Title: Future MIL is trying to evict me [US-MA]

Question:
Hi legaladvice, throw away cause yeah.

Definitions:

GEM = Future MIL

GF = The GF

Background:

I have been  living in the house that they both purchased since February 2019 once  the interior renovations were done. GF and I have worked out how we  wanted to split the costs of living. She pays the mortgage of the house  only (as well as any renovations she wants as its her house). I pay the  property taxes for the house, along with all of the bills (Gas,  Electric, Water, Internet, Home Insurance). I have been paying these  bills since the day the house was purchased (around May/June 2018) even  though I was not able to live in the house due to all the work that was  being done. I also am responsible for keeping the property maintained.  Things like yard work, snow removal, pest control, and other general  homeowner maintenance that doesn't require a professional (unclog  drains, fix leaks, etc)

I  have no lease to live there, as GF and I have healthy communication and  are very open about our finances with each other. I have already given  GF the money she needs for this month to cover the property taxes coming  up.

&#x200B;

The Issue:

GEM sent me an email asking me to move out of the property by the end of the month. Email is below for you to read

"Date: June 2, 2019

From: GEM

To: \[My name spelt horribly incorrectly\]

Re: Request to move from \[address\]

I would like to take my house back to myself, so please plan to move by June 30, 2019.

As  you knew that this is a newly renovated waterfront house. The market  price for renting a small apartment is more than $2,500, but your  monthly payment of $800 (\*\*this number is made up, I reserve \~1800 for  the house expenses per month but pay \~1300... extra goes into savings  for house emergencies\*\*) that you deposited to GF and your joint  account is less than 1/3 of the market renting cost. Thus, I don't  believe I owe you anything.

Please leave  all keys on the kitchen counter and delete the access of 3 outdoor  lights and the entrance ring bell from your electrical devices at the  day you move.

I apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your efforts to help with the house renovation."

&#x200B;

So legaladvice, what can I do here?

&#x200B;

Summary of Facts for clarity:

\-  GEM and GF signed the mortgage for the house. It belongs to them. GF is  also an signer for the house as they purchased it equally and she does  not want me out at all. GF is limiting contact with GEM and this is GEM  lashing out and another attempt to break us up.

\-  I have no written lease to live here. Only a verbal agreement with GF.  She auto transfers money from our joint account to her personal to pay  the property tax on the first of every month, so I have paid this month  of June, and will be paying again come July 1st.

\- GEM does not have keys to the property, only GF and I do.

\- I pay for all monthly bills, property tax for the house, and home insurance.

\- GF pays the mortgage.

\-  I have not responded to GEM's email yet. I wasn't planning on  responding to begin with since its to my email but not addressed to me  technically... but I will if I need to.

&#x200B;

Questions:

Does GEM have the authority to evict me?

Does this count as a retaliatory eviction for the state of MA?

Do I need to talk to a lawyer about this? If so, what kind should I contact?

Is there anything I should do to better position myself legally in case GEM escalates this?

I  will be up to answer questions, if I fall asleep I will be able to  answer tomorrow while I am at work. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Answer:
 If I understood correctly - both GF and GEM own the house correct?

If so GEM cannot evict you if GF is allowing you to live there. You don't seem to point out any obvious action that would have provoked retaliation so I don't see how this could be a retaliatory eviction. If there is not lease, you don't need a reason to be evicted.

I'd talk to GF and see what the deal is. If she is allowing you to live there, GEM cannot unilaterally evict you.


Title: A private seller lied to me extensively and now I have a car riddled with problems that I can't even drive. Is there ANYTHING I can do?

Question:
I'll start off by saying I'm in B.C., Canada.

So I checked out a 1998 Honda prelude.  The owner was in camp with limited internet and phone access do it was his girlfriend showing me the car.  She seemed very knowledgeable about cars.  When I showed up there were 4 other preludes at the house and she was taking the transmission out of one of them. I really was given the impression these people knew their Hondas inside and out.  I know Hondas have a tendency to leak or burn oil so the very first question I asked was how bad it lost fluids.  It didn't mean I wasn't going to buy it, I just wanted to know to what degree it lost fluids in order to make my decision to purchase.  She said it doesn't burn or leak anything at all.

So bought it one week after checking it out initially.  $3500.  Well let me tell you, it has been a nightmare.  On top of some minor issues like a tie rod end that needs to be replaced, it drinks oil at the same rate it drinks gas (which is also way worse than it should be).  I brought it to a shop and it has a cracked oil pan and it's going to cost hundreds to fix, or else I sell the car for less than half of what I bought it for because I actually have moral standards and wouldn't do to someone else what this guy did to me.

I have all the documentation to prove I've put less than 200km on the car since buying it. I've stopped driving it so I won't be putting any more mileage on it. Any text or email records don't mention anything about her saying it doesn't lose fluid so in that regard it's kinda my word against theirs.

Can I do anything?

Answer: You bought a 17-year-old car. You had little to no expectation that it would run well. It was definitely sold as-is.


Title: [CA] Submitted a purchase offer on a home, got countered, verbally accepted, offer pulled

Question:
Submitted a signed offer on a home. Seller sent back a signed counter offer (however it was only the counter offer, I don't have with her signing the original purchase contract). Price was the same with just some other terms changing.

I emailed her saying I accepted her terms and that I would send her the signed contract the next day. She then said she got a higher offer and sent me a counter offer to sign.

I was stunned, was it legal of her to do that?

I ended up renegotiating a price somewhere in the middle. I sent a signed counter offer, they accepted and signed, I initialed it to confirm receipt.

Its supposed to go into escrow Monday. I'm paranoid that they may still back out because I still don't have a copy of the signed original contract. I asked for it, they said they would gather it up and send to me soon.

Two part question I guess, was it legal what they did pulling the offer the first time, and can they still back out now because I only have a signed counter offer and not the original contract signed by them?

Answer: You didn't have a signed agreement at the time, so yes, it was perfectly legal of her to ask for more money. Now it sounds like you're under contract, so you should be fine. There may still be other ways for them to back out though, so talk to your realtor about that.


Title: What rights do I have? Recently single parent (Western Australia)

Question:
Child’s father and I have agreed that I have my child 90% of the time (via our centerlink welfare papers)

He’s opted to only see him for a short time one day a week, is moving to be closer to a new job where new gf is ( we broke up a month ago! Child is well under a year old)

Obviously it hurts me that he’ll want my child around the new girlfriend so soon, but I don’t have a say in matters like these right? He can pretty much do whatever he wants during “his time” other than take our child interstate/international?! Is the child allowed to stay overnights before a year old?!

Answer:
 You do not need to agree to overnights for a child that young, and it’s unlikely that a court would order it. They usually don’t before three years old.

Absent court orders, he doesn’t have to hand the child back at all, so you need to look up the WA Family Court for information, as well as look into options such as legal aid etc.

In Australia, in order to apply to the Federal Circuit Court (where most are heard), you need to have attended mediation first. There are a variety of FDR centres around.

Don’t agree to things you don’t think are best for your child, but do try to work together.


Title: (MA) Work illegally rounding hours. HR ignoring my emails.

Question:
My work uses a 3rd party software to log our hours electronically. We have access on the website so we can look at every single one of our punches from the beggining of employment. I recently reviewed my punches and saw that my employer is not following the 7 minute rule.

We punch in and out at the clock 4 times a day. Once at the beggining of the day and in/out for lunch creating 3 oppurtunities for rounding. My morning punch is always rounded up if i punch in after the first 15 minute increment. For example if i punch in at 7:16 it will round up to 7:30 100% of the time.

My lunch and punch out times are also regularly rounded in violation of the 7 minute rule but without the same consistency. One day i punched out at 7:43 and it rounded me back to 7:30 but other days I've punched out at 7:38 and it rounded me up to 7:45. Wether or not my punch out rounds correctly appears to be completely unrelated to whether or not my punch in time was rounded. I'm unable to determine the pattern they're using to round our times.

My supervisor contacted the 3rd party that runs our time clock software and they claim that our times are rounded according to the 7 minute rule. I emailed my HR about the issue and she ignored my email. I forwarded it to the HR head and she has also ignored my email. On any other issue my emails have been responded to within 24 hours. Currently it's been 3 weeks from my first email.

Additionally they set a new policy that if you don't punch out for lunch they take it off your check anyways. There's at least 1 day where i did not take lunch and they took 30 minutes off my time and then incorrectly rounded off an additional 15 minutes. When i look online there's no explanation added. It just shows my punch times adding up to 8.5 hours but my total hours being 7.75. I'm certainty of the legality of deducting lunches but the extra 15 minutes of rounding was a slap in the face

Everything else about the company has been fantastic but this one issue has been nagging at me. I'm paid much more here than I could make at any other company in my field and I'm planning on quitting in the next 6 months. I don't have the necessary savings to be able to lose this job before that time frame. I'm scared to push the issue with HR and be fired in retaliation if they're complicit in the hour rounding.

I'm planning on taking screenshots of all my punches since i started. What is my best course of action to be paid back for the hours they've deducted without getting myself fired? Should i wait until i quit and then contact the DOL? Is there any time limit before i have to report this to be able to get paid for the hoirs they deducted?

Answer:
 Whether or not the time clock is keeping track is not going to issue, the only thing that matters are you getting paid for what is worked.

Unless your in one of the few states that mandate OT for over 8 hours worked per day, what your punches say aren't relevant. Your employer can change your punch.

