Title: (NSFW) Been a tenant of my home for almost 3 months now, landlord regretted to inform me that there is no sewage tank.

Question:
Pipe that is connected to all of my toilets empties out onto the side of my house and I only now know after stumbling upon a 5 foot long puddle filled with fecal matter, toilet paper and everything else you would expect. Can I take legal action for failure to inform and this seeming like an incredible health violation?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 I would suggest contacting your local Board of Health for starters.

What are your damages? And what do you want to get? Are you seeking to break the lease? If yes, [see this](https://oklaw.org/resource/how-to-get-your-landlord-to-make-repairs?ref=TjSDv).Answer #2: Direct experience with this; I am an active insurance agent and have seen this on home inspections in underwriting. The septic tank or being tied to city sewage is not optional and a direct violation of the county or city codes absolutely. They, the owners, can be fined and will be forced to make the neccessary repairs on the home or face the home fined and ultimately condemned. This is also violating numerous things regarding proper disposal of organic waste and environmental rules.Answer #3: I had read before that Oklahoma was (I think) the only state that didn't have an implied warranty of habitability attached to every lease, but apparently that's changed!

http://adams.law.ou.edu/olr/articles/Vol63/632-04%20powers%20note%20blu1.pdf

As of June 30th, 2009 an Oklahoma supreme court effectively brought Oklahoma out of the dark ages and it's now the duty of residential landlords to “to maintain the leased premises, including areas under the tenant’s exclusive control or use, in a reasonably safe condition.”

Since a giant pile of poop in the backyard isn't a "reasonably safe condition" the landlord is in breach.

https://oklaw.org/resource/how-to-get-your-landlord-to-make-repairs?ref=fNwmz

And also call your local housing authority / code enforcement.  It's almost certainly in violation.  Be prepared to move out and sue your landlord, though.  The kind of asshole that would rent out a property like that is also the kind of asshole that would put the screws to you, legal or not.Answer #4: Contact Code Enforcement for your city and also the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality ([http://www.deq.state.ok.us/](http://www.deq.state.ok.us/))


Title: Bf broke up with me, we’re both on the apartment lease and he’s kicking me out

Question:
This situation is located in Michigan. I (24F) have a young child 50/50 with my ex-husband, my newly ex-boyfriend (36M) and I signed a lease in October for 1 year, it was all pretty straightforward but now he broke up with me and says he’s not going anywhere and I have to leave.

I don’t know what to do here, I’ve actually paid more rent and did everything to get the apartment but there’s no real proof. I can’t afford a lawyer and he can prove his income is better but I can still afford the place. Any sort of advice at all would be exceptionally appreciated, thank you!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: He can't kick you out if you're on the lease.Answer #2: You can fight to get the apartment. Contact the landlord. Or even call the police. It’s freezing outside. How he kicked you & your child out. It’s half yours.  Or get your name off the lease, bc you’d still be responsible for any damage/incidentals even if you don’t live there


Title: (NH) Can you post a photo in public of a check with another person's account number and routing number on it?

Question: I think this guy posted a photo of the check, because it might have been his first 'Paycheck" from a client. He blacked out the name and part of the address of the person who gave it to him, but the routing number and account number are still on the bottom of the check.  I'm not sure if this is legal, but it seems extremely careless, and this guy is a lawyer.

Answer: Careless, and excellent proof that every profession has its morons, but not illegal in any jurisdiction I'm aware of.


Title: Being sued after a car accident and I have absolutely no money as a college student?

Question:
Back a couple months ago I got into a car accident. I was T-boned by one car who hit me hard enough to fling me into a third car. Both me and the third car were fine but the car who hit me went to the hospital. My car and the car who hit me were totaled, the third car was just damaged a little bit.

I was given a ticket for an improper left turn, so the insurance company found me at fault even though the third car was on my side and thought the person who hit me was in the wrong.

I paid my ticket, got the points off my license, a few months go past. I find out there was a lien on my license and it was suspended because I was on the hook for a security deposit since it took the insurance company so long to pay the other people. Finally got them to pay, got proof that they did, and got it back. I also had to get full coverage insurance and SR-22 insurance, which I did. I had to pay a couple hundred dollars medical security deposit for the one person because I didn’t have Bodily Coverage (Florida doesn’t require it and I was stupid and didn’t think further than that).

Happily did that, got the license back, good to go. Until a week later when a letter shows up on my door from an attorney. The person who hit me wants a couple thousand for medical bills. Less than $20,000 but more than 10,000. Sorry I’m trying to keep it vague.

I’m freaking out. I do not have money. I’m a college student working full time at $10. I live with a roommate and do not have money left over at the end of the month. I pay all of my bills on my own with no help from my parents. I have hardly any savings and have no assets, no home since I rent an apartment, 2 $100 stocks, and some savings bonds. That’s it. My car is worth maybe $1500 and I need to it get to school and work. I have the car that was totaled still. My parents are even worse off than I am with debt and no savings.

We sent the letter to the insurance company and they are looking it over. In the mean time I’m trying not to panic but I have no idea what could happen. I’m not even 21 yet and I’m terrified that this could ruin my life. It was my first ever accident and feel bad about it, but the witnesses told the insurance company that they thought she was at the wrong too. It probably doesn’t even matter though.

I can’t even afford an attorney and my family has been telling me that the insurance company could probably settle with them, but I don’t know. I don’t want to go to court because I can’t even afford someone to represent me, and then I could lose and be even worse off now having to pay both. I want to avoid going to court but if it comes down to me paying the money, I don’t know what I’ll do. I don’t want to be homeless or have no car, racked with debt.

I don’t know if it matters, but the lawyer who sent the letter had the wrong date for the accident on it, saying it occurred the day before. Also all three of us have the same insurance company, which I was told is a good thing??

I’m literally terrified. I’ve heard about debt relief before but I don’t know if that counts. I do not have the money. I can’t even begin to imagine what I could do to come up with it. What do I do??

Answer: Stop panicking. Tell your insurance company. This is why you have insurance.


Title: (AR) Landlord and the showing of my apartment

Question:
My lease is up and I gave a 30 day notice of my intent to vacate at the beginning of the month. My landlord has begun showing my apartment, which is great. They are asking me to keep it 'show ready', which takes some work considering I am packing and have a child.  I think I do a pretty decent job though.

My only problem is that they aren't giving me much notice at all, about 20 or 30 minutes. Sometimes an hour.

A lot of the time I don't mind but occasionally I'd like enough time to make sure toys are off the floor and beds are made or a counter is wiped down. When I get texts from them saying that they are showing the apartment is 20 minutes and I am at work, there is no way I can make it home in enough time to straighten up before the showing. I have to live there for 30 days, not everything is going to be in its place and their idea of show ready seems to be a bit unreasonable since I still live there.

I understand that in my lease that I have an expectation to have the apartment show ready and to help make the apartment available them to show the apartment but I hate getting texts after only having 20 minutes notice that the apartment " was not show ready. Please remember to keep it show ready. Boxes were in the living room." Where am I suppose to put them? If I had a little notice, perhaps I could cover them or move them to the side or something.

The lease says they can enter the premises with reasonable, advanced  notice with that notice usually being 24 hours unless otherwise necessary.

I could live with just the criticism but they are threatening to keep some of my deposit for each week it isn't re-rented to another tenant after I move out. It does not mention this at all in the lease. Can they do that? Even though my lease is up and I gave 30 days notice and I am attempting to make the apartment show ready and available to them?

They are also requiring that I leave the apartment before each showing.So if they text me and give me 20 minutes notice, I have to stop what I am doing and leave the apartment.

I just don't think this is at all reasonable and would like to know if I have any rights here.

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Are you ending a month to month lease or a yearly lease?  Has your yearly lease already ended? You can't be held liable past your move out day if you gave proper notice for the end of your yearly lease term.  Your landlord must give 24 hour notice and you can deny entrance if they do not.  Make notes of all of this with dates and times, etc.


Title: What are the risks and possible consequences of going along with a green card marriage?

Question:
To give a little detail, I'm an American citizen, living in Connecticut. I've known this girl for about a year, we both work in a mall and she would visit my store everyday. I'm not gonna lie, she's cute and I would have been down to date her regardless, so there's that. Anyway, she stopped me in the middle of the mall today when I was on my break and told me her visa expires in like two months. She asked if I would be willing to marry her so she could get a green card, and said she would pay me for it.

So what are the risks here? If we start dating now does it legitimize it in any way, or does the fact that we've known each other for a while? The funny thing is that I would have legitimately gone out with her if she'd asked earlier, but I'm just worried that two months won't be enough time to look legitimate.

Answer:
 [Visa fraud is a federal go-the-fuck-to-jail crime](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1546). See the third paragraph of section (a) - you will be required to attest to the nature of your relationship, under oath.

Oh, and if and when the two of you get divorced, sorting out your shared debts and assets is probably going to be a nightmare.


Title: I just got court papers for the people who lived here before me. Do I legally need to do anything?

Question:
I moved in three years ago. One of the old tenants keeps getting mail. I've gotten everything from what I assume to be personal cards to official looking mail. I always write return to sender and stick it back in the mail.

 Lately a kid I babysit has been 'helping' me get the mail. Often times it's torn to bits before I have a chance to get it away from him. Luckily I only ever get junk mail. Today's shredded mail includes court papers for the old tenant. It looks like a creditor is suing for access to their employment records and such. Thinking back, this isn't the only letter like this I've gotten.

