Title: Father's names were forged from the 80s-2000s from his family owned house. Anything we can do now?

Question:
Hello all, I'm from **Jamaica, New York**, and seeking advice to help my father. My father has a younger brother and 3 sisters. Him and I may not see eye to eye on many things but I love him and he deserves what he worked for. He has been a hard working man his whole life, from the day he came from his country Guyana, he began working and helped out his family tremendously. He helped buy two houses and bought a couple cars in which his family took advantage of also. There has been family drama many times before. They forged his name off of an apartment building that the family owned, along with forging his name on the deed of the house, that was shared with his father. Which his father changed the house owners to 99% for my Uncle and gave my father 1%, where before, it was between my father and grandfather 50-50.

Apartment building - The apartment building was shared between my father, his 2nd eldest sister, and my grandfather, they purchased it in the late 80s to early 90s. My father and his 2nd eldest sister were working a lot, helping the building out as much as they can. Fast forward 5-7 years, my grandparents forged the names and removed the names of everyone and made the eldest sister owner, who didn't really help much. This blindsided everyone in which it stirred drama. My dad's sister, the 2nd eldest, took up a lawyer, fought, and settled with a lump sum amount of money (a percentage of of the house worth). My father loves his family, despite everything, and decided not to fight with them and just let it be.

Family house - This house was purchased in the early 90s  and was shared between my father and uncle, 50-50. In the early to mid 2000s, my father's signature was forged in order to make my uncle have 99% of the house and giving my father 1%. This, of course, stirred more family drama. My father going into the house that he owns 1% of, was a big issue to the family, it was as if he wasn't welcomed. This always bothered him, but again he loves his family and did not want to fight.

A couple years later - All was fine, despite the drama, my father owned his own house, lived in it, and made a lot more than what we were spending so money wasn't issue. But there was still tension and drama between the family. However, that was changed once my father was laid off due to the company moving. This caused him to go on unemployment which was much less than what we was making before and for years we were living paycheck by paycheck. My sister and I had to work while going to school, I was in middle school and my sister was in high school at the time, in order to help around the house with the bills. This made my father severely sad about the situation we were in. We ended up being in a lot of debt in which he wasn't prepared for. My dad later became more saddened because my uncle who owns the family house (99%), haven't worked for over 10 years, basically lived for free (money from apartment building payed for everything in the house), and he's living lavishly using the money from the tenants paying the rent. I tried to tell my dad that things will get better but he told me, "how long must I wait? Things haven't been good for 2 decades. I worked so hard for my family and they just took everything from me, and I didn't wanna fight because I loved them too much, now I'm in need of help and no one is there for me except my wife and children," this made me sad because my father was right.

Years later, again - My father had a heart attack and underwent surgery (awake craniotomy), and they had to implant a pacemaker. This was very hard for my father afterwards, because no job would take him, no matter how much he tried. He eventually got through SSI, which helped a lot, but our debt to income ratio was still unbalanced. We were still struggling. This caused more drama, because my extended family would try to talk to my father's brother and sisters to help him, but they refused.

Currently - My father ended up taking a debt consolidation loan in order to pay off our debt. Which is great but we still have the debt on us just at a lower interest rate in one payment, which is better. Anyhow, I was getting an idea how much a house would be in a location I would like to live in, then out of curiosity I went on the NYC buildings website and typed in my fathers name. ALOT of documents came up that my father never saw before. His initials were NOT his (the way he would sign is not the same as shown), and on same papers, underneath his initials would be my grandfathers initials stating "by MB." Is this even legal to do? This was on a lot of the documents from 5-20 years ago. After seeing that with his own eyes, he now wants to take action but, in my head, I believe that was too long ago to fight. However, if there is a chance to fight and make things right again for my father. I will take it.

P.S. -
1) My father doesn't want to completely take control of everything. He believes the house should be 50-50.
2) The 2nd eldest sister, who's name was on the apartment building, sadly died a couple years back. And we are unaware who's name the building is under currently.
3) I'm sorry for the long backstory, I felt that it was necessary in order to get the best advice I could get.