For example if you work 40 hours per week and each day work 8-8-8-8-8. If the time clocked rounded your punches to 7.5-8.5-7.25-8.75-8 you'd still be getting the correct TOTAL hours.

Now I will assume you are not getting the correct hours.

The federal government will not allow rounding any more than the "7" minute rule, though they can round to less.

Since their free to change punch times, they can deduct for lunches without you punching in and out.

If you worked through a lunch, since it's automatically deducted you need to inform your supervisor to manually correct it. You must be paid for the time you worked. Even if not authorized, you have to be paid. They could fire you for working unauthorized overtime but they still have to pay you for it.

As someone in H/R I would be grateful for this information. If there is an error and someone reports it, you'll get a wage audit and that is no fun.

If you're truly afraid of retaliation, document your actual hours worked and then after you quit, file a wage claim with your state and/or federal government. They will get not only your back wages but everyone else's paid.


Title: TX - US to China shipping? Ordered a ps4 controller off of ebay from a chinese reseller. They sent me a god of war edition ps4 pro console + game + GOW edition controller.

Question:
So last weekend I took advantage of one of those 15 percent off coupons on ebay to replace a button sticking controller.

Thursday I got a God of War edition ps4, game, and GOW ps4 controller.

I contacted the seller to report their mistake. The gist of it back and forth finalized with them stating that they see no error on their end.

I informed ebay support but they said to take it up with the seller.

I am fully prepared to accept that this is my ps4 now. :) BUUUT I do not want this company to come back 4 months later saying I owe them more money.

Anyone happen to know the US, Texas, or even international rules for this kind of thing? Basically have no clue on this one. Does it become mine after 30/60/90 days? Do I suddenly owe the full price for this after x amount of time?  No clue here.

Answer:
 They’re out of country. The odds of them suing you over something that only cost them a few hundred bucks is close to zero percent.

Keep an eye on your credit card. If you see a weird charge from them, call your credit card company and do a chargeback on the unauthorized tranasaction. Answer #2: The more important question is.....is this seller selling more "controllers"? Hah I only partially jest but yeah you should be fine as others have said Answer #3: They're in China. Geeze man, stop worrying. They sent it, KEEP IT. They have no legal authority.Answer #4: This answers your problem [
Federal Trade Commission](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0181-unordered-merchandise)

According to the law, the console, game and controller was a free gift and the OP is under no obligation what so ever to return or pay for them.

Technically he could still complain he didn't receive the controller he ordered.


Title: Being with a minor in Florida

Question: My friend is going to turn 18 on the 20th of February and her boyfriend who is about to turn 16 have been together a year. She wants to know if it is possible for them to stay together. Can his parents press charges against her, can they still have sex. We both do not know the law about it, so decided this was the best route to go. Thank you in advance.

Answer: Once the boyfriend is 16 it should be fine. Still though, don't piss off his parents. If they don't want them together, don't do it.


Title: My cousin is trying to move out, but parents are holding her hostage with student debt and threats.

Question:
We are in Michigan.

My cousin (age 25) has grown up in a household where she has been under her parents thumb, and basically moved to the other side of the country to get away from them.  Before she left she met her current boyfriend, and things are going great.  She wants to move back to Michigan.  Not only because of her boyfriend, but because she is miserable so far away from other friends and family.  Her and her boyfriend agreed to move in together... then she told her parents.

They have threatened to make her life hell via disowning her, etc.  When she was going through college, her parents paid forward the loans she could not pay off so that she would avoid high interest payments, which she pays them back for monthly.  In addition to disowning her, they threatened to call back all $30,000 debt on her immediately if she moves in with her boyfriend.  This is much more than she can pay now as a teacher.  I don't think she has a written agreement about the loan.

Should she seek legal advice?  She is getting away from a terrible household, but the debt would be too much.  Is it possible for her to file for bankruptcy?  Honestly neither of us know what her options are, but she can't stay with them, and they are trying their best to make it impossible for her to leave.

Thank you in advance.

Answer:
 She can choose to accept the consequences of moving out or she can choose to accept the consequences of staying there.

Her parents can't force her to pay all the money back at once.  Even if it is the case that she does legally owe it to them, they would have to sue her for it in court. If she keeps making reasonable payments to them she should be fine.


Title: Need legal advice - Residential law (maniac roommate on lease)

Question:
Please help - this is a very tricky situation. This is taking place in Los Angeles, California (Park La Brea) - my roommate has not paid rent for 3 months and got us into an eviction process.

I have two roommates. One of them is perfectly normal and pays rent - let's call her Jennifer. The other one is trouble - he got us into an eviction process - let's call him Joe.

In short - all three of us are on the lease. The Jennifer and I agreed to cover Joe's security deposit and rent for the first month (October) as he was in Puerto Rico (during the hurricane) when Jennifer and I signed the lease. Joe was able to e-sign the lease and said he would pay us back immediately when he returned to Los Angeles.

He never paid us back. He kept making excuses each week and said that he was waiting for money orders from his parents to pay us back (and that it was taking a while because of the aftermath of the hurricane in Puerto Rico). Eventually, he told us that he would just wait on his paycheck and pay all of November's rent to pay us back (this makes sense because Jennifer and I share a room and he has his own room - he is supposed to pay 50% of rent and me and Jennifer each pay 25%).

Jennifer and I trusted him and we left the country for a work trip. When we returned, we were shocked to discover that he did not pay all of November's rent as he said he would (to pay us back for paying all of October's rent and his security deposit). On top of that, we received a three day notice and unlawful detainer paperwork. We were given the option to buyout the eviction for the price of November's rent + December's rent + $650 in lawyer fees. Furthermore, Park La Brea said they would only take the full eviction buyout amount and nothing less. That being said, all three parties on the lease would have to pay his/her part. Jennifer and I were ready with our rent money for both months and wanted to buy out the eviction. However, we could not do so unless we had Joe's rent for November and December and $650 for lawyer's fees. We did not have that much money to cover him (remember, he still owes us money) and did not trust him anymore as he did not return our money for covering him in October and also did not pay all of November's rent to pay us back, thus leading us into eviction.

The situation just keeps getting worse and worse as the legal fees increase the later we wait to pay the eviction buy out. All three of us are on the lease so we are all responsible and if we do end up getting eviction this will tank all of our credit scores. Even though Jennifer and I have our part of the rent money, we can't pay the full buy out amount, because Joe needs to have his portion too (again, Park La Brea will only take the full amount owed). Joe still has not paid a single cent of rent since he has moved in and now owes us and Park La Brea a significant amount of money.

To make matters worse - even if Joe comes up with his part of the eviction buy out money, we are stuck on a lease with him until October 2018. If we all break the lease, we must pay $2151 extra.  However, we can't do that because Joe doesn't want to break the lease and still lives in the unit. We legally cannot get Joe off the lease.

Jennifer and I have vacated the unit and moved to other places. Joe is still living in the unit that is under eviction.

Park La Brea gave us two options -
1. Pay the eviction buyout in full (includes $650 in lawyer fees).
2. Vacate the unit and pay the buyout in 60 days. Vacating means we will not have an eviction on the books, according to Park La Brea.

I'm not sure what to do and am very worried. Joe refuses to move out of the unit. I don't want to be on a lease with this guy anymore and just want to get this over with without ruining my credit, but I'm stuck on the lease until 10/2018.

To make matters worse, Joe accused Jennifer and I of stealing his designer shoes and said he reported it to the police. We did not steal his shoes and think he is trying to get money from us that way.

He is definitely a maniac, in my opinion. He sleeps on an air mattress, but wears designer shoes (as in Gucci/Prada/etc). He also came home from Puerto Rico with a new Louis Vuitton bag and other luxury goods, yet he could not pay his part of rent for October and also claimed he was on food stamps.

Please help - I'm at a loss and have no idea what I can do. Can anyone in residential law help? What is the best solution?

Answer:
 I don't know California tenancy law, but the law typically treats tenants as jointly and severally liable for rent payments.

If one tenant defaulted, and the three of you signed together, there's a lot of potential that you're on the hook for his part.


Title: [MD MoCo] Landlord is out of town and unresponsive, caretakers flooded the house and have not returned

Question:
I live in my landlord's basement and do not have access to the main area of his house. He has gone out of the country with his immediate family off for vacation starting about a week ago and did not leave his local relatives' contact information as he said he would.

Two nights ago, some (presumably those local family members) that have access to the house turned some water on upstairs that began flooding the upstairs floor and leaking through vents and floorboards into the basement ceiling, which began dripping onto the (laminate, now swollen) floors and stinking up the room.

I have had to shut off the main water valve in the basement to prevent further flooding and as a result have had no access to plumbing since this episode began - read, no dishes, sink, toilet, washing machine, or shower.

Repeated texts to my landlord's number for caretaker contact information or for those caretakers' return and shut-off of whatever water source caused this have gone without response, while the last people to occupy the house have not returned since this situation started.

So I am curious: What are my rights in this situation as far as rent withholding or damages are concerned?

EDIT: I do have renters' insurance, but I have not made a move to go to a hotel or some such as the place is still somewhat habitable.

EDIT 2: Water has been restored, the caretakers have returned and stated that it was a toilet overflowing. They did not specify if this was the bowl or the tank (the water, when collected from ceiling drips, was brown), which greatly disturbs me.

Answer: The brown is most likely from dust /dirt in the ceiling/floor and NOT from the water itself


Title: Massachusetts - A developer keeps contacting my elderly mother trying to buy her house, she feels harassed. Can I legally stop them?