Since the letter is shredded I can't return to sender. Do I legally need to do anything about the court papers I may be getting? I never would have known if I hadn't opened it. If I recall right opening other people's mail is a huge no-no legally.

I'm teaching the kid not to destroy my mail anymore. In his defense, he IS a dinosaur and dinosaurs don't know manners. They also like to shred things he says. At least he has the roar down.

Answer:
 Write a letter to the court.  Include the name of the case ("Acme Finance v. Debbie Debtor"), the case number, and any other information from the heading at the top of the first page, like "Magistrate's Court" or "County Civil Court".

To whom it may concern:

I received this pleading from your court in poor condition.  Debbie Deadbeat has not lived at this address for at least 27 months; you should assume that anything sent to this address during that time did not reach her.  My only connection to Debbie is that I moved into this residence after she vacated it.   I do not have current contact information for her.

Please file this in the court file so that the Judge and any interested party will know that Debbie Debtor is unlikely to have any actual knowledge or notice of these proceedings."

If the plaintiff's lawyer's name and address are legible, send him/her a copy as well, and show that as an additional mailing address on the letter you send to the Court.

This will cost you a few minutes and a stamp, and it will keep Debbie from getting railroaded.  You may not have an affirmative legal duty to do this, but it's the right thing to do.


Title: Woman in Germany threw a gifted pet tarantula at her boyfriend in a fight - police(!) said they would charge with animal cruelty, but it's an invertebrate

Question: [removed]

Answer: 1) probably not many German lawyers here and 2) no,  the police often do not know the law.  Shit,  often lawyers don't either.  There are a ton of laws.


Title: Friend is being harassed by an unknown person

Question:
A friend of mine was on trial when he was a teenager for supposedly sticking his thumb inside a younger girl while giving her a piggyback ride. HE WAS NOT CONVICTED

However, someone that was familiar with the case has been harassing him for years now. The trial was back when he was 17. He's 26 now.

* This person has gotten his facebook accounts deactivated 4-5 times.
* My friend tried to set up poultry sales/swaps at his house through Craigslist and this person posted their own post saying that people shouldn't take their children to a child molester's house.
* My friend and his dad found some wild turkey eggs while they were bush hogging their field, so he took the ones that weren't destroyed home to try to save the babies. This person somehow found out and reported him to the game warden. (Which he just found out about last night when the game warden showed up at his house almost a year later!)

He's really at his wit's end. Is there anything we can do to find out who is doing this? Would a lawyer be able to request the records of who turned him in to the game warden? I assume no because they would want to protect the identity of the person, but this person has been doing everything in his/her power to ruin my friend's life while still remaining anonymous.

Him and his girlfriend had a baby last year and he told me that he's paranoid that it's only a matter of time before this person tries to claim that he is molesting his son. I really don't want this to happen to him. What kind of steps can he take?

Edit: He's in Kansas.

Second edit: I should mention that whoever this is seems to know him pretty well. He has even changed his name on Facebook by using his middle name as his first and his first name as his last and whoever this was still knew it was him. I don't know about you all, but I don't go around telling people my middle name and I know he doesn't either.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Your friend might want to think about hiring a Private Investigator (PI) to see what the PI can determine. It doesn't seem like anything illegal is taking place per your narrative, so I'm not certain that the law is going to do much to help your friend.

Side note- Why does the post have a flair that reads 'douche'?


Title: [CA] Friend took a plea deal, they are stripping him of his access to the internet and all electronics seemingly forever.

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 If he took a plea, he has, in all likelihood, waived his right to appeal.

>His attorney roped him into not going to trial

Yeah, he had to both sign a written plea agreement and tell the judge that he understood and consented to his plea.  Don't blame this on his attorney.  It was his decision, and probably a wise one to avoid a far harsher sentence.Answer #2: This is not your battle to wage. Your friend can contact a civil rights attorney.


Title: I backed up my car and hit a car that was parked on my driveway. Yes, I didn't look back if there was parked car (which was a mistake), but was the owner of the car at fault too for temporarily parking a car (with the engine running) on the driveway which was meant to be clear?

Question:
I'm trying to find out if I'm the only person liable for all the damages to the other owner's car.

EDIT: Location is Los Angeles.

EDIT2: this was at an Apartment Complex

Answer:
 It is 100% your fault.
Sorry.

It was your duty to ensure that the way was clear before proceeding. You failed to do so hitting a parked car. It doesn't matter if the car was parked there illegally. You failed to do that. Instead you hit a stationary object. Answer #2: At least it was just a car and not a kid.Answer #3: You hit a parked car. There is no one else to blame but yourself. You need to accept responsibility for your mistake and make things right, learn what you can, and move on.


Title: Dog that attacked me and my dog was out in public today while on quarantine

Question:
Was at a big box pet store today with my dog as our vet is located inside. Coming out of his appointment I see the dog that attacked him with his owner inside the store. Needless to say I notified the management, local PD and animal control about the situation as he is on a 10 day quarantine and not allowed out of the house and if he does leave aka for a medical emergency he must be muzzled which he was not.

I took pictures and emailed them to the animal control officer that is handling the case. Our local PD refused to assist in the issue and told me we had no on call animal control officer which I found out was lie as I spoke with our on call animal control officer who advised that police had a legal obligation to intervene in this situation. I have the officer that refused to assist badge number and I plan on filing a formal complaint with the chief of police tomorrow as this dog bit a person and another dog unprovoked last weekend and was placed on a 10 quarantine only on Tuesday evening when animal control could finally respond.

She currently has guests at her home which is another violation of the quarantine as the dog is not allowed around other animals or people that do not reside in the household.  She also failed to notify the vet that the dog was under quarantine and so he reported her as well to authorities.

Her behavior has been extremely irrational and erratic the past few days. On Thursday she was on her back porch shouting at my boyfriend that he needed to bring his ball less pussy ass out and fight her like a man and that she hoped he did which we have audio of. Tonight she's in her apartment screaming like a lunatic I'm not sure over what but it's really annoying.  I get up around 4 everyday for work and I really need to be sleeping but I can't over her constant yelling.

She is a firefighter/EMT and the fact that she willfully defied the order and put people especially children at risk is deeply disturbing to me. If she has no regard for public safety with a dangerous dog how should she be trusted with saving people's lives? I've been in contact with her commander regarding all the incidents. If see my previous post she is mad because of this attack she's getting evicted as our lease clearly states no aggressive dogs and German Shepherds are on the restricted breed list.  She blames us for her being evicted, she blames us for her dog being quarantined and refuses to take accountability.

She's threatened us with telling police we're dealing drugs as well which is ridiculous as both my boyfriend and I have professional licenses that we would never jeopardize as well as the fact that I have a son from my ex husband that I would never put in that situation.

I've decided that tomorrow I probably need to consult an attorney because even though my bite was superficial I'm in a constant state of stress and anxiety.  I have a preexisting medical condition that causes abnormal heart rhythms and also lupus and the stress is aggravating both. My joints are swollen now, I'm covered in a rash from the stress, my heart rate has been extremely elevated and I can't sleep at all. I also have a suspected gastric bleed right now and stress makes the stomach pain almost unbearable. I'm also taking a financial loss from missing work because of dealing with this situation and being home to take care of my dog to make sure he's eating, getting his meds on time and staying down off his injured leg. Up until Thursday I had to carry him outside to go potty which isn't easy as he's 83 pounds.

Any advice you have would be great. I'm trying to protect myself, my family and my dog. I'm really on edge about this woman and I'm not sure what I need to do as it seems I've already followed proper protocol of notifying police, animal control, her command at her fire department and our landlords. But her behavior is being allowed to continue and nobody will help. I'm about at my breaking point.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Her firefighter EMT status might be the reason why your police officer gave you the runaround. I say this from experience in dealing with a similar situation with a volunteer firefighter whose dogs attacked mine and us.

Imo keep dealing with animal control, they will actually do something. Answer #2: practical tip for getting the dog outside... use a beach towel and put it under the dog's torso from behind elbows to in front of hips, then roll the ends up together to make a handle to help lift the dog up. If you only need to help support one end, you can fold the towel so you're only supporting the forequarters or haunches, to take some of the weight for your pup. Using the really long towel lets the dog stand as much as it's able to, while you have the length of towel to fold or wrap it together and grab on both ends to assist without having to bend over and risk hurting your back.

Just wanted to share the idea, to help with caring for your injured pup. Hope he feels better soon!Answer #3: NAL- but I would defiantly inform the pet store that you where in about the dog.
A clearly aggressive dog, that is supposed to be quarantined, as you stated shouldn’t be in the store.
I’m sure the manager of the store would appreciate knowing, that this lady and her dog are a powder keg of liability. Bring pictures of her and they dog so they know what both look like.


Title: Can i declare my brain as intellectual property ?

Question:
 By declaring my brain as intellectual property, I mean protecting my biological neuronal networks' integrity and the data they generate from any form of use, even medical research, whether dead or alive.

If it is not possible this way can you make a suggestion.

Answer: You can’t “declare” intellectual property. IP isn’t inherently protected under some natural, common law. It has to be protected by a specific legal provision. Your brain is not a trade secret, nor copyrightable, nor patentable, nor trademarkable.


Title: [Missouri] My motorcycle was stolen this morning and I have it on camera. If the suspect is identified, can I sue him in any form (civil suit or small claims court)?

