Title: A little advice to those seeking legal advice. [meta]

Question:
I have noticed that this sub seems to have a lot of questions regarding two subjects: 1) **Landlord/Tenant** law and 2) **Employment** law.

There are a lots of online resources for landlord tenant law [here](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws) for US redditors and [this site](http://www.thelpa.com/lpa/lllaw.html) even has guides for the England, the rest of the UK, Canada & Australia.

Employment law: [US](http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/) ([alternate](http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/state.htm)), [UK](http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_rights_at_work_e/basic_rights_at_work.htm), [Canada](http://www.labour.gc.ca/eng/resources/laws/), [Australia](https://www.fwc.gov.au/about-us/legislation-regulations-0)

For the most part, it is fairly easy to find simple guides for your rights in both of these areas.  Governments generally do their best to try to help out the average Joe in these situations because there is such a high opportunity for a Landlord or Employer to take advantage of someone in a weaker position.  I know that this type of stuff can be intimidating to a person who is unfamiliar to a legal jargon but it is very useful knowledge.

My advice is to empower yourself by reading these guides, *then* come ask your question here (or speak to an attorney).  You'll have a much better idea of where you stand.

Edit: words

Answer:
 This is really good advice and it's very helpful that you compiled these resources- I'd even go as far as to say this is a good idea to consider including in the sidebar.

That being said, the vast majority of posters here aren't going to bother looking for themselves when they could have someone else tell them with much less effort.Answer #2: You should also write a guide on how no one ever gets out of a gym contract. I swear we get a question about that ("I moved, why can't I cancel my contract" "The gym is enforcing my contract, why can't I just declare it void for this reason?") at least once a week. I've almost given up on clicking anything with "Gym" in the title.Answer #3: Note that for Canada, most everything employment-related will be provincial (except for federally-regulated employers). Look for your local Labour Standards Board.

Newfoundland: http://www.gov.nl.ca/lra/faq/labourstandards.html

Nova Scotia: http://novascotia.ca/lae/employmentrights/

P.E.I.: http://www.gov.pe.ca/labour/index.php3?number=1004723&lang=E

New Brunswick: http://www.gnb.ca/LEB-CTE/index-e.asp

Ontario: http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/

Manitoba: http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/

Saskatchewan: http://www.saskatchewan.ca/work/employment-standards

Alberta: http://work.alberta.ca/employment-standards.html

British Columbia: http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/Answer #4: But my landlord said I have 4 minutes to leave my apartment, I can't use the Internet in that time.  wdid?Answer #5: Also, landlord-tenant will be provincially regulated. Following links:

Newfoundland: http://www.servicenl.gov.nl.ca/landlord/index.html

Nova Scotia: http://www.novascotia.ca/sns/access/land/residential-tenancies.asp

PEI: http://www.irac.pe.ca/rental/

New Brunswick: http://www.snb.ca/e/1000/1000-2/e/1000-2_003_e.asp

Ontario: http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/index.html

Manitoba: http://www.gov.mb.ca/cca/rtb/index.html

Saskatchewan: http://www.justice.gov.sk.ca/Information-for-Landlords-and-Tenants

Alberta: http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/Landlords_Tenants.cfm

British Columbia: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page?id=FE38AA18AC2B437A8C274E030254B3DD


Title: Can I get out of jury duty because I'm autistic?

Question: I am an adult in California living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I recently got called in for jury duty. Can I use my disability to get out of it?

Answer:
 You can honestly disclose it and see what they say.

If you're able to take care of yourself it seems unlikely unless it would somehow render you biased in the case.


Title: [UK] Legal implications of cancelling a trip to Paris?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Go on your trip.

You're about a hundred times more likely to be killed by the French's total disdain for traffic laws than by ISIS.


Title: This guy is a sexual predator, but it's been 5+ years and I have no idea what to do.

Question:
Hey there,

&#x200B;

I was a victim of an online child predator 5+ years ago. I'm not sure what exactly to do about this because it's been a few years since this was occurring, I didn't know right from wrong at the time as a minor, and have no idea if it's still something I can report. I still know this guy's name and can locate him on Facebook. I can't believe it took me so long to realize how disgusting this guy really was.

&#x200B;

This guy used to be friends of my female friends when we were 12-13 in an online community (circa \~2011-2012). All of us were long-distance friends (me in Canada, two of my friends from California and Colorado, and him in Illinois). He was 18-19 (6 years older than me). At the time I didn't know better about predators. He was a lonely guy and gradually got close to each of my 2 female friends at the time one after the other and would end up sexually involved with them somehow before they got uncomfortable / drama occurred and stopped talking to him. I don't know how it happened (if he manipulated them or not) but I remember one of them telling me how she'd almost sent him NSFW pictures of herself and then stopped talking to him after her father became aware of this guy and ended the situation right then and there.

&#x200B;

Years later (circa \~2014-2015) when I was 15-16 he (21-22) sent me a message asking how I was doing. I wasn't talking to many friends at the time, and so we began talking for a few months on Facebook. He later told me he had feelings for me, I thought I had feelings too I suppose, and I went along for the ride that occurred. I didn't know better and thought this was okay. We had a secret relationship that included web-camming with him sexually and sending him pictures of myself. I unfortunately thought this was fine at the time, and was too scared to tell my mom the whole story. She only knew he was a good friend of mine. Internally I felt weird about him overall as he seemed to be the one asking things out of me more (I was an artist and he'd ask me sometimes to draw NSFW art of us for him). I ended contact with him after I got angry knowing he had a folder of 100+ screenshots/recordings (SFW & NSFW) he took of me secretly during our webcam sessions. He tried to convince me he'd change, calling me on Skype crying about it. I felt bad for him for a moment and let our thing continue a bit, but nothing changed about him and I continued to feel enraged. I blocked him on all my social medias as he tried to contact me everywhere he knew me. For 2-3 years after this he would routinely wish me a happy birthday and hope I was doing okay. I can't believe I actually felt bad for this piece of garbage.

&#x200B;

With me being 20 currently I believe he's now 26. I have his Facebook account, my Facebook conversation of 1000s of messages with him from when I was a minor, pictures he sent me of his face... probably more if I dig through our FB messages that heavily sickens me to read now.

&#x200B;

I don't know what to do for certain. I now perfectly understand that his past actions were predatory and make him a pedophile, but I don't know if it's too late to act as it's been a while since then. I live in Canada while he lives in the United States (Illinois). Any advice would be strongly appreciated.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 >Any advice would be strongly appreciated.

If you want something done to stop them, file a police report with the police department in whose jurisdiction the crimes against you were committed.

If you choose not to file a police report, move on with your life - filing a police report is the only effective course of action here.


Title: (IL) Had a vehicle towed out of my parking space

Question:
I've had a few vehicles parked in my space at the condo complex I live in.  When I get out of work at 4 am and head home and find someone in my space vs. the visitor parking on the far side of the parking lot, I get annoyed.  It has happened several times with a large deal of the visitor parking being empty while they choose to park in my space.

Last night I got home and found yet another vehicle in my space.  It is one I have seen parked in several other assigned spaces so I figured they just didn't care about the rules of the complex.  I had it towed.

A few hours ago the father of the owner of this car came knocking on my door.  Apparently they live in the same building I live in.  He was angry naturally but did not seem to want his son or himself to accept responsibility for his son parking in our space.

A unit next to ours had been empty for a while and I had seen this vehicle parked in that space as well.  The father said he would kick his son's ass for parking in his space but seemed to have no problem with him parking in other people's spaces.  He also stated he would not care if anyone besides his son parked in his space and he would not screw somebody else over and just park in the visitor parking space himself and not care about it.

He said I should have done the "neighborly thing" and parked in the visitor parking and just not cared about it.  Also stated neighbors should watch out for other neighbors and if he sees somebody messing with my car in the future he will look the other way.

Should I take this as some kind of threat?  I am now concerned something will happen to my car while it is parked and I am not there to witness it.  I don't feel like I am in the wrong here because I was following the rules of the complex while he and his son were not.

I do not feel going to the person who had it towed and starting a conversation about the issue while being antagonistic was the right course of action vs. just maybe going to apologize.  It was hard to keep my responses in check, but I was able to bite my tongue at the right moments and just issue civil rebuttals to his rants and raves.

I now know where in the building they live so I guess if something happens I could point the police in their direction but I don't feel like it should have to go that far.  I'm just not looking for him or his son to seek some sort of petty revenge.  Is their anything I can do in the meantime to protect myself against any sort of future events?

Answer:
 That isn't a threat. It is just not nice.

You can install cameras is legally allowed


Title: [PA,USA] Traffic: Live stop at a red light. Police refused to see my insurance when I told them I had to pull it up on my phone. Took my car from me for suspended registration which I had fixed months ago. Need advice for court.

Question:
Hi everyone,

So I'll get right to it. I was on my way home after work where I stopped at a red light near my home. I happened to pull up exactly next to a police cruiser that was in the left turning lane. When the turn signal came on he did not go. Once my light changed he got behind me and immediately pulled me over. I drove into the parking lot of a local thrift store as to not block traffic and make it safe for the officer to get out of his car.

After we were safe in a parking lot he came over to the car I greeted him normally and he immediately replied "I already know everything" and pretty much shut down me trying to say anything to him such as why was I pulled over. He did not mention he had a body camera either so I do not know if he had one or not. He noted I had some expired stickers in the front that were peeled off and curled up from the heat. Now for some background on the car I had it for about 6 months until it was impounded from this incident. It was meant to be an in between car from my car I lost from being rear ended at a red light until I buy a suitable replacement. The value of the car was so low I didn't need to pay tax when my sister gifted to me (Less than a few hundred is the car worth). After he made a trip around the car he asked me to park in a spot as to not block any traffic in the lot and for my paperwork. I gave my registration and license and told him I needed to pull my insurance on my phone since I was paperless with my insurance policy. He said okay and told me he will come back after I park in the spot and he returns to his cruiser.

