Title: Mom's coworker used my amazon account. Now getting emails for unpaid items.

Question:
I'm in TX, mom's coworker is in FL.

I let my mom's coworker share my Amazon account along with my immediate family. She seems to be a shopaholic and orders an average of 2/3 things a day, doesn't bother me at first. Until I got an email saying that some items were charged back by the CC company, look at the order number and see it was her. For the next week and a half I got not one, not two, but about 37 items (almost $1k) getting a charge back and now is currently unpaid.

Contacting her she tells me that the card she used for those items got flagged for fraud so all those transactions got charged back. This is fishy to me because I thought you tell the CC company which transactions were not you and they only do those transactions.

I've been messaging her today reminding her that she has to pay for these items, and she's provided me information to pay only 3 items so far. If she doesn't respond soon what are my options? Can I report her for possible fraud? I don't know how Amazon deals with these kinds of situations which I'm sure it won't be the first or last time for Amazon to encounter.

Answer: Why in the world wouldn’t you just tell her to use her own Amazon account?


Title: Is this theft by deception?

Question:
In May of this year, My friend female (A), 24 used a picture of her friend (B)on a sugar daddy site. They look different, friend is probably like 30 lb heavier than B- this becomes relevant later. Anyway sugar daddy send A about $2000 and it goes through fine. He wants to meet in person so they do. Since A is bigger than B, and the guy was attracted to B’s body, he was obviously miffed.

FF to now, sugar daddy is threatening to report A to the police for being an escort, and to sue her fraud and misrepresenting herself.

So, is this theft by deception? Or can my friend block him and not worry?

Answer:
 Yes it is theft by deception. A knowingly misrepresented herself by using someone else's photo. She clearly took the money knowing the man sent it believing she was someone else.

She essentially catfished him and stole this individual's money


Title: [MD] Death of non-custodial parent, no legal order of child support

Question: Hello. In the event of death of the non-custodial parent, what right does the child have to child support collected from the estate, if there was no legal agreement? Non-custodial and custodial parent had an informal agreement. They were scheduled to go to court but case was dismissed as neither appeared for the hearing (having reached an verbal outside agreement). There was no will.  Thank you.

Answer: This may sound harsh.  The child has absolutely zero grounds to have child support collected.  If the noncustodial parent dies, child support ceases in most cases.  In this case, child support was never ordered by the court.  Therefore, assets would be distributed per the will or intestate succession.  Child may be entitled to social security benefits.


Title: Help with Pennsylvania Walmart Class Action Settlement

Question:
Hi, everyone!  I received a check from the PA Walmart class action settlement back before Christmas, but they made the check out to "The Estate of...".  When I took it to the bank they said it can only be deposited in an estate account.  I cannot open an estate account because I am still alive. :)

I went to the class action website and filled out a "Contact Me" form, but I have not heard anything yet.  The check states explicitly that it expires after 90 days, and the check was cut on December 6.  It's a sizeable amount of money that I don't want to lose.  What steps can I take to get this fixed?

I still live in PA (Fayette county); any advice is appreciated.

EDIT: I want to point out that the tax documents that were included (and also made out to "The Estate of...") have my correct SSN on them, so I wouldn't think that they have me confused for someone else.

Answer:
 Try contacting the [attorneys' firms](http://www.walmartpaclassaction.com/attorneys/) directly. (Link goes to the lawsuit page.)

Contact in writing as well as by phone.  Be a nuisance if you have to.  If one particular firm is on the paperwork that came with the check, try them first.


Title: Help, should I accept service?

Question:
Some backstory....I'm in a long legal battle with my ex over our 6 year old daughter. He fled the state a long time ago and I filed for jurisdiction and won everything in my case after that. Fast forward to 21 days ago I travel out of state to pick up my daughter and Michigan would not head the Nevada Order for Pickup. Court proceedings were done thereafter where they found my ex had no case and he was required to forfeit custody of our daughter. So now I am home and he filed in Nevada for a hearing in Nevada which was set for March 30th. He filed a separate motion to move up the time frame on the case for an emergency hearing which was granted, but he has to serve me in person. the server came to my home and tried to serve me but my boyfriend heard the wrong name and said he didn't know anyone by that name (which is true) but i'm out right now and scared if I don't meet with his lawyer to accept service it could look bad on me in court. it's in my daughters best interest if i can keep away her drunk abusive father. He is currently in town and the more i can exhaust his resources and keep him in town the less he can throw his money at the courts later. Please help me reddit I understand that this battle is one of attrition and he is fighting on my soil. Sun Tzu's Art of War states the more I can stretch his supply lines the better. So what is the best course of action?

edit: I have a strong case against him.
edit2: "?" mark.
update: service was left on my doorstep but it is not in person.... which with an emergency service is how it needs to be served.

Answer: Playing games (which is what you're doing, trying to exhaust his resources) is *always* going to make you "look bad" in the eyes of a judge. I'd suggest you get a lawyer.


Title: If I pretend to be a minor online and the adult meets up with me can they get arrested?

Question: I keep track of the chat, they actually meet up, and I record it can I call the cops? What would happen?

Answer:
 Computer Crimes investigator here.

You're not Batman.  Don't try to be Batman.

Your adventures will not result in a successful criminal prosecution and you'll be tipping off a bad guy who may learn to be more careful.

If you want to catch bad guys, go to the police academy and get hired as a cop.Answer #2: stop watching so much TV. Dateline stings are done in cooperation with the police, not by involving them after the factAnswer #3: If you call the cops and tell them you've played Batman and now go arrest some people, they're going to tell you to take a hike. Crimes like this don't lend themselves very well to amateur detective work.


Title: friend denied entry into club because of shoes choice

Question: my friend wasn’t allowed into a night club because he was wearing Nike TNS. on the dress code sign there was nothing about shoes. he was deso driver for the night and had to drive 25 mins each way to get a ‘suitable’ lair of dfkre

Answer:
 Likely not illegal. Discrimination based on clothes at a night club is common. They have no requirement to post their dress code for entry (unless your location has a special rule)Answer #2: Yeah, private venues can generally refuse service for any non-protected reason (the protected list is a short list, and shoe choice isn't on it)

Welcome to one of the many reasons clubs suck

Protip: minor dress code issues can often be straightened out with a friendly attitude, and a little bit of cashAnswer #3: Shoe lawyer here. Unfortunately not illegal. Clubs can deny people for not meeting their dress code. My best advice would be to get over it and move on with your life.


Title: Friend is asking me to "cosponsor" her immigrant fiance...

Question:
 ....and I have no idea how this could impact me if I were to say yes. I was asked to fill out a form i-864, and googling it says its an "Affidavit of Support: [https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/affidavit-support](https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/affidavit-support)

 She says she is sponsering him, but that I would just be added as an "immigrant co-signer" to supplement any income she may not have, and that they have lawyers who are doing their paperwork. Says the government needs a copy of my birth certificate and past W2's with tax transcripts. I know I can trust her, and that she is a hard working person who wouldn't intentionally cause me any stress. She is like a little sister to me, and her fiance is a pretty nice guy from what I know the few times I've met him. I don't see either of them trying to purposely screw me over, but I'm not familiar with this which is why I'm here.

I want to help them, but I know nothing about the legal or financial side of this sort of stuff.

Reddit, what are my concerns, and what should I consider? How could this possibly affect me negitavely, legally or financially?

Answer:
 Oh hell no!  Cosponsoring this person will make you financially responsible for them for ten years.  If at any point they chose not to work, need Medicaid, social services etc you will have to reimburse the government for everything.  Doesn’t matter how close you are with your friend, this is a horrible idea.Answer #2: Unless you want to be financially responsible for this person don't sign it.Answer #3: I know someone who did this exact thing.

The immigrant in this case was a video producer from Canada who was sure, absolutely sure, that if he could just make it to Hollywood he would become the next Brad Pitt.

This guy had no intention of doing anything except auditioning for movie and tv roles.

A mutual acquaintance sponsored him. The guy showed up in Hollywood with no contacts, little money, no knowledge of the industry and no clue in general.

Last I heard, my friend was on the hook for around 40k in various unpaid bills, taxes, and too many other things to remember.

The Canadian was deported but the bills remain.

I'm sure it's all more complicated than the above, this was 15 years or more ago.

What's bizarre, to me, is the guy had been living in Vancouver. Which is pretty much Hollywood North. He could have chased that dream and never left home. Instead there are numerous wrecked lives in the wake of this effort.

The same guy had asked my wife and I to sponsor, but I would never consider such a thing.


Title: An employee was caught doing design work for her side business on the employers time and computer. If the employee is fired, who owns the designs?

Question:
The employee has a 9-5 clerical type job, mostly data entry and spreadsheets.  She installed image editing software on the employer owned computer without the employer's knowledge. The image editing software was purchased by the employee.  She is using the software to create designs for her t-shirt side business.  The employer has well documented the employee's  time spent on her side business vs the employer's work using pc monitoring software.

If the employee is terminated, who owns the designs created?

Location: Pennsylvania

Answer:
 It's pretty clear, under this hypothetical, that the employee would own the copyright. The employer did not instruct or request the designs. The employee did not make the designs for a work-related project.

I'm not certain this is the correct *work-for-hire* doctrine analysis, but I think a common sense analysis is sufficient here.


Title: Giving someone pot brownies

Question: Is it illegal in Illinois ro give someone a pot brownie on purpose without them knowing it was laced? My GFs brother tried to give us both one today but told us it was a normal brownie. Could we press charges if it did happen? Would this be some sort of assult charge?

Answer: Yes that is illegal. You could file a police report and they could press charges on him.


Title: I cant be considered for a new position in a different department because I have corrective actions on my record about my attendance there, is that something they can do?

