Title: Brother is on an LDS mission and is getting sued and summoned to court

Question:
Hello!

This all started last September before my brother left for his mission in November. He was at a car wash with his then girlfriend at the beginning of the car wash tunnel. The employee told him to go forward ... helped him straighten the tires and then said he was all good and told him to put the car on neutral and whatnot.

So they’re are going through the car wash tunnel when THUD .... the car in front of them was not moving so they bumped into it. They both exit out this tunnel and the guy gets out of his car yelling at my brother and he’s pissed off saying why didn’t he stop etc ... my brother is explaining how he was on neutral and wasn’t really thinking he’d hit any car since he was told it was safe to go and since ppl don’t normally stop !! (So it was this guys fault for stopping IMO)

The guy is yelling threatening to sue and my brother takes pics of the Tiny scratch left on the mini van he was driving and the guys car had nothing on it not even a dent ..... they got each other’s info.

Fast forward to last month ... my brother has been on his mission since November and we hadn’t heard from this man anymore but we got a summons for my brother and we are getting sued for 9 thousand dollars for car damages and medical bills. The man claims he lost his job because of how long he had to be at he hospital and all this BS.
We explained how my Brother is on his mission and how this had already been resolved but this guy is trying to squeeze this as much as he can !!

And he’s trying to get my brother to get back here and he did manage to get him summoned for court next month which he’d have to leave his mission for ........ idk what to do! My sister and I are trying to figure this out and we even went to the car wash and they let us look through their footage of their recordings but they didn’t have September of last year ! What can we do????????

Answer:
 Yeah. He needs to either get his insurance to represent him or leave his mission and come back.

Don't be so sure that there's nothing wrong with what happened here. Accident lawsuits can net large payouts. A <5MPH crash cost my friend's insurance $750,000.


Title: Bought a house, Seller dragging it out like a bad breakup....

Question:
Insert Taylor Swift song.

Background: Military move to Ft. Lewis WA, bought a house nearby direct from the owner, without brokers/realtors. I needed to close prior to some training, but didn’t need the house until early December. We closed November 15th, and I signed a clause that the previous owner could stay until 5 DEC to facilitate vacating property, cleaning up, etc.

Issue: Owner left a bunch of stuff on the property, some of it in a pole barn technically ‘off’ the property, but inside the fence line. He let me know he was doing that, and that he would get it out of there ASAP, but hasn’t. In the three weeks that we’ve actually been in the house, he made one trip to pull stuff out, and that’s it. Stuff that’s on my property, in the garage, etc.:
- a 1990’s model tanning bed
- an unknown year Jaguar convertible
- a bunch of really nice cedar plank wood for construction
- some miscellaneous construction stuff in the pole barn
- a bird bath thrown into the woods, along with a bunch of other trash

We’ve cleaned up most of the trash, taken stuff to the dump, rehabbed a chicken coop, and cleaned up the bird bath.

This dude just keeps dragging it out. Says he’s going to be here one day, I stick around, never calls or comes by.

I just sent a text,

“Okay Previous Owner, time for a tough conversation. I’ve been more than patient with you clearing your belongings off the property, mostly due to me being around through the month of December. I’m putting a deadline of January 10th for you to finish clearing your belongings; after that, I’ll get rid of anything I don’t want on the property. I’ll be available evenings starting on Wednesday, and most of the weekend. Let me know what you want to do. “

What are my options if this keeps dragging out?

Answer:
 Does the clause have any language about what happens if either of you fails to uphold that agreed upon date?   Also check the contract. I've seen some here in WA state that say that anything left behind by the seller becomes your property.  Absent those options, wait and see what his response is re: your deadline.

IIRC it's usually 30 days deadline after a notice to claim/pick up property -- by  mail, not by text.  Answer #2: At least as far the car is concerned, his car is on your property without your permission. Therefore, you can pay for a tower and get it off your property. Don't expect to have any good relations with this person afterwards. If you do decide to go this route, give him some warning time such as a week before actually doing the tow, a week is more than generous considering how long it has already been.

Make sure you get the exact model and year. You could be held liable for any damages incurred in the tow if any. Some cars need to be towed a specific way to avoid being damaged, particularly luxury cars like a Jaguar this is a common issue. Example: Vehicles with 4x4 are guaranteed to be damaged with some tow methods.Answer #3: Look up the local laws for "abandonment of property", have your lawyer draft up a nice letter saying that after date XYZ in accordance with the law, anything left on the property after that will be considered abandoned and will be disposed of.


Title: [KY] Injured working in fast food, should I be worried?

Question:
[KY] So I'm a student working at this fast food restaurant.

Today I got cut pretty deep on something and got a few stitches. There's this big workers comp thing being talked about and I don't understand too much about it. I mean I know what worker's comp is in theory but I don't know how it'll actually affect me in this particular situation.

I want to know if I'll get in trouble or be taken advantage of in signing forms tomorrow.

What should I do?

Should I go back for work tomorrow and try to work?

and what are my rights in this situation if I can't complete tasks or the injury stops me from doing my job or they fire me for absence?

Should I talk to a professional? (irl)

I don't want to sue (unless for the medical bill if they fight me on it), and I also don't want to profit from something like this because I'm not that kind of person, but I also want fairness. I don't want to pay out of pocket for being injured at work by a hazard that is well known that nobody does anything about.

Long Version:

      Today I was pulling something off a storage rack and one of the many razor sharp metal shelf wires caught and tugged at my hand. I have a gash running down my thumb and palm and it looked superficial at first but I noticed when I bent my thumb the cut was deep and would crease and separate to where I could see under my skin layer to a thin yellowish layer of fat and I figured "hey this seems pretty bad, should probably get it checked out".

My general manager told me to run some water over it and put a bandaid on it and get back to work. There was something about someone bleeding under a thin vinyl glove, making sandwiches for people, that seemed kind of messed up to me yknow. Not super appetizing. And I was in pain, I didn't want to get back to work right away with a fresh wound that opened every time I bent my thumb. I'm not a baby about these things but I do care about my wellbeing a lot more than a fast food job.

So I told him I needed to get it checked out just in case, he seemed very upsetti 🍝, to the point where it offended me. Zero empathy yknow?
He kind of seethed in his words and told me to check it out quick at an urgent care "even though it would be a waste of time." (He also informed me that they would only cover the cost of an urgent care visit).

I went to an urgent care but they were pretty adamant about me having an insurance card. I'm under my mom's insurance and don't own an actual card, so, that was a dead end. I went to the ER at a hospital that I'm a patient at, where they would have my records and insurance on file.

When I got to the ER they said I needed stitches, that the laceration wasn't going to close up on its own. It was only a few stitches and I got patched up pretty quick. When I got back nobody told me what to do or how to proceed. I basically got ignored but I heard managers talking about filing paperwork and the hospital asked me some questions about workers comp, that I might have to sign a few things. Nobody at work seemed to be interested in WHERE or HOW this happened, which seemed kind of odd to me.

(The metal rack that I got snagged on is notorious for cutting people. I've been scraped by it more than a few times but nothing serious until today. One of my managers even told me she got cut by it today too, most people have but it's always been minor.)

So I have these stitches that the nurse practitioner said to never get too wet. He told me to try not to bend my thumb too much to where it pulls at the stitches (the gash goes down the side a bit, over the joints).

My main job there is as a drive-thru cashier.

Since the drive-thru cashiers have little to do but stand around when they aren't busy, their secondary job is to wash all the dishes.

This is something I won't be able to do because of the stitches.

Can they fire me for this?

And can I be ensnared by some fine print document they'll have me sign?

And what if I can't do my job right now, so I'm replaced and don't have a job to come back to?

Is there anything else I should know about?

tl;dr

I was hurt at work and nobody is telling me what I should know or what to do. My manager told me they only cover urgent care visits but I couldn't get into urgent care, so I went to the ER. Will I have to pay out of pocket?

Thank you in advance for reading and/or sharing any advice

Answer:
 Write everything down and keep documentation. If they try to get you to sign forms, take them home and read them thoroughly. Do NOT sign them without understanding everything. Ask to record them and ask any questions you have (e.g. "will you cover all of my hospital bills? will you fix this dangerous shelf?")

That said, I'm guessing you're an "at will" employee so you might be let go (or just they stop giving you shifts) if you cause a ruckus. (Hence why you want to document everything).

IANAL, but I'm sure there are plenty of ambulance chasers willing to help you on this one...


Title: Former college is using my image without permission

Question: My former university apparently had voyeur photographers taking pictures of students as I was rudely and angrily informed by my fiance that they mailed out promotional materials with a picture of me and a female friend laughing and high-fiving with text saying "enroll today". It is causing some strain in my relationship and the school has not responded to my requests to remove the photo from whatever database of photos they use and from any of their promotional material. Do I need to threaten legal action just to get them to respond or do I have no grounds to ask them to remove a photo?

Answer:
 You've already gotten all the legal advice you need - this isn't something that you'll get anywhere suing them for, and it will just be a drain of money.

As for the other side of things: is your fiancée mad that you "gave them permission" to use your image... Or is she mad because there's a picture of you *high fiving* a friend who happens to be female and she's that jealous?

