Title: I've often read that emails are not to be disclosed to the public, but what about Facebook messages?

Question:
Colorado here.

An ex has threatened to "go live" with a Facebook chat transcript between the two of us in which I bitch heartily about my job and my boss. (We were together and I was just venting; we've all done it.)

This, I feel, would cost me my job and I'm not certain it's even legal.

(I've flaired this under Intellectual Property, but it might be Copyright.)

Any insight?

E: The threat is to screenshot it and "blast it" on Facebook. (We have mutual coworkers who would undoubtedly run and show it to the head honcho.)

Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer:
 Is this threat made in order to make you do/pay something? If so, that could be extortion. You could contact police about that.

But in the future, keep in mind that anything you write to another person - text, email, facebook, whatever - could be shown to anyone at any time. You cannot assume it is private.


Title: My sister died whilst under government care.

Question:
Hi, i was looking for some help.
My Autistic sister was living in a supported living accommodation that was funder by the government.
She died of alcohol poisoning whilst at a party with other special need people.

She was 21.

I want to know, do i have a right to sue the facility/council/government?

She was living there as she couldn't live on her own safely, and she still died.

The inquest ruled an accidental death.

Any advice is gratefully taken.

Thank you

Answer: Way, way, way too fact specific for the internet. You need to speak with a lawyer IRL who specializes in this area.


Title: Headphones At Work? (Rhode Island, USA)

Question:
I work at a company where I am the ONLY person who is not allowed to use headphones. I only put them in one ear, so I can hear if someone calls me/talks to me. I was brought into Human Resources over it. Since then, I have seen multiple people in front of HR, using them. Their excuse to me was it was a "safety hazard." I do not leave my desk with the headphones.

I have documented anxiety/mental health issues, and my headphones help block out the noise that can trigger my anxiety attacks. (i.e. People actually screaming on the phone, screaming children coming in to visit, people goofing off) I generally just listen to white noise. Again, I am the only person who has gotten told not to use them.

Should I ask my therapist/psychologist to give me a note to prove that I need this in order to healthily function?

I'm not 100% if this is the right subreddit but I don't know where else to put this.

Thanks!

Answer:
 You have no inherent legal right to wear head phones at work, even if every other person is allowed to wear them, your employer is legally allowed to tell you that you are not allowed and can fire you, with cause, if you are caught wearing them.

> I have documented anxiety/mental health issues, and my headphones help block out the noise that can trigger my anxiety attacks.

Have you asked your employer for a medical accommodation? A doctors note does not automatically entitle you to do whatever you want, you have to work with your employer and establish a plan.


Title: Florida - Evicting roommate w/ children

Question:
In 2014, I bought a house. My girlfriend and her children moved in with me from another state. The relationship went bad and we broke up, but she continued living here. I began asking over a year ago for her to help with the bills, and she has paid the electric bill, but for her to occupy 4 out of 5 rooms in the house, I need better than $200/month. She hasn't had a job since moving to Florida.

In the final week of January, I told her to pay $800/month rent in lieu of the electric bill or find somewhere else to go. I was ignored.

March 1st, I told her to find somewhere else to go and be out by April 1st. I informed her that if she forced me to seek a legal eviction, I would seek damages to one of the rooms.

(Her autistic teenager's room has a constant, overpowering scent of urine. He has also drawn and painted all over the walls, torn down the closet folding doors, and punched or poked holes in the drywall.)

She complained that I wasn't giving her enough notice, and that I should at least give her until the end of the school year. Eventually, she went back to pretending I had said nothing.

April 1st, I printed up a standard pay-or-quit notice, giving it to her that day (giving her five days to respond, including the weekend, instead of the usual three). As far as I can tell, she has made no attempt at other arrangements.

There is no written lease. At her apparent inaction, I must surmise that she either has some form of trickery planned or is betting against my resolve. What do I need to look out for? Thank you.

EDIT: I'm asking for legal advice, not life advice. I gave the 3-day pay or quit because I was under the impression that it was prerequisite to eviction. I'm asking if there's some kind of trickery to look out for, such as laws she can use to stay longer.

Answer:
 You need to start the formal eviction process and make sure both her and her adult children (if she has any) are on the notice/process.

Be as polite and nice as possible. Don't give her any incentive to damage your home. Once she's out, you can sue her for any unpaid rent or damages you believe you have.Answer #2: Formal eviction as of yesterday. My lord, stop being a doormat.


Title: New Brunswick Canada - Family Law - Grandparents and uncle rights

Question:
So I'm just looking for some advice.

I don't want to get too detailed, so if more details are need pleae ask.

Little backstory to start:

Mother in law is a narcissistic control freak and has been progressively spiraling since her daughter moved out the family owned home and bought a house with me, as that resulted in her losing the last little bit of control over her.

Situation:

Mother in law continuously overstepping boundaries, imposing beliefs, and just flat out bringing constant negativity into our live. We as a family had to make the choice to completely cut her out of our lives.

Mother in law later find out that she, in New Brunswick, is legally allowed access to our children. She decides to leverage those rights and forces her way back in to our lives via our children. I comply, as I give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she genuinely wants to see her grand children, and not use them as a weapon against us.

Mother in law gets one day a month for a supervised visit. Per her request. I comply. She visits with the wife brother each montth.  Though still, Afaer every visit she find a way to threaten legal action. I just deal with it and ignore.. this has been going on for some months.. this is our life.

Flash back:

My wife, pregnant with my first child, her brother, and their mother (my mother in law) are on a road trip. During the trip, my wife and her brother got into an argument, which resulted in him hitting her in the face. Drama ensues. Trip ends. I want to kill him, but ultimately, for some reason, we end up letting it slide. I regret this.

Back to Present:

Brother mention above, is having an argument with my wife's sister, about my wife. It get's heated as sister is defending my wife and brother is anti-my wife" Brother ends up hitting sister and making a bunch of other threats. Sister kicks him off property blah blah blah. That's over.

We hear about that story and decide that brother is too much of a threat to be around our family. He's already hit my wife once, and then hit his sister when she was defending my wife. We don't want that. He's not welcome in our home. (note: no legal action was take for either altercation)

Now I again start getting emails and texts from mother in law.. again threatening legal action.. But this time for cutting out the abusive brother from our lives. Though all along she's been making these legal action threats, she had never followed through. But I am now to believe that she has layered up and will be taking action.

My first question is - Will a lawyer even take this? I'm sure she will fabricate her side of the story to get a lawyer on her side. But mainly - How the hell do I just make this go away? If she legally does have access right to my children, is this actually our life now? We just deal with this shit? We can't really fork over money for a lawyer, and she knows this. So she's using our kids, and legal action as a method to bully us and keep what little control she has left over her daughter.

I went way more into detail than I intended.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Answer:
 You need to talk to a lawyer who specialises in family law. Your Mother in Law *may* qualify for grandparents rights, but from what you have written this is not a forgone conclusion. Please keep in mind I am not a lawyer- any and all decisions you make going forward should be under the guidance of an attorney. I did find some information which may be of interest to you, mainly this summary of New Brunswick legislation regarding grandparents access to children:

>Section 129 (3) of the New Brunswick Family Services Act31 states that determinations of access
applications must be made on the basis of the best interests of the child. Section 1 of the Act
defines the best interests of the child as, inter alia, taking into consideration the “love, affection
and ties that exist between the child and… where appropriate… each grandparent of the child.” As article 611 of the Civil Code of Quebec does, so too does the New Brunswick statute contemplate an existing grandparent-grandchild relationship. Section 1 of the Act also includes a grandparent along with a parent in the definition of immediate family. [source](http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/fl-lf/famil/2003_15/pdf/2003_15.pdf)

Your wife absolutely should file a police report regarding the assault by her brother, and it would be helpful if her sister filed her own report. At that point you should see if you can obtain a restraining order against the brother.

Edit to add: the information I included is from 2003, so it may or may not be up to date. I mainly wanted to point out that grandparents rights are not unilateral or automatic.


Title: [NY] Potential wrongful termination against me

Question:
I work as a vendor at a manufacturing site repairing tools for our customer. I have been there for over 3 years and have received strong reviews for that time.

Recently, I fucked up. I entered information that I knew was wrong into a customer data base. It cost the customer about two extra hours in downtime. This was explained to me as a violation of customer trust and went against our company's core values. Even though the act itself was terrible on my end and for the image of our company, the tool was fine.

I had a meeting with my manager about it, and he wrote it up. He talked to me about it and how bad it can look for the company, but he didnt make it seem like it was an issue that would cost me my job. A few days later, I meet with him again. He says that he brought this up with his manager asking whether it would be a written warning or a performance improvement plan. His manager says that they are going to look into firing me, which even my manager thought was bit extreme.

Now a little backstory about my company at this site. The customer is cutting vendor contracts right now. For my position, our company needs to go from 24 to 6 people. That means my company needs to either lay off or relocate 18 people. They are looking to get rid of people anyway they can. Add to this that I have $10,000 I owe them through a tuition reimbursement program. If I am fired, I owe that money back. If I am laid off, then that debt is gone.

I told this to my dad, and he says that the big thing with wrongful termination is that they have to treat each offense equally. If they fire someone for doing something wrong, they have to fire anyone who does that or else it would be discriminatory.

There was an event a few months back that is similar to mine. There was a tool down and, as is usually the case, the customer's engineers met with our engineers to discuss how to fix it. Our engineers were pushing hard for one course of action, but the customer overrode them. Everyone left that meeting thinking the customer action plan would be performed overnight. Our engineers then called our night shift lead and told them to perform the actions that they wanted. The next morning the customer was rip shit that we deliberately went against their action plan. No one was fired for this. I feel like this could be argued as a violation of customer trust, similar, if not worse, than mine.

