Title: [CA] The court system keeps charging me with other people's crimes

Question:
I have an extremely common name. On at least three separate occasions (that I know of), I've ended up with someone else's actions on my records. This has negatively impacted my life, but I'm not sure how to get it to stop. It seems to be the court system repeatedly screwing up rather than someone else stealing my identity.

The first I discovered this was when I was 16 and went to the DMV to take my driver's test. After passing, the clerk informed me that I had a warrant out for my arrest in a county at the other end of the state. Luckily, the description of the suspect was another ethnicity, so they let me leave. I was able to have the incident expunged from my record by contacting a judge in the appropriate county and proving this was a mistaken identity.

The second time was again at the DMV, but this time during my early twenties. A different county had suspended my license due to a failure to appear in court. I couldn't drive for the next month while I filed paperwork to get this incident also expunged. Luckily I had been out of the country when the initial crime had taken place so it was easy to prove it wasn't me.

The third time happened this last month. I went on vacation abroad and was flagged at Immigration while re-entering the country. Apparently I now have a restraining order against someone else, and they have one against me. The 'other me' has different color hair and eyes, so I've been able to talk my way out of it, but I had Special Agents from the DOJ show up at my house several days ago to investigate.

How do I stop this? I've been extremely lucky that I've been able to talk my way out of (most) of these situations. The next time is likely to lead to my arrest. I'm not sure even how to get this latest incident removed from my record, since it's a restraining order and not a specific crime to plead against.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: One of my friends was in a similar situation. He was arrested at gun point as his place of employment 2x, had a raid of his house once, was detained while trying to travel, etc. This went on until the criminal guy was killed in a standoff with officers. And now my friend lives peacefully without such issues. Answer #2: Not legal advice, but if you ever wanted the chance to change your name to Scorpion Lazerflash, I'd say now is the time.


Title: My probation officer told me to start attending church. Is he allowed to do that? Do I have to go to church now?

Question: I'm on probation in Michigan for a misdemeanor if that is important.

Answer:
 This one is in michigan:

http://www.templesofsatan.comAnswer #2: Did he ORDER you to go order ADVISE you to go?

He may just be telling you what he knows will look good to the judge.Answer #3: In general, you should follow your probation officer's instructions unless you get a court order telling you otherwise.

It is unlikely that he could force you to attend a specific church, and very unlikely that he could force you to attend a religious service at all.  You should discuss with him his intentions to see if another event would cover his order.Answer #4: Your PO isn't allowed to make up things for you to do. You do have to follow your probation conditions, which are stated in your judgment of conviction or probation order. If those conditions don't say you have to attend church then you don't have to do it. But like any petty tyrant, a bad PO can find a legitimate way to screw you if you defy him - so tread carefully.Answer #5: Go back with about a week's beard growth and tell him you have found Allah.


Title: [OH] Someone's going to hit a kid. What can we do?

Question:
Here's our situation.  Our neighborhood has a good amount of homes (~100) and one main road to get in.  There is a second access road that the city says we must keep for emergencies that comes in the side of the neighborhood.  The problem is that there a few people from the a joining neighborhood that use that secondary road to drive through our neighborhood at break neck speeds.  This isn't a new issue.  Cops have been called.  We know the regular speeding cars.  No real results have really been attained.  Many of us are worried that someone's going to hit a kid (we have many and they do dumb stuff like play in the road).

Our hoa has tried to solve the situation by suggesting we add speed jumps at the beginning of the neighborhood at great expense to the community.  But we will lose community snow removal.  That combined with increased ems response times shut down that idea.  But aside from scattering cinderblocks on that secondary road, I'm not sure what to do.  Any advice is appreciated.

I'm in Ohio.

Answer: A friend of mine had this issue and she was able to get the police to station one of those radar signs that tells people how fast they are going for some time.  I think it stayed for a few weeks, then came back a few weeks later in a different location.  She said it made a big difference.


Title: Hospital making me get 2nd flu shot.

Question:
I work for a hospital. At this hospital we are required as employees to receive the Flu Shot, or wear a mask. As someone who works in the ER trust me you don’t want to wear a mask. So I received my flu shot.

This week a load of employees were notified by our managers that the flu shot that was given could be faulty because one day was not documented that it was refrigerated. Because of this they can’t verify if the flu shot was effective or not.  Therefore they are requiring we get a 2nd round of the flu shot. A lot of people are upset about this. They don’t want to get a 2nd one because the first one gave a lot of people adverse symptoms.

I feel this is on the hospital and we shouldn’t be required to get a 2nd flu shot.  Also if they really did give us faulty flu shots that is not a little mistake.

Can the hospital make me get another flu shot?

Answer: No. But they can make you wear a mask if you don't.


Title: Dealership fraud! sold me car w/o title, closed shop, opened under new name...lawyer up? In texas

Question:
Long story short, I went to a small dealership (about 100 trucks and cars) to buy a truck. The sales guy (who was one of the owners) did all our paperwork, our lender financed, and he asked to have our lender send a check to him immediately which they did and we drove off with our 20K truck. Six weeks later, we still hadn't received the plates and I needed to get it inspected and registered, which we can't do because all the paperwork we have is a bill of sale but no title. My wife called the dealership and left messages every day for almost a week. The website had changed to just say CLOSED. So we called the lender to see if they had any information on the truck since we found the dealership through their car buying service. After another six weeks of only us staying on top of it and trying to figure out the situation, this is what we have....
The dealer sold us a car they did not have the title to, and the original owner has a HUGE lien on it. So another bank has the title. We we able to find the county and bank with the title which of course they will not hand over until the lien is paid. Our lender says they already paid the dealer so we are forced to continue to pay on the truck another bank owns and we can't drive because we can't get it registered or inspected. The dealership has opened up under a new name last week and is fully operational, which we just frond out. Where do we go from here?

Edit: Thank you all for the info. If anyone else has any advice- please let me know. At this point any new point of view is a huge help.

Answer:
 Sue the person that sold you the truck. Sounds like they committed fraud.

They might try to hide under whatever LLC the original dealership was owned by but there's ways to get to the actual people. You should also report this to your state's attorney general.

You're going to need an attorney. At this level of damages and the fact that there might be fraud means there could be punitive damages which you're out of the realm small claims. They'll also be able to help pierce the corporate veil.Answer #2: Car dealer here.

Contact your state motor vehicle department. They will be the most helpful in resolving this. Answer #3: http://www.txdmv.gov/dealers
http://www.txdmv.gov/contact-us
Enforcement Contacts
Subject	Phone Number
Enforcement Division Administrative Staff	(512) 465-4204, Fax: (512) 374-5496
Answer #4: Wouldn't the lender have a great interest in knowing where the title is (as well as any other pertinent paperwork) since they would be holding onto it until you've paid off the loan?  Perhaps you should call them as well.


Title: [PA] Can you deny someone service if they're too obese/morbidly obese?

Question:
I'm not even saying you deny them due to their size from disgust or anything like that but more just because let's say your spa doesn't have chairs that can support them?

Do they have grounds to sue you or anything?

Answer:
 Being fat is not a protected class.  You can discriminate against fat people legally.
Answer #2: However if obesity is a symptom of a disease convered by the ADA then you may find there to be a problem.  Obesity is commonly rejected as a disability but there was a forklift driver in Texas who was successful with an ADA action based on his employer refusing to grant a reasonable exception under the ADA and he was basically just obese. The ADA isn't just for employers though.

You might be in the clear but you could find yourself up against ADA compliance issues.

Before setting a blanket policy of non service Id consult an attorney in your area to be sure you're fine.


Title: Need help with being a firearm owner and having a friend with a felony moving in (full details linked to previous post on r/guns)

Question: [My post on r/guns](https://www.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/9jymk0/nearfuture_living_situation_with_a_felon/?st=JMNQRZ91&sh=ba768079)

Answer:
 The only way to confidently protect your friend from a parole violation for possessing firearms is to put them into a safe or other immovable locking secure location.    I use a keypad safe because I consider them to be the best combination of security, flexibility, and speed of access.

Storing the firearms in another room is good, but a parole officer can make an argument against it.    Trigger locks are not enough because the prohibited person can still "take possession" of the firearm even if it's unloaded or unfireable, and that's the factual basis for the violation.

The probationer is the one who is at risk of a violation;   you can't get in trouble if he has access to your firearms.

His probation officer will probably talk to you or even visit, so if you have the firearms locked up and can show that, it will score confidence points with the PO.


Title: How to get social worker removed from case in California? DCFS

Question:
I understand this is beyond insanely difficult.  I also understand that one one likes their social worker.

That said, we have one working on the case of a child in our extended family who has made the child feel like she is not being listened to or believed.  It has gotten to the point where the social worker will tell me, “Child X has said she is fine.” Then I will talk to the child who will say, “I told [social worker] how unhappy I am and how all this stuff is going wrong.  She doesn’t listen to me.”

This is a young teen, not a four year old.  She is an excellent student, a kind person and credible young lady.

We have a lawyer.  He thinks we should just try to wait it out, get on social worker’s good side, and get in front of a judge (we are headed to dependency court).  He does not recommend trying to remove social worker, thinks this is next to impossible and that it will backfire.