Question: What's to stop me from quitting and then applying because like, if it was for a different company, they would not have access to the record where I have this. I would also like to mention that I only have these absences because I have had asthma since i was three, but it got really bad this past year, so I ended up having to stay home because I did not feel safe going into work because I couldnt breathe. Because I haven't made it to the 1 year mark I cannot get the Family medical leave act thing for a chronic condition, but that's stupid because its not like my asthma is going to wait? I cant just pause it. I had to go into work feeling sick only to get taken out by ambulance so that it wouldn't count against me. I fucking hate this place but i really wanted this position, and now I guess I cant?? It just doesn't seem right.

Answer:
 > is that something they can do?

Yes.


Title: [NC] Dog broke collar and bit postal worker, leash law violation

Question:
I was doing yard work in my front yard and had my dog tethered on a stake in the ground. The postman walked into the yard and my dog's collar broke. Dog bit the postman.

I received a citation for a leash law violation (Charlotte City Ordinance 3-71). I don't mind paying the citation, but my dog was on a leash. His collar broke. I don't know if the postman intends to sue for the dog bite. My concern is that if I pay the citation I may be more culpable.

My questions are: Is it still a leash law violation if the collar broke (equipment failure)? Will paying the citation have any bearing on my guilt if I were sued?

TIA

Answer:
 The intent of the leash law is owner's have control over their dogs. You did not have control over your dog. Even if your weren't issued a citation, you'd still be responsible and could potentially be sued. Answer #2: Yes. I just looked the ordinance up, and it penalizes owners who don't have "sufficient physical restraint" for their animals. The collar breaking is evidence of this. You need to invest in a stronger collar.

Contact your renter's or homeowner's insurance company if you get sued.

>Will paying the citation have any bearing on my guilt if I were sued?

Possibly. You could consult an attorney to see if a *nolo* plea is allowed and could be used against you in a civil suit. As the others said, you can still be sued without the citation. In reality, you probably don't want this to get all the way to trial.


Title: How are Gag Orders not unconstitutional?

Question: A legally enforceable "you are not allowed to merely talk about a thing" seems pretty bizarre to me. What's the deal? [NY]

Answer: The First Amendment simply isn't absolute. The government can restrict free speech when it has a very good reason to do so and no less restrictive rule would work.


Title: Dad passed away, evil stepmom did a 1035 exchange on his life insurance policies while he had Alzheimer's. Do I have any legal recourse? (US-TX)

Question:
 Hi, everyone -

As the title states, my stepmother is listed as primary beneficiary on my dad's life insurance policies now.

He created these life insurance policies in 1983, and I was the beneficiary. (At least my biological mother says I was).

I don't know for 100% certain that I was the primary beneficiary, but I know my stepmother wasn't - as they were married in the 90s - and this policy is from 83. If she made these changes after he was diagnosed with Alz, can I challenge it in court?

Anyone have any advice for me at all? I'm a little sad and defeated, so I'm not forming thoughts too super clearly atm.

Thanks
Topic:
Insurance

Answer: You want to sit down and speak with an estate attorney about how you'd look into the validity of the changes she made.  This attorney should be one you seek out yourself and is not related to executing your father's estate (yet).


Title: Custody battle advice

Question: I’ll try to keep it short. My gf has 3 kids and her ex has custody for about a year now. She lost because she left state with the kids without court notice, he filed first, and contempt of court. But she is a fantastic mom and deserves to have her kids and us raise them. I love her and the kids and want to help facilitate a lawyer and fight this battle and win with her. He lives in Ohio and we live in Florida. Any tips?

Answer: She essentially committed parental kidnapping with court orders in place. It's a pipe dream to think she's going to have custody in Florida. She should be aiming for visitation in Ohio. Answer #2: Move to Ohio so she can rebuild her relationship with her children and increase her parenting time gradually until maybe, she can get a judge to agree to equal parenting time.


Title: [USA-NY] Discovered dumping on property

Question:
[Mspaint of the properties. (Red is property lines, brown is fences)](https://i.imgur.com/VtJtQc0.png) in NY

**Property Description**

I bought this property in suburbia 4 years ago. The lot (which is large for the area I live in, between 1-2 acres) was subdivided a little under 30 years ago and I believe all 11 of my neighbors were pre-existing lots. Based on the orientation of the fences I believe none of them are mine. About half my property is wooded in the back and you cannot see my house from the back fence. I have my survey in hand which shows my property extends all the way to my eastern neighbor's back fence and no easements are indicated anywhere.

There is also a large undeveloped wooded area of about 8-10 acres nearby. This (state?) land extends north and connects to but ends at my southern's neighbor's neighbor's southern property line. Both of these properties have a north/south fence that runs nearly along the same line as this state land's upwards jut. I suppose it is possible someone might think this state land extends all the way north to my north property line.

**Issue Discovery**

Earlier today I was at the back of my property measuring the gap between my southern neighbor's fence and my eastern neighbor's fence for a fence install along my south property line as there is no fence there currently. I discovered that there was a new-ish fallen tree back there that had crushed a lawn clipping wheel barrow (karma) along with many piles of grass clippings in and around my south property line, some is on my property, and some of the clippings are on my [Affected Neighbor]'s property but they have a north-south fence running about 80 feet back and don't use/access that back part of the lot.

I discovered many of piles of grass forming a line running from the now crushed clippings-barrow on my southern property line to my eastern neighbor's fence where I discovered a gate. This gate opens outward into my property from my this neighbor's lot. There is a bolt located on the other side of the gate securing it locked.

I walked the fence north and discovered some rotting lattice (4x8 ft sheets) along with some fulls bags of unused black mulch and what appears to be a bit of the same mulch but dumped into a pile.

It would appear my eastern neighbor is dumping on my property. I would like this dumping activity to stop.

**Steps to resolution**

I considered a number of combinations of solutions which may or may not be a good idea.

* 1) Talking to the neighbor to stop dumping on my property.
* 2) Install a "No Trespassing / Private Property" sign
* 3) Dig a hole and install a 4x4 post at the gate edge to prevent the gate from opening. Perhaps leaving enough room for the gate to open to observe the sign (2).
* 4) Secure horizontal boards across the length of the gate, preventing it from opening at all.
* 5) Dump materials at the base of the fence/gate, preventing it from opening at all.
* 5) Install a small semi circle fence just outside the arc of the fence along with (2)
* 6) Install a game trail camera observing the gate to ensure compliance.
* 7) Install a "No Dumping" Sign with (2)

My wife thought (1) was too aggressive and didn't want me to engage in this potentially awkward conversation. The others seem too passive aggressive or potentially illegal (4 + 5?)

I opted to install a sign (2) about 6 feet back directly in front of the gate. I have also purchased a "*camouflage, motion sensing, solar, trail video camera, with a 70ft range*" to install on Tuesday out of immediate sight to capture any incidents of failures to comply with the instructions on the sign.

**What else can / should I do, legally?**

* Are there any additional steps that I can or should take in addition to posting the sign at this moment?

* What should I do in the event I capture continued trespassing/dumping activity now that the sign is posted?

* When would I need a lawyer if at all?

* Is there anything else I should be concerned about?

Answer: Good gracious, just go talk to the neighbor. They probably think they're dumping on the state's property.


Title: Got rear ended, car totaled - how do I get replacement value?

Question:
I filed a claim with the driver's insurance, but they aren't paying the full replacement value (what I would have to pay at the dealership). They are paying the actual cash value, which doesn't include the dealer markup I would have to pay.

How do I get the rest? Do I take the driver to small claims court? Or do I have to just suck it up and deal with the amount the insurance company is giving me?

Basically I want to avoid having to take a personal loss just because someone slammed into my car at a red light.

LOCATION: Wisconsin

Answer: You get what the car is worth now no matter what. That is how your damages are measured. But you may be able to add the additional damages by going to civil court.


Title: [MI] "Pay or get fired"

Question:
Isn't for me but rather my coworkers. They both failed to back up data on the main computer at the store, something that we're supposed to do every night, and as a result data was lost when the computer crashed. Basically, it lead to the boss having to buy a new computer instead of putting the data on the other one because he needed the same model to move the hard drive.

He docked pay ($20) from the coworkers. When I told him he can't do that, he said "it's either pay or be fired."

If they're fired, would they receive unemployment for this sort of thing? What should they do?

Answer:
 If they were fired for this, yes, they would be able to earn unemployment.

Additionally you are correct; the boss has to get each and every single deduction authorized in writing prior to making it.  You are not required to accommodate *any* such deduction unless you have signed a contract that stipulates such a term.

He can fire you for refusing to do so.

My advice: Do not agree to the deducation.  If he deducts anyway, open a wage complaint and sick the state labor board on him.  People who do this so casual and without talking to you about it have 1) already grossly abused this in the past, most certainly, 2) are incredibly likely to do it again as soon as they have an excuse.


Title: Neighbor planted 8+ ft trees directly on the line joining their property with my dad’s. [DE]

Question:
Father recently built a beachfront house in De. The house has been there maybe 6 or so months and the neighbor puts trees in on the property line. My dad doesn’t seem to understand that this is a big deal and I don’t know enough to prove it to him. One tree even looks like it was planted on their land. The trees are evergreen, and about 5’ in diameter at the base. This leaves then overhanging 2ish feet onto my dad’s land at the least and 3ish at the max.

What are the legal implications of this?
Thanks!
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer: If your dad doesn’t care and it’s his property, then why should you care?


Title: [Florida] Subdivision builders won’t fix structural house damages revealed by Irma

Question:
Just as the title says. So when Irma passed over our house during the night, we noticed to some strange happenings. Leaking window frames, water entering under the floorboard with no water actually settling on top.

