Title: TX - Harassed at work by a customer, including veiled threats and Facebook posts.

Question:
I work at a convenience store in a small town where literally everybody knows each other(this is important) and over the past few days (since Saturday morning) there have been four incidents of harassment from a boyfriend/girlfriend couple.  I'll give an overview, warning this is fairly lengthy.

1. (Saturday Morning) M customer drives into the parking lot to get gas at approximately 5am, the diesel pumps were being used by other customers. One of the people pumping gas was in the store waiting for the restroom. After a few minutes of waiting M customer backs up fast spinning his tires, then drives fast towards the doors slamming on his brakes, rips the doors to the store open and starts screaming at me, "are you going to let a mother fucker get gas or sit on your ass doing nothing?" (I was standing in front of the cash register scanning customer purchases.) To which I replied, "Gas pumps are first come first serve, I cannot force anyone to move so you can get your gas." At that point he started screaming at me again calling me a lazy piece of shit and so on. I ignored him and continued helping customers. He went back to his truck, waited on a pump to become available, pumped his gas, then came inside slammed the money down on the counter and left without another word. Informed my manager an hour later when we got in, we laughed at it a little bit and chalked it up to late night shenanigans.

2. (Sunday Evening) F customer comes in at approximately 11pm and immediately starts in on me calling me lazy, accusing me of dereliction of my job duties. At which point, I asked her to leave if she couldn't talk to me in a civil manner. I informed her I was about to call the police, then she replied "I'll have M Customer come deal with you." (At this time, I attempted to call the sheriff, to discover the phone in the store was not working, and my cellphone was disconnected.) So I was on edge for the rest of my shift.

3.  (Monday Morning) At 4am every morning, I have a customer come in that gets coffee and sits in his truck in the parking lot for a couple hours drinking his coffee and reading his paper. I trust this man, so I informed him of the situation and he assured me if the male customer showed up he would be there as a witness and if it escalated, he would call the sheriff for me. 30 minutes later, male customer showed up accused me of threatening him and his girlfriend with getting arrested, I told him. "Your girlfriend threatened me earlier with you, I don't feel comfortable with you in here being angry, please leave. You can come back at 6am when my manager gets in and speak with her." He left. I spoke with my manager again and informed her of the situation as well as the phones, she let me know that she would probably seek a no trespass order against them.

4a. (Monday Evening) Around 11pm, I saw M customer pull in, he stayed in his truck had a coworker of his come in and get their sodas. No incident.

4b. (Tuesday Morning) 230am, F customer comes in with one of our regular customers and immediately starts in on me, My only response is "leave now" I repeated my request for her to leave approximately 9 times before she left. As she was walking out the door, she stated "Get my fucking name out of your mouth or you'll see what happens next." At that point, I both hit my alarm and called the sheriff. (phones were working at that point) Sheriff asked me if she was in the store still, I let him know that she wasn't, so he asked me for the whole story, which I told him. He said he would document this. Shortly after I got off the phone with him, my company's security team called me to see if everything was alright because they could only see me in the cameras. I informed them of the situation including the past several incidents, and they reviewed them and stated that they now have a paper trail on their end, including video and audio.

Shortly after I got home this morning, I noticed that one of my facebook cover photos had been shared (I'm not sure why these are public on the timeline) along with a huge rant full of lies. I went back to work and showed it to my manager and she kind of shrugged it off. Since then, I have blocked this woman on facebook and gone through and manually changed any public timeline posts that weren't already private.

Now since this is a small town, everyone knows this person. However, I have only lived here for about three months. For small towns, it is not good to be involved in stuff like this as a new person in town.  These two people have a reputation as heavy drug users, even spent time in prison for drug related crimes, and I believe they were high during these incidents (pupils out of whack, odd chemical smells coming from them, etc.

I was looking for information regarding getting a protective order on them, but the only information I can find has the forms for domestic violence, and nothing for when the victim has no relationship or cohabitation with the offender.

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/cvs/protectivekit_dv.pdf

What should I do? Is there a form online for my situation? I have a gut instinct that my manager will not file a no trespass order for the aforementioned reason of me being new in town. I'm not comfortable going over her head to the area manager as the store manager has been with the company for 16 years and is due to take the area manager position in 5 years when the current manager retires. If I went over her head, I believe I would get fired, and I cannot afford to lose my job.

TL;DR: Harassed and threatened at work in a small town. Followed proper protocols and laws, what do I do next?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Harassment typically requires some extreme behavior (100s of phone calls/texts/emails in a day, following someone around, coming to their place of work and not doing business, etc). It sounds to me like they are some incredibly rude customers, but not quite to the "harassment level" yet since they are doing business with you. The facebook post is a good one to screen capture though and document since it could be the first part of a more serious issue.

As far as things you can do:

* Get a phone that works in your store.

* Report, in writing, anytime they come in and mess with you so your manager has times/dates written down. Keep a copy for you.

* Report any threats ("I'm going to make you pay for it" "Just wait until you get off") to the police.

* Don't get pulled into their nutcase lives. Let them waste their time.

* Remain wary, but unafraid. Some people are just jerks who like to make folks feel miserable. These two may have decided to try and do that to you, but so far they've not done anything illegal it seems.


Title: [MI] will I be charged with this? (retail)

Question:
As short as possible:

Last night I went into a Meijers. I made my way to the alcohol section and apparently they had a secret shopper and or just workers in the area watching me. I made the mistake of putting a fifth of alcohol in my pocket. Immediately following a worker walked up to me and said "did you just put that in your pocket?" (note: their is no way they saw me directly do this.. maybe the fact I had the bottle and no longer did.) at this point a group of workers showed up to the area and all I heard is "yeah I better call frank right now" and at this point I just wanted the bottle out of my possession. I made my way around the corner quickly, put the bottle back on a shelf, and walked out: followed by a worker who took pictures of the license plate of the vehicle I came in. Not too far down we were pulled over by the police and questioned. I maintained I did not steal anything; because I did not. The officer was not having it and said whether I admitted to it or not he would come back with a warrant either way. **Will I be issued a warrant and charged if I am on camera concealing a bottle bot then putting it back before leaving the store?**

Answer: You won't but don't start this "made the mistake", you did it deliberately, that was no mistake. I can tell you though that if you ever go back to that store they will call the police.


Title: I was raped by my husband.

Question:
Months ago I was raped by my husband. I reported him and Files for divorce. We are in the middle of getting the actual divorce. I just found out I am pregnant. I am unsure of whether the child was conceived as a consequence of the rape or slightly before. My doctor pinpointed the estimated due date and it would set the conception at nearly a month prior to the rape. I have a lawyer for the divorce but I am curious as to whether he would even handle a situation like this.

Questions:

What rights do I have in not having contact with my ex husband?
I am assuming he has rights to see the baby, right?
Does it matter if the baby was conceive during the rape?
Do I have to prove that?
I have a non contact order against him. How and am I required to tell him? I am sure he will discover it when we go to court seeing as how I will be showing.
Can I still accept child support from him?

I am guess I am just wondering how to handle this situation. I can't really afford to pay more to my lawyer to handle this if it needs more time or will complicate this. I know a lot of this might seem like something I should already know, but I am young and new at all this and I honestly have no idea where to go from here.

Also, could he stop me from moving to another state away from where he is or from getting an abortion? Do I need a special lawyer for this?

I understand if you can't give me direct advice but if you could point me in the direction of a website or book it would greatly appreciated.

State is Mississippi. I should mention that he has a lot more money than I do, normally. I was a stay at home wife.

Answer:
 You are not obligated to tell him anything. Period. And you're not allowed to speak to him, because of the no contact order, so you CAN'T tell him anything.

You absolutely are never required to tell him about an abortion or get his permission for one. Ever.

I can't tell you what to do here. I can tell you that it's probably in your best interest to try to get that no contact order made permanent.

I can tell you that, even with the sexual assault, the court will probably allow him contact of some sort with his child if he wants it. It might be supervised, but it will probably happen.

He may well be in jail for awhile and it might be a non-issue. If that happens, you are never required to bring the child to visit him while he is incarcerated.

ANy child support would be taken directly from his check and given to you by the state.

He can't stop you from moving to another state right now, but it's possible he could after the child is born.

Please, PM me if you just want to talk. I've seen situations like this, and they're horrible. I'll be thinking about you.


Title: Being deported from my holiday in Finland (16-M)

Question:
Sorry about formatting I’m on mobile

I’m a British citizen on a holiday by myself to Finland,with my parents consent,

I was forcibly taken from my place of residence (without being told why at the time) and moved to a police station. The police then refused to tell me what was going on and after an hour or so of waiting I was moved to a secure unit where I cant leave. My parents never got informed by the authorities that any of this was happening.

It turns out my social worker has reported me as missing and took it to court, the court then ordered me to be returned to the uk. Despite the fact that the social worker isn’t applied to me and as a family we’ve complained against them she still managed to do this

What can I do in this situation to continue my stay in Finland and continue my holiday  I’ve contacted the British embassy and they’ve said it’s all above board.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer: I have no idea but I know people who can answer will want to know more details about this like the story behind why you have a social worker and what exactly you are doing while in Finland alone, who you are staying with, etc.


Title: I work at a nonprofit. We want to buy a huge blowup movie screen and host movie nights for our participants with intellectual disabilities, their family members and we want to open it to the public andhopefully use it as a fundraising opportunity...

Question:
I'm assuming there are copyright laws when using a film and playing it with the intention of charging admission. What avenues dowe need to follow to get permission for this? Light googling did not give me much information. We are in PA.
Thanks!

