Title: [TN] Got into a car accident on private property while in between insurances, do I need to to report it?

Question:
Less than a week ago I was driving out of a parking lot and someone opened their car door as I was passing, causing their door to be pulled forward. My car was lightly scratched, and their door was slightly bent. The other driver called the police, and an officer came in short order. He said since the accident was on private property, he couldn't assign blame or write a report, but gave us a form to fill out, [virtually identical to this one that I'll call form #1](http://cityofknoxville.hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_109478/File/Police/ppta_reportform.pdf). He gave me the form the other driver had filled out, and gave the other driver the form I had filled out. In addition to that form, he also gave each of us [this form, form #2](https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/safety/attachments/owneroperator.pdf), with instructions to complete it and send it to Nashville within 20 days.  My issue is that, at the time of the accident, my old insurance had expired and though I had filled out the application for new insurance, I had yet to pay for it (I was headed to donate plasma when the accident happened so I could pay for it) and thus had yet to receive my new insurance information . I told the officer this, and he marked on form #1 two different insurances, like so: insurance #1/insurance #2, however I had only put down the info for insurance #1. So after this had happened he let me leave, and I went and donated plasma and then, finally, purchased the insurance.  I have a few questions:

1) Would I report this to either insurance company, since technically I didn't have insurance at the time of the accident (my new insurance did start on the same day the accident happened, though obviously at a later time)?

2) Do I need to even fill out form #2, as I believe the damage was less than $400 in total and I don't plan on having my damage fixed as it's so minor?

EDIT: Though it's looking like it doesn't matter, I should've said initially that the officer told me twice that the other driver was at fault.

Answer:
 1. No, you have no insurance company to report this too.
2. There was a report the officer created, but you telling the officer the insurances was incredibly stupid.

You really need to hope the other person doesn't come after you, and prepare for the possibility of being issued a citation for driving without insurance.


Title: [TX] Is a school required to make reasonable accommodations for a student w/ social anxiety that prevents them from going to the cafeteria?

Answer: What exactly is the student expecting the school to do to accommodate them being unable to go to the cafeteria? Eat in an empty classroom? Make someone deliver lunch to the student? Allow them to leave for lunch? The student needs to request a specific accommodation, which then has to be determined as reasonable or not.


Title: Possible Encroachment; I think that's the term.

Question:
I live in Pennsylvania.  York county to be exact.

This year when the farmer plowed his field after he harvested corn he came several feet into my yard.  I used to have a small bank between me and him.  This is gone now.  Should I contact someone to do a survey?  I've discovered that it is probably someone leasing land and not the land owner.  I have no idea where to start with this.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: If memory serves that's a 5 yard penalty.


Title: 3rd Shift In High School? Is it legal?

Question: I'm 18 and still in high school. I live in PA. Would child labor laws prevent me from working 3rd shift? I still live at home so I am considered dependent.

Answer:
 You're 18 and no longer a legal minor.

Welcome to adulthood, Chief!Answer #2: Why would child labor laws apply to an adult?


Title: Cat clawed visitor's shoes, now I owe them new shoes?

Question: I live in North Carolina. This is something that sounds possibly out of hand and I'm unsure of how it will play out. Had a friend come over today, they brought their friend who I barely know. I have a kitten who still has bad habits and while we were talking and having lunch today, the cat started chewing on their shoes. She barely did any damage at all, but I'm willing to say some of the leather did get punctured. I would say if the shoes were older, you could mistake it for average wear and tear. Unfortunately, he now is up in arms wanting me to buy a new pair of $180+ shoes over my kitten. He has been extremely persistant about it and is threatening me with small claims court. Is this leaning in his favor more than mine?

Answer:
 IF he wins he would get the depreciated value of the shoes plus whatever court costs he incurs.  It may be worth it to settle with him—make sure he returns the shoes to you if you pay for them.Answer #2: Hmm.

*IF* you owe him anything (and there are legal arguments that you do) it is the price of a USED pair of shoes, not a new one.Answer #3: You would not owe for new shoes, you owe the lesser of the cost to repair the damage or their value at the time of the damage.

Ways of determining value include: the value of similar condition used shoes and taking the cost of new shoes and depriciating based on the expected lifetime of the shoes and thier age when damaged.


Title: 6 month old baby suffered severe burns at McDonald's restaurant (full story inside). Location: Canada (Quebec)

Question:
We were inside a McDonald's, carrying my 6 month in his car seat (the kind you can undock and carry around). After ordering, my wife was carrying the car seat in one hand and our food tray in the other. Our tray included a large boiling cup of hot coffee. When setting the tray on a counter to pick up some napkins/straws, the coffee fell over and spilled in its entirety directly on our 6 month old.

The event itself is horrific and just describing it is painful. My poor boy suffered second degree burns on 20% of his body. This happened over 2 weeks and he is thankfully recovering nicely. He should get back to 100% eventually, which is all we can ask for.

I just want to clarify that the incident itself is our fault. We take full responsibility for carrying the tray and spilling the coffee, and we will always carry the burden of this accident.

My question lies in the aftermath of the event. Seconds after the coffee spilled, my wife and I were in panic mode. From a medical standpoint, the minutes/seconds immediately after such a burn are crucial. We were still in shock, and unsure of the medical procedures to perform at this point. Thankfully, we followed our instinct and got him out of the car seat as fast as possible, undressed him, and took him to the bathroom to pour cold water on his burns. Unfortunately, the faucets were the automatic kind with no temperature setting, and only warm water came out. Still in shock/panic, I ran behind the counter and tried to pound the door to the kitchen to ask for some cold water. The employees, who witnessed this incident in its entirety from the start, weren't sure what to do. After long seconds that seemed like hours, they finally handed me a couple of Dasani water bottles, unopened, from the fridge. At no point did they offer assistance or call 911. I had to call 911 myself, and an ambulance arrived minutes later.

My questions are: Following this kind of incident, isn't there a protocol that McDonald's has to follow? Are they not required to offer assistance to their customers? At the very least call 911? My son suffered severe burns (I have gruesome photos to document this), and had we received immediate help, he could have been spared a lot of suffering and long-term aftereffects. Is there a way to know if an Accident Report was filed by McDonald's? There must be a corporate requirement to do so? If there is, can we have access to it? Moreover, is there security footage of the incident and can we legally access it? Lastly, is litigation possible for this kind of situation?

Thanks in advance. Please let me know if this post is not appropriate for this forum.
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer:
 Nope. Mcdonalds is under no liability to provide any aid to you. It states so directly in their terms & conditions.

You have no legal claim against McDonalds in this situation. Directly on the coffee cup, it states that the contents of the cup are hot, and that you should use caution. As you stated, this incident occurred at your own fault. I don't understand what you want McDonalds to compensate you for.


Title: My sister in law paid my father in law for a car. He squandered the money instead of paying off the lien. The title still has a lien and is in his name. How can we get the vehicle back.

Question:
My sister in law and her fiance, let's collectively call them Ford, paid my father in law, let's call him POS, around $4,000. for a vehicle.  The vehicle was in POSs name with a lien for the exact amount that was paid.  It was agreed that POS would pay off the lien and sign the title over to Ford.  POS ended up spending the money on other things instead of paying off the lien.  There was no receipt given or any written record of the transaction taking place.  This happened about a year ago.  We live in the Kansas City area on the Missouri side.

Since then Ford has been using the vehicle without issue until a couple of weeks ago.  POS and Ford got into a disagreement.  POS threatened to call the car in as stolen so Ford quit driving that vehicle.  POS came and took the car which is now in his possession.  The disagreement has not been resolved and Ford is trying to get their vehicle back.

Several family members have tried to resolve the issue.  We know that POS is involved with illegal drugs and we think that is what the money was spent on a year ago.  His behavior has worsened.  He is erratic, quick to temper and very illogical.  I've spoken with my wife about possibly taking the car back, we do have an extra set of keys.  However, we are worried that POS would try and physically harm any person attempting to take the vehicle.

Ford started the process of filing for small claims court but I don't know if that will be enough.  People of reddit, I need your advice.  They have two handsome young sons, 3 and 1 years old.  Ford is not perfect but they are kind people trying to provide for their family.  The fiance just lost his job and this vehicle could make or break their situation.  My wife and I now commute together so Ford has a way to get around but this has to stop.

Please help my family.

edit: Added location

Answer:
 Ford made some mistakes.

They didn't get the title transferred? Pay sales tax? Get new license plates?

Why didn't they call the police when their car was stolen by POS?

They can take their chances in Small Claims Court - it may work out well for them.

In the future, they should let the POS make a false police report and let him go to prison.

If the POS has made threats to them, they should report him to the police.

Answer #2: >  It was agreed that POS would pay off the lien and sign the title over to Ford. POS ended up spending the money on other things instead of paying off the lien. There was no receipt given or any written record of the transaction taking place.

What paper trail DO you have? Was the payment in cash?Answer #3: Another case showing why you should get EVERYTHING in writing no matter who you are making the deal with.Answer #4: > let's call him POS,

I'll allow it.


Title: Is it legal for my landlord to tell me my dog is too big 4 months into my lease?