Answer: Your dad is wrong. There's nothing wrongful about your termination.


Title: Any way to move out before legal adulthood?

Question:
 I’m 17, and I live in a non-abusive household, though I apply term loosely as verbal and emotional abuse happens daily.

My parents try their best, that’s obvious to myself and those around me, but as each day passes I feel as if the walls are caving in on me. This is of course, amplified exponentially by the quarantine currently ensuing. I am (thankfully) employed, and financially responsible, but I don’t see this as being enough to seek emancipation, and I’m curious to see if their are any other ways besides this I can move out on my own & continue high school and normal life altogether, just outside of my parents’ home.

Any and all advice is welcomed. Thank you.

Answer:
 You can move out with your parents' permission.

If they won't give you permission you just have to wait until you're 18. You should reach out to your school and take advantage of any available mental health resources.Answer #2: >  but I don’t see this as being enough to seek emancipation,

the basics of emancipation is you're financially independent with no assistance from any person/government agency. just having a job isn't enough.

even so, you're going to need parental permission.


Title: Girlfriend is threatening to charge me with domestic violence/order of protection after breakup.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You should plan on being arrested.

Contact a criminal defense attorney. Aside from the battery, it sounds like you may violated some type of privacy/revenge porn law, depending on the content of the video you sent.

>I would like to cease all contact with this girl.

You should've done that a long time ago. Start now.Answer #2: 1. You need to be in anger management counseling.
2. There is nothing stopping her from filing a police report retroactively. If you are contacted by the police, say nothing, and if you are arrested/charge, get a criminal defense attorney.
3. I'd consider that money as good as gone.


Title: Update to my ex-fiance attempting to claim my grandmother's wedding ring. No legal shenanigans, but there was cake.

Question:
I wanted to say thanks for all of the advice and support I got when I posted on here a while back. I was in a pretty shitty place, and I can't describe how awesome it was to have literally hundreds of people telling me what a pathetic douche-chill my ex is.

As my title suggests, I don't have a thrilling update for you. A lot of you warned me to be on the lookout for him trying to take back the ring himself, which my family and friends were also worried about. I'm very blessed to come from a large family, so on Monday afternoon a few of my male cousins/second cousins/concerned family friends (and their firearms) came to my apartment to "keep [me] company". My female cousins didn't want to be left out, so they came, too (several of them also toting firearms). Through a garbled family phone tree, one of my uncles completely misconstrued the purpose of the "family gathering at ringthrowaway1010's house", and arrived bearing a case of liquor and a massive Publix sheet cake. My grandfather eventually showed up with his banjo and some beautiful pictures of my grandmother wearing the ring in question.

As you can imagine, this turned into one of our better parties, and "ringthrowaway 1010's congratulations on not marrying an asshole party" will live on in family lore.

Since my original post I've gotten a lot of extremely nice messages and calls from my ex's family, all of whom are currently not speaking to him. (His brother called me the day after the Table Incident to ask what happened, and I told him the truth, which I can only assume was passed around.) His dad assured me that my ex won't be trying to sue me for the ring, and told me that if I ever hear from my ex again, I should call his dad and he will "bring the pain". He also sent me a gift card for several hundred dollars to Home Depot, in case I ever want to "make a better table for a better man". Hopefully, that will be the last thing about this breakup that makes me cry.

I also got an STI screening, which turned out negative. My gyno said that everything looked "perfect, absolutely pristine". So I may not be getting married in three months, but at least I have pristine genitalia.

Tl;dr: Family came to keep me safe in case ex came back for ring, devolved into raucous family party complete with cake and grandpa on banjo. Ex is experiencing full-on Amish shunning from his family, his dad bought me a gift card to HoDep for future carpentry endeavors. Not only am I STI-free, my vagina is "pristine".

Answer:
 [Definition of "pristine"](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pristine)

So he said that not only do you not have any STDs, but that you have the vagina of a virgin. I'd say it's an even bigger compliment than you initially realized. Props! Your ex has officially been medically erased from your life.Answer #2: > So I may not be getting married in three months, but at least I have pristine genitalia.

You need to put this in a Caddyshack /r/AdviceAnimals post - think of the karma!


Title: Looking for immediate info on how to bring a 16 year old dependant from uk to canada

Question:
To be brief :
Child is 16 yrs old
I(42) need to bring distant relative (16) to Canada immediately as just learned of dangerous long term situation they have been in for years.
Child does not have parents.
I only want to know the basics to get them here asap.
We can and will deal with the adoption, etc once here.
Please advise. Is very time sensitive.
Happy to answer non identifying questions.
Very much prefer answers from uk and or Canadian legal professional in the field.
Willing to pm if required.
Thank you.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 You need to be less "brief" if you want any answers.  What is your relation to this person?  What is the situation?  Do they have a passport?

If you need vital and urgent help but do not want to share any details online, I recommend an immigration atterney ASAP.


Title: Daycare demands payment after refusing to care for diabetic son

Question:
Recently found out my son is diabetic. We told our daycare and their first reaction was to tell us to look for other options. Being daycare's aren't in abundance in the area we asked what we could do to have them still watch our son and their response was that me or my wife would need to take care of all of his diabetic needs including insulin shots and checking his blood sugars (this would be at least 4 times a day at daycare). That isn't possible, I work 30 minutes away and my wife works at a dental office with scheduled patients.

Fast forward about a week and my wife pays the daycare, but this time only for our youngest son whom they are still seeing. Later that day the manager tells us we still need to pay for our oldest son (who they refuse to see) last 2 weeks of daycare because that is their policy. I called back and said that isn't going to happen and that this is a different situation and that they refused to make reasonable accommodations to care for him. I have a few calls with the daycare and eventually they did agree to waive charges (after they threatened to bring us to court). However my question now is being they refused to acknowledge this in writing do we need to worry about them pursuing this in the future?

Sorry if that was confusing, if clarification is needed please let me know.

Also just to clarify I honestly just want to be done with this whole ordeal and don't want to sue. I just want to have the peace of mind to know that they can't suddenly decide to take us to court. We did file a complaint against them with the state daycare licensing agency because of what they did. I don't want the backlash to end up in us going to court.

Answer:
 >However my question now is being they refused to acknowledge this in writing do we need to worry about them pursuing this in the future?

Did you pull him out of daycare in writing?


Title: My girlfriend attended a school that declared bankruptcy and closed their doors but says she is responsible for the loan?

Question:
So basically my girlfriend attended a school that literally closed their doors and filed bankruptcy while she was attending.

I am having trouble understanding how she would still be liable for the loan. I guess technically it's the government that insures the loan but I don't understand why she couldn't get it discharged when the institute itself folds? What kind of recourse does she have if any?

Answer:
 You are mistaken. It is the government (or agency associated with FAFSA) that gives the loan, not the school. The school receives the funds to pay for this education.

Was your GF actively attending when the school shut down, or has she graduated? Does she have any current degree from the school?

If these were federal loans you can look at [this information](https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/closed-school#q-and-a) regarding discharging loans. Answer #2: Look up borrower defense to repayment, but do it quickly, because Trump is set to freeze the program on July 1st


Title: Hypothetically speaking, if a car coming towards you at night flashes their high beams which causes you to crash into them, who's at fault?

Question: I recently had to buy a brand new headlight so one is way brighter than the other, high or low beams. Someone flashed me right as they were passing me by last night, blinding the hell out of me. My low beams were on. I don't plan on ramming into the next person who does it, but I'm curious who'd be at fault.

Answer: You would be at fault.


Title: Apartment company is charging entire every unit in a building for the repair costs of one unit. Is this legal? IN, USA

Question:
This was recently posted on everyone's door:

"On a second note, we have been having a lot of problems with drains getting stopped up. We have had to have private contractors out multiple times to address this issue. What we have found is that there are residents flushing items that are not decomposable in sewer lines. Such as but not limited to baby wipes, feminine products, extreme amount of grease, and other toiletries. At this time we would like to notify all that effective immediately, the next time a private contractor has to be called out for drains to be cleared due to the items stated above the total amount charged by the contractor will be divided and charged to all in the building."

Can management legally do this or they just trying to scare people? I don't have kids. We don't flush any weird shit down the toilet or drain here. These buildings are 40+ years old and have had drain problems that I know of for the past five years.

Answer:
 No, they can't charge everyone. Ultimately, the LL has to eat this cost unless they're able to determine whose at-fault.Answer #2: It's a scare tactic. They can't do that.Answer #3: Thank you for the quick responses!Answer #4: Under IN law, they (Apartment Company) are required to maintain a habitable place.
They may elect to increase rent (when you're renewing the rental agreement), and they may be allowed to inspect your unit for proof that you are not flushing weird $hit.

 Here's the solid proof you're looking for, if you want to tell them "no": https://www.in.gov/isdh/files/Tenants_Rights_doc.pdf

TL;DR the document proves that they fix the drains, unless YOU are at fault (which you're not, because >We don't flush any weird shit down the toilet or drain here. )


Title: (Seattle,Wa) I'm scheduled to work until Feb 14th. However my boss just said I was no longer needed to work. Is this legal?

Question: I'm wondering if I should speak to the administrator and ask for a check for the hours I would've worked?

Answer:
 Unless you have some sort of employment contract or union agreement saying otherwise it's perfectly legal

But yes you are entitled to payment for the hours you have already worked.

And should probably file for unemployment as soon as you can.


Title: [TX] If my employer asks me to retroactively sign a 1099-MISC, do I have to do it?

