Title: (Los Angeles) My Landlord Does Not Believe Our Building Is Subject to Rent Control, But I Disagree.

Question:
I rent a 1br in the City of Los Angeles, where units built prior to October 1978 are subject to rent control.  To determine the date "built," the city looks at the date the Certificate of Occupancy was issued.  However, if the building permit was issued prior to October 1978 yet the Certificate of Occupancy was issued afterwards, then the building is still subject to rent control.  Here's the statute: http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=amlegal:lamc_ca

When I moved in three years ago, the landlord told me the building is not subject to rent control.  Currently I am month to month, and the increases to my rent have been within the limits of the rent stabilization ordinance.  Over the past few months, however, the landlord has been making significant renovations to the common spaces (hallways primarily - repainting walls, removing carpet, replacing lights, etc.), making our building appear more luxurious.  I interpret this to mean my rent will be increased significantly when they issue new leases (typically in February).  I asked my landlord if I could sign a 1-year lease (to lock in our current rent), but he said no, not until February, when rents will increase.

I did some digging and obtained both my Certificate of Occupancy and building permit.  The certificate was issued in January 1979, but the building permit was issued in May 1978, which could mean that this building was improperly categorized as exempt from rent control.

My question is how do I use this information to keep my rent under control.  I was thinking of asking my landlord what my new rent will be, and if it's more than the maximum under rent control, then I will mention that I believe this building is actually subject to rent control and will request a rent control determination from the city if he does not back down.  Is this too heavy handed/confrontational?  Should I just go straight to the city now?  Knowing local government, this process could take several weeks (months?), so I should probably get moving.

Would appreciate any advice!!

Answer: If you call the city they will know. Not sure the department but Google a bit. Guaranteed a city department keeps track of this.


Title: I was sexually harassed at a private coffee shop. I reported to the staff, and they didn't take any action until the harasser left.

Question:
I went to well established private coffee shop today in my town. Some guy walked in, sat across from me, and he kept waving and smiling trying to get my attention, which I ignored. After a while, he moved and sat on the table next to me. I thought it was a little weird, but I purposely didn't look over and focused on getting my work done. He sat there for a while, then he moved to the spot where he can see me better diagonally. I felt his eyes on me the whole time, but I didn't look over and ignored it. After about 30 mins or so, I realized he's been jerking off staring at me this whole time. His eyes were FIXATED on me. Once I realized what he was doing, I froze. I got too scared to leave because I was afraid that he might follow me. I didn't want to walk over to the employees because I was scared that he might take my stuff or run off. I looked up for help but no one noticed and some people (that are not employees) ignored. I went to their online live chat support and reported (I took screenshots of all the conversation), I provided the location I was in, asked to report for me. They kept saying they couldn't find the location. The guy got more and more brave. When I found my courage to confront him and looked over, I saw his whole penis out, our eyes met, and he didn't even stop. I froze again feeling sick to my stomach. I tried to stay calm, walked over to the cashier like I was ordering coffee, and reported.

The employee went to another guy (probably a manager), I walked back to my seat, and NOTHING happened. He continued cleaning the store. The pervert noticed I might have reported him since I didn't get anything. So he stopped jerking off. He sat there for a bit, started packing up his stuff slowly. He even had the guts to thank the employees for the coffee. He walked over to the other side of the store, threw out his cups and garbage, and left.

For a while, what felt like forever, no one did anything. Then who I think was the manager came over, wiped off his chair, said 'sorry', and walked away.

No one came to ask what happened, if I was okay, or to check if the guy was still outside. My hands were shaking, heart was beating so fast, I wanted to leave, but I was scared to leave in case the he was outside. I just sat there with my face red. The way they responded left me feeling ashamed, like I was the one being crazy because no one took it seriously at the store. I just sat there terrorized for a bit and I left the store when I started gagging. I ran home making sure no one was following and threw up.

Once I've calmed down a little, I immediately reported the incident to their customer service online. They want to talk on the phone.

1) How do I (and should I) report the harasser to police? He seemed like he might be homeless. It happened about 5 -6 hours ago. Is it too late?

2) Does the private store have any responsibilities and liabilities for not responding to any of my reports?
3) What should I expect and be prepared for this phone call?
4) What else should I do? Any other advice?

Thank you.

Answer: The store employees aren’t responsible for helping you. You should’ve called the police. Answer #2: You should call the police. Store employees do not have a duty to protect you in any location I can think of. For more specific advice you need to put a location.


Title: Could you stop a stringer from recording you during an incident?

Question:
For those who don’t know what stringers are, they’re freelance cameramen who have police scanners in their car and record videos of accidents, police activity, etc. They usually sell these videos to the news for big money.

There’s a local stringer in my city who records dead bodies. He uploads the videos to YouTube and shows their faces and everything. The worst one I’ve seen is when he recorded the naked, and burnt body of a man receiving CPR. Showed his genitals and everything. I’d be pissed if it was my family member.  During car accidents, he zooms in on the face of the person while they’re still in the car. While they’re bleeding all over the place, unable to move.

People have attacked him before, and usually police are there to protect him. I’ve seen police cover his camera and give him shit about trying to record bodies.  I’ve always thought, if I were to be involved in something like this, could I use a towel or something to block his field of view?

Answer: The legislature would have to pass laws making what he is doing illegal and then enforce those laws. I know a couple of them are considering it because of murderers posting their victims on social media. It depends on how they write the laws as to whether they will apply to a non-perpetrator.


Title: [IL] How to not get paid overtime

Question:
A unusual question, but I work for a friend and they are short staffed for the next Month. I want to work more then 40h a week but not get paid overtime. Its a little Ma and Pa business if they where to pay me overtime the wouldn't make much money at all.

I did some research but the type of business is not eligible for exemption.

Would it be legal to convert the extra time into paid time off at a later point? Or sign a contract stating that I don't want to be paid time and a half?

Answer:
 There are some exceptions to the overtime requirement in the FLSA but "the employee agrees not to get overtime" isn't one of them. it would set up a system where employers could take advantage of uneducated or desperate employees.Answer #2: you can't do that.

>Would it be legal to convert the extra time into paid time off at a later point? Or sign a contract stating that I don't want to be paid time and a half?

No.

>Its a little Ma and Pa business if they where to pay me overtime the wouldn't make much money at all.

Then don't work overtime, either they need to improve profitability and productivity without having employees work overtime, or they should consider winding down the business. General advice, if the place you work for is this close to having money problems, your #1 priority should be finding a new job.


Title: Out of state driver in [NY]. Got a speeding ticket. Plead "Not Guilty" but haven't heard back from them. What to do?

Question:
So on November 27th of last year I was caught by a state trooper on the highway in NY doing 77 in a 65. No problem with the ticket really, I get I was going a bit fast.

So unlike my home state, the fine isn't listed on the ticket. You either plead guilty and pay the fine or not guilty and then get a court summons. So after seeing a lot of advice online that said the best way to proceed was to plead not guilty and then talk to people at the court to hopefully get the fine reduced (this is my first ever ticket) that is what I did.

The deadline was December 15th and I mailed my "Not Guilty" plea by November 30th at the latest. So now it's more than a month after the deadline and I haven't heard anything back.

I know I'm asking this question a bit late and to be honest it's simply because I just forgot about the ticket. I've been working 60-70 hour work weeks and traveling a lot for my job so it just slipped my mind and I only just remembered yesterday because I found the ticket again. I assume they haven't dropped my ticket because it's revenue for them. So what is the usual time table for this type of thing? I just don't want to get a notice months down the line that my license has been suspended because my "not guilty" form got lost in the mail or I posted it wrong (pretty sure I didn't, I quadrupled checked it).

Obviously I think the smart thing to do is to call the court the first thing in the morning on Monday but I was curious to hear your guy's opinion on this.

Answer: Most likely the court just hasn't scheduled a date for you to appear yet. Call the court to confirm they received your not guilty plea and to ask when you should expect to get a date. And make sure they have a current address for you.


Title: Obnoxiously Loud Apartment Tenant

Question:
My girlfriend and I have lived at this apartment complex for a year and a half. We never had any issues until about 6 months ago when we resigned the lease and a new tenant moved in above us. This new tenant blasts his tv volume at ridiculous levels (we can hear him scrolling through menu options on his PS4, so you can imagine how loud it is when he starts playing shooting games), he also runs his laundry machines and dishwashers after 10pm. We have filed multiple complaints and were told that he is not allowed to make loud noise after 10pm, however it continues to happen. We are looking for a way out of our lease, but don't know if we have any legal ammunition to fight the leasing contract with.

My gf has severe ocd and having to hear everything he's doing in his apartment has taken a toll on her quality of sleep and caused her tons of unnecessary stress.

side note: turns out the guy also got a part-time job working for the apartment complex that we live at. Is this a conflict of interest?

&#x200B;

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
 [New York State tenant rights can be found here](https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/tenants_rights.pdf)

Your municipality may have noise bylaws that are being violated - if so, skip making complaints to the landlord and go directly to the police or bylaw enforcement.  Landlords don't generally like the cops showing up, so that may motivate them to do something about the noise.

It's unlikely that you'll have grounds to cancel the lease based on noise complaints.  Your lease may have provisions allowing you to end it early for other reasons though, with or without penalty.Answer #2: You lease will list all the ways you can legally break your lease. If it doesn't your states default lease agreement is in place and you can check that.

