Title: Someone is using the court system to harass my family

Question:
For the sake of the post you have to assume my wife and I are innocent and have done no wrong.  I say this because explaining everything is not necessary nor really relevant to my question.  I appreciate your understanding.

My question:  If someone keeps filing small claim court cases against us \(and loses every time except one\) is there something we can do to stop it?  Can we counter sue, send a cease and desist or otherwise give him his own business but with a real lawyer.  We don't even want to win anything.  We just want it to stop.  Even if it means hiring a lawyer just to give him the same treatment, yet at a much larger scale, to incentive him to stop the harassment?

Damages suffered by me and my family:  Extreme stress and emotional trama \(I have never been in a court room before all this, never arrested, I keep my nose clean, work hard and do the right thing\).  Sleepless nights, horrible physical illness brought on by the stress.  Many lies and rumors.

Some background ....  An in\-law for the past 5 years keeps taking us to court to harass and annoy us.  In our county it's only $75 to file a claim that can be upto $10,0000.  Here is some of what's happened \(most confirmed by thrid parties that his motive was to hurt us, knowing the claims were false\)

* Restraining order on my wife \(failed\)
* Restraining order on me \(failed\)
* Claimed money was stolen, tried to get us arrested \(failed\)
* File lawsuit to recover "stolen" money \(failed\)
* File law suit for car damage from 4 year's prior \(partial settlement\)
* Continues to threaten us \(through mutual family members\) of future law suits.

I want to hire a good lawyer just to make it stop.  I do not want to win anything.  We did use lawyers for prepping some of our cases.  However when looked at individually the lawyers usually advise us to just avoid him.  However this keeps happening and is causing us emotional and physical harm.

Answer: You can petition the court to have him declared a vexatious litigator


Title: (Virginia) got pulled over for an expired inspection (two months). Officer mentioned I can "comply with the law", not sure exactly what that means.

Question: Basically passed an officer who noticed my inspection inspired about two months ago. He said that if I take care of the inspection before the court date and call a number I will be "complying with the law". What does that mean? Will I still have to pay the fine and go to court?

Answer:
 I don't know the specifics for your state, but many places issue "fix-it tickets" where if you bring your vehicle into compliance and show that, the charges will be dropped.

So get the inspection, have that paperwork in hand, and figure out how to get the ticket cancelled.


Title: (California)Neighbors keep blasting train horns, do I have any recourse?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Film them, call the non-emergency line for your police department, and repeat until they stop.


Title: In California, is it legal to charge renters first and last month rent in addition to a security deposit at the time of move in?

Answer:
 Yes, but with a caveat. Under CA law, the "last month's rent" is considered part of the security deposit and must be treated as part of the security deposit by the landlord. The total security deposit (including last month's rent if applicable) cannot be more than 2 months rent if the unit is *unfurnished* and you do not have a waterbed. (However, some cities might be more restrictive; look you laws for your city.)

So if the rent is $1000 you can be charged $3000 to move in. For furnished, $4000. An application fee is separate, but any other fee is considered part of the security deposit.

[More](http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/when-rent.shtml)


Title: Is this gender discrimination in the workplace?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 Unless you have scientific proof that no woman anywhere could hold the plates in the way they want, you are a very long way from establishing gender discrimination.

You've been there 3 weeks.  You have nothing invested in terms of time or career.  Start looking for a new job and file for unemployment in the meantime if you are fired.Answer #2: There is no difference between male and female hands. You can't carry two plates and are therefore, underperforming. That is not illegal discrimination.


Title: Misdemeanor: Got a job - can’t get a house

Question:
As the title states, I landed a job in my home state of Ohio where a little over a year ago I received a misdemeanor that I plead down from a DV charge. I’ve since completed all the court requirements except for probation (have about 1.5 years left). It was a one time occurrence with no priors and it will never happen again.
Problem now is - I’m getting denied for housing and I start the job in just a couple weeks. I’ve spent a couple hundred dollars in application fees only to be denied/not hear anything. I’m pretty concerned at this point and wondering how I passed a stringent background check (military contractor) but can’t rent a house?

Answer:
 Lower your standards. Instead of corporation owned and managed apartment complexes, look for independent landlords renting out one or two houses for side income.

Look at places in less desirable areas of town. The restrictions are fewer and less strictly enforced when there's not as pristine an image to be maintained.


Title: [California] retail head injury

Question:
Hi there everyone,

I work as an entry level keyholder at a retail shop. While working today I slipped on some paper towel debris scattered on the ground and smashed the back of my head into the wall.

I immediately walked out and went to the store manager and told him "I just slipped in the bathroom and bashed the back of my head into the wall." His response was to blame the traction on my shoes, and kind of ignore me. I started to get visibly distressed, so he asked "Are you going to be okay?" I told him I wasn't sure, and that I wanted to sit down in the back for a few.

At this point, everything is very hazy. I went back out onto the sales floor about 15 minutes later, very disoriented. After a few minutes I made my way into the back to get water, and my Manager starts asking me to print out some form for him. I managed to mumble out some words like "Okay, I'll try and do that." and started to go back to the sales floor. He follows that with "Just go home. Go in the office, print my form, then go home." (At least that's what I remember him telling me)

This somehow led to a small argument of me trying to leave. He got me to log into my account to get him the form before I left. He continued to berate me in the office. I don't remember exactly what he was saying, but I know I started to cry before heading to my car.

My manager let me leave, get in my car, and drive away. All of which I don't remember. I ended up driving to my best friend's house who agreed to hang out with me if I was insistent on not going to a doctor. (Not sure why I kept refusing to go. I remember being paranoid about what they'd do to me or something)

I'm now attempting to get the phone number for our company's off-site medical recommendation office, who you call during an accident, so they can tell you what you need to do, and send you to one of their doctor's if there's an issue. I have Kaiser, who isn't open on weekends outside of the emergency room, but don't have the savings to pay the ER visit. (Don't even have the money to front, and get my company to reimburse)

So I'm unsure where to go from here. I am no longer comfortable working with my manager. He has treated me very poorly in the past, and him letting me get in my car and leave in that state, putting my life at risk, putting other people's lives at risk. All I can do is see red when I think about him now.

I plan on reaching out to our HR department on Monday morning, but I don't know what they'll do for me honestly.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I hope this is all coherent and makes sense. Let me know if there's any other details that I could give that might help, or if something doesn't make sense that I might be able to clarify.

Answer:
 I am sorry that happened to you. I hope that you can get medical help if you need it. I would not necessarily recommend this, but no public ER can turn you away based on inability to pay if you feel as if you truly need emergency attention. (EDIT: It's been years since I had a Kaiser policy but they used to have a nurse line that you could call to see if they thought you needed to go to the ER. It looks as if they still do: https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/youngadulthealth/get_care/gethelpbyphone.jsp.)

Your manager is a retail manager, not a doctor. He is not qualified to determine if you are safe to drive.


Title: Can my employer force me to serve unsainitary food?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Sure, you can tell your boss whatever you want. Doesn't mean she has to listen, though. And no, she can't *force* you to do anything; but she can fire you if you refuse.

If you're really concerned, you can report it to the health department for your state. That grants you some whistleblower protections, but keep in mind that in general, if they really want to, they will just find another reason to terminate you because you're at-will.


Title: Are there any legal reasons that would have prevented Joel Olsteen from opening his church?

Question: Just curious. (Texas)

Answer:
 Olsteen's church, the former Compaq Center, evidently has a history of flooding.  Bringing in a bunch of people, knowing that you stand a good chance of flooding, is a great way to create human misery.  And, that always invites legal action.

(I'm not an Olsteen fan, but see the following Slate article:
 http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/08/29/why_the_outrage_about_joel_osteen_s_houston_megachurch_might_be_overblown.html   )


Title: Caught smoking weed with no license (Alabama)

Question: Start off by saying I am a minor in my state. Yesterday I was hotboxing my vehicle with 3 other friends. We were in private property in some field to decrease the chance of us getting caught. Long story short, as we are hotboxing with blunts, a cop car pulls up and sees us. We do not have weed since we put it in the blunts but I have my scale, rolling papers, cigarillos, cigarette roller and cigarettes in my car. I told my 3 friends to take everything and run so they take everything illegal and make it away running into nearby trees. There's nothing I can do but sit and take the shit I'm gonna get and hopefully not much since my friends took everything illegal. This is where I truly fucked up, I lost my wallet over spring beak and I was caught without a license. The cop arrested me for operating a car without a license and possible possession of marijuana by consumption. They said I will get a court order some day and I want to know the charges I am looking at.

Answer:
 > I was hotboxing my vehicle with 3 other friends. We were in private property in some field to decrease the chance of us getting caught.

This is why I love stoner logic.

You do realize now, right, that sitting in a car in the middle of a field is not exactly inconspicuous?


Title: Legality of a relationship in Illinios

Question:
Person A is around 15, Person B is 17, going on 18. They're worried about the legality of their relationship once Person B becomes a legal adult.
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer:
 There are no laws against being in a relationship with someone.

Any sexual contact (or naughty pictures/videos) will be a big problem, however.


Title: Car being hit with paintball crossfire from neighbors

Question:
As the title states - my car has been hit for the second time after speaking with my neighbors reckless paintball shooting. I'm finding paintballs in my yard and all in the street.

I spoke with them yesterday after the first incident and told them my concerns about damaging my car. They said it wouldn't happen again. This morning I found a second paintball splatter on my vehicle.