Question:
To clarify, the apartment manager changed recently and she is more by the book than the last two. My first apartment manager made an exception on my first lease. My second apartment manager didn't know what she was doing but signed my lease 4 months ago with my dog on it. Now, I'm being told I have to get rid of him because he violates it, but both previous managers were aware of his size. Its 4 months later and a big company, is it worth the fight? I would have never renewed my lease if the 2nd apartment manager had said anything. I'm in Missouri by the way.I originally posted this in r/legal but I thought it may do better here.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 It was nice/lax of your previous managers to overlook the size of your dog, but that doesn't mean the lease doesn't prevail. The past management could have changed their minds at any moment.

Is it possible to talk with the new manager and try to get an exception? Other than that, if your dog is prohibited in the lease, that's the law.


Title: Old roommates Kicked me out while I was on the lease two months ago and have neglected to remove me from it

Question:
Hi All,

I had been experiencing ongoing frustrations with my roommates that I would occasionally try to bring up and get heated outbursts. Here are the things that I have politely asked them about.

Unfortunately, it was until after I moved in that I discovered one of my roommates was somewhat sociopathic and had anger management issues.

1) On numerous occasions I had asked them if they could double check that they've closed windows on the ground floor as well as locked the exterior doors when leaving. I had asked about it maybe 1 time per 10 events.

- this was apparently my problem and viewed as an unreasonable request as "nothing had happened" when they were unlocked on numerous occasions.

2) One of my roommates was really messy in the kitchen and would leave messes until the next time he needed to use the kitchen. I asked him politely on numerous occasions if he could please try to leave at least  12"x12" space in the kitchen when he's done so that I can prepare my food without spending time cleaning.

- It was voiced as my problem, not his as I was the only person who voiced a complaint.... I gave up and started buying pre-packed food.

3) My roommates had a really bad drug problem, they eventually began production and distribution, including out of the house which terrified me for numerous accounts. I had meekly voiced concern on numerous occasions and went out my my way to steer clear of anything remotely related to that project.

- I was pretty much steamrolled over whenever I brought this topic up.

With those reasons in mind the two of them had pooled together together and gave me a verbal ultimatum to move out.

In good faith I had complied , as I had been rather stressed and worried the whole time I was there, primarily due to Issue #3 and partially due to issue #1. Shortly after I was given the notice by the roommates I gave property management company a written letter with my final occupancy date. After a lot of desperate searching I was able to find somewhere to move and have been living there for several months.

I spoke to the property management a few months ago after I had handed my letter, they said that I would need to get the other two roommates to sign me off the lease and would contact them. I checked back in with the property management a few weeks ago and learned that the roommates have not done this.

I texted the former roommates shortly after, asking if they could please do that so that this can all be put into the past. I got a one word response of "sure", which did not boast my confidence much.  I then contacted them a week after that with a simple question of whether they had found a new occupant for the house or not.

I was then told that I was harassing them and asked to leave them alone. This is obviously a very manipulative response as I am still legally bound to the property and anything that may occur can impact me both legally and financially.  I insisted that I had right to contact them and had only done so very briefly on three occasions and that my reasons were very reasonable and valid. I was then told off, with the demand of no longer contacting them.

So.. to the question

What are my options for getting removed from the lease without breaking it?

I would like to avoid using the nuclear option of going to my Lawyer, but at the same time do not want to be roped into any financial or legal disasters that I have had no part in.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 You should show up with some empty luggage bags and tell them "hey guys, guess who's back?" With a cheesy smile. Then when they ask you to leave you let them know that since you are still on the lease, there is nothing they can do.

They can even call the police and the police will side with you. Also, if they had changed their locks or don't let you in, it can be considered an illegal eviction on their part.


Title: I (19) am trying to keep my drug addict sister out of my house

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > do I have any legal right to kick her out?

Nope.

You could always move out and get your own place though.Answer #2: No, not if the owner has granted permission. You would need the owner to give you authority to kick her out.

As 19 year old, you are free to move out. You can probably get your mom to give you permission to install a key lock and maybe a deadbolt on your room door. Answer #3: It's your mother's house. Why can't she allow who she wants in?


Title: National Electric Code - AT&T is billing us for damages on their communication line that hung too low in our parking lot.

Question:
Some background information:
Our family business has been around for 45 years. We accept multiple frieght deliveries at our business a day. The trucks have to pull in the front parking lot, turn around, and back into our loading bay. The trucks have to pass under a telephone line that includes multiple communication lines (2), power (1), and one other line I'm uncertain of.

The problem comes in on a particularly windy day. One frieght company was making a routine delivery when his trailer snagged the communication line owned by AT&T and tore it down. We've complained multiple times that the line they have hangs too low, even after fixing the line it doesn't meet what we have interpreted as code.

We're currently disputing the bill and will have a lawyer when needed if the dispute gets to that point. In the mean time, I was hoping to see if anyone could point me in the right direction as far as if Oklahoma City follows NEC for code enforcement or if different cities have individual codes for parking lots.

Formatting: cell phone, apologies in advance.

Answer:
 Our of curiosity, how much is that bill?

I'd dispute on two grounds: (1) it was too low (any line not high enough so freight trucks could pass underneath it is too low), and (2) you didn't tear it down -- that's the responsibility of the freight line.


Title: Can I ask for a specific lawyer from a law firm? Or is one just assigned to me?

Question:
I am checking out a specific law firm, but there are 4 different lawyers at the firm.  They offer a free consultation, but I would really like to speak with each and ask about their experience to see which is the best fit for me.  Is this out of the ordinary?  How should I bring it up?

Any advice is appreciated.

EDIT:  I should note that I am just looking for a lawyer to have on retainer, I have not been charged with any crime.

Answer:
 Yes, of course you can ask for a particular attorney.

In fact if you ask most people in large companies, they hire the lawyers not the firms.  That's why when lawyers break away from their firm, their clients usually follow them.

So yes, you can certainly ask for whoever you like.  You can even specify that you only want that person working on your cases.  The only caveat is that if the person you want is the big dog/rainmaker/star of the show, they may say no.


Title: Can my teacher force my to use my camera during a zoom meeting?

Question: So I’ll be honest.  I’m in a class online and I’m struggling.  We have a test on Thursday and I was planning on using some outside resources for help.  This has gone out the window because both our computer camera has to be on plus another camera behind us from our phone so it can see us/our screens.  I was wondering if legally my teacher can force me to do this and fail me if I do not.  I attend a community college in Iowa.

Answer: Yes, they can make you do that, especially since you're admitting that the only reason you don't want to is so you can cheat. That's the exact type of thing they're trying to combat.


Title: Can I be sued for releasing sexually explicit messages that a social media star sent me? (Ontario, CA)

Question:
**ONTARIO, CANADA**

i became close with a very popular social media influencer over the past month. despite being in a committed relationship, he is known to establish inappropriate online relationships with women and girls (age isn't an issue here though, i'm over 18). i have multiple screenshots of the conversations we've had online and several of them contain sexually explicit content. i had 0 intention of establishing a real relationship with this person, sending them nude photos, or anything like that. all i wanted to do was expose them to the influencer's community. what is the likelihood of there being any legal repercussions (being sued for defemation, for example) for doing this?

Answer: You're basically asking for our quasi-legal opinion about moving forward with taking these screenshots and either putting them on blast on social media or giving them to the media in general. Because this is against the rules, we can't help you.


Title: Got pulled over, charged with wrong substance. What happens next? SCARED AF

Question: I got pulled over and the cop smelled marijuana and conducted a search on my vehicle. I was very respectful and nice and everything was fine. I actually broke down in front of the cop and told him where the tiny bit of powder literally a .02 of H was, he got it out and I explained to him that I am in college and I’ve never had any kind of charge of any sort. The cop seemed to be really forgiving but he kept asking me what the powder was, and I kept denying it was mine and said I think it’s some sort of opiates, maybe crushed oxy or soemthing. He ended up giving me a possession of OxyContin (misd.) citation and let me go on my way and gave me this whole speech about not ever doing this again and to get my act together because I have a bright future. BUT he also said he was going to send the powder to the state testing lab and when he gets the results back the charge could change and he would then issue a warrant for my arrest for the new charge!? I am scared to death right now... can he really do that?? Will my charge automatically increase to a felony when they get the results? I HAVE TO GET A LAWYER. I plan on talking to a lawyer ASAP. What should I do??

Answer:
 Why do you think he couldn't charge you with crimes you committed? Yes. They can test it and charge with new or different crimes.

Get an attorneyAnswer #2: > can he really do that?

Why wouldn't he? If cops trusted every criminal not to lie them, no one would ever be charged with any crimes. Answer #3: Not legal advice, but you need help if your using heroin. You should seriously consider rehab NOW!  This will also make you look better in court. Please get help before you OD. Answer #4: It is very common for charges to be amended based on laboratory tests of suspected contraband.     It's not automatic that they'll file a felony charge, but they certainly could.

The good news is that you're a first-time drug offender, and it's very likely that you'll get into a leniency program.   North Carolina [has deferred prosecution](http://www.ncids.org/Defender%20Training/2017SpringConf/DeferredProsecutions.pdf) (both formal and informal), drug courts, and conditional discharges.

Find out if your college has a student legal services clinic.   They can very likely refer you to a local attorney who is experienced in defending college students on drug charges, and can advise you about how your defense choices affect your criminal penalties, driver's license, and eligibility for financial aid (if any).Answer #5: Your other post on r/opiates paints a different story..