After the storm subsided and and as soon as we got internet back, (even before then by use of phone) we contacted the builders about our issues. About a week later, they say they can’t help us under warranty and to read the manual. So I read the manual, help my mom construct another email using their own wording to point out that these were structural damages revealed and not damages caused. Like, they have wording about not fixing broken windows, but the windows weren’t broken; the heading/framing was weak and is separating, which they cover. And they had wording about flooding, but we didn’t experience flooding in or around the property. A lot of rain, yes, but nothing got in on the ground level. We believe that problem is actually in the foundation, which they do cover under warranty.

So after that email, they decide to send a contractor out, and of course he’s giving BS answers that sound so rehearsed, only glancing at things. He’s saying we should have done more to maintain the house. And at this point I’ve failed to tell you all that THE HOUSE IS BARELY 4 YEARS OLD. Built in July of '13.

So we may have a foundation issue and our window frames are separating. I’m more concerned about the foundation because my mom is recently going through a divorce and she wants to sell the house.

TL;DR: Subdivision builders won’t fix major structural defects that fall under warranty and are using Irma/poor maintenance as an excuse.

So yeah, ideas on next step or anything I can do would be appreciated.

Answer:
 If they are refusing to repair the house under warranty then you'll have to talk to a construction lawyer and sue them.

But before you start walking down that road a good starting point would be to report the issues to your insurance company to see if they'll cover any of this.  At the very least they'll send out someone who can give you a professional opinion on the cause of your problems, and the report they generate will go a long way to convincing a construction lawyer to take your case if it comes to that.


Title: [Canada/AB] How to remove a mail forward/redirect if you weren't the person to request it.

Question:
This is a throwaway account. I'm not making this traceable to my regular account. Disclaimer: I **would not** remove the mail redirect. I would only pass information onto my boyfriend for his benefit.

My boyfriend's ex-wife placed a mail redirect on anything with their children's names on it to go straight to her place (I learned this the hard way with a Christmas card). They have 50/50 custody.

Is there a way to get this removed as this has been in place prior to them both establishing a permanent residence and determining custody/schedule.

Now that there is an established routine, (my opinion is) there is no need to have the mail forwarding. She's become increasingly high-conflict and I see this becoming a problem in the future with her with-holding information (we've already seen this happen with school report cards where he only gets to see them once parent teacher interview night comes, for example).

Is this something for him to bring up with his lawyer how to approach? Or is he screwed until she chooses to remove the redirect, if ever.

Answer: The higher-level problem, ensuring that both parents have access to information about their child, is definitely something your friend should talk to his lawyer about. If he and his coparent no longer see eye to eye on the matter, it's possible he can file to have additional conditions added to the custody order. Once those are in place, his coparent may be obliged to remove the mail redirect, or to modify it.


Title: Had a coworker destroy my property then was fired for "not getting along with others"

Question:
I just started a new job 4 weeks ago at a small, locally owned auto shop as a level one mechanic in Minnesota.

Yesterday, as a prank, a coworker had put my boots in the freezer before I came to work. I work the second closing shift so I don't get there till 11 am. I thought it was funny and it felt good because of how hot it was so I left a note saying "To whoever tossed my boots in the freezer yesterday. It was hot out so it made my feet feel pretty good for the first hour of my shift. If you could toss a shirt in too next time that'd be great -tinmanftw"

No one admitted to leaving my boots in the freezer so I thought at least that way whoever saw it would know it didn't get to me. I clocked in late because it took a while to find my boots.

Today I got to work and went to change into my uniforms and all of my clothes were missing from the locker room. I checked the freezer and someone had soaked all of my uniforms and filled my boots with water, then stuck them in the freezer. The glue that held the insoles for my expensive steel toe work boots were destroyed and I had to change into ice cold, frozen work clothes. I clocked in late again, then told the store manager I wasnt going to start working until I could get my boots dry and hopefully save them. It took about an hour with an air gun to get them dried off and wearable, theyre still wrecked and very damp though.

At the end of the day, I was pulled aside and told I was being let go because I clocked in late two days in a row, didn't start working till an hour into my shift, wasn't as experienced as everyone else (which they knew, I've been doing this for 2 years and am a solid 5+ years younger than anyone else in the shop), and because I wasn't getting along with other people in the shop (obviously). I'm generally a pretty laid back guy, quiet, and dont usually talk other than the occasional one liner joke. I had no written or verbal warnings from my job before this. So now I'm out a pair of boots and a job. I took pictures of my stuff in the freezer when I found it. Is there anything I can do now? I'm not sure if its possible to make the shop pay for a new pair of boots or who I would even report this to.

Answer:
 >I clocked in late again

That's a bit weird. If you got to work on time, but didn't start your tasks because another worker had moved your stuff, that time should have counted towards time worked.Answer #2: Ask them to reimburse you for the ruined boots. Can you apply for unemployment?


Title: Dentist performing surgery on wrong tooth.

Question:
Hello friends,

I had a surgery today where I needed to have two crowns put in place. One was done correctly.. however when my numbness was wearing off I realized they crowned the wrong tooth on one of the crowning procedures. When brought up they realized that the dental assistant that wrote the treatment plan wrote the wrong tooth number. Their solution to this was for me to reschedule and do the right tooth later, and they didn’t charge me for the incorrectly crowned tooth (however they are still running it through insurance to get what they can). I was still high off of laughing gas, so I just wanted to leave and process it... but as I sobered up, I started getting really annoyed with what happened and how they handled it. I still have to pay what was originally agreed upon, even though I will have to leave work for a second time, as well as having to recover for a second time.

What are my options in this scenario??

Location is Yukon, OK, USA.

Answer:
 > What are my options in this scenario??

You can call your dentist's office and tell them that you aren't happy that their mistake is now costing you another day off work and increased pain and recovery time. A reasonable end here is you not paying for any of this, but you're not going to get some huge check out of the deal.

If they won't come to what you feel is a satisfying agreement you should speak with a local medical malpractice attorney.


Title: My rapist walked free not guilty

Question:
A year ago this week the man who sexually assaulted me as a child for years, walked out the same doors as me, after I testified for hours, and gave the trial all I could.
He did rape other children, but they were too scared to testify in front of him.
Is there anything, and I mean anything I can do?

I have no justice, only a boat load of psychological problems because of this man.

Please help Reddit.
 I am from Texas.

Answer:
 >Is there anything, and I mean anything I can do?

Aside from a possible civil law suit (I am not sure about the statute of limitations on that), your only other option (and really your best option overall) is to learn how to live well.  Living well is really the best revenge.  Therapy can help.


Title: my brother is sexually assaulting me

Question:
hello, my brother(15)has down syndrome and has been slapping and grabbing my butt for a while now and my mom doesn’t seem to think it’s that big of a deal an recently he’s been grabbing my boobs. earlier today he grabbed my crotch and it really pushed me to the breaking point. my mom seems to think it’s not as big as i’m making it and says i’m being over dramatic. i think she thinks i’m making this up so i can get him out of the house or something. earlier today when he grabbed my but, he ran away and i ran after him so i could talk to him about how disgusting that is and i accidentally left a mark on his neck. i feel really bad  about but this mark is now a big problem cause i can’t tell the cops or else my mom said i would get in trouble with the law. this may seem like a classic sibling case from afar and my mom has told me time over time that since he is special needs he can’t learn. the most dangerous part of this all is that he is extremely high functioning, so it’s like a mix of a normal hormonal teenager and a special needs kid who can’t learn. so you have a kid that is learning stuff from movies he shouldn’t watch and then the special needs part preventing him from understanding it’s wrong and it’s fake in the movies. i don’t know what to do and my bf is really distraught and thinks i should ask for help here. i’m scared he is gonna rape me (he’s pinned me down twice before) or hurt me and my mom.
Topic:
Disability Issues

Answer: If your mom isn't addressing the issue you should make a call to CPS and voice your concerns. Tell them the situation and your mom's response to all this and tell them you feel unsafe in your own home. If you feel you are in immediate danger you can call the police, if they bring up the mark on his neck be honest about how it happened.Answer #2: If you are worried about calling CPS yourself, you can talk to a trusted teacher or counselor instead. They are mandated reporters and will legally be required to call CPS themselves. I know everything is online right now but hopefully you have email addresses or some way to communicate with adults from school who you trust.


Title: So what are we looking at with the doctor removed from the United flight? Does he have a case?

Question: Apparently it was to make room for 4 United employees who needed to get to Louisville for another flight. Does that make it different than "normal overbooking"?

Answer:
 I'm not sure what specifically you're referring to, but I can almost guarantee it's something that is covered by the contract of carriage, which passengers agree to when they book their flight.

Airlines have "must ride" employees with critical functions who can bump paying passengers off of flights.  An example would be a mechanic who urgently needs to get a station to fix an aircraft that is out of service.

I believe that some senior executive management also have this perk even for leisure travel, as part of their compensation package.  This will vary from airline to airline.


Title: Address different from address on ticket, can i fight it?

Question: Hello all, I drive a company vehicle and was pulled over today for failure to obey a traffic sign. To avoid points on my work record, I'd like to fight the ticket. The address on the ticket for my home address is a previous address, I bought a house since I lived at that address. Is this a possible way to fight a ticket? I'm not a law expert so please forgive me if I'm being naive. Thanks

Answer: You're not going to get off because of a clerical error.


Title: Can a Small Family business ask if you are a Christian?

Question:
So I work for a small family owned business that employees 3 full time employees( the owner and his children) and 2 part time employees(me and one other) during my interview he has me are you a Christian and do you have a problem with a Christian company? Is this legal?

I understand that religion is a protected class but it’s that question illegal?

California
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 If this were a larger employer, the answer would be "it's never illegal to ask a question, just to discriminate illegally based on the answer."

The answer here is that because the business is so small, neither Title VII or FEHA protections apply.  FEHA requires 5 employees, Title VII requires 15.


Title: Got into physical confrontation at a party, other person is probably going to press charges and embellish the hell out of them.