Tl;dr - Father's name was forged numerous times to remove/reduce percentage of owned property from family. Is this legal? Can I fight if these documents were 5-20 years old (which are still accessible from the NYC Buildings website)? What should I do?
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer: You need a local attorney to deal with this.  There is nothing about this that will be easy or that you can learn from a web forum.


Title: I can't pay rent next month. How to proceed?

Question:
I live in Texas and, due to numerous financial reasons, I am unable to pay rent next month. I am currently looking into assistance programs in my area. However, should I not qualify, I would like to know what actions to take. What would be the best way to vacate my apartment without flat-out not paying rent and getting an eviction notice or judgement? I have checked google but all I can find are Q&A's about what to do when you are already being evicted. I want to do this the best and most respectful way possible as I have no problems with my Landlady and have every intention of paying her anything owed once my finances are more stable. Any info is greatly appreciated.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: Call your realestate or landlord and let them know.  Work out a plan with them as they're usually reasonable people.


Title: [PA] Is killing a domestic terrorist illegal?

Question: ok, if this seems stupid, i'm sorry. But I am curious to know if a cilivian killing a terrorist or someone deemed associated with a terrorist group is illegal. Here's why I'm asking...I saw a petition to have the BLM movement classified as a terrorist organization, my thoughts following were "well if that happens then people might see a green light to kill them cuz they are now labeled as terrorists.."

Answer:
 >my thoughts following were "well if that happens then people might see a green light to kill them cuz they are now labeled as terrorists.."

Your thoughts are 100% wrong. If you executed someone because of membership with a terrorist organization, you would be looking at 1st degree murder charges. Answer #2: It is not legal to execute someone just because they belong to a "terrorist group".

It may be legal to use deadly force to stop someone from committing an imminent terrorist attack.  The key word there is "imminent".


Title: [CO] Can your typical family restaurant refuse to hire men as servers?

Question:
I know there are special situations, like Hooters, Twin Peaks, Tilted Kilt that hire "models" to serve their customers so they get away with refusing to hire men. How about other restaurants?

I'm legal guardian for a 16-y-o who works as a host at a local restaurant. He recently inquired about picking up more hours, but the only way to do that would be as a server. He was told that they only allow women to serve. Realistically, it's a good job and we're not going to open a lawsuit against this family business, but I'm curious about the law.

Answer:
 Very likely illegal.

Does Colorado not have restrictions on 16 years and work hours?


Title: Ex is Co-owner on my house and now she is petitioning to sell.

Question:
First off,  I want to say that I wish nothing but the best for her, as I have moved on and found incredible happiness in another relationship (she however, is struggling and has not).
Be July 2011, I finally worked myself up to a 50k a year job (with multiple bonuses and overtime) and, being old school, wanted to purchase a house. I came across a great rate (with my income only) and decided to pursue it.  I found a house I loved and made the decision to go forward on it. Luckily, the sellers, who I met with, loved me and my family.  They paid closing costs, and made the process easier than I could have ever imagined. Now, this is where my stupidity comes in. My Ex, who I share a daughter with, wanted to make sure she was on the loan because she thought it "would be more secure". I did.  I put her on the loan and mortgage title, and it increased my rate by over 1 percent. I could afford it and wanted it to be my forever home, so I agreed.
She was being ... the best way I can describe it is ... disloyal.  I found this out, three months in to owning the house, but I let it go.  However, I did, out of maddening rage, contacted one of my old co - workers who had a crush on me. Nothing happened.  I was then offered more at another job, but had to drive to said co- workers town to do training.  She came over and shit happened.
My Ex, then used this knowledge (Portland girl messaged me and said she had a fantastic time, and went into sexual detail about it) to be on her own.  I let her live at my house for six months while she gathered money, had relations with her guy, etc. and then asked her to leave after she brought him to my house.
Flash forward 6 years. I now have made every payment on this mortgage and have updated the house using my wallet. She had never paid one cent into the house but is now petitioning the court to sell the house and wants 75 percent of what is made.
Is there anything I can do? I want to keep my house, but if I can't, I want to at least make the money back I put into it. Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer:
 You keep saying "my house" but you should be saying "our house."

