Title: [BC, Canada] Landlord wants me to retroactively pay for utilities

Question:
So for context, I moved into this apartment in 2016 for university, and i'm coming in to my 27th month here. The initial lease was for a year, and now I rent month to month. Confusingly, I only have a copy of the initial lease. I've signed new leases since which I never received a copy of, though my landlord assured me when I signed that they were identical to the old lease.

In the initial tenancy agreement it says that the rent does not cover heat and electricity, but in the 27 months since i've lived here i've never gotten a bill from Fortis or BC Hydro. The landlord contacted me once regarding Hydro (he messaged me 10 months after I moved in asking me to change the registration, but we never continued that conversation), though he got in touch afterwards to tell me about other bills. The apartment is his, but the utilities were in his father's name and apparently have been since I moved in. I recognize that I should have questioned at some point why my electricity and heat was free, but as a broke college student I was worrying about so many other bills that I don't think that I ever noticed.

My landlord texted me a few days ago saying that he wants me to repay him for all of the hydro bills since i've moved. That amounts to almost $3000, which I genuinely can't afford to pay, I can barely afford to make rent every month.

My questions:

**Can he do that, after 27 months?**

When I was reading I came across a similar (though not identical) case where the arbitrator decided against the landlord because the behavior (paying utilities without asking for remuneration) amounted to estoppel by conduct (which i'm not sure I understand as a concept).

**Am I liable for these bills?**

The agreement says that rent doesn't cover electricity and heat, but doesn't specify that I need to pay for them? I just want to know if i'm liable for these bills. I assume he is somewhat protected as per our initial agreement, but then if I move out without paying those bills, and he witholds my deposit (which I assume he will), **then will I be liable for the amount in excess of the deposit?**

**Should I attempt to seek legal counsel?**

Some friends have pointed me to renter's rights groups who might be able to help, but if i'm in deeper shit than I realize, I can sell my laptop and probably pay for a lawyer. Do I need one?

Answer:
 If you lease is clear that you owe those utilities then you owe them. It sounds like he notified you to switch them to your own name 17months ago and you failed to do so.

If you leave them outstanding he may be able to evict you.


Title: Our home is currently owned legally by my in-laws. We own everything inside the home and will be moving out unannounced due to abuse. Can they try to keep our stuff or block us from entering to pack? Are there any precautions we need to take legally before going back into the home?) (IL)

Question:
Our in-laws “gifted” us a home they were unable to sell for several years. We’ve lived there for about a year. Due to a horrific act of abuse, me, my wife, and our two kids left to stay with my parents in another state temporarily.

All of the stuff in the house is under our name, paid for by our credit cards. They are under the impression we will be returning, but we will only be going back to pack our things. They do not have access to our home as our alarm will go off if they attempt to enter. A lot of our personal documents are there and we plan on going to grab those first without telling them. Once we have our legal docs (passports, SS cards, etc.) in our hands, we will let them know we are in the house so they don’t call the cops thinking we are robbing the place. We are staying one night to pack the essentials for the kids. We will also have to return to pack up the entire home, which will take a few days with several people helping. My family will be coming to help us pack the house.

My question is, can they kick us out/stop us from packing up all of our stuff? Can they call the police and have us arrested for trespassing? Are we allowed to record interactions if they show up while we are there?

We have a couple of bills in our name but they were paying for gas, water, etc. We have lots of pictures up in the home that shows us living there, as well as texts from our in-laws calling it our house. We also have my wife’s drivers license (I didn’t get a chance to update mine with the new house address) with the address on it. My in-laws are vicious and vengeful, and will blatantly lie to police (they have a history of doing so) and will say things like we attacked them or were threatening them, etc. All we want to do is get our stuff and move on with our lives.

I’ve never been in this kind of situation before and I would really appreciate any advice to set things up so we can protect our family from any further trauma. Thank you very much for reading my post.

Answer: It sounds like you are tenants in the house. That means they cannot kick you out of the house without a court order. If they try to stop you call the police. If they lie about you living there be prepared to show your belonging in the house to prove you live there, including your documents. Most of the time when someone even so much as claims to be a tenant the cop will not do anything without a court order. Just be prepared. They cannot remove you from the house at all. If they do mange to illegally evict you you can sue for any damages that result.


Title: Advice about a seemingly frivolous lawsuit I'm thinking of bringing against my employer

Question:
(I live in the south east of the US)

I say 'frivolous' because it will probably seem that way, not that I want to be unscrupulous.  What I mean is I'm betting I don't have a leg to stand on but I wanted to ask here.  Thank you in advance for your time.

I'm experiencing a sort of hostile work environment, or that's how I think of it.  I work in a warehouse for a major company.  3 or so employees there exhibit extremely annoying, disruptive behavior that I find causes me stress and distress.  The scream and howl at the  absolute top of their lungs basically one single chant and also an intentionally unintelligible shriek imitating someone in excruciating agony.,  It's a sort of scream that causes their voice to 'break' if you know what I mean.  It's a horrible sound and since the scream it at the absolute top of their lungs it is quite penetrating.  It's almost as though I feel it in my jaw, rattling my teeth as much as hear it.  To put it in some perspective one approach I'm considering (though I hesitate as I hate the opportunistic feeling I get when I think of it) is that in a time in our world, culture and history the phrase 'Active Shooter' has become a common expression one might be concerned about new hires being exposed to that sound with no warning it really does emulate what you might hear if a  madman was wandering the workplace stabbing people.

I've spoken to HR about it about a 2 months ago, n0thing changed.  I recently had the opportunity to speak about it to the site leairrittence der and as you may predict it only got worse.  I knew that possibility going in of course but figured I'd rather try to end or reduce the irritant.

Are there any precedents and so forth to draw from or anything that either I can seek some sort of compensation OR something I can present to them to motivate them to correct the behavior?

Thanks again!

Answer: You do not have any reason to sue them and doing so will probably end with you being fired.


Title: How to get mail back from a vacant property?

Question: I live in Pennsylvania and I accidentally sent mail to the wrong address. After some time, I went to the house and discovered it was vacant with tons of mail on the floor. I could clearly see my mail on top of the pile. I have made numerous inquiries to find the owner. I have called the owner to see about retrieving my mail. I can't seem to get a hold of her. what can I do to get my mail back legally.

Answer:
 Nothing but ask the owner.

There's no law that extends to you (or the postman or postal inspector) the right to enter property not yours because your mail is there. And the mail was delivered as addressed so it likely isn't an issue of concern for the postman or postal inspector to begin with.

That isn't to say that the mail, if addressed to you even at the wrong address isn't yours. Just that there's no specific thing you're entitled to do to see to its return.

Edit: typo


Title: My parents are being insane.

Question:
They want my boyfriend kicked out of school. Theyre going to talk to the principal tomorrow morning and if he doesn't throw him out (for nothing/talking to me) they're filing for a restraining order. Their reasoning is that he told me to call the cops on them if they hit me, and they did, and I did call the cops. And that's reason for a restraining order. If he doesn't get thrown out I'm getting taken out of school. I need to know my rights.

Edit: I am 17, 3 months from 18, bf Is 16, GA

Answer:
 How old are you, and what state are you in?

It's unlikely that the school will kick out your boyfriend.  Your parents can apply for a restraining order, tell their story to a judge, and they may or may not get one, at least temporarily.  It is well within their rights to withdraw you from school.  If they hit you, it's well within your rights to call the police.

On a less legal-matters side of thing, I would strongly suggest talking to a councilor at school.  They will be much better equipped to evaluate the situation and refer it to the proper authorities than people on the internet will be able to.Answer #2: If you're being abused, an easy shortcut is to tell one of your schoolteachers, who are required to report it to the local children's services agency, which will do an investigation.

Your parents are not going to be able to get another student thrown out of school on their say-so.

Restraining orders are only issued for specific reasons; "I don't like that person" isn't adequate.  It seems unlikely that one will be issued.

Your parents can move you to a different school, pretty much at will.
Answer #3: [Here's](https://np.reddit.com/r/abuse/comments/3qn6h6/i_need_help_getting_out/) a post with more information over on /r/abuse.Answer #4: You can talk to the principal on your own, and same with a judge if your parents ever see the inside of a court room.

The restraining order won't happen in 3 months.

Tell your principal you want to stay enrolled in school. Same with your teachers. Let them know you are moving out in three months because you needed to call the police because your parents hit you.


Title: This is on behalf of a friend of mine who lives in California. She wants to pursue something against a former employer.

Question:
At a store she used to work at, there was an employee who sexually harassed her. She told the management and he was fired. She was promised that he would not work there ever again.

She recently found out that said employee got his job back. She no longer works at the place where he is employed but is very upset that he was given his job back. She wants to know if there is anything she can pursue legally against her former employers. Thanks in advance.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: The law does not concern itself with generalized butthurt.


Title: [Michigan] right to work state, but given membership in union without being asked, no opportunity to opt-out, dues and arrears deducted automatically. What are my options?

Question:
So I am a new employee at a particular site of a very, very large corporation. I am in a right to work state, but am apparently now a union worker even though I never signed anything agreeing to join the union - it is apparently assumed that everybody is a union employee and treated accordingly. With my most recent paycheck I notice that they have started to automatically pull dues from my paycheck, plus "arrears" - probably for all of the weeks I was there but not paying these dues I never agreed to pay in the first place. I have never spoken (or even seen) somebody representing the union to which I supposedly belong, have never seen a copy of the contract I am supposedly under - just a handbook that specifies policies which apparently do not apply to me even though they are in the book because of "reasons".