Question:
My mother owns a house that she does not live in - she rents it to me. Lately a developer has been persistently contacting her trying to buy the house. She has stated that she has no intention of selling. This person keeps coming up with different stories about why they want the house - we're downsizing, my daughter needs a place to live, etc., the stories keep changing but they really just want to get a bargain house that they can flip, by taking advantage of an elderly person. The latest communication is a letter and in it they said "I keep driving by the house, I want it so much" which kind of creeps me out since I live here alone.

Do I have any legal recourse here? Can I prevent them from contacting her again?

Answer:
 I also own and live in a very desirable home in a "hot" neighborhood.  Persistent flippers like that, I will phone them up and tell them "I am LIVING in my house.  Now fuck off and do not contact me again!  Even if I decide to sell my home, I would NEVER sell to you, you've been such a pest!"  They usually leave me alone after that.

If this pest who is bothering you works for a real estate agency, contact their supervisor and complain.

If the home is such a "hot" piece of property, it will be very easy to sell it when the time comes.  You'll probably get even MORE money for it if it's sold on the open market, rather than to some random flipper trying to get a bargain.Answer #2: This is one of those things that a letter from an attorney will likely produce immediate results.Answer #3: It's very simple say yes, for a super large number. Tell them we won't budge from this number. Answer #4: She can get a prohibitory order.

https://about.usps.com/forms/ps1500.pdf

That may be enough to get them to stop sending mail.Answer #5: >This person keeps coming up with different stories about why they want the house

Tell them to stop coming up with stories and come up with money. I mean ultimately there's a price for which she'd sell the house, the problem is these jokers aren't offering it. Answer #6: NAL, but... has she considered responding with a crazy amount?  Like 2 or 3 times (or more) what the house is worth, stating that she will not take any less and it must be an as is cash deal.

It might work, if they think she is crazy in the valuing of the house and tacks on exetreme conditions.


Title: stimulus payment

Question: I need a little help.  I am 75 and on social security.  Because my income is so low I don't pay taxes.  Does this mean that because I get SS that I will have the stimulus check deposited to my checking account as does my SS monthly payment?  I am sorry but I am just so confused I don't know what to do.

Answer:
 From here [https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payment-information-center](https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payment-information-center):

> Social Security and Railroad Retirement recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return need to take no action. The IRS will use the information on the Form SSA-1099 and Form RRB-1099 to generate Economic Impact Payments of $1,200 to these individuals even if they did not file tax returns in 2018 or 2019. Recipients will receive these payments as a direct deposit or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their benefits. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients are also part of this group who don't need to take action.


Title: I think my information has been compromised because of my ISP. is there something I can do?

Question:
good day /r/legaladvice a little info about me I am a male, 23, from the Philippines living with my parents with a stable job and the internet bill is charged in my name to help with some of the bills. this just happened...
Early this year we changed our ISP from PLDT (old ISP) to Globe (new ISP). our bill every month is ranging from 1,000php - 1,500php and we pay our bills on time every time the bill from my email comes. and just around 2 months ago I received a text message claiming that I have failed to pay our **globe** (note that I put the "globe" text in bold because the scammer knows that I use globe internet) internet bill and has amounted to 15,000php the first thing that came to my mind was this is obviously a scam and I just shrugged it off and just ignored it. but now (December 21, 2015) when I cam home from work I received a brown letter that has the words *URGENT* this letter raised my eyebrow because I don't have any reason to receive any letter with an urgent notice in it. then When I opened it I was really surprised because the header of the letter says that it's from a law firm stating that we have failed to pay our globe internet bills which has the same amount from a few months ago. and then it just hit me, has my information been compromised? the scammer knows that I use globe as my ISP and know my full address and also my personal cell number. I'm a little scared because the scammer might do something harsh and may do something to harm me or my family. what should I do?

Answer:
 Wouldn't your first step be to contact globe and ask if the bills are indeed authentic?

If they say no, tell them someone has possibly breached their network data. Chances are, you clicked on a phishing link and revealed this data yourself.

Nonetheless, if you find the charges are fake, you can report it to the police etc, but it's unlikely your in any physical danger, most fraudsters like to stay behind their computers. And if it's fake, you're also likely not the only one who's getting these texts and letters (still, they got your name, mobile and address and internet provider somehow which is concerning)


Title: [TX] I offered ukulele lessons on craigslist and some guy sent his whole paycheck to me. Everyone's saying it's a scam. I would like to know what you guys think.

Question:
First off... I'm 17. I used google voice for my phone number in my craigslist ad, So it forwarded all texts from that number to my real one. They don't have my real number. I have screenshots and pictures of everything.
Here are the texts:
> Hello my name is John Peter i want to know if this tutor lesson is still available for my Daughter,she is 14 years old,I want you to calculate the cost of one hr per day for three days in week for one Month & let me know the total cost

So I texted back the amount. And he said:
> Thanks for getting back to me,my daughter name is Victoria she is coming for an holiday in your (CITY).I want her to be busy in the time of the day,because i will be in CANADA for business trip for a month that is why i want her to be lesson,Am okay with your price i have decided to let her attend to your lesson and I haves Someone that will always drives her down to you for the lesson and Am very glad that Victoria is coming to the right person,Hope you can help my daughter

And I said "no problem", I then asked when he wanted to start. (In hindsight I can see where this text is REALLY sketchy looking. "an holiday in your (CITY)" "CANADA")
He replied back with:
> Good..I will like you to let me know the time and days that is convenient for you to start with her and Also will be happy if you can help Her because She is highly interested in your lesson and she can't avoid to miss it..More So I want you to know that I will be paying you with My Pay Check which will be sent and delivered to you through UPS or FEDEX..So i will like you to Get back to me with your Full NAME AND ADDRESS to be on the check so that we can get started.Get back to me asap

I told him what days worked best for me and (This is where I got real stupid. Yeah, you guessed it!) I gave him My "FULL NAME AND ADDRESS". I don't deny the fact that this was not smart. I also told him we wouldn't be meeting at my house.(I was thinking more than likely a park or public place for safety.) He says:
> Ok Sound Good...I just want you to know that the check i am sending to you is my Pay check and I want to let you know that i am going to include the Nanny Fund to the check, Because the Nanny cannot receive check ..So once you receive the check you are going to deduct your own money for the lesson for one Month and also deduct extra $50 for your running around and you will help me send the rest money to the nanny Because the Nanny will be using the money to Drive and relocate my Daughter to you to start the lesson. Do you promise me you will handle this for me with your Honest and trustworthy?

This is where I realized I didn't want to go any further with this. I told him that I was sorry for his trouble but that was too much for me and thanked him for considering my lessons. He sends:
> oh mason that is why i promise to give you extra $50 for your running around pls i will be more than glad if you can help me with this cos my Daughter Victoria is very excited to meet you

I said "Thank you, but I'm still not interested." (This was the last text sent.) The texts began and ended on April 6...

A week goes by, and I get a big cardboard postal service envelope in the mail. Want to guess what's inside? YES. A CHECK! $2,930.00! What the cuss!? I havent done anything with it. I know for sure I'm ever going to cash it. It's in my name, and the return address was for "ROSLAND SERVICES" in Houston. The top of the check is for "Greater Alliance".
All my friends and family say it's a big ol' scam.(I agree) I talked to one of my friends that used to work for a bank, she said to take it to my bank so they can examine it, to keep people from cashing any like it.

What do y'all think?
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 Yeah. Scam. Pretty common one, in fact.Answer #2: Scam.  100%.  Glad you didn't fall for it.  If you feel like you actually need to do something:

>  I talked to one of my friends that used to work for a bank, she said to take it to my bank so they can examine it, to keep people from cashing any like it.

Seems like a pretty good idea.  Maybe you can help the next person who's not as smart as you.Answer #3: Absolute scam. Essentially you cash/deposit the check, and then give the extra money to the guy/nanny, etc...

Then about 24 hours later, the check fails to process through at the bank. Either the check bounces due to insufficient funds, or a stop payment is issued on the check.

Now you owe the bank the full amount of the check, including the money that you've already given to someone else.

You absolutely made the right choice in this case.


Title: Coworker stole my pay check and opened account in my name. Company wont pay me.

Question:
So this situation has developed quite a bit by this point and I'm not sure what my legal possibilities currently are. Right now a coworker logged into my work account and set up a new account to have the payments transferred to (under my name). We found out it was her yesterday and neither me nor the company have told her we know it's her. I spoke to the police yesterday before we found out it was her and they said they would be in contact with me within a few days. Currently I have missed two paychecks because of this and it looks like the company I work for does not want to give me the money unless they are forced to by the police or something.

So my questions are the following:

*  Should I recontact the police or wait for them to get in contact?

* Should I attempt to sue the girl who stole from me or would the legal fees be more than the amount I lost?

* Do I have a way to force my company to pay me/sue them for not giving me the money?
Thanks for any and all advice you guys can give me. I'm not really sure what to do in this situation as it seems like all the factors are currently against me. Thanks.

Edit: I've been at work and it seems like this post has gotten quite a bit of comments. I appreciate all of your guys' time and will try and reply to all of you.

Edit 2: Lot of comment chains and I'm replying from mobile so it's kind of hard to reply to everything from work.