Answer:
 There are companies if you just do a Google search that can help you get a license for a viewing for one day or so. Costs about 250.00. I'm on a booster club for a swim team and we've looked into it.Answer #2: You can find a movie licensing company that provides umbrella licenses (covers a selection of movies with that one fee all year).  It’s what public libraries use and is quite easy.

I don’t remember which company we used.  Just google “movie licensing company.”


Title: (FL) Our dogs vet claimed that she neutered him when she did not and hid it for 2 years.

Question:
When our dog was ~4 months old he was neutered or so the vet claimed. We recently took him to a different vet and discovered that he has cryptorchidism(undescended testicles) and the original vet had just removed the excess skin/scrotum. According to the new vet there's no way that it was an honest mistake and she certainly should have noticed at some point during the last 2 years.

When I tried to speak to the old vet about it she banned us from her clinic and refuses to answer the phone.

Can we sue is small claims for the cost of the orginal surgery($150) and the cost of the correction($425)? The old vet also threatened to sue if we leave a bad review, is there any sort of veterinary ethics board I can contact?

Answer:
 The Florida [Board of Veterinary Medicine](http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/pro/vetm/) is likely interested in this event.

And yes, you can sue in small claims court for your losses.

Finally, so long as you are careful to stick to facts, you should be able to share your experience with that vet, including publishing an online review.  Mention her threat in your complaint to the board.  Answer #2: This actually happened to my dog. They only removed the first testicle and the 2nd one descended 5 years later. The practice has multiple vets and the vet that did the first surgery lied in the report stating that he removed both testicles. The clinic ended up apologizing profusely and doing the 2nd neutering for free. We still use that clinic because of how well they handled it. That's exactly what your vet should have done here too. I would report them to the Board of Vet Medicine and take them to small claims court. I'd leave the bad review too. Answer #3: Last week my two kittens went in for neutering. One had to have abdominal surgery because he turned out to be a  double cryptorchid. Leaving the testicles in the abdomen is not a good idea, they have a high rate of turning cancerous. That vet put your dogs life at risk, in the long run.


Title: I was given a ticket for using google maps

Question:
I was two cars in from a red light intersection looking at google maps on my phone. When I realized the light was green and the car ahead of me was moving, it was about 3-5 seconds before I began to move.

When I looked at the mirror, the cop already had his lights on and gave me a ticket for using an electronic device while driving. They even stated that I was using google maps on the ticket.

I understand they were doing their job and thought I was distracted, but considering I was just lost, it does not necessarily seem like it was just. Is there any way I should go about this or should I just take the L?

Answer:
 Take the L. Next time, pull off the road to play with your phone.Answer #2: Assuming that using an electronic device while driving is a ticketable offense in the state or municipality you were in, then the ticket is valid unless your state has a specific exemption for utilizing GPS or map software on your device.

That said, the fact it took you time to realize the light was car, the car ahead of you was moving, and then another three to five seconds before you started moving indicates why there are laws against this.

If you are lost, you pull over until you figure out where you are. There is nothing unjust about ticketing you for exactly what you were doing.


Title: Can I sue a CA university for emotional distress?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 Lol!

Yes, you can sue. No, you won't win.Answer #2: Can you?  Yes.

Will you win?  No.

You should see someone about your anxiety.


Title: Received a letter regarding overpayments of Social Security. I’m 30, never have received social security in my life [CA]

Question:
Hi all, received a letter in the mail from the social security office stating I owe them over 4,000 dollars in overpayments for SSI income. The letter seems legitimate and matches the usual letterhead font, style and address of usual social security letters. (I am familiar with the style since my job involves me reviewing people’s SSI income occasionally. )

I am 30 and have never received SSI or any other disability income. Also the letter is in my maiden name, and I changed my name after marriage a few years ago.

Does this happen to people or is it likely it is an error in their system, or maybe there was fraud committed in my name? Could it be an error with my payroll?

I am planning on visiting the social security office later this week with the letter to figure out what’s going on, but if anyone has some information about in the meantime to help that would be amazing.

Thank you

Answer:
 Stolen identity?Answer #2: Did a parent or guardian receive benefits when you were a minor?

If the benefit recipient was over-compensated, and you were a dependent of that person, the government can and will come after you to recover the overpayment.Answer #3: Could be a mistake, a scam, or someone else committing fraud with your number. Pull a copy of your free credit report and check it.


Title: I was fired from my delivery job after asking if I would be compensated for my mileage (California)

Question: Hi all. I worked for a local small business delivering pizzas. I was asked to commute to another store about 45 miles away to help out for a week. When I asked if I would be paid mileage (I was thinking of section 2802 of the California Labor Code), I was ignored. Three days later I was fired due to "lack of availability and poor attendance", both of which I can disprove. What should I do next?

Answer:
 Nothing.  CA may guarantee you could seek reimbursement, except said expenses were never incurred.  It doesn't say anything about protecting your job from termination for business travel that never occurred.

Presumably, when they say 'lack of availability and attendance' they're referring to the fact you didn't go where needed when directed.  But they also don't need to give a detailed reason to fire you.


Title: Spirit Airlines just refunded my ticket and resold it to someone else for a higher price. Is this legal?

Question:
I recently bought cheap plane tickets ($167) from Spirit Airlines going from Minneapolis to Philadelphia about two weeks ago. The other day they refunded my ticket. When I went to customer service on the matter, they told me they had refunded my ticket (without telling me) and sold it to someone who would pay more.

Is this legal???

Answer:
 According to Spirit's [Contract of Carriage](https://www.spirit.com/Content/Documents/en-US/Contract_of_Carriage.pdf) -- the golden document that lays out all their obligations to you -- they can't cancel it solely for resale. See section 2.4. They may be able to circumvent this by cancelling the flight (including EVERYONE'S tickets) and offering a replacement flight for sale at a higher price.

You may want to consider complaining to the DOT about this, but unless there's some law that specifically prohibits what they did, you don't have a complaint because they made you whole by refunding your ticket in full. Contrary to popular belief, there is no federal law requiring the airlines to book you on another carrier if they cancel your flight; your sole remedy is a full refund.

Unfortunately this is par for the course for Spirit. Just be thankful they didn't do this the morning of your flight.

http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/publications/flyrights.htm


Title: Refusing to sign a Employee Contract (Texas)

Question:
My wife has been asked to renew an employee contact.
She works at a hearing aid company for a year and they want her and the other person in her office to renew to a two year contract.
There are things in this contract that we do not agree with it.

-Forfeiting the right to sue.

-Removing compensation for mileage for travelling for areas that are over an hour away.

-Can't work for other hearing aid company for up to two years. Which is a non-compete but she is an office worker.

-Pay lock of 10.50 for two years. (Her starting pay)

-Unrealistic requirements for attaining commission pay. Making it very easy for the company to not pay it. (Which they already do often.)

If she refuses to sign this contract and they terminate her would she be eligible for unemployment befits?

The office is in Texas and the business is out of Louisiana.

We're not looking for a free ride. My wife works very hard but the company she works for is very shady and unprofessional. People from the main office often call and scream at her and her other co-worker in her office. Even people not in management. I feel like she is being taking advantage of and before I give her the go ahead to refuse, I wanted to see if we would be hopefully covered before we take a stand against these guys.

Thanks for any help.

Answer:
 If you are fired for any reason other than misconduct, you ~~are~~ *can be* eligible for unemployment.

Specific [eligibility requirements here](http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/bnfts/eligibility-benefit-amounts.html).

Edited because parsnippity is right, eligibility is very fact dependent.


Title: (TX) Move-In Fees not on lease?

Question:
Looks like you guys have been getting a lot of questions about apartments and moving, but after a quick search I couldn't find my answer.

Basically, before I can move into my new apartment, they're demanding me to pay a $150 move-in fee. Apparently this is not uncommon for them to take instead of a security deposit. I would be fine with this if it weren't for the fact that I didn't know about it when I signed my lease. When I take a look at my lease, it basically breaks down everything they're going to charge me during the term of the lease. Apart from rent, the only additional fees I can find on here are the standard pet fees, late fees, utilities, etc.

However, there is a section that says

    RECURRING CHARGES:
    AMOUNT: Rent $xxx
    New Resident Discount $-xxx
    UPFRONT CHARGES:
    AMOUNT: Application Fee $xxx
    Waived Application Fees $-xxx
    MOVE-IN CHARGES:
    AMOUNT:

where move-in charges and amount are both left blank, and xxx is actual amounts I paid and left out.

Is it actually okay for me to be charged a fee that they didn't mention on my lease? Or is there normally a section somewhere that permits this?

Thanks for your time.

edit: formatting

Answer:
 It is generally good advice to ensure all lines in the contract are completed.  A blank doesn't mean zero.  Zero means zero.

Can they charge you?  Probably.  Their argument is likely something along the lines of they let you know there would be a move-in charge at the then-current rates, and that was memorized by the blank line in the lease, to be filled in with their current rate at move-in.

If it is worth it to you to abandon the lease over the $150 at stake, you might have a persuasive argument that they changed the terms and you rejected the change.  It seems unlikely that is worthwhile, and it's conceivable they have an explanation of the $150 that would undercut your change in terms argument.

What did your landlord say when you objected to the charge because it was not previously identified?  This seems ripe for some kind of agreement. Answer #2: If it is not on the lease, you do not need to pay.

I would also suggest looking for other apartments when your lease term is up. These people sound shitty.


Title: Age verification on alcohol websites -- why?

Question:
The title pretty much sums it up -- you go to your local brewery's webpage and they ask you to verify your age that you're over 21. They don't sell alcohol online or otherwise do anything that is illegal for minors on their webpage. Furthermore, the verification is obviously strictly on the honor system with some places just having "Are you 21? Yes/No", and if they make you enter a DOB, there's no way for them to check that its accurate.