I wait for about 30-40 minutes in my car until he comes back. At this point he has barely spoken a few words to me and I notice a tow truck has pulled in the lot. He comes back with a clipboard saying I need to sign this to have my car released and towed. I asked him what for and he said my registration is suspended. I tell him that can't be right and he says fine and makes a point about how he will write a big refusal to sign on the clipboard paper.

Now I fixed my registration about 3 months before this live stop. I had a lapse in insurance which I did not know about until it was past 30 days and my registration got suspended. As soon as I found out I got new insurance and then I paid the civic fine and the restoration fee to have my car all settled up.

At this point I was kinda in shock I was going to lose my car suddenly I asked to make a phone call to a family friend who was a long time and current police officer. As soon as I finished the officer got a bit heated and raised his voice asking me if "I was questioning his authority as a "city" police officer." I respectfully said no and that I just wanted to make sure that this is all standard and that I don't really know what's going on to his reply is I don't care if you call "current city police commissioner". Sadly I didn't get in touch with any one of my neighbors since I live in a police neighborhood. I figured he may have said no and tried to take my phone away but when I mentioned I knew other police and wanted to ask them for advice he backed off just in case I knew someone far above his paygrade.

I asked why was my registation suspended and he said it was due to insurance. I told him I have proof of insure and offered to show it to him since he never asked me for it again and I had it sitting on my phone for 30-40 minutes and he said he didn't want to see it. I said " Are you are refusing to see my valid insurance" and he replied yes.

After that I sat in my car for a bit pretty much defeated and in shock so I kinda gave up. When I exited my car there was back up and also a supervisor present who I repeated he refused to see my insurance, etc.

At this point there were about to leave when the officer who pulled me over comes over very smugly said "With all due respect I wrote you 5 tickets" with a lot of emphasis on the 5. After that they all left and and I found my own way home from the parking lot.

Now the 5 tickets were expired inspection(1) and emissions(2) stickers. Expired registration tags(3), suspended registration(4), and finally no proof of insurance(5).

I later found out from the friend who was the police officer I tried to call told me that the man who pulled me over is known around as someone who takes a lot of cars and gets dozens of complaints and I should make a compliant as well but I'm worried it's going to put me on some list or something that I made a complaint on a cop and I'll be treated worse if there is a next time I get pulled over. I think it's possible he pulled me over with that intent and when he made his investigation he took all evidence that supported his end goal rather then just look at everything objectively. Maybe it's because I have a long foreign name and a beard and since I've gotten discrimination against my name before it's somewhat a possibility? (He gave a total skinhead vibe).

So that's my story. I felt kinda blind sided by this since I grew up with cops and always thought you could go to them for help but this kinda left a bad taste in my mouth since it would be this guy I might need help from.

So now is there anything I should say or do in my approaching court case that can help me prove my point that the car should not have been taken. I believe I should have just gotten tickets for the stickers and then go on my way. Not have up to $3000 for tickets and impounding fines for my car.

Also I live in a city so the laws may be different than the rest of PA. We have a football team with an eagle.

Answer:
 Jesus, that's a colossal wall of text.  Who cares where the guy walked or stood?

There's no issue with him writing you a registration ticket if the state says your registration is expired or suspended.  You take that up with the state.  If your inspection and emission stickers are expired, there's no issue with that, either.

You weren't treated badly because of your skin or your hair.  You weren't actually treated badly at all, he just wasn't as nice as you wanted him to be.  You got tickets because your shit wasn't handled.


Title: Sent a picture of my girlfriend were she only had underwear to my bestfriend on snapchat.

Question: Is this a criminal act? He didnt screenshot. She doesnt know i sent it

Answer: It's not criminal. It does make you a douche though.


Title: How do I pitch an idea to a large corporate company I work for and not have them steal my idea.

Question:
I work for a billion dollar healthcare company and want to pitch an idea to the vp. I work for them and have a very innovative idea that is worth a ton. I happen to work in the same area as where the vp live and have access to him. I can't figure out how to pitch my idea and get the benefit and credit for it without them just saying thank and stealing it. I have thought about a NDA but I doubt he will sign one. Also it's non patentable since its a technology innovation.

This is in the US

Answer:
 Your state is important here, but if you work for the company, you likely wouldn't get anything more than a thanks and a pat on the back, maybe a promotion, if you told them.
Answer #2: Just curious, how do you know it isn't patentable? Have you consulted a patent or intellectual property lawyer?

Actual advice, there is no rush so wait for all the advice you can get before acting. Maybe prepare your speech with a broad/generalized idea and ask if they are interested in the details. Then use their interest to request a promotion/bonus in exchange for the actual innovation, but be careful how you do this so you don't end up without a job.

Keep in mind that you may place more value in this idea than they do. They may have already considered and dismissed your idea as impractical because of factors you are not aware of.


Title: [TX] Can I lose my security deposit AND be charged a reletting fee AND owe future rent?

Question:
If I break my lease early by not giving 30 days notice and not fulfilling the lease term, can I be liable for all 3?

&nbsp;

My security deposit is 1 month's worth of rent. Would that security deposit be applied to 1 month of rent that I owe?

&nbsp;

Can I lose my security deposit AND be charged a reletting fee? Wouldn't that be like paying a penalty twice?

Answer:
 You will be liable for any damages \(which they will your deposit to pay for\)

You will be liable for any cleaning / fees that are specified in your lease \(which they will use your deposit to pay for\)

You will be liable for any fees that are relating to breaking your lease and the last month of rent \(which they will also use your deposit to pay for\)

Its not double payment, a deposit is to make sure the LL gets something encase of damages or a tenant causing damaging of other type, such as leaving without giving notice. Dont consider it "a month of rent" as in its a coupon for a free month. Someone picked the amount they want for the deposit and they picked an easy number, the same as a month of rent.


Title: Local business claims they hold trademark to, and can prevent any photograph of, our city’s brick streets.

Question:
Our town is filled with brick streets that are more than 100 years old, and many of the bricks bear the town’s name on their tops.  They’re really popular, and people love the unique charm they provide.

A local company creates little ceramic trinkets, and t-shirts with the bricks’ likeness. They’ve trademarked their designs (which I’m totally ok with), but are also demanding that anyone who uses any image of a brick, whatsoever, receives permission from them first.

A few friends of mine are promoting a bike race in town this weekend, and used a photo of some bricks in an Instagram post. Mind you - the photo isn’t of the company’s products - it’s literally a picture of bricks in the street, that was taken 50 feet from the courthouse in the middle of town.

The company is now fired up and leaving nasty comments about how this is in violation of their trademark.

The current company has NO relation to the historic brick factory that closed in the 1930s that actually made the bricks - they’re simply claiming that nobody can use a photo of a brick on a city street without their permission first.

I can’t imagine they have a valid argument, do they?

Also - can they even trademark the likeness of a 100 year old brick anyway?  I know their trademark exists - but would it hold up to a challenge?
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer: Combined with public privacy laws. They cant prevent their building or property from being in a photo, thats just an absurd attempt lol


Title: [FL] My employer may decide to sell a cosmetic product with mold in it.

Question:
I work for a company that makes cosmetic products.  There was recently a batch of product that had lots of mold growing directly on the surface of the product and on the lip of the container the batch was stored in.

The way they have decided to solve the issue is to scoop the visible mold off the top, stir the product, and transfer it to a different container for storage before it is packaged into its final container.

It is my understanding that they will then be packaging and selling the product so long as there is not visible mold.  I think this is dangerous and unethical.  My position at the company is not significant enough for upper management to take my opinion that this is a bad idea into consideration, but the department I'm in would take a large portion of the backlash if any issues result from this decision.

I am wondering:

1. Do I have a legal obligation to report such an issue?
2. What, if anything, could I do to protect myself in the event of any backlash towards my department?
3. Any other (unofficial) legal advice regarding this situation?

Answer:
 1) You don't have an obligation to report, but if you are in any way involved in this decision, you could be prosecuted later for "conspiracy to adulterate" or something like that.  Make sure your opposition is documented in written form.

2) Nothing, apart from documenting in written form your opposition to this plan.

3) Report it to the FDA, which is the federal agency that regulates cosmetics.  Reports are supposed to be confidential.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/HowToReport/ucm053074.htmAnswer #2: As someone with severe skin issues know that other companies that have done this have gotten massively bad pr and took a giant sales hit. Appeal to their pocket book. Look up Benton Korea and mold.


Title: Is there anything todo if I find a needle in the closet of my new apartment?

Question:
Im in Utah

Just moved into a new place and I found a medical needle with a green cap on it. My friend who is an EMT told me it would be for either medical use or bad drugs. Is there anything I can do about this with my managment besides tell them I found it?

Answer: You could dispose of it properly. Thus ends the list.


Title: (NM) Girlfriend's parents most likely reported her car as stolen after she cut ties with them. Not sure where we stand and what to do.

Question:
My girlfriend is 23 and she moved out of her parents house and into my house about 3 months ago. Her parents bought her a new car when she graduated high school a few years ago. The car is still in her parents name and registered & insured by her parents. Her mother is abusive, controlling and not mentally stable and absolutely did not want her to move out and keeps begging her to move back in with her. They got in a big argument about a week ago and my girlfriend cut ties with her mother and told her she would not be speaking to her again until she accepts that she is on her own and an adult who can make her own decisions etc... Not to go into too much detail about the situation the point is her little sister who lives with her parents contacted one of my friends on facebook to let us know that her mom called the police and reported my girlfriend's car stolen after the argument. We don't really know what to do in this situation because I don't think there is any way we can get the title signed over to her and we most likely have a car that is reported stolen sitting in our driveway. It's not a situation where the parents want the car back either... Her mom most likely just reported it stolen as a control thing to try to get her to move back in with her because she knows that my girlfriend needs the car for work and it's a huge part of her Independence. Also we have no idea what will happen if she gets pulled over or an officer sees the car in our driveway. We are looking into getting her another car but we aren't sure what to do in the meantime as she really has no choice but to use the car until she is able to purchase her own.