Update: it appears the company wants to resolve this with me more so than originally. Currently my boss who originally was not trying to move forward with helping my side of the investigation is attempting to push to get me my money. If this happens I will have no gripe with the company. If not I will file a wage complaint. I am moving forward with the police, and plan to try and press charges for theft and fraud if they apply and will sue her if I have not gotten my money back. I believe this all is my best step forward and want to thank you all again for your help.

Answer:
 You may want to get back in touch with the police and see where they're at with this.

Also, since she is impersonating you and opening bank accounts in your name, you may want to also contact your local FBI field office and ask them about all this. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices They may not care but it is another avenue to pursue.Answer #2: People keep mentioning that the co-worker stole from you and that somehow the company doesn't owe you money because they tried to pay you.  This is simply untrue, and ultimately not your problem.

The reality is that you weren't paid, and the co-worker stole from the company.  It's pretty simple.  No different than had the person intercepted the money in any other fashion.

The company won't pay you?  File a wage complaint.  The company taking the defensive position that they paid somebody so everything is cool will be quite ineffective.

Your complaint with your coworker is limited to them opening accounts in your name assuming that is what happened. Their access your employer's  computer system, assuming this is what happened, is not your problem. And you can probably expect to lose your job if you don't have a contract because your employer can do that, so you should plan to sue this person for future lost wages and punitive .Answer #3: How did she get access to your work account? If it was through your own negligence the company doesn't really have to pay you twice. The issue would be between you and her.

If they can pull the payments back from the bank, they could then send it to your account but I'm guessing she removed the money immediately after receiving it.


Title: Chain Supermarket Lablows sold week old expired oysters with hidden expiration date got very sick.

Question: The expiration date was covered by the a sale sticker but never thought a large chain store like loblaws would sell week old expired seafood. Got food poisoning and was sick for a few days, any legal recourse here? No way a large chain store should be able to sell stick a discount sticker over their expiration date and sell week old oysters.

Answer:
 You can report it to them and get a refund.

You can also report it to the health inspector, who might crack down on them.


Title: Neighbors below in apartment videotaping me on my balcony. What do I do? (Canada, Ontario)

Question:
Hi Legal Advice,

I live in an apartment complex and the neighbors below me have been causing some issues and I'n unsure about what to do.

Me and my girlfriend are good tenants, but the neighbors below are causing us some issues. First it started with complaining about noise, which is fine. We made adjustments to our living space to minimize the noise of footsteps, etc. Although, our landlord admitted to us that they are "extremely sensitive to noise". Which is fine, no noise complains since.

However, this is too much for me. I smoke, and in the morning I always start my day with a cigarette. Smoking is allowed on the balcony and the waste from smoking goes directly into an ash tray. Emptied each night. Furthermore, the balcony has been lined with pool noodles so that no butts can go onto their balcony.

This morning as I was leaning over my balcony, not ashing over it, but into a tray next to me on a table, I looked down and the tenants below are very clearly recording my on an iPad. They were recording as they were using front camera and I could clearly see myself in the camera. They will also tell me that I'm disgusting on a regular basis among other obscenities. Perhaps they don't like the smell.

I let my landlord know this was happening. She didn't seem to really care but said she would speak to them, or that I should call the police.

Should I take her advice? What else should I do?

Sorry, I don't know much about the law, I really just want to be left alone.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Ontario is one party consent, so people can record any conversation they are party to without the consent of the other party.

If there was no conversation, and they are just recording you on private property, there *may* be some rules against that, but I'm really not certain what, if any rules apply.

If it happens again, just ask them clearly to stop recording you, and move your body out of their view, also it'd probably be wise to document each and every interaction you have with them, just in case their behavior escalates to the point where it may be considered harassment.


Title: [NY] Paying rent through Venmo. How to protect myself?

Question: I just signed my first ever lease for a house in New York. My landlord has provided me the option to pay my monthly rent via Venmo or PayPal, and I'm leaning toward this just for convenience's sake. Is there any glaring detriment to doing things this way? Am I leaving myself open to legal problems? Thanks so much!

Answer: Don't use Venmo - that is for personal transactions, rent is a business transaction. If you use Paypal, make sure you use the option for *goods and services* not *person to person*.Answer #2: I would just make sure to add a note on the transaction, Rent for May 2019, etc. Then you have documentation with the details of the transaction.


Title: [CA, USA] My fiancé has cancer. What will happen with incurred debt if we get married?

Question:
SO my fiancé was diagnosed with cancer about five months ago and the prognosis isn't looking good. He just turned 26 and will no longer be on his parents' insurance, they've already signed him up for his own. However, the new treatment we were hoping to start for him will go from being completely free to $90k a month. But even with the new treatment doctors don't give him much more than a year.

I don't make much money and his parents have footed the bills for everything thus far, but I do have decent insurance through work and I thought that if my insurance would be better for him than the one his parents' got, than maybe it would be worth it to quickly get married, get him on the insurance and get him treatment. Even if the insurance isn't better, I still want to marry him.

Of course I want him to live, with all my heart, but what would happen if he passed after a year of costly treatments? Would I be liable for all the debts incurred after marriage? As it is I rarely have more than $1k in my bank account. I understand that bankruptcy is an option, but I just don't know what to do.

I want to do everything I can to help him but also protect myself. Any advice?

Answer: Have you talked with him and his parents about this?  Try posting about this in /r/insurance as well, they may have more information about the insurance and debt situation.Answer #2: If he has insurance, he will pay no where near $90k. All insurance policies have out of pocket limits and with the ACA laws, I don't believe it's more than $6,850 (per year). So at most, he shouldn't have medical bills exceeding $6,850. Answer #3: A hard question: will the 90K buy quality of life for a year or low quality survival for a year?


Title: [kentucky] I was in an accident. the other driver had no insurance

Question:
if anyone wants to see pictures and read what happened, [here's](https://www.reddit.com/r/altima/comments/cens4s/1997_altima_139500_miles_ran_great) a thread I made on another sub about it. but per the rules, tldr another driver turns into me and totals my car. I have insurance, the other driver does not. I've got the police report and it makes the other driver at fault.

so my questions are:

1.  small claims to be made whole? and

2.  from the report I get the impression that the other driver doesn't have any money because they were also driving with "canceled plates". I have a slam dunk case but what are the chances I'm going to collect anything from this individual?

Answer:
 You claim through your insurance. If they can’t get your deductible back (and they might) you make a claim via small claims.

But as you say - some people are essentially judgment proof. It might not be a bad idea to get a claim on record though. Maybe they’ll win the lottery, maybe they’ll inherit money. But don’t count on it.


Title: Police "didn't have time" to take an accident report at the scene of my sister's car accident

Question:
My younger sister (19) was in a car accident today with her husband and 2 year old daughter. According to her, the other driver was coming at her, drifting into her lane. She attempted to avoid the oncoming car, but it drifted far enough to hit her in the driver's side, of which she was driving, and totaled her car. But the other driver apparently kept driving and drove off! When the police arrived, they "didn't have time to take a statement" and to come by the police department on Monday to give a statement. My sister suffered the worst of the crash, while her daughter was injured by her seat belt and her husband suffered primarily from whiplash because they were driving in a 50mph area.

I informed her to write everything down from start to finish with every little detail she can remember, including the weather, all injuries, and any description of the other car and person to give an accurate statement on Monday. It was also apparently the sheriff who arrived at the accident.

Is there anything they can do about the police officer who didn't care enough to take a statement? My mother and I are absolutely livid that the driver drove off.

This is in a small city in Illinois.

Edit: Clarified an unfinished sentence, added location.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: They have no obligation to take a statement or make a report. There was nothing the police could do at that moment that would be different then what they can do monday.


Title: Medical bills for suicide attempt

Question: I shot myself in the head back in November 2017. No insurance and am now not only dealing with the effects of that but also a $250,000 medical bill. Any hope of a way out?

Answer: Talk to a bankruptcy attorneyAnswer #2: See if the hospital has any type of charity grant that can be used. (You never know unless you ask). Also, see if they will reduce the bill to see if you can get a self pay rate, and get on payment plans.Answer #3: Agree with the other poster - you should definitely meet with a bankruptcy attorney and at least have a consultation on what that would entail and how it would effect your life. Most places will allow a payment plan as well but that’s the kind of debt you’d have for years it may be worth bankruptcy to have it discharged


Title: (FL)MY friend's stepmom passed away, but his mother and her were not legally married. His mother's name is not on the mortgage. Does she have any recourse?

Question:
Asking for a friend cause he needs all the help he can get right now. His mother and her S/O had a house in Lee County, Florida. They bought it together, but her S/O's name was on the mortgage because she had better credit. They lived there for 7 years and my friend says the mortgage payments were made from a joint checking account. The problem is that he is saying that the bank is going to take the house since his mother's name isn't on the mortgage. Does she have any legal recourse here? Does her established residency and proof of contributions to the mortgage payments help her in any way? She doesn't want to keep the house and is ready to just let the bank have it, but I don't want her to get screwed just because she is to overwhelmed with grief to fight. I feel like she should have the legal right to take over the mortgage and sell the house if she wants to. At the very least shouldn't she have partial ownership? I'm hoping my friend can step in and help his mother out if I can just give him something to go on. They don't have a lot of money and my friend lives really far away, so this is already really hard for him. Please, any help would be appreciated.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 Why is the bank laying claim to the house? The house is part of the estate and ownership transfers via a will or to the rightful heir. The bank only gets the house if the terms of the morgauge aren't met.

Who the house transfers to might be unknown, but it shouldn't be the bank.


