Title: Is it coercion? [NY]

Question:
This is a weird and complicated story. I met a wealthy man last year and we started a romantic relationship. 2 months into the relationship, he brought up having me as an egg donor. I would have to sign my parental rights away, which is heartbreaking. Before the egg donation, he was the sweetest, most empathetic man I had met, so this situation threw me for a loop. I realize now that he was "love bombing" me, which is a tactic narcissists do. Out of shock, I jokingly said if you give me a 7-figure gift, I’ll donate my eggs. Why would anyone want my eggs for that much? Well, he later said he’ll do that and I was shocked.

After that, he started pulling away and made it clear he would not see me again unless I went to the medical appointments. I was devastated and confused. I had a mental break down and told him I don’t feel strong enough to do the egg donation since I struggle with psychological problems. I even told him I was in a psych ward once. He didn’t respond or care. After I told him I couldn’t do the egg donation he said, “We should simply say good bye.” I told him about my life, like how I have nothing (no job history, no degree, no friends) and that I needed him. I told him to call me on the phone to talk about it and he blocked me. I broke down and said I would do the egg donation because I have nothing. He responded back quickly like a robot. He said, “I’m happy to hear you will proceed with the egg donation.” He didn’t respond to anything emotional, as if it never happened. He doesn’t see me or talk to me for weeks unless I reach out first. It was so cold. He turned into Dr. Jeckyl Mr. Hyde. It really messed me up emotionally and I felt so alone and confused.

He finally admitted that after the egg donation, contact between us would cease and we would not speak again. I was crushed. He didn’t care about me at all. He said he wouldn’t see me again during the egg donation process and I could see other people. Double whammy of pain. Weeks later, he probably got annoyed by all my emails and said we could see each other again, but only once a month. I took the scraps because I desperately wanted his attention. I even said he could see me without the financial gifts, but he still gifted the money to me. Our dates were short and cold. It was obvious he loathed me for whatever reason, even though I was giving him my first-born child. He wouldn’t even take me out to dinner anymore. However, he would buy me anything I wanted and fly me private, so I thought he must still care about me, right? I was confused and in denial.

The egg donation process was a mess. I failed a psych evaluation at one clinic and he failed a psych eval at a 2nd clinic. At our third clinic, we both passed and the egg donation will be happening in September. Last month, we met up and it was not a good trip. I could again tell he wasn’t fond of me. I had to force him to kiss me good bye instead of a hug. I tried holding his hand and it was like a corpse. There was no emotion there. I keep asking him to schedule another trip with me before the egg donation because the last trip was so terrible, for reasons I will leave out, and he ignores it.

Now I am like, what the hell am I doing??? Why am I doing this? Why am I giving my eggs to a narcissist? Where is my self-esteem and self-worth? Then I get a flash of my current life situation and I remember why I’m doing this.. because I have financial and legal hardships in the near future. I don’t want him to leave me, even though he treats me like dirt. I’m bad with change and have abandonment issues.

Does this even constitute as coercion in the legal sense? It is emotional abuse, but he isn’t forcing me with a gun. However, he does manipulate me and he knows I am in a rough spot. He gave me an offer I could not refuse. Even the ASRM puts a cap on the financial support for egg donation due to coercion. However, I have been pretending like I have no qualms about the egg donation to him because I don’t want him to leave me. I am trying to be happy and positive in hopes he’ll see me more often, but it isn’t working. Now that he is making it clear he won’t see me again, I am panicking.  It is like a veil has been lifted and I’m being reminded how messed up this situation is. I want to cancel the egg donation, but then I have the impending legal and financial issues and I’m scared. I signed a contract that said I wasn’t under a duress, which was a lie. The clock is ticking and I'm filled with pain. I cry daily over this situation and I feel so ashamed at what I've become.

Answer: Take the contract to a lawyer. It's probably not enforceable. Neither of your mental issues are relevant here.


Title: Company car confusion?

Question:
(UK)

Hello all.

My sister and I are having a little trouble with a British Company whom was her employer until this month.

When she started working for them they gave her a company car (because her job involves covering a crazy amount of miles)

Now she's resigned, her manager has said that she must pay off the depreciation on a brand new audi a3 to the tune of about £2000

This was never outlined to her at any point and she never went to an office or signed anything regarding the car.

The company insists it uses e-mail as legal consent which even if that was legal was never outlined.

All help and information is greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 obligatory:  /r/LegalAdviceUK  is where you want to be for this.

don't know much (anything) about UK law, but this sounds like a lovely occasion to direct them to the nearest playground to have a nice time pounding sand.

depreciation on a company car driven for company purposes is clearly a company expense.

only in the case that she has driven several thousand miles on private business would they have even close to a leg to stand on.
and even then it's all related to whatever agreement they signed about it. (which she didn't)


Title: [IN] City council member repeatedly breaks the law and lets his off leash dog roam around the town. Cops won’t do anything about it. Who can I report this to so that he and others in my town stop breaking this law?

Question:
Not sure if this is the right place for this post, but I’m at the end of my wits. This council member, and several other people in my small town, for some reason don’t feel it’s necessary to put their dogs on a leash and let them roam around town like it’s no big deal. In the past 3 years my dog and I have been attacked on our walks four times, once by this dog, and chased after maybe a dozen times. My roommate was bit by a different off leash dog from a repeat offender, who is currently running for city council, a few months ago as well. The cops say they write these people citations for it, but when I check their public records no such citations show up.

I’ve gone to city council meetings and demanded for change about this problem, but since last year nothing has been done. The mayor says he created an independent council to investigate it, but so far nothing is being done to enforce it.

I suspect because it’s a small town they let these kinds of things slide, but in my mind this is still corruption. Who can I report this to if the police wont enforce it? Or am I just SOL?

Answer:
 County Sheriff or State Police or Mayor's office would be my next move.Answer #2: Indiana actually has some laws on the books that should help with this, but often they deal more with liability. You and your roomate/ others who have been attacked need to file a civil case as they are liable for all injuries and damages.

For actual attacks, those should be reported by officials to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health. There's actually an official bite form it is restored they fill out. If they have not done this, then you should contact the state police.

Some info that might help: https://www.indianainjury.com/blog/2018/february/who-do-you-report-a-dog-attack-to-/

 Indiana’s dog bite laws fall under the Statute Section 15-20-1-3

You can actually look the bite form up online,  it just didn't like the link I posted XD Answer #3: You are legally entitled to defend yourself and your dog against attacks. I suggest you carry a potent mace spray or better yet, bear spray and spray down these dogs when they attack. The dogs will be discouraged and the owners will be inconvenienced greatly.


Title: Amicable divorce quickly becoming less so - need help

Question:
Hi guys, I hope this is the right place to ask this but I need some help.  Basically, my wife and I got separated a couple of years ago.  Separation went poorly, we decide to split as amicably as possible sincewe have a kid together.  We hire some mediators and we work out a divorce settlement where we have 50/50custody and she would be the custodial parent, split all childcare costs 50/50 except for health insurance, which was covered by my wife's work, weeach would keep our individual cars and debts except that she would keep the house and agree to refinance withoutmy name on the mortgage in the next 3 years. We also plugged our income and other info into some calculator that said she would owe me a very small amount for monthly child support (our incomes were very close), which I declined.

After the paperwork is drawn up and ready to file, we decide not to go through with the divorce and wind uphaving another baby. Fast forward a few months and now we've decided to go through with the divorce after all.  We startedwith the same document that was originally drawn up and make updates. Aside from the updates associated with the new baby, I had gotten a raise and she had taken a slightly lower paying job in the interim .

Here's my issues with the updated agreement.  First off, I wasn't completely comfortable with her being the custodial parent, but I was willing to let it happen without a hitch for the sake of peace and cooperation.  Also, I'm not really comfortable with my name on her mortgage since this keeps me from purchasing a house of my own for years, but once again, I agreed to it since I didn't want to cause conflict or uproot my kids.  However, she's plugged our numbers into her child support calculator again and this time it comes up with me owing her about $600 a month in addition to half of their childcare expenses.  I make $50k a year and she's expecting me to pay at least a total of $1300 each month. That would leave me unable to pay all my recurring monthly expenses, much less try to save any money or have a life.  She's already admitted the reason she's pushing so hard to have me pay that much is so she can afford her mortgage easier.  Why would I have to give her $600 a month for 'child-support' if I'm already paying at least half of their expenses?  Why should I forego moving out of my shitty divorcee apartment so I can help her pay for the gianthouse she kicked me out of after a few months?  Mostly I need to know (a) if her calculations are remotely correct, (b) if her status as custodial parent plays heavily into that amount, and if so (c) if I could realistically expect to contest her status as custodial parent.
FYI I make $50k, she makes $40k, and we're located in Oklahoma.

Answer: Dude, get a family law attorney **yesterday**. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Get a lawyer immediately.


Title: [MI] I kicked my gf out of my house. I sold said house 26 months later. Old GF is now suing that I evicted her illegally and that she has a right to home sale proceeds.

Question:
In 2013, I made the egregous mistake of letting my then-gf move in with me.  10 months later I kicked her out and never heard from her again.

In 2016, I sold the home and life went on.  Fast forward to the present time, over 4 years later, she is alleging that I had no right to kick her out (claiming my home had become her legal residence) and that since the home has been sold, she is entitled to the proceeds (how much exactly is unclear).

Obviously, I view this as totally frivolous, and I fully expect a judge to throw it out.  Am I right to laugh this one off?

Answer:
 You should not "laugh off" legal action.  If she's filed an actual lawsuit, you must respond.

Was she ever on the deed or mortgage?


Title: Traffic ticket & dashcam

Question:
Location: US/GA

Incident: I was driving in the right lane of a 2-lane street, passed the intersection on yellow and got a ticket for it. Cop claims that I crossed on red… but I have a dashcam (1-party consent state, totally legal).