The union apparently negotiated long and hard to guarantee that workers will never make as much as they might at McDonald's or Burger King or any other fast food joint, severely limited growth and advancement potential (even assistant managers require significant overtime in order to make a halfway decent wage).

Other than "find another job" (I'm working on it), what are my options here? Too much hassle with no significant return for the effort? Or do I have any options that will actually be worth my while?
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 Your most obvious initial step should be to contact HR and tell them they made a mistake by deducting union dues from your check(s), and to reimburse you.

BTW, I'm having trouble believing that a union dues arrearage for a "new employee" could amount to very much. Persuade me if you like.
Answer #2: >The union apparently negotiated long and hard to guarantee that workers will never make as much as they might at McDonald's or Burger King or any other fast food joint, severely limited growth and advancement potential (even assistant managers require significant overtime in order to make a halfway decent wage).

*eye roll*Answer #3: Former Kroger Employee here. The RTW law exempted contracts that were in force at the time the law became effective. If the law became effective on Jan first and they renewed the contract for 5 years on Dec 31st, It WAS NOT covered by RTW.

When it comes to the arrears, they are going back and getting the dues owed from the date of hire even though you were not "in" the union.

Edit: more info
Answer #4: Not legal advice, but my brother had something similar when he started his job. He had some online training he had to complete, and the only way to finish the test was to check a box for a question like "I certify I have completed this training and I would like to enroll in the union." Maybe your job snuck in something similar and you did actually enroll on some form you signed when you started?


Title: A legal bdsm question (Arizona)

Question:
I have a question for the legal minds of reddit.  I would appreciate it if any moral judgement are withheld.  I know I'm a horribly perverted person already.

I'm a dom with a sadistic side.  I have a masochistic young lady who i met a month ago who really, really enjoys pain.  It's a match made in heaven.  Yesterday she told me about a fantasy of hers where somebody breaks her arm.  She's begging me to do this for her.  Is it legal for me to do this?  Let's say I get her on video asking me to do it, and the entire incident is recorded from beginning to end, would that absolve me of a crime since she asked for it?

Once again, I know this is fucked up, I'm just curious as to how this plays out legally.

Answer:
 >  Let's say I get her on video asking me to do it, and the entire incident is recorded from beginning to end, would that absolve me of a crime since she asked for it?

No, it would not.  There is no way you can break someone's arm and be legally absolved of it.  Play nicely or don't play at all.Answer #2: No, it wouldn't be legal.  She can consent to the *tort* of battery to absolve you of civil liability, but not the *crime* of battery.


Title: My apartment building advertised and promised service to get tenants, but are not delivering the service

Question:
I'm a poor student going to school in Ontario Canada.

Background story:

I signed a one-year lease with my current apartment over the summer. The building heavily promoted itself over the free shuttle bus service the apartment will provide its tenants.

The apartment's location isn't great in terms of how far it is from bus stops. But with the shuttle service, tenants can get to the university really conveniently (my building is all students). I am sure that I am speaking on behalf of 50% of the building when I say the free shuttle bus really worked in terms of getting people to sign leases.

Now it's been more than a month into the lease year, and no shuttle buses are in sight. Management has been making excuses every week, such as "minor repairs" are being done. Maybe it's poor management to not fix the shuttle over the summer when the students are away. But does it really take more than a month to get "minor repairs"?

In addition to that, when students complain on the building's social media page, management has been making comments along the lines of "you are not paying for the service, therefore it's not mandatory for us to provide this for you". This angers people, but the apartment staffs provide little to no responses to the complaints.

So, anything we as tenants can do? We feel like we've been tricked. I mean.. if No Man's Sky can get sued over false advertising, then the apartment falsely advertised too. Kind of frustrating because there's nobody we can complain to since we are dealing with management.

Answer: Is this shuttle in the lease?


Title: GF's US private college required a medical disability form for her to live off campus, then reduced her aid (institutional grant) when she moved. Allowed?

Question:
Long version:

The private college she attends in VT has been going through administrative changes for the last several years (when this drama started; she's a senior now). She has diagnosed OCD but her request to live off-campus was repeatedly denied; she couldn't hack it in the dorms and moved into my apartment, but was still being charged for on-campus accommodations that she didn't use. This went on for ~1.5 semesters.

The college eventually implemented a new policy that allowed her to "move out" of the dorms (i.e. no longer be charged for living there when she wasn't) if she gave them a disability form signed by a psychologist, along with a letter describing why she needed to move because of said disability. Letter was to the effect of: "Unable to live on campus because of my OCD. Can't afford to pay for room and board I'm not using AND rent and food off campus. Stop charging me for an empty dorm so I can use my financial aid to support myself." Psychologist signed off.

Admin approve her request; she officially gets the off-campus designation. At the end of the semester, she finds out they reduced her financial aid, which was mostly in the form of an institutional need-based-but-performance-contingent grant (she's an international student), by the amount she had been paying for room and board.

Clearly, just because she's not living on-campus doesn't mean her need for food and housing has been magically eliminated, but her appeals through the financial aid office keep getting denied: they say that not paying for room and board reduces her calculated need, which reduces her award.  She's continued to receive this reduced amount every semester since.

Seems a little fishy to me. What do you guys think?

TL;DR: Can a private US college simultaneously say all of the following?
1. You can only live off campus if forced to by a disability.
2. We acknowledge that your disability is forcing you to live off campus.
3. We're reducing your financial aid because you're now living off campus.

Reads to me like "We're reducing your aid because you have a disability", which I would think is a potential no-no allowed under Title VI or some other non-discrimination thingumajigger? Or can private institutions do whatever they want with their private grants?
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 >1. You can only live off campus if forced to by a disability.

Yes.

>. We acknowledge that your disability is forcing you to live off campus. 3. We're reducing your financial aid because you're now living off campus.

Yes. Public colleges reduce financial aid if you live off-campus also. Financial aid is based on an algorithm and usually living off-campus is cheaper than on-campus so your financial aid reflects that change.

>Reads to me like "We're reducing your aid because you ~~have a disability~~ you live off-campus and should have a lower cost of living"

FTFY.


Title: Can my Aunt change life insurance and burial plans if I am Power of Attorney?

Question:
Family Feud time... Sadly.

My wife is PoA for her grandmother and her money hungry Aunt ( moms sister) called today saying that she changed her grandmother's funeral plans and made herself the beneficiary of grandma's Life Insurance.  She said she went through a lawyer and then went to the funeral parlor.

Please tell me what she's saying she did was purely to upset my wife and that this isn't something she can or did actually do.

We don't need or care about the money and it will all be donated(if any is left).

We don't have the insurance information to even call and check what's happened, but will be going to the funeral home tomorrow to check on this.

Answer:
 Unless grandma consented to these things the aunt has no standing to change either.

If grandma wishes to and is of sound mind she can do anything she wants with her insurance/funeral plans.


Title: I had a theater ticket refund denied

Question:
Hello, I hope you can help me. I just bought from ticketmaster a 175 dollar ticket for a play in January 2020 in New York City.  Bought it online at a “adapted” website that has the Ticketmaster domain. But as I’m not from Brazil, I bought the tickets because I was thinking they will sold out quickly. But, after I bought (7 days ago), I want a refund for it because I am not sure if I’ll attend it (because of passport/visa stuff) and I emailed ticketmaster and they told me they can’t refund me. Is there any legal stuff I can argue with them? They ask me to check the policy, but the policy was not listed when I bought the tickets (maybe an “agreement” with terms etc no one reads). If anyone could help me, I would really be grateful.
Topic:
Consumer Law

Answer: The agreement is what you agreed to and I bet it says no refunds. So if it says that, I'm not sure why you think you should get a refund.  You speculated and this time you didn't come out ahead. Too bad so sad but that's a risk you take.  I'm sure if the play sold out and you sold it for $1,000 you wouldn't be complaining.Answer #2: You bought the tickets with a sound mind.  You don't get a refund because you've decided not to attend.  Sell the ticket and take the loss.


Title: My friend is being blackmailed - what should she do??? ---- UPDATE

Question: Since my original post, my friend has contacted a lawyer who she consulted with yesterday. Her lawyer is going to the police to present the situation and see how the PD wants to resolve it. Tonight is the night the store owner said he would be returning to collect his 5k. She hasn't heard back from her lawyer yet about what the PD's response is/will be/will NOT be... so for now we wait.

Answer:
 > She hasn't heard back from her lawyer yet about what the PD's response is/will be/will NOT be... so for now we wait

It is 8:30 AM, the day after she met with the attorney.  Give it some time.

Edit: [Original Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3j7zch/my_friend_is_being_blackmailed_what_should_she_do/)Answer #2: Well, the police said there isn't anything they can do at this time, as they have no evidence or reason to take the guy into custody. They are going to pay him a visit to give him a formal warning to back off, however, her lawyer believes he will still attempt to stop by this evening as he is not particularly intelligent. So, her lawyer has a "body guard" type guy that she hires and uses in situations like these for her clients. He is going to be spending the evening with my friend at her house waiting to see if the store owner shows or if anything funny happens. My friend also bought a tape recorder so if he does show, she can actually produce something for the police to use against him. Answer #3: Thanks for the update, but it would help if you included a link to your original post so that people who don't remember it or the details can read it and understand the context of the update.