Title: (NY) I was threatened after being let in from getting locked out that if I confront the person who let me in again, they would keep me out next time. What can I do?

Question:
I was walking home from school today, and I turned the fron doorknob to find that my older brother (the "That Person" from the title) locked it. I shrugged it off and went to the back door, thinking he'd at least leave that open. Lo and behold, that was locked also. Well, crap. To make matters worse, I don't own a key for the locks since we had recently replaced them. So I knocked on the door, hoping that he would come down and unlock the door. No luck.

3 hours pass, and he finally wakes up and lets me in. Naturally, I confronted him about not keeping one of the doors unlocked for when I arrived as he's supposed to do each day. He completely claimed innocence as he always does. That I was expecting. However, multiple times since I've been let in, he's said that if I get locked out again and I confront him, he would **keep me out.** Keep in mind, we live in Upstate New York. The afternoons here during the Winter are too cold for someone to be outside for any extended period. Also, my older brother tends to act out excessively, and with his prior behavior around family, I fear that he'll lock me out again tomorrow. What kind of action can I take to prevent him from going through with this?

Answer: This is a family issue, not a legal issue.


Title: Settlement coming for father due to a slip and fall. Can I prevent him from wasting it?

Question:
I don't know how much background is necessary but I'll include as much as I know. Dad slipped and fell last year and hurt his shoulder, one week after his wife/my mom of 40 years passed away. It happened on private property in Pittsburgh, PA. Dad has been on disability for 35 years, is on medicaid and works about 15 hours a week for minimum wage.

My husband and I think the settlement will be nothing substantial. Maybe $2,000 if he's lucky. But dad thinks it will be between $20,000-$50,000. That's very concerning to us. He's been rather unstable since losing his wife/my mom. He has also found a new girlfriend who has ruined my dad's relationship with my brother. Brother and I think the new girlfriend is waiting for our father's settlement to spend it all and then dump him (our father has proposed to the new girlfriend, she didn't say yes, but she didn't say no. She also tried to have him committed to a psych ward during their 1st break-up). If my dad received $20,000, he could get himself out of homelessness and somewhere reasonable. But I think he, or the new girlfriend, are going to waste all the money and he will be right back where he is now: homeless and desperate for any woman's attention.

If he receives a the larger settlement, can an account be established to prevent him from wasting his money? I think I already know the answer, it's his money, and his decision. But he has been unable to make any good decisions since his wife passed away. Any help would be appreciated and I'll provide more information if I can.

Answer: As you wrote, it's his money and his decision. If you have a legitimate fear he is unable to care for himself financially, there are steps you can take. But, they are expensive and require more than a family's hunch.


Title: Doc seeing private practice clientele

Question:
I work in a strip-mall urgent care.  One of the docs I work with tells his regulars to come in on the weekend when they need refills or are withdrawing.  I have as little to do with these patients as I can because they all need is suboxone in the best case, and narcan in the worst.  The other great thing is that the doc does not fully bill these people but uses our facility/meds/supplies.

I think this is a lawsuit waiting to happen and my nursing license is at risk.  What is the downside if any to getting out of here?

Connecticut

Answer:
 NP here. Find a new job fast.

If he’s not billing correctly to insurance it’s fraud. The whole clinic is in huge trouble. Under billing is considered fraud by all insurance companies.

If he’s taking cash and owns the practice it’s his choice to bill, not bill, or under bill.

Who is writing the scripts?

If he is then it’s his license on the line.

If you are writing them for him then your license is on the line even if he has delegated this to you. Suboxone is a very special medication. You need a special DEA license to write for it.

If they OD and die you both are in huge trouble with your respective licensing boards.

If you are writing them under his delegation the nursing board may take your license.

If patients are just picking up scripts he wrote then it’s on him.

If he is a member of the practice (doesn’t own it or owns part of it) his partners may fire him over doing any of the things he is doing. Technically he’s stealing from a group practice by not billing correctly or not charging.

I hope this helps.

Anytime you see shady stuff going down in a practice it’s time to jump ship.


Title: TX - Bank Misplaced $8200 It's been 2 months with no solution and they don't know where my money is

Question:
My mother wrote me a check for $8200. I tried doing a mobile deposit. Several days later, the money hadn't shown up on my account. I noticed the check was made out to the bank instead of my name, so I assumed that was the issue. We went to a retail bank and deposited the check directly to my credit card.

The next day I didn't see the payment on my credit card, but I saw $8200 in my checking. I assumed that was where the money had gone, so I transferred the money to my credit card. The next day I saw my credit card was negative $8200 because two separate payments of $8200 had gone through-- the in-person deposit and the mobile deposit. I called the bank and had one payment adjusted out, zero-ing out my credit card.

The next day I checked my bank and saw my checking account was now negative $8200.

I called the bank and they went over the duplicate payment error-- and I've had this particular conversation with dozens of employees in the last two months-- and they say that in-person deposit of the check cancelled out the mobile deposit payment and they say that it looks like I made an $8200 payment with only $100 in my checking account. This is why my credit card is zeroed out and why my checking account is negative.

They understand my checking account should not be negative and they acknowledge this is a hot mess. Their words. My bank suggested my mom put a "stop" payment on the check with her bank. We've gone to her bank three times. Each time her bank has said they can't put a stop payment on the check because my bank has already accepted the funds. Her bank says my bank has the money.

My credit card is zeroed out, as desired, however it seems as though it's zeroed out because of funds I didn't have instead of because of the funds my mother gave me. I still have to pay my mother back for lending me the money, and I can't do that if I can't access any of the funds I've been depositing into my checking account because my checking is so negative. In addition to having my checking account negative $8200, I've been accruing late fees and overdraft fees.

I've been at my bank for ten years. It seems as though no one at the bank understands that they have $8200 of mine-- am I not explaining this well? Is this confusing?-- and so no one can tell me where my money is.

My concern has gone to claims several times. I've had at least two internal investigations at the bank. I've spent over 40 hours on the phone trying to get this resolved. I've had zero progress and zero solutions.

How do I get my money back? What do I do? What are my rights?

Answer:
 Call the Tx. Dept of Banking and file a consumer complaint.

(877) 276-5554

https://www.dob.texas.gov/banks-trust-companies/how-file-complaintAnswer #2: Ok, the lesson learned here is *do not* deposit checks multiple times.  The bank has failed to sort this out, but this situation is *purely* on you.

So, first step is to go to a branch of your bank and get a branch manager to sit down.  You then go through all the transaction, like it is a ledger, until you see where each transaction went.

If this is a nationally charged institution, you can file a complaint with the OCC at:

https://www.helpwithmybank.gov

If it is a state charter bank, contact TX dept of banking.

If it is a credit union, the NCUA.

Source: former bank regulatorAnswer #3: I'm curious why the check was made out to a bank and not you. Why didn't you have your mom write a new check?


Title: Homophobic neighbor threatening my nephew

Question:
My neighbor who we’ve never had problems with until my nephew moved in had a confrontation with my nephew and called him a fruity boy  a few months ago.

I emailed one of the board members about his actions (he is a member of the board also) however she said she would deal with it when she returns to the country.

Today he knocks on my door threatening that if he runs into my nephew he doesn’t care if he has to do time or we call the police he’s going to “handle” him, he doesn’t care who we email

what steps can I take legally to protect my family? We can’t live in fear because this guy is an immature 40yr old. If he doesn’t mind being in prison and coming to my home to threaten us I’m going to completely destroy him legally. Advice is appreciated

Thanks!

Answer:
 As related this is certainly police and restraining order territory.

Do make sure you have a serious conversation with your nephew to make sure you know the full story - ie, how did the initial confrontation begin? You want to make sure that your complaint to the police isn't immediately contradicted by other evidence.

Just hypothetically, the neighbor has video of your nephew pissing in his bushes. That may not legally justify the neighbor's threats, but if the police come out, they may take the whole thing less seriously than it deserves if they feel like they're not getting the full truth from you and your nephew.

Regardless, good luck with the situation.Answer #2: Ok this is definitely way beyond the level of just your board (I'm assuming HOA board based on your post.) You need to fill out a police report. Either visit the station or look up the non emergency number for your local police station.

If it was just homophobia and insults that is not illegal and so that is a problem for your board. He's crossed into the realm of criminal activity now. Fill out a police report. If anyone else in your household witnessed and heard this exchange, have them with you. Bring your nephew as well to explain any other encounters they've had.


Title: Are the deceased legally required to be cremated or buried?

Question: Hypothetically speaking, If I died and I had left in my will that I wanted to be stored in a loved ones freezer, turned into taxidermy or even left rotting on their front yard, are there laws prohibiting this?

Answer:
 You can't force the people do do any of those things though. You can't legally require a loved one to store your corpse in their freezer in perpetuity lol.

But consider that a lot of people leave their bodies to medical science, for example, so it's not the case that you *have* to be buried or cremated, no.