Is there a legal basis for requiring the age verification, or just peer pressure because everybody else does it?

Answer: They verify your age so that if for some reason law enforcement comes after them for “selling”/“soliciting” alcohol to minors, they can say they verified the age. It’s essentially shifting the blame from the company to the person browsing/using the device.


Title: Roommate refuses to move out, and refuses to pay rent. I need help to figure out what I can do to remove her as soon as possible.

Question:
Here's the situation, I currently have a lease in Los Angeles, CA which terminates in mid-September. Due to the terms of the lease, I am not allowed to have any sub-leases. However since rent is expensive in LA, I have sub-leased 1 of the 2 bedrooms to an individual and she has been living there for the past 6 months.  Now that the lease has 2 months till expiration she refuses to pay rent and move out. I am afraid to forcibly evict her in case the police get involved, because if my landlord is made aware that I sub-leased I will be fined $4,000 and my lease will be terminated. I cannot have this happen as I do not have the money to pay and my credit would be decimated.

        Furthermore, I have 2 other sub-leasers in the other bedroom who have been paying on time. So terminating the lease is not an option. Before she started living in my apartment, I made her sign a contract which states that she would pay $1200 a month for as long as she lived there, and if she moved out she would be responsible for rent from 30 days from the day she informs me. She already owes me $400 for utilities that are also under my name only. I have other sub-leasers willing to move in to take her spot, however since she is unwilling to cooperate I cannot sign any contracts in the fear of her scaring people away or vandalizing the apartment. She also has a dog which goes against my lease agreement. I have confronted her multiple times and she has reacted violently to the point where she has punched me in the face.

        She has been to jail for her violence and is currently on probation which she did not disclose to me when I agreed to sub-lease to her. Rent is coming up on the 1st and I cannot pay her share of the rent again. She's taking advantage of me and I cannot take her to small claims court because she could go to my landlord and I would be charged $4000. She has one of the only keys and I cannot change the locks as per my lease agreement and she refuses to surrender the keys. My main question is how can I remove her from the premises without causing an escalation or terminating my lease agreement? It just seems like my only options here is to let her stay without paying until my lease expires, or force her to leave by making her living conditions unlivable.

Answer:
 You rented rooms to THREE people, one being a violent convict, even though your lease specifically forbade that? Sorry, you can't fix your illegal deeds using legal means, at least not the way you want it to end.Answer #2: You can't 'forcibly evict' anyone. Well, you *could*, but it's illegal. Sounds like you're the landlord in this situation so you need to handle this by using the legal eviction process. If you're in a rent stabilized unit, you're going to have a bad time. I highly recommend you get familiar with LA's Landlord Tenant laws as quickly as possible. Even if you successfully get her legally evicted, it's unlikely she'd be out in two months as the process takes so long.

Gotta ask - if you've illegally sublet one bedroom to 2 people and the other one to another person, where do you sleep? And how the hell is your landlord unaware that four (or more?) people are living in an apartment rented by one person?


Title: John Lewis [UK] have taken a friends drawing, that she sells online on her website, and made T-Shirts, and Tins without her consent. What can she do?

Question:
Essentially she runs a website selling mugs, mirrors, prints, cards. Some friends noticed her stuff selling in John Lewis but slightly altered. See the pictures linked. I have her website but don't want to link it if it goes against Reddit Etiquette.

Can she contact John Lewis and ask them to remove the products, should she? Any advice is appreciated.

Friends drawing for sale along with similar items from her website:http://imgur.com/NtcZXVg

John Lewis website: http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-speedy-fox-tin/p2009192

John Lewis website #2: http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-girl-fox-on-bike-top-natural/p1857842
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer:
 yes, she can contact them and ask them to stop. you can try /r/legaladviceuk but ultimately for a business as big as john lewis you should contact a solicitor to make sure she navigates this properly and gets paid what she is owed at this pointAnswer #2: I don't believe there is an actionable cause here.   Searching Google images  for "fox riding a bike"  brings up other types of similar art,  much of which likely predates your friend's art,  primarily because pictures of animals rising bicycles is as old as when cavemen discovered charcoal drew on cave walls.

Had the picture been lifted wholesale,  perhaps there would be a case.   But without it,  there is nothing. Answer #3: My guess is that some stressed-out, deadline-facing graphics designer decided to appropriate her work. This probably isn't a corporate conspiracy or something.

But it certainly looks like an infringement, and she can either try to make them cease selling the merchandise or she can negotiate a fee for the usage. Personally I'd go for the money, but that's her call.

In any case, since John Lewis seems to be a pretty big retailer (I'm in US, never heard of them) I'd find a solicitor to go after them about it.


Title: [TX]Apartment manager is evicting us for calling the cops on noisy neighbors

Question:
Some background:

My veteran father and I have been living in this public housing apartment unit for about 3 years, we've been quiet and always kept our space clean. We had no problems with neighbors until the new neighbors moved in last year. They've honked their car horn excessively, and it bothers my father's hyperacusis as their car is right outside our window. They also have regular parties past the no noise curfew and we've talked to management multiple times about these issues, but even after management talked to these neighbors the neighbors continued with these annoyances and got even worse. We've called the cops on them multiple times, and have the records of the noise complaints. But after trying to go to management to ask for the address to the head management to write a letter to get these neighbors out, the manager tells us if we do so, that not only will the neighbors get evicted, so will *we* because the manager said that the neighbors have filed complaints about us as well even thought we have never once heard from management nor the cops about these complaints.

&#x200B;

Well, today we received our "second" and final written warning for eviction-although we never even received our first warning.

&#x200B;

Is there anything we can do besides moving out? Any help is very much appreciated, thank you.

Answer: If they try to evict you then go to court. They will look pretty stupid bringing that case in front of a judgeAnswer #2: Ya got a court date on that piece of paper?


Title: [NC] I was awarded a non dischargeable fraud judgement in Charlotte against an unscrupulous RE agent but we cant collect since there is no wage garnishment in NC.

Question:
I sued a real estate agent in Charlotte and won treble (or triple) the damages since the fraud was so egregious and obvious.

However, my lawyer informed me that it would be difficult to collect anything from this individual because he was very crafty and knowledgable about NC state law (I am not from NC).
- this RE agent filed for bankruptcy and even though our claim in non-dischargable, NC does not allow for wage garnishment.
- The agent's wife co-signed on the properties that he was able to keep (primary residence and a few others), again NC law protects the sale of the property if your spouse is on title. (a nice little protection clause that we didn't know about)
-We know that he still is involved in RE and other businesses but possibly lives in another state (SC, I believe). Could we go after his wages there?

 Our judgement is good for 10 years and we can get another 10 year extension (20 total to collect anything? So Redditors, is there anything I can do to collect? We are talking many tens of thousands of dollars here.

Answer:
 If you know where he has moved, you can domesticate the judgement to that jurisdiction and use their laws for collecting.

You can also record liens against real property even if you cannot force the sale of the homestead.

In reality, this is an expensive and time-consuming process. That is why so many people sell the debt to collectors for a fraction of the value.


Title: Boyfriend caught up in trouble with friend (IN)

Question: [deleted]

Answer: His best chance of getting felony charges reduced is to have a lawyer. If he truly can't afford one, he can have a public defender appointed to his case.


Title: Husband's boss dictating where we can live, is this legal?

Question: My husband took a job a year ago in a Midwestern town and we moved from state A to state B. The guy my husband was replacing had an apartment and my husband and I moved into it because it was easy and we needed somewhere to live. A year later we want to move. The town we are in is 10k people and we want to move to the larger city about 25 miles down the road, where I work. The city we live in now would be fine, but we have been looking since January for a new place and can't find one that allows pets, and we have a dog and cat. My husband's boss is stating that he is not allowed to live outside of the city limits of the city we currently live in. His reason is that it snows in the winter. Is this legal? Husband's boss claims that this policy is in the company SOP but wasn't part of my husband's employment contract. What are our options here if any?

Answer:
 No idea what state you're in.  In some states this might fall under legal off-the-clock conduct which is protected whereas other states do not offer this protection.

No clue.

And does your husband have a bona fide employment contract, or just an employment agreement which says "This is NOT a contract" written all over it?Answer #2: Is there a hotel/motel or other way to rent a room when it snows? Can he stay with another friend/employee during snowstorms? Are there facilities (couch, shower) at work where he can stay? One of these may be a way to have a win-win situation where he will be available on snow days yet can live where the two of you want to.


Title: Accidentally viewed CP and got a message from my ISP whats going to happen pls help!!

Question: I was browsing pornsites and started clicking on diffrent links within the sites which brought me into a loop of pop up type sites one of which brought me onto a page that contained CP instead of the actual site it showed a message from my isp saying it contained indecent images of childrent and it is illegal that i will lose my jobs, friends, family ect.. what should i do? I didnt actively seek out this content am i getting v&?? Im terrified and freaking out - thanks in advance - im in england

Answer: Dude, it’s a scam. Don’t click it, don’t enter any personal info, and make sure you scan your computer for viruses and malware.Answer #2: Not legal advice, but installing an adblocker such as ublock or adblock+ can reduce the numbers of these scam popups that you see.


Title: I signed a global non-compete agreement at an internship while in college

Question:
I understand that the exact clause would be best to interpret this, but due to my concern for my employer letting me go before college is up, I've chosen to describe the non-compete clause as well as use a throwaway.