Question:
To give a little background, I have now worked for about 6-7 months for a company that is likely to fail soon. The management is terrible, and it's a small, family-owned-and-operated company. Upon hiring me, the owner did not ask me to sign anything. I've been told by my coworkers that our income is non-taxable, since we never signed an I-9 or 1099-MISC. However, this morning, we found 1099-MISC forms on his desk. I'm afraid he might call me in alone and ask me to sign one, but I don't want to do something that I don't have to, especially because my wife and I are in debt and need every penny we can get, and we will have to pay taxes on her income from last year as well. So what should I tell him if he asks me to sign it? Are my coworkers right that I don't have to sign a 1099-MISC if I haven't signed an I-9 yet? I'm young and inexperienced, so any and all advice is welcome.

Edit: I think I understand more clearly now. Sucks to have my hopes of non-taxable income dashed away, but such is life. Thanks for your quick and helpful responses, everyone! Y'all are a great example of why I love Reddit. Keep it up!

Answer:
 A 1099-MISC does not require your signature.

> I've been told by my coworkers that our income is non-taxable, since we never signed an I-9 or 1099-MISC.

That's just... utterly wrong.

If you earn income performing services, either as an employee or as a contractor, it's almost always taxable.


Title: [California] Help! My friend is at work, having a medical emergency (not a work-related injury) and needs to go to the ER. Her job will not let her leave ...

Question:
**EDIT--  She left her post and is on route to the hospital.  Any other advice around not letting her employer terminate her is greatly appreciated!!!**

There's something extremely wrong about this whole situation, and in the middle of this mess, I'm trying to find answers on what to do about this situation.

She works at a low-rated, much hated, security company. She recently found out she was pregnant. She is currently experiencing a whole bunch of bleeding, cramping, nausea, etc, and I'm very worried about her and her baby! Her job does not seem to have the same level of concern. When her manager told her that she'd have to wait there until someone could fill her shift, I had her call their Human Resources department instead.  There, she was told that if they didn't have anyone else to fill her shift, and she left her post, she would likely be terminated! Doesn't this sound crazy!? Surely I'm not the nutter here. This girl needs medical help, NOW.

I assume the right thing to do here is tell her to leave her post anyway and go to the emergency room (which is likely what will be done if this question isn't answered very soon.)  What can be done if they fire her for this!!?  There's so many questions.  I hope someone here can help, because I am desperate to help her.
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 If she needs medical care she needs to get to a doctor or ER immediately. She can deal with potentially being fired later.

Most likely they will not be able to fire her for this but that doesn't matter TELL HER TO LEAVE NOWAnswer #2: For the sake of her baby she needs to go get medical attention now. If they fire her she can file for unemployment.


Title: Tenant Help -- Landlord won't resolve my noise complaints

Question:
I am in Tennessee.

About 3 months ago, a family with a 14 month old moved into the apartment next to mine. The walls are very thin, and the child cries all the time. The parents don't try to soothe him. They share a wall with my bedroom and the noise constantly wakes me up.

I am trying to get my landlord to let me break my lease, because I am going crazy. The problem is that they won't let me move out until they transfer my roommate, a process that could take a month (she doesn't share a wall with the baby neighbor, so the noise isn't an issue to her).

What are my legal rights? Do I have any that would help me in this situation? Is it even worth going to a lawyer? I only have 2 months left on my lease and I'm looking at moving, but I don't want to throw away the money I'd be spending on rent if I have another recourse.

Of note:
I  believe my landlord is in violation of the building code, at least the part of it that pertains to sound insulation in residential walls. The city office has stated that they can initiate an investigation.

Please advise.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 > I only have 2 months left on my lease

Then get earplugs and ride it out. Don't cause your landlord a bunch of trouble when you're this close to the point in time that you want your deposit back.Answer #2: You live in an apartment. Your neighbor has a baby. If you don't want to be bothered by neighbors, buy your own house, on property, away from everyone else.

You can have the city initiate an investigation if you want, but I'd be willing to bet there is insulation in that wall.


Title: Question about driving while possibly high and hitting a pedestrian

Question: If someone smokes weed and then drives home and thinks everything is fine, only to find out the next day they ran over and killed a pedestrian in a crosswalk, how much trouble would they be in? The cops are saying the pedestrian was killed on purpose because they say the driver ran over the pedestrian 3 times, once to hit them, once to back over them and once to drive forwards again. The driver doesn't even remember a pedestrian and thought they hit a tree branch or something that was in the road but they didn't see anything when they stopped and looked and figured they imagined it. The driver didn't even know they hit anyone until the cops showed up at their place the next day. There were pictures on Facebook of the driver smoking weed with friends the night before but other then that the police have no actual proof of drug use. Drug laws in America are harsh but the cops have no proof the driver was high. How bad could things get for the driver in this case?

Answer: So....Maybe the DUI gets dropped?  Then we're just looking at manslaughter.  Whew, dodged that bullet.


Title: [NY] My girlfriend was strong armed into demoting herself or risk losing her job entirely, causing her to take a pay cut as well. Is this legal?

Question: My girlfriend works at Starbucks, there was a recent incident where she felt she needed to call the police on a customer who threatened her employee (she was the shift manager at the time) and now after very limited contact from the company about her fate in the company other than a stern talking to from the district manager and rumors of her potentially getting her FIRST write up, she was told to come in today to talk to said district manager where she was told she can choose to step down as a shift manager and take a pay cut or she could potentially lose her job.  Is it at all legal to give an employee an ultimatum like this on their first offense, the offense being she called the police on an irate customer instead of handing the customer free stuff so she would calm down and the store wouldn’t lose her business, my girlfriend is obviously extremely irritated by today’s events and now I’m here wondering if there’s any legal action that can be taken against the company to at least get her pay rate back or something. Thanks for any advice

Answer: Nothing illegal about that. She's an at-will employee. They could outright fire her.


Title: I caused minor car damage, other person finally getting a quote after 3 months. What are my options to prevent paying for other potential damage to the vehicle?

Question:
Background: I sideswiped the front bumper of the car I park next to in my apartment complex's garage in September. I immediately contacted the management company to get the resident's contact info and let them know it was me in case the resident called with questions. I emailed the resident and told her what happened. She said she'd get a quote and we could settle the amount I owed.

I have heard nothing from this person since the incident in September. Today she emailed me stating she is taking her vehicle to the dealer to have an airbag replaced (apparently for a recall) and will get a quote for the scraped front bumper while there. We're located in Minnesota. I still have pictures of the car, but the resident no longer parks on the property so I can't personally see what their car looks like today.

My question to r/legaladvice is what are my options for payment since this has not been done in a reasonable amount of time? Looking back, I should have set a deadline for her to get a quote. My biggest concern is that the car could have other damage not by me and that the original damage I did will be included with other damages. I don't necessarily want to get out of paying her since I am responsible for the damage, but I also want to protect myself and not be forced to pay more than what I did.

Answer:
 You can review the quote when it comes in to ensure the services being performed by the dealer are consistent with the damage you caused.  You can refuse to pay for any damage that seems inconsistent, knowing that she ultimately may sue you if she disagrees and you can both make your case in court.

>I should have set a deadline for her to get a quote.

You can't really unilaterally set some kind of timeframe on her recovery of her loss at your negligence.  The statute of limitations is the only real limiter.


Title: BC,Canada: Copyright infringement notice via Telus

Question:
Hi, I'm kind of panicking as I received a copyright infringement notice via Telus, my ISP. It was for some porn video and the attachment contained a link to the copyright settlement site where they're asking me to pay $300 to settle.

What are my rights in this regard?  Should I pay up? Will they sue? Just leave it alone?

Answer:
 The company doesn't have your information (hence why they contact you through Telus), it is a work intensive process for them to get it, and AFAIK no content providers have bothered yet in Canada since our laws don't allow them to get much out of you anyways. They are hoping you will voluntarily give them cash. Or voluntarily give them your information so that it is easier to go after you.

If you receive an actual document through the court system, reply. But ignore anything Telus passes on.


Title: [CA] Lawyer mistated descendants when updating a will.

Question:
My mom had her will updated recently. It used to state "I have two living descendants and no non-living descendants" in reference to my sibling and myself. Everything was to be left to us, her two children, split 50-50.

My sibling passed away several years ago, my mom finally got around to updating her will. The new one leaves everything in her estate to me. However, after the lawyer made the changes the will now says, "I have one living descendant and no non-living descendants" which is not true.

However, this lawyer is fairly expensive, so I am hesitant to recommend to my mom to get it fixed. Is the false statement that she has no non-living descendants critical, or can it be safely ignored? Btw, she is in her mid-90s and I will be the executor.

Answer: For something that simple you can fix it yourself. Just copy the document word for word except that part, and go through whatever process your state requires for signatures, witnesses, notarizing, or whatever.


Title: (WA) What writes do adults mooching off parents have. Also property writes questions.

Question:
I've bean living with my parents rent free since I graduated Summer 2016. I offered to pay rent but my parents refused to even let me chip in for utilities. I'm I legally considered to be a tenant, room mate, house guest, or can my parents treat me like a child. I want to move out after new years but I want to leave with more than the cloths on my back. My parents have taken things from me at different times as punishment. No TV you're grounded. That sort of thing. Finally who owns this stuff.

(Car) My parents bought it for me as a high school graduation present but the car is in there name and they pay the insurance.

(Laptop) My parents bought it for me my freshman year. It has an anti-theft service in my parents name.

(Phone number) My parents bought it for me years ago and I'm still on the family plan. I don't need the phone but I need to keep the number for account verification and it's the number people know.