Title: (Arizona) currently unemployed and behind on child support. Can my ex keep me from my parenting time?

Question: So I'm currently unemployed and a few months behind on child support due to that. My ex hasn't let me see my kids in three weeks. She says I can come visit but is refusing to let me take them. When we got divorced there was a set parenting plan, is this voided because I am behind in payments?

Answer: No, child support is not a ticket to see your child.  However, you need to get back to court and file for modification of your order before arrears become a bigger problem.Answer #2: If your ex is refusing to stick to your parenting plan, you have to go back to the court house, and ask them how to file contempt of court charges. That’s about the only way. That is if your parenting plan is with the courts. If you have no official filed parenting plan, well you are kind of SOL until you do.


Title: Being spied on by my company through my laptop?

Question: Okay so it's not me but my mother. She has been "watched" while doing her work, paying bills and so on. I know you're probably thinking that it's on everybodies and stuff but it isn't. It's only on hers. They have seen her buy things on amazon, pay for bills, manage banking accounts and so on.. How should we go on about taking this to court as it is against company policy? Mind it is a multimillion dollar company. She was told by her friend who just recently quit the job after seeing them do it and by her IT guy who scanned the laptop and found some software that they were watching her through. If you have anymore questions please ask. Location:  Alexandria, Virginia USA

Answer:
 Is it a personal laptop or work laptop?Answer #2: What do you mean 'watching'? Using the webcam to look at her? If so there may be legal recourse as a laptop being used from home would presumably carry some expectation of visual privacy. The employee handbook or policy document probably can clarify this - it may say "all network activity will be monitored" or something but its doubtful they say they will watch employees through the webcam.

If this is the case, a simple piece of masking tape is an easy solution but she should expect that all sites visited etc will be logged. That is standard practice.


Title: If you die, do your parents have to take on your student loans?

Answer: 1-800-273-8255, in case you need to talk with someone.Answer #2: Please don't harm yourself. Whatever is going on now, it will pass. Things do get better. Answer #3: For federal loans when you die they are forgiven. For private loans if they co-signed then yes they are liable for the loans. Answer #4: I've looked into this. My private student loans would indeed be passed onto my mother  (co-signer). Thus you'll want enough equity built up that the banks can take to pay off your debtAnswer #5: Dude. Been there. PM me.


Title: (CA) Can landlords actually turn you down for an apartment for having bad/no credit?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Isn't this discrimination?

Not *illegal* discrimination.  They are entering a contract with you where you will say that you will pay them money every month.

Having the ability to pay and a track record of paying your debts is very relevant to the situation, don't you think?


Title: Girlfriend being sued for car accident

Question: Hi. Currently living in nyc with my girlfriend and she's being sued for a car accident she got into months ago. The police report states there was no damage to either car and my girlfriend stated that there wasnt really an accident. A cabbie decided to cut her off, double park, and harass her claiming she hit him. She waited for the cops to come and a police report to be recorded. She find out about this very late (paper was filed march 10th) and shes being sued because this mean has sustain severe and "permanent injuries." His lawsuit says claims he sustained permanent injuries while the police report says no damage. Am i missing something? What do we do here? Financially, a lawyer might be out of the question.

Answer: Start by passing all of this to her insurer.  They're obliged to defend her in this situation.  While the police report isn't the end-all to answering a lawsuit, it was very smart of her to report it and get one generated because their observations will be beneficial.


Title: Uninsured Colides with Uninsured.

Question:
So My Daughters boyfriend Was driving his parents 2004 ford explorer home from work. He was at an intersection and he had a stop sign. after checking for traffic and failing to check to see an additional on-coming truck, he pulled out and a 90's model ranger pickup slammed into the side of the explorer.

Both cars are totaled. My Daughters boyfriends parents did not have insurance as they had just bought the vehicle from a 3rd rate dealer and have only had it a few days. This is his first accident and he had. He suffered all of the consequences you would expect included a 300 dollar fine for driving without insurance and 4 points on his driving record. also a 250 dollar fine for being at fault in the accident.

The Ranger guy is insisting that the kid pays for the total loss of his 92 ford ranger. He needs to pay 1000.00 or he will sue.

Am I just crazy, or is this guy just trying to intimidate him into paying for his truck because he didn't have insurance.

I'm not saying that the kid is not at fault. He clearly was. however neither party had insurance, and in my head that means both vehicles should not have been driving on the road. Because of this, wouldn't both parties be at fault? To me this means no money shouldn't be paid to anyone.

My thought is to let the guy take him to court, I think he is bluffing anyway because if he can afford court, then surely he could have afforded insurance.

I have insurance on my own vehicles, but before it became WI law to have insurance I risked driving without it. When it became law, I was about 4 months late into getting insurance. I remember a person smashed into me while I was waiting for traffic to pass on an off-ramp. There was little damage done to my Cargo van, but the Escalade that hit me had extensive damage to the bumper. After calling the Authorities I got the ticket for not havning insurance and was at fault for because "technically I should have not been driving" Even tho He struck the back of me. If I had been isured he would have received the ticket.
To me the same principal should apply.

Anyone have any ideas on this?

Answer:
 Boyfriend caused the accident, boyfriend is at fault, boyfriend should be paying to make the other person whole.

If boyfriend wants to fight it out in court that is his right, but the guy ultimately has a solid case, regardless of not himself having insurance.

$1K for a truck that runs actually sounds quite reasonable to me. Luckily he's not clutching his neck right now and talking about the pain he's in.


Title: Was in a car accident that wasn't my fault. Can the other drivers insurance company make me take a drug test?

Question:
I talked to the other guys insurance company earlier today and they are mailing me 250$ for me to rent a car. He said since they have not yet looked at my car and assessed the damages I can't receive an estimate of how much I'll be reported. This is my first accident and it really freaked me out, all I want to do is smoke a bowl but my roommate warned me that the insurance company may drug test me and I could forfeit money. I was not under the influence of anything during the incident and the officer didn't suspect anything( as he shouldn't have because I was sober and obviously the other guys fault because he also got a ticket). So I'm still sort of freaked out and want to wind down and would really appreciate any help. Thanks!

Edit: this happened in Tallahassee Florida
Edit 2: Thanks for all the responses and help! Really appreciate it. An no I'm not addicted to pot and can easily go a few weeks without it (replying to a comment) I'd just like to take the edge off of my very first car accident. I'll just wait until this all settles down to enjoy a bowl.
Once again thanks!

Answer:
 There's actually an easy legal answer to your problem, you came to the right place.

Do not use illegal drugs.Answer #2: if they admitted to you that their driver was at fault it doesn't seem likely that they'd drug test you.


Title: Possible Internal FedEx Theft

Question: I recently ordered some items from Hong Kong. My supplier gave me a tracking number and all was well when I tracked the item. Fast forward to tonight and I see the package is supposedly being returned to the sender and gave a separate tracking number. When I lookup the second tracking number, it shows that the item was delivered at the front door of an apartment in Memphis, Tennessee.  I find this extremely suspicious seeing that fedex has a huge hub in Memphis. I'm beginning to think that an employee at the hub found out what was in the box and rerouted to their residence or a friend's. I can probably forget about getting this package. Does anyone know if fedex has a division that investigates internal theft and how to get ahold of them?


Title: gf cheated. plead guilty to assault and breaches. did 4 months. now have criminal record. able to appeal ?

Answer: Enjoy your recordAnswer #2: That ship has sailed.


Title: University Student feeling pressured into pleading guilty to keep record clean. (Michigan)

Question:
I’m a 23 year old, Junior level, materials engineering student at a very good University. I have always had a passion for photography and journalism. This past Fall I was presented with the opportunity to start working for several newspaper and online sports publications (on the payroll!), I decided it was time for me to upgrade my DSLR camera to a more professional model.

After a month or so of researching cameras and looking around online (forums, craigslist, ebay, etc), I found a pretty great deal on one of the models I had really been looking at. To top it off, it was local on craigslist and it didn't appear the offer was "too good to be true". I bargained the individual down to a lower price and purchased the item with cash the next day at the downtown brewery after my classes were done for the day. Fast forward almost 3 months later and I come home to a search and seizure letter from the university police department and find my "new" equipment is missing from my apartment.

Turns out the camera and two lenses I purchased were stolen, and the serials matched the items reported missing. The kicker is that it was stolen from an office in the university’s student organization center. The very same center where I spend 2-3 late nights every week (in a different organization office) publishing the universities satire newspaper. Circumstantial evidence was really against me at this point and the next thing I knew, on the first day of Spring classes, I was arrested and charged with Felony Larceny $1,000 to $20,000. Bond was set at $500 and I went home to figure out what was going on here. Called an attorney that was recommended and met with him, unfortunately my attorney doesn’t deal with much criminal law but he seemed confident in the case.

Fighting this was always the intention, I can’t afford to have a black mark on my record! The DA was initially willing to lower the charge to some sort of trespassing misdemeanor but after speaking with my attorney, the DA decided something called the "Holmes youthful offender trainee act" was more appropriate. This seemed good because after pleading guilty to the charges, going through the probation period (< 1year), and doing some community service, the charge would be sealed and forever not on my record! The DA even said they would not recommend any time served. So with this I was willing to lie and admit guilt, so that there would be no chance of this affecting my future employment as a professional engineer.