I'm just saying, from an outside perspective, that sort of controlling behavior is a *huge* red flag and I would strongly urge both an ironclad prenup and for you to do some reading about emotional abuse in case things get worse in the future. It's a thing, it can happen to men, and it's something to be aware of, not ashamed of.Answer #2: You will need to look through your enrollment papers. There is usually something that states pictures can be taken and used for advertisements unless you sign that they cannot.Answer #3: Yup, these two are most likely right. There is usually a photo release in the enrollment paperwork or squirreled away in some policy that allows universities to do this. I’m going to be honest here though and tell you that I think you’re trying to tackle the wrong issue here. I more concerned about your fiancé not being secure enough to allow you to be in a picture with a female friend. Maybe there’s more here than we know but this just throws up a red flag to me.


Title: Scammer tries to rent house to my aunt, how do I report him?

Question:
My aunt tried to rent a home, but when she asked for help I noticed the rent price for the house ($900.00 for 3 bed ropm house, 1,500sqft in TX) was a bit low. I tried calling and realized he's using a Google number. (First red flag) After talking to him via text, he explains that he is in Illinois and wants someone to rent his house, because he secured a job there. And that he cannot come down to show the house, so they have to drive by and only see the outside(2nd red flag). Once I keep prying and pretending, he says that if she wants to secure the house she has to send the deposit in before she can rent it or see the inside (3rd). And when I ask for his account number, he says for me to send it to him or his secretary (4th) via western union (5th).

How do in report or get him in trouble, if I have no info on him? I currently asked for his "info" to send to WU, but am unsure where to go from here. I don't want someone else to fall for it.

Thank you.

Answer:
 You should report the situation to the police and leave it at that. Let the police gather any evidence if they want but don't expect much.Answer #2: Update: he sent me info with a different name and an address in illinois Answer #3: This is a very common scam.  I bet she found the ad online.

You can report it to the police but this person probably lives outside of the country and your aunt was 1 of many in the scheme.


Title: How my Superbowl party went bad.

Question:
[removed]
Topic:
Troll Post

Answer: What does the "Troll Post" flair mean on this one? Is it like saying it's a hypothetical? I'm just asking because the answers seem real yet the post says it's a troll.Answer #2: I call bull on your hypothetical situation.


Title: Can my landlord is threatening to charge me for utilities that they agreed to pay for in the lease.

Question:
I live in Ohio in the second story of an apartment complex. In my lease, the apartment complex agrees to pay for heating and water. There isn't anything else covered in the lease.

Temperatures tend to fluctuate in Ohio and, as a result, I never have to turn my heating on. My thermostat is off and has been all winter. In fact, I have had to crack the windows open to keep it comfortable. However, I received a notice from the apartment that we are not allowed to open windows because it raises the gas bill and if we do open the windows, we will be charged for the increase.

Can they do this? Tell us that we can't open our windows and expect us to cope with 75+ degrees in the house? There is nothing in the lease that says they can do this. They agreed to cover the heating, period.

Answer: Sounds like a threat and nothing more than a threat. I would just ignore it. I think if you were leaving windows open to be a jerk then their demand would be justified but seems reasonable when the temperature gets that hot. How can they even prove you open your windows? I would just ignore them.


Title: Being held over at work and getting in trouble for having to let my babysitters know (MI)

Question:
Hello all. I hope this is the right place to come for advice. I work for a licensed seller of a brand. I'm also the mother of two children boys under 3. I'm lucky because I have my parents babysit and they don't charge me.

The issue is, last night I got held over for over and hour. As soon as I realized I was going to be more then 20 minutes late I asked my assistant manager to take over my sale for a minute so I could let my parents know I was going to be late and possibly have my husband pick up the boys instead.

I got talked to about this later and it got put in an official "coaching" session about how I should have just let me phone ring and that they will "understand." My parents get up at 4am and sacrifice their sleep to watch the boys until 8:30 (the time I normally get there).

Now, I know this doesn't matter but my parents don't understand and now I have to deal with the fallout for the next few weeks about how I "take advantage of them".

Is there anything legally that says I have to be allowed to contact my babysitters to let them know I will be late picking up my children? Or anything that may help me out? I already emailed HR to see if there was a policy about this but it's been hours and no response. I'm going to work in an hour and a half and I'm expecting major fallout from last night. I know if my kids were in day care they could have called CPS for me "abandoning them" or something. And that freaks me out.

Thanks in advance.

Location: Metro-detroit, MI

EDIT: thank you for everyone who responded. I know the answer wasn't what I'm looking for, but i appreciate the responses. I did speak with HR and there is no policy in place. However he encouraged me to work something out with my manager because he definitely understands needed to warn my parents and arrange things. I've had talks with my manager about this before so it's pretty fruitless. Looks like I'm looking for a new job (even though I love this job) because family definitely comes first in my book. And thank you everyone who didn't judge my paranoia.

Answer:
 > I know if my kids were in day care they could have called CPS for me "abandoning them" or something.

That's not likely. What is far more likely is somebody will wait with the children and you will get hit with some huge charge. A daycare doesn't want to lose a paying customer by accusing them of mistreating their children.

Can you just excuse yourself for a bathroom break? It only takes a few seconds to send a text.Answer #2: >Is there anything legally that says I have to be allowed to contact my babysitters to let them know I will be late picking up my children?

Sadly, no. No legal protection exists that requires your employer to give you the time to inform a babysitter or whoever else you are running late.Answer #3: I see other posters saying this is no problem, but wouldn't this be a great way to discriminate against young mothers (and fathers) as an employer?Answer #4: No, there is no legal protection requiring your employer to let you contact your babysitter to let them know your shift is running long.


Title: UPS lost a vial of stem cells, what options do I have?

Question:
Hello wonderful people, I have a problem. I have a dog with spinal cord damage, who is getting stem cell treatment to try to help her live a more normal life. She had 2 vials of cells left, being stored with a biological storage company in Kentucky. I am in Phoenix, AZ. (This storage company has worked with our vets office for years and has been very helpful with their side of all this.)

On Monday, my vet ordered a vial of my dog's stem cells to be delivered from the storage company in Kentucky. The shipment was priority overnight and should have arrived by 10:30 Tuesday for her treatment. It never arrived. We were being told every time we called that it was in Phoenix, and was out for delivery, and would be there in 2 hours. Today, they were finally delivered, but it had been so long without any knowledge of how they were stored or what temperature they may have gotten to during that time, the vet felt they were unsafe to use.

I just called UPS, who said that because the package technically wasn't lost, but just delayed, that all they would do was refund the cost of shipment. This, to me, is unacceptable, since because of the delay the contents of the package were lost. If my dog needs that last treatment, she is out of luck because of UPS. I am trying to get them to cover at least part of the cost of another harvest if we need it. I'm supposed to get a call back tomorrow from a corporate level manager but am not sure if it will actually happen.

What I'd like to know is, what options do I have at this point? The storage company has already refunded the cost of the shipment to me (I will let them know that they should get their own cost refunded by UPS as well) along with sending the last vial at no cost, discounting their part for the next harvest if she needs one, which I really do appreciate, especially since this was no fault of their own.

Our vet is going to make the best use he can out of that last vial, but ultimately if she needs another harvest because of this, I'd like UPS to make it right with whatever the remaining cost of surgery is. Do I have any chance of that? I know they will refund the value of lost shipments per their site agreement, and in all purposes this shipment, while delivered, was lost.

I apologize for the long post, and am hoping someone may be able to help out! Thanks so much for reading, and any help is very much appreciated. Have a great evening!

Edit: UPS actually did call back, and started a damage claim for us! Everyone I've spoken to with them (minus that first sup on wednesday, who was pretty terrible) has been very compassionate and helpful so far. Fingers crossed!

Answer:
 You paid the storage company to store the vial and ship it to you, and they paid UPS to actually deliver it. So your beef is with the storage company, and *their* beef is with UPS. After all, they could have hired a medical courier who would have transported it in a cooler and delivered it at a reliable time; they chose to use UPS instead. (Or maybe UPS promised a level of service which they didn't provide, but if they did, that promise was to the storage company.)

In other words, the storage company is responsible for making up for this mistake. If you don't feel like what they're offering is adequate, you can try to push for more.


Title: Friend opened a CC in my name. Can I file a police report w/out pressing charges?

Question:
My friend opened a credit card in my name. I was aware of this.(EDIT: I was aware of this after the fact. Didn't give permission.) I never used the card and was told it was closed within a year of being opened - she had just needed it for one purchase and paid it off. I just found out (2.5 years later) that it is still open. The limit is $7500 but it's at $8500 because she switched banks and forgot to have the payment taken out for 3 months now so it has fees on top of the balance. I thought this was zeroed out. She will be paying this off. (We are in Utah)

The problem is the lease on my car is up next month. She can't cosign for my car because her credit is shot - but she has great & verifiable income for over 5 years. Technically she has been using this card and has made all of the calls to the bank and everything else, I've never touched it and didn't even know it was in existence. She opened it in my name, I did not. I do not want to press charges against her because she will be paying it. But I do need to have it removed from my credit as it has tanked my credit. If I file a police report just to have documentation to send to the credit bureaus (so it is  moved over into her name only and taken off of mine) will she be arrested if I don't press charges? How does that work? Or is there a better way to go about this. I know I should have been paying better attention. We are young and I honestly don't know much of anything about credit or how this was impacting me. I know better now, and need help figuring out what to do in this situation.