Answer: Yes, if you have damages.  If the motorcycle is recovered intact your damages may be small or non-existent.Answer #2: Can you sue him? Yes. Does it make sense to sue him? Probably not. You have to secure a judgment and then enforce that judgment. Their bed rarely pay up or have obtainable assets. Cooperate with the police and respectfully request restitution if you have any monetary loss. That's your better bet.


Title: We want our roommate out, is there anything we can do?

Question:
So, my fiancé owns the land and the trailer we live in. His grandma and another old woman, let’s call her Georgia, lives in it with us.

We have no issues with his grandma. And Georgia is not on any renters contract or lease, she just pays rent.

Everyone is unhappy with Georgia staying with us, and she is unhappy staying with us.

She has not taken care of the room she rents in any way. Her animals use the bathroom everywhere. She has not bought any thing for the house besides paying rent. She does not buy laundry detergent or toilet paper. And she does not keep the common area (living room and kitchen) clean when she uses it.

She has lived here for a little over a year. Is there anything we can do to get her out?

Answer: You didn't provide a location but you can google how to remove a tenant with no lease for your location. In most cases it starts by giving written notice.


Title: Landlord not advertising apartment for rent in order to hold me to a weird clause in lease- Do I have any recourse?

Question:
Hi Legal Advice!
I am moving out of my rental apartment into a house I purchased at the end of this month. While I intended to wait until the end of my lease, I ended up finding a house quickly so I am breaking my lease 2 months early.
The only clause in my lease regarding early termination is deliberately vague, stating that if the apartment is not rerented within a “reasonable timeframe “ I’m responsible for rent until it is leased again.
We’re in a hot rental market and it’s a ridiculously well priced unit for the area. I gave 6 weeks notice, knowing that units in the building never stay open for more than 2 weeks. Now we’re 2 weeks from the end of the month and the landlord has not listed the apartment for rent anywhere besides their own website, which is hard to navigate. I checked apartments.com, trulia, Zillow, forrent, and Craigslist. Zillow even says there are no units available here.
They also haven’t even posted the sign out front.
I suspect they are waiting until 10/1 so that they can get an extra months rent from me, then they’ll start advertising.

What can I do to get out of this?  With budgeting, I can afford to pay the last 2 months, but I just had a medical emergency and could really use those funds for medical bills.
There’s also a clause expressly forbidding subleasing- but can I advertise the unit myself with their contact information?
Thanks in advance!

Answer: Typically they have no obligation to start advertising until you are actually gone, there isn’t anything you can do about that.


Title: Hit a curb at Walmart after slipping on a patch of ice

Question:
A few days ago I crashed my car in a Walmart parking lot, and I have a couple questions. 1, would Walmart be liable in this instance, and 2, should this be considered collision or comprehensive.

The roads were clear my entire drive to Walmart, and it was still dark at the time (~7am in NY), so I was completely caught off guard when I hit ice. It happened on a fairly sharp bend, and my car went straight into the curb. It ripped off the front wheel and did $5000 worth of damage.

My car is currently being repaired and I made a claim with my insurance company, and they are calling it collision. I documented the area the crash happened and you can clearly see the road was covered in ice. I mentioned this to my insurance company and they said, “That won’t matter in this case”, and they are  calling it collision. No damage was done to Walmart’s property.

So is that accurate? Should this be considered a collision accident? Also should Walmart have any liability? I did make a police report as well, and when the officer saw how icy the parking lot was he mentioned that he thought Walmart should have some responsibility.

Answer:
 Driving into a stationary object is not going to be Walmart's fault. It would be collision because you were involved in a collision.Answer #2: It’s collision because you hit something. Comprehensive is for hail, vandalism, etc.

Walmart has a duty of reasonable care to keep the parking lot safe. This applies to pedestrians and vehicles. You will need to prove negligence on the side of Walmart if you sue them. Occasional icy patches do not prove negligence. You need to prove that Walmart didn’t salt icy areas, shovel snow, or otherwise attempt to clear the ice.


Title: Boss wants an extra hour of free work because workload is too heavy

Question:
I'm posting on behalf of my brother, who is in NY.

He works as a chef in a kitchen at a retirement facility. They're always short staffed and it leaves my brother scrambling to get everything done on time. They don't have enough people in the kitchen. He works 8.5hrs a day and is only allowed a 10min break, which he regularly doesn't even get to take because of the workload in the kitchen. My brother said he's supposed to get 30min. How can he address this problem? He's very non confrontational.

His boss noticed how absolutely overwhelmed he was, and told him to come in an hour early before clocking in. He's asking my brother for an extra hour of his time, unpaid. He "suggested" (but saying it like it's expected, my brother feels guilted into this) coming in an hour early to help manage everything. So rather than hire an extra person to help a massively overtasked kitchen, he's asking for free labor. My brother has a hard time saying no to him, especially since the boss suggested it *while* my brother was neck deep in kitchen mayhem.

The boss told my brother to come in early tomorrow. I told him what his boss was asking for wasn't legal, and I told him to take special note of when he clocks in, documenting it. But the last thing my brother wants is to be at work an extra hour, being overworked. Are there no ways to address the clear issue of being understaffed? And what should he do about the extra hour of work being asked of him?

Answer:
 You brother should not work free hours.  If he does, he can file a wage claim down the road to try to reclaim the stolen wages, but he is unlikely to get full recovery.

Your brother can not compel his boss to hire more people.

His best bet is to try to find a new job ASAP.


Title: Fired for having a panic attack? NV

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You were fired for missing too much time. Even then, you aren't protected by FMLA because you haven't been employed for a year.

That said, no discrimination, and good luck in your job search.Answer #2: In almost every state you are an at-will employee in almost all cases. That means you can be fired for just about anything unless you are specifically fired for being part of a protected class.

There is a slim chance that the ADA could be of some help here, but it is unlikely, IMO. That being said, you don't want to work for a company like that anyhow, so file for unemployment and best of luck in the job search.


Title: Working on a holiday pay

Question: I work a salary position and I'm required to work on a paid holiday. Should I be paid 40 plus 8 holiday or just 40.

Answer: In Mother Russia, you get normal pay.  Plus, one potato on holiday.Answer #2: In Japan, holiday pay isn't a concern among the working class.


Title: My house was just searched with a warrant

Question:
I am in South Carolina. (Sorry I didn't add that. A little frazzled from having my house searched an hour ago.) I had a roommate that was absolutely crazy and moved out after the last incident with her. She left behind a bunch of dishes (dirty) and her bed. Haven't heard from this girl since she left on the 6th.

It's my day off from work on the 19th and about 1:30pm today I hear a knock at the door. I open the door and there's about 5 police cars and an SUV and probably about 10-12 cops and a detective out front of my house. I have no idea what's going on but they all come inside my house and hand me a copy of the warrant. They then explain that the roommate that moved out had called the police the day before saying that we broke into her room on the 4th and stole $325 and some expensive kitchen knives and installed a camera in her bathroom. None of that ever happened. We never broke into her room nor did we steal anything. The kitchen knives were there but she had left them in a box of dirty dishes in her bathroom. So after she moved out we cleaned up her bathroom and put all the dishes away assuming she didn't want them since she's been gone for 2 weeks. I gave the police the kitchen knife and they were very interested in the camera that I had placed in the living room to prevent her from poisoning us like the did the previous roommate. The warrant says that that is what they were searching for but they didn't take it as it doesn't have any recording set up. Only a live feed.

My question here is should I be worried about this? I've done nothing wrong but from my understanding warrants aren't just given out for no reason. What can I do to protect myself because she's definitely not above lying to the police to make my life hell? Nothing was ever stolen and there was no camera in her bathroom. Will she face any charges for this since we haven't done anything wrong? This just seems absurd.

Answer: A dozen cops over 500 bucks?


Title: [Oregon] Accidentally sent package to my previous address, landlord refused to return it

Question: I accidentally mailed a textbook to my previous address and my landlord is refusing to return it.  It has been over a year and half since I have lived there.  I texted my landlord asking if she had received the package and she said she had.  I then asked if I could pick it up and she refused (I saved the texts).  I think it's possible she threw it out (I saw this happen with mail when I lived there). My dad is actually the person who bought it and he is out of state.  Is this legal? It was sent there because the address was on my student account and my father accidentally selected the wrong one.  We were planning on reporting it stolen, but I thought I would ask.

Answer: If it was sent via USPS, wouldn't the landlord be considered stealing mail?  If the LL didn't want to deal with it, she should have put it back in the mail stream.


Title: 20 year old son doesn't have auto insurance. Do I have any liability or risk if he has wreck with someone? (AR)

Question: We have a 20 year old son that dropped out of college and returned to live with us.  His car was on our insurance and he was paying us to cover the increased cost.  He quit working and stopped paying us.  We cancelled the coverage on his car.  The car is in his solely in his name.  Do we carry any risk or liability in the event of a wreck?

Answer:
 >Do we carry any risk or liability in the event of a wreck?

Other than having to drive him to court for his hearings when he gets caught, chauffeuring him around when he loses his license, or being forced to let him live with you until he's 50 to pay off the cost of the accident he gets in with no insurance...

Nope.


Title: What are wills for? Texas.

Question: Are they for anything other then dividing up what I own to other people?  Can I use them to forbid a funeral? Or to set up what happens to me after I die?   I don't want people to know when I die, so they can think I just drifted away and lost contact.

Answer:
 You can't use a will to forbid people from caring about you.  Pretty much all you can do is deal with your possessions.  You'd be surprised how many people will feel a loss if you are gone, whether you think they should or not.