I live in Iowa currently and am a senior in my second semester of college. I started an internship last summer and have worked there up until now, and plan to continue to do so until I graduate this coming May. When I first agreed to this position, I signed a non-compete that lasts for 2 years after the end of my employment. At the time I hadn't thought about what I would be doing out of college, but now I'm considering moving to California where we don't have an office and I don't have the option to work remotely. I want to continue to work in the same industry, but I am concerned I will not be able to accept an offer due to my non-compete. The non-compete claims that we are a globally competitive company (we're a tech consulting industry) and therefore I cannot perform services similar to my current role anywhere globally for at least 2 years. However, since we are a new company we haven't attempted sales outside of the state let alone had a customer. Would this non-compete this hold merit if I decide to move, especially since it's across state borders and regions?

TL;DR: I signed a 2 year global non-compete and want to move to California from Iowa. Is this non-compete still effective in this situation?

Thank you for any advice, this helps me out given I'm on the broke college budget with plenty of student loans.

Answer:
 *Generally* unreasonable non-competes are not enforceable.  The length of time being so long, the fact that you were an intern when you signed, and the fact that this is global, all really, really, point towards this not being reasonable.  Was this a paid internship at least?

Your safest bet is to have an attorney review the non-compete before taking any new job.


Title: Can a child go after unpaid child support?

Question: I have an eighteen year old niece. About a year ago her parents got divorced, there is a court ordered child support. Her dad never paid any of it, and her mom never went after him to get the payments. Does she have anyway to get the money to go towards her college? a year of payments would be pretty helpful for her. Location is Georgia.

Answer: No. The money was for her mother to use for raising her. It doesn't belong to the child. And it definitely can't be used to pay for college after the fact.


Title: Neighbor got fence stain all over my vinyl siding, WA

Question:
So, I have this jerk neighbor who is obsessive about maintaining his yard/fence.  I noticed his fence got about 3 shades darker a few weeks ago, but I didn't really think twice about it.

I was outside yesterday pressure washing my house when I realized that the side of my house has splotches all over it.  After inspecting them closely, I figure out that it's my stupid neighbor's fence stain, and it's set in to my vinyl siding something awful!

Of course, now that it won't come out with pressure washing, I'm afraid to go get some chemical and start trying to scrub it out lest I just make the problem worse.

I want to sell my house and we are planning to put it on the market in a few weeks.  Maybe the new buyers will care, maybe they won't, but I'm not really wanting to take that chance.

Like I say, the neighbor is an evil asshole, and there's no way I would get anywhere by talking with him.  The splotches are pretty subtle, and best case scenario is that the new buyers don't notice/care, and I won't have to worry about it.

Thing is, I feel like I should report this to someone in case the new buyer says it's a problem and I need to take this guy to small claims or something, but I don't know if I should file a police report or what I should do.

Any advice would be welcome.  Thanks!   (Washington State)

Answer: It doesn't matter how much of a piece of shit your neighbor is. You should go talk to him first. Let him know the stain is now on your siding. Give him a chance to fix it. If he declines tell him you will go to small claims. Get the issue fixed and take him to court for costs. This seems like a easy case here.Answer #2: Try some mineral spirits on it.


Title: Finding out why someone was disbarred (Fl)

Question:
I have a friend in Florida who is currently dating a man who used to be a lawyer. He was disbarred and he gives us reasons that don’t seem realistic. For example he told me he was disbarred because the law firm he worked for didn’t like that he only took low-income clients, and he was disbarred as punishment. (This sound ridiculous to me.)

I want to know if there’s a website or an organization we can contact on Florida that can tell us why he was disbarred.

Answer: [Here you go.](https://www.floridabar.org/public/acap/acap005/)Answer #2: Good go you for having a good bullshit detector. I absolutely guarantee the excuse you included is not the real reason. Most attorneys (statistically) that get disbarred and not some lesser punishment either stole client money or committed some felony level crime (or both).


Title: Have signed a lease but, did not tell my landlord about my emotional support animal.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >Just signed a lease and did not tell land lord about my emotional support animal. Are they allowed to cancel the lease or remove me?

Maybe.  People like you give others who are responsible about notifying their landlord about their ESAs a bad reputation and make landlords more hesitant to allow ESAs into their rental (if not forced to by law).  Shame on you for being irresponsible in this regard.

Many landlords are exempt from the Fair Housing Act.  Let's start with a few basics.  How many units does the landlord own and does he/she live in any and what breed is your ESA?


Title: Guy keeps using my email and now I know his address and phone number

Question:
Location:  Kansas/Nebraska

So there's this guy in Nebraska that has the same first name/last name as I do, but uses my firstnamelastname@(gmail).com email for his purchases and the like.  Pretty sure he's just sneaking a . in the email sometimes, like he did with Netflix, but it's been going on for close to a year and a half, getting newsletters that he signed up for and such.

Anyway, I got an email last night saying that they haven't fully processed, click this link to continue, limited stock, blah blah blah.  After I made sure the email was legit, I clicked the link and it took me to the billing page of a shopping cart, didn't even ask for a password.  Anyway, the Nebraska Doppelganger's credit card was declined, the card number field was blank, but it still had his shipping/billing info and now I have his address and phone number.

Would I be in any sort of legal trouble by how I found this info if I call him up and ask him to stop using my email?  Kinda thinking he's just some older guy who doesn't know better.

Answer:
 The dot doesn't matter in a gmail address.  His email is probably throwawayjjones when yours is throwawayjones, and he keeps forgetting.

I don't see any legal reason why you would get in trouble for calling him, but I think it's going to recur anyway.  I still get group cc:ed for some lady across the country, and it's been a few years now.Answer #2: Same exact thing happened to me. I have a unique name, and some young girl with the same exact name was using my email address. Nothing is going to happen to you because that guy doesn’t have access to your email. It’s just extremely annoying.

You can call if you want. I had this problem for a year until I just kept deleting all of her accounts she was using with my email (Instagram, iTunes, etc). Eventually she figured it out.

Edit: Okay not even kidding I just got an email a couple of hours ago about someone making a Facebook profile with my email. Should I be paranoid??


Title: (WI) Vengeful psycho GF problems - Is it legal what she is doing?

Question:
She is 18/F. He is 31/M. She was mad at him for cheating (understandable), but her behavior has been very over the top:

She screeched abuse and profanity at him for several hours and wouldn't let him leave his own apartment until he kicked her away from the door, and then he got charged with assault. She got no charges at all when she was clearly unlawfully imprisoning, trespassing, and verbally assaulting him.

She exaggerates her injuries from that to milk attention and sympathy from everyone on Facebook and says she plans to sue.

She got an order of protection and then purposely tried to meet him in public so he would break it.

She is pregnant with his baby and says flat out to everyone that she doesn't want a baby but wants him to pay child support for 18 years. Exact quote from Facebook "I'm torn who to give my baby to that will be poor enough to make him pay but still be a good parent. Does anyone want to be a mom for real?"

She said she'd get an abortion if he paid her off upfront and then kept raising the amount he'd need to pay.

Is her behavior criminal, and what can her ex do to have her locked up in the crazy house?

Answer:
 He got an 18 year old pregnant, cheated on her, then assaulted her, and **she** is the crazy one?  I'm pretty sure this behavior isn't going to get her locked up.

He needs to obey the restraining order, and get a paternity test when and if the baby is born.  If she truly does try to give up custody of the baby after it is born, he would have a case for getting custody himself.  She cannot unilaterally place the child for adoption with a mother with low income to increase his child support payments.  Answer #2: >She got no charges at all when she was clearly unlawfully imprisoning, trespassing, and verbally assaulting him.

Not really, all he had to do was call the cops.

>She got an order of protection and then purposely tried to meet him in public so he would break it.

Those work both ways, why didn't her report her violating it?

>Is her behavior criminal, and what can her ex do to have her locked up in the crazy house?

it's not, but that's what he gets honestly for dating an 18 year old.Answer #3: If she puts the child up for adoption, his parental rights will be terminated as well and he won't be paying child support.  What exactly is the arrangement she's trying to do with the child?

Your friend should have called the police before it got physical.  If they'd responded she could have been charged with trespassing or harassment.  Once there's an assault I don't blame them for ignoring lesser charges.

As for being illegal, not really, as for being crazy, it sounds like she's immature, stupid and angry but otherwise sane.


Title: Can my boyfriend leave his schedule II medication at my house? TN

Question:
I'm sorry if this is a horribly stupid question. My boyfriend takes a lot of medications for his chronic illness (ankylosing spondylitis), at least one of which is a schedule II painkiller. He sleeps at my house 2-3 nights a week, and occasionally forgets his meds at home and has to drive back across town for them.

Would it be illegal for him to leave some, in their original Rx bottle, at my house? I mentioned this to him once and he said that since his name isn't on my lease, I would go to jail for "a long, long time" if the police ever found his medication at my house. He said that the meds can legally only ever be in his car, pocket, or a residence he officially owns or rents.

Is this true? I just wanted to check since we've wasted a lot of time driving back and forth for those little pill bottles, and because my boyfriend can be hyper-nervous about the police.

Answer:
 If you're in possession - including constructive possession - of a Schedule II substance and don't have a prescription for it, you can go to jail. It _can_ be in your house while he's there, but he can't safely leave it with you.

Having said that, the police do not (and can't) go around searching houses for drugs. The police would need probable cause to obtain a warrant to search your place.


Title: Hit by stolen Ambulance

Question: So I was hit today by what turned out to be a stolen ambulance during its chase by police.   Damage is minimal as the driver barely grazed my left rear bumper .  Still there is a large scratch and minor dent in rear quarter panel likely costing several hundred to repair.  I do not carry full Collision coverage only liability.   Police report has been filed.  Since I don't carry full coverage am I going to be stuck paying for this repair by myself?   I am in Pennsylvania.    https://m.thetimes-tribune.com/news/ambulance-stolen-from-gcmc-crashes-in-dickson-city-after-chase-1.2399501

Answer:
 I would contact whatever prosecutor's office that has the criminal case and let them know you are victim and want restitution for your damages. (Dependent upon if they convict and/or take plea arrangement).

