Title: I reside on my workplace’s property, and they require me to stay overnight without pay, is this legal?

Question:
So, I recently got hired into a position with on site housing, in California. As part of both the lease agreement and the position that I have been hired for I am required to stay overnight on the property and not leave without pay. During the night on the property I do a night check (from 8:45 to 10:00) that I am paid for.

Is it legal for them to require me to stay on property without pay?

Also, they have begun saying that I am required to weed around the house that I live in (right next to the office that the customers see) on my off time, which is also a function of my job during the day. There is a part in my lease agreement about keeping my leased premises clean and tidy, but my leased premises is defined by the one bedroom that I reside in.

If it helps I live in California. Thank you all for any advice you are able to give me!

Answer:
 I used to know the answer to this question but thanks to American Medical Response recently lobbying to change this law, I'm not so sure anymore...

Contact the CA labor department and they'll tell you if you should file a complaint.

https://calaborlaw.com/complaint/

In 2017 this was illegal behavior from your employer. But in 2019 the law impacting this changed for the worse.

Many years ago I filed a complaint this way because my job as an EMT required us to stay at the station over night, but we were only paid if we actually got calls. I won my case and got back pay but was then immediately fired bc that's how non union jobs worked.
So many other EMTs made the same complaint and won, that it caused the largest ambulance company in the US to owe millions to its employees. They decided it was more cost effective to change the law then it would be to pay employees for working, and that's exactly what they did.Answer #2: What is the reason they want you to be at the property? Are you on call or do they want someone there incase of an emergency? A lot of this comes down to whether you are 'waiting to engage' or 'engaged to wait' and comes down to whether you control your time or not. If you are engaged to wait, then you are considered working and the hours would count to whether or not you are making minimum wage and overtime. A lot of this is fact specific.


Title: In trouble at my school for something my friend did while borrowing my phone

Question:
Hi guys first of all thanks in advance for hearing me out.

Ok so here goes. I’ve been “talking” to a boy in my class at the school I go to - a community college.

He has sent me some nude photos that I request from him. Several very private and intimate photos, including ones where there are objects inside or around his private areas.

TBH I was not really interested in this guy, just wanted to see how far he was willing to go to comply with my requests.

My best friend knows about this guy and we joke about him behind his back but he had no idea. She thinks he is a straight up loser with no hope, meanwhile I think it’s just a weirdo but he’s not ugly or anything. He honestly just needs a better fashion sense and probably also to loose his virginity lmao.

Anyhow, my friend asked to borrow my phone the other day and I said sure. Well while doing so she apparently texted herself the entire album of his private nude photos and then deleted the text on my phone.

I suspect this although I have no proof, because the very next day, an Instagram account was created of his intimate photos and the link to the account was anonymously posted to our class’s online messageboard.

Additionally, these pictures were printed out and left out in several of the lobbies in the building.

My friend is honestly fucking stupid for doing this because now *i am the one in trouble* because the school thinks it was me who did it.

I have no proof it wasn’t me, because my friend must have deleted the text that she sent herself from my phone with all these photos attached.

I’m risking being suspended for this and my friend thinks it’s funny.

Her idea to damage control it is to say that he sent me these photos unsolicited and therefore he sexually harassed me and this way I can spin it that I am publicly shaming to teach him a lesson,

While that sounds like a great idea, if this guy has copies of the texts between us then there is proof that I requested them.

I do feel kinda bad that this happened to the guy but this isn’t my fault. And now I’m worried that I might be suspended and loose time away from school because of my friends stupid mistake.

I also don’t have any proof that my friend stole these photos from me because she deleted the text like I said. And her admission of doing so was strictly in person and I have no proof of it.

Please help. Location = NY state

Answer:
 So you requested these photos for purposes of mocking him to begin with. Let's not forget that your  motivation was trolling him.

You may well be fucked here unless you can convince those in authority that your friend is responsible for this. And the story sounds incredibly flimsy to me. You should talk to a criminal defense lawyer, because spreading this stuff around could lead to criminal charges. School is the least of your worries.

Goes without saying you should stop acting like a vile, vicious child, too.Answer #2: It sure sounds like you were just trying to hurt him. Why else would you play with a boy mind making him think you want these pictures because you are sexually attracted to him. The fact the you chose to do this for fun makes me not feel bad for you. I hope the school does the right thing and suspend you and hopefully your friend too. Answer #3: If you accuse this dude of sexual harassment he’s 100% gonna bring up the fact that he has evidence you asked for them. You can get suspended or expelled for this. Tell the truth, even if you don’t have proof. You were messing with a guy and now he’s probably embarrassed to even go to school. Your friend can be criminally charged for this. If it turns into an actual investigation as long as you tell the truth they could possibly find a way to prove it was her. Phone companies can usually pull up a record of messages sent even if they were deleted off your phone.


Title: What happens when you fail your first drug test on probation?

Question:
So typically, if I am all caught up on community service, payments, and other stipulations, what would usually happen if I failed one single drug test after passing the entire time?

I know its ultimately up to my PO and my judge, but I have heard multiple people say you get one warning, and maybe they require you to go to AA or NA more often.

In your experience what has happened?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: there's no "one warning" rule. The warning was when you agreed to probation. The Judge could absolutely revoke and send you to jail immediately.


Title: Harassment via text- This person is ruining my life and wants me dead [20s, F, Canada]- Help Please!

Question:
Alright, buckle up because this is going to be long.

Back in September, 2018, I began to receive an onslaught of text messages from unknown "spoofed" numbers. I would receive multiple messages almost every single day. The messages started out fairly innocent, so I figured it was just someone messing with me, nothing to be concerned about. By the end of September I was getting hundreds of messages, and they were beginning to escalate.

At this point, it was starting to get annoying and I was getting worried. This person knew VERY specific, personal details about my life. They knew about my past sexual assault and suicide attempt. Not only that, they were referencing iMessages that I sent to another person (for example, I sent a photo to someone, from a while back when I was blonde, and less than an hour later I receive a text from one of the unknown numbers saying " X knows you're not that blonde or thin anymore."). At this point I changed all my passwords and had also gotten a new number.

From October-December, the messages got worse. They would send texts knowing my location, telling me to kill myself, calling me a fat, ugly, c\*nt, etc. I had started a police file at this point, and changed my number multiple times. As of today, **I have changed my number 6 times. They always figure out what my new number is.** They knew the exact (explicit) photos and videos of me that were in my iCloud. Two of my other friends were also getting messages of similar nature. To clarify, when I changed my number I only gave it to a few people. Less every time. As of right now only two people know my phone number because I'm paranoid.

At the end of December, my partner began receiving messages. The perpetrator was threatening his career and referencing specific events from his past. We both changed our numbers in February. He hasn't received a message since then, but somehow they keep figuring out my number.

Fast forward to now. The messages I have received recently have been soul-destroying. They told me to hang myself, to shoot myself and kill myself for real this time. They said they won't stop until I'm "gone". I can't go a day without feeling anxious and on edge. They posted my number on a sugar daddy site pretending to be me and I received photos from strange men. They are now even messaging my mother, saying horrific things, telling her that if she kills herself they will leave me alone. Everyone I care about has been affected.

I know this sounds like some silly made-up high school story, but trust me it's not. My whole life has been turned upside down. I truly believe this person will try to ruin my life for as long as possible.

This has been going on for almost 8 months. I feel sick to my stomach and helpless. If you have read up until this point, here are my questions:

1. How is this person getting my new phone number every time I change it. And restore my iPhone to factory settings and set it up as a new iPhone with a new Apple ID.
2. I'm fairly certain they hacked my iCloud. How is this possible with two factor authentication?
3. How can I stop them from getting my number from now on
4. Is there ANY way for me to track down this person and prove who it is? I have my suspicions, but there's no proof.

Any other insights are welcome.

For anyone doubting the authenticity, I can PM screenshots.
Topic:
Canada

Answer:
 > How is this person getting my new phone number every time I change it.

In order from most to least likely:

* It's someone who has or at some point had regular access to your phone or computer, such as someone in your household;
* It's someone who you've knowingly shared your number with;
* It's someone who knows someone you've shared your number with;
* It's someone with access to your iCloud, Google, Facebook, or other accounts linked to your phone number; or
* It's someone who works for your phone provider.

Balance of probabilities is heavily in favour of the first few entries. The kind of campaign of harassment you're describing suggests that it's someone who cares, very deeply, about how you feel, in a twisted and malicious way, not a stranger who has their own important things to do with their time.

Get your laptop checked for keyloggers or other signs of intrusion, as well as getting your phone checked out. Go to the police and speak to the desk officer about making a report: this sounds like it should easily meet the definition of harassing communications, which is a summary offence, and may meet the definition of harassment, which can be indicted (with a higher sentence). Continue to make police reports as this person finds new ways to contact you.


Title: I'm being sued by a hospital

Question:
I had insurance through my employer. I quit and since I had a bunch of vacation, I applied for it and it was approved by the employer. I planned on getting surgery before I started my next job.

When I went in to get surgery, they did a pre check to see if my insurance was active and it was...So we proceeded with the surgery.

Turns out when the hospital billed the insurance company for the surgery, they denied the claim because my employer messed up my resignation dates.

Now the hospital is suing me for entire amount of the surgery.

My employer won't fix the dates because they're claiming that if they do then they're liable against insurance fraud.

Legal advice...What are my options? Please help...

Answer: What happened when you tried to submit evidence of your resignation dates directly to the insurance company? Kinda sounds like what your former company is doing right now is the fraud. You should cross post to r/insurance.


Title: Is there anything I can do about my neighbor?

