Title: My landlord's dog just ripped up the rent money and he tried to hold me responsible for it.

Question:
So for the past year I've been placing the rent money on a table under a hammer to hold it in place. But today his dogs had a little extra energy and found some way to get about $80 on the floor to tear it up.

I text him about the rent but he waited about 45 minutes to actually pick it up. I have text messages in between the time I placed the money to the time I texted him about the dogs ripping it up.

But in between his dogs and me placing the money I did knock and ring the bell and waited about 2 minutes before I went back inside. Twice

My question is am I really responsible for his dogs messing up the money even though we have been doing this type of exchange for over a year?

Answer:
 Do you still have all the pieces? You can possibly go to a bank to exchange the bills depending on their state.Answer #2: Take the destroyed money to a bank and have them exchange it for whole bills.  As long as a majority of the bills can be pieced together, it is that simple.Answer #3: While it doesn't help in this situation, if you're going to pay in cash (which you probably shouldn't), get a receipt immediately.

Placing the rent money under a hammer probably isn't the best solution.


Title: The Covenant Of Quiet Enjoyment Under California Law-what can I do

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 They are not harassing you. They talked to you once.

And that isnt what that covenant means. That is between you and the LL. Not other tenants.

It doesnt sound like they are making abnormal noise. But you can complain to your LL about it and see what they think.


Title: What to do if I’m being sexually harassed and inappropriately touched by a child...

Question:
Hi. I never thought I would experience this, but I am preparing to quit my job because of a child that I work one on one with. While on the job, this child screams out inappropriate language, makes sexual comments towards me, and has purposely grabbed me in my private areas on numerous occasions.

I have told my supervisor, the parents, and even reported the issue to the county. No one is doing anything about it. I’ve just been blown  off numerous times. Because I am an adult, I can’t really find much information on what to do. The behavior is sickening and I am sick of being told to ignore a child engaging in such behavior and doing it to me.

Could someone give me advice? Should I file a complaint against my job for ignoring it? This is my first real job out of college, so I don’t really know what to do. Because of confidentiality reasons, I’m just trying to keep this as basic as possible, but I’m kind of at a loss.

Answer:
 NAL, but some experience with the school system. The problem is, if you are a one on one aide to this child, you probably will have to leave this position. No outside force is going to be able to immediately modify the child’s actions. The only way to fully protect you from abuse is to remove you from the charge of this child.

We ran into this problem several times. As others may have stated, special ed teachers and aides put up with a myriad of abuse. I wish I knew of a solution, other than you leaving this particular student. Sorry you got such a difficult child with your first case.


Title: "Right to Quiet Enjoyment" in a California Hotel

Question: I am wondering if the "Right to Quiet Enjoyment" is only for landlord/tenant agreements or if this also expands to staying in a Hotel/Motel, and if so, what the guest's rights are regarding staying in a Hotel/Motel?

Answer: I don’t think the term means what you think it means if you are referring to a hotel. Unless you actually have someone trying to remove you from the hotel with their claim to the room.


Title: [MA] University Email Account Privacy Question

Question:
I have an email account provided by my university that I use heavily as my primary address. It's an @schoolname.edu address. The other day a friend mentioned that I shouldn't use that account for anything because the school can look through my emails at any time since the account is hosted on their servers. Is he correct, can the school search my emails at any time? Are there any protections to the private information in email, or does the school have free reign since they run the account? Thanks!
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: There should be a privacy policy governing that account. Look for a link to it on either the mail page or the sign-in page for the webmail client.


Title: [Maine] Just signed a lease with a friend at the beginning of the month and he is already calling it quits and moving back with his parents. I can’t afford rent without him or another roommate. How accountable can I hold him until I can replace him?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 It will depend on the exact language of your lease, but more than likely you and your (ex) roommate are jointly and severally liable for the rent.

Essentially, you will need to pay his share of the rent until a replacement can be found to take over his portion of the lease.

You can sue him in small claims court to recoup your losses.

Talking to your landlord would be a good start, they should be informed of the situation.Answer #2: > Is there any way I can legally make him follow through with his financial obligation he made to this place, even if he chooses to live else where of his own volition?

If his name is on the lease, you can sue him for his half of the rent, yes.  Once you find a replacement roommate, that caps your damages at whatever amounts you're currently owed.  That's assuming he has the money in the first place.  I'd get to work on finding a suitable replacement ASAP.  And make sure you don't need landlord approval for a new tenant/subleaser


Title: How do they expect you to succeed when they set you up to fail?

Question:
I don't know what to do here. I'm in a custody battle over my children. Their dad threw a lot of false accusations my way, including that I'm on drugs, that I live in a roach-infested house (yet I'm also homeless supposedly), and many other things. The court required me to get a job, move into my own house, and take a drug test.

I got a job.

I moved into my own house, told my case worker my address, and they NEVER did a home visitation to inspect my house, which is something I have been required to have done before my court appearance. I've called, left messages, they have not shown up. Court is TODAY.

They never told me where to go to get a drug test, never told me how many times I'd have to do it. Again, court is TODAY.

I have a court appointed lawyer. I've left MULTIPLE messages with this lawyer, and he has not spoken to me even ONCE. I'm being represented by a person who's never spoken to me.

I just want to know if there's anything else I can do here? Can I ask for an extension on the case? How am I supposed to win custody when the lawyer and the court and CPS are all not doing their jobs? I feel like they're setting me up to fail.

Answer:
 Continue to try to contact both the attorney and CPS.

Show up at the hearing, bring as much proof as you can scrape together that you've done what they've asked to the best of your ability, and that you've tried to do the rest. Bring pay stubs as proof of job and a copy of your lease/rent agreement. If you can bring proof of your phone calls to the attorney and to CPS, do that. When the hearing begins, request a continuance from the judge and explain the circumstances, presenting your proof. If you've shown up and your court-appointed attorney fails to show, the judge will likely be sympathetic. If the attorney does show, the attorney can request a continuance on your behalf.


Title: Gas station employees threatened me with physical violence, screamed racist slurs, and lied on the police report regarding a fender-bender involving my car on their premises. One of them recorded their own threats and posted the video online; I have a copy of the video, should I sue?

Question:
Washington State, Downtown Seattle.

Gas station employees intervened in a minor fender-bender involving my car on their premises.

I was clearly not at fault -I wasn't in my car, I was inside the store and watched the impact happen while waiting in line to pay. I saw the driver at the pump in front of me reverse their car into mine instead of driving forward.

I immediately went outside and I asked the driver of the vehicle that hit mine to exchange L&I info with me in case we'd need it, because I could clearly see the imprint of my license plate on her rear bumper. She just kept repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please forgive me, please forgive me". I said, "Calm down let's just exchange insurance information in case we need it."

The gas station employees then came outside and began threatening me with physical violence and screaming racist slurs. They were the same ethnicity of the driver. They continued to scream racist remarks and threats to "kick my fucking ass" because I patiently insisted on exchanging insurance information with the woman, but they interjected themselves and tried to prevent me from speaking with her.

Next, an employee from a business across the street ran over to us through traffic to jump in on the excitement. He was the same ethnicity as well, and the intensity of their threats continued to escalate.

I was forced to call the police out of fear for my safety, the dispatch call recorded their threats as well and dispatch asked me to stay on the line with them due to the severity of the threats.

The gas station employees eventually provided false information on the police report that contradicts their own security footage. First they said that she didn't hit my car, so I showed the officer the paint transfer on my license plate/bumper. He separates the driver from the rabid crowd and tells them to go inside.

[Time-line info: this specific recording starts here]
The gas station's security guard posted a video of the altercation online. It's an 8-minute long "selfie" style video of themselves walking in and out of the front door while screaming racist slurs at me, and screaming at me to kill myself, then once inside the security guard makes a statement about finding me after work to physically harm me, and clearly captures their conversation plotting what to say to the police for the police report.
[Timeline info: This specific recording stops here]

I have downloaded and backed up a copy of the video. It is so extremely offensive, shocking, hateful, disturbing and upsetting that I genuinely have a hard time watching it.

A second officer has arrived at this point and I reiterated my statement of the events that happened, then provided my L&I.

The first officer returned to me and stated that their story has changed and that they all agree *that I hit her*. Holy fuck, I was going to let it all go but that was the point of no return for me.

I was told that I could obtain her insurance information by requesting a copy of the police report and that I could go to court over this if I wanted but "the damage wasn't significant and it would be 5 against one"

The ordeal lasted an entire hour and much of it is captured on police body cameras.

It is the only gas station directly on my commute but now I do not feel safe going back there. There are other gas stations nearby but they are in inconvenient locations for me and I shouldn't have to feel afraid to go into a gas station.

I Have:
The police report.

Filed requests for copies of the body camera footage.

Filed a complaint with the corporate office of the gas station.

Spoke to the store manager who (was extremely apologetic at first but stated that he couldn't believe his employees would act that way). So I've..

Spoken to the District Manager.

Contacted the manager from the business across the street and set an appointment to meet with him and share the video of his employee, to pass along to the owner.

Spoken to a co-owner of the security business that the gas station uses. He was skeptical if I was telling the truth so I shared a sound bite of the recording and he said, "oh my god" and scheduled a conference call between him, the other co-owner (who's calling internationally since they're overseas) and myself.

Should I stop contacting these businesses myself and seek representation then hand off everything I have to an attorney?

Answer:
 In terms of the car accident you should file an insurance claim, that would be easier than going to court.

Any inappropriate behaviour or words from the employee is not something you win lawsuits over.


