Title: (Georgia, US) I was sent a ticket for "passing" a bus.

Question: This is a short explanation, but I was mailed a ticket for allegedly passing a school bus. My question is, if I'm across a double yellow line, is that still considered a violation? Maybe if I give a little more insight that will help. I have the screenshots they sent me from the side of the bus. This isn't a two lane residential road. It's a four lane road with a double yellow line separating me from the bus. I'm in the far left lane, the bus is in the far right lane. I'm trying to describe this the best that I can. I'm willing to post the screenshots so you can see for yourself as long as that's not violating anything. I'm just looking for some legitimate answers. I would appreciate the help.

Answer:
 >It is against the law for a car to pass abus that is stopped with its lights flashing and stop sign arm extended. Police are reminding drivers that **traffic in both directions must stop for a school bus if there is no dividing median on the road**.

 Yellow line isn't enough


Title: Recent court ruling allows ex unrestricted access to property. What??!! Help!

Question:
I’ve been separated over a year and going through the divorce process. Today a judge felt it reasonable to allow my ex free access to the garage until a divorce is final (we’ve just begun and it will be complicated). His behavior towards me is nothing short of blatant harassment.  He also takes co-owned items out of storage without telling me.

My attorney did a good job today, but we spent most of our energy on a more serious topic, figuring this one to be a no-brainer. I’m in a small podunk town in Maine, and my ex’s attorney is a judge at the court. The side glances between them and favoritism were obvious.

My real question is, short of moving out or hiring a big burly guy to play my new boyfriend, is there anything I can do to get relief from the ever present ex?

I live way, way below median income and will go deep into debt with lawyers fees. I don’t have a choice as the bigger issues relate to my kids safety with my ex. So any free advice/suggestions are welcome. TIA
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: You should listen to your lawyer.  The reason why is your lawyer has full command of all the relevant and material facts to your situation that this sub does not have.Answer #2: If he has access just to the garage, can you move all your belongings elsewhere? If the garage is connected to the house, get a good lock on the connecting door.


Title: California: How Long Until I Can Safely Assume My Ticket Was Lost and It Won't Be in the System?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Years


Title: [Advice] Wrongful Termination

Question:
Hello, I use to work for a company in Utah, A right to work state.
I started this new job Sept 3. Ended Sept 17th 2015.

On Sept 17th My manager called me over to her desk, Asking for my personal information Full name DOB and SSN.
Now i have had my Identity stolen twice (I'm 23). (noted i had already provided all of this information during the hiring proceess).
My manager had asked me for this information to create an email for a different company I do not work for, but represent (Call center).
I had understood her question and request,
but put forth that I have had my identity stolen before and would like to review the policy that requires me to send my personal information (PI) to a different company to use their email.
She advised me, I can give her my information now or be terminated.
I went straight to HR.
I talked to them for about 15 mins. Told them what had gone on in that past 5 mins before I went to HR.
They said they would take care of it and told me to go back to work. I did so, but upon returning from lunch (30 min unpaid lunch).
I was called into HR's office with 3 other managers. I was then told I was terminated for cursing out a customer on the phone and hanging up.
NONE of which had happened. They refused to provide the call of which they said I did, refused to provide any evidence at all and I was escorted off building premises by security. All because i refused to give my manager my PI. That call never happened. And all calls are recorded and every account is logged when opened by an employee. The system stamps the customers account when accessed period. There is, to my knowledge no way to edit or delete this.

What is my course of action?

Answer:
 You were under no legal obligation to provide them PII. They were under no legal obligation to continue to employ you if you refused to provide it. Now you're unemployed AND you don't have to provide it. Win-win!

>right to work state, Utah

Utah is a right to work state, but unless you were fired for not joining the call centers Union, it doesn't matter in your case. You're think of the concept of "at will" employment.


Title: Pre-employment drug test was indiscernible. Employer can't hire me despite passing retest.

Question: Just lost a job opportunity because a pre-employment drug test came back inconclusive. I don't smoke, drink, or take any prescriptions so there shouldn't have been any reason for this. Despite retaking the test and the results being negative I can't be hired by the company because of the incolnclusive first test. What courses of action are available against either the testing lab or test manufacturer as I did everything I was told to do.

Answer:
 Absolutely nothing, sorry.  Tests are sometimes inconclusive, and that doesn't imply negligence or wrong doing by the testing agency.

Your not-employer is an ass for refusing to hire you, and I am very curious how that "can't" got into the headline, because there is certainly no such legal requirement.


Title: Crashed car at 3am with provisional license should I report to insurance?

Question:
It wasn’t really a crash but I went up on a curb and messed up the wheel well pretty badly. I am concerned that if I report it to insurance I will have my license taken. What should I do?
Not sure if this was the right place to post but thanks in advance for your help.

Answer: Pay to fix it yourself and stop driving around illegally.


Title: If I have sole custody of my child and my ex won't give my child back, is he liable for criminal charges?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 When you say "he gave up any rights", how exactly was that accomplished? He told you? Sent it in an email? Was part of the divorce decree?

It's *very* rare for a court to totally sever all legal ties without an adoption. But if you have a legal court order saying that, and he won't give her back, then that's parental kidnapping and can get him in serious trouble. If you've never done anything official, then he's free to take her wherever in the country he wants for as long as he wants until you get a custody order. Answer #2: So there is a court order awarding you sole custody?


Title: Old Shotgun not registered

Question: I own an old firearm of both emotional and historic value its very old but operational. Do I need to register it? Not sure if this matters but it has been used in the murder of four people (3 of my ancestors and the person who killed them, its a long story).Texas

Answer: Texas doesn't require registration of firearms, so no.


Title: Eyesore next door

Question: I have a house I’m trying to sell. The neighbor that moved in about a year ago is a towing company. Now there are cars and trucks galore next door. Do I have any recourse? Can I make them pay for trees to put down the property line? [serious]

Answer:
 1. Possibly. Check your local code enforcement to see if they're breaking any rules. If you're in the city, usually you can't park on grass and towing companies and junk yards require a 6 ft fence in many instances.

2. No. But you can plant some.


Title: I'm a minor. What would happen if I robbed a bank with the intent of going to jail/prison?

Question:
I live in North Carolina. I'm 16.

I don't ~~think I~~ actually want to go to jail, I'm just curious about what exactly would happen if I (explicitly nonviolently) handed a note to the bank teller asking for some small amount of money.

Thank you!

Answer: You could be charged as an adult, and you could do some very serious time in prison.  If I'm reading North Carolina's chart correctly, you'd likely do 4-5 years, up to a maximum of around ten years.


Title: I am going to be a sex offender and I live 0.5 miles away from a montessori academy

Question: I live with my parents. Will I be forced to move out? I live in Texas.

Answer:
 Looks like the rules for location differ my city somewhat. Your best option is to call your local police department (non-emergency liine) and ask to speak with someone regarding the rules for sex offenders. It will all be given to you when you register either way.

Yes, you may have to move out. Talk to the person you register with to see. Answer #2: Have you actually been convicted and forced to register? Or are you scared because someone is threatening to report you?Answer #3: You can talk to your P.O. and they will be able to let you know what you can and can't do. Answer #4: Are you over 18?


Title: Can I Sue My Restaurant Sort Of ?

Question: So to begin with, I live in Dallas Tx and I work at a restaurant that has several companies that delivers for us. One of the companies have been delivering for us for about a year now, and we changed our prices I would say about 6 months ago. I'm pretty sure we told them about our new prices when we changed them (we sent out an email). The first company *lets call them FineDiners* changed there prices according to ours, but the other company *lets call them RunFood* kept the same prices that we had before. They have been charging customers an extra $3-4 depending on what food items they get for months now. So my question is, is there a way to sue the company RunFood for taking extra money from customers without there knowledge .

Answer: Why would you be able to sue your restaurant? Where do you see a legal issue here? Additionally, how have you been wronged by this?


Title: Company let me go after destroying my work-visa chances for 2016, and also not paying me stated salary for a long time, claiming it would be temporary. Please help.

Question:
Hi all,

I have another account where I'm active, but I made this for anonymity.

I'm a video-game programmer, from a foreign country, currently living in Los Angeles, California. I came to the USA a few years ago, and graduated with a Master's degree here.

**I was working at a startup for more than a year until yesterday, when they laid me off, citing lack of money to continue paying me.**
The following may be a little long, but I do think that all of it is very relevant to my situation. I really appreciate any of you for taking the time to read this.

**TLDR further below.**

Here's some background. I will mention numbers too, just in case it helps. When I say 'the company said/did...', it's always either the CEO or COO of the company.

**February 2015:**
I was hired by the company under consultant status. I was on my F1-OPT visa status then, and still am. During the hiring interviews, I was told I would be getting paid a salary of $90,000 p/a. I was also told by the company that they would apply for my work visa (H-1B) next year (2016 at the time) as it would be too soon for them to evaluate my performance to apply the same year (2015).
At the time of finally signing papers (after interviews, decisions, etc), I was now told my salary would be $84,000 for the duration of the consultant status, and that it could be raised to the originally-told amount when they converted me to full-time later (after 3 months).

**May 2015:**
I was converted to full-time. I requested for new written job agreement papers (which is standard in the country I come from), but I was told it's no issue and most of the same statements applied as from my consultant contract. So far, all the members of the company had all been very friendly (almost treated me like family) and helpful to me in every aspect, so I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and took their word for it. However, my salary continued to stay $84,000, contradictory to what we had discussed at the time of hiring. On explicitly requesting our previously-discussed raise, the CEO now wanted to renegotiate.
After multiple discussions/meetings, we concluded with the company claiming (verbally, I don't have written proof) that my salary would be raised to $89,000 starting July 2015. I genuinely enjoyed my work with the company, so this seemed fair to me (and even close to my first-told salary).