Title: Neighbor trespassed and was biten...crap has gone off the rails!! Pitchforks! Fences!! Lawyers! Oh my! Florida

Question:
My next door next of 12 years has a lawn care business and has done my yard the entire time I've lived here. He has always, always, ALWAYS checked with me before going in the back yard...expect this time. We were out of town a couple weeks ago. The neighbor (let's call him Joe) and his friend (how about calling him Ray) were doing the mowing, edging, and weed eating of the yards on their route. Joe came to our door and rang the bell. No one answered and the dog, Clifford, barked for at least 90 seconds solid. Joe and Ray decided to enter the backyard fence anyway. Clifford went out the pet door and bit Ray on the leg. Ray chased the dog with the weed eater and yelled. Ray left and returned with a pitchfork. He stood at the back door screaming for the dog to come back outside so Ray could "bury" him and that it was "time to die mother fucker." Did I mention I have all this on surveillance video??
Anyway, I get a phone call from the neighbor's wife informing me Ray was bitten and going to the hospital. When we returned home two days later, Ray and Joe came over and demanded I pay the medical bills. Apparently there was a puncture wound that required a bandaid. I declined and asked why they came inside the fence without permission when Joe had always received explicit consent before going out back. Joe said he assumed someone was home even though there were no cars in the driveway and no one answered the door. Clearly, this guy uses an entirely different logic algorithm than I do.
Joe and Ray stomped off back to their home next door. Half an hour later Joe sent me text messages informing me he was taking down our shared fence that is technically on his property. HUH???? Because he couldn't shake me down for medical bills he is removing the fence to punish me? This guy is an irrational, unreasonable bully!!
The fence was removed on Saturday and I'm currently getting estimates for a replacement. And I received a letter from one of the local ambulance chasing law firms asking for my homeowner's insurance info. Should I give up the info? This is Florida where it is very difficult to find decent, affordable homeowner's insurance. A small claim can easily cause a policy not be renewed.
C R A Z Y

Replacement fence idea/inspiration: http://imgur.com/3oKZUQD
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer: Wow, a lot of just horrible advice on this thread. The fact that someone who has implied consent to enter your yard didn't actually talk to you this time before entering is worthless as a defense. You need to contact your homeowners immediately. As in ten minutes ago.


Title: Divorce for Stay at Home Mother(Married 30 Years)

Question:
My mother is currently married to my father, over 30 years. During this time she has been in an abusive marriage. It has changed from physical, a long time ago, to just emotional and mentally abusive. I am her son, and as of right now, I finally feel as though I have the means to assist her in divorcing him, being only 2 years out of college.

My question is what can I do to start this process, how much will it be, what do I need to tell the divorce lawyer to ensure that she get alimony and make sure he never interacts with her for the rest of her life( are restraining orders typical in divorce)? I do not live in the same state as her so I need to make sure she is 100% protected from him. Also, we do not have family near her and she does not have any friends because of my father restricting her. I am not saying my mother is lazy not at all, but rather she has 0 computer skills, barley understands how email works so I am certain no one will want to hire her. In addition in the last 4 months she has had severe medical issues.

Being a stay at home mom raising myself and my siblings, she has sacrificed her independence, and career for the last 30 years. She has done the hardest job with no pay and my father does not see the sacrifice she has made. How can I make sure that in this legal case I can stress the fact that she cannot get 30 years of her life back?

Is there any other legal tips or topics that is critical we clarify or ask the lawyer?

&#x200B;

Side Note: My father is extremely 2 faced and can easily sway anyone. Everyone outside of our family thinks he is the most kind and loving family man, which is not true. They think this because he immediately changes his behavior when he interacts with others. He does work very hard, which I respect, but now it is time for them to go their separate ways. Any suggestions?

Answer:
 You can support her (housing, attorney's fees, etc), but she has to take action herself

These are not particularly unusual circumstances, it's why spousal support exists. The divorce attorney will address all these issues if your mother brings them up


Title: Apartments I never lived in owe me money

Question:
Back at the end of March 2017 I paid a deposit and admi fees for an apartment that I ended up not being approved for. I made only 2.8 times the rent not 3, so they wouldn't approve me. They told me I would receive a check in 30-60 days for the $805 I paid to them. After 60 days passed I called because I still hadn't received the check. They told me it wasn't issued and they would get to it. 60 days passed again and still no check, same answer. This has been happening every 60 days since. I told a friend about it and she was telling me I should be receiving interest because by now it's a loan.
How can I go about petitioning them, not only to get my money back but also interest, without a lawyer?
What would be an ideal interest rate, if it is possible to get interest?

Answer: Send a certified letter requesting the return of your deposit within a certain time frame (30 days is plenty).  If they fail to issue your check, file suit in small claims court.


Title: Can I do anything legally about my neighbor's (apartment complex) cigarette smoke stinking up my apartment? (Colorado)

Question: Hello all! My fiance and I have been here in this apartment about a month and noticed the smell right away and reported it. We figured out it's our neighbors next to us that smoke in their unit CONSTANTLY. We can tell when she's home and when she's isnt.. the smoke comes in through our bathroom and through the closet in the bedroom which has all our clothes reeking of cigarette smoke. We've talked to the landlord 3 times about it in the month we've been here. They said they put up a sign on her door not to smoke in her unit and talked to her personally. Then they gave us an air purifier  (it barely helps). I scoured the lease and it doesn't specify whether tenants can or cannot smoke in the unit (so I'm guessing management doesn't care) but it DOES state that tenants aren't allowed to engage in behaviors that make other tenant's living situation unbearable. I'm just fed up at this point. I can't let up on this, my apartment and my clothes fucking stink. I wake up to cigarette smoke in the morning and it makes me nauseous. We are constantly burning insense, candles, have oil diffusers and scentsys going and it barely masks the smell. If the landlord doesn't do anything to stop the issue is there something more I can do?

Answer: If your lease doesn't even specify non\-smoking then you have no recourse against people smoking in the building.


Title: [USA & CANADA] Can employment background checks access mental health records?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: No, that's protected by HIPAA


Title: [Second Update]Obnoxious coworker is aggravating my weight issues (TX, USA)

Question:
My lawyer and I sent the company a demand letter listing my grievances, documenting my obnoxious coworker's behavior, documenting the steps I took to get him to stop and management to intervene, documenting management's failure and refusal to take any action against him, explaining the damages his behavior has done, and outlining the steps we will take if they do not respond satisfactorily.  At this point, I honestly don't think I will take anything less than his immediate termination for cause as well as whatever damages my attorney recommends.

I am about to leave for the first vacation I've been able to take in years (and I will note that my obnoxious coworker has taken *ample* vacations, in excess of the vacation time his employment contract should allow, which *have* negatively impacted my performance as I've had to pick up his slack and his absence has caused me to miss deadlines that require his direct input).  It feels strange but also relieving to get to send this letter just before leaving on a trip, but I like it.  It feels good to know that I've got a qualified, empathetic, and competent lawyer on my side.  I also want management to sweat it out for a while before I get back.  With any luck at all, he'll be *gone* before I get back.

Answer:
 Where did you find this lawyer and how much are you paying him? I REALLY want to know what grounds a competent lawyer could find to stand on here.

EDIT: If you could post a redacted version of the letter the attorney drafted, I'd be really excited to read itAnswer #2: I can't read your initial post because it was removed, but based on what I can summarize from the comments of that post, your previous update, and this one, you're either trolling or this lawyer has no idea what they're doing.


Title: To call the police back, or not to call back... that is my question.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 *Do not call them back*

If they show up, say nothing. Although you had a key, you had zero permission to access the premises. Trespassing charges. Potentially B&E and Burglary. Answer #2: I don't think you understand that you basically broke and entered and in some ways of thinking about it attempted burglary. You seem almost proud of yourself based on your tone. You know this will turn out to be the dumbed thing you've ever done right? Don't call them back. If you're arrested don't offer statements or answer questions but do hire a criminal defense attorney.Answer #3: You should not speak to the police about your burglary attempt.  Say nothing.  If charged, say nothing and get a lawyer.

If you aren't paid for hours worked, make a wage complaint to the state labor agency.Answer #4: Don't talk to the police. You are potentially looking at some serious charges. Answer #5: Under NO circumstances should you call the police back.  Period.  Get a lawyer as soon as possible (i.e. before the day is out) and have them handle it.  You are being looked at for a criminal offense and talking to the police yourself will absolutely, 100% end poorly for you no matter what.Answer #6: Yes, if there are charges they will issue a warrant for your arrest.  They may or may not show up to your house, but if they so much as run your license plate you will be pulled over and arrested.

Under no circumstances should you talk to the police without a lawyer, which you need to get yesterday.  As others have said, at a minimum you are looking at criminal trespassing and possibly burglary charges.


Title: Kansas - Wife was assaulted and defended herself. Police let her go as she was undoubtedly the victim. Is it still worth consulting a lawyer over?

Question:
This morning my wife was out shopping with our 2yo son, when she noticed a man following her around the store.  As she went to secure him in the cart, the man came up behind her and placed both hands on her hips in an inappropriate manner.  At his touch, she yelled for him to get away as she brought her hand around and managed to backhand the guy across the face, knocking off and breaking his glasses in the process.

The store employees had thankfully noticed this guy's behavior before my wife and were actually on their way to intervene when this happened.  There were at least 4 witnesses who made sure she and my son were okay while detaining the guy until police arrived.  This was all captured on video which also showed the guy actually had begun following them as soon as she got out of her car to enter the store.

My wife gave her statement to the police who said they may contact her within the week if they need anything.

My question is even though the guy touched her first, because she did strike him, should she have a lawyer if the police have any more questions or if this goes to court?  I apologize if this is a bit silly but I simply am trying to make sure our bases are covered.

TL:DR - Creep touches wife.  Wife backhands creep.  Creep gets caught.  Would a lawyer be good just in case?