Forgive me, but you sound a little suicidal, or at least clinically depressed.  A wise woman once told me that feeling bad enough to kill yourself is the same as feeling bad enough to get some real help.  You can always kill yourself later if it doesn't work.

Check out /r/suicidewatch or /r/depression, 1 (800) 273-8255, www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org, or even just a friend IRL.
Answer #2: /u/the_wheaty; please just move somewhere else and start a new life. Meet new people, just stop living in the past. It's great you're recognizing an issue and are reaching out for ways to fix it. That's really strong of you. The concern is that its not getting fixed. These things *are* fixable, but you have to let go of your baggage to get there. Please do what you need to get to that point without suicide. Answer #3: You want a living will to deal with death and dying requests.

I believe death certificates are public record so your plan will not really work if people actually look.


Title: PA - Landord's legal responsibility (if any) once an appliance has been red-tagged?

Question:
My oven was red-tagged by our gas company, who said it was unsafe to operate (the pilot blew out a couple of times on our first night of living there and the metal stovetop was warping from the heat). Our landlord/management company had a maintenence guy come in and say it was safe. He re-lit the pilot and said the gas company was lying/incorrect/being over-dramatic.

If the oven was red-tagged, is my landlord legally obligated to fix the oven or (fingers crossed) purchase a new one?  I'm doubtful, but I don't feel safe with this oven, and I don't know my options here.

Update: I threatened with saying I would send a letter to the dept of health services, LL got right back to me saying they just purchased a new oven for us.  Thanks, all.

Answer:
  I would call the gas company and tell them that the landlord reconnected the stove. He will likely be fined for doing so.

If your lease states that the stove is included, then the LL needs to replace it


Title: Custodian at hospital obtained my phone number by going through my files

Question:
Hi all,

I want to give a little info about me before I continue:

I ended a relationship in 2016, ex-bf went nuts, I filed a restraining order. He violated the order, was found guilty, served jail time and was released earlier this week.

Now, since he was released I've had a couple of random numbers call me, I figured it was him, but since I couldn't trace the number, I let it go. Yesterday morning I get an anonymous blog following my blog called, "youmustfearme"...ominous, right?

Anyways, so yesterday was my first day of volunteering at a hospital, and I was lost, so I (female) asked a custodian worker (male) to help direct me to the room i was to be working in, and he happily did.

After I did my shift, I went across the street to a restaurant and low and behold was my ex-bf's friend (one who was released from jail) walked right in after I did. I immediately thought I was being followed, so I ordered my food to go and went to work.

Hours later I receive a text from a number I don't recognize. This person was asking if I was single and to send a photo. I was told by an attorney that I am working with to keep records of any numbers I may suspect would him my ex, so I did.

I entertained the convo and this person did not reveal themselves and kept saying they can get in trouble (and this whole time I am assuming it is my ex). So anyways, this person calls and says I have to promise them I wouldn't say anything and essentially saying anything to keep me on the phone and I hang up.

I looked the # up on FB and I recognized that it was the worker I encountered during my shift at the hospital. Immediately I texted him what I knew from my research and he admitted to getting my number from my volunteer file then continuously texted me all night (and called) to beg me not to say anything.

I am uncertain if this is a legal issue since my files were compromised (perhaps lack of secure retention) and my SSN, address etc where on there and I am afraid that if he loses his job over this (I plan on reporting him to the HR at this hospital), he will come after me. (and I don't know what other information he's obtained)

What would be the proper way to approach this?? Is this even a legal issue?

I find it bizarre that he found out my name when I never mentioned my name to him at all...or how he knew which file was mine???

I'm worried for my safety and not sure what to do...

Any advice would be appreciated!

I am in Southern CA

Answer:
 IANAL, but I am HR, and I would advise you take this to them. Immediately.

Someone with no access rights to employee files is going through them and using them. That’s a HUGE no-no.

Go tell HR, and let them take it from there. If they’re halfway competent this custodian will be out the door so fast his head will spin.

I don’t know of any legal ramifications, so hopefully someone else can help on that end. Answer #2: HR and definitely a police report.  Even if they find janitor dude hasn't done anything illegal, it's a report on file in case he goes super creep on you or someone else.  Keep the texts.

EDIT: 15 calls and 30+ texts?  That sounds like harassment or stalking, but IANAL.  Yeah, call the cops.  Answer #3: I'm having a hard time following the whole story, but sounds like there's a bad ex situation, and then just as he's released from jail you start getting weird calls, and run into a friend of his at a restaurant, and also now this janitor.. does the janitor maybe also know your ex somehow? Too many a-holes there, maybe consider relocating to a new city..


Title: [South Korea] Can religious employer fire me or change my contract for getting married?

Question:
(Up front note: employment in S. Korea is not at will. Firing has to be justified. But my contract does stipulate binding arbitration.) I am a foreign worker and have been with my current employer more than a year. Back when I signed I knew some things about the contract seemed weird but ignorantly never imagined they would apply to me.

The rules say my fiancee has to go through their application process and prove she meets their standards of religious belief, practice, morality, and cultural compatibility. If she doesn't pass I will be fired. If she does pass my employer gets to decide how soon we are allowed to marry even if it doesn't involve taking time off. When we get married my contract will be canceled by the employer and replaced by one with lower benefits.

I can see them arguing that if my fiancee is not up to their religious or moral standards and someone finds out it could tarnish their reputation but wonder if that argument would hold up in practice. I'd quit but the contract says I would be on the hook for something like $10,000 in training reimbursement, etc., which they can sue for in my home country.

Is this all legal? What are my rights? We want to get married soon.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: Unification Church affiliate?


Title: Managers refuse to let my friend get a drink of water when working grills in 90 degree weather with no A/C.

Question:
So, my friend works at McDonald's (PA, US), mainly in the back working the grills and fryers. It's been a good 90 degrees outside all week, let alone how hot it is when you're back there all day. To make matters worse, the daytime managers are claiming that the A/C is broken and refuse to turn it on, even though it's on when he works night shifts. It's so hot back there that he says people are getting burns just from touching the metal tables. He's from a hotter climate and feels comfortable when it's 80-90 degrees, but even he is dripping with sweat and feeling like he's going to pass out.

*Even worse*, the managers refuse to let him get a drink, to the point where one has actually stood in front of the drink dispenser to block him from doing so. This just seems flat out inhumane.

What can he do about this? Does anyone know what laws might be being broken here?

Answer:
 OSHA, now.Answer #2: On top of OSHA perhaps run this by the District Manager, and if that goes nowhere then reach out to the corporate office in your region. If it is a franchise then reach out to the Franchise Operations Business Consultant at that corporate office. There is no reason for that restaurant to be like that.

Except, for the water, I can see "blocking" the drink machine, but they should be able to get water from the taps.Answer #3: You'd think a person managing poorly paid employees working grills in 90 degree weather with hot oil directly within reach would be a little smarter about the battles they pick.Answer #4: > To make matters worse, the daytime managers are claiming that the A/C is broken and refuse to turn it on, even though it's on when he works night shifts.

While I won't defend them, I will point out it's possible the A/C works at night and not during the day. They still need to get it fixed and let the man drink, but they might not be lying about it being broken.Answer #5: I don't see it in any of the to comments but you friend should start keeping detailed logs of the incidences. Details will make their case stronger. Don't forget to record the names of witnesses, if any, for each incidence.


Title: Does the PACER court docket search allow you to search CRIMINAL cases?

Question: I see a variety of different search options but not criminal, just wanted to know before i gave them credit card info

Answer: It allows you to search *federal* criminal cases, yes.


Title: Wife has seizures, can a doctor be held liable if she gets hurt driving to or from work?

Question: ny wife has fairly frequent seizure. She wasn't allowed to work for a long time but she got cleared. She started having them more frequently again, two at work in less than a week, both times ended up in the er. In order to get temporary disability insurance she has to have a note from a doctor rating she can't work or drive but her doctor refused to give her one. This doesn't seem quite right to me.

Answer: No, the doctor can't be held liable for your wife choosing to drive.  He isn't forcing her to do a dangerous activity.


Title: (Minneapolis, MN) Two brothers did some home improvements for me. One didn't get his cut and wants me to pay him. Is this my problem or theirs?

Question:
I had some home renovation projects that I needed done. I found a guy with the experience needed and good references. When he came to give me a cost estimate, he said his brother would be assisting him as a helper.

For the last week of the project, the helper was sick and did not work. On Thursday the main guy (older brother) finished up the work. He came on Friday to pick up some equipment, and I paid him.  I wrote the check out to his business name and everything was good.

Last night the helper showed up to collect his pay. He said his brother did not give him his cut so I need to pay him directly.  He asked for 26.66% of the estimate (about $2000.)

I contacted the older brother and notified him of the situation. He apologized, told me there is no issue, etc. He explained why the younger brother was not paid and said the brother is just trying to pull a fast one on me. He said he will make sure the younger brother does not bother me again.

However, the younger brother has continued to contact me. Last night he called me twice and today he has called me four times.  He is threatening to sue for the $2k.

Am I correct in that this is an issue between them?  Or could I technically be held responsible for paying the younger brother directly?

Thanks for your advice on the situation and have a nice day.

Answer:
 If you didn't specifically agree to pay the younger brother, you don't owe him anything.Answer #2: Absent some weird agreement you aren't mentioning you don't owe the brother squat. Don't pay him.

