Title: Very likely I will be taking my ex-boyfriend to court for refusing to return my camera and destroying it once I started threatening to go to court. (California, I’m 19 and he is 18)

Question:
Last time I posted this I just got buried. This camera is very expensive and means a lot and he was never given it to keep. I’ll explain a little more.

I was in the Army for a year and gave him my camera to hold onto because it was gathering dust in my house and my parents re-did my old room since I didn’t plan on coming home for at least 4 years.

Life happened and I ended up dislocating my kneecap and also discovering I had some stress fracture in my hip. Not fun. I ended up getting a medical separation and sent home.

Around this time when I got injured and sent home, our relationship because very toxic and abusive. There was a lot of manipulation and verbal abuse on his end and soon after I came home I broke up with him.

After the break up he lost his temper. Was trying to manipulate my friends to basically be on his side. (No idea why. I’m not him) and he also was harassing them to tell me that I have to return some of the old hoodies and shirts he gave me when we were dating. ( I actually blocked him because any other previous break up attempts usually was met with manipulation and him constantly harassing me so we could “fix” the issue. It usually just made things worse so when I made up my mind to leave him I blocked him off of everything.)

I came to an agreement (through my friends) that we would meet up and exchange his old clothes he GAVE me for the camera that he was supposed to only be borrowing.

I obviously don’t have any documentation saying that he was to return it other than me and my friends word. This was months ago and the communication was through Snapchat.

It is a 350$ camera. I have the proof of purchase/ invoice from amazon and I have the serial number.

I have tried meditating through his parents since he was a minor during the time we broke up. His parents agreed to pay for and send me a new camera. Why?

Well for a while they agreed to bring me the camera and exchange it. They were taking their time with me to arrange this and after a while of asking when we could meet up they suddenly told me that the camera was destroyed. They sent pictures of it and it’s absolutely thrashed. I’m no expert but I know my camera and it looks like it was 100% done on purpose.

Here are some images of the damage that they sent me with explanations: https://imgur.com/gallery/xeqdJJ2

After they showed the damage, I informed them (as polite as possible) that if my camera isn’t paid for I’m taking this to small claims. I’m sure his parents don’t want there son to have to deal with that headache so they offered to pay for a new camera and have it delivered to my home.

It’s been almost a month and they are taking forever to send the camera. They are not keeping up with communication and I keep having to text them every week to ask for an update. They usually would say that they were going to send it soon. Cool, no biggie we all get busy.

Well now, I texted them again and they are ignoring me. I feel like they are hoping I forget or something. Not sure.

Also, If you’re wondering what kind of camera it is, it is a Canon T5 DSLR.

I also explained the damage more for anyone who isn’t too familiar with a DSLR. I dropped this camera once or twice. (The biggest drop being 6ft onto concrete back in 2017) and it never had ANY major damage but a couple of minor scratches on the screen. It’s one tough cookie.

Now usually I would just forget about the camera and move on because I don’t even want to face my ex because of how I was treated and because I do not even feel safe near him. However, I did professional and hobby photography on the side when I was able to use my camera. (I was not able to even have it in the military because I was still in training.) plus the camera is very sentimental. I had photos and such on it that were personal and it took me a long time to save up to buy it.

Now that I’m back home, I’m going to college full time and doing an internship at a school district that does not pay a ton and I honestly need the camera so I can jump back into photography and make a little extra cash so I can cover my bills and whatever financial aid doesn’t cover.

So now, my plan is to message them again and inform them that if I don’t receive my camera within the next week or two that I’m going to file with the court.  If I don’t hear back or get my camera then I’ll follow through.

Now here’s where I need some advice. Any advice helps, I’m all ears for anything you guys have to offer.

Here are my questions:

1. What kind of evidence would I need to prove that the camera was in good condition before I gave it to him?

2. What could happen if he ignores the court summons or just flat out refuses to pay? (He has a horrible temper and I could easily see him doing this)

3. Would statements from my friends help my case?

4. Is there a good chance that I’ll get my camera paid for? Or is it unlikely?

5. Is it a bad idea to tell them I’m going to court? I don’t wanna blackmail or anything but I just want my camera back.

6 Any other advice or ideas? All opinions and advice on this matter are welcome.
Topic:
Small Claims Procedure

Answer:
 I would like to also mention that when you give them the ultimatum of receiving an equal value camera or old one back, that you will file in civil court on such-n-such date.

When they don’t reply and you receive nothing follow through on the date that you selected.

At this point, all of the text messages between them and you can be considered evidence that they acknowledge the son had the camera, that it was damaged within his care and now they’re refusing to cooperate in returning it or giving you a replacement as they said they had in texts.

Print the texts and use them in court against their son. Parents were witnesses to your property in his possession and sue him for the cost.Answer #2: Ianal, but quite frankly it doesn't seem worth your time. At most you might get 300$ for this, and you have put in how much time to do this? It definitely is unfortunate, but you'll be happier being done with it


Title: Don't have health coverage, should I still get it after trumps executive order on Obamacare?

Question: Hello, my name is Antonio I live in Houston Tx.  at the moment I don't have health coverage. I wanted to register before the deadline January 31st. I read that president trump singed an executive order to ease the burdens of Obamacare. How does that affect Obamacare? Am I still going to get penalized for not having coverage in the year 2016 after what he signed? Or if I don't register before the deadline am I gonna get penalized in 2017? Or is it even still mandatory for me to get health coverage, since it looks like they're going to replace Obamacare

Answer:
 >Am I still going to get penalized for not having coverage in the year 2016 after what he signed?

Probably. You didn't comply with the law during 2016. Mr Trump was not president in 2016. Mr Trump signing something in 2017 doesn't retroactively change what was in effect during 2016.


Title: Nephew’s disability claim

Question:
My nephew is attempting to increase his disability rating with the VA, and the whole process seems quite skewed to say the least.
He is dealing with a “veterans agent” who promises to get him 100%.  The tradeoff is this agent gets the retroactive benefit check when he’s upped to 100%.

His reasoning for this is “they have to pay the doctor and the inside guy at the VA.”

I see this ending up on the front page, or federal prison.  Am I being paranoid?

Answer:
 "Inside guy at VA" = "bribing government official" = "prison"

(you can only bribe *elected* officials!)Answer #2: I'm a vet currently at 80%.  This sounds like all sorts of bullshit to me, but there is the possibility that it's a misunderstanding.

Here is a [link](https://vetadvocates.org/veterans-help/the-fees-which-may-be-charged-by-an-agent-or-attorney/) with some useful information about representation and fees.

Any federally-chartered Veterans Service Organization will not charge any fees to assist with applying for an increase.

The majority of private organizations/attorneys will charge 20% of back pay.

There should be absolutely no reason to pay any "inside man" at the VA.  Also, a Compensation & Pension examination is paid for by the VA, not the service member.  There is a possibility that hiring an outside doctor in addition can be beneficial, but I'm unsure whether that's the doctor the agent is referring to.

I would suggest contacting a VSO near you and asking them about the situation.  They may be able to clarify some questionable areas or recognize a predatory situation.


Title: Fake ID confiscated at a liquor store in Boulder, Colorado. Received email from Police over 3 months later requesting a meeting.

Question:
Below is the email I was sent, do they really have any way to prove I was the one using the ID/ would the prosecutor even be interested in trying the case considering the volume of fake ids confiscated in the college town. The ID had my legal name and picture with a fake address and DOB. I assume they found my college email address using my name. I am also no longer in the state and will not be returning for a few months, so meeting with the officer would be impossible until then. When the ID was confiscated I tried offering the cashier (a young female college student), $50 for it back. She refused but told me she would be destroying it, guess she didn't though.

EMAIL:
I am contacting you regarding a Fraudulent Identification that was confiscated at a licensed liquor establishment in Boulder.  I need to meet with you to discuss this matter.

The use of a fraudulent identification carries charges ranging from a municipal violation to a felony under Colorado State statutes.  My preference is to issue a summons for the lesser violation in most cases.

It is important that you contact me as soon as possible.  Do not disregard this notice.

I typically work Tuesday-Friday, 7am-4pm but am in and out during the day so we will need to make an appointment.  The best way to communicate with me is by email but my phone number is included below.

Answer:
 Hire an attorney and do whatever they tell you to do. Don't talk to anyone without your attorneyAnswer #2: > do they really have any way to prove I was the one using the ID

Yes. They could look at the legal name and picture. Or, they could simply ask the clerk if you tried to use that ID. Either one is legally sufficient.

It would not be in your best interests to voluntarily discuss anything with the police unless/until your attorney advises it. The police are not looking out for your best interest and only want you to admit to a crime, which makes their job easier.

You should speak with and/or hire a local (Boulder) defense attorney about how to proceed. They usually have free consultations to tell you if they can help you, and how much it will cost.

You should tell your parents ASAP, as you will likely need their help in paying for a lawyer.


Title: My ex was awful and violent. I happen to own her name as a domain. Any issues using it for fun? Oakland

Question:
She hit me with a car. Broke in my house after we broke up. I could go on and on.

Suffice it to say I have massive reasons to be pretty pissed.

We were going to use her domain for good a long time ago but I'm kinda feeling doing something fun with it.