You can also call and report him for noise violations. You will need to check your city/county for the number to call to do that.


Title: Ex claiming the dog is his.

Question:
I'm in Arizona and I an still in the aftermath of a break up and my now ex is claiming he is going to keep the two year old husky.

To give a bit of back story: We were just getting back together after a few month long break up. I told him I've been looking at getting a dog for myself since he has a dog I fell for and missed having the company of. After some searching I found a listing for a husky puppy. He asked if I would be moving back into the apartment if I got the dog since the living situation at the time wouldn't of allowed pets I said yes. He said he would pay for half of the dogs rehoming fee if I ended up getting one. I contacted the seller of the dog. Turns out he contacted them telling them he was getting it as a surprise and to stop communicating with me. After a few days he brought her home and I paid him half the amount for her.

Currently he is claiming he got her for the "family" and for his other dog to have someone to play with. Since I left the family I don't have any rights to her. He was going to take me to small claims now he says he doesn't have to since he owns her, he will just take her with him once the lease is up. He is claiming I will do something to hurt her or leave her for extended period of time because I have depression he " Doesn't know what I am capable of when I have my break down from our break up" All of her vet bills and grooming visits are under my name since I've always been the one to take the time to do so. He did let me use his card to pay for a few of her shots so we could move into our current apartment so not everything was paid for by me.

I'm wondering if I have a firm ground to stand on if I did take him to court over her.

Answer:
 Do you have proof you paid for half of the dog?

Do you have proof that he told the person selling the dog that it was a surprise for you?

Is the dog microchipped? If so in who's name?

The fact that the vet and grooming records are in your name will help you.

If any of theses conversations happened thru email and text, save them Answer #2: Don't let him take the dog. It looks like right now you two are still living together?  It's a lot harder to get a dog back than to keep a dog. You might have to fight it out in court; you also might not (if you successfully keep him from taking the dog, he might not bother to sue over it).Answer #3: >  going to take me to small claims

Just as a note in the event you do need to go to court to get the dog back or whatever, small claims in Arizona does not deal with specific performance. That means the court will only deal with the monetary value of the dog. There may be an option to return the dog in lieu of paying damages, but the judge won't *order* that he (or you) return the dog.

That's an issue for civil court.


Title: My friends got into a school at 3 am

Question:
I am a confused high schooler and I want to understand. We were hanging out on a school campus around this time and they decided to.climb a tree and go through a hole in the roof to get in. A couple of my other friends and I left, because this clearly wasn't a good idea. I want to know what would happen if they get caught and if so what would be the role I play in it and would I be in any legal trouble?
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer: You showed good judgment by leaving. Lots of people get into trouble by just going along with the crowd.


Title: USA - Copyright Law - Can a YouTube video be shown in a public place directly off the website without violating Copyright Law?

Question:
USA, Ohio

Title kinda says it all, but if I don't rip the video (and therefore violating both the terms of service and the law) can I show a YouTube video in a public place without violating copyright law?  Like playing radio, or television in a bar (subject to limitations of screens and speakers and what not)?

*Edit:  Assume music isn't the issue.  The venue has blanket licenses for that.  The issue here are the images on the screen.

Answer: You have to check the license in the video details. If the video has the "standard youtube license" the original copyright owner has granted no additional permission to display the video and you would need their permission. If the video has a creative commons license you can use it with few restrictions. Most bars have ascap license for playing music in public.


Title: Some sort of idea/system so that my mentally insane sister won't spend it all.

Question:
I am in New York State: My dad recently died with no living will but he did have a small insurance policy. My younger sister who is psychotic and has schizophrenia (not officially diagnosed) is due to get about $35000+. The problem is that my mother is concerned that she will automatically blow it all on either drugs (she is addicted to Xanax) or just spend it away on unneeded junk in no time, it's not allot but it's the only money she will have for a long time.
The other problem is that my sister refuses to be "on the system" or get any handouts, so she does not want to get SSI/disability or as she calls it "Depend on Obama" she also is not capable of getting or keeping a job but she is more than happy to mooch off my aging mother who barely has any money. My sister has no expenses, besides for soda and snacks and does not work. She is temporarily staying with me but she will need this money to live on for the next couple of years, especially if she refuses to get SSI or be on the system.
Is their some simple idea/system that my mom can set up so that my sister will not blow it all in a month or 2? One idea was for my sister to get the check and then hand it over to my mother and my mother will send her monthly checks, but the chances of my sister agreeing to that are small, at least then my mother can try convince my sister to keep taking her meds and get better. Someone suggested conservatorship or a trust. but my mom whose in another state does not have the money or energy to get that over my sister and their is not enough history or paper trail to have her declared mentally insane.
Thanks in advance!

Answer:
 This all would have been a great thing to put into place before your father died. Unless she has been declared mentally incompetent by a court, if her name is listed as a beneficiary on the policy, the company is going to issue her a check directly to her name, and you won't have any power or authority to redirect it into a trust or account without her consent.

If it's all going to your mom, then you have more options.


Title: [TX] Update and thanks, custodial parent hit with temporary restraining order

Question:
I just wanted to say **thank you** for everyone that helped me with advice over the last few days.  I wanted to chime in with an update because (as some pointed out) there were some fishy aspects to the case. So in case anyone was curious...

First, my ex filed a Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship along with a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order.  It included a Sworn Affidavit In Support of Request for TRO which was a mildly "embellished".  The head judge heard this and dismissed the case.  Two weeks later they filed again with a *lot* of embellishment, but it went to the associate judge...and they signed it.  According to my freshly hired attorney that's not supposed to happen.  And the head judge will not be happy when it gets pointed out.  They are filing to have the TRO dismissed and are confident we will be able to get that done by Monday or Tuesday.

They also spent the day helping me review the details of our case in full, and suggest that it will be easy to prove that my ex is intentionally exploiting my child in an effort to avoid child support payments.  His recent outbursts at school (threats of harm against others and himself) can be traced to the stress of being torn between two houses and asked by one to lie in court about the other.  I have both a school counselor and a private one I hired many months ago to back this up.  (It's happened before, every time child support has been an issue.)   My ex's own parents are even going to testify on my behalf in the case.

In summary, my attorney is confident that within a month I will have sole custody with court supervised visitation and that my ex will be in jail for non-payment.  They are also going to file to have my ex be responsible for the legal fees on the grounds his original motions were frivolous.

It is my long term goal to eventually normalize visitation (for my son's sake) back to the previous schedule, but I will be much more confident knowing that I have the discretion to control that schedule when I feel it is in my son's best interest.

This is an update from my previous posts:
https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/48pc4l/tx_help_my_ex_just_took_my_child_and_filed_a/
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Thanks for this update. Did your ex bring your son back after his last visitation? Did you ever get to see what he said to get the associate judge to grant the TRO? I've been following your posts and I'm glad it all worked out. Answer #2: Nothing has worked out yet... Their lawyer has promised them the moon. Let's wait for a real updateAnswer #3: >My ex's own parents are even going to testify on my behalf in the case.

Wow. Not often you hear that.


Title: What will happen if I don’t pay her? Can she sue me?

Question: So I purchased something from an app called Mercari. The seller told me that she would send the product I purchased from her in a couple days and apparently she did, she just didn’t confirm shipment so I was able to cancel the purchase and receive a refund. Today I got the product and since I got a refund, I spent no money. She hasn’t sent me a message yet asking about money or anything but I figure she will soon. I’m thinking about blocking her so I won’t get any messages. Can she legally sue me if I don’t give her money? I’m in Texas and she’s in Maryland.

Answer: Not only can she sue you you'd have committed a federal crime because this whole thing involves US mail and state lines.


Title: Power of Attorney over a bank account? Please help. [CA]

Question:
My husband told me that there apparently was money stolen out of an account that's in his name that he has no access to. He said his mom is the power of attorney over the account, that she had him do this 10 years ago. It's her money. She puts the money there to "hide it".

Here are my questions.

1. What is all of the legal things that a power of attorney can do over a bank account? Does this extend to ALL of his accounts or just that one? Anything else?
2. Why doesn't my husband have to be involved at all if money was stolen? Aren't they going to investigate this?
3. If we were to apply for welfare ever, would they find this account? Is it in her name? How is she hiding money there if her names on it?

I'm so confused.

Answer:
 1. Depends what this power of attorney says. Your husband needs to reread it.

2. Not sure where this question is coming from based on the description. Who told him he didn't have to be involved in what?

3. Not sure how to answer this based on the information provided. No one here can tell you if her name is on the account as a joint owner. If she is, then a POA wouldn't be relevant to the situation anyway. If he has no access to this account, then how does he know someone stole money from it? How did he put money in it in the first place if he has no access? What do you mean that she is hiding money there?

**TLDR**: *The questions you're asking need to be asked by your husband of the bank with which this account is held. If it is in his name, then he can clarify whatever information he needs in order to sort the story out.*Answer #2: The account is in his name. She would have POA for HIM, which means yes, she can access any account of his with it.

She is hiding money because the account is not in her name. She can only access it.

Your husband should not be complcit in her fraud by hiding money and should close the accounts immediately and revoke her POA. Period. He should not have allowed this to begin with, but he needs to stop now.


Title: My brother manipulated me into doing sexual acts with him for most of my young childhood but it was years ago, should I do anything about it?