**June 2015:**
Everyone (or atleast the company said so. I know some of my coworkers definitely did) received a "temporary" pay-cut due to lack of money, until they could receive further investments. Our salaries were reduced by 30%, i.e. I was now receiving paychecks at the rate of $58,800 p/a (70% of $84,000). This was the pre-tax amount, if that's not implicit. Again, seeing how friendly the environment was and how I enjoyed my work, I decided to bear it for then.

**July 2015:**
This was when my previously-discussed raise would have kicked in. But seeing that everyone was still going through the lowered pay, I decided not to bring it up just yet.

**October 2015:**
The company now told all the workers that they felt very positive and close to receiving investments, so everyone was asked to renegotiate new industry-based competitive salaries. These renegotiation interviews ended with them saying I would be paid $89,000 again (I have written proof of this), but with fine-print that it was subject to them receiving investments. I was still getting paid at the lower-rate. The CEO said (to most other employees too) that the difference between the new salary ($89,000) and the lowered salary ($58,800) would be paid to me (rated for the months since October) as soon as they received the money, which they sounded very positive about.

**January 2016:**
Some of my coworkers were laid off. They did receive the stated back-pay (from October) as well as pay for unused vacation days. The company apparently still had not closed on receiving investments.
All this while, I was still completing multiple projects with the company.
I chatted with the CEO and COO privately at this point, requesting them to give me an idea about the situation. I wanted to hear their opinion privately because I would lose more than just a job if I was let go later. I would lose the opportunity of receiving an H-1B visa for the year of 2016 (there's a fixed window every year that companies have to apply for it: April 1-6). If things were not looking good at the moment, I could try and join another company that could apply for the visa this year, and that would give them time to evaluate my performance for the same too. I didn't explicitly say that last part to them, but they knew the entirety of my situation- I was always very clear. The COO said that there was nothing for me to worry about, that they at least had money to keep me on till much later if things went sour, and that I would receive good notice even if things went worst-case... basically a bunch of positive things, which I trusted again.

**February 2016:**
The company lawyer started requesting documents from me to help assemble the application for my H-1B visa (different kinds of immigration and graduation-related documents). I assembled them all and gave it to the lawyer. This also gave me some optimism that the company probably was in a better position to be able to apply for my work visa this year.

***TLDR...***

I was hired as a consultant with a certain stated salary in February 2015. The salary number went down at the time of signing, claiming it was only during my consultant status, and could be renogiated when converting to full-time.
After renegotiation at conversion to full-time, but before my new salary kicked in, in June 2015, company lowered everyone's pay "temporarily" claiming it would bring it back up when they received investments. I continued to receive lowered pay based on what they gave me initially too, not on what was negotiated multiple times.
I was also assured multiple times that company would apply for my H-1B visa in the fixed window (April 1-6) this year.

**March 2016:**
I was let go by the company yesterday (March 15).

1. I had no warning of any kind about this, other than my own suspicion maybe.

2. I did not receive any severance pay. Neither did the company give me the back-pay or any extra pay of any sort, when they claimed they would give it. Others that were let go recently did receive it. They owe me roughly $15,000 in back-pay.

3. But worst of all, this completely destroyed my chances of getting my H-1B visa this year, as even if I got hired by a company *today* that was willing to apply for my work visa this year, they wouldn't have enough time to get the application ready for the short application window. Applying for my H-1B next year would be cutting it extremely close, as it would happen in the last few months of my OPT status (the period during which I can work here legally).

I will be meeting them tomorrow again for casual closing discussions and picking my things up. They have no hint that I will bring up any of these issues, as I walked out yesterday with an understanding tone that it was unfortunate, and after shaking hands.

So far, I've talked with a few friends of mine regarding these. My best idea currently is to bring up the back-pay issue in discussion tomorrow, and say that I will file for damages if the discussion goes negatively.
My original consultant contract also stated that they would have to give me atleast 10 days written notice, so how do I bring this up with them?
Could you guys please offer suggestions/advice? I would really appreciate any help I can get at this point.

Thank you for reading and for the help.

Answer:
 * Your TLDR was almost as long as your narrative.
* Considering the business couldn't close their investment round, it may not be worth the effort.


Title: A job "hired me", said they forgot they had other interviews for the position, then ghosts me. I signed no paperwork for the job yet, it was my first day. Am I legally allowed to ask for compensation for my time?

Question:
(Location: MS) Hello all, I'll try to keep this short and sweet. I went to an interview last week for a dispatching job for a company. It was a job Mon-Fri 730am-5pm paying at 400-450 a week. I was ecstatic because it would be my first office job. (Restaurant curse is real.) They offered no benefits however, which is weird for such long work days.

During the interview the OM (Operations Manager) was saying how it was a hostile friendly environment and that I would have to be okay with cursing. That's fine, I've worked in restaurants. Anyone whose ever worked at one will tell you back of house sounds like a sailor's bar. Lots of cursing and such. I'm okay with the cursing and hostility because at the end of the day we are all trying to a job and it can get hectic.

I sat in with her last Thursday to see if "I will like it." I show up at 8am, stay there until 11am, and everything was fine and dandy. The other girl that worked there however, was absolutely awful. While taking calls, she told us that she "Didn't want to give no towelheads some loads." I live in Mississippi and I understand some people are racist, but damn. It was like it was just in her vocabulary on a day to day basis.

Skip to Monday. She had told me on Thursday to come in on Monday morning at 730am. I'm assuming this is me getting the job, right? Well I sit through 4 and a half hours of not much. I'm doing the same thing I did when I came in to see if "I liked the job". I was just shadowing over OM's work and seeing what they do. No hands on time whatsoever and she explained like two things to me. I had to ask questions between calls, but they would be short and pretty indirect. She never explained what she was doing when she was doing it. Other times, she was snapchatting, which whatever. You do you on the job. The racist girl was also calling another employee who was a handy man the N word with a hard R to the owner of this place. (It's a small business.)

I go on break around noon and about 15 minutes later she texts me that there were two different interviews for the position and that she didn't know and she'd give me a call back tomorrow. Here it is on Thursday. Nothing. Also, she did know SOMEONE was coming because her and the other racist girl were talking about someone coming in.

Am I legally owed something? I already put in my notice, I never signed any paperwork and thank goodness I never gave them a copy of my social. I was just really happy to get out of the restaurant industry and now I'm sucked right back into it.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: You must be compensated for time worked, they can give you sub-minimum wage for training time  but they must give you some compensation for coming in.


Title: Bank refusing to give back ATM card.

Question:
Hey everyone, I'm not really asking for legal advice I just have a legal question. Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit. I left my ATM card in a machine that is not my banks and they refused to give it back to me and told me they were going to destroy it. I don't really care, I'm just going to order a new one. But how is that legal? Is their a specific statute you can point me to?

**Edit:** For anyone who comes across this and wants an explanation. The issue is not about ownership of the card. Banks enter into contractual agreements with [Interbank Networks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbank_network#United_States) that allow their customers to use the ATM's of different banks that are also members of the Interbank Network. The rules governing these transactions are set by the terms of the Interbank Network contract. The federal statute that governs these contractual agreements is the [Electronic Fund Transfer Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Fund_Transfer_Act). When you enter into a contract with your bank you are also agreeing to the terms of the contract between your bank, the Interbank Network, and the other member banks of the Network. So when a customer of Bank A leaves his card in the ATM of Bank B and Bank B takes and destroys the card they are not taking and destroying the card without the cardholders permission. The customer of Bank A is already in a contractual relationship with Bank B even though they are not a customer there. Here's an old [link](https://www.bankersonline.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1603105/Re:_Non_customer_claiming_card) to some bankers discussing this.

Answer: Its SOP because its better to give you a new card than have a possibly compromised old card around. And the contract you signed to get the card probably tells you it can be revoked at any time and is the property of the bank.


Title: [CO] - "Throwing Missiles" Charge - Threw a drink

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > The act was not done maliciously

Yes, it was. Trying that in court is not going to end well for you.


Title: Estrange Parents Using Police To Harass Me Through Friends

Question:
My adoptive parents filed a missing person's report last week on me.  I am not speaking to them and have not since the 1st because of them trying to force me to live with them or give them my daughter.  They had my daughter for a period of time and were refusing to give her back so I went and took her.  I have spoken to the police officer they filed the report with.  Apparently they told him a ton of lies, including the last time they'd spoken to me and that they had custody (they showed him a power of medical attorney or whatever the document is that lets people take your kid to the doctor I'd signed over a year ago.)  We spoke for about a half hour and he made a point of telling me that I have a right to have my child, that they can't take her from me without a judge and warned me that it didn't sound like they were going to stop at missing persons reports.

I'm staying in a location they don't know with a friend they've never heard of in Texas but they've managed to send the police out to look for me at two friend's houses in two different states.   I do not like feeling hunted and I'd like to know what my options are to defend myself and what they could possibly do next.  At this point I'm resigned to the fact that they feel like they have a right to keep my kid even though this sense of entitlement is crazy.  I just want to know what I need to prepare for and what I can do.  Thanks in advance.

Edit:  I forgot to add that I'd also like, if possible, to prevent them from seeing my daughter.  I intend to move back to the state where her father lives in about 3 or 4 months and it's a very real concern that he'll allow them access if he bothers to actually take her for visits.  If it helps we were never married.

Edit 2:  People seem really focused on why they took her to begin with.  That was taken care of six months ago.  They had no legal standing to do so and I would rather focus on what's happening right now.  At that point I had a lawyer and I'm pretty clear on the laws regarding what happened then. It's the now I need help with.