1. I could go all out and trash her with police reports and the assault charges she has, voice recordings of her demanding coke, nudes, other info etc. There's a lot of choices.

2. I could make it not mention her specifically and just have a lot of information on sociopaths, narcissists, psychopaths.

3. I could just have it redirect to some really screwed up site.

She not the only person in the US to have her name but there's not many.

Are those choices legal?

People post to myex.com

Answer:
 The trouble with fighting with Crazy is that from the outside nobody can tell the difference.

Be the bigger person and let it go.

Legal advice: don't do things that are likely to end up in front of a judge. This most assuredly looks like one of those things.


Title: Paid time off accrual question

Question:
My contract says for each 6 months of service one week shall accrue.  I understood this to mean 7 days off paid time off and planned accordingly. Now my boss is saying it means 5 days.

The contract does not define a week and I checked the California Labor Code-it doesn't either (it just has section 227 about being paid for accrued hours when your fired/quit).

 My boss is saying that they will take future accrued hours to pay for the ones I mistakenly submitted already.  I would be fine with that, except I really feel like the definition of a week is 7 days and they are using the definition of work week (the total number of hours or days worked in a week) when the contract did not say work week nor define it that way.
Does anyone have any advice?  Thanks

Answer: One week means 5 days in this context. If you work a week, how many days do you work?


Title: [NC] Can they make me go into work and not pay me?

Question:
Posting for a close friend.  He works for a local government in NC.  Due to software updates on his last shift, he was unable to complete a task, by the end of his shift.  His boss called him today (24 hours later) stating that he must go into work to finish said task, without pay.  The way he sees it is that it's not his fault the software they use was down, therefore he was unable to do what he was supposed to do.  He is paid hourly, not salary.

Tl;Dr: Software was down; could not do work before shift ended; boss is calling back demanding for it to be completed, without pay.

Edit.  he's hourly.

UPDATE TIME----
He's getting a write up at work...for not going in. And offered to provide the documentation from DOL.

Answer: Since slavery was abolished everyone must be paid for their work Answer #2: No. No. No. NO. You must be paid for your work! There is no way that the employer could get away with this as long as your friend persues this.Answer #3: If they want to pay for a "job done", they need to make him an exempt employee and pay him appropriately. If they want to go the cheaper route and pay for "however many hours it takes you", they're going to pay for however many hours it takes him.Answer #4: Unless there is a contract, your job description is fluid.  If you knew the software was down and didn't report it, thus you didn't do the job you were expected to be doing, I can see the supervisor may have felt cheated.  Still has to pay you though.


Title: Bought a game that recently decided to take out 80% of the game. Steam will not allow me to request a refund because it was bought more than 2 weeks ago.

Question:
Title sais it all. Bought a game because one aspect of it looked great. That aspect was the reason for everyone to buy it because you could compete with players all around the world.

They took it out and now it is a dull game which I paid a pretty sum for.

Please help.

Answer:
 You don't buy games on Steam. You simply buy a license to play them. The terms of service are very clear about this.

Do NOT charge back, Steam will suspend your account and you will no longer have access to any of your games.

Sorry, but you're out of luck.


Title: Someone I know plans on bring a months worth of weed with them to Australia

Question: They are going on a study abroad trip and plan on bring weed. Mostly concentrate, thc vape carts and edibles. What will happen if they got caught by the TSA or by Australian customs?  Does the TSA care about this stuff?

Answer: Australia takes drug smuggling very seriously. Your friend will be caught and incarcerated on the order of decades, especially with concentrates.


Title: Emailed Landlord on the 1st, trying to get us to pay 2 full months of rent.

Question:
I’m in the US, Ohio.

We have purchased our first house & are finally ready to move. They kept pushing back the move in date, & we finally got the date for the 8th. Realizing that we needed 30 days to tell our current apartment landlord, we emailed them on the 1st, Saturday, since the lease asks for a move out in writing. This is the same email we’ve been using for 3 years to contact our apartment. We got a response saying that the email is not able to receive mail.

Today was the first day since then that the office is open. My boyfriend/roommate called the landlord to ask if she received the email, and she said she did not. She then said that since we told her on the 3rd, and 30 days from now is July 3rd, we would have to pay rent for June & July. She said that the lady we have been emailing does not work there anymore.

Since we have evidence that we did attempt to give our move out notice in writing on the 1st, does she have ground to stand on with this? I went in to talk to her in person, & she gave me a copy of the lease & a paper that says that we have given notice to move out on or before the 30th of June, & we have to give our keys during the move out inspection.

Answer:
 Look at your contract. If it says 30 days it is 30 days. As far as the email address, technically they should have contacted everyone and told them. Since you went to the office and gave written notice it goes by that date. Does the contract say you have to pay for the entire month if you leave mid month? If not pay for the month you are there and pay a pro-rated amount for the time you are there the following month. Return the keys in person. They cannot force you to keep them. Make sure you take a video of the entire apartment as you are leaving, showing you walk out the door and locking it. That way there is no dispute on how you left the apartment. Give them your phone number and tell them to call you when they are ready to do the walkthrough, that you are officially vacating that day. If they later come back on you contact a lawyer in legal aid. IANALAnswer #2: Well for one, giving notice in the 1st isn't 30 days. So right of the bat that doent help you.

Does your lease state how notice needs to be given? Does it mention email?


Title: Rear ended with baby and wife in car, lawyer up?

Question:
We're in Arizona, USA. So we were driving along going the speed limit, my wife and I in the front and our 8 month old daughter in the back, when a teenager going way too fast rear ended us. I'm still kind of dazed from the whole thing. I'm so grateful we are alive and our baby is ok.

Here's where it gets complicated. Baby is ok other than a red abrasion on her neck from the car seat strap. My wife has back pain and I have neck pain, but we both already had chronic back and neck problems so I'm not really sure if the accident made them worse, or just the stress flared things up, or what. We both have a long history of back and neck pain and tonight, after the accident, we are pretty sore.

Would we be wise to get a lawyer and take it to court? I don't know if I can really be sure how much of my pain is from my existing neck problems and how much is due to the accident.

Answer:
 See a personal injury attorney for a consultation and see what they say. They will only take your case if they have a decent shot.Answer #2: Too early to say.  Soft-tissue injuries sometimes take a few days to fully appear.  If the pain persists, you should seek medical treatment.  If a week goes by and you feel 100%, be grateful for your good fortune.  On the other hand, if your existing problems become worse and you need treatment, it will be worth contacting an injury attorney for a free consultation.

Report the accident to the other driver's insurance and they should take care of your vehicle damage.  If the other driver does not have insurance, contact your insurance about possible UM/UIM coverage and/or med pay or other available coverage.


Title: Found bicycle in woods buried under limbs and leaves, I want to fix it up and give it to my daughter, Should I bother the police with this?

Question:
So I was in the woods searching for a lost drone and came across a bicycle that with a little work would be good to go. It was buried under a couple months of deadfall and leaves. No other Identifying marks

It not like it is some super expensive bike, it is a walmart special 7 speed girls bike. But what do you think I should do?   This is in Atlanta Ga

Answer: If it's a stolen bike, you can't own it.  Most likely it was lost/abandoned.  Call the police non-emergency with its serial number (on the frame somewhere) and ask if they can look it up.  That's your due diligence.Answer #2: Give the police a ring and provide them with the serial number, which is stamped into the frame in the underside of the bottom bracket.


Title: What could I do ? My neighbour's child is in (slight?) trouble

Question:
So i'm not sure if i should post it here, but my neighbours (who live one floor below me) have a young girl, probably around 6 or 7 i don't know.

The dad looks like a pretty casual guy, maybe not the smartest, but definitely not a bad/disturbed person, but the mother... She is paranoïac. Nothing official, but it is only because sheprobably not consulted a doctor or a psy in years (or decades).

&#x200B;

We had an issue due to heavy rain on the roof of our appartment, but she just won't help us (the 6 appartments inside the building) to pay the reparations because she thinks Illuminatis  or us, want to take her money.

My actual problem is with her girl, she keeps crying or mumbling all day, not a word has ever come out of her mouth from what i can hear through the ground (we have a bad audio isolation), i'm pretty sure she is not schooled, and i'm pretty confident that her mom is anti-vaxx.

&#x200B;

I am 00.99% sure that she is not physically or sexually abuse by her parents, but i'm worried about her. What could i do ?

What could law do ? I don't want to do something that happens to be useless just so she becomes even more paranoïac.

I live in France if it can help

Answer: If you are concerned about the neighbors daughter contact child protective services (or what your areas version is) and tell them what you said here. They will investigate and may take action if neccessary.


Title: I filed a complaint for harassment, the found probable cause.

Question:
So, over a year back I gathered proof of my boss texting me and calling me late hours at night and got a lawyer to file a complaint. He fired me, and when I tried getting new jobs, I had listed him as a previous employer and he retaliated and gave me a bad reference. I didn't get numerous jobs because of this. He was retaliating because he is married with a baby, and his wife found out. I was in a bad place and had not saved money because I was paying out of pocket for my last year in college. (before i get judged for not having savings).

