Title: [FL] Come into shift, employer makes me wait to clock in?

Question: Hey y’all. Let’s say you get to work at 1 for a 1-9 shift, and your employer says it’s not busy enough for you to clock in, wait until 1:45 or 2:00. Is this legal? Can I leave and consider the shift canceled and not face any consequences for this? Thanks.

Answer:
 This is called "waiting time". It appears Florida [does not have any state law](https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/wage-and-hour-laws/state-wage-and-hour-laws/florida/hours-worked/#3) and is thus governed by [federal law](https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/flsa/flsa-when-to-count-waiting-time-as-hours-worked/):

Under federal law, if they keep you on site, or otherwise you are severely bound in where you can go and what you can do, they are legally required to pay you normal salary for the time.

If you are reasonably free to do non-work stuff around town for a reasonable time AND they have given you a time to report back (such as next shift), they do not need to pay you. What is considered a "reasonable time" is not well defined, but is generally at least a couple hours.

If you are free to leave and are expected to remain available and have NOT been given a precise time to return, you would be considered ["on-call"](https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/flsa/fair-labor-standards-act-when-on-call-time-is-recognized-as-hours-worked/). Depending on the conditions places on you during the time, it may or may not be paid, mostly depending on whether you are effectively free to peruse life. Again, exactly what is considered a reasonable condition is not well defined.

Florida is an "at-will" state, so they can fire you for basically any reason (baring specific exceptions) and thus if you challenge it, be prepared to be let go. You can try to sue for wrongful termination, but that is normally difficult - you probably did something wrong at some point that they can use as a valid reason to fire. The best way to challenge, if you want to, would be to file a [Wage Claim with the Department of Labor](https://www.dol.gov/whd/howtofilecomplaint.htm).Answer #2: If you're required to be there then they need to pay you. They've reserved your time. If they want you to sit there for 45 minutes, they're still buying that 45 minutes.


Title: Mother stole my identity and opened up multiple accounts (TX, USA)

Question:
I'm currently 19 years old and I'm going into my 3rd year of college. Paying for college has been tough, so I started to apply for non-federal loans only to be immediately denied due to ~$2500 of collections on my credit report, none were opened by me. One account was opened when I was only 14 years old and another was opened while I was 18. I have no contact with my mother due to the fact that she was emotionally abusive my whole life.
I do know that she has also opened up accounts in my brothers name when she has had no contact with him, while he's also been in and out of prison for as long as I can remember.
She has no intention to pay them off or admit fault. So I want to know if I need to get a lawyer or not. And where exactly I should start on claiming identity fraud. I don't have any documentation that shows they weren't created by me, but if the account was pulled up they would see that she's the one that made some payments.

Answer: You should report the fraud to the bank and the police.Answer #2: You need to call the police and then once you have a police report call the credit bureaus. If you do this it will eventually get sorted out but unless you do this your credit will be ruined and you will need to pay back the money.Answer #3: The Personal Finance subreddit has a great [wiki page](https://np.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/identity_theft) on what to do with respect to identity theft. I strongly recommend you read it and follow those instructions.


Title: "F" Grades at College

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Why do I suspect this a for-profit college?


Title: [New York] University signed my wife up for insurance after she waived it

Question:
My wife is a medical student. We get insurance through my employer, so she does not need student insurance, so every semester we waive the student insurance. Prior to the upcoming semester, even though we waived the insurance, the insurance premium fee was added to her tuition costs. She immediately called the bursar's office, and they said they would handle it, but the fee did not disappear, and she started receiving mail from Aetna. She called aetna, and they said they would take care of it as long as we informed the university. After waiting a couple weeks, she followed up by email, and they responded they were in the process of taking care of it and the fee would be waived. That was over a month ago. The fee is still there, even though the bursar's office has made additional updates to her account for unrelated fees. When we call the bursar's office, they claim the insurance change is pending, but the fee still shows up the same it did over a month ago. When we call Aetna, they claim they don't even have any record of her in their system and that it's up to the school to remove the fee, but today, we received an insurance card from Aetna in the mail, so there's obviously some disconnect going on there too and she has clearly been signed up for insurance she does not want and asked not to have multiple times.

I feel as if this is obviously not getting resolved in a timely manner at this point, because both Aetna and the university do not seem to be responsive and neither can offer an explanation as to why we are still getting mail from Aetna as if we have signed up for insurance there. We have email documentation proving that the university confirmed they will waive the insurance premium, but that was from over a month ago and following up doesn't seem to be getting us any results. Do we just continue the course and try to follow up with the bursar's office again, or is there some way to escalate this to get it resolved so that we don't end up having to pay the $600 premium, like maybe an insurance regulator? We can't be expected to pay the fee for insurance we don't want and told the university to waive multiple times, but I also don't want this to go into collections or interfere with my wife's education because right now it's showing up on her account as a debt to the university, so I'm really perplexed at what we are supposed to do here. Any help or guidance would be appreciated!

Answer: The best advice I offer is for you to escalate this within the University system. Talk to the head of the bursar's office, tell him you're tired of getting the run around, and you want this resolved immediately. If that doesn't work, talk to his boss. Keep going up the chain until you get someone who will fix the problem.


Title: Is it illegal to record "Karens" in two party consent states?

Question:
For example, is it illegal to record a Karen in a place like a McDonald's in let's say, a state like California, with two party consent laws?

Does it not count considering it's a public place? I believe it doesn't count considering it's a public place but I might be wrong.

Answer: No. Wiretapping laws apply to conversations where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. No such expectation exists in a public place.


Title: Friend bought a laptop 2 months ago, when calling to ask about it's current status after waiting for it to be shipped Lenovo canceled his order and took his money.

Question:
This is a friend of mine from Pennsylvania and I'm quoting his text that he sent me.

So I've been in dire need of a new laptop for the longest time so I went looking online for one and came across the Lenovo Legion Y740 which I fell in love with. I first purchased one on February 15th and on their site all of the laptops say "Ships in 3-4 weeks" and about a week after I bought it, I got an email that "we hit a speed bump, we'll ensure it'll ship within the next 30 days" but when I checked the order details it said that it would take 2 months to ship. So I cancelled that order and bought a more expensive version of the Y740 on March 17th. They sent me an email on April 10th yet again saying "We hit a speed bump" and when I checked my order date yesterday they said the estimated date of arrival was gonna be June 7th, almost 2 months away. So I called their tech and addressed my concerns because my current laptop is falling apart and the tech guy told me that they had my PC parts and were building it atm and when I asked if it could come any faster he told me "I'll contact the other divisions so I can get you an exact date" then he asked me if I needed anything else and I told him no, so he ended the call. Fast Forward an hour or two and I get a text from my mom saying "They took out $2500 for your laptop" and I thought that was a little suspicious but thought nothing of it.. then at 3am I got an email saying "Order Cancellation" when I never once said to cancel the order and was never informed about it being canceled. They canceled it without my knowledge and took the $2500 out of my account. Even if they gave me back my money, they have a policy for cancellation fees meaning they're gonna charge me $106 for a cancellation I never consented to.

Answer: Your friend needs to immediately contact support for a resolution.


Title: [UT][Landlord] Selecting most qualified instead of first rental applicant.

Question:
I've been brushing up on Fair Housing and I'm not sure about this distinction.  I know the [protected classes](https://laborcommission.utah.gov/divisions/AntidiscriminationAndLabor/x_what_is_housing_discrimination.html) in my state and locality.

Say I have an open house for a few hours and when I'm done I have X online applications.  Am I required to select the first applicant who meets my requirements (income + credit score) or can I select the applicant with the largest income / credit score?

My belief is that since size of income is not a protected class, I am allowed to select (discriminate) based on this information.

Answer: You are correct.  You can select the person with the highest income and/or best credit score.


Title: Employer almost lets me die out of neglect while on the clock

Question:
This happened in Manhattan, KS USA. I work at a franchise restaurant and have never dealt with anything like this before.

I am a known type 1, insulin dependent diabetic. I make it a point for everyone I am often around to be aware of that fact. Obviously, my employer knew this. It is in their records.

While I was working the other day (12/18/18), I noticed that my blood glucose level was dropping. It  read 24 which is VERY below safe numbers. I immediately go to my boss and tell her, including the phrase "I should be in a hospital." She ignores me and tells me to go back to work so I eat 2 donuts and do. Before the donuts kick in I go into a extreme hypoglycemic attack. I continue trying to work until I cannot any longer, at which point I black out and cannot remember what happens until I come to sitting on the floor in the back of the store a few feet from my bosses offices. Apparently in the time I cannot personally remember I was unresponsive to questions (only one person asked if I was okay and when I didn't respond they let it go), got milk, and threw up.

I was sitting on the floor dozing off, shaking, and crying for about 8-10 minutes. If you've experienced this you know how terrifying it is. I have security footage of all four of the other workers walking past me, acknowledging me but not checking on me at all or even attempting to talk to me. At this point I could not do anything for myself because I was confused and had no idea what was happening or where I was. I drop my milk, mop it up (lol) and sit back down. 1 minute later, I pass out face first onto the floor.

Now, no one saw me actually fall unconscious but in the 6 minutes I was comatose on the floor everybody walks past my body. One is another crew member, two are shift leads, and the fourth is the general manager of my location. You can see them looking at the schedule to get my shift covered without checking on me at all. Then one of the shift leads shakes me awake and says "you can clock out" to which I replied idk how, and my boss from inside her office says "Well you HAVE to clock out you cannot be lying around on the clock."

I  start sobbing. At this point my blood sugar is coming up, because the donuts I ate earlier had kicked in. I manage to call my grandmother from my cell phone, and at this point my boss decides something is wrong and calls EMS. By the time they get there my blood sugar has stabilized and they release me.