Here's what really happened. Cop was speeding in the left lane without emergency signals (going at least 60 in a 35 mile zone), but had to stop on yellow because a car in front of him suddenly stopped in the middle of intersection, turned blinker on and waited till red to make a left turn. Guess that pissed him off to a degree, but then he had to watch me pass him on the right…

Transcript of our dialog (from the camera facing the salon):

Cop: I pulled you over because you crossed on red.

Me: Well, even if that happened, it was a fraction of a second…

Cop (very irritated): YEAH, BUT HAVEN'T YOU SEEN ME?! C'MON!!

…

In case if I have to defend myself in court, I'll make a slideshow:

* Freeze frame: blur of a police car passing me on the left. Timestamp, GPS speed indicating that I was traveling at the speed limit.
* Freeze frame: police car stopping on yellow, another car waiting for a turn in front of it.
* Freeze frame: at the intersection, no white line visible in front of my hood, the light is yellow.
* Video of the aforementioned conversation.

Possible weak spot in this defense: I have no idea what's on the cop's dashcam (if he had one). There's a slight chance they could produce a freeze frame of my car facing a red light with its wheels on the white line, in which case I will be most likely found guilty and charged for this embarrassment of a case to full extent, and then some.

My questions are:

1. Do you think my defense will work? If not, why?
2. What course of action would you suggest for a bargaining meeting with the solicitor?

Thanks!

Answer: Don't focus at all on the cop speeding or being pissed. It's a distraction and irrelevant to the only question at issue: did you enter the intersection against a red light.


Question:
Is it illegal to order viagra from a foreign pharmacy?
Or is it just illegal to possess the medication (since its prescription medication) ?

I am in St Paul MN

Answer:
 http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm194904.htm

>In most circumstances, it is illegal for individuals to import drugs into the United States for personal use. This is because drugs from other countries that are available for purchase by individuals often have not been approved by FDA for use and sale in the United States. For example, if a drug is approved by Health Canada (FDA’s counterpart in Canada) but has not been approved by FDA, it is an unapproved drug in the United States and, therefore, illegal to import. FDA cannot ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs that it has not approved.

>FDA, however, has a policy explaining that it typically does not object to personal imports of drugs that FDA has not approved under certain circumstances, including the following situation:

  >The drug is for use for a serious condition for which effective treatment is not available in the United States;
  >There is no commercialization or promotion of the drug to U.S. residents;
  >The drug is considered not to represent an unreasonable risk;
  >The individual importing the drug verifies in writing that it is for his or her own use, and provides contact information for the doctor providing treatment or shows the product is for the continuation of treatment begun in a foreign country; and
  >Generally, not more than a 3-month supply of the drug is imported.

I guess the FDA doesn't want the competition to get too stiff.


Title: Do I have to support my deadbeat dad monetarily?

Question:
Hi. I'm 19M and an orphan (kinda). I haven't seen my dad (an American) since I was 1 or 2 years old and I was raised by my mother (Polish-American) who passed away a while ago. My extended family is all from Poland but I live in the US. Apparently there's some kind of weird law in Poland where there's a chance a person in my position might have to pay some kind of support payments to their impoverished parent if they ever decide that they want to fuck their kid over by mooching off them.

So, my extended family is scaring me about that possibility and I don't know if such a law exists in the US. Does it? Is there a chance I will one day have to fight a man I don't know in court because he wants some kind of dystopian "adult support" payments from me since he's a loser?

Answer:
 In some states yes. There are laws for this but they are rarely enforce

But your father has to live in one of those states


Title: What can we realistically do?

Question:
So for context, we were informed 4 months back that we would have to move out of our rented house in 2 years as it was in the process of being sold and then demolishioned. No problem. Today though, the new owner came by and told us that we would have to move out in 2-3 months.

It was short cited, we were issued no warning of any change till now, expected to leave immediately once the last 2-3 months are up. We are short on cash due to having to pay medical bills because of my little brothers incident last year that required nearly a month in the hospital, so we can't immediately move on such short notice. And now it's being claimed that they never said that we were given 2 years.

So I ask the question, is their anything we can realistically do or are we sol?

This is in Van Nuys California.

Answer: The answer will vary by location, but absent a lease you are considered month to month tenants, and most likely only need to be given 30 days written notice (or less).


Title: (MD) Can my mother kick me out over a dog?

Question:
So for the past 2+ years I have been living with and paying all of my mothers housing mortgage. It started after she lost her full time job. She would have lost her house due to having no other children nor a spouse.

The issue is basically she states I cannot have a dog even though I pay for her house. I’m wondering if she can legally do anything if I bring one home. I know she would be pissed, but I’m at the point I want a dog to care for since I don’t want children.

Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 She would need to legally evict you but can do so for anything that's not protected by law, regardless of if you are paying, so long as the lease is in her name. Having a dog is not protected by law, like race, religion, etc.Answer #2: I'm assuming you're an adult.

> So for the past 2+ years I have been living with and paying all of my mothers housing mortgage.

Correction: you have been paying rent to your mother, who has been paying her mortgage with it. That's true even if the money went directly from your bank account to her lender.

Like any other tenant, you're liable to have your tenancy terminated either if you breach your tenancy agreement, or if you're month-to-month or at-will, at any time. There are requirements about how much notice you're owed, but a no-fault termination in Maryland would only get you 30 days at most to find another home.


Title: My wife drove 600 miles to pick up a puppy we paid $1000 for from a "reputable" breeder. The next day at home we find out it's the wrong sex. What's our recourse?

Question: Backstory:  My wife has wanted a larger breed dog for as long as I've known her.  As a Christmas present I told her we could get one and we decided on a pure bred male doberman.   She looked around for non puppy mill breeders that had a health guarantee,  AKC registration etc.  She literally drove 600 miles (From Tennessee to Pennsylvania) there, stayed in a hotel then picked up the puppy to drive another 600 back home.  It's late when she gets back and the this morning is an immediate trip to the vet.  Guess what?  It's a girl!  Now we are stuck wondering what to do.  We've not called the breeder yet as my wife is crying.  I need some good advice.  Thanks for any help you can lend.

Answer:
 You should call the breeder, of course. They probably just made a mistake. Do you have some particular reason to believe they won't fix it?Answer #2: You wrote that you did not call the breeder yet, that is your first step, mistakes happen. And most of the time people are willing to correct them.
edit: when you call him, be respectful and try not to be emotional, so I would advice that you call and not your wife (sorry but you sound the least emotional to me).Answer #3: How do you drive 600 miles back home and not realize it's the wrong sex? That's ruff.


Title: Noise complaint and harassment from downstairs neighbor. Portland OR.

Question:
A couple weeks ago, I moved into a second story apartment with my roommate. We're both mid-twenties and we work full time, usually swing shifts. Our living room floor is above our neighbor, and it's VERY squeaky. The building is old, and even with rugs and taking our shoes off, the floorboards still creak.

She'll bang on the ceiling no matter what our noise level is. We're not having parties, we're not talking loud or playing loud music or TV. We're *walking on our floor.* She's banged on the ceiling when we walk across the floor to go get water or go to the couch. She's banged on the ceiling when my roommate gets out of bed to go to the bathroom.

Tonight, my parents came into town. They got here pretty late, around midnight. They were just walking and setting up their bags and bed. She came up and threatened to call the police, and demanded to know if my father, who'd explained that he was visiting out of state, was on the lease.

She complains at least every other night, over noises that are extremely innocuous. It's pretty much 100% the floorboards. I am paying way too much to quarantine myself from my living room and kitchen for half the time. I've tried to be sympathetic and we go to pains to be quiet, but when we get thunks just for getting water and living in general, I feel like I'm being harassed.

The landlady hates her, says that this woman has been doing this for years. But she still files noise complaints, threatening us with police and fees. None of our other neighbors have complained about us, and there's nothing I can do about the fact that I sometimes come home late, and I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who stays up late in this apartment complex. What should I do?

Answer:
 Landlady needs to grow a pair and not renew this lady's lease. She needs to get her butt up and go find a new place. When she decided to move into the bottom floor of an older home, she gave up the right to complain about people walking. Granted, it's loud. Granted, it's annoying. Granted, she probably can't sleep. But you are not willfully causing this, other than willfully being alive and willfully walking to the bathroom.

The next time she bangs on the ceiling, go down to her apartment. Say "Hi, I'm your upstairs neighbor. We are doing nothing but walking. All the banging in the world will not stop us from walking.  That is our right and what we pay rent for. You, however, chose to move into this apartment and, from what I've heard, you complain about every single person who has lived here. If you have a problem with someone living above you, then you should've moved into our place before we found it. So, you have two choices. Live with it, or move upon your lease ending."

See what she says to that. If she says that you can't be doing that, invite her upstairs to walk on your floor and you will record the sound from below. Sound DOES reverb louder down, so I bet she will be shocked to hear her own noise, just walking!


Title: Help with ex parte restraining order.

Question:
Wa state. I received multiple ex parte papers with "immediate restraining order and hearing notice"

One is signed by a judge and the second is signed by my current wife. Divorce orders also.

What do I do next? I am broke and have been kicked out of my own house. I can't even go and get decent clothes for court. What do I do?

Answer:
 you stay away from your wife. you buy or borrow clothes for court. you hire a lawyer and you make sure to appear at your court date. do not miss it.

if you can't afford a lawyer, show up alone and ask for the order to be terminated and ask for an agreement with your wife for a time when you can get your stuff.


Title: Homestay family withholding $2500 from international student.

Question:
**Vancouver, BC**

Some background: the international student (Sam) is the son of a friend of my dad's, and he's here by himself in Canada to study. His english is poor so communication can be difficult, and he's only just turned 17 (so essentially, a child). My dad agreed to help the kid out with getting settled and anything that he would need while he's here.