Question:
So we have lived in our house a year and a half. We have had issues with one neighbor. Our original issue was her cameras facing into our house. Talked to landlord and he said to ask her to move first, then if not call police. Well we kindly asked and got a rude no. So we called police. He informed us that she isn't allowed to have them facing into our home and had her move them. He ended with calling her crazy. Since then we've had nothing but issues. Calling the police about me bbq at 10:30 at night when I work till 10. Grass clippings on her little strip next her fence. We've ignored and just moved on. Today though my wife had the 3 dogs out. Neighbor had someone show up and we are relatively close and my dog barked. Not all 3, 1. Wife told the dog to be quiet a few times as we don't like the barking ourselves. Well neighbor responded with "shut your fucking dog up","learn to control your dog's you dumb bitch","you're a dumb cunt", don't wear shorts when you go out no one wants to see a fat whore" and so on. My wife is very upset and I was at work at the time. Is there anything I can do to make this kind of stuff stop. We try to just mind our own business but this is extreme behaviour now.

Edit: we live in North East ohio

Answer:
 Sounds like straight up harassment to me.

I think you should go see an attorney.Answer #2: She may have mental health issues.  Or just be mean.  Or both.

Start keeping a careful log of what happens, and when.  Don't engage her.  Ever.  It will not help.

If she continues to call the police about non-issues, they will quickly figure out that she is wasting police time, and stop coming.


Title: neighbors in apartment building have reported me for "harassment" but no specific details of how I am harassing them.... (I'm not) help?

Question:
Hi

I live in an apartment building in a large city. There are all kinds of personalities in this building (I think some of them are crazy, they think I am crazy) and recently I heard my manager tell me there are "multiple" reports of "harassment" by neighbors , but had no specific information at all as to exactly what I have done that is "harassing" neighbors.

There is a restaurant that has opened next to our building that is causing me issues personally, and one of the crazy neighbors is very involved in supporting this restaurant. I am sure this has to do with it..... he is actually following me around to a certain degree ( he opens his door every time I go to the elevator - literally I know he is there staring at me behind his door, staring at me on the street while I was reporting the issues with the restaurant to a government agency, and today I called my apartment manager just to let him know what has been going on , after this guy opened his apartment door to tell me I was closing the (broken)_ door the incorrect way. I was pissed. I know he's been watching me.

So when I called the manager today, to my shock, he said multiple tenants have reported me for harassment.  He is very neutral - and told me I am not in danger of having to leave or anything, but he could not tell me at all what actions I need to take to "fix the problem".

Finally when I said "please tell me exactly what I did so I can let you know what happened, or how to resolve the issue." And I kept offering to do things different, but I just did not know what actually I needed to do differently.

I typically do not speak to other tenants, and I've gotten into it with a few of them before but no longer speak to them....

So legally is this an actual problem I need to be worried about? I did tell the manager that although I know there is nothing he can actually do about it - I am becoming uncomfortable because of that neighbor who is always opening his door etc.

However I am uncomfortable to hear that "multiple" people have complained about me to the manager.

I will say that when I asked him if I was going to have to move, or anything actionable done to me - he said "no I don't think it's that serious / It's not anything like that" and said he was going to tell the management company that the building has some "personality clashes."

Basically all I need to know is if I am in any sort of danger of actions taken against me.

I do not believe these neighbors will take it any further than talking to the manager and I think they probably just don't like me honestly.

The only thing I can think of recently that I've done is spoken to other tenants as to whether or not the restaurant is bothering them etc so I can 't really think of anything "harassing" that I have done to anyone......   I don't really speak to other tenants except a couple who I do not believe were involved in this ....

Thank you everyone.

Answer:
 You need to keep in mind that the internet doesn't have mind-readers and your landlord is not a court of law.  We cannot know who is complaining about you or why and there are no legal mechanisms you can use to compel that answer.

Your landlord may be exaggerating on both "how many" complaints he is received and how frequently.  He may also be exaggerating on the number of different people providing them.  It could be one person telling him that you smell weird every single time they see him, we just don't know.

Document any interactions you have with any of your fellow tenants.  Include date, time, the nature of the interaction, and anything relevant that was said.  That's about all you can do.

None of this is legally "real" at this time.


Title: [NY] Craigslist housing fraud

Question:
First time posting. I recently wired money to a person who advertised his NYC apartment on Craigslist (I know, rookie mistake). I suspect this is fraud because I haven't been able to move in, and it's been over a week - he keeps making excuses (family death, illness). I also went to the apartment and it's not under his name. He is unreachable by phone and only replies occasionally via text. I have a picture of his passport info (except the ID number), his email, and phone number (it's Google voice though). I signed a contract and have his "personal accountant's" details (account & routing numbers, etc). How can I report him and get a refund?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 The name he gave you probably isn’t his real name. You can report it to the police, but I doubt you’ll see that money again. Cops see these kinds of scams all the time and are rarely able to catch the guys because there is no actual identity to pursue. He probably doesn’t even live in the county.

Lesson learned, Craigslist is a breeding ground for housing scams.


Title: Landlord falsely accusing us

Question:
Hi

Basically me and my boyfriend live shared accommodation. The landlord has called my boyfriend up to say that he’s been receiving complaints that, he is leaving the kitchen a mess and disturbing people. The landlord wouldn’t allow my boyfriend to defend himself over the phone! He just kept talking on over him, and when he was done hung up the phone. Coward.

The allegations being made are simply not true. I know this for a fact as he works 4 12 hour shifts a week, and I’m about to start my new job, so I haven’t been working for a while.

Part of us believes he’s just pinpointing it on my boyfriend, just to test to see if it’s him. My boyfriend has sent a message to say, if he’s being such a nuisance he will pack his things and we’ll both leave. Landlord never responded.

Thoughts or advice anyone??

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Your landlord can allege anything they desire.

Does this allegation carry anything with it, like a fee or eviction notice?  If not, your landlord can complaint all they want.


Title: We were forced to drink from used water bottles at work.

Question:
Something happened tonight at work that does NOT sit well with me. I’m incredibly upset about this even if it might sound trivial and stupid.

I am a 17 year old high school senior. I work at a math and reading center called Kumon, and all the other employees are high schoolers from my school or neighboring schools. Our boss, a middle aged guy, provides food and disposable water bottles for us at work. In the past month or so, he’s mentioned that we need to label our waters with our names so they don’t get mixed up.

Today, my friend and I walked into work (an hour late because we were finishing up chemistry work at school) and were greeted by our boss- let’s call him Adam. He said he had a special surprise for us, and beckoned us to the back of the place, where on a desk there were 5 crumpled, used, old water bottles lined up in a row. There was still some water left in each of them. He proceeded to explain that because nobody was initialing the bottles like he said to do, we had to “learn a lesson.”

“You guys have to take a sip of water from each of them. I already had the other guys do it. They all did it.”

My other colleagues had all taken swigs from these old water bottles (against their will) when they arrived.

I stared at him, mouth agape, shocked at how ridiculous this request was. These water bottles had to be at least a week old, and nobody knew who’s lips had touched them. I tried my best to defend myself with actual excuses:
1) I didn’t come to work the last week, so there was no way any of those bottles were mine.
2) I haven’t drank one of the provided water bottles in WEEKS.

I have a strong fear of contracting disease through sharing drinks and food. I’m a huge germaphobe. But it doesn’t even matter that I’m a germaphobe; isn’t this just plain wrong? I felt violated.

I provided him with those excuses, but he laughed and said that “rules are rules” and “no exceptions.” My friend interjected, asking, “but what if we get sick?” He coolly said, “that’s just a chance you’re gonna have to take.”

Basically, we would be fired if we didn’t comply. I wanted to walk out and quit then and there but the overwhelming pressure and the heat of the moment caused me to follow his orders. I was outraged, upset, embarrassed, and worried about sharing germs like that. Is he allowed to make us do stuff like that against our will? There was legitimately no way of getting out of it.

What can I do about this? Anything?

Answer:
 He isn't allowed to force you to do anything, but he can fire you for not complying.  Then, you can sue for wrongful termination.

In this case, it may be an OSHA violation.  I'm not familiar enough with the policies to say for sure.

Answer #2: Oh I would write a colorful letter to his boss and since Kumon looks like franchise to main office. What he did isn't just dick move it's a sick move and this creep shouldn't work with the kids. Answer #3: You're 17.  Tell your parents that your boss forced all of you to drink from used water bottles to "teach you a lesson".

  Answer #4: You should have flat out refused. Just because he's your boss doesn't mean he can literally make you do anything. What would he have done, fired you? Because then you could have possibly been able to take legal action.


Title: Car accident, guy refused to give me his name and insurance information

Question: I got into a car accident and we both decided not to call 911, partly because we didn't think it was that serious and partly because I didn't want to be late for work. I had a shattered tail light and a long crack in my fender; he had a large crack in the side of his car. It happened in a parking lot while I was backing out of a parking space and he was backing into one next to mine. We were both going at around 1 mph when the crash happened. No one was injured. I asked if he'd like to exchange names and insurance information. I gave him mine but he refused to give me his. I felt like there was something fishy going on but didn't have time to do anything about it because I had to hurry to work. I have his car plate number and I'm pretty sure his insurance company is Geico because I saw him hold Geico papers in his hand while looking through my insurance information. I've seen him 1-2 times in the office (this happened in the parking lot at work) and I'm pretty sure he's a client, so even though I don't know his name I could probably find out by asking my boss if they have his name on file. This happened in New Jersey btw.

Answer:
 You should have called the police when he refused to give his information.  New Jersey [requires it](http://www.njlaws.com/leaving_the_scene.htm) after an accident.

You can call the police now.  Or, you can try to locate his name and file a suit.  Or, you can report this to your insurance company and let them handle that.


Title: [West Hollywood, CA] I live in a rent controlled apartment, and pay $950 a month.