Answer:
 Most people in this situation would not hire a lawyer, and I suspect most (ethical) lawyers would tell you that their services are not needed. But your wife certainly has a right to have a lawyer with her if for some reason she would feel more comfortable with one.Answer #2: Him touching her was assault.  She was defending herself with appropriate levels of force.  You probably have nothing to worry about.

Still, it is never a bad idea to have an attorney representing you when speaking with police.Answer #3: If your wife provided a statement and there is video, no need for a lawyer unless she was arrested and charged at some later point. Right now, the police have everything they would need to charge her if that was going to happen. I will also tell you that the chances of your wife being charged are awful. Not only does she have self defense laws on her side the optics of arresting a woman defending herself from a pervert and being arrested aren't good either


Title: Is my renter’s insurance claim agent asking me for information that is illegal for them to ask?

Question:
Ok - three months ago I filed a claim because I let a friend/business partner’s kid and his two friends stay at my apartment in NYC one night while I was out of town. When I returned my MacBook Pro was gone.

Obviously I suspect his kid but it’s possible it WASNT and the last thing I wanted to do was accuse him and have it be not true. Because of the business relationship, there is a lot riding on fucking up my relationship with said friend.

When claim agent laid out all the shit I’d have to do to claim the loss, I decided to just let it go.

Fast forward two month. A guitar with some nice gear gets stolen out of the lobby of my building. (Long story. I left it there for all of ten minutes).

I’m told I can claim things stolen from the lobby so I file claim, get police report etc...

NOW - at the end after I’ve gathered everything she’s asked for, she asks me if I ever got a new computer. I had so I said yes.

Then she asks to see receipt.

I bought it on Craigslist. I don’t have receipt. And I’m really curious at this point what the hell is going on. I explain and more forcefully ask her why she is asking for this info.

She Explains that my second claim was filed on “A MacBook pro,” and she needs to see proof that I purchased a new one to make sure I didn’t try and commit fraud on the first claim in order to approve the second, totally unrelated claim.

This is bullshit right? I’m not a lawyer but this strikes me as totally illegal. Anyone?

Answer:
 > this strikes me as totally illegal

On what planet or in what universe would this be illegal? Why would the legislature pass a law that says an insurance adjuster can't ask to see a receipt or can't suspect someone of fraud? It's not illegal to be wrong, either.

If you're really hitting a wall with your claim you can go up the chain at the company, or even talk to the office of your state's insurance commissioner (who may or many not be interested).Answer #2: She suspects you are commiting fraud. And i work with claims a lot and i would 100% think the same thing if this came across my desk. You filed for a theft claim, they told you that you need to do things to prove it and you dropped it, two months later it happens again.

&#x200B;

This is not a personal attack, i 100% believe you. But this make sense why it raises red flags. The good news is you didnt commit fraud so you should be fine. Just cooperate and if you are really uncomfortable change carriers after the claim is paid/closed or at renewal.Answer #3: Have you read your entire renter's insurance policy?Answer #4: Why would her asking be illegal?


Title: Got extra cash in my envelope after going to the bank.

Question:
Preface:  This is a throwaway account

I'm going to London and Paris tomorrow morning for 2 weeks and while waiting on some big checks to go through I waited till today to exchange some currency.

Anyway I go to the desk and a nice dude helps me and quickly gets me through the process of getting my 1500$ exchanged for Euros and Pounds. I was supposed to receive 600 Euros and 525 Pounds. He counted money out in front of me as I ponder how weird this money looks. I Thank him for his time and get in my car and drive home. Fast forward 30 minutes and I figure I should probably count the money just to be sure.

Turns out I was given 750 Pounds AND 750 Euros. Now the bank is closed and I have more money than I'm supposed to. What the hell should I do? Keep it and don't spend it till I can return it? Just keep it and wait till the FBI breaks down my door? Will I get the amount extra taken from my account?

Thanks, A guy with stressing out about vacation and now stressing because I'm a pseudo bank robber now.

Answer:
 Put the money aside.

Go back to the bank as soon as you can and explain what happened. Their accounting systems will know about the overage already. They also have video of the whole transaction. Give them the money back.

At a minimum, you might prevent the teller from getting fired.


Title: Are Chiropractors under HIPAA? Patient of the month?

Question:
First time posting, so I hope this ok. The other day I drove past a chiropractic office (in the Georgia, USA) and saw a sign that reserved a spot for the patient of the month, with the patient's first and last name.

I've never been to a chiropractor (let alone this particular office) but I couldn't help but wonder if that violated some privacy regulations? I expect patients to give consent when used in advertising for an office/hospital, but being chosen for Patient of the Month seems more out of their control. Who would want to turn down such an honor? Dazzle them with how great it is and just speed through consent? What if the patient had a change of heart?

Answer:
 It's perfectly okay if the patient gives consent.

But that's interesting. I mean, how often is this patient going to the chiropractor? How long is each visit?

Seriously, do they expect this parking spot to be held open for that particular patient all day every day for a month?

Answer #2: To answer your title question, chiropractors are absolutely covered by HIPAA: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/covered-entities/index.html


Title: [SC] Police called me to question me about something, I hung up...should I just ignore anything going forward?

Question:
Don't want to get too specific but the police called me to question me on something that I would be a suspect of. I could not properly hear the officer when he introduced himself so after he finished his opener I said "Im sorry, who did you say you were". He then identified himself as an officer and i immediately hung up without saying anything else. He called me back immediately and I did not pick up.

Should I just wait to hear any updates? They said someone was considering pressing charges against me. Obviously he was calling me to try and get a confession.

Do I need to hire a lawyer right now? Or can that wait until something official happens beyond getting called by a cop?

Answer:
 If they call or talk to you again, just tell them that you can't talk to them without a lawyer.

If they contact you again, you should probably get a lawyer.


Title: "Samsung is holding your data hostage until you buy a new phone." • r/DataHoarder Does this violate GDPR?

Answer: i am Norwegian, Samsung connected me to an Australian support agentAnswer #2: This example is from Australia, so no. If this were the data of an EU resident, this would violate GDPR.


Title: (Texas) Landlord sent a bad check for my security deposit and will not send a new one.

Question: So last summer I was renting a small house while I was working in Dallas. I ended up moving states last Fall, and when I picked up my security deposit over Thanksgiving, I tried to cash it and it didn't go through. My bank said the account I was trying to pull from was in bad standing so I contacted the landlord and sent him a picture of the check. He responded and said he was sorry the check didn't go through and he was going to send another one. That's when he stopped responding. I spent a month texting and calling occasionally to get a hold of him but no response. I sent a few emails to the email contact that sent me the lease I signed. They just closed the email accounts last week and my emails are bouncing. I contacted some free legal help in the new state I'm in and they are saying I need to send a legal demand letter, and if the landlord doesn't respond then take him to small claims court. It seems like such a huge hassle for a security deposit, something that should be very standard and well protected. Advice on what to do?

Answer:
 Has it been at least 30 days? It's triple damages time! You're entitled to 3 times the full deposit (no damage deductions allowed) plus lawyer's fees plus $100.

Advice you got is correct. Send a demand letter certified mail to his mailing address, and if no response sue him.


Title: Would it be ok to register a company as a tax-exempt nonprofit while knowing that, eventually, the company would make too much money to continue being exempt?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: No, a non-profit isn't a company that fails to make a profit, it's a set up that doesn't contemplate the possibility of profit.


Title: I recently received 2 summonses, one for Trespassing in a park after dark, and one for upm. I am 17 now but the court date is 2 days after my 18th birthday. Could I go to court by myself and pay the fines for these violations?

Question: I live in NYC

Answer:
 For your UPM, did the officer keep the weed as evidence? In my experience, they will often write the ticket and not keep the evidence so it gets thrown out, especially if you're respectful and it's your first offense.

Go to criminal court, wear a dress shirt and slacks, and plead not guilty. Be extremely respectful. You should be able to get an ACD. Stay out of trouble and stop smoking weed in parks.Answer #2: IANAL.  And I'm not in New York, but had the same experience in California.  Got a third speeding ticket, court date was the day after my 18th birthday.

In California, I had to have a parent there, since the ticket was issued while I was a minor.  You can call the clerk's office and inquire for the state specifics, or, hopefully a lawyer with NY expertise will chime in.Answer #3: You might consult [this thread before just paying the fine on the UPM.](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2p9jhc/how_do_you_represent_yourself_against_an_unlawful/)


Title: (US, Georgia) My father used the diesel pump to refill his truck, pump was filled with regular instead, damages up to $15,000.

Question:
Title says most of what happened. My father had to get his truck repaired for some scanner issue, received the truck back from the dealership, went to the gas station to refill it with diesel since it's a diesel truck, but instead it was filled with regular. Thinking that the dealership had not repaired the truck, he brought it back to get it fixed. That's when(from what I understand), the dealership discovered he had received the wrong gas. The dealership is apparently documenting everything, my father has the receipt showing he was supposed to receive diesel, my mother has called the insurance company. The insurance company advised my parents to go back to gas station to either talk or present the evidence of wrongdoing to them, I'm guessing. I didn't get that information. I told my mother to take multiple photos of the receipt and to record the conversation legally and what not. Sorry if my grammar isn't the greatest or I'm overreacting, but my parents don't have that kind of money and my father works way too hard to have to deal with any more stress.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks a bunch.

Answer:
 This is generally the sort of thing that gets covered by the gas station's insurance. I imagine $15k is over Georgia's small claims amount (could be wrong) so if there is any issue, you'll likely need a proper lawyer (hopefully furnished by your insurance if you pay for comprehensive coverage) to pursue damages.