Question:
From when I was around 5 or 6 until about the age of 13 or so my older brother had been manipulating me into doing numerous sexual acts with him. One of those was forced, the others I didn't really argue against because he's a very large person (he was about 6'2" when i was 11, in which i was about 4'3") and I was afraid to go against what he said, nor did I really know the weight of what was going on at the time. I haven't seen him since 7th grade, when my mother caught him doing, things, to me. I haven't seen him since then and I'm 19 now. I still have sleepless nights and/or regular night terrors about the entire scenario. My parents never want drama and they always tell me I shouldn't pursue legal action against him because I don't have to, but I'm an adult now and old enough to decide that for myself. I don't know if I should or not, it's been extremely emotionally damaging and I feel like it's the root cause of a lot of my anxiety and fear of people. All I have to prove it are my memories, his memories, and my mom witnessing the last thing he did to me. What can I do?

Edit: I live in Central California.

Answer:
 Your number one priority is your mental health.  If you aren't already seeing someone professionally for this then you absolutely should.  There is no shame in getting help and talking to someone really can be a big help.

I'll let others more knowledgeable than I answer the legal side of things, I just wanted to make sure to get that first part out.Answer #2: Call the police.


Title: Is it legal for a Massachusetts liquor store to confiscate my real ID and refuse to give it back?

Question: Long story short I am a 24 year old New York resident who is attending graduate school in Massachusetts. I have the most current NY state license which has got to be near impossible to fake. I went to buy liquor at the liquor store the other day and the cashier insisted that my license was fake. He gave it to the manager who also insisted that it was fake and then refused to give it back to me. He said I can either leave immediately or he will call the cops. I told him to call the cops because my ID was real. I had to wait over 2 hours for the police to arrive and confirm that my ID was in fact real. I probably should've asked the cop but it didn't cross my mind until later, but in the state of Massachusetts is it legal for him to confiscate my license and refuse to return it to me?

Answer: Hey OP, when I lived in MA the same happened to me. You can get a liquor ID that doesn't require you to surrender your out of state drivers license. It's an extra fee, but I was just relieved to not get hassled any more.


Title: Refund from teacher [Oklahoma]

Question:
ok idek if this goes here but im just aaa
aight so i was taking musical lessons from
someone at this one building
teacher said that he was leaving, bc that building sucked, and didnt pay well
he told me that he was going to another building, but that i have to be lowkey about it and not tell the higherups of the building he was leaving
he was a pretty chill person so i wanted to continue taking lessons from him, so i did
and it went good for 3ish months, up until this wednesday, 9/5
i was driving out of the building and one of the higherups from the old building walked in and i was pretty scared so i just drove off
it was the beginning of the month so i just paid the teacher
so i came back for my second lesson on thursday and he wasn’t there and i texted him and he still has yet to respond
i assume maybe his lessons had to be stopped??
how do i get my money back

Answer: Please use sentences. This is so hard to read. Also, location matters.


Title: Landlord evicting me because she doesn't like me. Miami, FL

Question: I have lived in my apartment for about 2 years, the first with a lease and then I started paying month to month. The building is in a good location but is extremely outdated so I've been in touch with the landlord at least 20 times since I've lived here for roof leaks, jalousie windows and doors falling apart, plumbing falling apart, cabinets falling apart, I've even been shocked by a light switch. Recently another jalousie started coming apart on my back door and another leak started in my living room ceiling so I contacted my landlord to get me in touch with maintenance man and she told me to call her about the problem. Instead of addressing the issue she gives me shit for using tape to hold the glass together while waiting for repair. We argued a little bit because I told her I didn't want anyone to be able to stick their hand in and unlock my door so I wasn't going to leave the piece out and she texted me that she was giving me 60 days to move because I have too many issues and then texts me again a few minutes later saying she's giving 30 days. I have always paid my rent on time and maintained my unit. Honestly, I was planning on moving anyways because the condition of the building has just continued to deteriorate and it has become impossible to keep out bugs and dust. Does she have to have a valid reason to evict me or she can just because she wants to? I'm aware paying month to month gives me no security but this seems a bit much and not sure if it's legal. Thanks ahead for any input.

Answer:
 She isn't evicting you. She is ending your tenancy. If you are month to month then it is legal. She can terminate your tenancy for no reason with proper notice.

[Link to notice requirements. It is 15 days.](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/florida-notice-requirements-terminate-month-month-tenancy.html)Answer #2: > Does she have to have a valid reason to evict me

If you have no lease, you're a month-to-month tenant, and she does not need a reason to terminate your tenancy.  She only needs to give you 15 days, so 30 is a gift.Answer #3: Month to month leases in Miami require 15 days notice.  Miami Beach requires 30 days in advance to the last rental payment.  So, it depends more specifically where you live whether it's 15 or 30.

Being a tenant Landlord doesn't like isn't a protected class.  If you don't live on the beach, I suggest doing so.  There are some damn good places at a discount right now.


Title: My (F20) credit card was run up by $1,700 without my approval by my mother (F46)

Question:
So about a year ago, my mom told me that she opened a credit card using my name and information. At the time, being young a naïve, I just said okay, and to please pay it off quickly (she used it to buy an Apple Laptop). I realize now that this was very ignorant and downright stupid, but it was still done.

Anyway, over the past year, we've determined that my mom is an abusive alcoholic who suffers from DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) and I've grown up a bit. I've decided to, and am beginning the process of, moving out and becoming financially independent. However, it took me a while to be able to get a hold of my credit card information, because my mom kept it all in her room, by her bed. I was able to get it yesterday while she went out to get booze. I went through everything today, and on that card she opened a year ago and put half a laptop on was now over $1,700.

I thought it would mostly be paid off by now (silly me), and obviously not. She found out today that I'm moving out, so she's not the happiest and I doubt that she's going to continue making payments.

I guess my question is this: do I have any legal recourse to make her pay the $1,700 bill? I didn't know she opened the account until after, I never authorized any of the other purchases on the account (Jax Beverage, Kroger Fuel, McDonald's, etc.), and I trusted her to pay it off. To clarify, she has been making basic payments, about $60.00 a month, so she never "abandoned" it. A couple days ago is when the Apple laptop interest was due, so that added $585 to the bill.

I'm sorry if this is long and rant-y, I just really don't know what to do in this situation. Thanks y'all.

Edit: we both live in Georgia, and I'm a college student, if that helps.

Answer:
 The best thing you can do is report the fraud to the police, the credit card issuer and the credit bureaus (in that order). Tell them the truth: your mother opened the card without your knowledge, and made purchases without your authorization. It's unfortunate that you let this happen for a while, but you can still try to make the best of things. You can have the credit bureaus put an identity theft freeze on your credit report, so that anyone inquiring because of an application for credit will first have to call you and confirm it's you.

Also, in the future you'll want to be wary of your mother doing things like fraudulently claiming you as a dependent on her tax return.


Title: Family member who has seizures just got a license [NY], danger on the road

Question:
Just found out a family member who has seizures, heart problems, a history of drug/alcohol abuse, and did jail time in another state for a car crash, just got a NY license.

I do not think they were honest about their health when applying, and know this spring they had several seizures.  The only proof I have is a text on 4/10 stating they were going on medication for seizures and one on 5/11 saying they have no recollection of a day and their doctor thinks it may have been a non convulsice seizure or mini stroke -they were also hospitalized for a mini stroke earlier this year too.

Given his health and his drug abuse he is a true danger on the road.  Isn't it illegal to drive if you have seizures?  Do I report him to police or DMV?

Thanks for any advice.

Answer:
 Use this form:

https://dmv.ny.gov/forms/ds7.pdf

To request a driver's review.

Doctor's in NY aren't required to report seizures to the DMV, but they often do - when my father had seziures in the hospital after a stroke, they filed a review/report, and he lost his license until the seizures stopped, 3 years later. He shouldn't have gotten it back, and we were considering filing a report like the one I linked, but he passed away before we decided.

File a report, and let the system deal with it. If he gets in an accident, and they find out he's driving against medical advice, that's a whole new world of hurt for him.


Title: Bank mistakenly gave 2.1mil to a recent college grad in debt. Help.

Question:
So, I was moving banks and withdrew everything I had from Bank A into Bank B. The next morning, Bank A said I made a deposit of 2.1 mil... I called a teller and everything and they confirmed the money was there, free and moveable.

I know it obviously a mistake and the proper thing would be to call the bank and report it. However, I’m 100k in student debt and well... curiosity has the best of me right now. I could pay off all my debts in a heartbeat. This would obviously put me in some legal trouble so, tell me exactly how much legal trouble I would be in for spending this a portion of this money?

I’m in Texas, if it matters.
Topic:
Business Law

Answer: Absolutely no portion of that money is yours to use. An error of this nature is easily reversed. If you withdraw or spend any of it, you'll just end up in debt to your bank - and possibly facing criminal charges if there's any indication of fraud.Answer #2: Just out of curiosity, was the exact amount $2,147,483.65?


Title: If someone were to commit suicide days after the suicide clause on their life insurance, would the company still have to pay out?

Question:
Example - If I commit suicide a day after the 2 year clause is up, will my beneficiary receive the payout/benefits?

Sorry if this is terribly worded. Just began looking into life insurance and I'm not entirely sure how it works yet.

Answer:
 After the clause is up, the beneficiary will usually receive the payout.  Depression usually doesn't last that long, so they figure that 2 years is enough to prevent someone from buying a policy with the intent of committing suicide.