After a year and a half, they finally told him that he needs to settle. I aimed high because I knew he didn't want to pay so the low ball offer wouldn't be too low. He is refusing to pay, his lawyer is harassing me trying to get me to admit things my former boss is telling him and said he only has $5k. I said absolutely not, that won't even cover the five months I was out of work! I lost 10lbs, eating once a day, borrowing money from family for gas to go to interviews! I don't even want to look at my credit, or the account that I have in collections. Basically, if he doesn't want to give money and says he's broke (he is not, has a rich family, two properties valued over $1m each) will they just let him do as he pleases? I want to get this done with, I don't ever want to hear his name. This guy is bipolar with a drug problem and so is his wife who kept harassing me, I had to change my phone number!. Please give me advice I can't think straight and I want to move on with my life.

Answer: If he doesn't settle I believe you'll get a right to sue letter. Take that to a local employment attorney.


Title: Walmart pool or pool parts

Question: I purchased a 22\` X 52\`\` Ultra XTR Frame Pool from [walmart.com](https://walmart.com/) part number 571444331 on sale for $205.75 marked down from $257.19. shipped to the store, when it arrived it plainly says box 2 of 3, it included the frame, cover and maintenance kit. When I asked where the rest of the pool was they said that was all that was included. When I called [Walmart.com](https://walmart.com/) I spoke to 3 polite people but they said that the listing was for the frame only and not the entire pool. One finally admitted it was human error and then said site error, but she could not send the rest of the pool. They offered to give me my money back but not honor the original description. I am unsure what to do next but I feel this is deceptive business practice.

Answer:
 get your money back and move on with your life.Answer #2: >I feel this is deceptive business practice.

Dude, do you really think there's some money grubbing **walmart employee** thinking, "You know what? I want to screw over this dude just so **walmart** can get more profits!" They said it was an error. It most likely is. Get your refund and be done with it.


Title: [US TX] I was in a car accident recently by someone running a red light and they want to keep insurance uninvolved

Question:
Hi y'all, first time posting here.

I was hit last thursday by someone who didnt have insurance. I got a police report number and they got cited for running a red light and not having liability insurance. I have insurance but its only liability, so they cant really help me out.

I called the guy and we agreed to a small settlement out of insurance and im pretty sure this is the best idea but i wanted to know what y'all think.

The guys family member agreed to meet me and give me a check and ill sign (with a notary present) an agreement that i wont ask for anything else. My car had quite a few years and miles on it, so i was shopping for a new one anyway. I just want to get this over with really. I don't see any obvious problems or where it could go wrong but this is my first accident. The totaled car is currently at my house, so maybe ill be able to sell it for scrap? Im not sure.

My plan was to call my insurance to close out the claim once the check deposited, and i dont see why they wouldnt. I guess would i tell them the other person gave me money? I was going to get a cashiers check to expediate the process. The guys family member seems like a straight forward guy and i want to take him for his word. As am I, the amount agreed upon seems fair to me.

Answer: The only thing I would add is to meet him at his bank, and immediately cash the check, because I’m a paranoid bastard who assumes people write bad checks.


Title: [WI] Is leaving a dog home alone for 12 - 16 hours a day considered neglect?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >Is leaving a dog home alone for 12 - 16 hours a day considered neglect?

As best I can tell, there is no offence in the state of Wisconsin of "animal neglect". There is an offence of [mistreating animals](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/951), but it requires treating an animal cruelly, "cruel" defined as "causing unnecessary and excessive pain or suffering or unjustifiable injury or death."


Title: Questions about a dog "bite" incident and what I need to do

Question:
[Hawaii]

Several months ago, my dog jumped out of my car when I opened the door and he scratched someone at a park. I was summoned out of my car by this man I'd met moments before that was feeding feral cats. The dog scratched him - the skin was examined by the man, his spouse, and myself and there was no broken skin/laceration/etc. I apologized profusely and he kept telling me not to worry about it that it was just a scratch.

While I was in my parked car at the park tonight this man was telling people that my dog was vicious and dangerous and that he bit him 2 weeks ago and 3 weeks ago (neither true). As I got out to throw a bit of rubbish away he started screaming at me and pointing at me and acting out of control about how my dog severely bit him and he would "have my dog killed in a week".

I tried engaging in civil conversation to no avail. Again, my dog did scratch him several months ago - all 3 of us agreed with that at the time and there was no broken skin or anything. On that date of the incident he did not ask for my information, did not call police or animal control, did not call an ambulance, proceeded to finish feeding the cats in the park and left the premises before I did.

At that particular park I mostly walk the dog in the evenings and in various parking lots that are empty or mostly so. There have been many times in the last several months this man will pull up his car in the spot next to mine or very close to it, has had no problems walking around when my leashed dog and I are walking/practicing commands/etc and has given ZERO indication of any problems. He also often digs in the garbage for recycling cans and will walk close to the car and shake it around if my dog and I are sitting inside. Since my dog tends to bark when excited (happy/nervous/protective) any time he barked at the man (that has repeatedly approached my vehicle and even touched it on at least one occasion while we were inside) I would immediately move my vehicle to another secluded area so as to tend to the dog and to not give him reason to bark at this guy.

Anyway, tonight the man kept screaming and hollering and pointing in my face and told me he had to go to the doctor 2 weeks ago (several months after the scratch) and that he was calling the police because my dog barks and severely bit him and he is vicious. I told him I would pay the medical bills for his visit to the doctor for the scratch if he sent them to me - he refused and told me no.

He then followed me to my car across the lot from him/his vehicle and proceeded to call the police. As I was leaving he told dispatch I leave my dog chained in my vehicle all day (false - we walk 5+ miles a day together, he goes to the off-leash dog park, we go to the beach together, etc) and my dog has never had a chain of any kind although he wears a dog seat belt attached to his harness when he's in the car.

I do not know what to expect from here on out. He had months to say something when he saw me but didn't, never acted scared about a vicious dog when he was approaching me/my car all those times in an otherwise empty lot, refused to show/send me photos of the "bite" he keeps claiming was 2 and 3 weeks ago, refused my offer to pay his medical bill for that visit, and just kept threatening to call police and that he wanted my dog put down.

Can someone advise me on what to do next?

Answer:
 Ignore him? Avoid him and only respond to authorities.

He has no proof, no medical reports, no police or animal control reports, and he quite frankly sounds crazy.

Digging for cans, feeding feral cats, and his anger and mood swings.

He lacks credibility and if I were you I'd start recording whenever he approached or engages you and remove myself from the situation.

Maybe find another park?

If he keeps harrassing you make a police report.every time.


Title: Property manager turned our apartment into an active construction site

Question: Our property manager wants to make improvements to our apartment while my housemates and I are living here. Last week we were sent an email saying central air would be installed in our apartment and the following day workers arrived and began drilling holes in the floors of all our rooms. Our house is a racket during the day and our entire house is covered in sawdust from the drilling, including our personal belongings and beds. My housemates and I have developed coughs from the living conditions and are very unhappy. Additionally the property manager arrives unannounced about once a week to plan out improvements for the apartment. Is what the property manager is doing legal? Would it be worth taking this issue to court?

Answer: Start documenting time and dates.  The manager might have the right to enter with notice for improvements, etc.  However, if the noise, dust, etc. is so bad as to effectively interfere with your right to enjoy the property you may have a case for constructive eviction.  Take a copy of your lease and talk to a property lawyer.


Title: [VA, USA] Would FIL selling his house to my wife and I be a good idea?

Question:
My FIL is in poor health and he, my wife, and I are meeting with a lawyer next week to draft a will. Initially, he wanted to leave the house to my wife and I, but we think a better idea might be to sell the house to us while he's living because he might have some debts that will come out of his estate when the inevitable happens. We also worry about what the bank would do at that time too.

The house has about $50,000 left on the mortgage, but is valued at $170,000 by the county (actual value might be closer to $140,000 in my opinion because it needs work). So if he sold the house to us for the amount that's owed on the mortgage while he's still living, will my FIL have to pay a gift tax for the positive equity on the house? Is there any reason we shouldn't consider this route?

Answer: It's good that you are planning to speak with an attorney about this because it sounds like you are venturing into textbook fraudulent transfer territory. Make sure your FIL is honest with the attorney about his assets and debts. If he is insolvent and sells you the house at below market value to shield his assets from creditors, the creditors may be able to claw back the sale.


Title: Is this legally enforceable?

Answer: That depends on the area.  In many places, parking in front of a mailbox is illegal.  It's not illegal everywhere, however.


Title: [US] A question about hypothetical retaliation when someone robbed me a few years ago.

Question:
Right off the bat: I am _not_ advocating violence, and I will not commit, nor have I committed, any violent acts. I'm a coward, but luckily cowardice isn't against Reddit's TOS.

I just saw that recent /r/PublicFreakout post where, after an argument, a man intentionally hits the other with his vehicle [\(not graphic and no one dies\).](https://old.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/pgn2nz/seemed_like_an_overkill_reaction/?ref=share&ref_source=link)

It got me thinking about the time a few years ago when someone stole some things from my car. I was delivering food and my line of sight to my vehicle was blocked by a van while I was at the door. I caught him in the middle of it when I came back. Long story short, after attempting an (admittedly fairly convincing) grift for a bit, then vaguely implying he had a gun, which I sincerely doubt he did, essentially he just wound up intimidating me into letting him walk away once he realized that I was scared and not likely to attack him. I'd never been in a situation like that or even punched—or been punched by—anyone in my life, but I'm not really a small dude, so he was probably not sure if he was in any danger at first.

