Title: If a contract between two parties is not notarized, does it hold up in court?

Question:
Let's say I buy a candy bar from a seller, through a broker. If the broker writes up a sale contract and has me sign it without any kind of notary, would the document hold up in court? What if neither he, nor the seller, signed it (so I'm the only one to sign, officially stating I'm buying the candy bar)?

Edit: Sorry, I forgot to include location. I'm wondering about Alabama, specifically.

Edit 2:
I wanted to add this after receiving some answers from you guys:

The seller wants to sell the candy bar to me for $1, but I've never spoken to the seller--my only contact has been with the broker. The broker, as it turns out decided to tell me that the seller is looking for $1.25 for the candy bar. He writes up the contract to the affect that I will pay a down payment of $0.25 directly to him [the broker], and the remaining balance of $1.00 will be paid directly to the seller in installments.

This entire time, the seller essentially believes they are collecting no down payment for the candy bar. The $0.25 is going directly to the broker, who states it is part of the purchase price of the candy bar. Remember, only I signed the document--no notary, no seller, no witnesses, not even the broker.

Legally speaking, am I within my rights to demand that the $0.25 be paid either back to me or to the seller, as it is the purchase price of the candy bar, and not a commission?

Thanks in advance!

Answer: yes. Basically as long as there is an offer, acceptance of the offer, and consideration (something of value given by both parties) you have yourself a legally enforceable contract. It can be oral, written, notarized, whatever.


Title: [MA] dog adoption question

Question:
In May, we adopted a dog from a family, friends of a friend, who had placed an ad on Facebook. When we adopted her, they asked us if they could dog sit if we went away. We said sure, not thinking much of it. Now they are demanding to have the dog come visit them for a weekend because they promised one of their children that she would get to dog sit over the summer. We made a quite reasonable offer to let them visit with the dog for a day and explained that she has now settled in here, it might be confusing to send her there for a whole weekend, our other dog would miss her, etc.

Since they are now being demanding and business like, we realize that stupidly we did not fill out actual adoption paperwork. They are friends of friends, so they gave her to us and we took her. I do have:

-- the original advertisement
-- all of our texts including them thanking us for giving her a new home
-- the fact that they told their vet that we had adopted her and transferred the medical records to our vet.
-- the fact that she has lived with us since May

We are trying to figure out if we should let them visit with the dog and also if they have a legal right to claim the dog as their property. She is a purebred dog and so I believe that there are papers in their name. We didn't ask about them, as we don't care about those kinds of things.

Thanks so much!
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: If they 'dog sit,' be prepared for them to keep the dog. With the evidence you've got, the dog is now your property, and I would not allow them the opportunity to steal her back.Answer #2: You are under no obligation to let them visit with the dog. The law views this as a transfer of property and it sounds like you have enough proof to show the dog was transferred to you. Answer #3: If she isn't already, I would get the dog microchipped and registered in your name asap.


Title: Company dumped paint in my garden

Question:
I live in the Phoenix area.

I wake up at my apartment to workers doing things outside my apartment. Last time they painted I was given notice, this was completely impromptu. When I go downstairs to go about my business it looks like milk has been poured all over my backyard and literally on my garden I use for food. They washed their paintbuckets out in my yard and poured it out onto the ground outside.

I told one of the workers and he said he needed to grab his boss. This was 20 minutes ago, did I screw up? He gave me the company name and I googled it, nothing came up.

Any advice is appreciated. My pets play in my yard and now I'm worried for their safety as well.

edit: I found the company and took lots of pictures. I'm keeping my pets inside until I can figure out a way to clean this mess up.

edit: I called non emergency and they told me it's a civil matter, they can make no report.

Answer: You need to call your landlord/property manager now. Answer #2: Not familiar with Arizona enviromental law, but in most states its a crime to dispose of a toxic substance improperly. Give a call to your state envirocops, they should be interested.


Title: Searched for pictures of young girls - Am I freaking out for no reason?

Question:
New York.

I am a 24 year old male. My sister asked me for some birthday party ideas for her daughter who is about to turn 3. I meant to google "3 year old girl party" but I must not have been paying attention and hit enter before "party" so it was just a bunch of pictures of little girls. (I shut my computer down right away but I don't think any were nude). I'm worried the police or FBI might have seen that. Do I have anything to worry about?  I might format my laptop just to be safe or even get rid of it, it's really old and I have another newer one.

Answer: Your faith in the FBI is awe inspiring. Answer #2: You're being ridiculous. There is nothing illegal about searching for pictures of three year old girls - unless your story is totally fake and not what actually happened. I hope this is yet another troll.


Title: Ex-Employer underpaid me, Five months later still hasn't fixed it.

Question: This summer I worked at retail store in NJ. During my last week there (in August), the company initiated a new clock-in system, which for some reason messed up the hours of a few employees. My manager acknowledged this, and told us that if anyone's hours were messed up to let him know, and that he would fix it. Later on that week (after I had stopped working there) I got my check mailed to me and my hours were wrong. I texted my ex-manager, and he told me that he would fix it, and send out a new check in two weeks (check's were mailed bi-weekly). In short, I never received a check. I have proceeded to text him at least once a month since then reminding him to send it, and he keeps saying he will, and then doesn't. At this point I have been waiting five months for the check. During winter break I offered to just come pick it up, and he told me that the company's account was on lock that week because somebody had been forging the company's checks. I feel pretty disrespected and want my money. Its not a huge sum (only about $120) but for a college student that goes a long way. Are there any legal actions I can take to receive my compensation?

Answer: Contact the [NJ Department of Labor](http://www.wnjpin.state.nj.us/) and report it. They will take care of it.


Title: Should I hire a lawyer to help contest a speeding ticket?

Question: I chose to contest a speeding ticket (80 in a 65) and I have court tomorrow in Chicago. Should I hire a lawyer to represent me? I had my lisense suspended in 2010 because of speeding tickets. I also had a speeding ticket three months ago so I am not sure on how to proceed.

Answer:
 It would have been a good idea to retain legal representation earlier in this process. Waiting until the day before court to hire a lawyer is poor planning.

Be on time tomorrow for court. Maybe the officer will not show up and maybe the case will be continuing or dismissed.

Based on what you said in your post, the easiest thing you could do is slow down and be aware of the posted speed limit. Best of luck moving forward.


Title: Ex-Significant Other (allegedly) had sex with minor (17yo), what are her options based on these potential outcomes?

Question:
Firstly, this took place in the USA, in Florida.

This is probably not the best sub for these questions, because much of the legal side of it is playing out or being taken care of, but I don't know where to post it otherwise and if there is a better, well trafficked subreddit I'll be happy to crosspost it there.

For obvious reasons I can't get into the details of this, but here's what you should assume about the situation:

* If the allegations are true she had consensual sex with an individual who was less than a month away from being 18.
* We're obviously not together. But this was a long term relationship and I can't help worrying about her potentially fucked future.
* She has excellent legal representation due to well off family. (This is more an assumption on my part admittedly)

**Question 1.** What are the chances she gets off without a sex offender registration? As in, is this even possible given the proximity to the minor's 18th birthday, and the consensual nature?

**Question 2.** Assuming she does receive a sex offender registration, what are some realistic opportunities for employment?

**Question 3.** I understand that lower-tier sex offenders can be registered for sentencing +10 years. What happens after that period? Is the felony/registration expunged? Would she no longer have the troubles I assume she will have getting employment?

**Question 4.** Would leaving the country after her sentence is fulfilled be an option to better her chances at employment/normal life?

**Question 5.** Currently she is looking for work until her court date. What kind of jobs should she be looking for that won't be concerned with her arrest record?

Thank you.

Answer: How old is she?


Title: Groupon Bait-and-Switch - Florida

Question:
Central Florida.  Ordered an iPad Mini 2, 64GB Verizon from Groupon - received a 1st generation iPad Mini, 64GB, AT&T.  They sent a stock message stating they're sorry and offered $5 in Groupon bucks.

If I weren't at all savvy with technology, I might not realize it wasn't what I ordered, and can be had for over $150 less than what I paid.

Their response:  "*I'm very sorry for the trouble with your Groupon Goods purchase. This is never the experience we want you to have, and we're completely embarrassed by the mistake. We're doing everything we can to make sure this doesn't happen in the future.
Unfortunately, we're not equipped to resend the product you originally ordered, but we are happy to accept a return and issue you a full refund. If you would prefer to keep this product, you are more than welcome to do so as well.*"

So do I have to suck it up, or do I have any recourse in receiving what I paid for?
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 You can see what legal rights you have but for the money involved you have to ask yourself if that is worth the time and hassle. You should definitely post complaints on places like http://www.complaintsboard.com/ and similar websites.

If it was me I would take them up on their offer to return the item to them in exchange for a full refund. You may want to demand that they refund you the cost of shipping the item back as well.  Just my two cents. Answer #2: Your likely recourse is returning the product and getting a full refund.


Title: Hit Neighbors Large Flower Pot While Making K-Turn

Question:
Hello wise redditors of the law, have an interesting situation that I would like some feedback on.

So about a month ago I was driving and decided to make a Kturn on my street in an urban setting to nab a parking spot. However, I accidentally came in a little hot and nudged my neighbors large flower pot sitting on the sidewalk in front of her home/driveway. Its about two feet tall with a smaller base diameter than the top, so it tipped over and a chunk broke off of it. \~15% of the pot broke off but I was able to stand it back up and put it back where it was, albeit the few pieces that had broken off. Just a part of the pot near the top broke off, the flowers are still mostly contained. The owner of the home had her window open and ran down, started taking pictures of the car, pot, car license plate, asking for my ID etc. I comply, but stop short of giving her my insurance as I wanted to handle this by just getting her a new pot.