Is this genuinely a system with no checks or balances? Or is there some process we can utilize to help us get someone else to work with?

Answer: You should listen to the advice of the attorney who is being paid to advise you.  They know more about the facts and circumstances of your situation and will give you better advice from the lawyers (and mostly non lawyers) here.


Title: At Target, a kid kicks a ball, hits neon light above me, shatters glass and neon light particles on me and into my eye. What options do I have?

Question:
Hi there, just as the title says, tonight I was at a Target which has 3 levels. I was on the escalator from the first floor going to the second floor. The toy section is on the third floor and there was a kid kicking soccer balls, one of which flew over the railing and hit the neon light fixture that was directly above my head. This light was for design, not necessarily for light in the store. The light shattered and I ducked but still was covered in the glass pieces and dust. Some of which got in my eye. The staff was awful about the situation. It took a manager a good 5 minutes to even come up to me. He filled out an incident report and never really apologized about what happened. They made zero effort to find the kid that did it. There was a camera directly above which they said their insurance would provide. They are supposed to give me a call in the next few days.

They called the fire department while I was there and they took my vitals and checked my eye for any obvious pieces. They noted the neon light particle dust in my hair and on my shoulders. Then said to follow up with an ER visit. ER doctor told me they noticed a cut on the white part of my eye and gave me drops to put in every 2 hours. They also flushed my eye and flipped the lid. I have to follow up with an eye specialist on Monday.

What are my legal options? Do I have some sort of case against Target? What next steps should I take? This is in Los Angeles, CA. Thanks!

Answer:
 >It took a manager a good 5 minutes to even come up to me. He filled out an incident report and never really apologized about what happened.

I wouldn't hold not apologizing against the manager. When I worked in retail, it was drilled into us that we should *never* apologize for anything because it could imply liability. I'm not sure if that's true, legally speaking, but still. We were told we would be fired if we were heard apologizing to someone who fell, for instance. We could go to that person, help them, and sympathize with them. But absolutely, under no circumstances, could we apologize.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't pursue legal action. Do what you need to do. Just don't hold not apologizing against any particular employee. They're just cogs in a wheel, trying to make a buck.Answer #2: You really have no substantial damages, except maybe your deductible, possibly time lost from work (your hourly rate times hours, if you are not salaried).  Practical legal advice is to reach out to Target, bring evidence of your out of pocket expenses, get a gift card.  You can sue but your only real hope is getting a nuisance settlement (where someone settles just to make you go away).  Answer #3: I would talk to the store manager first, they might very likely escalate the situation and make sure they cover your ER visit etc without the need for a drawn out court battle.


Title: Maryland- How to legally remove someone from a home?

Question:
This may sound strange given the circumstances but I am not here to vent, just to receive some legal advice.

My father signed the house over to me via quick claim deed and now I'm wondering how to legally remove my violent mother (married to father; father attempting divorce) from the household since eviction is not a viable option. She is not a paying tenant. I fear the safety of my father, myself, and my paying tenants.

**A little background on her:** She is very manipulative and an excellent liar. She has called police twice over "violent actions" against her and the police left telling her there was nothing they could do because yelling does not count as violent.
One night she had pushed one of my tenants and I have that on video. That same night, she threatened that "if this keeps going on, someone will die." Sadly, that was not captured on any recording device.
OVer a skype call, with witnesses, and audio recording, we had come to an agreement for separation to which she verbally agreed to but once we got into the court, she rejected the offer. The offer entitled one year's worth of living expenses among other things that were to be paid for by my father to get give her time to adjust to living on her own.

**A little extra info on my father and I:** I am currently a full time student with a part time job and my father owns a home business. Recently, my father was diagnosed with a terminal illness and the stress from my mother is not helping his condition. The relationship between my mother and I is toxic and her relationship with her parents has been severed because of her actions towards us.

**I thank everyone who took the time to read this. Hopefully someone can offer some advice before I meet with a lawyer.**
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 >  since eviction is not a viable option.

Why? It's your house now. She doesn't have a lease.

Give her notice to vacate then go to court to evict if she doesn't leave. If she is violent and dangerous you should call the police.


Title: Dutiful wife loses husband, daughter sues

Question:
Until I know how much I can talk about, I will keep this question simple.
A family member had her husband die.  He had no will.  He also left her penniless and swimming in debt.  She is selling off everything to pay off the debt but the grown daughter of the husband is trying to demand she get a say in the selling.

So here’s my question, when a person dies with no will, who does the property go to?
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer:
 He died intestate. It needs to go through probate court.Answer #2: Tell wife to sell NOTHING. Her husband died intestate and his estate will be disbursed as under Texas probate law. Tell her to get an estate/probate attorney before she does anything else. No one gets anything that the court does not designate. Good luck.Answer #3: Because Texas is a community property state, paying debt after death gets a bit complicated, but she is not personally liable for any debts that were solely her husband’s. His estate is responsible.

The law specifies the order in which debts must be paid. If there is not enough money to pay the debts, the estate can be declared insolvent, a kind of bankruptcy.

An attorney would be paid by the estate, not by her personally.


Title: Can I shine a light into a neighbor security camera?

Question:
Neighbor decided to put a video camera looking into our shared driveway and it looks into our window. The window is a bathroom window and I told them they cannot do that. She called the police on us once and I notified that the camera looks into our window and the police said you should buy good blinds.

Can I shoot a strong light to effectively destroy the image of the camera legally?

This is NJ

Answer: Seriously, why don't you have blinds already?


Title: Can a company send me to collections for its incompetency?

Question:
This applies to consumer law in Ontario, Canada. I am curious to see what others think - I will not be basing my next actions based on your posts but hoping for additional insight.

The situation -
- I ordered few appliances via an online store on November 2014 using a valid credit card.
- I received the appliances on December 2014 - I noticed that my credit card has not been charged yet.
- In February 2015, my bank asked me to replace my credit card due to some technology security upgrade - so I did. New credit card, same number, but different expiry date.
- Now June 2015 - I get an email from the appliance store threatening to send my debt to collections agency because the original credit card did not work (assuming because of the new expiration date and cvv number).

Questions:
1. Do they have a right to send me to collections because of their incompetency processing the order immediately? I did not ask them to delay charging my card, and it has been 8 months before they said anything to me.
2. While I can provide them with a new credit card number to process the payment I want to see if there are any options where "you snooze, you lose" applies without any negative effect on me? (I fully realize I am being an ass for asking that question)

Answer:
 >  I want to see if there are any options where "you snooze, you lose" applies without any negative effect on me?

Amazingly, playground law has no precedent in the real world...well not this soon anyway. Your only recourse of snooze you lose is if they forget to charge you and the SOL to file suit elapses. Not knowing Canadian law, I am still sure its not 8 months. Pay for the things you bought.


Title: Can one copy/paste a notarization from one document to another?

Question:
Would someone scanning and then copy/pasting a notarization from one document to another committing a crime? That sounds incredibly fraudulent.

&#x200B;

There is absolutely no doubt the notarization was copy/pasted. The notary has been contacted and did not give his consent. I am dumbfounded.

Answer:
 Yes, that's obviously forgery.   Whatever they do with the document is very probably fraud.

I know that forgery of a notary's seal is a sentencing enhancement at the Federal level because it's considered an "authenticating mark" on a document.

Intent is an element of the crime, but fraudulent intent can be inferred from the use of the forged document.


Title: is it legal to take a scene from a comic book, edit it a bit, and then sell it on t-shirts?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: It's a copyright violation to take someone else's work and use it in a manner that you don't have permission to do.


Title: I live in Kentucky and I was given an employee contract when I was hired saying that I was to be paid $9.00/hour...

Question:
So I started working for a call-center on the last day of July, and I was told that I would be paid $9.00 an hour. This is somewhat lower than I'm used to for this kind of work but the cost of living in this state is lower than in the two previous states that I worked in so I figured I'd work there for a few months until I found a better job. I get through training and since I'm on direct deposit they don't send any kind of statement to me ever, this brings up a red-flag in my mind because every company that I've ever worked for mails statements with hours worked, etc.

So I ask my manager, who is in charge of the floor agents, and he says that the rate is $8.00 an hour unless you jump through several hoops (involving never being late, taking a certain amount of calls an hour, etc) and then it's $9.00 an hour. I tell him that's unacceptable because I was told that the rate was $9.00 an hour and even that is not very good for call-center work. He gives me a line about the low cost of living, etc, so I start looking for another job but I keep working there. They have an extremely harsh attendance policy, so I end up being fired at the end of January because I was a few minutes late several times and I missed two days because of an ice storm.

I was cleaning up my place today and I found my acceptance letter which clearly states that the hourly rate is $9.00 an hour- I didn't remember the rate being on the sheet, but it was the one I signed with the HR Rep who hired me. She wrote my name down at the top of the sheet, then she wrote down the first day of training, etc, and then I signed it. So I now have this company letter with all of my info on it which says that both parties agreed that $9.00 an hour was the hourly rate. I don't know exactly how many hours I worked with the company but it was at least 1100 and many of the hours were overtime so essentially they owe me at least $1200-1300 since probably 5% of the hours were overtime ones.

I've contacted a lawyer today, but she hasn't got back me to yet. I was wondering what I should expect, or do in this situation? I really appreciate any help on this.