(Pre 18 bank account) My parents set up the account years ago and they still have access. Most of my savings is in that account but I created a new account at a different bank and that's where I deposit my paycheck. Can I move my savings to the new account.

Answer:
 Technically you're a tenant, but even that is questionable. I've seen plenty of WA judges tell people in your position to get a job and get the hell out with a laugh and no lube.

The car is not yours.

The laptop might be yours, but as you said, they control the anti-theft function and can likely disable it.

The phone number is theirs.

The bank account they have access to, but if you're slick about it you can probably withdraw the money and move it over to a new account they don't have access to.

Be prepared to move out and care for yourself before you do that though.

Last but not least, it's rights, not "writes", jesus christ dude.


Title: (WA State) Can an employer ask for prescriptions?

Question: Posting on behalf of my wife. She missed 2 days of work due to an eye infection. Doctor prescribed her some eye drops and an antibiotic. Today when she returned to work, HR approached her and asked for her prescriptions. They told her that the prescriptions can take place of a Dr's note. With my wife not knowing what to do, she gave HR the 2 prescriptions. Later in the day HR came back and said they would still need a doctor's note. Is this legal? I just don't understand how this could be legal. I completely understand asking for a doctor's note, but prescription drugs? C'mon. She works for a major retail store, and it's not like she's working with heavy equipment or anything job safety related. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

Answer: You mean a paper copy of the script? Or the actual drugs?


Title: My gf's parked car was hit by another driver. They have insurance, we do not. (U.S.A. , TX)

Question:
We parked our girlfriend's car in front of our apartment, about 10 minutes later we received a knock on the door, our neighbors visitor (related to her, but not actually living next to us) telling us she had hit our vehicle when she exitef her driveway.

We took her insurance information, we didn't call police in the moment, but my girlfriend doesn't have insurance on the car yet, we are not sure if we can file a claim or how to go about it.

We weren't at fault (we weren't even in the vehicle when it happened. So I wouldnt want her to have to pay for parking in front of our own home.

We live on Texas, if that makes a difference.

Thank you everybody.

Answer:
 Call her (the woman who hit your car) insurance and file a claim.

Oh and for those playing along at home: DON'T DRIVE WITHOUT INSURANCE!


Title: [TN] Cosigned lease with ex/mother of child. Moved out in July and now I'm being threatened with a restraining order if I move back in, but she is still expecting me to pay rent.

Question:
We had moved into a house together pretty soon after I had got her pregnant. We've always had a very unhealthy relationship, with countless instances of her being abusive, getting physical in arguments, etc. We agreed to move into a house together and try to make it work for our baby.

At first, things seemed to be going OK, but after a while, she slowly started regressing back to her old ways, with occasional nights of heavy drinking and leading to more physical arguments in the presence of our baby. This past June, I made the dumbass decision to renew the lease with her in hopes that we could make this work and remain together for our daughter.

Come the end of July, we got in a very heated altercation which led to me moving out and staying at a friends. I had kind of lucked out with the timing, because my friend had moved out of the house, leaving it empty until his parents who own the house put the house up for sale. They have been generous enough to let me stay here in the meantime until I can get my situation sorted out.

By the middle of August, I decided to get an attorney to fight for my rights to visitation with my daughter, as I had tried to get her to go to mediation without resorting to hiring lawyers and spending unnecessary amounts of money. I was hoping by now this situation would have gotten sorted out, but of course our court date is not until the end of October.

Anyways, my friend's parents contacted me saying that they will be putting the house up for sale by the end of next week. I have found an apartment in a decent area, for $650 a month. I am stuck splitting the rent with my ex at the house I moved out of, costing me another $540 a month ($1080 month split between the two of us). I tried working numbers, as I'm currently netting around $2700 a month. Between the two rents, a $300 car note, expected court costs, expected child support, and all expected bills for the apartment, I don't see any way to make that happen.

This evening, I texted my ex telling her my situation, and that she needs to either take me off the lease or at the very least only have me pay a quarter of the rent, otherwise i would have to move back in and ride the lease out, as I am entitled to still live there as long as my name is on the lease. She was not having any of it. She wouldn't agree to taking my name off or the quarter rent proposal, and said if I try to move back in she will be filing a restraining order for the safety of our daughter, as in her mind she thinks I'm the one with violent, irrational outbursts (this couldn't be further from the truth). Given that I'm a male, I'm scared that she will call the police and convince them that I'm physically abusing her if I do attempt to move back in, which would get me involved in more legal issues than I already have such as my upcoming custody battle.

As I've stated before I've worked numbers and I'm estimating I would have around $300 a month to live off of and also support my daughter after all expenses are paid if I decide to take the route of getting an apartment...but I'm worried to take those chances because shit happens and something may come up that I can't afford. My lease with my ex ends next July...what should I do?

Answer: What does your attorney suggest?Answer #2: You may want to talk to your landlord about the situation as well. Its possible they'd work with you on getting you off the lease. It also sets a precedent for later legal battles with your ex, And potentially will get the landlord on your side when/if she tries to use any of your Actions around the living situation against you.  It sounds like she had a penchant for physical abuse and when you're personal safety is on the line many states have laws that allow tenants to break a lease to escape a dangerous situation.  Good luck.


Title: Indiana - Friend was deported immediately after getting out of prison. Now has warrant for skipping out on probation..

Question:
A friend of mine was in sentenced to 12 years in prison, with 5 years suspended and 5 years of probation. After getting out of prison, he was immediately sent to ICE and deported. He didn't get a chance to talk to the probation department. Shortly after, a warrant was issued for his arrest due to not showing up for probation. However, at some point, he was told by ICE that after 5 years of being out of the country, his probation would be cleared. This was back in 2009, but he still has a warrant. He tried calling the probation department, but they refused to get rid of the warrant. I'm trying to help him get this taken care of so he can visit his family here in the states. Any advice on where we should start? Thanks all for your time and assistance.

Edit: typo

Answer:
 A probation violation has to be willful. He likely won't be able to clear up the warrant without appearing, but does it really matter at this point? 12 years in prison means his chance on coming back to the U.S. legally is close to 0. You should consult with a criminal attorney in Indiana though.

A story a friend at the Public Defender's office told me: He was assigned to defend a guy for a VOP (violation of probation). Similar situation as your friend, he was deported while on probation and a warrant was put out for his arrest for not complying with his probation. He attempted to re-enter illegally a few years later and was caught. Because he had the warrant out, ICE transported him to Florida from Texas to face the charge. The judge threw out the case because the violation was not willful. He was placed back on a bus to face charges in Texas for crossing the U.S. illegally after deportation.

Answer #2: 12 year prison sentence? He's not getting back into the country. That's a major league felony. Answer #3: His deportation order should spell it out.

Depending on why he was in prison, he may be under a 5 year ban, 10 year ban - or he may be *permanently* banned. If he was convicted of an [aggravated felony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggravated_felony), he'll likely never be allowed back in the U.S.


Title: (NEW YORK) We had no shower for 6 weeks...

Question:
Hey everyone. 6 weeks ago, my roommates and I woke up to no hot water in the entire apartment. We thought it was strange, but let the landlord know (via text) and then went on with our day. A day or so later, not only was there no hot water in the apartment, but the shower/bath just completely stopped working. This was when we started to get annoyed. We told our landlord again and expected everything to be fixed as soon as possible.

It was all downhill from there. My roommates and I spent the next 6 weeks contacting our landlord to fix the water but she would either not answer, or make up some shitty excuse about how it would get fixed as soon as possible. We also contacted 311 multiple times.  Finally this week, our landlord's daughter took control of the situation and today we finally have a working shower (but now the water doesn't work in the bathroom sink). When I brought up the situation about August's rent since we had been withholding she told us we could have a $500 discount on the rent. We pay $2,000 a month for the place.

My question is this. We spent 6 weeks living in our apartment without a shower, during the hottest months of the year and yet our landlord expects us to still pay 75% of the rent? Is this at all legal? If not, what should our next step be? She wants us to pay that amount on the 31st.

I have found this entire experience completely insulting and appalling. This has affected our hygiene, our work, and our personal lives to a degree that is completely ridiculous.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 Did you get her promise to take money off the rent in writing? I suggest putting the rent into escrow and filing suit against the landlord. Answer #2: Is this New York City? If so, the local laws and regulations are very pro-tenant for something like this. There are several powerful tenants groups and some sort of government agency that deals with these sorts of complaints.

I apologize for not having the organization names, but I'll bet you can find out pretty easily asking people you know around town.


Title: [Pennsylvania] Is my DNA currently being stored in any databases?

Question:
Is this only reserved for law enforcement purposes? I've never been arrested or "booked" before, but I have been involuntarily committed (302'd) in the past to a general hospital and once at a psychiatric ward and have had blood work performed.

Do they keep my blood sample and put it into a database or is this only done through the law enforcement system? I would assume that patient confidentiality laws would be broken if the hospital were to do this, but obviously it's standard procedure in law enforcement.

I ask because the involuntary commitment process is technically a legal process and would they have the right to keep any possible DNA samples (like blood for blood work) and store it in a database?

Sorry if this I've written this out more complex than it probably is, but I've been wondering this for a while now and am curious as to what the answer is. Thank you for your time and response.

Answer:
 You're probably thinking of the [CODIS system](https://www.fbi.gov/services/laboratory/biometric-analysis/codis/codis-and-ndis-fact-sheet) that the FBI maintains as part of the National Crime Information Center.

Unless you were arrested or convicted of a serious sexual assault crime, there is no reason for your biometric data to be in CODIS.Answer #2: Generally speaking no. If the hospital did blood work they will usually not run or store DNA. They won’t share it with law enforcement without a warrant.