Question:
I won't embellish with the specifics, but I was at a party with my girlfriend, more like a small get together with some of her friends from highschool. I was her tagalong.

In comes other guy, who gives her a big old hug. Now other guy (pretty recently) identifies as transgender and, from what I can tell, uses this as an excuse to be pretty touchy. So he takes a squeeze of her ass.

Told him very sternly that wasn't cool. All attention suddenly was focused on us, I was villified for telling him off being the stranger here and all. He pushes me, I push back, it's quickly broken up but I'm pretty razzled at this point and we both leave.

I later learn that he plans on pressing charges for a hate crime, and will use the several friends/eyewitnesses at the party as leverage for this. I haven't been contacted by authorities or anything like that yet but I've seen him make social media posts about his intention to do so.

My question is: Where do I stand here? Cases like these are usually my word vs his, and his happens to be pretty strong. I didn't hurt them. I know they can afford a good lawyer.

U.S.

Answer:
 >I won't embellish with the specifics

That's too bad because the law runs on specifics.  Without those, or even so much as a location, all you'll get is generic advice:

* do not contact the other party
* do not speak to the police without first having a lawyer present

The fact that this person didn't call the police at the time of the incident, and instead is simply boasting about doing so online, tells me that there's likely nothing that will result from any of this.

Next time, keep your hands to yourself.  If someone assaults your girlfriend, call the police.


Title: NJ... My girlfriend's sister is likely trying to steal their mother's house.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 A house is at stake, and real estate lawyers are cheap in comparison. Don't mess around on the internet, get grandma to a real estate attorney tomorrow.Answer #2: The mom could give the house to Jayne. That would end the possibility of using the mom's forged signature after passing.Answer #3: She did not actually give her deed to HH, right? Maybe encourage her to get a safe deposit box for important papers.

Definitely talk to a lawyer. One thing that might be an easy option is to write a crazy long (like 50 year) lease for your GF. That way even if ownership somehow changes hands, the lease is still valid and your GF's sister wouldn't be able to kick her out.

I'd get in the habit of checking the deed/transactions with your county clerk on a regular basis. That way if it does happen your GF's mother can address it while she's still here.


Title: Can Ring Doorbell footage be posted online without my consent?

Question:
My predicament:

Today, I was terminated from my delivery job with a well known package delivery company after 6 years of employment. A customer posted video and audio footage from their Ring Doorbell On Facebook of me “throwing” her package on her door step (I really just didn’t bend over entirely to set it down due to back pain but I digress.) this footage was used as grounds for my termination.

My question:

Is it legal for customer to have posted this private surveillance footage of me on Facebook without my consent? I live in Illinois, a two-party consent state.

Thanks in advanced!

Answer: It’s not private. You were in public.


Title: Car Wash Ripped off antennae.

Question:
Hi all

Went through an automatic car wash. Went to the parking lot and saw my antenna fixture (shark fin with regular antenna attached) was missing. Asked the attendant to check inside the car wash and it was in there.

Called the manager and he said they can cover parts but not labor. His logic was that they have no idea how damaged my part was before going through the wash and that it was more likely that my antenna was more broken than the car. He did that they don’t have a shop they refer to, so they can’t cover labor costs.

What should I do now? Call my insurance? Small claims? Throw a bitch fit? I am not real experienced with this stuff, so I am a bit naive.

Answer: Most carwashes have a disclaimer on the building before you go in that advises to lower antennae, fold in mirrors, etc., as well as declaring themselves not responsible for damage to these items. Sort of a “use at your own risk” policy. That they are offering to replace your antenna at all is pretty generous.


Title: Is this sexual harrasment? What do I do? 36 M

Question:
Throw away account here, I am just so confused right now a little advice would really be appreciated.  This story starts 2 years ago, and I am still employed at the same place.  Here it goes………..
   Jan 2017 my boss who I had worked under for 2 years family was throwing a surprise birthday party. Me 36 M, Her 36 F. They invited the whole office (about 10 people).   The night of the party we waited around for her to show.  Some time went by and she finally showed up.   Everyone celebrated and forced drinks on her.  Within minutes she began forcing herself onto my wife.  Going straight in for open mouth kisses.  She had to be forcefully pulled off of my wife multiple times by subordinates, and even her own family.
        All that tequila and kissing must have made her sick, and she began throwing up.  My wife found her way back to the bathroom to check on her only to hear her crying about how in love with me she is.  Going on and on without knowing my wife was 2 feet away.
           Party ends we go home and try to piece our blown minds back together.  I expected a call or text apologizing for her behavior the next day but it did not come.  I did receive a text 2 days later that said “I’m sorry I made out with your wife”.  My wife was very concerned about me being uncomfortable at work because of my boss’s actions, so she called her.  The conversation did not go well, and my boss through all blame on my wife.
    Shortly after that she began dangling promotions in front of me, and somehow brainwashing me into thinking this was acceptable behavior.
     In the two years since she has treated me completely different than the other staff, has completely stepped away from her supervising responsibilities, and I feel has retaliated against me for not returning her feeling for me.
  A few days ago I confronted her about her lack of leadership in a professional manor and was shut down.  She stood up and ended the conversation, and told me she was taking me to HR.  I refused and called the Union. Now I sit here with some decisions to make. Is this Sexual Harassment?  If I purse it, and it is not enough to substantiate am I ruining my career?
   Any help you smart people could give would be much appreciated.

Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 >My wife was very concerned about me being uncomfortable at work because of my boss’s actions, so she called her. The conversation did not go well, and my boss through all blame on my wife.

Why is your wife calling YOUR boss because of HER perception that YOU are uncomfortable? Of course the conversation didn't go well. There is literally nothing good that can come of this for you, her, your career, or anything else.

In any case, this sounds like sexual harassment to me. Work with your union. Obviously save any text messages or other correspondence between your boss and anyone else.


Title: My future mother-in-law just lost all of her full time benefits (insurance, paid time off, etc.) due to a new policy that the company enacted that affects her retroactively.

Question:
My future mother-in-law works at a major retail company, and has for nearly twenty years. Last June, she was diagnosed with cancer and was on FMLA leave until this April. Just this week she was informed that the company has decided to enact a policy where if an employee didn't work the necessary amount of hours necessary from April of last year to this April, they would be considered a part time employee. They also decided to use this policy on her, even though this wasn't a policy last year. Because of this she will lose her medical and life insurance, vacation time, and all other benefits.

&nbsp;

Also of note, if she has any positive vacation/personal time, they will pay her out that amount. If she has negative vacation/personal, she will owe THEM.

&nbsp;

Can anything be done?

&nbsp;

Edit: she lives in Ohio, just a little south of Columbus.

Answer:
 She should contact an employment lawyer about her situation.

I don't believe you can retroactively issue a policy that would make someone ineligible for benefits they've already received, but from this point on could not give them those benefits.

You didn't provide your location, however, so we have no clue what the labor laws for your state are.


Title: Landlord refused to fix frozen water main line for 27 days, we made an agreement and now he's backing out of the agreement and telling me to find another place to live.

Question:
The lease began April 15, 2013 in Indiana. In mid February my water stopped working and I informed him of the issue. The following day, he and his friend put a space heater in the crawl space and concluded that either the main line from the well was frozen or the pump was broken. He said if the water didn't work in a few days, he'd have a plumber come look at it.

5 days later he knocked on my door to tell me he had to deal with issues at his business and wouldn't be sending a plumber. He also informed me he was going on vacation the next day and didn't want anyone looking at it while he wasn't there. During this time, I had to eat out for every meal since I couldn't cook or do dishes (expensive!), had to do laundry at friends houses, fill up buckets with snow to flush the toilet, and shower at my landlords place and friends houses. Extremely inconvenient, especially with temperatures below zero.

After a 9 day vacation without hearing from him, he returned. Mind you, this was during the coldest winter in decades. I sent him a text asking if he could make my water issue a priority. A few hours later he called me, very angry and said "I'm not dealing with this bullshit. It's going to cost me a minimum of $1500 to have someone look at it and I'm not spending that money. You can either deal with it or I'll terminate the lease and you can look somewhere else to live."  Later that evening I went to his house and had a discussion with him and his wife. After expressing my side of the story, we came to the agreement that I wouldn't have to pay rent until either the water turned on or the $1500 he would have spent having a plumber come out was met in rent fees. His wife was present, we shook hands and separated amicably.

Fast forward to a few days ago. The water started running again, 27 days into the 28 day billing cycle. I sent him a text informing him it was working again and that I could pay him the $25 prorate now or add it to next months rent per our agreement. He told me to call him so I did.

In our brief conversation he said "I hope you don't think you're not paying rent." To which I reminded him of our agreement. He then acknowledged our agreement and said "he changed his mind" and if I don't pay rent he's not renewing the lease. I said okay and am now looking for a new place to live. The lease expires on April 14.

With regard to the lease, it states "the landlord shall pay all charges for water and shall reasonably supply hot water and heat (except to the extent that fuel for heat is separately metered to the premises) during heating season, as required by applicable law or code."

I'm concerned he's going to a) take me to small claims court to try to get rent and/or b) not give me my security deposit worth one months rent. I've read about checklists here during the initial walk through - we did not fill one out. The house is in perfect condition.

So /r/legaladvice, what do you recommend for me to do in this situation and what are my legal options? I've typed up a detailed list of what happened with dates and times as well as took screenshots of our texts and proof of phone calls. I've also started moving my valuables as I wouldn't put it past him to empty out my house when I'm at work.

Edit: fixed an incorrect date.

Answer:
 No matter how this matter gets resolved, it is both yours and his right to not renew the lease for any non-discriminatory reason, so keep going with your search for a new place.

As far your current issues, your documentation of every encounter will help your case.