Failing that, you can sue the driver of the stolen ambulance.Answer #2: I don’t mean to be confrontational, but this is an excellent example of why even moderate collision coverage is valuable.


Title: Accidentally sold cigarettes to a minor?

Question:
I work at a gas station. Last night I sold cigarettes to girl that I had ID'd about a month ago. Her ID said that she was old enough to buy some. Later in the night her mom came by and told me that I had sold that to a 17 years old girl... she asked for a refund because otherwise she would call the governement on me. I gave her a refund but I am a little unsure of what could happen if she did decide to call the governement on me?. I live in Canada.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 >Later in the night her mom came by and told me that I had sold that to a 17 years old girl... she asked for a refund because otherwise she would call the governement on me.

This sounds like a scam. There's no reason the mom should be angry with you.


Title: Past Due Rent (NY) for roommate who skipped out. Nuanced, please read fully

Question:
3BR apartment.  One roommate (A) never signed the lease or showed up.  We were unable to find a 3rd because we did not find out until after classes had started.  I (B) never signed this year's lease but have been living in the apartment for years.

EDIT: Roommate C is the only one who has signed this year's lease, though it appears to make no difference.

Landlord wants me and Roommate C to pay half the rent because of the "jointly and severally liable" clause.  However, that is too great a burden for me.

Question 1: Am I legally on the hook for 1/2 month's rent?  Does that apply to month-to-month agreements, which I've effectively been under.  I haven't signed anything for the current year, and now the landlord wants me to sign a payment agreement for Roommate A's portion.

Question 2: Roommate C moved out months ago and has not been paying rent.  Roommate C has been adamant that she will not pay even her portion of the rent for the month's she has not occupied the dwelling.  If I sign a formal agreement with my landlord to pay back rent for Roommate A, does that open the door to later try to get Roommate C's portion as well, because I've assumed responsibility for a greater than 1/3 portion already?

Question 3: Am I obligated to disclose my new address when I move?  I will keep my number and e-mail, but an address makes me nervous because can't the landlord technically sue me for Roommate A's and C's portion?  Roommate C is graduating and I'm pretty sure will just skip town because she has shut down all communication.

Appreciate any insight you might have!

EDIT: Due to extensive damages, C's room was actually un-rentable for several months, starting in the first month C moved out. Can the landlord actually collect THAT THIRD for those 3-4 months? That seems shady.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Question 1:  If you (roommate B) signed the original lease (which apparently was a year long lease that has expired and converted to a month to month lease), then you owe the landlord the FULL rent for each month until you give proper notice that you are leaving.

Question 2:  If roommate C signed the original lease (which apparently was a year long lease that has expired and converted to a month to month lease), then roommate C owes the landlord the FULL rent for each month until they give proper notice that they are leaving.

Question 3:  You are not obligated to tell your current landlord where you are moving (but if they can't mail your security deposit to you, then you might have some trouble getting it back based on that issue).

I don't know why your landlord would want or need you to state that you agree to pay for anyone else's "share" of the rent, because based on what you have said, you (and anyone else who signed the original lease) already owe the FULL rent personally (and how you and any other roommates divide that up is between you roommates, and does not usually involve the landlord).


Title: New Jersey wiretapping laws. Am I misunderstanding something?

Question: I understand that New Jersey is a one party consent state, does that mean that there are literally no restrictions to recording my conversations with people? Cheers.

Answer: This is going to end well.


Title: I want to marry my Brazilian girlfriend, need some info.

Question:
Edit: I'm in NY

My girlfriend is a Brazilian aupair. We want to eventually get married but we don't know the laws.

Is she allowed to move out of her au pair host family and live with me before we are married or only after we are married?

Once we are married she is allowed to stay in America with me or will there be problems?

Do we have to get married before she's allowed to move out of her aupair host family's house?

If we just get married at City Hall I heard they expect us to have a real wedding eventually, what if we can't afford that right away?

Answer: You need to speak to an immigration attorney before you do anything.  Marriage doesn't automatically grant anything.


Title: Company I contracted with a year ago went bankrupt. Today I received certified mail from a law office asking that I pay $22K due to money they paid me within 90 days of filing bankruptcy. I’m not sure what to do and I’m freaking out.

Question:
I live in Texas, if that matters in this case.

A year ago, I accepted some contract work that was supposed to last a few months. It was a standard hourly rate contract. Straight time for anything over 40 a week, all business expenses would be reimbursed. I submitted invoices every week and they always drug their feet with payment, about 3-4 weeks after I submitted the invoice, and they were paying both the hours worked and expense reimbursement together on the same check. No taxes taken out, as I was 1099, so I would simply deduct later. After a couple months, I heard a rumor about possible bankruptcy. I sent some emails asking them to please pay my outstanding invoices and expenses immediately. Ultimately, they had to cut all of their contractors loose, but I did get the money owed to me, totaling approximately $25K, about half of which, was for expense reimbursement. They went bankrupt and I never heard anything else about it until today.

I received a letter from a law office representing the trustee of the company’s bankruptcy estate, asking me to pay the $25K back, although they would settle for $22K if I paid with 15 days. It said it was because the money may have been a “preferential transfer.” I did contact the law office to ask about it, as I didn’t understand what that meant. He explained it to me, and while I now understand, I can’t imagine that contractual wages and expense reimbursement could be considered a preferential transfer. The lawyer was very polite and I was told him that there was no way I could pay that (true) and even if they take me to court, there is no way I’ll be able to pay (still true). He said that he would give that information to the trustee and they would take it into consideration.

I probably talked too much and I did tell him about the couple thousand in my savings account because I was having anxiety and just trying to make him realize that suing me would be a waste of their time and money, so I hope that didn’t do too much damage.

I’m working away from home right now, otherwise, I would have gone to talk to a lawyer already. After doing a little bit of research online, it seems like this is fairly common for the trustee to cast a wide net hoping to recoup as much of the money as possible. I guess I’m just looking for some insight from people experienced with these kinds of cases. What is the likelihood that I will actually be sued and if I am sued and they win, what can they actually do if I only have $2K-$3K and no assets other than a paid off car? I do also have a brand new 30-year mortgage and a vehicle with 4 years left on the loan, but I assume since I don’t own those, they can’t touch them, right?

I would be extremely appreciative of any advice! Thank you in advance!

Answer: Not unusual and you probably won't need to pay anything provided you actually did the work. But you are going to need an attorney with you on this one.


Title: Need Legal Advise, Highschool requiring classes on Saturdays

Question: New Jersey-Can my school legally force students to come in for classes on Saturdays and after the school day is over? They are now requiring 20 hours outside of the standard school year per AP class however those requirements are not on collegeboard, I never signed anything agreeing to it, and no other schools around me require it. If you dont go you lose class credit.

Answer:
 This is a policy issue, not a legal one.Answer #2: > Can my school legally force students to come in for classes on Saturdays

Can they legally force? No. They cannot get the police to drag you in or take you to court to make you choose between jail and school on Saturdays. They can, however, make a program that requires Saturday participation.

Out of curiosity, did they make this change after you had already signed up for the class and were taking it? As in, 6 weeks into a 15-week semester or something like that?


Title: Suing the humane society

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You're not going to win a case against the humane society because you couldn't afford the cat you adopted.


Title: A man entered my house, I pulled a knife, he left, I called the cops, they arrested him, and told I them everything. [CA]

Question:
The man entered my house and closed the door, while I was in the kitchen, which is next to the front door ~5 feet away. My dogs were barking. He seemed disoriented and stood in the entry. I told him to get out repeatedly and he stepped inside further. I pulled a knife from the counter, and yelled at him to get out a few more times, he looked at me for a few seconds and left. He then kept trying to get in jiggling the handle and looking in the windows.

I called the police, they came and arrested him. He ended up being a drunk dude. They took my statement, and I told them everything. They took down all my info and left.

Did I do anything wrong pulling a knife on him? Will I get in trouble?

Answer:
 You did nothing illegal.Answer #2: You didn’t do anything wrong, you don’t have to worry.

You’d be surprised how common it is for this type of thing to happen with drunk people.Answer #3: Attorney in California, not a criminal attorney, and definitely not your attorney.

I’m confused to as why you are concerned that you did something illegal, as you certainly did not. Had you pulled the knife and then proceeded to chase him down the street with it, or stab him in the back as he was already leaving, etc., then you would be in some trouble.Answer #4: You didn't do anything illegal, this doesn't meet any brandishing charge I can think of.Answer #5: You did nothing wrong. You were legit in fear for your life (for a very good reason) and you did not harm him. I don’t know about CA in particular but in many states you’d of been well within your rights to stab him. Don’t worry, The police may contact you and ask you to be a witness, if you’re uncomfortable with that they’ll usually just let you make a statement. If you feel uncomfortable you’d also be well within your rights to get a lawyer before talking to themAnswer #6: You're good. Might be a good idea to do a sweep around the house to make sure all locks work, no "spare hidden keys" are left around the property, windows are locked, and flood lights work.


Title: [CANADA] Child Last Name

Question:
In Canada, does my child have to carry my last name or the biological fathers last name?
I have no relationship with my dad and my babies dad doesn't want to be in the child's life.
Am I able to to give my baby the last name of my stepdad instead?

Answer:
 Location?  Canada is a country, and each province has its own rules.

For example, the[law](http://www4.gouv.qc.ca/EN/Portail/Citoyens/Evenements/DevenirParent/Pages/attri_noms_prenm_nouvn.aspx) in Quebec:  You can choose one or more given names for your child, as well as a single or compound surname. A child’s surname must be composed of the surname of one of his or her parents or a combination of the surnames of both parents.