Title: Two years ago my ex boyfriend posted nude content of me on porn sites. Is it too late to report him to the police?

Question:
When I was 19 years old I discovered that my boyfriend at the time posted nude pictures and videos of me performing sexual acts on porn sites and social media with my name and details attached to it. I found out about it when I applied for a job, who Googled searched me and saw it. When I confronted him he did not have a reason to why he did it and told me that he had done something similar in the past with another girl (non-nude pictures) and he had to move schools because of that. I broke up with him and he told me that he removed them. I did not know what to do about it and was too scared to go to the police and testify. Later, I discovered harassing messages that were sent to me via social media from random guys. When I met my current boyfriend and told him about it, he found out that there are still a lot of content online. Though my current boyfriend did a pretty good job taking everything offline, till this day (over two years later) he finds more content such as galleries, videos, and people pretending to be me on porn and social media websites. I had to put all of my social media on private for my safety.

My boyfriend encouraged me to go to the police ever since we met and we discussed to have my therapist join us in filing a report, however, I could not do it mentally. I have an anxiety disorder, severe depression, I take antidepressants and go to therapy. I wasn’t strong enough to do anything about it, I just wanted it to go away. This had caused me to lose a job, messed me up emotionally and created problems with my current boyfriend. After working on myself I think he should pay for his actions, however, I don’t know if it’s too late.

Key details:
•I live in California.
•This happened over two years ago.
•Revenge Porn in CA is a misdemeanor which has a statute of limitation of two years (I think?).
•In most of the pictures I am over 18, though in one of them I THINK I’m underage (I have all of the pictures saved on a hard drive).
•Stupid me, I deleted all of the messages from him at the time, but I can probably get him to confess again if I play a game. I also deleted the harassing messages from other men.

What is the best route I can go by? Will filing a police report have any sort of effect? Will law enforcements be able to do anything?

Thanks in advanced for all of your help.

Answer:
 I'm not a lawyer, but I do know that it is not too late to take action and that it is not too late to get them taken down. You'll need to contact the company and explain that you want it taken down, but I highly recommend asking a lawyer your legal options if the company doesn't agree to take them down.

That's my opinion on it, I'm sure you'll get better advice from others here. Stay strong.Answer #2: Was there an overt understanding the images would remain private? That's an element required for revenge porn in CA.

Misdemeanors in CA have a one-year statute of limitations, so you're probably out of luck on those grounds unless he has uploaded it to other sites more recently.

If you were 17, it is illegal federally and CA provides no close-in-age exception for CP. However, there may be proof issues if *you* aren't even sure. Any crime punishable by imprisonment in CA has a statute of limitations of no less than 3 years. I don't know the case federally.


Title: Neighbor's annoying security light (TX)

Question: A neighbor's security light illuminates our backyard, making sitting on the deck a no-go. Neighbor has refused to do anything to mitigate the situation. Do I have any legal rights? (x-post Austin)

Answer:
 My neighbor did the same thing. Huge spotlight that just lit up the back of my house set up so that it only covered like 10% of his house and most of mine. It was literally like 3 yards away from my house. Could not get him to change it.

I got tired of it. I bought a big sheet of plywood, rolled some silvery reflector stuff on it, and put it on my side of the fence so that it blocked the light and reflected it back to him. He tired bitching but what could he really say.Answer #2: Check for lighting related ordinances in your city. My parents had a similar issue, and their neighbor was forced to adjust his light due to the city ordinances. Answer #3: [Relevant Strategy](http://www.27bslash6.com/halogen.html)Answer #4: Bummer. They might have been robbed in the past or something, feeling very adamant about it. Our neighbors across the yard have the same thing. Shoots right in our face. Luckily theirs isn't always on.

I wonder if a privacy fence would solve your problem? I don't think there are legal rights, but this would be cheaper anyway. We live up a hill from the neighbor, or back yard is a steep hill, so a privy fence wouldn't solve our issue.


Title: Can a lawyer snitch on you?

Question:
I filed a lawsuit a few years ago that is finally ending in a settlement. The problem is, this settlement is based on missing information.

I told the opposing council this piece of info, I told my old lawyer about this piece of info, and when I changed lawyers, I told my new lawyer this piece of info all through email conversation. Now this settlement seems it was included, ignoring that piece of info.

In the end, should I remind my lawyer of this info or would they be required to inform opposing council and they change or withdraw the settlement?

 I mostly want to make sure that once i agree to the settlement and collect, nothing can be reneged since i did everything in my power making everyone involved aware of all facts.

Answer:
 If the information ought to have been provided in an answer to an interrogatory, for example, and you failed to provide it, that would be problematic. Your lawyer will not "snitch" on you. Your lawyer will, however, provide any information she is legally and ethically bound to provide. However, you write that you already informed the opposing lawyer of whatever this information is. And you also write that you told your lawyer. So if it was extraordinarily important, the opposing lawyer, unless he is very bad at his job, would have taken it into account during the settlement negotiations. I am going to guess, given that you already informed your lawyer and the opposing lawyer, that this piece of information is simply not as important as you think it is, as far as the settlement. Or that it was taken into account, but you just don't know how it was taken into account. The settlement agreement will not contain every piece of information. Most are relatively general. Such agreements just tend to be broadly written with a goal of preventing further legal action, and also, preventing the plaintiff from talking about the suit.

As long as you did not lie about a material fact during the process, which includes withholding material information when asked, once the settlement is final, then it is final. My suggestion is that you mention the item to your lawyer in an oblique way. That way the lawyer can manage your concerns.


Title: Fired from job, with no pay, they have no record of employment[Canada/Ontario]

Question:
So I got a job a month ago, they promised full time, after working there for a month I worked a total of 17 hours and have not been paid.

From the start of my employment until now they hadn't gotten me to sign a single document, they never showed me how to clock in, they never gave me a schedule and I haven't been paid on either of the two pay days. For the shifts I did work, I wasn't scheduled they just verbally told me when to come in to work next, and after my fifth shift, no one told me when to come in next so when I called my boss he told me he was letting me go because I was not performing up to his standards. He told me that he would call me the next week and have his boss get a check ready for me. fast forward to the next week I hadn't gotten a call so I called back and when the GM(his boss) picked up I asked for my check and she had no idea what I was talking about or that I'd been fired, She told me she'd call me back when she had sorted it out. I waited another 4 days and heard nothing so I called back yesterday and was told to come in this morning to get my check.

Upon arriving this morning, I was told he had no record of my employment, no check and no paystub of my recorded hours. So now I have no money, I have no record of employment or notice of termination so I can't apply for Employment Insurance and they aren't answering my calls. I went to a lawyer this afternoon to get a consultation but I haven't heard back from them yet.

Is this slavery, what can I do?

Answer: You can call the Ministry of Labour and tell them exactly what you told us. They are very interested in hearing stories like yours.


Title: Online retailer can't provide item ordered

Question:
I ordered a gun with kit(scope and bag) from Cabela's on black friday, and paid using a card via their website. The gun was on backorder but still available for purchase. I received a confirmation number. The site said there was a back order for 5 days. Seven days later I received a phone call saying they can no longer provide the scope and bag which is roughly worth $112. They told me they can offer me the gun for $30 less than I paid for it without the scope and bag.

&#x200B;

The question here is do they have to honor the original purchase or not.

Answer:
 > The question here is do they have to honor the original purchase or not.

No. They can just refund the money if you don't accept their offer.


Title: HOA changed the bylaws on us....

Question: We bought a townhome with the intent on renting once we moved, but a year after we bought the place the HOA ruled to change the bylaws so that the properties could no longer be leased.  Any idea if we legally can still rent ours since we took ownership before they amended it?

Answer:
 The Homeowners Association is not "they", it's you.

The condominium/homeowners associations I have belonged to can only make changes like this by a vote of the membership.  Members are notified before such votes and may comment and vote against proposed by-law changes.  It's easy to toss the notices and sometimes excruciating to attend the board meetings, but at least you will be prepared. It may be different in your jurisdiction.Answer #2: Jurisdiction might matter here, but in general, you're bound to the rules in force now, not the rules in force when you took possession.


Title: Will police make deals to lesson charges I face for a crime I committed in exchange for information on another unrelated crime someone else committed? US, PA

Question:
So I recently found a phone and meant to return it, but was contacted by the police prior to being able to do so.  During such incident, I was called in for questioning and it began with basic questions and before I could offer to hand the phone back, the detective told me I was screwed for finding a job (college student) and so I got scared and made up a quick story to try and think of a different way to prove I never intended to keep the phone and return it.  I came to my senses, returned to the police a day later and returned the phone, but now I'm in bigger trouble because I told a lie since I got scared...  I'm now facing first-degree misdemeanor charges due to theft and am waiting to hear back from the police to hear what the detective thinks my punishment should be.

Anyway, my question is that I have information regarding another crime that was committed on campus a year ago; it was damage to campus property and they put up a reward sign after it happened for $200 (or something like that).  The student who did it said he would beat me up if I said anything, and being that I didn't need the money I didn't (I coincidentally hate this kid as he has verbally assaulted both me and my girlfriend multiple times).  Is there anyway I could lesson my penalty if I provide information on this case?  It was a year ago, but I know they keep video footage of the area and I know of a friend who took pictures of it on Snapchat with the kids name after it happened (Police can retrieve these images from phones). The damage done was significant it would likely be anywhere from a 2nd degree misdemeanor to a 3rd degree felony.