Today I had my circuit court arraignment. I planned on following this and I was informed after standing mute that when I enter a guilty plea my bond will be revoked and I will be taken into custody where I will await a “pre-sentencing report” and sentencing.

If what I was told is accurate this process can take 3-4 weeks to complete, If I am in jail for this period of time I won’t be able to complete my classes and I will be forced to withdrawal from them. Another bonus is that Friday was the last day to receive a tuition refund when dropping courses ($8600 tuition). I’ve been researching whether or not it is mandatory for someone who is awaiting sentencing to be remanded to jail, it seems that in some circumstances a court order can be made for you to appear.

Is there any option where I don’t end up having to serve time before the “pre-sentencing report” and up until sentencing? It doesn’t seem right that I would have to serve time and waste the states money prior to the sentence if the sentence won’t even include any time served. Are there exceptions made in these cases or do I just need to accept this is a time to bite the bullet?

EDIT: Because everyone seems to be telling me to talk to my attorney or questioning why I hired an attorney that doesn't necessarily deal with much criminal defense, I'll explain... Its a small town (4-5 law offices in the county) and I've worked with this attorney before for contracts and some other financial reasons. When this all started I went to him for advice and he seemed confident with the case, he primarily deals with local businesses but ~5-10% of his case load is criminal defense. It wasn't until today (a month after this all started) that I began to have doubts about my defense.

Answer:
 > but after speaking with my attorney

This is the only person you should be asking for information or guidance.


Title: Forced to attend party

Question:
So my wife’s boss is forcing all of the employees to go to his house on a Sunday for a party that none of the employees want to attend. He has stated that there will be consequences for those that don’t attend. Is this illegal? Can he do that? He said anyone that does not attend would get a write up and those write ups go on employee records. My wife has spoken with most if not all of the employees and none of them want to go. He is saying there will be bonuses at the end but he has a track record for never coming through on these sorts of things. No one really cares for the bonuses anyway. But I figured I’d come here to find out. We live in Utah. Thanks in advance.
Also, he has stated that this is without pay. So forced to attend, without pay. What can she do? Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 Is she hourly, or if she's salary, is she non-exempt?

Without a collective bargaining agreement or a binding contract, her job is at-will and her duties are whatever her boss says they are. If she doesn't want to go to the party, she doesn't have to; her boss likely doesn't have to keep employing her.

However, mandatory attendance like this is paid work. If her boss is unwilling to pay, she [can file a wage claim](https://laborcommission.utah.gov/divisions/AntidiscriminationAndLabor/wage_claim_process.html) to recover pay for the time she's working.Answer #2: Is your wife a salaried employee or an hourly employee?

If she's hourly and being forced to attend, then she needs to be paid for that time.  No boss can mandate attendance to a work event unpaid for hourly employees.

In most states, if she's salaried and forced to attend, it can be part of her job duties.

Either way, your wife can bring it up to her boss's boss about the forced party if she wants to try to nix it.


Title: (Indiana) I paid a lawn company $3,000 to help grow my lawn. It didn't take.

Question:
My wife and I moved into a new house last year and it didn't have a lawn so we said "Next summer we are going to rip out all the weeds and start fresh".

Fast forward to this summer, we find a pretty reputable local business and he promises that he can get our up to great shape and he needs $3,000. He laid out all the costs in the contract, it looked good so we signed it.

He does the work removing the weeds, reseeds, and lays some top soil on the property. He tells us to water it a whole bunch and we do what he requests every single day.

Fast forward again and things weren't growing. It was sparse at best but now the lawn has been overrun by weeds again (due to no grass) and the lawn has turned brown over the summer.

What can we do? Do we beg for him to come back? Does the contract mean he MUST grow us a lawn otherwise he's broken the contract? Does he have to help us or are we screwed?

**TL;DR**

Paid a small town company to reseed our lawn, it didn't take. Wondering what options we have.

Answer: It's entirely possible you did everything right, as did he, and there are other things going on.  Landscaping and growing grass/seeding isn't an exact science, definitely check your contract.


Title: [Alberta] Do "adult interdependent partners" have any say in treatment if their partner is in the hospital, unconscious and unable to make medical decisions for themselves? What other differences are there to an official marriage?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Canada

Answer:
 Well first if your sister wants to get married that's a good enough reason to get married.

If their concern is medical decisions anyone can have a lawyer draw up a POA giving anyone they want priority to make medical decisions on their behalf.


Title: I am an 18 year old living with my parents in Michigan. I bought calcium carbide online and when it arrived my parents were not ok with it, when I refused to dispose of it they called the police and they took it without talking to me. Can I get it back? Did I break the law?

Question:
Calcium Carbide is a compound that releases a flammable gas when put in water.  It is commonly used in old timey miners lamps. I bought it when I was 18 with my own money from lehmans.com. Google didn't say anything about it being illegal after a half hour of searching, but who knows.

So the story goes:  the carbide arrives,  I get it,mom is a drama queen and when she hears me tell her its flammable properties she goes off on how it must be immediately disposed of. The carbide's shipping and everything was fairly lengthy and expensive so I told her I wouldn't do that, but I offered to store it off her property. She refused and police were called to force me to get rid of it. The police asked me where it was,  I probably shouldn't have told them, (but I did), since I was not charged with anything but I am afraid of being arrested as,  like I stated earlier,  I'm not sure if this stuff is actually illegal. So the cops took the carbide with them and left. I told the police several times that it was mine,  and asked why they were allowed to take it if it wasn't illegal.

Can I get the carbide back? I wasn't ever told if it was illegal. My only guess is maybe a bomb threat? But I hadn't even opened it. Seems like they could take anything flammable in that case.

If any clarification is needed I'll be responding to comments,  first time in this sub so I don't know if I'm missing anything.

Edit: Why am I getting so many down votes on this?
I would also like to add that this I'm not another bratty kid trying to fuck with his parents. I had approval by my father when I purchased it, neglected to tell my mom because she is kind of insane about stuff like this and didn't want her shooting it down.

Answer:
 Calcium Carbide is a hazardous material and requires a variety of HAZMAT and HAZWOPER controls, notifications, documentation and safeguards and **TRAINING** to handle safely.

It has a NFPA Health rating of 3 and a Flammability rating of 3.

Quit fucking with it. It's not a toy.

http://airgas.com/msds/001086.pdfAnswer #2: You can contact the police and ask for it back.  They're likely doing analysis to find out what it is, and to determine what the laws are surrounding it.


Title: MD. Car Accident. Insurance says I'm 20% at fault because I didn't brake or avoid the accident. I have a dash camera.

Question:
https://youtu.be/gbcB6Sm4KzE?t=25s

@25

So some guy ran a red light. He did a rolling stop. Pulled into the wrong lane.

I tried to brake and hit my horn but it was too late. I talked with my insurance and they said I was 20% at fault.

The adjuster kept saying I didn't brake until after the accident. I'm not sure what video she was watching. Before I even gave the video they said it was partially my fault and that it could have been avoided.

She also said i didn't use my horn. Again not sure what she's talking about.

This car is less than a year old and i'm not really trying to pay a deductible. Plus i was hoping to file a diminished value claim which i can't do if i'm partially at fault.

Please give me some advice.

Thanks.

Answer:
 If you aren't happy with the offer and they won't budge, reject it and sue the other driver.

edit: watched the video. You had plenty of time to stop at the yellow. You were also still in the intersection when the light turned red.Answer #2: Advice about your options:  You always have the option of rejecting any findings / offers from the insurance companies and suing the other driver for their liability.  So if the insurance company doesn't see it your way, that may be your only option.

General advice:  Based on the video you posted, I'd be surprised to see your liability found at less than 20%.  If you sued over this, I'd be afraid it might end up more.  Answer #3: This is completely unrelated to your legal trouble, but what kind of dash camera setup is this? I am looking to purchase one and this one definitely took a high quality video.


Title: [GA] Neighbor put up a fence and refuses to pay for half the cost of my existing fence line.

Question:
Some background, me and my neighbors' homes are both new construction. I moved in about 6 months ago and put up a new fence around my backyard about 3 months ago. My neighbor recently moved in next door and decided to build a fence. Their fence comes within centimeters of mine but not physically touching it.

Now they are refusing to pay for half of the shared fence line because they don't see it as them "using it", and because they are not physically touching, they aren't agreeing to pay for it as they didn't technically "tie-in". The fence line is being used to enclose their property along with their new fence. I know California has California Civil Code in Section 841. I was wondering if Georgia has a similar law or how I should go about this. I asked them nicely already but they say they don't need to.

Answer:
 You built a fence, they built a fence, why would they need to pay for half of your fence?Answer #2: It doesn't appear that Georgia has a law requiring your neighbor to participate in the boundary fence.  Absent a local ordinance establishing such a responsibility, your neighbor may be right.

It's likely worth a conversation with local code enforcement to be sure.


Title: Drunken hookup alienating me from my friends and preparing to make accusation

Question:
Location is NY.

This may get a little lengthy. My main question is how to proceed to ensure lawyers don't get involved.

Last semester there was an incident with a girl I'll call K (19F). We are in the same year and major and she's the friend of my friend's girlfriend, I'll call them F and G respectively. I didn't think much of it at the time because we were both very drunk and neither of us could really remember what had happened (so I thought). It's hard to explain but essentially we nearly had sex and then didn't because her roommate was asleep in the same room. I didn't think much of it, NBD. Over the summer I went on vacation with F and G in Europe.