If he keeps bothering you after you've told him to buzz off call the local non-emergency number and file a harassment complaint. Also, contact the other brother again, he needs to be aware that his brother is poisoning his relationship with clients.


Title: I owe someone $15k. He is asking for cash. His wife is declaring bankruptcy, going through divorce. Does that matter to me?

Question:
I borrowed $15k from a family friend 6 weeks ago while waiting for an insurance issue to get sorted out. Now it has been so I of course want to repay the person who lent me money.

He and his wife have been living apart for a while. Right now apparently he is seeking a divorce and she is seeking bankruptcy.  I know that when you declare bankruptcy you have to declare all your assets, and of course his assets are also relevant in the divorce.

He asked me to give him the money in cash.  Can that lead to any legal trouble for me?  Or is it his responsibility alone to be responsible in reporting his assets?

Edit:  Florida

Answer:
 GET A RECEIPT.

Get something, in writing, that says you paid him this money back and you owe him nothing.

If you do that, you should be ok. Can't speak to what all this will mean for him.


Title: Steam will not give me a refund on a game.

Question:
Steam has VAC banned my copy of Black Ops 2. I have barely put 4 hours into it. When asked about it they said that they would not even give a reason for it. What can I do?
I can give screenshots if needed.
I live in New Hampshire, USA.
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer:
 If you got a VAC ban, it means that you violated the TOS for steam. One of the other parts of the TOS says that they won't refund you for a VAC ban.

You could try and fight it, but its generally not successful, as you agreed to those terms when you signed up for steam.


Title: (TN) Apartment building has bed bug infestation, and I'm being given the option to break my lease. Anything I should watch out for?

Question:
Tennessee.

I just got a call from my landlord saying that the apartment building I live in has been infested with bedbugs, starting in one and moving to two others. My apartment and belongings are supposedly in the clear for now. She would like for all tenants to move all their things out for treatment. I was also told I could drop off my keys at her office if I chose to not move back in. I started my lease in November 2014 and was changed to month to month in November 2015.

I'm definitely moving out but I have another question concerning the state of my apartment. There were damages to several kitchen cabinets prior to me moving in and nothing was done to fix them while I lived here. Can I request from my landlord in writing to not have to pay the repair costs for these cabinets? I have pictures of the damages from the day I moved in including that day's date.

Thanks in advance!

Answer:
 Not legal advice:.
Be careful when moving your stuff.   You can have bedbugs without realizing it (some people don't react to their bites, or maybe they just got to your place and you only have a few for now).  You do not want to take them with you.


Title: Store Manager trying to get strikers to leave the union.

Question:
At the moment, I’m involved in a pretty large strike in the United States.  The strike takes place across Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. It’s been going on for over a week to the surprise of most. My concern is that my store manager has been handing out flyers to the strikers with instructions on how to resign from the union in order to cross the picket line and get back to work. I’ve heard from others that this is illegal, and apparently a representative of the union claimed that he can face jail time for that. I heard most of this all second hand, hence why I’m coming here.

The other thing is that after the manager was told he could not give those flyers to workers on strike, he tried to privately contact certain workers, in person and over the phone via text and calls with details on how to leave the union. This I witnessed first hand.

My question is, is this something that is worth reporting? Would this fall under the jurisdiction of the labor board or department of labor? I’d trust my union reps to handle this, but quite frankly, I don’t. I’m afraid of retaliation for reporting, not against me personally, but I don’t want the manager to sabotage the strike further if I do report (they’ve allowed us to stay close to the store and have even taken our trash for us). For these reasons, I’ve kept certain details vague, but can consider giving specifics if necessary. Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 My understanding is that these particular union busting tactics are not illegal ([more examples of legal union busting here](http://www.jwj.org/unionbusters-101)). You can report to the state or federal labor commissions — it may not go anyway if these are legal tactics, but I can’t see it hurting your cause at all.

If you feel your immediate union rep would not be effective, you can work your way up the chain of command within the union, or use different aspects of the chain (e.g., instead of shop steward, try talking to the grievance rep; instead of the strike coordinator, try talking to the statewide president).

As for privacy, FWIW saying you’re having a major strike across those states does identify the employer, though not your particular work site.

Best of luck with the strike. Solidarity! ✊Answer #2: Your strike will likely get nastier. Cincinnati based Kroger grocery store tried to break the union in Detroit 1992. They had scab and out-of-town employees keep the stores open at the cost of 95% business loss. Everything was on sale for cost or less. Security was hired to cross lines. Scab’s vehicles were damaged. It was a dark time but the union held and a contract reached after two and a half months.Answer #3: Go ahead and report it and see what happens.

I am also going to ask: Why is it important that she does, or doesn't do so? Your Representative can say anything that they want.  Doens't mean its illegal or not.


Title: Cat got run over by a car in my parking lot, help?

Question: Hello everyone. My cat got run over and critically wounded by either a resident or visitor here in my apartment parking lot at about 3pm on Saturday here in Mountain View, California. She (my cat) is legally on the lease. What can I do? All I have is the make of the car (compact Nissan, white). I really only want her vet fees to be paid as there is nothing on the lease stating I can't let her out. What can I do?

Answer: Having your cat get run over is something that is likely to happen when you let your cat go outside. No one is responsible for the animal's injuries other than you. Poor kitty.


Title: Boss is trying to force non-disclosure agreements on employees to keep them from discussing wages.

Question: I was recently offered a raise and was told I had signed a non disclosure agreement in the employee handbook keeping me from discussing wages with coworkers. He clearly stated punishment for discussing wages would be termination of employment. Does this not violate the NLRA? Is a non disclosure contract for wages even legal? (TN)

Answer:
 > Does this not violate the NLRA?

It could, if that actually happened, or if it created a culture that stifled protected activities.Answer #2: This [link](http://www.govdocs.com/can-employees-discuss-pay-salaries/) covers it pretty well.


Title: (WA State) Brother in law had his paid PTO deducted on his paycheck due to position change.

Question:
Hey so I work in HR and I'm 99% sure what this company did is illegal but they are a rather large corporation so I'm trying to get my information strait before I have him submit a wage complaint and potentially talk to an attorney. Any information or sources anyone has is appreciated.

My brother in law was a weekday manager for a local fast food company. A few months ago (maybe February) he was notified he would receive one week, 40 hours, PTO due to his promotion. Please note it took him a long time to officially receive the promotion. He scheduled and took this week's vacation shortly after being notified. He was paid for all 40 hours of his vacation used.

Recently he has requested that he be demoted as stresses in his life are making the manager role difficult. His manager notified him that he would be required to pay back the PTO he took in February because of this request. They recently took the 40 hours PTO from his paycheck.

I am getting involved because I work in HR and am under the impression that this is illegal. The PTO that as paid to him was earned due to his position at the time. He never signed anything that said if he left the position before a certain date he would need to repay it. I know that HR can make adjustments to PTO if there is a calculation error but if the employee has already been paid for it you can not make them pay it back unless you have a signed agreement from the employee stating so. I even know that you can have trouble collecting an employment advance if you don't have a singed agreement.

It seems to me this would classify as a illegal deduction from pay (since it was not authorized by the employee) and he should file a wage complaint and perhaps contact an employment attorney. He already has another job that starts next month. Should he try asking the company and contacting HR before we proceed. Is there a chance I'm totally wrong here?
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 Where I work, I accrue PTO at a rate of 2.8ish hours per week, for a total PTO of 3 weeks per year.  I can technically go negative, but am required to be at 0 by the end of the year with the option to carry over up to 40 hours.

I suspect he has a similar agreement where he starts with 0 hours of PTO, accruing a certain amount per week.  They gave him the freedom to use it up before it was all accrued, and now he may have to pay it back.

This all depends upon his specific arrangement, but I doubt they gave him 40 hours right away.  More than likely he was able to earn 40 hours over the course of the year and they let him use it early.

It's likely they would have no recourse if he quit, but they probably do if he stays.

I'm re-reading and see that I did not answer your question.  I think they are justified in withholding pay as long as that was their agreement.


Title: (California) USPS Withholding My PayCheck Over Two Months

Question:
I worked for USPS as a holiday temp this last Christmas season. I have been fighting with them for over two months now to get my final paycheck. I tried calling the labor board a month ago and they said they have no jurisdiction over them. They admit that they owe me for 52 hours, but about 40 temp workers were taken out of the system before the paychecks were cut, which is why I never got paid. Great…but why am I still not getting paid? They said they still can't pay me because no one on the east coast has put me back in the system, along with the other 40 people and that I'm on a list.

What can I do? Union won't help me because I'm non-union, and labor board won't help because they have no jurisdiction.

Answer: Usps is a pseudo federal agency. Complain to your elected representative. They have people in their office who live for this stuff.


Title: So I got caught with a bong, what's the worst that could happen?

Question: I'm from Pennsylvania

Answer:
 The worst that could happen?

Unbeknownst to you, the bong was borrowed by a serial killer at some time prior to you getting caught with it. One day, said killer snuck into your house, stole it, used it repeatedly at the scenes of heinous murders, and brought it back. The police forensic investigators find the residue inside the bong matches some remnants found at several of these crime scenes. Even more unfortunately, you unfortunately bear a passing resemblence to this killer. A witness once caught a fleeting glance of this fleeing killer, and the witness picks you out of a lineup. You're subsequently charged and convicted of multiple counts of capital murder, and quickly find yourself on Pennsylvania death row.