Apparently this entire time they were talking about how I was "overreacting." But I had been unresponsive, throwing up, and unconscious on the floor. If I had not eaten the donuts when I did, I would be dead right now, or at the very least in a coma. They were extremely unprofessional and negligent, considering they knew I was a diabetic and my boss knew my blood sugar was low.

What should I do? People are suggesting I go to a lawyer and get a consultation. Is it worth my time?

Answer: You are ultimately responsible for you. Your boss did not force you to continue working, if you felt your condition required a hospital visit, you should have gone. You should test sooner so you dont get into this situation again.Answer #2: Did you boss threaten to fire you if you left to seek medical attention? I'm confused why you didn't just leave or call an ambulance.


Title: I think my job might have been robbing me for 2 years.

Question:
So, let me start off by saying I reside in WV, an at-will state. I work for a car dealership as a service advisor. When I started, I had to sign a copy of the handbook stating that I understand and will abide by all policies etc.

Getting more to the point, the handbook states that all employees must take minimum 30 min lunch break (optionally an hour). Again I say, I am a service advisor. I run the office all day and never get a lunch, and payroll always deducts 30 mins from my time sheet.

Is this legal? Does a handbook supersede state law? What are my options/course of action, if any?

Answer: The handbook says you must take 30+ min lunches. You signed it stating you'd do this and other handbook rules. Seems like it's on you to take the lunch break, and you'd get in trouble for not taking it.


Title: What type of trouble can I get into for fighting with a friend at a restaurant?

Question: I have a friend who keeps disrespecting me. We're both late 20s top 10 undergrad types, but the type of disrespect he gives me in our ethnic communities is not cool. He tests me knowing well I am keeping my calm. I want to just put him in line once, show him I am not to be fucked with. If I were to do this at a restaurant and had the cops called on me, or had cops break up the fight on the street, neither of us lack honor and would press charges. However what could the law do in such a case?

Answer:
 >We're both late 20s top 10 undergrad types

Hmmm....with the maturity level of a 16 year old.  Here's some life advice.  A physical confrontation doesn't command respect from rational adults, it just makes you look like a bigger asshole and a smaller person.


Title: I overpaid an account and was charged a fee, just curious if that's legal.

Question:
My gas bills during the summer are very low ($10-15 a month) and they charge a fee to pay online, so I decided to just pay $100 at once instead of paying the fee every month.

They have charged me an "overpayment fee" of $8.50 and sent me a check for the difference.  That's fine, if they don't want people overpaying then I'll abide by that, but I'm curious about the fee.  Is that legal/common?

Since it's only $8.50 I can just pay it to make things easy but I was really surprised.

Edit:  I'm in Florida

Answer: It's probably something in whatever agreement you signed or condition of your service. I don't see anything particularly illegal about it other than them just adding unnecessary fees. Answer #2: Can you just mail them a check or use your online bill pay and avoid their payment processing fee (which is legal & common for utility companies)?


Title: Psychic scammer

Question:
A relative reached out to a so called psychic who promised to help him deal with issues he was facing (health, life, etc.). The psychic did nothing after payment and basically strung along this relative until they cut off all contact. There was a contract that was signed, but this relative cannot locate the contract at this time. This happened quite a few years ago, I'd say around 5 years. Within the last 5 years, the "psychic" in question has gotten into legal issues with other scams and even had property taken. I'm just trying to figure out what we can do legally at this point. My relative was not in the right frame of mind when he agreed to this service and I do feel he was taken advantage of. We are in the US, the scammer is in Hawaii.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer: I've looked into the future and your prospects of getting a favorable judgement are bleak.Answer #2: [Statute of limitations for contracts in Hawaii is six years. Fraud is two years.](http://research.lawyers.com/hawaii/hawaii-statutes-of-limitations.html)


Title: Friend was raped but she will not report it because she has a warrant. What to do? (Michigan, USA)

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Encourage your friend to contact a local rape crisis center or women's support organization. Her situation is not an uncommon one, and they will be able to provide guidance and local expertise.


Title: A coworker started a rumor that I brought a resident (Group Home for Developmentally Disabled Children) to my place of Residence. - Ohio

Question:
I am a male youth worker in a group home.  All of the residents are female which should highlight the seriousness of these allegations.

Essentially the false allegation is from a coworker (unknown who it is) and is simply that I brought one of the girls to my place of residence.  The connotations of a male professional bringing a developmentally disabled girl to his residence is abhorrent and I am distraught about this allegation.

My immediate manager has stated that she knows the allegation is false and refuses to entertain it.  She plans on doing all within her power to find the originator(s) of these rumors.

Like most work places conflicts arise, and unfortunately it maybe someone that doesn't particularly like me has spread these rumors.  My fear is that this behavior may continue until I no longer feel comfortable working there requiring me to leave, or an allegation is taken seriously and termination is considered.

If the originator of these rumors is determined what are my legal options regarding this?

Would it be wise for me to consult a lawyer now, and what type of lawyer should I talk to?

Thank you all for your time, and I'm looking forward to the responses!

-PelvicWetlands

(In Ohio)

Answer:
 In the mean time, per regulations, never be alone with the girls. Always have a coworker nearby if you're in their room with them. If you're in the common area, make sure you're not sitting next them directly on a couch, etc. Distance and people are ALWAYS your friend.

And, just a warning for someone whose been in this field a long time- get use to this happening. From coworkers or from clients. Sometimes it could come from a client who feels slighted and tells a coworker you did something you did inappropriate. So get into a good habit documenting your interactions (no feelings! just facts, quote them!) with clients in the daily charting, never be alone with them unless you have to- i.e community transporting to an outting of some sort. When in the home and they wanna show you something in their room? Bring a coworker.

But chin up, if you did nothing wrong- you should be fine.


Title: Friend claimed a hit run, but actually covered for guy from stress/duress

Question:
A buddy of mine got into a car wreck. He just purchased his 2019 Dodge Charger less than a month ago and got t-boned on Friday.

When he got out to talk to the driver, the driver of the other car said he had no insurance. My buddy’s roommate proposed that the guy just pay the $500 deductible and my buddy will claim a hit and run. Apparently, my buddy felt bad because the guy seemed strapped for money and he (the other driver) had a crying toddler in the backseat.

My buddy claimed the hit and run, but can’t get a hold of the guy to pay the deductible. He has already told his insurance company it was a hit and run and he didn’t get any info about the guy who hit him.

For some reason, the guy who hit my buddy told him what apartment he lives in, so he can go by and get the license number, if it’s useable for anything.

What are my buddy’s options here? He just told me this story this morning and I’d like to help him out. He keeps putting himself into these stupid predicaments and I’m trying to get him to stop the pattern.

Answer:
 Your buddy's option was to call the police and file a claim with insurance at the time of the accident.

Now that the person who hit him has left and your friend cannot locate them, there's not much he can do.

I wouldn't commit potential fraud by saying it was a hit and run.


Title: [Update] Goodwill accidentally sold my unattended unicycle [CO]

Question:
Hi guys!

So great news! This got resolved in a very 21st-century way. My friend posted an ad to [craigslist](http://denver.craigslist.org/bik/5211259822.html) about it being lost. Some Redditor [cross-posted](https://www.reddit.com/r/Denver/comments/3k47cz/help_find_this_lost_unicrcle/) it to /r/denver.
/u/polops turned out to be the buyer, and he graciously [returned it](https://www.reddit.com/r/Denver/comments/3k47cz/help_find_this_lost_unicycle/cuvdjxi).

So everything worked out okay! The only causality appears to be /u/lmg6841, [whose karma took a toll by (correctly) suggesting Goodwill was likely liable.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Denver/comments/3k47cz/help_find_this_lost_unicycle/cuuygqn)

Thanks all for your help, and I'm glad this resolved itself so smoothly.

Edit: [Original post](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3k3vhv/goodwill_accidentally_sold_my_unattended_unicycle/)

Answer:
 >The only causality appears to be /u/lmg6841, whose karma took a toll by suggesting Goodwill was liable.

Come on everyone, we can fix that! Happily ever after up votes all around!

Glad to hear it resolved happily, OP. Answer #2: I had to go ahead and give /u/polops gold for being a good human and returning the bike. That kind of decency should be rewarded.Answer #3: Thank you for the update!  Bike-on my friend!Answer #4: Thinking Goodwill wouldn't be liable is like thinking a car dealership wouldn't be liable for selling your vehicle while you looked around the lot. Answer #5: Is /u/poplops out $8.50?


Title: Legally winning guardianship over mentally challenged sister from our dad.

Question:
First, sorry about formatting and rambling; I am highly upset but I'll do my best to clearly explain my situation. Thank you ahead of time for reading my story!!

My sister is intellectually disabled, autistic, my dad made me sign over rights of guardianship when I was 18 and I was so young I didn't know what I was doing, nothing was explained except I needed to do that so she can get her disability money. He lied to me. She turned 18 then he put her in a group home for people like her which she hates and has been abused physically and sexually with no repercussions to her abusers. My dad knows about this and still keeps her living there. I've busted my ass for years going to school full time and working full time to get to the point where I can rescues her!

What are the chances of me gaining guardianship now and getting her out of the place she hates and isn't safe? He is disabled now and is doesn't even have a home, he bounces from house to house no more than 2 months at a time or everyone's couches. He has always been psychologically and physically abusive to both of us and especially our mother though the physical aspect stopped when I was 17 and threatened to call the cops. He went to jail for domestic battery when I was in 8th grade for almost breaking my mom's arm over her turning on the radio..