What should I do?

Answer:
 Call the police and report the vandalism.
If they don't pay for the repair then sue them in small claims court.Answer #2: You tried to be nice. Call the police and file a police report. Paintball shouldn't be played in the street.


Title: Assisted suicide California?

Question: My Mom just got diagnosed with cancer and the Dr said she has 3 months left if she refuses treatment and she is refusing treatment. Does anyone have any experience with legal assisted suicide in California? I've looked it up online but I was just wondering if anyone could give a little guidance on how easy it is to get approved and how the entire procedure works, really any advice on what to expect would be really appreciated.

Answer:
 I'm sorry to hear about your mom. Something to understand is that it's remarkably difficult to accurately predict how much time a patient has left. I'd encourage her to get a second opinion to discuss diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options.

While I'm conflicted (as a physician and person) about how I feel about physician-assisted suicide, this link appears to be a good resource to help guide your mother through the California law and the process:

http://californiadeathwithdignity.org/end-of-life-option-act/


Title: Is it illegal to throw away other people's mail?

Question: I know it's Illegal to open others mail but if I get mail addressed to the previous tenant of my apartment is it legal for me to just trash it?

Answer:
 If it says first class or electronic service requested write “COA” if it is mail that says presorted standard or any abbreviated lettering on the top right write “UTF” and leave in mailbox so the mailman can pick it up. You can also call the post office to curtail anyone else’s mail from being delivered other than your name at your address.

Source: I am a mailman, and I deal with this everyday.

Also, if that mail comes back to your address with a yellow sticker saying unable to forward, bottom right, your mailman isn’t doing his job.

Edit: Also please don’t write in big letters “does not live here” or “return to sender” its kind of annoying.


Title: Mom signed a lease under my name without my knowledge

Question:
My mom leased a car under my name without my knowledge. However, she did it as a "surprise" for me, since I do not have a car (don't ask why she thought this was a good decision). I do not want the car lease. I do not want to report it to the police because I don't want any trouble for my mom here, even though she is completely in the wrong. I cannot do a lease transfer as its against the contract and returning it would require I pay remaining payments and fees. What are my other options? If I talk to a lawyer could they have the dealership unwind the contract without getting my mom reported? Thanks.

Location: CA, united states

Answer:
 How exactly did your mother do this? Signing a lease normally requires showing up in person, showing a driver's license, etc.

Typically in cases of identity theft you can't hold the vendor overly responsible if they were acting in good faith. But if they did this _knowingly_, then it's a different story. And I have a hard time believing they could have been hoodwinked unless this was a very unusual deal.


Title: [CA] Moved from NY to CA. Involuntarily terminated from job. Looking for advice.

Question:
Hi Reddit - I'd like some advice about my situation.

Here's the quick details:

- I'm an at-will employee for a large Fortune 500 Company in sales. I was hired and employed in NYC but due to life, I have decided to move to California and requested if I can continue my job remote in CA. I put in this request verbally a month and a half before my move date.

- Some background on my company - there are a handful of employees who work remote. It is a desk/sales job so as long as you have internet connection, you can continue your job. The area I am in in California also has direct access to client sites that were normally not reachable so there were pros in this move that I highlighted. In my team of 3, there was one other person in my position who is working remote now due to personal reasons in an area that is not easily accessible to any clients (3+ hours away from a major city).

- I made the move out West and my manager told me to continue what I am doing until we hear about final approval. Three weeks into the move, I pointed out my state taxes were being affected by this delay. I finally was able to get all my internal paperwork updated to reflect that I am employed in California from my manager and department head. I took this update as approval.

- One month and a half after I move, I receive a phone call that my move was officially not approved (despite the paperwork being updated) and that my end date will be 12/1. Reasons for the non-approval is that it will be incredibly difficult for me to continue this position out west and that they would prefer to have the entire team whole in the East Coast. I was told that my performance was not in question and that my work has been great so far with positive reviews.

- After I reeled in from shocked, I noticed severance was not discussed at all and I have requested it from my bosses and separately from HR. It has been a week and I still do not have an answer on this.

My questions here are:
- Is all of this legal? I understand as an at-will employee that there can be numerous reasons to terminate someone.
- I understand severance is discretionary but should I do anything else to ensure that I get this?
- Are there any items I should be aware of now as an employee of California?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Answer:
 I am reading that you moved before your request to work completely remotely was formally approved? You are an at-will employee so you can be fired for no reason or a number of reasons that feel unfair, but this seems legitimate by pretty much any standard. You are not legally entitled to severance (barring any agreements to the contrary) so I would tread lightly here.Answer #2: You misunderstand. At-will employment means you can be fired at any time for any reason, including no reason whatsoever. Firing you for not being in the office they assigned is as good a reason as any.

Severance is not legally required and will most likely be dictated by your company policies. Look into the HR policies to see what you might be able to get.

This is all legal. You are not entitled to a job, especially one where you moved to the other side of the country without approval.


Title: A friend of mine claimed that men can sign a document which lifts off every responsibility that you can have toward a child (meaning you won't be forced to take care of a child that your GF/wife wants to keep) as long as it is signed before the baby is born.

Question:
I wanted to know if this is true because I couldn't find anything online about such a law.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 The issue is the child (when born) will have rights  (such as the right to financial support) which a parent can’t sign away.

If there was such a thing you could do, everyone would know about it because it will be done every day and there would be guides from Mens help groups on how to do it.Answer #2: You are never forced to have anything to do with the child, but you can be forced to pay child support and no document you sign will change thatAnswer #3: It's not true, nor would it make much sense. The responsibility is of both parents to the child, not one parent to the other parent.

The two exceptions throughout the first world are via artificial insemination conducted by an above-board fertility clinic, or via the child's legal adoption. Neither is at all unilateral, especially on a noncustodial parent's part.


Title: Is there any country that I can get asylum in to escape a forced marriage? Pakistani passport. 19f.

Question: Location: Pakistan

Answer: I work for amnesty international. We operate in a lot of countries but make sure the one you choose has an amnesty office, and make them aware of your situation, maybe even contact the branch in Pakistan and see what they say. I would say you're welcome over here (UK) but my country has unfortunately been getting more and more racist recently and although it's not impossible for you to come here, you will experience some bad treatment from some people. Just got to stay strong and the good will come, if you make it over to London, PM me, I'll welcome you to the city and show you what you need to know :) Answer #2: It's hard to say, Because alot of countries allow asylum based on escaping a forced marriage, However each application is done on a case by case basis, You'd be better going to countries embassys and seeing your options from there.Answer #3: Check out r/IWantOut. They talk a lot about strategies to leave your country.Answer #4: Canada. Answer #5: Gather all your documents and get as much money as you can. Apply for visas and see which country lets you in. Start with Canada, UK, Sweden, USA, Germany....


Title: Can I sue my police department for failing to comply with state law?

Question:
There is a state law that requires that training and education materials that would otherwise be available through FOIA be posted on the dept’s website in a easily visible area. It is well after the bill has been passed now, and the department still hasn’t complied. Can I sue over this since the bill technically gives me the right to access this info via their website, or would I need to contact someone who enforces the state law on the PD.

Thanks a lot. It is important that this info is easily available to the city

Answer:
 > It is well after the bill has been passed now

Laws typically have a date they go into effect, which is why you see so many new laws on January 1. (Though it doesn't have to be January 1.) When does the law say it will go into effect?


Title: Am I responsible for the water bill?

Question:
I live in a rented house in Southern California. It's actually a back house and I have alley access. I have never dealt with the landlord, only with the property managers which are very good. Recently they have replaced my slat wood fence with a cinder block one. So recent in fact, that the contractors tools are still behind the wall. There is a small space between the wall and my house which is gated off from the rest of my yard sort of like a dog run where the contractor has been keeping all his tools. Now that you have the backstory here is the issue. I woke up this morning to a neighbor telling me I was leaking water from inside my fence. It's apparent that someone from the alley side had hopped the fence and turned on the hose inside the fence with their foot while climbing over - the hose spigot is high up right next to top of the cinder block - to steal some of the contractors tools which were still inside the fence. There is no other way for someone to get there, I would have to open a combination pad lock just to get to that part of the yard to turn on that hose. The water was on all night; I followed it all the way down to the main street. There was A LOT of water and it had clearly been going for hours. It probably could have filled a small pool.

Now to my question. Am I responsible for the inflated water bill? Remember I'm in southern California which has strict usage on water right now because of the drought. The utilities are not in my name and it wasn't my tools stored back there that someone tried to steal. On top of that the utilities are shared so the other tenants in the front house have to pay for this too. At the very least I should think I deserve a credit on my water bill. I haven't spoken to my property manager yet as it's still early but they are very good and always do things on the up and up.

I've come home at times and found what I thought to be evidence of someone in my yard. I've told the property manager and they sort of shrugged it off. I had requested previously that something get put up to keep people out but it's not in writing.

Sorry for the long read, any advice is appreciated

Here is a pic of the spigot that was turned on. As you can see it's very close to the top of the wall. http://i.imgur.com/Gt6sl3g.jpg

Answer:
 You can call the water company and your landlord to ask nicely but in the end the person responsible for it is whoever is named on the water bill, and any contractual agreements between that person and tenants of the house are their task to enforce, and in turn they may seek damages from whoever turned it on while stealing the tools.