You guys have joint ownership of the house, you're not together any more, and after six years she no longer wants you to have the sole benefit of living there.  I appreciate that you've made every mortgage payment, but it sounds like you've also been the one living there.

She has filed a petition to force a sale of the house, which is not unexpected, and if you oppose that petition, you should get a lawyer.

The way I see this though, unless you can buy her out of her equity in the home, the judge is likely to force a sale of it. An attorney can help you get the best deal.

Real estate law experts here may give you more specific advice, but you might also want to provide more detail here about: were you married, are you still married, when did you get divorced, and what state you're in.


Title: (USA) Copyright Law on unproduced video game

Question:
Hi, I had a legal question that I was curious about, and figured someone here might be able to help me out.

Although it doesn't matter in particular, the game in particular is Super Smash Bros. Melee. Produced by Nintendo for the Gamecube, it's unavailable in their e-store, used copies are no longer carried by Gamestop/most used game shops, and the only place to purchase a copy is from a private owner.

At this point would it be copyright infringement to burn an ISO onto a mini-dvd for personal use? I know very little about copyright law, but after skimming some Wikipedia I was hoping it might fall into fair use by Market Failure, but I'm not sure if I'm understanding that correctly.

Thanks!

Answer:
 Yes.

They own the copyright to the game.  If you reproduce it without their permission, you have violated their copyright.


Title: (OH) Sold golf cart, advertised year model incorrectly

Question: I posted a golf cart (Ez-go gas)my FiL gave me for sale on Facebook marketplace. I was told by FiL that it was a 05 (he was told same thing when he bought it). Buyer contacted me, asked if he could come look at with intent to buy. Buyer drove 1.5 hours with his father to look at the cart, picked over the cart for almost an hour. Drove it around my property and in turn liked the cart and decided to purchase. He gave me $2000 cash plus $40 for split cost of new battery. Buyer took cart to a shop where they told him it wasn't a 05 but it was a 02 cart. He called me asking what we wanted to do to resolve this and I told him if he wanted to bring cart back I would give him his money back. He said he would bring it back if I reimbursed him for his time and fuel down, and asked for $200. I said no, that it was an honest mistake on the year and the cart even as a 02 not a 05 was still $5-700 under market value. He told me that he would take me to court for falsely advertising the cart. I offered to come get the cart and give him his money back and he still wanted me to pay him $200 for his time the day before. I asked the county court if he could do this and they replied no, because he left with the cart, therefore agreed to purchase the cart as is. After I told him what court said he responded by threatening to sue me for damages and lost time. Does he have any sort of chance? I couldn't sleep last night because I was worried about it. Thanks in advance

Answer:
 At this point he can pound sand.

You offered to make things right, he refused. Keep a record of your correspondence with him just in case, but chances are he won't do anything.


Title: [Update][TX] Lube shop forgot to put my oil cap back on and I didn't find out until it was too late.

Question:
http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3t1v9t/tx_lube_shop_forgot_to_put_the_oil_cap_on_my_car/

Link to the original, I took the advice of the comment that said to try and resolve through the insurance companies.

I'm standing here in the parking lot of the repair shop who's been housing my Vitara while I had the insurance situation sorted...

My insurance said to contact the insurance of the establishment, turns out they didn't have insurance. My insurance instructed is to sit tight and a claims adjuster would contact us... Turns out that was not supposed to be the case.

So, since they told us there was nothing we could do, we'd try to put some oil in and start it with a new cap.

It was at this point, the guy at the repair shop noticed that oil was coming from the filter, and that the lube shop who originally did the oil change, used the incorrect filter.

So, Tl;Dr: Lube shop forgets my oil cap, and uses incorrect filter during oil change, And I drive the car until it suddenly dies.

Not sure what my next step is, as I don't know what small claims court actually looks like.