Fast forward to this semester and F mentions that K is attending counselling for what happened because she can't attend lectures for fear of seeing me (??) and that apparently G wants her to press charges for attempted rape (????). I want to get to the bottom of this but how do I do so without coming across as harassing K? I'm also so hurt G seems to have turned against me because we were friends and got along well over the summer. I feel like it's only a matter of time before this affects my friendship with F as well.

TLDR: drunk hookup is thinking about pressing charges, how do I head off this situation.

Answer:
 The use of letters makes life a lot more complicated than it needs to be. You could have simply said "Last semester a 19 year old woman and I were very drunk and nearly had sex. I thought nothing of the incident until recently when mutual friends said she was accusing me of attempted rape. What should I do?"

The answer is say nothing, respond to nothing, and do nothing until you're formally accused. Once accused, refuse to make a comment until you get an attorney involved. Felony accusations aren't litigated on Facebook.


Title: Experience some discomfort and restraint after accident, should I proceed?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Get thee to an urgent care. Your health is more important than an insurance company having to pay for your treatment.


Title: [OKLAHOMA] job requires 12 hour day with no lunch, but only pays for 11 hours worked.

Question: In oklahoma employers are not required to furnish breaks or lunch periods at all. Which is fine. But this position I just started requires 12 hours of work, with no lunch period, but they take an hour off "for lunch". The contract with the client states very clearly that the work shift is 7am to 7pm with no lunch, but it does not include verbiage for taking an hour away for some reason. Other than quitting my job (I need this job) do I have any recourse? And if so, what?

Answer:
 If you're required to work 12 hours but are only being paid for 11, you should make a wage complaint to your state labor agency.  Employer is required to pay for hours worked.  Keep a journal of hours worked per day (with times in/out) and hours paid per day.

https://www.ok.gov/odol/Employment_Issues/Wage_and_Hour/index.htmlAnswer #2: have you brought this to the attention of your employer?


Title: Did the cop do anything wrong?

Question:
Hi reddit, I need some advice on what I should do about a situation that just occurred (If I can do anything at all). Sorry if the formatting isn't very good, I don't post much and I'm very upset.

About 30 minutes ago a police officer knocked on my door and my father answered. The police officer proceeded to tell him that two women at the track my dad runs at every morning, claimed that he "looks at them", took a picture of my dads license plate, and made a report to the police about him. The cop kept saying that my dad "harassed" the women. When my dad asked how, that's when they told him that he "looked at them". My dad proceeded to explain to the police officer that he has never "harassed" anyone, and talks to no one at the track. He asked the officer when this supposedly occurred and the officer said "within the last year". My dad told him to leave and come back when he has actually committed a crime. The police officer then told my dad to stop going to the track because he was making the women uncomfortable. My dad explained that he has been going to that track for 10 years, will continue to go and he will run wherever the fuck he wants. He said the women were making HIM uncomfortable by taking pictures of his vehicle and sending the cops to his house. He then told the cop to leave again, that he committed no crime. The cop then told my dad "well this has supposedly been going on for a year now" My dad raised his voice slightly and told the cop once again that he has committed no crime and that he needs to leave, the cop apparently took the tone change as a threat and reached for his gun. That's when I pulled out my phone and started recording. My dad told him to leave again and finally the officer walked away back to his vehicle and drove off. The entire time he was speaking to my father, he was talking to him like he was a criminal, being very rude and aggressive.

Now, we are both steaming with rage over this. He came on to our property to question my dad for something that isn't even illegal, refused to leave when we asked him to multiple times, and personally scared the fuck out of me when he reached for his gun. We are the ones that feel harassed. We want to do something about this. My dad feels like he's been targeted for no reason and the cop seemed like he took everything extremely personal. I'm personally worried he is going to come back and harass us for something else my dad didn't do.

Is there anything we can do about this? I feel like there probably isn't, but if you guys have any advice, that'd be great.

Answer: Nothing wrong here that I can see. It is completely possible to harass someone in the way described, and police investigate reports of harassment. It is sort of their job. The officer was also totally fine placing his hand on his weapon when your dad started getting loud. It's not like he pointed the gun at him. No damage done, no rights violated. And yea, not sure what you want done here. The police do have and always will have the right to do the most basic part of their job. You dad can still go to the track if he wants, but he should probably take a minute and really think about his behavior and if it is or is not appropriate. Just because he thinks it is does not mean it objectively is. If he spends his after-workout just straight up leering at specific women then that can be considered harassment in some situations.


Title: What happens when someone doesn’t follow a court order?

Question:
My wife became my ex wife about 2 months ago. She was court ordered in the divorce paperwork to clean out a mutually owned condominium (all my stuff is out) within 4 weeks so we could sell the place.

This condominium is not cleaned out and I’m losing money because it can not be sold. Any offers we’ve had have been below what we expect and our realtor believes this is because it is not cleaned out. The realtor has agreed to perform repairs on the place below cost if it is cleaned out.

What can I do? I need her to clean up her crap so we can get the place fixed and sold.

Answer: File a contempt motion


Title: [PA] Could my Truancy be excused due to medical issues?

Question:
I'm a sixteen year old male, who as of Monday (11/14/16), was given a court notice regarding my absences from school. I am currently living in a very low income household, and definitely suffer from a sleep disorder which often limits my mental and physical capabilities. I'm currently in my junior year of high school and have twelve excused absences, and twelve late arrival days. My issue has been going on for about three years, as I've had a consistent issues with falling asleep, staying asleep, and maintaining a good attendance record at school. I had previously visited a therapist to treat past issues I had with severe depression and thankfully stopped going as my mental state improved. Although, throughout my time with a therapist, multiple doctor's appointments, a visit to my local hospital's crisis center, I've had this consistent sleep issue. I haven't been able to seek medical attention for it, as my family can't afford health insurance for me, and definitely aren't going to be able to pay the straight up medical bills that come along with multiple doctors visits and sleep studies. I finally visited a doctor on 11/14/16 and received information on sleep specialists to visit, take care of my problem, and hopefully get me diagnosed. Unfortunately, the same day I went to visit a doctor, the school sent out the necessary paperwork to get me in court. My parents are working on getting insurance with the same foundation In which I had visited the therapist, and once that is set and done, I plan to get blood tests, visit a sleep specialist to get a course of action(Medication?), and possibly do a sleep study, as my doctor recommended.

I'm basically suffering from horrible sleep deprivation and many of the side effects that accompany it. This includes horrible cognitive impairment, memory issues, Previous depression/suicidal thoughts and mania, moodiness, impaired motivation, **CONSTANT** fatigue, microsleeps, physical disorientation, and obviously elevated levels of stress. (All of this has been brought up to a doctor at one point or another)

Basically, what I want to know is, will I be find getting this taken care of due to my medical issues? It's the last thing I need in my life, along with family and home issues. I'm pretty worried over it.

Answer:
 Have you and your parents met with the school to discuss the issue? According to this document (www.wbactc.org/Docs/PA%20truancy%20laws.pdf) the school should have reached out to you to set up a Truancy Elimination Plan after your third unexcused absence. These issues should have been hashed out with the school before it got this bad.

Ultimately it falls upon your parents to make sure you attend school, and they can be fined for your absence. Even with your sleep issues, they should be waking you up and getting you to school, or getting you medical attention if you are medically unable to attend. If they can prove that they have done everything in their power to make you attend, then the fines can be waived.


Title: LGBT bathroom use is all the talk these days. While the discussion has been primarily for the transsexuals, I'm curious about legal ramifications for everyone else. More inside.

Question:
Please read in full before flying off the handle...

People are messy, and sometimes downright creepy. Let's say someone who is NOT a transsexual use this as an opening to female bathrooms, doing God knows what with recording devices, mirrors, peaking in holes, jacking off, etc..

So let's say a perv is getting his rocks off, in a woman's bathroom at a gas station,  gets caught by one of the other lady's. In this scenario, does the woman have any rights to a lawsuit? If so, would the gas station be liable? There was a case recently where that news reporter successfully sued a hotel cause a guy went to some unbelievable lengths to get some nudes.

Also, if other parties are liable, then what's that mean for a school setting? Could a public school system be open for a lawsuit?

Note: I'm neither for or against, and I think the current argument of "those people are icky" is just fuckin ridiculous. I just haven't heard any counter arguments that take into account for the 'human' element... Only a single argument for one select groups' rights.

Answer:
 >Let's say someone who is NOT a transsexual use this as an opening to female bathrooms, doing God knows what with recording devices, mirrors, peaking in holes, jacking off, etc..

that would be breaking all kinds of laws.  Of course a person would have the right to a law suit - why wouldn't they?  Same with a school.  This is black and white stuff OP.


Title: [NY] Got kicked out, need my items back.

Question:
So, my parents kicked me out of their house a week before I moved into the house I purchased.  It was because I didn't offer my mother a slice of pizza, and no, I'm not kidding or leaving out details.

Anyways, I got about 90 percent of my stuff when my parents decided they wanted to lock the door and tell me I'm not allowed inside anymore.  I called the police, and they had my parents bring out my cat and my air conditioner.  There's still some important things in the house (my birth certificate, title to my car, all of my dress clothes and other misc items).