Answer:
 Are you a legal adult?

If so, you may want to look into a protective order. Such an order would bar your parents from continuing to harass you under penalty of arrest.

Seek out a local women's shelter or domestic violence assistance group if you need help. Answer #2: They don't have any rights to your child unless a court says so. To prevent the father from taking your daughter to them, you would have to get an order that bars him from letting them see your daughter.

You can try notifying the police in your area and in their area that they may file false reports. The police will get very irritated with them if they keep filing false reports.


Title: [Ontario, Canada] Someone is threatening to kill my dog. What do I do?

Question: Several guys at my school are threatening to kill my dog and I don't know what to do. We live in the countryside and my dog is usually out in our yard. These guys are pretty nasty and I would not be surprised if they actually tried to hurt him. My mom called the school but they said they can't do anything because a) the boys haven't done anything yet, b) even if they did, since it didn't happen at school there's nothing they can do. I did some looking and learned that threatening harm to an animal is illegal in Canada, but I'm not sure how to proceed or who to call. Right now I'm keeping my dog in the house, and I'm skipping school till this gets resolved to watch over him. But I'm really terrified and I desperately need advice.

Answer:
 Why haven't you called the police?Answer #2: - Police Non-Emergnecy Number
- Keep the dog in the house at all times unless you are supervising the dog directly
- Call the police every time the boys make a threat
- If you can  get a security camera set up to look out over your yard, even better


Title: Power of attorney

Question: My ex wants me to sign power of attorney for car I cosigned on. Should I sign? She wants to register it in another state (Fl and I'm in VA). Am I responsible for paying personal property tax on the car?

Answer:
 Be careful about signing a power of attorney for your ex.

Since a PoA is not needed to register a car, your ex is likely looking to do something else with the car - possibly sell it without your knowledge.

If they sell it for less than the outstanding debt on the car, you will be on the hook for the remaining portion of the loan.

I would advise you to not sign a power of attorney at this time.


Title: Life drunkenness and 42

Question: Went out tonight met a sort of coworker that was drunk (normally an ok guy but NO self control) realized this once I won a drink in after losing a couple shots got him and the young 20something he had little shot with drinks to even my tab...he then got weird(er) like he had to know he had no shot with those girls...I went on to ignore him at that point and catch up with actual FRIENDS...then I went off with other frienfpds he got cut off but wouldn’t leave...in the parking lot there was a fight i called 911 BC his head hit the pavement with Gallagher watermelon sound effects plus blood fortunately he was conscious and coherent by the time EMTs and police came...but I’m not sure I would recognize the person because I had a few drinks myself plus faceblimdness...I know 911 got my info..what do I do if faceblindness comes up as a problem with my being a witness other than factual?

Answer:
 1) Drink some water.
2) Sleep.
3) Delete this and try again tomorrow when you're sober.


Title: [San Diego, CA] Can you be towed from a legally parked spot because of a "violation" 24 hours prior in a different spot?

Question:
Girlfriend's car was in our neighborhood's "guest only" parking, which -- by their own signs -- says that it is enforced from 4-9p.  She parked it there a little before 9p.  Maybe 8:30p.

According to the neighborhood's HOA board, the car was reported 4 hours later at about 1a to be in violation of "guest parking."  She doesn't sleep over at my place but she's over from 8a to almost midnight every day of the week; basically living with me since the majority of her time is spent here.  She usually puts her car in my garage.  So according to the signs, she should've been okay to be parked there if she was a resident since she lives with me.

(Background: Our HOA hires a private "security" firm to patrol the neighborhood for parking violations.  The firm reported her car to be towed to tow truck company.  The firm has legal authority to report tows on behalf of the HOA.)

But I digress.  This is one case we're trying to dispute but the more important issue is..

They reported the "guest parking" violation at 1a on Monday.  We moved her car from the "guest" spot to a normal spot (my usual one for my truck since she was saving it for me) about 8 hours later at 9a that same day.  Come 3a on Tuesday, the tow truck came and towed while it was in the normal spot and the only reason they gave us over the phone was "open parking violation."

Can tow trucks tow a vehicle for such bullshit?  They basically towed her car while it was in a normal spot for being reported 24 hours prior to be in a "guest" spot.

I'm trying to decipher the CA VC but it's pretty confusing (obvious):

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=22658

Answer:
 Are you required to have a parking permit displayed in your vehicle? Are you renting?

Good news/bad news:

Bad news: If you are renting, she is not an official resident and could be subject to being towed if she parks in violation of a stated rule.

Good news: it looks like they were required to wait 96 hours after her first parking violation, before towing.

>(2) The vehicle has been issued a notice of parking violation, and 96 hours have elapsed since the issuance of that notice.


Title: Business with same name as mine opening soon. I'm not comfortable with this. What do I do? [England]

Question:
My coffee shop has been running for two years. Let's pretend it's called 'Sandqvist' - no other places with this name in London. It's actually not an uncommon word but no other place is it and it doesn't relate to our products either. My customers always ask whether we have other branches and we are indeed looking at new premises and want to expand. A customer recently mentioned a branch in the city with the same name and very similar style.  I investigated and sure enough 'cafe Sandqvist is opening soon'.

How do I ask these guys to consider changing their name as I've been looking for a place in the same location and this would cause confusion for our customers. I feel awful about doing this to them but also very protective of my brand.  On paper, we are trading as a limited Co under a different name. As in, 'blah Ltd trading as Sandqvist '

Answer: Try /r/legaladviceuk


Title: (United States) If a civilian threatened a uniformed officer with a less-than-lethal device (pepper spray, tazer, etc), what level of force could the officer legally respond with?

Question: This is a hypothetical, and assumes that the officer recognizes the device as less-than-lethal.

Answer: Necessary force to end the threat and place the suspect in custody.Answer #2: Reasonable Necessary Force which may include lethal force if the police officer has reason to believe that the suspect is going after his duty weapon after incapacitating him with the pepper spray/tazer.


Title: [Las Vegas, NV] I have legal guardianship of my brother. His new HS Football Coach is demanding details about why he isn't with his mother.

Question:
I (30m) recently won full legal and physical guardianship of my little brother (14m) through family courts. Without going into too much detail, our mother is one of the worst people alive and the judge agreed.

This year is his first year with me and his first year in his current HS. He signed up for the football team and the coach; after seeing that he lived with me, demanded that my brother write him a paper explaining why he isn't living with his mother and the nature of his relationship with me.

I don't know what this has to do with being on a football team. Nor do I feel like it's anyone's business but ours what happened in court and why it happened. If my brother is happy under my roof and I have all the proper paperwork signed by a judge saying that I am the legal guardian, that is the end of the story. Is this even legal? What if the coach retaliates and doesn't allow my brother to play?

Advice?

Answer:
 Lots of comments here from people who don't work in schools, deal with school athletics or are not educators. Students have a right to an education, however sports eligibility is an entirely different monster. Some people claim to live with relatives, claim to be homeless, etc. In order to play sports for a certain school. It is up to the school to make sure everyone on their roster is 100% kosher. If they are not and it is discovered, the team could be disqualified lose any awards they have won that year, and have additional fines and sanctions imposed on them.

If a student is living with an adult that is not obviously a parent it will throw up flags for whomever is responsible for eligibility (this varies by location, it could be the coach of the sport, an athletic director, a principal etc). Does the school have your court documents on file? If so, this would be the only documentation you would have to present.

Everyone saying this coach is crazy and doesn't need to know your business is wrong. If your brother wants to play on the team, you'll need to prove to the coach that he is eligible to do so and not living with you just to play sports.


Title: [CA] No electricity for a month. Landlord is ignoring us, and the power company.

Question:
Basically, about a month ago, a guy came out from PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) to read our meter. It has been the same for years, but he decided it was unsafe, and pulled the meter out. He also laughed at us.

We call the landlord immediately, and he says yeah, we'll be right on it. We are contacted by the electric company that says we as tenants can't do anything, and that the landlord has to give them permission to start construction, after they acquire the proper permits and inspections. We say fine.

Food starts to rot, we have to buy an ice chest and a camping stove for proper food, and we are quickly becoming more miserable every day. We continue to call PG&E almost every day, asking for updates on the situation. "Working on it, etc"...Okay then. Thanks for nothing.

At this point it had progressed to two weeks without any power, and our landlord is not answering phone calls, or texts. It had occurred to us to go to the other building they own, but our vehicle broke down.

I had to go out of town to work, but my boyfriend is staying in that place...full of rotten shit and bugs. His truck is still being fixed so there is no way we could clear the fridge to put stuff outside because of coyotes, etc.

We asked PG&E for a generator. They said ok, just need your landlords permission, have him call us. We tried. His literal response was, "But how could you afford the gas for it?" and he ignored us from then on out.

We have no contract or rental agreement.

I'm really, really pissed off at this point and I was wondering what we could do to make him listen to us. Call the police on terms of an illegal living situation? I was told there was a county truck driving around recently taking pictures. This doesn't seem like it will end up in a positive light.

*EDIT: We have literal and physical proof of living at this address for three years. Bills at this address, pictures, even google maps from years ago with our truck out front. As far as I can tell we cannot be labeled squatters. I think they are trying to make us leave?

*EDIT 2: PG&E informed us that they have repeatedly been calling the landlord, and they have received no response. Hence, "Ignoring the power company"

Answer:
 California provides a [repair and deduct](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/california-tenant-rights-withhold-rent-repair-deduct.html) option.  PG&E might not do its repairs, but whatever needs to get fixed that you can authorize, you can pay for using your rent money.  You do have to be reasonable (no gold plated generator that runs on unicorn horn).  The landlord is not permitted to retaliate for your repair & deduct.  A generator may cost a little more than PG&E gas, but not horribly more.