**TL;DR I was offered $9.00 an hour to work for a company, after I got through training and asked about the hourly rate I was told that it was $8.00 an hour unless you "qualify for a bonus." I was fired a few weeks ago (after working for them for 6 months), and today I found the acceptance letter which clearly states that the hourly rate is $9.00 an hour. It actually says on it, "Any prior oral or written promises or representations not contained in this letter are void, may not be relied upon and are specifically superseded by this letter." So I have in writing their agreement to pay me an hourly rate which they never actually paid me.**

Answer: Yup, you have an obvious claim.  You should probably to through the Department of Labor, because that way you don't have to pay lawyer fees.  But keep an eye on the clock for statutory bars.  I couldn't find the Kentucky statutory bar for employment claims other than the 6 month period for sex discrimination claims, so it's probably 2 years.Answer #2: Are you saying you had no way at all to get a pay stub? Or that they just didn't hand one to you. I suspect they were available online. If you have 10 or more employees, pay stubs must be available. (Kentucky Stat. 337.070)


Title: Parents placed an order for a handle set at Home Depot. The store incorrectly mailed it to Minnesota and not Chicago. Then they are saying we took a road trip out there and signed for it and can't refund us the money.

Question:
after an 8 month dispute home depot is saying my parents signed for it in Minnesota and they didn't. they've been in Chicago all this time. They've never even been to Minnesota.

they paid off the credit card to not accumulate interest but feel they have been robbed by the company. anything they can do??

Answer:
 >they paid off the credit card to not accumulate interest

They should have disputed the charge.

You can retain a lawyer and file a small claims lawsuit.Answer #2: I don't really have any legal advice, but I'm a landlord who is always rennoing units and Home Depot screws up our orders CONSTANTLY.  We just went through this in January where they shipped a mirrored closet door to the store, my contractor went to pick it up and they insisted we already took it.

After arguing with them enough and talking to the store manager, they finally 3 days later found it themselves in their storage cage in  back of the store.

But yeah, they screw up more orders than they get correct.  It's infuriating.


Title: Single mom of two, will my side job interfere with my chances of gaining full custody of my kids?

Question:
A little background for context:
-The father and I have been legally divorced since 02/2017.
-The father has pending criminal charges against him •assault on a minor under 16. •rape by instrumentation (both part of the same case)
-Currently we have a 50/50 custody schedule, but he’s only permitted supervised visits and the children must stay overnight with their grandparents, and the father is not allowed to stay over night with them.
-I was a stay at home mother from May 2013 until late July 2017.
-I recently lost my job over a selfie (OK is a will-to-work state so basically a company can fire you for any reason)
-My current sources of income are $350/month in child support and whatever money I make from my “side hustle”

Currently I’ve been making money by selling “custom homemade porn.” I do not exchange sex for money. All of my content is solo content. I offer subscriptions to drop box files, as well as make custom content per request of my customers. Sometimes they just want pictures or videos of my feet. Other time they want me to play with myself on camera until I reach my end. I’ll do live one-in-one video sessions, make custom photo files wearing what they ask me to. Or not wearing anything. You know... no drugs, no prostitution, etc. I’m not breaking any laws and I’ve done some research on what’s allowed in my state. I also don’t do any meetups. Even for paid dating. Never. So my question is, as of right now, it’s my only source of income. I don’t make enough doing it to be taxed at the moment but if business starts to boom then I’ll get with a tax person and set myself up as if I’m running a small business to prepare for paying taxes. I’m honest. I’m not trying to do anything that could cause me to be imprisoned lol. But do you think this would be something that a judge might see and say “sorry, you’re an unfit mother?” I mean I try to keep everything private. Other than my face being in some of my content, I operate under a different name in front of the clients, use a secret profile, I even use a separate email with no identifying information. I also never create content or do any live sessions while my kids are home as it’s not something I want them to know about at their ages. It’s all a stage thing for me to protect myself, my friends, and my family from any harassment that could try to bubble up. Which honestly has happened before all of this on my normal profiles from just crazy men who think they own me because they compliment me.

Anyways, the point: Does anyone believe this would be harmful to my custody case? I am trying to get full custody.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 No one can say for sure what will or won't impact your chances.  Doing porn isn't illegal and from what you described sounds more like sexy selfies then anything else.  The father being in jail is likely going to impact his ability to retain custody, the rape/assault charge on a minor is going to be far more unfit of a patent then one who gets naked for some sexy time in front of a camera.

Best of luck in your custody battle and entrepreneurial endevours.


Title: A fire arm I handed to some willing to hold on to. But they refuse to return it?

Question:
Hello everyone! So I want to start by saying the state is in Missouri. And the Information is. I have some mental illnesses. One of them being major depressive disorder. Well some former friends got worried and took my gun. I sad "If it makes you feel better you can hang on to it for a bit." And then they all called the cops. Who escorted me to the hospital. As in no hand cuffs. Rode up front. And I asked very clearly if I was being arrested. And they said no. I could refuse to go. But all my friends said they wanted me to go. So I did, for them. Well after I am discharged with a psychiatrist saying I am no threat to my self at all as far as she can tell. I politely ask for my firearm back. And they smugly refuse. At this point every friend in this group shuts me out of their life. They refuse all contact. I told them that if I must I will call the police for the first time in my life and report it stolen. And I have a text to prove it switched possession without my connect. I did not want to press charges. As they used to be my friends. But then I got a text saying "If you do we will all just tell the cops you told us you want to kill yourself and they will lock you up." This is not true. But I have no way to prove rather I did say something or I did not. And it is 4 to 1. So I want to know what charges I could press here if I was forced. As if they try to get me locked up with lies. I will get them locked up with the truth. And one is a CO it a prison. So that will be fun. =)

I am sorry if this format is off. They made it very clear last night that they want nothing to do with me. And one of them was one of my best friends for 15 years. We meet at age 11 and have been best friends sense. Oddly I am very happy today. But my head is still racing from it all.

Thank you for your time. ~ Allison.

Answer:
 I say call the police.

Let THEM make the call as to if it is safe and legal for them to return the firearm to you.

I'm certainly not going to advocate returning a firearm to an anonymous stranger on the internet who may or may not have a mental illness.

And, when you report it, show them the text that say they will lie about killing yourself, and your discharge papers from the hospital.

The police may investigate it as a crime.  They may tell you it's a civil matter.  They may walk into your home and see that you have wallpapered your home in tin foil, and have detailed plans to blow up a school on your refrigerator and decide to have you assessed.

I don't know.  But they will be better able to answer the question than I.


Title: $2,000 ER Bills being sent to me, after I visited WITH insurance coverage?

Question:
Hi, and thanks for reading!

In July, I visited the emergency room with chest pains. They took my blood, urine, etc. but it turns out my iron was just really low.

I'm from Michigan, and my insurance is in Michigan, but this visit was in Illinois. My insurance covers out-of-state emergency services. While I was there, I gave them my info and they said "Yup, we take your insurance and everything is covered."

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago. I get a bill for ~400 bucks from a laboratory about my blood work they did. I called my insurance, they said this was already paid out, not to worry.

Today. I get a bill for two THOUSAND dollars for my ER visit and some change, from a different place. The name of the place is "Shemauger Emergency Physicians".

I called my insurance provider, who said they don't even have record of that charge trying to go to them, but that I'm not responsible for paying that.

Note that both of these bills came with return service envelopes and pre-written check-like forms to fill out.
I'm in no position to fork over 2 grand, and it says it's due in like 2 weeks?? Is this some kind of scam by these labs to try to get me to pay out to them? Do I need to worry about this bill? What will happen if I just ignore it?

I would call the place but they're closed til Monday. Also, it's got a link on the bill that says "Pay your bill online at MyMedicalPayments.com!" or something, which seems... off.

Thank you guys so much for reading. I'm currently trying to calm down from a moderate panic, from getting this bill.

EDIT: I've called my insurance provider twice now, and both people I spoke to said I shouldn't be getting this bill in the first place, and they have no idea why it's being sent to me. I suspect someone at the hospital fucked up, and selected my insurance to be in the state of Illinois, rather than Michigan where my policy is. However, the insurance card I gave them was my MiHealth card, so I don't know how this could have happened.

I didn't have surgery or anything, just some blood/urine tests, an xray, then sent home a couple hours later. Is 2,400 a reasonable amount to be charged if I went in with insurance coverage?

Answer:
 Send the bill to your insurance company, and let them deal with it. That's what they are for.

Seriously, this isn't a thing you should be freaking out about.


Title: Am I actually responsible?

Question: I had a homeless friend call me yesterday from a pay phone (TELUS, which is a local company). I got the whole “You have a collect call from____”. State your name and that you agree to pay the charges (something along those lines). All I did was say my name and we were automatically connected. I never even gave my CC number or authorization . I did last time (another TELUS phone) and the charge was $1.05. After I hung up from the call, I received a text with a link to a website called collecttocell.com with a charge of $21.75. American. I live in Canada, and the call was made from a Canadian owned phone company. This website is American and looks sketchy as hell. They called me today and left a message saying the charge was now $23.75. Obviously this is a scam, but is there anything they can even do from across the border without even having my CC number, only my phone number (and possibly my full name)?