EDIT: A lot of you are saying we should return the car to her parents house.... I agree and we have discussed this except there are 2 problems with that... Her little sister would most likely get blamed for us knowing that the car was reported stolen and that would go very poorly for her, and second if we returned the car I wouldn't put it past her mom to do something horrible to the car like damage it with a baseball bat or something along those lines and then blame it on us. Her mom is not mentally stable and doesn't think like a rational person... Her parent's have no desire to get the car back they are just using the fact that the car is registered to them as a means of control.

EDIT2: Got a great answer from /u/sweetlordbabysatan and we will do this immediately. Thanks to everyone that helped out!

Answer:
 Take the car your girlfriend drives and drop it off in the middle of the night at her parents.  It is not her car.

>a huge part of her Independence.

if that was true, she would pay for it, its registration, and insurance. Answer #2: >EDIT: A lot of you are saying we should return the car to her parents house.... I agree and we have discussed this except there are 2 problems with that... Her little sister would most likely get blamed for us knowing that the car was reported stolen and that would go very poorly for her, and second if we returned the car I wouldn't put it past her mom to do something horrible to the car like damage it with a baseball bat or something along those lines and then blame it on us. Her mom is not mentally stable and doesn't think like a rational person... Her parent's have no desire to get the car back they are just using the fact that the car is registered to them as a means of control.

So?  That doesn't change things.  You are in possession of a stolen car.  You need to return it ASAP or face consequences.  Not when it is convenient for you.  NOW.

#THERE ARE NO OTHER OPTIONS.  YOU NEED TO RETURN THE CAR, AND YOU NEED TO DO IT IMMEDIATELY.

If you suspect abuse of a minor, notify CPS.

Take pictures when you drop it off if you are concerned about being framed for damages.

#NEITHER OF THOSE SHOULD STOP YOU FROM RETURNING THE CAR TONIGHT.


Title: Told to shave my beard stubble off at work or lose my job.

Question: I work on the gas utilities in the UK as a driver.  My company has a policy that everyone working on the gas has to be clean shaven so the BA respiratory apparatus will fit tidy.  Earlier today I had been sent home from work to shave after being audited.  I am 30 years old and going bald/very thin on top and as a result I get very very self conscious with no stubble/beard at all, and I also get a bad shaving rash once I have shaved in the past.  As I am a driver, just delivering and collecting equipment, I will never need to use the respiratory apparatus, In fact, I have never seen anybody in my position use one.  As it is a company policy, they are still trying to force me to be clean shaven?  There are other workers that have facial hair just like mine but the boss seems to be making an example out of me, probably because I have only been working there about 6 months.  So basically, can they fire me if I refuse to be clean shaven if it is their policy to be, even though I will never need to use the respiratory apparatus in my line of work?  Any advice is appreciated

Answer: Find another job or shave. You choose. Unless you can claim a religious exemption (Sikh or Muslim) or have medical documentation, you don’t have much of a case. As a new employee, is this the sword you want to throw yourself on?


Title: Girlfriend employed through temp agency, the company she is placed with was supposed to bring her on full time after 3 months but is trying to keep her as a temp to avoid paying more, giving benefits, etc.

Question:
My girlfriend is employed through temp agency in Massachusetts. The company she was placed with was supposed to bring her on full time after 3 months but is trying to keep her as a temp to avoid paying more, giving benefits, etc.

I'm trying to figure out if there are laws protecting her from being "strung along" if you will, such as a maximum length you can have someone be "temp" before you have to hire them full time (and likely be give them benefits and such). It seems like a really slippery slope, not too dissimilar to an unpaid internship and I'd expect there to be laws protecting people from such situations but I haven't been able to find something yet.

I expected the temp agency to take her side and have some sort of policy preventing such behavior but so far they have been unresponsive, apparently due to holiday schedules.

Thanks in advance!
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 > I'm trying to figure out if there are laws protecting her from being "strung along" if you will, such as a maximum length you can have someone be "temp" before you have to hire them full time

No, there isn't.  She's employed by the temp agency, and she works where the temp agency tells her to.  The company she's at doesn't owe her anything *unless* she has a contract to the contrary.Answer #2: > but I haven't been able to find something yet.

Because there aren't any. You can not hire a temp if you don't want to hire a temp. Now if she feels she has a binding contract they breached she can take that contract to an attorney for a complete review and advice on moving forward but don't get your hopes up.


Title: Employer docking pay for lunches (Indianapolis, IN)

Question:
Work IT for a medical billing company.  I get a half hour lunch.  I've been trying to cut back on fast food and junk lately so I've made some meals and brought my lunch....so basically I've been working through lunch.  Boss comes to me and asks me to re-approve my time card because he modified it to take off half hours for those days since I didn't clock out.

I told him that I worked through lunch and brought my own food.  He said that it would have put me into overtime and I was not approved for overtime.  So I basically worked for free 2 days.

 Isn't this illegal?

Answer: You have to be paid for all hours worked. Your boss can require you to take a lunch break. You can be fired for not taking it.


Title: my school district has it so you can drive or ride the bus back and forth between 2 high schools because some offer classes that the other school might not. i got reported for "reckless driving" i clearly wasn't. do they have the right to force me to ride the bus back and forth? i need help!!

Answer: Basically in high school you have minimal rights so they can force you to do anything.


Title: Money owed

Question:
My ex-wife is selling the house that we bought prior to being divorced. My mother gave me 3 grand to use as a down payment and I'm trying to get half of that money back.

We were in the house for less than two months before my ex-wife and I separated, and it was another year before the divorce was final. In the divorce decree she got the house, but I was supposed to be presented a check for $1500 the day of court for the divorce (per the decree as well).

My ex-wife is refusing to pay the $1500. Saying that I only lived there for a month and not the last few years, so I don't deserve anything. We were married for 10-11 years prior to the divorce, and owned a couple of houses prior to this one.

Is there anything that I can do to recoup the money?

Answer:
 I would contact your attorney for the divorce. However, it might cost you more than the money you are owed unless your state/jurisdiction has rules saying your ex would be responsible for your legal fees if you are forced to seek enforcement of the decree.

I would contact your attorney/an attorney regardless to get answers to those questions. If what you are saying is correct, she is in violation of a court order.


Title: [CAN] My mom just received a 5 figure bill out of nowhere to replace the balconies of other condo owners in her building, she doesn't have a balcony.

Question:
My mom lives in a condo building, and last winter a number of balconies started sinking in the middle and had to be removed from the building. Other than making the building look shitty, this didn't effect her as she's in a basement suite and doesn't have a a balcony.

Today she received a bill from the property manager for $12,000 which they've calculated as her share of the $200,000 replacement because she has one of the biggest units in the building, and if she has to pay it then she has to sell because she doesn't have $1000 in the bank let alone $10,000, and it's also a down market in my province so she'll take a serious loss on the place.

It seems extremely unfair to me that she has to pick up the cost to fix other people's units, and I'm wondering why the association isn't going after the builders instead of the owners. These are not safety hazards, the building isn't compromised structurally by not having balconies, in my mind these owners are out of luck for buying a unit with a shitty balcony and if they want it replaced they can pay for it themselves.

I'm contacting friends to find her a lawyer, but again she's not in a great place financially (this isn't a luxury condo, these places are cheaper than most houses in the city) so if there's anything free or cheap that she can be looking into or taking action on in the mean time I'd appreciate any advice. Thank you!

Answer: Way too complicated to solve over reddit. It would probably depend on the condo bylaws and any meetings for special assessments. If she's serious about fighting it she needs a lawyer specializing in condo law.


Title: Getting my recently deceased brother's belongs back from his girlfriend (NJ)

Question:
My brother passed away Monday the 23rd after a 5 year fight with cancer. He started dating his gf in February 2013, after a few months she had her two children taken away and she was diagnosed by the state to have Munchhausen by proxy. My brother felt bad, and was lonely so even though he was going to end it before hand, stayed with her. He paid over $25,000 for lawyers, gave her his car since she was allegedly hit by a dump truck while driving her own. She crashed his car, so he bought her another, and paid most of the bills while he was still working.
Obviously this chick is crazy. He knew she was bad news, but he was on a lot of pain meds, and looking death in the eyes. He moved in with her over the summer, and September 30th his cancer spread and he stayed with my mom until the end, she could take care of him since his gf was unfit to. He didn't leave a will. His girlfriend is holding all of his stuff hostage claiming he wanted her to have it. She is nuts. Currently she taped all the doors in her apartment shut and is claiming the ghost of my brother is haunting her. She is also posting pictures of his corpse on facebook and claiming they were engaged.
Believe it or not my brother was a smart man, he loved me and my family despite our own crazy. He told us multiple times he wanted me to have his cameras and electronics and my other brother would get his tools. She is already trying to sell his stuff. We have an estate lawyer but she isn't of any help. If anyone has advice on how to handle this, please share. I just want to be able to grieve and not stress over this anymore.
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer: No advice, not a lawyer, just wanted to say that I am so, so sorry she has done this. That is sick. How cruel for you, I just don't know what to say. Hugs and hang in there. I hope someone here can help.


Title: Is my marriage invalid?