With that said, if someone is thinking of committing suicide, please get them some help, because their beneficiaries will have to deal with a lot of problems besides money.Answer #2: I'm not sure why you're asking this, but if you are in crisis and you're having self-harming thoughts, please ask for help.

24 hours a day, in the US: 1-800-273-8255
Chat online 24 hours a day: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/


Title: Charleston, SC - Landlord wants me to send rent 5 days early

Question:
My landlord has asked us to start mailing the rent check five days early (on the 25th). In our lease, it states that rent is due on the 1st.

I've been attempting to do this to be polite. However, with memorial day weekend I didn't send it early, so I sent him an email asking if he'd like to meet or if I should just mail it. Long story short, he got huffy and wanted me to pay for priority mail.

I also referred him to https://www.scbar.org/public/files/docs/tenantsrights.pdf, in which it says

> ...If rent is not paid,
the landlord must send a written
demand. If it is not paid within
five days of the due date, the
landlord can ask a magistrate to
evict the tenant. If there is a
written rental agreement, the
landlord only has to give written
notice for the overdue rent once...

I highly doubt he asks the other tenants to mail their check early. I've even asked them this in the past. He offers no other forms of payment. What's the deal here?

Thanks!

p.s. Regardless of who is right or who is wrong, I'll do my best to pay early because he's ornery. Just curious what the law says on the matter.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 > I've been attempting to do this to be polite.

You should do it to abide by the terms of the lease. If you're mailing it on the 30th and he's getting it on the 2nd or 3rd you're not abiding by the terms of the lease. Is the 25th a suggestion to bring you in compliance with the lease?

Ultimately it is your responsibility to make sure your rent check is delivered to him by the 1st. He doesn't have to meet you, you need to make sure to get it to him.

Now if you're 100% sure he was getting the checks by the 1st before, then never mind.


Title: [NJ] Neighbors behind us had tree removed and the guys destroyed our yard.

Question: To expand on the title, maybe a week and a half ago I was asleep and a guy came to the door saying something about our neighbors having a tree taken down and asked if he might be able to take the truck around our backyard if they need to and I thinking he meant pickup truck or something, and being half asleep said yeah whatever and went back to bed, and I mentioned it to my mom later that night. A few days later when I my mom got home from work noticed that there were a ton of ruts and bald spots in our lawn, a mounting bracket for wires pulled from the house, a crushed mature shrub, and broken in ground sprinkler heads. I saw the tree guys again just a few moments ago and relayed this, and we got into it a little, and he was claiming they never touched the wires (Even though my neighbor saw them doing exactly that) and he started to get agitated and then just left. My main question is, that although I am NOT the legal property owner and I technically have no sort of ownership over the house and/or property, does my initial verbal ok to bring a "truck" around back which turned out to be large heavy machinery negate the damage that was done? For what it's worth my Mom (the legal property owner) said she would have never allowed it in the first place, but they never asked her or confirmed that they were coming back they just came back when no one was around and did it. What do I do?

Answer:
 Your permission, as someone with care and control over the property, was sufficient.

Your permission does not mean they can do any damage they want without consequence.  Your mother can pursue them for that damage.  Trespassing isn't on the table, but the damage is.

Answer #2: Ask them to pay for landscaping to fix it, go to small claims if they refuse. They didn’t have license to damage your property.


Title: My friend's wife stole his w2 and forged his taxes

Question:
Hi,

I'm hoping someone can tell me if this situation is legal, or if there is anything that can be done.

First - We are in the Chicago area.  A good friend of mine and his wife are separated. They are not living together, though I do not know if she is still "using" that address. She left him and their two children to pursue drugs.

The company that he works for, is owned by a friend of his wife, and her husband. His wife's friend (part company owner) took his w-2 and gave it to his wife, and did not mail it to his provided address. His wife (who does not work, and did not work at all in 2016) filed the taxes, forged his signature - and put the refund check (11,000 USD) in her friend's (same friend, part-company owner) account.

This entire situation screams illegal to me, but alas I am not a lawyer. Is there anything concrete here, that he can act on? Thank you!
Topic:
Tax Law

Answer:
 Your friend should file a police report explaining the same facts you posted, then call the IRS and explain the situation to them. Both his wife and his employer may face serious federal criminal charges over this.

Separately, your friend should nail down a lawyer and start the divorce process.Answer #2: Your friend needs to file a paper return with a Form 14039 (downloaded from IRS.gov) and a copy of his ID.Answer #3: He should also start looking for a new job. It's not just his wife but the company owner who committed a serious crime.


Title: I just received a phone call from my sketchy boss saying that he is having an emergency lockdown and is shutting the office down for 30 days but I think it's a ploy so he can stop me from getting unemployment my office is in ny

Question: I work for a call center that broker's out moves to people that move state to state.We accept payment over the phone via credit card.My boss is very sketchy and I know he has been planning to down size the company and relocate because he accidentally said it out loud to a client.Its a company of roughly 20 employees and he plans on keeping about 6. He just called me to say the processors are down with the merchant, meaning he can't accept payment and that they are down for 30 days and to grab my belongings before 10am.He had contacted the other 2 in my department. I'm filing for employment tomorrow but want to know if he's doing a ploy to prevent them from paying me?

Answer: No, you are eligible for unemployment as you are furloughed.  If he told you you can come back after 30 days you MAY not have to look for work (ask them when you file).  I'd look anyway.


Title: Small town city council is cutting out other trash service business; even after majority of residents have voted against. (IL)

Question:
In a small town in Illinois the City Council is forcing all residents to use one trash pickup service company that the City Council itself chose. On Nov. 4 2014, there were two measures on the ballet: one asking if the city should monopolize trash service, and the other asking if the citizens want the right to choose trash service for themselves. On both measures the majority of residents voted for their right to choose their trash service.

However, in early 2015 the city's lawyer said that the measures on the ballet were "non-binding" and the city council passed the city wide trash pick up ordinance and with that tied trash pickup service bill to the water bill already run though the city. There is no way to opt out, even if you don't have any trash to be picked up, and City has trapped residents in a 5 year contract with one company.

Many residents have gone to City Council meetings, and have been lied to, ignored, and completely brushed aside. At many meeting the city's lawyers has told the residents that they cannot address a particular alderman, or that their(the residents) vote doesn't count. The city council also refused to allow public comment on many occasions.

I was wondering what kind of ways are there to address this legally as one of the many disgruntled residents that voted against it.

If you have any questions or need me to clarify something I will reply to your comments and make an edit to this post.

Thank you for your time.

Answer:
 Best way is to put together a slate of city council candidates for the next election, beat the incumbents, and throw the bums out.

Have a member of your group go to the meetings regularly and take notes of all the silly things the current council members do.  Trust me, there will be a lot of them.  Then you can use that material to ridicule the existing members during the election campaign.


Title: [AR] Car I bought with cash has been repossessed

Question:
Hi all. I'll try and condense this as much as possible so that it can be easily understood.

About 4 months ago, I purchased a used vehicle from a local used car dealer. I paid in full with a check, and was given a bill of sale. I was told that I would receive my title in the mail in 2-3 weeks.

After a full 4 weeks pass, and my temporary tags expire, and I still had yet to receive my title, I call the car dealer. They tell me that they're waiting on the bank to send them the title, and that they will call the next day to see what the holdup is.  The next day, they call back and tell me that the bank has transferred the title to (I believe this is what they said) the DOT in Little Rock, and that they are now waiting on the title from them, but they are currently backed up on paperwork, but I will have the title soon.

Because my temp tags expired, the dealer offers to write me a piece of paperwork saying that they are waiting on the title, and that it is on the way. With this piece of paper, they say I can go to the DMV and get my car registered without having the title yet, so that I can legally drive it while waiting on the title.

From that point on, I had no info about the title. I was just told that waiting on the title from Little Rock could take anywhere up to a couple months.

Today, I go out to grab something out of my car, and it's gone. I immediately call the police, thinking it was stolen. They tell me that the car was actually repossessed, and give me the phone number for the towing company.

I have the bill of sale from the dealer, the paper that allowed me to register without the title, as well as bank records showing that the check that was written to them cleared, and was cashed.

What is my best course of action? I am utterly dumbfounded that a car I bought and paid for in full with cash, and NEVER had to make a payment on was repossessed.  I intend to call the towing company first thing when they open, as well as take a drive to the car dealer to figure out what in the hell is going on.

Sorry if this is long winded, but I appreciate any advice that anyone could give me. Thanks guys.

Answer:
 > What is my best course of action?

We can't answer that until you find out *why* it was repossessed.  In the general case, until you transfer the title you're not officially the owner; if the car was still titled to the old owner it's eligible for repossession.  Your recourse then would be to go after the person who sold you the car.


Title: [MI] Ticketed for activity at house I abandoned 5 years ago

Question:
First-time poster here, I'll try to lay it out the situation as concisely as possible:

In the fall of 2009, I bought a house in a badly blighted Detroit neighborhood for $700. In fall 2010, one of my roommates was *allegedly* advised by a police officer in her family that we had to leave the house immediately as a matter of personal safety. I took her on her word,  and we all packed up and left the house.

Two doors down was a woman living with her son, and she approached us during moving to ask if she could buy the house. I agreed to pass it along for $700, the price I bought it for, and sign a quitclaim deed. Stupidly, I accepted the money before signing the quitclaim deed. I tried unsuccessfully for years to get in touch with her again to sign over the house, to no avail. I assumed she wanted to skip out on the taxes, which I hadn't paid since 2009. I figured it wouldn't be long until foreclosure anyway.