My parents are telling me that if I want the items I need to pay them for it.  The police told me that this is now a civil matter and they can no longer help me.  I tried having a sibling mediate the situation but that didn't work either.

Where do I go from here?  Do I file something?  I tried Googling but it seems like this isn't a really common situation.

Thank you.

Answer: IANAL, but isn't theft of a government ID a felony?


Title: Guy on my floor (college dorm) came into my room and secretly recorded me

Question:
Hello all, I'm posting this (with permission) on behalf of a friend who does not use Reddit.  We go to a university in Massachusetts, USA. The "I" in this story is her.

I'm a first-year college student, 17 years old.  I live in a suite-style dorm: two rooms with 2 people apiece, connected by a shared bathroom.  Recently, I was alone in my room, video-chatting with my mother.  A guy who lives on my floor entered my room (without knocking) through the bathroom, took something out of my fridge, and left.  I said "Hey, what are you doing?" but he didn't respond.  I later found out via a different guy that he had come into my room to secretly film me ("I saw this really funny video of you").  All I was doing was video chatting with my mother, so I'm not sure how this video could be funny.

Two days later, I came back to my room from class and written on my whiteboard was "Hi mom, -his name" (obviously a reference to the video).  Some of my stuff was messed with.  I can't go into detail because it's identifying, but it's comparable to smearing dirt on my toothbrush.  Not destroyed, but dirtied.  I took photos of everything.  I came back later after dinner, and the note was erased.

I talked with my RA and he offered to mediate a discussion between me and my suitemates (the ones who presumably keep letting him into the room) but I feel like he's brushing me off.  I no longer feel safe in my room, and I'm sure there must be something else I can do.  This is a place where I am supposed to have privacy, supposed to feel safe.  And what if I hadn't been wearing pants or something??

Is what he did legal?  Should I report to the police?  Should I go above my RA's head and try to talk to someone else at my university?

I have never seen the video, so I don't have evidence it exists.  This is why I'm not sure if there's anything I can legally do.

Answer:
 MA is a 2-party consent state. If the guy recorded audio when he made that video, he committed a felony.

Do not bother with your RA. Call the police. Tell them what a opened and give them the names of anyone who claimed to have seen the video.Answer #2: File a report with campus police if they feel like a crime has been committed they will take it over from there.Answer #3: Your ra may not be brushing it off, they just might not have understood how important this was to you. I was an ra -- I would say that the first two weeks I would deal with issues from like 60% of roommates. So you're not even close to the only roommate complaining. I can't tell but I assume these were guys -- I rarely got involved there except to speed up the process of getting to the confrontation because that was usually where the issue would end. We put a lot more importance on the girl roommate issues because they tended to get very out of hand and escalate and confrontation only made them worse.

You have a bunch of people sharing space for the first time or who have only shared space with a sibling - so you can imagine there are a lot of problems and "he took something from my fridge and wrtoe on my whiteboard" would give me the same reaction (ask about a mediation). He's better off handling this himself if he wants respect.


Title: Pulled over and cop smelled pot. Had 2 grams. 18 years old with a full ride to in-state colleges from an organization stating: no underage drinking or illegal drug use/possession. Am I doomed to lose the scholarship or can I get the charge dropped?

Question:
Basically the title explains it. 21st Century Scholars provides full coverage of tuition and the university I'm attending covers all cost of living for those with the 21st Century Scholarship... so thus a full-ride.
However, I made the mistake to smoke with some friends (who are 17 and are facing no legal trouble because I was driving my car and had the marijuana). I made an impulsive decision thinking no trouble would come.
I have never been in any legal trouble or any trouble for that matter. I don't even know what the next step is for court or fines or whatever.
I'm telling my mom in the morning (this happened an hour ago). I just want to know if there is any chance this might get removed/expunged from my record so that I may maintain my scholarship and my sobriety from this point forward.
I was not high nor had anyone smoked. We just had the pot in the car and were driving home.

Answer:
 Talk to your family get a lawyer do not tell the school or scholarship people unless there is some contract stating you must.   Even then consult your lawyer.Answer #2: Most likely this is going to happen once you tell your family and get a lawyer

Your lawyer will attempt to plead the charges down. You'll pay the fines and whatnot. Then you'll serve a 2-4 year probation period. Probably closer to 2-3 years. Then after the probation is over, you can get it expunged from your record.

I doubt the scholarship people will know or ask about this, but it is a full time, so maybe they will check.

Luckily for you, you're still at least 4 years away from getting a job, and by then you'll have it off your record.Answer #3: The 21st Century Scholarship program **specifically** requires participants to pledge not to use illegal drugs, and stories about drug arrests on college campuses usually come with a warning that getting caught with drugs can affect your scholarship. Unlike Federal financial aid, a conviction is technically not required to revoke the scholarship.

You should contact the state bar and get a referral for a lawyer with higher education experience, because while it's clear that they **can** pull the scholarship, you need someone who knows if and when they **will** pull the scholarship.


Title: Social Security Number and Passport compromised, scanned documents sent to the wrong Gmail address. Urgent help needed.

Question:
Location: New York, USA

So basically I've fucked up hard. I accidentally sent some very sensitive documents (scanned of passport and social security card) to the wrong email address.

I have my email address stored in a contact called "me" in gmail. When I send documents to myself, I type "me" into the address field, my address is filled in automatically. However, I was sharing the document from my phone and when you go through the share option in another app, your contacts are not suggested so I accidentally sent the email to me@gmail.com. I didn't notice the mistake for a couple of minutes so I missed the undo window.

From what I've been able to find online, I would need a court order to have the email deleted from the recipient. There's no guarantee that they haven't downloaded the attachments even if the email is deleted.

Basically, what should I do? Do I apply for a replacement Social Security number/passport immediately? Is me@gmail.com even a real account? Is it possible to add an alert/two factor authentication to the number so I'm alerted if someone attempts to open a card using the number?

Any help you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

EDIT: forgot to include my location. New York, USA

Answer:
 Yea just google how to protect your identity and check out the Sec of State to see if theres anything you can do.

I wouldn't just blatantly assume any evil comes of it. You know what I'd do if I got an email of someones Social and Passport? Nothing cause I don't open emails from unknown people with unknown attachments...thats how you get viruses.  Answer #2: Whoever owns that gmail account doesn't care about your documents.  99.99999% of the public are not fraudsters and couldn't care less about your passport and SSN.

You have no legal basis for action against them.

You can follow the identity theft practices (fraud alert on your credit account) if you wish.


Title: Neighbor has hired an attorney to go over maximum's city allowance in (demolishing and) building a new house. Their proposed changes would block my view [North-York, Canada].

Question:
In the application, #5, and #13 proposed changes are especially bothersome.

http://imgur.com/a/5m99o

I am given the option to send my opinion about the proposed changes. What is the best course of action to oppose these changes?
Is hiring an attorney advisable? I contacted the only attorney in my area whom I was able to find who works on minor variances and he told me that he only represents the opposite side.

Answer:
 Definitely lodge a protest and give your reason. There may be a hearing where you are allowed to present your side. Some artwork makes a good impression. Take a picture of your view now, print it out on large paper at kinkos or something. And then do another version with their building photoshopped in, or just with the view blocked.

Often these decisions are made (at least in my area) with an eye to the character of the area. Things that would be out of character are less likely to be allowed. If no other buildings in your area violate these rules, everyone else has followed them, why should this person get a pass? Do they have a good reason for exceeding the restrictions? If it's just for design reasons, then they want to increase the value of their property at the expense of yours which strikes me as very not fair.

Make an argument that blocking your view would reduce the value of your property. If you can get any neighbors to join you in the protest that would be best.

A good source to find real estate attorneys is title companies. Call and ask who represents them. You can also try the bar association if they have that in Canada.

Might also not be a bad idea to attend a meeting ahead of your deadline to get an idea of what types of protests people lodge, and what is likely to get approved or not. In my area the meeting minutes are available online as well, you'd probably learn something from reading those if you can find them for your area.


Title: [Mo] My sister wants me to donate sperm so she can start a family with her wife

Question:
I've read horror stories online about sperm donors being held legally responsible for kids they donated for. She says she would be willing to do anything legally allowed to keep me off the hook legally and we wouldn't even tell the child I was the donor, but I've heard stories of states going after the sperm donor. Is this something I should be worried about, or are there any other legal ramifications I should be aware of before deciding to (or not to) do this?

Edit: Just to be clear, her wife would be carrying the child, not her. That would be weird.

Answer:
 Go through a doctor and a lawyer. It is legal and will keep your butt coveredAnswer #2: You can donate sperm and not be considered the father of the resulting child.  The laws vary a bit state-by-state, but the general rule is that you used a licensed sperm bank or fertility center.

When states go after "sperm donors," it's typically because they tried it as a do-it-yourself endeavor, sometimes with the sperm "donor" actually having sex with the mother.

On your edit, not just weird, but you'd run the risk of the child having all sorts of birth defects since its biological parents would be siblings.


Title: My employers wish to institute extreme and possibly illegal conditions for my certification exam reimbursement, please help! [x-post to /r/sysadmin]

Question:
Hello Reddit! I work for a medium sized IT service provider in Georgia. We have about 25 staff members and are growing very quickly, business is good but I am facing a bit of a dicey situation here.