What you want to do, in addition, is to set up an escrow account to put your rent money in for the purposes of proving that you are able and willing to pay, but the responsibilities of upkeep with the water services are not being met and thus until they are satisfied as per the lease, the money will not be released.

If he does take you to court, he will claim you were just trying to back out of rent owed.

As far as the security deposit goes, what *should* happen is an escrow account gets created by the landlord to prove that they are not personally taking money that should only be used for a specific purpose, but this very rarely is the case.

Although it may seem unfair, it is not recommended that you merely not pay one month if you think they'll just withhold the security for unfair reasons anyway.  You can't justify a wrong by doing another wrong in the eyes of the courts.


Title: I totaled my car and my airbags didn’t deploy, can I sue?

Question: So I just bought a 2016 Subaru wrx sti. Unfortunately I totaled it. The car flew in the air and landed upside down. I was the only person in the car. The passenger airbag deployed but my driver side airbags didn’t. Subaru’s are really safe and that car was pretty much built to be flipped so I didn’t get hurt at all but shouldn’t my airbag have deployed?

Answer: There are many factors that determine whether an airbag should deploy. You have no damages in any case.


Title: I’m a young adult (24) and i just signed a lease with my mother (46) whose mentally/physically abusive

Question:
I moved out of my mothers at 17/18 years old, i didn’t like her rules and she wasn’t always the nicest. I stoped talking to her for a couple years and felt bad and thought to rekindle our relationship. With that being said i allowed her to move into my house to help get her back on her feet (she wants a divorce from her husband) everything was great and working out well, she wanted to move into a bigger house due to the dogs and my shitty landlord at the time. So we found a bigger house that fits us all, she had also got me a job at her firm just prior to signing the lease.  4 days into signing the lease she breaks down my locked bedroom door and starts fighting me, i told her to get off me before i hurt her i even asked my father (whose in a wheelchair) to help get her off me or i was going to hurt her. The fight when on for a little while until i was able to fight her off long enough to run out the house. I had no shoes on, a ripped shirt and pain and bruises everywhere.  I ran to my boyfriends house who was half asleep and very upset by what happened. No due to me working with her (i love my job more than anything) and living with her I’ve learned the mental/physical abusive has not stopped and the worst part is she thinks she’s right and I’m wrong.

I need to move out and get away from her, but i signed an 18 month lease. I need help on how to break my lease without having to pay or her suing me.

Answer:
 So when you called the police to report the assault what happened?Answer #2: You should call the police anytime there is an instance of domestic violence.

You need to provide a location. Many states have ways to allow victims of DV to get out of a lease.


Title: If police search a home without a warrant and discover a dead body, do they have to return it?

Question: What would happen? Would they be forced to return the body to the homeowner by a court?

Answer: To life?


Title: I live near a Planned Parenthood in Utica NY that offers abortion services. Protesters put up disgusting billboards featuring dead babies and the like. Is there anything I can do about these items?

Question: Every work day people put up these huge billboards, banners, statues of saints along the grassy patch between the road and sidewalk outside of Planned Parenthood, and then take it down at 5. I live very close to this building and I hate it. I don't object to the services offered by PP, I object to indecent material put up near my home (statues of saints, fine, but dead babies? Come on.) Can I legally do something about this? File some sort of complaint? Throw it out myself? Protest the protests?

Answer:
 Why are so many of the posts framing this as free speech issue, when OP's main concern is obscenity (graphic gore, actual dead people, etc). Is America so desensitized to violence that no one would realistically bat an eye at photos of corpses being posted in public areas? Or is NY particularly tolerant of depictions of graphic gore in public places as legitimate expression?Answer #2: Once again, this is not the forum for posting your pro-choice/pro-life views.

Stick to the legal topic or risk a minimum 30 day ban.
---
#Edit: Relevant legal advice has been given and no further relevant legal discussion is likely.  See you all in BOLA.


Title: Got an unfair passenger seat belt ticket, went to court and lost, should I appeal?

Question:
I was driving to an amusement park with 4 friends and the person directly behind me wasn't wearing his seatbelt, I got pulled over.

The cop asked if I knew why I was stopped and I said I didn't,
he told me and I turned around and glared but laughed at my rear passenger and exclaimed "I knew it!" (Meaning I knew whatever I was pulled over for would be because of you) to which the cop smirked and said "I thought you didn't know?"

He went back to his car and came back with the ticket for passenger not wearing his seatbelt.

I went to court, (after 6+ months) hoping the cop wouldn't show, he did and the he said it was my front passenger who wasn't wearing the seatbelt.

I gave my testimony that it was my rear passenger.

The Judge said that if there were really 5 passengers and I was driving I cannot be reasonably assumed to know what every single one was doing, especially the one directly behind me. But I had a bigger personal investment in getting the ticket dismissed than the cop did so he trusted the cops testimony that it was my front passenger over mine. And ordered me to pay the fine of just under $200.

Is it worth appealing? I am confident I would win if I get statements from all my passengers that day, but it's SO MUCH EFFORT for just under $200.

:-/

Answer:
 You're 0/1 for trying this on your own.

If you try to appeal on your own, you'll be 0/2.


Title: WWII German-Jew Repatriation

Question:
My grandmother grew up in the 1930s in Germany(the town she lived in is now in Poland). Her family was extremely wealthy at the time but since they were Jewish, they had to leave behind or lost almost all of their wealth and possessions when she and her mother fled from the Nazis.

Because of the nature of the atrocities committed against her family, my grandmother never attempted or wanted to reacquaint herself with anything having to do with her roots. There are some things I can directly account for that were taken; I.E. A shoe factory in the town still today bears their name painted across the facade of the building. However the majority of what they lost is unknown to me and my family, even her children(my father and uncle).

I am interested in starting a search to find if anything out there still exists that would fill in the lost history of my family. I am not expecting to retake paintings off museum walls or become a surprise billionaire, but their extreme wealth at the time had to have generated some tangible items that my family could call part of its history.

That all being said, I have no idea where to even start this search or if possibly there is a Subreddit devoted to something more appropriate. Thanks for the help

Answer: There are many nonprofits which help Jews reclaim lost property.  [Heres a story](http://forward.com/news/2913/poland-faces-property-restitution-claim/) about a Polish Jew suing to get his factory back.  Google can help you find a nonprofit to help you, and the US Holocaust Museum may be able to help as well.  Answer #2: Contact the (Claims Conference)[www.claimscon.org] to start. They'll lead you to the appropriate agency to proceed with your inquiry.


Title: Employers paycheck bounced on my account. Im negative 140$ and he is telling me to wait till monday. (Food industry,Arizona)

Question:
23 year old male
food industry
Arizona state

I got hired on April 12 for a busing position at a family owned bistro. I had to repeatedly ask about paychecks starting april 26. I did not receive the paycheck for my april 12-28th pay period till May 1st. (note i was told to get tips every 3 days, ive only gotten tips twice in over my entire time there. Over 18 days)

On May 1st I deposited my check for 403.I immediately withdrew 40 $ without a problem. On May 2nd the "DEPOSITED ITEM RETURNED -403.83". Ive never had this happen so I foolishly spent about 100 dollars over the next day on a few tshirts,gas and some steam games. Ive refunded the steam games already. I realized my account was negative when I tried to buy an ice tea at gas station and my card declined, went to atm on the night of may 3rd and realized I was negative over 120 dollars.

I talked to my bank and they assured me I did nothing wrong and that I need to talk to my employer. I went straight to work and communicated this to my boss. He told me that someone has to call him to confirm that I get the money before it goes into my account. I smiled and said thank you but I knew something was wrong. Ive worked there for over 3 weeks and he has my social security and my tax forms. Ive had at least 20 jobs and none of them have made this mistake. He is required by state law to pay me every 2 weeks. Also if he willingly gives me a paycheck he does not have funds for that is also a misdemeanor.

Im really not there for the money, my dream is to enlist in the military and I was just doing a job to stay busy while I finish up my summer classes. That said I give 100% when im there and I feel betrayed. Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated thank you. I can answer any questions.

Answer:
 There's nothing you can do other than wait until Monday. If he doesn't make good on it, you will need to file a wage claim, but there's no sense in doing that today.Answer #2: I would suggest quitting. It sounds like he has financial issues and this is likely to be an ongoing problem. Cut your losses.

You are in a conundrum if what you can prove vs what is worth your time pursuing vs what the likeliness of collecting would be.

Most likely you are the least of the debts that he owes.

He should have written you a check on the spot or paid you in cash. The fact that he is complicating the situation instead of resolving it is a key giveaway.


Title: [IL] I've been falsely accused of domestic battery and I'm not sure what to do.

Question:
A couple of weeks ago my ex-girlfriend and I had an argument about a road trip we were supposed to take and I wound up breaking up with her. The breakup was a long time coming as she was very controlling and manipulative.

I was trying to pack a few things and go to stay with a friend until I could figure out my housing situation. She refused to let me leave and the whole ordeal came to a head when she took my phone, wallet, and keys from me, hid them, and called the police to tell them that I had struck her. I did not strike her but I did attempt to pull my belongings from her hands after she had taken them from me. I was arrested and charged with domestic battery. A protection order was placed against me and I have not attempted to contact her in any way, though she has made several attempts to contact me. I have not replied to any of her attempts.

I'm still staying in the apartment that she and I shared and both of our names are on the lease. I have spoken with the landlord and he has been very understanding of the situation. My ex has not responded to any of his attempts to contact her regarding the apartment. She left a lot of her things in the apartment when she split, including her two small dogs, which I have been taking care of.

The police basically took her word for it when she told them that I had struck her and said that they believed my story but their hands were tied. She had no injuries and there is no evidence of any kind of abuse.

I know that domestic abuse cases are taken very seriously and I am absolutely terrified of going back to jail. I suspect that she is no longer in the state and she will most likely not show up to court. What are the possible outcomes of a court date for something like this? I understand that in cases like this it's up to the DA to prosecute regardless of whether or not she has dropped the charges.