Answer: Call Telus customer care and confirm that you did, in fact, receive a collect call, and that this isn't just a scam.


Title: My car skidded on ice into another car in a state[IL] that I do not reside in. Should I worry about being sued?

Question: I'm visiting Illinois and I'm new to winter driving. I was driving below the speed limit and within the confines of the law when I hit a patch of ice and began to skid. I diagonally rear ended a car stopped in from of after skidding about 20 ft. The accident was reported to the police and all they told me was that I'd get a claims number and accident report in a few days. They didn't ask me anything about what happened other than if anyone was injured and took the record of my insurance and registration, while the other driver gave the story of what happened. Should I be worried?

Answer:
 > within the confines of the law

The law requires that you maintain control of your vehicle and don't drive too fast for conditions.

Your insurance should take care of this for you though.Answer #2: > I was driving below the speed limit and within the confines of the law when I hit a patch of ice and began to skid.

I know you didn't come here to get lectured, so I'll keep this brief, but in most jurisdictions being below the speed limit does _not_ guarantee that you are driving at a legal speed. The exact phrasing varies, but many places require that you drive an appropriate speed for conditions, _regardless_ of how slow that is - and losing control due to ice is pretty much de facto evidence that you were driving too fast for conditions, even if you were below the speed limit. (Sometimes, the safe speed is "zero.") NY cops, for example, regularly stick the following driver with an unsafe operation ticket at rear-end collisions, pretty much regardless of circumstances.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt, and the damage will likely be relatively minor. Notify your insurance, and let them handle this. If you're sued, notify your insurance of that, too - you pay them to deal with liability due to collisions.


Title: Is it legal for my girlfriend to leave my son with her parents while she's deployed?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > I don't have the exact wording in the agreement because I don't have it with me

Then this post was a waste of time. Whatever that agreement says is what goes. Have an attorney look it over and listen to what he says. Thats really all you can do, this sub cant give you answers based on a document they have never even seen.Answer #2: It doesn't sound like he goes to you automatically.  You can hire a lawyer and request right of first refusal or a change in custody due to her being deployed.  Ask your lawyer what he thinks you can get.


Title: 19 year old looking for advice, caught speeding in a work zone [NY]

Question:
This is a long one, so please excuse the wall of text. Here is my account of getting a ticket today:

So today I was traveling down Route 17 toward Middletown to pick up my father from the hospital. Right before the hospital there is a work zone with signs posted 45 mph. About 10 miles before the exit I was supposed to take, I noticed a [NYS Trooper van](https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5593/15148828311_54ffca9f1e_b.jpg) merge onto the highway a few cars in front of me. So I follow behind making sure I'm keeping with traffic but not speeding past the van. When I finally get to the work zone I made sure to slow down enough but still move with the traffic. In hindsight I should have made sure I was going 45, but I felt the cars behind me were riding my ass a bit so I just moved with everyone else. I had to get over to the right lane to get to my exit, so halfway down the hill I accelerated a bit to make sure I didn't cut off the guy next to me in the right lane. After getting over, I started braking and felt I was traveling at the same speed I was before getting over. The State trooper then merges into my lane in front of me, then quickly back over to the left nearly causing an accident with the Ford Escape that was behind him. At some point near the bottom of the hill I must have passed him. This is when he pulls me over and questions why I passed him in a work zone. I told him I just wanted to get over without cutting the guy off as I approached my exit and he got even more pissed off saying I asked for an explanation not an excuse. At that point he asked me how fast I was going, and despite people always saying to never admit it going over the speed limit I answered "Maybe 50?". He didn't like that answer, and finally asked me for my license and registration. I handed him my license but couldn't find my registration in the glove box so I asked him what exactly it looked like. He replied something along the lines of "It looks like the one on the windshield, didn't they teach you this in drivers ed?" I couldn't find it so he used the registration on the windshield instead. A few minutes later he comes back with a ticket for going 55 in a 45 work zone.

I'm not saying that the trooper was lying about how fast I was going, but I'm certain that I was not traveling too much faster than he was, and he claims he was going the speed limit. Of course he could have been going around 55 himself, then braked to make it look like I passed him much faster than what actually happened. Of course its my word against his, so I'll always lose in this situation.

What do I do here? I'm only 19, I've only gotten one other ticket for not having my hazards on while pulled over on the side of the road. A ticket like this will give me 3 points, making my license dirty even after taking defensive driving course. Work zone fines are doubled, so this thing will be extremely expensive for a college kid like myself. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Drive slower.Answer #2: Don't speed, and consider finding a lawyer who does traffic tickets.


Title: Recourse to save community park

Question:
A local councilman is trying to tear down a community roller rink in Di Gilio Playground (Kensington, Brooklyn NY). The rink is used for roller hockey on the weekends and has been a cornerstone to the hockey scene for generations. It is 1 of 4 remaining roller hockey rinks left in Brooklyn.

Is there any legal action that can be taken to help save this rink?

More information can be found at http://brooklyn.news12.com/news/hockey-league-fights-proposed-playground-expansion-1.9753817

EDIT: To be clear. It is a city-owned rink. Right now, the councilman has submitted plans and are awaiting government approval.

Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 I have no relevant advice.

I'm sure that [someone who can help](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Leslie_Knope_%28played_by_Amy_Poehler%29.png) will be along shortly.


Title: Coworker sick and refusal to work

Question: So I work in labour type environment where there’s a two man crew working/driving inside a vehicle for 12 hours a day in Alberta, Canada. My coworker comes to work sick and I asked if he was sick. He said yes. So I told my boss that I won’t be working with my coworker cause I don’t wanna get sick. My boss said that he can’t force me to work but needed me to work regardless if my coworker is sick. He also said that there have been other people who had to work with someone who was sick and I needed to just work.I refused and he ended up caving in and let me go home. My problem is that, by refusing work that there would be backlash in the future for myself. Can an employer fire me for this?

Answer: They can fire you for refusing to do your job, yes.


Title: [WI] A former coworker is is suing me for medical bills + missed work. Am I liable and do I need a lawyer?

Question:
I am an employee of a construction company. We occasionally hire temps/independent contractors to supplement our team.

Last October while operating a company motor vehicle on the job site I accidentally hit one of these independent contractors and he broke his knee and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. At the time my boss, the construction company owner, said he would pay the medical bills and "take care of the guy" until he could come back to work.

I later heard through the grapevine my boss ended up not paying the guys' medical bills.

Today I get served with a lawsuit from a guy, saying I owe him $150,000 for negligence, I have to pay his medical bills and lost wages since he's been unable to work.

Am I really liable for this? Wouldn't my employer be responsible? Do I need to talk to a lawyer or is this something I can get dismissed myself quickly?

Answer: You should call around to several attorneys to get consultations with them about the case.


Title: Being a minor in statutory rape

Question:
So first off, I want to say that I am asking the question on behalf of my friend. I am concerned for them and have multiple questions.

First, my friend (17F) is currently in a relationship with 26 year old dude. Now, my question was in what ways can my friend get in trouble for this (sexual) relationship. Because if possible I want to help her, but I also don’t want her to get in too much trouble....

Note: This is all taking place in California.

On another, unrelated note, how illegal is it for me (17) to beat the ever living shit out of someone who is 26??

Anyways, thank you in advance

Answer:
 Well, I do not think that your friend would get in any trouble with the law, in California as the victim of statutory rape, since the 26 year old is above the age of consent.

Though, I can't predict what her parents will do.

> On another, unrelated note, how illegal is it for me (17) to beat the ever living shit out of someone who is 26??

"unrelated".  OK... I LOL'd.  But, no.  Don't do this.  It is very illegal for you to assault someone, even if you suspect that they committed a crime.


Title: My boss refuses to shut down in the face of unsafe travel/weather conditions. Normally I just force my way in but tomorrow is particularly bad. Am I required to put myself in unsafe conditions to get there? [NYS]

Question:
Where I live it's been snowing since late Friday. I was planning on digging my car out tomorrow morning after the snow was supposed to have stopped in order to make it to my Monday night work shift at the library. Note that this shift isn't even necessary for the operation of the library, it's a frivolous sort of requirement that I just go along with because whatever. But the weather forecast just changed - wind chill as low as 35 below zero until 7pm tomorrow. We've been cautioned against being out for more than 10 minutes at a time due to potential for frostbite. I didn't get this update until now; it's already dark, it's freezing cold, still snowing, and I'm still buried under about a foot of snow.

Normally my husband could have helped keep up with the snow but now it's just me and a shovel because he's traveling. I'm genuinely worried about my ability to dig out my car and shovel my driveway. If I get stuck or hurt there is no one who can help me. It seems especially ridiculous that my boss continues to push limits with weather safety when no one comes to the library when it's this bad anyways. Note that she didn't offer to take my shift, she's going home ASAP. Other libraries have already called off tomorrow out of respect for their employees' safety. My library refuses to close every time.

If I get up tomorrow and it's really as bad as predicted, is there anything protecting me if I say it's not safe to go in? I don't think she'd fire me, she already underpays and overworks her people - just in case anyone asks, I *am* actively seeking a new job - but I hate to think that I have to go out in this or risk punishment.