Title: Potential Familial Discrimination in Houston, TX - Please Help

Question:
We're in Houston, Texas. We signed a lease recently that had a No Children clause in it, which we believe is Familial Discrimination. There was also a clause stating that if we went to court over anything, loser pays.

We have a six year old boy who was outside one day, and another renter noticed him and asked his age before reporting him to the landlord. The landlord says now that he is not allowed into the unit or on the property, even as a guest. We did some non-lawyer research and realize she's in violation of the Fair Housing Act. We told her this. She responded via text message that because we looked up legal advice, she's beginning the 30 day eviction process, and that it's an Adult Only duplex (four units total). She stated she doesn't need to give a reason for eviction, but we've kept records of her communication with us over our child.

We have very little money. We're trying to decide if we have a high likelihood of victory on our hands if we go to court, or if we should just pack up and leave (which will be difficult with all the flooding currently).

Please help. We appreciate you for your time. This is my very first Reddit post, and I'm sad it has to be under these circumstances. If this is in the wrong place, please tell me and I'll move it immediately.

Answer:
 You're right, this is definitely illegal (assuming you don't live in a 55+ community). If your lease is ending or if you're going month-to-month, she can end your tenancy with 30 days notice. That wouldn't technically be an eviction, though. But if your lease is not ending, she can't evict you over this.

You should file a complaint with HUD (it's free). [This link gives you details about how to do that.](https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/FHLaws/yourrights)Answer #2: Does the landlord live in one of the units? Owner occupied properties are exempt from the FHA if there are four or fewer units. Not sure if this issue is covered by something else, but FHA may not apply here.

Keep in mind, her filing eviction will also be delayed by the hurricane. I doubt the courts are fully functioning right now so they'll be backed up. Answer #3: Look up Tenant's Rights organizations in your area; hopefully they will not be affected by the hurricane and can help you.


Title: I signed a lease and paid security deposit for an apartment. The move in date is start of next month, but someone else was moved in to that same apartment?

Question:
NY-
I am moving into a new apartment complex.

I signed a lease and paid the deposit for an apartment that was still being fixed up. The move-in date is the first of January, because they needed to finish repairs.
I was visiting friends in that complex, and find there is now someone else living in that apartment.

It's the exact same apartment I signed the lease for, I double checked.
The landlord hasn't been answering his phone or been in the office since I found out.
What can I do?

Answer:
 Maybe they will move out before your move in date.

If the landlord breaches the contact your can sue for damages.


Title: Confused about brandishing in Colorado

Question:
So everyone has heard the debate about when to draw and when not to. I'll just state here that I am not going to draw unless I absolutely have to, but I am not going to shoot someone that is no longer a threat.

So from what I can find here is Colorado law regarding brandishing
>8-9-106. Disorderly conduct

>(1) A person commits disorderly conduct if he or she intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:

>(f) Not being a peace officer, displays a deadly weapon, displays any article used or fashioned in a manner to cause a person to reasonably believe that the article is a deadly weapon, or represents verbally or otherwise that he or she is armed with a deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm.

>(3) An offense under(1)(f) of this section is a class 2 misdemeanor.

>18-3-206. Menacing

>(1) A person commits the crime of menacing if, by any threat or physical action, he or she knowingly places or attempts to place another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. Menacing is a class 3 misdemeanor, but, it is a class 5 felony if committed:

>(a) By the use of a deadly weapon or any article used or fashioned in a manner to cause a person to reasonably believe that the article is a deadly weapon; or

>(b) By the person representing verbally or otherwise that he or she is armed with a deadly weapon.

So if I am reading this right, there is really nothing protecting me from a menacing charge if I pull my gun unless I kill the person in front of me. If he runs away as soon as I pull and I call the cops and report the incident I admit to menacing and have committed a felony. To me this means that I don't really have any chance of letting someone run away after I have pulled my gun. This just doesn't make any sense to me. It seems to punish someone for attempting to defend themselves unless they kill the other guy. Am I missing something here?

Answer:
 You're missing that the affirmative defense of self defense applies to menacing charges.Answer #2: > To me this means that I don't really have any chance of letting someone run away after I have pulled my gun. This just doesn't make any sense to me. It seems to punish someone for attempting to defend themselves unless they kill the other guy. Am I missing something here?

Yes.

Because you can be charged with murder if you kill someone.  Self defense (as I explained below) is an "affirmative defense."

Generally speaking, you must be *reasonably* in fear for your life or the life of someone else before you use deadly force to defend yourself.

So any time you use force to defend yourself, you are banking on the police, prosecutor, judge and/or jury seeing your actions as reasonable.


Title: Yellow labrador needs help

Question:
Against my wishes, and against my advice, my brother (31) bought my mother (59) a yellow lab puppy that i KNEW she wouldnt be able to properly care for in Nassau Long Island. I live and work an hour away in Rockland New York, and my brother lives and works 3 hours away in PA.

My mother quickly realized i was right, and the dog, Zac, immediately became too much for her. She works 50-60 hour weeks, and devotes nearly NO time to this sweet, eager to please dog. So right away i have been working to place the dog, but have been met with resistance from my stubborn and outright selfish brother, who does literally NOTHING to care for Zac.

I try to help any way i can, but it is at most 1 day a week if that,  that i can spend with Zac. Otherwise he spends his ENTIRE day in the kennel, which he is quickly getting to big for.

What makes matters far worse, is that the dog knocked my grandmother over while she was taking him to the bathroom, an incident that i PREDICTED was going to happen, and she was and is currently hospitalized. My brother continues to refuse to do anything to care for Zac OR let my mom find a home for him regardless of this incident. I want to find a home for Zac, who is still only 3 months old, where he can be happy and appropriately cared for.

I dont know what my options are because of my brother being so stubborn, but i am willing to take legal action along with my mother to either force him to care for the dog, or to gain legal custody.

 I truly wish i could take on the responsibility and care for him. But i work too much and have an old Collie shepherd mix who is in her last years that cannot handle Zacs energy.

Please reply

Thank you.

Answer: Did your brother give your mom the dog? If that's the case, he has literally no say in her decision to rehome him. Contact a rescue and let him moan about it from three hours away.


Title: A question about a dependent family member while dealing with my father's estate.

Question:
My father passed Thursday evening in Alberta, Canada, and I am uncertain who the executor of the estate is. I'm assuming it will be me, but am unsure. I've made arrangements with a funeral home, and they have given me a funeral director's certificate of death, that they say I can take to the bank to get his will out of his safety deposit box. I'm planning on doing that today. Hopefully it will name the executor.

My sister was, more or less, his live in caretaker for the last few years of his life, and was financially dependent on him. I'm pretty sure she wasn't getting any sort of a set allowance, but in return for helping him (and him helping her), he paid for everything. She has no job, no money, and no other place to live (his house is paid for, though).

Although I don't really know what my father's banking situation is, I pretty sure he wasn't broke, and has money in the bank that my sister is currently using. It's not a joint account, she's just using his bank card. His estate will be split, for the most part, between my sister and I, so, at least as far as I'm concerned, there are no issues with her using some of his money to get by while we handle his estate, and she can live in the house.

But once I go the bank and tell them that my father has passed, I'd imagine she would lose access to his account. How can I ensure that she doesn't starve, and can pay the bills while all of this is going on? What would the legalities me of telling her to take a thousand or two for services rendered from his account to live off of before we go to the bank?

Answer:
 She should stop using the account immediately. Before inheritances are sorted out the estate needs to settle debts. I know you might think there are none but until you check you can't be sure. Also if the will lists other heirs they may not be as gracious as you to see someone was dipping into the estate.

Best bet is to get the will, if you are the executor you can quickly assess the estate and try make some funds available to your sister.


Title: Mandatory Open Bar Company Christmas Party

Question:
So I have some questions about the legality of an open bar christmas party thats mandatory and the companies then liability for incidents that occur as a result...

For example if a company sponsors such a party and its employees over indulge then drive, or get in a fight, or wreck their vehicle, go to jail etc

Can that company then be held liable?

Answer:
 Mandatory attendance =/= mandatory consumption of alcohol. And it certainly doesn’t mean mandatory OVER-consumption of alcohol.  Do these employees have no self control?

I’m sure the higher-ups at the company used this as an opportunity to test the employees, and see who is suitable to keep/promote, and who’s not. Answer #2: The bartending company will have licensed* bartenders. Imho primary liability would fall on them to not overserve.

*meaning they took an online course and paid $9.

Edit: a word


Title: Spent alot on Apple App Store on In-game app purchases only for the App to then get deleted what can I do?

Question:
From the Uk so this would come under their EU Consumer laws I assume(Forgot to mention in title)

I have been buying things on an App for around 8-9 months through a Credit card and they have deleted the App and have not refunded anybody the money that they have spent on the game.
I have already talked to Apple Customer support and they have said that they can only refund up to 90 days from today which equated to £204.04.
I purchased through my credit card so do I have any cover through this or can I only claim up to 90 days?

Ask any questions if you need more information as I feel like I'm leaving alot out

Answer: Try /r/legaladviceuk


Title: (MI) Harassed by (assumed) local kids

Question: [deleted]

Answer: camera is good, also might be good to have a sign that says "smile! you're on camera!"Answer #2: go over to r/homedefense and ask them for help


Title: Girlfriend (Uninsured) drove my car, involved in auto accident

Question:
Hey there /r/legaladvice, first time poster here. I live in Southern California.