TL;DR - friend opened a CC in my name and it's tanking my credit. If I file a police report, will charges be pressed? I don't want to file a police report I just need to have this removed from my credit & can't do so without the police report.

Answer:
 It sounds like you knew and gave your friend permission to open this card in your name.

What exactly do you want to file a police report for then?

Oh and no, you can't file a police report and ensure your friend isn't charged. It's not your decision to make at that point.


Title: I had an account that contained my SSN and other personal info taken over by my ex-manager. (NY,NC)

Question:
Context: I created an account on a site similar to onforce, fieldnation, upwork which had me put in a bunch of details to attain work. I did this because my ex-friend convinced me that it was a great opportunity to gain some extra cash on the side.

After going through all these steps i realized i was unqualified for anything so they offered to train me in NC. Needless to say it didn't work out.

Problem: So since i decided not to work with them ever again i decided to deactivate my account and be done with all of this but... i lost access to my account. The old username and password dont work and when i try to reset the password the link isn't sent to my email address. I'm unsure on how to proceed, i elected to never talk with them ever again but will to get this mess sorted.
i live NY and they in NC.

Answer: Freeze your credit if you're concerned they may try to take out fraudulent loans in your name. Other than that, there's not much to do: as they were either employing you or paying you as a contractor, they have a legitimate reason to require your SSN, and it's not illegal for them to keep those records.


Title: [GA]I am going to blow up my car as a show, what do I have to do?

Question: The title says it all, I am going to blow up my piece of shit car. I don't know where to start and I am sure I need to insure the attendance, and get a hold of the local fire department. How to go about that I don't know. What kind of resistance would I have making a car movie explosion.

Answer: Uh.... a lot. This is almost certainly illegal in and of itself, puts anyone in the area at risk of being hurt, and could very easily spiral into a large-scale fire. Answer #2: Since you must have a lot of money laying around to pay the massive bill you're going to get from the fire department why don't you just buy a nicer car?Answer #3: You're in Georgia so I would start with the the Georgia Film Commission. They give sweet tax breaks if this is a legit production. You'll have to form an LLC. And the fire department will have to be there. Don't be surprised if you need to hire several dozen people though to be in compliance with the law. And if they nix the idea of anyone attending.


Title: Doggie death

Question:
My neighbor filed a civil suit against my husband and I because our dog, she weighs about 20 lbs and is a rescue mutt, was playing with her 2lb yorkie and broke it’s neck and unfortunately it did not make it. The accident happened in the cul de sac. My 9 yo son witnessed everything and was severely upset. He came home and alerted me to the terrible accident and I immediately went to find out what happened. The neighbors had frantically left for the vets office. Once they returned they called the police and would not allow me on their property. The police said there was no one at fault and it was an accident. We have since re-homes our dog. The neighbor filed a suit for $5000. Once we received the summons I reached out to the them and we agreed we would pay for a rescue dog to replace the one that had perished. Now she is asking for $2000 for an AKC REGISTERED yorkie and she wants me to pay the filing fees. I feel this is a ridiculous amount!  I agree my dog was at fault and am willing to do the right thing. However, I feel I am being taken advantage of.

Can anyone offer any legal advice on what I should do?

Thanks in advance!
Topic:
Small Claims Procedure

Answer:
 Was their dog an AKC registered Yorkie?Answer #2: If they had AKC papers for their original dog, that's what you owe them. 2k from a good breeder sounds right. Contact your homeowners policy, sometimes they help with this type of claim.Answer #3: NAL, but...

1) what are the leash laws in you town/county/municipality?

2) was either dog compliant with that law- meaning, was either owner compliant with that law?

3) If both dogs were at large, then what the police said is likely correct, there is no fault to either party, aka dogs will be dogs.

As you have received a summons, you must respond or lose by default. Have the applicable leash/at large dog laws with you at court. But honestly, if they let their little precious out without leash/supervision, it's as much on them as anyone.


Title: Should I call a lawyer?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You can always hire a lawyer. But as per your story you took your eyes off the road to look at something that wasn't impeding your ability to drive and promptly crashed. The leak didn't cause you to crash, your actions did.


Title: My mom [47/Ohio] facing a tough divorce after twenty year of marriage.

Question:
My mother told my step-father that she wanted to divorce June of last year. He's a realtor that own 70 properties and co-owns 70 more with his father. They have a car lot in her name. She's never signed a title despite this.

When she mentioned the split, he had he badgered her until she signed off on the properties he owns, just him and her present. This is important.

He changed all of their banks account to just him after claiming his wallet was stolen.

Today, their divorce still isn't final. She tried to make it work but found out he had 24 year-old woman at their home, which quickly spread and embarrassed her. Initially, she wanted nothing, but being scorned, now she wants half.

He had the papers of her signing off on the properties notarized by someone my mom has never met, without my mom present. He gifted all of his properties to his father. The car lot is still in her name.

What can she do?

Answer: There's enough at stake here that she can afford to (and should) get a good lawyer.Answer #2: Get a lawyer. There is a lot of room to maneuver here.  There are strong, arguable issues with the property sign-overs, the notarization, and the gifting of property. In fact, it won't be hard at all to make this look like your step-father is hiding assets.


Title: Roommate threatening to sue me because he fell.

Question:
In a bit of a bind that came out of nowhere. Having a house meeting tonight with the roomies.

First, I live in Ontario Canada.

Late 2 nights ago, my roommate was walking from our garage to our back door and he tripped and fell over an open drainage hole. He claims to have broken a piece of camera equipment and sprained his ankle. He is threatening to sue over the equipment and possible medical bills. What grounds does he have to stand on if we all share the space?

It really sucks that he hurt himself and broke something. I feel really bad for that. But this drainage whole has been left open numerous times before in the summer. And what if it was someones sock he slipped on? Or a baseball? Can one specific roommate who left the drain open be held liable?

Answer: Why is he suing **you** specifically as opposed to all of his roommates or the landlord? Is he alleging that you left the drainage hole open? Or maybe the lease is in your name, and he's renting from you?


Title: [PA] I've been accused of sexual assault. What should I do next?

Question:
First of all there was no sexual assault it was consensual.

I was visiting my brother at college in PA at the end of October I live in MD 3 hours away. My brother notified me on Friday November 20th that he was contacted by a detective who needed to speak with me. I called the detective and he informed me of the accusation and asked if I could come make a statement.

I arranged a date to go speak with him but after talking to several people I am now considering hiring a lawyer and not speaking with the detective.

My question is should I hire a lawyer to take care of this or should I go and talk with the detective and make my statement?

This is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me. If you need any more information or details as to give me a better answer please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you.

Answer:
 Don't talk to the police without a lawyer present. Hire an attorney, explain the situation, and they'll guide you from there.Answer #2: You should go find those friends who told you to hire a lawyer and buy them all a bottle of their drink of choice - they did you a *huge* solid.

Basically "come on down and make a statement" is code for "come give us a confession and do our job for us." You need to get yourself a lawyer right now (or tomorrow, since it's past business hours) and don't talk to anyone about this without his or her permission.

Understood?Answer #3: > I arranged a date to go speak with him but after talking to several people I am now considering hiring a lawyer and not speaking with the detective.

That may or may not be the best idea.

What **IS** the best idea is hiring a lawyer *before* you decide what to do.


Title: Roommate’s Dog Destroying the Apartment.

Question:
My boyfriend and I moved into an apartment around 4 months ago with a woman we met online. We hit it off decently, and needed a place fast, so we all signed a lease together at a big apartment complex.

Roommate has a puppy, and we were made fully aware of it before signing the lease together. Initially, RM made every intention of training the dog, and taking full responsibility for it (she even had training books and a whole list of rules to make sure puppy was trained well) So we were okay with it.

Fast forward through the past four months, puppy has torn apart the whole downstairs, chewed up blinds, carpets, furniture, and even some of our own personal items. She’s even torn paint off of walls and chewed up doors. All intents to train the dog seem to have gone out the door. And it’s left inside in a cage all day, most of the week, as our roommate works a server job with lots of doubles.

So my question is: How do we go about covering our butts (and our deposits) as far as damage is concerned? Would it be a good idea to write up a contract for our roommate to sign? Would it do any good since we all signed the lease and are therefore all liable? She hasn’t made any intentions of /not/ paying, but we don’t want to take chances since she’s been a little shady.

Thanks in advance!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 You are, in all probability, jointly and severally liable for the damages to the apartment.  That just means that you are all equally responsible for the damages to the landlord.

You would be able to sue the roommate for the damages caused by her dog in small claims if you end up covering damages caused by her dog, however.

Take lots of pictures and document the damages that are caused by the dog.  Hopefully it won't be needed, but better to have it just in case.  The only other thing you can do is make sure to keep her contact info up to date if you think you might need to have her served later.  Try to get her new mailing address when she moves out and/or keep up with her on social media.Answer #2: You already signed the lease, you are liable for all damages to the apartment caused by the dog.
Similar thing happened to me and I ended up losing the entire deposit plus some


Title: Could my wife run into any issues with a youtube channel that uses dolls dressed up as celebrities to reenact reality TV episodes?