Question:
Hello everyone, I made this account to ask about an issue I just came across with. So basically me and my wife married when we were both 18, we couldn't wait to get married! The problem is that she wasn't actually 18 when we got married. No one knew about this back then, not even her. We just recently found out when going through some old files and found her original birth certificate (from her country of origin) and saw that the year was one year different from what she thought it was (or that her parents thought it was).

To me it doesn't matter since we are both happy and want to stay together.

Is it void? And if it is, how could we go about fixing that? Can we marry again ?

Answer:
 Texas is a common law marriage state.  If you both hold yourself out as married, they you are married; immediately in the eyes of the courts and the IRS.

What Is a Common Law Marriage?

A valid common law marriage in Texas is where a man and woman become husband and wife without getting a marriage license and having a marriage ceremony. Once established, a common law marriage has the same legal effect as a ceremonial marriage.

Under Texas law, to have a common law marriage, you must do three things:

(1) Agree to be married
(2) Live together as husband and wife, and
(3) Told others (hold yourselves out) that you are married.

In What Ways Do People “Hold Themselves Out” as Married?

Simply put, by telling others that they are married. Examples of telling other people you are married include:

Introducing yourselves as a married couple; or doing something that made people think you were married, like signing credit applications as a married couple.

Even if you said that you were married only one time, you can meet this requirement.

Can Children Under 18 Enter Into A Common Law Marriage?

No. In Texas, both spouses must be adults. An adult and a child (or two children) can’t have a common law marriage, even if their parents give permission. In other words, no person under the age of 18 can be part of a common law marriage.

However, once your wife reached 18 and did the above ("we're married"), you were now married under common law.

Additionally, if the USA government gave her an official birth certificate, citizenship papers, and other official documents as if she was 18, even though she was 17, then these documents take precedent over the documents from the original country.


Title: [CO] Ex-coworker just came to my house and drove by. The only way she could know where I live is from getting my address from work files.

Question: Kind of freaked me out a bit, I quit my last job a couple weeks ago and have moved on, was watching hockey when she calls me and then I get a text that says "Open your front door". I go to look outside and her car is at the end of my street sitting there for a moment before driving away. Will be contacting my previous workplace tomorrow, is there any language I need to use in order for them to not share my address with other employees so they know where I live?? Thanks.

Answer:
 Your home address is not some great secret, and it largely doesn't matter - legally - how your coworker came to know it. You can't compel your ex-employer to keep your address a secret, either. (You might be surprised to learn that phone companies used to distribute books containing the names and addresses of every home and business telephone number, once upon a time.)

However, this may be a breach of company policy, in which case they may choose to abide by your request anyways, or may punish your ex-coworker.

Tell your ex-coworker not to visit you at home any more, and if they persist, file a police report for stalking and consider getting a restraining order. Visiting once, however, will not justify either.


Title: Today i was injured on the job site, could have been life ending. California, berkley area

Question:
1. What kind of lawyer do i need? How do i find them?
2. What should i be doing?Doctor exam? Dentist visit? Jaw X-ray?
3. Will lawyers regarding cases like this maybe not charge upfront and take a slice of the settlement if any?
4. Can i just talk to lawyer to see if this has any merit at all?
5. in cases like this is it usually better to just keep working or is the settlement sizable enough?
6. can they fire me for not signing the incident report even though it was BS?

I feel that there was negligence on my employers part as well as the general contractors part. The following is some information about myself and what happened which i believe is relevant. I'm a union carpenter(s) apprentice, first period which means I'm basically just starting and have very little experience, I've probably only had about 500ish hours on the job over the course of 7ish months now.

So to start of I've been working for another superintendent on a different job site for maybe the last 5 months, all went well there well that job was winding down and ending, i got sent by my employer to another job site, i worked my first day there this thursday and it was ended early b/c of material shortage, anyways i met my new superintendent that day worked doing what i was told to do and today when we showed up this morning 3 hours into the workday our superintendent tells us that we have to go do a orientation for our general contractors rules and different safety/health polices as well as specific job site dangers and such. That meeting took place at at about 10:20ish to 11am after we came back we worked for a bit more then we took lunch/break where our super told us a crane would arrive soon and a truck to take material that was no longer needed out of the job site. Because of the position of the job site we had to move very fast to hopefully get the crane and truck put of there to not tie up traffic so bad anyway heres the actually incident/accident.

I was working with a group of 3 including myself they were H.Z, F.E. We were securing a Load of panels to be picked up by the crane and transported out. We were working in the ramp part of the job site. There was debris that consisted of rebar and 4x4,2x4 as well as concrete chunks on the ground around the working area. 3 The concrete walls where lined with protruding rebar for the ramp that where not capped with rebar caps.

The wood material was in the process of being taken by a labour and stacked elsewhere by my companies labour( his name is C) and the concrete chunks where also being removed by the generals Labour(name unknown)and being placed in a bobcat to be removed.

At the time of the accident, the crane had just finished removing the first load of panels. We were in the process of waiting to begin preparing the next panels. At this time both C our companies labour and the generals Labour (Name unknown) where present. my superintendent J.C, came from elsewhere on the job site to ask for a yellow burke bar(big heavy metal stick). Seeing the burke bar lying near the panels under the protruding rebar, i went to get the bar, upon picking it up and making my way towards J.C(super) a loose piece of rebar on the ground rolled when i stepped on it and i lost my balance falling forward towards the uncapped protruding rebar raising my hands up(dropping the burke bar)to catch my self i was hit in the forehead/eye area by a protruding rebar then continued down to hit in the mouth/teeth/jaw area with the burke bar.

Immediately after falling H.Z quicky came to assist me as i was dazed and didnt get up right away, upon getting up F.E, C and H.Z all asked me if i was okay as did J.C, they saw that i was bleeding from my mouth and asked to see if i had broken any teeth, they informed me i had a cut on my button lip. They asked if i was okay again and told me to go follow J.C to go sit down and rinse my mouth out with water while the dizziness passed. I walked to a different part of the job site where he told be to take my bags off and sit and just drink some water and see how i was doing.

After sitting for a few minutes the dizziness passed and i put my bags back on and went to go see to see if i was still needed by the ramp area, hector and fransisco told me to go and sit for a little while longer to make sure i was okay. After sitting for a little while longer the pain in the jaw started bothering me more i told J.C i was in pain and i was taking off with F.E.

What really bothered me more than anything else is that when we were going to do the incident report with my super J.C he was trying to act as if he wasn't even there and didnt see it happen. So i stormed out with F.E without doing it and letting him know i didnt like the fact that he was trying to wash his hands of the situation the general also on the way out asked him if there was an injury and he said yes but then proceeded to tell him that he had talked to him about capping the rebar in the back, I've got this part on tape, where he admits to knowing the rebar was uncapped and where the general dosent deny being told that the rebar was uncapped. So they knew about it but still let us work back there, Ive ask got a photo of the general immediately covering the rebar with rebar caps right after i fell, I've also got a photo of the incident report where My super was saying that the floor was clear of obstacles and everything was fine.

Im seriusly considering my options but i just don't know where to start, i don't have much cash for a lawyer, i don't even know what kind of lawyer i should get or how to get one.

Answer:
 TL;DR:  OP tripped & fell, and hit himself on uncapped rebar.

You need to make a worker's comp claim.  And then go to the doctor.  Go immediately if you are feeling dizzy or are worried about a concussion.

Injuries on the job are compensated through the worker's comp system.  You pretty much cannot sue unless there was egregious negligence, which I don't see here.  A construction site having a lose piece of rebar seems pretty normal.


Title: Entering Canada

Question: So i was arrested for Domestic Violence (US), but went to trial and was found "Not Guilty". Will this have an affect whenever I cross the border?

Answer:
 Nope.

I too am Not Guilty of domestic violence, murder, treason, and stampeding cattle. I can enter Canada.


Title: Slapped my fiancee, got arrested, how do I proceed? (state: CT)

Question:
Yesterday, I got into a nasty argument with my fiancee. I've had a lot of issues with trust and was raised in an abusive home where violence was the "solution" to problems. Anyway, he admitted that he has been talking to his ex-girlfriend behind my back, went on a date with her, and kissed her. He also told me that he wanted to keep seeing her as his friend. I got angry and slapped him. Then he got angry and left. I felt awful for hitting him. I shouldn't have done it but I just got so pissed. I'd never hit anyone else before despite being hit myself.

Hours later, my fiancee returned with his ex and two police officers. He told them I had assaulted him. I admitted that I had because I felt bad. I got arrested. I got bailed out by my parents, who were actually angry enough to slap me when we got home. Basically everything is a mess now. I have a court date for about a month and a half from now. I can't afford a lawyer, I barely even make enough to support myself, and my fiancee is refusing to see me or drop the charges.

Am I going to jail if I get convicted? How do I get a public defender? Or can I somehow get a cheap lawyer?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Your fiancee can't drop the charges even if he wanted to. It's not up to him, it's the State of CT vs. you. Answer #2: You do need a lawyer. I'm not sure if you get a public defender (maybe someone else will chime in), but if you don't get one shop around and see who takes payment plans.

Life advice: hitting isn't cool. Cheating is also not cool. Dump the cheater, don't talk to him again and don't hit people in the future. Also, don't admit things to cops. They're not your friends in situations like this.


Title: 14 sales reps in AZ. All 5 men laid off, no women (x-post from AskHR)

Question:
I work for a major national company that has a presence in all 50 states and globally. I worked for the b2b sales division for 7-1/2 years and my best year ever was 2017 and was nevertheless let go. My peers that kept their jobs were all performing lower than me except 1.

Today was a very bloody day across the country and hundreds of sales reps were shown the door. Last announced number of the total salesforce was around 1,000 reps, so we're talking 30% headcount reduction in today's cut. They hold the actual numbers very close so I won't ever know how many were let go.