Last month, out of the blue, I received a blight violation ticket in the mail from the city of Detroit for "violation of time limit for approved container to remain at curbside early or late." I no longer had the occupant's number, so I drove out to the house to contact her. I don't know if this would help my case, but it looks amazing. She's improved it incredibly and has done a commendable job in terms of the appearance of the neighborhood. I left a note with my number and surprisingly, she did get in touch with me. Not surprisingly, she won't be able to join me at tomorrow's hearing. She did, however, briefly explain the situation of the ticketer coming around the morning after garbage day and writing up the handful of houses that are still standing on the street. I read the ordinance in hopes of finding a loophole, but it clearly states that trash bins must be removed from the curbside by 9PM on garbage day. I'm pretty sure that's my undoing and I have no way to fight it.

But, I want to try. I've done a little searching regarding foreclosure laws in Michigan and I've received the standard five notices of foreclosure due to unpaid taxes, which have remained unpaid since my initial purchase in 2009. I paid the back taxes and closing and nothing afterward. The most recent foreclosure notice that I kept reads, "unless all 2012 and prior years' taxes, interest, penalties, and fees are paid on or before March 31 immediately succeeding the entry of a Judgement of Foreclosure, or in a contested case within twenty one days of the entry of  Judgement of Foreclosure, the title to the property shall vest absolutely in the Wayne County Treasurer."

My questions are as follows:

First, since I'm not a resident of the address (and I'll bring paperwork confirming my current residence at the time of the ticket, but I'm not sure I have a paper trail leading back to when I moved in 2010), do I have the right to ask for evidence? I cannot even prove that there was any agreement between the occupant and I to show evidence of her residence in the house. Would that be significant at all, considering the infraction is one that is a specific action of a tenant? Can I argue that the notices I've received have implied that ownership had been turned over to the Treasurer?

Second, should I mention that I left the house as a matter of personal safety, or is that irrelevant? I got in touch with my old roommate but she claims it's impossible to contact the cop who *allegedly* advised her.

Third, should I even mention the current resident, considering the situation? I'm certainly not a landlord by any means and I don't want to give that impression. She's still unwilling to sign a quitclaim and says she's waiting to bid on the house once it's on the market again. I sense she's giving me the runaround. (As an aside, is there any legal route I can take in that situation?)

Finally, do I have any chance of getting this dismissed? Frankly, the principle of being ticketed for trash bins at the curb on a street that is 3/4 of the way burned to the ground is appalling. The city does have a history of going to extreme lengths to squeeze out any possible cash from its residents/land owners, so I'm not very optimistic. In my mind, it'll probably be cut-and-dry, my name is on the deed so I get the ticket, regardless of circumstances. If anyone is able to offer some guidance, though, I would be extremely grateful!

TL;DR: Received a blight violation ticket for a house I abandoned in 2010, with almost five years of unpaid back taxes. Can I fight it?
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 You are the legal owner of the property. This means that you are responsible for all applicable taxes and any fines for citations the city may issue for code violations. Answer #2: If she won't sign the deed and pay the ticket, you should evict her. She is a liability to you. Answer #3: >I don't know if this would help my case, but it looks amazing. She's improved it incredibly and has done a commendable job in terms of the appearance of the neighborhood.

If you wanted to be a dick, you could pay the back taxes you owe and then evict her with a 30 day notice or whatever is required. Answer #4: Several things to do here. First, call the court and find out if this ticket would be an in rem (against the property) or in persona (against the person) if its in rem, fuck it, it will be tacked on against the property.

I would then contact the treasurer and see if they already foreclosed on it, if not, tell them you abandoned the property and ask if they would take a quitclaim to take the property instead of the cost of foreclosure.

Barring that, pay off the taxes and see if you can donate the property. A local church, habitat for humanity, the local VFW. Maybe someone will take it.


Title: Aspiring lawyer.

Question:
Hi! I'm a Junior in an Arkansas High School who wants to be a lawyer.  My question is if I should take a vo-tech class in criminal justice. Any advice whatsoever is more than welcome. Thanks!

P.S. Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 > Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place.

You may get more insightful responses over in /r/lawschool . . . but keep in mind law students are currently in the midst of finals.  The idiom "poking the bear" comes to mind.

That being said, maybe.  I'm not sure what you mean by vo-tech class.  If you just mean a criminal justice class in undergrad . . . then sure.  But if you're talking about a dedicated vocational technical institute (such as NTI), then I wouldn't.  I don't think those classes would count toward an undergraduate degree, so it would be wasted money.

You're better off waiting until undergrad to take a criminal justice class.  Keeping in mind that plenty of law students have never taken a criminal justice class in their life.  Plenty of non-criminal law.

I'd encourage you to speak to a local attorney and see if they'd allow you to shadow them for a day.  That would give you a better idea about being an attorney.  Also, I'd encourage you to concentrate on writing in undergrad.

Best of luck!


Title: TPO filed by my wife - shitstorm follows.

Question:
KY -I have been served with a temporary restraining order petitioned by my wife. There was a lot of screaming and we both said some awful things. I won't get into details or justifications or absolve myself of any blame for what went down.
It is what had transpired over the past 24 hours that has me in a complete panic.
I am reluctant to say too much in a public forum, but I've been made aware by no less than 3 parties (none of which have any knowledge about the TPO) of some extremely troubling behavior on her end that has me very very worried about the well being of my kids.
My wife isn't well and both her trusted psychiatric professionals have informed her that her entering inpatient treatment is of dire importance.
She initiated a slew of contact with me this morning pleading with me to come home. Obviously I cannot reply to her, let alone just willfully violate a judge's orders.
I guess my question is this : do I have any recourse within the confines of legality to ensure the safety and security of my kids? The hearing is a week away and I'm just sick with worry about her prolonged ability to circumvent her psychiatric conditions enough to make sure my kids are given the care they need.

Answer:
 You can contact Kentucky's Child Protective Services (http://chfs.ky.gov/dcbs/dpp/childsafety.htm).

If you believe your children are in immediate danger, call 911.

You should also discuss your concerns with your lawyer.


Title: Why don't sports players who attack other players during a game get arrest for assault afterwards?

Question: I was thinking of a football game a few years back where a player ripped off another players helmet and hit them over the head with it.  I remember thinking "damn, if *I* did that at a public costume event Id likely do some time for it.

Answer:
 Todd Bertuzzi did jail time for assault after violently beating a fellow player on the ice. It does happen.

However, it’s rare. Referees and leagues generally act to rein in violence long before the police need to.


Title: URGENT! Neighbors dog locked in car with freezing conditions for FOUR DAYS now. No food, water. Cops won't respond to any of our complaints. PLEASE HELP.

Question: We have no idea what to do. We've called animal control, the police, and we've told our apartment complex front office. Front office said others have made complaints to the cops but they haven't responded to any of the calls.

Answer:
 I would call the ASPCA or the Humane Society. They often have some pull with animal control. Poor puppy.

Edit to add: First, IANAL. Second, have you seen the people who own the car? If not, your neighbor may also be in danger and need a welfare check. Most people don't lock their pets in cars for days on end if they can help it.Answer #2: NAL but in North Carolina, police, firefighters, rescue squad workers, and animal control can all break windows to free animals in distress. If the police and animal control aren’t responding, try the non emergency number for the fire station and see if someone will come out to assess the situation. Answer #3: physically walk into your local police department and make a report. there's no reason as to why they wouldnt respond to something like that. contact a dog rescue near you and see if they can do something Answer #4: IANAL yet. There’s absolutely no way the police nor animal control did not respond to this. Call yourself, don’t rely on apartment saying “others have made complaints to the cops”.


Title: Can photographic evidence be used after following the other party without their knowledge? (MI)

Question: The father is lying about a second job he works where he doesnt pay taxes so he doesnt have to pay more child support. I plan on following him and getting photo evidence. Will this evidence be submissiable?

Answer: You can take photos of people in public places without consequences.


Title: Animal/apt advice NEED ANSWERED BEFORE 10AM CT

Question:
Ill try make this as short as possible.

      Moved into apartment almost exactly a year ago. Lease is up this month but our apartment goes month to month or they will renew if they like you, or kick you out if during your lease you caused a lot of trouble.

      Well my girlfriend and I have not done anything that they could kick us out for, so our landlady who likes to play god is looking for every reason to kick us out due to the fact we had called them out on numerous occasions for not doing their job. This includes but is not limited to...

1. Girlfriend was pregnant from nov-aug, during the month of may we had asked 4 times for an ac to be put in (this was during a very hot beginning of Iowa weather). RENTAL fee for the ac is $75 which I was okay with paying. Seeing how it was still not put in by late may i decided to buy our own. Installed it myself and thought that was all there was to it. Nope. 2 months later she had left a note saying that we owed $150 for the ac. I went down and said we wouldnt be paying that because of all of the above and that the $75 was for the Rental anyways which we had not done.
   Argued for over 4-5 months over this before she decided to give us a note saying that she had talked to the actual owner of the property and that he had said that we owed $375, but heres the kicker... They would knock $50 off rent for the "confusion". I can't even make this shit up. Ended up paying the $375 to end that bs.