That all being said, a short hose attached to a spigot like that with 40 PSI at the spigot will flow about 20 gpm absolute maximum even if somehow it was turned completely open all the way, which seems unlikely if it was done by accidental contact. So probably you are dealing with a couple thousand gallons of water at most and depending upon your water rate that's a few dollars on your bill.


Title: What happens if a judge is compromised, doesn't disclose, and proceeds to decide the case

Question:
Watching your honor this week which got me thinking.

What would actually happen in the following scenario:

A judge is presiding over a case (criminal) and a third party to the case threatens the judge's life of he does not find the defendant not guilty (not at the request of the defendant and without their knowledge). Then the judge finds the defendant not guilty. Then after the fact the judge came clean about the incident.

Given that the person who threatened the judge was a third party, would double jeopardy apply?
Or can the case be ruled a mistrial after the fact?

Answer:
 In *Aleman v Circuit Court*, 138 F.3d 302 (7th Cir. 1998), we learn about the case of Henry Aleman, who successfully bribed a Cook County Circuit Judge to acquit him of a murder charge in a 1977 bench trial.

He was retried in 1993 after the bribery was discovered, and moved to dismiss on grounds of double jeopardy.

The trial court denied his motion. On appeal, the Seventh Circuit said:

> the Double Jeopardy Clause may well be absolute when it applies . . . but determining if it applies is the real issue in this case. . . by bribing Judge Wilson, Aleman created a situation in which he was never in jeopardy at his first trial. The first trial, therefore, was a sham and the acquittal there rendered has no effect for double jeopardy purposes.

It seems to me the same principles would apply to the OP’s hypo: the “jeopardy,” in the first trial was illusory.


Title: Mental health disclosure

Question:
I told my previous employer (ceo) about my anxiety and depression so that he would be able to better work with me. He told me not to mention it to others in the office because they may not be as open.

I ended up having to quit because the environment was contributing to my suicidal thoughts.

After leaving, I've been told that he's calling me a bipolar bitch. I'm not even diagnosed bipolar.

Is there anything I can do about this?

Answer: You could get an attorney to write a letter and threaten a lawsuit and bring a bunch of drama into your life. Or you could just move on and ignore it.Answer #2: It's an opinion. He's allowed to have one.


Title: In Alberta Canada is it legal to eat your placenta?

Question:
My sister is 8 months pregnant and wants to bring her placenta home and eat it with her husband....

Is this legal? I feel like this may not be legal... maybe I feel like it’s just gross? I feel like it’s kinda cannibalism....

Is this illegal or just disgusting?

Answer: There is nothing legally that you can do to stop her. As a family member you can discuss the potential risks, but that’s it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like she cares how gross you believe it is. Answer #2: It’s legal, some hospitals may regulate it more than others though. It depends on the facility. It has no nutritional benefits and is virtually useless, however, so I’d let your sister know that before she decides to potentially steal it if the hospital has strict regulations against it. Answer #3: Eating placentas isnt that uncommen (maybe it is in canada) but there are no laws forbidding this, just dont eat it with them


Title: MS - State Trooper refused to even look at or acknowledge digital proof of insurance - ticketed

Question:
First time ever poster, so here we go.

Yesterday, while on the way to work, I was pulled over by a MS State Highway Patrol officer.  I was informed that I was being pulled over due to a "dingy license plate cover" on my car.  I stated to the officer "I was not aware that having a license plate cover was illegal sir.  The license plate was on the car when I purchased it 4 years ago and I've never had an issue with it.  I can easily remove the cover now if you wish."  His response was that since I wanted to "argue" over the issue he was going to issue me a repair order and I would be forced to go to the justice court and prove I had removed it.  He also stated the metal frame is illegal and cannot be on the car since it covers the edge of the license plate.  I have pictures, but won't show them here since they contain my license plate number.  Suffice it to say, the cover does not obstruct any part of any information on the license plate and you can read it from 50 feet away easily.

He then requested my license and proof of insurance, which I provided from my wallet.  He handed back the insurance card and said it had expired on 3/10.  That jogged my memory and I told him that Allstate stopped sending out insurance cards (I assume as a cost-saving measure) and that I have a current on my my Allstate Phone App.  I started to bring it up on the phone and he just walked away to the car.

He returned with two tickets - one for the license plate cover and one for no proof of insurance.  When I attempted to show him my digital proof of insurance, but all I got was that "look" some officers like to give.

My question - is digital proof of insurance acceptable from a legal standpoint?  The proof of insurance is something that is required by law, but the documents are provided by a non-government agency so if they stop providing physical copies and move to digital copies, can law enforcement refuse to accept that?  I do understand that I can print these out online.  Like most people, you get your cards in the mail, it goes in your wallet and you forget about it until a new one comes in the mail, which at that time you swap them out.  Allstate stopped sending them so I never took out the old one.

Thanks

Answer: http://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/states-smartphone-proof-of-insurance.aspx    a quick Google search shoes wht states allow digital proof of insurance.  It looks as if your state allows this.  As for the other summons issued to you I know nothing about the statutes in your jurisdiction


Title: When I go back to work, I will be expected to commit tax fraud.

Question:
Hi, I'm a horse and I'm in a bit of a bind at work.

I'm a "salesman" at work by title, but really I got delegated to take care of the sales legwork. I fill in orders, make sure they ship, fill out the required tax forms including a shipping label and commercial invoice, and do the same for when someone needs a part to repair our products or for whatever reason.

Until I left for corona leave, there was a woman who oversaw the whole process. Really I was easing her job, so she just knew how everything was done at my company. She always wanted me to give false values on the commercial invoices and other forms "for tax reasons" which I'm pretty sure is a sly way of saying "so we can commit tax fraud." These are often $100,000-200,000 products we list as $200, or at the very least $5,000 listed for $5. The second happens every day, the first more like monthly. I did this because it was a part of my job, but I made sure to let them know I'm uncomfortable with this and the only reason I'm doing it is because my overseer was always the one to put her signature on it, leaving me blameless (?). (Note: I think I'm on one or two of the earlier ones, before I realized that something sketchy is happening.) Well of course while I was gone they shat on her and she left. Now I'm going to be expected to do the same, but I don't want to break any laws for a sketchy company I don't even like.

What are my options past contacting a lawyer?

Would I be held legally responsible for what I've done so far?

Should I be turning these people in?

I've seen the IRS gives a reward for people who help with significant cases of tax fraud, is this something I can claim a reward on? Would I be incriminated to the point I could not get a reward? Am I looking at jail time?

Answer:
 >Hi, I'm a horse

What?

>I've seen the IRS gives a reward for people who help with significant cases of tax fraud, is this something I can claim a reward on?

As these items are being exported, this is less an IRS issue and more fraud on the other end to avoid tariffs. So, the IRS is unlikely to care (and China is unlikely to pay you anything).


Title: Victim of Fraud - Bank has rejected my claim and may not credit me back the money. [Los Angeles, California]

Question:
Hi Folks - about a week ago I had a email, text and phone call from Bank of America indicating some suspicious withdrawals from my bank account via ATM.  I immediately called the bank to dispute the charges.  They ended up closing my debit card and issued a credit for the amounts taken out while they investigate the issue.

Today, I was informed that they have denied my claim because their ATM surveillance has a person that fits my description withdrawing the money.  Now they will be reversing the credit and I may be out a good chunk of money.  I have an appointment with a bank representative next week to review the footage to continue to dispute this.  Before I head into the bank, I was hoping for any advice to help further my case.

Other info:

* There was a total of five withdraws late one night, and early the next morning around 8AM PST.  This all happened while I was sleeping or heading to work.

* I only have one ATM Card and I do not have my PIN number written down anywhere.

* The bank and city where they money was taken out is about 20 miles NW from where I actually live.  I have never been to that city before.

I really don't know how all of this happened.  I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck, and this will ruin me if I don't get credited back.

Answer: IANAL but got screwed by Bank of America is a fraud case a few years ago.  They are notorious for this in order to get out of losing money.  My issue was with a credit card.  Six hundred plus dollars put on the card from game stop and they said it matched my spending history or something ridiculous like that.  I am a fifty year old woman and have never been to a games stop in my life.  When I asked them to review the at the store video, they refused to do so.  I just paid them and closed all accounts.  I really wish you better luck than I had.   Here's pages and pages of reviews about them.  Break up the damn big banks.  We're all getting screwed.  http://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/bofa.htmlAnswer #2: Not exactly legal advice, but your phone might have a record of your (well, its) location; that might help you prove your story.


Title: Dad just got fired.

Question:
My dad was hired through a temp like service for this company. He is an operator. This week was sort of a trial period to make sure he could do the work. All week the crew he worked with loved him. Said he is a great operator and is safe around them and does an excellent job. His boss though said he’s too slow. He kept telling him to move faster even though it is unsafe to the crew. He said they can move out of the way you need to move faster.

My question is is there anything we can do about this?  Like say unlawful firing or something like that.

Answer: Nothing about that sounds unlawful as you describe it.


Title: Prenups can get thrown out for being "unfair?" (Florida)

Question:
To clarify, I'm not married or even dating anyone, but I am interested in how to prevent myself from getting financially ruined in the event of a divorce. My concern was prompted by a quote from this [article](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stann-givens/when-a-prenup-gets-thrown_b_5542093.html):

"A divorce judge will first look at whether the prenuptial agreement is unfair as compared to what the court would do without the agreement. For example, has one of the spouses given up property or alimony rights that would have been available during a divorce without the existence of a prenuptial agreement? If there is a significant difference in what the court would do with and without the existence of the agreement, then the court can determine that the agreement is unfair."