Sam found a homestay to live with, whom agreed to provide housing and English lessons for $1000 monthly, and put down a $2500 deposit (2 and a half months rent). However, the homestay family imposed super restrictive rules upon him and were borderline neglectful in some situations. For example:

* they controlled him and demanded that he be home at certain times, such as 5 PM or 6 PM - if he were home past this time, they would claim a "rule" had been broken
* no lunch or dinner was provided by the family so he had to buy takeout every evening, but was yelled at if he came home past his curfew for doing so
* they harassed Sam if he slept in
* they turned their internet off past midnight
* they eventually moved him from his single bedroom upstairs to a shared living room (with other homestay students) downstairs, which he adamantly was against (and which he did not pay for)

Eventually the situation deteriorated to the point that my dad called the police because it seemed like the homestay family was trying to evict a 17 year old who barely spoke English. My dad took Sam's stuff and had him live with us for a few days while trying to sort this out.

At this point, Sam is no longer living with the homestay family. **The family is withholding the $2500 deposit that Sam paid, as they claim that because Sam broke their house rules, they're under no obligation to refund him.**

What steps should we take at this point to get Sam's deposit back for him?

Topic:
Douche

Answer: What about contacting the group that administers the home stay program? They, at minimum, need to be made aware of shit like this so they don't continue to place students with these people. Answer #2: contact your local tenants Union or help group, they should have a pdf and a guide for your his next steps. Answer #3: Definitely try to get a lawyer if you can. There are a lot of fishy things going on here that don't jive well with the Tenancy Act in BC. You may have to take these asshole to court. Hopefully you have as much of this documented as you can.


Title: [Indiana] Renting an apartment, roommates at "allowed pet amount"... Support animal?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 >The animal would be very beneficial to my SO's QoL and help deal with their depression.

Is that something *you* think, or something a licensed medical professional thinks?

Nine times out of ten, anybody on this sub who asks about emotional support animals is blowing smoke and just wants a "get out of lease free" card. If you are one of the handful of people who actually needs an ESA, you'll need to check (a) if the Fair Housing Act applies to your landlord, and (b) if a relevant medical professional recommends an ESA for you.Answer #2: The landlord may or may not be exempt from being required to allow ESAs under the FHA. How many properties does the landlord own? How many units are in your building? What breed of dog? Having numerous pets in the apartment may mean the landlord is overburdened with animals that are causing extensive damages.


Title: Filed a sexual harassment claim with the EEOC the other day.

Question:
And I want to know what's next. I live in Tennessee and I happen to have a friend thats a trial. Honestly, I'm ignorantly hopeful of this case because I want a settlement. I hated this company from the get go and in retrospect, I didnt leave because I'm a sort of fucked up individual that comes from a childhood full of abuse and alcoholism.

The incident: I had sex with a manager for about a year and a half. She had sex with the manager above her before I came along, got promoted to his position when he moved up. I left the company because I couldn't stand working with her then seeing her after work. I'm not sure why I left. I just didn't like it. Then I came back a year later when my other gig turned out to be a nightmare. We had been on the ropes... had a bunch of arguments and I was getting more depressed and sick of her and was scared to hang around her because I felt enraged around her passive aggressiveness and eventually got tired of having sex with her. She drank a lot and would be flat out mean when I wouldn't give her attention. So I come back to work at this God forsaken place and was pretty much in tears I hated it so bad. Felt trapped and all of that with no better solution. I find out she's sleeping with another manager there. He's her subordinate. I get madder and madder at work. I have to talk to the asshat gm about my aggressiveness towards customers and management a couple of times and refuse to tell this fuckstick what's going on because everytime I have had a serious problem, I've went over him. He never liked that. I never liked him. He talked down to me and numerous other people and I had no more sympathy. So I confronted her when I was threatened to be written up. Called her shallow and told her how she got her job was being a whore and pretty much went off on her. We took it outside and I was crying i was so mad. My life was coming to a pinnacle of scary realizations and I just let her have it. I was asked to go home and went. I was then given a slip about a month later and proceeded to send a letter to hr detailing our involvement and her involvement with management. Hr called me and I just reiterated my statement. I then filed with the state and they told me it was my own fault. My lawyer friend expected that and said it was time to file with the eeoc, so I mailed out that charge sheet a week ago.

Honestly, I want a settlement... as large as I can get to take a long vacation, possibly move and do some healing. I realize it's a shitty situation I put myself in and I would actually like to be the wiser for it.

If you've read this far, thank you. What do people think?

Answer:
 IANAL. Based on what you have written, I do not see where you were harassed sexually. Sexual relationships with subordinates (or superiors, or anyone in the chain) are a really bad idea but they are not always harassment. You did not describe being pressured or forced into sex. You were fired because you called your manager a whore. That is grounds for firing, even if you were sexually involved with her.Answer #2: You called your boss a whore. We're rude to customers. You slept with her willingly. I really don't think you have grounds to stand on. But INAL. Sounds like you need some counseling to get over this and learns appropriate ways to deal with feelings.

You want a settlement bc your relationship didn't turn out great? Yeah don't see you getting it anytime soon.


Title: Body Attachment from 2008

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Your most sensible option is to take this to a lawyer.

None of us can speak to the history of the case; although it would appear your ex made a legal move behind your back knowing you wouldn't be able to be present to defend yourself. He also didn't tell you about that. As you say he was vindictive, so it is likely he wished to have something to hold over you - a judgement you knew nothing about. Unfortunately for him, he didn't live on long enough to swing that into action personally.

That doesn't mean this isn't still an unexploded mine for you. IANAL and I haven't been able to find relevant statute about outstanding debt owed to his estate. You need to establish that, and also establish what the court hearing relates to. If he's not around, who is keeping it in play?

My impression of the typo is it's just that - if you're reasonably identifiable as the respondent, a data entry error doesn't get you off the hook. You're best to respond rather than hope to remain anonymous given the stakes.

There are just too many variables here. It's possible if he sought a summary judgement against you knowing you were out of the country and didn't disclose that to the courts that could be overturned. If that's resolved, the rest isn't a problem apart from the formality of turning up at court.

At the end of the day, a lawyer is your best help for all of these questions.


Title: Detained and handcuffed by Harmon’s Security guard. How do I proceed?

Question: I was eating my lunch that I had paid for and had the stickers that proved my purchase on my food. I was eating with some people I just barely met from a work training and were all on break. A security guard came up to the girl next to me and asked her name and age then asked her to stand up and put her in handcuffs. I was then asked the same and then to stand and was put in handcuffs as he mentioned us not paying for our food. I was upset at this point and pointed out my proof of purchase and was guided to a room in the back by female employees following the officer I was upset and kept demanding to know their policy because I had proved my purchase. He was talking to the other woman while I was crying in handcuffs unsure what was happening. The woman said she “forgot to pay.” Keep in mind I had just barely met her. I don’t know her intentions and I didn’t noticed she hadn’t paid when we sat to eat. I was asked if I thought she was a good person and told him that I barely knew her and he said I was suspected of aiding her in stealing. He ended up letting her go, and when I left the room my anxiety was so intense I began to hyperventilate and sob. Before I left the room the Harmon’s employees and officer  all noticed I was getting worked up and they hugged me and said they were sorry. (The officer didn’t apologize) I was upset and my manager from my job told me I should get the Harmon’s store manager info to complain about what happened. I asked for the info and a few minutes later the officer came out and began to say “I was trying to take the easy way out of this but I heard I’m the bad guy now. I hugged you for hell’s sake” He was very upset I asked to speak to the manager and said “I have the ability to decide to make charges for up to a year after the incident.” I feel threatened and upset. How should I proceed? I am a loyal Harmon’s customer who is now never wanting to visit again. I feel very frustrated that it was okay to detain me without asking to speak first which I would have done willingly. I also don’t feel it was appropriate for him to threaten me. This occurred today in Utah.

Answer:
 IMHO it's very shaky if there is something. Threatening to file charges in response to a possible complaint about his conduct in order to forestall it may constitute extortion.

File a complaint with his manager about his threat if you want.


Title: [Canada - NB] Pregnant and single, want to ensure that I have sole custody from the beginning.

Question:
I'm not looking for a moral judgment here, simply to review my options. In my province I am entitled to a few hours of free legal advice, but only after the baby is born. I'd like to know what steps I should take at this point.

I became pregnant with someone I was not in a relationship with, who lives in another city about two hours away. After telling him that I was pregnant, he began to insist that we enter into a relationship and I move in with him. When I refused, he began to harass me, and so I ended all contact. He still has my phone number that he can give to a lawyer, but he cannot call, text, or facebook me himself.

There is a history of abusive behavior and alcoholism but nothing documented other than name calling through text message, so I fear it will be irrelevant. He says he wants custody but will not be paying child support as he can't afford it (I'm aware that he doesn't have a choice if he does fight for custody or if I go that route).

My plan for now is to leave him off the birth certificate and limit contact with him, but stay available if he gets a lawyer and they need to contact me.  If I hear nothing, I won't contact him for child support or for any reason, just file for sole custody.

My biggest fear about this is the distance, given that I plan to breastfeed for at least a year, and his driving record. He's lost his licence and gone to jail for a DUI and unpaid speeding tickets, and I don't have a drivers licence or a car. He told me that he "spoke to a lawyer" (I have my doubts) who told him that I would be responsible for getting the baby to his city on weekends if he gets joint custody and that I will have to pump my breast milk for him.

We are both quite poor, he can't afford child support/a paternity test and I'm a student, but I'll be living with my mother who is very well off and happy to help. My father lives in another country and I have the option of having the baby there, but I really would like to stay close to the rest of my family.