**TL;DR** Tomorrow's forecast is 35 below freezing with risk of frostbite if you're out for more than 10 minutes. I'm still buried in my driveway so I'm worried about trying to unstick myself in such conditions. I told my boss about my concern and she basically said get someone to cover (yeah right) or get in however possible. If I wake up tomorrow and it's really that bad do I have any protection against punishment for protecting myself?

Answer:
 If you have a contract or are a member of a union, then you will likely be protected. If you do not, your boss can fire you for pretty much any reason, or even no reason. There are some reasons for which an employer cannot fire you, but the failure to show up to work because of dangerous weather is not such a reason.

I think you would be wise to stay home. Your health and safety are much more important than your job. And if you do get fired, you can seek unemployment, which will hopefully help you while you seek a new job.

If you do get in trouble, I would also recommend that you communicate with the entity that owns the library. I would assume this to be a city or county. I would guess that the government entity would not be pleased to have its managers putting their employee's safety at risk. Especially if a weather emergency has been called.


Title: I was busking, I got bullied by a cop, ended up with a $250 ticket (CA) Please help!

Question:
Two friends and I enjoy going down to Huntington Beach and playing music in the street. It's typically a very popular place to do this as it is welcomed. We've done this many times in the last year or so without any issues with the police.

On the 8th of June, we were in an area on main street (just inland from the pier) with some shops and a fountain and lots of public seating. An officer approached us. He pointed to our open instrument case on the ground and told us we were soliciting tips and that was against the law. My response was to respectfully ask him where we allowed to do this. He said nowhere and got a little angry. He threatened to give us a $200 ticket and take our money and instruments as evidence. So we stopped for the day.

We decided to look into the rules on the issue. We found Municipal Code section 8.75 (http://www.qcode.us/codes/huntingtonbeach/)
This section of the code is written to both protect the right of performers to do what they do and to provide rules allowing them to do it in a way that is not an issue for public safety.
We found that the code explicitly states that leaving an instrument case open for tips is allowed. After reading over the rules, we did not believe we had been in violation of any of them.

On the 15th, we returned with a printout of the section of the municipal code. We first approached the officer who had spoken with us before.
We did this as a sign of respect and as an acknowledgment that there are rules, that we do not wish to violate them, and believe we are not violating them. He responded positively and I thought we'd be alright.
We played a few songs in the same spot he'd confronted us before, and then he and his partner approached. His partner pointed to the open case and said "here's what you guys are doing wrong". We told him that we had the code with us and we were doing nothing wrong to leave the instrument case open.
Then he said "you know you have to be a certain distance from a crosswalk"
I said "yes, we have to be ten feet away"
"How far do you think you are from that crosswalk?"
"That looks like 15-20 feet to me. I think we're alright there."
We continued to ask him what we were doing wrong so we could simply correct it and continue. They continually stressed that we couldn't be on Main street. I told them this is not true, the code makes no distinction between any certain areas in the city. Finally, he asked if we believed we were not violating any of the rules. We told him yes and they finally grabbed the printout to look it over. Then the ticket book came out. Until he finally handed the $250 dollar ticket over, we did not know what it was for. He cited us for 8.75.30 (I). This says a performer can't prevent the public from enjoying any outdoor furniture. We had an instrument case sitting on the planter behind us. As there is no shortage of seating in the area, we had not realized this was enough to constitute preventing the public from enjoying the space. The sad thing is, I think if I hadn't had a copy of the code with me, he might not have even known that part.
As he handed me the ticket, he said "just sign here that you agree to pay the fine". I've never been handed a ticket before so I believed him. So he said I could refuse and he'd write "refused" and I'd get it in the mail anyway. I now realize signing the ticket in no way admits guilt. I'm concerned this will look bad when I contest the ticket in court.
He then threatened to double the fine if he catches us out there again, confiscate of our money and instruments as evidence, and place us under arrest.

We feel that when the officers approached us, they wanted to get rid of us regardless of whether or not we were violating the rules. He constantly accused us of pushing the issue when we were simply trying to understand what we were doing wrong so we could correct it. It was very difficult for us to understand the rules with the officers giving us false information.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 You should contact the police department and file a complaint.

You can call around to see if any attorneys will help without charging as it would cost more than the ticket. Or you can go yourself and talk to the prosecutor. You should take pictures of where you were so you can show where your stuff was. Answer #2: There should be an option for you to go to a municipal hearing to contest the ticket.  Bring photos of the area with you as well as the copies of the code.  You can file a complaint with the departmentalso if you feel the officers are targeting you or improperly enforcing city ordinances/state laws.


Title: My brother allegedly pulled a gun on some people that were at my house

Question: This is in Hollywood, Florida. Basically my brother may or may not have stolen some guys phone. So they come looking for the phone. I told them to get off my property and punched one of them and threw rocks. Then my brother pulled up and pulled his gun out. Now cops are here.  Can I press charges on them for being on my property?

Answer: You committed a crime, as did your brother. Don’t post about it on the internet.


Title: Possibility of self-incriminating through testimony?

Question: I'm a minor in Virginia and a few months back I got caught with a guy I met off of Grindr who I was trying to buy meth from. At Juvenile and Domestics court, I was told he took the plea deal and everything was done and if they needed me, they would call me back. I just got a different subpoena today for circuit court. Between the time I thought everything was over with and the subpoena for circuit court I have traded pictures with other guys and hooked up with other guys as well.  I currently don't have any charges on me and was considered a victim in the case. Is it possible for them to place charges on me for hooking up with other guys without telling them my age?

Answer:
 Yes, you can be charged for various crimes here, and the one you should be most worried about is distribution of child pornography.  No, you will not be charged while in court as a witness.

Stop lying about your age to try to ruin the lives of other people.  Get yourself into rehab and therapy, if not an inpatient psychiatric treatment program.  You will end up in prison if you continue this behavior, if a sexual predator doesn’t kill you first.


Title: [NC, USA] What can I legally do to my neighbor?

Question:
My neighbor comes over, drunk, and knocks on my door in the middle of the night. He doesn’t threaten me or behave violently, he just wakes me up and severely stresses me out. He usually knocks for about 20 minutes. God forbid I answer, he will keep me in drunken conversation for an hour no matter how many times I ask him to leave.

I’ve never let him in, I’ve never invited him over. I’ve told him repeatedly to stay off my property. I’ve called police on him.

What can I legally do to him the next time he knocks on my door?

Answer: Maybe you can try getting a restraining order on him.


Title: People writing nfsw of me, without my permission.

Question:
Hello! My name is Skelepup22 but I go by different names for my social media.

 To give some Backstory, I got pretty famous on the app tik tok and ended up in some internet beef with another creator, who had a bigger following than me. It got so far, that they made a distrack on me and have created "memes" of my art and drawings and gone so far as to showcase me dying or getting killed.

 I recently viewed their discord and found that the creator asked his viewers who are mostly kids. To write NSFW fanfics of me for a YouTube video.

There are alot and many of them are saying Im getting raped. What can I do? I want to file for harassment but I'm not sure if the police would take me seriously since it's online and kids are involved. What can I do?

Answer: There's nothing you can do about kids trolling you on the internet.


Title: If I live in a guest house behind my landlord's residence, and he is constantly knocking on my door (not to fix something, etc.), and looking in my windows, is there any recourse I can take?

Question:
Note the window is behind the house and can't be sort of accidentally accessed.  Also, kids often kick a ball against my wall shaking the whole house.  Anything I can do more than just tell them to please stop? Live in California.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 What does he want when he knocks on your door?Answer #2: IANAL but check out privacy film for your windows. They make a peel-and-stick version that you can remove when you leave and won't damage the windows.Answer #3: So he.... Is spying on you???Answer #4: Not legal advice, but at Home Depot they sell this vinyl window covering that looks like stained glass. I had a window in my shower in college and it worked really well and didn't look terrible. Answer #5: Quiet enjoyment anyone? NAL, but this sounds like it might be a starting point.Answer #6: Are these the LLs kids hitting the house?Answer #7: Insufficient data for a meaningful answerAnswer #8: Why is your landlord harassing you? What's the full story?
Answer #9: What did he say when you asked him to stop?


Title: Got my first DUII in Oregon on a road trip across the states.

Question:
I was arrested a few days ago for my first DUII (first charge of any kind, never even been pulled over before) while I was passing through Oregon. I did not hit anything, speed, or injure anybody and passed the field sobriety test (I am of legal drinking age). I was driving my partners car. I blew a .15. I was given a court date 3 weeks after my arrest. I obtained a lawyer who told me I would be a good candidate for the diversion program. I am from Florida and hold a Florida’s drivers license. I’m unemployed and do not live in Oregon just was passing through. My lawyer told me I can complete the diversion program in Florida  but it might be different than the one in Oregon because of different rules in different states. Will they be able to transfer over the diversion program to Florida? I was told when my license is suspended for 90 days that will only be in Oregon and not in Florida. Will my insurance rate go up? Will I get points on my florida drivers license? I’m obviously concerned about being stuck in Oregon and unable to get home. Will I have more than one court hearing if I’m represented at my first court hearing? Will they still convict me? I’m terrified of being stuck here forever and not being able to leave or ever getting this done. I messed up big time and I am doing everything in my power to take responsibility but I have no idea of what to expect!!