What was stolen was only worth about $200.

I'm still pretty ashamed of that moment. Hell, I feel like using the word "rob" might be kind of hyperbolic when I wasn't explicitly threatened and didn't put up a fight.

Anyway, stepping away from my personal feelings on the incident, all of this is to say that, in the moment, I sincerely contemplated doing exactly what was done in that video. If I had, what might the legal repercussions of doing so looked like, assuming he was only injured, and it can be proven that he stole from me?

Thank God for alternate accounts.

Answer: Assault/battery with a deadly weapon, attempted murder and anything else that might be a lesser included offense on the criminal end.  You will also almost surely be held responsible civilly for any injuries suffered by your victim.    Once the threat ends you do not get to legally seek revenge in this manner.  The way to legally deal with this would be to call the police and report the robbery.


Title: University Housing contract violation

Question:
Background: My daughter is a sophomore at a private, catholic Missouri University.   The housing policy clearly states that all freshman and sophomores are required to live on campus unless they meet certain requirements, in which case they can opt out and live at home with a guardian.

We were eligible for the distance requirement and opted out of living in university housing, but rather than living at home, signed a lease for our daughter living in a private apartment near the university.

Problem:  she chose a room mate (both when applying for university housing and when applying for the private apartment) who procrastinated and procrastinated and failed to submit the paperwork on time.   As a result, she got caught.

Further problem:  When the room mate got caught violating university policy for having a private apartment and not living at home,  as part of her negotiations with the housing department,  she gave the director of housing my daughter's name, in essence saying "how come she got away with it and I didn't?".    Instead of contacting us to let us know that they knew my daughter was in violation, they told her room mate's mother to tell my daughter and discussed dates and details of my daughter's housing applications and forms with the room mate's family.   The room mate's mother basically confronted my daughter in a surprise meeting, told us our daughter was busted, and that we had less than a day to respond to a group offer that the director of housing has made with THEM in order to keep THEIR daughter enrolled in the university.

Here is my question:  Essentially, I am aware that we violated policy as well, but in the process of trying to broker a deal with the room mate and her family and by revealing information about our contract and situation to them FIRST rather than contacting us directly and essentially entrapping my daughter in to admitting her guilt, do we have a leg to stand on to try and fight this thing?   Essentially, they have offered us the option of either paying for the room directly (my daughter is on a full ride scholarship and this is not really an option) or we can stay in the apartment this year and she will be required to live in campus housing NEXT year.   In our meeting with the director of housing she essentially told my daughter that trying to get an off-campus apartment for the "cool factor" is not an appropriate action, even though we sought off campus housing in the first place because my daughter is under psychiatric care, had to be moved in University housing once already freshman year due to uninhabitable physical conditions, and attempted suicide in February of her freshman year.

A third option they offered was that my daughter take her case to the student disciplinary board to defend herself, in which charges would likely be "dishonesty in dealing with the university" and "ethical/moral" violations in trying to deceive the university (even though, ironically, I feel like the director of housing is guilty of, at best, highly unprofessional behavior in going behind our backs and discussing our contract/situation with another family in order to have that family relay the news to us first rather than directly coming to us with their information.

Sorry for the long, rambling nature..very upset at the moment.
TL;DR  My daughter violated her university housing contract but was outed by another student who may or may not have used this knowledge to broker a better deal for herself with housing in addition to discussing details of my daughter's contracts and leases without our knowledge or involvement.  Help please.

Answer: This isn't a legal question, it is a university policy question.


Title: Is this a new job scam in the auto industry???

Question:
My friend said he got a job that goes like this:

His manager in CA (we are in texas)  will call him stating he needs xyz type of car then it is up to my friend to go out and find this car at a dealership.  My friend then goes and secures a lease or sale of the car, then his manager will send someone to come pick up the car and take it back to CA.  The title is transferred to his name, then he signs it over to the person who comes and retrieves the car.  It sounds like a scam, but I couldn't find this scam on the internet anywhere.  He is paid a commission on each car found.  He has no license dealing with the selling or leasing of cars.  Has anyone seen or heard of anything similar to this? Edit:  receiving more information, he was given this opportunity after contacting flipalease.com  not sure if that changes the scenario at all.

Answer:
 http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/u-s-targets-buyers-of-china-bound-luxury-cars/

Why would they need to hire someone in Texas to find dealership vehicles when dealerships in California can easily transfer cars?

Sounds a lot like the scam I linked to above...Answer #2: It's a scam. The manager in CA is probably shipping these cars overseas without paying the required export duties.

Your friend doesn't have all these cars titled in his name, does he?

And, if your friend is leasing these cars, you can see there is an obvious problem, right? He's leasing the cars and then giving them to someone in California. Answer #3: It's a scam. This is a service nobody needs. If you go to a dealer and want a specifically optioned car they don't have on their lot, they will find it for you and bring it to you.


Title: Western Pa, USA- May possibly be "fired"...How likely is it that I will be able to collect unemployment.

Question:
I have worked for the same grocery company for 10 years, and have always been in good standing with my employer. I hold safety (personal and food) in extremely high regard. My paperwork is always in check, my product has always been in date. I have always passed every audit with flying colors.

Recently, I went on vacation. While on vacation, an employee was in the freezer and found product that had gone out of date. I'm not sure what he found, because I keep a pretty firm grasp on my inventory, but obviously he found some packages that were out of date. He should have gone to the manager above him who would have removed the product, scanned it out and discarded it. Instead this person went to the head of the store, who told another manager to scan out the product and not to tell me that any of this had happened. My company has a history of immediately firing managers who have bad product found in their departments. When I returned from vacation, the manager who was told to scan out the product spoke to me in private about what happened, out of mutual respect. I could very likely be facing termination, but the head manager has not spoken to me about it. In fact he has treated me no differently than he normally does. My thoughts are that he could wait to fire me til after the holiday, or maybe he'll take my good standing into account? This is also not the first time this employee has done this to a manager, so maybe that will be taken into account?

I did nothing intentionally. Had I discovered the product in my freezer, or if anyone else had discovered the product in their freezer, they would have said, "oh this is out of date" and scanned it and removed it. If it was of a significant amount, they would have notified the head manager to keep him in the loop. It would have been completely legal with no questions asked. The fact that no one has mentioned it to me, and were told specifically not to mention it to me is disturbing me...

After all that rambling....since I did not do anything intentionally, would it still be considered misconduct? would I be able to collect unemployment while I look for a new job? I immediately started looking for a job as soon as I got home that day, but have found nothing and am worried that I won't be able to pay my bills if I do get terminated.

Also, is it acceptable as an employer to withhold from taking any action until it suits them?

Sorry for the rambling, I'm going out of my mind, going in each day, not knowing if it's going to be my last day and not being able to discuss it because I'm not supposed to even know any of this is going on....
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 That's not misconduct, not even close. If you are fired, file for unemployment immediately.

> Also, is it acceptable as an employer to withhold from taking any action until it suits them?

Generally yes. That's a very vague question though.


Title: Murdering yourself in a separate timeline.

Question:
If I were to travel back in time to a seperate timeline, and kill the me from that timeline. Would it be considered murder?

And if keeping two identical people alive in the same timeline would cause a time paradox, would it be legal to stage a fight to the death, or how would it be decided who dies and who lives?

Answer:
 The legal system doesn't deal in hypotheticals, so the real answer is "who knows," but as you can be distinguished from your time-travel duplicate in a number of ways, I would expect that the answer would eventually be "yeah, that's murder."

It would not be strictly legal to murder someone in order to save the entire universe, as things stand - the necessity defence does not include murder. If neither of you is willing to sacrifice yourselves, and neither of you can leave the timeline, then in principle, the universe must end. In practice, who knows?


Title: [CA]Car cuts into my lane very last second, slams onto brakes, causes me to rear-end them, and now I'm at fault with 3 traffic citations according to officer. Dash cam caught it all

Question:
Hey folks of /r/legaladvice. Long time lurker and first time poster and I need some help with an incident that occurred.

This actually happened today at around 6:45AM on the freeway on my way to school. I've traveling on the left hand lane on a 4 lane side of the freeway at about ~70 MPH staying in pace with the rest of traffic that was on there at the time (even though there really wasn't much). There is a guy in a Camry traveling to my right who is slightly ahead of me and at this time there isn't really any traffic as one could imagine at this time of day. There's a car about 10 car lengths in front of me, no one behind me, no one in front of the other driver, but a car behind him that I would say is about 5-6 car lengths behind. Here I am driving along, minding my own business, then all of a sudden the driver of the camry (We'll call him Jake) does a hard left into my lane without any turning signals when I only have about a few inches in front of me and slams on his brakes for whatever reason causing me, as you can imagine, to smash hard into him.

We pull over to the shoulder and I start yelling at him, cussing him out, etc...Trying to ascertain why on earth he would even do that to his car since it's a fairly new one at that. Shouting match occurs and he tells me that this is all my fault and that I need to learn to drive and "learn to give him space to merge" when he has no other car in a close proximity to him on any other direction and no way in hell I would be at fault for this. At this point, my car is pretty messed up with radiator fluid and whatever else leaking from my car.