Of the 14 sales reps in my category/department here in Arizona, all 9 women kept their jobs and all 5 men were laid off. This just doesn't make sense. If I sign my separation agreement, I forfeit the right to bring legal action, but not signing it forfeits 17 weeks of severance pay. Advice on what to look at or action to take?

Answer:
 You can take the severance agreement to an employment lawyer if you want, have them review it.

To have any hope of bringing a discrimination claim, you would need to prove that you were fired because of your gender.  That seems unlikely, especially in a mass layoff situation.


Title: Neighbor built pipe into my backyard

Question:
This happened a while back and we never really minded until we saw what it was doing to our backyard. Our neighbor ended up making a hole in a concrete wall connecting our two properties and installing a pipe for rain water to run. The water ended up destroying the ground underneath the pipe which does not look pretty. Is this legal?

Important:

I do not want to enter in a legal battle with the neighbor and just want to know if I am allowed to just plug up the hole on my end to stop the water.

The situation in question:

[https://imgur.com/gtj9hwL](https://imgur.com/gtj9hwL)
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 This is almost certainly not legal. The general rule is that you can't divert water from one property to another. You can get in contact with your local code enforcement about the issue.

Having been in your neighbors original position, what he needs to do is Dig a dry well on his property and divert his rainwater into that for evaporation. He can't just dump it in your yard.Answer #2: He needs a French drain. They can be very expensive which is I’m sure why he did this. I would suggest speaking to the neighbor before plugging the hole because if the water backup damages his property, you’re going to have a bigger battle.Answer #3: If you own the wall and the wall is on your property, then you can cut out the damaged brick and replace it.

Send them a bill for the repair.Answer #4: Look into your local city / county ordinances, your neighbor may have committed a code violation you can report them for.Answer #5: Aside from the other advice here, take lots of photos and video tape when the water drains, such as during a rainstorm. This will show just how much damage could be done, and give you a stronger case. If it drops a couple drips per hour, it might be better to keep a friendly relationship with the neighbor. If you're getting gallons and gallons of water, that could end bad.


Title: CANADA - Acquaintance asked to borrow my car for a doctors appointment while I was out of town. While I was gone he got drunk and rolled the car, writing it off. It was only insured for third-party liability. How much more than the cars value can I ask him for?

Answer: You can ask him for the value of the car only. Why would you be entitled to more than that?


Title: [OR] Late wage penalty? Pursue or not to pursue?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You don't need to hire your own attorney if you file a wage claim with BOLI. You are correct that you were due your final paycheck on the business day following termination, and that you are entitled to penalty wages for each day late, up to 30 days.

Depending on how long you had worked there and whether you had unused accrued sick leave under Oregon's sick leave law, you may have been wrongfully terminated, which you may also pursue through BOLI.


Title: Desperately need your help Reddit. I was completely wronged by the Sheriffs Department. Please help

Question:
So i have been wrongly accused of a Marijuana DUI in the state of california. There is about a 2 week window in which they will decide weather or not to charge me. I have written my own statement on what happened and it will be submitted to the District attorneys office along with my arresting officers account of what happened. I know its long but please read. any and all feedback will be so greatly appreciated. Thanks Reddit.
To whom it may Concern,
On Friday April 27th I was arrested for DUI Marijuana while on my way to a camping trip at Joshua Tree National Park. The purpose of this letter is to explain my innocence. These accusations are 100% false and I feel completely wronged by Deputy K and the Joshua Tree Sheriffs department. Never until this night had I seen the inside of a prison cell, and will surely never forget what I was put through.

My weekend trip started around 6:00 PM Friday night, April 27th. Myself and several cars worth of friends headed out for a weekend camping trip in Joshua Tree National park. My car as well as two others went along for the trip. Shortly before arriving at our destination we came up on a Sobriety Checkpoint. The line was very long and took us at least 20 minutes to reach the front. Had I been under the influence of alcohol or drugs, I most definitely would have turned into one of the many parking lots along the line and completely avoided the checkpoint. There was a movie theatre, a shopping center, and several other options to not go through the checkpoint. However, I had nothing to worry about, as I was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol so I headed straight for the checkpoint.

Upon arriving at the front of the line Deputy K Immediately smelled marijuana in my car and asked, does anyone have a medical marijuana prescription? My Immediate answer was, “yes sir, I do.” I showed him my Prescription card and he asked if I had smoked at all while driving. I replied No, I hadn’t smoked since the previous night. He then requested I pull my car over so he could speak with me more about it. I did as requested and immediately upon pulling over was asked to step out of the car.

He first decided to look at my pupils and explained that they were dilated and asked if I was sure I hadn’t been smoking. I again explained that the last time I smoked was the night before. From this moment on I felt as if he had made up his mind that I was under the influence of Marijuana. I have no idea what my pupils looked like, as I was not provided a mirror to check myself. Even if they were dilated, this does not automatically mean I was under the influence of Marijuana. It was dark, I was wearing my glasses, and there are a number of things that may have caused this.

Throughout my whole life I have dealt with Severe Social Anxiety. I’ve only seen a psychiatrist about it since 2008, but it’s been one of my biggest struggles throughout my life. It is also one of the harder things for me to talk about, as I am very self-conscious about this aspect of my life. My social anxiety makes me behave in ways I don’t understand, both mentally and physically. I assume the worst in many cases and it causes me to have panic attacks, trembles in my hands and legs, and running thoughts within my mind that only lead to more of the same. I have attached a letter I used to explain my psychiatric conditions to my college, San Diego State University. I would have had my doctor write a new letter addressed to the District Attorneys office but there is a weeklong legal process my doctor must go through to submit any kind of documentation like this. I know there is a small window in which the decision to charge me or not is made so I needed to get this letter out ASAP.

After the pupils I had jumped to the conclusion in my mind that officer K was going to arrest me for driving under the influence of Marijuana even though I hadn’t smoked in approximately 20 hours or so. This made me extremely nervous and I felt the trembles in my hands and legs throughout speaking with the arresting officer. This caused me to perform poorly on Deputy K’s sobriety tests. The one footed balance test was the worst for me. Standing on one trembling leg is quite difficult and in no way indicates I had recently smoked marijuana. I was experiencing severe anxiety. I attempted to explain this to Deputy K several times but it seemed as if he did not care. He also had me tilt my head back, close my eyes and touch my nose. While having my eyes closed, my eyelids began to flutter. This has happened throughout my entire life, I have no idea why; I can only relax my eyes if I am trying to sleep. Deputy K Questioned why my eyes were fluttering and I explained this to him, but I don’t feel like he believed me. He also had me walk a straight-line heel to tow. However, he did not provide an actual line, he just chose a small crack in the road and told me to continue straight after it had ended. I felt like I did ok on this but again, my legs were trembling causing me to slightly break line.

I have a medical marijuana prescription, which I use for sleep. The past few years I’ve had trouble with insomnia as well. My doctor has prescribed me multiple sleep medications, all of which have had mediocre effect. Marijuana however has been very helpful in this area. Along with my marijuana that was taken and labeled “evidence” was a bottle of over the counter melatonin, which also helps me sleep. I do not enjoy smoking during the day as it sometimes has an adverse effect on my social phobia and anxiety, but truly does help me sleep at night.
The Sheriffs department also took a blood sample from me for a drug test. First off, I cannot believe the way this law is setup. I was told I have the right to refuse the blood test but if I refuse I will be held down and the blood will be taken anyway. What kind of ridiculous idea is that? Even Deputy K seemed to agree with me on that one. I obliged to the blood sample being taken and felt extremely violated. I don’t quite understand what the blood test will prove. I smoked the previous night, of course there will be THC in my blood.

I am not an everyday “stoner” if you will. But I got the feeling that Deputy K had jumped to that conclusion about me. I am a hard working college student and have never had any trouble with the law. I am currently scheduled to move back to my hometown, Rochester New York to be closer to family. Unfortunately my court date is scheduled for June 21st, 3 weeks after I am supposed to hit the road for New York.
I am completely broke right now as I do not have a fulltime job and barely get by on what I do make with my part time job. I barely have enough money to get myself back home. I cannot afford a DUI or the lawyers that come along with it. I so terribly need these charges to be dropped.

One of my biggest complaints about the night is why Deputy K had set his sights on me for DUI. A few of my friends in a separate car fell behind a few miles back and had arrived at the checkpoint while I was in hand cuffs on the side. The officer smelled marijuana in their car and signaled them to pull over as well; he parked them right behind my car. They did not have a medical marijuana license and were given a possession of marijuana ticket. However, after getting out of jail I spoke to these friends about there experience. Deputy K took their Marijuana, wrote them a ticket and sent them on their way. He did not even ask if they had been smoking, the idea hadn’t even come up. Why was I the one he decided to press? Deputy K was also ready to let my roommate drive my car away so I didn’t get towed. However, it was found out that my roomates license was unknowingly suspended for not paying a parking ticket. So my complaint there is, does Deputy K believe I sat in the car and smoked by myself? I rarely smoke by myself and if I did indeed smoke in that car, I can assure you my roommate would have been right there with me. But no, Officer K had deemed my roommate ok to drive.

(still need a conclusion, this is just a rough draft)

Answer: Rule 1 - Don't talk to the police - and this includes writing a letter of confession (essentially) to the DA lol.


Title: [MN] Accused of baiting deer

Question:
Minnesota currently has a ban on feeding deer in most if not all of the state.  My uncle built 2 blue flower pots that he used for his kids to plant flowers in.  A couple of weeks prior to deer hunting season he had switched his home heating from a corn burning stove to a LP gas burning stove.  There was a couple of cups of corn left in the stove and he threw those on the ground near his home so the wildlife could eat it up.

On the first day of deer hunting season the MN DNR was driving by his house and saw the blue flower pots and assumed they were deer feeders so they entered his property and searched the area.  Of course they found what was left of the corn, and accused him of baiting deer.