An [article](http://www.forbes.com/sites/jefflanders/2013/04/02/five-reasons-your-prenup-might-be-invalid/) in Forbes also said that a prenuptial agreement can be thrown out because it's "lopsided."

From my perspective as a man, the only point of a damned prenuptial agreement is that there is SUPPOSED to be a "significant difference in what the court would do with and without the existence of the agreement." If there wasn't going to be a significant difference, why would I even bother making the agreement?

If I was going to get married I'd like to have alimony out of the question and clearly limit the amount of child support I'd be liable for. But apparently asking my potential wife to agree not to come after me for alimony is unfair? Although I would like to have children, due to the way divorce courts treat men, I don't think I ever will be married.

Also, "common law marriage in Florida no longer exists as an option for cohabiting couples," does that mean I can't get sued for alimony if I broke up with my girlfriend of 10 years? Obviously I'd be on the hook for child support if we had any kids.

I refuse to put myself in a position where I am liable to pay a woman I despise a bunch of money. How do I avoid this? Please don't tell me "marry the right girl" or whatever, I want to avoid a worst case scenario.

Answer:
 It seems most unlikely any state would allow you to alter child support in a prenub as the child is not a party to the contract and child support payments are also relevant for third parties, such as states providing support to single mothers.Answer #2: A court won't uphold an unconscionable prenup.  Prior to (in California anyway) the divorce of Barry Bonds, unconscionability *at drafting* was the standard.   That is to say as long as the terms were fair and equitable at the time it was signed, it will be considered "fair" even if one party would be left near-broke and the other would be a multimillionaire.

After Bonds' wife got next to nothing in their divorce, CA changed its standard to unconscionability at separation.  So if one person has a net worth of a box of saltines and a jar of peanut butter, and the other's net worth is seven or eight figures, the court can set aside the prenup.

So in FL and CA, you can't avoid the worst case scenario. BUT it will only matter if you're rich and she would be left with very little in comparison.

Or if you're super-poor and she became super-rich.  I mean, come on.  Look at the potential upside -- pick a go-getter, and ride it out!


Title: [TX] Neighbor's dead tree fell into yard, damaging property

Question:
[Photo](http://i.imgur.com/ga4u643.jpg)

Our neighbor's tree fell into our yard, damaging two fence lines and the roof of our shed. Their insurance claims this is a peril and will not cover the damage. We filed a claim with our insurance, have had an adjuster out to assess the damage, and we're waiting to hear back from them with more information. Our deductible is 1% of the house value, which brings it to over $2k, so we're thinking we will get little, if any, money from them.

From what little research I did, it seems that if this were the result of a storm or some other "act of god", then it would be our responsibility to take care of the damages and tree removal via our insurance. This tree, however, is dead. It fell on a morning where there was no rain or wind. The neighbor had an arborist out today to look at it and the other two trees it was in a grouping with, and they have root rot. It seems that, because this is a result of neglect to remove the dead / diseased tree, the responsibility should fall to our neighbor. I may be 100% wrong here, though.

We were going to forego insurance completely and just split the cost of the tree removal and get some friends to help us fix the fence and shed, but now the neighbor is refusing to help us with the cost of the removal, putting it 100% on us. Neighbor says they need to pay for the removal of the other two trees which still pose danger, and the additional cost of helping us with the already fallen tree is too great.

What are my options here for forcing our neighbor to either take care of the damage, or reimburse me for the costs? I obviously don't want to end up spending more in legal fees than the cost of removing the tree (~$600) and fixing the fences ($???). Also, time is a factor. We're currently building a new house and have to put the current house on the market in about 2 weeks. Slightly unrelated, we're also expecting a baby, so there's just a lot of additional costs hitting our budget right now.

Any helpful feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Take pictures of the tree, it's roots, the other trees and the root ball if possible. I don't know if you can get a copy of their arborist's report at this stage (without a subpoena) but it doesn't hurt to ask. This may help you case/claim if it comes to that.Answer #2: I'm not a lawyer. This happened to me last year only it was our tree that fell, taking out both fences and our neighbor's laundry room roof and backyard shed.

We were responsible for everything that fell within our property line. The neighbor was responsible for any part of the tree and damages that happened within his own property. We both had to claim it on our homeowner's insurance separately. The tree was cut right on the fence line and we each repaired our own fences and dealt with the tree carcass.

The tree fell because it was rotten on the inside, but it still appeared healthy. From what I understand, at least, as it was explained to us... unless the neighbor could prove negligence on our part, such as we knew the tree was rotten and refused to take care of it even after being notified by our neighbor that it was a liability, we couldn't be held responsible for it falling and destroying everything.

We felt awful for the damage they incurred but what can you do? This is why homeowner's insurance exists.


Title: (Florida) Roommate was forced to reveal incriminating evidence, then forced to get rid of it, and threatened with legal action.

Question:
In college, this happened yesterday on a game day. Roommate 1 had company stay for the game, some of their guests included their parents and their parents' friend (F).
Roommate 2 smokes weed, and they smoked in their own room that night with their couple friends. Obviously it made the apartment smell a little like weed.
What roommate 2 didn't know was that F is a DA. In the morning, F confronted roommate 2 and repeatedly yelled at him after flashing their badge to show her where the weed was. (She was swearing, Etc.) F forced roommate 2 into their room, and wouldn't leave until roommate 2 showed F the gram that they had. F then made Roommate 2 flush it down the toilet, and then threatened that they would take legal action and do everything possible to get Roommate 2 kicked out of school as F believed that Roommate 2 was putting roommate 1 in danger by having weed.
Also to be noted. F tailgated and drank with us, knowing that we are all (19-20).

Should Roommate 2 be worried? Can F really do anything especially considering that there's evidence of them participating in something illegal?

Answer:
 Your friend is fine. New rule for your dorm room though: members of law enforcement only get through the front door with a warrant.

A good guest doesn't threaten to arrest their host for a victimless crime.Answer #2: If everything you said is true, then no, you shouldn't be worried. F has more to lose than your friends do. Answer #3: What "evidence" is there of F doing something illegal?


Title: [Nebraska] Is anyone here familiar with family/child support laws in Nebraska?

Question: I have full custody of my son and was awarded child support, but do not receive it. There's more that can be said, but I would like to talk to someone personally about the matter (preferably via phone after 5 pm.)

Answer: Then you need to contact your local bar association. No one here will have a private conversation. You need to talk to a local attorney.


Title: My Leasor (Oklahoma) has refused to fix my AC and is now ignoring all my calls.

Question: Since we moved in, my roommate and I have been having trouble with our AC. The outside unit's pipes freeze over everytime we have tried to thaw it out and most of the time the house is at 80 degrees with the AC still running. I called our leasor initially about it and she told me that if the house were any colder that she would freeze, saying that we had too high of expectations for how cold we wanted the house. I then told her that the pipes were frozen and she told me to just thaw it out. She then hung up on me and has ignored every call from my roommate and I since then. What can I do?

Answer:
 Not legal advice, but check the AC units filters. They might be clogged up, causing trouble.

Filters are only a few bucks, can replace them yourself to avoid the inconvenience.


Title: My SO's ex-friend using her name for a porn stage name

Question: My SO had a falling out with a friend, what appears to be in spite of my SO decided to use her first name, spelled the same way, as her porn name. The ex friend is making money off this and is under an agency. We have messages from acquaintances claiming that the name was chosen to spite my SO. Can we pursue any legal action?

Answer: Your SO doesn't have any legal right to be the only person who has that name so no. Answer #2: This is one of those situations where the Streisand effect may be worth considering. Answer #3: Is your SO a pornstar who has been using her first name as her porn stage name before her ex-friend started doing it? If not, then any legal action is probably not going anywhere.


Title: (Ohio) Woman sent me video of her setting my priceless painting (family heirloom) on fire because I called CPS on her

Question:
My boyfriend’s sister in law abuses and over medicated her autistic child so I called Child Protective services on her months ago. I was living up there near his family and long story short, when I drove home for the holidays (was just supposed to be a short trip but all hell broke loose and my boyfriend quickly packed everything we owned and followed me down a few days later) He forgot this one painting that has been in the family for over 100 years and my grandfather gave it to me before he died 14 years ago. She and her husband sent me this video saying “this is for calling CPS, bitch.” They’re both clearly seen in the video and called it a priceless painting.

Do I have any ground to sue or press charges? I wanted to see if anyone here might have advice before I go and shell out my savings for a lawyer. This was literally my most prized possession and my heart is in so many pieces because my grandfather gave it to me so long ago. I would give everything I own just to get it back.

Answer:
 Ohio cop here.
I would look into 2909.06 (Criminal Damaging)
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2909.06
It is only a M2 but it gives you grounds in a civil case also.
Edit: it is a M2, M1 would be if it's affected a person physically.Answer #2: I smell a third degree felony for witness intimidation, at the very least.