So earlier today, I let my girlfriend who is uninsured take my car out to get food. On the way back home, she was stopped at a red light in the left hand turn lane. There was one car in front of her, and none behind her. middle lane turns green, but left hand turn remains on a red arrow. The car in front of her inches up a little bit, and she does as well. Lincoln Navigator comes up from behind her, without slowing down, and rear-ends her, hard enough to send girlfriend and the car in front of her into the intersection. After insuring everyone is alright and not seriously injured, all parties involved go to the nearby grocery store's parking lot, where information is exchanged (have both people's insurance and personal information)

It is at this point that she calls me and tells me what happened, and I come to get her in our spare car. Trunk is completely smashed in, but not too much damage to the front of the car. She might have a mild concussion, but that is the extent of injuries across the three cars. Now, I am 23 and still under my fathers auto insurance, which is Mercury. Haven't had a chance to get a hold of him yet, as he is still at work and this just happened an hour or so ago. The person that rear ended her also has mercury. By the time I get there, the other two parties have left, and I call AAA for a tow. Evidently the police weren't called (She was pretty shaken up, I could barely understand her on the phone, she has never been in an accident before, she's 27)

So my reason for posting is wondering if this will still be covered by my father's insurance, as i was not the one driving. She lives with us, but has no auto insurance of her own. Will the driver of the Navigator's insurance cover all repairs or the cost of the car/upgrades and expenses (engine replaced a few months ago, aftermarket speakers and subwoofers installed last year)? Thank you for any help or advice, it's much appreciated.

Answer:
 The insurance travels with the *vehicle* not the driver.

And yes, legal drivers of the vehicle, which includes someone you give permission to, are covered by your insurance.  Also, the relevant question is the other guy's insurance, if her vehicle was hit from behind, because that's pretty much automatically an at-fault situation.


Title: How to get my daughter back?

Question: I live in Georgia with my oldest daughter, ex lives in Kentucky with wife (married her while I was pregant with our child). He and I were never married, he's on birth certificate. He has my youngest, his first and only. We had major issues during my pregnancy, but came to terms right before I gave birth. We came to a mutual agreement about an arrangement. I was to go to school while he had her, but I could come visit whenever and take her for visits and such. a part of our agreement was him fixing my car (and I paying him back with taxes), but he went back on it. He's been going back on EVERYTHING we have agreed upon. It's like pulling teeth getting a reply from the wife (we get along better than he and I do), and any conversation between him and I turns into a stupid argument. Every time I bring up a potential visit to see her, or a potential trip to go get her and bring her home with me for a visit to see family, it's ignored and the subject changed. The only legal documents signed was to legitimize her, and for a custody agreement that was left blank. Today he had major surgery, and will be out of work for months, he can't even lift anything more than a small cup of water for weeks. And she has Endometriosis, and has had such crippling pain that she claims to not even be able to do anything with her phone (but is all over Facebook). She had texted me something about not being able to take her usual meds because she stays home with my daughter while her dad works. And only takes the usual meds when he is home to care for her. So she's either on VERY strong meds or is in so much pain she can barely take care of herself, let alone my 2.5 month old. All the while he's recovering from a major surgery. And on top of all that, their dog just had babies (wasn't supposed to) and had complications. Long story short they're having to baby the dog and take care of a dozen new pups that have to supplemented due to the complications the momma dog had. I want to take her for a while to help them while he's recovering, but I know he will tell me I can't. What can I legally do? Will I have to file for custody just to have any legal control over when I can see my own child?

Answer:
 Court-ordered custody comes with the benefit of being both predictable and enforceable.

You will have to file for custody to have any chance of enforcing your time with your child. The courts _may_ see fit to enforce an informal order, but the only way to find out will be to get a lawyer and to sue for a custody order equivalent to your current arrangement.

If you're unable to afford a lawyer, talk to [legal aid](http://www.georgialegalaid.org) or to a local womens' shelter for help.Answer #2: You can file for custody. You have no right to remove the child from their home without his permission. That is her primary residency.


Title: Brothers parole officer opened my mail...

Question: Long story short, I ordered a CBD product and accidentally mailed it to my brothers house. My brother is currently on probation and, of course, the day the package arrives his parole officer shows up to do a check. A day or so before hand, I let my brother know the package was shipping to his place and I would be there to pick it up. Before I could get there, his parole officer opened my package and confiscated the CBD product. They refuse to release the product back to me. Your thoughts?

Answer:
 >  Your thoughts?

Don't ship contraband to parolees.Answer #2: You need to be more careful, stuff like this gets people's parole revoked. You could have just sent your brother back to prison. Even if the product was legal it's probably a parole violation.


Title: Can I sue my father for negligence almost 10 years after an accident? [NY]

Question:
When I was 11, the car my father was driving caught on fire and I was the only one who suffered severe burns.

Can I sue my father now for negligence? Or anything else? Like pain and suffering?

He chose to drive a vintage car with our whole family in it. There was an insurance payout of 2.3 million dollars that is in a trust that I will get yearly payments from once I am 25. I will be 21 soon and live with my parents now.

My father was never charged and the insurance company said he wasn't at fault. I am not sure if that hurts my case.

I want the courts to say he was at fault so I can get some fucking justice. It's not fair that I am the only one who has to suffer from this. I want there to be a judgement against him.

I know I sound like a real asshole. My father has apologized many times and has done a lot to help me since. My parents have put aside most of their money for me in their wills. They also pay for my expenses now. But I think I need this to happen for my sanity. I can't fucking sleep. My life is a total shitshow.

Also, can I make my father pay for a lawyer? Or maybe a lawyer will do it for free until I win my case and get the money?

Answer:
 Are you seeing a therapist? This is not even remotely legal advice, but if you're carrying this much anger 10 years later, chances are nothing you do is going to make you feel better, and the chances are very high it's going to make you feel much, much worse.Answer #2: No, that's not how this works. Get some therapy.Answer #3: Your dad apologized, is paying currently for all of your shit at 21, has left you a nice chunk of change in a will and you have 2.5 million coming in a couple years? You need some therapy Answer #4: By your own admission, this was an accident.  Your dad isn't at fault if this was an accident.

If the insurance company didn't suspect foul play, then there's nothing much you can really do.  Especially since you are going to be getting a trust fund payout until you're 25.Answer #5: You want to sue your father for simply driving an old car? But he didn't do anything else to cause the fire?Answer #6:  In order to successfully sue someone for negligence, you'd have to prove that they were negligent. Your father was in no way at fault.

You might find a lawyer unethical enough to represent you, but consider this: the legal fees for both sides would come out of your trust. Your suit would not succeed and you wouldn't see that money sooner. It would result in smaller annual payments to you. You'd essentially be suing *yourself*.


Title: Involuntary manslaughter / dui ks

Question: Posting here because I don't know where to start. My buddy got in a wreck killing two and appears to have been intoxicated. Nothing like this had ever happened to him and he's looking for my assistance in dealing with this. I assume the best course is to find the best lawyer he can afford and move forward from there. How do you even go about finding the best representation you can and what it is going to cost him?

Answer: He needs a criminal defense attorney. He shouldn't even be talking to you about this. Is he incarcerated right now?Answer #2: He needs to stop talking to you and everybody else and get a lawyer.  Manslaughterx2 is extremely serious.  It is impossible to estimate fees with the info available on a sub like this, but it is safe to say he needs tens of thousands to pay a retainer and much more as the case goes on.  Depends on how his lawyer handles payment plans.  This is a 'sell the house, sell the car, max the credit cards, and ask for help' type of scenario if he is concerned about money.


Title: What do I do with junk mail?

Question:
I am not sure if this is the proper subreddit for this question.  I am a typical blue collar guy who receives junk.  Offerings for credit cards and such.  What is the proper way to dispose of these?  Also old bank statements (I am pretty on top of online Banking...sometimes banks will send me notices of stuff that happened weeks ago).

When I try to google this question, most of the listings are about people who are trying to get off the mail lists.  My question is, what do I with the ones I already have in my hand.  I had box that I would toss em into but it is getting full.  I do not have access to a business class shredder, and the one I have is crappy and can't shredding more than two things at a time and it would take forever.  Is it safe to just throw these things away?  Is there a place or business I can give them to for a few bucks?

Answer:
 For generic promotional mail, 99% of the info on there is public information really anyways...

Rip them up and toss them into your recycle.

For bank statements, definitely take the time, sit down with your shredder while Bingeing Stranger Things, and shred them.


Title: Hit by a driver while walking and had my ankle broken. No insurance, what are my options? (Florida)

Question:
The incident was filed in a police report and the driver came back to help, drove me to the ER, and gave me his insurance information.

I have an appointment on Monday where I need to have the adjuster's name and claim number. Do I have to file a claim for this? Am I even able to? I'm totally new to this whole process and don't have anyone to guide me through it.

Any help would be appreciated!

Answer: Yes, call their insurance file a claim. Answer #2: You would file a claim against the driver's insurance company. This is also the kind of situation where you might want to talk to a personal injury attorney and see if it's worth it to lawyer up.


Title: Being sued because my clothing line charges more for bigger sizes

Question:
Hello,

I started my own clothing line, and originally we only had one size for all the clothes because we had just started. Recently, we started becoming popular from social media, and we started to add more sizes. The larger sizes are more expensive because it costs more to make those clothes. Because of this, we're being sued for discrimination and emotional damage.

We have a store in NY and an online shop.