I would advise you to talk to a tenant's rights organization like Project Sentinel (housing.org)

Also, what the hell with rotting food?  When our power went out for a week, we threw away everything that needed refrigeration and ate only things that didn't.  You can manage that just fine with no bugs.Answer #2: Do you pay rent?


Title: Landlord is charging me $5 a day until my water bill is paid in full. (Ohio)

Question: I share water with neighbor below me, which is an ice cream shop. Last month they paid the entire water bill in full. Landlord sent me a bill asking that I pay my half immediately and will be adding $5 everyday that I don't. Also I requested to have a toilet fixed two months ago due to it running water constantly. This toilet alone has added $100 to my bill. Anything I can do here?

Answer:
 Unless it's in your lease that he can charge $5 a day late fees ( may consider late rent and late utilities the same) he can't just add extra fees for kicks. If the utility company charges this he could pass it on.

If your lease says he is responsible to fix the toilet and he hasn't done so after notice get it fixed and bill him. (May have to take to small claims over this if he claims it wasn't his responsibility)


Title: US Can a will dictate what happens to a property years later?

Question:
There is a thread in a popular subreddit with the following set up:

Wife and husband built a house together and contributed equally to it.

At that time, they "set it up" so that if one of them died the other would get the house and when the other partner died or sold the home, 50% of the proceeds would go to the one partner's children and 50% to the other partner's sister.

How would you set this up and can a well dictate what happens to a property years after the fact?

Answer: Yes, that setup is very normal.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remainder_(law)


Title: Monkey fists being legal in GA?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Do I dare google this?


Title: The U.N. headquarters in New York is considered extraterritorial meaning it is exempt from the jurisdiction of local law. So if a crime were to be committed on the grounds of the headquarters, would a U.S. court still prosecute it?

Answer:
 Like all other diplomatic missions, the "extraterritoriality" of the UN headquarters is by agreement between the UN and the USA.  It does *not* mean that the UN is exempt from all local laws.  In fact, the UN has agreed to abide by most local laws.

The prosecutorial jurisdiction for a crime would involve referring to that agreement and any diplomatic agreements involving the perpetrators or victims.  It could be the local police, the feds, or a foreign country.


Title: A former coworker listed me as a financial reference without asking me, and now that she's been failing to pay her loan, I'm getting called by her debt collectors.(Colorado)

Question:
About eight years ago, I became friends with a coworker, who I'll call Ashley. Both she and I began working at other companies and slowly drifted apart. One day four years ago, I got a phone call from a debt collection agency asking me if I knew Ashley, and how they might get ahold of her. I said we were somewhat still in contact and that I'd pass along the message, and I did, and Ashley said sorry they had called me. I thought that was the end of it.

A couple years later, I started getting phone calls from another debt collection agency. This time I did not engage them because I knew I had no debt and just assumed they were very persistent spam calls. They eventually stopped calling. Ashley and I had completely drifted apart at this point and I didn't know anything about her whereabouts. I now suspect these calls were about her.

Last week and this week, I started getting calls again from yet another collection agency. They left a couple mysterious messages saying "This is so-and-so calling about an outstanding debt, and it is imperative that you call us immediately, blah blah." I had forgotten about Ashley and decided to call this company back to get off their list if possible. I spoke with someone who told me that I had no debt with them, and that I was on their do-not-call list, so I shouldn't be getting calls. A few days later, another person called me and left another mysterious and slightly threatening message. I called him back immediately and demanded that if I was on their do-not-call list and had no debt, why the hell were they still calling me. I had already started to suspect it was for Ashley's loan, so when they said they were calling about someone else, I said her name and asked if it was her, and they confirmed it was.

I said that I didn't speak to her any more and to remove me from the account. The guy then warned me that they could do that for their system, but that anytime her debt gets sold to a new collections agency, my name will go with it. Forever. Until she pays.

I sent her a testy message and now know that if I get a debt collection call, that should be my first question to hopefully snuff out future calls. But is there anything I can do to actually remove my name from this debt? It seems awful that she was able to list me as a reference without my permission and then let me deal with the phone calls for her negligence. I don't want to have this come up every few years because of her mistakes.

Is there anything I can do? Is there any threat to my credit? I'm in the US, Colorado.

Answer: I'm pretty sure they're in violation of the [Fair Debt Collection Practices Act](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/debt-collection-faqs) by calling you since it's not your debt anyway. Tell them that, and you may get them to back off. That's a *very* serious problem for them if they violate it.


Title: My parents lied on court documents to get custody of my son.

Question:
  About 2 years ago I was living in Ohio, where my parents had lived the previous 3 years. I thought being close to family would be better. (We're all originally from NY) But it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. So, I decided to move back to NY after only living in Ohio for 2 years.

   I have 3 children, all boys. The oldest two have been diagnosed with autism. And my oldest son would be staying with my parents for the summer, which he had been doing for a few years. So it was a regular thing. I moved out of Ohio on July 11th. On July 13th my mother signed papers at a court house saying she'd had my son since May(she had him since June 14th, he was still in school in May) And she put that I had abandoned him and she had no way to contact me(they had my number and I still have screen shots of the texts I was sending them around these dates asking how my son was doing And letting them know how moving was going) And she took that paper from the court house(mind you she didn't present the court with proof she didnt even have my son with her they just took her word for it) and she went to social security and started getting my son's SSI money.

   They knew I couldn't afford a lawyer and when I showed up to court with all my proof that my mother was lying and with the intention of representing myself, which I thought I had a right to do, the magistrate wouldn't let me. She "advised" that I get a lawyer and adjourned it without hearing anything I had to say.

   Well, before the next court date the ride I hsd to Ohio couldn't take me(I can't drive because of the seizures) So, I called and asked them to let me do it over the phone but they told me I couldn't without a request form. So, I called the law guardian who was appointed to my son and she said she would ask them to call me when she got to court. But I never got a call. I finally called the law guardian back to ask what was going on and she told me they took me not showing up as "evidence" and awarded my mom custody(I still dont know why they didn't take it as evidence when I showed up the first time).

    But furthermore the law guardian never did the home inspection like she said she was supposed to. I feel that the court house in Ohio did not do things right. I have proof my My mom lied about the things she said in court documents; how long she'd had my son, that I ignored his autism and didn't meet his needs and not knowing who my son's father is. She even put on the court papers that my son wasnt safe with me, but as I've mentioned I have 3 children, who at this time were 7, 4 and 8 months old and she only tried to take the oldest one and only after I was gone. I believe this is because the other 2 children have family(their father's family) that would have faught her and my oldest son only had me. But this is just my opinion.

   Well, when my mom finally got the court papers in the mail awarding her custody she didn't let me talk to my son for months. In the months after that if I ever said anything she didn't like she would use him against me. Saying I was too mentally unstable to talk to him, or if you don't stop you won't talk to him, etc. Just recently she did it again. And has refused to answer my calls or texts for a month now. I just called both her and my step dad, he answered but when I asked to talk to my son he hung up on me.

   My son has gotten very overweight since being with them and he has severely regressed emotionally. Any time I talked to him he was watching tv or playing a video game and never stayed on the phone longer than 15 minutes. He used to be a very lovable and energetic little boy. And I've been walking on eggshells for 2 years for just one phone call a month from him and because she kept saying she'd give him back to me. When I left Ohio he was 7. He just turned 9. And I want him back but I don't have the money for a lawyer. I raise the other 2 boys on my own in Forida. I'm a good mom. I always make sure my childrens needs are met. But I'm not exactly "law smart" enough to represent myself, I'm not organized enough to gather all of the information or get people's statements to help my case. I don't even have anything like a tablet or laptop to make things easier. And my memory has diminished slightly because of all the seizures(I haven't had any now for over a year) I need help. I've tried reaching out to family but everyone believes my mother. (she told them all I was just going camping, not moving)

   Anyway, a friend of mine told me to try and post this here. That it was full of NON judgmental people and that some of you may have even been through this yourselves. I need help. I need a lot of help. Being without my son has broken my heart and taken a toll on me mentally. And while I'm sure he likes getting spoiled by his grandparents, which I couldn't do. That doesn't mean they're more fit to raise him. And they're alienating him from his family. Me and his two brothers. I need help. Please.

Answer:
 TL:DR

2 years ago OP lost custody of her oldest son to her mother and step father , Court date 1 OP judge advised OP to get representation and adjourned Court date 2 OP missed.  Aunt may have colluded with mom to trick OP into thinking she had a ride to that court date (from somewhere out of state , sorry I lost track of where OP was in relation to the court) and OP apparently disregarded the judges advice/instruction to obtain counsel (concluding: since there was no mention of a lawyer ,the lawyer didn't go to court and OP was contacting the guardian ad litem herself )

I skimmed the rest it seems to be OPs opinion as to motive and childhood history but not 100% there isn't something relevant in there. Answer #2: Look up legal aid clinics in your state.  This is a lawyer situation.Answer #3: Make this shorter and use paragraphs. That wall of text is too hard to read.


Title: Dog bit someone passing by (California)

Question:
This took place in LA, California and happened to a friend not me. Before proceeding. I understand that I am not receiving legal advice for me or my friend.

This is what I was told.

My friend has a chain link fence around his front yard, and he has 2 dogs, huskey and a german shepard. Last Saturday one of the dogs was out front and the other out back. Someone was walking by walking their dog(pitbull), saw one of the dogs out front and decided to reach over the fence to pet the dog. The other dog out back somehow noticed ran at full speed at the man leaning over the fence and bit him on the hand. My friend heard the commotion and ran outside to see what was happening. He saw the guy with his bloody hand, and offered to take him to the hospital. The man declined. He hasn't heard from him since, but today the man shows up and says he is going to sue my friend, but everything can be avoided if he gets 1 weeks pay. His neighbor says he saw the man leaning over on his property when he got bit.