If you wish for your child to have your name, change your name prior to giving birth.

A handy guide to name changes in [Ontario](https://malickisanchezlaw.com/blog/how-to-change-your-name-in-ontario-canada/).

Did we mention that LOCATION matters yet?


Title: FL - Hurricane approaching, landlord is "reserving right to enter units and empty fridges to prevent damage during an outage."

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Katrina survivor here:

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD EMPTY YOUR FRIDGE NOW THERE IS NO HORROR  LIKE A FRIDGE OF SPOILED FOOD LEFT TO FERMENET IN A SEALED FRIDGE.

Oh my gawd do it now. NOW!!! IT IS NOT WORTH IT. You can not imagine what happens to cold perishables contained in a sealed box exposed to the heat and humidity after a storm. Answer #2: Food that has rotted in a sealed fridge for an extended period will ruin the fridge. It will be disposed of whole, because no one wants to bother with cleaning that horror. If an outage occurs, it is a reasonable emergency measure for the landlord to protect the units from damage.


Title: NEW YORK: Fighting abusive credit card company

Question:
Way back when I was in college I racked up a lot of debt, about $2300 total. Stupid I know. I let it go for a few years. Stupider I know. Four months ago I got a letter from a lawyer threatening to sue unless I paid them $6848.

I know enough from reading forums that I sent a dispute validate letter. In which I asked for proof of the debt, an itemized list of transactions, a list of the interest charges and fees, an itemized list of legal fees, supporting evidence for the legal fees, and a list of all barred individuals working at their law firm along with credentials. I gave them 30 days to respond. Surprise surprise I didn't hear anything back until I sent letters to the CRAs demanding they remove this tradline.

They must have tipped off the law firm because they "suddenly" remembered a month later and sent a copy of my last credit card statement and the cardholder agreement. I sent back a letter stating I did not have sufficient information to answer and quit claim. That was last month.

Last week I received an automated phone call suing me for $6848. I ignored it but I got my notice this week. My court date is in Feb. I sent back the form saying I was countersuing for FCRA, FDCPA, harassment, and extortion because they threatened to sue me unless I paid that outrageous amount.

Are there any other claims I can sue for? Is there anyone I can report them to? Are there any government agencies that oversee abusive credit card predators?

EDIT for those saying i should" get a job" yeah good luck with that. All there is around here is retail factory and warehouse jobs at $15 - $20 an hour. Not what I should be making with a degree let alone a new one.

Answer:
 Oh boy. You're in over your head. Contact an attorney.Answer #2: What exactly is "abusive" about them trying to collect on a debt that you owe?  They're not calling you at work, they're not calling your family, they're not calling in the middle of the night, none of the typical things that FDCPA was written for.

> I sent back the form saying I was countersuing for FCRA, FDCPA, harassment, and extortion because they threatened to sue me unless I paid that outrageous amount.

This is definitely not harassment.  Two letters, one of which you requested they send you, does not equal harassment.  And it's definitely not extortion since you do owe them the money.

$6848 does not seem unreasonable to me on a debt of $2300 plus interest and legal fees.  My credit card debt of $500 that got sent to an attorney ended up costing me about $1000 after a single year; you've let this go for multiple years.

If you're going to countersue, I don't see you winning.  Unless you're leaving out big chunks of what the credit card company/attorneys did, there's nothing here that comes close to FCRA or FDCPA violations, and certainly not the other things you want to sue them for.  Your best bet is to contact the law firm and negotiate a payment plan before this goes to court.Answer #3: Lol "abusive"

That word gets thrown around way too easily these days.


Title: I don't know if this is the right place or not but I figure it's a start. My professor more or less poured out my grade, and medical dissability in front of an entire class.

Question:
I'm not doing well in a class and I know a big part of it is ADHD and being distracted a lot. Because of this I run out of time on tests and continue to get bad grades despite knowing the material. I decided to get extended testing time through dissability services.

Part of the extended time is getting a test and sealing it in an envelope to take later. As I went to do this he asked me questions as to why I was doing it and making no attempt to be confidential. After a minute or two of this I just told him I would go to his office instead, as there was an entire class sitting in the room listening.

The same thing happened at his office but with 4 or t people instead of a class. And at this point he pointed out I was having trouble in the class.

I'm not trying to milk this situation but I do want to know if there's anything I can do to prevent this from happening to myself or another student in the future because it honestly sucks to be in the situation. It makes you feel like you can't do it and that your are genuinely stupid.

So with that being said, can you guys help me out?

Maybe helpful information:
I'm a US citizen, in the US and in a private university in Florida.

Thanks Guys!

EDIT: Thanks for all of the help everyone! Things have been taken care of, and all is well.

Answer:
 Not legal advice, but going forward to avoid it cropping up again, it's probably best to schedule a time to meet with the professor in private to go over your accommodations approved through the disability services office so that they know what accommodations are required ahead of time. He was possibly surprised to have the accommodations appear in the middle of a semester and wanted to make sure the reasoning was legitimate.

That said, he absolutely could have handled it in a more confidential  way. You should feel free to let him know that you felt uncomfortable having the discussion in public. Answer #2: Did you try telling the professor he or she was making you uncomfortable by discussing this in front of others.


Title: Are boobytraps illegal?

Question: Non lethal. On my own private property.

Answer:
 ~~Nope~~ Yep. Very illegal.

Edit: I can't read. Thanks for pointing this out Answer #2: Here is the case on point that every law student reads their first year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katko_v._Briney


Title: Separated, but still went on vacation with kids, worried about what if anything I will return to...

Question:
*UPDATE*:

So thanks to everyone for posting. Not sure what I would do without the wonderful people of Reddit! We came home a day early, had a blast FYI. Husband was crashing at the house which was odd, but nothing was taken or broken... house did reek of pot. He took off within a hour of us arriving home with some clothes and I signed a new lease today with just my name on it.

I talked with the landlord and explained the situation. He will be giving me new locks and keys since its a whole new lease agreement and the previous one expired and was not renewed. Husband has 30 days to collect his personal items, landlord is sending him a letter to his moms house about this.

Now I am going to relax, start planning my new life financially, and when I am ready we will go to court for divorce.

Until then I am going to try to file a child support order to at least hold him accountable for supporting the children. I have also started separating our bills and sent husband a copy of his new car insurance bill so he knows he has to pay it to keep his coverage.

Very happy nothing was taken or broken - I was lucky! He was surprised to see me home early, so I think he thought he had more time to go thru the house so its good I came home a day early!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Reddit! Thank god for you people....

Anyway..

My husband and I split this past Monday. It was nasty. He has a drug problem and basically I told him he can't be in the home while he is a.) High, b.) In possession of drugs. He didn't take it well. He took off and refused to contact me and I suspect he is also cheating. Then I found out he lost his job because he was high at work. And then I got angry.

I was paying his cell phone and car insurance bills. But since he is totally out of control, for my own financial well being and also to kind of cut the support I give him which he really doesn't deserve at this point, I canceled both and made it so I would only be paying for my own phone and car insurance. He can pay his own bills, given he has not paid rent in two months either I was just a bank for him to spend his cash on drugs or whatever he does.

He flipped out, told me to "rip the baby out of my tummy" (abort our 17 week son) and told me he was done. I didn't respond but I have been saving all the messages.

We have three boys under age 6. I am working but will need a second job soon.

We had already booked a vacation for this weekend so I figured the boys and I would go, to clear my head and get some relief from the insanity. It also gave me time to talk with the kids. They seem fine with him leaving, he was never a good father and they lack any real attachment to him. Which is sad. But its not the kids fault, its his.

So I am really worried when we get home that our house will be a mess. Im worried he will take things like our 700 dollar tv which I bought on my debit card. Or mess with my office equipment I use for my business. If he destorys any property or takes stuff to sell for drugs, I am pretty much screwed right? Or do I have recourse?

Pretty much everything in the house is mine. I would hate to loose anything that I worked hard for to a man who just wants to get high and not support his children. It would be heartbreaking.

Facts :
We have separate bank accounts

I have been documenting everything, he has abandoned the family 4 times in the past 3 months usually leaving for 2 weeks or so

He has not paid for anything. And its all documented. On paper.

He has a key to our apartment but our lease is up for renewal on May 1st, at that time I will be letting our landlord know he wont be on the lease anymore.

He has a record, a long one.

He knows the children and I have gone on vacation.

Location : Massachusetts

Answer:
 Canceling his insurance while he's driving a car that belongs to your family could haunt you. Until you are legally separated, I'd keep making those payments. If he got into an accident you could end up being responsible for those damages. Answer #2: This is all hypothetical. If you come home and notice things destroyed or missing, you call the police and file a report. If your other half ends up being the one who did it, you can sue to recover damages. From the sound of it, I can't imagine how successful that would be.

Edit: A wordAnswer #3: Hindsight is 20/20, but you really should have thrown your important stuff in a storage locker.Answer #4: > He has a key to our apartment but our lease is up for renewal on May 1st, at that time I will be letting our landlord know he wont be on the lease anymore.

Has he agreed to that?