Also, they are complaining that the largest size is marked misleadingly and is not large enough and that this is a form of discrimination as well. Specifically "a size 14 is actually a size 6"

Answer:
 Are you actually being sued or it just a threat from a disgruntled customer?Answer #2: My employer sells logo apparel. Almost everything size 2X and larger costs more. You'll also find this true at any store.

Edit: given that this is the standard in the industry, I'm surprised they even found a lawyer that would take this.Answer #3: People threaten to sue all the time. Unless you are ACTUALLY served with court documents, I wouldn't even engage them anymore.Answer #4: There is (or was) a cashmere store in NYC that prices everything by weight. (they actually just weigh your whole purchase at the checkout counter)Answer #5: Location matters a great deal.

And if you're actually being sued, as opposed to threatened, then hire an attorney ASAP because the timing of responses to law suits is very short.Answer #6: sounds like a customer service issue. until they actually sue you. you are fine. you are allow to charge more for something that costs more. a large coke costs more than a small coke and a small at Starbucks isn't the same small at McDonald's. Answer #7: If you're actually being sued, and someone didn't just threaten to sue you, then you need to hire an attorney.Answer #8: Even walmart does this


Title: Can reduction of hours be considered harassment?

Question: So some back story. About a 3 weeks ago one of my co workers was promoted to manager of our franchise owned sprint store. Which wasn't an issue. I was getting my hours I didn't care. He does seem to have an ego issue as in he gets mad if people don't listen to him and he is anal about the company rules (which he breaks anyway but we can't). Anyways none of this was an issue as I was getting my 40 hours a work since I'm a full time employee. Now jump forward to a week ago we got into an argument because we was forcing me to vacuum and I told him I would do it in 30mins when we are suppose to vacuum. He took this as insubordinate and gave me a formal written warning. Again this I really didn't care about I was still making my money. Now when we set up this weeks schedule he dropped me from 40 hrs to 13. So I immediately called him and asked why he cut my hours. He's response was it's a crazy week everyone's hours are low. However I did the math on the schedule he sent out and the next lowest person is at 26 with two people over 40 hrs him being one. So I called his boss who approves the schedule and he said I had to talk to my manager. When I asked about it he was very unprofessional and responded with "Lol" and in a later text "You're looking too much into it". So I drove to work since texting him was getting no where. We sat down and talked and he said because we got into an argument about me not vacuuming when he said he believed I didn't want to work so he cut my hours. Without getting to pissed I just to him "whatever man I got errands to run". Now our schedules are weekly so if he does this next week is this reasonable to bring up to HR for abuse of power? I put effort into my work because we sell phones and make commission off of our sales. Can I also bring up his boss enabling this behavior by allowing him to cut me to 13 hrs in a week? He's also had me forge a customers signature because he forgot to get it so if anyone knows who I should contact at sprint I'm willing to tell them how he has told us we need to write service tickets (which pay the store but customers don't pay for) and forge there signatures so we look better on quintile reports? The main thing is the hours though. If I'm a full time employee can he reduce my hours that much when I've told him I'm willing to work??

Answer: There's no legal issue here. You pissed off your boss, he cut your hours. There's no abuse of power, he's not abusing anything. He'd rather schedule a team player as opposed to someone who can't vacuum when told. That's his right. Answer #2: You can bring it up with HR if you want, but it might only lead to further problems with the manager.  There's no legal issue here (e.g. something you could sue for).  It's purely a matter of internal company policy.


Title: Traffic collusion near my property damaged my fence. Driver's insurance won't pay for the damage. What to do now?

Question: Hello about a month ago there was a two vehicle traffic Collison near my property that resulted in both cars destroying my fence. The driver admitted fault to CHP and CHP took a report on the fence approximately 160 feet was damaged. The fence is used to hold animal's and such and we can't afford to fix the fence currently. The insurance said we have to do all the leg work and contact a contractor to give us estimates. The insurance also stated that we can fix the fence and get reimbursed but now he is denying that. We got the estimates and sent them in. Now the insurance is stating that they won't pay us and that we have to send more pictures and more evidence. I am in California and the insurance i am working with in Farmers. I already took time off work to get estimates and everything and we can't put animals on the property till its fixed. Could someone suggest anything thanks.

Answer: I’d honestly hire an attorney. Farmer’s isn’t going to work with you in this situation. Answer #2: I would contact your homeowners insurance and let them deal with it. You may then be able to go after the drivers directly for your deductible.


Title: I'm not sure how not to get in trouble with the law or these people? [Long]

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Cut all contact with these people and find better friends. Why on earth would you want anything to do with them?


Title: Can I buy alcohol for my 18yo spouse

Question:
I will be getting married on the 5th in Louisiana to my 18yo fiancé. I am 24.
I know in Louisiana the law allows a parent/ guardian to purchase alcohol for their kids. Am I allowed to buy alcohol for my wife?

Answer:
 Well, a spouse is not a parent or legal guardian of the other spouse. Fortunately, it appears like the [LA law](http://www.centenary.edu/handbook/appendices/alcholo) specifically mentions a spouse as well as those categories.

>(ii) When a person under twenty-one years of age is accompanied by a parent, spouse, or legal guardian twenty-one years of age or older.
Answer #2: Others have pointed out that it's likely legal for you to do so.  However, it's worth pointing out that it doesn't mean anyone is required to do so.  An establishment can still refuse to sell in this circumstance, and you'd have no recourse.


Title: (WA) Employer hasn't paid in 1.5 months, said "sue me".

Question:
Hello /r/legaladvice!

I've been working as a contractor for the past 6 months for my employer. After a recent pay hiccup where my boss was 2 weeks late paying me, I said that I wouldn't continue working unless I was made a contractor with guaranteed hours. They had been late before, and I have been working 40 hours for them anyway. My boss agreed, paid what was owed, and promised to work on getting me a contract by the end of the month..

Fast forward a month and a half, I haven't been paid and my boss continues to promise "we'll pay you this week". They've also dodged anything related to salary. Last week, I informed my boss that I can't perform any more work for them until I'm paid.

Today I got asked to do more work... which I refused. My boss went on to inform me that this is news to him (it's not), and promised that they're good for the money. I again refused, saying that I've been made promises before and won't work until I am told exactly when I'll be paid. This was met with being told that everyone else pulls their weight and hasn't been paid and that I'm not a team player and said... and I quote... "If you want to fight and bitch about it. Save it. The courts are always at your disposal. Ok. So sue me then."

I just want my money, it's a start-up that over extended itself. I've been patient and accepting of late payment before... "growing pains", "bumps in the road", etc. I've never threatened them or been anything but patient. I don't want to burn bridges or kick someone when they're down, but this time I need to put my foot down. They've been completely unapologetic and attacking me for wanting the money I'm legally entitled to. They've broken several other promises as well that have added up, and now I'm stuck unemployed in a city far away from home.

I need some advice on what to do next. I'm going to the department of labor tomorrow (job interview today!), but have heard mixed results for contractors. I also know that I can't go to the DOL if I have a legal claim already in place, so I'm going to go there first. My boss has admitted guilt several times over email and text, I've spoken directly with their accountant who "doesn't know what else to tell me", and have plenty of other employees and business contacts that could be my references for any counter argument they have. For what it's worth, I also probably need to contact the IRS because they still haven't provided me with a 1099, though I submitted my W9 to them on time.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice on what to do next, or how to better handle this as it plays out! I'm stressed beyond belief about the current financial situation they've put me in, and have never had to deal with this kind of situation before!

Thank you!

Update: I was told to either "stop bitching" about the money they owe (yes, my actual employer said that) or I'm fired. I then got fired.

I again asked for a written guarantee that I was getting paid tomorrow, so I could return to work (after my boss promised I'd get paid tomorrow). No threats or anything on my part. He said he can't get that and I'm fired. I also found out that I am definitely being wrongly classified as an independent contractor, and that they had never actually paid for the health care coverage that they promised me. They called back later trying to save face by telling me that I was fired because they no longer need the work I provide (despite asking me to work today), and still refused to provide a date they're going to pay me. Meanwhile they are still going forward with the business and claim to have gotten more investment money recently... I've been in touch with a family friend that is a lawyer, he's going to help get me in contact with the correct resources locally.

TLDR: Stay calm, document everything, ask questions, lawyer up.

Answer:
 Sure, contact the department of labor, and if that's unsuccessful then sue the employer in small claims court for the money you are owed plus court costs (including things like cost of service).

Yes, contact the IRS about the missing 1099.  They will contact the company.


Title: Statutory rape

Question: Hi y’all, I’m 15.  I live in Illinois, where the age of consent is 17.  This person that I’m thinking about dating is 18.  We have gone as far as making out and touching in sexual areas but never naked.  Would this be considered illegal still or does it have to be actual sex? Building off that, is it legal to just date him?

Answer: Any sexual contact between you two is illegal. Any image of you naked you may want to send him is illegal. He can be prosecuted and put on to a registry.


Title: My employer gave me a pay decrease for 2 full days I have already worked - is this legal? (California)

Question:
I work for a company through a recruiting agency. I received an e-mail today from the recruiting agency letting me know that I would be receiving a pay decrease of 10% to my paycheck.. 2 full work days ago. I don't understand how this is okay and am not too savvy on law regarding this type of behavior from an employer so I don't really know what I can do about it.

Here's the e-mail I received along with the contract I signed with the recruiting company when I started. (http://imgur.com/a/qxFyP) Any information is really appreciated and if not thanks for reading this far.