Fast forward to us being legal adults, He was married to my stepmother by the time she turned 18 and she resented us terribly but never in front of him per say. He chose his new daily over us and I think that's another reason he put her in the center; that and because he didn't even want kids, begged my mother to have an abortion. He doesn't want the responsibility of having to take care of her everyday but I DO. I love my sister more than anyone in this world. I want to help her learn to function on her own and teach her things she never had a chance to learn like cook and provide a safe stable environment!!

I was in an accident a year and a half ago and am just getting stable around 3 months ago. (Brain injures take forever to recover from) I have a steady job as of a week ago and a stable home. My fiancé pays all the bills and my job is strictly to kill boredom and extra money for random things I want. ( I like buying my own clothes etc)  will this affect me negativity? I am okay now.

I have no clue if I have rights to get her to live with me. She is only mildly slow but I don't think she is able to qualify to be able to give consent.

Will this be a long drawn out battle? I am financially secure but not wealthy and can't afford a lawyer for an extended period. My dad's check every month is $1500. He has already said he will hire a lawyer too and fight me on this. I have no clue why, you would think he would want us to be together. I'm her fucking sister!! I want complete guardianship and him to have NO RIGHTS for her wellbeing. Do I even have a chance to get her to be able to stay with me?

Arkansas, Craighead/Crittenden County

TL;DR: Dad refuses to let my disabled sister love with me and prefers her to live in a handicapped facility even after knowing about sexual, physical, and emotional abuse she received there. I have no clue about my rights in this situation.

Answer: Well....you have the right to call the friggin police and report that your sister is being subjected to sexual abuse at her group home. Why haven't you ALREADY done this?


Title: Can you sue a person who doesn't pay back money that he borrowed from me?

Question: I had a roommate I lived with in California. He needed quick cash so I've lent some money to him (which may not be that big). I really needed money so asked him to pay back. He said he will and has been ignoring me and threatening me that I cant do anything since there was no written contract and no laws to deal with this. He said "its just a mere (mere money I borrowed), no laws to prove it"

Answer:
 You can sue anyone for anything, but that doesn't mean you'll win. You can take him to small claims court, if it's a small amount of money. Depending on the amount you lent him, it may not be fiscally prudent to pursue this. From what I can see, the average cost for filing a small claims case against your former roommate is around $80, varying by the county you live.

If possible, may we know how much was lent to him?

Also, is there any sort of written communication (text, email, paper) mentioning the lending of money?

Edit: Grammar.Answer #2: I once saw someone successfully sue for $8 and a smile. You are right, you had a verbal agreement which holds up in court. That being said, no one likes being a part of your under $100 case and I'd suggest taking it as a lesson just in case you get a really crotchety judge.


Title: How is Michael Avenatti able to share the details of the Stormy Daniels Case?

Question:
In Colbert's show he shared evidence of a bank wire transfer. Isnt that against the law? Isn't that only for the eyes of the court to see?

He also showed bias by saying Trump was not going to last that long as President..even commenting that his lawyer Rudy Giuliani was an absolute disaster.

Seems like a lot of bias he is showing that can be used against him right? Apologies if this is off topic. I really don't understand how the legal system works regarding this situation.

Answer:
 >	Isn't that only for the eyes of the court to see?

Evidence is generally public.

>	He also showed bias by ...

He's ... not on Trump's side. He doesn't have to be unbiased. He **should** be biased. That's how the system works: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adversarial_system

>	Seems like a lot of bias he is showing that can be used against him right?

Wrong.

>	I really don't understand how the legal system works

Correct. Answer #2: It's a civil case.  Absent a court order, he can share anything except confidential communications with his client, and those he can share with her permission.

>He also showed bias by saying Trump was not going to last that long as President..even commenting that his lawyer Rudy Giuliani was an absolute disaster.

He's a private lawyer in a civil case.  His only obligation is to his client.  He is supposed to be biased in favor of his client.   He can say whatever he wants unless the court prohibits it.


Title: [TX] Ex job turned me in for diverting medications, interesting how this turned out

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 If you have hired an attorney who specializes in this already, you should not be posting on this sub looking for legal advice.

The legal advice is to hire an attorney and you have done that.Answer #2: You already have a lawyer, so listen to them. I am curious though, you never had the patients sign that they received the drugs?  I work in a hospital and get our meds out of Pyxis but it's still confirmed that the drugs made it to the patients when we scan their bracelets and then scan the meds.

Your lawyer will get access to whatever evidence they have against you. Work with your lawyer. Answer #3: >  My last day there the owner calls me and states that he knows I took the medications and if I will go into a Peer Assistance Program AND work for him for $25000 less per year he will not turn me into the Board of Nursing.

If you can get that in writing that would probably be considered extortion and you can get the police involved.


Title: [Maryland] Uber passenger, got rear ended. Am an exchange student from outside the U.S and got a call...

Question:
So 3 days ago I was rear ended while riding on Uber at night and the Uber driver was completely in the right and stopped on a red light. We were taken to a hospital and sent home few hours later after a head CT and a check up with the classic neck/back pain. At noon the same day I get a call from someone with something like: "D.C accidental service" or something offering lawyers.

I'm not from the U.S and have no idea how this process works. They said that the lawyer would not charge anything unless there was some settlement and then he would take 1/3 of the settlement. I was told to go to some checkup clinic to asses my injuries and now I have to go to physio 3xweek (fun stuff)

They told me (when they arrived at my home in the evening of the day I came home) that I should go to their office to talk about the whole legal process.

What's going on? Is this legitimate? Are there any hidden costs in these situations? I'm completely lost. Help!

Answer:
 They are called ambulance chasers. They just want to make money off your accident. If you have a serious injury, long term pain, or anything like that, contact the local bar association and hire a personal injury attorney. They are legit but you would likely be better service by a different attorney IMO

I do not know if insurance will pay out to you since it was an uber accident. But you can file a claim against the guy who hit you and his insurance. Answer #2: > What's going on?

You're being targetted by what Americans refer to as "ambulance chasers".  These are lawyers who specialize in personal injury, and try to get large settlements for their clients out of insurance companies and other corporations.  They are known(in the general case) for attempting to exaggerate or embellish to get the most money they can.

They normally get paid out of the settlement - they take some percentage.  So, you'll be out nothing if they lose.  Problem is, they might not do any better than you can do on your own, thus lessening your payout.  Additionally, they may pressure you into taking more or different treatments to pad the bill.

Personally, were I in a position to file a personal injury suit, I'd go with a lawyer I find and interview, not J. Random Snotwad, Esq., who cold-calls victims.


Title: am i trespassing if i don't identify myself but live in the private community? CA

Question:
I live in a gated community. Where you need a key fob to get in through the pedestrian side gates. Today i didn't have my key fob, so i was walking through the vehicle entrance. I guess the private community guard saw me and told me I was trespassing. I told him I lived here and kept on walking. The guard asked where my key fob was, and I replied I don't know. Tells me to give him my name and address, But I told him I didn't want to give him that information. He told me to leave since I was "technically trespassing". So I turned and left back through the gate. walked a little bit further down the fence, hoped over and walked home.

Was i trespassing even if i live there but don't identify myself? This is in California.

Answer:
 I can't speak to the rights and authority that a security guard has in CA, but...

If he had called the police, you could have been detained or arrested by an officer for trespassing (even though you were not guilty).

Because it matters less if you *were* trespassing (at that stage) than if there was reasonable suspicion or probable cause to *believe* you were trespassing.


Title: [Texas] Custody Problems

Question:
This isn't my problem, but my brother's. About a year or two ago, his ex took him to court for child support, and they got a custody agreement. He's paid child support every month, but recently lost his job and hasn't been able to find a new one, so he hasn't been able to pay child support. Due to not being unable to pay, his ex hasn't let him see his daughter on the scheduled days he's supposed to have her. He was supposed to have her every 2 weeks for the weekend, and he didn't see her for over a month.

Could he take her to court over this, or it is just something he's gonna have to deal with? I don't think it's right that if he can't pay, he can't see his daughter. It would be another story if he didn't want to pay, and didn't want to be in her life. But that's not the case.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: He was supposed to file with the court when he lost his job to have the child support adjusted. It's not retroactive (meaning he still owes what he owes now), but it should help. And they can also address the custody issue there, because it sounds like they both need some education around that. She's generally not supposed to withhold visitation.


Title: Resigned and being asked to sign a termination certificate

Question:
I just resigned from my job (in NY state where I both live and work) as I have been offered and accepted a position at another company. My current employer suspects I may be leaving for a competitor and immediately terminated my employment today rater than have me serve out my two week notice, which makes sense as I have access to a lot of sensitive information.

As part of my termination, they have asked me to sign a "Termination Certificate" which includes clauses about returning all equipment and data, which is fine. However the final clause includes a 12-month non-compete clause and I see no reason to sign this.

Now, the actual text of the termination agreement states:

> I also agree that for twelve (12) months from this date, I will comply with the non-competition and non-solicitation provisions, as set forth in Paragraph 7 of the At Will Employment, Confidential Information, Invention Assignment, and Arbitration Agreement.

I went through all of the documents I signed when I was initially offered my current job. The only thing relevant I can find is part of my initial offer letter, which stated:

>You will be expected to sign and comply with the attached Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement.

That document was never actually attached to my initial offer letter and I never signed it as far as I can tell. I have poured over everydocument I have ever signed, including employee guidelines and no document with my signature actually has the text of the non-compete agreement described in the termination certificate.

My questions are:

* Am I still subject to a non-compete agreement if I never signed it?
* This termination certificate doesn't have any text for what I will be receiving from the company if I sign it. What could they do if I didn't sign it?

Thank you for any help. As I mentioned, I live and work in New York State (specifically New York City).