My hope is that with the limited contact (he's never once asked about the baby/pregnancy, or seemed to care beyond threatening to fight for custody if I stop sleeping with him) he will simply move on...and the cost for him to hire a lawyer, get a paternity test, and child support will be enough to deter him. He doesn't seem interested in the child or raising it at all, beyond asking me not to give his (assumed) son a "retarded" name.

What should I be doing now, and what are the realistic outcomes? Should I consider having the baby in my fathers country? Is it likely that I will have to send my baby away each weekend to another city while nursing?

-- as an aside, I do realize that Fathers should and do have rights to their children - but in this case I really wholeheartedly feel it would be in the child's best interest for him not to be involved.

Answer: You do nothing now because there is nothing to do. If he wants custody and files for it he will get some custody. How that will look, no one can guess. But he will get some custody time.


Title: Do we get any choice in choosing the prison my dad goes to?

Question:
Hi,

My dad is in prison awaiting his sentencing and I'm trying my best to get information for him but I'm having a very hard time finding some answers. He's going to go to jail for drug trafficking charges (marijuana) and money laundering charges (proceeds from sale of marijuana used to produce and sell more marijuana). He is  planning on signing a plea agreement accepting the fact that he is guilty. He has never physically hurt anyone and did not in this case. He has never been convicted of any prior crimes, but he definitely got involved with the wrong people this time to try to make a quick buck. They have all the evidence against him and he is going to be going to federal prison for at least 5 years.

My question is if he gets any choice in which prison he gets sent to after sentencing. He is getting sentenced in another state, but his family and loved ones that support him are here in California. I know he can ask to be sent to a prison closer to home so that his family can visit him, but is there any way he can ask the judge to send him to a particular prison at a certain location? It seems that my dad has been talking to some other people in jail and they have been tell him about certain "camps" or prisons that provide a better quality of life than others. They keep telling him that he can request a certain location for him to be sent to.

Does my family or my dad have a choice in picking which "camp" or prison my dad goes to?

Any help or answers is greatly appreciated. I'm really stressed out about this whole situation because there's a lot of pressure to help my dad out as much as I can because his resources inside prison are limited. I want to help him out with his questions as much as I can, but I'm having such a hard time finding an answer to this question. His lawyer says that the most he can do is request that he be sent to a prison close to home, but he cannot request anything more than that, such as identifying a certain prison or camp that he wants to go to.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Answer: His lawyer is most likely correct.Answer #2: [Nope](http://www.acacialawgroup.com/federal-crimes/general-information/where-will-you-serve-prison-time-if-convicted-on-federal-charges/), ultimately it's up to the discretion of the BoP. Good luck and I hope your dad comes out ok.


Title: Dad Died and I keep getting his bills that have gone to collections. What do?

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice,
 So the title basically explains it. My dad passed away from cancer in early December. We are now sifting through mail and getting things sorted. When we cleaned his apartment out his landlord needed a forwarding address for mail, so I gave mine, not thinking much of it. Guys, I am getting STACKS of mail from collectors and from the hospital he was treated at when he died. Some of them are in the thousands. I can't pay them. I am a single parent and a student, so you can imagine how strict my budget is. From what I've researched, my brother and I are technically not responsible for the debt, but I just need to figure out a way to get these collection notices and bills to stop. I have an original copy of his death certificate, could I just make a copy and put it in an envelope and send it back to them? He didnt have much as assets go, and we haven't heard anything back about his life insurance policy, which wouldn't even cover this debt.

Sorry if this is rambling, but its a lot to deal with on top of losing a parent. Help?

I am in South Dakota too, if that helps.

Answer:
 My mom just went through this with my Dad last year (also cancer). Give the bills to the executor (your aunt); they can take care of paying then or, if the estate runs out of money/assets, giving them the appropriate paperwork. You can't really so anything about them as only the executor has the power to act on behalf of the estate.

I'm sorry for your loss.


Title: Can a US company with a US patent sue my Canadian company?

Question:
Hey there,

I sell a very niche product. Recently, a US company that sells a product similar to mine filed 3 US patents. They've also begun to sue and bully competitors that sell similar products in the US.

I'm pretty sure my product is different enough, and this is a tactic they're using to maintain a monopoly on the industry.

Are patents national affairs or could they still go after a Canadian company?

A few companies have settled out of court since they were too small to fight back but one competitor is fighting back and it seems like the judge is siding with the defendant that claims this is a company's attempt to bully smaller companies.

Any advice is appreciated.

Answer:
 >I sell a very niche product. Recently, a US company that sells a product similar to mine filed 3 US patents. They've also begun to sue and bully competitors that sell similar products in the US.

Filed applications for, or were issued?  Makes a big difference.  If you're unsure, a number that looks like 2015/xxxxxxx is going to be an application, whereas a number like 9xxxxxx or D6xxxxx will be an issued patent.  All xes represent digits.

>Are patents national affairs or could they still go after a Canadian company?

A US patent only covers the US.  So unless you're shipping to the US, they probably can't go after you directly.  But it's not impossible they've gotten Canadian patents too.

Have they sent you anything, or is this just precautionary?


Title: Help Identifying a Scam

Question:
So i received a call today and the number said "NO caller ID". The call was for my girlfriend. They gave me information for her to call back this company.

They apparently need to schedule a time to serve her litigation papers. The gave me the name of a company that is i guess suing her, a reference number, and a phone number to call back.

When i met her she did have a few things in collections, but we have since cleaned that up, and her credit reports are clean.

Is this some kind of scam? Should we even bother calling back? I would imagine if someone was really going to serve her papers they would just show up, not warn her.

My best guess would say there might be a chance that some scummy company bought up some old debt that is so old it's not even on her credit report anymore (more than 7 years in florida?)

Answer: Yes, its a scam.


Title: [Texas] My dog bit the neighbor's daughter while out on a walk.

Question:
I have had my dog for just under three years now. I got him when he was about 4 years old. I have never had any problems with him until now, and we have lived in 4 different apartment complexes that can attest to that. He is a mixed breed, but he is about 75lbs and looks like a black lab mix. My fiance and I moved into a new rental home in Dallas, Texas about a 3 weeks ago. My parents live close by so I left my dog with them until we had settled in (about 10 days).

3 days after we moved in my fiance was taking the dog for a walk while I was at work. The neighbor has a teenage daughter, we are not sure how old she is but we think she may be over 17. The daughter lives with her father (the parents are divorced), and the father lives close enough that the daughter frequently walks back and forth between the two. Our neighbor has a chihuahua that the daughter frequently walks. They often let the dog out without a leash, or have a leash on it but let it hang free, without having anyone on the other end. The day that my fiance was walking the dog the girl had the dog and the dog was running away from the girl with the leash dragging behind. The neighbor's dog was running toward my fiance and my dog, and got near them. My dog got aggressive when he saw the dog running towards him. My dog scared the neighbors dog and the dog turned around and ran back to the daughter. The daughter picked up the dog after my fiance told her to because she thought our dog would calm down. My fiance is quite petite, only outweighing the dog by about 25lbs. My dog drug my fiance towards about 35 feet to the girl and the other dog and bit the girl twice while attempting to go for the dog. The girl made no attempt to move or get out of the way. The bites were very minor scratches. He did not clamp down, but he did tear the girls shirt. After getting the dog under control and getting back to the houses the girls mother insisted that they go to the hospital despite the girl urging that she was fine and the they were just minor scratches. I came home from work at lunch and calmed down the fiance and left a note on their door saying "[fiance] told me what happened, please give me call and let me know how the trip to the hospital went, or you can come by and talk, I'll be home at..."

The daughter called me later and in no uncertain terms said that she was fine and that they cleaned the scratches, and gave her an antibiotic and sent her home. She also said that her and the mom have some problems and they are not on the greatest of terms. She also told me that the hospital had to report the bite to animal services by the law. Animal services came and got the dog and took him to the city shelter for 10 days in quarantine. We just got the dog back today, and no surprise, the dog does not have rabies.

I had one encounter with the mother during the ten days which consisted of her asking where the dog was and asking "are you sure you want to bring it back here after it gets out of quarantine?". I also saw her this evening after the dog and I finished our run. She asked what kind of dog it is, and I said "I don't know", she then insisted on taking a picture of the dog and I could not get my front door open fast enough. She also said "We should be getting the bill for the hospital soon [fiance] said that you would pay that." I responded "did [fiance] say that?" and went inside.

We honestly have no idea what to do and we are both so stressed out about the situation that we feel uncomfortable in our own skin, let alone our new home. If you have any advice, lawyer recommendations, or anything that could help I would appreciate it. Also, we have spoke to my mom who has worked as a secretary in a cooperate lawyer's office for many years and she basically said that we should wait to see how much the bill is, and then ask them to sign a general liability release before paying the hospital directly. Is this the safest course of action? Do we have to pay that bill? Anyone know what to expect as far as that bill goes? What happens if they refuse to sign the liability release? is going to court riskery for us? Would it be small claims court? Thank you to everyone again.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: I think your mom gave you good advice. You should pay the bill. And in the future if your fiancée can't control the dog due to his size she has no business walking him.


Title: [New York] Hi there, this is not the typical post for this subreddit, but I don't know where else to ask. I am a high school junior who just got in trouble for having an Instagram account, but more specifically what I posted on it. More information inside.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 /u/AtTheEolian did help you by providing both procedural and practical advice. To be clear, your school is welcome to discipline any student who uses Instagram accounts to mock and bait its teachers, as well as having the effect of encouraging other students to join in on that endeavor.

You were fully aware of what you were doing, and playing stupid regarding the consequences of your actions will not help you here. As a matter of course, you would be wise to listen to advice when someone points out that this kind of bullshit can and will have an affect on your future plans in general, let alone college. Answer #2: Can you get in trouble?

Yes, schools have broad authority over student discipline.