Title: Blacklisting

Question:
I live in WA State and was working in a medical office. I have 17 years of experience in this position. 4 years ago, a new office manager was hired because she is the best friend of one of the corporate bosses. The new manager had no medical background or experience. She and I clashed from the start because of changes she wanted to make that would be detrimental to the patients. But I found out very fast that she had a protector and nothing I said would be taken seriously, but would instead be used against me. I kept my mouth shut as much as possible, but when it comes to patient care, I had to speak my mind. Before this woman became manager I had never had a bad review. After she started, it was one bad review after another. And she would twist things around example: she wanted to install a large air freshener that uses those smelly cartridges in the waiting room. I opposed it because of the potential for allergic reactions, respiratory problems and possible DEATH of patients. She installed it anyway and when one of the Drs saw it, he ripped it off the ceiling and threw it away. On my next review she wrote "resistant to change". I couldn't understand what she meant by that and she would not give me a definitive answer. So I told her I would not leave her office until she did. She then confessed that "resistant to change" was to do with the air freshener. I was shocked! Since I was just keeping patient care and safety in mind when I opposed it. Well the last 4 years have been more of the same crap! She has fired all of the front desk staff and installed her daughters friends-that again have no medical experience. She has these girls and 2 back office girls in her "clique". And I have been her target for the past 4 years. After reading extensively about bullying in the workplace, I am positive that I have been the target of a narcissistic bully. To get to the point, I was fired 7/2015 against the wishes of the Dr that I work with. He has defended me to the CEO to no avail. Since then I have been desperately seeking a job. I have applied for over 40 positions in my field. I have had some very promising interviews that said they were going to call back so that I could interview with the Dr and then never did so. When I followed up by calling them, my calls were never returned. This has happened with the other 2 major medical offices in my area. Recently a friend who works at one of these offices got me an interview. The manager and I really hit it off and she said that she would call me the next day about a time to interview with the Dr. When I didn't hear from her, I called and she never returned my call. I asked my friend if she knew what was going on. She talked to the office manager, who said that when she went to the HR dept with my name, I was on file as "do not hire for any position" within this company. My friend was told that it was due to something that was said by my former employer and particularly my former manager was named as having been who was talked to for references. This is despite the glowing reference given by the Dr that I worked with for 10 years! I have no idea what she said, but I have done absolutely nothing to warrant this. She has effectively ruined my life because I can't get a job in my field. I need help. Would I be able to bring a lawsuit against the company and/or manager? I have 4 years of documentation of all the lies she told about me and all of the illegal things she has done. I also know several people who were unjustly fired (one that was on FMLA at the time) who would be willing to talk. Please Any and all help would be appreciated!
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 >I have no idea what she said,

You need to know. She is allowed to say the truth and get opinion. If her opinion is you are difficult to work with and don't like change, both of which are true to her experience and are her opinion. If she says you kill babies, then you can sue (assuming it is not true).

If you can find out what she is saying, then contact an attorney.


Title: Considering changing my first name to "Redacted" - What could possibly go wrong?

Question:
I have a common first name that begins with R., and for some reason I hate it.  Not sure why.  I've always gone by my middle name as long as I can remember.

People have always asked me why I don't change my name, and my answer is that I never know what to change it to.  If I picked my middle name for example, then what would I have for a new middle name?  Etc.

So then, a bad joke came to mind that I could continue using my name as "R. Androk Tasie", and just change my first name to "Redacted".  When people ask me what the R stands for, I say it's Redacted.  Dumb, but it amuses me.  Now I'm trying to figure out if it's even worth pursuing.

My questions are thus:

1) Is changing to the joke name "Redacted" even possible?  I'm an Ohio non-resident stationed in Japan.

2) If so, what could possibly go wrong to make me regret this decision?  Banking, insurance, travel etc?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 I'm not sure about 1, but for 2 - expect your life to be made into paperwork hell.

Any time you open a bank account, apply for a loan or credit card, an investment account, anything involving legal paperwork ever again, you can expect to have to provide multiple pieces of proof that your name is truly as stupid as you say it is.

Because any time any rational human sees your name on an application, they will assume you're omitting or leaving out information. Everything you ever do will be flagged as incomplete until you fax in your legal name change documents. Some places may even assume those are false too and just refuse to do business with you, which is well within their rights to do.

If you want to be on a first name basis with a notary public and get to buy your own fax machine since you'll be facing things so often, then enjoy. Answer #2: >If so, what could possibly go wrong to make me regret this decision?

You could eventually stop thinking it's clever.


Title: I (23f) got bit by my landlords dog who lives above our unit, and asked him to pay the full medical bill. It's been 2 months. Now he says that he will pay but I can't be on the premises until the dog is removed.

Question:
I've been a tenant at this location in Indiana metro area for almost 2 years. The lease is up at the end of may. On leap day, my landlords boxer attacked me on the side walk and I went to the er. When I got the bill, I asked for the landlord to pay for it. He offered half. I respectfully asked for him to pay the full amount due to the fact that... His dog attacked me. I don't want to be out 400 dollars out of kindness? What? He's lucky I'm just trying to recoup my costs, and not sure for damages.

Well my boyfriend and I are both on the lease at the moment and I had no intention of staying at this location for another term after my landlord showed his character, so I've already given notice about moving out. Bf resigned last week to continue living there for another year. (No relationship advice needed, him and I are definitely on the same team for this one.) We paid rent yesterday, a day early. Today we get an email that he is paying the medical in full to the address I requested but that they are uncomfortable with me on the premises and I'm not allowed to be here until the dog is removed on June 18th. They'll then revisit the situation. I've broken no law, by the way and am clean as a whistle on paper.

They just accepted money for the month for rent and the next day state that I can make an appointment to get my things, but am not allowed on the premises effective immediately. The reason they cite is until the dog is removed.

Their dog attacks me. So I can't be in my rental unit.

So I'm going to talk to a lawyer. Clearly. Any advice for how to handle it or what information precisely to document or protect myself? I had just signed on a new place and I was going to have the leases overlap for a month so I could take my time moving. So at least I already have new arrangement.

Any wisdom appreciated.

EDIT: Removed PM comment. My primary concern is my BF resigned for a renewal at that location alone. He now feels incredibly uncomfortable with their actions, the unsafe environment and would no longer like to live there. He has not provided a security deposit yet for that term. That would be due in two weeks, they said. Any advice for him? I'm pretty sure my case against them is pretty solid, but his situation is where it gets sticky.

Answer:
 >So I'm going to talk to a lawyer. Clearly. Anyone know good ones, pm me for location.

A lawyer is a good first step. You have  no obligation to leave the premises since you're a legal tenant paying rent on time. If you want a lawyer referral, contact your state's bar association. PMs are prohibited on this subreddit.Answer #2: You can go to your home whenever you please. If you find yourself locked out, call the cops.Answer #3: Wait wait wait.  How did the dog hurt you that badly and nobody called animal control or the police? This dog isnt gonna only attack you either, if its a dog that attacks people its dangerous.

Call animal control or the police non emergency line. They say theyre removing the dog, but theyre being super shady and screwing you so you have no obligation to be polite or to trust them on that. It will also get the dog out of there quicker, probably. Its also just protecting your neighborhood from a dog that apparently can get out to the sidewalk.

About documentation, document everything. Especially any and all communications between you and the landlords, even write down when and what was said during spoken meetings.

Also, if you think its worth it, sue the landlords. Thats your own judgement though.


Title: Question about officer making sexual comment during search.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Is this something I should talk to my public defender or the court about. Would this in anyway affect the case?

No and no.  It's irrelevant to your case.  You can complain to his superiors if you'd like.


Title: Ohio - Unable to garnish wages from a small claims case that I won

Question:
Hello,

So I am lost as to how to proceed with this. The short version of events, I owned a home in Ohio which I rented out to close family members. Last year, we found out they had not been taking care of the property, and stopped paying rent in April. They said they were going through a rough time and would have the money owed to us soon.

Instead, we discovered that they had rented a new house in another town, cut all communications off with us and left us owing 2 months worth of rent, damages, and unpaid utility bills. When we retook the property in June it was discovered that the house had sustained considerable damages (holes in walls and doors, 200+ bags of trash, caked on urine in the bathroom floors, mold, etc) due to them. I cleaned up and repaired the property the best that I could and was unable to sell it and eventually lost it to foreclosure just this month.

&#x200B;

In October of 2018, I won a small claims judgment against them for damages on the property. I filled out the garnishment form and mailed that in. I received a response that the employer could not find my family member in their records even though we know with 100% certainty that he does work there. We then hired a private investigator and have discovered that the family member is using a different social security number, possibly his wives social.

&#x200B;

I contacted the employer directly and they stated that according to their records he last worked for them in 2015, but I can walk into the place of employment where he is a general manager of and he is working for them. I advised the employer of this and stated that he isn't using the right social security number but they didn't seem to care.

&#x200B;

I already lost a home and now I feel that I am about to lose out on all the money I had to spend for flights (I live out of state) plus court costs in pursuing this.

&#x200B;

Any advice?

Answer: Have you tried to garnish any of the other parties' wages, if they works? Have you tried to [levy their bank account(s)](https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/tips-collecting-judgment-29479.html)?Answer #2: If you think the employer is refusing to cooperate with a court-ordered garnishment by claiming he doesn’t work there, the court would be interested to hear that. That’s probably attorney territory though. I might try a free or low-cost consultation with one to find out what they think.


Title: [Michigan] What's a valid reason for a name change?

Question: I am about to file a petition for name change in my county. Will the judge deny me if my given reasoning is "I want to change my name because I do not like my current one"?

Answer: Generally, you can do a legal name change for any reason, as long as it's not to commit fraud or escape debt or prosecution.


Title: (Illinois) What legal recourse do I have if my workplace loses my paycheck and refuses to cut me a new one?

Question: I've made attempts to get a new paycheck, but I've gotten basically no response.  What do I do? Should I get a lawyer?  Ask more forcefully?

Answer:
 I would write a letter to whoever processes your payroll demanding they give you the paycheck you earned. If this gets you nowhere, then consider filing a wage claim with the state of Illinois.