Answer:
 Check with your county's courthouse.  [Here's the page from Travis County](https://www.traviscountytx.gov/justices-of-peace/jp3/filing-lawsuit), for example.  You're going to file the lawsuit with the court, get the establishment served, then you can contact the court to get subpoenas if you need any discovery, then you show up with all your evidence (presented as concisely as possible) and convince the judge that the establishment is liable for the damage.
Answer #2: Okay, so since they didn't have insurance, they are going to have to pay out for your new engine. But, that's gonna be difficult to force them to do.

First things first, recontact your insurance and tell them what you know now. Sounds like you've already done this. And a claims adjuster is what you need, so contact them back and make sure you get a claims person out.

You need to explain calmly what has happened, what was done after it....etc. In the meantime DO NOT TOUCH YOUR CAR AGAIN. You may have already screwed it up by trying to put more oil in, but at least you discovered the screwup was definitely theirs in the meantime.

Once your claims adjuster sees the issues, they will report to your insurance, your insurance will most likely replace your engine at that point, and then go after the shop for the cost.

It's either that, or you just tell the shop to get you a new engine and have it installed BY A 3rd PARTY, NOT THEM since they can't be trusted to change your oil.

Source: Daughter of a claims adjuster who has been ASE certified for 32 years (ASE certifications didn't exist before that) who literally does this work with insurance companies and businesses as a 3rd party every working day.


Title: Student legal advice

Question: Girlfriend (23F) is in nursing and one of her classes  (nurse foundation's I believe) is run by a moron. He doesn't teach very well, provide notes or feedback, even teach his own class theres a group project every week where groups present presentations of a  chapter from the textbook. Bottom line he takes his exam from testbank, doesn't change anything except take out the american questions (Canada). My girlfriend and her class used testbank as a resource to study it's online and available to anyone. So everyone either scored perfect or incredibly high because he used the exact copy available online. The prof got the dean involved and they accused the whole class of cheating, that they will need to retake the exam with a -30 mark deduction and he threatened to take anyone who rejects this offer or fights him to to the Senate. Seems pretty unfair to me, any help from profs on here or anyone familliar with academic law or whatever would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Unfortunately they’re stuck. The proficiency of the professor does not supersede the fact the class found a copy of the test and used it. Was it dumb for the professor to do so, yes. Was it in the student code of conduct to both not plagiarize work or cheat on tests, also yes. Ultimately the class will just have to take the test over and move on. They had an entire semester to say something about the proficiency of the professor and chose not to do so.


Title: Is Rent Tax Deductible for 501c3 Corporations?

Question: I run a robotics team that is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation. I've gotten conflicting opinions from different robotics teams on whether or not rent is tax-deductible, since many teams operate out of spaces that landlords can't seem to rent to actual buyers. Having rent be tax-deductible would make the sell a lot easier.

Answer:
 ? You mean the rent that your landlord isn't charging you? No. That's not a deduction for him/her.

Now, if he incurs expenses in giving you space, those probably are deductible. But, not the full rent amount.

Is this an FRC club?  If so, ask the question on ChuefDelphi. You'll get a lot of suggestions.  If you're in a smaller town, you might be able to get local government help. Reach out to the chamber of commerce. A robotics team is something they may latch onto as great for that town and might help with resources.


Title: Work is making me drive a shuttle without a CDL[FL]

Question:
My job has been making me drive a shuttle bus(over 16 seats) for about a week. I do not have a CDL license. Out last shuttle driver quit and they were in a pickle and made me do it. What legal trouble could I be in? Should I report this and if so will I get in trouble?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: If you get stopped and it’s discovered you do not have the license required to drive that vehicle. “my boss told me to do it” is not going to do you any good at all. All the risk is on you here.Answer #2: In Florida, if you operate a vehicle designed to carry 15 or more people including the driver and the weight is under 26,001lbs you are required to have a Class CAnswer #3: I would either quit or refuse to drive it. The fact that they asked you to keep quite about it is very shady so I would start looking for another job. If you are up for a possible legal fight you could definitely report them.


Title: Work being done on HVAC, are the workers allowed to take the copper or can I keep it?