This isn't a legal matter.


Title: I inherited a property

Question: My grandmother put my name on the claim title on my great grandmother's house before she passed. Now the title is in my cousins and my name. My cousins daughter lives there now yet she was $1200.00 behind in rent before my grandmother passed. The monthly agreed amount was 250.00. How do I (25f) legally get her to move out since I now want to live there since I am a co-owner? The property is in California.

Answer: What does the other owner want? You don't get too make the decisions for the property yourself. You only own 50% of it


Title: [TX] First time DUI, and I’m terrified. Any advice appreciated.

Question:
Hey, everyone. Last night I made the biggest mistake of my 27 years of life. I’m very uninformed and naive about the legal system in general, and need help.

I’m a graduate student who regularly lives in Alabama. This summer, I am living in Odessa, TX, while interning with some pipeline firms. Last night, I had my first real opportunity to experience a little Texas nightlife.

I drove my truck to dinner, where I did not drink. Afterwards, I got talked into going to a bar about 8 miles from my hotel, where I had too much to drink. I am not a frequent drinker, and didn’t quite realize how far I had gone. At closing time, I suddenly realized that while I was talking to a girl at the bar, my friends all left me. I was alone in a rougher part of town, the bar had closed, and Uber claimed I had about a 30 minute wait.

I made the stupid, stupid decision to just drive the 8 miles to my hotel. Unfortunately, I almost immediately encountered a police roadblock. I was pulled over, and the officer conducted a sobriety test. He asked me if I would use a breathalyzer, but I requested to wait for a blood test. I ended up testing at around a .10.

Here’s where my terror really begins. I’m a student who would like to return to Alabama in August. I don’t have any friends out here yet, and if my license is suspended, I’m not sure how I’ll be able to get back to school. Can I even leave the state if they give me probation? How serious an offense is this? Furthermore, company vehicles are fairly standard in my line of work. If I have a DWI on my record, I suddenly become far less employable.

Honestly, I’m just at a loss. I’m terrified. I’m a poor student right now, and can’t afford much in terms of legal fees. How much trouble am I in, here?

Answer: Hire a DUI lawyer in the jurisdiction in which you’re being charged. Follow their advice. If money is an issue, sell your truck.


Title: What if the executive branch tries to enforce an unconstitutional law?

Question:
Suppose you are detained for sodomy, maybe a judge orders a house search. It doesn't go to court because the law is unconstitutional and any decision would be overturned by SCOTUS. Would the police or judge have any liability? I understand that legislators have no responsibility for passing unconstitutional laws, but what about trying to enforce unconstitutional laws? Maybe they could be faced for something like harassment?

I'd like to see if there are any examples of this.

Answer:
 You could obtain damages by suing for deprivation of your constitutional rights under USC 1983:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1983

The officers would only be civilly liable if a court finds that they did violate one of your constitutional rights, and that the right was clearly established at the time.

Look up Tennessee v. Garner for an example of an officer who wasn't liable even though he violated the suspects rights, because that right wasn't clearly established at the time.

Answer #2: Only the courts can determine that the law is unconstitutional.  The police have the responsibility to enforce the law until it is ruled unconstitutional.   You can't just say "oh I think this is unconstitutional so you can't arrest me."


Title: Can a notarized will, giving your unmarried significant other authority, override parental decisions during sickness and death?

Question:
If you and your S.O. are unmarried adults, and you fall sick or die, can a notarized will, stating that you give your S.O. full authority on the decisions regarding your sickness/death (and assets/inheritance as well), override your family's decisions/interference?

I'm in Cali but would like to know other states/countries laws if available.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: California

Answer:
 You don't need to notarize a will in California. You also don't put health care wishes in a will.

See an estate planning attorney and get the documents you want.  It's fairly inexpensive and you want to make sure this is done properly, especially if you think your family could be a problem.


Title: Laid off, now dental insurance rejecting claim that occurred prior to lay off(California)

Question:
So last year I got laid off, my daughter had gotten some dental work done(invisalign) it finished in Nov which was the same month I got laid off. The insurance is rejecting the claim because the insurance was terminated. Since I had insurance for the duration of the work, how are they not obligated to pay? Insurance was Delta Dental of VA, I am in California, my office was moved up north and I could not relocate due to my daughter being 16 and not wanting to disrupt her school. Can anyone point me to some information or give me some advice on dealing with them?

Thanks!

*Edit* I put this under legal advice because I am wondering if they have a legal obligation to pay, it does not make sense to me that work done while insurance was active is being not paid.

Answer:
 Make sure that the dental provider correctly put the date of service on their billing statement. They're required to do that, but dentists are often small independent offices and they can make errors.

If the date of service is correct, you should be able to get documentation from your old employer giving your date of termination. Provided you did have dental coverage, you can provide that to the insurer as proof you were covered at the date of service in question.

When I've left a job, the health and dental coverage have gone to the end of the calendar month, but I'm not sure if that's typical.


Title: My Dad left my Mom for another woman. My Mom has nothing and has no clue what to do.

Question: My dad split back in May very suddenly. He moved into an apartment and admitted to having a girlfriend. He said it happened after he left but I'm pretty sure he's lying. He took all of the money and left her with no access to any of it. He said he would take care of everything until they came to an agreement but is dropping all responsibilities one by one. My mom just found out she has cancer,he's on another out of town trip and she can't even afford groceries let alone a lawyer. Any thoughts?

Answer:
 Just because your mother doesn't have access to money currently doesn't mean she can't afford a lawyer.  Unfortunately it's incredibly common for primary breadwinners to do exactly what your father did.  Fortunately lawyers know this and our legal system is set up such that assholes like this can't get away with it.  Many divorce attorneys are willing to work out payment plans and will be happy to be paid from the money your mother will very soon have access to.

Your mother needs to first call friends and family for recommendations on divorce attorneys.  She can also call the local bar association for a list of divorce attorneys.  She will then start calling lawyers, starting with "My soon-to-be ex-husband was the primary breadwinner and left me, draining our joint bank accounts completely before doing so.  Can I schedule a consultation with you, and if so when is the soonest that you can do so?  I can clear my schedule at a moments notice at any next few days."  The common advice is to set up 2-3 consultations and pick the lawyer she trusts the most and feels will respond the quickest.

If you want to help you can do this research and make the phone calls for her to schedule these consultations.  You can also cook for her/order food/groceries for her for the next 48 hours.  After that point she should have chosen a lawyer and will have a game plan for when and how she can access her money to feed herself.

Judges often really dislike asshole spouses like your father.  Chances are that move will play very poorly for him in court.

This is a shit situation, but that there are plenty of options still available.  Good luck.


Title: My friend is having sex with a minor

Question: One of my good friends (19 M) is dating a girl (16 F) and they have been and continue to be intimate with each other. We live in Illinois and I was wondering what the laws are on dating a minor and having sex with a minor? I did a little research but found many contradictory conclusions. Is he in any actual legal trouble he could get into if they were caught? Everything they have done has been agreed upon by both of them and they are really serious about there relationship. Or at least as serious as a highschool relationship can be. They have only been dating a few months, they started when my friend was 18 and she was 15. Just wondering if anyone knew if there is anything he can do about the situation and if he could get in real legal trouble.

Answer:
 I just looked it up. There is no exemption in Illinois for people who are close in age. Your friend could be charged with statutory rape if the girl or her parents ever decide to involve the police.

That's a lifetime on the sex offender registry. Dude needs to find a grown up to sleep with.


Title: Can my university remove disability adjustments?

Question:
I attend a university in the UK. At the beginning of the year special arrangements were put in place due to a disability, extra time in exams etc.

My first exam is in a few days and I have just received an email saying that they are not honoring those arrangements. Are they allowed to make that decision? Nothing has happened to prompt this and I had provided medical evidence which was found to be sufficient.

Answer:
 You need to set up a meeting with the department that handles accommodations to find out why they are reversing your arrangements and what you can do to rectify it. It's impossible for us to make a judgment without knowing the nature of your disability, your school's policies, why exactly the department removed your accommodation, etc.

Theoretically there are circumstances where they could remove your arrangements.. like if you had a broken wrist and they gave you extra time, but now your wrist is healed, etc.


Title: Need help deleting a reddit post, delisting URL and actually removing the URL. [North America]

Question:
Hi Guys,

I am an idiot. A stupid Moron broke student. I made a post to Reddit and the post title and URL reveal personal information about someone else. This was made not knowing how reddit works and it could lead to a defamation I cant afford to defend. Regardless I want it gone.

I have spoken to a lawyer and it nearly broke my bank 400 bucks for 30 min. He quoted me another larger number to petition on my behalf bucks to have the post removed.

I have spoken to PR firm and claims they can petition on my behalf. 3000-5000 dollars!

Location is Canada but Reddit is USA I think. So north america?

Anyways I have reported the post and comments. An admin contacted me to look at it, but no response yet. Not sure what this means...

I have Edited the post to redact my potentially inaccurate remark and attempt to remove his personal information. However the post URL is the problem. His name, and the claim that is defamatory are in the URL.

Now if you the google individuals' name the post shows up cached and the URL names him in a bad way. There are also a few comments on the post. So in their profile it reveals the identify and name of the individual and has some bad stuff said.

What did I do?  I really want to discuss damage control please and how to remove. Any one have experience?

Mods and admins if you are reading this. Please have mercy and help me.

FYI: As of today my lawyer advice was petition reddit to get rid of it. Rules violation might help and fact that I control original account.

No I will not link the post and please kindly do not look for it. It is not linked to this account. I made a stupid mistake guys.

Answer:
 Reddit isn't required to remove it. You posted it, and can be found liable for anything to come from it.Answer #2: > I made a post to Reddit and the post title and URL reveal personal information about someone else. This was made not knowing how reddit works and it could lead to a defamation I cant afford to defend. Regardless I want it gone.