**EDIT:** So I called the recruiting agency and let them know that I didn't appreciate the pay decrease and looked further into the matter to find that retroactive pay decreases weren't legal in the state of CA. I was transferred to the CEO of the company and he apologized for the issue and agreed that it wasn't right. Well - this news got back to the company I worked for and they weren't too happy about it since I guess they weren't informed that the recruiting agency did that. They fired the agency, I'm keeping my pay for the past two days, and now I'm going to most likely be transferred over to full time for the company in the next couple of weeks. Thanks Reddit!
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 Assuming you're an employee of the agency and not an independent contractor, no they can't do that.

http://www.askamanager.org/2013/11/can-an-employer-change-your-rate-of-pay-retroactively-and-make-you-pay-back-the-difference.htmlAnswer #2: Looks like they have 7 days after the change to notify you.

>within seven calendar days after the time of the changes

They seem to have done that, so it doesn't look like they did anything wrong.

Edit: Forget what I said - took me a minute to realize you're asking about the hours you already worked. I'm not sure about that. I was looking at the fact that they told you of the change after they made it, but not how it applies to hours worked.


Title: (California) - Bit complicated, Neighbors damaged my property because of new Water System Installment. Doing so without asking me (I am the property owner) and left a huge mess.

Question:
Now I will go into more detail. Two days ago I noticed a mini-tractor outside of my house, and a bunch of men with shovels and tools. I approached them and asked what they were doing. They claimed the pipe to the water main connected to their house busted, and needed to be replaced, and that they would need to dig up an area to install the pipe. I showed them my property line and asked them to go around it, which they said they would. They did not, they tore up existing concrete and left holes and patches of concrete/rocks every where.

Edit: There is a gutter pipe that is completely destroyed that I use to drain my carport when it rains. And not having it, will cause my carport/house to flood.

I live in the front of an easement that has more houses in the back, I own the areas they dug in. Which from what they said and I understood, they could have gone around without damaging my property...

First of all, they started doing this without trying to contact me in any way. Which is the real reason I am pissed off. They are new Neighbors and I haven't had much contact. They are Renting the home I believe, and I don't have contact with the home owner.

What are my options... Do I call the police? Do I have to fix it myself..? It's so frustrating...

Answer:
 Document everything done first with pictures. Then bring out the right vendor/company to repair the damages and have them provide you a report of the damage done and an estimate of what it will take to fix it.

Once you have the report/estimate, I would approach the owner of the other property and ask him/her to cover the costs of the repairs.Answer #2: Can you clarify - were the people digging and replacing the pipe professionals, or were they just the neighbor and his buddies with tractor and shovels?

If it's the former, there may be some recourse with the company doing the work who should have made sure they had legal right to dig on the property. There could also have been permitting requirements that weren't addressed with the city, which could be another avenue to pursue.


Title: MD - I host a large barbecue (100+) at a private residence and provide alcohol. If someone gets drunk, drives and causes an accident, can I (or the homeowner) be held liable?

Question:
I understand that bars can be sued for over serving. We do not charge for attendance. It's byob, but we often provide a keg and other drinks.

I suppose it's much the same as a wedding. Is there precedent for the hosts being sued for overserving at a private event?

Answer: Maryland does not have "dram shop" liability laws, which allow injured parties to sue those who provided or sold alcohol to the person who injured them.


Title: (CA) Friend wants boyfriend to move out but they refuse. How to proceed?

Question:
Posting this for a friend.  Was told to X-post here from /r/relationships

https://np.reddit.com/r/relationships/comments/4yggtk/friend_25f_wants_current_bf_25m_to_move_out_but/

Basically she wants him out and he refuses.  What can she do?

He has lived there for 3 months, his name isn't on the lease, and he pays no rent or utilities.

Would it be legal to put his stuff on the curb and change the locks? Does she need to formally evict him?

Any legal advice for her would be appreciated. More information can be found in the link above.

Answer:
 >Would it be legal to put his stuff on the curb and change the locks?

No. Then he could call the cops and claim he is being illegally evicted, and that would be a true statement.

>Does she need to formally evict him?

Yes. Under CA law she has to give him 30 days' notice in writing to vacate. If he doesn't leave by that point, then your friend has to file an eviction suit.


Title: Curbed my rim at Taco Bell, can I take legal action?

Question:
Short Background:

There is a brand new Taco bell in Olympia,WA that is known to have a terrible drive thru. Since it has opened 2 months ago, I have heard from employees of plans to reverse the direction of the drive thru to prevent customers from curbing their wheels against this terrible "S" shaped exit of the drive thru with an incredibly short/sharp right turn. After 2-3 months, nothing has happened. Yes, many, if not all customers that go through the drive thru has curbed their wheel, or drive up onto the curb, its that bad of a setup. You can literally sit there for 5 minutes and watch every car curb their rims while trying to exit.

What happened?

On 5/3/2017, I went through the drive through regularly, under the impression that they had fixed their drive through. As I'm exiting, I realize it's the same drive thru. The car ahead of me curbs his rim/goes up on the curb. I tried taking my time on the curb but it's such a sharp turn that the same exact thing happens to me. Now I'm stuck with a 1 inch scrape on my rim and probably $100-400 in repair costs if I want to fix this. It's really safe to say that they have lost a customer due to this complete lack of common sense from the developers/Due to complete negligence and repeat occurrences from many other customers, will I be able to take legal action?

Important things to Note:

- I did not take a picture at the scene, I already exited the drive thru shortly after I went up on the curb.
 Though this is easily replicated. You can sit there and watch people exit the drive thru and curb their rims one by one.

TLDR;

New Taco Bell terrible drive thru setup, literally every car struggles to exit and proceeds to curb rims. Negligent to fix issue after 2 months. Curbed my rim now costs me $200-400 to replace, can I sue?

Answer: You were on notice that it was a crap-tacularly designed drive-thru, yet you assumed it had been rectified somehow, so you proceed thru the drive-thru "regularly" instead of exercising caution or going into the restaurant...  That doesn't seem like a winning argument to me.


Title: Small claims court even though they broke their own phone?

Question:
I saw an ex-coworker of mine at an event in town last week. We never got along very well, it's a long and dramatic story I'd rather not get into. At the event, he was trying to get smart and harass me, calling me names and stuff like that.

I got pretty angry at him at one point. I didn't get physical, but I started yelling at him. He took his phone out, and started trying to record me now that I was angry and looked like I was freaking out. I know I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry I did, but I grabbed the phone from his hands, and tried to delete the video he was taking of me. I walked away with his phone while I did this, but he followed behind me and physically assaulted me, pushing me to the ground. His phone fell as well, and according to him I guess the screen broke when it did.

Now he's sent me a letter threatening to take me to small claims court for the damage to his phone, but I wasn't the one who damaged it. He assaulted ME, I've even got bruises to prove it, and he broke his own phone while doing it. Does he have any case? How can I defend myself in small claims court?

This is in the state of California.

Answer:
 Neither of you is "in the right".  You essentially committed a criminal battery  on him when you took the phone.  It's also a "trespass to chattel", which only really means anything when there is damage.

How that would play out in a hypothetical small-claims case in Calif. isn't certain.   A judge has fairly broad discretion -- if there is a foreeseeable causal connection between your taking of the phone and the damage, it could go poorly for you.

The right thing to do right now, as others have said, is to go completely silent with respect to this person.  Don't respond to anything other than a court summons.


Title: [TN] bounced check scam, what now?

Question:
throwaway because...well i feel like a complete idiot for falling for this, as you can imagine. location is Tennessee. sorry for the post being a little long.

so a friend of mine asked me if i would cash a check for him at my bank - this was on a Sunday, and he has a credit union instead of a bank, so i thought it made sense at the time that he wouldn't be able to cash it until the next day or whatever. i said i'd try, because my bank has those deposit-smart ATMs that let you cash checks and the like.

well, the ATM wouldn't verify the check for cashing (first red flag), but i was able to deposit the check into my account. it was pending until that Tuesday, when i could pull the money out of my account from an ATM and give it to him - he gave me $60 for my trouble, and then told me that if i wanted to, i could help him pull this on other people (!!!!!!!!). i...carefully declined and went my own way. i've been feeling like it was a terrible idea ever since i put it in my account, but especially now...

what a surprise, a couple days later the check bounces and my account is ~$500 overdrawn. and what a surprise, he's now AWOL. so now i'm left feeling like an idiot, and i can't afford to fix the overdraft issue on my account. so my question is this: is there anything i can do? or is this just an idiot tax, and i'm essentially fucked?

**TL;DR**: fell for a "friend's" bounced check scam, and now my account is overdrawn. am i screwed?

Answer: You can sue him in small claims court.


Title: Scammed Freelancing

Question:
Hello,

I recently signed a contract with an individual through Skype (I am from Australia), regarding writing articles for a certain amount of pay each week. I was contracted to write at $45/1000 words, and 2,500-3,000 words a day.

I was skeptical about the whole freelance gig, so we agreed for me to write 1000 words a day until I received my first payment. After the two week period I wrote roughly 23,000 words, which means I am owed roughly $1000. Unfortunately it turned out to be a scam, which I always had my suspicions for anyway.

I want to know if I can legally have the published articles removed from websites as I did not get paid for any of them? I understand they probably bought them from my scammer, but is there anything I can do? I have sent all the websites an email regarding the incident, but based on integrity I don't want to just walk away from this without making a little mark.

What should I do? Should I do anything, or just use this as a learning curve?

How do I go about preventing this from happening again in the future? We signed a contract and everything, which I think was the optimum of security on my behalf... but obviously that didn't work out for me.