Title: [Illinios] Wife was kicked out of a gas station while taking shelter from a heavy thunderstorm during a tornado watch.

Question:
About a week ago we had huge thunderstorm that actually produced a tornado (don't believe the tornado itself did any damage). My wife got off work just before it started and got caught in it on her way home. She pulled off the interstate to take cover in a gas station.

Eventually, the employees took cover in an employees section and told the 4 or 5 people there (including my wife) that they had to leave because they didn't want to leave the cash register unattended. My wife was forced to drive home and eventually accidentally drove into a flooded intersection near our home. The car is ruined, and my wife came in sobbing about the whole ordeal.

She is thinking about talking to an attorney, is there anything that could come of it or is she out of luck?

Answer:
 She has no right to remain on private property. She is out of luck.Answer #2: She's out of luck unfortunately. Answer #3: Not legal advice, because that's been covered pretty well by other commenters, but I think it would be worth it to discuss training with the gas station management. Sure, they were in their rights, but that was a really bad business move.

Clearly, the employees *should* have taken their patrons into the back area with them, like every even halfway decent business does in these situations. Gas stations, in particular, are known for offering shelter, so it was not unreasonable for her to expect it. Not legally, of course, but as a matter of humanity and good business.

If anyone else should ever find themselves in an unfortunate situation such as this, you have to weigh the consequences of possible trespassing charges against possible death. Personally, I find it highly unlikely that you could find a cop who wants to ticket, a prosecutor who wants to pursue the charges, or a business that is willing to take on the immense amount of negative publicity of kicking people out during a tornado warning. If the employees were scared enough to go into the back, then they can't very well argue there was no danger to her outside.

For your personal framing, I would highlight that you are both lucky that your wife made it home safely. It's not just the tornado warning, but she was also in danger of becoming a flash flood victim. As someone who has lost friends to a tornado, the car definitely sucks, but it's most important that she is safe.


Title: My Canadian bank took $1,000 without my permission! What are my options?

Question: I had a credit card debt of $1,000 since two years which I was unable to pay. The card was written off( went to the collection agency) and yesterday I deposited $3000 to my savings account and today I came to know that the bank stashed $1,000 without my authorization! What are my options? Can they do this? I'm very depressed, please advice.

Answer:
 Umm being sent to collections is quite literally the exact opposite of being written off. They sent it to enforcement.

>Can they do this?

Very likely. You owe them money what exactly did you think would happen?


Title: Just found out that I have been getting scammed by a major dentistry.

Question:
First time posting here so excuse me for anything I miss.

Just recently I was able to upgrade my insurance to one that allows me to see a private and personable dentist. My second visit with her was yesterday and she confirmed something I have been thinking for awhile now.

When from the ages 15 to present(21) every time I went to the dentist they would tell me I had and obscene number of cavities. Of course my parents would be upset, even though I would tell them I had no pain and felt like I didn’t actually have cavities (just off of intuition). But to no surprise I don’t have doctorate and neither do my parents so of course we listened.

Fast forward to my most current visit my new dentist explained to me in a sorrowful way that it seems that I have a bunch of cavities that I may have never needed. I’m sure the dentists out there could explain how she would know this better than I can.

My question is if there is anything I can do for my situation or did I basically get scammed and that’s the end of it.

Topic:
Medicine and Malpractice

Answer:
 Any past records of x-rays, which the old office should still have, will show cavities in between your teeth.  Some cavities may have only been visible in your mouth if they were smaller fills and not in between your teeth.  I doubt that another dentist would say all those cavities are made up without any kind of evidence, evidence being examining each set of x-rays taken each year from that time.  If they really are saying that without proof, I would leave and go to a different office as that is unprofessional.

And a side note- I've seen people get decay under the same fillings within six months if their home care and hygiene is awful.  If you're not actively flossing the correct way every night and brushing 2-3 times a day all the surfaces of all your teeth, this is something that can easily happen.


Title: The case of Leo Frank

Question:
http://theamericanmercury.org/2013/04/100-reasons-proving-leo-frank-is-guilty/
Is this correct?

Answer:
 No one here is going to be able to tell you whether or not Leo Frank (whoever he was) actually was guilty of the murder or deserved commutation. Nor will we be able to tell you whether any or some of the people who sought to undo his sentence were acting in bad faith, or employed some kind of fraud to secure his relief.  (maybe you'd be better of asking in /r/history or /r/askhistorians?). This isn't really a legal advice issue, it's a question of fact shrouded in 100 years of past and an obviously still relevant ethnic divide.

However, if you have specific questions about the legal relevance of certain specific points, someone here might be able to help you out.

But, I will say, given the focus of a sizeable number of the comments on that article, that this forum or most any forum should be able to say that the commutation wasn't a part of some grand Jewish conspiracy that intended---to paraphrase one commenter---to make the world safe for Jewish child murderers.


Title: Sexual orientation slur at work

Question:
I am a 22 year old full time trans woman.  I was at work last Friday relieving one of my managers. She mentioned she was going to be getting her tattoo finished so I showed her my new ones.  She replied to each of them with the same vulgar use of gay in an unpleasant tone of voice.  I reported it to my store manager and she said that because it was on company time and the manager denied she wouldn't get in any trouble (heard via my closest manager friend at work).

So my question is should I pursue this further as in taking it to hr, or seek out a lawyer?
I forgot to add the location.  Virginia, USA.

Answer:
 Report it to HR and let them take care of it. That is part of their job.

However, neither gender identity nor sexual orientation is a protected class in Virginia so you do not have the same rights as somebody who was being harassed because they were black, jewish, etc.  A slur towards a transgendered person in a Virginia workplace is, legally speaking, no different than making fun of the car they drive or the music they listen to.

Hopefully though HR can stop this right away.


Title: (CA) Mom's ex-husband ($250k/yr income) wants to collect child support from my mom ($50k/yr income)

Question:
My mother makes about $50k/yr being a high school teacher while her ex-husband was making $250k/yr as a scientist and he retired a few years ago.

After the divorce, ex-husband decided to live off of his savings and deferring on taking the pension/401k payments until he's 71. He probably did it so that my mom could not collect child support from him. After the divorce, my mom had joint custody for the two children with her $50k income in Los Angeles area, and she's nearly broke.

Last week the ex-husband turned around and threatened collect child support from my mom, because technically my mom has higher income than him. My mom is devastated, she can't afford to pay child support to a man who's 10 times richer than her. Dear reddit, can he sue her for child support?

Answer:
 That’s not how it usually works. The courts go by what income he has the ability to have, not what he does to screw the other person. She should consult with a lawyer to find out how it works in California.

Did she have a lawyer for her divorce?


Title: [California] My mom started working, and they took $600 from her as a "deposit."

Question:
Sigh, without me knowing...

3 weeks ago, my mom was required to pay a $600 deposit to start working at this beauty care center. She was promised that after 1 month of working unpaid -- she will be hired after learning how to do their work (which was eyelash extensions, facial care, waxing). After 3 months of working there, they will return her $600 deposit back. None of this was written down, signed in paperwork, at all. So for the past 3 weeks, my mom has been "working" there from M - S 10 am - 6/7 pm without pay.

Is this legal...? What can we do about to get her $600 back? Please give me guidance.

Answer:
 Not legal advice, **but** very relevant: The NYTimes did a major expose last year about widespread abuse which is prevalent among beauty salons, with widespread illegal activity like indentured servitude, "internships" (no pay until you become "good enough"), and even taking cash for jobs.

The original expose is [**here**](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/nyregion/at-nail-salons-in-nyc-manicurists-are-underpaid-and-unprotected.html), but it got [**tons**](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/01/nyregion/nail-salon-sweeps-in-new-york-reveal-abuses-and-regulatory-challenges.html) [**of**](http://www.cjr.org/investigation/new_york_times_nail_salon_investigation.php) [**attention**](http://jezebel.com/heres-why-hundreds-of-nail-salon-owners-are-protesting-1734981531) [**at**](http://ny.racked.com/2016/2/29/11134786/nail-salons-nyc-ethical-payment) the time because it was so prevalent. And it sounds almost exactly what you are describing.


Title: Pain & Suffering Low ball

Question: I was the passenger in a car that was involved in a violent head on collision with another vehicle. -Permanent scar over eye -Missed entire week of school which caused a lost of attendance points -Knee pain -Side stitch, spleen/ribcage pain from seatbelt constraint -Glass left in eye eventually removed.  The insurance company is saying since I was a guest passenger involved in an accident with the driver that caused the accident I can only receive up to his coverage limit in pain and suffering. Basically, $10,000 (coverage) - $8000 (medical bills) = $2,000 in compensation. Is this correct?

Answer: They will cover up to his policy limit, you can sue him beyond that. All of your bills were covered and $2,000 for pain and suffering seems pretty reasonable to me


Title: My sister is being made to do tasks outside her required position. Does she have a legal standing?

Question:
Hey everyone, my younger sister works at McDonald's. Today she called me crying saying they made her go outside and weed the flower bed. It was in the upper 80's and extremely humid all day.

Now she's saying she feels sick and they're making her do the rest tomorrow. As far as I'm aware McDonald's has that little clause under job description "and any other duties assigned". So does she have a legal standing to say no?

She's 26 and has a learning disability which leads to many jobs taking advantage of her. I don't know what to tell her, and they require the all black outfit/long pants and aren't giving her any other breaks beyond the one unpaid half hour.

Answer: It's not illegal to make an employee weed a flower bed in summer weather.


Title: (Philadelphia, PA) Legal ways to have abandoned cars removed from my street?