Question:
My sublandlord served me with a 3 day or quit for not paying $50 of rent on Thursday. Monday will be the 3rd day, now I did some investigating and found that he only pays 1,115 for this property, I read online that in rent controlled areas like West Hollywood, the sublandlord CANNOT charge you more than they are paying. Is this true? Additionally, what would be my next course of action?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 You'd better heed some of the advice give to you here, or you're about to put yourself into a world of unnecessary trouble. To recap -

1. Sublandlord ie YOUR landlord, cannot charge you more than $1115. You're paying $950, so no issue there.

2. You can and will be evicted for non-payment of rent, which is probably what will happen if you don't pay the $50 you owe. You do not want an eviction on your record, it will make life much harder for you in future rentals.

3. If you have problem with access to areas of the house, first check your lease. Regardless of this, withholding rent is the worst way to go about it, as it opens you up to an eviction - which again you DO NOT WANT. Pay the rent you owe, then sort things out. If you're illegally being withheld access to parts of the house per your lease, then sue. If you don't like the terms of your lease, then leave. Breaking your lease or a mutual lease break is far better than being evicted.

Though it's really up to you how hard you want to make it for yourself.Answer #2: pay the rent in full by the deadline or face a possible eviction.  Answer #3: > I read online that in rent controlled areas like West Hollywood, the sublandlord CANNOT charge you more than they are paying.

He is paying $1,115, you are paying 950.  It sounds to me like he is charging you less than he is paying.

Also, did you pay the 50 dollars or not?  Why don't you just pay it?


Title: Girlfriend’s Mother took loans out in her name, without her knowing.

Question:
My girlfriend’s Mother has taken student loans out in her name without her knowledge. They were taken out a few years back when my girlfriend was attending community college. My girlfriend had no idea until she realized her paychecks had started being garnished.  She went to HR and found out she’s being garnished for a little over $8,000.

What should our next move be, or is she stuck paying this off? I should add that her Mother has a screw loose and denies it, but she’s also done things like this before. She emptied her eldest daughter’s bank account after she had herself emancipated, so it’s definitely in her nature to pull something like this.

Answer:
 Your girlfriend needs to go to the police.  That is the only way to get the loans forcefully transferred to the mother.

If your girlfriend doesn't want to get the police involved, her only other option is to pay off the debts.Answer #2: There are only two ways this plays out:

Your girlfriend pays back the loans.

Your girlfriend reports the fraud, and the mother gets charged with fraud.Answer #3: Did she tell the police?Answer #4: NAL but The FTC has a helpful page about Child Identity Theft, which is what this is.  She will have to report her mother to be released from responsibility for the debt.Answer #5: Your Girlfriend's mother is a criminal and has committed identity theft.

GF has 2 options.

1. Call the creditor and report this as identity theft and state she did not open these loans.  The creditor may require a police report  GF will need to go to police and file a report.  Mom has committed identity theft, and may be charged with the crime.

2. Mom can pay the bill off ASAP.. this is the ONLY option ASAP.  Your GF will have fucked up credit for awhile due to this but may keep mom from getting criminal charges.

I'd vote for option 1. Answer #6: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/identity_theft


Title: Did the police overreact? Am I a bad person? (18) F

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Even if you are shorter/weaker than someone, what you did was still assault. Mental illness won't prevent you from getting arrested, but your lawyer could use it in your defense.

That doesn't make you a bad person though.


Title: Wedding ruind by food poisoning. Liabilty...

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Assuming the wedding was in the UK. . .

/r/LegalAdviceUK will have UK specific adviceAnswer #2: >London

You've got a lot of posts in a football sub, so I'm guessing you mean the one with the rain and not the one with the snow :)

It's a personal injury claim for sure, but as for how much of what followed would be the restaurant's fault I think she may be disappointed. Try /r/legaladviceuk for someone with a sense of where that line might be

Answer #3: I handle liability claims in the US- I can't speak for UK, but typically for liability to be proven against the restaurant, you will have to have a stool sample taken, a specific foodborne illness diagnosed (i.e. salmonella, not 'food poisoning), and then that strain of the illness being linked back to the restaurant via the health department. 9 out of 10 times the doctor will call it food poisoning but they medical records will reflect gastroenteritis, which can't be specifically linked to a food item with certainty.

Usually they will be aware this type of thing is coming as it is very rare for only one party to get ill. They will have many complaint calls as it sounds like a busy location.

These are claims that we rarely pay out on because they are hard to prove. Answer #4: If the wedding was last week, her doc's jumping the gun on this "depression" diagnosis. Strictly by criteria you need at least 2 weeks of symptoms, and most wouldn't even diagnose that fast.


Title: [Oregon] My father died a year ago. My stepmother has royally screwed me over at every step of the way, but I don't know whether there's anything I can do. Can anyone help me suss out the legal issues here and figure out if there's anything I can do?

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice,

I posted about this a couple days ago in /r/relationship_advice (see that post [here](http://www.reddit.com/r/relationship_advice/comments/2qykzf/lots_of_issues_with_stepmother_after_fathers_death/), if you're interested), but I'm realizing I should have just posted here in the first place.

**Before I jump in, let me just say that there are a lot of different things going on here. I'm going to try to separate things out as clearly as I can, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Also, this ended up being really long, so I'm going to write a TL;DR of each section. Thanks in advance to anyone who reads and responds to any part of this.**

**Summary:**

Last summer I found out my dad had advanced, aggressive cancer. I made plans to move back home ASAP. In fall, he moved to hospice and passed a couple weeks later. After he passed, I stayed at the house he and my stepmother shared (where I'd been living) for about a month. During that time, I had a great relationship with my stepmom -- better than we'd had during the ten years my dad was still alive.

**A few other things worth noting:**

* My father made *some* of his wishes known before he passed: that he wanted cremation, did not want a funeral, that he wanted me to have his car, and that he wanted my stepmother to help pay for my (upcoming but still unscheduled) wedding. Other than these verbal requests, he did not leave a will to my knowledge. I believe I would have known if he had.

* To this end, my stepmother did assist me in selling the car (which was in both their names) for $2000. She also sent me $3,000 sooner, rather than later, to help pay for my wedding (which is still not planned, but that's a whole other story).

* As far as I know (though I don't know how I'd know any different), the house and my father's bank accounts were in both his and my stepmother's name.

* Again, to my knowledge, probate was never initiated. I don't know if it should have been, but if that's the case, my stepmom may have violated probate law by charging ahead with settling my father's estate. More on this later.

* My father was always *extremely* generous when it came to me, his only child. He was always giving me extra money to help me out, both when I was a kid and when I was in college. When I wanted to attend summer programs, he paid for them. When I got a job across the country, he financed my move. It is plain as day to me that my father would have wanted his financial assets to be divided between my stepmother and myself.

**Life Insurance**

I had previously been a beneficiary of my dad's life insurance (and I have one scrap of paperwork to prove it) because my parent's divorce mandated it until I was 21 (I'm 25 now). Because of some paperwork I came across while my dad was still alive, I know that my stepmom was the sole beneficiary for a policy of about a quarter million dollars.

After my dad passed, my stepmom said with complete sincerity that she would give me a portion of this life insurance payout after the house, debts, etc were settled. She said this like she was surprised I'd think otherwise, like "of *course* I will!" When I asked her about it several months later, she informed me that her financial situation had changed (she decided to move back in with her parents in another state), so she would not be sharing any of this money with me because she needs it.

*TL;DR: Stepmom is sole beneficiary. Says she'll give me some of the money. Doesn't.*

**401k**

Sometime in the spring, my stepmother left an enthusiastic voicemail on my phone to tell me that my father's employer (a well-known national company) was trying to contact me because "they had something for me." I called the number she gave me, reached the retirement benefits line, and left a message. When I didn't hear back right away, I did some digging online and found that I was listed as the beneficiary for one of two 401(k) accounts my father left behind, worth about $20k. The other one, which was probably worth ten times that much, was in my stepmother's name.

When I heard back from my father's employer, they informed me that because of the rules on that 401(k), it would go to my stepmother, not me, because she had never signed some kind of waiver giving my father permission to leave it to me.

I contacted her and told her all of this, and pointed out that if the account was still in my name, it was probably because my father wanted me to have it. I asked her to honor my father's wishes and send me the money. I acknowledged that the tax issues with early 401(k) withdrawals can be tricky, and offered to pay any early-withdrawal penalty on the money. She sent me a very nasty email full of personal attacks, telling me to "grow up" and "make something of myself" and talking about how nobody had ever given her anything.

(As an aside: It was at this point that I brought up the wedding assistance. She had mentioned it several months before this exchange and offered to send it sooner rather than later if I preferred. I brought up this offer and asked her to do just that. A few weeks later, she sent the money with a very short note. I think she was glad to be done with what she saw as her financial obligation.)

*TL;DR: I was listed as beneficiary for a 401k account, but through some legal loophole, it went to my stepmom instead.*

**My father's possessions**

When my father passed, I was antsy to sort through the stuff he left behind and get it squared away. My stepmother said there was no rush and I could come back and we'd take care of it together sometime. I was stupid enough to believe her.

Shortly after I left the state, my stepmother announced that she was moving to another state. I offered (requested, actually) to come out and help her and my stepsiblings sort through the enormous amount of stuff that my father had left behind. Some of this was personal stuff, but a lot of it was just *stuff* that my father had accumulated over the years. TBH, he was sort of a hoarder and bought a lot of stuff because it was on clearance and he thought one of us might be able to use it one day.

When I talked to my stepmother about this, she said that she'd be setting aside anything that she thought I might want for me to sort through whenever I could come out. However, during the process of sorting, I received multiple calls from the stepsibling I'm closest with asking about specific things that my stepmother and the other stepsibling were trying to get rid of. Examples include my father's guitar and an expensive print that my mother gave to me that was never my father's to begin with -- it was just being stored at his house.