Answer:
 If they're not offering you anything in exchange for signing it, don't sign it.  It doesn't have consideration, anyway, so it wouldn't even hold up.  They can't do anything to you if you don't sign it, they have zero bargaining chips. They're not allowed to withhold your last paycheck or anything.

Usually those end-of-job contracts are contingent on some kind of severance package.  In this case, they're not giving you anything, so you have no reason to sign it.Answer #2: > Am I still subject to a non-compete agreement if I never signed it?

No.

> What could they do if I didn't sign it?

Likely nothing.  If you stole company data to take to the new one, they could maybe come after you for that.  But that's about it.


Title: Was pulled over tonight.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: He can send it by mail. There is no requirement to cite you on the side of the roadAnswer #2: Cop computers crash ALL the time. It's a sad reality really.


Title: Can I (25/F) sue my roommate (30/F) to get her to leave?

Question:
Hey everyone, I'm in a pretty crappy living situation and I'm wondering if I have a case to get out of it sooner.

&#x200B;

I moved in with my roommate in January, and we are both leaseholders on a two-bedroom apartment. I used to work with my roommate (before she was then fired from the company I still currently work for), and at the time I had no idea how much of a basket case she is. When we moved in, due to her financial situation, I put down 3 months extra rent deposit ($6,000), paid first and last months rent ($4,000), paid application fees for both of us ($150), and the broker's fee ($2000) just to get us a lease. In retrospect I shouldn't have, but I did this because she had become a really good friend over the the time that we worked together, and from her overall demeanor I believed her to be a responsible adult who was just in an unfortunate situation. I figured I'd get most of the deposit back, and we really needed to settle on a place quickly at the time because of many other, smaller factors.

&#x200B;

Since moving into the apartment, she has continuously made my life a living hell. She has not contributed to anything that we agreed to split at the beginning, she is late on her bills monthly, she has no regard for common human courtesy, and she has put me into dangerous situations by leaving random men (guys she hooks up with) in the apartment alone without being here when she leaves. She has broken every ounce of trust I have for her and made me feel so uncomfortable in my own home. She has a very part-time job as a bartender where she makes the bulk of her money, but is also illegally claiming Unemployment Insurance (she is not actively seeking work, which is one of the requirements and she makes more than is allowed for the benefits at her bar job). Other than that, she claims to be a "self-employed" writer (she had like one magazine publication in 2015 and can't get over it apparently). She stays out every night until the middle of the night, comes home drunk and makes a crapload of noise. She claims to have bi-polar disorder and does things like sit around, laughing/talking to herself constantly.

&#x200B;

After months of me politely asking things of her, such as "can you buy the household supplies this month?", or "can you please stop being late on bill payments?", or "can you please contribute to cleaning some?", things have finally boiled over and we got into a big argument. My plans are to live with my boyfriend at the end of our lease, but when I discussed this with her previously, she basically immediately came to the conclusion that I would be the one finding a new apartment, and that was my breaking point. I told her that I felt it was extremely unfair that she would assume I would leave after the fact that the only reason she lived in the apartment was due to the immense amount of down payment I provided to the landlord. She finally agreed that she would be moving at the end of the lease, although I'm sure she will go back and forth on this later.

&#x200B;

I just want her out, by any means necessary. I want to know if I can sue her to get her out. Can I claim undue stress/hardship? Can I sue for anything at all in this situation? Is there a single thing in this world that I can use to get her out of this apartment and just take over the whole cost of rent until the lease is up?

&#x200B;

**TLDR: I live with a terrible roommate, asking advice on how to/if I can get her out before the lease is over.**

Answer: It doesn't sound like she's done anything illegal - she's just a shitty roommate. It seems you don't have any options to legally evict her. You're going to have to wait out the lease.


Title: [San Diego, CA] Bought car on credit. Stopped working.

Question:
So, after seeing an ad for this car on the dealership's website I went down to check it out. The car seemed to be in fine condition appearance-wise. I took it for a test drive and nothing seemed off with it. So I paid $1600 down and got a financing for the remaining $6000. It came with no warranties or anythign.

Fast forward 2 months and the car completely dies on the freeway. Took it to a mechanic and he told me it would cost around $3500 to get it in working condition again. I had to stop paying the loan repayments because I can't afford both them and public transport. Now the finance company has sued me for the balance. Is there anything I can do to get out of this contract? Thanks for the help. Bit desperate.

Answer:
 >It came with no warranties or anythign

I think this answers your question. You signed a contract to pay for what I will assume is an old car with a ton of miles (with that price in SD). You owe on the contract. It is very logical that the car will need repairs. Answer #2: You bought the car without getting it checked out by a mechanic and without any kind of warranty?  You can't judge a car just by looking at it.

You could try to sue the dealer if you feel they defrauded you.  If for instance they said anything false about the car's condition (at the time) when they sold it to you and you can prove that you might be able to recover some money from them.

What actually went wrong with the car?


Title: My friend was recently raped. What should she do?

Question:
Here are the details that I currently know of.

The incident happened about a month ago in Florida while visiting family. She is a New Yorker and is currently back in NY. She got too drunk at a party and went into a room to rest. She remembers most of it even though she was drunk. Her cousin broke down the door to "rescue" her but her cousin says it wasn't rape because she was crying and yelling "Nothing happened" while her and him were buttoning their pants up. She messaged the guy on Facebook days later telling him she knew it was him. He admitted it by saying "How was my love stick?" and that "He was a little drunk so he doesn't remember much" By how she described the event, this was not his first time, he did it with direct motive and aggression.

Her sister blames her by saying it was probably what she was wearing and a lot more words of typical victim blaming.  Her parents are very republican fox news watchers with huge tempers so she hasn't told them.

What should she do? What steps can she take?

Answer:
 >What should she do?

She has the option of making a police report. If she wants to do so is up to her.


Title: Two teens block driveway and gamble on the street.

Question:
They blocked our driveway 3 times so far. The first 2 times they just sat in the car and this last time got out of their car to bet on dice. The car has a license plate that says "dealer". I have a video of them from the last time, and their plate #.

&#x200B;

What should I do if they continue to do this after asking them to not block the driveway?

Is it normal to have a plate that says dealer on it, or is there something wrong there? It's different from the temporary tags that you usually see on a new car.

&#x200B;

Here is a frame from the video I captured: [https://imgur.com/rJJn5gf](https://imgur.com/rJJn5gf)

Answer: Call the police.


Title: I vouched for a friend to play online poker, he didn't pay so I had to. Can I sue to recover the money.

Question:
I foolishly gave my word on a player so he could play in a private online club. He lost 8k and refused to pay, and is now ducking me.

 I'm not sure of the legality of the game (it's run in TN, I'm in NC and the guy live in GA). I'm worried that the fact that I would get a commission off his play if he had paid complicates things.

Answer: Well the game was quite possibly illegal on the federal level as it was betting across state lines in violation of the Wire Act (although the acts application to non sports betting is unclear at this time).  And while I don’t know the specific laws for TN, NC, and GA I suspect I violated state laws in all three regarding gambling.  But sure, you could sue him in GA small claims court and admit to the crime in pleadings so a prosecutor could easily send you to jail.


Title: [CA] Is my Landlord Legally Obligated to Provide an Interior Bedroom Door?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: What on earth are you talking about? You guys broke the door. You are responsible for paying to repair or replace it.


Title: Advice on healthcare payment

Question: We are a couple visiting from Ireland who were due to have a baby by surrogate here next.month. sadly the baby was born early by 5 weeks and has had to spend 2 weeks in intensive care. Our insurance has said they will not cover as a surrogate. We now have a bill of 120,000 usd. What are our options here? We obviously don't have that kinda cash hanging around.

Answer: Did you have any kind of surrogacy agreement in place to cover health care expenses? Was your intent to just pay for everything out of pocket?


Title: I'm manning a table to represent my employer at my towns local university on my day off, I'm legally entitled to compensation right?

Question:
I live in Washington state.

I'm just preparing for the worst, my boss has a habit of being somewhat unreasonable, and I may possibly be over thinking it, but just in case the subject comes up I want to be prepared.

So I work at a salon in a small town, I'm just a receptionist not a hairstylist or anything. And tomorrow on my day off me and my boss ( the owner of the salon), are going to our local university i'm setting up a table to hand out coupons and talk to people and all that kind of stuff.

She asked me to do it with her and set it up and of course I said OK because it's my boss but I'm just wondering legally she has to pay me right?

There was no implied volunteering or anything and I just want to be able to tell her a legal reasoning I guess (I don't know a better way to explain it) along with my other reasonings why I should be compensated for doing something like this in case she decides it was some type of volunteer effort.

Technically I am working and I'm even coming in on my day off. I get paid by the hour so since were meeting in the morning at the salon and then leaving at the end of the day from the salon I plan to just clocking in and out.

Answer:
 > I get paid by the hour

Then the law says you are to be paid for every hour you work.


Title: [OR] Got pulled over. Cop said my license was suspended and got ticket, license taken away. Went to DMV and have clean driving record

Question: Title explains it. Today I was pulled over and the cop informed me that my license was suspended. Then he proceeded to write me a ticket and took my license away. I went to the nearest DMV and they brought up my information and said my license was not suspended and was good to go. My ticket I received had wrong information about how my last name was spelled, address, hair color, etc. (Not sure if that makes a difference.) So I'm getting at is do I have a chance to get this ticket dropped and get my license back?

Answer:
 If your license is not suspended, then you have an ironclad defense against a ticket for driving on a suspended license.