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2921.04

Answer #3: Honestly send this to CPS as well if their child is still having to live at home.Answer #4: Where I live this is considered “retaliation” and is a crime. Generally you will have to get an appraisal of what the painting was worth, under 2500 is a misdemeanor, over that amount is a felony. Answer #5: Should probably send that video to CPSAnswer #6: You could definitly press charges, stolen property, destruction of property go all out dig it all up now u got the chance with stuff thatll surely be won. You can also most likely get a huge sum of money for damages and costs (i know its family related so money is not in intrest but dont let this slide)Answer #7: Destruction of private property at a minimum, maybe arson but probably not. It sounds like they clearly knew it belonged to you and ment alot to you, if you could put a value on it you could absolutely sue them, probably for some emotional trauma too.


Title: How do i reach a buy-out with my ex-girlfriend for the house we co-own?

Question:
Bought a house 2 yrs ago for 340K w my then girlfriend. Fast-forward to this summer when she has an affair with married mutual friend and we amicably separate :). We still owe 295K on the house, and the bank isn't crazy about taking one of our names off the mortgage, but if i sell to her, even through a contract just among ourselves, will my name remaining on the mortgage keep me from getting a mortgage for myself down the line?

and, as a bonus question, how much does one bid in this process? just 1/2 the equity we have in the house? or add in sweat equity/portion of interest we've already paid?

Answer:
 >if i sell to her, even through a contract just among ourselves, will my name remaining on the mortgage keep me from getting a mortgage for myself down the line

Yes.

Your name will only be off of the mortgage (And thus stop affecting your debt-to-income ratio) if she refinances in her name and her name alone, or if you both sell it to someone else. Essentially, a new mortgage has to be created - whether in her name alone, or in someone else's name when they buy the house.

This, among other reasons, is why it's such common advice in this subreddit to not buy a house with a SO who is not your spouse. Having the legal benefit of divorce proceedings helps hammer out exactly these types of issues.Answer #2: You want to get a new mortgage with only the sole owner's name on it -- you don't want to have your credit and your ex's credit intertwined.  If you (or your ex) can't get that loan, then you (or your ex) can't afford the house, and you should just sell it outright and split the proceeds.

Whats fair?  Where did the money for the downpayment come from?  Who paid the mortgage payments?  If you split everything equally along the way, then "fair" would be each getting half the equity.

But, what's "fair" and what actually happens aren't actually the right thing -- one of you may need to give a little more to get the other of you to agree to give up their portion.


Title: (AR) I am a bartender and was told my starting pay plus 10% of the house tips, was not paid the 10%.

Question:
Basically as the title says I work for a country club as a bartender, I was told when I started I would make $6/hr plus a 10% cut of the waiters and waitresses tips. I've worked here may 6 months and worked a party where we all equally get tipped out from that with no 10% to me, but they left it off my last check so I asked for a daily tip out page.

This page had all my tips through each night but no extra 10%, so I asked for the paycheck before and same thing, etc. for each paycheck. I've approached my manager and the accountant about it and have been told they can't do anything about it. Do I have anything I can do about this?

Answer: I know a waitress at a bar/resteraunt who pays the bartender's their percent themselves, are you sure that's not the case


Title: Father was forced to quit after his job after telling a co-worker stole something from him

Question:
So, it starts off in Dallas,TX at a certain stadium that a certain team plays in. Rhymes with Ballas Dalboys.

He is a Technician at a big company dealing with million dollar contracts. Hes working with another Tech (golden boy in the eyes of the company, complete brown noser) and near the end of the day, His pretty expensive Vape and tank, id guess around 200$ for the setup goes missing. He knows where he put it but it up and vanished.

&#x200B;

Fast forward to a few weeks later, My younger brother is visiting from out of town and we are on the way back from an amusement park which so happens to be right next to the stadium he was working at. We are at a red light and he sees the tech he worked with hitting his vape, not knowing my father is in the back of the Truck next to him. My father says nothing about it and we proceed to drive home.

&#x200B;

He then tells me he saw so and so hitting his vape at the red light and he knows where he is working. Its at a fire station that doubles as a police station and me and my brother go undercover (he has no idea who we are, what we look like who we are related to etc.) I strike up a conversation about wanting to get a job at said company, completely bullshitting him. He then put the nail in his own coffin (or so we thought) and he says "why don't you come back to the truck and ill give you a business card." My younger brothers phone is recording but being sneaky about it so he didn't get the vape on camera, which is where I think we are fucked.  But as he is reaching in his truck... I see it. Sitting in the middle of the three cup holders in plain sight. I then ask where he bought it. He replies "umm... \*pause\* i bought it online" with this shit faced grin obviously lying his balls off. I am about to wail on this guy when I figured that I would probably be charged with Aggravated Assault ( Sec. 22.02 C  in retaliation against or on account of the service of another as a witness, prospective witness, informant, or person who has reported the occurrence of a crime;)  I then go back to the truck and tell my dad he in fact has it. We sit there for about 5 minutes waiting for an officer to drive by when we get sick of waiting and leave. My dad obviously upset then calls and tells two coworkers that his property was stolen and they all agree to get him fired.

&#x200B;

One week later my father is called into a meeting and is given 3 write ups, one completely fiction. The first write up was for a piece of equipment that fell while he was by himself doing a 2 man job a month in advance. He was installing a 12x12 garage door . It was 100F out or so all day hes on top of a 12 foot ladder, so if he tries to catch a heavy piece of machinery, he may very well end up falling as well. onto concrete. The part that fell cost about $80 on a Huge contract. he calls the shop and lets them know, they say no problem and get him another one.

&#x200B;

The second write up he received is from last week. He was working for 12 hours already and was asked to stay an additional 2 hours when he was in fact supposed to start his vacation the company approved. They chalked it up to him refusing to work.

&#x200B;

The third write up which is a final warning, and happened to  be complete bullshit. It stated that he was slandering this tech who 'supposedly' stole something to a customer, when the only people he told was his two closest co workers. They then took away his work truck keys and said he would only stay on as a helper. This is a man who has been a Tech doing garage door installations for years and years. He would have to travel on a rather expensive tollway in his personal vehicle.

&#x200B;

After he gets done reading these he says "Let me guess, you want me to say the magic words, that i quit?" A bigwig got in his face leaning over the table talking all this shit to him, and trying to intimidate him, He then says he quits and that brings us to the present. He says he cant afford a lawyer but it might not be out the window. So here I am Reddit, asking ya'll what to do about this situation.

&#x200B;

TLDR; Father was forced to quit from job due to the fact that a co-worker stole my fathers property, and was written up for bullshit that happened in the past and a completely fictional 3rd and final write up. All given to him at the same time today.

Answer:
 Your father quit his job, what recourse do you feel he would have for his decision to quit his job?

 Did your father have an employment contract?


Title: Speeding ticket 91mph in 55mph zone FL

Question: On my way to work this morning in Florida, I got over into a right lane to pass some slower cars on the road. I sped up for a very short about of time (less than 1/4 mile) by one exit and by the next exit there was an unmarked police truck pulling me over. He wrote me a ticket for 91mph in a 55mph zone using a speed measuring device called "speedomete". I do not feel as if I was going that speed and the officer was not in sight when I had reached these speed, in fact I never saw him until I was going off on the next exit. Could this measuring device he was using have been the "pacing" technique? I have a mandatory court date and I am trying to see what step I should take next leading up to the date. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer:
 Speedometers are very accurate. The machine measures your speed through a laser pointed at your car. The only way for you to fight speedometer evidence is for the calibration to be off, which almost never happens. Officers are trained to calibrate their car’s speedometer regularly.

Sorry but you were caught red handed. 91 in a 55 is very serious and will require a mandatory court appearance. If you have prior driving offenses I’d get a lawyer because your license could be suspended. If you’re a first time offender, you’re still facing a significant fine and driving school.

Source: https://www.dmvflorida.org/traffic-ticket/speeding-ticket


Title: Pennsylvania liquor law: if I go to purchase a bottle of wine and forgot my ID, but my girlfriend who is 21 steps in to purchase, can the cashier refuse to sell to my girlfriend?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Yes.


Title: Scammed Through Bitcoin

Question:
This all happened on the night of Christmas. I was with my brother trying to buy this hack for a video-game from this website I found on a Google search. The hack was for Overwatch if you're interested. Anyways, they said that I had to pay through Bitcoin, so I created an account on Coinbase just to buy Bitcoin for this transaction. I followed the instructions and I still couldn't download the file -- after I paid them. The Bitcoin transaction went through and I paid them about $82, but I never received the hack from them. I tried contacted their customer support that night (Christmas) and they still haven't replied to me. I sent them another message the next day and still no reply. Now I fell like I got completely scammed by this website; and since I paid with Bitcoin, there is no way to dispute this or get my money back. My only hope is to rely on their "customer service."

&#x200B;

Is there anything that I can do about this? Maybe even file a complaint against them? Here is the link to the exact page where I made the payment on their website:

[https://colossalcheats.com/buy-overwatch-cheat](https://colossalcheats.com/buy-overwatch-cheat)

Answer: So you got scammed trying to buy software that's against the game's TOS? You won't have a legal leg to stand on here. Answer #2: File a complaint with who? You tried to buy illegal software to unlawfully modify a game and ruin it for other players. This is a life lesson and nothing else, move on.


Title: Clarification about inheritance situation

Question:
I'm going to simplify this for sanity reasons but I need some help with the correct legal terms to use in this inheritance nightmare.

Let's say that a parent makes a will and divides a physical property between two of her children.  However before she dies she decides that one of the children (**child A**) is not responsible and so she signs over her property to the other child before she dies (**child B**).