What options do I have regarding her belongings and her dogs? What time frame exists for these things to be considered abandoned?

[Edited for typos]

Answer:
 I see the court date playing out something like this:

>Judge: Defendant doesn't bother showing up and no evidence of abuse whatsoever. Dismissed. Next case!

I mean, it's suppose it's _possible_ she could injure herself to make it look like you hit her (as crazy as this sounds, it's unfortunately something that happens) and drag the case out, but since she's left the state and possibly violated the protection order herself, in my opinion (IANAL) the case will be the least of your worries.

Since you're both on the lease, you'll have to evict her. It won't be fast, but it's the only way. [This is good reading material](http://chicagoeviction.com/2011/06/roommate-guest-and-family-member-evictions-in-illinois/) for dealing with that stuff.

As for her stuff, you're basically forced to keep it until the eviction proceedings complete as she's legally still a resident. An IL attorney on this sub might have some more specific information for you. Good luck.


Title: Received Notice of Deficiency. IRS says one employer reported $7000 more than what was on the 1099 they sent me.

Question:
Utah, USA.

I did freelance work for a company in Oregon. The owner sent me a 1099. I reported the amount from the 1099 on my personal income taxes. This was for the 2014 tax year. In January of this year, I got a letter from the IRS telling me that the employer reported exactly $7,000 more than what was on the 1099 they sent me and that I owe just under $2,000 in taxes.

The letter told me to send payment or, if I disagree, send an explanation and any supporting documents to a local IRS address in Ogden, UT. I sent an explanation with a copy of the 1099. (I should note that I also reported income from another person who never sent me a 1099, so I just reported the income as additional income. This second person apparently did file a 1099 and reported $70 more than what I reported. I noted this in my response to the IRS.)

Fast forward to March. I never got a response from the IRS on the matter, but I did get a Notice of Deficiency with the same $7000 over-reporting. I called the IRS at the number provided on the notice and the lady told me she had no way of knowing whether or not they received or reviewed my response. I contacted the owner of the company who misreported their income and they assured me they reported the same 1099 that they sent me.

I had 90 days from the day of the notice to file a petition with the tax court. I could also send the information again to Ogden for them to "consider", but it wouldn't push back the 90 day window. Here's where I messed up. I didn't get around to sending the information to Ogden again because last time they did nothing. Now I'm at the end of the 90 days so I'm filing for the petition.

I have a few questions about this. Please feel free to answer one or any of them:

* Is there any other action I can take before sending the letter off in the mail?
* Is it more likely that the IRS messed up or did the employer mess up in their reporting?
* If the employer messed up, not the IRS, what can I expect from the tax court after I file my petition?
Topic:
Tax Law

Answer: Does the 1099 you filed match the actual payments you received for the year?


Title: The case of the cracked crock.

Question:
So "Joe" borrowed "Sue's" crockpot for a work pot-luck thing. Then Joe left the crockpot in the trunk of his car for over a week. Sue went to get something out of Joe's trunk and as soon as she opened the trunk, the crockpot fell out and smashed to smithereens.
She says Joe owes her a crockpot. Joe says no way, that the breakage is Sue's fault for opening the trunk and he's not buying her a new one.
Who is right?

[US]
Edit: Joe and Sue are married, if that makes a difference.

Answer: Is that crockpot marital property or owned by Sue before they were married?


Title: [NH] Got a phone call from the police about my car, should I be worried?

Question:
I was visiting a friend at her lake house in rural New Hampshire yesterday.  The house is on a tiny island, so usually I leave my car in their parking spot by the side of the road on the shore.  However, this time, the spot was completely flooded under about a foot of water (if I had to guess why, I'd say that recent construction in the area blocked off drainage), so I parked on the shoulder instead, about half-way off the road.  I made sure to leave plenty of room for a car to get by, and didn't think anything else of it.

My car was undisturbed, and I drove it home again last night (to Massachusetts, where both I and the vehicle permanently reside, if that is relevant).  This morning, I got a phone call to my office phone from the local police department in that New Hampshire town, and the conversation (paraphrased) played out something like this:

> Officer:  Hello, this is Officer I-can't-remember-her-name, is this bananas-foster-rex?

> Me: Yes, this is he.

> Officer:  Do you have a vehicle left on the side of the road outside of town?

> Me: I had a car parked there yesterday, but drove it home last night.

> Officer: Oh, okay, we hadn't been down to check this morning.  We wanted to check to see if it was abandoned or you had been in an accident, as we need to be able to get a fire truck through there.

> Me:  I'm sorry, I hope I didn't cause any inconvenience.

> Officer:  No, everything's fine, just making sure you'd get the car, and that everything was okay.

> Me: Is there anything else I can help you with?

> Officer:  No, that's all, have a nice day.

So, like, if this had been a conversation with a neighbor or a stranger, I wouldn't think anything of it, but now I'm all paranoid because I broke the eternal rule of "never talk to the police, even if you're sure you did nothing wrong."  From the sound of things (and from the fact that I didn't notice any sirens or flashing lights when I was over there (they would have been very noticeable from the lake house)), I don't believe they actually tried and failed to get a fire truck through, just that they hypothetically needed to be able to.

Should I be worried, or is this the end of it?

Answer: You're being *way* overly paranoid. They're checking on a car to see if it was abandoned or what the deal was.


Title: My father getting remarried. What should I, the current only child, look for in a prenup?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 nothing, the prenup has nothing to do with you.

1. unless there is some legal agreement in place saying your father will pay for your degree, he can choose to stop at any time.

2. you have no control over your inheritance, it's up to your father for separate property.  for any marital property, it would default to his spouse unless your father wills you his half of the marital property.

3. any possession of yours, is still yours.  Answer #2: I'm confused. Why are *you* even involved in this prenup? It's not your marriage. Answer #3: no way this is real.


Title: Local bar took my wallet - I'm under 21. CO

Question:
So last night, I got into a college bar (that I've been into many times before) w/ the id of someone who has standing next to me in line. He had both a passport and an ID so I used one of his to get in (sort of knew the guy).  Fast forward about a half an hour, and I lose my wallet in the bar w/ my real id, credit card, and everything in it. The bartender finds it, opens it presumably and finds that I'm under 21 years of age in the bar. I go up later to the bar and ask if they've seen a wallet and he tells me to meet him outside. So I meet him outside and he tells me that I have to come back on Monday after 11 to pick up the wallet when I meet with the owner and a cop. Then I left.

First, I'm wondering what sort of legal trouble I'm in here potentially.  It seemed like the bouncer and bartender were most interested in how I got into the bar in the first place, and I told them I got it from the guy next to me in line. So, I'm not quite sure what the owner/cop will be interested in, but it was weird they just didn't call the cops on me last night when I was there. Also, can the cop charge me with something two days later?

Any advice would be great, and I'm also wondering what steps I should take now.

Thanks

Answer:
 Let me make sure I got this right. So you went into a bar and ordered alcohol using the real ID of a friend who knew what you intended to do with it? And then you lost your wallet that contained your real underaged ID as well as your friend's actual ID?

If the answer to both is yes, then you are both potentially in trouble.


Title: Pressured into sex with my boss [NY]

Question:
I made a post yesterday asking for advice on this issue and a lot of people made comments about taking legal action.

I am 18 years old and my boss is 34. Last week he asked to come to my house when my parents were out of town. He came onto me and made a move (kissing, touching). I did not say no or tell him to stop at any point. However, this was out of fear and confusion. He's obviously in a position of authority over me and has control over my job. I essentially just sat there allowing it to happen. He then stood up and said "my wife knows where I am, so make this worth it. Get up here." And undid his pants. I gave him a blow job and he left.

He texted me the next day saying that his wife found out, and I no longer have my job.

Personally, I don't think there is any sort of case here based on what I've been reading of New York law. I'm just wondering what others think. Thanks!

Edit: Someone commented this is relevant information - he is a family friend and I have known him since I was 14.

Answer:
 That's a pretty open and shut case of sexual harassment.  Look into hiring a lawyer.Answer #2: My wife experienced a very similar experience when she was 18-19.  She said and did nothing at the time.  The guilt and perceived shame have haunted her ever since and led/contributed to many, many problems for her since.  Don't let this creep get away with this.Answer #3: >He texted me the next day saying that his wife found out, and I no longer have my job

How did his wife find out? This has got to be one of the most bizarre stories I have ever read here. Pretty open and shut case of sexual harassment considering you were fired. At this point it is a civil matter, contact the company's HR Dept if its a major company. Otherwise hire a good lawyer. Good luck.


Title: If you informally/forcefully/constructively evict someone who doesn't have a lease and hasn't been living there more than a few days, what kind of legal risk are you taking?

Question: What can they do other than to sue?  And how can they win a lawsuit if they don't have a lease?

Answer: If it's been only a few days they haven't established tenancy yet and you can call the police and report them for trespassing.


Title: Is it against the law for my mother in law to obstruct my letters to my daughter?

Question: My wife and daughter live with my wife's mother. I believe the MIL is not letting my daughter receive my letters to her. Is this illegal? What actions can I take?

Answer: Tampering with the mail is a federal offense. However, the water gets murky when you're talking about a minor and their parent. What makes you believe the mail is being held from her? Answer #2: Barring something contrary in your custody agreement, it is not illegal for your wife to obstruct the letters or to allow your MIL to do the same. It would be something you could bring up in a custody hearing as possible evidence of parental alienation.


Title: A registered Gun Owner has threatened my life??

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Him being a registered gun owner is about as relevant as him owning a car.

He threatened your life. Call the police. They will investigate if it was a credible threat. You can pursue a protective order, but it's unlikely.

They aren't going to take his guns away.