Took a quick look when I got home, you can find large terracotta pots for \~200-400 dollars so I was not too worried. She wanted a chance to find a similair pot to replace her original and I told her fine. Holidays come around and I don't here from her for \~4 weeks.

Today I get a call and she is telling me she has found a similar pot with matching ornamentation, just a bit thinner, at a local garden supply shop. Great, I want to fix my wrong so I ask her how much. She says its just shy of $1k.....I ask her for a receipt for the original pot, which is still standing on the street doing is job perfectly well, but she says she has owned it for 50-60 years and doesnt have one.

Now im wondering what my next move should be. I need some means to properly assess the value of this pot that I damaged but it seems the insurance company would be the only one who could do this properly aside from a lawyer or something. Thinking of offering her 400 cash, otherwise would let her handle it with the insurance at risk of an increased premium.

Let me know what you guys think!

TL:DR: Hit a neighbors flower pot on the sidewalk with my car, she says itll be 1k to replace. How do I properly assess its value?

Answer:
 >but stop short of giving her my insurance as I wanted to handle this by just getting her a new pot.

Just so you understand in many location you are required to give your insurance, it is not an option to withhold it when you cause a collision.

Your options are to offer her the money and see if she will take it (and have her sign a settlement if she does) or let your insurance handle it, or ignore her and wait to get sued.


Title: I'm in tears right now - does "reassign" mean my wedding venue can cancel like this?

Question:
My fiancé and I (in Utah) booked our venue (in Salt Lake City) on December 31st, paid the deposit and signed a contract. Since then we have printed and mailed invitations with the date and location, signed contracts and made deposits with a caterer and bartender, purchased decorations themed around the specific location and given out of state family the go ahead to make travel plans. Today, the venue gave me a phone call saying  they decided to use my reserved time as extra set up time for the venue's own event the next day. They claim that the contract says they can do so as they please.

I reviewed the contract and it only states that "the space is reserved for the times indicated" and that they "reserve the right to reassign space if necessary" - that's it. We rented all 3 floors and the surrounding grounds, so I'm not sure if "reassign" just means move around between those locations? There are further details regarding if WE cancel (like refunds of deposit based on cancellation notice), but nothing if they do. The only indemnify and hold harmless clause regards alcohol, not the whole contract itself.

I have been in contact with them frequently over email up to this point confirming details, asking questions, making sure they had the caterer's and bartender's information etc. I sent him an email after the phone call asking the  venue to confirm what they had stated over the phone and have yet to see a response.

Is this worth getting a lawyer? I heard that if a contract is vague it typically favors the party that didn't draft it - is that correct? We're losing tons of money in invitations and deposits, not to mention family's plane tickets, and this was really sudden and out of the blue - I'm just at a loss and don't know if we have a leg to stand on.

Link to contract: http://imgur.com/a/9fx9C

Answer:
 Not a lawyer, but "if necessary" means that if you have booked the Kirk Ballroom, but a burst pipe damaged it and it can't be repaired in time so they move you to the (roughly equivalent) Picard Ballroom, you have no legal claim against them.

If they needed the space/time for setup for their own event, they should have blocked it off and not rented it to you in the first place. You have made other commitments and spent money based on the CONTRACT you have with them to rent that space on a particular day. Get a lawyer NOW - this is what a suit for "specific performance" is about.Answer #2: You need a lawyer and you need one now. I say this because it's clear that if you have rented the entire facility they can't simply give you another part of the building. And the good news (maybe) is that they are doing this to prepare for something they themselves are organizing, which means this is entirely down to them. And a very firm letter from a lawyer might well get them to rethink this. I'm reasonably sure that under these circumstances you wouldn't have much issue being successful with a lawsuit for your losses but who wants the hassle?


Title: Can I create a museum/display of my Star Wars collection and charge people to see it?

Question:
I took Star Wars as an example, but imagine that it could be Disney figurines, Comics figurines, Barbies or whatever brand that people might collect. Can I create a museum, displaying those items and charge people to see it? Also, what are the limitation to use the name of the brand in your museum name?
I'm not talking about generic collection like stamps, money or rocks that don't have (I guess) any limitation because there is no brand involved.
Location: US

Answer: I would consider contacting the [Action Figure Museum](http://www.actionfiguremuseum.com/) in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. I'm sure they are probably the experts on this subject.


Title: (USA) How to Fight City Hall?

Question:
Hello, I'm unsure if this is the correct place; please direct me if it isn't.

I just received my latest water bill and it has gone up ... again.  In the past twelve years the city has raised the bill by 65%.  That seems excessive.

The city has a population of around 1,500.  In the past 15 years it's grown by 300.  It provides water to the residents.  We have a city staff of 10, which includes a police department of 3.  Low crime.  It's an area which has two industries, agriculture and the local college.  There are 570 dwellings and a single main street with about 5-8 services; they come and go.  One popular church.

I'm new, I moved here 5 years ago.  I don't know anyone in local government and don't know the personalities involved.  Don't care.

It appears as if there are two feuding factors which run the town and each side pushes their own agenda.  The result is a huge cluster fuck.  In the past 15 years we have had 10 mayors and anywhere from 30 to 40 city counsel members.  The story is one of election, resignation and appointment.

The repair work to one vital service, water, is ignored while pet "improvement" projects are funded.  We keep going into deeper debt.

I don't want this to be too long so I'll just give one example of the incompetence.  In 2001, 02 or 03 a water sewer treatment plant was put in at a cost of $400,000.  No one seems to remember the year or the company which did it.  The state condemned the new plant; it was giving off ammonia.  It had to be replaced, at a cost of $400,000.

The people who run this town have been involved in fist fights, mutual orders of protection have been filed, harassment complaints against one another, a wrongful termination suit, secret ballot election of a mayor, a self-audit by the city office, nepotism and code enforcement has been used as a political weapon.

What is the most effective way for me to make changes; is it possible?  Does every state have an office that will investigate ethics?  Would a university have a legal department that would take interest?  Could I ask the state to come in and take over running this place until debts were cleared?  Any other ideas or suggestions?  Thanks for reading.

Answer:
 The college won't care. The state will not take over the town.

Run for office, win, and clean house.


Title: Mom is sociopathic monster who gave me an eating disorder. I want to go to my dad but don’t want to make her go to prison. What do?

Question: My mom, for the past 2 years has been making my life a living hell after I came out to her as bi. My parents have been divorced for a while and my mom got majority custody of me and my sister. My dad is supporting and is the best parent I could ask for. My mom has never payed a hand on me but has given me an eating disorder and constantly makes fun of my weight. I wish I could live with my dad but I don’t know what I can do.

Answer: Speak to the school counsellor.


Title: Mother is unwell and is refinancing the house. How does this fall onto me if she passes?

Question: I’m a 26 year old guy who currently lives in Washington state with his mother due to being a full time college student. My mother is disabled and really isn’t the healthiest person in the world. She was supposed to sell the house, but instead she has decided to refinance it instead. I think she only has $50,000-$60,000 left to pay on the current mortgage. I honestly don’t expect her to live for another 5 years and I was wondering how exactly this will fall onto me? In her will, I’m the sole beneficiary of everything. She has life insurance policies, but every single one she has started, she stops paying for. I don’t expect to be fully established in my career for another 2 years, at minimum. Am I going to be stuck personally paying the mortgage off? Will I be personally responsible for paying for anything else?

Answer:
 Do you want the house?

If the house is still encumbered and your mother dies, and if you live in the house at the time, you can likely take over the mortgages and keep the house. If you do not want to take over the mortgages, whoever administers your mother's estate - which could be you, or could be someone else - will have to sell the properties to settle the mortgages. If there's money left over after the mortgages and your mother's other bills and debts are paid, it goes to her heirs, either following her will or following your state's rules on intestate succession if she has no will.

Even if you opt to administer your mother's estate when she passes, you are not _personally_ responsible for her debts. Her estate is, and her assets must be used to pay those debts before they can be given to her heirs, but if her estate has fewer assets than she has debts, her creditors are out of luck.

Washington does not appear to have a filial responsibility law that could make you personally liable for her care costs.


Title: Suing Hertz

Question:
To start off, I'm a valet (in the US). I drive a lot of rental cars from Hertz. All of their cars have a GPS in them with a camera on them as well. I'm not sure if the renter signed the papers that included Hertz having the right to record them or not. Either way, I didn't sign the papers. Would I have grounds to sue hertz for continuously filming me without my consent?

Note: I'm not actually planning on suing them.

Answer: It would be challenging to articulate a reasonable expectation of privacy in someone else's rented car.


Title: Ran into the back of a car with my bike. Confused on how to handle it.

Question:
A couple of days before thanksgiving I was riding my bike and couldn't stop in time (my back brake is semi-broken) before hitting the back of a woman in her car. We talked and I gave her my information. I'm an uninsured full time college student, working at Noah's bagels.

Today I received a letter from a subrogation company affiliated with State Farm to pay off the debt of around $1500.

I have no where near that kind of money and I'm looking for advice on how to best handle this situation.

Let me know what other information would be helpful. I live in California.

Answer: This sounds familiar.  By any chance, [did you steal the bike, injure your testicle, and now your parents are threatening to sue the rightful bike owner?](http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2s6vlt/neighbor_kid_took_my_bike_and_got_hurt_hit_a_car/)Answer #2: Call and offer a payment plan? See if they will work with you.


Title: 16yo niece needs out of parents home in Texas

Question: My niece wants to leave her house but she's only 16. I have a place for her and I can support her but the main problem will be my sister. Things lately at their house have been really intense lately. My eldest niece tried to commit suicide last year(the 16yo has also tried but she wasn't caught when it failed) so my sister SLAPPED her across the face and wouldn't let her talk to the cops about what was going on at home. She's 18 now so she can leave whenever she wants but the 16yo is a different story. My sister complains about having to feed them and refused to bring the 16yo to a physician because it would cost money a few weeks ago. This morning she threatened to make their lives a living hell and the dad said he wanted to slap her because of what was going on. My question is, what can I do without involving CPS? Can she leave without my sisters consent? I'm just at a loss for everything right now. Please help me.