In short: tough. Reddit may fully remove posts, but they're not under a legal obligation to do so in a situation like this.

Good news is, blanking the post and deleting it is usually enough to prevent any practical problems. The post will fall out of Google's cache in a few days.


Title: Misscarege after work had no protocols for pregnant women in the police department. Do I have case for lawsuit? Would like to make a change for other women.

Question:
I work for a police department. A rather large one. I became pregnant and told my boss when I found out and asked what they have for uniforms and light duty. Then found out they don't have anything because they have never had any female to become pregnant. I feel the misscarrage is due to the stress and I'm wondering if there is a case for this?
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer: What you feel doesn't matter. If you can get a doctor to say that, then you might have a case.


Title: Is it legal to refuse service to Republicans in California?

Question: My friend went into an LGBTQIA+-friendly bar while wearing a MAGA hat, was yelled at by the bartender and told to get out as they don't serve "racists or bigots." Is it legal for a business in California to discriminate based on political party affiliation?

Answer: Bars retain the right to refuse service to anyoneAnswer #2: A hat can be removed. What if they were wearing a Westboro Baptist Church shirt that says "God Hates Fags"?Answer #3: I’m guessing the bar actually had a no hats policy and your friend is jumping to conclusions.


Title: Noisy deliveries next door at 3am. No noise ordinance in the town. What can I do? (Massachusetts)

Question:
My husband and I live next to a small casual restaurant in Massachusetts. Two years ago the restaurant switched owners and they started receiving deliveries at 4:30am two to three times a week. These deliveries are made by an 18 wheeler with refrigeration, so they're extremely loud, and it takes about 45 minutes to an hour for the delivery man to complete his task.

 After being woken up repeatedly we contacted the restaurants owner as well as the trucking company to request that the deliveries be made at a more reasonable time. This worked for about a month and we ended up calling the police one morning when they started the 4am deliveries again. Unfortunately being a small town there is no police force at night, so a state trooper was dispatched and arrived well after the truck had left.

All had been quiet for over a year, until last night when I was awoken by the noise of the trucks door being rolled up and the ramp being pulled out at 3:10am. The noise lasted until 3:54 when the truck finally left.

I talked to the restaurant's owner this morning, and although he was obviously irritated that I was complaining he said he would call the delivery company and try to have them deliver later. I understand it's not his fault that this is happening, but contacting the company directly did absolutely nothing.

What recourse do I have if they keep doing middle of the night deliveries?  Unfortunately there is no noise ordinance in my town, and I don't want to call the police, as my call is routed to 911, and this is not an emergency.

Thank you for any help!

Answer: Talk to the town about getting a noise ordinance instituted.Answer #2: If there is no noise ordinance they're violating you cannot do anything.


Title: I hit a parked car today :(

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 1. You should hope that no one saw you drive away and recorded your license plate. Hit-and-run is a serious charge. As you're on probation, even more so.

2. You should try to go back to where the car was and leave a note with your contact information. That is the only thing that will save you if someone did indeed see you and recorded your license.

3. If you go back and the car is gone, then hope that no one saw you.

EDIT: I can tell you that on no less than 3 occasions, I have seen people hit parked cars and drive away and was able to get the license plate. Each time I left a note with the license plate number that hit the car and my contact information. I got calls from all 3 people thanking me as they all called the police on those hit-and-run assholes. I don't know what happened after that, but people actually do leave notes when they see hit-and-runs.


Title: I am a 20 year old student and I got pulled over for doing 86 in a 65. What are my options? (story inside)

Question: So like the title says I got pulled over. What happened was I was in the left lane, and both the car in the left lane and middle lane were going about 60. I was trapped so I slowed down to go around them in the right lane. As I began accelerating in the right lane a cop pulls me over and very bluntly says I was pulled over for speeding, took my license and registration and quickly gave me a ticket. I was shocked when it said I was going 86 because I know I was not going over 80, also I know there are different levels of tickets based on your speed. One of the thresholds is 21-30, so why would I be going exactly 21 over the speed limit to hike up my ticket price! Anyway, I will be able to pay it but it would help me a lot financially to not have to, please tell me what my options are. Thanks you! (Also It's in new york)

Answer: Did you explain to the police you were just trying to pass on the right at 80mph?


Title: Last year, I (17F) was manipulated into having sex with a 29M on multiple occasions. If I go to the police will I get in trouble for this? Is it worth it to a lawyer or someone else about it?

Question:
I am a senior in high school in the US, the age of consent in my state is 16 but age of the majority is 19. I feel like I have been manipulated into having sex with him and I really regret what I've done. I've tried to forget about all this happening but it's taking a toll on my mental health. I am concerned about going to the police because I sent him nudes and technically consented at the time. I don't want to get in trouble for possession of child porn of myself and I also don't want to tell someone and have everyone think of me differently only for him to get away with this because I consented at the time. There was a witness of me leaving his apartment, I hope that helps. Thank you in advance for any information.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 It is up to you what you want to do. You can certainly go to the police regarding the child porn. They likely cannot do much there either. And they will likely not be able to do anything about consensual sex.

You may be best served by talking to a therapist.


Title: [US - WI] didn't stop for school bus dropping off kid

Question: I was driving down a road today going maybe 50-55 in a 45 and I noticed a school bus with its stop sign out dropping off a kid. The girl was on the side of the road and I hit the brakes hard but I knew I wouldn't stop in time so I just kept going. I believe buses have cameras for these situations so my question is what is the likelihood I will get a ticket, and what does it depend on?

Answer: No one can guess. Wait and see. Also stop driving like no one else on the planet matters. You could have killed a kid.


Title: [SK, Can] Custody of a child?

Question:
I'm not sure if I can ask this here, just remove the post if I cannot. I've never done this before and I am terrified of the answer, but here it goes.

When I was 19, I was impregnated by my boyfriend at the time. However halfway through it, we broke up, stopped living together, and I continued life without him. However, during the birth of my {our} daughter, he reappeared into my life and tried to rekindle something.

^Out ^of ^my ^own ^stupor, ^and ^the ^drugs ^from ^the ^surgery, ^I ^allowed ^him ^to ^sign ^the ^live ^birth ^report. ^While ^this ^may ^not ^be ^the ^direct ^problem, ^I'm ^sure ^it'll ^probably ^hinder ^me ^somehow...

Anyway.

^My ^daughter ^is ^almost ^two. ^Her ^sperm ^donor ^{sorry} ^has ^not ^seen ^her ^since ^the ^Christmas ^of ^2013. ^She ^was ^born ^in ^November ^of ^2013. ^He ^has ^not ^tried ^to ^see ^her, ^he ^has ^not ^contacted ^me, ^nothing. ^We ^never ^lived ^together ^after ^her ^birth, ^we ^never ^spoke. ^In ^fact ^the ^only ^proof ^people ^have ^of ^him ^being ^connected ^to ^her ^is ^that ^lone ^signature ^on ^a ^single ^piece ^of ^paper.

^I ^have ^recently ^remarried ^to ^a ^wonderful ^man ^who ^hails ^from ^Norway. ^My ^husband ^desperately ^wants ^us ^to ^relocate ^back ^to ^his ^homeland ^because ^frankly, ^it'd ^make ^things ^easier ^for ^all ^of ^us... ^so ^I ^suppose ^these ^are ^my ^questions;

^1. ^What ^legal ^steps ^do ^I ^have ^to ^take ^to ^make ^sure ^I ^can ^legally ^take ^my ^daughter ^out ^of ^country ^and ^MOVE ^to ^Norway ^from ^Canada?

^2. ^Does ^her ^biological ^father ^have ^ANY ^rights ^to ^her ^even ^though ^we've ^never: ^a) ^lived ^together ^after ^her ^birth ^and ^b) ^he ^has ^not ^bothered ^to ^see ^her ^in ^nearly ^two ^years?

^Again ^I'm ^so ^sorry ^if ^this ^is ^not ^the ^place ^to ^ask, ^I'm ^sorry ^for ^the ^hassle. ^I'm ^terrified ^of ^my ^ex, ^he ^was ^extremely ^abusive, ^but ^I ^desperately ^want ^to ^take ^my ^daughter ^away ^from ^here ^and ^live ^with ^my ^husband ^and ^his ^family. ^I ^just ^want ^to ^know ^what ^I ^need ^to ^do- ^I've ^looked ^everywhere ^and ^all ^the ^information ^has ^been ^for ^divorcee's, ^which ^I ^am ^NOT ^one.

^I'm ^hoping ^somebody ^can ^help ^me.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 yes, of course her biological father has parental rights. He would even if he had not signed the birth register.

You need to go see a family lawyer in your province about question #1 to make sure you have all your ducks in a row. Its possible your ex may be willing to terminate his parental rights and have your husband adopt the child, because this would free him of the obligation to ever pay child support. Then you and your husband could take your child wherever you like without worry that your ex will object.


Title: [VA] Can an employer terminate you for not attending work due to extreme inclement weather like snow?

Question: My employer claims that we are to attend work no matter what the weather conditions and that if we feel we won't be able to make it due to snow then we should pay for a hotel out of our pocket (they specifically state this in there policy) so that we are close enough to make it to the store. How can they get away with this?

Answer: Yup.


Title: Iowa father here, and I desperately need legal and physical custody of my son, but I don't know where to start.

Question:
My son is 5 years old. He ~~lives~~ lived with his mother, little brother and mother's roommate. That is until she tried to off herself last Thursday night. The boys were asleep and the roommate was still at work. The only thing that saved her was the dude she's been dating decided to stop over and found her near death from booze and pills. I haven't talked to her myself, but I hear that she is quite pissed off that she is still alive and is adamant on a second go.