20 years later **child A** gets upset that **child B** owns all of the property and wants to sue **child B** for half the property because it was stated in the will.

What are the legal terms that **Child B** can use to slowly and patiently explain to **Child A** that this property was transferred before the will was executed and while parent was still alive and that 20 years later they have no rights over the property?

**edit**- oops, forgot location.  USA, WA state

Answer:
 You can say whatever you want in the will, but if you don't own the property at the time of death, that part of the will is meaningless.

I can write in my will that I leave the US Capitol building to my children but it will have no legal force.

It's the same although less dramatic here; I could write a will saying that I leave my apartment to all my kids equally. Five years later I sell it: I could sell it to one of my kids or to someone else, it doesn't matter. Either way I don't own the apartment anymore. If I then die without revising my will, that part of the will would be ignored. I can't leave the apartment to my kids because I don't own it anymore.

Answer #2: Did the estate pass through probate with an executor for the will? If that occurred, I think you would be long past the statute of limitations to challenge the distribution of the estate.


Title: Could one buy land from a country and make their own sovereign nation?

Question: I live in MD, if that matters.

Answer: No.  Ownership of land by individuals is according to something called "fee simple."  It does not convey any rights or abilities of sovereignty in the sense of the sovereignty of nations.


Title: [WA] My dad claims a doctor prescribed my sister vitamins from an MLM. I want this "doctor" to have his license revoked. I will not stand for this.

Question:
My sister has a myriad of subtle health issues and my dad doesn't know how to be a parent and actually actively try to address those issues. Instead he lets her lay in bed all day without a job or occupation. I, on the other hand, am actively looking to get away from this household and make a living for myself away from my family. I recently got invited to a competition for a full tuition scholarship and really hope I'm one of the winners. It would be a godsend, to where I actually believe in God again.

The only thing my sister has is a therapist that she sees every week, and medication that is prescribed to her. That's it. Not much progress has been done. She doesn't eat a lot of nutritious food and as such is deficient in fiber, iron, and vitamins, to name a few.

I don't count my dad's naturopathy as help. It's fake medicine. He tried getting us into acupuncture but we didn't want to do it, so he tried to relieve our anxiety with liquid and pill herbs. The only effect they had on us was placebo, but I did get diarrhea from the liquid herbs one time and went off of them. And then he got my sister a "US BioTek" food allergy test which said she had a high antibody reaction to corn, pineapple, and some other foods, and as such my dad tried feeding her grass fed beef and other stuff on a specialized diet. It didn't work.

Then he got her supplements from a local naturopath. Also didn't work.

If they can't see how fake this is, they should have never had children.

Then he tried to treat our problems by joining an MLM called Market America under our neighbor and bought thousands of dollars worth of vitamins over the span of a few years. Did it work? No!

Only when I found out that Market America is a pyramid scheme (And I only found out about those a year ago) and pestered them to leave did they exit the company.

They still occasionally buy vitamins because they claim "they're absorbed better than anything else on the market, the other stuff makes them sick". But I'm smart and I go to Walgreens for that shit.

I found a bottle of "prenatal multivitamin complex" that claims it "supports development of the fetus." Neither my mom nor my sister are pregnant. I asked my dad and he said that a doctor prescribed this complete multivitamin.

I looked at the claims and they all had a dagger (†) by the side. I looked for the other dagger and it said "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration."

Isn't that illegal?

I'm shocked that a DOCTOR would prescribe something from a pyramid scheme that's not covered by our insurance. This is disturbing.

So who do I report this to? And if my dad won't tell me the name of the doctor how can I get it out of him or obtain it anyway?

And how can I get away from their insanity?

Answer:
 > if my dad won't tell me the name of the doctor how can I get it out of him or obtain it anyway?

You can't. Mind your own business.Answer #2: 1.  The doctor probably suggested she take a multivitamin.  Multivitamins aren't typically prescribed.  Your dad probably picked this particular brand because he had some in the cupboard.

2.  Your dad doesn't have to give you the doctor's name.  You have nothing to do with this.

3.  If you are 18 you can leave whenever you want.  If you're not 18, you can wait til you're 18 and leave whenever you want.Answer #3: Just to say - a lot of people take prenatal vitamins even when not pregnant.

I’m not saying its necessary or even a good idea in the long run, but it does happen.Answer #4: How old is your sister? Are you sure your dad is telling the truth, and a licensed medical professional suggested these vitamins after examining your sister? And if so, they might be appropriate for her. Or he may be lying or misunderstanding what a doctor is.


Title: Roommate may have screwed up Emotional Support Animal process. Am I also at risk of being evicted?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 This is the sort of situation that makes landlords less willing to try and make arrangements with people who have a genuine need.Answer #2: Until or unless the proper paperwork is submitted and the accommodation approved, you don't have a service animal. You have a pet.

You could both be evicted for this and you'd have no recourse. Right now the landlord is being far more reasonable than he has any needed to be, especially as your roommate keeps jerking him aroundAnswer #3: If you and the roommate are on the lease together and the lease has been breached by the presence of the animal, you likely can both be evicted.

You should work hard to fix the situation. It sounds like your landlord has been pretty reasonable in his approach thus far.


Title: Need Advice for a Name Change

Question:
Hi r/legaladvice,
I'm in a bit of a sticky situation. I'll start from the beginning for some context.
My husband and I got married last October in Virginia. His last name was different from the rest of his family's name because his father could not be present to sign his birth certificate, so it stayed as his mother's maiden name. That being said, we attempted to change his name to his family's name through the local courthouse before we got married so that it would be easy to change my last name to his when the time came. Well, the court took about 4 months to process his name change, so on our marriage certificate, we just kept our original names and just figured we would change it later (that's what the courthouse told us to do). So the name change goes through in November, only a few weeks after we get married. I go back to the courthouse to ask about getting my name changed to my husbands, and they refuse to do anything and told me just to go to the local Social Security office and they'd change it there. Several hours later waiting at the SS office, I have a brand new card that has my husbands last name instead of my maiden name. Now, I was able to change my last name on my drivers license, get a dependent military ID, etc no problem. We recently moved to Michigan a few months back, and I went to my local SOS office today to renew my license. I was told that they needed to see proof that my last name was changed by a court, and that none of the documents I showed were enough to prove that my last name is [my husbands last name]. Social Security gave me nothing to prove that they changed it other than my SS card, which isn't enough apparently. The SOS told me to go to a court and have them change my name, which from our experience, takes several months. My license is expiring very soon because I didn't realize that it expires when you turn 20, then again when you turn 21 (I thought it you just renew it when you turn 21 since the license is different).
What is my best course of action? I've called the courthouse that gave us our marriage license and told us to go to SS, and couldn't get a response even after calling multiple times. I tried calling the SS office that did the name change, but the hold time was about 3 hours and the office closed before the 3 hour time was up. I even tried calling the local courthouse here but got no answer.
Should I call the courthouse in Virginia again tomorrow? I'm not sure that there's anything they can do because they didn't actually do the name change.
Should I go through the process of getting my name change through a courthouse here in Michigan and risk driving for several months with an expired license? I know I shouldn't have waited last minute after realizing I had to renew it, but I didn't expect this to be an issue.
Any advice/help is appreciated!

Answer: It takes weeks to months to change your name through court process. How about just getting a Michigan license using the name on your old one (as a stop-gap measure)?


Title: Boston MA, I want to take back a confession

Question: Okay, so long story short, I confessed and want to take it back. I was in the room with a detective and my lawyer with my rights read, and I said I did it, full on confession. I felt guilty and thought it was the right thing to do. But now the more I think of jail the more I hate it. I have since dropped the lawyer and chosen to represent myself. How can I prove I was not serious or was not mentally capable of confessing. Crime does not matter, but they have a lot of evidence against me, thanks.

Answer:
 > Okay, so long story short, I confessed and want to take it back.

Sorry, no undo keys here. It's on the record and it's not going away.

> I was in the room with a detective and my lawyer with my rights read, and I said I did it, full on confession. I felt guilty and thought it was the right thing to do.

And your lawyer told you to do this.... (when he was your lawyer?)

> I have since dropped the lawyer and chosen to represent myself.

Dumb. Dumb. Extra Dumb.

> How can I prove I was not serious or was not mentally capable of confessing.

You can't, at least with the *serious* part. But A lawyer sure would be of help to you for the mental aspect....

> Crime does not matter, but they have a lot of evidence against me, thanks.

Prepare for jail or whatever the punishment is for the crime. You sound dead-to-rights.

I feel like you're trolling..... or the worst Law and Order player ever. At every single junction when you had a choice.... you made the wrong one.


Title: Help...stolen wallet advice!!!

Question: My friend found a wallet on a table and took the wallet. So im assuming that would be considered a theft... However my question is.... He found $200 in the wallet in cash. He went back to the business he found the wallet at the next day and he was asked if he found the wallet. He said no. They said they're going to check the camera's. My question is if he is seen on camera taking the wallet and they pursed charges against him would it be considered a petty theft or what? Theres re ally no way to prove how mich cash was in thr wallet at the time he took it off the table? Any advice would be helpful. He is just very nervous and knows he made a terrible decision and regrets it but just wants to kniw what he coukd possibly be facing...

Answer:
 > He went back to the business he found the wallet at the next day and he was asked if he found the wallet. He said no.