Answer: Believe it or not, theres not "One quick, easy trick to chill custody that cps DOESNT want you to know!!" Call CPS if the child is being abused. She cannot just leave. If she does, she will be returned as a run away and if you take her in you can be charged with related crimes.


Title: What needs to be declared to the US Embassy when applying for a VISA?

Question:
Hoping to travel to the USA in July but the person I am going with has a few things on their Subject Access Request from ACRO.

It’s lists previous arrests, cautions and cases where no further action was taken.

They all occurred in 2007/2008 when the person was around 18/19 and they’ve had no arrests or anything since.

I am concerned that they may be declined a VISA and I am unsure on what will have to be declared to the VISA office.

There is a caution for possession of a tiny bit of weed. This was for personal use only not dealing.

A caution and fine for criminal damage caused when drunk.

A caution for ABH when drunk.

The rest were just arrests and no further action was taken. This included cocaine possession for personal use, and burglary (this wasn’t actual burglary, it was a stupid idea his friend had where they went in to someone’s house to sleep over night whilst the person was away, which is why no further action was taken).
Other no further action was just drunken arrests and another criminal damage.

What do we need to declare to the VISA people?

We will be so disappointed if this stops us from going as it was 10 years ago and just stupid teenage mistakes, or experimenting with drugs. The person is nothing like that now and works, and lives a clean drink/drug free lifestyle.

Answer:
 I recently got a visa from the US embassy (in London, in fact). I can recall off the top of my head that two questions on the DS-160 you have to complete are "Have you ever been arrested?" and "Have you ever violated a controlled substances law?" to which the answer in both cases for your friend is yes, and you will have to state as such on the form or you'll be committing immigration fraud (the penalties for this are sufficiently severe that you should not try to bluff it). The length of time passed since and the lack of further action taken is not relevant to the application form.

It's not necessarily a bar to getting a visa (that's up to the consular officer - it's entirely possible that when your friend says not charged, ten years ago, etc they'll be fine) but you need to be open about this sort of thing. There are visa agencies in London you can also ask for assistance with this process. They know the ins and outs of how it works.


Title: UT: So, I was in a car accident 4/19/19: need advice please

Question:
Four car accident, in stop and go rush hour no less; a corporate van hit a car, hit an SUV. then hit me. My first accident.

So, I went to see a doctor the day after, x-rays showed everything was fine (going to dr. cuz my dad told me). Didn't seek treatment until a year later when everything was just too unbearable. This is after a year gap in treatment, which is why everything is all complicated). I've tried months PT, chiropractic, neck injections, 8 months of opioids. Nothing helped at all.

Now, my attorney got an offer, finally, that would cover legal fees, medical bills, and maybe $3000 in pocket (if my car insurance actually pays the $3000 pip). He said he sent back a counter offer.
But, as I'm assuming that my now worse anxiety driving (I imagine thousands of things that could happen where I get into another car accident just driving down the street, ugh), I can't sleep at all without gabapentin, and I can only drive/sit for a max of 15 minutes before my neck and shoulders get unbearably uncomfortable and painful. This is an everyday occurrence. I'm constantly having to move at work because it hurts so bad. I don't want to live like this forever :(

But, not sure what to do.

Anyone with personal experience in injury law, please help me out? I'm thinking the offer is between $15000 - $18500

Is this the norm? I know without a doubt that this is not just long-term whiplash, but nobody else seems to think so, or in my mind at least.

Is pain and suffering extend to afterward as well, since that is what I'm assuming, that I will have chronic neck/shoulder pain for the rest of life.

Any help is appreciated.
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer: No one can understand the value or appropriateness of the offer better than your attorney. You should listen to him.


Title: Brother stopped paying rent and now demands I pay him. Dafuq?

Question:
In California. My brother-in-law is 21-years-old. Perviously he had been living at my in-laws rent free, but once he landed a full-time job they saw it would be beneficial for him to move out. When he failed to find a place to move into after his parents gave him a 90 day notice, his parents asked if he could come move in with us. We said of course, but he would have to pay rent like any other tenant. We set the rent low because, hey, he's family. $350 a month and he doesn't have to pay any utilities, just throw in a few chores every once and a while. We also made a mistake. We didn't have him sign a contract because, hey, he's family. Yeah, that was stupid.

When he moved in our front bathroom had to be renovated for water damage, so he used the one in the master bedroom instead. It was supposed to be an easy fix, but then the water damage proved otherwise. I had to spend the next several months cutting and removing the wood underneath our house, replacing jousts, drilling underneath the crawl-space, all-in-all it's been eight months but we're nearly there.

Meanwhile, he quit his job immediately and instead looked to invest what money he had into an office to sell insurance and seriously considered leasing a car for his clients, of which there were none.

He was broke within a month, but the guy is amazing at getting hired at jobs. Too amazing. He spent every single week training for a job that he just got hired for only to quit the week after.

He completely skipped payment for one month, then a partial payment when we asked for just anything, then when he found full-time work once again he started writing us partial checks that he would later give us cash to make even. Then he started only writing us checks for a portion of the rent and not explain why, going so far to only return to our house after midnight and lock his door.

I finally got his rent check for this month yesterday, which is frustrating because in the next week he will owe me for next month. It was only for $233.37, which I thought was oddly precise, but maybe thats all he had.

My wife and I received two certified letters today. It really confused our postman because the return and sending address was the same. It was a letter from my brother-in-law, who says he doesnt have much money but doesnt hesitate to spend twenty bucks on sending letters to his own house. Both of them contained a lot of legal speak stating that he deserved monetary damages for living eight months without a bathroom of his own and that he calculated the cost of living without that bathroom to be $233.37 to the penny.

I'm having a hard time with this one. He doesn't have a lot of friends and seems to have spent the past several weeks brushing up on his tenant legal rights. I'm not sure what he's capable of, but I really want to settle this without having to go to court. Is that possible?

tl;dr My brother who does no chores or pay utilities decided to lower his own rent and is now demanding me to pay him because we have to share a bathroom for a little while.

Edit: Location

Answer:
 People often have an inflated sense of their legal rights, and a little bit of education can make that tendency worse. There's no right to a private bathroom for a tenant. People rent out single bathroom houses to multiple occupants all the time. If he had some sort of lease where you had promised him one, he might have a claim. The guy sounds like he might have mental problems, to be honest. Answer #2: Hand him a notice to end tenancy for non-payment of rent. But if you arenot willing to go to court to evict him, get ready for a long term living situation.

[Three day notice to pay or quit](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/california-late-fees-termination-nonpayment-rent-other-rent-rules.html)


Title: So I got a ticket in D.C, $500 for having a non-functioning meter but I'm not a taxi?

Question: I'm only 19 and have never driven in D.C before, I always ride the metros but because of the safety work they are doing on the lines it takes hours to get somewhere when it only takes 20 minutes to drive there. I parked somewhere I thought I could park, it said no parking between certain time and then any other time 3 hour parking. It was also a taxi stand area so I guess that's why they thought I was a taxi? I thought I could park there though because it said 3 hour parking as well. I know now I was being dumb cuz it was a taxi stand area but I was confused and had been looking for spot for awhile. Shouldn't I just get a parking ticket and not be charged with having a non functioning meter because I don't even have a meter in my car. I'm really confused and would like help or advice from some more experienced people.

Answer: It's been a while since I've been in DC but they have overhauled their ticketing system and I believe the "meter" has to do with a parking meter, not a taxi meter. Is there a violation code/number on the ticket?


Title: Pregnant GF lied and I was arrested for aggravated assault. Charges were dropped, but was terminated from a well-paying job. Anything I can do? FL

Answer:
 You **were** aware of the reporting requirements. You must sign off on this prior to your clearance package being submitted. Further, you are required to undergo yearly training that explicitly states that fact.

That said, your supervisor should have helped you get in touch with the FSO. Nonetheless, you also should have known who that person was and contacted them directly.

Based on the information provided here, there's not much you can do. Remember, you've signed off on training acknowledging your reporting requirements.

Edit:

As far as defamation then that is possible. It's an expensive process and you will need an attorney. Answer #2: NAL but I do hold a security clearance for my job. Failing to report an arrest is an automatic revocation of the security clearance, not the arrest itself. If you can prove that you notified your supervisor who then dropped the ball you may have grounds for an appeal. Answer #3: There's likely nothing you can do, but with the paucity of facts it's impossible to say.Answer #4: A defamation suit is possible since you have damages (job loss) but those are expensive and you should probably save your money for a family law attorney.

Don't marry her and recalibrate your woman-picker before dating again.


Title: Stolen watch, were innocent, but look guilty.

Question:
Edit/update: still no word from authorities or bob. But he has txted my dad still, asking his address. My dad didn't give it to him. Bob also asked my dad about something on his record from 10 years ago. Showing that bob did a background check or something like thaton my dad. My dad didn't cooperate.  Just still insisted bobs nota good friend because hes not considering his ex gf as a suspect , wouldn't let us come over to search house with him just to be certain its gone before jumping the gun, etc. So still nothing yet. Ill update if something comes up though. Thank u

Edit: las vegas,NV

My dad has a friend,  lets call him bob. They met 5plus years back at a karate gym. During my dads divorce with my mom, he took my dad in for a few months. 2 years roughly passed, they didn't completely keep in touch but recently they have been.

Bob is older and considered wealthy. He travels a lot for work and recently adopted a dog who needs attention,  cant leave alone. He was gone a little less then 2 weeks.