Question:
So, long story short, parking around my apartment building is a nightmare. Making matters worse is the fact that there are (at *least*) 2 vehicles on my block that I know for a fact have not moved in *months* and yet are just sitting there, taking up a perfectly good parking space that *could* be getting used by a car that, yknow... actually gets driven.

Im hoping there might be some way I can have the cars towed and/or impounded by the city. Or a private company. Or anyone, really, I just want these cars gone to free up the spaces.

Does anyone know if there is a way to legally have abandoned vehicles removed from a public street?

One has been parked right on the corner since at LEAST October. It could be longer, but that was the first time that I really took notice and was like "huh... this same van hasnt moved at ALL in a while.) In addition, it doesnt even have a license plate; instead, it has a paper temporary plate, which expired long, long ago. Theres a parking ticket thats been sitting on the windshield for several months.

The other one has been in the exact same spot since I moved in... last summer. It has a tarp covering it and I have never once seen the thing move or anyone working on it or anything. Theres a 90% chance it doesnt have a valid registration or plates or anything on it, either.

Since these cars havent moved in many months, would they be considered abandoned? Either way, is there a way to have them removed? (preferably at the cost of whoever is the registered owner. I dont really have any money to spare to pay for removal myself, even if theres a legal way I can do it at my expense.)

Answer: Call the city, ask how long a car can be parked on the street without moving spaces (many cities it's like 3 days). Ask that they send a meter maid around to ticket the parked cars. The first step is usually a ticket, then the city will come by and tow the cars.Answer #2: [This](http://www.phila.gov/311/form/pages/default.aspx) is an online portal to your cities website where you can report this.


Title: [ US - HI ] (Landlord) Tenant abandoned all car documents and keys in my house but left his car on the street. What can I do with the car?

Question:
[US - HI ] I have sent him a 15 day abandoned property notice and have been trying to contact him every couple days.  I have accounted for most of the property, but I don't know what to do with his car.  Also, I did not include the car in the abandoned property notice.  If he doesn't pick up his property, should I just throw away the documents and keys or...?

Thank you!

Answer: The car problem will solve itself shortly when it gets towed to an impound yard. As for the rest you should follow your states guidelines on tenants abandoning property.


Title: When exiting a store, if asked, do I legally have to show the contents of my bag to the person standing at the door? Or can I politely refuse and keep walking? Australia, NSW

Answer:
 You do not have to show them anything, including inside your bag. You don't even have to refuse politely - you can just ignore them.

If however, they find you committing an offence - usually theft in this situation - they can use reasonable force to detain you until police arrive. This would usually require them to continually observe you through the process of taking an item, secreting it, and leaving the store without paying.

Even if they do this, they can't search your bags. Police have to do that.

They do have the right to refuse you future entry to the store, though. So don't regularly do it to your favourite store or you may not be allowed to go back. Answer #2: Is it a store with a membership?  If there is a membership, and you signed an agreement, a condition of your membership might be checking receipts or bags.  This is true at the US store Costco.  Not sure about Australia. Just a heads up re: that "wrinkle".Answer #3: http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ftw/Consumers/Buying_goods/Bag_check_guidelines.page


Title: [AZ]: Fired from my job today for stealing--never stole

Question:
I arrived to work today (some food stand place) and wasn't able to clock in. I called my boss and he said that he'd talk to me later. I found out I was being fired along with someone else and they didn't tell us why at first. We heard from our friends still there that it was because we were stealing (don't know if they meant registers or products, mgmt won't elaborate). While working there, if anyone was let go, mgmt always told us they were stealing and that's why.

I have not stolen anything. The only thing I think that might count is I would make something for myself, but we were allowed to 1x/day and I never went beyond that first time. Manager said he'll be looking at the security cameras and won't hesitate to press charges if he finds something.

I guess, what should I do next?

Answer: You should file for unemployment.Answer #2: You can be fired for any reason (besides being a member of a protected class) at any time. You should file for unemployment.


Title: Hertz is blaming me for damage to a rental car that I'm not responsible for.

Question:
I rented a car in Italy for a week from Hertz.  Upon returning it, the employee noticed a scraped wheel rim (probably from hitting a curb) and said that it was damage I would have to pay for.   I'm 100% sure I didn't cause this damage--  the employee simply failed to notice it when he originally gave me the car.  (I didn't see the scrape when picking up the car either, but I was looking at the paint, and didn't know or expect that anyone would ever look at the wheels.)

Anyway after arguing with him, I refused to sign the condition report (diagramming scratches, etc.) because I didn't want to take responsibility for damage I didn't do.  This report is what I signed at pick-up, but I refused to sign it again at turn-in.  Can Hertz simply charge whatever they want on my credit card now?

--
Other notes:

* I never bought the extra insurance that Hertz offered.
* When I got the car, I came from the Hertz office a few blocks away with my paperwork and then waited 25 minutes at the lot for the employee to show up.  By the time he arrived there were a lot of people waiting.  He gave me the car in a hurry.   Additionally, the previous renter's water and rental paperwork was still in the car when I received it-- Hertz had never taken it out or cleaned the car for me.  These two things add to my confidence that he missed seeing the scratch at pick-up.
* Since I refused to sign the condition report, the employee refused to give me a copy of it.

Can Hertz simply charge whatever they want on my credit card now?  How can I prevent or fight any charges?

Answer:
 sorry, you're responsible.

you should have done an inspection when you rented the car, and you should have refused to accept the car without such an inspection. the fact that you didn't means that you accepted the car as-is, and it is presumed to not have scratches or dings on it.

any scratches or dings that appear at the drop-off inspection that aren't documented in the pickup inspection ... are your fault.

if you don't believe me, read the rental contract you sign. it says so.

> Can Hertz simply charge whatever they want on my credit card now?

they can charge you the cost to repair it.


Title: The IRS is gonna seize my family's property unless I pay my deceased father's back taxes.

Question:
Hey All,

**TLDR: Dad's ex-wife stole a bunch of money from grandmother. Dad went into IRS debt to pay back mother. Dad dies leaving 26k in back taxes. IRS wants family property now.**

I'm at a loss on what my next step is, so any help is greatly appreciated. My father's ex-wife stole 60k, in the form of cashed checks, around 10 yrs ago from my grandmother when he had power of attorney for her family trust. So to pay back my grandmother, my father pulled everything out of his pension early and took a massive tax hit on the money. He was making payments on the money until he died last October.

My grandfather purchased some 14 acres in the [high desert of New Mexico](http://postimg.org/image/q4nv3ochv/) in the early 80's, and my father started building on it 20 yrs ago. Since he went into debt he [stopped building](http://imgur.com/12LzoQ8). I would like to finish what he started and keep the property in the family.

Now he made his money in California but the property is in New Mexico (and he lived in Australia at the time of death) which means he owes CA state taxes as well as federal taxes. In total, he owes over 26k and the IRS keeps sending letters addressed to him (I changed his address to my house). The latest letter said they intend to seize the land on or after Aug 2, 2015. I have sent them letters informing them of his death and have heard nothing back. Calling them is equally futile.

I am a full time student working part time (22k/yr) with about 5k in savings, 20k in an IRA, and 20k left on a car loan. I think my options are:

1. Take out another loan to pay off the IRS, but I'm wary of going so far in debt
2. Debt consolidation companies. (Do those work?)
3. Ask the internet for help, which brings us to the here and now.

So does anybody have any ideas or suggestions? ~~I'm on the phone now with IRS trying to get an extension on that Aug 2nd date.~~ Just got off the phone and they said they cannot file an extension because I am not on his account. I need to fill out and send in form 56, which will probably take 30 days to officially be recognized, after which I'll be able to try and resolve this issue.

I apologize if this isn't the right sub, but I appreciate any help on the matter.

Answer:
 Are you the executor of your dad's estate? Has his estate been probated? That's where this debt lies. Your dad's estate may need to be liquidated to pay this debt, and it may be best for you to do so. You shouldn't be doing anything with IRS unless you are the executor. In no way should you take out a loan to pay off the debt. Answer #2: Your title is wrong.

The irs is going to take your family property unless your dads estate pays the back taxes.

Whether you personally pay them isn't the issue. Answer #3: > So does anybody have any ideas or suggestions?

Hire a lawyer with experience litigating estate and tax issues. This is way too complicated for you to be dealing with by yourself.


Title: [AR] MIL filed for divorce, FIL told that he had to leave the house.

Question:
My MIL is an idiot. Let's get that out of the way. She married a sugar daddy, quit her job, and is now addicted to gambling. FIL (wife's step dad) isn't exactly a great guy either. They met through a workplace affair. Anyway, FIL cut off MIL's allowance because he found out she was losing it all at the casino. He got her to go to therapy, but she told the therapist that she goes to the casino "once or twice a month" because it's the only way she knows how to be social. She went 4-5 times a week at her peak, and she pawned her wedding band when she got cut off. Anyway, somehow she managed to pay a lawyer and file for divorce.

This is all heard through the grapevine, but supposedly a process server showed up at their house, served FIL, and he was removed from the house. He's staying in a hotel now. Is this normal at all? MIL is claiming "mental abuse" but in reality she just wants a share of the money that she has done literally nothing to earn. She had a fantastic job but quit and refuses to look for a new one. She's one of those "everyone is out to get me" kind of people.

So two questions - FIL is the only one on the deed to their house. Is forcing him to leave not an illegal eviction?

Also, MIL has a BMW convertible and no income. I assume it's only her name on the loan - can FIL quit paying?

Answer:
 FIL should consult a lawyer. He should not do anything to contradict a court order.  including not paying for the house until he knows he has not been court ordered to continue doing so.