So essentially, are police actually willing and able to make deals with someone who has committed a crime to lesson their punishment in exchange for information leading to the incrimination of someone else over a completely different crime?

Thanks
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 It's not up to the police, it's up to the prosecutor.  In this case would a prosecutor give a shit about a campus property damage claim in exchange for dropping a misdemeanor against you?  Methinks no.

Remember kid, snitches get stitches.  Get a criminal defense attorney, and hopefully you can plead down to something lower.  And ffs, next time don't voluntarily talk to the police.


Title: Got a ticket for driving without inspection in RI and my court date is today, can anyone explain to me what I'm supposed to do?

Question: Moved to RI and had five days to get my car inspected, but the sixth day I got pulled over. The officer told me if I can show the court I got the inspection done they'd most likely throw out the ticket. Having never been to traffic court, can anyone help me understand what the process will be like and what I should do? I feel like such a noob at life

Answer: You will show up. You will check in. You will wait till your case is called. You will go up. They will ask the officer what say they. They will ask you what say you, (hopefully you took the officers advice and will say "I got the inspection done!!!" cause that is what you did). The judge will look back on their years of legal training. They will consider the ramifications of International Shoe and Brown v. Board. They will remember that CLE they went to where they paid zero attention but was able to get a great old fashion at the bar nearby. They will wonder if they remember the name of that bar so they can go back. They will remember they are on the Bench and people are waiting for them to speak and then they will give a verdict. Will either be a dismissal cause you got the inspection or some kind of fine cause you did the crime. You will either be happy or pissed off. We will never hear from you again.


Title: Is this standard Lawyer Legalese? - or, I don't think this means what they want to say

Question:
OK, OK, I get it.   You can stop already.  Good grief.

Thanks to /u/Gratty And /u/Napalmentor for answering clearly and definitively without mocking me, with a hat-tip to /u/SeeBeWhy and the always /u/UsuallySunny.

I'm never making a post here again without using an alt. Yay, brigading!  :-)

-------------
MY TURN IN THE BOX!

I recently contacted a law firm for... reasons.  I got back email, which included a PDF of a scanned-in letter (done, I'm sure, to preserve the All Important Letterhead), turning me down as a client.

OK.

The hilarity comes with what they said (italics are mine):

-----------

Thank you for inquiring with Dewey Cheatum & How LLP about your potential claim. Unfortunately, this is not a matter we will be investigating.  Please be advised that we are not your attorneys in this matter, and we will be taking no efforts to evaluate or protect any limitations period.

*You should contact an experienced attorney as soon as possible* to evaluate any limitations periods and to ensure that all of your claims are protected.  Failure to do so could result in your inability to assert these claims in the future.

--------------

So, I get what they're saying - they don't think my case is worth taking. Fair enough, and although they didn't say why, after reading this sub for a while I'm pretty sure I know.     They're also trying to say, "Maybe another firm will help you, but probably not, so we're just being polite."

However, the way they put it is that I should *contact an experienced attorney*?  Do they realize that implies that they're NOT experienced attorneys?

Is this standard Legalese Boilerplate, or are these folks not realizing they're telling their rejected clients something utterly stupid?

Answer:
 They're implicitly telling you not to hire some schlub greenhorn so you can't later claim they gave you bad advice.

FWIW, I don't think it implies DCH are *not* experienced.Answer #2: It doesn't imply they *aren't* experienced attorneys. That is a lazy misreading of the letter. They're saying, you still need the help of an experienced attorney in this matter. Their firm simply will not be assisting you.

This may be a way to avoid giving the impression they are saying you don't need a lawyer *at all* but I don't know.


Title: Hypothetically speaking, am I allowed to share a letter of apology? (Oregon .. or, anywhere, really)

Question:
Let's say, hypothetically speaking, that I was assaulted. That I was, oh, held at gunpoint for 3 hours.

Now, let's say, hypothetically speaking that the criminal pled guilty and was forced to write me a letter of apology for his actions.

Now, let's say, hypothetically speaking, that he's spreading lies throughout the community. Saying it wasn't a big deal, that I'm exaggerating, that I deserved it, and so on.

Now. I know it might not be the most psychologically healthy thing, and it wouldn't be very ethical. But I'm not here to ask questions about my health or my ethics.

Legally speaking .. and hypothetically speaking, of course .. am I allowed to share this apology letter with the community? Like, post it on my Facebook. Or in the newspaper. Or on telephone poles.

In this completely hypothetical situation, the criminal would have already pled guilty. And it would be a matter of public record. So it's not technically libelous or slanderous .. right? And the letter was willfully handed to the victim (albeit, under court order and in lieu of jail time). And of course, in this completely hypothetical situation, the letter *would* be my own property.

Would this be a legally acceptable action for me to make? Would I be at risk of litigation? Would I be committing any sort of crime?

Hypothetically speaking, of course.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Unless there's a condition in the sentencing agreement that prevents it, no there wouldn't be an issue most likely.

Your excessive need to point out the hypothetical nature of this question only raises more questions in my mind though. What are you exactly worried about?


Title: Got a underage drinking charge, where do I go from here? (Va)

Question: I was going into a concert when a cop put me in the drunk tank at the show and, my memory is pretty much blacked out at this point, but I was told I was being "combative and disrespectful" while in their, which I do not remember, but would not be surprised to here. I never touched or disobeyed the cope directly.  I did not have any alcohol on me, nor do I believe I was breathalyzed. I'm 18, this is my first time getting arrested, and I was have never had even a speeding ticket.  Also my court date is Sept. 15th and I am leaving for college in New Jersey two weeks before.

Answer:
 You should get an attorney and see if there may be a first time offender program available.

>  my memory is pretty much blacked out at this point

>  I never touched or disobeyed the cope directly

If you can't remember how do you know what you did or didn't do?  It's not hard to imagine a seriously drunk 18 year old being "combative and disrespectful".


Title: Getting Around Protective Order

Question:
My parents recently got into a fight and my mother retaliated by getting a restraining order. The police served my dad and removed him from the house. All of this happened while my siblings and I were strategically out of the house as my mother planned. We were unaware of it all until we asked why it was 11 pm and dad wasn’t home. She explained she had him removed and said it was for our own safety. She told us not to communicate with him or we would be breaking the law. Now, my siblings and my therapist and I think she overreacted. He has had a long history of abusive behavior and restraining orders have been used before, but this time we all believe it was not his fault/she was being rash. Is there anyway my siblings and I can see or talk to him, or do we have to wait until (and if) my mom drops the order/it times out? She said the judge immediately issued it when she asked, and didn’t ask any questions. I am unsure of the details of the order but could probably pry it out of her innocently.

location: Chicago, IL
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 >I think she overreacted.

100% irrelevant. A judge felt she wasnt. This isnt your mom at this point. This is a judge.

Violating the court order will put your father in jail. So dont


Title: My parents are forcing me to leave the US to another country

Question:
Location : Georgia

So I’m [16M] living with my dad and I’m about to finish high school and when I do my parents are going to force me back to where my mom lives which is not in the country. I will be 17 soon and if I leave, there is a great chance I won’t be coming back. Is there anything I can do?
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 What citizenship(s) do you hold?

> there is a great chance I won’t be coming back

What do you mean by this? Are you afraid of being married off, trafficked, etc


Title: [WA] Go to a state funded University. Redbull came in and put cans of redbull on each desk in the building (maybe more buildings)

Question:
Whoever left the cans signed the whiteboard saying something like "Enjoy a redbull, you deserve it -Redbull" is it legal to have product placement like that at a state funded Uni? If I broke any rules please downvote me into oblivion.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Product placement would mean they had some kind of deal with the University. This is more likely guerilla marketing. If they were asked to leave and didn't, they could probably be cited with trespassing.


Title: Sexual Harassment in my Workplace isn't being taken seriously because it's Men accusing a Woman.

Question:
Pretty much what the title says. 4 boys now have spoken up about one girl, and when asked for proof have said they felt uncomfortable keeping naked and unwanted images like that on their phones. 4 people. And she's done it to more who are afraid of speaking up. She hasn't lost her job and is in fact being promoted to a Manager. What can we do?
Topic:
Canada

Answer: Um... the manager has the 4 "boys" (ages?) keep naked pictures on their own phones? Of random naked people or someone in particular? Can you clarify what is going on?


Title: [NH] Someone posted my property as no trespassing, no hunting without consent.

Question: I suspect I know who did it (older woman is upset the old family farm got parceled up). I wasn’t so concerned that they posted this on the road front but they also posted them between my property and my neighbors which is delineated by a rock wall that has sporadic old rusted barbed wire along it. This is a liability concern for me and seems to be trespassing in it self. What action can I take?

Answer:
 You can take the signs down, if they're on your property.  That's about it.

If you can prove who did it, and the activity recurs, you can perhaps get an injunction or restraining order stopping them from doing this again.  But right now, your only recourse is to take the signs down.Answer #2: You can take her signs down, put up your own and then set up game cameras to see if you can catch her, or others, in the act of trespassing again.  If you do then take those photos to the police and have them give her a warning about trespassing.  If she shows up again she can be charged.  I would also see about removing that barbed wire since it poses a risk of Tetanus if it snags someone (i.e. little kids that see a cool rock wall to climb on).


Title: [Virginia] House our apartment was attached to burned down, no utilities indefinitely, we are homeless and in needs of legal advice on where to go from here.

Question:
We are in a small apartment attached to a main house, the house caught fire on Friday night and the electrical box is fried, the fire marshal said there would be no utilities indefinitely and we basically just need to find a new place to live.