The first week my dad stayed at his house. He is a handyman,  and was doing some renovating to the home while there in kitchen. The second week i stayed.

The last night, bob shows up , thanx me, i leave. I get home 20 min later and my phone had been blown up by him and my dad. First i call my dad.

He says "bob is freaking out hes missing a rolex that was in his office, if you just weren't thinking son and took it tell me now please." But i did not. My dad said  that bob said " It could of only been you two! No one else! Its $4000 rolex, my insurance says i have to file a police report."

Bob wasn't hearing anything else. We offered to come look for it at his house. He claims he saw it when he left period.

Bob recently broke up with an alcoholic girlfriend a few days prior to leaving. On and off relationship. My dad lived with them both for a short period before moving out. She's crazy i guess. She came on to my dad once, My dad had stuff come up missing, etc. He didn't make a big deal of it since bob was taking him in to live there as a favor.

The first day of bob being gone, i met my dad there so he can show me things to care for dog. We are in drive way and we see Bob's ex gf sitting in her car. S few min go by she leaves. We dont speak to her. Bob said he left some shoes for her by front door.

My dad is 100 percent certain he saw her and her car again a few days later driving by. And thinks he did another time but is only 100 percent about one time.

Bob says he took her spare key so she doesn't have one therfore, it cant be her. He wont even consider her as a suspect , strangely. Bob is very "straighten arrow" type of guy. College grad, no record. So we dont really think he's in on an "insurance scam" type of thing with all this.

A week has passed, and we haven't been contacted by any authority yet. My friend who is a cop that i train jiujitsu with says, it could take some time, they are busy. His advice was if they call you to come in, dont. Make them come to you. Be polite and cooperative. The second you feel uncomfortable with questioning, tell them you would like to FIND a lawyer to go any further. Not that i already HAVE one.

So, any advice on talking to detectives, or anything would be great. Also, my girlfriends best friend works atva lawyers office,  but mostly deal with car accidents. Im going to speak with her today for advice. Thank you!

Answer:
 > I get home 20 min later and my phone had been blown up by him and my dad. First i call my dad.

> He says "bob is freaking out hes missing a rolex that was in his office, if you just weren't thinking son and took it tell me now please." But i did not. My dad said that bob said " It could of only been you two! No one else! Its $4000 rolex, my insurance says i have to file a police report."

So, 20 minutes after you left Bob's house, you've gotten a bunch of messages from Bob and your Dad, and you call your Dad, and your Dad says that Bob told him the watch is missing and that Bob said his insurance told him to file a police report.

I hate to break this to you (well, it's good news and bad news), but Bob is scamming you.  Nobody calls their insurer, and you, and your Dad, 20 minutes after returning home.

Heck, it would take longer than 20 minutes to search the house and make sure the watch was missing, even if he noticed it was gone instantly upon returning.  Longer than 20 minutes to talk to the insurer, even if he called them instantly.

Non-scammers would search the home thoroughly, because they don't want to falsely accuse anyone of theft.

Your guy Bob is a scammer.


Title: unmarried father rights when cohabitation ends with mother (NY)

Question:
I'm an unmarried father of an almost 2 year old girl, and have lived with the mother since before the child's birth.  We both raise the child. My name is on my child's birth certificate as father and we have signed the "Acknowledgment of Paternity" form at the hospital at birth.  Unfortunately our relationship has turned sour since then.

Recently the topic of me moving out, or her moving out and "taking the child" came up in a heated discussion.  I countered, not entirely seriously that maybe I would move out and take our daughter.  She said she'd report me for kidnapping if I even tried.  This scares me greatly, as even though we would likely seek some sort of mutual custody agreement, I worry I wouldn't be able to see my daughter for months or longer until that could be sorted out.  As an unmarried father I'm unsure if I have any rights at all for my child.   If I moved out, it would likely be to almost 1 hour away toward where I work.

Can anyone clarify what rights I have, what she is allowed to do with our child and moving out, and what process would occur if I wanted to maintain my rights for my child?

Also, how is custody decided if there is a disagreement?  For instance, if I want 50% and she wants 90/10.

This is NY state.

Answer:
 Taking your daughter when there's no custody agreement forbidding you from doing so will not be kidnapping.

But practically it will make it a lot harder to come to any kind of agreed custody arrangement.Answer #2: I just skimmed it but this seems like a good overview of information you need to know:  [Child Custody and Visitation Rights in New York](http://www.lawny.org/index.php/family-self-help-140/other-family-law-self-help-75/178-child-custody-and-visitation-rights-in-new-york)

If you are on the birth certificate and have signed the Declaration of Paternity you absolutely have rights, and responsibilities.

The best outcome would be for the two of you to work out a custody agreement, then work through the law to have it formalized.  If that is not possible, you can go through the court system to have a custody agreement and support plan set up.

In either case the best way forward is to consult a local attorney familiar with family law.


Title: Municipal Corporations and the 7th amendment

Question:
 I have heard that the 7th amendment is not valid for anything other than federal cases, which doesn't make sense to me. I started looking up why and came across interesting content, from a guy who actually practices this stuff

For this example, lets pretend I have a traffic ticket from a municipal corporation. If I was to enter the court, I waive my rights as a person, I'll explain below. The city, as a corporation, is placing a claim on my sole property under threat whatever penalties for evading the ticket.

Upon entering the court you acquiesce to their dubious authority and waive all of your rights to accept the court's rules, which may or may not align with you rights give by state and federal constitutions, which is why people wonder why the 7nth amendment is nullified.

This is where "REPRESENTING YOURSELF" is so key, because once you admit this, you are ruled "Pro Se" which means you waive your personhood, are now a corporate fiction, and have waived your human rights. You essentially get a temporary BAR license and practice law in the court under this fictitious persona. And when this happens, administrative courts and civil courts throw out your rights and set the rules, which are the rules of the BAR of the state you are in.

If you file an notarized Affidavit of Status that essentially says you are not the property of the city, and not under contract of the city, they have no jurisdiction over you. The city then has to respond to that affidavit under oath do deny it, but since they cannot and will not do it because of extreme liability, it is an uncontested affidavit signed by the state itself.

And you can file a Notice and Claim for Trespassing and Administering my property without right.

I have herd of alleged instances where people harass and scare city officials, and file BAR grievances against lawyers and judges, and they get out of needing licenses, paying property tax, paying speeding tickets and etc.

In short, anything the city or state does against you has the same legal standing as if taco bell did those things, and everyone knows taco bell can't administer fines and tickets. You aren't subject or property of a state or county just be residing in the municipal limits, and if you claim it with an affidavit, there is little they can do to force codes and regulations on you. Obviously you would have to know

I found it very interesting at least, even if it faulty, because the guy lives out what he preaches. His name is Alphonse Faggiolo. His story is on YT if you Google it, it won't let me link here. He is from Pennsylvania, I'm sure it works different in different states.

Apparently huge liability keeps BAR members and public officials don't want to touch these cases with a 10 foot pole.

I'm sure it's gonna get trashed here, but want to discuss with other people to see what they have to say.

Answer:
 This is standard [sovereign citizen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_citizen_movement) rhetoric, which is to say it doesn't work like that.

The best advice here is not to believe everything you hear about the law, especially not from anyone who thinks the government has the same powers over you Taco Bell does.


Title: CA: Bro refuses to pay comcast bill under his own name, advice please.

Question: What can be done? So my brother is a shit head and just up and left our apartment. He's been late on the bill and now they have temporarily shut off our internet and cable. It is under his name. I don't want to pay for it and either does my mom. It's not fair. What are our options? This is so stupid. It was the only way he "contributed" in our household.

Answer:
 Your brother is allowed to ruin his own credit if he wants to unless you guys had a specific agreement that he would provide you with cable/internet

You'll have to get it hooked up in one of your own names and tell them the old person moved


Title: [Colorado]Apartment neighbor is leaving threatening letters at my door

Question:
For the past couple of days I have been receiving passive aggressive threatening letters from the neighbor who lives above me. I am on the second floor, she and her family are directly above me on the third floor. The genesis of this situation stems back a few months.

This family above me has two small children, one is an infant and the other a toddler. The toddler, like many toddlers, is full of energy. To express this energy, he runs around and bounces his ball on the floor, some times for hours on end. It is incredibly loud and disruptive. After living with this noise for months, and not wanting to create unnecessary drama, I went to the apartment manager and asked her if she could politely ask them to be mindful of the noise this creates and the impact it has on the other residents in this building.

The response from the wife, who is the person at home primarily with the children, was to get combative with the apartment manger. Then a few days later, the wife decided to complain to the office that the smell of cannabis smoke was seeping through her walls and disrupting her family and their life. She complained that it was coming from my apartment specifically.

I do admit that I use cannabis, I am a disabled veteran and have a red card (medical prescription approved by a doctor.) Beyond just having a red card, I live in Colorado where recreational cannabis use is legal. Her complaints about the smell have come at times when I was not home and had not been consuming any cannabis. Furthermore, when I do consume cannabis, I almost always use a vaporizer which results in a much less potent smell.

There have been no further complaints from my side, and until Monday, there had been none from her. When I returned home on Monday evening, after having been out of the house all day (and thus not consuming any cannabis,) I found a hand written note from the wife.

https://imgur.com/a/yESC7bG

After reading her letter, I wrote her one back. I didn't take a picture of it, but it was straight to the point without being rude. I told her that I had not been home all day, that I had not consumed any cannabis, and that her accusations were false.

Tuesday morning I contacted the apartment manager and notified her of this situation. She did not take any action. When I returned home from work on Tuesday evening, I had another note from the wife upstairs. In this letter she threatens to contact the local police.

https://imgur.com/WjlSeVu

At this point, I again contacted the apartment manager and she assured me that she would address it with them.