You should get a letter from the DMV verifying that your license is not suspended, then raise hell with the officer's supervisor until they void the ticket and return your license to you.Answer #2: Get an official copy of your driving record and take it to court.  It's inconvenient but you don't want to ignore this now that it happened.Answer #3: You can bother the police department and the cop's supervisor about how he can't write a proper citation or just make them look like fools in court. I'd do the latter.Answer #4: With that much misinformation on the ticket, why did you sign it?


Title: My mom wants me to be executor of her will. What does this mean? Does it matter than I'm not a lawyer? (TX)

Question: My mom in Texas asked me to be the executor of her will... I'm a little uncomfortable with it because I don't know what kind of responsibility it comes with and I know nothing about estate law.

Answer:
 It's just a fancy way of saying that, when you die, you'll be the one who puts out notice and does what the will says. It's a very easy position, and if you don't want to do it you can always pass it on or hire a lawyer to do it for you.

You don't have to be a lawyer. In fact, if she doesn't have a spouse and you're an only child, you're automatically the executor anyway.


Title: [IL] Employer doesn't pay overtime, and has me consistently working 50+ hours a week. More in text.

Question:
Hello everyone! I was referred to here by a friend.

I've been working for a small retail business for about 6 months now. When I was hired on, they told me I wouldn't be paid for overtime, but it wouldn't matter because I wouldn't work that much anyway. Now, for the last 4 or so months straight, he has been forcing me to work 50+ hours a week without overtime. He also tried to promote me to regional manager, and when I decline told another employee that he would "teach me a lesson". I'm planning on putting my 2 weeks in tonight, I just want to know what my best course of action would be. I don't want to harm the business or anything like that, but I feel taken advantage of and want to make sure he knows it's not okay.

Also, another reason I'm leaving is because I'm going back to college next semester and cannot afford to work this much for the business.

Thank you for any advice or help you guys give me ahead of time.

Answer:
 Since it seems that you know that your job security is none, zilch because you are planning to give your two weeks. You have nothing to fear and can confront him.

Let him know that in Illinois, not paying you overtime over 40 hours is illegal. Say that you will not work another hour over 40 until you are paid proper overtime.

Best case scenario, you will scare him into paying you overtime.

Worst case scenario, he fires you, you report him to the [Illinois department of labor.](http://www.illinois.gov/idol/Pages/Complaints.aspx) Note that you will not get your money back right away, but they will investigate and eventually, you will get the money that you are owed. File for unemployment. If contested (this kind of person sounds like he will), respond to the employment office. Be entirely honest with them.

EDIT: Fixed link.Answer #2: Are you paid hourly, or salary?


Title: Random girl on Facebook blackmailing guys in my area

Question: Not sure im in the right place but tonight I received a friend request on Facebook today from a random girl that supposedly was from my area. She messaged me and i messaged back thinking it might be one of my friends. When the conversation turned to sex, I thought this was definitely one of my friends fucking with me. Eventually, she asked to video chat which i accepted. To my surprise, it was actually a naked girl and then i ended the call. So, I get a message from some kid i went to highschool with saying this girl had just tried to blackmail him by threatening to message his family that he was a pedophile. Her facebook account has since been deleted but new facebook aliases are requesting this kid and then threatening him. Should i contact the police?

Answer: There is no girl and this is common scam fodder. Usually they try to get you to jerk it while they unwittingly record you so that they can demand money or else they'll send the video to your family/friends/pastor/mailman, whatever. There's no likelihood that the police would be interested in this.


Title: Strip Club Misconduct?

Question:
Please dont think I am trying to duck charges/responsiblity for my actions, i simply want to settle with the place at a reasonable amount for the services rendered.  Im seeking advice to see if there is any action i can take; please read on:

I was in Atlantic City NJ this weekend; at approximately 2:15 am on Saturday morning (08/06/2016) a group of friends and I entered a strip club where we were forced to leave our phones at the door (no sense of time inside the club).  I was clearly/visibly in a state of diminished capacity and I have no recollection of the events.  Everything below has been pieced together by friends and speaking with the strip club general manager.

I was approached by a dancer at 2:24am who solicited me to go into the back room with her.  I was presented with a non-repudiation form that had a charge of $1,000 of which my friend refused to let me sign due to my state - i agreed with him and thanked him.  The transaction was void and no services were rendered.  That charge never posted to my account.

At approximately 2:40am i was again approached by a dancer and solicited with another non-repudiation contract.  At this time my friend was not around to stop me and the charge was $300.  In my state I must have given consent to the contract although the physical document shows the barely legible letters NO where i was to place my initials next to the waiver of rights-to-dispute charges (my initials are GH).  At the time, I must have thought i was being coy by writing 'no' next to my waiver to dispute the charges.  Further, there were two separate  scribbles where i was told to sign my name; one of which was because i clearly could not place the pen in the proper place on the paper due to my state of diminished capacity, the second was in the vicinity of the signature line.

After apparently entering a back room with the dancer, I was allegedly presented with the same document at 3:01 am where there is another illegible signature next to a charge of $3000 (looked nothing like the first two scribbles).  At 3:35am there is yet another completely different but illegible signature next to a charge of $3500.  None of the charges have a description for the services that they represented, the line items on the contract simply have a hand written time stamp, hand written dollar amount, and (allegedly my) illegible writing which the club is calling my signature.

The next day when i regained my phone, i noticed several fraud alert emails from my credit card bank warning of suspicious activity.  The bank had flagged a transaction of $3,000, $4,000, and $3,500.  From this it is evident that the dancer/club also attempted to make a transaction of $4000.  This $4,000 transaction appears no where on the "contract" (non-repudiation form).  The charge of $4,000 was declined by my card and never posted.  All three other charges were posted.

When i contacted the club i asked for details of which the general manager cooperated without issue and told me of the charges and advised me that they have video of me signing the contract at the time of each transaction.  He also furnished a picture of the contract which was actually dated 08/05/2016 (the transactions were on the morning of 08/06 - not on 08/05 although im not sure if this matters legally).

The total charges the GM told me i am responsible for were $6,800 of which all posted to my credit card account.  This is approximately 2 months’ worth of income for me - a dollar amount i would NEVER agree upon in sound mind, nor can i reasonably afford.  $6,800 for approximately 1.5-2 hours in a gentleman’s club is an egregious amount of money and the charges have no description on the paperwork i was provided.  Further, this particular strip club does not serve alcohol, so all charges would be for intangible services.  There is no menu or pricing sheet for services that this establishment offers in all of the searching i have done.

Although i understand that i must live with my mistakes, and i am willing to own up to responsibility; i feel that in this situation my state of diminished capacity was exploited by the club (or dancer) in an attempt to get as much money as they could from my account.

Are there any actions i can take to either settle the credit card charges down to a lesser, reasonable amount or to file suit against the club with the belief that they intentionally exploited my condition to enter me into a contract i otherwise never would have agreed to?  I am being told to dispute the charges with the credit card company - but i have heard if i do that the strip club can file criminal charges for theft of services.

Is there any chance i can settle the charges down to a lesser amount? If so, what is my best course of action?

I would be absolutely thrilled to settle the charges down by any amount at this point since im losing my mind thinking about how much money this is.

Thanks

Answer: Of course your intoxication was taken advantage of. That's the way a strip club works. Drunk people go in, swipe their cards, and have a good time. Next time be sober if you want to go to a strip club, and leave before you agree to champagne room activities.


Title: Can a convicted pedophile have rights to see his grandchildren?

Question:
[MASSACHUSETTS] I HAVE A FRIEND WHO happens to have a pedophile father in jail. Let's say this friend recently had children and is worried his father will demand to see his grandchildren. Can this have weight in court?

*edit. location.

Answer:
 It depends on the pedophile's release conditions. If he's not allowed to be around children, that's it - he's not allowed.

The pedophile's son would not be obligated to allow the grandfather to see the kid. In states with grandparents rights, its only in limited circumstances such as when the kids already have a relationship with the grandparent. We don't know your state so don't know if that would even be relevant.


Title: Is this a scam? What should I do about it?

Question:
Hey guys, I'm not sure if it's the right subreddit for this but I hope you'll be able to help me.
One year ago I signed up for a 1 year free domain to play around with Wordpress and completely forgot about it after a few months. I got an e-mail recently stating that I should cancel the subscription so it doesn't get renewed but I was away for a few days at that time and they sent it literally one day before the deadline and it was too late when I checked my e-mail.
Then they started spamming my e-mail with the amount I need to pay but I ignored it because it really felt like a scam. Now today I received a physical letter with similar content and I'm not sure what to do. Should I pay before it spins out of control? Should I ignore it? When I registered only some basic personal info (no credit card or an ID proof) was required so to be fair anyone could enter someone else's personal info and they would get spammed with the same stuff.

EDIT: I'm in Poland and the letter was sent from the UK (London).

Answer: How is it a scam? Your agreed to it. They emailed you a warning. It renewed. Not a scam.


Title: West Yorkshire Police states that I have made a traffic offence but I live in Canada and it wasn't me.

Question:
I received a letter from the West Yorkshire police department that a vehicle registered under my name was caught speeding. The letter had my full name and an old adress from about nine years ago. I went to my local police and asked what I should do and they told me to contact the Britsh police first. Does any one know how easy it is in England to register a vehicle and what amount of info is needed. I am concerned that not just my name and old address are out there. I do not have alot in the way of finances to be worried about but I do not want this to ruin any chances of visiting England and renting vehicles. Do you guys think that the police in Yorkshire will ignore this or try to find the culprit who is using my info. Any bit of info would be great guys, thanks.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 Did you ever have a vehicle registered in the UK? How did the letter make it to your current address in Canada if it's registered to an address in the UK you haven't lived at in nine years?