We had just paid rent and are now broke, the landlord only offered us our deposit back but hasn't given it to us yet and i would like our deposit and this months rent back seeing as we aren't able to live in our apartment for the month we just paid rent for. If we got that money back then we would be able to afford a down payment on a new apartment. I don't know if i can trust her to do the right thing, she said she is waiting to hear back from the insurance company today.

What are our legal rights as tenants? Unfortunately we did not have renters insurance (I'm really kicking myself in the ass for that one.....)

Answer:
 > Unfortunately we did not have renters insurance

That is unfortunate, because this situation is precisely what insurance is for.

While you are likely entitled to your rent and deposit back(that depends strongly on the situation, but it's likely yours) it doesn't necessarily follow that you'll get it back immediately.  In all cases, these things take time.  You may need to borrow some money in the short term.


Title: [VA] Step-Parent in Divorce

Question: My wife and I are getting a divorce. I am a non-biological father, and never had the chance to adopt, as the biological father would not give up his rights. Do I have any way of making sure I can have visitation with my daughter? She is almost 5, I've been in the picture since she was 2.

Answer: Unfortunately you hold no rights. Unless your wife is willing to allow some sort of visitation, step parents are just seen as disposable in children's lives to courts.


Title: My new 200$ sleeping bag is rated for "Comfort: -18C (1F)". I first used it in 12C (54F) in the summer and was comfortable, but had it first tried it on the mountains I would have died. Shop refuses to reimburse/exchange after talking to the manufacturer. Can I do something? (Sweden).

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Your complaint is with the manufacturer. Not the store. They just sell it. Manufacturer is the one who MAY have lied on the info


Title: (So. California) How many times can the **exact** same thing (a tree) go to mediation?

Question:
Writing this for a friend, because...IANAL.

Older home A that's been in the family for a long time.  Older tree with older home.  Pruned professionally once a year to the point where, by the professional's advice, any further pruning would kill said tree.

Up the hill, house B goes on the market and sells.  House B's new owner is annoyed by the blight in his view--wants the tree removed.  Lots of nasty back and forth, and **as required by local ordinance** it goes to mediation.

Mediation determines that the tree on house A's property stays, but needs to be pruned every year..which it was and is.

The following year, the house up the hill--house b--sells again.  This time to a lawyer.  (sorry guys)  This new neighbor is aggressively seeking removal of the tree, and mediation, even though successful for house A's owner on the last go round, will  still cost a whole lot of real money.

How many times can the same exact issue be sent to mediation when none of the factors have changed?  My friend losing serious money every time this happens.

Answer:
 Mediation is generally non-binding unless you agree after the resolution.  The new owner wasn't a party to the previous mediation, so he'd have the right to re-open the dispute unless he agreed to be bound as part of purchasing the home (seems unlikely).  Though it's likely your friend can bring the previous settlement and findings into this to speed up the process.  Answer #2: Well, since you're a relatively uninterested party - is the tree a blight? After all, one person class you a duck, you call him a jerk and move on. Two people call you a duck...

Is your friend just emotionally attached to the tree? Or is there some other reason they don't want it taken down (i.e., the cost of removal)? Could they come to an agreement where the lawyer pays to replace it with a smaller, prettier tree?


Title: Ex partner refusing to let me see my kids. (Australia)

Question:
This is an ongoing battle, she has constantly made it hard for me to see the children, so I took her to court. She has breached court orders over 30 times and each time they file the breach, make her come in, and tell her not to do it again. Last time they closed the case without telling me they were going to, so I now have to open a new one. In all of the court proceedings I have come up as compliant and a good father, while she has been deemed 'verbally abusive' to my two boys in the family report and required to attend parenting lessons.

A year ago she moved as far away from me as she could go that the court allowed, 2 hours, and has demanded that I pick the boys up from her house if I want to see them. I agreed, and I would pick them up from a public area nearby that was in the court orders. Recently, she moved to another house and demanded I pick the boys up from her door. The court says that she must take them to an agreed pick spot, unless we both agree on a new one. I refuse to go to her house because she is abusive and has assaulted me before, though I couldn't it as evidence as I didn't tell her I was recording. It is a rural area and I don't trust her. She has sent me numerous texts saying that I can't be bothered to pick them up and that it is my choice, she has also told the boys that I don't care about them, and they are very upset by it.

This is one tiny, tiny drop in a bucket of histrionic craziness from this woman. I am about to open the case again but I want this one to actually make a difference. She is not learning from being told not to do it again, and it's taking a toll on my boys.

I hope you can help, thanks.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 If there are any Australian lawyers on here, I'd love to get their input on this one.

Have you spoken with a lawyer, or have you been relying on state agents to handle the case? I know lawyers can be very expensive and are not in everyone's budget, but it sounds like a family practice attorney is the only way you're going to see any progress. There are ways to obtain free legal representation, I'm hoping someone from your area can suggest a few.

On a personal note, I really hope that you can get this thing figured out OP. I can't imagine anything worse than having someone try to take your kids away, and feeling powerless to stop it. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.


Title: I'd like a divorce. Husband refuses to leave until it's convenient for him.

Question:
About 11 months ago, I told my husband I was unhappy, getting married was a mistake, and I wanted out. We'd only been married 8 months at that point (had been together for 6 years before tying the knot).

He says he won't leave until he gets a job offer, and he won't let this divorce inconvenience him in any way.

I bought a house over the summer, wanting to move forward with one of my long-term goals. So he's living here, in my house, and the soonest possible he says he'll leave is in May next year. It's driving me insane.

He's applying for tenure track jobs in academia (humanities). I pay for literally everything except for utilities, and it would not be a problem for me financially to pay for that myself. We've lived like this for about 5 years.

He says that I have to give him enough money to pay off his credit cards and get setup in a new place "because we're married and that's the law."

Can this really be true? It seems really unfair. I've busted my ass in my job, supporting him in grad school. He's been working on a PhD (in English) for 6 years. We're in Illinois.

Answer:
 “Don’t take legal advice from your opponent.”

Talk to a divorce lawyer on Monday. Answer #2: Get a divorce lawyer. He doesn't have to agree to the divorce for the divorce to happen.

If you are the only person listed on the title of the home, and if it was purchased before you were married, you can legally evict him from the house. Otherwise, legally it might be his house, too, and you wouldn't be able to compel him to leave.Answer #3: Illinois is an equitable distribution state.

IANAL, but I live in an equitable distribution state.

While your house is marital property, so is any debt either of you may have taken on.

It’s very important that you see a lawyer so they can help you see the real financial picture.

Also, things like spousal support are often determined by who the “breadwinner” was for most of the marriage.

You could be on the hook for half your husband’s debt and he might be able to request and get spousal support, since you seem to be supporting him.

The good news is, equitable distribution doesn’t automatically split every asset 50/50 the way a community property situation nights. There’s usually some bartering that can be done.

Since you were the only one to spend anything on the house, that could work in your favor.  For example, you might agree to pay more than your share of his debt in exchange for keeping the home for yourself.

Your lawyer will be able to direct you on your next steps though.  You need one of those ASAP.


Title: Is there anyway to make another adult my legal sister?

Question:
Ninja edit: I'm a resident of Washington state and so is she. I attend school (6-7 mo/yr) in New York state. Sorry, LocationBot!

I realize this is a totally weird and non-pressing question, I'd like to know if there's a way I, an adult, can make another adult (of sound mind) my legal sister?  We were raised alongside each other, and her parents basically considered me their second daughter. However, when her mom got sick with cancer, the hospital wouldn't allow me in her room a lot of the time. The treatment center had a family-only policy for patients who were really sick, and even though my friend's mom said she wanted me to be able to visit, they only allowed people who were legally family. I don't want this to happen to her if I ever get sick. I already have an advanced healthcare directive that states she should be given priority right below my parents in choosing my treatment if I'm incapacitated, but I also want to be sure that the hospital can't deny her visitation to me on the grounds that she isn't legally my family.

 Is there anyway to do this? Would it be as simple as an addendum to my advanced care directive?

Answer:
 >The treatment center had a family-only policy for patients who were really sick, and even though my friend's mom said she wanted me to be able to visit, they only allowed people who were legally family.

Honestly, the best way to avoid this is to choose a doctor affiliated with a hospital with liberal, patient-centered visitation policies whenever it's feasible to make such a choice.

IMO these old-fashioned policies (relatives only, limited hours) are for the convenience of the hospital, not the best interest of the patients.  That should tell you something about the hospital.


Title: A matter of family oil.

Question:
Hello,

I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do, but I thought I would try asking here to see if there’s any path I can start on.

Back in 2008 my grandmother, whom I’ll call Bevy, was contacted by an oil company and offered a deal to run a pipeline across some land that she was a joint owner of in another state (Louisiana). At the time she resided in Arizona, and I was stationed in Korea. Normally my grandmother would contact me on such matters as I’m her only close relative, but she didn’t want to bother me with this (because of the distance), and contacted a distant cousin whom I’ll call Angela in California who worked for a Lawyer.

To make this a short as possible, I’ll paraphrase from here on. An agreement was made between the oil company and the land owners, and my cousin Angela facilitated most of it and didn’t provide any copies of anything in regards to her side of the legal matter.

My grandmother died this past year, and I have been combing through paperwork in order to locate assets etc… I am now under the belief that my grandmother was tricked into signing away her rights to the land without realizing it. I have checked the local records for that area and they are all registered to Angela now.  And since Angela worked for a legal firm, I believe she would have the ability to avoid providing copies of any such documents to my grandmother, for me to have been able to follow up on. The only documents I have in regards to anything were sent directly from the oil company’s legal team, and list Angela as Bevy’s representative.