This brings me to my question: What are my legal rights here, and what can I do to protect myself in the case that she does call the police? Is there anything I should do preemptively beyond what I have already done? Thank you for any advice!

Answer:
 NAL, but I'll just tell you what I'd do if I were in your shoes.

1. Get a potent air filter. I read on another post yesterday that there are filters some new parents use to filter the air when they have neighbors who smoke, and it helps with any seeping.
2. Try to avoid smoking indoors. Keep a mini "journal" of when you have smoked, where, and when asked you can say that it is so you can keep track of your "dosages".
3. Keep the notes from the wife-- do not get rid of them. And take pictures of any more notes you write her or she writes you, especially if they seem threatening.
4. Continue to seek mediation through the apartment manager. Express your concerns, try to make friendly with her so she's on your side in case crap hits the fan.


Title: (Wisconsin) Am I legally allowed to put a deadline of when client must use services I render?

Question:
I’ve been a freelance writer for over a year now. I have packages that my clients will pay me to write blog posts for them... 5,10,25 posts. Etc. While most of my clients have no issue using their posts in a timely manner, I’ve had someone who purchased 25 posts in May of 2017 and has only used two as of October 2018. Of course I will honor the rest of the posts for this client as it was not in my contract that there was a deadline... But I’m curious, is it even legal to add a deadline (I was going to make it 1 year) that the posts need to be written by to my contract for future clients so I don’t end up with an issue like this carrying on into the future?

Thank you!

Answer: IANAL, but sure, if you put it into a contract.  You're basically being put on retainer for your services for a year, for up to X number of uses.  It's like AAA -- up to x number of visits is covered under that year's contract.  Make it clear that payment's up front and any unused services are forfeited at the end of the time period.


Title: About to meet with a girl I met on a dating site with the sole intention of sex.

Question:
I'm 28/m in Lawrence KS, a college town. Met a girl on adult friend finder a couple of nights ago that says shes 19, as does her profile.

She is very sexy, I'm good looking myself, but she is hot enough I thought it was BS at first.

Hey profile says 19 and I have text of her saying she's 19. She's interested in a sub/dom encounter and has sent me several pictures.

My question is whether or not there is any legal concerns in what I'm about to do. She gave me her address and it's a legit apartment complex close to the student dorms but not student housing. If I show up and think she's under age at all I would leave immediately. She looks 19 in her pictures and I have text showing she said she is 19. So can I get in any legal trouble just by showing up with voiced intentions of rough, dirty sex?

Answer: On AdultFriendFinder, like all sex-related sites, I'd be less concerned about age and more concerned that it's going to turn out to be a dude.


Title: My neighbor claims to be causing my wireless cell phone service disruptions [WA State].

Question:
I have a neighbor who is claiming to be the cause of my wireless cell phone service dropped calls, squelching in the middle of calls, static and generally poor wireless reception.

I have one neighbor to my west.  To the east is an empty lot, and behind is a swamp leading to a lake.

When I am not near my home I normally get LTE with 4 bars.  But when I receive phone calls from family, friends, or other calls I get dropped calls, loud squelches, static and the phone app just quits.  This happens over and over again.

A neighbor has just started describing a device that he says he picked up while on tour of duty in South Korea.  He has told me that he would get on public buses in SK and the device will jam every RF signal within a radius depending on how it is set up.

I asked him to show it to me, and now this neighbor and I are not speaking.

My WIFI and wireless are both affected.  But I am most concerned about my wireless (i can do cat-5 for the most part).

I called my wireless carrier and mentioned that this neighbor was an ex-cop and ex-Army and that this neighbor has intonated that going to the local authorities would be useless.

My wireless carrier said that there was nothing that they could do.  There best suggestion was for me to get legal representation to go to the police so that I could have some legal cover.

I know that there are not local FCC offices, and even if they had offices here the level of regulatory capture means that I have no "in" with the FCC, either.

What the hell am I to do ?

Is there a Saul Goodman of FCC in WA state ?  Because I am tired of being bullied and having zero remedy.

Answer:
 >I know that there are not local FCC offices, and even if they had offices here the level of regulatory capture means that I have no "in" with the FCC, either.

You think the FCC is captured by the illegal cell phone jammer industry?


Title: My stepfather said an adoption isn't needed cause legally I am already his.(NY)

Question: Ill try to explain it some more and I am stillntryingnto get some information from him. I am over 18 and recently brought up adult adoption to my step father. He seemed confused and claimed that wasn't necessary cause when he married my mom he claimed everything that was hers. I don't see how that's possible since I never knew about this and wasn't made aware it asked to sign anything. I thought that the only way for him to be legally my father was through adult adoption with both our consents? He married my mom when I was over 18 so I don't see how this decision was made without me. Any insight as to what he's talking about? I'm gonna ask him to send me the documents he cited saying that he claimed, but any insight from you guys would be nice. We're in NY

Answer:
 > He seemed confused and claimed that wasn't necessary cause when he married my mom he claimed everything that was hers.

Uh.... no. That is not how it works with people, especially adult offspring from a previous marriage. Your step-father could not be more incorrect.Answer #2: Is it possible that he's basically saying he already accepts you as his own and sees adoption as an unnecessary symbolic gesture? I wasn't part of the conversation, obviously.

The legal answer has already been answered by others.

Edit: Deleted a fragment


Title: My cat ran outside, and the neighbors tried killing him. What should I do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 A pet is property so you can say it’s destruction of property.

The best thing to do is find the cat and assess the damage. A vet might be able to do an autopsy  to find out how it died.


Title: Wisconsin - Just signed a 1 year lease and wasn't warned about bedbugs. Management isn't talking to us and we want out. Can we just walk?

Question:
Hi Guys,

My wife and I are still wading our way through bedbug hell.  I wrote a longer [blog post](http://alexrecker.com/bedbugs/) outlining all the dramatic bits, but the short of it is this: we just signed a one year lease at an apartment and contracted bedbugs through a neighbor.  Our building's management did not warn us when our neighbors came forward **two weeks** before we found our first bug.  Even still, the management refuses to recognize it as a building issue. Instead, they are addressing units individually with spray treatments.  It's being administered by a professional company, but I am almost positive it is the cheapest option.

As a result, our unit is sprayed, then we wait a few more weeks until more bugs trickle in from the ventilation, walls, and even hallways.  Our building manager quit, and the corporate office is incredibly negligent and slow to respond to any kind of communication.  Meanwhile, we are throwing out expensive furniture, paying for hundreds of loads of laundry, and living with psychosomatic symptoms.

We want to get out of our lease.  I am not trying to take down the company or alert the news media.  My wife and I would be perfectly happy just agreeing to break our lease and maybe getting reimbursed for our trashed mattress and couch.

The problem is that it remains difficult to feel them out since there is little to no correspondence.  With our building manager resigned, half of our neighbors living elsewhere, and the corporate office on the other side of the country, we feel like we are living in an abandoned building.

We fantasize about just walking away from this god-forsaken place.  We would lose a $500 pet deposit and an $800 security deposit, but we've upset the management enough to the point we are sure they would find an excuse to swallow that - even if we left our apartment immaculate.

Financially we are doing pretty good.  We both work and we are pretty sure that we could save enough for the down payment of a house before winter.  We would love to close on a house, then slowly sterilize and move our belongings.  We just don't want to mount up for a giant legal battle.

What would be the repercussions of walking away from a lease?  If that's not viable, how do we get out of here?  Please advise!

Thanks,

Alex

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Bed bugs are a big deal. Look up the renters laws in your state. The apartments should be on the hook for replacing everything you threw out


Title: Charging the other parent for having to use PTO time?

Question:
I'm in Arkansas, if that helps. Northwest, if I need to be more specific.

My ex-wife has primary physical custody. I've joint legal custody with 9 visitation days a month, alternating holidays, and 4 weeks in the summer. I pay child support to her voluntarily by court order (which means I offered to pay a little more than the state would have ordered by about $40 a month with the hope that doing so would encourage her to have an aftercare and beforecare daycare plan for him that would fold over onto my days and make it easier on her. She has elected not to do this.)

I have an erratic work schedule that sometimes leads me to having to work late or work on days I wouldn't otherwise have to unexpectedly.

Our son, 4, attends a prek at a public school that he is in from 8:30 to 3:00. It is sometimes impossible for me to always pick him up or drop him off on time.

So I ask my ex-wife to help on my visitation days. She recently told me this was an undue burden on her work schedule which she altered on her days only to reflect his school schedule.

She has given me three months notice that she will no longer be picking him up for me or dropping him off for me on my days without compensation for the PTO time she claims she is having to use (about an hour and half two days a week, three times a month). She says I am free to pursue aftercare or beforecare on my days or another arrangement.

My reasoning is that I pay child support. That is what I pay. It envelopes into it all her costs for him (daycare, dental, healthcare).

Finding another situation would be harder for me (although not impossible).

She is saying if I call her to pick him up and I don't reimburse her for her lost PTO, then she will go pick him up but will take me back to court to modify the order for more compensation (child support?).

My questions are:

How legal is this? Does she have a chance?
What happens if I can't go pick up the child and just tell her that she either has to or he stays?
How would I even reimburse her for PTO time? She doesn't charge me when he is sick or she takes off to go get him during the day on my day to take him to an appointment. Is it just an hour of pay?
Could I lose my visitation days for going to court over this?

What about holidays and summers? She is wanting to do the same thing for this.

Doesn't the primary parent have the primary responsibility to make sure the child is picked  up and cared for? Isn't that the whole point?

Answer:
>How legal is this? Does she have a chance?

She is 100 percent legally entitled to expect you to care for your child without her assistance during your parenting time.

>What happens if I can't go pick up the child and just tell her that she either has to or he stays?