Side note: My car is a 2014 model in case anyone was curious.

I proceed to call the police and report this idiot for causing the accident while he is also doing the same and an officer comes out probably 10 minutes later to assess the situation.  While waiting for the officer to arrive I go ahead and download my dash-cam video to my phone just to have a back up of it. The officer arrives and at this point something seems a little off since it looks like Jake and  the officer know each other going off a first name basis off the start.  At this point, I haven't told Jake that I have the whole thing on my dash cam, but once the officer claims that this is a textbook rear end collision and I will be at fault is when I choose to show him my dash-cam video.  The officer continues to claim, even after showing him the video, that I am at fault and will be writing me a ticket for 3 traffic violations.

>CVC 21753      Failure to Yield to Overtaking Vehicle

>CVC 22349(a) 	Speeding 1–15 MPH Over 65 MPH Limit

>CVC 22109      Sudden Stopping Without Signaling

At this point I ask the officer how he is going to write me a ticket for # 2 and 3 when he wasn't even present to witness the accident which he then claims that he doesn't have to be to issue these and even though I showed him my dash cam he still says i'm at fault.  He then says that if I would like to lodge a claim against Jake that I will have to submit my video proof as evidence which he will take. He does not know I have a copy of the video on my phone and my dash is still running unbeknownst to him. I copy the last few minutes of video onto my phone that contains his actions and give him the memory card because I wasn't sure what exactly was going on at the time. It was until a little while after that everything that just happened started to click. I have filed a claim with my insurance and they will be investigating this accident with my video proof as well.

Was what the officer did in this situation even legal? Do I have any recourse? If so, who do I go to? Any thoughts on this from the standpoint of the fine people of /r/legaladvice?

Apologies for the wall of text!

[Diagram since this sub really loves em](http://imgur.com/UGek7bl)

Answer:
 If you have the dash cam footage which proves your story then

1) submit it to your insurance

2) use the video as evidence when you contest the tickets. Answer #2: Back your video up again. Phones fail at the most inopportune timesAnswer #3: All this talk of a video but you don't post it? I am disappointed. Answer #4: >CVC 22109 Sudden Stopping Without Signaling

I'm curious as what this means. You have brake lights, how else does one 'signal' a stop? What does it matter anyway, as OP was the one behind? Answer #5: I don't see where you were cited for rear-ending the guy in front of you.  You were cited for failure to yield -- that's a whole different animal.  Whether he gave you a fair hearing or not, the failure to yield sounds like he got the basic mechanics of the situation correct -- that camry pulled in front of you.

The cop's report and testimony isn't the final word on the subject.  Take the recording to an attorney.  In many places in CA, there isn't a prosecutor to negotiate traffic tickets with -- attorneys talk directly to the citing/charging officer to try to work a deal.

Also, understand that the officer's report doesn't pre-judge your insurance claim against you.  The insurance adjusters and investigators will reach their own conclusion in deciding how to handle your claim.


Title: [FL] Background Check Company Provided False Information

Question:
Hello.

I am currently in the process of finding a place to rent in a large city in FL. I had found the perfect place and we began to go through the standard background/credit check when we encountered an issue.

The company the realtor used to perform the background check came back saying I had an "Eviction Report" detailing that I had been evicted from my current apartment complex back in 2011. I was surprised because I have never been evicted, and also I wasn't even living in that city in 2011, I was still in school 400 miles away. I also check my credit report regularly and there is nothing referring to this in there. I looked at the Eviction Report and it does list an individual with my name staying at my current apartment complex but a different apartment number.

I'm going to follow up with the background company tomorrow to try and straighten things out, but I do have a few questions for you folks at /r/legaladvice:

* Are there any government agencies that provide consumer protection or regulation of these background check companies?

* This issue has affected the confidence the realtor has in renting to me (the ultimate outcome is still TBD). Is there legal action I can take if I have difficulties getting things sorted out with the background check company? I'm not a lawyer but could this be viewed as slander?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Answer: The FCRA governs consumer reports, there should be a process to contest the results of the investigation. You're going to want to ask for the compliance department. Start with the vendor, no need to involve a government regulatory agency. There isn't just one that directly regulates these companies.


Title: MI: Where to begin to find my biological father? I am 16.

Question:
I've been meaning to find my biological father.

I lived with my mom and her family for my entire life. My mom knows my father and so does my grandmother but they will not tell me. He is not involved in my life at all. According to my mother, he does not even know I exist.

My mom had me when she was 19. I believe my father was around the same age. I have asked me mom about my dad and I only know some tidbits. She absolutely refuses to give me more information but I do know this information.

* Both are around the same age.
* Conceived in Michigan. He attended my mom's college. Might still be living in college.
* One night stand.
* Mom did not tell him about the pregnancy or anything so he does not know I exist.
* According to my mom he had a "bad lifestyle". He was big into partying and my mom did not want him in my life. Ironically, my mom is literally the same... even now.

Neither my mom or grandma will cave and tell me his name. Honestly, they would rather cut off contact than tell me.

My mom is a good mom but she's... troubled. She never had a good upbringing (abusive dad) and she's still stuck in her college party girl phase. But she has never neglected me and I love her dearly.

But she wont tell me anything more about my dad. I want to meet him. I deserve to know my dad. He might be a great person or a bad person but hes still my dad and I want to have a relationship with him.

I want to begin searching for him but I have no idea where to start. Any help is appreciated and sorry if I dont respond asap.

FYI his name is not on my birth certificate and I have no father figure in my life. I am an only child and my mom's family is not very wealthy. Middle class at best.

Answer: I will say, for those saying "use 23AndMe", please remember that their terms of use say they can keep your DNA on file and do basically whatever they want with it, without asking your permission in the future, and they might well do things that you REALLY don't want them doing with it. Please remember that before you use a DNA reading service: their terms and conditions are _hardcore_, so read them before you use their products!Answer #2: Hire a private investigator.Answer #3: Not legal advice,  and I don't know your family.  But be aware it could be possible your mom cut him out of her life for a reason. Sometimes (esp if people use the terms "bad lifestyle") that could be code for deeper issues like he had severe addiction or it was a child conceived from rape. Just keep that in mind.Answer #4: I read your update. Have you tried LinkedIn? You could probably search by name, college, and major and most people have their pictures as profile pics. Just a thought. Good luck!


Title: My niece (14) moved from Indiana in with me in Kentucky. Where do I start?

Question:
Me: 30, Kentucky

Her: 14, previously Indiana

She decided to move in with me, her mom and dad are on board

I've contacted the school to start the registration process rolling. They've asked for guardianship papers, records from previous school to show what grade she finished, and all that. I've done some googling around myself, and Kentucky's FAQ about enrolling in school says something about having immunization records, eye doctor records, and birth certificate. Most of this makes sense and I can probably get the various records from her mom.

Guardianship is something that scares me, but the FAQ states I shouldn't need that in order to put her in my school district. Is there a way to be able to "transfer" the authority to care for her, enroll her in school, etc. from her mom and dad in Indiana to me in Kentucky? Is that basically all that guardianship is about? I read up on it in the law code and I couldn't find a good clear division between guardianship of a minor and guardianship of an incapacitated adult. It seemed like taking on guardianship in Kentucky might require a bunch of paperwork, a hearing, annual reports and all that. She is 14, though, so according to Kentucky she can nominate her own guardian. (I would assume she'd nominate me, we seem to get along pretty well)

Will guardianship solve any problems I might otherwise run into with the whole not having the same last name as her, etc., or will a power of attorney for medical/school stuff suffice, or is there something even easier or less potentially disruptive, like a simple form I can have signed by her mom?

Beyond school stuff, what am I going to need to do / watch out for? Never done this kinda thing before. Don't even know what questions I'd ask of a lawyer...I guess that's what I'd pay them for. But I'd like to have some ideas before going in so I can save some time and be all checklisty "ok, here's what I definitely know I do need, here's some stuff I dunno maybe not for sure, and here's stuff I'd rather not have to do cause it sounds scary"
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Ask if a notified letter saying you have the authority to make medical and educational decisions, including enrollment, would work. Works in most states.


Title: Self Defense Question

Question:
There's a bunch of childish things going on at my job right now involving writing on people's cars, pieing people in the face with whipped cream, and using a super soaker to spray people with rotten milk. I want no part of it and if they decide to do anything to me as I'm anticipating happening soon, most likely today, I want to know whether I have the right to fight back. Talking to upper management at this point isn't the right thing to do if I want to continue working here with any respect from my coworkers.

I know all this sounds ridiculous and childish, and it is. I just want to know what I am legally allowed to do in the moment if I am either pied in the face or have a super soaker sprayed on me. Can I legitamately throw punches in self defense or would this be going too far?

Answer: I believe you can use deadly force when faced with rotten milk-laden supersoaker.


Title: [Ottawa, Ontario, Canada] Purchased a foreclosed home closing today, lawyer just told me opposite lawyers did not properly fill out paperwork for foreclosure, closing must be delayed.