I told my friend to lawyer up, but he doesn't have a lot of money, and doesn't want to do that if he can avoid it.

Answer: If your friend has homeowners or renters insurance, that's the first stop.


Title: I arrived late for work and my boss is stating that he might not pay the employees affected. (Colorado)

Question:
I'm responsible for opening my office building every day, and therefore responsible for letting our shop employees into the building. This morning, I accidentally set my alarm for an hour late, which caused me to arrive 15 minutes late for work. As soon as my boss arrived I informed him of my lateness and asked that he make sure they don't miss out on the time because of me.

His response was that that's a hard decision because they didn't do any work for the time they were here. Does he have a legitimate case or is he just being stingy?

Answer: I assume these employees are paid hourly? If so if they were scheduled to work and showed up ready to work, they are working. But honestly you have no legal requirement to ensure they get paid for their correct hours. Let them fight their own battles.


Title: Landlord moves in and decides everyone is out

Question:
I live in a house with 3 other roommates. None of us have contracts,  but we've been living here for a year and more.  All of a sudden,  the landlord decides to move in and is trying to kick everyone out.

We also pay him cash to live here.

Im just wondering if we have any fight against him kicking us out.

Im in Texas.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: You are tenants and the landlord needs to follow the process to remove tenants. You can't just be kicked out on the street.


Title: I believe our dentist deceived us, costing us over $1000. Problems still persists. Tells us "deal with it"

Question:
My wife had a strange odor emitting from her left rear molar. Talked to the dentist and he said a root canal was necessary to fix it, as the smell was a symptom of another problem. Okay, fine.

Later, after it still persisted, he claimed the only way to fix it was with a crown. That wound up costing us close to $700. Problem still persists. When my wife talked to them about it, claiming that the procedure was unsuccessful treating the root problem, they shrugged and said "must be your hygiene."

I find that hard to believe, because she brushes, flosses, and uses fluoride after each meal. Her hygiene is impeccable. I don't know if I can trust this guy anymore, or if I should consult legal counsel. my wife and I are located in middle Georgia btw.

Any input or advice is greatly appreciated.

(xpost from /r/dentistry)

Answer:
 First off you need a second opinion from a dentist or oral surgeon that can tell you whats actually going on.Answer #2: Get a different dentist.  In terms of potential claims, that person is more likely to be able to tell you what the situation is and whether your previous dentist did something wrong.

Also how do you know the smell is coming from a molar?  That seems odd.  I'd guess [tonsillolith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsillolith).


Title: Former boss is refusing to give me my last paycheck and keeps trying to make me sign a contract that give it all to him.

Question:
This happened in Ontario. I recently left my job and my old boss is refusing to give me my last paycheck because he is saying I owe him for training he sent me for. I worked there for about 4 months during which he sent me for some training so I could do emissions testing. I failed the first test but passed the second and worked for about 3 months after I was certified. When he was away on vacation I got an offer for my old job back at double the pay I had before, but they needed me to start the next day. So I quit my job and went back to my old workplace. The boss at the pace I just quit called me and asked why I quit so I told him that I got much better pay here and I was treated better. He was pissed but didn't say anything other than I was screwing him over. When I went to get my last paycheck I was told that the boss had it and I had to go to his office to get it. I did and as soon as I went into the office he started yelling and telling me that I owed him for the training that I was sent to and that because I quit without notice he doesn't have to give me the last paycheck. He tried to get me to sign a contract that just said I wasn't getting my last paycheck and that I owe him $2,000. I told him that I wanted my dad to see it before I signed it but he refused to let me take a copy. I ended up leaving while he threatened to call the cops on the money I owe.

I told my dad about this and he was pissed so we both went to talk to my old boss about this. My old boss refused to give me my last paycheck and insisted that I owed him for the training. My dad saw the contract and said that it was bullshit and that he needed to give me my pay. My old boss refused and we left again. My girlfriend told her dad about it and he wanted to come with us to talk to the guy since he is also a small business owner and thought he could relate. My old boss refused to give me the last pay again and when my girlfriends dad tried to put a copy of the contract he wanted me to sign into his coat my old boss ripped it out of his hand. He wanted me to sign the contract but he said I wouldn't be getting a copy because he doesn't have to give me it.

What I want to know is if he can make him give me my last paycheck and if he can make me pay for the training if we never signed a contact? One of the guys I worked with there told me that the old boss is telling everyone there that we had a verbal agreement on the phone and that his lawyer says that he will win no problem if he takes me to court. I never agreed to anything on the phone and my girlfriend was sitting next to me when he called but could he make it seem like we did to get money from me? Do I actually owe him anything?
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 IANAL but I'm in HR in Ontario.

As for the pay check, he cannot hold it, even if he believes you owe him money. I would suggest [filing a claim with the Ministry of Labour](http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/forms/claim.php). It sounds like you've already done step 1, so I suggest going to step 2. It will take a few months before you can get your cheque but it's a pretty good process.

As for your training, I wouldn't pay him anything as there was no contract. Some employers do make contacts stating that as a result of the training, the employee is obligated to work for the company for x amount of months/years. If the employee quits before then, then they owe the employer money for the training. It does not sound like this is the case. He could still take you to small claims court. I don't think he would win but this portion is where you want to get an Ontario employment lawyer's opinion.
Answer #2: These folks can probably help you sort out what to do: http://www.workersactioncentre.org/about-us/contact/


Title: [Boston, MA] [Real Estate] Landlord is asking for money to pay for damages. But they are operating an illegal lodging.

Question:
Our landlord is requesting several thousand dollars beyond our security deposit to pay for damages incurred while my roommates and I were their tenants. In an effort to avoid paying this, we are researching if we have any leverage against them. It is my (uninformed) understanding that our lease and tenancy puts them in violation of [Mass. General Law Part 1, Title XX, Chapter 140, Sections 22-32](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140). It is illegal to rent an apartment unit to 5+ unrelated students in Boston without a proper license. I believe our situation qualifies.

The unit has 4 bedrooms, but they have been renting an upstairs loft as a 5th bedroom. They do not have a lodging housing license, and they do not have the mandatory fire sprinkler system installed for units with 5+ tenants. The 5th “bedroom” has no fire escape. The invited all 5 of us to an in-person lease signing, where they even mentioned that there is a law against having 5 names on the lease, so only 4 of us were allowed to sign the lease. They have been knowingly collecting rent and communicating with 5 tenants in this unit for the entire lease.

My questions are as follows:

Are they in fact in violation of the Massachusetts Lodging House Law, as laid out by City of Worcester v. College Hill Properties LLC (Mass. App. Ct. Nov. 8, 2011)?
What are the possible repurcussions of such a violation?
Does this give us leverage against them in our dispute about damages payment?
How would we best use any leverage this gives us? Should we report them to the police, or the licensing office, or some other organization?
Is our lease voided by this violation?

Any advice or information regarding how this impacts our situation would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 OP- You can report the potential code/law violation to the relevant government agency that administrates rental units/landlords in your part of MA. But if you or your roommates caused the damages that the landlord is requesting you reimburse \[the landlord\] for, it's unlikely the code/law violations will absolve you from responsibility of the damages.Answer #2: You are liable to the landlord for damages to the property. There is no leverage to be had. Attempts to threaten reporting them would be extortion, which is a crime.

You can report thier violation to the city, they'll fine the landlord.


Title: If you truly feel your life is in danger from a person who harasses you constantly on the internet , what should you do?

Question: I have been getting harassed non stop for the past 4 years from a female woman in Ohio I believe to be 40 years old. Who has made MANY ominous threats to my well being , constantly telling me how she wants me to die and I better watch my back , even recently said "the countdown begins" in a email to me which using a NEW email she created just to continue further harassment and threats. I have many of this behavior documented via screen shot dating all the way back to 2012. It has only gotten progressively worse since then. My work involves entertainment so I am constantly traveling and in crowds meeting fans ETC. She even has photos of her pointing guns at my head. What should I do?

Answer: Is there a reason you haven't called the police?


Title: Illegally towed from my apartment and I want to make a deal.

Question:
#Hey guys -- quick question.

I was recently towed from my own apartment complex for what the tow company considered as "Double parked." The tow is completely unlawful due to Texas Occupations Code 2308.253 : http://codes.findlaw.com/tx/occupations-code/occ-sect-2308-253.html

&nbsp;

In addition, their signage is definitely NOT up to code. There are many equally nullifying violations which I have pictures of everything.

&nbsp;

According to my research, the usually compensation for a wrongful tow is $1000 + 3x the cost to get your vehicle back, plus attorney fees, plus all court fees and evidence gathering.
I'm estimating that the apt complex would be paying several thousand dollars for a simple wrongful tow in a small claims lawsuit. I'd rather skip court and everything that goes along with that situation if possible. Even though what they did to me was illegal, I'm not looking to be malicious here and am honestly worried about them trying to get back at me in some nit-picky way with my lease. (I'm a great tenant, auto-pay, etc)

I'd be willing to accept an even $1000 and forget about the whole offense to be honest. The tow cost me $150 plus associated fees and paying a friend to drive me to the tow yard, plus missing basically a whole day of work.

##So my question is, what do I need to keep in mind as I make this deal? I imagine their lawyer would make me sign something if we make a deal? Is there any obvious way I might be screwing myself over by trying to make a deal? I want to make sure I'm not screwing up badly by going to talk to the Property Manager today.

Thanks so much!!