It's possible to get a court order to have the owner/spouse removed from a home they own.  I have no ideal whether she has to lie to get that order.

This isn't landlord tenant law.  It's family law.


Title: Is this part of the FTC “if you didn’t order it it’s still yours” thing?

Question:
Ordered a 128gb iPad
Received a 32gb iPad from the retailer.

The packing slip says 128gb iPad and none of the codes match from the packing slip to the item.

Is this part of that “if you are sent unordered merchandise you are entitled to keep it” and still have the retailer send you what you ordered?

Answer: That's not unordered merchandise that's a shipping error.  You need to return or they can make you pay for it. You certainly don't get a free ipad.


Title: Looking at an apartment complex to lease from. The office says you must use their proprietary cable and internet. Other providers are not allowed to hook up cable/internet. There is nothing about it in the lease, however. Is it legal for them to do this?

Answer:
 They can deny other companies from running cables through their property, and can also prohibit satellite dishes

Best you could do is join a Wi-Fi mesh network and have an antenna inside your window or leaning on the inside of your porch so you'd have line of sight to another node in the mesh. This setup cuts out the middleman because each node is also the infrastructure


Title: [Canada] Wife smashed my custom built computer

Question:
My wife is upset that i keep my computer on 24/7 cause I play MMO and I leave my characters online. She is upset that our electricity bill is 20$ more a month at most due to this.

Can I report her to the police or is it considered her property too since we are married? I custom built the computer in 2017 and it is worth around $3,000. I probabbly file for divorse after this but any chance the police will take action against her?

I have facebook messages of her telling me she is going to do it.

Answer:
 There's no point in suing her over it right now. She can pay the resulting judgement out of marital assets - you'd effectively be paying yourself.

If you file for divorce, you can seek to have the marital assets adjusted in your favour on the basis that she destroyed marital property without good reason, and that you should be compensated for the loss out of her share. Getting an additional $1,500 out of the marital funds generally won't be that important in the grand scheme of things: your divorce is going to cost you more than that anyways.

You can file a police report. This may be domestic violence. However, unless she attacked _you_ at the time, it's not likely to go anywhere.


Title: I was fired today from my part time job in california because i did not go to work. They updated my schedule last night and did not notify me. They wanted me to come earlier.

Question: I did not know i was supposed to go in earlier. So i ended up showing up 7 hours late accordinf to them. Is there anything i can do?

Answer:
 Find a new job. Collect unemployment if you're eligible.

They can fire you for this reason. They can fire you for wearing black shoes with tan slacks. They can fire you because the voices in their heads tell them to do so.Answer #2: You should file for unemployment and start looking for a new job. If they don't accept your explanation of the situation, you're SOL.Answer #3: Ive heard of so many people getting fired over a schedule change and not being notified.


Title: Employer writes check to employee for too much money. Wants employee to pay them back.

Question:
Title is oversimplifying but you may find this interesting and I'm just curious where we stand legally within this situation...

My wife is currently in a continuing education program that has been funded, in part, by a federal grant to the her place of business (company employs >2K people). She has a student loan. The employer will intermittently write her checks which she uses to pay the loan. Most recently she was given a check for >$3K. She paid the loan and several months later was notified by the human resources department that the employer overpaid her and she now needs to pay them back.

The mistake was made by a secretary in HR and signed off by the Director of HR. They now want to offer us a series of options with payment plans so we can pay them back the >$3K. I want to work with them but I also want to know how far I should be willing to go. This was not our mistake.

Thoughts?

Also, we are in Massachusetts if that matters.

Answer:
 > They now want to offer us a series of options with payment plans so we can pay them back the >$3K

That sounds very fair.

You have a right to get a good accounting of the money so you can assure yourself that you were, indeed, overpaid.  If you were then you should agree to the payment plan and pay them back.  Just because the employer made a mistake doesn't mean you are entitled to keep the money.Answer #2: Pay them back.  If you accidentally overpaid someone would you want it back?  Of course.

It's their money.  You owe it to them.Answer #3: > This was not our mistake.

Well, spending the excess money was your mistake.

This question comes up a couple of times a month here.  You have to pay the money back.


Title: [CA] Experiencing discrimination at work because of my sexual orientation. What are legal courses I can undertake to make it stop?

Question: First things first. I work as a contractor at this company. So a recruiting agency is my employer, but the discrimination is taking place at this company. Now, I haven't really talked about my sexuality with my coworkers because one, it's not the first thing I talk about. Two, they're older, uneducated, and conservative so I know I'd be wasting my time talking to them about my love/sex life. But over time, they've figured out that I am gay and keep making derogatory remarks and inside jokes that they think are funny. Not directly to me, but I can hear them. While it's not affecting my work performance, I'm getting really tired of it. And because of that, I'm seeking legal advice on how to best deal with the situation. What are my options?

Answer:
 Have you tried asking them to stop?

Not to be insensitive, but there's a big difference between comments and off-color jokes (still inappropriate) and language that in-of-itself, absent any other discriminatory behavior, rises to unlawful discrimination.


Title: When I was 13, I hacked my school's web page. I graduated, but now they think it's me

Question:
I'm 18 now, but when I was 13, I hacked my high school's web page and just wrote stupid shit on it like "no school tomorrow".

I graduated last June. At the time, I told a few people that I hacked it because I was dumb and showing off.

A few teachers suspected me of hacking it, but I always knew they had no proof because they would imply they thought it was me, but nothing ever happened.

After graduating, I guess people felt that it was safe to tell secrets and shit, and word got out that I hacked the webpage four years ago.

I got an e-mail from my school saying they would like to meet me in about a week. It was vague but descriptive enough that I knew they wanted to talk about that incident.

Can I just ignore the email? I don't think they have proof, and I think they plan to simply ask me if I hacked it. Without proof, is there any legal action they could possibly take against me?

Answer:
 Ignore the email. They can talk to the police about having you charged with cybercrime offenses. If that happens, get an attorney.Answer #2: 1) Ignore the email

2) Only go if you get a court summons.

3) If you go for this matter always have an attorney present. Speaking without an attorney will more often than not cause you to self-incriminate yourself Answer #3: Ignore the email. If they have enough proof and feel like charging you over some old petty crap good for them. Then you get a lawyer. Good chance nothing comes of this. There is no way a school saves logs from years ago. People can all say it was you but where is the proof.


Title: [NJ, USA] Girlfriend's younger brother is throwing a house party while parents are away. What would happen if police were called?

Question:
My girlfriend is 24 and her younger brother is 21. The parents are away on vacation so my gf has been left in charge of the household. The neighborhood is full of older people who have called the police several times for just parking violations ex. gf blocked the neighbors drive way while in a rush to pick up something, police called right away. Another time, a friend blocked a fire hydrant and police were called once again immediately... I don't have a good feeling tonight will be different.

The brother, call him John, is known for being rowdy and has invited 20+ people to their house. These are college aged kids so between ages of 18-22.

My girlfriend is staying home tonight to watch the party but in the event of police being called, she would be seen to be liable for any damages correct? I just want to know what may or may not happen and if I could talk some sense into the brother to at least not getting fucking wasted tonight since his sister would get in big trouble.

TLDR Younger brother wants a party older sister is in charge and is scared of the police. What would happen if police are called?

Answer:
 Your friend could end up with a hundred people there who trash the place, and her parents might blame her for not stopping the party.

She really should call the parents and inform them, so that they can tell bro to cancel the party.

Answer #2: Personal experience:

My younger sister thew a party while our parents were out of town. Upstairs was supposedly "off limits," but at some point these kids opened up the doors and rooted through all my parents personal items, stealing a number of valuable and irreplaceable items. Family heirlooms.

When the police were called, my sister named names. Without anything more though, the police couldn't/wouldn't do anything.

This guy might feel cool throwing a party, or even in the right to "just do something crazy like this once." Your gf might feel like, "this is just a teen thing and I don't want to be the naysayer/snitch." The truth, however, is that is their PARENTS home. It's their place of security and safety, and it's been entrusted (mostly) to your gf.

I know it kills me to go to my parents house and see the comprehensive security system they had installed, but even more their militant adherence to it's use. Or how my mom never wears nice jewellery because she wants it all in the safety deposit box.

Little brother needs to get his own place, pay for all the furniture and whatnot, then decide if he wants to risk it all for a kegger.

This is besides the point that if someone was to be sued, the parents assets could be liable.


Title: Ex-boss is charging me for unemployment claim. (OH)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 File an unpaid wage report or sue him. This is the kind of thing that happens when you work for shady people.Answer #2: You quit the job. You shouldn't be filling unemployment. If I was him I'd probably contest the claim too. That said, he shouldn't (and can't) deduct his time spent from your last paycheck.Answer #3: File a wage claim.

You can report the misclassification if you are really feeling vindictive.


Title: Real Estate agent kept $4000 dollars of escrow money that was owed to me

Question: I gave my agent $4000 (1/2 of his commission to put in escrow when we started my deal. After the deal closed I gave him a check for the full amount he was to then give me the amount back. Seemed weird but I trusted him. 30 days later he finally gave me a check and it came back bad. Now he just keeps lying about coming to pay me cash. Whats my best corse of action. Also he is an independent contractor and the company he was representing said they aren't responsible because he miss represented them and no longer works with them. they have filed a lawsuit on him over his commissions. thanks (PA)

Answer: Is he a licensed real estate agent? Contact [the state licensing board](http://www.dos.pa.gov/ProfessionalLicensing/BoardsCommissions/RealEstateCommission/Pages/default.aspx) for assistance. You can also file your own lawsuit; $4000 is within [the small claims limit](https://www.pabar.org/clips/bringingsuitBeforeDJ.pdf). However, he may be spiraling out of control; he might not have the money to repay you. Answer #2: You should go after the agency he worked for despite their desire not to be involved.   They may be responsible if they didn’t screen, train or monitor him properly.   They are also the deep-pocketed party here and likely have their own insurance that may cover you.  Demand to file a claim with their professional liability carrier or sue them.