If you are concerned about retaliation (even though it is illegal and opens them up for a lawsuit) for filing a wage claim, then you should know that you have 3 years to file this claim.

https://www.illinois.gov/idol/FAQs/Pages/How-To-File-A-Claim.aspxAnswer #2: While you're on the phone with payroll see if direct deposit is an option as well.

Regardless of who lost the check, they have to replace it eventually. They have to pay you, and they don't want outstanding payroll in their account, it mucks things up for the accountants. Years ago when mobile deposits became a thing I had 2 smaller checks "clear" then not clear, and my bookkeeper contacted me about a month later asking why I didn't deposit my checks and that it was gumming up their software, and can they re-issue... but of course it took a month+ for them to notice it on the accounting side.
Answer #3: Since you haven't ever received the check, you legally have never been paid. You treat this exactly like that. If they won't pay you, file a wage claim.


Title: Can you be punished for maintaining your innocence?

Question:
This is just a question about law, I'm not personally in trouble. I was reading an article about a woman being sentenced for trafficking crack when I saw something I don't understand. The prosecutors argued for a longer sentence, claiming she had committed perjury "for her false denials of guilt on the stand."

Is that really allowed? Isn't the basis of the American Justice System that we are innocent until proven guilty? How can part of that system be that, regardless of plea deals, you can be sentenced more harshly for defending your innocence?

Answer:
 She lied under oath. That is a crime.

In a plea, she agrees to admit to the crime, generally


Title: (FL) (Minor) Was overcharged for a felony, now have the option of attempting to get it down to a misdemeanor or attending "teen court" for the original charges

Question:
Recently my username happened which led to me coming home to the wrong house in my neighborhood. I was charged with burglary of an unoccupied residence, criminal mischief, and damages in excess of $200. There was almost no damage in reality, and obviously (as confirmed by a private attorney) no intent to commit a crime. I have not had a pre-trial yet. This is a first offense.

For some reason, my guardian decided that disputing the charge and getting bumped down to a misdemeanor and (most likely) rehab plea-deal would be the best option. I do not see how that could be the case, especially considering the price of an attorney which is looking grim at the moment.

Do I have any reason not to simply attend teen court for the charges levied, as suggested by my PO?

Thanks!

Answer:
 IANAL.

>Like I said, no intent to commit a crime. I could probably represent myself

Thank you for demonstrating one of the reasons that representing yourself in a criminal matter is a terrible idea. The defence you are proposing was abolished by [statute](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0775/Sections/0775.051.html) in 1999:

>Evidence of a defendant’s voluntary intoxication is not admissible to show that the defendant lacked the specific intent to commit an offense and is not admissible to show that the defendant was insane at the time of the offense...

Unless you were prescribed LSD by a physician, or you intend to challenge the constitutionality of the statute, your proposed defence is a non-starter.

edit: And, by the way, the statute has been repeatedly [upheld](http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1251734.html) by Florida appellate courts as permissible under both the Florida and federal constitutions (relying in part on a Supreme Court decision concerning a similar Montana statute, in *Montana v. Egelhoff* (1996).


Title: [PA] Can I be forced to be drug tested monthly by my PCP, without a court order?

Question:
I am a 19 year old chronic pain patient from Pennsylvania. I have had to see multiple doctors and medical professionals on a regular basis for most of my life. My condition is one that leads to daily, sometimes severe pain and, having been given very little help from my doctors to manage it, I found myself turning to various drugs around the beginning of 2017.

Half a year ago, I admitted to my PCP that I was a recovering meth addict. I let them know the history of my use of methamphetamine and other narcotics (namely opiates and marijuana), and that I had recently relapsed. I was subjected to a drug test then, but not another for around ~120 days.

She then informed me that, legally, it was required that I submit to a drug test monthly from now on. She admitted I should have been taking them all this time, but that she had been lenient. She implied that she would refuse to provide further treatment if I did not comply, and that testing positive for any drug would mean being sent to rehab, despite there being no other reasons I would need to be institutionalized for.

Other doctors I frequent within the same hospital have also 'requested' that I take them, while essentially telling me I had no choice. They have also used my history of drug use as a reason for their refusal to assist in pain management, despite this refusal being what caused me to turn to narcotics in the first place.

I've passed all of those tests, as I've been clean for 156 days now. Is it true that I am legally required to take these? There is no court order or involvement from law enforcement, so I wouldn't think so. Is this a violation of my rights? If so, what should I do to get them to cease this invasion of privacy and to receive proper treatment?

Answer: I don’t know if it’s a legal requirement, but they certainly have no obligation to continue treating you if you refuse to comply with their instructions. There’s no violation of your rights here because you have no right to a specific course of treatment. If you want to continue receiving the treatment that you are from these physicians you will have to comply with their instructions.


Title: I think my employer is committing fraud?

Question: I work for a third party re-seller in Illinois who partners with larger companies to promote their products using our services. We host events, give out promotional items that kind of thing, with their help financially. We held an event over the summer in which some of the hand outs were golf tees, ball markers and other various golf related items. We got paid $3,000 by the larger company that went in on the event with us, thinking the handouts would also include their logo for marketing purposes. Only our logo's were on the actual handouts, and I was told to Photoshop the larger companies logo onto the items, and sent them the phony mock ups in order to get paid. I'm assuming this is illegal, is there something I should do?

Answer:
 Your employer is likely in violation of the agreement they have with the company who hired your employer and *could* be found guilty of fraud per what you described. Answer #2: Defiantly a violation of contract law (a civil law issue), which is an issue for for the company as a whole.

Depending on specifics of your jurisdiction's criminal fraud laws, a strong criminal case for fraud could be made against the company, and you could be personally charged with aiding and abetting or similar such criminal charges as well.  I would get legal advice and come clean to the appropriate authorities, but given the relatively low value of the contract, I'm not sure about how likely the authorities would be willing to give you favourable treatment.

I'm not a lawyer or a Illinois resident, but I have recently taken several business law courses in college as part of a business administration program.


Title: Taking a snapshot with phone of a picture taken?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Legally? No. Those pictures were taken by them so the copyright belongs to them and you can't reproduce it without their permission (which you don't have).


Title: Girlfriend's roommate intentionally poisoned me to prove that I was stealing from her and now demands that I pay her back

Question:
My girlfriend's roommate keeps a prescription of clonazepam in their bathroom. Occasionally, I take one, and by occasionally, I mean once every 6 months.

One day, I was over at my gf's place and her roommate was out, and I took one and the roommate poisoned them all because I had this sudden tiredness and nausea that I don't get with benzos and then had this uncontrollable twitch while sweating *a lot* even though the room was cold. Her roommate comes back and was like, "I knew it. I hope you learn to not take other people's prescriptions and you also better pay me back for every one you stole." And my gf was like, "wtf?" And her roommate said that she knew I was stealing her pills and said that the way I was acting proved it, though she did not explicitly say that she poisoned them. She says I owe her $200 or she'll press charges for theft and that she has all the evidence she needs because of how poisoned I was.

My question is, can she really do this, and isn't it illegal for her to be poisoning me, and should I report *her* to the police considering that she poisoned me or should I not because I was stealing from her.

She's also been harassing my gf now about me and about how I need to pay.

Answer:
 > My girlfriend's roommate keeps a prescription of clonazepam in their bathroom. Occasionally, I take one, and by occasionally, I mean once every 6 months.

And by every 6 months, you probably mean every day.  Your story is filled with all kinds of bullshit because if you took one every 6 months this entire situation wouldn't have happened.

Either this story is bullshit, or you've been eating them like candy.Answer #2: ITT - Scumbag drug addict is pissed because the person he was stealing from switched the pills in her bottle.

Answer #3: You should report her, what she did was a serious crime. Make sure you tell the police department that you only steal her prescription medications on infrequent occasions. They won't care as the poisoner is the big fish they want to get.Answer #4: Junkie translation:  " Occasionally, I take one"   means  "I didn't steal the whole bottle."Answer #5: I'm glad you got poisonedAnswer #6: Hate to say it but Its your own fault. Shouldn't have been stealing her pills.Answer #7: Reminds me of an episode of COPS where a drug dealer reported someone not paying for the drugs they sold to someone.... Answer #8: yeah man, you are a certified dick. Just ask or don't take them.


Title: Any legal recourse for unsanitary working conditions?

Question:
I work for a state government agency as a computer specialist. The entire 10+ story building(going to try to be mildly vague on specifics for obvious reasons) either has their own offices or cubicles, even people who make substantially less than me, have their own cubicle in a building of a couple hundred people.

When I started the room was lined with tables with computers on top, eventually they contracted to put 'dividers' on the tables. The company budgeted for 12 cubicles(one for each person) but 2 bosses up nixed it, saying "he couldn't justify 12 computers only getting 40 hours a week of use"--when every other computer in tje building gets... 40 hours of use.

So now we have 6 stations, the room is barely ever swept or mopped, is never dusted--we have mostly broken chairs to sit in (was told I can't buy my own chair) and everyone in that room stays sick where we share work space in a confined area.

Literally, I got over a cold earlier this week--I'm headed to the doctor in 30 minutes where I woke up sick again. Is there any Osha laws, etc. I can look into about forcing them to take better care of us? Our specific management team is horrible, the rest of the building seems fairly well taken care of, could it possibly be harassment? Literally 6 or 7 of the 12 are sick, and every month a couple of us catch something and pass it around--I literally met my healthcare deductible for 2018 without having any major illness....

Answer: Every state's laws are different if you don't list your location no one can really help you. Unless there's literally like mold or contaminant in the air. Dust and a lack of vacuuming isn't countable for anything unless it's in the food or health industry. If you start attracting mice and things like that into the building then you might actually have a better case on your hand.