#edit: so this has turned into more of a discussion about whether I have legal ground at all, which is a good thing to determine. Here is a case brought by the actual TDLR against a towing company for very similar violations. They recognize that Section 2308.253 does not allow for double parking as a suitable reason for towing. [Texas Dept. Of License and Registration v Onsite Towing](https://texastowingcompliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Onsite-Towing-DBA-Park-Right.pdf)

Answer:
 You'll have basically no chance at suing the apartment complex successfully.  Complexes just have deals with tow companies allowing them to enter and patrol.  They have no involvement in deciding who is towed unless they call the company on a specific car (which doesn't appear to be the case here).

Tow companies are also notoriously difficult to deal with, so I wouldn't expect to get anything out of them without suing.  Answer #2: TX Apt Mgr here.  You need to go after the towing company.  The reason you got most likely was towed was because the "house rules" about parking.  You have 14 days to file in small claims court if you think you were wrongly towed.


Title: Can New York Times or other news papers be successfully sued for a comment made by a random person on their websites comment section?

Question: Just trying to settle a debate.

Answer: No, publishers have safe harbor protections for user submitted content under the DMCA and section 230 of the CDA


Title: Keep getting dilute UA's for probation [WA]

Question:
hey everyone. i'm currently being supervised on probation, and lately I've been having a hard time with getting dilute UA results. for whatever reason, sometimes when I take a UA my urine is almost clear even if I don't drink very much water.

If i drink more than one glass of water on the day of a UA, it comes out as dilute. my question is whether this method of "proving dilution" has an real science behind it or if it is a fraudulent practice based on pseudo-science?

i talked about this with my probation officer and she told me the only way to get a dilute UA, is if someone were to drink copious amounts of water before. But in my experience this has not been true at all, and I feel like it's really not fair for my UA's to be marked as positive just because there is not enough creatine.

**edit:** so it seems like this might be a potential medical problem causing my dilutes. I'll try and schedule an appointment with a doctor and see if they can do a more extensive test on my urine.

Answer: Go to a doctor to be checked for diabetes. Answer #2: I think you need r/askdoctors more than this sub.


Title: Landlord trying to collect rent when apartment is uninhabitabe, no compensation for living exense. [Ann Arbor, MI]

Question:
My apartment is in poor condition compared to other units in my complex. Cabinets are stained and broken, bottoms falling out of drawers, stains on linoleum, missing trim and molding, etc... I requested that the property owner consider updating my unit. The housing market in the surrounding area is really heating up, there is a lot of new competition with luxury apartments and high-rises going up in the neighborhood. I *know* the owner is hoping to update his units to be able to compete with these new apartments. After my request, the unit was inspected and the landlord has proposed the following...

> I just met with the Property Manager and a decision has been reached. We would like to completely remodel your unit (I will go into further detail in a moment). This will require you vacating the unit for at least one month. We would prefer the month of June but let me know what you’re thinking. There will be no compensation given for the time you are unable to occupy the unit, and you will still be expected to pay rent. Also, if you move forward with this plan, your renewal rate (should you choose to stay) for the 2016-2017 year will increase based off the remodel (likely by $75/month or so). For the 2015-2016 year, your renewal rate will remain at the rate we have already agreed upon with you.

The renovation plan is significant, including granite counter tops, new cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and a new bathroom. It all sounds very good, and it is apparent the owner is trying to keep up with new competition, however, I will not agree to this if they charge me rent while my apartment is uninhabitable. From what I have read, they are not legally allowed to do this. They could also extend the renovation past one month. I would like to have a written end date with a compensation agreement if they do not finish by the end of that timeline. They go on to say...

> While I understand this is a large commitment on your end, the terms of this proposal are non-negotiable as it is also a very large and costly undertaking for us as well. If you would like to move forward, please let me know as soon as possible.

Though they say the terms of the agreement are non-negotiable, I am still going to counter back. Is there anything I can arm myself with legally to support my argument? I realize they can just say "sorry" and forget about renovating my unit all together. That's fine, but I have to at least try. I have a feeling that the owner wants these renovations to take place more than he is leading on, and could be trying to take advantage of me right now.

Thanks for the help!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 this is a voluntary agreement. it's essentially a re-negotiated lease. you have little legal leverage. ifyou agree to his offer, you can sue if you are not restored to possession after the renovation is completed.  if ou don't agree, you can try to force him to make repairs to the current apartment by having the building inspector come and maybe cite him for any violations there might be.

.


Title: Can I really end up in prison for this?

Question: I (28M) live in the BayArea in California, and as you may see in my post history I've had a relationship with a now 17 year old. I never thought about this because in Germany where I come from this is totally legal, now people are telling me her parents could destroy my career and get me into prison for statutory rape???

Answer:
 You had sex with 17 year old? Yeah you’re gonna go to jail for that if you get a case.Answer #2: If you had sex with her in California, then yes, you can absolutely go to prison for that.Answer #3: Age of consent in California is 18, so yes having sex with a minor is statutory rape which you absolutely can go to prison for.

This is leaving aside questions of why a 28 year old would be in a relationship with a 17 year old to begin with.


Title: Ex abandoned her pets in my house almost two years ago. Can I sue her for the cost of their care / food / vet etc?

Question: One is microchip registered in her name, the other is not, but they are both hers. What can I do about the costs?

Answer: Did she agree to pay those costs? Because if not, you cannot create a contract where none existed. If she dropped off animals and you didn't want them, you take them to a shelter. But if you kept them and cared for them off your own accord, then there isn't a suit. They are your pets that you care for


Title: Got jury duty tomorrow while I'm on probation and subject to random ua's. Will I violate my probation?

Question:
So basically I'm just starting probation and haven't met my PO yet. I'm set to meet my PO this thursday. I am subject to random UA's so I have to call in every single day for them. I'm scared of the possibility that I might get put into a long case that'll be dragged out multiple days. Hence causing me to be unable to call in for my UA's or go to the meeting with my PO that explicity states I can't reschedule or miss for ANY reason. So I get the feeling if it's a multiple day long thing, I'm going to get fucked over by the government and given probation violation. So in the event its a multiple day case, will I violate my probation by not being able to call in for my ua's and missing my appointment? I doubt it'll be more than one day but you never know.

Edit, I live in Jefferson county, Colorado

Answer: Everywhere in America the worst thing that can happen to someone on probation is that they revoke it. They can't just revoke it though it has to go before a court hearing where they have to assign you a lawyer (assuming indigence). It's nearly impossible to find a judge in this country that would say on record "I understand that you were serving as a juror but you should have sucked out from the trial to do this so I'm revoking probation." Do inform the probation office, even if you don't know specifically who your officer is you need to show you made honest attempts to let them know. You should also let the court know when you're called in as far as serving as a juror. Other than that you've done nothing wrong.


Title: Please settle an argument regarding Good Samaritan laws [USA] and an individual's obligation to provide unsolicited assistance.

Question:
Situation 1: An off-duty psychologist comes across an individual who's clearly a danger to themselves. They are in need of help. They're a hoarder and their living environment is unhealthy, disgusting and dangerous. Even though they're not working with this person in a professional (contracted/ paid) capacity, does their expertise obligate them to step in and report the situation?

Situation 2: James is a master welder/ engineer/ what have you. He's a man at the top of his field, fully certified and recognized as an expert. James is having lunch with a colleague, Matt. They're not on the same job but they keep in touch. After lunch Matt invites James to take a walk around his job site, just to stretch their legs. While walking, James notices glaring mistakes in the workmanship and quality of materials used in Matt's project. These mistakes could definitely lead to catastrophic failures and potential loss of life if left unchecked. Is James obligated to report what he sees, or is he fully justified in not reporting what he sees.

Answer:
 1- situational but not likely. Hoarding is not dangerous. There is no immediate threat of harm

2- nope. Being a an engineer holds no reporter obligations that I know of


Title: CHASE won't refund me $700 that its ATM failed to dispense

Question:
I tried to withdraw rent ($700) from a CHASE ATM in New York, NY from my CHASE checking account, but it didn't disperse the money or give me receipt. I immediately went inside the bank to report the mistake: a teller withdrew the money for me, called corporate to file a claim, and advised me to call corporate myself to file a claim, too, which I did immediately.  The $700 was refunded pending CHASE's investigation.

After 45 days, CHASE took back the refunded money, claiming their investigation did not support my claim. I asked how that was possible based on my and the teller's description of what had happened, and they said that the didn't have any notes.  I told them that they need to check the security footage of me (1) inserting my card into the ATM, (2) no money dispersing, and (3) leaving.  They said they would see if they could "reopen" their investigation and would let me know in 5 business days.

Is there anything else that I can do? This is ridiculous--I no longer have money for next month's rent and, without exaggeration, my bank stole $700 from me.

EDIT: added location (New York, NY)

EDIT 2: added that I have a CHASE checking account and that it was from this account that I attempted to withdraw rent.

EDIT 3: Thanks for all the advice. I'm sending a preservation and will simultaneously sue in small claims court and file a complaint with the CFPB if they don't refund the full amount at the end of the 5 business days.

EDIT 4: The bank refunded all of the money today.  Thank you for everyone's help.