> He is just very nervous and knows he made a terrible decision and regrets it

It doesn't seem like he regrets it all, maybe only because he has / is about to be caught? If I were him I would look to return the wallet, including the cash inside. This can be as simple as turning the wallet into the local police.

If your friend waits until they uncover enough evidence to prove it was him, things will only get worse.


Title: Should we fight the ticket?

Question:
My SO got into an accident with my car last week or so and we are lookin on advice if we have a chance to fight the ticket.

The intersection light which is usually a normal light was blinking red on his side (west bound) and blinking yellow (south and north bound). It was heavily raining this morning. He came to a complete stop at the intersection and someone making a left turn at the yellow light stopped for him and didn’t proceed. He went forward and was in the middle of the lane when a south bound car sped in front of him resulting in him hitting the tail end of the car.

There were no injuries and the other driver had no insurance and a suspended license...

The only witness was a guy in the car with the other driver they both don’t seem to speak English. The officer issued my SO the ticket and said it is his fault no matter how fast the other guy was going. (Even if he didn’t see him when he started to cross)

My SO does have a speeding ticket on his record as well as one “not moving over for emergency vehicle” as we were uninformed about fighting tickets and simply just paid them...

Thank you!

Answer:
 If he had a blinking red light, then he's responsible for stopping until the way is clear for him to go safely through the intersection.

If he hit another car while so doing, then he is going to have most of the fault for the accident and almost certainly violated one or more traffic laws.Answer #2: On what grounds would you fight the ticket?  Your SO had a red light and proceeded through without making sure the way was clear.  That's very clearly his fault.


Title: [NYC] Is it possible for a parent to call their child's car in as stolen?

Question:
Staten Island, NY to be exact. My friend is most likely going to be kicked out after having an argument with her mother (no physical injuries sustained on either side). She is planning on living out of her car until she can find a more permanent residence. Problem is that she suspects her mom would call the car in as stolen if she decides to drive around and live in it. I would say there is a high probability of her mother actually doing that.

About the car: the insurance is under just her mother's name, the daughter is listed as one of the car's drivers on the insurance policy and the daughter pays the lease for the car on her own. The daughter is also over 18. If her mother was to call the car in as stolen would she run the risk of being arrested?

Answer:
 Who's name is on the title?  Who is the car registered to?

If mom's name is the only one on the title, then it's MOM'S car no matter who is paying for it.

Answer #2: Who is on the title? If the mother is on the title, and the daughter is not, it can be reported stolen.

It doesn't matter who is paying, it matters who is on the title.


Title: Neighbors house being converted into a transition home for people exiting mental institutions.

Question:
so the advice is..... Do I have any rights here?

Appreciate any and all help...

So I'm still learning details, but from what  understand - my neighbors house sold to " a company that creates transition houses for people leaving mental institutions".

I live in suburbia Connecticut.  One street away from the towns highschool. Two streets away from the elementary school.  The house is just a single family  my kids safty is paramount. Which is why the concern. And there are tons of kids living on my street.

There was no notification, no warning....  Nothing.  Do we even have legal rights to stop this?  I fear that even if I wanted to take the worst path and sell my house to remove myself and my family away, my house value is now less than nothing considering the situation.

And I just stuck?

Answer:
 For one thing, you can look into your town's zoning and occupancy ordinances.  Some towns, especially college towns, have taken to passing ordinances that restrict houses from being occupied by too many unrelated people, with "too many" sometimes defined as low as three or four.

If your town doesn't have such an ordinance, you can lobby the town council to pass one.  I don't know if the existing halfway house would get to be grandfathered in or not.

Edit: found this, apparently group homes get some protections from such ordinances, so the town might not be able to block it that way:

www.ci.norman.ok.us/filebrowser_download/681/Planning%20and%20Development/Revitalization/ThreeUnrelatedPersonsRestriction.pdf

BTW, I doubt your home's value has dropped much as a result of this.  They're not dumping mass murderers on your doorstep, they're letting people out who have been stabilized and who are trying to reintegrate into society.  A friend's ex-husband has been in and out a few times (bipolar disorder);  he hasn't eaten anyone's face off yet.  Of course, there's always next time. . . .


Title: Sold used car 8 weeks ago and received threatening message (IL)

Question:
Sold a 16-year-old car with >200K miles about 2 months ago. Car wasn't perfect - cracked windshield, radio didn't work, AC didn't work, some smoke damage, and the transmission occasionally slipped. The person I sold it to seemed fine with the cosmetic stuff and I repeatedly told her I couldn't guarantee the transmission. I did list all the stuff I had recently replaced on the vehicle. Sold it for ~1K, which was >500$ under the Kelley Blue Book value for the "fair" state as a private party seller.

This morning I woke up to a FB message saying that I "had sold her a car with a bad transmission". I was a little weirded out, checked online and figured I'm in the clear based on what I had read.

This afternoon I just received a FB message saying, "you WILL pay for this".

Normally, I wouldn't be terribly concerned, but I did finalize the deal at my apartment (and I think they would have it on the title anyways).

Should I contact a lawyer or the police? I haven't responded to any of the messages.

Answer:
 Just block her and move on with your life.

You don't need a lawyer and so far nobody has committed a crime.Answer #2: All privite sells of vehicles are as is unless stated otherwise in a signed and noterized form. Sucks for her but even if the trans went out an hour after the title was signed over its not on you anymore. Just block them and move on and if they try confronting you in person or damage your property in some fit of revenge then call the police to press charges fitting what they do.


Title: Paranoid the FBI might be after me

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Yes, you are crazy.  The FBI doesn't call people to give them a friendly heads up.  And they don't wait 4 months to investigate things.  And you didn't do anything illegal.  Answer #2: Yes you are crazy and paranoid.


Title: [CA] I got hired at FedEx as a Part-Time Parcel Assistant, told they can give me up to 40 hours, what can i do?

Question: 40 hours isnt bad if what i applied to was for full time, but this is part-time, how can you give me 40 hours as a part-time? what can i do. I know i can do something, its infuriating especially since i had to drive almost 2 hours to get to LA only to be told i have the possibility to work up to 40 hours, which i know they do constantly, its not a one time thing.

Answer: You can work when they tell you to work, or find a new job.


Title: [Michigan]Bought an existing pizzeria, previous owners daughter operated a booth as the pizzeria at local fair without our knowledge.

Question:
Bought a pizzeria, the name and recipe a few months ago. Just today, according to a customer the previous owners daughter and ex-wife (who worked at the pizzeria) set up and operated a food vendor booth at the local country fair for a week(which is massive). We found a flyer for the fair and sure enough there's our pizzeria's business listed as a food vendor on the flyer. Unfortunately we found this on the last day of the fair. The name listed is slightly different as in *******'s Italian Pizzeria vs *******'s Pizza.

What kind of legal action can we take against them? They were most likely using the recipe we own as well but we can't prove that. We'd like compensation because we've been doing a lot of work to rebrand our business and to have them misrepresenting us to a very large portion of the population (192,000 people from the 2014 fair) is pretty ridiculous. What can we do?
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 Obviously, get a lawyer. But on your own, you may first choose to send a cease and desist letter to this operator. The lawyer can also do this for you.  Answer #2: Why don't you just talk to them before you spend money on a lawyer.

What do you want?  What do you think is fair.  Discuss this with them and see if you can come to an understanding on your own.  Lawyers are for the times when you can't come to a business resolution without going to court and should be a last resort rather than a first resort.Answer #3: I don't think you can own a recipe.  You can try and keep it secret, but there's no ownership protections if someone figures out and replicates your 7 special herbs and spices.

You may have a case based on the the trademark of your business, but that's not a sure thing either.  The name is different.  Did they use your business address?  Did they sign up for the faire before you bought the business?  Could be that the faire didn't receive or update the daughter's info everywhere.

To illustrate the probable non-issue with the similar name, consider these separately owned taco joints all in the same city here in Cali (and most of them onthe same street):

Tacos El Grullense

Tacos El Grullense E&E

Taquaria El Grullense

Taquaria El Grullense M&G

El Grullense

El Grullense Restaurant

El Grullense Grill

The names are different, so all are ok.  And it is confusing as fuck all when trying to get friends/co-workers to meet up for lunch.

Answer #4: Was their pizza good?  Lawsuit may hurt your brand more than help it.


Title: Landlord placed chemical rat traps without notifying us. Dog got into one and had to be rushed to vet.

Question:
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH:

Last night I caught my dog chewing on a Tom Cat Rat trap. Upon discovering this I looked at the packing on the trap and noticed a chemical named Bromethalin.  Upon noticing this I called my emergency vet office who said I needed to bring him in ASAP. I was notified that this had no cure and that if my dog had gotten to the chemical he would most likely be dead in 24 hours.  They administered a chemical to make him throw up and stated they didnt see any indication he had made it through the trap to the poison. Dog is fine thank heavens.

 I contacted my landlord who admitted to placing these traps. I checked with the downstairs neighbor who also has a dog to warn them about these traps. She was also unaware that any pest control has been placed and has since thrown them out.

My lease does not have a clause about right to entry. State Law states that 24 hours must be given.

My question is can I expect or sue my landlord for failure to notify about placing these traps? The vet bill was quite expensive since it was off hours/ middle of the night.

EDIT:  Having spoken with my landlord he stated he will be retaliating (eviction) should I try to claim this.   Is this legal?