The reason I post here for help/advice is that I know, even given the circumstances, that the game is stacked against me as a father vs. mother.

I don't want my son going back to live with his mother only to find her one morning - dead.

I'm gonna add my own bit of personal bias here, but I think it's important. I live with my mom right now (I know, hah-hah) but it is stable. Not to say that if it was just me and my boy it *wouldn't* be stable. His mother on the other hand basically lives in a flophouse. There are the main tenants (mother, roommate, my son and little brother), but there are people in and out all day and night. I know what you're thinking, but it's not a drug house. These people are just idiots that can't tell shit from Shinola and they all work at McDonald's.

I'm really sorry for the long-winded post, but I guess I just want to get started on this ASAP. Should I take action while she's still in the psych ward, or should I wait until she gets out? Also, if it helps, I have taken screenshots of her Facebook posts (the ones about wanting to still die after her life being saved). It seems like a sure shot but I just don't know. Any advice, legal know-how, *any* anything really would be much appreciated. Thank you all in advance!

tl;dr - I need custody of my son and get him away from his suicidal mother.

Answer:
 >The reason I post here for help/advice is that I know, even given the circumstances, that the game is stacked against me as a father vs. mother.

Why do you say this? Similar situation happened to a friend recently and the father has sole custody. They had to hire a lawyer, but as a dad he did not have to fight particularly hard to get it. ODing while responsible for the kids was enough that the court found it reasonable.

>I live with my mom right now (I know, hah-hah) but it is stable. Not to say that if it was just me and my boy it wouldn't be stable.

Why? Can you not afford to take care of yourself? Is she ill?

If you cannot afford to support yourself that is likely to be relevant, but even then if you are working a steady job and supported by mom while not ODing on drugs you may be the relative picture of stability.

>tl;dr - I need custody of my son and get him away from his suicidal mother.

Get an attorney ASAP.
Answer #2: Do you have a custody agreement or order in place at the moment?  If so, then your only recourse is to file for custody modification with the court.  You can do this immediately; there's no real reason to wait.


Title: My gf and me just split up, her mom wants me to just see my son on weekends. What are the chances that i can get joint custody? Oregon.

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 You need to get a lawyer. I'm not familiar with Oregon law but you might be able to get 50/50 or if you do get shared custody then your time with your son is guaranteed and not at the discretion of your ex or her mom. You are the father and you have rights. You just have to fight for them, unfortunately.Answer #2: >says the baby is always the mothers.

If that were the case, there would be no point in custody hearings. Don't let some contrived bullshit generalization keep you from exercising your *right* as a parent. *Sometimes* the courts give the majority of the time to mothers during the first months of the child's life because of biology. A man can't breastfeed. But that's not permanent, and it's not indicative of what's in the best interest of the child for the rest of the chlid's life.

You have 18 years to be this child's father and all that entails. Don't let the grandmother boss you around. If you want to be a part of the child's life and she and the mother aren't letting you do that, go to court and get an order establishing when they **have** to let you see your child. It will subject you to child support, but it's honestly one of those things to just get out of the way because that's a common tactic the mother will hold over your head. Some try to dictate visitation by threatening to pursue child support. When in reality, it's a threat you can't guarantee they won't follow through with anyway. On the flip side, if you have a **custody** order, they can't just not adhere to it without consequences from the court should you bring it back before the court.


Title: Coworker possibly faked medical leave to get vacation and transfer.

Question: I have a coworker who’s mother works in HR at our corporate office, an aunt that works at a store 6 miles away and a step father (mothers husband) who manages a store across town. A few weeks ago they were mysteriously removed from our schedule on a Saturday at 4pm. We were told to take them off and HR would be in touch with us. I called on Tuesday as nobody got in touch with us and upon explaining the story the person I was talking to directly asked this employees mother what the deal was while she had the phone to her ear with me on the line (which I believe was extremely unprofessional. I was told that our head of HR would be in contact. A week went by and we still had no idea what was going on, how long to keep them off of our schedule, or if in the worst case could sign a card and send them well wishes.  The next day we were told by our regional manager that we shouldn’t have reached out to HR, that it was a medical leave issue. Several hours later on the same day we found out this person was transferred to a store closer to where they live. The reason I’m seeking advice is if there was malicious behavior being coordinated by the mother to cater to her son, to avoid certain procedures and protocols would I have a stance to seek compensation for unfair treatment or discrimination. I live in Florida and labor laws obviously are different. I have a copy of the FMLA, just wanted to see if there was meat on this bone.

Answer: Unfairness and nepotism generally don't create a cause of action.  This honestly sounds like none of your business.


Title: Mother refuses to work, has been unemployed for almost a decade, and uses almost all the child support check.

Question:
She hasn't worked a day going on 9yrs now. Hasn't even applied anywhere. My dad's been dead for three years now, and since then we've been getting a 500 dollar check from child support since he never payed it when he was alive. I barely see any of it. Some redditor told me that I wasn't necessarily supposed to either, but I can't help but picturing myself knock the shit out of whoever told me that considering all the bullshit my father put me through growing up. But that's a different story.

I'm 21 now and still living at home because I would have to save up for half a fucking year just to pay for one months rent at an apartment. People make it sound so easy, "just get a job and move out!" or "you're just a lasy millennial!" or some shit.

Her boyfriend makes a living from shoplifting and selling whatever he gets to his friends. He's been doing it ever since he met her (almost 10yrs). My mom makes a lot of calls, often to the internet service provider to bargain with them over the payment deadline. Asking them to give her a little more time, or to cps, sometimes even faking crying to make them feel bad so they won't shut us off. We've been living off of our grandmother for 6yrs now, she should just leave. I do see a reasonable exception for me howeve, since I was raised in this lifestyle and am only 21. Hardly anyone at 21 has enough money to live on their own, and working two jobs and saving for over a year just to afford two months is ridiculous.

What should I do about my mother? And I'm not a lefty equality for all kind of retard either. I know this is unfair.

Answer:
 Get a job, Save your money and move out.  The child support check goes to your mother, not you.

Are you trolling?  I honestly don’t know.


Title: Locked out of house by potential ex wife.

Question:
Two weeks ago I had enough of our marriage and decided it was over and that I was leaving. We have a child and share mortgage. I said I was going to continue working and providing for our family until we were divorced. Three days into the separation I decided I did want to try one more time to make our marriage work but because I gave my wife the house key she said I can't come home or have access to our child anytime. Her reasoning is she doesn't feel comfortable around me when there isn't any history of any physical abuse or threats. I do own guns but have been responsible and have encouraged her to also carry for our child's sake. I do have insurance through the USCCA and have legal back up if she tries to accuse me or have me arrested. But again I haven't broken any laws or ever threatened anybody. At this point I'm waiting for her to decide if she wants things to work out and stay married or if she wants to get divorced. I've been fortunate to be supported by friends and family for two weeks but I want to be independent and have my own place again but I can't afford to pay for a mortgage and rent. I've considered but haven't decided if I'm allowed to break into my own house and change the locks. So my rational options either are to keep waiting and paying for a mortgage I can't use or file for divorce and get the house sold. She is a little too close to her family and they all have keys to my house but I don't. Maybe the legal advice will change state by state but if there's anything general that would help a lot. Thanks.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Your problem  is that you gave her the keys and moved out. So moving back is not that simple. You cannot break in.

You will have to go to court and determine everything with a judge at that point.

You should talk to a local attorney to see what the best steps will be for you


Title: Is it legal for my University to stop me from skateboarding to and from class at campus?

Question: I'm in Queensland, Australia, and was recently told by a security guard on my campus not to skate on campus grounds. "There are signs everywhere," he said, which is true. My university is pretty big and walking is a nuisance compared to skating. I was wondering if it is legal for them to do so?

Answer: Unless Australia has some kind of constitutionally protected inalienable right to roll around on a board with wheels this is perfectly legal.


Title: Consequences of road maintenance unclear, car got towed by HOA for $900

Question:
My car recently got towed after I left it out on the public parking places in my community and some road maintenance was done. Because I was traveling for a week, the towing fine and storage costs had run up to roughly $900. I feel my HOA did not give me proper warning with their notice, so I'm considering hiring a lawyer and fighting them.

This is from the letter I sent them which should clarify my arguments:

> I feel the HOA failed to clearly instruct me. The only notice I received from you, around 2 weeks before the pavement work, is a flyer taped on my door [exhibit A]. What I would expect to be a clear and straightforward set of instructions for the residents, this flyer neither informs us of what exactly we should or should not do (e.g., “do not leave your cars parked here”), nor does it warn us of the consequences if failing to comply. The flyer simply states "there will be no vehicle access on these days". Since I was going on a business trip and had no need to drive my car, I was under the impression that I could leave my car parked in one of the parking places in the yellow zone.

> Unfortunately, this led to the towing incident described above. I feel I have not been given proper warning regarding the consequences of leaving my car parked in the community during the maintenance work. There is no mention of any consequences of leaving cars in the parking lots, and "no vehicle access" is completely ambiguous. Given your unclear communication, I feel [HOA] is responsible for the towing costs I incurred.

Their response was that they did not want to reimburse me. The 2 reasons they gave were:

* "We have a rule that you cannot park longer than 72h on the public parking places in the community." --> My car was towed less than 24h after I parked it, this seems irrelevant.
* "You are renters from a private owner and are not registered with us as such." --> I'm worried that this hurts our rights.

I'm willing to hire a lawyer because the whole situation feels so unfair. Could someone please shed some light on my rights as a renter, or my chances of winning such a case? I'm in California.

Thanks!

**Edit:**
To clarify, I was under the impression that the maintenance work was on the roads only, not the parking lots. This because the HOA notice talked about "no vehicle access", not mentioning any specifics about what would happen to cars on the parking lots.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 $900 is a small claims case in California. No lawyers are allowed in small claims.