Question:
She wants to dress dolls up as certain celebrities and using audio of catchphrases that the celebrities say a lot captured from reality tv shows, create new parody episodes. Ideally, she'd also like to use the names of the celebrities in the title of the video.

Obviously she would like to make money off this by running youtube ads in front of the videos.

Could she run into trouble from the celebrities for making money off their image/audio of their voice?

EDIT: my location is New York state.  Also she's NOT reenacting reality tv episodes, I misunderstood what she wants to do. She just wants to make her own new episodes using audio of them saying catchphrases and a doll in their general likeness.

EDIT 2: Thanks for the advice. It looks like we need to make the all the content as original as possible. But if possible, could samples of short, relatively generic audio like "omg that is so expensive", "she looks soo fat" be used?

These would be celebrities so some people could probably identify the voice just from the short audio sample, but then the sample is also very short and relatively generic.

Answer:
 If it's *parody*, it's fair use, and is completely legal. What it sounds like she's doing is profiting off of their likeliness by making new reality TV show episodes off of them. That's not parody.

Also, even if it is fair use, YouTube might get contacted by the celebrities in question and remove the videos anyways.


Title: Can job tell me what to do on my days off?

Question:
I work for a power plant on rotating shifts. They do not pay us to be on call, but will try to find emergency coverage when people call in sick. This happens multiple times a week. Problem is that the new plant manager is saying whether we have plans or not we are required to answer all phone calls from the company on days off and provide a valid reason as to why we can't give up our day off. I received a verbal warning last week because they called at 3am and I was sleeping and didn't get the message until late the next morning. I just finished a 72 hour week and was beat. Is it legal for them to try to dictate what we do on our off days like this?

Edit: Forgot to mention that I live in upstate New York.

Answer: My go to answer when work calls on my day off is, "Sorry, I have been drinking with some friends today," or something to that extent. Management knows I cannot work if I have been drinking.Answer #2: And your location?Answer #3: National grid? Those guys are ruthless... have many friends who say the same. Are you salaried?


Title: Can I legally give education ( Not advice ) on different investments for a fee?

Question:
It's for Ethereum, Bitcoins predecessor.

It's not regualted by SEC and i would not be giving advice, but rather an education session

I am not a business, I moderate a Facebook page on the subject, and so i've been flooded with questions.. Because of this i just want people to pay me for my time. That's all

- Location: Canada

Answer:
 Completely depends on the content.

FYI, just because you call something "education" doesn't mean that it's not "advice". Just like me calling something a chesterfield doesn't mean it's not a coach.

edit: I'm just gonna pretend that wasn't a spelling mistake :)


Title: Reddit lawyers and law students: what made you KNOW you love your profession and WHY?

Question:
A criminal case?  a great teacher?  tell your area of expertise and your story
Topic:
BestOf

Answer: The fact that no one has answered in over five hours is rather telling.


Title: Is there a legal concept that poking someone 1,000 times is not the same as stabbing them once?

Answer: The plain meaning rule of statutory construction, which says that absent a contrary definition within the statute, words must be given their plain, ordinary and literal meaning. The general definition of stabbing does not include being poked a thousand times.


Title: Can you be let go for having a baby and taking maternity leave

Question:
Heres the situation.  In US, New York state
My coworker has been a great employee working at our Dominos for over a year now, 30-40 hrs a week, and is pregnant. She has been totally upfront about the whole think with the GM since the start. Coworker was under the impression that it would just be a simple thing, that she would work until she has the baby, take the standard leave that the state is going to pay her for (I think it’s 8weeks) and then return to the job.

However, we are now nearing the due date and today out of nowhere GM pulled her into the office and began talking about starting to gradually take away her hours and give them to a new hire replacement. And saying that there probably won’t be a place for her when she gets back from leave.
Not only can she not afford to start giving away hours now, she also really was counting on the job when she gets back.

Is this the norm? Is it even legal in the US? What should she do?
It seems like there should be some protection against losing your job when you have a baby.
She wants to go to the franchise owner about it but se wants to know her facts regarding her rights before confronting him.

Answer:
 Of she works over a year there, and they have over 50 employees, she is covered by FMLA, and they must hold her job. The 50 employee thing may be the way they get around this. Is it a franchise owned domino's? Answer #2: That’s completely, 1,000,000% illegal. In fact, starting January 1, 2018, NYS is providing paid family leave. Answer #3: Seems illegal to me. She should consult an attorney.Answer #4: There is most likely a corporate compliance number or email for a large corporation like this. If they are contacted, I’m pretty sure they would take care of it internally. Answer #5: I would advise your coworker that she contact HR via email, and also to continue discussing this with the GM over a written format like email or text. She should be as clear as possible in the emails, citing the GM's statements about cutting her hours prior to leave and the intention to replace her. Having that paper trail, in the form of screenshots, to submit to HR would be helpful.

And to reiterate, yes, definitely illegal. I'm sorry she's going through this.


Title: Emancipation Paperwork

Question:
I reside in clay county, Kansas City, MO. I'm 17 years old and need to be emancipated.

http://www.uslegalforms.com/us/US-CMP-10020.htm

I bought this paperwork but I don't know if I'm doing anything correctly. The problem isn't "do I qualify?" I could really use some help knowing if what I bought is correct and what to do from here.

Answer: Your first step before purchasing anything is going to your county's Court Clerk (or equivalent) office and ask them what paperwork is necessary to petition for emancipation in that jurisdiction.


Title: Arrested for missing vin number

Question:
My husband was in a car accident in December. The car was totaled. It sat in the tow yard for 3 weeks over the holiday. The tow men let him get his things from the car, he was with the tow man the whole time he was there.

The insurance picked up the car last week and cut us a check for it. The police came today and arrested him and said that the vin was on the car when it went to the tow year but was gone when the insurance got it back and said he must've removed it when he got the stuff out of the car.

He had no time to do anything to the car because the tow people were with him when he got his stuff. Why would he even do that when it was totaled and was going to the insurance?

Any advice or help? Why would this happen? How can we prove he didn't? Any help, please?

This is in Virginia.

Answer: This makes no sense. The VIN is on multiple places on a car.


Title: Tried to sublease my apartment. Landlord claims I need to give them 60 days notice. Seems wrong to me.

Question: I am living in an apartment in Houston, Texas. My lease expires in about 2 1/2 months but I would like to move to another apartment in about half a month. To avoid double paying rent or breaking my lease I thought I would sublease the apartment to someone else so they would take over and pay the rest of my lease. My landlord claims I need to give her 60 days notice before I can leave the apartment and the person I sublease to moves in. Has anyone heard of this before? It seems a little ridiculous to me. My lease says I am required to give 60 days notice before moving out but I don't think that also applies to subleasing. Has anyone had something similar happen to them? Is there any way to prove she is wrong?

Answer:
 To summarize what everyone has said:

1. You need permission to sublet.
2. Your landlord won't give you that permission.

End of story. Normally you'd have to give 60 days notice and then move out when your lease expires in 2.5 months but they are offering you a 2-week mulligan, which they don't have to do.


Title: I was sexually assaulted, and have not reported it.

Question: About 9 months ago, I was sexually assaulted, twice, by a co worker.   I never reported, have no solid evidenc e, but am now realizing my mistake in not doing so. Is it worth it to still report it and attempt to have him fired?

Answer: Report it to who? The police or your employer? Your employer is not a court of law and is not required to act based merely upon your allegation. If you would like this person to be investigated by the police, you need to report it to the police.


Title: My best friend inherited control of a trust fund for her minor nephew. She invested 95% of the money in RadioShack stock, paying between $3 and $4 a share. She sold it for a fraction of that after that company announced bankruptcy. Could she get sued over this? In NY

Answer:
 Who in their right mind would

a. Put 95% of a trust fund in the same stock
b. Choose Radioshack to be that stock

I mean, honestly, unless she did that back in 1985, that's not particularly smart investing.Answer #2: I have to believe that you're being lazy and getting reddit to answer a hypo for your T&E class. Because no real person would do this. Answer #3: Wow. This is the kind of horror story institutional trustees like to tell.Answer #4: How much was the trust? JWAnswer #5: So irresponsible! She had a moral obligation to her nephew to invest conservatively or at least diversely. I don't know her legal responsibility here, but she's an arrogant moron. I'm so sorry for her nephew.

This story terrifies me, since I'm going to have to leave a legally incompetent relative with a trust fund after I die. So many people are shortsighted and aimless with investments.Answer #6: It was almost certainly your friend's fiduciary duty to manage that trust.  It will almost certainly get her sued for making a very very poor financial decision with money that did not belong to her.  She needs a lawyer.


Title: The apartment below is smoking so much that it fills my apartment for hours.

Question:
I live in an apartment complex in Texas, and the man who lives below me smokes quite a bit. Almost every night from about 8:00-12:00, my apartment smells like cigarette smoke and marijuana. I have confronted him twice, kindly asking him to stop because my wife is allergic to cigarette smoke, but he insists that its just marijuana and that he pays to smoke in his apartment. These apartments do not have a smoking fee option, though they do allow smoking on property.