Question:
The title is the short version, but I am supposed to close on a house today March 11th in Ottawa, ON, Canada. It's a foreclosed home, owned by the CMHC. My lawyer let me know about 2 hours ago that the other CMHC lawyer told him that they had not properly completed the foreclosure forms and would not be able to close until Wednesday March 16th. My lawyer is trying to figure it out but I want to get some general knowledge myself here...

I'm also not in the country next Wednesday, I have a trip planned for work (Italy). My fiancee (who is not on the mortgage) is not coming and was planning on living in this house. We still have access to our current place - until Apr. 1 - but we are 90% packed with a moving truck booked, and services like appliance delivery and internet installation booked for tomorrow the 12th of March.

What happens? I'm very frustrated and very lost. Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 I'm a real estate agent and have had this happen before to one of my buyers.

First, ask them if you can still move into the property on the original closing date (ie rent it for free until closing).

Second, if there are any damages due to the delay, ask your lawyer to lower the purchase price or credit it by that amount.

If you need any help, feel free to ask.


Title: Neighbor wants me to cut down hickory tree (VA)

Question:
At my rental house, there is a hickory tree that grows on my property but hangs a little over the neighbor's driveway. This year,  new neighbors moved in and they complained to my tenants that the nuts from the hickory tree were denting their cars in the driveway. They claim that they can't use their driveway anymore.  I said that they are more than welcome to trim back whatever is encroaching onto their property. However they said this isn't an option and they want the tree removed. I said the only circumstance they are allowed to remove the tree is if they paid for its removal. The neighbors are dead set on splitting it half and half. I don't want remove this tree since it is perfectly healthy. I told them that i will not pay a single cent to remove it, and now they want to start legal proceedings.

I want to know if i have any financial obligation to remove this tree. Can they sue me to remove the tree?

**TLDR: Neighbor wants to remove healthy hickory tree because the nuts fall on their property. Am i supposed to pay for its removal?**

Answer:
 Yay, tree law!!!  They can prune the side of the tree that overhangs their property so long as it doesn't harm the tree, but can't demand removal of the healthy tree.  They could also get a carport to protect the cars.Answer #2: In hope of forestalling a future post from you -- that the neighbor chopped the tree down while you were at work, or trimmed the tree in such a way that it caused great harm to said tree -- you may want to trim the overhanging branches yourself. Your neighbors sound unreasonable and honestly I fear for your tree.Answer #3: You should check with an abroist before you cut down the tree. An adult tree can be worth a ton of money. Answer #4: > I said the only circumstance they are allowed to remove the tree is if they paid for its removal

Uh, I wouldn't do that until I checked with a reputable tree service or an arborist.  This sounds like a healthy tree and, depending on the age and the type of hickory, you might get some money for selling it for lumber.Answer #5: You've offered them two viable solutions;

1) Trim the overhang themselves.
2) If they want it fully removed, they can pay for that.

Both are perfectly acceptable, however if falling objects from YOUR tree is damaging THEIR property they could sue you for those damages. Answer #6: Set up a camera and point it at the tree so you have footage of them cutting down or poisoning the tree when they eventually do so.


Title: Idaho: Seeking a protection order for myself and my child against my mother-in-law.

Question:
My mother-in-law is not my daughter's paternal grandparent, she is essentially a step-grandparent.  I have tried to explain this to several police officers but it does not appear to make any difference in their assessment of the situation.

My mother-in-law and I had a major falling out back in March.  I informed her that both myself and my daughter (from a previous relationship) would no longer be talking to her and she was not to contact me or attempt to see my child until she sought help for her issues.  My mother-in-law, father-in-law, and brother-in-law spent the rest of March, April, and the beginning of May harassing my husband and asking to see my daughter (his stepdaughter).  Fast forward to May, my mother-in-law got into a text argument with my husband and he informed her that he also never wanted to speak to her again and proceeded to block her number.  That same night, my mother-in-law came to my residence where she refused to leave and ended up kicking me in the knee when I told her to leave before I called the police.  The officer told me that I probably couldn't get a protection order for the one incident, so I didn't file for one.  I was able to trespass mother-in-law from my property, so she is not allowed to come to my home for the time being (I think it's a year?)  I pressed battery charges against her, the prosecutor filed them, and in August they let her plead down to disturbing the peace.  Mother-in-law asked a friend of hers to contact my daughter's father (someone she has never met before) to try to gain access to my daughter.  My ex refused because why would he ever send his daughter off with some lady he has never met before who recently attacked his daughter's mother while she was home?  Mother-in-law began to show up to multiple sporting events from August-October for my husband's son (her actual grandson) and try to get my daughter's attention to speak to her there despite being told again not to bother either of us.  She also keeps trying to get my stepson to bring my daughter messages from her.

Fast forward to tonight, stepson and daughter attend the same school and are in the same grade.  The children had a choir concert this evening and mother-in-law showed up with stepson's biological mom.  They sat away from us and all was well until the children were walking down the hallway back to their classrooms and mother-in-law grabbed my daughter and refused to let her go.  My daughter tried to get away from her, I had to push through people to reach them and tell her to let her go now but she refused and continued to try to walk away while holding my child.  I ended up grabbing her arm and physically separating her from my child.  I told her what she was doing was illegal and harassment, she has been told to leave us be.  She began yelling and crying in the hallway and making a scene in front dozens of people.  I called the police but the officer seemed less than interested in anything I had to say.  He essentially told me that while I could press charges for battery against her "no prosecutor would ever file charges against a grandmother hugging her grandchild" when that was not the situation, she was "hugging" her against her will and refusing to let her go when told to.  I was able to get the officer to agree to call mother-in-law and formally tell her not to have contact with myself or my daughter, but I sincerely don't believe this person will stop.  My ex has offered to come with me to the police station and speak to a different officer and try to move forward with battery charges, but I'm worried she may try to file charges against me for grabbing her arm to remove her from my child.

I would like to file for a protection order tomorrow morning but so many things in Idaho are specific to domestic violence and past or present dating relationships.  Can I get a protection order on behalf of my daughter even though charges were not filed last night?  She does not accept no as answer from anyone and I genuinely worry about the safety of my child and myself.

tldr: Mother-in-law (step-grandmother to my daughter) has been harassing us off and on since March.  She physically attacked me in May and tonight she grabbed my daughter and refused to let her go until I had to physically separate her from my child. Police officer was not interested in filing battery charges because they "wouldn't stick" Can I get a protection order for myself and/or my daughter even if charges were not filed tonight?

 **UPDATE:**

My hearing this morning went well enough.  I was denied a protection order for myself, but I was granted a protection order on behalf of my minor daughter.  I originally petitioned for a protection order for stalking/harassment but the judge said that this situation did not meet the criteria for that protection order.  She did, however, say that my daughter met the criteria for a protection order against domestic violence on the basis that MIL forcefully imprisoned her by grabbing her and refusing to let her go.  The judge's exact words were "The court will find your daughter in imminent danger of further domestic violence at the hands of respondent and grant the petition for protection."  I have already spoken to the school and provided them with copies of the protection order.  MIL will be served within the next 24 hours and thankfully I had all of her contact information and addresses from the battery incident in May, so hopefully she is served quickly and without issue.

There will be another hearing in 2 weeks where MIL will be allowed to contest the protection order.  She will, without a doubt, contest the protection order.  I am hiring a lawyer to represent me (and my daughter, though she wont be there) in the hopes that we can get this order extended.

Answer: Honestly, with her grabbing your kid at the school like that, that sounds like it could be attempted kidnapping....


Title: [California] My son was arrested for having someone else's registration tags on his car

Question:
I just found that that my 22 year old son did something stupid. He stuck someone else's registration on his car and got arrested.  He lives in Los Angeles goes to college, works, but his usual lack of funds means taking chances which led to him being arrested and charged with a a felony. I live in Mexico so his grandmother was able to bail him out of jail. He has never been in legal trouble before.

If he gets a public defender, is it likely that the charge can be dropped to a misdemeanor with community service and probation?  I'm just wondering what is the likely outcome for this.

Answer:
 >but his usual lack of funds means taking chances

This isn't "taking chances" -- he committed a crime.  He screwed over some other poor driver by stealing the tags off their car.

He needs to request the public defender at arraignment and follow their advice.  He is going to have a criminal record after all is said and done.Answer #2: I think your son's girlfriend's friend posted on here Friday but they deleted. The comments there pretty much covered it. He needs an attorney, badly. This can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. If it's charged as a felony, the statute provides for a fine of up to $10,000 and up to 3 years in prison. Presumably the higher penalties are for people who traffic in fraudulent registrations, but regardless, he needs to hire a criminal defense attorney, and like the other poster says this is likely not his first run-in with the law.

He should not be speaking to anyone about this except an attorney. At his arraignment he should plead NOT guilty and ask for the court to assign a public defender. He may or may not qualify for one, depending on how indigent he is. Even if he qualifies, the court can order contribution to the cost of the public defender. If he does not qualify, he badly needs to hire a private attorney.


Title: Lease ends today, roommates won’t remove stuff from house, landlord has new tenants moving in tomorrow. Help!

Question:
Hey r/legaladvice, I’m in a tricky situation and not sure what to do. It’s pretty much exactly as the title says.