Question:
They're almost done with the project an dI notice there is a lot of copper piping. inspecting the work I jokingly said "wow, that's a lot of copper" and one of the workers said "yeah, you'll probably have to fight with the guys for it".

Is this really considered my property, meaning that if they take the copper it will be considered theft? Are they allowed to keep it?

Should I call the non-emergency line if they take it?

Answer: Yeah it's yours. Unless you signed something saying that they can take it as partial payment for the work.


Title: Unwanted mail from previous owners of my family's apartment

Question:
My family bought an apartment in Ontario, Canada and we moved in about a year ago. However, to this day we still receive random mail addressed to the previous owner's family. It has ranged from random newsletters to things from banks and the government. Obviously we havent ever opened anything so we dont know if it's really important. We just write "Return to sender, does not live here", the usual mistaken mail stuff.

As far as I know, the previous owner leased the apartment to someone but the renter doesn't have anything mailed here. Just that previous owner's family themselves. We have complained to our management and they gave the mistaken mail to them for the first month but have since then, said that there is nothing else they can do.

My parents aren't necessarily bothered by it but I am. Being paranoid, I'm also afraid of something happening to us if we continue to receive their mail from important places. More importantly, I just want this annoying spam mail to go away. How can their family be so irresponsible? What can I do?

Answer:
 > What can I do?

You can mark it return to sender and give it to the mailman.

> I'm also afraid of something happening to us if we continue to receive their mail from important places

There is nothing bad that can happen.


Title: My [34 M/CT] ex-girlfriend [33 F/NY] is telling people verbally as well as on social media that she just got out of a "domestic abuse" situation, implying that I am a domestic abuser. I, for sure, am not. What can I do to protect myself?

Question:
First time posting in this sub, so if I'm violating any sort of protocol I apologize in advance.

My ex-girlfriend and I broke up in November. Due to her having nowhere to go, we stayed living together until the end of this past April. She finally moved back to her home town, a 6 hour drive away in New York (I am in Connecticut). She is living with a longtime friend until she can figure out her next move.

We were together for 5 years, living together for a little less than 4 of those years. She has significant medical issues physically. Without being specific, she suffers from painful chronic illnesses. Being physically disabled has caused her lots of emotional stress, so she also suffers from depression and has periodic suicidal thoughts.

I ended our relationship after about a year of instability between us. Frequent arguments, shouting matches, and emotional outbursts (including one trip to the ER when she told me she was going to kill herself) simply pushed me to my limit and I ended things.

Now that we are separated, friends of mine who are still connected to her in some way...either on social media, IRL, or both...have informed me that she's being very strange. One of the things she has been saying is that our relationship was abusive, implying that I am her abuser. I am absolutely NOT an abuser of any kind. I have never physically harmed her in any way, nor have I tried to control her life through manipulation or fear tactics. In fact, I financially supported her completely when she concluded she was too sick to work, and frequently tried to get her out of the house to take classes, meet new people, etc., so she could build her own life/fight her depression. In other words, I did everything that the textbook abuser does NOT do.

As of right now she has not specifically said "/u/sexpressed abused me" on Facebook or the like, but she possibly could have said or be currently saying that verbally to people she knows. I have no clue. But her very frequent FB posts make reference to her being a survivor of domestic abuse. It doesn't take a rocket scientist for someone who reads her posts to put together the fact that we just broke up and now she's claiming she was abused...and concluding that I must be the abuser.

My plan right now is to send a message to anyone who is mutually friends with us and tell them that no abuse took place and that clearly she is doing this either for attention, sympathy, or some other reason. But my concern is that she could eventually say things to the wrong person and it could have a drastic effect on my life in some way, or she could just go for broke and go to the police. I know that seems far-fetched, but so does hashtagging FB posts with #domesticabusesurvivor (yes, literally).

Does anyone know of any moves I could make now while this is in its early stages to protect myself later? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
  ---
  **tl;dr**: My ex-girlfriend is frequently posting on social media, and many of her posts suggest that she is a survivor of domestic abuse and that I am the one who abused her. I never abused her. What can I do to protect myself from any social or legal issues this could potentially cause?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Abuse takes many forms. She might feel she has been abused.