They confiscated the buck he had just shot, and the game warden gloated he could do same to everyone else along the deer trail.

They also confiscated his gun that he used to hunt every year, since he bought it, and holds quite a bit of sentimental value.  Logically, his following question was how could he get it back, and the game warden told him normally you could buy it at the auction, but he will never see this gun again because they will be using it for training purposes.

On top of this all the game warden is delaying the processing of the citation until the end of deer season to ensure that he will not be able to hunt next season, since there is a mandatory 1 year ban regardless of the outcome of the citation.

What kind of case does he have here, and is there anyway to obtain some free/cheap legal advice?

Answer:
 >There was a couple of cups of corn left in the stove and he threw those on the ground near his home so the wildlife could eat it up.

Deer are wildlife, and they love corn.

>Of course they found what was left of the corn, and accused him of baiting deer.

Intentional or not, that's exactly what he did.

>his following question was how could he get it back, and the game warden told him normally you could buy it at the auction, but he will never see this gun again because they will be using it for training purposes.

Against the MN DNR, good luck. I think I'd rather be on the wrong end of a postal inspector.

>and is there anyway to obtain some free/cheap legal advice?

Remember, especially with legal advice, you get what you pay for. Your uncle needs an attorney ASAP.

Honestly it's not looking good. As it stands right now, your uncle, an avid hunter, threw corn on the ground (which ANY hunter knows us used to bait deer) near a deer trail right at the beginning of hunting season. He even states it was for the "wildlife" to eat. This is exactly why he needs an attorney. If he said that to the warden, he confessed. Tell that to a judge, and he's convicted.


Title: [world] How is the "olympics" trademarked?

Question: wouldn't it fall under public domain? since its been used for like 2000 years?

Answer:
 no. it wasn't trademarked until the early '80s. as long as trademarks are actively used, they do not lose trademark status.

"public domain" refers to copyrights, not trademarks.


Title: Mistakenly bought tickets to event that already passed [NJ]

Question:
So on a Friday, I bought tickets for an event on that night.  However, when I received the confirmation email I saw that I actually accidentally purchased tickets for the previous night.  I thought no big deal and called customer support to switch it to the right night or get a refund and buy new tickets.  However, they told me there was nothing they could do as the event already passed.  However, I bought the tickets after the event had passed.  I explained it to them and they said I should have looked at the date better, which is true.  But I didn't think it would be possible to buy tickets to an event that had already happened.

My question is if this is legal?  I feel like it is kind of shady that they could sell tickets to an event that already happened.  But, if they did nothing wrong c'est la vie I guess.

Thanks!

Answer:
 From a Contracts 101 standpoint they sold something that was literally impossible for them to provide short of inventing a time machine. Therefore they were in breach from the moment you paid. I suspect if you dispute this with your credit card you will prevail.Answer #2: Did you pay with a credit card?  If yes, I would do a charge back.

How is it even possible to sell something after the fact?

NAL


Title: Water form Home Depot contaminated

Question:
My family has 5 5 gallon water jugs that get refilled at Home Depot. I have been feeling unwell for the past 1-3 months. I began to go see student health services weekly and they diagnosed with my bacterial vaginitis and yeast infection when I am not sexually active or have done anything near or to my genitals to have caused that. My ovaries were burning nonstop, my vagina was completely numb like dead tissue. I started experiencing delirium and wasn’t able to sleep or attend classes properly. I work part time as a full time student and no health insurance, and have been paying for my medical costs out of pocket. I came to r/AskDocs and someone mentioned of drinking water. My water is not safe to drink. Is there anything I can do to get back the time and money I lost?

VA

Answer:
 Have you had the water tested to determine if there's an issue with it?Answer #2: Did you bathe in this water? Because if you're just drinking it, that's almost certainly not the cause of  your bacterial vaginosis. Answer #3: I would not conclude, just from someone's random comment, that your drinking water is responsible for the infection. At the very least you should get that opinion from an actual doctor who has examined you and the water and drawn that conclusion. It is possible to get yeast infections and not be sexually active.Answer #4: >My water is not safe to drink.

How did you determine this? Did you test the water for certain substances?


Title: old friends destroyed a guitar i had let them borrow

Question:
so i let my friend borrow a guitar, granted it was not the best guitar, i had only spent 100 bucks on it new. then me and the friends had a bit of a falling out. i ask for the guitar back, and im then blocked by them without any answers. i use a mutual friends phones to text them, and they send back a video of them destroying the guitar and pissing on it. i have pictures of them with the broken guitar, and a tweet saying "i destroyed a guitar today." the guitar did hold sentimental value to me considering it was my first. can anything be done about this? i live in Rhode island btw

edit: worded this when i was very angry and i was a bit incoherant

Answer: Yes.  Save the video and report it to the police.Answer #2: small claims, but the depreciated value of a guitar what was $100 new is probably less than the small claims filing feeAnswer #3: You can sue him in small claims for the $100 it cost you for the guitar, but your small claims filing fees are likely close to this value anyway. Probably just better to write it off. Answer #4: It'll be hard for me personally to justify small claims court over $100. I'd just find new friends or maybe notify police.


Title: [PA] Did judge violate due process by changing his verdict after the final summary appeals court trial?

Question:
My heart is racing, heads up, but I'm going to try to get all the important details out. (thanks moderators for identifying how I needed to update this post to remove identifying information, I appreciate it!)

I was the DA's witness in a sexual harassment and trespassing case against my sexual harasser. At the lower court hearing, he was found guilty of all charges and I was provided an order of protection. As was his right, he appealed and at the summary appeals hearing (criminal division), he was found not-guilty of harassment, guilty of trespassing and ordered to pay costs ($94), no fines.

I've been working with a lawyer to file a complaint, related to statements the Judge made during the trial (the worst being his statement that, c'mon, I have a President that talks worse than that, after I recounted how my harasser suggested I give him a blow job in exchange for a fridge). I've also been trying to discover if the order of protection was still in place. In the course of research for how to file a complaint and discover if the protection order was still in place, we went over the transcript and the docket sheet yesterday and discovered a discrepancy between them. According to the summary appeals trial and transcript, my harasser was found guilty of trespassing and not guilty of harassment on 2/17/17. According to the docket sheet, he is listed as not guilty of both charges on 2/27/17.

I emailed the detective on the case with the pdf of the docket sheet to ask if this was a clerical error or if the verdict from the court date had really been changed without anyone's knowledge. It appears it has really been changed. It's an unusual docket sheet, according to the lawyer who sat down with me yesterday.

*****

I wish I could post a picture for you, but cannot. Instead, I'll do my best to transcribe the important docket sheet details here:

Guilty by trial (lower court) lower court deposition
1 / harassment - course of conduct w/no legitimate purpose guilty by trial (lower court) 12/7/2016
2/ criminal trespass/simple trespass guilty by trial (lower court) 12/7/2016

Guilty summary appeal hearing 2/17/17
1 / harassment - course of conduct w/no legitimate purpose not-guilty
2/ criminal trespass/simple trespass guilty

proceed to court (conviction reversed) 2/17/17
1 / harassment - course of conduct w/no legitimate purpose proceed to court (conviction reversed)
2/ criminal trespass/simple trespass proceed to court (conviction reversed)

not guilty summary appeal hearing 2/27/17
1 / harassment - course of conduct w/no legitimate purpose not guilty
2/ criminal trespass/simple trespass not guilty

According to the transcript (p.23)
THE COURT: I find the defendant guilty of defiant trespass and order him to pay costs of prosecution. I don't know what the costs are. The harassment is not guilty.

*****

I have calls in to the DA's office and left messages with the ADA that was listed on the transcript who was at the summary appeals trial and the ADA listed on the docket sheet, who represented the Commonwealth of PA at the lower court trial to find out what the heck happened. I have not heard back.

According to my lawyer friend, this is potentially a REALLY BIG DEAL as it indicates a violation of due process. I'm going to be honest, I don't know what that means, except that it's a violation of of the constitution.

I thought he only got one appeal? If there was a new trial, new judgement to be issued, why wasn't I informed about it? Can a judge change a verdict without alerting anyone? The police were surprised and did not know. SO! What to do?! How do I get to the bottom of this? Is there a bottom? What are the appropriate steps?

Answer:
 Have you considered the possibility that it was a clerical error?  That's my initial guess based on what you're describing.  Wait until you talk to the DA before anything else

> According to my lawyer friend, this is potentially a REALLY BIG DEAL as it indicates a violation of due process.

Finding someone not guilty is almost never going to be a violation of due process, so I'm not sure what your lawyer friend is referring to.  You can't *deprive* someone of anything without due process.  In a criminal case, the only person potentially suffering a deprivation is the defendant, and finding him not guilty means he's deprived of nothing.  Answer #2: You currently have a lawyer for an issue. Why don't you discuss these things with them? Even if they can't answer, presumably they can contact other lawyers who might have a better understandingAnswer #3: Your appropriate steps are to delete this, and continue working with your real-life lawyer. This is way too complex for anonymous internet advice.


Title: (IA) My son may have stolen our dog when he left

Question:
He walked out the door and said he was going on a drive without saying where he was going or how long, and he's apparently going to start a job in New Mexico that I just heard about now.

Our dog has been missing since the day he left, possibly the day before. She's a small lap dog who begs to come back inside when she's done going to the bathroom. If she runs off, it's only to the neighbor's yard and she comes back on her own. My son was getting super defensive when I asked him if he stole her. His story is that he took her out around 1AM the night before he left and she came back inside and slept on the couch with him. In the morning she wasn't there and he didn't think much of it.