When I did make it out to sort through things, I found that the vast majority of things had been gotten rid of. I was left with 6-10 rubbermaid totes worth of stuff to sort through, when I know for a fact that my father left behind enough stuff (both personal and otherwise) to completely *fill* your average one-bedroom apartment.

My understanding is that my stepmother and stepsiblings held an enormous garage sale and made several thousand dollars, which they divided among themselves. My very basic understanding, from what I read online, is that legally speaking, anything that was only in my father's name/possession should have been divided evenly between my stepmother and me (his only biological child). So it seems to me that half of that stuff (or half of the proceeds from the garage sale) should have been mine. I don't have any record of what was sold or how much they made. The only stuff left for me was heirloom type stuff: Christmas ornaments, a few paintings by a relative of my father's, and a bunch of pictures.

*TL;DR: Stepmom and stepsiblings sold off almost all of my dad's possessions without my consent or participation. Kept the money. I think this is illegal?*

**The house**

My stepmother did not sell the house when she moved. She is allowing my older stepsibling, who is about 5 years older than me with a family, to live there rent-free. I don't feel like I have any sentimental claim to the house, because it was my stepfamily's house to begin with, but it was under multiple mortgages and was paid off entirely because of the life insurance payout. I don't know if it's relevant, but I figured I'd mention it.

**TL;DR and Questions**

TL;DR: Stepmom goes back on her promise to split life insurance with me. 401k in my name goes to stepmom instead. My father's possessions are sold without my involvement.

Questions:

* Since my father did not leave a will, should probate have been initiated? Again, to my knowledge, most of the major assets were jointly owned by him and my stepmom, but what about his personal possessions?

* How exactly would I go about finding out whether there were any accounts that were ONLY in my father's name? He was very disorganized and sometimes hid stuff from his wife, especially when it came to money and double-especially when it came to giving me financial assistance, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was a hidden account somewhere that nobody knew about.

* Most importantly: Do I have any form of legal recourse on any of the above? Is there any kind of action I can take against my stepmother?

**If you made it this far, thank you SO MUCH for your time. I'm living paycheck-to-paycheck, and my "free consultations" with a couple of lawyers have been a joke, but my anger and frustration have been eating at me for a year now and I need to figure out if I have any legal options. Other suggestions are welcome as well.**

Answer:
 (I only read the TL:DR)

> TL;DR: I was listed as beneficiary for a 401k account, but through some legal loophole, it went to my stepmom instead.

That's not a loophole but rather the clear intention of the law. If you don't want your spouse to get your 401k, they have to agree to that and it has to be in writing.

> TL;DR: Stepmom and stepsiblings sold off almost all of my dad's possessions without my consent or participation.

They became hers when he died unless he had a will that bequeathed them to somebody else.

> TL;DR: Stepmom is sole beneficiary. Says she'll give me some of the money. Doesn't.

She doesn't have to.

The TL:DR for you is that your father screwed you by not having a will.


Title: (Oklahoma) I just bought a car and traded in my old one. I couldn't get my stuff out due to time. Came back the next day and they had boxed it but now I'm missing a lot of stuff.

Question: As the title says I traded in my old car and wasn't able to get all of my stuff out that day because I had to be at work. I told them that I would be back in the next day. I got there at around 2p.m and they had already boxed everything. While going through it, I noticed that I was missing all of my gas receipts, money, pills, a prized hoodie, etc... I'm wanting to know what the best course of action I should do. I'm already upset with them because I felt extremely pressured into doing this trade and was lied to about some of the information given to me. One friend said I should report it to the police but since the car is legally theirs I don't think it would be reported.

Answer: You should have taken your stuff out before you handed it over to them. If you're missing stuff you could potentially sue them but it may not go anywhere since you handed over the car


Title: Is it illegal for a 21 year old to date a 17 year old?

Question: [MN] I am 21 years old and I am wondering if it's illegal to date a 17 year old. We haven't started dating, I'm scared of the age difference (legally). I'm curious if I could get in some big legal problems if I date the person.

Answer:
 In MN she’s legally able to consent.

She’s still a minor, so if you give her booze that’s bad. If her parents say piss off you should.

If you receive nude photos that’s CP because the federal government does not give a fuck about your state’s age of consent Answer #2: Location matters.


Title: In need of serious advice. I dont even know where to start.

Question: My ex is planning on having our baby in Germany and not including me at all in the pregnancy or childs life. She is German by birth and has dual citizenship. She told me she had miscarried but i found out yesterday that was not true. She is two months pregnant and in the next couple months she plans on leaving the country. What can I do?

Answer: She has no legal obligation to include you in the pregnancy. After the child is born, however, you need to find a family law attorney wherever her residence is to establish paternity and negotiate custody.


Title: Am I non-resident ailen or resident ailen?

Question:
So I asked few lawyers and their opinions were contradicting...

So I’m trying to open Discover bank. They require US citizenship or have to be US resident ailen. I am F-1 Student Visa holder that came to US in Jan, 2014. So It’s been almost 4 years since I came to US. I’m going to college and I got a on campus job which enabled me to work legally and get SSN.

My question is since I will start paying tax on my first paycheck (officially hired on Oct 6th), am I considered US resident ailen? Few lawyers told me since 5 year has not passed, I’m non-resident ailen. Few lawyers told me that since I’m paying tax, my status automatically changed to resident-ailen. What’s my status??

Note - my citizenship is South Korea and I have no green card or citizenship. Also in CA.
Topic:
Immigration

Answer:
 Well, for tax purposes, you definitely will be considered a "resident alien" and will be required to pay US taxes:

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/substantial-presence-test

The lawyers are right, you will be a resident alien.


Title: [FL] Leaving a company that hasn't been paying me. Do I need to give a formal 2 weeks notice?

Question:
Hello, and thanks for looking.
  &nbsp;

I graduated college in the Spring with a job offer.  Mid-summer, I started working with a small company under salary.  I signed an employment agreement which is of course filled with a bunch of legal verbiage that I cant fully interpret.  I had a lawyer look over it before I started working and he didn't see any cause to be alarmed except that its written I could be terminated without cause, no big deal to me.  Well, now I've decided to leave so I'm revisiting this agreement myself, I'd have to pay if I wanted a lawyer this time.  The main reason I'm leaving is because the company hasn't paid me in a month and may not be able to pay anything for another 2 weeks.
&nbsp;

The important parts and my questions:
So in the agreement there is a line that says: *payment shall be payable on the last day of each two-week period during the term of this agreement.*
&nbsp;

In the termination section of the agreement it says *at least two weeks notice must be given in writing*.

Do I actually have to submit this letter then wait two weeks before I stop showing up to work? Or is missing out on 2 pay periods considered a justifiable break in the agreement?  I feel like it would be a waste of time to continue showing up to work.
&nbsp;

Lastly, also in the termination section, it states *as of the effective date of termination of the agreement, the employer shall have no further obligation to pay any salary.*

Does this mean that they aren't obligated to pay my unpaid salary or that I wont be paid anything further? (which should be pretty obvious)
&nbsp;

If there is anything else I should be aware of when leaving please let me know as I'm not well versed in the working world.  Theres no bad blood, just no money.
&nbsp;

Also, I forgot to mention.  I work and live in Florida but the agreement says its a Delaware corporation.
&nbsp;

*edit: formatting, sorry I'm not used to making posts.
*edit2: its a Delaware corporation.
*edit17: i still suck at formatting

Answer: Practically speaking, not legal advice, but any company that can't afford to pay employees doesn't have money to pay a lawyer to sue employees who don't give 2 weeks notice.


Title: Are exceptions to laws granted during survival-type situations?

Question:
Say a pilot crashes his plane in the middle of a forest. He is completely injured and unaware of where he is, so he must survive there until he is rescued. He ends up killing and eating a protected endangered animal.

In this kind of situation, would be he granted some sort of immunity against potential charges for killing the animal?

Answer:
 Necessity can be a defense.  Generally, it requires four things:

1. The defendant must reasonably have believed that there was an actual and specific threat that required immediate action.  (In your hypothetical, he'd have to reasonably believe that he'd starve unless he ate that animal.)

2. The defendant must have had no realistic alternative to completing the criminal act.  (He'd have to have no other reasonable source of food.)

3. The harm caused by the criminal act must not be greater than the harm avoided.  (Starving to death is probably a greater harm than killing an animal, even an endangered one.)

4. The defendant did not himself contribute to or cause the threat.  (You couldn't crash with the intention of then being allowed to eat a rare animal.)

Note that in the US and a lot of other places, necessity cannot be used in a murder case.  You can't kill and eat your copilot to avoid starving yourself.Answer #2: It would be up to the DA and/or the judge to work that out. There's always the option of simply not pressing charges.


Title: Do you have to invite someone that is helping to pay for your wedding to your wedding?

Question:
Like, say your mom has always said that they will contribute $10k to your wedding but never said that I had to invite her because the subject of not inviting her never came up. Well, what if right before your wedding she's being a huge douche canoe and crossing huge lines, but she has also already paid the money already and it's not refundable. Can you just uninvite her and hire security so she can't come? Would you legally have to pay her back the money?

Edit: Guys, this is hypothetical. I'm not not inviting my mom to my wedding, and I'm not looking for moral advice. I am looking for legal advice for a hypothetical situation because I find this stuff interesting. They don't let you ask this in LegalAdvice so that's why I'm asking here

Answer:
 In bird law culture, this is considered a dick move.Answer #2: Legally?  IANAL, but a gift is a gift.  I don't think she was buying a $10k dinner ticket.