Unless the notice was patently deficient, you don't have much of a chance here.  When a street is  bring resurfaced or slurry sealed, all cars must be moved.  This is not only common knowledge, but also pretty obvious.


Title: How to arrest an online pedo?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 No.  You aren't the police.  Don't do police things Answer #2: You are not Batman. Stop trying to be Batman.

Best case you ruin any evidence that can put this guy away. Worst case...is worse.

If he's extorting with CP those people should go to the police. Answer #3: You can try reporting him to multiple agencies (FBI, local police, whatever) but definitely do not pose as bait. Those people have training and know what they’re doing. You don’t. Answer #4: You are not Batman. Or Chris Hansen. Report this to the police, get him banned from the online community, but do not try to pedo trap him.


Title: Was hit by a drunk, broke femur, recovered, told to go to his hearing tomorrow to fake injury.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Not legal advice, but if you think it's unethical to act like you're more hurt than you are, then don't do it.


Title: Landlord wants to sell property, I still have a few months on lease (Utah).

Question: My landlord just called me and told me that he and his wife are going to be selling the house I'm renting a room from. They said I have until the end of March to find a new place. My lease continues until May- do I have to move or do they have to honor the lease?

Answer: Unless your lease specifically talks about the property being sold you can stay until the end of your lease. That's not to say you can't negotiate to leave sooner if they pay you.


Title: [MS] My boss is doing some shady stuff to avoid paying me overtime.

Question:
A little background, I moved into town 3 months ago and my roommate is the manager at (food service establishment). She hooked me up with a job because she vouched for me and the owner trusts her. He hires me at above the normal wage because they were desperate for people, I'm older than most of the employees, and my roommate promised I would earn my pay. I have, and the owner could not be more pleased with my performance, he tells me all the time.

Fast forward to my first paycheck, wherein I had ~85 hours recorded. I noticed that I wasn't being paid time and a half for those extra hours, so I asked my roommate about it. She says she was told by the previous manager that "[Owner] doesn't *do* overtime." I immediately informed her that this was illegal and that I damn sure was going to get my money. I call the owner right after that and mention that I wasn't getting time and a half, suggesting that it was just an error. He was very apologetic and assured me that I would get the money I was owed in the next check (about $25 before taxes, given my wage).

I gave him the benefit of the doubt, as I didn't want to rabble-rouse in my first month there(I for sure started keeping my pay stubs though). And next check, sure enough, I had my $25. Also my roommate received overtime even though she never had up till that point. I assumed all was right, and the owner either corrected the critical mistake he had in his payroll setup or decided to stop ripping us off. He still owes her a lot of money, and that pisses me off, but I'm not sure what I can do about that.

Fast forward once again, to today. I got my paycheck as normal (we get paid on the 1st and the 15th. This is important to note.) and I noticed i had racked up 98 hours that pay period. Sweet. Should be a fat check. Nope. 98 hours of normal wage. I was mad, to say the least, but had to keep a cool head and call my boss.

He explains that because some parts of the pay period took place in other weeks, they didn't count for overtime. Because even though the pay period is done by date, overtime is calculated by calendar week, Monday to Sunday.

So, what this means is, if my boss paid us, say, every other thursday instead of on a set day twice a month, I would be making close to $100 more this pay period. This just didn't sit right with me and I wanted to see if it was legal. It could be 100% legal, I just don't know about this stuff.

Sorry for the long post, had to properly explain my situation.
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer: your boss is correct. overtime is calculated by hours worked per week. you can start tracking your hours from Monday-Sunday to double check his work, but your pay frequency (semi-monthly rather than biweekly) does not factor into this.


Title: Grade withheld by college professor for many months past required posting date. Possible conflict of interest; is there anything here? (NE, USA)

Question:
First of all this is for my girlfriend who is going to a community college.  She is having some issues with a grade she got in her capstone class (the last class she needs to receive her degree).  She was unable to complete the final project as required and failed, but didn't receive this confirmation until almost 4 months after the posting date. During this time the professor was hinting that her grade would go from N/A to Passing if she took one of his more demanding elective classes and did some work on the side.

She ended up completing the class and the extra out-of-class tasks.  However, not long after the end of that semester she received a failing grade for the capstone class.  Now she has missed 2 enrollment periods, wasted a ton of her time, and has no degree.

I helped her draft an email to the dean to get her grade changed, but I am wondering if there is any legal issues here.  Does anyone here know anything about this?

Edit: She completed both classes and received the failing grade on her capstone class upon completion of the last class.

TLDR: GF was led to believe that if she would get a grade bumped up in a class if she took another class with the same teacher.  She failed the original class as soon as the other class was completed.  Any legal issues here?

Answer:
 > hinting that her grade would go from N/A to Passing

Hinting means nothing. Either he said 'so this and get this' or he didn't.

Why would the dean change her grade? She never completed her class? Why doesn't she retake the class she failed?


Title: Possible lawsuit incoming, am I guilty?

Question:
I run a music blog, based in Ohio, as a hobby. I curate content from various sources across the internet. The other day I posted a song that I did not know had been illegally leaked. The record label contacted me, I promptly took it down (within 15 minutes of being emailed), and they then claimed that I was responsible for the leaking of the song in the first place. I provided them with proof that I had not originally leaked the song, from multiple online sources. Do they still have a case? Does the Digitial Millenium Copyright Act lend me any protection in the matter?

Thanks.

Answer:
 1.  Yes, they still have a case, though not the one they are trying to claim.  It's still a copyright infringement.

2.  If you post the content, you are liable.  The DMCA coverage is for *user generated content* and insulates the hosting network, but not the user, from damages claims.

Realistically they aren't likely to go after you.  But it is a legal possibility.


Title: can HOA actually make me do anything?

Question:
i live in an apartment with my sister, and a new HOA took over the complex (there was not one before). they're saying my sister has to fix certain things, can no longer own pets, etc. Do they really have the power to do that since the lease was signed completely independent of the HOA? do they have any real legal power if a contract hasn't been signed with them?

Edit: I live in Arizona, for reference.

Answer: Does your lease say anything about obeying HOA rules?  Why are they saying she can no longer own pets?


Title: Finals week, living as a lone woman and constant loitering in hall and fire escape is ruining life (CA)

Question:
Before I left the US I was sharing an apartment with a female friend who is now finishing with university and needs now more than ever to have a quiet apartment. This hope has been dashed however, by the constant loitering of teenagers and men on our fire escape/ balcony, directly next to our window and outside our front door. These men will sometimes peek in, and as a youngish, small woman in downtown LA this can actually be really creepy. They will yell at their friends in the street for hours down below.

We've emailed the landlord many times, stating we are unhappy with the situation, but had no reply or vague promises. They don't seem to care. What we'd like to know is if there is any law we can quote to freak him into stopping the noise, or if there is another authority we can complain to. It's been months and it has to stop.

Thanks in advance, reddit <3

Answer:
 Contact the local building code enforcement agency or maybe even the fire department.

The fire escape is not a hang-out zone and it's often against code to access anytime that isn't an emergency. They can issue fines to both the people on it and the owner of the building.Answer #2: Have you contact the police to report the trespassing yet?


Title: [Hypothetical][Canada] If a prisoner is currently serving a sentence for a crime and the offence is made legal, what happens?

Question:
I couldn't figure out how to phrase the question properly for google and I went back six pages and didn't find a similar topic.

Purely hypothetical:

Let's say Joe Schmidt is four years into a ten year sentence for trafficking marijuana. At this four year mark Marijuana is made legal and can be freely sold in stores and purchased by anybody of the age of majority.

I can't find a precedent for what happens next. Does he continue to serve out his sentence? Is is released? Is he able to appeal and get a conditional release?

 In general: Is there a precedent in Canada for when someone is convicted of a crime that is later no longer a crime?

Answer: IANAL, but I think the punishment is because *at the time of the offense*, the person was breaking the law. It might be easier to get parole or an early release, but the sentence is still valid since the offense took place when it was illegal.


Title: [AZ] giving someone a gun as a gift

Question: I bought a gun recently that I am not totally in love with. A good friend of mine however has had his eye on this particular gun for a while and I was thinking of gifting it to him. I know for a fact he is not a felon or anything that would prevent him from owning a gun (he is a gun collector himself). Is it as simple as handing him the gun and telling him it’s his now or is there some sort of process I have to go through before giving it to him? Thanks.

Answer:
 Gun store might charge $50 for the transfer, but you get the ATF forms filed.

Otherwise just keep a log of transferred guns (serial, description, sell date, buyer name and BDay. And a signed receipt.


Title: Restaurateur wrote a check as payment for work, then canceled after I cashed it

Question:
Houston, Texas.

I worked a brunch at a local eatery. Was referred by a friend who had done one previous gig with the guy. The owner (after not answering my calls and texts) paid me by check (not the full amount owed, btw) after I showed up at his other restaurant. After reluctantly giving me the check (wrote the check, handed it to a manager, and promptly left the site), I quickly drove to my bank (in hindsight, should have gone to HIS bank) and cashed it. A few days later, my bank account indicates that the check came back.

At this time, I am formatting a demand letter, along with a printed copy of the check (downloaded from my bank), to be sent by certified mail.

After 10 days, I will file a complaint with the DA. And go from there.

The amount of the check was $128. A relatively small amount overall, but principality being the main issue, I will not lie down on this one. The guy is a shady fast talker, and I want to bring forth the full extent of the law.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

PS- My friend experienced the same thing, canceled check and all. We plan to separately, but equally, pursue legal action.

Answer:
 The DA's not going to care. This is a civil matter, not a criminal one.

If you need to enforce your wages, either file a wage claim with your state's labor department, or take the restauranteur to small claims, for the full amount outstanding plus any returned check fees you've had to pay, plus your filing fees.