You can contact West Yorkshire Police on +44 1924 375 222. Probably a good idea to give them a call and discuss it with them directly.


Title: Insurance claim filed to my personal auto insurance policy for an incident that happened while driving a company vehicle.

Question:
I am in Frederick county, Maryland. While driving a company vehicle on company time, another driver backed into me in a parking lot. My employer is insured by X insurance, the other vehicle's driver is insured by Y insurance, which is also the company I use for my personal auto insurance. At the time of the incident, we exchanged insurance information, and I gave the information for my employer. At no time did I give my personal insurance information to the other driver, only my name/address/driver's license number, and the information from my employer's insurance.

While exchanging information, the other driver (actually the other driver's mother, as it was her vehicle) claimed that it was my fault because I was "speeding" through the parking lot and that her son had already started backing out when I pulled behind him.

There is now a claim for this incident filed against my personal insurance policy. I don't know how the other driver or the other driver's insurance company found the information for my personal policy, or why there is a claim filed against it for an incident that did not involve my personal vehicle.

Is it legal for an insurance agent to search their database to find the personal policy of other people if their clients are involved in an incident with them? If it comes to light that the other driver's agent found my personal policy information by searching on my name can they be sanctioned? I wasn't insured by my personal policy when this incident occurred, can a claim be filed on my personal policy, or only on my employer's policy?

Answer: I don't think you understand how it works. Anybody can file a claim against anybody's insurance.  Once your insurance company finds out you were on the clock and your employer has insurance it will be handed off to them. They aren't going to pay a claim if you were covered by your job's policy.  So just give them a heads up.


Title: 3 months into the second year of employment they changed me from salary to hourly [TX]

Question:
Is this legal ? This company is basically forcing me out of an office job due to them miss managing money. I agreed with my boss to go to the field as long as I kept salary. Last Wednesday they switched me to hourly without so much as informing me.

I was hired as a special projects estimator, and now I'm currently being forced into a construction position. Not to even mention ive had no way of filing for my fuck allowance since i was sent to the field.

Answer:
 It's generally not illegal to change job tasks significantly or to change someone from salary to hourly, but they have to inform you in advance of any change in pay. And you have to be paid for all hours worked, and now that you're hourly, OT for hours worked > 40 in the work week.Answer #2: This sounds like a job you could quit for "good cause" and receive unemployment while you search for another job.  Your job duties and pay have both changed.

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/jobseekers/eligibility-benefit-amounts


Title: My Roommate was shot

Question: Hello r/legaladvice I'm worried I may have an issue on my hand. I live in Detroit, Michigan. Recently roommate was murdered in our two bedroom apartment. Our door was unlocked, the assailant entered the apartment shot my roommate twice in the head while laying on the couch and then proceeded to flee the scene after dropping his gun onto the ground. I was showering while the crime occurred and I cannot recall(nor find) what clothing I was wearing prior to the incident. I then got out of the shower saw my roommate on the floor dead, put on some clothes, and then contacted authorities. When police arrived I told them my version of events, one detective noted how convenient it was that I showered just prior to my roommate's murder. At this point I realized that they thought of me as a suspect and refused to answer any further questions without a lawyer present. My house is currently a crime scene and I'm currently staying at a hotel. I know some people may wonder "If you aren't guilty, why would you care?". I care because I doubt on my salary ($47,000 third year teacher) could cover the costs of a lengthy legal endeavor. So I'm wondering A: Is there anything that could possibly implicate me in his murder B: What is the best course of action to take regarding the matter considering that the Detroit Police Department has a clearing rate above 92%. Even though I didn't do it I'm scared I may be wrongfully tried and convicted.

Answer:
 > What is the best course of action to take regarding the matter considering that the Detroit Police Department has a clearing rate above 92%.

Hire a criminal defense lawyer. Right now. Tell the lawyer everything. EV ER Y THING.

Then do everything the lawyer tells you to do.  Once again, EV ER Y THING.

Edited to add:

When you're talking to your lawyer, make sure you remember to tell him about [the gloves](http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/33z1ub/will_surgical_gloves_decompose_when_buried_in_a/).Answer #2: Has to be a troll account:

> Will Surgical Gloves decompose when buried in a forest?(self)

> 1 point submitted 11 minutes ago by rasashai7

> Hey was just wondering if surgical gloves like this will decompose if buried(rather deep) in a forest.

http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/33z1ub/will_surgical_gloves_decompose_when_buried_in_a/


Title: How to prove possible hiring discrimination?

Question:
I believe someone I used to work with manipulated human resources at my former workplace to not hire me.  In the end I was denied a position whether due to this person or not.

Is there any way to prove this or is it a waste of time?

Answer:
 >I believe someone I used to work with manipulated human resources at my former workplace to not hire me.

Was the denial based on your membership in a protected class?


Title: Allstate is suing me?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 It sounds like Allstate already sued you, and got a default judgment. It is POSSIBLE in some circumstances for a default judgment to be set aside. I don't know the rules for Florida. You should go see a local attorney for a consult about that.

But you also need to ask that lawyer would the result be any different if this went to court again?  E.g. would you likely end up with a judgement against you either way?


Title: [CT] Waiter - Restaurant claiming I owe money beyond my nightly cash out.

Question: A couple of days ago an error was made when changing a $50 bill for a table and I was told that I owe  $30 extra dollars at the end of my shit last night.  If I didn't make good on that $30 I was going to lose my next bar shift which happens to be on St. Patrick's Day.  So I paid back the money.  Today, I am told that I now owe an extra $106 because of  a check that was supposedly left open.  The problem with that claim is that I was the closing server last night and when you close out your night, the computer would not let you finish your report because of an outstanding check.  I handed my report to the general manager who signed off on it, took the money I owed and clocked out for the day.  I am interested in what it is I can do to keep myself from losing this job over something that is not true.  Right now it feels like their word against mine and that's a losing battle.  The same thing has happened to different employees in this place and they are always forced to pay what the owners say or they are terminated.

Answer: Your employer isn't a court of law. They can fire you for a mistake you didn't make. If that happens, file for unemployment and look for a new job. They can ask you to repay but cannot take it out of your check without permission. Sounds like a crappy place to work.


Title: Pregnant and on probation.

Question: Im 6 mos pregnant with my 1st child. Im very cautious and take every precaution possible for the safety of my unborn son. During the nightmare situation of this virus ordeal i have been self quarantined. In addition to all the chaos, im on pretrial probation that has been ongoing since the beginning of the year with continued court dates. Now three mos before my due date my po wants me to come in for a drug screen. I am absolutely terrified to step foot out in public due to the unknown damage and exposure that can be presented to my child and myself. What are my rights? Can i say no? Am i the only one that's about emotionally wrecked about this whole situation. In the time of this supposedly beautiful and encouraging even, im steady trying to figure out how to untie the knots that are wound up deep in the pit of my stomach.

Answer: If you refuse, your probation could be revoked. Call your PO and ask them what they're doing to manage COVID spread. You can't be totally quarantined from this. You're going to have go out in public for some things. This is one of those things. Ultimately, it's up to you to help manage your exposure to the virus. Wear a mask. Stay away from people. Wash your hands. Clean surfaces you touch. You'll be fine.


Title: Prank call went wrong

Question: I playing some games on steam with a couple of my buddies when one of them thought we should do some prank calls, I didnt think it was a bad idea so I said fuck it lets do it. He wanted me to prank call one of his irl friends acting like I was dating the girl he liked and that I wanted to fight him. So I made the call and acted all tough and acted like I was going to kick his ass at school tomorow. I then hung up. Keep in mind that they both live in colorado while I live in Texas. I told my friend to call the person we pranked call and let him know that he sit everything up. My friend thought it would be funnier if he waited tell school tomorrow I thought he was doing the wrong thing so I gave the guy a call back they awnserd immediately and said where calling the police and hung up instantly so I texted them it was just a prank call one of ur friends set you up. about 10 minutes late I get a call from "there local sheriffs office" I awnsered told the person it was just a prank call and I have no idea who this person is that a guy online give me his info then hung up. The reason I hung up because I wasnt sure if it really was the police (a quick google of the number brought up no corolation with any police department, then after that I started recieving text messages calls from different numbers the parents saying they were coming for me that they set a trap that there coming to get me. My friend that gave me the info and told me to call got caught some how and got charged with a class c misdemeanor. My friend told the police my full name phone number and school. My friend is scheduled for court january 11 and hes saying that its my fault and that I should of taken the fall for it and that in court hes going to plead not guilty and try and get them to charge me instead of him. He believes that they will drop the charges against him. and I have seen pictures of the court date and charge so it is legit. I need to know what I should do too not get pinned for this. Keep in mind that I have no idea who the guy I called is my friend said it would be helarious and that he would be a good sport about it wich he wasnt obviously. Anything helps ty, I know this sounds retarted as shit the parents are fucking crazy about this, just rather not deal with having a misdemeanor on my record tell I turn 18, reposted it because I wasnt aware you could edit it.

Answer:
 I'll offer the same basic advice that I gave when you posted this 3 minutes ago

> How old are you all? This is some middle school level stupid that should be discussed with your parents.
First, what you did could be considered terroristic threats in some places. That's a hefty problem on its own.
Second, a ten minute turnaround from reporting someone to "the sheriff" to "the sheriff" contacting an alleged criminal is ludicrously fast. That their phone number didn't show up as the contact info for the colorado county's sheriff isn't a clue for or against them being a real sheriff, but you'd more likely hear from police and not a sheriff.
Third, your friend and you can both be charged, together or separately, for the crime. He can't get the court to drop the charge against him because "my buddy was stupid enough to go along with it."


Title: [FL] Landlord attempting to strong arm my sister out of her apartment for his niece.