Absent you being in a hospital or some other serious emergency, the school will call CPS.  Alternatively, she will pick him up and document that, and then go to court to reduce your parenting time.

>How would I even reimburse her for PTO time?

By paying her hourly salary rate for the time she misses from work.

>She doesn't charge me when he is sick or she takes off to go get him during the day on my day to take him to an appointment.

Which is a really good reason you should immediately stop being a jerk about this.  During your parenting time, YOU are legally responsible for taking care of him when he is sick and taking him to medical appointments.  She doesn't have to do this and can stop at any time.

>Is it just an hour of pay?

This is an agreement she doesn't have to make at all.  So it's whatever she is willing to agree to.  Reasonably, it should be payment for all hours she misses from work to accommodate you.

>Could I lose my visitation days for going to court over this?

Absolutely.  If you consistently fail to care for your child during your parenting time, your visitation time can and will be reduced.


Title: [Oregon] Remarriage to ex - How do we drop spousal/child support? How do we nullify our divorce decree?

Question:
My ex and I are getting remarried and we are trying to figure out the steps we need to take to nullify our divorce decree. Primarily we want to end support payments, but would also like to have everything else in the decree nullified.

We contacted the lawyer we used to handle the divorce originally, but he was unable to advise us together due to legal reasons of being a mediator. He did, however, offer to officiate since he's also ordained. Talk about irony!

Thanks in advance for any help!
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 > he was unable to advise us together due to legal reasons of being a mediator.

That's weird.  He doesn't want to advise you together, but he advised you together for the divorce?

If he doesn't want to advise you together, how about if he advises only one of you?


Title: Can police taser a suspect as he is fleeing?

Question: I was just watching a cop show, and one of the officers tasered a suspect as he was fleeing up an embankment.  The camera didn't make it look as if he was armed or was posing a threat to officers or bystanders, so it seemed debatable to shoot him as he was running away.  Would the fact that this happened after a chase and the suspect overturning his car affect the answer?  I realize this may vary by jurisdiction, but in general what would the regulations be in the US?

Answer: Yes, a taser can be used to stop a potential criminal. It's considered non-lethal.


Title: Legality of online sexual relationship between an adult and a minor [daughter in Virginia, adult male in the UK]

Question:
We live in Virginia where the age of consent is 18. Our daughter turned 16 very recently. The age of consent appears to be 16 in the UK.

Last night my husband and I found out our daughter has been talking to a British man in his 40s or 50s for over a year, since she was either 15 or about to turn 15. Their conversations are graphic, sexual roleplay and he sends her videos of himself masturbating and they have regular video calls. I haven't had the stomach to go through most of the data but it is mostly text, and I think I've gotten the gist of what's been going on. He's been trying to convince her to move in with him and has been very controlling, telling her what to wear and behave, and he's been encouraging her to send him porn of herself. They've been speaking at least a few times a week for hours at a time, so this is an ongoing relationship. Our daughter has diagnosed depression and anxiety, with the last year being especially rough. She is a bit behind her peers in maturity. She had just started attending a new school and was being bullied when these conversations started, this man appears to have portrayed himself as a friend she could turn to. Our daughter does not have any videos of herself in this app but she has him added on Snapchat and Skype and I can't see what they've shared there. Would we be able to request that data from Snapchat or Skype? What is the law like in prosecuting cases like these internationally, is it hopeless as the age of consent is 16 and nothing physical occurred?

Answer: Laws broken over country lines are a lot harder to resolve and get justice however I don't believe it's impossible considering that the UK and US are cooperating countries and your child was under the age of consent for the UK for at least a portion of the events. From what I've heard the UK doesn't play and is hard on these types of crimes. I don't think it's hopeless however I feel it will probably be harder than if it were even in the same state.


Title: Forwarding emails and attorney client privilege

Question:
A lawyer on behalf of a client recently threatened to take me to court in what would absolutely be a frivolous lawuit. I forwarded his email to a few interested parties, and now he's additionally threatening me saying doing this violates attorney client privilege.

Now I'm not a lawyer but this seems like total bullshit and a lie. Is it a lie? If so is this the sort of lie he's allowed to make?

Answer:
 Huh? He emailed you about a lawsuit and claims you telling other people violated attorney-client privilege? No... definitely not true. I would be very skeptical of any so-called "lawyer" that doesn't know this.

A third-party can't break attorney-client privilege on behalf of the attorney.


Title: [MD] I just received a notice for an eviction notice tomorrow morning.

Question: I just opened my apartment and found “failure to pay rent – landlord’s complaint for repossession of rented property” form stuck in my door. It wasn’t there when I came home from work and the time is 8:45 tomorrow, so I had less than 12 hours notice. The complaint is for $184 dollars I owed near the beginning of past month due to an autopay error ($50 of that is a late fee and another $40 is a legal fee). I payed that several weeks ago and I’ve already payed April’s rent in full. What should I do in court tomorrow? Is there any chance of my actually being evicted?

Answer:
 If you show to court and prove that you are caught up, it will likely be dismissed.Answer #2: Not sure about Maryland's standards for eviction, but general advice for court:

* Dress as nicely as you possibly can. Not clubbing nice; more like wedding nice.

* Be as polite as possible.

* Take printed copies of any payment verification. You shouldn't expect the judge or magistrate to look at your phone.


Title: I (20f) want to report molestation that happened when I was 10, what are my options? (BC, Canada)

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Its not too late. You can report it to the police. Call the non-emergency line for the police department in your area.


Title: If the allegations against Jared Kushner are true and he did, in fact, deliberately hinder federal response to COVID-19 in the hopes that more citizens of blue states would die, what could he realistically be charged with?

Question:
I'm hearing the word "treason" thrown out there, but having read the legal definition, it's... really narrow, so I honestly don't think it applies.

So now I'm curious: if there is confirmed documentation found of a government official deliberately mismanaging a public health crisis in the hopes that it will kill the citizens who disagree with him politically, what charges could that person actually face?

I'm speaking outside of the *political* viability of prosecution, obviously; I'm aware that a lot of politicians have a vested interest in not charging Kushner. This is a hypothetical question about U.S. law.

Answer:
 Is Jared Kushner a public actor? I thought he resigned his WH role over security concerns a year ago or more. (While unofficially continuing to be the president's main advisor.)

edit: according to wikipedia, Jared Kushner did *not* resign from his WH role. I inadvertently credited Jared with doing something that appeared ethical.Answer #2: They already did, they mismanaged the AIDS public health crisis in the hopes of “solving the gay problem” without any repercussions. Dunno why people would be surprised that they’d do it again.


Title: [IL] Came back from a 6 day trip to find my about 25% of my apartment under about 1/4 of water. What are my options with my leasing company / what should i ask my leasing company for and what should i expect to actually get? Is there any precedent for these incidents?

Question:
I live in Chicago, IL and recently I spent the 17th-21st in Hawaii with some friends. I came back on 22nd at around 9am, opened my door and stepped into about a quarter inch of water. I think because the way my floor is slanted it really only affected a hallway and some of my living room, and thankfully not my bedroom at all. It ruined a rug, some bath mats, and other minor things, but nothing huge. I plan to ask my leasing company for 1 month of rent free and the ability to sever my lease without penalty (penalty being 3 months of rent paid in advance if I were to cancel it).

My question is, what can i reasonably expect my leasing company to do? Should i ask for more? I don't feel like they have any legal obligation to do any of that, although a manager has verbally told me that he will replace the physical objects that were ruined (~$200 at most). My insurance agent, a relative, told me i wont need to file anything and even if i did, i dont have a "sewage endorsement" so it wouldnt be covered. My leasing company also replaced my floor, but that was mainly out of necessity and not out of goodwill. Additionally, my father, who works for a national insurance company told me, and I'm paraphrasing, "the sewage backup is out of the realm of events that an apartment can reasonably predict and anticipate to prevent, therefore they were not negligent, therefore not liable." but that doesnt seem right to me.

Thanks in advance!

Answer:
 >My question is, what can i reasonably expect my leasing company to do?

To repair the water damage to the apartment.

They don't have to let you out of your lease unless they want to.  They probably don't owe you any free rent unless you were unable to use your apartment or are unable to use it during the repair.  And in many situations, as your father has described, they're not responsible for the cost of the things damaged.  Answer #2: It depends. A utility backup isn't the landlord's fault, provided they didn't ignore any necessary maintenance or repairs. If another tenant was doing something stupid like flushing non-flushable things down the line, it may wind up being their responsibility.

Realistically, the landlord should at least repair the structure and inspect for mold. Being able to terminate your lease without penalty is unreasonable unless the apartment is unlivable.


Title: Domestic Partnership Polyamory Dilemma

Question:
My name is Matthew. I am in a polyamorous triad relationship with two women, Julie and Victoria. I've been in a relationship with both of them for five years. I honestly love them equally and would like to marry them both, but polygamy is not legal in Florida (United States of America). What I want to do is to find some combination of legal commitments that provide essential benefits so that we can have legal benefits of being committed.

I was thinking if marrying Julie, Julie getting a  domestic partnership for Victoria, is and a domestic partnership between Victoria and me. That sounds like a reasonable solution. We aren't harming anyone by doing this so I do not see why not.

My question is that is this a feasible or legal thing to do?

Also can I have more than one joint account owner on my bank accounts? I would like my two partners to use the same bank account.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 No, this solution is not legal.
If you are married or in a Domestic Partnership, you can not enter into a second marriage NOR Domestic Partnership - it's still bigamy.

You can however talk to a lawyer and create specific powers of attorney to cover some rights, create medical living wills for other rights, etc.


Title: It looks like my girlfriend is going to pre-trial without a lawyer... What happens now?