Answer:
 [File a CFPB complaint](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/). And please keep us updated. Answer #2: This subreddit is full of my nightmares.Answer #3: Had something similar happen to me using a drive up ATM at a bank in Canada years ago. Did the usual ATM stuff but no money came out. I was taking out the limit of $400 and, at the time, money was tight. Went home, phoned my banking company, who then told me I had to phone the other banking company (it was a competing bank) to get them to look at the security tapes. So I phoned them immediately and filed the report. Basically they screwed long enough (months) that they said it was too late to look at the security footage.Answer #4: > a teller withdrew the money for me

So they made another withdrawal then, and you're out 700 + whatever the second one was?Answer #5: I'ma a team lead for ATM operations at another bank. Footage should be retained for way more than 45 days. There should also be an electronic journal stating what happened as well as an outage for ATM general ledger. There are three checks they do when doing ATM claims pretty much. Maybe the ATM you used hasn't been settled yet. Also a slight possibility if the ATM was over that a vendor who collects the cash from the ATM could of pocketed it. Small chance but it does happen. I would tell your branch to reach out to branch balancing and ATM operations department. Speak with a market manager about getting this done . Not sure how chase does it but this is kinda the way we do it.


Title: Sue for Being Misled on Services Rendered

Question: Hi everyone. A few weeks ago I was changing the brake pads on my car in a public parking lot and was approached by two men who claimed to be Auto body detailers. I have plenty of scratches and bruises on my car, so I was intrigued. I had informed them that I had visited a body shop to get a quote on the worst section of the car. The body shop agreed to clean up the area for around $200. The guys who approached me said they'd do the entire car, rather than just the section in question, for $400 "plus a tip." I asked them if they'd paint it and was told "I have the color being mixed up right now." I should have known better, these guys were in a beat up old mini van and didn't appear to have any actual equipment to do the job correctly. Basically all they did was put some scratch remover on my car and spray paint it with paint that's not even close to the color of my car. Since the scratch remover was put on so thick, I couldn't see that they actually barely did anything. After removing the scratch remover a few days later, I'm simply left with some patchy grey paint on a yellow car and none of the body work is actually fixed. I ended up paying him $460 because I thought he was doing me a favor but really he was just screwing me over. I'm going to have to bring the car into a real shop to get it fixed, and end up paying more now because of areas they covered with paint. Do you think there's any hope of me trying to bring him, or threaten to bring him to small claims court to get the money back? Does anyone have any suggestions? One of the guys gave me a phone number and I've been considering contacting him to see if I get an address to properly identify him. I live in College Park, Maryland, if that's important.

Answer:
 You got scammed.

You can attempt to sue them in small claims court, but you're probably not going to find out who they are.


Title: I was in a wreck that totaled my car, the driver at fault's insurance is doing nothing.

Question:
I was on my shift delivering a pizza when someone decides to turn on a yellow light while I was in the right of way. I hit his side of the car and he tries to roll away and ends up hitting another car to my right.

I've contacted his insurance but because the driver in the car was not on the insurance policy, they refuse to help me. Also my insurance company does not help because I was late on a payment.

I know that something is not right because I am left with a totaled car and the driver at fault has gotten away, leaving me without a job and without a car. I live in Albuquerque NM, but the accident happened in a city not to far, Los Lunas.

What should I do? What are the first steps to justice?
Topic:
Insurance

Answer: Sue him for the damage to your vehicle.


Title: Hypothetical question: Should you give up dashcam footage if you're at fault?

Question: I'm thinking about getting a dashcam because I live in a big city full of idiot drivers. My only concern is that, as cautious as I may be, I might actually cause an accident that would be captured on the camera. If I cause an accident, and it would be proven that I'm at fault on the camera, should I volunteer to give up the camera footage?

Answer: If there's legal proceedings, you're legally obligated to.


Title: Ex-GF Using My Debit Card for DoorDash

Question:
Hi Reddit, I have been broken up with my ex for over a year now. I always watch my bank account but I have recently noticed DoorDash orders that did not come from my account. I reached out to DoorDash and they literally have done nothing but lock my account (go figure).

&#x200B;

I reached out to the ex over text and she admitted to doing it accidentally. After she agreed to pay back the total of the orders (\~$100) she immediately changed her mind saying "why should I do this after everything you've done to me?" Yes, we did have a toxic relationship but it was never physical or verbally abusive aka I did nothing illegal.

&#x200B;

I have the text where she admits that it was her, what are my options?

Answer: Contact your bank and get a new card issued immediately. You can sue her in small claims court.


Title: Advice on how well contract covers my needs.

Question:
I am a Graphic Design artist. My location is in Illinois. New to design, but my work has gained the attention of a celebrity and the celebrity has helped me by getting two other celebrities in contact with me. Being as I'm new, this is all so much to take in and has me scrambling a little when I was confident before. I created the first piece of work for the original celeb for free as a tribute if you will. He seen it, loved it, and recommended me to the people whom contacted me. They now would like different designs from me including logos, flyers, business cards, a t-shirt, and cartoons. I previously have been using a simple template contract I had found on Docracy. The advice I need is what to add or take out of my contract. I'm going to give them a flat rate for each piece of work needed and require a 50% down payment. Also, we will be negotiating the contracts separately as they will be separate orders, not altogether. The only thing that makes me nervous is licensing. I'm 50% sure on what to charge them for licensing, but I'm not sure how to add it to my contract CORRECTLY. I want to cover my work obviously. Would you mind taking a look at my template contract and giving me some advice? I will be needing this for today or tomorrow, so time is of the essence. These designs will help boost my career into fruition, they need to be done correctly and fast. I'm just not quite sure which route to take. If I had more time I wouldn't be scrambling like I am, but I just received the calls and they are ready to get started. If I have learned anything about sales it is to never say let me see what I can do, but to say OK and that is what I did. I'm going to give them what they want, I just don't want my work being used on all kinds of things that are not covered in the licensing. Any help would be much appreciated. Link to contract to follow. Thank you so much guys.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxAiPRPCY9m-d3pQcEJmY1Zlb2c/edit

Answer: Reviewing contracts is beyond the scope of this sub as it can create an attorney client relationship.


Title: [Philadelphia, PA] Scratched a neighbors car with a lawn mower two months ago, now wants me to pay $800.

Question:
I'm 18, now attending college in Minnesota, and have just about no money to my name. Over the past two summers, I mowed lawns for my neighbors apartment building. About two months ago, I unknowingly scratched a neighbors the car of one of the tenants of that apartment building. The part that scratched it was a rounded metal piece about waist high where the pull cord is held in this image (not sure if the piece is actually in this image) https://imgur.com/a/Q9SAb. The scratch itself was about 4 inches long on one door, maybe 2 inches on another from what I remember. It never looked that deep because the metal piece was not sharp, it was round. Anyway, I got a call from the landlord and I talked to the tenant. He explained it was a new lease and that he was going to get it fixed. I verbally agreed to pay for it expecting it to be ~$100 - $200 to repair, and I basically forgot about it until yesterday.

Yesterday he messaged me saying he got a price quote and the scratches were too deep so they'd have to repaint both doors. He sent me this photo https://imgur.com/sRsVxRD

I then asked if he could send me the full quote because it only looked like part of it so he sent the rest https://imgur.com/a/82M7P

I informed him that I couldn't really afford to pay $800, this seems like an inflated insurance quote, and there are other unrelated damages in the quote. He replied today with this message

Here's the story. The car is at the body shop because of some unrelated damage. someone hit the front of the car, which his insurance is paying for. While the car is there, I asked them to give me a price for the scratches on the doors, and I told them this would be paid out of pocket. There's no insurance involved with this damage because I didn't file a claim for it. It is more expensive than I had expected but Unfortunately, the scratches are too deep to be buffed out, which means the doors have to be repainted. If they could just buff it, a couple hundred bucks would probably cover it.

So this is the situation. I'm not well versed in legal matters, I don't really have the money to pay him and I'm not sure what to do. Again, I'd be willing to pay like $200 and I told him that but he still wants $800. I also live very far away now so I can't talk to him in person.

edit - not sure if this matters but the car was parked very close to the curb, it wasn't on the curb, but to cut all the grass I need to get to the edge of the curb which is how I ended up scratching it

Answer: $800 isn't unreasonable for some good scratches.Answer #2: You don't have to pay him. He will either pay out of pocket and possibly sue you for the amount or he will go through his insurance and they will possibly sue you for that amount.


Title: What is the correct response to authorities when they detain an American citizen returning to the country and seek the citizen's device passwords? (Reference news article in comments)

Question:
Article: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Stockton-mayor-was-briefly-detained-on-return-6546419.php

Excerpt:
> “A few minutes later, DHS agents confiscated all my electronic devices including my personal cell phone. Unfortunately, they were not willing or able to produce a search warrant or any court documents suggesting they had a legal right to take my property. In addition, they were persistent about requiring my passwords for all devices,” Silva said.

The [EFF says](https://www.eff.org/wp/defending-privacy-us-border-guide-travelers-carrying-digital-devices)
> For now, a border agent has the legal authority to search your electronic devices at the border even if she has no reason to think that you’ve done anything wrong.

> In short, border agents have a lot of latitude to search electronic devices at the border or take them elsewhere for further inspection for a short period of time, whether or not they suspect a traveler has done anything wrong.

My conclusion is that Silva was incorrect about his rights as held by US Courts, but I'm not clear on the permissibility of seeking his passwords (though he likely wasn't using full disk encryption). What would you suggest to someone in Silva's situation?
Topic:
Searches and Seizures

Answer:
 The EFF covers this well already, but the short version:

- citizens returning to their country have an absolute right to enter

- your stuff does not have a right to enter

- Customs can strip you naked before they let you in

- choose wisely

Answer #2: From your link:

> If a border agent asks you to provide an account password or encryption passphrase or to decrypt data stored on your device, you don’t have to comply. Only a judge can force you to reveal information to the government, and only to the extent that you do not have a valid Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.38

> However, if you refuse to provide information or assistance upon request, the border agent may seize your device for further inspection or consider you uncooperative, which the agent may take into consideration when deciding whether to allow you to enter the United States.