Title: UNO (College) Refuses to Accept My FAFSA

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Yes, they are permitted to require that the names and identifying information match on educational records and financial aid forms.  Call them back and see what options you have.

/u/pottersquash please check me if your swamp is different here too .


Title: Electrician put my life in danger with improper wiring

Question:
Hello Reddit,

Let me start with a quick background. A year ago, I hired a certified and licensed electrician in Maryland to install recessed lighting in my home. A year has gone by with no issues. Last month, I decided to hire a different electrician company to install some WiFi dimmers. When they came, they noticed my dimmable LED lights were buzzing and flickering a lot when trying the new dimmer, which is probably due to some incompatibility between the switch and the retrofit lights. To make doubly sure, they wanted to look at the wiring inside my ceiling.

What they found was that all of my recessed lights have been installed incorrectly, not to code in my county, and with some MAJOR dangers--most notably one of the wires being spliced, held together by electrical tape (no wire nuts) over our main gas line. Just lying right on top of it.

I was told that this is a huge violation of safety code, and that basically all of my lights have to be redone, including installing housing for each which wasn't done the first time.

I have a formal write-up from the company on their letterhead, and was wondering how I should proceed. I want to get a full refund from the first electrician. I have photo evidence and the write-up, and really just want to get my money back without having to proceed to court.

Is there a proper way to do this? I'm planning on contacting him with the findings and evidence and bluntly asking for a refund from a year ago.

Answer:
 > I want to get a full refund from the first electrician.

No you don't.  You want to get the first electrician to pay what it costs to fix the code violations he created with substandard work.

> Is there a proper way to do this?

You get a copy of the report.  Maybe get code enforcement to write up one too.  Next you get an estimate on what it will cost to fix everything.  Then you send the report(s) and estimate to the first electrician with a demand that he pay you the amount it costs to fix his screw up.


Title: $28,000 of Duplicate Transactions Charged to Credit Card - Orbitz Response - "Just Wait It Out"

Question:
UPDATE TO POST

Just wanted to send a big thank you to everyone who commented, both with constructive advice, and more importantly as the trolls that we all expect to keep up the reddit gold standard.

Most useful comments definitely came from "u/swalsh411". Thanks for the back and forth!

The best/funniest troll comment by far goes to:

u/blacksoulo - "MUH CAPITOL"

This post has been driven up in popularity and the input/advice/discussions we've had have clarified my opinion of the legal issues, no matter how much I feel screwed by them. Orbitz has been shown to provide a terrible customer experience as I and others have shared, and I hope this scenario serves as a cautionary tale.

Two main take aways:

1. Use a credit card for your purchases
2. Don't book travel through Orbitz without being aware of the risks

Thanks again!

---------------

ORIGINAL POST:

Here is a history of the situation that I'm looking for input on. I copied this from a post I originally made on pissed consumer after adding dates for reference.

Orbitz is aware of this issue based on my conversations with customer service, their FAQ on "Pending Charges", and the other similar stories online with them. I don't feel that they have taken the necessary steps that a reasonable person would take to properly disclose the risk of multiple transactions and holds that will be processed when these "booking error - try again" messages are presented.

Any input would be great. Thanks in advance.

--------

Day 1 - Friday, December 2

My wife and I attempted to book a flight for an upcoming trip for 6 members of our family using Orbitz.com.We entered all of the information for each and every passenger, then hit submit to process the payment with our credit card.

We then received an error message from Orbitz stating something to the effect of "your transaction was unable to be processed at this time - please try again later". After rechecking all of the detail and dealing with this frustration a few more times, my wife and I decided to just rebook the trip through another travel website.

Day 2 - Saturday, December 3

After having to call the new travel website's customer service team to discuss a few details about the tickets we were ready to book, we discovered that our credit card had been declined. Since this is the card we use on a daily basis for the majority of our purchases and spending, I quickly logged on to see what the issue might be.

Since Orbitz had so much trouble successfully processing our transaction, you can imagine how shocked I was to discover how successful they HAD actually been at processing the charge for said failed transaction. They charged my account exactly 12 times for a total of $28,392. After waiting for 40 minutes to speak with my bank's customer service team to dispute this issue, the bank indicated that the transactions were authorized to be paid out, and that I would need to initiate a billing dispute when they cleared the pending status. In the mean time, the bank said they would be unable to remove the hold from my account.

I did a quick google search to see if I was the only person that has had this issue, and several results popped up regarding Orbitz having a habit of this. In addition to other posts by frustrated consumers, Orbitz themselves have a FAQ topic dedicated to this very issue called "Pending Charges". In this FAQ, they simply suggest their customers wait 5 days for the issue to clear through the bank. Maybe they assumed they could just piss off their customers with $100 holds for hotel reservations that never went through, so they never invested in fixing the actual issue.

At this point, I called the Orbitz customer service team. I first spoke with "Amin", a Tier 1 customer service rep who was unable to articulate much of a solution that would do anything other than waste more of my time. He stated that the Orbitz billing department was currently closed, so he wouldn't be able to get anyone to assist from that end. I had asked to speak with a supervisor very early in the call with "Amin" as this was clearly not a normal issue, however it took him over an hour to get a Tier 2 customer service rep named "Harold" on the phone for me.

"Harold" then spent another 2+ hours on the phone with me, as well as on a conference call with my bank, before coming to the same exact conclusion that I would simply need to wait this out. I then asked to be escalated to the next level of customer service as I didn't feel that this was being handled well. "Harold" stated that a supervisor from the corporate customer service office in Las Vegas would give me a call to discuss, but that they wouldn't be able to do anything for me either. A few hours later I received a call from "Kamal O." from the Las Vegas corporate tier 3 customer service team.

"Kamal" started the call by saying he had "heard I was having trouble booking a flight on their website". Clearly he didn't think that a call back being requested by a customer from a Tier 3 supervisor was important enough to first pull up any notes to read up on the exact issue before calling. I explained the issue was a little more than a little website trouble, and immediately asked to speak to his supervisor if he would be unable to assist me. A few minutes later, "Ivy" from the Las Vegas office got on the phone to discuss.

She indicated that she would need to escalate this to her manager, and that this manager reported directly to the CEO of Orbitz, but that this manager would call me back within 5 business days. She also stated that this was the largest amount for this issue that she had ever seen, and had worked there for a long time.

Day 3 - Sunday, December 4

Pending charges are still on the card, and my newly limited available funds force me to pass on making certain purchases.

No contact has been made to my wife or I from Orbitz during the day.

Day 4 - Monday, December 5

Wake up to find pending charges still on my account.

Answer: What are your damages?Answer #2: Wait it out.


Title: Found a severely neglected "designer dog" and the owners have posted on CL. I am NOT giving her back, what am I risking?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 If you want to steal this person's dog then your only choice is to turn the animal over to the spca and file a report. Animals are property by law and what you're planning on doing is theft by unlawful taking and possibly theft by deception both of which could carry jail time based on the monetary value of the dogAnswer #2: >What am I risking?

Being successfully sued for refusing to return property that isn't yours.


Title: Advice on using medical marijuana in the workplace despite HR saying they will terminate you if you use it?

Question: This is my first post so I’m sorry if I don’t comply with rules on posting. Im on mobile so some stuff doesn’t let me press the arrow to read further rules.       I wanted to know what I can do if I do end up getting fired.  I have moderate- severe arthritis in my spine and I’ve seen numerous doctors and specialists about the pain I’m having and nothing they have given me is working. I’ve tried a bunch of anti inflammatory pills and opioids & even went to see a chiropractor and nothing seems to help. A few friends suggested that I get a med card so I did but I then went and asked HR at work on their policy with medical marijuana. HR said they will not let an employee use it even if it is for medical reasons but they DO allow employees to be on muscle relaxers and opioids while at work. Mind you I work at a lab but I am in the office part. I have yet to use it because I think I will get tested just for asking HR about it, as some employees have after asking them something.  Someone said if they do fire me I can take legal action and sue the company for discrimination. Would that be a good choice to do or should I just go along with getting fired and seek out a new job?

Answer:
 You can’t do anything. Weed is still federally legal. Your job can/will defer to federal law if you fight itAnswer #2: As far as I know there are only five states (AZ, DE, ME, MN, NY) that provide any workers protection at all for medical marijuana use. Last summer a bill was floated in CA but I don't think it went anywhere.

So yes you can be fired and it would be legal. And keep in mind that even in those other states you can still be fired for being under the influence of marijuana at work. (AZ and ME give that a little more leeway.)


Title: Executor Died. I'm the beneficiary. What do I do?

Question:
So my dad died around 15 years ago and my Uncle was made the executor at the time.  Everything went as planned.

My Uncle died 2 years ago.  A couple months ago I found out my dad had an additional account on ETrade with no listed beneficiaries.

Etrade told me I'd need to prove I was the executor to access this, but it sounds like this is a long process involving a lawyer.

Is there anyway I can just provide the will that says I am the beneficiary with a death certificate showing the executor passed away?

Any advise here?  Easiest and cheapest way I should go about this?

THanks

Answer:
 > Is there anyway I can just provide the will that says I am the beneficiary with a death certificate showing the executor passed away?

No, because for ETrade that isn't enough. You could be providing a fake will, or the estate could have unpaid debts that need to be satisfied first before you get your money, or any number of other things. That's why probate court exists, so that when a bank or other institution gets asked to transfer something from person A to person B, that they can do so with the full backing of the court or a court-appointed authority like the executor.