Really grateful for any advice given. I can provide any additional information if needed. Thank you

Answer:
 > I was told when my license is suspended for 90 days that will only be in Oregon and not in Florida.

By whom? A suspended licenses is a suspended license. There are currently a total of 45 states and the District of Columbia that are members of the Interstate Driver’s License Compact. The only states that don't participate are Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. And they still share some info.

The diversion program lasts exactly one year in Oregon. ORS 813.230(3).

You really should be asking your attorney these questions.Answer #2: Apparently you didn’t pass the field sobriety tests.


Title: Property manager is trying to make me pay to renovate my crappy apartment

Question:
So I paid a 1600 deposit for an apartment three years ago, and it was in bad shape but the rent was low and I wasnt in a position to complain seeing as how I didnt make alot of money at the time. Well fast forward 3 years, 2 owners, 3 prop management companies later its time for me to move out and move on however, this property manager is a nutt job and during my walk through (which was her first time ever stepping into the apartment) she stated that I might have to be on the hook to replace all the cabinets because they are in poor condition. Well I agree about the cabinets but they werent my doing, so she started saying rather than getting my deposit back i may get a bill. When I first moved in I did fill out a move in statement stating all the damage but they could not find it and aparently never passed it on to the current management company. Is there anything else I can do? It seems downright illegal to get me on the hook for crap I didnt do.
This is in California btw.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 You are not required to pay for ordinary wear and tear.  If they withhold more than is justified then your recourse is to sue them in small claims court for what they owe you, plus court costs, plus in some states a penalty.

Hopefully you have a copy yourself of the move-in walkthrough document.  If not then hopefully you walked around the apartment upon move-in and took a lot of photos or video.  These things would not be required if it comes to a court case, but would be very useful.
Answer #2: They would need to show that damage was caused by you, and is not normal wear and tear. If they don't have the move in statement, it would be very hard for them to show that ANYTHING was caused by you.

There is a procedure for damage deposits:
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtmlAnswer #3: They are the ones responsible for proving the apartment was damaged, since they have no idea what it looked like when you moved in you will win easily


Title: Is it legal to own and operate a LLC business that takes money from the rich and give to the poor (with everyone's consent)? Profit margin = 60% after taxes.

Question:
Costumers (the rich) know what they are getting into (except the percentage of the profit margin for the owner of the LLC).

The rich give their money to the LLC because LLC is good at selling and doing business.

1. Is this 100% legal?

2. Who is the best person/firm to get legal advice about this type of business?

Answer: What you have there is the new worst rated charity on Charity Navigator.Answer #2: This question is so incoherently phrased I doubt anyone can give you legal advice until you clarify what the business would actually be doing.


Title: My Grandfather (77) just married a gold digger

Question:
I need help to figure this out.

My grandfather has just recently married a gold digger. She's younger than my mom, made of plastic, and is extremely vain. She constantly tries to incite family drama and pit my grandfather against us.

My grandfather has a large trust fund and multiple properties. In his last divorce his ex wife tried to get into the trust and failed.

When he married this new women, they got a prenup. Recently my grandfather has made the gold digger the executor of his will. My mom was previously the executor.

We don't know the exact contents of the will but it is safe with my grandfather's lawyer. Before my grandfather was married the contents of the trust were to be given to my mother and her sister.

My grandfather's health seems to be declining. He seems as though he has some Parkinson's and he has stopped working out completely (he used to be very active).

The gold digger is feeding him these "green shakes" every morning and he seems to be in decline. I don't want to think she's poisoning him but I really don't know.

I don't want my grandfather to be taken advantage of. What can we, as the family, do?

TLDR: My grandfather married a gold digger and I am afraid he is being taken advantage of

Answer:
 How's his mental state? You can contact APS if you believe he is at risk

It's not illegal to take advantage of a legally competent adult.Answer #2: It's his money and his life.  You have no legal entitlement to his money or a trust.
It doesn't sound like he is lacking mental facilities.


Title: Immigrated legally to reunion with my wife, found out wife cheated me for months.

Question:
So as the title stands, I am “fresh off the boat” legally in the US.

I’ve been here for couple of weeks, didn't even get my ssn yet, and just found out my wife cheated on me for an unknown time now.

I am devastated as I have invested a lot of time and money for the reunion, sold everything I had back home and just came here to this.

Now my life is ruined and I want to know what can I LEGALLY do, except returning home, to somehow redeem the situation.

Considering she did this for months - this is marriage fraud as she clearly had no intention of keeping me in relations.

She has a green card.

What are my options, dear reddit?

Answer: You can file for divorce.


Title: Can we refuse to pick my grandma up from the nursing home? - Tennessee

Question:
My grandma (83) was sent to a nursing home facility for rehab about a month ago. They say her insurance has run out and she doesn't qualify for Medicaid because she has assets over $2,000 and she owns a home. My mom (45) and I (23) cannot authorize the nursing facility to use my grandma's personal finances to pay for care because no one has power of attorney over my grandma. So there's no way to fund her stay there.

My grandma is extremely stubborn and has said that no matter what, she will not allow anyone to have POA, even if she is incapacitated. She's always been hard set on making her own decisions which is fine, but she's sliding into dementia and she likely won't be competent for much longer.

The nursing home has said that someone must live with her and take responsibility for her upon discharge. Normally we would just take her home and take care of her in her house, as we did with my granddad (we still have a lot of medical equipment of his at home so its feasible) but she does not want us there. She's been very abusive for all the time I've been alive and she hates me and my mom. We know that as soon as she would be discharged, she would fight tooth and nail to kick us out of her home even though we'd be taking care of her, changing her and feeding her etc. She's even gone to the extent of calling the police to get rid of us before while we were taking care of her, TWICE. It's just not going to work, she won't let us be her caregivers, but we're the ones who have to take responsibility for her at discharge.

A fight for guardianship would likely take too long, and she will have kicked us out by the time it was even finished, thus exposing her to living alone for however long it took to get guardianship. She CANNOT live alone. We're willing to do it but we need a solution until then.

Can we just refuse to pick her up and take responsibility for her? Or is there something else we can do?

Answer:
 You cannot be forced to take guardianship of another adult. Legally, it's not neglect or elder abuse or anything to just say no, this adult is not your problem.

The implications of not - that is, what will happen to your grandmother if you don't- is really what you have to weigh when you make your decision. A social worker might be a better resource for you than a lawyer.


Title: Mistreatment at work, using cruelty to get someone to quit, legal or not?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Am I right in thinking that the mistreatment through receiving excess work, use of harsh tones and facial expressions, and behaviors implying rudeness and hostility is illegal in the work place?

Nope. Answer #2: No, you are not correct. It's perfectly legal to be rude, obnoxious, and even unfair. A "hostile workplace" is when mistreatment is based on membership in a protected class and you have given no reason to assume that is the case here.Answer #3: > Am I right in thinking that the mistreatment through receiving excess work, use of harsh tones and facial expressions, and behaviors implying rudeness and hostility is illegal in the work place?

No.

> I personally feel obligated to act.

Which will get her IMMEDIATELY fired and/or you jailed.

It is not illegal to be a jerk of a boss. Answer #4: Being a terrible/mean person is not illegal. Answer #5: You think being mean/rude is illegal? Seriously? Answer #6: You are probably wrong. but without a location impossible to say.


Title: [NY] Hiring noncitizen employee

Question:
I am an owner of a small business that is hiring it's first employee (all previous were 1099). One of the applicants is originally from Ireland. He's a good applicant and could be our first choice.

He has indicated in his application that he is legally authorized to work in the US and he has a social security number. He also stated that he would not require "sponsorship." I also know that he is a 2016 college graduate from an Irish school and that as of 2 months ago, he was here on a tourism visa, left the country, and has just recently returned.

I don't know much about this stuff.

(Also, it should go without saying but I'll say that we would never discriminate based on any of this stuff. Like I said, he seems great.)

Assuming there aren't any false statements in his application, then is there anything else I need to look out for or understand? Could he get a social security number while being on a temporary visa? Does this all add up to you?

Answer:
 Check out the below site.  It's the US Government's way of determining if someone is eligible to work in the US.

https://www.uscis.gov/i-9


Title: Renter without a lease agreement for 6 years. Owner wants me out in a week. Did not provide any written eviction notice.

Question: I am renting a house. There is no rental lease agreement. I have lived here for over 6 years and have never missed the agreed upon monthly payment. Couple days ago, the owner suddenly called and said he had gotten in trouble with the cops and had to move back to the house. He said I have a week to leave, but didn’t give any written eviction notice; just told me over the phone. I got in a bit of an argument with him about the sudden situation and he said since there’s no lease, he can come back whenever he wants without notice since he is the owner. I just want to know if this is true in my case where I don’t have a rental lease agreement. Do I have any rights, in this case, to stay; at least to give me some time to find another place to move to?