Practically?  You will permanently burn this bridge, and you have to realistically consider that taking her money just before you cut her out will make her arguments more sympathetic, and may make it easier for her to ally family against you.  It *looks* like a dick move, even if it's not illegal.  If possible, give her the money back and eat whatever costs you've incurred.  People will respect you for taking the high road, and if it messes up some of your plans and you have to cheap out on things to pay off the things you're stuck with, then people will be more inclined to favor you out of pity over your crazy mom.


Title: smoking weed in my apartment by the window when my next door neighbor came to my window to complain. am I in my rights to smoke in my own apartment? is there anything he can do against me?

Question:
let me start by saying that I don't want to cause any trouble with my neighbors. They are new and moved in this summer, I have never had any problems with my neighbors and everyone that lives in my apartment is super chill and some of them smoke as well. My s/o and I smoke outside and only use the vaporizer inside when the weather is bad. we smoke by the window  because we don't what the smell all over our home. well today  I decided to smoke the vape by the window and this guy comes out of nowhere and yells at me because  every time I smoke the smoke blows into his house and he has kids. I said I had no idea and that I am sorry and stopped. I was home alone and got really paranoid. so this means I no longer will be able to smoke in my own apartment? I don't want to upset him and I understand where he is coming from but the idea of someone telling me what I can do and can't do is not sitting well with me... any advised?

for clarification this person lives in a house next to my building and I am on the first floor, my window faces his side yard. I live in a small studio, its the only windows I have. I have never in my life had an interaction like this before and I feel so bad, I feel like a terrible person and I am scared of getting in trouble. I am a grown adult (f) and I just don't know why I am feeling like a 14 year old who got caught by their parents.

Answer: Is weed legal where you live? Does your apartment allow smoking indoors or on the property?


Title: A man was arrested in Arizona with his dead wife's body in the car. He says she died in Texas on a trip to California. Does crossing the border with the body make it a federal matter?

Question:
[See this article for details](http://ktar.com/story/2573747/arizona-police-arrest-70-year-old-traveling-with-wifes-dead-body/)

Husband and wife set out on a trip from Oklahoma to California. He says she died in a hotel in Texas. He puts her body in the car and keeps going. He gets arrested in Arizona. Arizona police are working with Texas police to investigate if it was a homicide. There is no mention in the article about FBI involvement.

Does crossing the border with the body make this federal? Is this something the FBI might get involved in? How does that work?

Answer:
 When the course of an illegal activity takes place in multiple jurisdictions, any of the states involved may invoke jurisdiction over the matter. For example, if John stands in Texas and shoots his gun over the boarder into Oklahoma and kills Bob, either state can choose to prosecute John for the murder.

The fact that he crossed state lines would also provide a "jurisdictional hook" that would allow the feds to take jurisdiction as well. Though federal involvement is at their leisure and they are not required to.

As a practical matter, you'd likely see the agencies involved negotiating over who has most of the evidence, who is better situated to investigate and prosecute the case.

Federal jurisdiction is also concurrent with state jurisdiction, so they might also allow the state to prosecute their case and then decide to prosecute John as well. This is not considered a double jeopardy issue.Answer #2: The bottom line is that absent any other special element (say, murder of a federal official or foreign dignitary, or a case related to drugs or terrorism), the federal government may, but is very unlikely to prosecute a simple murder case like this one.   They'd leave it up to the state (or states) to prosecute.Answer #3: What if his behavior was caused by shock that she died?  Would he still be prosecuted?Answer #4: This is some National Lampoon shizAnswer #5: This is basically the plot of “Little Miss Sunshine”Answer #6: It would, except it doesn't look like there is a federal (i.e., U.S.) desecrating a corpse law of any kind, which seems like the big issue. If they wanted, though, I suspect they could come up with a federal law that was broken in the course of mistreating the corpse.


Title: Forced cab ride when sick at work.

Question:
Ontario, Canada

Today a coworker of mine became sick at our place of business. He puked in the bathroom. After this he went to his supervisor to tell him what had happened and that he was going home.

At this point he was informed that he would have to take a cab home, provided by the company. He refused and stated that he will be driving himself. Our HR department then informed him that he would be written up if he did leave of his own account.

We have no policies stating a cab ride home is mandatory when leaving ill.  My coworker ended up staying because he would have had to leave his vehicle at work.

So my question is, can our company do this? Would it not be my coworkers decision on how he wants to conduct himself home?

All I can think of is if this person got into an accident on the way home it may put the company in a liable position.  Is there precedence for this?

Edit: Spelling

Answer:
 HR can write him up if they want. No one forced him to take a cab, he could have driven himself if he liked, he just would have risked the write up.

They are just trying to avoid liability.


Title: [GA] Can I offer to marry someone who is illegal?

Question:
Can I post an ad offering to marry an “illegal” alien for $2000?  That way they get to stay in the country and I get a little cash too?

How long would I have to stay married to them? 3 months? 6 months? A year?

Answer: Marriage fraud for immigration purposes can result in up to 5 years in federal prison and a fines up to $250,000.


Title: Lost $1400 by paying a Landscaping "Company" Money up Front for Material and He's Telling me to Take Him to Court to Get it Back.

Question:
I will be taking the guy to court which I'll file in Small Claims tomorrow with the County we're in.

However, a few people suggested I should have a friend arrange a bid for work to be done with him, and I show up to confront him face to face about the whereabouts of my 14 100 dollar bills.  As long as I stay cordial and don't harass or threaten him is this OK?  I feel it is because I'm trying to resolve the dispute on my own.

Also, I plan on recording the whole thing.
I'm from Pacific, Missouri near Six Flags St. Louis
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 >I show up to confront him face to face about the whereabouts of my 14 100 dollar bills.

What are you going to do when he says in response "They're right in my back pocket and I'm not giving you shit"? Is it going to stay calm and collected?  Doubtful.

It sounds like you and your friends watch too much Spike TV.  This is a terrible idea, and nothing good will come from it.  What do you think, he's going to give you $1400 on the spot?  You're living in dream land.  The guy is either going to tell you to stuff it, or he'll say he has to go and get the money, at which point you'll never see him again.

Small claims.  That's your answer.


Title: Freedom of information act request help

Question:
I have never submitted a FOIA request before so I am looking for tips on what to ask for in regards to the scope of request and how to properly request info.

I recently found out that my grandfather worked for the CIA and his death is shrouded in mystery. He was murdered in Rogers, AR in 1991. He was alive and coherent when he got into the ambulance and was pronounced dead upon arrival. My uncle had requested the coroner report and was instantly met with opposition.

Answer:
 > My uncle had requested the coroner report and was instantly met with opposition.

Coroner's report isn't under the federal FOIA, though some states have laws with similar (or identical) names.

Confusingly enough, Arkansas's public records act is also named FOIA. But you need to adhere to the Arkansas requirements, not the federal ones.

[See here](https://arkansasag.gov/resources/foia/)

Should get you started. Every state's coroners function differently (some states just hire it out and do not keep a coroner on salary), in which case the coroner's report should be with the county department of health or equivalent.


Title: [SC, USA] I am not 21, but can legally drink at my house. Would the youth BAC apply to me still if I were to get pulled?

Question: In SC there is an exception for furnishing alcohol and internal possession if it is given to you by parent/spouse so I was wondering if the youth BAC (there is a different BAC level they go by if you're under 21) would still apply to me even though I am drinking legally.

Answer: Of course it would. Don't drink and drive and don't leave the house after drinking. Answer #2: It even applies if you were over 21!Answer #3: Yes. Don't drink and drive. That applies to everyone.Answer #4: It does not matter if you drank legally or illegally, your BAC limit is still 0.02.


Title: [ME, OK] Ex is pregnant with child, will not allow me anywhere in their lives. Custody questions.

Question:
Hi, I will get right to it: I lived in Colorado when I met this girl.  I cheated on my girlfriend with this girl while we had a low point of our relationship.  This girl was the reason why I started down the breakup road with my girlfriend.  Not because I wanted to be with her, but because she made me realize that I wasn't happy.  At the time, we were on the road to breaking up mutually, so I started setting things up with the girl I was sleeping with after I found out that she was pregnant.

She was all fine and ecstatic for the idea and after I went to visit her in OK, she became super distant and broke things off with me after I left and went back to CO.  She insisted that she would not let me anywhere near our daughter because I was not a "Faith walking Christian" and I would surely raise our child to think that cheating is okay (She knew what she was doing).  I have a son of my own, a new home, a new residence state, and I do nothing illegal or wrong (my last offense was an illegal U-Turn 4 years ago).  I would LOVE to be able to see and raise my daughter to live with her brother.  So, what can I do?

I will answer questions to the best of my ability, I just need help, and r/legaladvice has helped me before.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 You can't really do anything until the kid is born. When they are, then you need to hire a lawyer to first test paternity and then file for your custody options. I don't really see it likely that you'd get primary physical custody (especially if she breast feeds the baby), but you could definitely get joint physical and legal custody. You'd also possibly get the amount of child support you might need to pay. Your best option right now is to be saving up to pay the lawyer to help you figure it all out. Answer #2: > I would LOVE to be able to see and raise my daughter to live with her brother.

Absent proof of patent unfitness (criminal activity, abuse, drug abuse), your chances of getting full custody of a newborn is zero.

Once the child is born, you can file for custody and seek some sort of shared arrangement.


Title: Texas; Questions about paternity rights

Question:
I've been in a relationship with my GF for about 2 years. She has a son whose father is not a part of the picture. From what I understand, her relationship with the father was abusive and she left him before either of them knew she was pregnant. She has done her best to keep the son a secret from him, fearing further abuse to her and her son.

What rights does the father have simply by being the biological father of the son? How does this change if he has a violent criminal record?