Again, this is something that your insurance should be doing most of the legwork on once they know who to pursue.


Title: Previous employer won't remove information about me from their website. IA.

Question:
I am located in Iowa, USA. I worked for a place until 2016. During the time that I worked there, it was a basic printing shop, nothing weird about it.

It turns out that since I left, the owner of the print shop has become very politically oriented and has made his political views extremely public with his business as his platform.

In particular, his company website is plastered with some extreme messages. He advertises products he prints with hateful messages, links to the company Facebook page which is even worse, etc.

The reason this affects me is because - as I learned from a potential employer last month - the print shop's website has my name, photo and bio on their website. This information was NOT on the website when I quit; it has been added since my quitting.  It lists me as a current employee and refers to me as one of the employees "making America great again." The website also states that the owner, employees and company as a whole are committed to supporting President Trump and returning our nation to its former glory yadda yadda yadda.

I have spoken with the owner three times. He claims that next time the website gets edited they will take my information off, but since then the employee page has been edited several times (adding/removing other employees) and my info has stayed.

I also contacted a prior coworker, who had been in charge of editing the website previously. It turns out that he also is no longer working there. However he said that when he was going to remove my information from the site, the owner specifically asked him not to because it looks good to have a black woman on the website. That, in combination with the fact that other employees have been added and removed from the employees page since I initially requested my info be removed, leads me to believe that the owner is intentionally leaving it up against my wishes so that he looks less bigoted (I'm his token black friend, basically).

I initially learned about my info being there from a potential employer (who was concerned about whether I could keep my political beliefs separate from my work if she hired me). Since then two other potential employers have brought this up. I believe that my job search will be coming to a close in the next couple of days, but I am still concerned about the information out there.

I'm wondering what options I might have to get it removed.

Thank you.

Answer:
 You're going to need to spend a little money for a few hours of a local attorney's time.

The right letter on an attorney's letterhead and your information should be removed.Answer #2: If they got the photo of you from a picture you took, you might be able to get the photo taken down with a DMCA request.

You could try a cease and desist letter, but TBH the kind of person who is like this does not sound like the kind of person to listen.  But at that point you already have a lawyer.

Also, just telling people you don’t work there and don’t support Trunp probably will hurt them more than it hurts you. Answer #3: IANAL but I am an IT consultant, what you former employer is doing is illegal use of your likeness. The best way to retaliate for cheap would be to find someone tech savvy and ask them to dig into your bosses domain and find the Web host (yor former boss is almost certainly using a hosting service) then file a DMCA complaint against the domain for illegal use of your likeness (if you can afford to pay a lawyer to draft the complaint aND send it as a legal cease and deist odds are his provider will pull the plug on his whole website.Answer #4: How did your former employer get the image?


Title: Healthcare Students Cheating

Question:
 A group of students likely cheated on exit exams. Adminisrators received a lot of information about how the cheating was done. Very anomalous scores were earned by several students. There is no paper trail linking any particular student to the materials (purchased test banks).  This is a healthcare program, and students who are not  actually prepared, should not be graduating. What legally defensible action can the school take against these students?
Location: Florida, USA

Answer:
 Schools have pretty broad authority to discipline students for cheating.  They can refuse credit, expel students, or refuse to certify the students for whatever licensing board they are applying to.

Your question appears to be about the sufficiency of evidence if the students challenge the school's actions.  That's a question that is far too specific for this sub to answer.Answer #2: If the school suspects cheating, they can simply force the students to retake an equivalent test with different questions under supervision. If that is not an option (official/regulated tests) they can be denied credit for the test.Answer #3: Huh? Can the school follow policy regarding cheating? Yes.

But this isn't really a legal questionAnswer #4: I'm assuming this is in a accredited university, OP?

Given all the additional licensing and standards surrounding healthcare fields, and how nebulous "healthcare" is, there may very well be legal consequences for cheating in order to obtain a degree or certification. Without knowing exactly what program they're cheating in, we can't say. Aside from that, /u/ohio_redditor is correct: schools can pretty much do as they please to deal with cheating. The school doesn't necessarily need the same burden of proof that you'd expect in a courtroom.


Title: [Hong Kong]How to responsibly disclose IT security issues for a medical insurance provider which I use personally?

Question:
I'm a software engineer, but not an IT security professional. I have discovered an issue with my medical insurance provider's website where the entire claim history and personal details (such as address, membership number, claim reason(s) etc.) of all clients of the insurance company can be accessed by any member's account (including mine).
I would like to responsibly inform my medical insurance provider (which is a private company) about this security loophole, but I'm afraid that they may sue me for accessing information which was private to other clients of the insurance company.
Any suggestions on how should I go about disclosing this security loophole to this insurance company without putting myself at legal risk? Note that I'm not interested in any compensation for this effort. Rather, I'm more concerned about the privacy of my own information, as well as that of other clients of the same insurance provider.

Answer:
 This isn't really law advice, but why not just send an anonymous email from one of those 30 minute email accounts?Answer #2: Search for "company_name bug bounty", "company_name vulnerability disclosure", etc. If anything official comes up with an email address I'd feel pretty safe just emailing that address (in the US anyways). If not reporting it anonymously is likely the safer route.Answer #3: Advice I give my students is to never personally disclose a vulnerability to an organization. To many organizations will view you as the problem and attempt to have you arrested.

My preferred method is to disclose the vulnerability to someone in Law Enforcement that I trust. Then, if they think that it is worthwhile, they can decide how to disclose it to the organization.

Anyway, I am not a lawyer. And I am not familiar with Hong Kong Law. Though, I would strongly advise that you employ discretion.

Best of luck!


Title: Neighbor threatened to poison my cats.

Question:
Hello, this is my first post on here and apologies for the messy format, but i figured its best if i ask and see for some more in depth advice regarding my current crisis.

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Im not sure how law works in various parts but here i am uncertain regarding animal protection.

I have a house with a yard, im living in a part of a town thats sort of rural with a tiny bit of urban.

My cats do their business usually in my  yard and i clean up after them, but my neighbor complains she is picking up poop from her yard. At first i was apologetic and understood the situation, i told her a repellent would be great to stop that habit as many times i see all my cats in my yard at all days, i always check on them and very rarely do they go towards her house if any.

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Today a few hours ago she came over to talk about the cats, rather to warn us / threaten us that she brought poison and she will poison the cats if we dont do anything against them. By that she meant either throwing them somewhere or caging them, which i cant do. Its illegal to throw away animals and i have been trying to find homes for the cats, what i did not enjoy in any way was her warning that she will poison them.

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I have had quite a few issues with this family, but this one is the most macabre thing she told me. What can I do in this situation? What if one of my cats comes home poisoned? I have had two witnesses to this discussion, does that hold solid that she was the one who did it?

Answer: It will be very hard to posion your cats while you keep them contained on your own property.


Title: Legalities of buying an expired passport for a passport collection. (UK/US/Bosnia??)

Question:
One of the more strange things I like to collect is old expired passports. So far the passports I have collected are Czech, Australian (My friends old passports which he allowed me to have) and a Greek one (non biometric from the 60's, which I purchased from Ebay) which I didn't have any trouble with. I'm also aware you can buy prop passports from places online but these are upwards of $175 and I'm not *that* into passports

Today I got in contact with someone in the US willing to sell an expired Bosnian passport, the problem is that since it's biometric I am unsure of the legalities of purchasing it. Since I am currently residing in the UK it makes finding any sort of legal answer difficult since it's a Bosnian passport, coming to the UK from the US.

The only information I can find on this topic is on Ebay's terms of service, it states "Members can also sell US passports that were issued more than 20 years prior to the date of sale". But the passport is not a US passport and it also is newer than 20 years old, so I'm unsure how relevant this information will be.

A friend has suggested this may be classed as identity theft, but I'm not using the persons identity to impersonate the person, take out loans or credit etc, I'm simply using it to put on my wall. Although I'm sure that excuse wont hold up in court no matter what my intentions are.

TL;DR - Am I going to get in legal trouble for buying this passport lol ?

Answer:
 This may depend in part on the issuing country. Passports are typically owned by the issuing state. Renewing a passport usually requires presenting the old one, though the old one may be returned after being hole-punched to designate it as useless for passport purposes. Individual states may have laws against selling passports.

It may come down to intent. That's how many people collect police badges legally. Do you intend to use them for a criminal action such as identify theft or illegal entry to another nation? If not, you're *probably* okay, but it might not hurt to have a brief talk with an immigration lawyer.

Even with that, though, you may be legal in one country but not another. For example, if you live in the US and it's legal but you visit Hargarkarfargenland where is not and they see your collection on social media, you might be denied entry or even arrested if they see a Hargarkarfargenlander passport in your collection.

I think it's a neat idea, especially with old passports bearing the stamps of long-dead empires. If it's something you quietly do and it's legal where you live, you're probably okay.


Title: Help im being evicted

Question:
i live in canada, province of quebec.

i moved in a new aparment 19 days ago, with someone who was already living there. Today the landlord comes and says he wasnt aware of someone new moving in and is giving me 24h to move out because i hadnt signed any paper. while im sure he has a right to expell me, 24h to move out without any destination seems short notice. Do i have to be out in under such short notice? can i have a small time extention? he's threatening to call the cops.

Answer: Who gave you permission to move in? The landlord, the current tenant, or some third party?