I recently passed a certification exam in my field (Information Technology) and my employers are offering me reimbursement for the exam (not any training materials). The cost of the exam was roughly $400. I should note that this certification was not required in any way to maintain employment.

Here's the thing, they are wanting me to sign a document that basically says the following:

* I agree to remain with the company for the length of period the certification is good for (3 years)
* If I am fired (with cause) or leave the company anytime within that period I am required to reimburse the company for the cost of the exam PLUS 10% ACCRUED INTEREST per year

My interpenetration is this: if I sign this form and quit or am fired two years later, I owe my company $480 for this exam.

I have no plans on leaving the company but these conditions are a bit extreme, and i'm really wondering if the interest portion is even legal.

Please help.

Answer: Stop thinking of it as "they are paying for my certification" and think of it instead as "they are giving me a highly specific loan." Answer #2: How is this extreme? If you don't like the offer, pay for the certification yourself.Answer #3: Yes it's legal. If you don't like the conditions, don't sign it. That's all.


Title: Wife's grandmother died - had purchased lawnmower on her credit card for us.

Question:
I am located in Oklahoma, USA

My wife's grandmother passed away yesterday. About three years ago she had allowed us to purchase a lawn mower with her credit card which we were making payments towards as we were able to.

Today, less than 24 hours after her death, her son (my wife's uncle). Presents my wife with a ledger and demanded payment or forfeiture. Her son never held any legal administration rights over her estate. He started tried to take the lawnmower back just two days after it was purchased and has caused trouble over it ever since, which is the reason for concern at this time.

My understanding is that we own her grandmothers estate the sum owed against the purchase, and we do not dispute that. Our concern is that the money will be pocketed for personal gain and will not be put towards the actual debt itself.

What is the best way for us to protect our interest in the matter while also fulfilling our obligation to her estate?

Answer:
 What a lovely person, focusing on the important issues after death.  Was this a gold plated lawn mover by chance?

But seriously, do you know if you're named in the will?  Because you can tell him you owe the estate, and what you owe should be deducted from any inheritance you receive.  That's the easiest.

Until he is appointed executor, and the estate goes into probate, paying him isn't the right thing to do, in any case.


Title: Falsely Accused of 'unauthorized collaboration' during online Final Exam. What should I do next?

Question: I am a (19M) from a suburb in Atlanta, GA, and I am a first-year at a college in Atlanta (if clarification needed on what college it is, I can edit this as well). The day before the final exam (the final occurred on 4/29/2020) for one of my computer science classes, my professor emailed me that there has been an incident of 'unauthorized collaboration', and she forwarded it to the student integrity office (I missed this email and didn't find out about it until 5/4/2020). I proceeded to take the final exam, unaware this email was sent to me. Then, on 5/3/2020, I received an email from my school's academic integrity office that I was accused of 'unauthorized collaboration' during my final exam, and that I could either admit to cheating (and receive a 0 on the final and an academic warning) or appeal the accusation. Knowing my innocence and that I did the test honestly, I chose to appeal the accusation. Analyzing what happened before I took my final, the only suspicion I have as to why I might have been accused could have something to do with my study group's group chat. I also have contacted an attorney in the metro Atlanta area who happens to have dealt with academic integrity cases at my school. According to this attorney's previous dealings with my school, even though I may be really innocent, the academic integrity office at my school usually tries as best as possible to make the student in question guilty, sometimes even going to unnecessarily intimidating extremes just to preserve my school's name. This attorney also claims a very high success rate in dealing with these cases, usually not lasting longer than 2 months and with favorable outcomes (either proven innocent or a reduced punishment if guilty). However, unsurprisingly, said attorney would be quite expensive to me, costing at least $3500. At the same time, I am under a full-tuition scholarship (Zell Miller) and the Pell Grant for attending my school, and if I am proven guilty somehow, I would lose a good amount (if not all) of my tuition scholarship and possibly some of my Pell Grant, meaning I lose at least $5000 up to almost $15000. My question to you guys is should I hire this attorney, or would I able to face this by myself (with the advice of my parents)? Thank you so much!

Answer: NAL but money is temporary, your academic future is forever. Fight it.


Title: NSFW[CA] Girl made me spray dna inside her then apparently got pregnant from another guy very soon after

Question:
First of all, this female made sexual advancements on me very early on to me meeting her without my verbal consent, but it was her birthday so I let it slide. I did not really want to have sex. I told her I was going to finish and she just kept going then told me she wasn't on birth control. I was obviously not okay with that and freaked out, especially when she refused my offer of buying her the day after pill. Days later, she told me over text that she didn't want to get attached to me since I was going up to college and she didn't reply to me after that. I see on her instagram, months after, that she is pregnant! I panicked but saw that she had a boyfriend, and she was claiming it was his. Now, the baby has been born, and I'm paranoid that I will be dna tested and stuck on child support several years down the road. She is certain that this new guy impregnated her, which is possible if she menstruated quickly after and made another guy finish inside her right after. I contacted her through instagram direct message recently asking about dna testing and her boyfriend replied saying there was no way the kid was mine then blocked me.

Should I try to sue for rape? Should I demand a DNA test? Should I cut off all potential contact and forget about this person? What do you reccomend r/legaladvice?!

Answer:
 Consensual sex + regrets + pregnancy =/= rapeAnswer #2: I don't see any rape in there.

If the kid is yours, and she eventually gets a DNA test done, you are on the hook. That's all there is to it. Answer #3: Let's talk about personal responsibility for a minute. When someone is raped they know they've been raped, opinions and a census are not necessary. Rape is a very real, life changing event. What has happened to you is that you made a very bad decision and your desperately looking for an out which includes "cutting off all potential contact" with someone who possibly has your child. You will not find an answer your willing to accept here, no one here will tell you to cut ties, no one here will tell you to ignore it. Get a DNA test like yesterday, if mom says no then too bad, you need to do it NOW. Because this will eventually unfold and you will have to deal with at at some other time, likely at a time when you need it least. Right now you can at least have some sort of control over things and you will not spend the next decade with this hanging over your head.


Title: Hit a jaywalker what to do and expect? Similar stories?

Question:
So last night, I was driving down 4 lane road going at around 20 in a 35 or 40mph zone. I'm in the right lane coming up to a small intersection with a green light for me. A truck or SUV to my left makes his left turn then.. I see a dude just walking into my lane from my left across the road, my brakes are slammed at this point. He walks in the way of my car causing him to get hit. He didn't touch my windshield but left a small dent on my hood. He was jaywalking the road the whole time. I did not take pictures bc I wanted my car off the intersection to avoid traffic.

He moans and groans and worries about not being able to work. Witnesses call cops. I move my car off the intersection. Cops show up. Firemen show up. Ambulance takes him away. He only had scratches on his legs and elbow according to the paramedics.

Witnesses agree that I had the right of way and that guy was an idiot for causing danger to himself and others like that. Cops were pretty fast and helpful and made it seem like it was not a big deal. Received no citations.

I didn't break the speed limit and was passing a green. I reported the situation to my insurance and they'll be talking with the police and the other party as well as check out my car. Moments like these I wish I had a dash cam. I feel like the guy was committing insurance fraud, or drunk, or mentally ill, because why else? What's the most likely outcome of all this? Best case and worst case scenario?

TLDR: hit a careless jaywalker at around 20mph going thru an intersection on my green. I drove abiding all traffic laws. What can be the outcome?

Edit: Location is Artesia, CA.

UPDATE: My insurance calls me and tells me the dude ended up with more bruises than we thought and a fractured/dislocated hip. Best news is that he is 100% at fault. I was gonna lose my shit if I found out I was even partially liable for his jaywalking ass.

Answer:
 Location is important.

If a pedestrian is hit while jaywalking, they are partly at fault as they were breaking the law when they were hit. However, this does not mean liability can’t be placed on the driver, as they may also be partially at fault depending on the circumstances.Answer #2: For future reference on the topic of jaywalking: look up the laws for it in your area, because it might not be intuitive. Because for example, here in Canada, if you are driving and let someone jaywalk the road and a driver in the oncoming lane hits him, you are considered totally at fault - even if the jaywalker gets to stop at a median.
On one hand seems kind of dumb to me, but I can kind of get where it comes from. But that's not the same case everywhere.Answer #3: Location bot where are you my friend?


Title: Can an attorney do anything if they know that their client is suicidal?

Question: There have been a lot of posts in r/legaladvice where people ask if X is still binding/a factor/ enforceable if they kill themselves.  I'm wondering what a lawyer does when their client indicates that they are going to kill themselves.

Answer: Most states have exceptions to attorney/client privilege which allows you to disclose information necessary to prevent an immediate threat of loss of life


Title: Hypothetical US question, foreign kings/queens/princes/princesses and property.

Question:
If a member of royalty of another state buys a piece of property in the United States, is the purchased property under the governance of the United States or of the kingdom of which the person bought it is from?  I would think the US laws would govern it, but if a member of royalty purchases a piece of property, could it be claimed as state property thereby making it immune to US laws, like an embassy?

Thanks!

Answer:
 Foreign sovereigns can personally own property within the US. The property remains subject to US jurisdiction, and there is no action a foreign sovereign could use to transfer that property away from US jurisdiction, or to avoid taxes, or to exercise any kind of sovereign control of that property. Foreign sovereigns are still people, but that's _all_ they are.

Embassies on US soil are granted by the United States government, not created by the country wishing to occupy them.