Thoughts?

Answer:
 IANAL, but I'm pretty sure you can issue a DCMA takedown notice to anyone publishing your content, sending it to the person who is hosting the content.

Good luck!Answer #2: >What should I do? Should I do anything, or just use this as a learning curve?

Next time make sure that you get paid up front (or at least don't put in so much time before being paid), and don't accept a cashier's check for ~$2,000 (or you will become a victim of the common fake check scam).Answer #3: Good lord that is not nearly enough money for that amount of writing.


Title: Is it against US law (federal or state) to kill someone outside of the US?

Question: Hypothetical: I am a US citizen. While in another country, I kill someone (a citizen of that country). There is no doubt that I did it. For one reason or another, the legal system in the other country declines to prosecute the crime, despite knowing that I committed murder. As they declined to prosecute me, they are not seeking extradition. Can I be prosecuted in a US court for that crime upon returning to the US?

Answer:
 Only under certain circumstances. Most commonly, it's punishable if you're  "within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States," (18 U.S.C. § 1111). That includes the high seas while on an American ship or aircraft, American spacecraft in flight, and any area out of the jurisdiction of another nation (e.g. Antarctica).

Other than that, the typical federal statutes on murder abroad only apply if the victim was a U.S. national. But some also protect foreign citizens, such as 18 U.S.C. § 1116 (murder of foreign officials), 18 U.S.C. § 1091 (genocide) and 18 U.S.C. § 2441 (war crimes).


Title: Roommate is mentally unstable, landlord refuses to let me break the lease Indiana

Question:
So I've been living in a 2 bdrm home since last August and my roommate is ex-military with PTSD and possibly bipolar. After multiple encounters of him acting out irrationally for menial things, he crossed the line when he threatened to "kick my door down and beat my ass half to death" for letting his dog outside to use potty (as I've done countless times trying to help out).

I immediately contacted my landlord to tell her I would be relocating my things and searching for different housing. She informed me that unfortunate as that may be, I'm still responsible for the remaining 2 1/2 months of rent. Regardless of whether or not I'm physically at the premise.

My father advised me to file a police report and then immediately contact the BBB and the Chamber of Commerce to inform them of my situation. Then, he advised me to (after removing my belongings and myself) simply refuse payment.

Is he correct in assuming that she will have no legal recourse against me? He's argument is that of she forces me to remain in a home where I feel threatened (2 entrances into my room, no locks) that any lawyer worth his salt could keep me from being sued, if she chose to follow that route.

Any and all advice is welcome. I have tried over and over to power through his bouts of borderline insanity but I refuse to remain under the same roof with someone who a) could easily "take me" if it came to fisticuffs, b) is under charges of holding a knife to his own mothers throat and then stealing her caladopen (learned this last week), and c) also recently found out his last 3 roommates have restraining orders against him. Please, any advice is more than welcome.

Answer: If you are seriously threatened, call the police. Otherwise, your landlord appears to be correct and your father is wrong.Answer #2: Your dad's advice is horribly wrong and dangerous. You are indeed responsible for rent. Move out if you wish, but don't stop paying.


Title: Ex-girlfriend will not pick up her property from my house.

Question:
[Tucson, Arizona]

Some background:

I own my house. I was letting her live here for free. She lived here approximately six months.

We broke up almost two months ago. She came back the day after and got most of her stuff, but left a pretty substantial amount of stuff as well.

I've asked her at least half a dozen times to retrieve the rest of her belongings. I even offered to drop it off but she didn't want me to know where her new place was, which is fine, but she doesn't have a car and always seems to have some excuse not to be able to get her stuff. I told her if she didn't want it I could donate it or toss it and she made it expressly clear that she needed all of it and I was not to throw it away.

Her belongings include some expensive bedding, linens, towels, some dishware, some sentimental items, and a few expensive fur coats.

I don't want her stuff here anymore. I've packed it all in a large plastic container but I'd like to get it out of my life. I don't want to just be a dick and give it away, but she is also not making any efforts to get it.

What are my options?

Thank you in advance.

Answer:
 Could you send her a email along the lines of "If you don't have everything removed from the apartment by *dates 30 days from now* I will consider it abandoned property and will dispose of as I see fit."

I remember a peoples court case like that. But the judge had said that a certified letter was better then just a email.Answer #2: From NOLO, but a good [source](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/handling-tenants-abandoned-property-arizona.html)

She was a tenant of yours even if she was not paying rent.  I am not sure if you kicked her out or she left on her own, but whatever the case, it seems like the feeling was mutual given the details in your post.  Follow the guidelines in the link to cover your back.

It is not complicated in Arizona and extremely cheap to avoid a future headache.


Title: MN: I am caretaker at my apartment and my management company snuck a miscellaneous $300 charge on my rent. They claim its for a fine for not removing snow from the city. Is this legal?

Question:
The management company added the $300 to our online payment system without mentioning it. If I paid automatically I would have just been charged. The city claims they sent a warning on March 5, and the snow wasn't cleared by the 11th. I shoveled the day after every snowfall and I've seen the photos the city took. Yes, there was some snow on one of the walks, but it was no worse than any other property.

All that aside, I was never notified that there was an issue. Had I been I could have fixed it immediately.

The management company is intransigent regarding this and all other issues, and they say they've passed on snow fines to other caretakers. My caretaker agreement says the following:

a. Removing snow from the driveway, walkways, entryways and alleyways as needed and in
compliance with city code specifications.

It does not specify passing fines to employees, but I can see how you could argue "with city code specifications" either way.

We were assessed a late fee because even though I paid rent, I did not pay this fee because I'm disputing it. They lump everything into one account so we showed a balance. I got them to remove the late fee, but I'm expecting another next month of this isn't dealt with by then.

We're moving to a house at the end of the month, and a major motivator for that move has been this management company. We're also concerned they will find creative ways to screw us out of our security deposit.

Is it legal to pass on fines to employees? Is there anything we can do or document to prepare for a possible security deposit debacle?

Answer: Check your copy of your lease for responsibility for either grass or snow.  Compliance with that should be laid out.  You should likely expect this to be deducted from your security deposit and then having to be recouped in small claims court, unfortunately.


Title: Were rights violated? MI

Question:
Was wondering if based on this story if student 1st amendment rights were in fact violated by the school taking down the sign for Trans Awareness Day because of upset parents? What outcome, legally, do you think will happen?

http://www.wwmt.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/Marshall-High-School-students-say-their-free-speech-rights-are-being-denied-109107.shtml

Answer:
 No, students have no right to post whatever they want on school bulletin boards. Answer #2: The First Amendment is not inviolate.  The school can make reasonable rules as to the speech allowed in their school.

In this case, the fact that the school stopped use of a school bulletin board likely makes this fine.  The school has far more control over their property than they would over speech made by the students themselves.


Title: My employment was terminated and they kept my things. What action can I take?

Question:
Just as the title suggests, I was terminated from employment and was not allowed to gather my things. My former boss said that they would ship my possessions to me. It's coming up on a month since this happened and I have not recieved my things.

I attempted to contact him and he said that he would speak with HR about tracking. I had the number of the HR associate who should have been working on it and he said the same thing. It's been a week since that conversation and I haven't heard a peep.

What can I do? I had some fairly valuable items at my desk and some other things that I would really like back.

Thanks in advance.

Answer: Send a certified letter requesting your possessions within 7 or 14 days.  Offer to pay for the shipping, or instruct them to send it Paid-on-Pickup.


Title: Sold my truck to a scrap yard, they lost the title and want me to sign powers of attorney?

Question:
I sold my truck to a scrap yard for a few hundred dollars, but they lost the title and now they are asking me to come in and sign two powers of attorney so they can apply for a duplicate title. I spoke to them on the phone and I said, "what happens if I don't come in and don't sign the powers of attorney?" and they said "we would have to give up the vehicle to the state of Missouri."

They seem pretty honest, but could this be a trap somehow?

Answer: They are needing you to sign a “Power of Attorney to Transfer Motor Vehicle”. They’ll need that so they can order a new title through the state. Very common. No big deal. It’s not a blanket POA.


Title: [PA] Lease gives landlord the right to put a lien on cosigners' real estate. Standard or no?

Question:
I'm a college student looking to rent an off-campus house with a few roommates.  My parents (well, one of them) will be cosigning the lease.  The lease agreement says that in the event of unpaid rent, the landlord can either file a money claim *or* place a lien on the cosigner's real estate.  My parents are uneasy about this as the lease also states that any one party can be held accountable for missed rent, and they don't know the other cosigners very well.

The landlord is having her lawyer review the contract, but she says this is a standard PA lease.  Is it normal for a lease to give the landlord the right to put a lien on the cosigner's real estate?  Is there any sort of legal agreement that can be signed between the roommates that specifies that unpaid rent will be taken care of by just the tenant(s) who didn't pay?

Thanks.

Answer:
 Being legally and financially on the hook comes with the territory when someone co-signs a contract for someone else.  If your parents aren't comfortable possibly being responsible for the full rent amount, then they shouldn't cosign.

>any one party can be held accountable for missed rent

This is called joint and several liability.  It means the landlord can go after any one person for the full value of the lease.  This is normal on every lease I have ever seen.  It really just makes it where it isn't the landlord's job to figure out which roommate was responsible for what portion of the rent.  They can simply sue one or all roommates for the full value.