Answer:
 Because you do not have a lease, you are a month to month tenant. In Florida, a landlord can end a month to month agreement with fifteen days written notice without providing any reason. Your landlord needs to say, in writing, that your tenancy is ending on [date at least fifteen days from the delivery of the letter] and that you must leave by that date. Note that right now your landlord is not evicting you; if you do not leave by the date provided in the written notice, then the landlord would start the process of evicting you. Also, the fifteen day clock hasn’t started because you haven’t received written notice. If your landlord wants you out sooner than that, you are welcome to negotiate a “cash for keys” deal in which you give up the apartment in exchange for moving costs or whatever you both agree on.

The usual advice on this sub applies. You should carry around proof that you reside at the house (utility bills with your name and address, for example) in case you come home to find the locks changed or the landlord moving in and need to call the police. Because situations like this can get messy and take some time to sort out, you may also want to move any valuable items, pets and important papers to a safe place for now.


Title: Roommate with a cat for an emotional support animal that I am allergic to

Question:
I signed a lease to be in a 4x4 apartment with one friend at 2 assigned roommates. At the time my friend and I signed the lease, the leasing manager told us that for us to stay together we had to pay a third floor apartment. We agreed and signed the lease in April.

One week ago we were paired with 2 more roommates and I was perfectly fine with that because that is what we signed up for. As I was getting to know one of the roommates a found out she had a cat as an emotional support animal, but I am very allerigic to cat dander. I called the complex manager and asked if my friend and I could be moved because we signed up to live together in a pet-free facility but they said they will only move me to a 3x3 or a 4x4 with a different layout and higher prices. Can they do that? Can they separate who I signed up to be with because I am allergic to cats?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Assuming you have a documented allergy to cats, the landlord has to treat that like a disability. How many units are in this building? Does the landlord live there? The animal has to be in that person's living space and doesn't need to be roaming the apartment as a whole. That should cut down on most of the dander.


Title: [Florida] Video of me being hypnotized is being sold as a fetish film

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Generally, if you are in a public setting where no reasonable expectation of privacy exists, people can film and audio record you without your consent. This goes even for a two-party-consent (audio) state like FL because of the fact you were in a public place.

If I film someone picking their nose in public and upload it to YouTube and make advertisement revenue from it, that is still legal.

Also, hypnotism cannot be done without the subject's consent. Even if you don't recall giving it, hypnotism is not a Jedi mind trick. It can **only** be done on willing subjects. Hypnotism also does not work on those are just plain stupid and those whose brains are naturally resistant to it.

I think you should chalk this up to a life lesson and make smarter choices in the future.


Title: My new carpet is covered in cat hair and I want to know what to ask for. Also problems with my mail. [MD]

Question:
I moved into a studio last week, and when I did a walkthrough the place seemed clean, but I realized it wasn't. The toilet was dirty, the cabinets have a goo on them, I had to clean crumbs from the fridge, there was so much dirt on the tiles. And then a few days ago I noticed the cat hair. It's camoflauged so it took me a while to see it, but when I sat on the floor in black pants and then stood up, I realized there was A LOT of cat hair on me.

I asked the office if they had a vaccum and explained the situation, and the lady said that I'd have to wait until Monday when maintenance was there. I didn't want to wait that long, so I went out and bought a vacuum and tried my best to clean it up. Even 30 seconds into vacuuming, there was a huge ball of cat hair in the vaccuum. It was everywhere and there was a ridiculous amount of it. There was also just tons of dust in the vaccuum at the end.

I'm considering asking them to move me to another unit (with hired moving help they acquire) because this is the only way to fully escape the cat hair and clean the carpet. Alternately, I want to ask them to hire movers to maneuver my furniture so that areas like under my bed, where I need to store things, can be vacuumed. Is there any other reasonable solution?

It's worth noting that I'm pretty sure they don't like me already. Their mail policy is that if you want to receive packages, they will receive your package and then enter your apartment to drop it off. I verified with a tour guide that I would be able to opt out of this because I consider it a huge violation of privacy and am one million percent creeped out by it. Once I moved in, they told me that wasn't a policy and that I can either let them enter my building, or get my packages sent back. We have settled on letting delivery services put packages in front of my door, which upsets me because the office could just receive my package and let me come get it, but are choosing not to because they don't want to, in essence. All my decor, all my necessities, were going to be ordered online and now I'm stuck. So I already had to struggle with them on this, and I was polite about it but this will be a new thing and I feel like this factor will influence how they handle the carpet. I'd like advice on either situation.

Answer:
 > Is there any other reasonable solution?

You've already found it: vacuum your apartment.

None of this sounds like an immediate habitability issue, and I can't see that your landlord has any liability to you if they were willing to clean the place and you refused their offer in favour of doing it yourself. You can _ask_ that they move you to another unit at their expense, but the answer may well be "no," and I can't see any avenue here you could use to force the matter.

Your landlord is not required to receive packages for you _at all_.


Title: Lived with someone on probation

Question:
So we have a family member who recently got released from prison and is on probation. The p.o. has made several visits to the house, however the person on probation has definitely been violating. They leave for a couple weeks on what we can only assume is a binge just to come back about 5 days before the next planned visit.

Well lately family member on probation has just completely moved out, we assume they never told the p.o. as yesterday we had a business card left on the door telling them to show up for a meeting friday with no time specified. We have been blocked by the person on probation and cant even get this message to them now. Can they search our house if they show up looking for him? Are we required to notify them of these presumed probation violations? I just want to know what im required to do if they do start coming, or if i should preemptively do it.

Answer: Your house is an open door for the police as long as it was the last registered address for someone on probation until they either get picked up or turn themselves in. what you describe seems like they never reported for their probation appointment. It will only be a short time before a warrant is issued for their arrest which also gives the police the ability to search their last known address anytime until they are picked up as long as they have the correct documentation at the time of visit.


Title: [CA] Can a Landlord Sue to get Relocation Payment Back?

Question:
I just moved out of a place in Oakland, CA, under an “owner move-in”, but now my old landlord is suing my housemate and I for $10k each in small claims court, claiming that we “refused to let owner move back into his temporarily rented home without paying a relocation fee”.

Back story, I lived in the building for 3.5 years. My housemate lived there for 2.5 years. Our lease is a “month-to-month tenancy”; however, we didn’t know he was temporarily renting it when either of us moved in. The landlord first asked my housemate and I if he and his wife could move in WITH US STILL LIVING THERE to pay rent. When I found out that he wanted to move into my room specifically (master bed+bath), I told him I didn’t feel comfortable breaking my lease and living with him and his wife.

There are a few things that make this odd. 1) My roommate and I have separate leases that cover our rooms within the same unit. 2) We live in the extension of the unit that was finished in 2012; though the other part of the building (kitchen, dining room) was built in 1923. It has been under condo-conversion since 2010, but never finalized. In fact, we tenants never knew and were never notified that it was a condo to begin with. We told him we didn’t feel comfortable breaking my lease and him moving in, and that if he wanted to move in, he had to do an “owner move in”, so he gave us a signed 60-day notice under the “owner move-in” law and paid us the relocation fee once we moved out.

I want to know if he has any grounds to get the relocation payment back? Should we hire a lawyer or are our lease and notice enough evidence to support us? We moved out in the 60 days after receiving the notice. The day after we moved out, he sent us a letter saying that he didn’t have to pay us the relocation fee because it was a “temporarily rented” home, and that we can move back in under the same rate (with him living in the master bedroom that was stated on my original lease), and we owe him the relocation payment back ASAP. We have the signed 60-day notice under the “owner move in” law and our leases never mentioned that it was a temporary lease and that we were living in a condo-conversion that fall under different laws for tenants. Does 3.5 years constitute as a temporary rental? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

Answer: This is so complicated and so much money that I would consult with an attorney. See if your former roommate would like to share one. I think you guys should be in the clear, but you're going to want legal backing if this guy tries to take you to court. Answer #2: I'm a lawyer who does exactly this type of law, and you need to talk to a tenant's rights lawyer to understand the laws in play so you can properly defend yourself in small claims court.


Title: [UK] Conveyancy solicitor stopping work because I left a bad google review

Question: I am four months in to trying to buy an apartment and my solicitors have been very poor, I left a review on google that I believe was true  2 weeks ago and now they are saying because of the review they cannot continue the case but when I ask them why they won't explain. Is there anything I can do? I complained to the Legal Ombudsman today.

Answer:
 This is why it's always better to leave a review when the business is finished.Answer #2: I don't know UK law, but I can't imagine they are required to work for someone. Also, if they are so poor that you made a bad review in the midst of you working with them, get new solicitors.Answer #3: People here generally have good knowledge of US law. You'd probably get better responses in /r/LegalAdviceUK. Answer #4: They don't have to work for you. Nobody does.

Bit of a daft thing to do on your behalf in the middle of them doing legal work. Why didn't you complain to them?

Look at it from their point of view - if you're not happy with the work they do, then now you don't have to deal with the poor work. They've removed themselves from the equation for you.


Title: Made ADA accomodation requests at work, was told "no"

Question:
In may i made some accomodation requests under the ADA at work in May. I used a US Dept. of Labor guide for employers in complying with the ADA for my disorder as the basis for my requests. My MD signed off on them.

My employer accomodated some. Will not comply with others.

I need these accomodations to work.

Whats next?

Is there something i should be saying or doing?

When do i call a law firm?