Title: [MD] Young mother in need of custody advice

Question:
   Here's a brief rundown of the situation I'm in. I have a 16 month old daughter. Her dad and I are both under 20 years old. He hasn't seen our daughter since she was 2 months old due to his drug addiction (prescription pills, cocaine, meth etc). He didn't like this and acted out and never complied to my request which was for him to stop doing drugs and show proof such as a drug test. He stayed away but in this past year he's been slandering my name up and down his social media accounts, going to rehab and relapsing, and just now filed for visitation. I recently received a letter from a local attorney offering his services because he saw that my daughter's father filed. I went online to check the court records and it's true so I should be expecting something in the mail soon from the court.
   I'm young, I barely make $1,000 a month, and my parents don't make much either. I'm paying for my own school tuition every month so I can't afford a lawyer. I've heard that the attorneys provided by free legal aide are bad and I really don't want to lose my daughter. I fear for her safety in his house. Do I have a good chance of winning full custody if he has a good lawyer and I have a public attorney? His parents have lots of money so that's a fear of mine.
   I have few questions about child support as well. My daughter's father doesn't work, go to school or anything. If I put him on child support, does he have to pay if he doesn't work or do his parents pay?
   I'm just very scared about this whole process. My parent's don't speak English well so I have to find a lawyer and do this process by myself. In the case that my daughter's father has legal aide in my state, I can't receive legal aid too. Is there any way lawyers will do pro bono? Any advice would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

Answer:
 See if your university has a legal aid clinic and seek assistance from them. You can find a referral from the state bar association and get a consultation with a family law lawyer.

Pro bono and legal aid lawyers aren't bad. Contact domestic abuse shelters in your area. They often know resources for good lawyers who make take cases on a prorated amount, even if you aren't facing abuse directly. The fact he's a drug addict is enough to warrant their help.


Title: [Illinois] Curious about College

Question:
Not sure if this is the correct subreddit, but it's the closest I could find that relates to my problem. I'm in my third year of college, transferring from a small community college to a larger state college. I recently was told that I need to complete a drugs/alcohol/safety/anti-rape/whatever "course" online. No big deal, I had to do one for community college and it's basically just boring statistics and such.

However, this one is raising a few flags for me (maybe unnecessarily?) I'm only part way through the drugs/alcohol one and they've begun asking personal questions such as have I used any illegal drugs and if so which ones, what age did I start drinking, weight (to calculate BAC), etc. I'm a very private person and having my name attached to such things (this has to be done through my school account) is uncomfortable, even if they claim such information won't be made public. I know that employers can't ask such things so I was wondering if colleges in the US are allowed to.

Answer: This is something that it would be ok to lie on.


Title: Months of hearing offensive comments, even after a "warning" [MA]

Question:
I have a co-worker (50ish years old, we'll call him R) who mutters to himself. The mutterings can be heard in the lobby (a public area, which includes a co-worker's desk) outside of his office and in my office right next to his. The issue is that R's language is super offensive and is not being dealt with. What I have bothered to catalog is not limited to racist, sexist, and anti-semitic. This includes threats towards specific racial groups and women, holocaust denial, and under his breath threats towards suppliers.

I say "bothered to catalog" because as a result of this, I bought myself some noise cancelling headphones to drown out the mutterings. And I say 8 months specifically because he was previously "warned" 8 months ago for similar comments that other people and I heard. R chalked it up to his "reactions to reading the news" that he "promised" to not do anymore. He did not. In this instance he was heard yelling the N word while reading the news.

 It doesn't stop with the offensive things R says  He treats the female employees very differently from the male employees and as a result, they do not feel comfortable being around him. He likes to make jokes/comments about his "Britney Spears pictures" and having an island of 18 year olds. Whenever he complains about other drivers, he always makes sure to mention whether they're a Clinton or Bernie voter.

So I recently reported him to HR and she has brought it up to my supervisor and the CEO. The CEO is concerned about possible discrimination lawsuit as a result of firing him. In a discussion with another co-worker, one of our supervisors said our complaints were being intolerant of R's "beliefs," and what is considered offensive is subjective Even though the rest of the office is about 99.9% sure it constitutes as hate speech. None of this being the fault of the problem co-worker, thereby putting the blame on us who reported him.

Given the fact that I'm the one that hears most of mutterings, it should be pretty easy to piece together that I reported him. And given the aggressive nature of his comments, **I am now mildly concerned for my safety**.

We have a meeting on Thursday with (hopefully) a neutral third party. I need help in reframing these concerns to force my supervisor to take action on this, otherwise I'm looking for a new job (which at this point doesn't sound like a terrible idea).

TL,DR: My co-worker says some pretty terrible and uncomfortable stuff, management doesn't seem keen on doing anything.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 > The CEO is concerned about possible discrimination lawsuit as a result of firing him.

Given that he's shouting "nigger" in the office and making threats towards racial groups, the CEO _should_ be concerned about a discrimination lawsuit… if they don't rein him in or fire him. Even assuming R has some kind of compulsive disorder leading to these outbursts, the accommodation "allow R to be racist and violent in front of other employees" is not reasonable, and puts other employees at risk.

Given your company's ineffective response, a consultation with a labor attorney is likely your next step. (If you're in a union, talk to your union first.) Your state bar can refer you. You're right to take this seriously.Answer #2: You have the right to feel safe at work. Your company should have a wall with papers posted on it (usually in a break area) detailing these laws. While most concern safety relating to machines and such, "workplace violence" is categorized under these regulations or laws.

You're entitled to a workplace free of discrimination and harassment, too.

I am not a lawyer, but I'd advise you to look through this now:

https://www.mass.gov/topics/workers-rights-safety

And find what relates to your situation. Using this, you can convey your concerns and the reasons/regulations that should be providing you protection to your bosses.

You can also file complaints from this site. Please note there are differences if you work for a state or federal government vs private sector.

I hope this helps!


Title: Winning Superbowl Square

Question:
Thanks for your advice in advance.  Ill be brief.
My wife's uncle bought her and a number of other family members squares at a local bar's super bowl pool.  My wife's name is the only name that appears in her square.  Come to find out she wins 1300 bucks and in the same text message her uncle tells her she has a winning square she tells her that she is going to share it with her half brother.  The bar owner seems to be thinking that he is obligated to pay based on who bought the square, and its my contention that if my wife's the only name in the box she is the only one who should get a check.  It seems like if the bar owner starts cutting checks to people whose names are not in the winning squares or my wife gets less than the full amount she is owed that would be actionable? But since the legality of this pool seems questionable is small claims court not an option?

sincere thanks
From
Sticking up for his wife
(this is in New York State)

Answer:
 What's your wife's claim to the money **in the first place?** She didn't pay for the square and (apparently) she didn't pick it. Was she even present for the game?

Is it possible that your *uncle* is the one entitled to the money because he "bought the square" - regardless of whose name he wrote there?
Answer #2: IANAL but advise you be psyched she won $650 at no cost to either of you.


Title: [Spring, TX] Daycare will not allow mildly autistic son to return after 2 week hiatus

Question:
I have a 7 year old boy who is on the highly functional end of the autism spectrum.  My mother, who lives 500 miles away, customarily comes for an extended visit during the summer break and will often take him back to her house for a couple of weeks at the time.

Prior to this, we communicated with the daycare what was happening and asked what, if any, fees would be associated; i.e. place holder tuition.  They advised that no fees would be assessed.

Due to scheduling conflicts, it turned out that we were going to have to bring him back to daycare sooner that initially anticipated.  When we called to make sure they would be sufficiently staffed, we were told that they would require paperwork to be submitted before they would allow him to return.  I should also point out that he has been at this daycare for a little over a year at this point.

I haven't been to the daycare to obtain the paperwork, but on the phone it sounded like they would need his doctor and counselor/ therapist to fill out the paperwork so that they could accommodate his "special needs".

For the record, he does have his issues.  He is currently medicated and going to therapy for anger issues.  When he is triggered, his acting out can range from covering his ears and rocking back and forth, to hitting himself, to hitting others.  Typically, when one becomes accustomed to the triggers, it's pretty easy to diffuse the situation before any acting out occurs.

My question is this:  Do I have any legal recourse in this situation?

I believe that they are doing this because they simply don't want him there.  If I fight for him to be able to go there, he will ultimately be miserable (as they will see to it that he is).  On the other hand, searching for a daycare that can meet his needs, pick him up from school (when it starts back up) etc. is pretty challenging.

Not really sure what it is that I want to get out of this, except that I don't want them to be able to get away with what is essentially discrimination.

Edit:  The situation is that my wife and I were both due back to work as we had both taken time off while he was with my mother.  The daycare only told us about the paperwork because we called them; i.e. they did not proactively seek this information from us.  There was another autistic child at the same daycare that they kicked out, but the circumstances around that are unclear.  Perhaps I am making a mountain out of a mole hill, but that's why I came here to ask.

Answer:
 > My question is this: Do I have any legal recourse in this situation?

What situation?  So far, all they've asked is for some paperwork from a doctor, detailing his needs.  This is a completely reasonable request, especially for a child with a history of harming himself and others.