As far as the language agreeing to a lien being placed on the co-signer's property...Well, that seems a bit heavy handed to be included in rental agreement, but the reality is that they would be legally responsible and could potentially end up with liens placed following a judgment anyways.

I would defer back to the idea that cosigning an agreement for someone else is putting your assets and name on the line for their behavior.  If that doesn't sit well with your parents, then they shouldn't cosign it.

Incidentally, I wouldn't take any advice of the landlord's lawyer.  If you want someone to review the lease, spend the money for a real estate lawyer to go over it for you.  But take the advice of someone who works for you, not someone who works for the landlord.  Cheers!


Title: A large dense wooden bench collapsed on my legs while at a bar this past Saturday. I have severe bruising and am now having trouble walking.

Question:
While a bar this past Saturday, a very heavy wooden bench collapsed on my legs. The bench in itself was very dense and heavy, but it also had the weight of my friends sitting on it as well. So yes, that shit hurt. I’m a 5’2” female, 120lb female, so all of that weight directly slammed into my calves was horrifyingly painful. Even while intoxicated, it still hurt very badly and there was immediate bruising. I am now having trouble standing, taking stairs, walking my dog, and even putting pants on is painful.

I have pictures/video of the collapsed bench as well as the severe bruising and cuts on both of my legs.

How do I go about resolving this with the bar?
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer:
 Seek medical attention for your injuries, then ask the bar about filing a claim against their insurance for your medical expenses.Answer #2: Do you have your own medical insurance?   If so, you can always just let them cover it for now, and tell them what happened.  If they think there's a good case to hold the bar responsible...  they'll sue on your behalf.  If they recover, they'll refund your copays as well.

NOBODY is going to pay you a dollar until you've been to the doctor and can show them evidence of the extent of your injuries.   Once you've got that in hand, it's very likely that asking the bar's management about it will get you some sort of offer to at least cover the medical bills and a day or two off of work.    They'd much rather pay you a reasonable sum than spend months paying their lawyer in order to still owe you the money at the end.

If you want to demand thousands to cover pain and suffering...  that will likely require a lawyer of your own...  but if you're happy with your actual medical bills and a little extra, you may get it by just asking.Answer #3: Go to the doctor now, please.  You need to for legal reasons too, but there are some life-threatening complications that can crop up from something like this.  Stop walking if you can; ask someone to drive you and bring you into the doctor/ER in a wheelchair.Answer #4: Please go to the doctor immediately. You could have severe complications like compartment syndrome.

Then find a personal injury attorney.


Title: Friend Lost Job Due To Legally Killing Dog (Alabama)

Question: I have a friend who is a veterinarian in a small town in the "South". In that state it's legal to kill a dog in the event that it's killing or harassing livestock and that's what happened, a dog was found inside a chicken coop on her and her husband's property and the husband shot the dog, killing it. The wife, the veterinarian, took the dog to the clinic in which she works and disposed of the body. Apparently the owner of the dog found out about the incident and called the police on the couple- which the officer even said what they did was legal. The officer later went and told the dog owner that the event was legal and exposed the names. The dog owner wanted the carcass, but it couldn't be found since it was disposed. The dog owner and his family hit facebook and ran down the name of the animal clinic, the veterinarian, and her husband, making borderline threats, to the extent that it caused a slight uproar in a days time. The vet ended up losing her job due to potential backlash from a legal event that occurred, they threatened to go to local newspapers over this incident. The state is at-will, but are there any legal damages that can be sought after due to the individual causing potential professional and reputation damages, and job loss due to an event that was completely blown out of the water. When I discussed this, she said that she's not looking to sue the clinic and that's admirable on her part, but is there anything that can be done on the full scope of this?

Answer:
 Is there a reason you've posted this again?

As you said, it's an at-will state, so they were definitely within their rights to fire her.

And honestly, legally done or not, who would want to take their dog to a vet that shoots other people's pets?  That would absolutely affect the reputation of the clinic.  Not to mention disposing of the body without the owner's knowledge or consent.


Title: Just found out I'm on the deed to a house with 7 people. What do I do?

Question: I was just informed that when my grandmother passed, over 10 years ago, she left me a 1/7th of the house. Her son who is currently living there got a reverse mortgage on it and now that company is seeking legal action. I do not want my share in that house because it's been falling apart for years and her son doesn't pay property taxes either and I don't want that to come down on me either. I read something about disclaiming it within 9 months of the death but I was never informed about being on the deed does that also apply to me? Any help in the matter will be appreciated. The house is in Kansas City Missouri, Jackson county. I am in Springfield Missouri.

Answer:
 Something doesn't add up. If you are on the deed, then a reverse mortgage should not have been able to be granted without your knowledge and consent. It seems likely that either 1) you aren't actually on the deed, or 2) someone committed fraud in obtaining the mortgage.Answer #2: Search here:

http://www.jacksongov.org/267/Recorder-of-Deeds

To see what's actually going on with the deed.


Title: [CA] Non-violent dog bit coworker after provocation at work.

Question:
Yes, this is a throw away account.

&#x200B;

As the title states, a dog bit a coworker and caused injury. The dog in question was picked up and swung around to "dance" without owner's permission. During the "dancing" the dog, who was scared, acted in self-defense and bit the coworker on the lip. A small, half-inch section of skin on the lip was injured (no deep tissue damage, all surface). There are multiple witnesses.

In the moments afterwards the coworker admitted fault. Medical attention was sought and coworker was told it would take time, but the bite would heal. Again, coworker admitted fault.

Coworker decided to see a plastic surgeon and elected to have a reparative procedure.

Days later, coworker changed story and is no longer admitting fault. Workplace has changed pet policy. Concerned coworker will sue dog owner.

&#x200B;

What does the dog owner do? Is there any defense against coworker if sued?

Answer:
 The owners should check their homeowner's policy, if they have one.

The defense could be testimony from witnesses.


Title: My friend is being overworked

Question: My friend (F25, Oregon) has been working 12 hour shifts with no breaks, basically 5 days a week. She says the reason is because where she works is a “make it or break it” floor for nurses, and as a result over 10 nurses have left since she started about a year ago. I’m all for overtime, but I’m concerned for her mental health. Are there specific laws that make medical staff exempt from regular labor laws in Oregon? I tried googling, but to no avail. Any help is appreciated.

Answer:
 Sounds like a great way to kill patients. Answer #2: > I tried googling, but to no avail.

Because there aren't any laws which cover this. She is free to find a new job whenever she wants. She is also free to not go to work as slavery is illegal. If she is fired because she is exhausted and feels she cannot properly do her job, she can file for unemployment and look for a new job.


Title: On Writing Peers' Essays

Question:
I am a Junior in college, and I'm the guy who writes essays. People come to me instead of the writing websites because I do it cheaper and faster than any competitor while still getting people reliably good grades. None of my clients go to the same school as me, but they (and I) are all in universities that have strict academic dishonesty policies. I also feel it is important to note that these policies only threaten repercussions to the student who TURNS IN work that is not theirs, unless the helping student is identified as attending the SAME university. My clients are quiet about me, and I have made it very clear to every new client that "I am only giving them an example of an essay, and that I have no control over whether they decide to turn it in or not" (the actual introductory message is much longer, and also tells them to say it was from an online site, but I hope you get the gist). What I would like more information on is the legal ground on which I stand. If a client was to get caught, would I have any reason to worry about academic ramifications? Furthermore, would the university that caught them have any right to subpoena the student's emails to find the writer, and if so, report that writer to their respective university?

&#x200B;

TLDR: I write essays for students at other colleges. I'm enquiring about the legal ground on which someone like myself stands.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 Yes, you absolutely would. Your college will expell you. You think youre the one providing this service because you're smart, but I assure you it's for the opposite reason.

edit: case in point; you post in your college sub from this very account 😑Answer #2: Your disclaimer isn't a loophole that magically gets around your schools' academic dishonesty policy. ~~If~~ When you get caught,  you will be kicked out of school, as well as all of your customers. Additionally, if you've graduated already, your college can retroactively revoke your degree.

Also, great job posting a full confession with the account you use to post to your college's subreddit. I guarantee you somebody you go to school with has already screenshotted this.

EDIT: You posted your full first name too, jesus christ kid.


Title: [CA] I was fired for stealing boxes on my day off.

Question: [removed]

Answer: You can request them to provide proof to show that you steal the boxes, just to clean your name. I mean, is not hard to ask them to show the CCTV, but can't stop them from firing you thou.


Title: Grandmother is leaving everything to one of the siblings. Can anything be done?

Question:
It's recently been uncovered that grandma's house is in the name of one of her daughters. The house and adjoining property the daughter is also the title-holder of is worth north of 1 million. There are 4 siblings and one half sibling. Grandma intends to leave the whole house, and almost all of her estate to the one daughter. The one daughter has lived with her for her entire adult life and it is believed this unfair division was the result of a long-term ear-whispering campaign on her part.

&#x200B;

I don't think there is, but is there anything that can be done to require the estate be divided fairly?

&#x200B;

This is in Florida.

Answer:
 Nope- grandma can leave whatever she wants to whoever she wants.Answer #2: As long as Grandma is mentally aware, is her choice.Answer #3: There's really not anything to be done - people can leave their assets as they see fit and it doesn't have to be fair or equitable.

The only way really around that is to prove the person was not mentally competent when they created their Will but that is a hard burden to get over and considering her daughter seems to have been involved in her life for years and years, and not come in at say the end of her life when she would be very vulnerable, it would be pretty difficult to prove