Answer:
 The requirement is that your employer must take your request and make reasonable accommodations.  The reasonableness of your specific request depends on the accommodations you're asking for and the nature of your job.  Without knowing what your job is and what accommodations you're requesting, it's hard to say what the appropriate steps would beAnswer #2: They only need to make accomodations that are deemed to be reasonable. If the accomodations are not reasonable then they don't need to abide by them. Answer #3: What are the accommodations?Answer #4: Well first, the accommodations must be reasonable.  They are not required to provide anything necessary for work. It's likely they think some of the requested accommodations are not reasonable.

If you tell us what the rejected accommodations were we might be able to provide some support, but a consultation with a disability lawyer would be the best bet to try and see if you have grounds to fight this.

In order to reject properly filed Ada requests, businesses must be able to show that the accommodations would prove an undue hardship to the business's operations. You may want to ask what these hardships would be

Edit,  also important: does your work have fewer than 15 employees?Answer #5: Why did they not accommodate them?

All accommodations must be reasonable.  Reasonable varies from place to place and job to job.  It is entirely possible that a desired accommodation may be unreasonable in your situation.  The fact that they agreed to some but not to others leans this in their direction.


Title: Lawyers ethical behavior reporting question [fl]

Question:
Are there circumstances where the defendant could or should report the plaintiffs attorney to their state bar association? Specifically if the defendant believes that the attorney encouraged the plaintiff to inflate the value of damages beyond small claims, acted unethically by directly contacting the defendant and saying they were interested in settling, then sending a settlement letter that is not what was discussed, and later refusing to actually settle when contacted by the defendants attorney, doesn't properly research the laws surrounding the case because it's not even the type of law he usually practices, doesn't even bother to do a Google search to obtain the name of the legal entity his client wishes to sue, makes spelling mistakes in the filing, accuses another attorney of breaching client attorney privelege in the filing, etc. I could go on, but this guy really did some questionable things.  In the end, (6 months later) the plaintiff obtained the counsel of an attorney in the area of practice and was advised to drop the suit.  Is it possible, advisable, or right for the defendant to report unethical behavior of the plaintiffs attorney? The plaintiffs attorney is in Florida. Thank you!

Edit: forgot to mention this was an intellectual property case (hence the importance of using the right names and spelling), also the suit was filed in the wrong federal district. It unclear if the location of the filing was malice, laziness, or incompetence.

Answer: You should ask your attorney before reporting the opposing attorney. They'll be able to tell you how best to handle the issue.


Title: Illegal immigrant being beaten by her boyfriend--can she file a report with police?

Question: Hi everyone. Just like the title says, I have a friend who is technically an illegal immigrant (her visa expired). For the last three months, she's been physically and mentally abused by her boyfriend. She has some photos of the injuries he's inflicted on her, and audio recordings of some of the arguments that preceded them. I want her to go to the police station and give a statement, but she's concerned about being caught as an illegal immigrant. Should she be concerned?

Answer: Her immigration status is certainly an issue to be concerned about. Overstaying a visa *is* a violation of American immigration law. Recording someone in MA without their knowledge if they're a party to a conversation is [a fairly serious crime](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter272/Section99). She should breakup with him and speak with an immigration attorney who is familiar with the locality's practice in terms of working with illegal immigrants.


Title: My landlord has gone to my employer after we have had ongoing disputes with my lease, what should I do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >these defamatory remarks should not be brought into my work place.

He showed texts you sent. That is not defamation. That is truth. And your boss brought it up. Not him.

Don't talking about private matters at work and this wouldn't have happened


Title: [CA] My former employer, home improvement retailer, was opening credit cards/reactivating them without their knowledge. Who should I tell?

Question:
I was working for a national home improvement retailer as a cashier a few years ago. They would heavily push cashiers to open credit cards. One day the lady who taught us to open credit cards came up and told us to ask if the customer ever had a credit card with us before. We were to ask them to enter their social security number in the key pad. Now for the shady part. We were encouraged to fill out their incomes and sign for them to reactivate and/or open an account for them. I thought this was unethical so I raised the issue with the management and refused to participate. I was never promoted even though other departments wanted me as a sales associate, so I left their employ.

So, was what they were doing with the customers illegal. Should I tell an agency and if so who?

EDIT: The management told me to drop the issue.

Answer: You should contact your State Attorney General office.


Title: Is Masturbation To Legal Pictures Illegal?

Question:
Warning: My friends and I were having a discussion and it steered into some taboo areas regarding masturbation and its legalities.

One of my friends insists that masturbating to non-pornographic or nude pictures of a 16 is illegal because the person is under the age of 18. The types of pictures we're talking about are the types of pics you might find on facebook or other family-friendly sites.

While we both agreed that it's weird, we disagree on its legalities. My position was, as long as the pictures are legal to possess/view and the person masturbating to them is doing so in the privacy of their own home, it's not illegal and the same as fantasizing about them or watching actual legal pornography. He insists that the act of masturbation plus the fact that the person in the picture is <18 is what makes the act illegal, even if the pictures themselves are non-sexual.

I'm American and the friend is Australian.

Answer:
 >  My position was, as long as the pictures are legal to possess/view and the person masturbating to them is doing so in the privacy of their own home, it's not illegal

Masturbation is never illegal, unless done in public.  If the pictures are legal to possess, then the government doesn't really care what you do with them.


Title: My “best friend” destroyed my passport before my trip to Scotland because she was jealous that a boy she liked liked me. I had one expedited for $700 then found out what she did 5 months later (Texas)

Question: Needless to say I’m heartbroken she’d do something so cruel and heartless especially when I did absolutely nothing to hurt her in any way. A mutual friend told me what she did 3 days ago- she also has texts of the passport destroying friend admitting to this act. I want to press charges.. or file a police report. How illegal is the act she committed? Can I get any justice? I feel so helpless and betrayed.

Answer: You can contact your local police department to file a report. Destruction of a passport is a federal crime, so they may direct you to report it to the State Department. You can sue your former friend for the 700 dollars in damages in your local small claims court. You should get copies of the texts from the friend who has them, and make sure she is willing testify on your behalf.


Title: Does anyone know if Roswell and Alpharetta GA have a mutual aide agreement in place for law enforcement?

Question: I'm going to court for a DUI in the next month and I believe I can get it thrown out depending on the answer to this question. I'm inclined to believe they do not due to the arresting officer intentionally putting on the ticket that the arrest occurred in an alternate location, conveniently within her jurisdiction. However, I cannot find anything online about whether they do or do not.

Answer: You misunderstand jurisdiction. Police officers are police officers anywhere in the State. Their power comes from the State not the city/town/village that just happens to employ them. A lack of agreement between two localities does mean you can't be arrested in one by an officer who works for another.


Title: Local laws vs American laws on YouTube

Question:
So, I'm from Estonia and quite some time ago, I uploaded a video (YouTube Poop) onto YouTube, that parodied a certain local web-cartoon. The owners of the web-cartoon reported my video for copyrights and it got taken down. I posted a counter-notification and it got denied at first by the web-cartoon creators, but a month later, YouTube sent me an e-mail saying that thanks to the Millennium Digital Copyright Act, it is now online and the video was put online by YouTube and not me. The web-cartoon creators became aware of that and now have claimed that they are sending me to court for "attacking and insulting people" in the video. (I modified the creators childrens voices, that were in the cartoons, to say offensive words). Is it possible to send me to court for that? Can I get punished for this? Do local, Estonian laws apply to YouTube videos?

tl;dr - parodied a web-cartoon, modified child voices to say offensive words in the video, they claim I am smearing their name by it, can I get punished in court for violating local laws on a YouTube video that was put back online by YouTube?

Answer:
 > Do local, Estonian laws apply to YouTube videos?

Estonian laws apply to people in the jurisdiction of Estonia.  Since you're in Estonia, a violation of Estonian laws is punishable or suable.

I can't offer whether this *is* a violation of Estonian law.


Title: HIPAA violation by police and dog catcher in PA

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 Neither the police nor animal control would be covered under HIPAA laws, and as such they can't violate it.Answer #2: There's no obligation by the police under HIPAA.  You wouldn't have rights to pursue a violation even if there was.

The dog catcher isn't governed by HIPAA.  The information the dog catcher gains in his duties isn't protected or confidential.  HIPAA affords no private cause of action for violations even when it does apply.Answer #3: Only certain entities are covered by HIPAA: hospitals, doctors, healthcare insurance companies, etc.

It doesn't apply here


Title: Right of Way & Driving on Lawn

Question:
I live in Maine and my neighbor has a 50' right of way defined as "a wide right of way for all purposes of a way including utilities". He's very territorial about it and believes he has all rights to that 50' strip. The right of way has a dirt road through the center that allows him to access his  property (he has no road frontage). This weekend he came on my property twice making threats and screaming and verbally berating me. After that episode I felt the need to get security cameras. Then he started driving on my lawn (but still in the right of way) to intimidate me. I got a protection from harassment order earlier in the week, and he's been served, but he STILL continues to leave his access road and drive on my lawn every time he comes and goes. The repeated traffic over my lawn is causing damage.

Is his driving over my lawn and not driving on his road acceptable? If it's not, should I call the police since he's violating the protection from harassment order?

Answer: Contact a real estate attorney and see if you can put up posts along the road to stop him from going on your lawn.