Update 2: Got home and was talking about this with the other neighbor. He explained that he had to take his dog to the vet about a month ago and was told the only way it could of happened was rat poisoning.  Downstairs has a $4000 vet bill.

Answer: You've been given good advice, and I would like to ask that you write an update when you have one.  This is very interesting.


Title: Drive-in theater neighbor telling us we can't watch

Question:
Location: Indiana

My grandparents own a house that borders a Drive-in movie theater. They have lived here for over 20 years and the theater has been here longer than that. They have a pool with a raised deck, and you get a perfectly clear view of one of the movie screens from it. So ever since the theater changed their sound to FM, it was always family tradition to have movie nights on Grandma and Grandpa's deck, along with a bbq and the pool.

Anyways, this past weekend a few of us family members were over and we had our chairs out on the deck and grandpa had burgers on the grill. We were about ready to watch the movie when the owner of the drive-in came to the edge of the property line and told us the movie was for paying customers only. This left us quite perplexed and in order to avoid any confrontation, my grandparents cancelled movie night.

My question is, does the Drive-in have any authority to tell us we can't watch? It's not like they're losing any money by us viewing it, they put the sound over the free FM radio, and we aren't tampering with any fences or trees that might be blocking the view.

Answer:
 NAL, however I am a landlord of a few condos next to an open air concert venue. My tenants sit on their balconies and listen to bands play all summer. Its a perk of living there! They have to deal with the crowds and the noise, why shouldn't they also get to listen to the music?

Your grandparents are in a similar situation. They are expected to put up with the cons of living next to a drive in theater (noise, crowds, ect) but aren't allowed to look over and see the movie? No cop is going to enforce this. The theater is grasping at straws. Your grandparents are free to look at whatever they like from their property and invite whomever they want over to do it with them.

Also, you have gotten a bit of bad advice about paying the theater to watch the movies from your grandparent's property. Do. Not. Do. This. If your family did start paying the theater the owner may be able to argue you entered into some kind of contract. Ignore the owner, have your movie nights, and enjoy.


Title: [Spain] Close friend has literally copied and is profiting off my stolen art. Please help!

Question:
I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this or even what laws he is breaking but here we go...

I have been creating, collecting and curating niche art in my spare time for the last few years which until quite recently was a fairly valuable collection (will elaborate further down) that was recently appraised (~1 year ago) by a local European art dealer in the region of 50,000 euros. I would rather not discuss the type of art in detail because my active involvement in the community makes it very obvious who I am and I would rather not air my dirty laundry on a public forum as I am a fairly high profile government administrator and stand to lose a lot if people connect the dots.... I will however say the pieces themselves are not that valuable individually and their value comes from the set with the most valuable and rare pieces only being worth a few thousand and the common ones worth as little as 10 euro. I feel it is also important to mention that the art is generally low quality, modern and the market was relatively inactive until my (ex)friend stole my art and its trading and sale was well contained to just a few small websites.

So my friend (we will call him Pedro) is also a member of the local art community and often comes to my home to view, discuss, display, restore and sometimes trade pieces with me and until recently I have trusted him with and around my collection. Systematically over the last few YEARS he has been slowly but effectively making indistinguishable copies of the more valuable pieces and recently dumped all the copies on sales websites around the world! (I wish i was joking)

I didn't believe it at first because there was no way someone could have gotten access to my whole collection and there is even less of a chance that they managed to copy it. So I bought a few and they are indistinguishable from the originals!!!! I am outraged, all my hard work and years of nurturing my collection have gone down the toilet!

To add insult to injury he is selling some of the more valuable ones more than once under different names and he is getting a fortune for them! He must have made by my estimates close to €15,000 off my collections back and while I personally am happy he has introduced so many outsiders to our niche art scene which if I am being honest was dieing he has done it at the expense of all my hard work!!! I know it is him because there is work being sold that literally no one other than me, him and my wife have seen and all the stolen work was at one point or another in his hands without mw being in the room!!!

I have spoken to the art dealer who originally appraised the collection but he has regretfully informed me that because the art is modern, low quality and generally from unknown artists there is no way I can prove my art is the original and because I kept most of my art secret from the outside world and i have personally created maybe a third of my collection there is no way for me that I can think of to prove to local law enforcement that he did indeed steal my work! I don't even know if my collection would even keep its value since the market is literally flooded by these fakes and the new "curators" and "collectors" in the community are even reselling the fakes as if they are originals! Outrageous!!! I am literally shaking while I write this!!!

As a last resort I have reached out to some of these people and told them they are trading stolen art that are fakes but with out being able to definatively prove it  (my word against his) I have gotten literally "hahahaha" as a response from someone I reached out to. (Again no I am not fucking joking).

I don't know what to do. I am literally in tears writing this.. all my hard work up in smoke as if it was shoved in an oven with the gas turned on and all I have left is worthless ash that I can hold onto for 70 years until I am an old man and i still will have nothing to show for it. I feel like a fucking hoarder with a collection of nothing but shit sprayed on canvases.

Before anyone asks I feel I need to add  I have posted this question on local Spanish websites and have been asked if the art is MGT or magic cards. No they are not magic, I don't know what magic is so please don't ask. These are real art pieces not kids toys.

Please help me reddit, does anyone know a way to prove his art is fake? How can I prove he stole them? Does the fact that it is both mine and my wife's word against his mean anything? I wish I took this more seriously but you have to understand that relative to most art this is seen as garbage to most people and I didn't even take it that seriously myself.
PLEASE HELP.

Edited for clarity

Answer:
 Incase anyone hasn't figured it out yet. This is a troll that is vaguely referencing the Pepe meme.. "only the most rare and valuable pieces" give me a break Answer #2: you need an attorney, who will direct you how to prove and sue for damages.

as an FYI, magic cards are a game, but most have fantastic artwork on them by amazing artists, those people were trying to compliment your work.


Title: How can I legally find who gave me the bad reference?

Question:
When I was hired at my current job, I was told I almost didn't get the job because my references were at either end of the spectrum. Very surprising to me because I've always had great references. Am now leaving said job for another opportunity and requested to see my references. HR allowed me to view them. 2/3 gave me glowing reviews. One comment from a reference said that they felt I was racially biased (extremely untrue) although they could never confirm and that they wouldn't hire me if I was over other people because they felt I hadn't done a good job. There were some other negative comments as well. HR won't tell me who said what, but I'm very concerned. I suspect who gave me tell the bad reference but have no way to know. Is there any legal way for me to force HR to tell me who supplied the bad reference? I don't want this ruining other opportunities

This is in PA.

Answer:
 Ask the references if you can use them again and then a few weeks later have a friend call and ask for a reference.   Scratch that person off your list and never use that person again.  The simplest solution.Answer #2: > Is there any legal way for me to force HR to tell hell me who supplied the bad reference?

Conceivably, you could file a John Doe defamation suit and ask the court to issue a subpoena compelling the company to turn over the data.  Practically speaking, that would be very expensive and unlikely to work.

It'd be way easier to have someone call your references for you to see what they say.


Title: Don't know where to go, please help [Indiana, US]

Question:
I'm trying to get on disability (height is 4'10 with a few mental disorders that have been left untreated, and 27 years old). The only diagnosis that I have are over 10 years old. It feels like I've developed another disorder as I feel like I can't go outdoors and have trouble completing my job because of this. I know that you have to have documentation of your disorders to get on disability but without insurance, I can't readily get up-to-date diagnoses. What is it that you guys recommend?

Edit: I feel like I'm hanging onto a rope and I really don't know where else to turn to, so mods please don't delete this.

Answer: Why is 4'10" an issue? My grandma WAS 4'10" twenty years ago and has been slowly shrinking ever since.


Title: Workplace discrimination against women?

Question:
I'm trying to understand if my workplace has broken any laws, or if they just sit comfortably on the line of not giving women much leeway. A few things.

1. Have repeatedly asked many women when they are planning on becoming pregnant
2. When women do become pregnant continue to ask if they are planning on returning to work, including asking in group meetings and in some cases middle-of-the-night emails
3. In several cases when the women did return, were told they now needed to "prove themselves" again and were held off on promotions and raises
4. At one point, all flex schedules were rescinded and a mandatory 9-hour workday was implemented (except Fridays, which became the new universal WFH day). Anyone who could not maintain the new schedule was moved to freelance status and has all benefits taken away. This affected 10 people, all mothers with childcare/day care responsibilities. Eventually more than half simply quit.
5. As with all organizations, maternity leave is considered disability leave. In the case of one employee who got diagnosed with cancer right after returning from maternity leave, was actively encouraged to NOT file another disability claim because she had used up all her leave.  This put the employee in the hole, and now any days off or sick time are unpaid.

For context, this is a company in Massachusetts, with all salaried or freelance employees. No hourly, more than 75 employees.

Answer:
 Most of what you ask about is not strictly illegal.  It is generally illegal to discriminate based upon pregnancy, but not illegal to ask about it or talk about it.

For 3 and 4, if these rules are implemented across the board for all employees, it's difficult to claim discrimination.  Did anyone have a contract with the company specifying hours?

For 5, if I understand you correctly, the employee involved has used up all of her provided leave, and the company is telling her she's not going to be getting any more.  This doesn't sound like an issue to me; if each employee is given X days of leave and she's used hers up, that's on her.

You and your coworkers can talk to the EEOC and/or an employment attorney.  It's entirely possible, based on the actions taken, that you may have a cause of action.