Question:
Short story is: My sister was a student at a local university and signed a lease for 18 months. Everything was great, no issues with the landlord. Fast forward to a few months ago, my sister notified her landlord that she was looking to buy a condo and asked to remain in the apartment on a month-to-month basis, landlord agreed. My sister is closing on her condo next month (it got delayed/not her fault). The landlord is now saying she has to be out July 1 because his niece needs the apartment for a late summer internship. No exceptions. This isn’t ideal because my sister isn’t supposed to close until the 8th (ish) unless it gets delayed again and that’s not even a week away!

We’ve read the landlord/tenant statues for Florida and I’m not sure we understand them fully. She had paid her rent on on-time for over a year. They didn’t have a formal agreement for month-to-month, it’s all been face-to-face communication because he lives in the building. I told her to get everything in writing, but she thought everything was cordial - life lesson! Anyways, what are her rights as a tenant? What can she do to fight for that extra time, anything?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Is her original 18 month lease up? If so, FL requires 15 day notice to end a month to month but it has to be in writing.Answer #2: As a month to month tenant she is owed 15 days notice.Answer #3: Practically speaking, your sister should have been mostly packed if she was expecting to move out on the 8th/9th.  She can and should tell the landlord he has to give at least 15 days notice to end the lease formally, even though they had a "handshake" agreement.  She could then try to negogiate a cash-for-keys kind of deal - he pays her enough to cover storage, gas to move her stuff - and she can couch surf or insist on him paying for an extended-stay hotel or something.  It's not much time, but she didn't have a whole lot from today to start with anyway (2 weeks ish) Answer #4: Your sister should immediately take about important documents and anything of value and move them to a storage facility or store them with someone she knows.   LL would be on the wrong,  but I can set a self help eviction in the future.


Title: TEXAS: Was passing in far left lane on highway and got a ticket.

Question:
I had just merged from the tollway onto the highway. Due to traffic conditions I could not safely switch from the far left lane to a middle lane. I looked behind me and saw a Nissan rapidly closing. I looked to my right to see if I could move lanes to get out the way but there was a large Mercedes work van right next to me. I looked forward along the road and saw I had a significant amount of cushion between myself and the next vehicle. I accelerated to pass in front of the van so I could safely change into the lane next to me. The only reason I did this was because the Nissan's rate of speed and the cushion around my vehicle made me feel unsafe. I also felt that braking to slow down and merge behind the van might have caused an accident due to the speed of the Nissan so I felt I had to accelerate. As soon as I was able to get over I immediately began decelerating. However the officer clocked me using a "DSR" radar unit. I was going 84 in a 70. There is dash-cam footage available I could request to help corroborate my claim. I intend to represent myself in court becasue I can't afford an attorney or this ticket.

&#x200B;

Any advice on what I should do? Is there any benefit in making my case to the judge? Admittedly I was speeding but it wasn't for the sake of speeding.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 Speeding to pass someone is still speeding, and will not get you out of the ticket. You should've waited until you were able to pass the van without accelerating that much. Answer #2: Speeding is speeding, you don't seem to have a valid defense.

In 99.999999% of cases, speeding up is the more dangerous choice instead of slowing down while driving.


Title: Car was illegally towed

Question:
I have a pretty interesting case that I though some of you might enjoy.

This occurred in Wellington, New Zealand which is the capital city and is notorious for over-zealous for-profit parking fines and towing.

My girlfriend was going to Cambodia for 3 months so instead of paying $50 per week for city parking we drove it out to a friend's house in the suburbs that has free street parking. Unfortunately one of the neighbours had parked in front of their house so we had to park it in front of the neighbour's house. It didn't matter for the neighbour though as it looked like they park in their driveway. My gf was going to leave me the key when she left so I could go back a few days later and move the car but unfortunately she accidentally took the key with her overseas.

A month later I checked on the car and it was fine. then another month later I checked on it and it was gone. Initially I thought it had been stolen but I called the towing companies and one of them had towed it for 'blocking a driveway'. Now, I am the one who parked it and I did so making sure there was at least a foot of room on either side and it was parked nicely close to the curb. I went to the tow company and disputed what they had said, whereupon they showed me photos they had taken of the car. In the photos the car was sitting 'exactly' in front of the driveway, completely blocking it off. You couldn't have parked it more squarely in front of the driveway if you tried.
Obviously someone had complained and the tow company moved the car, took photos and then towed it.
It seems strange that it took 2 months for the house to complain that there was a car completely blocking their driveway to have it towed.

Anyway I called the company and they agreed that I could pick the car up from them in a month when I got the key back. At the end of the day the fine was only $100 plus an $11 parking ticket.
Still it sure made my blood boil that people can move your car then steal it then charge you money to get it back and you can't prove anything because they have photos. Thanks for listening. I hope this doesn't happen to any of you.

Answer: Keep in mind, some municipalities require a car to be moved every now and then (though if that was the case, I don't know why they moved it to block the driveway first). A car not moving for two months might have been legally towed. Answer #2: If you abandoned a car in front of my house, I'd call to have it towed too. Maybe in NZ they can only tow it if it's blocking a driveway, but in the US, if it's an unknown car that hasn't moved in two months, it can get towed, free street parking or not.


Title: Air Conditioning is out after 5 days, in the middle of a heat advisory... in Arizona. Landlord still has not sent someone out to fix it.

Question:
Tempe, Arizona

I live in an apartment building in Arizona, a few days ago we started having issues with our air conditioner. 4 days ago our air conditioner went completely out, this is happened before so that evening we left it alone hoping it would self rectify like it had before. By that morning it was still not better and the air-conditioning completely stopped working.

We notified the apartment via the online maintenance work order system three days ago and they have still not sent out anyone to come fix it. Last night they finally brought over a small portable unit they placed in our living room, but that only cools the living room and our bedrooms are still well over 80 degrees.

Before the air conditioning unit was brought over, we had to deal with 85 degree heat for 2 days, I actually had to go stay at a friend's house it was so unbearably hot, and it was making me sick to be in our unit.

My question is whether or not I have any recourse, or any method in which to force the apartment into hiring a company to come out on overtime. I work with contractors all the time and know that if you pay them overtime they'll be out within a couple hours. State statute also says that in conditions unsuitable for living, tenants can go and rent hotel rooms and then deduct that from their rent for that month, does anyone know if this is a viable option, or am I making more trouble for myself then I would be if I just waited another couple days for this company to eventually come back out fix our unit?

Answer:
 Here’s link tot he Arizona landlord tenant act. If you look under the remedies section, you’ll find what you can do. Hope it helps!

https://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/33/01364.htm&Title=33&DocType=ARS


Title: Neighbor is making meth in an apartment building

Question: So.. i'm positive the person who lives below me is making meth. Super loud noises only at night, smells of shit and ammonia. And never hear the person during the day. Also, my skin eyes nose and throat burn when it is happening. However, by law management has to give a 48 hr notice to enter the unit, which gives them enough time to clean it up and hide the evidence. I basically just want out of my lease and don't want to fight this nor get involved. Does anyone have advice how to get out of my lease due to this happening if I am not able to actually prove it?

Answer: Call the police.


Title: Neighbors made noise complaint to police. Need help please!

Question:
My husband and I live in Chandler, AZ if that helps. We've lived in our house for about 1.5 years. We have three dogs, two Shepard mixes and one lab mix.

We got a note left on our door about 5 - 6 months ago, saying that our dogs bark "all day long, non stop". Our dogs do bark if someone walks near the fence that goes around the yard, and our house backs right up to a major road with a sidewalk so they hear people around pretty often. After we got the note, which was not signed, we bought bark collars for the dogs to wear while we're at work.

So now the dogs have the collars on from about 5 AM to about 3 PM every weekday. I know they do not bark at all with the collars on, because our landscaper told me the last time I saw him, that he was surprised the collars work so well. He told me he went right up to the gate to say hi to the dogs and they did nothing. The dogs sleep inside with us every night.

The neighbor right next to us does also have a dog they keep outside during the day, and his bark sounds exactly like my lab's bark.

Today one of our neighbors, again without saying anything to us at all, called the police to make a noise complaint. An officer stopped by and talked to my husband this morning. The neighbor who made the complaint had apparently been peeking over our fence at the dogs, because they know that our dogs wear bark collars during the day.

The officer says he will talk to the neighbors, and we might have to have the city mediate a meeting for all of us. Is there anything we should be concerned about, like getting a ticket or getting sued? Is there anything we should be doing? Can we tell the neighbor, if we find out who it is, to stay off of our property?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 Do not approach the person you think made the complaint, even if you find out who. It won't help you, and it will likely only make things worse.

If you have evidence someone is going onto your property, give that to the cops, and ask to press charges then.

Otherwise, just gather evidence that you feel exonerates you. Ask the neighbors you are friendly with if your dogs are being a nuisance. There's a chance that they are louder during the day than you realize.


Title: 17 and need a license

Question:
I am 17, live in Kansas, and can’t get a license. My mother is undocumented/illegal and doesn’t have proper identification to sign at the DMV to prove my hours spent driving when I was 16 since she’s the one that has to sign it apparently.

I dropped out of highschool and got my GED. I want to go to an electrician apprentice school but one of the requirements is having a valid drivers license. I’d love to drive legally and have everything official but I’m stuck in this limbo for another six months until my birthday.

I looked into getting emancipated but it looks like I need a job and to not live with my mom etc.

Do I have any options? Am I forced to wait 6 months, wasting time I could be working etc? This is frustrating because I can choose to get a learning permit at 16 by myself but I can’t get tested to drive on my own at 17? This was also an issue when I wanted to get a learners permit when I was 14 so I could get a DL at 16 but again, she doesn’t have any ID.