You can re-open probate for your father's assets, but after 15 years it's going to be difficult. The best way would be to hire an estate attorney, but that won't necessarily be cheap. How much money are we talking about?


Title: Family Law question(s)?

Question:
I posted about this yesterday and I made mistake and drew it out too long and ended up getting my biggest question skipped.
***
original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/54mijw/ca_steamrolled_by_judgelawyer_need_advice/
***
#Quick Summary

**Background:** I went to court 2 years ago, I paid an attorney to handle my case, he got me visitation/support order.  He informed me that he cannot change or argue a support order, it is a calculation of income and % time with kids. **I made an hourly rate and they took a 12 month average of my income due to fluctuation to come up with support.**

**Current:** I was served papers to re-evaluate my income for **support only**  I opted not to bring a lawyer for 2 reasons, I understand now this was a mistake... but I didn't have the money and I've been told(by 4 lawyers now) they are powerless to have the court calculate income.  My income from the same job hours went from 40 a week, to 0 for a while due to project loss and oil prices, then back up to 40 a week. This is the nature of my job since day 1 which is why there was a 12 month average in the first place.  my new project has been going on 2 months now and I've had normal hours. This time around the court ignored my 12 month average and went strictly on my hourly income to make an order. even after I referenced:

**CA Family Code 4064:** *The court may adjust the child support order as appropriate
to accommodate seasonal or fluctuating income of either parent.*

The judge said I can file a change of circumstance if my income changes. If that's the case ill be in court 8 times a year on average.
***
#Questions for /r/legaladvice

Why did they calculate income this way compared to last time?

What do I need to have going for me or prove or type of job do I need to have a 12 month average calculated so I don't have to miss time from work and such to go to court so many times a year?

was this done right? if not is it worth an appeal? is there another route i can take?(**I'm not asking how or what papers to fill out, just if i have a case for it**)
***
Edit:
#Why am I concerned?
I was threatened if I do change it for ANY reason I would be responsible for lawyer fees of opposing party.
My support order was to pay ~$3,100 per month, my annual gross for 2016 will be about $53,000.  At this rate ill be held in contempt of court for nonpayment shortly.

Answer: It's probably because you came to court without enough evidence to show that your income fluctuates and you didn't have a lawyer to lend your argument more credibility. Yes, you could be responsible for the opposing parties attorneys fees if you continually haul them back to court over support calculations. This is especially so, if you aren't paying a lawyer to represent you and they are.


Title: How to quit my job

Question: I'm female 21 in Texas. I have worked at this job for over 2 years. I didn't sign a contract of employment or anything, it's just a mom and pop shop restaurant that is very tiny. I have only signed forms for my w-4. I have read that Texas is an at-will state when it comes to firing, but what about quitting? Do I need to give them a 2 weeks notice or can I quit then and there? Please let me know if I need to give more information

Answer:
 You can quit whenever you'd like, the two weeks' notice is more of a courtesy, and might be best if you don't want to burn any bridges.Answer #2: Also be aware the 2 weeks is a courtesy for them as well.

Once you give it, they can tell you it's your last day. So be financially ready for that possibility.

I'm a hiring manager, and it looks *baaad* when I call a past employer and they tell me they quit with no notice.


Title: Should I skip community service?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > So what are my options here?

Abide by the terms of your probation, or violate it, have a charge on your record, and get sentenced again to something more severe.

BTW, I can all but assure you that if you tell the judge you didn't go because the mean gang members were scary, he'll sentence you to even more of the same community service.  Answer #2: Oh no you don't like your punishment. Tough shit. It's not vacation it's punishment.


Title: [NY, US] Showing naked pictures without consent.. is that illegal?

Question:
I had a brief relationship with a coworker (august 2016) who is now my manager (starting august 2017), I freely sent him nude photographs and videos in the summer of 2016 but about 6 months ago I asked for them to be deleted and he misled me to believe that he had done so.

Tonight I found out that two months ago he had shown a friend of mine (a regular customer at our store) a video I'd sent him over a year ago.

Only after I'd already sent things I found out he has shown other people pictures and videos of other girls without their consent and has done this once before about me to another close friend of mine.

Is this illegal? Is there anything I can do? I'm very angry and feel terribly disrespected and uncomfortable.

Before anyone tells me to not send nudes remember that that's not useful information at this point. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Answer: Has he posted the pictures/videos anywhere or only shown them on his phone?


Title: An AirBNB guest accidentally tripped fire alarm while staying at an AirBNB host's apartment and host is seeking damages ($$$$). Who is liable?

Question:
Host is renting a property and is claiming to be at risk of being evicted as a result of the fire alarm being tripped, in turn they fear that they will lose their bond, and also income resulting from future confirmed airbnb guests. They're asking for a few thousand in compensation.

Is the guest liable for any eviction and loss of airbnb income? What course of action would you recommend the guest takes? Guest is located in England, and stayed at host apartment in in Los Angeles, CA.

Answer:
 If the Host didn't want to be evicted, they should have done anything in their power to make sure no airbnb guest would put the Host at risk of breaching their lease.

They are responsible for the guest as their short-term sublessor, and unless that fire alarm was purposely tripped, an accident doesn't warrant a demand for damages.

Edit: Also see u/calamaririot's comment. Answer #2: Long time Airbnb host here:

1) The host is a FOOL for being a renter and subletting it out on airbnb. They KNOW they are at massive risk for being evicted regardless.

2) Guests ARE NOT legally liable for accidentally tripping the fire alarm. This is the risk the host bears.

3) NO the guest isn't liable for any future loss of airbnb income. That would be absolutely INSANE if that was true. (eg. You owe me $50,000 for the next 5 years of lost rental income)

4) The guest doesn't have to do a thing. Airbnb might send you a message, but you just explain the circumstances.

Quick FYI: Airbnb is so new, that there are not many laws surrounding the situation. All guests will be covered by insurance and airbnb is good at covering any damages or rectifying any situation.


Title: Trying to cross US boarder for a job for a 3rd time

Question:
I got a job offer to work at Google as a Software Engineer. I am Canadian and graduated from a University in Canada with a Bachelor of Applied Sciences Honors Electrical Engineering. This qualifies me to apply for a TN visa.

Google hired third party lawyers to help me in creating an Application for my TN visa.

Early in August I made my first attempt crossing into the US (land border) with just a TN application. This application was denied, border guard stated I was going to do programming and that programming is not engineering work (Google hired a person who was overqualified in their eyes), therefore I was being denied.

After this denial the third party lawyers filed a petition with the USCIC. From my understanding this is a 2nd TN visa application. This application was approved by the USCIS and I was given an I-797B. A month after my first attempt, I tried crossing the border again at the same land port. After 5 hours of scrutiny, I was denied entry. Border guards said that they talked with my future manager to have him describe the details of job/work. The guard said the work sounded more like programming and not engineering work. What is really odd was border guard talked with this manager at the 2nd hour of my 5hr wait. If that was truly the reason, why was I questioned for 3 more hours? Upon being denied (at the 5hour mark) the guard commented that if I tried crossing a 3rd time for this job and denied once more, I would be banned from entering the US for the next 5 years.

The dilemma: Google’s hired lawyers want me to try again, but this time with another TN application and a letter stating that they believe the decision first two times was made incorrectly by the border guards. They want me to try and cross from an airport where there is a pre-screen border crossing (Pearson international airport in Toronto). The lawyers tell me the risk of being banned is not significant.

I believe that the lawyers are working for Google's best interest and not my own. In the scenario of being banned, my personal risk is possible endangerment of future travel (work or leisure) into the US for either additional/different jobs in my field (much of which is in Silicon Valley) as well as visiting a large amount of my family. I want to get other opinions on the likelihood of me getting banned for these 5 years in this scenario.

Answer:
 This is very far beyond the scope of this forum.

Your options are to continue to follow the advice of the attorneys working for Google or hire your own immigration attorney.


Title: Why is it that in NY a doctor is not allowed to tell you your blood type?

Question:
Apologies if I'm in the wrong sub. I know this is a stupid question but thanks for bearing with me.

I've been trying to learn my blood type for years and I can't donate, so I can't find out that way. My doctors have all refused to tell me my type, and said if I ever find myself in a hospital, the staff would tell me.

I eventually landed in a hospital for five days because I waited far too long to remove my gallbladder. I asked about my blood type and was laughed at. I got a lot of, "Aww, do you think you're gonna need a transfusion? The operation is gonna go just fine." When I said no, it's...my...blood...I would like to know what my fucking type is, I got shut down. They said they "weren't allowed" to tell me. Same thing happened to my mother when she was in for a stroke. She was forbidden from receiving any information about her blood type, even though they said it was written right there on her chart.

Is this accurate at all, that they're not allowed to tell us? Is there any legal accuracy to that, and if so, why?

Now with the pandemic and everything, there is a theory (no clue if it's bullshit or not) that your blood type may have something to do with your susceptibility to the virus. Even if that theory is inaccurate, I feel that it's my right to know what my blood type is.

Answer: There is no law that says they can't tell you, they probably just don't know. Testing for your blood type is a waste of time in most circumstances. They most likely didnt have that information on file.


Title: I live in Las Vegas in an apartment with no AC. Can i walk out on my lease?

Question:
Man this is such a long shit show.

Ok so lived in these apartments for going on 2 years (signed the lease in April) In may, our AC unit went out and it took the manager 6 days to get it fixed because "the head maintenance man was on vacation"

We asked her if she could at least deduct money off of our rent because we have out 4 year old in the unit with us. She refused. We only asked this because I've heard if the AC is out for more than 2 days, you have the right to hold the rent.