> If you are planning to bring encrypted or password-protected information over the border, it’s best to decide ahead of time how you would respond to a border agent’s request for help to inspect data. The best answer for your particular circumstance may be to cooperate or to politely decline to provide information. You could also choose to avoid the situation altogether by bringing a blank device over the border and downloading your data once you reach your destination.


Title: Ex-Boss using private emails of former employees to market her new real estate gig - Is this legal?

Question:
First of all, apologies for how this is written. I was advised to come here after explaining the situation to a friend and am new to this.

Here's the deal: I used to work for "Nonprofit X" in Denver. I was there for about 2 years, and then left for my current position where I've been for over 3 years.

I've maintained good relationships with my former colleagues from "Nonprofit X" and heard from my friend "Judy" - who is still a current employee there, that our former boss, "Cindy" was fired about 2 years ago.

After Cindy was fired, she apparently became a real estate agent in Denver, and I began receiving these spammy, "COME TO MY OPEN HOUSE" (etc.) emails to my personal email account that I had used to apply for a position at Nonprofit X.

"Judy," my friend still at Nonprofit X, has also been receiving these emails - as have all of the employees who were interviewed by Cindy or had Cindy as a boss - even briefly as part of a seasonal or volunteer position.

Judy and I have both unsubscribed to these annoying emails in the past, thinking that would be that, but Cindy has changed her real estate business' name multiple times, and (I suspect) uses the same list of employees' personal email addresses she took from Nonprofit X to populate her email distribution lists.

Given that neither Judy nor I - or I'm sure, dozens - perhaps hundreds - of other recipients of these emails never volunteered our information for these purposes, does this represent a legal issue? A few spammy emails sounds like it's not a big deal, but given that she stole these emails from Nonprofit X, I worry about what other information she took and has stored.

Thanks so much for all of your help!

Answer:
 Sounds like they may be violating the CAN-SPAM Act.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN-SPAM_Act_of_2003Answer #2: Alert/complain to the previous employer!

Does she bcc everyone on the list or are all the addresses visible?  If the later,  have fun by replying all and asking to stop getting these emails.Answer #3: Might be worth filing a complaint with the real estate licensing commission.

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dora/division-real-estate

Even if it's different businesses, it's still the same realtor.


Title: [CO]Hotel of horrors, out $1100, only option left is small claims. Do I even stand a chance?

Question:
tl/dr- Signed a contract for two weeks in a hotel with payment upfront. Hotel is a shithole that got my dogs sick and my family eaten by bugs. Do I stand a chance in small claims court considering I signed the no refund contract?

Ok, here is the story. Military family moving to a new duty location, we arrive on 8 July. Go under contract on a house, but we don't close until the 29th of August. We are forced to bounce around hotels due to high influx of tourists in the summer months. We found a hotel that would give us a nice weekly rate of $56 per night for 14 days, with the normal price being about $95 a night. Even at the $95 a night that was cheap as we were paying upwards of $179 per night in some hotels.
   Arrive at said hotel, and it gets off to a rocky start. We asked for early check in, with normal check in being 3:00pm. They were not able to accommodate that, which is fine, but we didn't get to check in until 6:00pm. The story we were given was that all the cleaning staff quite, then the new hires had in order these problems 1)car broke down 2)death in the family and 3)disappearance of their adult child. I only mention this because this is what was told to me, later I heard the manager telling another guest a complete second set of bullshit.
   We were forced to sign a contract, I'm talking apartment rental style, that indicated no refunds, and the whole stay would be charged up front. They also charged a $100 "refundable" deposit for damages, keep in mind this is a standard hotel, not an efficiency apartment or even an extended stay hotel. Warning signs were buzzing but I said, hey its two weeks, its less than half what we have paid, we can do this. Ok, to the room we go. Its flat out dirty. Couldn't tell you the last time it was vacuumed, and the tub was a disaster. Ok, the wife and I said we can do this, it's only two weeks. We clean the room as best we can. There is a whole litany of things I can tell you about this hotel, from the joke of a "breakfast" that was advertised (Hostess Donettes and water) to the Wifi and pool that were broken the entire time. Here is the real problem though, bugs.
   We started itching on the second day, and by that time our two dogs had developed eye infections. We took them to the vet and were told that they can only get this from other dogs, and we haven't been around any other dogs, so obviously they got it from the pet room we were in. The vet noticed the itching we were doing and asked to look at the bites. We said the dogs weren't itching at all, so we thought it was strange. The vet told us we were getting eaten by mites, and since the dogs were on flea and tick prevention, the mites were leaving them alone and eating us instead. That was the last straw.
   I called the manager and was calm and civil. I just said, hey this isn't working out, how about you charge me full rate of $95 a night for the three nights we were there and refund us the rest. I am immediately shot down, being told I signed a contract and there were no refunds. I then proceeded to tell her how poor her hotel rooms were, and was literally hung up on. We were checking out that day, but I had left for work early, so when I called back to my wife to tell her how it went when I called, she said she was getting out of there right then rather than wait until 11am check out. As she was getting ready to go, low and behold who uses a key card to enter our room at about 8:45 in the morning, that manager! I'm assuming she thought we were out of the room because I called instead of going to the desk. She didn't knock, just opened the door, and when she saw my wife was still there, she just closed the door and left, without a word. WTF is that?
   We contact the corporate office for the hotel, and because it's a franchise we are told basically to go fuck ourselves on the refund. Our credit card is saying it's a legitimate purchase, and refusing to honor our dispute. Our only recourse now is small claims court for the $1140 and hopefully our vet bill paid. My question for r/legaladvise is, do I even stand a chance in small claims court? Yes they have a contract that I signed stating I would pay for two weeks with no refunds, I can't refute that. My argument is that I signed that with the understanding that they would provide a clean and safe place for my family to stay for two weeks, which they did not. So, will I be laughed out of court and waste another $75 on this shit hole for the filing fee?

Answer:
 Tl;dr:

Signed a contract to stay at a hotel for 2 weeks, that said no refunds.  Hotel was dirty and caused OP, his family, and his dogs to have mites.  OP wants a refund for the time he didn't stay and possibly the vet bills for the mites.  Does he have a case?


Title: [FL] Neighbor had a broken water pipe an damaged my apartment.

Question:
As said in the title, my neighbor had a broken water pipe and damaged my apartment. the total cost to repair my apartment was $3000 and he only offered to pay $2500 which I refused to accept. Neither him or I have insurance. he told me he has a mortgage on his apartment, im not sure if this matters or not. Should I lawyer up?. accept the $2500 and take him to small claim court for the rest of the money?
any advice is welcomed.

Answer: This is more of a judgment call than a legal question. How much time are you willing to spend to get the additional $500?


Title: Is it legal to work someone 6/7 days straight

Question:
I’m 19. I’m a very hard worker and I love working. I started for a moving company and they love me.
I’m a good worker as I said. But they expect to much. I’m all for working a Saturday every now and then. But they are constantly working me 6 days straight.
Is it legal?
I don’t always reach the hours mark, but it’s back breaking work, which I can handle I just have personal life and health to look after. There’s nothing I can do on a Sunday either.
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 > But they are constantly working me 6 days straight. Is it legal?

Yes. As long as you are being appropriately paid for the hours that you do work, your employer is doing nothing illegal. Your recourse is to seek alternate employment.


Title: Former employer says I violated my contract and non-compete. What kind of lawyer do I need, and where to find a good one? FL

Question: Long story short, I left for something better, and employer refuses to pay what's owed. He also says he has proof I violated my contract. I did not. Please help me deal with this. I am very confused.

Answer: If they refuse to pay, file a complaint with the department of labor.  Guess what, their dispute over the non-compete don't mean they get to hold your pay.Answer #2: Contact your city or county bar association and ask for a referral to an employment-law attorney who has experience with non-compete clauses. Good luck!


Title: [CO] Given one week notice to move out of low income apartment

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice,

My friend was told on August 23 that he needs to move out of his apartment by September 1. The reason given was that the building is low-income and he made too much money this year. They said the alternative to moving out by Sept 1 was to face eviction, which my friend doesn't want on his record. Is it legal for them to give him this little notice? He lives in Denver, CO.

Answer:
 Different types of "low income" properties have different rules. Was it a HUD 50059 property, was it tax credit housing, a local voucher program?

Need a lot more info. Answer #2: >  They said the alternative to moving out by Sept 1 was to face eviction, which my friend doesn't want on his record.

Sounds like the landlord is lying out their ass, because they broke some rules (or want to rerent for more money) and doesn't have grounds to actually evict, so they are trying to get the guy to voluntarily vacate. If someone is threatening eviction it's probably just hot air unless you see some actual paperwork.Answer #3: What does the lease say?


Title: (KS) Death of unrelated and being asked to handle the estate.

Question:
A very dear family friend recently passed away. I took care of him for the last 8 years of his life. He has no wife, no children, his parents are living but very old and have requested that I handle all of his estate because they live in FL. There is no will and I have no legal powers over his estate.

How do I go about becoming the Administrator(?) of his estate? Will they even allow someone who is not related to him become such a thing? Can his parents give me the power with the right paperwork? All of his estate is to be left with me (by wishes of the deceased and his parents). I cannot afford a lawyer.

The deceased also had a car that he still owes money on. I'd like to take it over and pay it off but I'm afraid they won't allow me to (due to having bad credit and now out of a job). How do I handle this? Should I just keep it in his name (insurance included/required) and just pay it off? If so, what happens when it is paid off?

Everything is pretty crazy right now and I've never had to deal with any of this before - I'll try to reply to any comments as I can. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Answer: Without a will, the estate will go through probabte. Given that his parents are next of kin, his estate will likely go them automatically at which point they can turn it over to you as a separate step.