If I go to the police, can they professionally interrogate him and/or search his home and vehicle? Will they do that over a dog? Can I have a detective check his bank records to see if he bought any dog items recently? My son is crazy and I'm worried he will hurt her or that she's depressed because she misses me. I want to prosecute him for animal abuse and trauma.

Answer:
 You don't have any evidence of animal abuse so you that's not going to happen.

When people live together and community property comes into question when they stop living together, the police don't treat that as a theft, because there's almost no way to prove it in court beyond a reasonable doubt.

You say the dog is yours because all the papers are in your name, he says you gave it to him right before he moved out because he lent you $100 two years ago... whatever.

So it is generally treated as a civil matter.


Title: I'm a teacher and at a parent teacher conference, a fellow teacher encouraged parents to beat their kid's ass because he didn't do homework. Is this something I would have to report? In TX

Answer:
 >Abuse does not include reasonable discipline by a parent/guardian/managing or possessory conservator if child not exposed to substantial risk of harm. Family Code § 261.001. [Civil Code] Parent/stepparent/person standing in loco parentis to child is justified to use non-deadly force against a child under 18 when and to degree the actor reasonably believes necessary to discipline, or safeguard or promote child's welfare.

The Texas penal code would allow the teacher to spank for missing homework.


Title: No help for disabled

Question:
My mom & I have a house 2gether but I’m not on deed as my mom said my monthly $ would be impacted. When she gets mad,she files restraining order against me. I can barely walk mind you. Then I have stay at a hotel (more like motel) for 2mo to even get my things. She has a sexual predator living in the spare bedroom but yet she got the order on me. I have no where to go. How can I fight this? I can’t even walk w/out my cane.how can a restraining order be grantees against someone who is almost bed bound?pls someone point me in the right direction. I’m very afraid of my mom & her band of felons
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Your title is misleading.

There may be an organization for people with your specific disability that can offer you help in finding appropriate housing, other resources and support. Answer #2: I would need a location but I assume that we are talking the US or Canada here.

In which case it's time to understand the most important takeaway: the combination of you and your mom are toxic.

Which means that you want to contact social services/adult protective services to move out completely and get the help you need from another source.

They will likely also know which lawyers might be able to help you out with the restraining order.


Title: Boss changing terms of employment [PA]

Question:
Hi reddit,

I think I know the answer to this but I have a question about my job. I recently started a job that is not typically remote but working remotely. My boss is pretty mercurial and prone to temper tantrums and yesterday he demanded that I move to where the job is. I can't possibly do that, for a lot of reasons which are probably not relevant (wifes job, lease in a different city hours away, etc). My question is: if I refuse, can I be fired? I assume the answer is yes, that I can be fired for any reason, even if I have in writing his commitment to this plan. My second question is, my employer (A large public university) has a grievance procedure for conflicts between employees and their managers, could it be worth my time to start one?

thank you!

Answer:
 >   My second question is, my employer (A large public university) has a grievance procedure for conflicts between employees and their managers, could it be worth my time to start one?

I would.  I would inquire on the process and raise the question with them about why you were hired as a remote employee and now are being told you need to move?

You say you were only recently hired.  Were you interviewed by this boss?  Is he the one that agreed to letting you work remote?

Now, they can legally change the terms of your employment to require that you come in, and they can terminate you for not doing that, and then you would be able to collect unemployment while you looked for another job.

Answer #2: Yes you can be fired. But you would probably qualify for unemployment while you looked for a new job assuming you had enough wages in the lookback period.


Title: An unlicensed driver borrowing his friend's car crashed into me. The car owners' insurance won't pay since the driver was not on the policy. I want my $1000 deductible back for repairs. Am I screwed?

Question: I'll add other details as needed. Crash happened in Connecticut. His insurance is in Massachusetts.

Answer: You can sue the driver individually for your deductible and any other out of pocket costs you have, if the insurance will not cover it.Answer #2: You can sue the guy in small claims for your deductible


Title: Legal to trick people into drinking your breast milk?

Question:
This picture has been making it's rounds on social media:
http://imgur.com/JZXsRez

I know it's obviously a joke, but I was curious as to whether it was actually legal and what laws it's actually breaking.

Thanks!

(Edit: Location, USA. Just a general silly question)

Answer:
 This would most likely fall under criminal battery. which includes harmful or offensive contact with another even if done through indirect means.  It's really no different spitting on somebody's food or urinating in a drink dispenser.  Answer #2: OSHA does not require universal precautions or a separate refrigerator for breast milk. It's food folks.

Source: IBCLC


Title: if you sleep with someone pretending to be someone else are there legal consequences?

Question: If I am a twin and pretend to be my twin and sleep with his gf is that illegal?  If the sex is consensual is it rape? New York.

Answer: Depending on what state you're in, it could constitute rape, specifically rape by deception.  You should speak to an attorney.


Title: [OH] Charged with theft basically for being rude and impatient?

Answer:
 Hire a lawyer and hope the prosecutor takes pity on you. Other than that, don't be a dick in the future.Answer #2: no transaction had taken place. it's theft.Answer #3: This is the best thread ever.
OP just keeps digging a deeper grave.


Title: If your neighbor in the apartment above yours dies and gets their decomposed body fluids on you from seeping through the floor how likely are you to win a lawsuit against the apartment management team? (Link to a related article in comments).

Answer: This is a terrible tragedy but I don't see why management would have any liability here.


Title: Any Legal Recourse?

Question:
Wife and I went on vacation and during our vacation we planned on attending Diamond Resorts presentation to learn some more about their timeshare/resort deals.

During this we were asked to fill out a form for "pre-approval". Upon going over the form we were signing it stated pre approval form for Barclays Premeir Card. About 10 minutes later they come back saying we need to answer some questions on the phone. We call and they ask us questions and precede to tell us we were pre approved and will process the application. We stopped them right then and there on the phone told both the representative for Diamond Resorts that we did NOT want another credit card, and then told the rep on the phone we do NOT want another credit card, cancel the application and do not process our information. They told us ok they will cancel the application and we ended our conversation.

Return from vacation 5 days later to find a brand new credit card in the mail, and a nice hefty ding on the credit report, for the card and hard inquiry.

Any options here? Don't care that we got the card as much as I think its insanely wrong for a company to use my information to apply for a credit card after strictly being told No.

Answer:
 You can close your new credit card.

The inquiry ding is relatively brief. The card itself likely *increased* your credit score (more available credit, same balance). And it sounds like you applied for the card.


Title: California (LA County) - Collecting from uncooperative person who has ZERO qualms with lying under oath. Any recourse?

Question:
**TL;DR**: How to collect from someone who refuses to pay and lies about finances?

Editx2: What should I do at our court appearance where she's supposed to declare her financial situation to prove she's full of it? Can I ask to bring of her apt rental agreement, cell phone bill, car payment, etc? All stuff that magically gets paid for somehow with no real income or bank account?

More info:

So I sued someone and won. Yay? Question mark because this woman is a straight up liar. She lied under oath both times we went to court (she appealed just to waste time and of course lost again), hasn't declared her assets which she's supposed to, and has told me pretty much "Good luck collecting" because she "doesn't work" and has no bank account (so she keeps her money under her mattress?), and the IRS has a lien against her and the dog ate her homework. etc.

I do not believe she lives off $150/month which she claims is all she makes cleaning houses part-time. She rents a one-bedroom apartment in Long Beach, CA (So Cal is pretty expensive) and drives a late model car from a monthly income that matches what people make in a day? Bullshit.

So I don't know her banking or employment info because she won't tell me, and after much Googling and speaking with an LA County small claims advisor, it seems the next step would be to drag her back into court *again* to make her declare her income and assets. I firmly believe she will lie again under oath considering she already has. Also, bonus material: I pretty much had to hire Sherlock Holmes as my process server to find her because she used an entirely fictitious name in all our dealings. She'll just lie.

So... now what? Like most folks in small claims court, this is about principle and I will pursue this to the end of time. The money's already gone; it's not like I'm missing it. But she's a thief and I want to collect and/or let her know my ass is not going away.

What can I do legally? Please and thank you!
Topic:
Small Claims Procedure

Answer:
 > the IRS has a lien against her

Since liens are recorded with the county or some other government agency, this would be easy to verify.

> drives a late model car from a monthly income that matches what people make in a day?

If she owns the car without finance, you may be able to seize the car.

If you're going a debtor examination, you really should be asking for documents, not asking for questions. Documents (for the most part) don't lie and it's a lot easier in contempt proceedings to show malfeasance when they aren't producing documents vs. when they are answering questions with unproven lies.Answer #2: The simplest answer would be to sell the debt to a collection agency and let them hound her.


Title: Landlords trying to evict people for marijuana use of any kind in a state where it's legal

Question:
Hi LA! My family recently had to renew their lease for our apartment, and the office added an extra bit to our lease agreement that if anyone living in the complex is caught using marijuana, they have the right to evict them. Now, we live in Colorado, recreational use of weed has been allowed for a while now and we've *never* gotten a lease term like this in the 10+ years we've lived here. On top of that, it's a medical need for one person in particular, so we kinda can't just stop using it. The leasing office is justifying this by saying that they can enact this policy because the parent company is based in Texas, a state were weed isn't legal.

So what do? Because this feels like discriminatory practice, but I'm not quite sure.

Answer:
 > So what do? Because this feels like discriminatory practice, but I'm not quite sure.

It's a legal clause, as...

1) Drug users are not a protected class. The underlying disability they might have is, but drug use is not; and

2) Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level; and

3) Marijuana smoke smells like shit and depending on how you toked up is even more annoying in some cases than tobacco smoke to get out.

All that written, are they going to notice if you munch on some edibles in your own home? Probably not. If your place smells skunky? Yep, which is likely the reason they're implementing this policy in any case.Answer #2: Smoking cigarettes is legal.

An apartment can have a policy prohibiting smoking cigarettes.