Other than the fact that marijuana is still illegal here, do I have any legal basis for asking him to stop? Thanks!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 What other basis do you need?

He's allowed by lease to smoke tobacco in his apartment, but you can phone the cops on him for the weed.Answer #2: I don't think they allow smoking marijuana in the apartments as it is illegal might want to call your land Lord about that. then if nothing comes of that call the police(non emergency line) saying someone is smoking a ton of pot in your appartment complex. Answer #3: Ask management if you can move to another unit if one opens up. Answer #4: I feel ya on this one. Here's your options:

Move to a non-smoking complex. Seriously, what were you thinking moving in there in the first place?

Tell the landlord you smell pot, prolly nothing will come of it, but if the landlord happens to be looking for a reason to evict the tenant anyway, this would give him a good one.

Ask to move to a different unit, downstairs. You either put up with the noise overhead or the smoke from the downstairs unit--apartment living is always compromise.

Rent a house with non-smoking roommates.


Title: Anybody familiar with MD child support laws?

Question: My ex (bless his heart) called me this morning at 4:30 to rage at me for filing a modification hearing for support.  I typically hear from him about once a year. My daughter is 7 and for the last 5 years, has been receiving $248 a month  in support from him. Recently,  he had a baby with (and got dumped by) another woman. She has already filed for support, been to court, and has been awarded $408. Okay, fair enough. Now I have concerns that my daughter,  his firstborn,  won't receive as much increase because of this new child. I am unemployed (not by choice) and rely greatly on the support to pay utilities and expenses related to school and activities.  The other woman has a good paying job in which she doesn't struggle at all. Bottom line, will my daughter get shafted in all of this because I filed later than the other mother? How should I prepare for the hearing? I filed a modification because the money is needed, not because I'm greedy. I'd rather not have his money and get him out of my daughters life forever (but that's a whole other ball of shit...)

Answer: His first/oldest gets the better child support order in general. So no, you should not be shafted.


Title: Would like divorce advice. Married over 10 years, spouse wants alimony, no children. IL

Question:
One of my family members who doesn't use reddit would like some advice. She does have a lawyer and will not make any decisions without first discussing these with him.

Husband is capable of working and works under the table. They have been married for over 10 years. He has never helped her with any bills.

His assets:
*$4000 on income tax returns
*Rental income on a house which he owns with a sibling. This income supposedly goes to the sibling and husband gets none due to alleged debts.
*Sold a car this year worth $40,000 and has some left in the bank.
*Heavy equipment worth around $50,000, some is not registered and he is trying to hide it.

Her assets:
* Income tax shows around $70,000 annually
* 401K $70,000
* She was in a car accident and got $50,000. Possibly not marital property.

Property they both own:
* House #1, $180,000 minus $70,000 mortgage.
* House $2, $115,000, no mortgage. She put down all the money to buy this house and yet receives no rental income.

He wants:
* Alimony
* Half 401K
* Half car accident money
* Half House #2
* Half house #1

Yes. She was not very smart to continue this marriage and will pay some consequences.

Lawyer says to dismiss the case as that will make it more likely for husband to settle. Going to trial is just too risky due to the possibility of alimony.

Does she have another options? What do you guys think about dismissing the case? She is 10 years before retirement.

Answer: Her lawyer knows all the facts and will know better than any of us.


Title: [HELP] Facebook Suit?

Question:
I was wondering if its possible to sue facebook for banning me while i was hacked and had no control over it. They wouldn't even look at my IP logins and their facebook support is worse then Sprints Mobiles. This also has happened to many other people too. So would that technically be a cyber breach in their responsibility?

PS: 2 hours before my account was fine took a nap and woke up too it being gone and loosing almost 7 and half years of my life gone. According to my mother someone posted a picture of a half naked girl while I was asleep and mind you again I had no control over it.

Answer:
 > I was wondering if its possible to sue facebook for banning me

No. It's a private service. Other than human rights issues such as race and gender, they have no obligation to provide service in the first place except as established by contract. The terms of service make it pretty clear they can terminate service at their sole discretion at any time.

Frankly, it's not as settled as I'd like it to be that they have a legal duty not to ban people on protected class bases, either.


Title: Hunter hunting towards our land, but not on it.

Question: Thanks for taking the time to read this. We (me and my father) just have found a deer stand next to our property line. The hunter hasn't shot anything that we know of. We don't have a problem with it, just a problem within the chance of our house getting shot, or one of our field animals. The land their own is just straight woods, no property is on it, so we have no way of contacting them. What can we do to resolve this. I'm located in central North Carolina. Thanks again for taking time to read this.

Answer: What about writing them a **friendly** note reminding them to shoot *THAT* way and wishing them good luck this hunting season?  Leave it in a ziplock bag (to protect it from the weather) and leave it in their hunting stand.  Maybe invite them to stop by for some coffee or something so you can introduce yourselves.


Title: JaX Fl. Father neglects my brother and I.

Question:
My mother and father are divorced. They got divorced last year and my father moved into apartments downtown an hour away from school and friends. He refuses to let me go to friends houses. Doesn't let me do homework or play games. No reading books or watching tv. He does similar things to my brother.

I haven't eaten since yesterday around 11 AM because there is nothing to eat here. No food, stale cereal that expired months ago. Frozen dinner, just 2 and that is meant to last us weeks.. Noodles that are months out of date. He goes out and buys 400 dollar tuxedos. Go to fancy restaurants and all these luxuries but doesn't feed me or my brother. Any help? I told my mother and she said that she will take him to court and get full custody if he doesn't feed us. Any other help? He won't give me money to go out and eat or buy us clothes or furniture. I am on a fold out desk since June. I have 2 shirts 2 jeans and 1 pair of shorts. No shoes, have to bring them from my mother's.

Is this actual neglecting and what legally can be done? I also refuse to go to his church, it is a cult straight out cult and he forces me to.

Edit: Forgot one more thing. He forces my brother around 2 or 3 AM on school nights to take the dog out in one of the worst neighborhoods in Florida. Just down the street there are several sexual predators that are out at that time. Also on the same street a homicide was just down the road.
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 I'm sorry this is happening to you.  The first thing to do is to talk with your mother about the situation.  It is possible for her to go to court and argue to the judge that she should get custody of you. If you are literally not being fed then tell her that.

If you are literally not being fed, and your mother can't come over and feed you, then call Child Protective Services.  Website is [here](http://www.myflfamilies.com/), phone number is 800-962-2873.  Tell them all about the problem.

A disadvantage is that if CPS determines you're being neglected, they may temporarily put you in a foster home, at least for a few days while they figure out whether they can place you with your mother; and possibly for longer if they decide they can't for some reason.

But, you are supposed to be cared for and if you actually are not being fed, you have to guard your health.


Title: Landlord pays for electric and wants to start imposing limits on things we can own that use electric. (NYC, NY)

Question:
I live in NYC in a rent-stable apartment. The landlord pays for electric according to the lease.

He says electric bills are too high and he wants them lowered. As a result he has announced that apartments will be limited to certain numbers of certain things. For example he says we are now permitted only one television 40" or smaller in the apartment, one computer, etc.

The lease does NOT include anything like this, and from what I have been reading he can't change our lease when renewal comes up since it's a rent-stable apt. He can only change it if it's an ordinance put in by the city. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not good at interpreting these things).

So basically what I want to know is, can he actually enforce this and we have to get rid of items that break his rules?

Answer:
 Unless it's in the lease I don't see how he can possibly be the arbiter of what you're allowed to own. He may be able to put a cap on the amount of electric he's willing to pay for ("Landlord will pay the electric bill up to $XX, and tenant will be responsible for any overage by the end of the next billing cycle" or something), but I imagine that would also have to be in the lease.

If you want to try and placate him, maybe look around and see if there's anything that's in your power to do to decrease electricity usage, including replacing old appliances with newer, more efficient ones (if you can afford it), replacing air conditioning filters, etc.


Title: Fired for unjust reasons & nobody will answer me.

Question:
So, i worked at a Chipotle Mexican grill in Bedford, New hampshire; and when I got to work one day I let my manager know I wasn't feeling too hot, but that I could do my work. I'm standing at cash for about 4 hours and tell my manager I am starting to lose depth perception from a massive headache, they tell me to stick it out for the rush; immediately after rush I get some food in my stomach and immediately have to run to the restroom to throw up, cleaning up after myself and letting the manager on duty know that it happened. They tell me just to go back to work, which I do. So I start working again, cleaning the dining room abit slower (you know, seeing as I just threw up my entire meal) and get called over to the table for a performance review I made earlier in the week, It was something minor and was taken care of with no problems at all, they told me to go back to work again;  which I did. Then about 30 minutes later they call me down to sit again and tell me I'm moving too slow, to which I said that I had JUST gotten sick and was abit sluggish due to that. They asked me if I could finish my work tonight; which I said "Yeah, I could" and the manager who'd just gotten on duty for the night shift said "I mean, you can go home tonight and I'll finish your work, but we will have to terminate you from this job if that's the case," I responded with "Yeah, I can finish it; i might just be a tad sluggish due to just getting sick." to which I got a long story about how chipotle holds the "highest" of standards, and how they have had managers and line workers go STRAIGHT FROM THROWING UP IN THE BACK OFFICE (WHICH IS RIGHT NEXT TO PREP AND FOOD STORAGE) back to the line multiple times in a day, (Which is absolutely disgusting)  after saying "Yes, I'll work tonight" multiple times in the conversation the manager just decided to fire me, even though I wanted to work.