Edit: Would there be any restrictions to his custody rights if he has a criminal record? If father wants to forfeit his rights as a biological father, what does that entail (if that is even possible)?

Edit 2: Words
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 He has all his rights until a court says otherwise. A criminal record does not by itself change parental rightsAnswer #2: Technically as the biological father he has all of his rights until they are curtailed by court order. However, it doesn't sound like he is the legal father, which means he has no standing to assert his legal rights until he is recognized as the legal father. His criminal record has no impact on either of these labels.

Legal father means he's listed on the birth certificate. It also means he has rights to custody, parenting time, and he may be obligated to pay child support (or receive child support) depending on both parents income, the visitation schedule, and what state the kid lives in.

If your girlfriend didn't list him on the birth certificate and the two of them weren't married when she had the kid its doubtful he is the legal father. If he were to track your girlfriend down he would have to assert paternity via court order. If that were to happen your girlfriend would definitely receive notice and therefore be aware of what's going on. Once he's established his paternity, your girlfriend can initiate custody proceedings against him. That's when his criminal history and history of domestic abuse, etc. will come into play, because it may impact how much (if any) parenting time he receives.

This is just practical advice here but its likely this guy will leave your girlfriend alone unless she does something to attract his attention. Rather than try to get him to forfeit rights, which will only antagonize him and probably be unsuccessful, just ignore him and move on with your lives.


Title: Legal protection for my pet geese [NY]

Question:
Hello everyone, sorry for formatting or breaking any rules, I'm new to reddit.

I have a flock of geese I own that have the run of my yard durning the day, my yard is fully fenced with a 4 ft high chain link fence.

Given the current lock down there are several groups of kids that tend to wander around the neighborhood, including jumping my fence (when I see them, i yell but it doesnt seem to matter).

My question is: my geese are very territorial to people they dont know and I have seen them get close to biting these kids before. how do I legally protect my pets? Would "no trespassing " or "guard animal on duty" signs be enough? I'd hate to have to put then to sleep because they were being geese.

Thanks!

Answer:
 Some things you might want to do:
-	Put up “No Trespassing” signs
-	Cameras. Yes, they are a more expensive option up front but might save you a bundle down the road. Plus there are some decently affordable quality ones out there.
-	Call the police every time and get a report made. And yeah they’re going to hate it after more than once or twice. One can never go wrong with tea or some such.
-	Document every occurrence.
-	Inform their parents if you know who they are to keep their children off your property.
-	a taller fence. Downside is price of course.


Title: In what states is it legal to not listen to Marilyn Monroe?

Question: I’m wondering what states have banned refusal to not listen to Marilyn Monroe by Nicki Minaj, since, while atrocious, it’s obviously not illegal worldwide like refusal to listen to Honey and the Bee by Owl City is. And what’s the minimum and maximum punishments?

Answer: Do you have any other symptoms of a stroke?


Title: Ending 4 yr marriage. Lazy ex wants alimony. HELP!

Question:
Hi. Throwaway account for obvious reasons.

I really hope some kind soul on here will have a few minutes to read thru this and help me! I need some advice or at least some guidance.

&#x200B;

The Question: Do I have to pay my ex-wife alimony?

The Info:  I'm ending my 4-year marriage that over the last two years has been a depressing Touch-Starved, Little-to-No Sex, unequal partnership. I'm 42, she's 40. We have no kids. We rent. We don't own anything together.

She worked part-time for our whole marriage in spite of my regular requests for her to get a second part-time job, or full time work, in order to help with rent, bills, debts, etc. Now she's moving to Maui, where she will be able to keep her part-time job and work remotely. She is asking for $800 per month alimony for 2 years. Which I can not afford for many reasons. She is making veiled threats that she's "talked to some lawyers", and that "it's going to be really expensive if we have to both get lawyers" so why not "pay $800 per month in alimony for 2 years".

I have not filed papers yet. We live in California.

I'm happy to answer any questions that may be helpful. Thank you!

&#x200B;

More info to flesh things out: When we first met she was in trouble with multiple lenders for small loans and credit cards, and was getting harassed by debt collectors. Once our finances were joined together, I helped show her how to pay off her debtors and get the debt collectors off her back. Now she only has student loans which existed before we met. We tried to have kids, but were not successful.

I have had the same job since before I met her, and have worked full-time+ for our whole relationship. She was working part-time when we met and made about half of what I did, but promised that she would find full-time work. Over the course of our marriage I regularly asked her to either get a second part-time job, or find full-time work, in order to help with the bills, etc. In those 4 years she did not actively try to find a second job or a full-time job. She was off of work every day by 2:30PM. I work in another city and do not get home until after 6PM every workday. I would often get home at 6PM to find her asleep on the couch, the house a mess, no plans for what we would have for dinner, and no groceries in the fridge. For the majority of our marriage, our sex life was abysmal and sporadic, and was left entirely on me to initiate sexual, physical or intimate contact. Over the last 2 years, physical intimacy diminished so much that I felt touch-starved and ignored.

Answer:
 It's complicated but one general rule is that, if awarded, spousal support will last for half the length of a less than 10-year long marriage. [Here are all the variables the court takes into account](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=4320.).

Get an attorney.Answer #2: I'm a divorce attorney in California.

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Call an attorney, they can run a Dissomaster for you to show you what "temporary" support will look like.  There are also arguments to be made for underemployed spouses, but those are for trial - you will spend money to get there.

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All other issues (no intimacy, sex, etc) have no bearing in California, save and except for a date of separation argument.  Because they continued, even sporadically, any argument about the date of separation being earlier will probably fall on deaf ears.


Title: Self Defense and racial or gender bias.

Question:
Let’s say you have a case of two people who have no other witnesses nor any further documentation. Like for example a domestic altercation.

It goes to court. Let’s say the man sues the woman or the person of minority race sues a white male (as in opposite of majority).

Since you have no viable data to corroborate either one’s account of events, it must be down to some pretty substantial level of interpretation and bias on the side of a judge (or jury) to make a determination of who is actually at fault.

Two questions come to mind:

1. How prevalent is minority-support bias in today’s world?

2. How much does plaintiff-support bias account for in general?

Answer: I can't think of a way that anyone would be able to answer these questions except with their subjective opinion. How could you ever know why the jury does what it does? They're not going to say they didn't trust a witness because of their sex or skin color.


Title: Accidentally sold a stolen iPad online

Question:
So last week i bought an iPad off some guy off this called OfferUp. It was relatively cheap so I thought why don’t i flip it online? I did and the consumer that bought it got a lost iPad message and to return it to owner. Long story short, it is stolen and this guy got in contact with our local police and they have told him to turn in to them instead of returning back to me AND he has requested a refund from me. At this point what can i do? When i got the iPad it had no indication of being stolen (no accounts on it or anything) and i really had no idea. Now i am not getting the iPad back and I don’t know how i would get the money back either since he’s giving it to the police. Am I screwed?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Who told you this? The police? Or the guy that you sold it to? You need to get the police report number, the detective name, which police location they spoke to. You need to file your own police report about what’s going on. Answer #2: IF you bought a stolen iPad, you will have to refund the buyer and your only legal recourse is to sue the seller in small claims court. If they are out of jail at the time... because the police is better at finding people than you are and are likely to win that race.

It is also possible that the buyer is scamming you by pretending the iPad is stolen. You MUST obtain independent verification of whether that iPad is stolen or not before refunding their payment.

Anything you receive from the buyer is suspicious. Go to the police station and figure it out directly with the police.


Title: Given 2 traffic citations, but only ran stop signs because I feared for my life.

Question:
I'm not sure about the legalities about this one. This is in the state of Florida.
I was driving home late at night through my neighborhood the other night when I noticed a suspicious vehicle following me. I knew this was not normal and felt unsafe, because I was about to park at my house. I ran a stop sign onto my road to gain some distance from the driver and to see if they would speed up to follow me, which they did. I now knew for certain this car was following me and felt a fearful state of panic because I was about to park in my driveway. Was this someone trying to rob me?
I drove passed my house and ran another stop sign to get further away from this vehicle as I thought of what to do next. At this point the vehicle turned on their lights and I realized it was a cop and stopped.
Obviously I ran the stop signs, but only did it because this suspicious vehicle was following me and I felt unsafe because I was about to park at my house. The cops didn't care and gave me 2 citations. Should I really be given 2 citations because I was in fear of my life and trying to protect myself? I feel it is unfair. Are there any legalities for this type of situation and what should I do? Thanks.

Answer: If you felt in fear for your life because there was a car following yours then you should probably not be driving. In any case, running from the police is not a defence to the citation.


Title: Went to meet someone from Snapchat, and got jumped instead

Question:
This isn't my story and it only just happened yesterday but I'm frustrated because I can't do anything and I don't know how to search this one on Google.

So, family member, male, in early 20s, starts talking to a girl on Snapchat on Thursday. She asks him to come over on Friday (yes, to have sex. no, I do not know the age of the girl at this time.) When he shows up, he's met with five guys who attack him and thankfully, didn't beat him too badly, but enough to give him a concussion and stitches. The girl was there to record the event. He's unsure how he got away, he doesn't know if they took anything, and he doesn't remember getting home. When he got home, his mom had him file a police report (which, as they were leaving the station, he started vomiting so they rushed him to the ER to get checked out). He does have the address of where it took place (unsure if any of them live there). Sorry for not having 100% of the facts to lay out, he is still resting this morning and I've been up for hours stewing on this one.

My legal questions: Does he need to do anything beyond this initial police report? should he get a lawyer? an investigator? someone to identify these people (he has no idea who the guys were, and as I said, only met the girl on snapchat). If the girl is underage, how does this affect him? (in all scenarios: if he knew the girl was underage. if she misrepresented herself as being over 18, or if she never disclosed her age.)