Even if they refuse to bring him back, you may not have legal recourse.  It's perfectly acceptable for someone to say "I'm not capable of providing the service you need".  Answer #2: Are you serious? They want you to complete some paperwork, which you haven't even seen. Why would you assume they don't want him back or are attempting to discriminate? He is special needs, by your own admission. The last thing you want to do here is be confrontational and combative.


Title: [Calif.] Received multiple parking tickets for the same violation. Is this legal?

Question:
**TLDR**: Got multiple tickets for the same violation over a short period of time. Is this legal? If I don't want to contest the original violation, do I have to pay all of the tickets?

I parked at a public university to visit a friend for a few hours, and when I returned to my car, I had three parking tickets for "not displaying the proper permit". These tickets were approximately $70 each, so the fees quickly add up. Can the university parking enforcement legally give me multiple tickets for the same violation? If so, where is the limit? Could a parking enforcement officer just stand in front of my car and write tickets over and over until the car was moved? This seems like a cash grab by the university.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: They most likely were issued by different officers who thought that the other ones were from the previous day.  This is especially true if it was dorm parking where cars are typically parked long term.  I suggest you appeal all of them, and they will probably cancel all except one.  The UC system is good about this for non-students, I don't know about CSU.


Title: Is it even possible for a teenaged minor child to get, and if so, how would they go about getting, copies of their own vital documents (i.e. birth certificate, SS Card, etc.) without alerting their parents to their activities (presuming in the United States)?

Answer:
 With a legal state ID card, or, in some places, even a student ID (provided it has a photo), the local Register of Deeds / Vital Records offices will usually give you a copy of your birth certificate. Some SS offices will require that the birth certificate be a certified copy - this is a special stamp that is meant to prove its authenticity,   which can be done at the Register's office. There is usually a small fee for this, something on the order of $% - $10.

With that (and a photo id), you can go to the social security office to obtain a SS card. You may need a PO Box, at minimum, I believe, as I understand they are mailed to you.


Title: Ex gf broke up moved out 4 months ago now wants dog.

Question:
Me and her were together for eight years and lived together for two. For these two years we have had a dog. Back in April she moved out bc we started getting distant and officially broke up. At the start of July. Over these last 4 months she only can by for the first month like 0-2 times a week to walk and feed him.  Since then hasn’t really asked about him or the cat. Now currently she is wanting him back saying she has all th paperwork for him and that she is his. When we bought him both her name and my name should be on the paperwork. The only stuff that doesn’t have my name is the vet bills.

For these last four months I have been taking care of him by myself and now she basically wanted back in his life.

I was try to be civil and let her see him and spend a time with him this week (when it started).
But now she has just filed for him to become her therapy dog so he can become hers. Or to what she says.
Should I have to worry? I don’t know what to do because I love him and do not wish to lose him.

Answer: You should make sure that the dog is microchiped and that the information is in your name. Do you have all the paperwork?


Title: Neighbor smoke fills the shaft

Question:
So my neighbour who lives one floor above me smokes in his bathroom and fills the shaft with smoke and hence my bathroom also. I hate it as I am unable to breathe then. What can I do?

Location : India

Answer: I’m not sure how much good advice you will get here because this sub is focused on American law, but have you already told him that this is a large problem for you? He might find somewhere else to smoke one he realizes that it is bothering you.


Title: My warehouse was burned down. Insurance paid to repair everything, now they are going after the contractor. Insurance company no longer insures me. Do I still need to attend their lawyer discovery/questioning events as they go after the contractor?

Question:
Location: Ontario, CANADA

Long story short... our building was burned down 3 years ago by a contractor who was doing a welding job on our roof.

Our insurance company (at the time) paid for all the repairs and we had to sign a document that said we will not go after the contractor (some huge company) and that they have the right to go after them.

After our entire claim was settled (everything rebuilt, fixed, etc) -- they dropped us as a client and said some policy of theirs says they can't really insure us anymore unless we pay some extreme premium.

Fast forward to now, and we received an email from our ex-insurance company basically saying I am needed for discovery and things like that by the contracting company's lawyers.

My question is... do I still need to attend and do all this? They said it could take several hours over the course of a few months to get to the bottom of it all. I would be needed to give my version of what happened, etc etc etc.

Thanks!

Answer: Most likely cooperating was part of your policy.


Title: My sister came to me with an idea for a TV show. I came up with a title and we started writing the script together. It’s painfully obvious now that we both have different visions for it and she is telling me that she has “fired” me of the project and has unshared everything I did with her.

Question:
So she said she has “fired” me off the project and says that I am not a creator and that she “hired me” as a writer to help her write the pilot. I came up with the title and multiple story elements and she is saying if I ever make it she will sue me and I’ve said vice versa. I have old copies of the script that I’ve printed and stored on USBs and screenshot proof that she said stuff with me via writer duet and google drive.

I’ve told her multiple times idc what she does with the idea I just want my title back and she says she doesn’t care.

If I change the title slightly and make my own version can she still sue? Can she make her version after I wrote half the pilot episode?

I work in TV (writing experience on many shows)that is why she came to me but I’ve never worked with anybody as a partner before that is why I am asking.

Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer:
 Generally, titles are not copyrightable. If you worked on the script together (which I guess is the case since you said you wrote half the script) you’re co-authors who can both use what you worked on together independently for your own projects - but you would both have a duty to account (pay) to each other a share of any profits.

Your best bet from a practical perspective is probably reaching an agreement that you both waive your duties to account to each other. Otherwise when/if the time comes to sell the script you’ll have to deal with another fight and would have to be *very* careful what you warrant and represent regarding the IP rights - to the point a potential buyer might very well back out.


Title: Spotify is telling me they have their own definition of advertising...

Question:
Hello everyone,

Yesterday Spotify had the whole of my browse section covered by Drake, he was even on the cover of Brit pop and ambient chill, essentially Spotify have done a deal where they are advertising Drake's new advert across their platform.

As a premium user I contacted them and said I was sold on an 'Ad free service', they initially offered me a refund for the month but I pushed them on why they were doing this advertising campaign (refund now rescinded). They continued to stand by the fact it wasn't advertising despite the fact they are promoting a product in return for something, they told me ["Advertising for Spotify is something that hinders how you listen to songs"](https://imgur.com/a/yzlv1V2) but I cant find this in their terms and agreements.

 Without defining it in advance are they able to change a definition to suit their own purposes when it has a widely accepted usage already? Furthermore this is a classic example of native advertising which under the UK advertising authority should be labelled as such.

Apologies if this isn't the right sub and thanks for all help

Edit: I know this may sound petty and my issue isn't with Drake as such but the fact native advertisements are starting to be used more widely on Spotify and this feels like the thin end of the wedge in ensuring we keep a truly ad free service for customers who pay for "Ad Free".

Answer:
 Paid/sponsored/featured content isn’t the same as advertising. You’re going to a streaming service for music, and that’s what they’re showing you. They never guaranteed they would show you music you like.

Just queue up your own stuff, and call it a day. The service rep is right, an advertisement would hinder your ability to listen to music of your choice.


Title: Advice needed: Credit account opened without signature or phone call

Question:
This is happening in the state of Indiana

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Hopefully someone here can point me in the right direction. Not even sure if posting in the right subreddit, please let me know if this is incorrect.

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Here is the story.

Girlfriend needed to get a loan for something. She was denied. The company who she is purchasing her item from, which I will call company A, asked her if her boyfriend would want to cosign for the loan. She called me and initially I said no. High interest, etc. After a few hours thought, I decided I would cosign. I told my girlfriend, and not Company A, I was okay with cosigning. She asked Company A what information they needed from me to put me on as a cosigner. I still have not spoken with Company A at this point. They needed my drivers license, social security number, and birth certificate. All standard stuff. We send the documents.

I still have not had any contact with Company A itself and I am under the impression I will just be a cosigner on this loan as that is what was told to my girlfriend. They ran my credit, which I can see with my creditwise report. Pretty typical. Company A tells my girlfriend I was approved. They still have not contacted me directly.

Two weeks later I get the typical letter that my credit was ran and showing my credit score. All very standard procedure when having your credit run.

Another two weeks go by and I notice that my credit score has dropped about 55 points and shows the entire balance of the loan on my credit report. Not sure if this is typical or not with cosigning but I wasn't too worried at this point yet.

Another week goes by and I received a statement in the mail with only my name on the bill for the entire balance of the loan. The loan is through a separate company, we will call this Company b. I call Company B to see if this loan is in my name or my girlfriends name. The entire loan is only in my name with nothing from my girlfriend. I was just supposed to be a cosigner. Now I have the entire loan in my name with no contact from Company A or B.

I never signed any documents or gave any telephone confirmation since Company A never contacted me. The only time I gave a permission for a signature was on a $1,000 deposit they had to charge which I let my girlfriend use my credit card for. They didn't contact me for that either. This was an entirely separate transaction from the loan though. So this should not have pertained to the loan transaction at all.

Do I have any grounds for any sort of legal action? My credit score is forever affected by this now. Can I sue for any monetary damages and/or lawyer fees? What type of lawyer do I even contact for something like thi

Thanks in advance for any advice on this.

TLDR; Loan account was opened in my name only when I was just supposed to be a cosigner. Never had any direct contact with the company. Only girlfriend dealt with them. Not sure if I have any grounds for a legal case and not sure what type of lawyer I would even need.

Answer:
 1) Never cosign for someone you're not married to.

2) My initial reaction (IANAL) is that you can't be held responsible for documents you never signed or that they don't have a recording of you agreeing to. If you received benefit (or your girlfriend did), a judge may disagree, however.

