and see what the judge says? Approach attorney about it? (But then what happens with confidentiality/what might the repercussions be?) First offense, but haven't really been paying much attention to the process thus far for likely obvious reasons and am a bit out of the loop. Court date in 1-2 months.

Any thoughts?

Appreciate it.

Answer:
 Always tell the truth to your lawyer. Your lawyer will formulate the best defence, including whether or not to pass on what you told them.

In this case, there are likely mental health options your lawyer can enroll you in to both improve your mental health, but also show that you're taking steps to reduce the chances of a re-occurrence.

Just out of an abundance of caution:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255


Title: recently lost small claims case, need advice !

Question:
I recently lost a small claims case, and need advice on the best way to pay the person I lost to, and have undeniable proof that I did so, so this person can not lie and tell the court that I did not pay!
Does anyone out there have help full advice, or experience?

I am in Washington State!

Answer: Get a receipt. Pay by check, ideally - you can take a photo of the check and then get a copy of the cancelled check from your bank, once it's cashed, which will act as fairly strong proof of payment.


Title: Was the Sandra Bland arrest unlawful?

Answer:
 You're at least the third person to ask this. Yes, it was a lawful arrest. A police officer can order you out of the car for any reason, and failing to follow such an order is a crime.

E: [Previous discussion.](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3e5hn2/what_is_your_opinion_on_the_dashcam_video_from/)


Title: Guy on Grindr is trying to out me for paying for sex.

Question: So if you are a gay guy on Grindr you occasional see guys that say they are looking for a gen, or generous. I found someone on there and messaged him and hooked up and gave him money but I used Chase quick pay, stupid I know but he used this information to track me down on Facebook and said if I don't give him more money he's going to expose me. Is he committing a crime by doing this and we'll get in trouble if I don't comply?

Answer:
 He is blackmailing you, which is illegal.

And no matter how much you pay, you are just renting his silence. Answer #2: > Is he committing a crime by doing this

Yes, it's blackmail

> we'll get in trouble if I don't comply?

For him to contact the police and tell on you, he would need to admit to being a prostitute. Which he won't do, because he will also be charged.

Block and ignore. Answer #3: You will not buy his silence by paying. He will either our himself as having sex for money with you, or stay quiet.

It is blackmail to say you will out someone for X unless they pay you. Unless he is threatening to contact law enforcement; that is extortion.

The police are not going to arrest someone because someone else claims they have sex for money. I would be surprised if they care in the least, tbh. But he can not out you without doing it to himself, so that's what you should base your decision on. He wants your money, not to air your private facts. Answer #4: If he goes to the police, what evidence does he have other than a bank transaction? That's rhetorical. Even if he did, he'd be admitting to prostitution. If he didn't, then he'd have to lie to police in some fashion. Do you really think he is going to do any of that? He is a dirt bag trying to scam money out of you. Break contact.


Title: Mom and Pop dealership did not disclose MAJOR issue with Jeep before buying, AZ.

Question:
Writing this post for my father since he does not know how to internet.

PSA: I understand this is probably a mute point since it is a delarship but any help would be appreciated

About two weeks ago, my Father bought a “new” used keep Cherokee from a Mom and Pop dealership. Their main function was an auto repair shop, but sold some of the cars they worked on after the owners died (it was in Sun City, for reference).

The Cherokee was priced at $6k, it was a 2001 for door in IMPECCABLE condition. It had 90k miles which was a main reason why the price was so high. We test drove it for a decent amount of time and saw there was only some minor things that needed fixing.

We then proceeded to buy the car almost immediately after getting back. We haggled it down to about $5.6k since the back windshield wiper was not working and the switch was dead.

Before we purchased it, he went through the complete vehicle history. What he (and others) had done to it, but he was the primary mechanic for the last 10 years.

It said it had a new engine, etc. This was not a CAR FAX, so I guess a red flag.

My dad had been casually driving it now for the last two weeks (he probably put 150 miles on it).  When he noticed something was odd, so he took it to our longtime mechanic.

What he found was...terrible. The engine was filled up with gear lube (very thick oil), instead of engine oil so the car wouldn’t ‘knock’ during test drives or when running. The repairs needed is $4k minimum to fix, which is more than HALF of what we paid for this car.

So now, my dad wants to either take him to court or go there and demand his money back. What can we do in this situation? Obviously he signed a contract, but it said that the dealership owner disclosed everything with the truck and that it’s being sold “as is” (as all used car sales are).

What is the best thing to do in this situation? What are our rights? What is the next course of action?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: This is why you need to have the car inspected by your mechanic before purchasing. Especially when you are talking about a car that is 17 years old.


Title: [WA][UK] Married at 16(2008) to an English national, due to abuse and fear of death, I hid from him until ~1-2 years ago. Been trying to get a divorce but have no income and no lawyer willing to help

Question:
We were married in 2008 in Las Vegas. I was 16, he was ~25-26. Laws in the state say that the marriage was valid and legally binding. Being an English national, he had to return to his home country not long after before his visa expired.

After returning home, he began exhibiting alarming behavior that culminated to him threatening to kill me and my family. I immediately cut all contact with him in order to prevent him from finding me and speaking to me. In the past couple of years, I've allowed him to gradually speak to me again so I could try to obtain a divorce.

Thus far he has been very cooperative, and we have both come to the agreement that we want nothing from each other but our signatures on the divorce papers. He then left it to me to file them.