Edit: [one example of property in New York, owned by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England](http://therealdeal.com/2015/06/19/the-queen-buys-8m-pad-at-zeckendorfs-50-un-plaza/).


Title: Physical therapy question

Question: I was involved in a car accident and my doctor referred me to a a physical therapist. I've never gone through this process before so I was a little nervous when they did my intake session. At one point when they were putting pressure on my injured arm I got jittery and dropped my resistance momentarily a few times when they were pressing on it. Afterwards I started to get paranoid that they might have thought it was deliberate so I just explained at the next session that I was nervous and my arm is normally fine unless I'm doing something strenuous which he seemed to be understanding of. Later at the same session my hand started to go numb and my arm felt a little weak during the workout. Now I'm afraid to say anything and make it sound like I'm giving conflicting information. Is this going to create any problems if I have to file a personal injury claim down the road?

Answer:
 The point of physical therapy is to push injuries to find out how far they go.  My physical therapist wouldn't discharge me until he could do things he knew used to hurt me and found they didn't hurt anymore.

Just be honest.  Physical therapists will know if you're pretending one way or the other.


Title: NJ recently fired from a bar tending job, for something the other bartender i was working with did.

Question:
Some facts:

i was working this past Tuesday night with another bartender and a new to our store manager.

i have a friendship with an ex employee, whom is not well liked by management , and she comes to visit and drink when i'm working (occasionally).

i knew i was being watched by management when she was there, with the assumption that i'll willingly give away drinks. (I never have, I've never even been accused in any other situation. i was also on the road to being eligible for management, something i wanted, so i never would)

Story:

me: me

Female co-bartender : 'Lisa'

manager on duty: 'Tomas'

ex coworker/my friend: 'Jill'

Tuesday night, around 11:00 (we close at 1) 'Jill' stops by, she had told me prior that she would after she got out of work. the time 'Jill' came into the bar I was away from the bar taking care of guests that were in another part of the restaurant.

as i'm walking back form that party, i see 'Jill', stop say hello and move on to ring in the food for the party. At this point she already had a drink, poured by 'Lisa'.

Night moves on, 'Jill' asked me for a beer, and shot. So i pour the beer, and the shot and go to ring in everything. I didn't see her tab, so i started one with what i poured rung in. Sometimes bartenders use names/nicknames/the wrong seat number, ext. when starting checks. so i didn't  think much of it.

A later point of the night, 'Lisa' pours her another drink. (later she said she told me to ring it in, but i didn't hear that)

night goes on its coming down to closing time, like 12:59, we close at one, and i never want to stay they longer then i have to. there are 5 people int he place: one was 'Jill', two were regulars ,and the last two were random people. i was trying to get the three people i knew out, 'Jill' and the regulars, so i can get the random two out also. they weren't moving as fast as i liked, so i printed all the chicks we had open, and passed them to the guests that were here. i didn't look at them, just printed and passed.

they all pay and leave at like 1:15, i'm frustratingly finishing the nights cleaning. and counting down the drawer to turn in. 'Tomas' walks up to me with a huge smile, as him had been butting heads for the the two weeks we worked together (at first, 'Tomas' treated me with respect because he though i was a manager, i was in fact on a hourly management shift. I gave him the tour of the place. but shortly after he found out that i wasn't yet a manager, his attitude and actions towards me changed. nothing big to me, just trying to press the, "I'm the boss, you are the employee' paradigm on the littlest things. most of what he was wrong on.).

Back to the story, 'Tomas' said not in these exact words that he caught me. i didn't know what he was talking about, so i just asked what he was talking about. 'Tomas' said i gave away a beer, that the video showed it. He said when he walked by the beer was empty and next he seen it was full. 'Tomas' also said he checked the videotapes. I said i didn't pour a beer, but maybe the other bartender did. Also we as the bartenders will take responsibility. Things escalated, and I've always been the type to fold under pressure, i also though there would be time for me to plead my case. Also at some point, it became solely my fault. The other bartender 'Lisa' was cleared form it. 'Lisa' even said to me "whats why i don't touch 'Jills' check. Blatantly admitting that she didn't ring in drinks for 'Jill'. 'Tomas' talked to the gm the next day, i was suspended until i can get a sit down with her and the bar manager.

The second day of my suspension, i receive a call from work. i was waiting for the call, i figured it would be my time to sit down with the management. Pick up the phone, and get railroaded with accusations. And being me, i fold under the pressure and say it might have happened. but if it did it was an accident. i learned in that conversation, i was already fired for 'serving multiple drinks without charging for them.' i tried to talk to the HR head and she said her hands are tired (basically brushed me off).

there is a videotape of the night, from multiple angles that hows everything that happened that night, 'Tomas' said he watched it. but the other managers didn't, they just echod what 'Tomas' said.

i called today to ask the GM if i could come in and watch the tape with her and another manager, so prove my innocence. i just got called back saying the District Manager and HR told her they cant have me come into the restaurant and look at the tape. so i pleaded with her, to at least watch the tape and see that it wasn't what i'm being accused of. she said the DM insisted that they stand by their actions, but will proved a good reference.

i'm just confused as to what to do, I've bent over backwards for them since i started. worked 50-60 hour weeks back to back. worked 9-12 days in a row as often as i was asked. 'fixed' their liquor counts. (i don't know how legal it was, but their numbers were off because other bartenders before my promotion were giving away the house. i was advised in very clear terms to short drinks to cover the difference. and over the course of two weeks, i had the number back to an acceptable level. then third week, perfect.) i would often do jobs i wasn't being paid to do, expo, bus, host, ext. while i was bar tending. we all were made to 'tip out' support staff that wasn't working (our bussers/ hosts would leave at 9-11 at night, but our 'tip out' accounted for our sales till one. meaning we were paying them to not be there.) i was once assaulted at work with multiple witnesses, and it was brushed under the rug (by 'Lisa') all the while i didnt ruffle any feathers cause i wanted the eventual promotion (i was being trained to be a full time manager slowly)

now i'm unemployed, no prospect for a career, left wondering what to do. and i'm also very upset, and angry. I was thrown away by management i bent over backwards for, thrown under the buss by 'Lisa' who still works there.

Do i have any legal recourse, or am i just supposed to suck it up and walk away.

Literally any help would be appreciated.

Also ignore the spelling error and the capitalization mistakes.
Writing isn't one of my strengths.

TLDR: i was fired for the actions of the other bartender on shift. She still works there, and as far as i know, has gone unpunished.

Answer: New Jersey is an at will state. They can terminate you at any time for my reason except discriminatory reasons. The only recourse you have is to file unemployment. It sucks but unfortunately that’s how it is.Answer #2: You should file for unemployment for sure, but this was a legal firing and beyond unemployment you don't have any means of recourse.


Title: Dog got loose and injured [IN]

Question: I live in an apartment with a little backyard that is fenced in. There used to be a lock, but they changed the fence this year and I got permission to nail the door shut. I received notice that someone would be treating the balconies M-F 9-5 during last week. At 8:50am, I looked outside to see if they were doing work and saw nobody. At 8:55am, my SO did the same thing and let the dog out to use the restroom before the workers showed up. The nail in the door had been removed and the door had been left slightly ajar. My dog got loose and I chased it a few blocks before catching her. We brought her back to the apartment only to notice she wasn't using one of her legs. We gave it a week to see if it would get better but just took her to the vet and found out she tore her ACL. We will be taking her for surgery later this week and the bill will probably be in the range of $2000. I'm 99% certain the worker left our gate open as his hose was running into our backyard and hooked up to our faucet. I was able to get his name but I did not have the foresight to take pictures. Something to note is that this all occurred outside of the posted hours. Who would be liable for that $2000 bill? What are my chances of getting them to pay?

Answer:
 >Who would be liable for that $2000 bill?

You.

>What are my chances of getting them to pay?

Slim to none.

First, you can't prove when/where the dog tore the ACL.  For all we know it could have happened while still in the yard, before the dog even realized the fence was open.  Second, it's your responsibility to make sure that the enclosed area you release your pet into is actually enclosed.  That's easier to do when you own/rent a single family home.  But it sounds like you're in an apartment complex of sorts with numerous people coming and going and using different parts of the grounds at all different times.


Title: i live in an apt w/sister. She came home the other day and her room was flooded. what, if any, demands should i make from them? fresno. ca

Question: when she came home, she found her room flooded, all her clothes she had on the ground soaked, along with a lot of her wooden furniture that might be damaged. we rent but dont have renters insurance, which is why i hesitate to pay for legal counsel. does anybody know what we should do? the manager havent even made a formal apolopgy or any actions to say theyre gonna help in any way

Answer:
 This is what renter's insurance is for. Unless the gutter broke because of something your landlord did wrong they are not going to be obligated to pay for all your stuff.

They do need to fix any damage there is to the house on a reasonable timeline.


Title: ***caution first world problem***USA (FL)

Question: I currently have the P60ui-B2 television. When i bought it i really liked the "Soap Opera Effect". Watching documentaries was really nice when i choose the "Smooth Motion Effect" to high. Well i got around to calling VIZIO after it dissapeared on an update and they stated it was inadvertently removed and they are working on getting it back. This has been going on for 5 months. There is no current way to get that back on my current TV. Without this feature the TV is downgraded significantly.

Answer: Do you have a question?