2. Water was dripping rapidly from our ceiling fan and our daughters ceiling fan. Little background of the place. All bathrooms and pipes for water are in the central location of the building. Im sorry i cant easily describe it better as Im trying to push this out quickly. Anyways no pipes are over any bedrooms and absolutely shouldn't be leaking through ceiling fans. Also we are on the bottom floor of a 3 floor. Called maintenance and they said they'd be there very quickly. 45 minutes later, not only did maintenance guy show up but our nosy god decided to as well. They came in saw it was leaking and said theyd go check upstairs to see what was wrong. I waited for them to come back was late to work waiting for them. After an hour after i was supposed to be at work I decided I couldnt wait any longer and go out to my car, they were no longer at the complex. They had left without saying what was going on.
    The next day my girlfriend goes into the office to ask what the hell was going on. They proceeded to say when they came into our apartment it wasnt leaking... I have pics and videos to prove that this did indeed happen.

    I could go on and on of the ordeals we've had but those are our bigger ones.

  So now let me back it up for my interuppted needed question for right now. When we moved in we had gotten a dog and had him as a therapy dog so we could have him here without paying the arm and leg deposit + monthly fee (Yes we shouldnt have done that, but we did). Well remember when I said they cant kick you out unless youve caused trouble or what not? Seeing how our lease ended we are now month to month. God will not renew our lease, but also has nothing that would hold to evict us. So that being said this whole last month has been notes on top of notes trying to get us for something.

Example- we still "owed" $100 for the ac that was due 3 months ago, that supposedly I never finished paying. (I used our $50 "confusion" coupon for this seeing how we never did use it) also I need to add 3 day evicts are our gods favorite thing to do which was what this measly $100 was worth i guess.

  The latest note was we needed to reprovide license for animals. And the way she had it wrote makes it seem like it was for all animal owners here but came to find out after asking neighbors that it is just us.

  Well over the period of last night we gave him to a friend of ours till we find a new place to live which can't be done till taxes get back. My question is can she do anything when i say we dont and havent had him for a couple weeks? I work 2nd shift and am a night owl so he had been taken out after office hours. So she couldnt know that he has been here up until last night.

  And my final question, thank you for bearing this post if you have, is do I have any grounds to/should I take these (enter choice word here) to court? And there you have it long story turned medium  :)

Daughters room ceiling nipple https://imgur.com/a/oJLtH

The most recent note
https://imgur.com/a/ThjCT
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 >When we moved in we had gotten a dog and had him as a therapy dog so we could have him here without paying the arm and leg deposit + monthly fee (Yes we shouldnt have done that, but we did

If you fraudulently represented your dog as an ESA when it's not, you can be sued for the unpaid pet rent as well as evicted.Answer #2: This is all hard to follow.  It seems your lease is expiring and the landlord is not renewing and is refusing to let you live there month to month, and you want to know what you can do to remain. Is that the question?


Title: [CANADA] If I don't pay for car insurance but drive my parent's car. Is this legal? Please help!

Question:
Hi, thanks for reading.

I live in Toronto, ON and many of my friends are doing this. I have a valid license but I don't want to pay for car insurance. My parents have car insurance and I drive with one of them present at all times.

My question: many of my friends are putting another address on their driver's license and driving their parents car without paying for insurance. I've asked some lawyers here and they said that if I "borrow" my parents car with their permission while living in a different address it is legal to drive the car without paying for insurance. However, if I were to get into an accident, my parents car insurance goes up but insurance company still covers the damages.

Is this true? I don't know what this is called, I want to find some proof online to read for myself but have no idea how to go about searching for this.

Thanks!!

Answer: It's fine to borrow somebody else's car as long as it's insured by the owner. If you get in an accident, the owner's insurance covers it. If your parents are in the car while you drive, it's especially OK. If you drive the vehicle regularly, like on a daily basis, you'll need to be added to the insurance policy as another driver. Their rates will likely increase having somebody under 25 on their plan (assuming your age here)


Title: Friend in a very bad position

Question:
So this is a throwaway for a number of reasons.  But my friend just called me (from Michigan, US) and explained a situation that happened to him last night.  Basically he got chatting with a girl on a social media site, who then convinced him to skype chat with her.  This girl then convinced him to take his clothes off as she did as well.  At a certain point in the video call, the woman demanded $1,000. Otherwise, she would send the pictures and video to his Facebook friends.  My friend ended up sending the money via the website remitly.com to the Philippines.

This situation has put my friend at a negative bank account balance.  He is a college student.  What should he do?  Contact remitly?  Contact the police?  Is there anything he can do?  Thanks in advanced for the help.

Answer:
 It seems a good life lesson is to not get naked on camera with strangers.Answer #2: if it's possible to cancel the transaction, he can try.

I doubt the cops are going to do much about another sexting scam. esp' one from the Phillipines.

live and learn.


Title: Quick question

Question: I used to work for a big box store and there was an accident in the store partially customer fault partially store fault. I have since been subpoenaed to testify by the customer who is suing the big box store. What should I do? I know I have no choice but to testify, but should I tell them the whole truth or could the big box store come after me?

Answer: Tell the truth, the whole truth,and nothing but the truth, etc. The store you used to work at can't do anything to you, even if you were still employed there. You're not, so what exactly are you worried about?Answer #2: If you do anything other than tell the truth and the whole truth, you will have committed perjury. Don't commit a crime to help a company you don't even work for!


Title: [IL] [Question] Are my parents allowed to, in any way, damage or destroy my property?

Question: Long story short, I live with my parents and I'm 20 years old. In the past my mother has destroyed my property such as my desktop computer. I recently purchased a new laptop with my money and it should arrive soon. I have purchased an insurance policy on the laptop in case she were to destroy this one too. My question is, if she were to destroy my laptop could I contact the police and file a police report, etc?

Answer: Yes you could, but then you'd most likely be kicked out. You'll have to determine what the best course of action is yourself.


Title: [Update] My husband is threatened with deportation

Question:
Update from [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4ivfsm/my_husband_is_threatened_with_deportation/) post.

My husband and I went to a lawyer's office the day after I posted on the site. It turned out that the man had indeed hired a lawyer of his own and was in the process of suing us. He told us that we had to take it seriously, but that there was no way that Danijel was getting deported. We started documenting everything, had our security systems checked etc. and were ready to go to court. Then, a week or so later, the man died. I'm not sure what happened to him, but he was quite old. At any rate, his widow didn't want to continue so the case was dropped. We have no interest in suing her either, so we are not going to be taking up the harassment case. So it turns out that we won't be going to court at all. What we will be doing however, is beginning the naturalization process so that Danijel will become a full citizen. Thanks to everyone who responded last time. This will very likely be the last update, as it seems we no longer have a legal issue.

Edit: For the bot - California.

Answer:
 Thank you for the substantive and conclusive update!  Always good to hear how a situation ends, especially when it ends well.

Best of luck to you and your husband!  The N-400 Naturalization process is relatively straight forward, but if you have some extra cash and don't want to bother deciphering the forms for yourself . . . go see an immigration attorney!  Otherwise, you guys might be able to sit down and hammer the form out.Answer #2: Kind of weird to say congratulations that your lawsuit was dropped because the plaintiff... um... *died*... but... congratulations?


Title: Apartment Management charging for fire extinguisher inspection (Alabama)

Question:
Apartment Management left a note on our door giving us 48 hour notice of inspections on 1/25 and 1/26. Because of the "number of apartments, we are not able to schedule appointments or guarantee a time or date of when they will arrive. The inspection is not optional, you do not have the right to refuse access to the apartment. We will drill your lock and charge a $25 lock charge if you do not let us in."

Luckily I don't have work today (1/25) but tomorrow I'll be gone, is it legal for them to charge me for not being home on a weekday?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Normally the landlord would have keys to all units and would let themselves in.  You are not required to be home.


Title: A man tried to kill me and is out on bail 😢

Question: A couple.of weeks ago a man attempted to stab me after an argument broke out. He told me he would kill me while swinging a knife at me 3 times and yelled racial slurs at me. Neighbors seen the incident and call the  police and he was arrested to only be charged with one count of aggravated menacing (1st degree misdemeanor). His bail was initially $10,000 but was reduced to $5,000 so he could bail out. I feel sick that after my life was almost taken and the man who did it is out for $500 and only facing last than a year if convicted. Is there anything I can do to actual get him convict a more serious crime or is the attempting to stab and calling me racial slurs only a misdemeanor?

Answer:
 You can speak with the DA whose prosecuting the guy, also consider looking into a restraining order if you feel it’s necessary for your situationAnswer #2: I'm honestly confused about what your actual concern is.

A week ago, you said that your brother tried stabbing his son-in-law and you were concerned that he might end up facing more serious charges than he was at the time. Now 'a man' tried to stab you and you're trying to figure out how he *should* face more serious charges?


Title: [NY]How to get a new Family Court judge?

Question:
Hello, I'm inquiring this question on behalf of a family member. Having been a witness and sitting with 5 other witnesses, we have come to the conclusion that the judge is completely 1 sided and biased. My 2 family members were told to "shut up" and were not allowed to defend themselves in court while the other family was able to speak freely. 3 of the 5 witnesses that were there to defend my 2 family members were kicked out of court and after the judge told them "they were not ever going to be able to speak".

The judge also accepted illegally false information and wrongly convicted my 2 family members of doing something without evidence.

How do they get a new judge? This judge has multiple petitions and 4 lawsuits against him for being biased against women, and making wrong convictions.

Answer:
 > How do they get a new judge?

If it's possible at all, your attorney would have to file a motion for it.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like your family members were not following proper procedures for court. Their attorney should have advised them about proper procedures.