I'm really not sure what to do at this point, I had a health inspector sent the very next day; but the corporate office won't answer my emails or calls, and I'm afraid to contact them. What should I do?

Answer:
 >I'm really not sure what to do at this point

Look for a new job.

>Corporate office won't answer my emails or calls

They aren't obligated to.
Answer #2: I know you're not hearing what you want to hear here, but please understand that we all really do sympathize, and think you were treated fairly horribly.

It's just that horrible and illegal aren't the same thing.Answer #3: It seems like you were working without an employment contract and therefore you were an at-will employee.  At-will employees can be fired for any reason (or no reason at all) which is not protected by the Civil Rights Act.  You were sick and operating slowly which is a perfectly acceptable reason to fire you, legally speaking.Answer #4: I'm assuming you are relatively young and haven't been jaded by life yet.  I think that's a good thing, but for purposes of your question, don't confuse "unjust" with "illegal."


Title: I think I violated my misdemeanor probation. Texas please help

Question:
I'm on misdemeanor probation for a DWI. I just got out of jail for stealing a bottle of liquor and a p.i.

I'm stupid and I've never done anything like this. To top it off cps for involved and removed my child from my home to my moms for up to 90 days. I spent 6 days crying. I'm a piece of shit but I will grow from this. Xanax makes you do the most stupid shit.

My question is, do I tell my po about these 2 class c's? Will she automatically see them? I went to jail for the PI but I got a citation for a class c for the liquor. My friends are saying tell her cause shell see it and I'm being revoked and others are saying she wont know. Please dear god what do I do? Besides telling me I'm an idiot someone please tell me what's going to happen? I'm calling her in the morning cause I don't even have a ride there anymore and couldn't tell her a week ago cause I was in jail. Someone please pm me anything I will take the advice. She's going to ask why I didn't call before about a ride? Or she's going to get a call from the cps lady regardless. I'm on the verge of turning myself into the hospital in having a nervous breakdown , I lost my child for Christ sake somebody help me before I hurt myself I cant do this anymore

Answer:
 She'll see it, you're in the system and it will make its way to her.  If you are feeling suicidal contact a mental health hotline.

On Monday the first thing you want to do is get a criminal defense attorney and do whatever he or she says.  Answer #2: > My question is, do I tell my po about these 2 class c's? Will she automatically see them?

She almost assuredly will.  You should front the issue.  We can't guess as to whether she'd move for revocation, but you're better off being upfront then letting her find out.


Title: Drugs confiscated by bouncer and details taken will you have any problems in the future

Question:
This question obviously differs at different venues but at London nightclub - A bouncer found a small amount of drugs (1/4 gram of mdma) on your persons in the club, confiscated the drugs, kicked you out, banned you for 3 months and also said that your details and information of the incident would be passed on to the police. Would they actually send the details to the police to be followed up at a later date or was that just a threat to make the person scared? I know of someone who got caught with drugs and they were detained in the club and the police were called and he was arrested. If they confiscated the drugs and just kicked you out do you think your details and the details of the incident would really be passed on to the police? (Surely they would have just called them there and then?) Just a "theoretical" question obviously (oops!). Any info or similar situations from anyone would be welcome, thanks.
and can that person have some problems while travelling for example on the airport?

Answer:
 If a bouncer says to the cops "I found this guy with drugs on him", he hasn't provided compelling evidence, especially if he's the one holding the drugs.

It's a scare tactic. That said, don't do drugs and you won't have problems. If you try it again then they may detain you until the cops come around to collect you.


Title: My mom injured herself at work, and they are thinking about letting her go since she can't work for some time, is that even possible?

Question:
My mom is a GNA and works at a nursing home. About a week and some change back she fell at work (she says a chair broke that she was sitting in? Not sure the story). She was fine the next few days, then on her way to work her back started acting up, she had to go to the hospital, and they told her to take two weeks off from and said she needs to see a specialist. She was notified by someone that her job is looking to hire someone else and let her go. Is it even possible to get fired from a job based on anow injury you received while working? If they do try and fire her (she's very passive and probably wouldn't do well defending herself in talks) does she have any legal recourse?

Thanks for any advice you guys can give

Edit: I live in Maryland

Answer: Your mom needs to file a workers compensation claim right now. This puts her employer on notice that her injuries were on the job and triggers a bunch of protections. It also shifts responsibility for medical payments from her and her insurance to the employer and their workers compensation insurer.


Title: Major bank opened a bank account under my name without my approval (FL,USA)

Question: I had a major bank open a bank account under my name without my approval and i was wondering what i could do about it, if anything would this count as identity theft or fraud? would it be worth pursuing?

Answer:
 You're leaving out a major part of the story.  *Who* opened the bank account?  Why?  What's your relationship with this bank?

Answer #2: So you were minding your own business, and a bank who you have never stepped foot in or communicated with in any way opened up an account for you with no money and somehow you now know about it? Is that correct?


Title: Do I owe my landlord a full month's rent for the last month when I an m0v8ng out by the 15th of the month? [OHIO]

Question:
I was informed by my landlord that owe a full month's rent for December, even though I informed her on the 15th of November that I will be out of her property by the 15th of December. I paid for a half month, to cover my being here for the first half of the month, but just received a text today telling me she expects the full month's rent and I have until the end of the month to get everything moved out.

I looked over my lease, which I should include I'm on a month-to-month lease, and it stated I must inform her 30 days prior to leaving and does not state that leaving must take place at the end of the month. I've only signed a single lease agreement with her and it reverted to a month-to-month agreement after the first year. I guess what I'm trying to find out is am I legally obligated to pay for a full month even if I am not inhabiting the premises and gave 30 days notice that I would be leaving?

Answer: Yes. You do.


Title: Landlord asking for double deposit on apartment because I'm not a U.S. Citizen

Question:
My girlfriend lives in State College, PA. She is a Chinese Citizen but lives and works in the United States and is a resident of PA. Is it legal for a Landlord to demand double deposit on an apartment because she is not a U.S. Citizen? The Landlord's reasoning was something paraphrased like this: "I need it in case you run back to your country, then I have something to hold on to".

Thanks in advance.

***edit -
Another requirement to renting there was to be a grad student or a professional.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 That could well be [illegal discrimination under the Fair Housing Act](http://www.equalhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2012-Immigration-Status-FAQ.pdf). Under that Act, the landlord may not discriminate on the basis of national origin.

[Is the unit exempt from the FHA](https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/HousingProviders)?


Title: I live in NC, what is the earliest I can petition the court or get a lawyer and get a paternity test whilst my ex is pregnant?

Question: So my ex left me, she doesn't give me any info and won't release medical info to me as the father, we've been broke up for a while, we got in a arguement today cause she hangs around a bunch of losers that trade piss to pass drug tests and smoke pot and drink alcohol all day, I told her my child won't be raised around that, she got pissed and said she cheated on me. What's the earliest I can petition for a paternity test via bloodwork while she's pregnant so I can find out if I don't have to worry about this anymore.

Answer:
 Most courts are behind the technological curve and still won't order a paternity test until the baby is born. It doesn't help that the blood test is quite a bit more expensive than the post natal swab, so the court doesn't want to have that be the standard for all the deadbeat dad tests the welfare office has to do.

They'll likely accept a voluntary legal prenatal test though. Just not force one.


Title: (PA) teenager sharing a room with an adult uncle. is this legal?

Question: My step brother just informed us that his 40 something year old uncle is moving into his room with him. His mother took his bed out and replaced it with bunk beds. My step brother is 16 years old. My step father would like to know if this is legal mostly because of him not trusting his ex-wife's brother. Can anyone tell me the legalities of this?

Answer:
 It is not illegal to make your own child share a room with someone no matter the age.

But yes, it is strange and questionable. Answer #2: Unless the uncle has a court order not to be around minors under the age of 18, it's legal.


Title: Illinois, im refusing to pay rent to a slum lord that lied about fixing things, we're moving out...

Question:
Kankakee, Illinois

Me and my fiance lived here for 3 months, the roof was leaking also the ceiling was leaking into the stove, which would smoke when turned on the oven part of it so we're scared to use it. The porch is also water damaged along with me almost falling through it.  The wall at the part of the house thats leaking is taking in water also, i put my hand on it one day to walk down the 1 foot apart death trap steps to the water leaking basement only to have the wall cave in a bit and i could hear stuff falling down it, the house wasn't inspected or anything before we moved in, we had to buy a steam cleaner and clean the nasty carpet, also painted the bedroom and re-did the flooring as well.  They never fixed anything other than putting a tarp on the roof, and has never done anything about it for a month now.

Every time we have asked our landlord (daughter) about anything she just told us to talk to her dad about it, and then he woudn't want to do anything. We were promised gutters and a back fence that never got put up, not worried about the fence but the gutters would prevent all the water leaking into the basement and the chance for mold and whatnot, we can't use the entire house as it is and they haven't fixed anything.

We've decided not to pay rent this month and have a lease being printed out for us on the new place and are using that to put down on the deposit and rent for the new place.