At the time my grandmother was so elated to receive the money she got that she didn’t think twice about anything, she also really despised reading, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she had been tricked.

Anyhow, is there any way for me as the legal representative of her estate to request records from the attorney’s that handled the matters between Bevy and Angela? Or is that something that can never be accessed again because so much time has passed, or is barred from estate representatives?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Send a certified letter to Angela's law firm, cc Angela by separate copy of certified letter, and explain you are the executor of your grandmother's estate and need any information regarding the easement on her property, including any past and/or ongoing financial payments received or made regarding the easement.

You can get a copy of the current deed as a user described below. A title company can provide a property profile for your grandmother's property that will show a history of everything that was filed in regards to the property but will not include financial information (it can include any entities or trusts that might have been set up for the transfer, which you can then research to gain more information).Answer #2: I'm still trying to figure out why you think she was tricked.  The oil company wanted to build a pipeline across her land, and she was apparently well paid for it.

You say that "they are all registered to Angela now".  What is they?  Your grandmothers properties?Answer #3: Sounds like she signed an easement for a pipeline, and that easement should be filed with the deed at the county courthouse. Some counties let you check that online.


Title: Trying to resolve a gym membership issue. Are they allowed to legally require me to stay confidential regarding the resolution?

Question:
I'm dealing with some difficulties over a gym membership. Gym staff I've reached out to have been uncooperative so I resorted to negative reviews on social media. A manager is now trying to reach out to me via email. However, in the email they ask "please keep my email confidential".

I had fully intended to release information about the emails if their responses continued to be unhelpful, but I wanted to know if I could face any legal trouble over that.

I understand it would help more if I listed the specific chain, but for now, how likely will I end up getting into more than I asked for. I'm slowly learning more and more how much legal nonsense is involved with gym memberships.

EDIT: Gym chain is in multiple states, but the specific one I signed up at is in Virginia, USA

I also misspoke about my intentions. If I choose to go along with sending the email and the email interactions proved they definitely still weren't going to fix my problem, I would resort to releasing information from the emails.

Answer:
 You’re not required to unless you sign a contract stating so.

If you’re looking for them to do something for you it might be a good idea.


Title: [OK] Landlord not refunding security deposit after we decided to not sign lease

Question:
Hey /r/legaladvice .

Location: Oklahoma City / Norman, Oklahoma

Yet another question regarding security deposits, though somewhat unusual, and not sure if it qualifies as a "legal" matter. For anonymity, I will refer to the landord as "Landlord" and the employee who showed us the apartment as "Staff". TL;DR at the bottom.

A few weeks ago my friend and I were looking for apartments and we found one that seemed to be within our budget. Since we were looking for units near our university, it was common for rental plans that include utility bills paid in the rent. We had met up with Staff two times over a couple of weeks discussing the unit and looking inside once renovations had been finished. My friend, his girlfriend, and I were all present when we asked whether the rent included utilities, and we were told they were. We also confirmed multiple times afterwards with Staff and were told yes each time, though we didn't get any sort of concrete written down or recorded proof that she did say so.

Seeing as utilities seemed to be included we decided to sign the lease. We paid the application fee of $110 ($55 for each of us) and a $450 security deposit, and a few days later we received the lease agreement through email via DocuSign. Upon reading the agreement, it said that tenants were responsible for paying for utilities, and got confused. We asked Landlord and she told us that utilities were in fact not included in the rent, and that Staff also was aware of this. Miscommunication? Misunderstanding on our part? Whichever the case, this put the unit out of our budget so we had no choice but to not proceed with the application, which was fine.

I asked about the application fee and deposit (via text) and this was the response I received:

> Ap fees are non-refundable expenses we have already incurred as well as the deposit after your application was approved. We lost out on another tenant that applied later the same day you guys did. They already leased another unit now, but if we get the unit gets leased by Aug 1st where we are made whole, I am happy to refund your deposit in full at that time as a courtesy since it is not my intention to profit off you, only to be made whole in this instance.

Since we had turned in applications and they were processed, the application fees being non-refundable I can totally understand. But regardless of whose fault this misunderstanding was (which I strongly believe to be Staff's, not ours), does the landlord have the right to keep the security deposit I paid before even signing the lease, let alone moving in? If so, are we basically just out $450 if no one happens to move in by August 1st?

**TL;DR** : A misunderstanding resulted in us not proceeding with signing the lease for an apartment, but we had already paid security deposit of $450, which may not get refunded. Can deposits be kept by landlord even if we haven't signed the lease?

Answer:
 > Seeing as utilities seemed to be included we decided to sign the lease.

Unfortunately this gives the landlord all the cards.

**EDIT: I had read that to mean you signed.**

If you did not sign the lease, they can only keep the non-refundable application fee.

Send them a certified letter demanding your deposit back.  If they refuse you have recourse in small claims.

Answer #2: You should be refunded the security deposit AND application fee, because they made a material change to the terms -- you told them to process the application for an apartment with utilities included, they were wrong and utilities were not included.  They made a large mistake and should be responsible for it.

If they don't make good on your terms, speak to a local tenants rights group and/or city council members.


Title: Questions about filing for legitimation in GA

Question:
I live in Georgia, USA and have a five-year-old daughter out of wedlock. Her mother and I separated in November 2013 and she put me on child support in December 2014 (nearly $400 per month). Since then, I've had my daughter at my house for most of the time, and she usually goes to her mother's on the weekends. There is no schedule set by the courts or anything, we just "play it by ear". I've talked to two lawyers and became scared when I was told the courts usually rule in favor of the mother and the judge would appoint visitation if the parents cannot come to an agreement. Her mother and I actually get along well these days and I brought up going through the legitimation process back in January. I explained the benefits and her mother agreed. She has since had another child (born last week) and I wanted to let her relax before talking about it again. My family and girlfriend think I'm scared for no reason and should go ahead and file. I feel like an idiot just letting it go for so long.

I kept records of the times I've kept her and times she was at her mother's or grandmother's. I want to be the primary parent and do not want any money/child support from her mother.

Do I have any reason to fear the court?

Do my records help me out?

What are the chances, as a father in GA, that I can become the primary parent? If I become the primary, can I reject having child support?

I just want my rights as a father and have been such a chicken about the process. Thanks in advance to all that answer!

EDIT: Thank you to all that answered! :D

Answer:
 Honestly, I would find a couple more lawyers to talk to. Generally, the courts will do whatever is deemed to be best for the child, and if you have been the primary parent with the mother getting visitation, the courts will be loathe to change that without compelling evidence of neglect or abuse.

Your best bet, honestly, is to work out a set custody and visitation schedule with your ex, type up the agreement, have a lawyer look it over (one for you, different one for ex to be safe), then file that with the courts. Courts love it when parents can come to a reasonable agreement on their own, and will generally not mess with it once it's been agreed upon by both parties.

If she starts fighting you on it, get a lawyer and work through the court system to hash it out. Like I said, talk to more lawyers and find one you are comfortable, who has a positive (but realistic) outlook regarding your case. You can also google around looking for father's rights groups, they generally have good resources to refer you to attorneys who specialize in helping get fathers primary custody.


Title: Can the HIPAA laws be waived by a government entity.

Question:
I'm enlisting in the Marines and I just went through meps which is the medical examination for the military.  I was told by my recruiter that the doctors at meps cannot get permission even from myself to go around the HIPAA laws and get my personal medical records.  But at meps they had me sign something saying that they could access them.  One of them is lying to me and I think it is my recruiter.

P.s. I didn't lie at meps so I don't have to worry about that but I am just wondering which person is telling me the truth.

Answer: There isn't an issue. HIPAA disallows unauthorized access to anyone without permission. You signed a form that gives them access. No violation.


Title: 5-6 Charges, am I screwed?

Question: So, one week ago, I suspected my girlfriend was lying to me and caught her having a threesome (at her house at 2 AM), naturally I was furious and the guy she had been cheating on me with told me to leave. I refused to leave until I spoke with her. He had put his hands on me attempting to not let me walk up the steps, I told him to take his hands off me and stepped back. I eventually walked up the steps after a minute of talking and he put his hands on me again and I uttered a death threat to him if he didn't take his hands off me, it was purely in the heat of the moment. Here's where it gets interesting, with my luck, there tires were slashed and I was blamed (probably because I had uttered a death threat with a knife?). They had told the police officer I'd smashed her window days prioer to this night, uttered threats, and caused damage, they apparently witnessed everything, which is completely bogus since their vehicles are parked where they can't even see anything. I was also allegedly driving my fathers truck illegally (I don't have a license - never got around to it) but I had my bike right in the open... I am being charged with Criminal Harassment, Mischief (2) for allegedly slashing tires and smashing a window, Uttering threats. Now, they did not witness anything but they are claiming to have, and it's a 4 people (Threesome couple + mom) and they said they have my dads license plate (Girlfriend lived with me for one year...means nothing?) What is likely to happen? This is my first offence, I have a RO on them both, their work place, residence and apparently I've posted stuff of her on craigslist telling people to come over and broken no contact when my Skype message was delayed days because she never logs on anymore since we split up. What are my options? It's basically he says she says aside from the Uttering Threats (which I will plead guilty to) - they have proof. Last but not least, when I found out I threatened to release intimate photos/vids of her if she did not speak to me, and I later deleted everything because I decided to cut my losses when she wouldn't reply. I did however send her a photo shopped picture of one picture of her online a porn site and a picture of destroying her teddy bear. Am I basically screwed? I live in Canada and I am 19 years old.

Answer: Short and sweet advice. First, you need a lawyer, badly. Second, you need a therapist, badly.