Why do you think this would be different?

The TX bit is irrelevant. That it's federally illegal and enjoys no protections is.Answer #3: It seems like a lot of people have forgotten this recently, but marijuana is still illegal in all states in the US due to federal law.

Even if it wasn't, it's perfectly legal for them to restrict marijuana usage similar to restrictions on tobacco usage or just about anything else - okay as long as it's not related to a protected class.

You mentioned a medical need, but even if a person has a documented disability and the only treatment is marijuana, there are options other than smoking (pills, ointments, edibles) and it's still illegal so it's highly unlikely that any medical professional would sign off on this being the only treatment.

Long story short, not discriminatory and totally legal.  Sorry.


Title: [DC] Need tourist visa advice for my fiancee

Question: I am active military and a U.S. Citizen. My mexican fiancee is pregnant, and we would like to have the baby in the USA, as the birth will be free and better here and about 6000$ in mexico. The USA is refusing to offer her a tourist visa and has rejected her request twice. They say she needs a fiancee visa which will take 5-7 months to process. The is no guarantee it will be approved either. It seems incredible to me that it is impossible to get my fiancee in the country without waiting 7 months. Can anyone help. My friend is writing this for me, because my english isn't my first language. If there is anyone who speaks spanish, that will be much appreciated.

Answer: You can talk to an immigration attorney, that’s about it. They are not going to let someone into the country on a non-immigrant visa when it’s clear that the person intends to stay.


Title: Is it legal to resell vitamins/supplements online? (Michigan)

Question: Hey legaladvice! My mom works at a wholefoods type of grocery store in the department that sells vitamins, skincare and dietary supplements. She gets TONS of free stuff from this. We have an entire fridge filled to the brim, and 2 cupboards that are nearly full. She is still getting stuff and we are running out of space. I've already gotten her permission to do this. I'm just worried about the legal repercussions that could come from this. I plan to sell on ebay. Thanks in advance!

Answer:
 Ebay allows sellers to legally sell new/unopened vitamins and supplements that are current (not expired). You don't need a license or any kind of extra permission or certification to sell vitamins and supplements on Ebay.

You would also be responsible for [paying taxes](https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/self-employment-taxes/a-tax-filing-factsheet-for-ebay-sellers/L7h6uJr0i) on those sales.

If e-commerce and selling stuff on Ebay takes off for you, you may eventually want to look into officially starting a [small business](http://www.michigan.gov/documents/business/Guide_to_Starting_a_Small_Business_271487_7.pdf) in your state.

The question is whether or not your mother has permission from her employer to re-sell excess goods she receives. It may be against store policy for employees to re-sell any extra vitamins and supplements they are given. It's not uncommon for companies/retailers to have policies where employees cannot re-sell stuff on their own.

And if the products are marked as samples or specifically have *not for resale* stamped on it, don't sell it (obviously).


Title: The legality of Blinkist, Thinkr, and similar services?

Question:
If you don’t know, these are subscription services that provide summaries of non-fiction books and articles so people who want to learn about self help, finance, etc. can read shorter, digestible summaries of lengthy non-fiction in simplified language.

The services quite literally siphon potential buyers of books by repackaging the same works... that seems like it could be some sort of infringement of authors’ intellectual property or copyright.

Obviously, directly quoting / plagiarizing the authors would be problematic, but are these services still inching close to some sort of legal line?

Help me understand. Thanks!

Answer: Reading a book and writing a synopsis is not generally considered to infringe on the copyright to the book, unless the synopsis contains substantial excerpts of the book itself (text for text) or segments close to the original text. See for example _Twin Peaks v. Publications Int’l, Ltd., 996 F.2d 1366 (2d Cir. 1993)._, where the defendant's arguments were rejected precisely because their summary of the _Twin Peaks_ TV series included substantial excerpts of the show.


Title: Got traffic ticket a long for 45 dollars a long time ago in CA didn't pay it, now it's 450.

Question:
I KNOW i know it was bad judgment the ticket wasn't even deserved though they said my taillight was out but it wasn't I dunno if the backstory matters but I would have just got it signed off by having a cop see it but I never did because soon after (some stuff happened) and it became unoperable...

Anyway not only that but after the fines got really high they just slapped me with a license suspended and left it at that. It was just at a bad time in my life and I didn't care about it.. or really much at all.

Well my question is, how can I bring the fine down? I don't have that much money! I don't know what to do and to actually start working again I REALLY need my car. It's just like.. I can't start making money cuz my car isn't working.. but I can't get my car working cuz I don't have the money...

Thanks in advance.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: You probably can't get the fine reduced because you are guilty of failing to pay the ticket.  But they will offer you a payment plan.


Title: My father is worried a new law in Florida will allow the police to seize his guns.

Question:
I have not read the law myself but both of my parents have been worried about my father getting his weapons seized. Apparently the law reads something along the lines of anyone that is mentally unstable in now unable to own firearms. And that if they are found out they can have their house searched and guns confiscated. He goes to a therapist I believe weekly for depression and suicidal thoughts.
But there might be more, I have never asked.

Answer:
 I'm not sure what your legal question is,but I'll answer what I think it is.

The law addresses people who are adjudicated mentally defective, to people taken into custody involuntarily for examination, or for people who are at high risk of harming themselves or others.

If your father is an imminent risk to himself or others, then yes, a court could order the removal of his guns. If, on the other hand, he's simply talking to a therapist, that's another matter.


Title: Let a friend sublet my apartment and he ended up causing a fire. Now the apartment's insurance wants $116k. What are my options? San Diego

Question: So I had a month left on my old lease so I let a friend sublet the apartment. Technically according to my lease I wasn't allowed to do so. However he was only there about 12 days when this happened. He and my other roommate at the time (who is also in the actual lease) ended up starting a fire from smoking indoors and the sprinkler system came on. It flooded our apartment and the ones near us. I had already been moved out of the unit for about two weeks and mentioned that to all parties involved including the fire Marshall. Now the apartment's insurance wants $116k in reparations from my old roommate and I. What are my options to lower my payment? How responsible am I for the damage considering that we are all adults over 22 and that this was caused by negligence on my subletter's part. My roommate on the lease was also actively smoking and involved in causing the fire (ember on the carpet). I was at work during the incident and had moved out a few weeks prior. Any help and advice is appreciated.

Answer:
 you and roomie jointly and likely severally owe the apartment and he owes you. your best option will be to join him then try to replace yourself with him and get out. you need an attorney asap.

however, if you have a lease with the sub that has an indemnification clause, you're golden!Answer #2: Well, legally if you weren't allowed to sublet, you still had 100% responsibility for what happened to the apartment, as far as the apartment management is concerned. So if their insurance says 116k is owed, then 116k is owed by you.

You can then sue your friend (this is big money - you will **need** a lawyer) for the money.

Since you already **need** a lawyer, get one now and consult to see if California has any legal avenues that might get you out of this, but I would personally doubt it.

>How responsible am I for the damage considering that we are all adults over 22 and that this was caused by negligence on my subletter's part

Since you legally didn't have a subletter, this was negligence caused by you, so 100%. Answer #3: Let your renters insurance handle it. This is why you have renter's insurance.

Oh wait.....Answer #4: Please tell us you have renters insurance...


Title: [Serious]SECOND UPDATE: Neighbors that fed my dog drugs.

Question: So, we have been focusing on getting our dog better. The only silver lining to him being drugged was that during the x-rays the vet found a mass on his spleen, so he went in to have the mass and his spleen removed. Needless to say we have been focusing all of our attention on that. I sent an email to the mayor about some issues in our town. It sounds like him and I are on the same page and he recommends coming to village meetings and discussing these issues. But tonight, oh tonight. It was a perfect day here, warm weather, the little league field behind our house had games going on, just perfect. Until the neighbors came home. The first thing they did was go to their front porch (because people in the park could see the back) crank up their music and light up. I had my windows open and my son was the first to notice the smell. I called the police and reported the loud music (loud enough to shake my windows) and obvious smell of weed coming in my house, then I went back to what I as doing. About 20 minutes later the police arrived and said stop. As soon as the police left, they sent their kids to the property line by my kitchen windows and they stayed at the front yelling and screaming and blaring music. I saw my other neighbor outside, on the other side of the house and went to talk with him. When I stepped out the music seemed to be right in front of my house, I took a couple of steps to the sidewalk and there was one of the women standing directly in front of my porch holding a radio in the air. When the other ones saw me they told her to turn it up and she did but then she started coming at me. Now, my husband works nights and they know this, they purposely wait until he leaves before they start messing around. So rather than confront her I turned and walked over to my other neighbor who had seen all of this go on. He said "the hell with the local police" and he called the sheriffs department. I don't know what they did, but everyone there left and it is quiet now. I emailed the chief of police, but I doubt that will do anything, and I also emailed the mayor to let him know that I will be at the village meeting and to recommend a lawyer. So, first thing in the morning I will be calling the lawyer and trying things that way. The only other issue is my husband is furious, he is afraid that one of them will actually hurt me and then he won't even try to control his temper. He is generally peaceful and I have never seen him even yell at anyone, but I think this is really wearing on him. Also, our dogs surgery has gone well and he is recovering, we will find out in about a week if the mass if cancerous, hopefully not, so keep your fingers crossed for us, and thank you for your help. I will let you all know the final outcome.

Answer:
 Bro, do you even paragraph?Answer #2: http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/32z20r/seriousupdate_and_advice_needed_neighbors_that/

http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/314t6s/seriousadvice_on_the_worst_kind_of_neighborsthey/Answer #3: Was the radio playing "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel?  Answer #4: Restraining order seems appropriate here. Best of luck ! Answer #5: Sounds like you need to be wearing a GoPro every time you go outside your house.

Enough video evidence should get a restraining order against them.