Background: Girlfriend and I are in a one-year lease with two other roommates. Girlfriend and I moved out 3 months ago because we could not stand to live with them anymore but continued to pay rent anyway since we were on the lease. The lease ends today and I have spent the last few days cleaning all the community areas minus the kitchen (other roommates have trashed the kitchen since day 1) and that is the only community area they have to clean.

The issue is the other roommates have stuff still in the house that I have moved into the kitchen but when myself or the landlord try to contact them (they moved out about a week ago) they don’t respond. The landlord is hounding me because I am the only one that will respond and I don’t know what to do about their stuff.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Sorry for the ranty post.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Take it out and put it in storage.  Keep trying to contact him at any number he has. Give him an ultimatum date to pick up his stuff by a certain date, or it is yours.  Give him a couple months before you do that. If he never responds, tree stuff is yours.


Title: Corporate is saying I must report upcoming cruise travel

Question:
I have a cruise planned next month.  Today I received (everyone did as a result of the covid-19 over reaction) an email from our corporate offices saying "due to the heightened concern regarding cruise travel, all members who are planning personal travel on a cruise ship must notify human resources...[and corporate security].  You may be subect to self quarantine measures in order to return to work.

I think this is overreach by my employer.  I guess my questions are: A) do I have to comply, and b) is this legal?  It seems to me they are stigmatizing those and demanding self quarantine without any medical evidence.

Edit to add: I live in the U.S. The company has many offices in most every state.

Answer:
 You don't have to comply. They don't have to continue employing you.

It's hard to call it a "stigma" when the State Department has literally said to stay off cruise ships.Answer #2: The US State Department warned you and everyone else to not travel by cruise ship, on March 8. Quarantining you is perfectly reasonable.


Title: Girlfriend of 5 months (who is married) is blowing up my phone & making threats

Question:
I met a girl. She told me she was going through a divorce. We started seeing each other for sometime. The more the relationship went on. The more I noticed things she said didn't add up. I had my friend look up her public records and he found her old divorce and an abortion. I knew about the first divorce, not the abortion. My friend said he couldn't find anything on a pending / filed / ongoing divorce in any of the counties around us. Pretty much stating that she was still married. I guessed her passwords for her Instagram & Snapchat and found that she would delete messages and flirt with other guys. I guessed her password because of the password she used for her computer. Which is the same password she uses for pretty much everything when i tried snapchat & instagram.

Today I decided to end things. I posted some pictures of us we had taken of us in public at events on Instagram. Re-posted a post from a tattoo artist that we were both tagged in. She starts blowing up my phone. Telling me to take down the photos of us. For 7 hours now, and still on going threatening to have my job, threatening to get me fired, threatening to file harassment, threatening that I broken into her social media. Claiming she is scared for her life. I am harassing her and her friends. That I might show up to her job and do something hurtful. I have not responded to her or her messages. I don't think I have done anything wrong. Guessing her password to her social media isn't exactly law breaking that I know of. Logging in isn't wrong either? One of her friends messaged me, I replied stating, he isn't' exactly friend of the year when she was out with him all night doing cocaine. I had to come home and take care of her kids, feed and clean them, after a 10 hour over night shift because mommy was coked out and passed out on the bed till 12 pm. The pictures are still up. I haven't been contacted by Instagram or Facebook to take them down.  I'm just curious is there any validity into what she is trying to do or threatening me with? I'm pretty sure she's worried about the pictures because her "husband" will see them. I don't know what mess that will start.

Answer:
 Accessing her social media accounts is indeed illegal. And abortions are generally not public record.Answer #2: Holy shit. I don’t even know where to start here.

No, it’s not okay to hack into her social media accounts.

Where do you live that abortions are public record? And why would that be any of your business?

If you want to break up with her, why are you antagonizing her on social media? Grow up.


Title: [California] My wife is on an F1 visa and I am a US citizen but we haven't filed for her Adjustment of Status yet. She's left the country temporarily, is she allowed back in?

Question:
Hello,

I got married early this month to my girlfriend of 8 years. She is staying in the USA on an F1 visa for her Masters degree. Her mother fell ill and she had to fly back to the Middle East to take care of her. She called me today and realized that we didn't file for her adjustment of status, and that she may be denied re-entry into the USA because she married a US citizen but has a non-immigrant visa.

What can we do? She's from the Middle East, and can be punished for entering a same-sex marriage if border patrol sends her back. I don't think she can even apply for a marriage visa from the Middle East.

I told her to tell Border Patrol the truth, but I'm afraid they'll send her back home and she won't be able to leave.

Answer:
 Yikes... this is immigration lawyer territory (get an experienced one at that!).Answer #2: As you've figured out, coming back in on an F-1 with the intent to stay permanently is technically immigration fraud. However, if her intent is to continue her master's and she just happens to have gotten married, no crime was committed.

Unless she tells them the border patrol will have no idea she is married, so as long as you haven't filed for AOS yet she should not have a problem re-entering. **Unless her intent is to live in the US permanently with or without her master's, she should not be volunteering unnecessary information to ICE under any circumstances and doing this is very likely to get a worst case outcome.**

https://immigrationworkvisa.wordpress.com/2018/05/20/green-card-adjustment-after-b2-entry/ has some information on F-1 AOS filing timing issues that should be helpful. Talk to a lawyer regardless before doing any of this.


Title: [Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA] An ex-employee is leaving fake reviews for the Starbucks store I manage under multiple fake accounts calling me a racist.

Question:
I manage a Starbucks. One of my baristas was given multiple corrective actions (write ups) over the span of about nine mo this for various bad behaviors (bad-mouthing customers, mistreating fellow employees, etc.). The barista would likely have been separated, but ultimately quit before she could be.

Now she is posting libelous reviews on Yelp under pseudonyms and obviously fake accounts, including using my full name and calling me a racist. Unfortunately, I can no prove that she wrote the reviews. I am 99% certain that she is the one doing this.

I figured I would just ignore it and move on, but she continues to post negative reviews with different accounts. I don’t want to sue her or anything crazy. All I want is the reviews taken down, but Yelp has said they will not (even though dozens of people have reported them as false).

Is there any other action I can take to have the reviews removed?

Answer:
 Since you work for a huge corporate chain, you need to elevate this within the  company. Don’t try to handle this yourself. Answer #2: Have you discussed this with someone at corporate? They have an interest in not letting their stores be falsely accused of racism. It's possible that their legal department would handle this situation for you.Answer #3: In the grand scheme of things, no one is checking yelp before going to a Starbucks.

That said, the beauty of working for a large company is that you can just elevate it to the legal team and they’ll hand it for you. Answer #4: Your best bet may be to bring this up to corporate, since having reviews that claim your racist would not bode well for profits. The corporate lawyers will be better suited to get the reviews removed from Yelp than the manager of a single Starbucks, their word will have more weight than the manager of a single starbucks.

Unfortunately since you have no proof that this bad apple of a barista is the one leaving the reviews, you will not be able to do much to stop her for now. Though I do need to ask what makes you think it is her specifically and not for instance, a friend of hers, or family members. She may have lead her friends and family to believe that your actions were race discriminatory. As such I would refer to the corporate lawyers for now.Answer #5: If yelp won’t do it, you really want them taken down, then all that’s left is a lawsuit.


Title: Valid age discrimination claim (CA) ??

Question:
In 2014, the state of CA passed ARB 1443 which made it illegal to discriminate against protected groups in the selection of candidates for unpaid internships. The rule became law in 2015.

This year I applied for such a position in the UC system and my qualifications for the position are almost certainly superior to the candidates who were selected. I am over 40.

I submitted a complaint to UC and they don't dispute that I was more qualified, but said that priority was given to any adequate applicant in order of which applications were received.

It seems like a weak law if employers are able to bypass more qualified candidates from a protected group simply by claiming the order of application receipt is a satisfactory defense.

An additional point to consider is that UC did not update it's 2013 policy regarding discrimination in response to the new CA law. Without a policy update, employees are not aware of the need to comply with the new law.

Needless to say, the UC system has a lot of activity in the area of unpaid internships.

Any advice or referral to an attorney who is willing to discuss this would be appreciated.

Answer:
 > priority was given to any adequate applicant in order of which applications were received

If that's what they did, then that's perfectly legal. It's not bypassing anything. If the first batch of candidates were all in their 50s (like me) they'd have to take us over the kiddos who applied later. Answer #2: First come, first serve is a perfectly valid basis for choosing candidates, and as long as it’s applied consistently (they didn’t purposefully change the order of applications received, for example, or skip over an earlier applicant in favour of a later applicant they liked better). Just because you believe you are substantially more qualified than the other applicants doesn’t mean you would have been successful had they gone with a different basis for selection. Did they say how they would select the applicants in their original call for applicants?


Title: Cat abandonment? (NC)

Question:
Hi everybody.  Sorry if this is long and rambling, I'm a little emotional right now.

For a little background, one of my roommates adopted a kitten back in early September.  She has never really taken care of it (me and my other roommate usually feed him, play with him, etc.).  At the end of September, she left for a month to go back to China, and only told us the day before, ~~asking~~ assuming we would take care of the cat.  We did, but we started to become concerned that she didn't really want this cat.