Also, I drive anyway because I need to run errands, go to appointments, and school while my mom is at work. I’ve been driving since I was 16. I’d like to have a license but obviously that isn’t something I’m allowed to get based on things I can’t even control. Is there anything I can do? A lot of jobs required a DL before applying which is why Im looking for options.

Answer:
 First, stop driving. That's a ridiculous and incredibly stupid choice that could end very badly for your undocumented parent.

If she doesn't meet the DMV regs to sign for you then you stop driving and wait for 6 months. Answer #2: I presume you are also not covered by your mother's insurance, since you are not licensed (and she knows you are not licensed).

There isn't a legal way around this except to stop driving until you are 18 and eligible to get your license.

Drive uninsured and unlicensed, and you'll be hit with a year's delay before you can get your license (equivalent to a suspension).   That'll suck, eh ?

And let's say you cause an accident while driving uninsured.   For nice round numbers let's say you cause the minimum insurance-covered amount of property and injury damage, $50K total.   How long would it take you (without a license, or an electrician job) to earn $50,000 to pay off that debt ?

It sucks that these sort of documentation issues affect the children of persons without legal residency, but that's the way it works.


Title: One of my staff was discussing interdepartmental work with a company taking over.

Question:
Located in Missouri. One of my staff members discussed interdepartmental situations prior to this new company taking over. Did this employee break any laws? The discussions were thru text and voice. I can't be specific of what the employee discussed. I'm considering hiring a lawyer to bring it to light.
Topic:
Business Law

Answer: No, it is not illegal to discuss things. I'm not even sure what you're concerned about because you have been as vague as humanly possible.


Title: Ex girlfriends new boyfriend may have called the police on me.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Stop stalking your ex.  If the police show up, do not talk to them without a criminal defense lawyer at your side.  Do not call them back.


Title: Just curious

Question: So like my parents gave me the option at 17 go to college or get kicked out. They put me in massive debt(granted I could pick to go to college). I have adhd, depression and anxiety. I didnt want to go to college because high school was hard enough with that. My parents gave me the option get kicked out or go to college. I choose the latter as anyone would and then they signed me up for loans galore. I have federal and private loans. I ran out of federal and privates all I got. But here’s the thing no one explained any of this to me. I just didn’t want to live on the streets. So after my freshmen year when I figured it out I saw that I was in massive debt now and the only way out was to keep going in school. I’m failing out because they make me pay the interest on my loan and it’s so hard juggling school and working with adhd. Is there anyway someone gets the fault for these loans for this that’s not me because this is fucked up and I wish I could slap my 17 year old self. I didn’t want to go because I knew myself but all my parents saw was a social stigma of tell their friends where their child is going to college.

Answer:
 So yeah that sucks.  It might have been illegal for them to kick you out at 17 but that's not what happened so it's irrelevant.

You cannot really claim you were signing any of these student loan agreements under duress and get out of them, and I doubt your parents forged your signature anywhere.

There are two kinds of loans you might be able to put on your parents.  First, some of the loans might be loans in their own name, which they are passing off as loans you have to pay back.  You don't.  Second, any money lenders gave to you as a student loan is yours; your parents can't use it for themselves, or to pay back loans in their own name, and they can't "hold on" to it if you want to use what's left to pay back loans now.  If something like that happens you could be able to sue your parents.

Otherwise, this is really more /r/personalfinance territory.


Title: Frequent loud honk at 4:50am everyday

Question:
Today I decided to seek help on reddit about a honking issue in San Juan, PR. Everyday at 4:50am the same Suv honk in every speed bump at the same street. It's a loud honk an wakes me up everyday and at evenings he honk too and give me ear pain. I managed to record a video. It just woke me up today at 4:50am again! I want this to stop!

Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Besides checking local law, what else can I do to stop this?

UPDATE: Today I recorded another video at daytime 6:36pm with the Suv clearly honking at nothing, possibly speed bumps (akward). I can see the color of the Suv too.

Answer: Check your local noise oridinances, if they don't provide anything that  can help you then your only option is to ask nicely.


Title: Neighbors construction blocking our windows with scaffolding

Question: Hoping to get some thoughts on this. We rent in New York City, the owners of the building next to us without notice constructed scaffolding completely blocking all of our windows to the front of the apartment and are in the process of demolishing their building. They have permits to work from 7a-5p weekdays and during demolition  our apartment will violently shake to the point things are falling off the walls. Out our back window there are now about 30 electricity and cable wires strewn everywhere on our roof and some slightly dangling from the building. We've called 311 and they said someone would be out within 40 days. We spoke to our landlord who said she wasn't aware of this and doesn't think there's anything we can do about the scaffolding blocking our windows, the loose wires out our back windows and the demolition shaking. Does anyone on here think we have any right to take legal action?

Answer:
 In 100% of the cases where someone called 311 and reported adjacent buildings vibrating and blocked fire exits, both the DOB and FDNY have been on scene in less than a day.  If someone told you it would be 5 weeks, call back and ask to speak to someone who graduated third grade.

PS: there's no money in this for you.  The city will issue stop work orders or violations to the adjacent owner/contractor.Answer #2: I'm certain with someone with a better handle on civil matters and landlord/tenant law than I do will be along shortly.

But they have permits to do the work.  I assume they need the scaffolding up to do the work.  What would you have them do... just not do the work so your view isn't inconvenienced?


Title: Got terminated for missing work. Wasn't notified of me having to work

Question: i work part time for Halloween city or i did. we usually get texted the schedule on Friday and it was getting pretty late without me hearing from my boss, so i text her asking if i have any hours this week and she replies "do you want to work right now" couldn't cuz i had to finish schoolwork she doesn't reply after that. flash forward to Tuesday where i'm getting a phone call saying i missed work, then after talking to my work buddy he tells me i was terminated for missing work. can i do anything legally? I feel something scummy is happening  (i live in new york btw)

Answer: You were an at will employee.  You could be fired for any reason and were.  You have no legal recourse.


Title: Last night, someone crashed into my parked car and sped off. Today I found a car with matching damage, parked in a neighbor's driveway. How should I proceed?

Question: I am about 95% sure it's the same car, as it has my own car's unusual paint color all over the side of it, and the damage is pretty consistent with mine. I'm covered through my insurance but I will have to pay $500. What else can/should I do? Should I tell my insurance that I strongly suspect that this neighbor is responsible? Should I file a police report and tell the police about this neighbor? Should I reach out to this person on my own? I live in California.

Answer:
 Take pictures, send the information to your insurance.  If there is enough evidence they will go after the other party.

You can also take the pictures to police along with your suspicions, but they have a lot on their plates already so don't be surprised if the police never follow up.Answer #2: Take many photos of the car and give the information to your insurance. Answer #3: Yeah you need to reach out to them, but you may also need to involve the police. That is a hit-and-run unattended which is a pretty serious crime actually. It will immeasurably help your insurance claim to have a police report.Answer #4: Call the non-emergency number of your local police department and request an officer to come make a report.  Answer #5: When this happened to me, the police and insurance company basically told me that I'm SOL unless I witnessed it, had visual proof it was him, or got a confession. Here's to hoping it works out better for you.


Title: Is it battery if my plastic surgeon sedates me for one procedure (non-surgical), then manipulates me into buying blepharoplasty surgery and immediately performs it?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 I think the medical board would be interested in hearing about this - their licensee is pressuring sedated patients to consent to additional procedures while under the influence of narcotics??  No bueno.  NAL.Answer #2: Most people who post medical questions on here are loopy but if this did indeed occur the medical board is going to be very interested and you should see a lawyer.

Even if you did sign a consent form it is invalid as you had taken medication that alters judgment Answer #3: What did the lawyers tell you?Answer #4: I don't think it is battery but I could be wrong. It is unethical to pressure a patient under the influence of anesthetic to agree to additional surgical procedures. I would start with the state medical board or department of health or the agency responsible for licensing medical professionals in your state. That should kick off on investigation and I am sure that they have done this before.


Title: Emotionally abusive grandparent visitation threat

Question:
I live in Virginia, but the parent I'm discussing below lives in North Carolina.

So I have a parent who, while undiagnosed, shows a great deal of symptoms of having Narcissistic Personality Disorder. (Hello [/r/raisedbynarcissists/!](https://www.reddit.com/r/raisedbynarcissists/)) For much of my life they've been emotionally abusive, particularly since I became an adult and moved out.

I stayed out of contact with them for fits and spurts, but decided to extend an olive branch when I had a child. I wanted to see if becoming a grandparent would change anything with them (it certainly did for me).

Long story short, it didn't. For various reasons (mostly to protect my family), my child who is almost 2 now has only visited this grandparent twice, and both times just for a couple hours and very closely supervised.

I've been considering cutting off contact again because of how toxic they've been, but my parent is now starting to saber rattle about going to court and grandparent visitation rights.

The questions I have are:

1. Could they have a serious case?

2. What state would have jurisdiction? VA or NC?

3. My parent is unable to travel. If they were to somehow convince a judge to grant visitation, could they force me/my family to travel to NC to see them, or would they have to come up here for it?

Thanks for any feedback anyone has!
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Don't worry too much. Grandparent visitation is like the unicorn of family law. Everyone has heard tales but nobody has ever actually seen it. They'll have to fork over some serious cash upfront to even get a lawyer within a hundred feet of that nonsense.

This is just more abuse and manipulation from what sounds like a lifetime abuser and manipulator. Cut this person out of your and your kid's life and breathe easy.

Edit: Your best option is pure no contact. This person plays no part in your or your child's life. As far as you're concerned until you see actual court paperwork they don't exist.