Question: My girlfriend is going to pre-trial tomorrow for third degree retail fraud in Michigan. Something got messed up, and now she doesn't have a lawyer for it. What happens now? How bad is this?

Answer: Ideally, she goes in and asks for a continuance so she can get a lawyer.


Title: [LA] Sex offender needs help!

Question:
Hello from louisiana.
I'll try to be as brief as possible...

My cousin got convicted of indecent behavior with a juvenile for text messaging a stranger. He never met the stranger, they never saw each other and they never discussed their ages.
The victim's mom called my cousin and told him that the victim was underage. My cousin apologized, said he didn't know and that it wouldn't happen again. All the records attest to this fact.
The mother called the police anyway and my cousin was subsequently charged with indecent behavior with a juvenile. From what I've read, I thought the only way this would be illegal is if my cousin would've "reasonably believed" the stranger to be underage. How could this apply to my cousin if he never saw, met or knew the age of the person he was texting?

His public defender talked to him on the phone for maybe 5 minutes out of the 2 years he was incarcerated. When he finally went to court his public defender gave him a choice to either go to trial the next day or take a 4-year plea deal. He chose the plea because he would've lost at trial because he never got a chance to discuss the case with the public defender. He felt like he was bullied into taking the plea.

Do you think he can get back into court even though he is years over the 2-year post-conviction time limit?

Any help or advice would be GREATLY appreciated because he has nothing. No money, no nothing. It's hard for him to even make money because nobody will hire him because of the sex offense.

The statue is LA RS 14:81

Thank you.

Answer:
 > Do you think he can get back into court even though he is years over the 2-year post-conviction time limit?

No.  There is no "I want a do-over!" free second shot at trial.  Your cousin, on the advice of his lawyer, knowingly and voluntarily pled guilty to the charges.

You've offered no reason why that advice was bad.  Your cousin can't appeal based on "I think I might have won if I'd tried!".  His options for appeal are limited to failures of the process - illegal or improper rulings, bad advice from his counsel, et cetera.  You don't have that here.Answer #2: Your cousin is lying to your family. Go ahead get a copy of the court filings and police reports.


Title: The landlady in a no-pet apartment let us get a puppy, but...

Question:
As the title, says, we (living in Utah) convinced our landlady to let us have a puppy even though she has a strict no-pet policy. But I got an angry phone call from her daughter and I’m fearing we might face legal action. Here’s the story:

Background: my wife has a lifelong history of epilepsy and other related issues, like an IQ under 70, anxiety, depression.

On Friday, we got a letter from psychologist prescribing  a dog for my wife to mitigate the effects of the epilepsy and psych issues. I sent a copy of this to my landlady.

Originally the landlady refused. But I stated my case in an email, saying that my wife qualified as disabled, and had a right to reasonable accommodation under the law. I cited the The Americans with Disabilites Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Fair Housing Act and the Air Carrier Access Act.

I also described the nature of the dog we were planning to buy: an 8 week old Shih Tzu. I told her I understood why she needs to be strict about prohibiting pets and that we were willing to do our part to make granting an exception easier. I also mentioned that we would be moving out in 3 months anyway, further minimizing the dog’s impact on the apartment.

My wife made a follow-up call yesterday. The landlady said yes, granted that we pay a $500 deposit. So we proceeded to purchase the dog later that day.

Today, the landlady’s daughter gave me an angry phone call. I’m not sure why she’s getting involved. All I know is she managed in their absence while her parents (I should mention that both of her parents are the property owners and managers) were away on a religious trip, but that was before we moved in. She said the following:

-The dog is too young, couldn’t have been trained.

-They need a full medical history proving my wife’s condition and the need for a dog.

-Doesn’t see the use of the dog for her epilepsy.

-Claims other tenants will try to do the same thing and that I’m doing a disservice to medical dog owners.

-And, this is the kicker, claimed that I *threatened* to sue her mother if she didn’t let us have a dog. This is despite the fact that words “sue” and “lawsuit” do not appear anywhere in the email. I used words like “respectfully reconsider,” “we are asking you to make an exception." She claims her mother made the decision under duress, and that I intimidated her (that was not my intention with the email).

I'm confused. We made sure to be forthright about this. We didn’t purchase the dog until *after* we had permission from the landlady.

I asked the landlady’s daughter what needed to happen: e.g. providing a more thorough history, a note from a medical doctor, getting a better trained dog. Instead she vented about the way I got her mom to agree to let us have a dog.

I haven’t sent the deposit yet. Should I? To show that I’m willing to honor our end of the deal. We’ve done everything we can to minimize the dog’s impact on the apartment, including keeping it in a kennel or on a blanket at all times, never letting be on the carpet.

Answer: I would do what you agreed to do. Acceptable of the deposit is excellent evidence of an agreement to change the lease terms to allow a dog. Be sure to put "dog deposit" on the check.


Title: Longtime girlfriend is trying to screw me out of the profits of selling our house.

Question:
Edit: sorry I blanked on location. I'm in Ontario Canada.

Stick with me. This is going to be a long one. I'll start with how we bought the house. I was unable to put my name on the mortgage because of credit issues. My ex, her father, and my mother are all on the mortgage. I have a written agreement signed by all that says as long as I am paying my share of the mortgage I have equal ownership as her. I have records of all my payments. This is where things get messy. She cheated on me and hid the guy for a year. I was moving away for work in September of 2017, she asked if she could move a friend in for 2 weeks, little did I know whom she meant. I agreed to the 2 weeks. They apparently signed a lease with only her and her "tenants" signatures on it. 4 months later there is no end in sight. She refuses to sell. She refuses to evict him. I am, more than anything, wondering what my options are. Does my signed agreement count for anything? Do I have any recourse to evict her "tenant"? Do I have any way to force her to sell. I'm between a rock and a hard place and I immensely appreciate any help you guys and gals have to offer.

-S

Answer:
 And this, boys and girls, is why you don’t buy property with a boyfriend/girlfriendAnswer #2: Wow.  What a mess. I think you need a lawyer to review the document and advise you. Answer #3: Actually, that's pleasantly not long compared to some of the essays posted here.

I found this that may be relevant: http://disinherited.com/joint-property-owners-can-force-sale-partition-property-act/

Ontario has a similar law https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90p04

You will certainly be needing a lawyer familiar with such property law.Answer #4: You need a lawyer yesterday.

1. It is her house, not yours.

2. What else does the agreement say? Does it deal with triggering a sale? Because if it doesn’t, you are probably going to have to wait until she sells to get anything (if that’s possible). Really the agreement is your only possible way of getting anything so brig that to your lawyer. If he has a positive opinion of the document it may be worth sending a demand letter. But my guess is it’s probably best to walk away.

3. I am as stupid as you are. I did this in Ontario. 3 years and $45k later in lawyers fees I walked out with $35k (I settled out of court).  Contracts need to be specific, if they are short and vague they don’t help anyone..... except maybe the lawyers.

Answer #5: Whose name is on the title?

Who made what percent of the down payment and mortgage payments?


Title: Law Enforcement AMA. LIVE from 11-3 Central Time!

Question:
Law Enforcement AMA. 12/5 from 11-3 Central Time

Ask our local LE (current and former) any question.

/u/Cypher_Blue : Hey, I worked patrol for the first 10+ years of my career, and the last couple of years I've been assigned to a regional computer crimes task force as a computer forensic examiner. I sit in front of a computer all day at work, so I should be in and out throughout the whole thing.

/u/Ianp : I became interested in law enforcement because my best friend at the time was pursuing a degree in criminal justice and I wanted to do something that I wouldn't normally do. My choices were either become a paramedic, police officer or pilot. I became involved with a local civic organization and spent some time volunteering one of the large police departments, and the rest was history! I graduated from the academy exactly 1 month after my 21st birthday (which is the statutory minimum age to be a LEO in Oklahoma,) and remained commissioned for about 6 years (until my daughter was born.) I've always worked full-time in IT & engineering in some capacity, but I still follow LEO related stuff fairly closely. Fun fact, on the day we found out my wife was accepted to the police academy; we found out she was pregnant with our daughter! So she never got to join me in any of the high adrenaline stuff I used to do often, but she did (and still does) hear stories of the weird situations I'd end up in.

/u/Kelv37 : I've worked in law enforcement for about 10 years. I've served in county jails, as a bailiff, and out on patrol. Although patrol is a mixed bag, I typically target my proactive enforcement towards narcotics. I'm a certified expert in all things methamphetamine and have a pretty good passing knowledge of other street drugs.

/u/theletterqwerty : (Yeah, he is Canadian. Be nice) Policing's been a lifelong interest of mine, mainly from the community-building and progressive justice perspectives. I spent a few years as an MP in Ontario, I've got a thing for traffic law and traffic courts, some time in victim-witness interactions and a bit of expertise on the computer forensics end. I'm out now so my information's getting a bit stale, but I try to keep up on Canadian case law when I can.

/u/DaSilence has been a sworn law enforcement officer for the last 18 years. He has worked at a sheriff's office his entire career. In that time he has worked patrol, criminal investigations, warrants unit, and crimes against women and children. He's been promoted several times and current holds the rank of lieutenant. He has bachelor's degrees in political science and chemistry, and a master's in public administration.

/u/thepatman is a combination of Efrem Zimbalist, Jr and David Hasselhoff, all wrapped in a body strangely resembling Steve Buscemi. He lives alone with his Xbox and a pile of Star Trek novels

Feel free to post any questions here if you don't know if you will make it. Stupid SC questions welcome.

Location bot: I do not consent to creating joinder.