Title: I'm looking to start a charity for a close friend with some community members of a subreddit that we frequent. Would you fellas be so kind as to look over our wording?

Question:
Lemme start with an introduction: I come from a fandom community, and one of our community members has stage 4 cancer. 45% chance of survival for the next 5 years. Basically, she cashed in her annuity to pay for her house, and she's eating out of food banks. She has 2 kids. Before you ask, she's Texan, and there's 4 of us organizing this. The "leader" is Californian.

We're currently setting up a charity, as a way to fund-raise money for her. We're worried that our legal wording might cause trouble later, since we're writing up our own text. [Here's something that I wrote, for the front page on our fundraising website (apologies for length)](https://i.imgur.com/NMLxKP3.png)

[Here's another thing, for another adjacent website that's also collecting:](https://i.imgur.com/eueRxZ0.png)

I censored both for privacy. If you guys could read over these and point us towards any mistakes or information that we should explicitly state, for liability reasons, that would be great. If the information itself is perfect, please tell us that! Basically, any and all feedback is welcome.
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer: Just to be clear, you're soliciting donations on behalf of an individual but you're not "starting a charity" (501c3) since nonprofit charities cannot be for the exclusive benefit of one individual. You may want to make this clear in your solicitations so people understand their donations are not tax deductible. (Only a donation to a 501c3 would be tax deductible.)


Title: Roommate masturbates so loudly it wakes me up at night. What should I do?

Question: Currently a freshman in college living in the dorms in a Texas school. Right now I share a ~500 sqft room with 1 person, and a bathroom with 3 other people. While it has happened before, it hasn't been nearly so frequent as recently. For the past 3 nights I've been woken up at 4am-5am to the sound of my roommate masturbating. And when I say masturbating what I mean is literally fucking his bed, creaking and all. Over the course of 30mins-1hr he'll cum about 4-8 times (I'm assuming here based on the long pauses) leaving his sheets smelling worse than a pile of dead fish. My options are kinda limited here I think. Being the middle of the spring semester I can't exactly switch rooms without good reason, and I am not great with confrontation. I am fairly sure that whats going on is illegal, but I don't have the time, money, or desire to go to court (other than this he's actually an alright guy). I could confront him about it, wait it out, text him maybe? Report him to the hall director? Is this something I should report to authority? (X-post /r/needadvice)

Answer:
 > I am fairly sure that whats going on is illegal

I'd be interested in hearing your reasoning. I can't think of any obvious crimes or torts your roommate might be committing by masturbating loudly or leaving his sheets unwashed, personally.Answer #2: Next time he is doing it yell at him to go to the bathroom to jerk-off.  That should embarrass him enough to make him stop.


Title: Can my the condominium association I rent from fine me for something I never agreed to?

Question:
My boyfriend's truck is apparently "too big" to be parked here, and they keep threatening towing/ fines if we don't remove it immediately.
Upon signing our lease/agreement to rent here, there was NOTHING in print about vehicle size, nor was it ever brought up. I read the bylaws several times, and while it's rather vague, the only details of parking they mention are where you're allowed to park.
All of the sudden the office workers are telling us this is a general rule here, yet we were never presented with any list of rules. Just our lease (which has nothing to do with parking) and the bylaws that don't mention vehicle size.
Is there anything I can do to fight this? We still have another year on our lease, and it's impractical for him to get a new vehicle.

Background information: we moved here a year ago, for the first month or so he had this truck (without issue). His aunt and him made arraignments to basically trade vehicles (this goes without giving away personal information/ unnecessary detail) the trade didn't go as planned and he had to take his truck back- this is how we are now stuck with this issue in the middle of our lease.

TL;DR condo assoc. is threatening fines/ towing of a vehicle that is in violation of alleged rules, which were never presented to us/ we never signed/ agreed to.

Answer: This is an actual legal question, so belongs in /r/legaladvice. And your location is likely important.


Title: Breaking a lease in Washington DC

Question: So I am looking for advice on breaking a lease on the current property I am living at which I have about 10 months left in Washington DC. The house does not have a business license and I was never supplied a safety certificate or lead disclosure, I have a one year old and I believe that is required by law. The property is actually nice and we enjoyed living here. The landlord agreed to let me out but it will require about $7500, which I do not have at the moment and won’t have anytime soon just to hand over. Now a little background, my wife was brutally assaulted with a weapon (tased about 4 times), the assailant attempted rape her and also robbed her after she was able to break free and fight back, this occurred on the block where she normally parks and where our house is. It’s really shaken us up as you can imagine and the emotional and physical tole is something I never imagined going through, this has also put her out of work due to the injuries from fighting off the a$$hole and being dragged down the sidewalk, including knee surgery, concussion, hairline fractures in her pelvis and fingers. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not the landlords fault and I get that but in this case family is first and landlords financial well being is way last on my list. Regardless, my wife does not remotely feel safe here and the mental tole of reliving the moment every time she looks outside is absolutely unbearable to see everyday and I can not let that be.  . We just used our savings to pay her last semester nursing school so we have no cash in hand and the financial burden of this plus the cost of the medical attention is causing even more stress. With that being said, am I in the right to give a 30 day notice, and basically say I won’t be paying a dime more based on the no business license or safety certificate alone? I am willing to give up the security deposit but that was not excepted as enough. Do I stand a chance of not being sued for the remainder of the rent?

Answer:
 > With that being said, am I in the right to give a 30 day notice, and basically say I won’t be paying a dime more based on the no business license or safety certificate alone?

No. The landlord is definitely violating the law by not having a BBL, but that doesn't give you the right to terminate without penalty. Also, DC landlords have no duty to mitigate their damages, so if you leave, the landlord can keep the unit empty to continue charging you rent. A judge may take this into consideration if you're sued, and award the landlord less damages, but it's definitely not guaranteed.


Title: Seatbelt Ticket in North Carolina - Is there any way to get out of this bullshit?

Question:
I got pulled over by a North Carolina state trooper today. I had my seat-belt around my pelvis, but I had the shoulder strap behind my back because it sometimes irritates my neck and I had my nametag on for work and it was just more comfortable to have the seat-belt behind me. Apparently, he saw this from a distance. I have no idea where he was because I never saw him until he pulled up behind me. We were on a secluded gravel road just outside of a small town. He rode right on my ass for about 30 seconds before I went to pull off and just let him go on so I wouldn't have to worry about him pulling me over. As soon as I pull off, he turns on his lights and pulls up behind me. Not sure what he was waiting for. There's no way he could have seen my strap being behind me from his view behind my car.

Anyway, I was pleasant and respectful. When I was pulling over, I moved my strap in front of me. When he came to the window, I told him something like "I'll be honest, I moved my strap back in front of me when I was pulling over but I had the lower part buckled around me all the way." Then he took my license for a few minutes and comes back with this citation for 179 fucking dollars. $25.50 for the actual seat-belt "violation" (apparently the chest strap of the seat-belt has to be in front of you for those who don't know and like to ride like me). $153.50 for court costs.

So I tell him I'm not going to waste a day in traffic court because I know how useless that is and I realize it's just a formality so that they can say I had a fair trial. I realize I broke the ridiculous law. $25.50, I could deal with. But what the fuck is up with these "court costs?" There's no way it takes anything close to 153 dollars to process my citation and payment. At this point, I was not so pleasant with him. I didn't threaten or anything. I simply told him what I thought and stopped myself when I wanted to say something that he might want to arrest me for. I ended up just abruptly saying "we're done here" and rolled up my window and drive off. Nothing too damning, I hope.

After some research, I have found that not all states pull this bull-shit. But North Carolina does. I genuinely believe I was the victim of a jagoff cop who needed to add a ticket to his quota for the month. He could have easily informed me that I need to keep my seat-belt chest strap on and I would say "okay, you're right" and we move on. I wasn't driving dangerously or anything. I wasn't hurting anyone.

I looked over the ticket and I don't see any errors.

He never asked for my insurance, if that matters.

I was technically on the clock for my job in the next county over if that matters. I am a Physical Therapist and I was called to go over to our sister hospital to see a patient in acute care who needed my help. So this happened while I was on the way to that hospital. Could I try to use this to find some loophole in any way?

I was having a great day and I had to return to work in a shitty mood after this. It really ruined my day and I believe it's rather unjust.

Any advice?

TL;DR: Got a citation for not wearing my seat-belt for $25.50. Bull-shit fee of $153.50 is tacked on and labelled as "court costs." I was wearing my seat-belt around my pelvis but my chest strap was behind me and apparently that's illegal. I feel like I got fucked over and want to find a way out of it.

Edit: If you have helpful advice, that would be great. So far it's just people that want to tell me how to feel about this. Imagine you were having a great day treating patients who need your help. You get a bull-shit 153 dollar "court-costs" fee. You wouldn't be happy either. Talk high and mighty all you want. When you get fucked over with a bull-shit "court costs" fine, you'll know how this feels.

Answer:
 The only person who sounds like a "jagoff" is you. You broke the law, the cop did his job. He doesn't decide the fine amount or court costs. Answer #2: The cop didn't pass the laws adding the court costs on.

The cop didn't place your seatbelt on you wrong.

This is not the cop's fault- you aren't *owed* a warning.Answer #3: Nothing you said matters of is a defense. Follow the laws of your state and you won't get ticketed.Answer #4: Would you feel better about the situation if there were no court costs and the fine was for $179?

If the statute in North Carolina requires you to be wearing your seatbelt properly, it doesn't sound like you have a legal defence.

There's a reason seatbelts are designed the way they are. If you were in an accident, being restrained by the lap belt alone could result in severe spinal and abdominal injuries. Furthermore, your airbag is designed to be used in conjunction with the seatbelt. Without movement of your upper body being restrained, in a crash, it's highly likely that you would suffer serious facial/cranial injury when your head hits the steering wheel airbag.