3) Your credit is not "forever affected". Make the payments on time, and your score will go back up.


Title: (18 y/o) Can I get in trouble for hanging out with a man who has had social services called (with reasonable suspicion?)

Question:
My friends (18-19), myself (18), and some young kids (10-13) got drunk at a friendly neighbor's house (an older man.) More than once. Just recently, he had Social Services called on him. I don't see that there's any way to prove we were drinking, and I'm almost positive a kid was probably bragging and an adult happened to hear, then called the Social Services. As far as I know, no investigation has been going on, the man seems happy, and hasn't been away from home.

As I said before, the older man is nice and I liked hanging out with him a lot. My friends, though, say we shouldn't hang out at his place anymore. Is it okay for me to anyway, or could I get caught up in legal stuff?

Edit:
-I live in Kentucky
-The older man is the father of a 14 and a 10 year old, both of whom got drunk with us.

Answer:
 So you are an adult (18) hanging out with preteens to early teens, and drinking beer with a guy who is substantially older than all of you...

Yeah, this isn’t gonna end well.  You can be charged with contributing to delinquency, underage possession for yourself, plus this entire thing reeks of an older guy grooming teens for illegal sexual activities.  Even if you are not tying to engage in statutory rape, that last one could still pull you in as a part of a conspiracy charge.  I would strongly recommend you not continue to do this.Answer #2: Why the hell would you want to hang out with someone who gets 10 year olds drunk?  I assume he has no friends his ageAnswer #3: The problem isn't that the guy had social services called on him. It's that he's furnishings alcohol to minors. Let's reframe:

Should you be drinking as a minor? No.

Should you be hanging out while other minors (especially very young minors) are drinking? No.

Should you be hanging out with a guy who furnishes alcohol to very young minors? No, for both legal and safety reasons.


Title: [MO] Is it legal for a cop to be parked on commercial property without owner’s consent?

Question: I live in a small town where the local police constantly park at this car wash beside the main road, hidden right beside one of the bays monitoring speeds. They constantly have someone pulled over. I know the owner of the car wash and he told me he has not given the officers approval to do this. My questions are: are they allowed to do this? Can he kick them off the property and not allow them back on? Could someone they cited potentially go to court citing the officers were hidden on private property monitoring speeds and that it is unlawful? Last question is not applicable to any particular case, strictly out of curiosity.

Answer:
 >are they allowed to do this?

Officers are typically allowed anywhere else the general public is allowed, so yes. They can, at least until a property owner asks them to stop.

>Can he kick them off the property and not allow them back on?

Yes, the business owner can ask the officers to stop using his parking lot. Most business owners choose not to, however, as officer presence tends to be mutually beneficial.

>Could someone they cited potentially go to court citing the officers were hidden on private property monitoring speeds and that it is unlawful?

That would be very unlikely to work.


Title: FL: SO and I signed a severance agreement with our former company which stipulates that they will pay us on the 1st monthly until all payments have been received. They have been late each month and this month they are not answering at all. What recourse do we have?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer: Close of business on New Years Day? Dude, its a holiday almost everywhere. Don't expect a response today.


Title: How to go about getting money from the other parent who claimed my child when they shouldn't have.

Question: I have a court order that me and my childs father will switch between claiming our daughter every other year. Last year when doing my turbo taxes it said I should receive 6000 USD. Now when I got my money I didn't receive  that, I got 1000. I called the IRS and they said he had done something while filing that made it so I couldn't claim my daughter and since he filed first he got the money. I can't afford a lawyer to sue. Do I need a lawyer at all or is this a small claims case? I just don't know how to go about it.

Answer: This article from TurboTax covers it pretty well: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/after-you-file/discussion/my-ex-claimed-our-child-but-our-court-order-says-i-m-supposed-to-claim-her-can-i-e-file-without/00/767082


Title: Could possibly get fired for first offense at work

Question:
I did a no call no show 2 days ago, called my friend today to ask for my schedule he says im fired.

This is the first time i've ever done this, ive never been late or anything. Stayed overtime when needed, good employee overall. I've worked here for 2 years no problem ever until i switched location to this one. Same owner however.

HOWEVER, my boss, we'll call him dick. Dick hates brains, i've constantly tried to insert positive changes to the work place such as a  better scheduling. We don't get our schedule for the next day until tomorrow. So basically we'd have to wake up at 7am to call into work to find out if we're working or not. Horrible management.

Many other workers have done no call no show, late to work, high during work etc but has recieve no punishment. Keep in mind these are the most possible laziest people you can imagine. Zero work done, you'd have to pick up their slack everyday.

Anyways the million dollar question here is, do i qualify for workers compensation? Or what am i entitled too.

Answer:
 >Anyways the million dollar question here is, do i qualify for workers compensation? Or what am i entitled too.

Wait, I must have missed the part where you were physically injured in the course of your work.

I think you are asking about unemployment, and yes, you can file for unemployment.  Your former employer may contest it.

I don't see anything illegal that happened.Answer #2: I am going to assume you are in Mongolia. Here's the relevant code:

http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/WEBTEXT/57592/65206/E99MNG01.htmAnswer #3: The snowflake is strong with this one


Title: Harassment by a parent

Question:
I'm a 20 year old living in my home state of Massachusetts, the daughter of divorced parents. My problem is that I am being harrassed by my father, who I haven't had contact with since October 2016. Not sure how this could potentially play into my problem, but my parents were divorced due to domestic abuse in the household (father was only emotionally & financially abusive to my knowledge, but the two of us had some physical encounters. I can go more into detail if necessary).

I have been receiving countless texts and emails from my father. He has left a note on my car, and even sent me a letter in the mail. He has shown up to my house (I live with my mother and 16 yr old sister) and stood outside and rang the doorbell for half an hour. I've blocked his phone number due to the anxiety his messages cause me. The message of all these letters are about trying to reconcile our relationship, which I have zero interest in doing because of how abusive of a human being he is.

My question is; is this harassment? Do I have to explicitly tell my father that I want no further contact with him? I have a feeling he plans on trying to come by the house again, so if he did, do I have the right to call the police on him for being here? This man truly scares me and I genuinely do not feel safe around him. Reddit, what are my options/best course of action here? Thank you.

Answer:
 Send him a letter stating that you want no further contact of any kind. You have to make it clear. Send it certified and keep a copy. If he continues, file a police report showing the letter and that he received it. That way it's established that you have made it clear that you want no contact.
I can't promise it will work. My father went to prison. I sent the same type of letter. Changed my legal name, moved, changed my number, blocked any and all social media accounts I knew he had, as well as that of his whole family. He just started sending communication through my parents-in-law and making new social media accounts once he was out of prison. That said, he's in another state so I can just ignore it and haven't filed any police reports or anything. Your father is showing up at your house, and the house of his victim of legally known domestic abuse. This is a problem. You have to remember that your mom's discouragement comes from a victim's perspective.
You can also request to have him arrested for trespassing when he shows up.  Answer #2: During all this, have you even *thought* to call the police?


Title: [UK] my bf walked on outdoor wooden play equipment at a zoo and the wood was rotten and collapsed when he stepped on. Dislocated and fractured elbow later with potential need for surgery. Do we have a case for compensation? How do we even go about it?

Question: The zoo have asked me to contact them this week to give them details on what happened. Is there anything I should or shouldn't say? Obviously I can give the facts, but I'm concerned about inadvertently laying the blame on bf.

Answer:
 You may have better luck in r/legaladviceUK

From an American perspective, the first thing you should do is get the zoo's insurance information and file a claim with their insurer for medical costs.


Title: My neighbor constantly plays his drums and I can hear them loud and clear across the street. He plays them for hours on end. What can I do?

Question: I'm in Rhode island btw.

Answer: Call the police and file a noise complaint


Title: [Oregon] My dad has not been in my life for 14 years. He want's to see if I am a successful applicant for something for one of his kids. He told me I'm legally obligated. Is this true?

Question:
Hi, I'm just nervous and I have not spoken to my mom because she's sleeping. I have never met my dad until a month ago. It came out to me just last night why he reached out after 14 years. I'm 14 years old. One of his kids is sick with something, and he want's to see if I am comparable or something.

He told me just last night that I am legally obligated to medically help siblings if the parents so much as wish it. Is this true or is he full of it? also how can I get him to stop talking to me legally?

Answer:
 You're not required to do anything. Even if you were compatible with this half-sibling, you would be too young to pursue for transplantation, as most transplant centers do not accept any donors from persons that are younger than 18. On top of that, even if you were 18 and he was coercing you, you undergo interviews with social workers prior to donation where they determine if you are acting under coercion. As much as people don't know, transplant centers have the possible donor's well-being in mind as much as the possible recipient.

He may be talking about something else other than transplantation, but as for requiring you to do something medically, you are very capable of letting them know that this is something you do not want to do.Answer #2: >One of his kids is sick with something, and he want's to see if I am comparable or something.

I'm sorry you've had no relationship with your father and now he comes out of the woodwork because he needs something. He sounds like a real jerk. Do not reply to him and talk to your mother.


Title: A riot happened in our school the other day...