My other question: is there any way to find this video if it was streamed on snapchat? (as evidence)

Answer: Nope, everything was done correctly here. You could also sue the men for medical bills.


Title: (NY) Coworker attempting to frame me for sexual harassment so he can get my promotion.

Question: I work in an office setting. Recently a manager position opened up that I was a great fit for. A coworker was a similarly good fit, but I was confident that I would get it. I have more experience and have been here longer. Unfortunately, before a decision could be made there was a sexual harassment event. A female worker found a large *sex toy* in her drawer in the morning. When I heard the news I knew it would cost me the promotion and maybe my job. The issue was, many years ago when I first started, I had put a similar sex toy in a woman’s drawer as a prank. I got in big trouble and learned my lesson. Everyone knows that it was me, including my rival. I think he staged the new sex toy so everyone would assume it was me again. Walk me through my options.

Answer:
 You can tell the truth that you didn't do it. But if your employer believes you did and denies you the promotion because of it you have no real recourse. Employers aren't courts of law they don't owe you due process.Answer #2: Does your office have surveillance cameras?Answer #3: Go back in time and don’t do it the first time.

If a time machine is not available, it might be time to look for a new job without that in your history.

There are certain things that paint people in a particular light no matter how hard they work to change their image, and this is an ugly reminder that you *did* do it once, even if you are innocent this time.Answer #4: Troll account don't feed himAnswer #5: Ignore it? If you didn't do it, you didn't do it. Answer #6: Go talk to your bosses first and tell them it wasn't you and that you learned your lesson the first time around. Don't bring your coworker into it unless you have proof. Good luck.


Title: Purchased property contains lead-based gasoline in soil

Question:
I live with my grandpa (73) in the United States (state of Indiana). He recently became involved in real estate and wanted to purchase an unused property to set up an auto garage since he saved up money working as a mechanic for the last 50 years. The property he settled on was a gas station between the 1920s and 1970s and hasn't been touched since. When he spoke to the seller, he received a surprisingly low price for the entire property. I warned him that there must be something wrong with it, since the location is in a busy section of the downtown area and has been sitting unused for so long. The sketchy price from the seller cemented my suspicions and I did some research.

It turns out most gas stations used to have a problem with the gasoline leaching into the soil. Even worse, gasoline used to contain lead that would be getting into the soil. I told him not to buy it, but he did anyways. This was roughly six months ago.

The problem: My grandfather has been informed that he is now responsible for the environmental damage caused by the gas station and needs to clean up the soil before building any new commercial property. The Environmental Department additionally said he could be held responsible if any of the lead gets into the water supply, although I think this is unlikely since the station is not near any major city water resources.

He's embarrassed that he didn't listen or do some research of his own and we're at a loss about what to do. So, some questions:

1. Is my grandpa legally responsible for any damage caused by the gasoline if it leached into a water supply?
2. Does my grandpa have any recourse for being sold a property that the seller knew had environmental hazards but didn't tell my grandpa about?
3. Is my grandpa responsible if the gasoline spread to the other nearby properties?

If you could point me to some resources about Indiana environmental law as well, I would really appreciate it. My grandpa is one of those older guys who doesn't use the Internet, so he's been relying on me to simplify things for him. I've told him he should get a lawyer, but he still wants me to explain it to him.

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Thank you!

Answer: You really need a lawyer for something like this.


Title: So, i need legal advice for my home security idea

Question:
Would i be able to take the concept of a 1700s Grave Gun, and apply it to home defense as a patent?
Rings at the bottom of the barrel of the gun, hooked into a flintlock mechanism with a freely swiveling gun,  Those are attached to multiple tripwires, which turn the gun when triggered, in the direction of which tripwire it was, while simultaneously setting off the hammer mechanism, firing the gun, loaded with a 12 gauge shotgun shell.
 Hook the tripwire to a door, and a lock that will only disarm the tripwire when unlocked with the key, and not lock picked
 It could be hooked to doors and windows, and would turn in the direction of whichever one was opened

Tripwires would be ran underneath the floorboards to avoid misfires from inside the home
And attached to the bottom of the door

Answer:
 You just described the exact booby trap that made the user both criminally and civilly liable in Katko v Briney.

So no, you cannot legally do that.Answer #2: Booby traps (like you’ve described) are illegal nearly everywhere, at least in the U.S.Answer #3: No, you cannot booby-trap your house. It is illegal in every jurisdiction in the US that I’m aware of.


Title: Can I sue my dentist?

Question:
Right now I'm sitting in the ER after a single wisdom tooth extraction.  While drilling, his bit fell off the drill, into my mouth and may have went down my throat and possibly into my lungs.   I thought it was just a piece of tooth while the operation went on but he informed me that it was a bit and that I needed to go to the ER.

Update just found out it is in my stomach.

Can I see for malpractice?

Answer:
 It doesn’t sound like malpractice to me, but an accident.

Before filing a suit, I’d approach the dentist about covering any medical bills.


Title: When the OPs inbox you...

Question:
I've decided I'ma just start sharing the stuff I get in my inbox from people in the main sub.

 [Original thread](https://np.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/7mj8mh/az_how_do_you_sue_people_for_slander_and_get_them/).

 Note: I missed the post before it was removed, but responded to a response someone else made to the OP concerning "Dark Law." I said, 'I feel like I missed out on something special here.' And I was all the way right. Paragraph spacing, bold/italics are my own):

>First you've got to know that they are separated and hate each other but they talk to each other through his girlfriend (which get this, listen to this shit, my mom is fucking his girlfriend!) So this is why there's such a game of telephone.

> I'm 20 years old and yeah I live with my mom big whoop I have a job yeah it isn't being an Executive. But still I have a job. It's always a bunch of chaotic bullshit and it finally boiled over about noon today me and her went to a mutual friend's house (K). **K had some people at the house, the only important one I'll call L. We were talking and he asked me about my religion, so I told him about it. I'm not getting into it, but it's stuff I've discovered, not made up, discovered through something I'm not getting into. I've got 27 people who know the truth now.**

> I sound like a dumbass writing this, that's because I've been drinking and smoking weed. Like a lot normally I'm a fucking genius. But yeah I know I'm writing like a retard. But I'm serious you're impression that I'm a retarded stoner is not true when I'm sober I'm fucking brilliant. Anyway he asked what it has to do with politics or something like that, **I said we're technically [I won't type it because it puts you on a list for having your internet posts not shown to people, but it's a key first and then a direction]** because we believe some stuff about government should be a corporation & there should be many states, one for every kind of person, **(it's not the religion but since it's my truth it's an "optional belief" in the religion, I found it through Wikipedia, don't look it up because you won't understand**, as I said I am writing like a retard because I am FUCKING Stoned but when I'm not I'm a genius like not joking fucking genius) to be the truth it's not the fuck everyone but white men kind of shit though, and he said he was, told me about an app, and after that he said something else about the news, it wasn't important, anyway everything was OK for about 10 minutes until K said "who wants to smoke a bowl?" I said "of what?" BIG MISTAKE. Because she said, well it was weed but now that I know you're cool we can do some crystal to.

> I was like fuck because if my mom does that shit and smokes weed she gets wild. She can do one but not both because she'll act a fool... Anyway you'll find out as you keep reading.let me say I only do that stuff about once or twice every two weeks. Anyway we smoked bowls, weed cc dope cw. Then K said something about the illuminati and I dont remember how it got to the topic of people having secrets and hiding stuff but L said yeah [Me] and I are both [something I won't type] and there's a lot more people that keep a secret, and **I went to say "technically, I'm not an asshole" but my mom jumped up yelling that I was a terrorist he was a terrorist, she said I bought some circuit board kits to build a bomb**, yeah I told you she gets crazy as she does the shit and the weed. The thing you have to understand is *SHE WAS*
**PROBABLY**
*JOKING ABOUT ALL OF THAT*, she's a no-money out of the blue comedian and that's how she jokes. I said she messed up me spreading my religion, well it's not a religion if it's true, Wow what a mistake, cuz this is what she turned it into : talking about religions is Criminal Cult Activity, and I was a criminal, then "terrorist" turned into "a member of criminal organization", she got on that again except now I was in some kind of mafia not a terrorist.

> Everyone was laughing their ass off (it was some good fucking weed I'll tell you that) then she said "it's highly illegal to tell someone about a cult, it's a high crime, A HIGH CRIME!" At that point we all lost our fucking shit because you know "High" crime 6 people laughing their fucking ass off (no we weren't being mean it's different in my town if it's funny you laugh) and her phone was on the table, I picked it up thinking it was mine then I swear to God **she said "they eat pickled babies" in my religion** and HOLY FUCK you gotta understand it was some good weed about as good as this shit I'm smoking right now, and I slammed my hands down on the table and banged them but then I was like FUCK again because I broke her phone. Then she got serious kinda. Mostly serious.

> So then she said I needed to give her back my phone, which I'd bought from her with a bag of weed a while back. I was like hell no you ain't getting my cell phone there's porn on it. **Then she said "you'll go to jail then because it's theft without a written contract"**

>> **BIG STOP!**

>  **Because that right there is Assault By The Law, to say you're going to call the law and have someone arrested unless they threaten your safety.**

> **It's not a very known law and so a lot of cops don't even know about it.**

> **But every judge does and you'll earn their respect for knowing about the Dark Laws** (they're called Dark Laws because they're not very known about.)