Answer:
 /u/dasilence: Why wasn't I invited to this and why should I not unmod you from /r/protectandserve and /r/LEO? We only want real cops not some admin paper pushers.Answer #2: Evictions, and especially illegal self-help evictions are a pretty common topic on this sub.  The general advice given is that the only answer you can expect from the cops if your landlord locks you out is "it's a civil matter."  I've seen at least one jurisdiction where locked a tenant out of their apartment was listed as a criminal offense, but from what I've heard here it seems to be very uncommon.

So, if someone was locked out of their apartment by their landlord, and their was no eviction filed, what, if anything, would it take for you or your department to get involved any further?


Title: I was pulled over by DPS for allegedly traveling at 90MPH. I requested dash cam footage from the officer's vehicle and I am told it does not exist.

Question:
A few months back I was pulled over and paper arrested for criminal speeding. My "estimated" speed was 90mph. I was not traveling anywhere near that fast and I am fighting it in court. I immediately filed a motion in court requesting a copy of the dashcam footage from the officer's vehicle, along with the officer's notes relating to my arrest. DPS claims no such footage exists and the prosecutor has not provided me the notes. I need it to help prove my innocence. Is there anything else I can do to get my hands on the footage/notes?

Pima County Arizona

Answer:
 They can't turn over what they don't have.  So you're not getting non-existent footage.

Have they responded at all on the notes?Answer #2: You can't get what does not exist.

Arizona generally does not allow pre-hearing discovery for traffic offenses, but the officer must produce his/her notes during the hearing if asked.


Title: [California] Ally Bank signature card asks me to certify that I am exempt from FATCA, but I am not. What now?

Question:
[Cross-post](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/3cyxe5/ally_bank_signature_card_asks_me_to_certify_that/) from /r/personalfinance.

I recently applied to open an Ally Bank checking+savings account. A few days ago I got the signature card in the mail. On it, it says to certify, among other things, that "I am exempt from Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act reporting". I am not exempt from that, as I have a significant bit of money in foreign accounts, being an immigrant (resident alien for tax purposes).

I called Ally support 6 times and the responses I got have consistently been one (or more, after I press further) of the following:

* "We cannot provide tax advice" -- Not helpful.
* "You can cross out the line if you are subject to backup withholding" -- This is referring to another line of the signature card about being exempt from IRS backup withholding. That is completely unrelated to what I'm asking about (FATCA reporting).
* "I will open a case about this in your account and escalate this matter. We will get back to you in 1-2 business days." -- I've gotten this response three times, and only got a call the third time. The result of that follow-up call was a "You can cross out the line if you are subject to backup withholding" answer.

They've also told me that I have to send the signature card back by 60 days after account opening. The consequences of not doing so were unclear when I asked. I still have a bunch of time remaining but I'd rather not linger. What are my options at this point? Should I move my money out of the account before the 60-day window in case they close it?

Details:

* Location: California, US.
* I have a social security number.
* I have been in the US for >1 year and have already filed for 2014, including the form for FATCA.
* I work in the US, but have significant (>25k) investment income from my overseas accounts.

Answer:
 Do you really want to continue opening an account with them? Because my feeling is if they can't deal with something like this, how are they going to be if you have a problem when your actual money is on the line?

Incidentally, their T & Cs indicate that if you don't provide them with the signature card they will withhold tax on interest earned.


Title: Can my job make volunteering mandatory without pay? (Canada AB)

Question:
My boss emailed us saying that we are required to volunteer for a company booth at an expo next month. No exceptions. We don’t get paid for it.

Is this legal? They threaten to write us up if we skip for any reason.

Answer:
 It's not volunteering if it's mandatory. It's then a job, and you have to be paid for working.

That's how it normally works, but you're under a contract. So, hmm, let someone who knows come in and correct me.
Answer #2: No slavery is illegal. Answer #3: If you are required to be there they have to pay you.


Title: Consensual nudes of a minor?

Question:
Disclaimer: As of yet no photos that couldn't have been posted to somewhere public like Facebook have been sent by her.

The situation: I'm 19 year old male from the Netherlands, she is a 14 year old female from Norway.

If she willingly sends nude pictures. At which laws should I be looking? All that I can find online is very fuzzy, if someone would be willing to shed some light before I end up in jail or something, it would be appreciated.

Edit: Thank you all for the insights and advice. I think  [this gif](http://31.media.tumblr.com/db6a386e716b7f58c9cf0b86b33e83ad/tumblr_mgf0y2MZOB1rk2g45o1_500.gif) accurately sums up my current state of mind. I'll inform her of the situation and stop further contact.

Answer:
 You should look at artikel 240B strafrecht.
It basicly states that you can go to prison for 4 years if you are caught with pornographic images (pictures and video's of a minor (sombody who isn't 18 years of age yet)).
Also internationaly art. 8 EVRM (Europees verdrag van de rechten van de mens).

I am not a lawyer but I am a Dutch law student.
BTW: she is 14 either wait untill she is 18 or just don't. Also if you want to look at a resent court case just google Robert M. (you might  remember him, he was also conviced for this and somethings that are even more sickening )Answer #2: Dude no. Why are you even talking you a 14 year old? That's nothing but trouble. what do you even have in common? Remember the rule half your age plus 7. Answer #3: 14 years old, she can not consent. It is your responsibility what happens. Tell her to stop, as she may send you in jail by doing this. Norwegian police take this kind of crime serious, and they will come after you if this is discovered. (For Norway: Wait til she is over 16 yo.)Answer #4: from one dude to another, it ain't worth it. plus norway's age of consent is 16, so we can extrapolate the illegality of this situation brah


Title: [MA] Scammed on Reddit, looking for legal options advice

Question:
Hey everyone,

Earlier this month I made a purchase on one of the Reddit boards for sales/trades. I paid the person, but they started to get shady with shipping excuses so I did some due diligence research and found out the person had been scamming people across a few accounts for quite some time. I requested my money back, which hasn't been returned in full yet. I also filed a report with Paypal as I paid Goods and Services. He's aware that I've made the connection between his accounts.

&#x200B;

I'm wondering if it's worth bringing up to the police. If so, would I contact my local police or the police where I suspect they live? Through some research I found other accounts and numerous other people that had been scammed by him under a different username. I was able to link the accounts since they publicly posted the email address used for all the scams across the various accounts. Due to all this, I've been able to find out the persons name and rough area of residence. It seems this kid won't stop and has been breaking the law for quite some time - but is there anything I can do?

Answer:
 It's always a good idea to file a police report in cases of fraud.  Although you may not ultimately have a case brought, most times when making a fraud dispute w/PayPal or your CC you'll need a police report to initiate the charge-back.  Particularly if it's for an amount higher than say $100.

&#x200B;

Good luck.


Title: My gf thinks I undressed her and is threatening to call the cops

Question:
The other night my gf got drunk and took her clothes off before going to bed.

She woke up freaking out that I undressed her. I explained that she did it when she got drunk but she doesn’t believe me. She threatened to call the cops on me and now I’m freaking out. I have no evidence that I didn’t do it, is it possible that I’ll be in trouble?
Topic:
Alcohol Related Other than DUI

Answer:
 I'm sorry to hear about your ex.

In order to successfully prosecute, the state would need to prove that you _did_ undress her, and that undressing her constituted sexual assault or a similar crime. I think that's unlikely, to say the least. However, continued contact doesn't help you at this point, and if she thinks you undressing her is a police-worthy event, then the trust is gone and the relationship has already ended.

Don't speak to the police without speaking to a lawyer.


Title: My apartment complex is charging $35 a month for pet rent.

Question:
I live in California and my apartment just started to charge pet rent for our dog. We already paid a 500 dollar deposit.

I feel like they are renting my dog to me.

Is there anyway to get out of this?

Answer: Did you agree to it in your lease? Pet fees are very common because they cause damage to carpet and other parts of the apartment


Title: [OK] Employer Withholding paycheck to use in case I Quit or Get Fired.

Question: I had my first week at a new job recently, and come payday I was told that I would not be receiving my paycheck, as they would withhold it to give me as my final paycheck. Is this legal? If not, is there a specific law that protects me from this in Oklahoma?

Answer: Jesus.  Contact the [Department of Labor](https://www.ok.gov/odol/) about this douchebag.  You have to be paid the wages that you earn, every pay period.


Title: We've just hit 500k subscribers

Question:
Today we hit 500,000 subscribers. Just a few years ago, the current team took over a tiny subreddit that had far more questions than it could handle. With love, care, frustration, and endless passion we've turned it into what is, as far as we can tell, the largest English language source of free legal information in the world. Quite possibly the largest in the world irrelevant of language. In a word... Wow!

We play a small but important role in the legal world in that we help fill something called the "[Justice Gap](https://www.lsc.gov/media-center/publications/2017-justice-gap-report)." We often can't help with the big stuff, but we excel at helping with the small things that leave many Americans in the dark. Even though these aren't the titanic legal issues that get covered in the news, for the people asking here they are matters of supreme importance. Questions about whether or not a landlord can evict someone, how to get money back from a small loan, car accidents, petty theft, child support, sexual harassment, property rights, rights in the workplace, and yes, tree law, are all things that funded legal aid programs either can't or aren't allowed to assist with. We help bridge that gap.

We get an average of just under 400 questions per day. That's nearly 3,000 people a week or over 10,000 people a month who find us, ask their question, and hopefully, receive information they can use to arm themselves. This doesn't include the countless people who read our archives and learn something that may be useful in the short or long term.

I am tremendously proud of our team of moderators, starred users, regular contributors, and the folks who pop in once in a while to answer a question in a field in which they have expertise. We've created something bigger than our wildest expectations here, and it's something we all can be very, very proud of.

Thank you all for building our amazing community.

https://gyazo.com/7682fc995fda061d61c2fec6ea739255

Answer: 500k ? Is that all? It’s for the church, honey. You can do better. NEXT!Answer #2: I'm here for the tree law.Answer #3: When are we getting a Tree Law sticky?