About 2 weeks ago, she sprung on us that she was quitting her job and moving back to China as soon as she could find someone to take her lease.  We asked her what she was going to do with the cat and she told us she was going to sell him on craigslist.  We immediately told her she can't do that, and offered to take the cat.  However, our plan was as soon as she gives him to us, we were going to take him to a local cat rescue, since we are both college students and wouldn't be able to give him the life he deserves.  Obviously it would be a no-kill rescue, and they are actually notorious for having a strict vetting process for prospective owners.

Fast forward to this morning, she texts us saying that she is going to be "out of town" until December 26, but didn't tell us where she was going or why.  My roommate and I talked to both of our moms, and they both say that we should take the cat to the rescue now, since she pretty much abandoned him (she never asked us, just assumed we would take care of him).  We're afraid it would be considered larceny, since he is technically still her property.

We aren't really sure what to do at this point.  Would taking him to the rescue be illegal?  Or should we wait until she "officially" gives him to us.  If you need me to clarify something just let me know!

TLDR; roommate essentially abandoned her cat, is it legal to take him to a rescue?

Answer:
 Yes, cats are property, but they are also living creatures protected from cruelty when possible.

Get the roommate to confirm in writing that she intends to abandon the animal, or give it to you, and you should be able to go to the shelter right away.


Title: Low income housing boosted my rent from $73 to $885

Question: I live in Southern California and the low income apartments I live in with my mom is increasing our rent from $73 to $885. At first I thought it was because of my recent paychecks which were about double then I usually make because I got a new job. I thought that because I was a full-time student my income shouldn't count towards the rent calculation. I asked my neighbor if their rent increased a lot and she happened to have her rent increased to $885 as well. There were three people I talked to that had the same increase. I just wanted to know what I need to do because my mom is unemployed and if the rent is increased that much I would have to pay for most of it and I am only 20 years old and am working so I don't have to take out any student loans. Please help me.

Answer:
 Ask to have a meeting with the rental office, they'll sit down with you and explain the increase.

"d. When full-time students who are 18 years of age or older are dependents, a small amount of their earned income will be counted. Count only earned income up to a maximum of $480 per year for full-time students, age 18 or older, who are not the head of the family or spouse or co-head. If the income is less than $480 annually, count all the income. If the annual income exceeds $480, count $480 and exclude the amount that exceeds $480."

That's the guideline on counting your income. Since you're a full-time student and are over 18, only $480 per year should be counted - UNLESS you're the head of household or co-head of household.

Based on the amount, it sounds like the subsidy is being terminated, not that there was a rent increase. What exactly did the increase letter say? Did it mention anything about the subsidy being terminated?


Title: Husband had to pay $100 to not get written up

Question:
My husband works in sales at a pretty big company, not national but large in Texas/his industry.

Today, they were slammed and he was ringing out a customer. They put their card in the machine and entered their pin. At the same time someone comes up behind my husband in the closed lane next to him and asked a question (where is ____ item). My husband answers and when he turns his head back to face to register not even 2 seconds later, the customer is gone with their purchase. Only the pin they entered was wrong so the transaction never was processed/paid for. He calls the Assistant Manager over who says he has two choices- 1. Pay for the transaction in full or 2. Get written up and potentially fired. He panics and pays. (Dumb AF but he was scared and obviously needs to keep his job)

He gets home, tells me and I flip. Something about the situation feels *wrong*. So I made the mistake of going in and politely asking “um so what happened? I’m confused why he had to pay”. Cue his manager screaming at me, cursing and saying I needed to stop causing problems. He storms to the back, slams the door and the Assistant Manager comes up. I tell her I didn’t want to cause problems I’m just confused as to why he had to pay then and there and it not come out of pay toll if that’s policy. She says that’s just the way it as and she knows it’s dumb. So I’m still not happy but I turn to leave and see his store manager who I say “I didn’t mean to cause issues, I was just confused” his response was to scream at me to “Get the fuck out of my store before you cost your husband his job and I call the police”.

I’m a tiny, pregnant 20-something who was quiet and polite. Maybe I should have left it alone but $100 is a lot to us. I wasn’t belligerent, accusatory, rude or loud. Not that if I was it would excuse his behaviour.

Basically, none of this is sitting right with me. I’m so confused as to what I can do. It’s not even about the $100 anymore it’s about him having a target on his back and them doing something shady and potentially illegal. If that makes sense. It just doesn’t seem like that would really be company policy nor would it be legal if that was the case.

I just want to know what to do. Help???

Answer:
 Spouses meddling in their spouses' employment and confronting their spouses' managers about workplace issues is an exceptionally bad idea. Don't do that again.

Ho did he pay, by cash or credit card, and if by cash is he sure that the money made it to the register and wasn't pocketed by the supervisor?  Did he get a receipt or proof of purchase?

It may be a wage and hour violation for a Texas employer to demand payment from an employee due to an error, under threat of termination.  Your husband could complain to the Texas wage and hour division or Department of Labor whatever it is called there.

You, as the spouse, should do nothing. At all.

I don't know what your end game is here. There is a very real risk that if you or the husband escalate this that the employer may (unlawfully) fire him in retaliation. Then your husband could end up with his $100 back, no job, and a possible lawsuit against the company. Is that an acceptable outcome to your husband?


Title: Job offer receded and now I am jobless

Question:
I live and work in Austin Texas

I recently interviewed for a job at a company that I had worked for many years prior, after the interview I got a phone call from the company letting me know that they were offering me the position and that the hiring agency they use would be calling me to negotiate salary before starting work on the 26th. I let them know that I wouldn't be able to start until the week after that because I needed to give 2 weeks notice at my current job. 2 weeks go by with them assuring me that I would be able to start on the 2nd. Then today they email me to let me know that he executive committee denied approval for my rehire due to my exit interview when I was employed previously.

So I am now not only without the new job, but I also quit my old job and find myself unemployed and without any means of income.

Is there anything I can do? It doesn't seem right a company can say "sure, quit your job and work here" and then turn around and say "never mind" after you quit your job.

I assume that I am out of luck, especially given that I never received any sort of written job offer (only over the phone).

Answer:
 Call your current (former) company and explain what happened. See if you can get your old job back (It's a lot cheaper to un-do a voluntary resignation than to hire a replacement)

It's worth a try


Title: [Discussion] [Help] Euthanizing my dog...?

Question:
I have a 3 and a half year old Pitbull. Yesterday he got out of a hole in the gate and attacked a smaller dog that was on our driveway, the dog did not make it. My dog has attacked this dog before. He is usually kept indoors and in the gated yard. The Neighbors are not going to press charges if I put him down, but are if I don't. I'm not sure what I should do.

I have controlled my dogs aggression towards other dogs fairly well except yesterday, I left him with a family member while I left on a personal issue. He gets along with other dogs we've brought home even puppies after slowly introducing them to him. I've learned how to give my dog a good life while having this aggression issue, but I don't feel like he should be put down because of yesterday. It is not his fault I didn't make sure he was 100&#37; secure, although at the same time neither was their dog.

Also, the dog was by himself with a leash on just not secured. I'm not sure if that would change anything.

The animal control came and said I can fight but I would have a low chance of winning because the dog did not die in our driveway it died in the street right in front of the driveway and because the dog is actually dead. I think I might have to because it was not the first time... any thoughts?

Answer:
 Location?

Your dog has attacked previously. Your dog escaped and attacked again, killing the other dog.

You’re going to have a steep uphill battle to keep the dog, let alone avoid euthanizatio. Answer #2: The bottom line is: 1) You know you have an agressive dog. 2) You failed to exercise your restraint of said agressive dog. 3) This was not an isolated incident. 4) Your dog mauled and killed someone else's dog.

I love dogs, and I love pitties, but you clearly aren't up for the task of training or restraining your dog. Next time it could be a child that it attacks.

Your dog SHOULD be put down. End of fucking story.Answer #3: you're likely liable for the medical costs and replacement costs of their dog.  are they waiving medical costs and replacement cost of their dog if you put down your dog?

it's possible that if they file a report with animal control, animal control may require your dog to be put down anyways.


Title: How to get out of a 2 week notice

Question:
Question, hypothetical.

Okay, so i do I.T. in critical role that will take several months i to begin getting a grasp of what I do an man power is already pushed to the Max.  Say if I get a job offer, and they want me to start in a week, am I obligated to stay a full two weeks notice? What are the ramifications of leaving before the end of the notice?

If they try to argue for me to stay, couldn't I just get the good reference from a co-worker that by "technicality" my supervisor?
Then start deliberately cussing and tell people they mean nothing to me. Until HR let's me go there for voiding the two week notice?
Then just use the co workers as my reference?

I've heard in the past of people being terminated  so they could get a new job but would this apply?

Answer: Assuming you live in the US, at-will employment is standard. Giving two weeks’ notice is a courtesy, not a legal requirement. Not giving this notice might lose you a reference in the future and prevent rehire depending on company policies, but there are normally no legal implications.


Title: Should I explain why I was speeding on an out-of-state traffic ticket plea?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Yeah, I don't think either "I didn't think speed limits applied to the left lane" or "I was driving really fast to pass people driving the limit" are arguments that are going to endear you to a judge.

Hire a local attorney and let him go to court for you. If your record is otherwise clean you can probably avoid points that way.