So here we go again around last week. It hits 117° . Its been fucking hot. Our AC will not work at all during the day. I will put it on 76°, hell even 85° to get some kind of relief but it won't go lower than 90° and I constantly blowing. We've told them numerous times that this is happening , and she blows us off and keeps saying"we've already replaced the unit"

I'm fucking livid. And I dont think I can do another day of this. I talked to my dad and he told me to take videos of the thermostat throughout the day, documenting that it's not working. I've been doing this since yesterday , along with taking pictures of the black mold under the bathroom linoleum that the manager said she "would take care of" upon signing the lease, As well as the carpet thats lifting from the tack board that my son keeps poking his feet on (which she also said she would fix).

My question is, do I have any legal rights to walk out on my lease? If I have proof , and have put numerous work orders in, is there any way I can just go?? I'm asking because to get out if the lease. she says we have to pay the usual $820 for rent, okua another 2 months of rent, which we just dont have. I asked to be switched to another unit free of charge, and she said if she does that our rent will be raised again after already going up $70.

Please help!! If anyone knows anything on this , I'm in desperate need to know what steps to take. Thank you for reading.

Answer:
 > Our AC will not work at all during the day. I will put it on 76°, hell even 85°

AC will function at the same rate regardless of whether it's set to 76 or 85 if the thermostat recorded temperature is hotter.

In other words, if your room is 90, the AC will blow the exact same amount of air until it hits the target temp (whether it be 85 or 75). Setting the temp lower won't make the AC work any harder/faster.

In any case, you have an obligation to:

- Inform your landlord. Write and mail a registered letter and send an email. Definitely do not use just a phone call for this.

- Give them 2 business days to respond

- In said letter, make a reasonable offer. For example, "Due to the inability of the AC to keep up, I'm formally requesting you authorize the deduction from next month's rent of an amount equivalent to a functioning window AC unit."

More details [here](http://www.lasvegasnow.com/news/8-on-your-side-renters-rights-during-ac-malfunctions/71082619).Answer #2: There is a process. [start here](http://www.civillawselfhelpcenter.org/self-help/evictions-housing/habitability-and-essential-services)Answer #3: [Nolo Press](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overview-landlord-tenant-laws-nevada.html) has an excellent resource of your rights as a tenant in Nevada.


Title: Is this an ambiguity in my contract? Can I win this in small claim court?

Question:
So I was fired last week due to office politics. The thing is, I signed an agreement with them which states that I have to pay them back certain fees related to my work visa if I leave the firm before a certain time. The exact verbiage on the agreement is, "total legal fees incurred for working visa is to be reimbursed to \[my company\] by disoproxil if departure from \[my company\] occurs prior to XX/XX/2020."

Before I signed the agreement, the partner did tell me scenarios in which I wouldn't be paying back the fee such as major health issue preventing me from working.  My argument is that since I was terminated, not that I left on my own volition, I shouldn't have to pay the fees back. Doesn't health issue scenario the partner told me have the same principle of if something happens out of my control, repayment of the fee is not required? Can I argue that the term "departure" is an ambiguity as to whether or not it happens voluntarily, and as a result, it should be interpreted in my favor?

I haven't made the payment (\~$5k) yet, so what should I do? Do I have any legal defenses in case no compromise can be reached and I have to dispute this through small claim court?

I picked up the whole ambiguity thing while watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory so please forgive me if it is a dumb move as I'm not so sure about its actual validity. English isn't my first language either so I'm sorry if the whole mess I've typed makes no sense.

Thank you!

Answer:
 You can advance any argument you like.

Your employer is likely to argue that "departure" is unambiguous as it deliberately excludes reason.  That is, "resignation" is clearly voluntary.  "Termination" is (less clearly) involuntary.  "Departure" covers both.

Applying the plain language of the agreement, I'd be inclined to agree with the employer if they raised that argument.


Title: [NJ] I gradually developed gynecomastia (male breast growth) from taking finasteride for hair loss. Is there any chance I would be able to get some sort of settlement or something from the pharmaceutical company in order to pay for the surgery required to remove the breasts?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 It's a commonly and widely known side effect, so no. You chose the risk, unfortunately. Answer #2: It's not likely considering it's listed as a common side effect for finasteride.

I inquired about it with my doctor, and I checked out when he mentioned this as a side effect.


Title: Who is responsible for the mortgage on a house if the owner dies and has no will, spouse, or children? (Ohio)

Question:
My uncle recently passed away and we are trying to figure out what will happen with his house (which he still had a mortgage on). We have a potential buyer (family) but don't know how the process is going to play out. His mother is living and he has 3 siblings.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 The estate. When the estate is straightened out the home can be sold, the mortgage paid back, and profits go to the estate.Answer #2: Ohio's [intestate succession](https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/intestate-succession-ohio.html) laws would dictate inheritance.

Depending on how much he owes versus how much the house is worth, the executor could decide to sell the house to cover the debt.  The mortgage would have to be paid off or transferred before anyone assumes ownership of the house.


Title: I sent out parts to a company for repairs. They claim they lost it and no longer answering emails. Replacement cost is $2000. (IL and MA)

Question:
Hello everyone. I'm a long time lurker and felt compelled to seek advice here. The parts in question are seatbelt units, which go bad after an accident on this specific car model. In order to use them again, an internal components needs to be replaced.  The repair service is fairly direct and the company offers a 24hr turnaround.  They have excellent reviews online.

I am in IL
They are in MA
Repair cost is $330 + shipping
Replacement cost is ~$2000 from the dealer (no viable used options so far)

I paid on the company's website via credit card and sent the parts out.  When I didn't hear back in time, I inquired for an update from their customer service email.  At this time, the owner of the company apologized profusely and said that they were sent out.  He was unable to provide tracking information, however, blaming his shipping software for not having stored it.  OK, strange, I thought, but no problem.  After a few more days, by which time they should have arrived, the owner finally told me that the parts are missing or maybe sent to the wrong customer. At this point, I am clearly being strung along.

We agreed to wait a couple of days to see if a customer would complain about having received the wrong parts. I then received a number of long emails explaining how he sees them on camera as being received, then being repaired, checked, and sent out to the shipping station, and then just... not being there anymore. He claims to have spent hours tracking them on camera.

At this point, I sent out an email stating that I expect a resolution within 30 days of them receiving the parts. No mention was made of options, cost sharing, or any liability.  I also requested a refund in this email.  I have not heard from them in a week, and this comes after regular email exchanges.  The car is not driveable since the seats are in the shop (need to be removed from the car in order to remove the seatbelt).

Obviously, the $330 for their service is going to be refunded one way or another.  However, the steep replacement cost of these parts may warrant a demand letter with an attorney's letterhead.  I am also considering the social media options.  What is the best way to approach this situation?

TL;DR sent expensive parts to company for repairs, they admitted to losing them, now seemingly refuse to refund cost of service or part replacement. Radio silence.

Answer: You can dispute the charge on your credit card, that might be enough to light a fire under their ass. But that's only for the $330. If they don't wanna work with you, getting back the full cost of the belt is more likely to require going to actual court. You can use Small Claims Court, but unless they have an office in IL, you'll have to file in MI. You can file by mail, but you'll need to actually show up for the court date.


Title: I found a trailer in the Southern California Desert that has been abandoned since Monday, can I claim it as my own?

Question:
There is a pop-up camper trailer just off of a main highway exit that was dropped there on Monday.  It has already been looted, but the trailer itself still looks pretty ok (minus a now missing chunk of wood in the front).  I don't know anything about salvage laws, but I do know that people pull cars and things out of the desert to either fix and sell, or to sell for scrap.  Does anyone know what I would need to do to acquire this trailer for myself and register it (for a license plate and such)?
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: Monday? As in Monday of this week? Why would you think it had been abandoned? Just because it has already been looted doesn't mean it has been abandoned. It just means that there are shitty people around.Answer #2: I found a car in the Walmart parking lot that has been there for 4 hours, can I claim it was abandoned?Answer #3: I. . . No. Why would you think that you can just claim something abandoned less than a week ago?


Title: (CA) Question about something my co-worker did because our supervisor won't talk about it and has forbidden us to

Question: My co-workers and me have a legal question about something that happened here at work but our supervisor won't talk to us about it and has forbidden us from talking about it. We are security guards. A woman said that another woman was stealing her baby and was yelling about it. My coworker caught up and told the woman with the stroller to let go of it but she said no. My coworker struck her to stop her from leaving with the baby because she went past him and wouldn't let go and was trying to get in an elevator. He radioed that police and backup were needed and let the first woman take the stroller. The woman who said it was her baby grabbed the stroller. The police came and the woman who wouldn't let go of the stroller was put in an ambulance to treat her injury. Then she panicked because the stroller was gone. It was really her baby, she had pictures on her phone. The other woman who lied about the baby being hers was found 20 minutes later on a bus with the baby Apparently she has trouble with drugs and schizophrenia. The real mother who was struck by my coworker has a broken malar bone. Her sister is a lawyer and they are raising hell here. We are just wondering what the legalities are and what will happen to my coworker. We don't know the law and are just curious. Thanks!

Answer:
 You can talk about whatever you want, outside work.

I would advise you to steer clear of this dumpster fire while you're at work, and don't post about it on Facebook, etc. Let the legal thing run its course.