They just showed up asking for the rent and we told them we didn't feel we should have to pay this month being that i can't even use the entire house and that we're moving out soon around the end of the month.

I have taken pictures of everything and have tried to also save any conversations me and my fiance have had with this guy and his daughter.  Are we in the wrong? Should we pay rent, even though nothing got done?  My fiance is scared about going to court because they're saying they're going to put up a 5 day notice on our house and then start the eviction prosess, i mean we're gonna be gone by then but we will still have to deal with them in court.  Do we have a case or should we pay the rent and then move out?

Any help, advice, and/or information about this would be absolutely appreciated please and thank you.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 You went about this completely wrong.

There's a very specific process to follow to terminate the lease for breaching the implied warranty of habitability, or repairing issues and deducting them from rent.

Since you failed to follow the proper process, you need to pay the rent.


Title: [Topeka, Kansas] Stolen dog was later dumped into a shelter, and now the new owner refuses to give the dog back to the original owner. Help?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 They tried to contact him with his microchipped information, he didn't respond. They adopted the dog out. There is no further recourse.

He should get a new dog. Answer #2: Doubtful. Once the three day hold is met, the dog can legally be adopted. The new owner of the pet has no obligation to speak to the previous owner.


Title: Does the plumber who broke dresser have a right to the broken dresser in exchange for check? Seattle, Washington

Question: Plumber placed the dresser on some wobbly things when basement flooded so that it fell over and broke. Roto Router agreed to pay for the replacement but this kind of creepy guy wants to hand deliver the check and pick up the broken dresser. Does he have any right to take this broken dresser from us in exchange for the check? They could easily have just bought the exact same dresser for us if they were worried about us scamming them. They can examine the broken dresser if they want to. But my question is do they have a right to now own the broken dresser in exchange for compensation?

Answer:
 They don't owe you anything until the court orders them to give you something.

In general, you're not owed the price of a new dresser.  You're owed the price of a used dresser, because that's what you had.  If they're giving you full price for a new dresser, asking for the old one is very reasonable.  If you don't want to give them the old one, then keep negotiating.Answer #2: > creepy guy wants to hand deliver the check and pick up the broken dresser.

You have a problem with him giving you money to replace AND is going haul off the broken dresser?


Title: [Oregon] My vehicle has been taken by police as part of a murder investigation, what are my rights?

Question:
There was a shooting outside of my workplace on 1/15, and according to police my truck received several bullet holes. I haven't seen my truck since the incident but it is in police impound at this time.
I haven't been given any sort of receipt, or any indication of when, if ever, I would be able to have my truck back. Being a holiday weekend, I haven't been able to contact my insurer for their opinion, and the police won't take my calls or answer any questions-the response is always "we'll call you back" so I'm completely in the dark, other than one detective telling me they're looking for the bullets and it might take "a while".

In case it wasn't clear, I have committed no crimes, nor am I a suspect or being investigated. My truck must have been in the line of fire, and now it's evidence.
So will I be able to get my truck back? If not, is it likely my insurer will be able to help? I'm not sure if "detained by police during murder investigation" is covered by my policy.

edit: For my own curiosity, where in law does it state the police have the right to take personal property they deem as evidence, indefinitely, without documentation or reimbursement?

Update: Met with the detective to receive impound receipt. He's indicated they'll have the truck for a year or more. Hopefully there's a creative solution but I might just not have a truck for a long time.

Update again: Looks like the suspect was apprehended today, so at least there's that. I'll update tomorrow when I find out more I reckon. Thank you all.

Update #3: I've been entirely refused access to my personal items in both the bed and cab of the truck. As I understand, there's nothing of interest in the cab so I'm not sure why I can't get my carseat out.

Answer:
 You might fill out a form with your states' crime victim compensation fund. These programs are usually under-funded, but they may be able to help you. You're technically a victim of at least some kind of property damage crime.

http://www.doj.state.or.us/victims/compensation.shtmlAnswer #2: I lost one of my cars in north Portland (off of MLK) when I was about 20 to this exact situation.  Ended up buying a motorcycle and forgetting about it because I didn't have insurance. It's been 20 years and I still don't know what happened to that car. :/Answer #3: One other thing to consider, OP, is that you may not receive your truck back whole. If they are trying to remove bullets, they will be lodged in some of the more "solid" parts of your car, including the frame, engine, or fire wall. These parts happened to be covered by any number of other things including the body and cabin, which they may tear out in order to get to them. Be prepared, even if you get it back quickly, for it to need extensive repairs or be totaled.Answer #4: Happened to me last year.  The cops had my car for a month.   They even tried to charge me for the towing.

I ended up having to get a rental on my own dime but the rental company gave me a discount on it.  Fwiw.


Title: Apartment was sold to a new owner and they want to do a walk through adjust the price and for me to sign a new lease. Is this normal? -North Carolina

Question: I have 6 months left on my existing lease and the new owners want to trash it and for me to sign a new one with new prices.

Answer: You are under no obligation to sign a new lease.  Your old lease continues with the new owners.


Title: Sister in jail - domestic violence - North Carolina

Question:
So just need some advice. Don't know how to proceed really as Ive  never dealt with this before or any trouble for that matter.

My sister was arrested yesterday morning for domestic violence. Her fiancée was left with the 2 kids. He called the cops. He is verbally abusive but no signs of past physical abuse. She is a stay at home mom. A physical fight broke out after he snatched her phone out of her hands and wouldn't give it back(childish I know).  She scratched him up with shows immediate marks on his arms. So based on the visible marks they arrested her. He just stood there modeling for the cops so they could take pictures of the scratches on his arms. He was also high as a kite, bong laying in the front seat of the truck.

Go to see her at the jail today. She has bruises all over her. He slammed her on the hood of the car etc. has a knot on her head and and bruise on her forehead.

She sees a judge tomorrow morning before release. We just aren't sure how to proceed now or what to do. Any advice on the whole subject or any questions feel free to ask. I'll answer what I can.

He also will not let us see either of the kids and I love them to death. I'm most concerned about my niece and nephew.

Answer:
 You can call CPS if you are concerned for their safety.

You can hire her a lawyer


Title: Dutch telecom company refuses to justify claim dismissal because I cancelled insurance weeks afterwards

Question:
In October 2014 I signed up for a mobile contract with Dutch telecom provider KPN, which would last until April 2017. A few months back I discovered that I had apparently also signed up for mobile phone insurance for this duration. The insurance is not indicated on the monthly invoice; it is instead included in the monthly contract price.

In the store I was informed the insurance would only be for the first year, so when my mobile phone broke down in July of 2016, I did not know I had this insurance. I went to the store and asked the salesman if they could resolve the issue. He pointed to a crack in the screen and told me they would not repair it. The crack did fall under the insurance, but I did not know I had insurance at the time, nor did the salesperson inform me about this.

In January 2017 I discovered I still had this insurance. I sent letters to the company, but received no reaction. In February I figured I could send the old mobile phone in for repairs to get some of my money's worth. I submitted a claim which was automatically denied due to an administration error (they changed the name of the insurance a few months prior). When I sent an e-mail explaining the situation, they told me the claim would be denied as I had already bought a new mobile phone, so the insurance would be for that phone. However, the insurance policy says the insurance only transfers to a new phone bought from them. I ordered my new mobile phone from a different company, therefore the insurance should still be for the old phone.

When I told them this, I did not receive a reply; instead my claim was being escalated as a 'complaint' and I received an e-mail that they would send a confirmation within five days and send me an update within four weeks. I did not receive either. In the meantime I was so dissatisfied with their service that I decided to cancel the insurance per March 1st.

This morning the four weeks had officially passed, still with no reaction. I called the Customer Support and they told me there had been zero progress on my case. They also told me that they had basically no obligation to help me further, as I had cancelled the insurance after the claim. They refused to tell me a) what the justification was or denying the original claim made in February, and b) whether my claim should have been accepted or not. By this time I still had no official reaction on the case.

I've had it with this company and at this point I just want the money back that I paid for a service I did not receive (which amounts to about €200,-). However, I cannot help but wonder whether I actually have a case here, as most of my communications (store visit in July, phone calls this morning) have gone undocumented. Can I do something about this, or is the company justified in refusing me further service because of cancelling the insurance in the meantime?

Answer: Since I don't know much about this subject I would like to mention that "[het juridisch loket](https://www.juridischloket.nl/)" might know more and that you could potentially contact them.


Title: Virginia - Can an employer all the sudden require people it's workers to have home internet.

Question: Virginia - Can an employer all the sudden require people it's workers to have home internet all the sudden? Especially in an area where the internet is not widely available?

Answer: Was this a job that was work from home at the start or a shift due to the pandemic?


Title: (FL) I'm 99% certain a next-door business' employees are smoking inside. Can't get anyone to help.

Question:
I work at a game store that borders a nail salon. The smell of their products (like acetone and other nail products; very strong scents) seeps into our store and is even noticed by many customers who voice their complaints. There are also numerous times during the day when the scent of cigarette smoke comes through as well. I'm allergic to tobacco smoke. Although this isn't the actual smoke, it still causes me discomfort and I think that too much of it could illicit a reaction.