Title: [CA, US] Being Threatened with False Sexual Assault Claim

Question:
This is my first time posting to this subreddit and I'm incredibly nervous writing this, so I apologize if I missed any rules or etiquette.

I'm in a situation currently with a girl I hooked up with a few times 2-3 months back threatening me with possible legal action over a false claim of sexual assault. This is the important part, so I'll get it out of the way first:

This first came about at a party at my apartment with a couple friends, my roommates, myself, and her (we'll call her Sally, not her real name). At the beginning of the party, Sally and I made a few suggestive remarks to each other back and forth, which made it clear to me that she was interested. Later on, after everyone had a few drinks, we met outside and talked about getting in the shower together later. We ended up kissing at this point, but nothing else, and went back inside. Afterwards, I messaged her from the bathroom asking her to come join me as planned, which she did. At this point, we are in the bathroom, still fully dressed, discussing whether or not we should hook up that night. There was some uncertainty since she is good friends with one of my roommates (we'll call her Anna) and neither of us wanted it to end poorly and affect our relationship with Anna. Sally and I are talking this over in between making out and lightly touching over clothes (not genitals, since the law seems to make a distinction there, from what I can understand). After a few minutes of this, she mentions that she thinks she drank too much. I agreed and suggested we talk about it the next day when we're both sober and decide if we wanted to hook up later on. She agreed with this and left the bathroom, then I took a shower by myself. That was the end of any physical interaction between us that day.

After that, Sally messaged me a couple days later saying (and this is a direct quote) "By the way, thanks for not taking advantage of how intoxicated I was the other day. You're a good guy." I now have this and many other texts saved and backed up so I can't lose them. After discussing it further over text, we mutually agreed to hook up the next time we met, and ended up having consensual sex a few times over the next couple weeks and she didn't say anything that would leave me to believe she was anything but interested in continuing.

I ended up breaking things off about a month ago because I felt she was getting emotionally invested after we had agreed that it was explicitly a friends with benefits arrangement. She took this perfectly fine at first, said she was disappointed, but understood and respected my decision. However, just this week, I came home and Sally was waiting for me inside of my apartment (she's good friends with Anna, so she was waiting inside). She asked to speak with me outside to go over some paperwork. Confused on what paperwork she could've been referring to, I agreed to follow her since as far as I knew, things were just a little rocky between us since I broke things off, but we were still friends.

To my surprise, she pulled out a printout she claims came from a local police station highlighting the changes to the law made by A.B. 2888 and A.B. 701 (the amendments to California's definition of rape to include additional sex acts and mandate a minimum prison sentence of 3 years for any such cases, which was brought on by the Brock Turner case, to my understanding). She explained that I had hurt her so badly that she saw a therapist, and that therapist urged her to go to the police since she thought I had sexually assaulted her based on Sally's description of the events. She went on to say that she did end up going to the police station with a guy who is now her boyfriend and that the police wanted to go out and arrest me that day, but she refused to give them my name because she "doesn't want to ruin my life and thinks I'm a good person". She also mentioned more than once that she's had to stop her now-boyfriend from coming over to physically attack me at my apartment or work, but that if I were anyone else, she would've given both the police and her boyfriend my information. I don't have any of these threats in writing since they were verbal, but it was bad enough that Anna went as far as to tell me that I should have my security guard at work escort me for a while since she keeps mentioning that he wants to hurt or kill me (I'm honestly not sure which).

I spent some time explaining to her why I was confused that there is even any question of everything between us being consensual, she agreed that she did consent at all times, but that during our first interaction her consent was not valid because she was under the influence of alcohol. Mind you, I also had a few drinks that day and we never did anything beyond make out and lightly grope. I wish I could say there was more to her claim, but the only thing that differs between our stories is that she is now saying she tried pushing away four times, but that never actually happened. I tend to be pretty timid about making moves, so any sign like that would deter me immediately. She also told me that she wanted me to agree to take counseling so so that I don't hurt other women and suggested that if I didn't do so, she was going to go the legal route. After all of this, she asked if we could still be friends, which I reluctantly agreed to, simply to avoid escalating the issue any further. I immediately went to sleep in my room and that was the last I saw of her. I later found out that she had spent the night with Anna, as I saw her car still there as I was leaving for work.

As confident as I am the claim is invalid, I'm obviously not a lawyer, so I don't know what I need to do to protect myself. I made an appointment to speak with a criminal defense lawyer in case she does decide to proceed with her threat to pursue legal action, but I'm still scared in the meantime, both of being falsely charged and of being physically harmed. I'm not a big guy and don't think I could defend myself against most people, which is especially concerning because I don't know what her boyfriend looks like. I'm currently staying at various friends' houses that she doesn't know for the time being for my safety. I also asked that Anna not allow her over for the time-being, as I'm concerned about her going through my things.

Any help or suggestions would be immensely appreciated. I don't know where else I can reach out in the meantime. If there's anything I can clarify, let me know and I'll do my best to clear it up. Thank you.

Answer:
 By getting a lawyer, you've already done the right thing. Give the lawyer copies of the texts that prove your innocence. However, California is a ~~one~~ TWO IT'S TWO party consent state so someone more educated than me will have to elaborate if that includes text

EDIT: /u/darkmuffin91, I was tired when  I wrote this, it's a TWO party consent state and it only seems to govern audio recordings, not written text. Get the copies to your lawyer


Title: Firetruck totaled my parked car. [MD]

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 If you are already receiving the full value of the car through your insurance you aren't entitled to anything else. You're insurance may be suing the city to recoup the damaged paid out.

To replace your car you'll need to go buy another one. Since you owed more than the cars value, your debt gets paid leaving you with no excess funds.


Title: My landlord is trying to evict me, but is not following the proper procedures (MI)

Question:
I've been living in this apartment for 5 years. I'm a good tenant, I am up-to-date on my rent and have not committed any lease violations. I just put down a deposit on a condo (!!), so I will be moving out, but there have been hiccups during the process so it's taking longer than expected and I don't have a closing date yet. My realtor and mortgage broker are aware of the eviction and are fast-tracking me, but they say it's going to take minimum another 3 weeks.

The landlords sent me a text on July 3rd, saying when am I moving out. I had not told them my plans to move out at this point. They said that they sent me a notice to vacate, in May, and I was supposed to be out June 26. Why? Apparently they want to renovate the building. They are only kicking out 2 of the 4 tenants in my building though. I never received this notice, it was sent through standard uninsured mail. I told them I am moving out and I will let them know when I have a closing date.

Yesterday, I come home to a summons in my mailbox, saying I have to appear in court at 9 hours ago. Again, sent through standard mail. Not posted on my door, not served to me, not even through certified mail. This morning, I saw a notice saying the same thing posted on my neighbor's door (it had my name on it). Am I expected to travel back in time? Also, you couldn't even post it on the right door?

I have been talking to a lawyer, and she advised me to go to the courthouse tomorrow and request the file so I can see what the ruling was. I maintain that my rights were violated, because they held the hearing without me and failed to properly notify me. I lost my right to due process, last I checked we still have a fifth amendment. My lawyer seems to think that their failure to notify me is not going to invalidate the case.

My question is, can I get the case thrown out because of failure to notify? My goal here ultimately is to buy some time, ideally 6-8 weeks, since I am planning to move out and I don't know yet when I can. Finally, do I need a lawyer or can I do this myself? My lawyer said her fee is $920 going forward, and frankly that's too steep for me. It isn't worth it. I can always stay with my parents for a while, but 1) I would have to move twice, which would be a financial hardship for me, and 2) eww no thanks. Any advice is very much appreciated :)

TLDR: My landlords are trying to evict me because they want to renovate. They failed to notify me and I missed the court hearing. I am moving out anyway, how do I buy some time?

Answer: All I’m gonna say is that the 5th amendment has nothing to do with what’s going on here.  You have talked to an attorney, listen to them.


Title: [CA] I do contract work for a client currently in a legal battle. Court has instructed him to present his laptops/phones for the investigation. In a deposition, he said he had access to other laptops, including mine. I am now being instructed to hand over my laptop. What are my options?

Question:
I am a young and inexperienced freelancer doing web and content work. He is in a civil court dispute. He has been instructed to hand over his devices to have his hard drives cloned so that the prosecutor can look through them for case-related evidence.

In a deposition, he mentioned he had access to other computers that were used in the office, and he named my personal computer. He told me today that they now need to clone my hard drive.

I did not agree to this and feel like I am not sufficiently tied to the company to get involved in this legal dispute. I am scared about being involved in this, all I signed up for was to do web design.

I have many questions:

* Do they have the right to take my computer? Can I refuse?
* It isn't strictly true that he has access to my computer, since I never let him use it and he has never been on it before.
* If I refuse to hand them my hard drive, or quit the job now, will I look suspicious, and could this lead to even more involvement than I would like?
* Is it legal for me to move my personal/private information off of my hard drive onto an external drive, and if I do this, can they detect that I have done this when they receive my cloned hard drive?
* If they clone my hard drive and find pirated content on the computer, can I get in trouble for this?

Thanks.

Answer:
 1. Get a lawyer.
2. Do you have a password enabled that no one else knows?
3. Wait until someone in authority tells you they need your computer. Not him... he has no authority and is looking to cloud the issue. Empty threat (from him.)
4. Ask your lawyer if you can do what you want with your computer absent official notice of the court's interest in it. Do what he says.