Question: Seniors at our high school (Sonoma Valley High School) secretly planned to have a water balloon fight in the parking lot during lunch. They planned it for a few weeks now, so most knew what was going to happen except the faculty. When it happened, it went perfectly. It was perfect until the principal went to the speaker and called a code yellow lockdown in the school and demanded every student to return to their classrooms. Problem is that there is thirty minutes of lunch left until class actually started and most of the teachers usually go out to eaat lunch, so students whoa want to go to class are unfortunately locked out. This resulted in many of the students feeling angry for their lunch being cut short as well as being punished for something a group of people did. The cafeteria closed, so most of students didn't even get lunch, if they were part of the fight or not. What made it better was that for the teachers who were in school, they were standing outside seeing the entire spectacle unfold, not stopping the students from doing anything. (Just to add, the vice principal was recording the entire water balloon fight rather than stopping it at that moment). So for the duration of what most students considered their time for lunch, they gathered in the middle of the school and basically making a riot. At first, the students were more unified, making chants for one duration, and then making a sit in for another, is was quite beautiful when you think about it. But then, things went south. The underclassmen started making rude remarks about the school, where one of them out of nowhere started smoking marijuana. Then a food fight occurred, and when the lunch bell rang, people began to disperse. Cops started showing up, groups of students decided to leave school. And just when things looked like they were going to calm down, all of the fire alarms were pulled. Take that as good Friday. Anyway, what I want to ask is, what is going to happen. It sounds like its the students fault for the riots, but then again, it was caused by a horribly made decision by principal that most of the student body hated. Would she be punished in any way? More specifically, if I was part of this balloon fight and the chanting, would I be in trouble?

Answer:
 >it was caused by a horribly made decision by principal that most of the student body hated.

No, it was caused by a bunch of uppity, snot nosed kids not listening and doing as they were told (big shock).  That being said, you will be at the mercy of the school and their disciplinary process, as well as the police for whatever crimes were committed. Answer #2: If you were told to go back to class and you did not, you can be punished by the school for not following that direction.


Title: Can you sue someone who rear ends you?

Question: I have a friend who was rear-ended in a car accident.  She had some injuries that resulted in missing several weeks of work, which resulted in loss of wages (she was out of sick time).  The other driver's insurance paid for the damage to her car and medical bills, but can the driver himself be sued for her lost work wages?

Answer: Did she claim for her lost wages via the insurance company? Did she accept the insurance companies payment as full and final settlement?


Title: My dad got hurt on the job and boss refuses to let him see a doctor.

Question:
My dad lives in Texas and works for an independent construction contractor. My dad got hurt on the job lifting some heavy materials last November and he was afraid he would lose his job so he didn't tell his boss. After a month the pain was so severe my dad went to the doctor and they told him his rotator cuff was re-torn. He told his boss about it and his boss said he would pray for him to get better. His boss told my dad that since he had a previous injury from a couple years ago that he is not responsible for helping him.

A few days ago my his boss was carrying a large wooden beam and it fell and hit my Dad's other shoulder. His boss didn't say anything and just left without making sure that he was ok. His boss text him that night and said he was sorry that the beam fell on his shoulder.

My dad really needs medical attention. He is in a lot of pain but he is still working and his boss will not provide help with worker's compensation. He keeps changing the subject and avoiding the topic when my dad brings it up.

He keeps saying that he will get things taking care of with his secretary but this has been ongoing for a while and he still hasn't gotten help.

I am quite worried because my dad lives alone and he doesn't have anyone to help him in Texas.

Answer:
 If he's truly an IC he should be handling his own health. However it's likely that he's misclassified as an IC. In any case your dad should speak with the state's WC hotline and see if they can help.

1-800-252-7031


Title: [IL]Mother passed away. Father is being told he isn't eligible for her Social Security. Please help.

Question:
Location: Kane County, IL

Mother passed away in 2014 and was already claiming social security benefits. Father retired in 2015, and started collecting his benefits. He has tried multiple times to collect surviving spouse benefits from my mothers remaining SS benefit, and he keeps getting denied because he was the primary earner in the household. Is this legal, since both of my parents paid into social security, shouldn't my father also be entitled to my mothers benefit. He could really use the extra money. Fixed income living is no joke.

Any help/advice, or where to go for the next steps would be much appreciated.

Answer:
 No, he gets the higher of his own benefits or survivors benefits, not both.

(Survivors benefits are really intended for the situation where one spouse had much lower earnings of their own: stay at home moms, for example. The rules governing such benefits are slanted towards this.)


Title: Can rape victims be charged with statutory rape?

Question: Last night, a friend of mine (18, male) was raped by an underage female. He is afraid to report it because he doesn't know if he can get in trouble since he had sex with a minor. This was in Wisconsin. I don't know the age of the female or any other details but I will let you all know when I find out.

Answer:
 A victim of rape did not intend to have sex with the other person and therefore could not have committed statutory rape.

Of course, if it comes down to a factual dispute, he could still be charged or even convicted.


Title: I was hit by a car in my apartment’s parking lot and was seriously injured. But I was also high as fuck.

Question:
So I was taking out the trash which is on the corner of the parking lot. A car came into the lot, made the turn at the dumpster and hit me going “I’d imagine 45 mph,” according to a witness. It’s 20 inside the lot.

I was also “heavily under the influence of marijuana.” I fully admitted I was high which no one seemed to really care about.

So now I was thinking of suing them for the portion of my medical expenses I’m not covered for and getting a new phone to replace the one that broke in the accident. But in the police report it says I was “heavily under the influence” so I’m wondering how that would effect anything?
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer: You need a personal injury attorney. Being high doesn't mean they aren't responsible for hitting you. It's going to depend on the circumstances.


Title: My GF was OD'd after her alcoholic drinks were spiked with Methadone and Valium. Advice?

Question:
[removed]
Topic:
Troll Post

Answer:
 Nobody with a blood alcohol level of 0.31% is a rational witness. That is almost 4 times the legal limit for presumption of a DUI when operating a motor vehicle.  She was so drunk I doubt she had one coherent thought in her head.Answer #2: Location would be helpful but generally you're going to have to wait to for the police to conclude their investigation and then recommend charges to the DA. You're also not the victim here, your girlfriend is, so it's up to her as to whether or not she'd want to sue for any damages after the fact. You mentioned that your lawyer is already involved, so asking us any legal questions is kind of pointless. I wish you good luck in any case.Answer #3: >what would be YOUR recommended course of action?

To listen to your lawyer.


Title: Why are Terms of Use Agreements legal?

Question:
I've had an ongoing correspondence with a digital product development company for two years over an issue that has broken their product for many users. The company has failed to resolve the issue despite it rendering the product virtually useless for those affected. Consequently, I've been more aware of what I'm agreeing to when I click "I Agree" before using any software.

My question is, how are these terms actually legal? They seem to absolve the companies of any responsibility to the consumer. I can't think of any other market where this is applicable.

Answer:
 They are generally legal because courts take the freedom to contract pretty darned seriously.  And that applies in any market, not just for "clickwrap" type software or online agreements.

Of course, there are limits to what these adhesion contracts can get away with.  At a certain point, these contracts can be invalidated because they contain unreasonable terms or the consumer doesn't have any choice but to agree.


Title: [South Jersey] Can anyone recommend a startup, corporate, or IP lawyer?

Question: I am in the very early stages of a startup. The first thing I want to do is determine the viability of the product, protect my ideas, and form a corporation. But I have no money, so I need a lawyer that will do a free consultation to assess viability, and then accept future payment in equity. I have tried going through legalzoom.com and lawtrades.com but since they are a network that connects lawyers to clients, they have a flat rate so none of their lawyers can accept payment as equity. And recommendations would be appreciated.

Answer: It is very unlikely you will be able to find an attorney willing to be your partner in exchange for free legal work.  You're going to have to pay.


Title: In Az. My ex has never been violent but I have multiple recordings of him of him yelling at me for 20 minutes straight, calling me names, etc. His family and I think he’s bipolar and has anger issues. Can I get full custody of my son based on this?

Question: He also has no job and isn’t looking. (He got fired from his previous job for simply not showing up), no phone and his car is not currently working. He’s also threatened to leave the state if I file for joint custody. Even though I’ve never seen him be violent, I’m worried about my sons safety. I want him in my sons life but I don’t feel like he’s capable of being a father right now. Would I be able to get sole custody of my son until he gets help?

Answer:
 Court's are really reluctant to take away custody entirely from a parent. Being an asshole usually isn't enough, having non-medical professionals state they think he has mental health issues won't mean much (if anything) to the court.

If he takes your child out of state after you file for custody the court will order him to return (and look very badly on him for doing so).

Get a lawyer to help you file for custody and get a court order in place. Until you do he is entirely within his rights to take your son (anywhere) and deny you seeing your son at all. (The court also wouldn't like this when you did wind up in front of one, but until then it would cause you a lot of stress).


Title: My flatmate is moving out, and neither of us want the furniture, and it belongs to them.

Question:
To expand on the title, my flatmate is moving out. Everything between us has been sorted for utility and removing their name iff the lease, but the only point of contention is the couches.  The couchs were originally a house-warming gift from their parents. Neither of us want the couches, and I already have replacements ready to be moved in once they clear the place.

Flatmate has been reluctant to take the couches, and has many times asked if I orva friend wants them. My answer is always a hard NO, it's your property, you make arrangements to get rid of them. They again tried to have me remove them on move out day because "I don't have room to take it out " and my answer is still "It's your issue."

My question is, if flatmate leaves the furniture behind and I have to pay someone to remove the couches, do I have recourse to bill them and they would have to reimburse me, or would it be considered abandoned property, and I'm stuck with the problem? I'm very prepared for the possibility they will just leave it behind.

I'm not going to be in the home while they move out, as I will be at work, so I cannot observe anything.

Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 Possibly.
However it would be a lot easier just to have the two of you just move it to the curb for trash day.  If you call your waste center and talk to them usually they are happy to come get it from the curb for you.

Source (bf was garbage man).