I think our air systems may be connected somehow, which I believe is how their smells can get to our store.

We've tried handling it internally, by talking to our resources manager who talked to the landlord of the strip mall in which the stores reside. We've tried talking to OSHA who says "it's not our department." We've tried talking to the landlord directly. We've even gone over in person and reminded them that smoking inside a building is illegal. Nothing's happened.

Do I have any remaining options?
Would I have to prove undoubtedly that they are in fact smoking inside before anything can be done? If so, how would I go about doing this?

Thank you.

EDIT: I should point out that it doesn't typically affect the business; some customers just consider it an annoyance and make cancer jokes about the acetone. I honestly don't care about that as much I do the tobacco smoke.

Answer: Call the fire marshal. People smoking in an enclosed area with nail polish, remover, and other flammable chemicals will get his attention.


Title: My evil neighbor moves and rebuilds a fence to extend her kingdom. Do both sides of the fence now belong to her?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You sound really salty that this lady has more money than you. You should probably put your sense of entitlement in check.


Title: Ex went to court a week early and petition for contempt for not paying child support was dismissed because he has filed bankruptcy. Tennessee

Question:
Pretty much as the title says. A court date was set by child support services because he doesn't pay child support, the date was next week. Apparently, he showed up this past week, and even though it was not in the docket for that day, the magistrate heard it, despite the other party not being present, and dismissed it because he says he has filed bankruptcy. He has gone so long without paying, child support services was seeking civil contempt against him.
This is all I know about the specifics.
The details are that he enjoys a life of trips to Vegas and Atlanta and Nashville and Hilton Head, and hides somehow so that services cannot find and garnish his wages for child support.
Can a case really be dismissed on a day a week ahead of the set date, with no opportunity for the other party to even be present?
Can you file bankruptcy on child support?

Answer: Child support cannot be dismissed because of bankruptcy. If you are getting the info from your ex, he is lying. If you have an attorney, speak to them. You should also save any text where your ex told you it was dismissed. Call the clerk. Do not miss your court hearing without speaking to someone from the court that you have called. Don't even believe it if you get a letter. Answer #2: How do you know it was dismissed? None of that sounds correct. Answer #3: How were you notified that this happened?


Title: I am a transgender man/FTM and working in a homophobic and transphobic workplace, how do I come out?

Question:
I am 24 and a transgender man (assigned female at birth but have a male gender identity). I work in northern New Jersey doing tech support for a very large school district, and have been employed there for 4 years. I have not yet gotten any hormone treatments or surgeries (I will be starting testosterone treatment in a month) and I still present as a straight female at work. This means wearing a wig to hide my male haircut and women's clothing. As you can imagine, this causes severe emotional problems for me and I am currently seeing a therapist. I take many sick days at work and often come in late because the gender dysphoria I feel from having to present as something I'm not, and my coworkers make homophobic and transphobic comments and jokes.

In addition, I personally know a transgender woman in a higher-up role who was fired from this same school district and has a pending lawsuit, and there was a small scandal when a group of principals and teachers gathered to protest our superintendent on their own time and were suspended without pay. These protestors threatened a class-action lawsuit alleging that their first amendment rights were being violated.

It's not uncommon for my coworkers to make homophobic/transphobic comments (e.g. after a transgender youth made national news after committing suicide, ranting about how being LGBT is a choice and how they wouldn't approve of their kids choosing such a "lifestyle"), but it's getting even worse because earlier this week a couple of people were making jokes about the Orlando shootings. There have been eleven occasions so far where homophobic and transphobic comments were made within earshot of me.

I went to a drop-in legal clinic at a transgender conference last weekend and met with a legal professional who is going to find me some resources in NJ where I live and work, and my therapist gave me the contact information for a lawyer who specializes in trans employment law. (I'm a bit wary of going to lawyers because from my parents' divorce I saw firsthand how much of a time/money suck they can be, but I will do what I have to.)

My therapist also thinks going on disability leave after I've been on testosterone for a few months, sending out a coming-out email, and then returning 3 months later with a more masculinized body could be a possibility, although that would entail being formally diagnosed by a psychiatrist with clinical depression or anxiety. But then the way I see it, there's more legal recourse because I would technically have a disability which would make any form of retaliation, harassment, or firing harder for my workplace to carry out.

Some of my friends think I should go to HR or the EEOC, but my mother was being discriminated against in her workplace (for race and religion), and HR proved ineffective because they just want to protect the company, and the EEOC threw out her case despite the fact that she had the testimony of witnesses and a dozen pages of emails proving that discrimination had occurred. In addition, the people at my HR department are very religious and quite unprofessional in their demeanor. However, we have an ombudsman and she seems friendly and reasonable, so perhaps she could be of assistance.

From what I see, my only real options are to get a lawyer and then go to HR after I start medically transitioning and come out, or just start transitioning without mentioning anything and then see about getting diagnosed with depression/anxiety and start the process of going on disability. Then while out on disability contact HR and come out and hopefully be sufficiently male-appearing on my return to work. Maybe my coworkers would be more willing to use my male name and male pronouns then.

My end goals are to come out as a transgender man and have everyone refer to me with my new name and male pronouns, and to be able to use the single-stall restroom in the health department. I also want the homophobic and transphobic comments to stop. What complicates things are that I work with tons of people at our central office (about 300 people in total work here), including the superintendent and his assistants, and we have over 50 schools and I interact with the technology coordinators of almost all of them in addition to multiple teachers at many of the schools. That's a lot of people to educate about transgender issues (when many of these people don't even have an understanding of what it means to be gay), and then getting everyone to not be a bigot towards me and use my new name and male pronouns.

How do I make this happen?

Answer:
 >  I personally know a transgender woman in a higher-up role who was fired from this same school district and has a pending lawsuit

You need to talk to this person.  The legal solution might not be worth the cost, in many ways.  This person will know more than all of us about what your options are, and they might not be what you want them to be.


Title: (CA) bit by my neighbors dog

Question:
My neighbor’s dog bit me today on the leg enough for it to bleed. She had three dogs, one calm lab, a shitzu off the leash, and I think it was a cocker spaniel that bit my on the left leg. She said “they’re just saying hi” but she’s made this excuse before when it almost attacked my cat and stood in front of my front gate barking while I was trying to go to work. I’m 17 and she and my father both witnessed it. I want to know what I can do about it. Can I have the dog put down? Can I get compensation?
What are my options?

Edit: A picture of the bite http://i.imgur.com/spP4CHp.jpg

Answer:
 1) Go to the doctor, get the bite treated professionally. Dog bites can be serious as they can lead to infection. Take the time to be treated now so it doesn't get worse.

2) Call your local Animal Control and lodge a complaint about your neighbor's dog. They'll open an investigation.

3) Call the neighbor and inform them of the dog bite. Ask for their vet records. Give the vet records to your doctor. Mostly you're looking to be sure the dog had an up to date rabies shot. If it didn't then your doctor is probably going to want to give you the rabies series (I've heard it's better then it used to be!) so that you're protected. Rabies is one of those things that if you start developing symptoms it's too late and you're probably going to die. So making sure the dog was vaccinated (and vaccinating yourself if it wasn't) is very important.

4) Once you have all your medical bills in hand sue your neighbor. Depending on how much the bills amount to you can sue in small claims or regular court. If the amount is lower then the small claims limit you do it there and it's fairly easy. You don't need a lawyer for small claims court. If the amount is very high and goes beyond the small claims limit then you need to sue her in regular court. You'll want a lawyer for that one. Find a personal injury attorney and hire them.

Animal Control will determine what to do about the dog. If this is a first offense the lady will most likely get a warning.


Title: Child testimony in divorce case

Question:
Hello /r/legaladvice, please let me know if this is the wrong place for this post and I'll move it to somewhere appropriate. I'm in California, and my uncle is getting a divorce. As it stands now, a psychologist is about to recommend fifty fifty custody to the court, but my cousin (15 years old) is not comfortable with even custody, but does not want to testify in front of her parents. I couldn't find any information on in-camera testimonies in California, is there anyone who could provide any info on whether or not it's possible, how it would be done and whether or not her parents would ever find out what she said?

Thank you in advance for any help.

Edit: thank you all for the advice. We're going to talk to my uncles attorney tomorrow to see if we can either have my cousin speak directly to the judge, or have her represented by a GAL.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Is anyone answering here actually familiar with child custody proceedings in California or just guessing?

I ask, because as far as I'm aware, in most jurisdictions children who are subjects of a custody dispute don't usually testify in open court.  I mean, I can't even imagine the kind of emotional abuse that might open a child up to-- being "cross-examined" by their parents attorneys if they don't give the "right" answer.

For example, in Ohio the child is interviewed by the trial judge in a closed-door session with only the judge, the child, a court reporter, and the Guardian-ad-litem (if so appointed).  The attorneys are able to review a transcript (Which never leaves the courthouse), and if they have any ethics they would tread lightly on divulging any of its contents to the parents.

Looks like something California is similar.  They recently adopted new guidelines for handling children's wishes in custody matters (Family Code section 3042 and California Rule of Court 5.250).

See here:

http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/can-a-child-testify-in-a-custody-case

Looks like there are multiple options for OP's cousin to make her preference known without having to testify in front of her parents.