> **I learned about it because one of my congregation got kicked out of Harvard Law School for stealing a book that talked about the secret laws and talking about it on his blog.**

> It's not that big of a crime, just a week in jail tops. So I said I'll buy her another one. When we got home she asked about me buying her a phone and I said "psych." So again she committed Assault By The Law and I said, Did you know that's a crime, Assault By The Law. Then she said if you make a trade for something and you make a profit, it's theft unless there's a written contract or a business license. **I'll have to ask my student about that because for all I know it's a Dark Law**. But anyway it's been nothing but repeated counts of Assault By The Law since then. She talked to my dad's girlfriend and told her I'm in organized crime, ordered circuit board kits to build a bomb (they're kids science kits I bought them for a friend's kid gave them to her on Christmas), and that I stole her phone. Then I guess my dad turned this into I stole my mom's phone with a weapon, and I'm selling drugs through the Wendy's Drive-thru because I'm in a gang. Because that's what he put on Facebook.

> **Anyway I'm pissed because now my grandparents think I'm a criminal, what do I do. I want to sue him and I want to get her arrested for Assault By The Law, but as I said there's not many cops who know about the Dark Laws. There's one or more in every police station, that is a Dark Law too. So how do I find the cops that know about them? I know I gotta do it sober so I'll have to do it tomorrow.**

> Oh by the way, I want to tell you cuz Ive gotten into arguments with people online about it, **if you type certain words, Google puts you on lists and makes it where Google Chrome users can't see your posts**

> **But about the slander, what do I do about the slander. Can a student who got kicked out of Law School for telling people about secret laws represent you?**

Answer:
 This is the written equivalent of hyperverbal symptom of mania.  I assume it was just a wall of text.

These were the worst clients on the stand.  I would ask them a simple question and they would talk rapidly, non-stop, barely taking a breath for minutes on end.  I'm their attorney and can't really interrupt them.  Finally would get an objection from the prosecutor, "is there a question pending?"Answer #2: I got a contact high just reading that.Answer #3: Dice roll: DMT (as well as the acknowledged weed, alcohol, and meth use), a Cluster A disorder, an overactive imagination, or all three?


Title: I'm receiving collection calls for an accident claim that has already been paid, not sure how to take care of this.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: They want you to pay for the damage you caused.  What did your boss mean by "handle it"?  I think it's likely he never notified his insurance about the accident because he didn't want his rates to go up.


Title: Kicked out of Office Christmas Party

Question:
Location: Texas. Company rented out a bar for a Christmas Party.

Around 10pm, I stepped outside of the bar to make sure a friend got home safe. I did not touch my friend. I made sure my friend got in the uber at safe distance (the uber picked her up down the street, so you could not see the uber from the bar).

I walked back inside the bar. However, there was someone who was not an employee of the company, but a plus 1 of someone who worked at the company. The plus 1 told me she was a cop as her real job, but was at the company event. She then showed her badge to the bouncer and I. She then told me I needed to leave because I assaulted someone, that I was too drunk, and she would be reporting me to the senior managers.

Note: I was not too drunk (only 3 drinks), I did not assault anyone, and I am at a much lower position in the company. (Significantly younger than the off duty cop).

The bouncer explained he didn't want any trouble and told me I needed to leave. I agreed, so I left to avoid a bigger scene.

However, this still happened in front of some of my coworkers and I'm worried that the plus 1 off duty cop is the plus 1 of someone high up in the company and she will file a complaint about me.

Therefore, I have a couple of questions:
1. Should I report this to my HR company? Or leave it alone?
2. If this does get escalated without my involvement (i.e. the off duty cop tells someone at the event, and I get called into a meeting with HR), do I need to get a lawyer?
3. I have already requested the bar to see if they have security footage, and they do.

Answer:
 Off duty cop is just that, off duty. This person should be reported to THEIR superiors.Answer #2: If things are as you say, I would make a complaint to my boss and HR. Someone's guest has absolutely no business detaining you or kicking you out of your office party. If you broke the law in the officer's presence, then the police officer should have arrested you. If you were disturbing the party (or a guest made an assault complaint against you), then the company supervisors hosting the party should have dealt with you. Find out from your HR or boss whether or not this person was authorized to act on the company's behalf.

I certainly would not have left without an explanation from someone who works for the company.

Answer #3: Do you have coworkers who will vouch for you that you were ok and did nothing of the sort?Answer #4: >Off duty cop is just that, off duty. This person should be reported to THEIR superiors.

>the key is the badge, if she's off duty and flashing it report it to her superiors.

I honeslty do not understand this advice. If a police officer witnesses a crime they have the ability to intervene. Being off-duty literally has no bearing on this at all. How do you think er supervisors are going to react?

"Was she unprofessional? No? Did she assault you? No? She must have been visibly intoxicated? No? So she thought she witnessed a crime, intervened at the lowest possible level and you went home? Yeah, we'll get right on that."


Title: [NY] - PayPal Charge Back $18,000.00

Question:
Hi,

Long story short - Sold something to someone in January 2018 (they sent funds from AMEX but via PayPal), they were upset and initiated a charge back on July 14th for just under $18k.

I'm actually in direct contact with this person and he let me know that AMEX ruled in my favor on August 11th. (I have the screen shot of the verbiage)

However my PayPal account is still negative - when I call AMEX and ask them if they sent the funds back to PayPal yet, they say yes (but they won't submit it to me in writing)

When I call PayPal and ask them if AMEX sent them the funds back yet, they say no (but they wont submit it to me in writing)

I have debt collectors calling me asking when I plan to get my account back to positive. I'm afraid my credit score will take a hit for something I did not do wrong.

Is there anything I can do about this nonsense? Does anyone have any suggestions? Please help!!

Thanks,

Dom

Answer:
 Don't trust this person. Assume AmEx ruled against you. Regardless of how AmEx ruled, AmEx will be communicating directly with you and/or PayPal. Either you or PayPal will have a direct answer from AmEx.

You can dispute the debt with the debt collectors. Stop talking to them, and send a simple dispute letter: "Dear (debt collector), I am disputing the below-referenced alleged debt. Please validate and provide proof of assignment. It is inconvenient for me to receive phone calls. Sincerely, (you)"


Title: I park on a public street, not next to any bodies house, in order to get to school. Today I got a note on my windshield telling me to stop—is there anything they can actually do?

Question: There is a city ordinance that allows officials to put up signs prohibiting student parking on streets adjacent to schools, but this one isn’t nor does it have a sign. I’m not blocking anything or being a nuisance (it’s only me and I park next to a large open grassy area) but if they decide to complain, could anything happen?

Answer:
 Get ready for slashed tires and keyed paint though.

Keep the note for future reference. Answer #2: Who wrote the note? If it was written by a private party, you can ignore it as it holds no legal weight.

Though, be doubly sure that you are indeed parking in an area that is not specifically disallowed for students. They are not always as well marked as they could be.


Title: [California] My friend's domestic violence page hacked, files deleted from server, who to investigate?

Question:
My friend runs a domestic violence information website/small NPO about domestic violence.

Her website was recently hacked, well, within the last week or so, all files replaced, and a site with a black background and yellow Comic Sans text reading:

"ANONYMOUS IS ONE. You felt the wrath of Anonymous. Do not put this page up again.

photo of Scarlett Johansson in bikini, Ariana Grande licking a donut and Bridgit Marquardt from playboy.

Anonymous does not support your site, so fuck off, cuzzlewit."

All her files were gone from the server, including some PDFs etc. She claims they can't be recovered, included sensitive data such as user logins and private messages etc.

Who should deal with this, the FBI, or cybercrime?

BTW, my friend is located in Alabama, and I'm in California, if geography's an issue here.

Answer:
 I'd call the local police and they might be able to tell you where to go from there.

But to prevent loss of data again, your friend needs to remember the 3-2-1 rule of backups:
At least 3 copies of your data in at least 2 locations with at least 1 off site. Answer #2: Your friend can call her local police, and the FBI.  Either may have jurisdiction.


Title: Crimestoppers response time? [FL, US]

Question:
Hello, all I have basically reported someone I know who has been driving without a valid driving license to the police in Florida via the online crimestoppers service for their relevant county. Although I do not have the person's address, I gave them the car's model (to the best of my abilities) and car license plate number.

I was just wondering, how long do the police take to respond to such a thing, and when they go round to the person's home (I assume because the license plate is registered to an address they can find them that way), what is the penalty for driving without a license?

Answer: LOL! You actually submitted a report to CrimeStoppers to report someone driving without a license? Boy I sure wish I was a fly on the wall when they laughed at you.


Title: My ex is shady, so I want more control over my children.

Answer: Get an attorney and settle this like a grown-up.


Title: (US WV) Do I have a right to know if something is radioactive? Even is it's just slightly?

Question:
I'm around dirty water that's coming out of the ground, frequently getting splashed by it for twelve hour shifts. They've started sampling the water much more frequently, and I know on other work sites the water has been radioactive.

So this is really just out of curiosity. If it is indeed radioactive, do I have a right to know?

Answer: How radioactive is it? Everything in the world has some amount of radioactivity in it. Is it ionizing radiation? What matters is how many rads you are exposed to, measured in siverts. You probably get exposed to more radiation by standing in the sun all day than you get from the water.


Title: Got fired because supervisor retaliating

Question:
So I got fired basically my supervisor doesn’t like me and we had an argument. The next week I was fired by my supervisors boss. I asked why they were firing me and was told they don’t usually tell people that but referred me to a general outline and said I didn’t complete my probationary period. So to this day I don’t know really why I got fired. However, my probationary period had already passed by months by this time. You are allowed to appeal decision if you are off probation by submitting documents to a board . I submitted the documents and supervisors boss is preventing me from going to this board and telling them about my supervisors retaliatory behavior & subsequent firing. Also they are an at will employer so this another reason they are preventing me from the board.

Honestly I don’t know what I could do at this point? Sue? Any advice will help

Answer:
 Arguing with management is usually a perfect way to learn the meaning of “employment at will”.

What was the argument about? Illegal working conditions?