However, I'm disabled and am living with my family, and do not have an income. I can't afford any sort of divorce, even if it's one with no assets to split, no children, and no desire for any financial support.

I've tried all of the local resources I have, but nobody seems interested in taking my case pro-bono, including the resources that have lawyers that will work pro-bono. Because it's an international case, nobody seems to want to touch it. I've since left it in the care of my husband to file, but he bemoans doing it because he says he'll have to sell some of his belongings to afford filing the paperwork (I don't know if this is true in England).

Honestly, my only hope for getting my legal freedom back is in finding a lawyer that will help me pro-bono. My disabilities include a severe panic disorder, so trying to juggle all the stress in handling a divorce myself can cause me some severe physical and psychological distress.

I want out, and I don't trust my husband to manage to do the job. He also wants the divorce, but I'm still posting in this subreddit in case there is some secret cure to all of this. I'm praying that there may be some superhero lawyer that will swoop in out of the sky and help me, because I just can't take living like this anymore. I can't even apply for good disability benefits because I'm married.

Can anyone out there help me? I'm at my wits end

Answer:
 So the research and file on your own. There is likely a waiver for filing fees. Fill out the forms and turn everything in. Google around for your country and divorce.

He can sign everything and mail it back to youAnswer #2: Your parents went to Las Vegas to sign off on your marriage and did nothing to help end it when he made death threats?


Title: Possible medical malpractice--any options? (Maryland)

Question:
Hi all,

I've encountered a very stressful and traumatic situation with an oral surgeon group practice in the Maryland Montgomery County area.

My consultation took place on July 29 for wisdom teeth extraction, and I received an out-of-pocket estimate of $513.00. I saved to pay this amount up-front until the day before my surgery, yesterday, when I received a pre-op prep call from the oral surgeon's office telling me my estimate was $563. I immediately grew suspicious because of the sudden increase, and looked into it for myself. I was told by my dental insurance provider, Metlife, that I may request the surgeon's office to send in a pre-authorization that would be completed and sent back in minutes, or that I could obtain the codes necessary for the extraction. The office refused to send in pre-authorization of any kind, but did give me five codes so I could get the costs directly from my insurance.

I triple checked with my dental insurance provider, and my out-of-pocket cost should have been $331.80 when all was said and done. I was being overcharged $231.20. The costs were for all four wisdom teeth to be extracted, IV sedation, therapeutic drug, and infection control.

After putting up a fight throughout the entire day with the office, someone finally told me that this amount was acceptable. I was prepared to go in the next morning.

I was given an IV and I never became sedated. At no point did the surgeon ask if I wanted to go through with the extraction being awake. They removed only one tooth and I went into complete shock to the point of sobbing. I was told that it was all done, but they had only taken out one tooth. I had to wait for the surgeon to come back in and explain.

Because of my reaction to the situation, he said he was unable to continue the extraction, and that because the anesthesia was not strong enough to put me to sleep, I would have to get the other three removed at a later time. Considering I have taken time off from work and that I start school again next week, this certainly isn't an option anytime soon.

I am now being charged full price for the first round of anesthesia, in addition to the 20% out-of-pocket costs for the extraction and "therapeutic drug." My insurance does not pay for anesthesia if there is only one tooth being removed. I had no options in the matter. The total cost of getting one tooth removed is now GREATER than the total cost of getting all four removed. I have been told I will have to pay $463.00. To me, this is unacceptable.

I am not hurt nor dead (yet), and so I am unsure if this could actually be considered a malpractice. I would love some input, insight, particularly legal advice, or confirmation that I may have an actual case.

Thanks so much everyone.

Edit: I forgot to mention during my initial consultation that the surgeon said I have an option of going to the hospital or getting it done in the office. In the event that the sedation did not occur (he said this probably won't happen) that I would have to go to the hospital to perform the extraction.
Topic:
Medicine and Malpractice

Answer:
 It's possible malpractice occurred.  Maybe the doctor used the wrong amount of anesthesia or wrong formulation.  However, no medical malpractice lawyer is going to be interested.  MedMal cases, at least in California, costs tens of thousands of dollars in expert fees and other costs and no one is going to advance that kind of money on your minimal injury.  I don't mean to trivialize what happened to you; you are understandably outraged.  I'm just trying to explain that because of the time and expense, medical malpractice claims tend to be those resulting in a permanent injury or effecting your ability to earn a living.
Ask them to waive the fee.  Ask your dental insurance to fight for you.  Report your dentist to the Maryland Dental Board and they can investigate.  You have options.  Just not really suing for MedMal.Answer #2: Malpractice is very case-specific, you want to talk to a lawyerAnswer #3: Are you sure they intended for you to be entirely put under? General anesthesia is also common for wisdom teeth removal, but it does not require full sedation, often they just give you certain drugs to relax you (conscious sedation). Anyway, medical malpractice is very fact-specific, so you would probably need to talk to an attorney for any definite answers. But I honestly doubt it's worth your time, since damages would be so minimal even if you had a case.

I would suggest talking to your insurance though, see if you can get down to the original cost. It seems particularly bad faith for them not to cover anesthesia given you originally went in to get all of your wisdom teeth removed. If they won't help you out, another possibility is [filing a complaint with the Maryland Insurance Administration](http://www.mdinsurance.state.md.us/sa/consumer/file-a-complaint.html).