Title: (MD) Should I file for alimony? Do I even have a basis for alimony?

Question:
So unfortunately I am going through a divorce. The process is (as far as I know) amicable, even though she initiated it and I did not want to divorce. We have no assets, but a ton of debt. We both agreed to split the debt of $26k down the middle. We have 2 dogs, but they've been staying with me since my housing is more suitable for dogs. My question is more in regards to potential alimony for myself. We have been married for 7 years.

My wife has said that if I need money, that she would transfer it to me if I ask. I know in MD we qualify for a no-fault divorce since we have no kids or property, but I was wondering if it would be a better idea to work out a seperation agreement between the two of us for x amount of time as opposed to filing for divorce right away. I would rather not formally request alimony, but am wondering what would be the better option for me. Also, I would definitely have a hard time being able to afford a lawyer for the paperwork.

I was a Marine from 2008-2013, during which we got married in 2010. I was an infantryman, so I have no technical job skills aside from the generic "leadership" and "management" experience. I have been going to school most of the time since then. I have tried to find a job since the separation, but it sucks that, on paper at least, I only qualify to be a leader at Mcdonalds. I also collect disability from the VA (60%). My wife is a nurse, and works for the federal government, and makes approx. $2300 a month after paycheck deductions. Since the separation, we both have moved in with family members, and both do not pay rent, but I do pay for utilities and she pays for her own food.

Here are the things that I was wondering about, in regards to whether I have a basis for alimony. I supported my wife when she was going to school back in 2011, particularly when I was deployed to Afghanistan. Guys were coming back with $65k+ tax free in their bank accounts, while I came back with $500. I don't have any regrets about that, since it allowed my wife to get her nursing degree, but would that be taken into consideration? Also, before we moved back to MD about 5 months ago, my wife insisted that we cash out our IRAs to pay down debt, which I objected to but ultimately followed through with it. I cashed out about $14k and have no other retirement, while she had about $5k but is paying into both a pension and a TSP (gov't version of a 401k).

TL;DR

- $26k debt

- Amicable divorce

- 2 dogs; I take care of them

- no kids

- no property

- Am dumb grunt, no job skills

- cashed out my retirement (IRA)

Can I get alimony?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 I would say no.  You do have the ability to work and the fact that you don’t have more advanced skills doesn’t appear to be the result of you staying at home to contribute the the marriage in that way.  Also, you have a relatively short marriage in terms of alimony.  As you are going under no fault grounds it doesn’t sound like there is something your soon to be ex did to cause the breakup.  Finally your soon to be ex doesn’t appear to have significant income or ability to pay.

[Here is a good summary of the factors considered] (https://www.peoples-law.org/alimony-maryland).  Again, I just don’t see a good case for it here.


Title: Visitation Rights to see Nephew

Question:
Hello all,

Approximately four years ago DHS rescued my nephew from my sister and was placed into a shelter.  My sister then subsequently lost all parental rights to him, (drug related reasons), and his father has never been involved in his life. Both of my parents are deceased so them taking him in was not an option.  My aunt, to her credit, then stepped in and became his foster parent and eventually fully adopted him.  Before this happened I had cut off all contact with my aunt for family reasons unrelated to the current situation.

My aunt is a very toxic person and all of my remaining family has distanced themselves from her including her own daughter.  She tries to be manipulative and has a drinking problem, arrested for two DUIs about 10 years ago.  When she drinks she becomes very mean, sending me hate-filled texts, saying derogatory things about my dead parents, etc.  From the things my nephew has told me she is psychologically abusive to him as well as physically, ie. slapping him, calling him derogatory names for no reason.

I am the only other family member actively keeping contact with her to be a part of my nephews life. I deal with her bullshit to see him.  For the first year I would make a 3 hour round trip twice every weekend to pick him up and take him back to give her some relief and spend time with him.  Multiple occasions I would get texts from her telling me to not bring him back and how she wouldn't be there if i tried to, these would always come in late after I presume she would be drunk.  Next morning she would apologize and act like it never happened.  Unsurprisingly, the relationship between my nephew and her has been degrading over the years to the point where she has now placed him in a baptist community group home, where he has been for a little over a month.  I have not gotten to see him since,  as they only have a bi-weekly visitation policy and she has gotten him both times.  Since I am no longer "needed" by her she is now threatening to cut off my visitation and phone calls rights to see him.  This is just flat out unacceptable.  Anyone who would prevent a child from seeing the people who truly care for and love them does not have their best interests at heart.  She is hurting him to try and hurt me.  I've had brief conversations on the phone with a couple lawyers asking what I can do.  They said since she adopted him I have no legal recourse,  I am just refusing to believe I can be at the mercy of this person.  Please Reddit is there ANYTHING i can do to keep my relationship with my nephew and get some sort of legal right to keep seeing him?

Answer: You have no legal right to any type of visitation with your nephew


Title: [CAN, WWW] Ownership of character name

Question:
I'm a career author, based in Ontario, Canada but with impending plans for international release, writing serial novels online on a set schedule, much like you expect with webcomics, but with prose.  My flagship work was *Worm*, which is an epic (think 20+ book) work that was something of an underground hit.  A fair portion of my income is not from work I'm writing now, but from donations and Patreon earnings from Worm fans who are eager for the polished print/ebook release or people who are still finding and reading the story and then donating.

My concern is this:  When I was late in the writing of Worm, readers informed me that my main character's name in costume matches that of a superhero in the DC Universe.

As I inch (note: 20+ books worth of words to edit) toward (self-)publication, it's a concern in the back of my mind that the very litigious DC might try to bully me.  A worst-case scenario is that, after considerable effort on my part, marketing, hype, expenses and whatever else, a lawsuit might shut me down and stall everything, with those expenses going out the window in the event that they start complaining at the worst possible time (ie. post-printing, pre-sale).

'Simply change the name', one might say - the thing is I have had hundreds of thousands of people read the story, they're attached to the name.  Beyond that, a thing even mentioned in-story, but effectively naming a hero/villain with bug control powers is very, very difficult.  I do plan to consult people prior to the release of my story, but my general feeling is that if I had a secure leg to stand on, that I'd prefer to keep the name rather than upset fans and produce a less effective work overall.  Further, as I maintain contact with a number of other professionals, it would be nice to stay consistent, and lean more confidently/veer away from things on the keep-the-name front.

More details

*  *Worm* started on June 11, 2011.
*  *Worm*'s Skitter was named on September 20th, 2011; three story arcs in, the local heroes stick the nameless character with the name.
*  DC's [Skitter](http://www.comicvine.com/skitter/4005-79549/) made her first appearance on, according to [Comicvine](http://www.comicvine.com/superboy-1-the-clone/4000-292569/), November 2011.
*  DC is notoriously litigious.
*  My work is prose, DC's work is comics.  That said, there's been interest in expanding *Worm* to other mediums, with some noise made about possible television or movie adaptation (I was contacted by professionals in the industry inquiring about rights-holders).  It's very possible, given that it is what it is, that there might be overlap of textual genres.
*  While technically published online, the first of the official & polished Ebooks & crowd-funded Print books would be available next year (2016) or further down the line.

Answer:
 To start, Skitter is a DC Comics character, not a Marvel one, so you need to worry about the correct company.

Answer #2: Other than the name, what traits do your Skitter and Marvel's Skitter have in common?


Title: Help! Just found out my grandfather is being sued for over 20k due to my uncle using his business license and not paying for materials and writing bad checks for jobs. What do we do?

Question: My grandfather is 81 and still actually does roofing and construction. He's an amazing guy, but his trashy son (addicted to hard drugs multiple times) may have really put him in the hole this time. Serious advice needed.

Answer: Hire an attorney first thing tomorrow


Title: (FL) Got a 67$ ticket for having an "attitude" with a cop...was it legal?

Question:
So a few months back, I was skateboarding down the sidewalk of my neighborhood. It was dark out, probably 8 o clock. It was starting to rain. Going down these blocks, the sidewalk at one point would end, and id skate over the road to meet the next sidewalk at the other side. I wasn't near the highway, it was in the neighborhood streets.

So as I am skateboarding down the sidewalk, a cop starts following me, then puts his lights on. I can admit, I was kind of ticked. Cops seem to harass me a lot, seeing as I am a young girl with dyed hair. I get that, I look like the common criminal. But when I get ticketed, it goes too far.

So the cop pulls me over, saying that I am not allowed to skateboard on the streets. He said he had been watching me for some time, and he has to give me a warning. He said also that I didnt have lights on my skateboard, so that could deem another ticket. (I was only given one ticket though, which he had said was cause of attitude.) It was now raining out, and I was growing irritated. Though I did not cuss, did not walk away, did not threaten, did not try to hurt him or insult him. I said things like "Seriously?" and "Really?" and was blatantly ticked off. He said that he could give me a ticket for having an attitude, I said "youre really going to give me a ticket for having an attitude? Its raining, I need to get home, of course I am going to have an attitude." and then he gave me a ticket. We had only been talking for 3 minutes.

Im seventeen years old, Im not sure if I really could of done anything about it at the time. I went home, talked to this about my mother, and she said there was nothing to be done, so I paid it. But was this a fair thing to be ticketed over?

Answer: He can decide to give you a ticket instead of a warning if he doesn't believe a warning will change your behavior. Your flippant attitude makes it plainly obvious you don't think following those laws are important. Yes it's legal