Answer #5: Nothing in your story is a defense to having committed the violation. You are lucky the cop didn't find something else to ticket you for.


Title: What are the restrictions on a sober driver with an intoxicated passenger in the car?

Question: Let's say a 17 year old driver is driving one passenger, and that passenger is under 21 and has been drinking alcohol, but there are no containers or alcohol present in car. The driver is completely sober, with no BAC. Is this legal for the driver? E.g. can an underage, sober, licensed driver drive a car with one underage passenger who has been drinking? Any input is helpful, and please include sources if possible! Thanks

Answer:
 If you get pulled over, the intoxicated minor can get into the same trouble that they would get if they were drunk anywhere else.

As long as the sober driver doesn't have any other restrictions on their license, they wouldn't get in trouble simply for having a drunk person in the car. They'll likely get grilled by the officer, however. Answer #2: There's nothing illegal about driving them. However if you provided them the drinks or if you took advantage of their inebriated state, there could be criminal ramifications


Title: [NC] Can My Employer Require Me to Answer All Phone Calls Received - Specifically - Unknown Numbers - on My Personal Cell Phone?

Question:
I realize that the labor laws vary state-by-state (I live in NC, by the way)… and that company policy would obviously trump these laws (depending on the type of employment). I'm not expecting an explicitly precise - cover-all type answer, here… advice is welcomed and appreciated.
I need to find out whether my employer can require me to answer all phone calls made to my *personal* cell phone. I'm a consultant, and am currently on the bench (trust me, I know it's a good practice to answer calls, but I have multiple reasons for not being willing to do so).  Please consider these bits of information when pondering this request:

&nbsp; &nbsp;
- I'm currently in the middle of a discrimination dispute with my employer. They clearly do not *really* wish to speak with me on the phone - though they very much want to *indicate* that they have made the effort. I cannot get these people to correspond with me through email, and cannot get them to *answer* my phone calls.

&nbsp;
- There are days when I receive between 9 and 12 calls from unknown numbers.

 &nbsp;
-  The calls from random numbers are very rarely from the same number more than once, within a given month… they are never from the documented telephone numbers I would expect to receive calls from - if they were in fact placed by the specific people within the company who would be calling. I have saved all of these numbers in my contacts.

&nbsp;
- These callers *never* leave voicemails… if they did, I would likely know who was calling in the first place - and would absolutely return the call. I know the majority of these calls are from my employer, simply because they never leave a voicemail.

 &nbsp;
- I pay the bill for my cell phone. They do not reimburse me for any costs associated with my phone bill.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;
SO - can my employer reasonably expect for me to answer every call I receive - specifically - for phone numbers I do not know?

&nbsp;
I will likely be reprimanded by HR for not answering these calls tomorrow during a meeting… are they justified in doing so? I don't necessarily expect them to face legal repercussions… but it would be very helpful to know whether I would be shooting myself in the foot by stating that they ought to reimburse me for my phone bill if they do indeed expect this.

 &nbsp;

*Edit - noob formatting, whitespace ftw...

Answer:
 Why not just answer every call and make sure that they are all being recorded? NC is a one party consent state so you don't have to tell the other party they are being recorded.

If it is your work just continuously calling to harass you this could be used as evidence.


Title: Police seized package with no evidence of crime, need an attorney to get back

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Searches and Seizures

Answer:
 Sending $ 5000 cash by mail is incredibly suspicious. Sounds like civil forfeiture, which means you need to prove the money was not used in a crime to be able to get it back. There is no presumption of innocence here.

Your only chance is to get a lawyer and be sure to bring lots of documentation on how you got that money.


Title: Does adding "to the best of my recollection" or something to that effect protect you from being charged with lying to investigators?

Answer: Yes, to an extent. Most affidavits/sworn testimony is premised this on some form of oath that “the information is true or when based on information and belief, witness believes it to be true.” But if you are wrong in your beliefs, be prepared to defend them with reasoning


Title: Seller backing out days before closing

Question:
Indiana is the state.

So a bit of backstory. Found this wonderful home that is rare.  It is a 2 unit property meaning we can rent the apartment above the garage.  We loved this aspect and its location in the area.  So we had a purchase agreement and then went through inspection.  There was a foundation issue (and many other issues) and they agreed to fix all the issues.  I think they didn't realize the costs of this and it may be relevant later.

So the appraisal comes in about 30k low. There is nothing comparable in the area and by appraisal law they have to be careful how they compare the 2 unit.  We requested that it is not an investment property and appealed the appraisal as the seller realtor was pissed off at this low price.  So it came back the same.  We basically said that we want it at the appraised price. They weren't happy but this past weekend they signed and accepted our offer of the reduced price.

So on monday evening I had my realtor ask for the receipts of work done and they haven't fixed the foundation. In fact they had just ordered a contractor.  So I wanted to move the close date (which was super understanding of me) and that pissed off the sellers.  They think we should have trusted them. They were angry and wanted to back out. They sent over a mutual release.  Mind you we were supposed to close today. I offered to allow closing on Friday if they sign an ammendment about having the foundation fixed within 2 months.  No dice.

In the mutual release they would give us back our earnest money (which we put down 2500 as they wanted 1% down as they had a bad experience with a buyer in the past).   I did not want just my earnest money as the appraiser is like $700 and the inspection was $500, and it being so close to closing there are other closing costs we now owe.

So everything on our end of the purchase agreement is fine and dandy. We talked to an attorney who said we can walk away, negotiate a better release, sue for a better release, or sue for specific performance.

So we throw out to the sellers we are willing to sue for specific performance. This would make the house unsellable until after we go through the law process. Furthermore in our purchase agreement it has a clause that the loser of a lawsuit pays the winners attorney fees.

However looking up specific performance, its a bit rare. I also know that its drawn out and not ideal to be honest. So I am unsure how I want to go and I am curious on what others think about suing for specific performance.

I think something that helps our case is this isn't a case of they dont want to sell. They already listed the house as active on contingency (which is insulting) and they have told us they think they could have gotten a better appraisal if we would have used a different lender/appraisal company.  So it seems like they are fishing for a better price and are having regret.  They also said we bullied them into the lower price when that wasnt the case. We just said we want the lower price or we want to back out.  They didn't have to accept the amendment.

Should I try to negotiate a better leave?  Should we go full specific performance? There really isnt a comparable house to this and we have been looking for awhile. We even did a quick look and nothing else fits our criteria in the same area.  What is more frustrating is since we were expected to close today we told our landlords we would be out by the end of the month. Thankfully they have been understanding and I wont be homeless. I guess I am super frustrated at the sellers as it is quite obvious they are having sellers remorse about the price.

Answer:
 You should listen to the lawyer whom you have consulted and who has a full awareness of the circumstances.

That said, suing for specific performance can be a long, painful, and expensive route to take.  In general terms, independent of specific circumstances, when a buyer and a seller can't agree to terms both are often better off to walk away.


Title: Illegal Withholdings

Question: [deleted]

Answer: What did they say when you asked them why the money wasn't deposited into your IRA?


Title: [Ohio] Someone is threatening to release nude photos of me that were taken when I was underage and I'm terrified that I'll lose my job and be arrested for what is essentially child porn

Question:
When I was 14/15 (I am now in my early 20s) I had a boyfriend who convinced me to give him nude photos. I wasn't thinking at the time that any nudes of me would essentially be child pornography, so I did it. In total I think there were probably about 100 images or so and a couple videos. He had them all on his computer, most were taken by me and a few were taken by him. I know that he showed the pictures to some people when we broke up (like had the people over to his house and pulled up the photos on his computer, I didn't know he actually sent them to anyone), which was shitty of him to do, but I asked his sister to delete the photos and she did. I then forgot all about it, it was so long ago that until very recently I barely even remembered it happened.

I don't want to give any identifying information out, but within the last year, I have gained a few hundred thousand followers on a social media platform. I make money from that social media platform and from partnerships I got through it, and it's now how I support myself.

Yesterday, a guy I went to school with (who I didn't even realize was friends with my ex-boyfriend) contacted me and told me that he had those nude photos, and he would post them online if I didn't pay him $10,000. I do not know how he got them but I know for a fact he does have them. All or most of them, from what I can tell, and the videos too.

My reputation would be completely ruined by this, I would lose followers and I know the partnerships I have would end, and this is how I make my living so that would be a huge blow. Not to mention I'm absolutely terrified I'll be arrested for taking photos that are pretty much child porn. If they were taken while I was over 18, I would go to the police for him blackmailing me, but if I do that now I'll essentially be admitting that I took part in child porn. I should have known that my ex-boyfriend could have sent them somewhere else before his sister deleted them from his computer, but I just wasn't thinking at the time and I definitely didn't realize it would come back to bite me in this way.

I can afford to send this guy $10,000 but I know if I do this probably won't be the only time he asks for money and I can't really do it more than once, and my reputation will be completely annihilated if he releases these photos. I don't know what to do here and I'm freaking out really badly, can anybody help me or give me advice? Should I go get a lawyer?

tl;dr a guy I knew in high school is threatening to release nude photos and videos of me from when I was underage unless I pay him $10,000 and I'm worried I'll be arrested or at least lose my reputation/income

Answer:
 > I can afford to send this guy $10,000

 If you give him money he will *never* go away. Your nudes  will not evaporate from his CPU upon payment.
Answer #2: Who do *you* think would be in more trouble, the person that took naked pictures of themself as a minor and then had them all destroyed (to the best of their knowledge) or the adult in possession of child pornography who is prepared to *distribute* child pornography as an attempt to blackmail and extort someone?

Don't be afraid of *that*. Go see a lawyer, tell the truth, follow their advice.Answer #3: Keep any texts or messages from that guy. Go get a lawyer. Follow their advice. They'll be able to provide best way to contact authorities about that guy while mitigating risk for any legal or criminal fallback on you.