> My plan right now is to send a message to anyone who is mutually friends with us and tell them that no abuse took place and that clearly she is doing this either for attention, sympathy, or some other reason.

No no no. All that will do is ramp up her accusations. That now not only did you abuse her but are trying to prevent her from getting help or telling others. The best way to deal wit unsubstantiated allegations is to pretend they don't exist.  You want this person out of your life right?Answer #2: maybe she had a brief relationship with someone after you

i think unless she mentions you by name, then going after her on this with a lawyer's letter will only make things worse (she has a lot of time on her hands to ramp this up on you, and it is tough fighting a disturbed person with no assets to lose)


Title: Would you be criminally liable if you made a choice that killed someone to save your own life?

Question:
Suppose I'm a passenger in a car and the driver had a heart attack and died, and the car is now barreling towards a cliff that will surely kill me. My only chance for survival is to grab the steering wheel and yank it in a different direction it, but I can see that in doing so I will run over a family and probably kill them.

If I did this and survived, would I be criminally liable?

Answer:
 What you're describing is the defense of *necessity*. The common law rule is that necessity cannot justify a homicide: some states follow that rule while others do not. Answer #2: These weird semi-paradoxes made law school suck even more.

Where i am from the legality of nevessity is usually measured against a principle of proportionality. So this situation would probably land Young fair share of prison time. Answer #3: Sort of depends on the situation, your options, your intentions, etc. For example, if you were going to die very very soon of heart failure and you kidnapped someone and stole their heart for transplant, that fits the circumstance of "killed someone to save your own life" but would definitely end in you being thrown in jail.


Title: Someone is accidentally suing me - what do I do? (California)

Question:
Background info: I'm a 24 year old woman who briefly lived in Los Angeles CA four years ago, had 0 relationships there, and moved back home to Northern California.

Just received a notice from civilcourtnotice.com (and validated on the LA County Court records website using the Case Number they provided) that I'm being sued by Joseph Hamilton (who I've never met or heard of - from Googling, it might be the lawyer though) for "TRO/Domestic Violence". The notice is saying I have very little time to respond (and according to the LA County website, a hearing is scheduled in about 10 days), and that criminal charges are possible.

Anyone who could help me ASAP with this, or can guide me in the right direction, would be much appreciated. Not a great thing to be surprised by!

Answer:
 The first thing you should do is call whoever's name is on the letter and very politely ask them what the hell. Chances are you share a name with someone and they will quickly realize their mistake.

If not, you need to hire a lawyer in LA to appear for you.


Title: (NY) Chain mechanic botched an oil change and blew my engine. They want to pay me the car's value rather than replacing the engine.

Question:
They admit that they were at fault, so that's not an issue here.

The KBB value of the car (99 Saturn SL2) is $1800, and the engine repair is around $2500. They want to classify it as a "total loss" and just pay me the $1800. Problem is that $1800 will not get me a reliable car. I want them to fix the car that they broke, regardless of the price, because I know the car that I own works.

I declined their offer and am currently waiting for a call back from the manager. My question is: am I legally entitled to more than the car's value in repair fees?

Additionally, the $1800 number comes from the price at a 'private sale', the number for a dealership (which is how much it would cost me to get a similar car) is $3000. Failing the above, am I entitled to the $3000?

Answer: Get some quotes from dealerships for a '99 Saturn SL2', and ask for that amount from the auto shop. KBB is always on the low side.


Title: Afraid after visiting an Asian Massage Parlor

Question:
Hi guys. I might have visited an Asian massage parlor and some sexual favors were exchanged for $$. Left the place satisfied. Realized how illegal it was and stupid of me.  I am afraid of getting in trouble after the fact. Only record is I called in before i visited. State of Illinois.

Question is am I in the clear or is it possible that this will come back legally ? And what should I do.

Answer:
 If the police didn't bust you in a sting while you were physically present and in the middle of soliciting an act, then your story has a "happy ending."  You're in the clear.Answer #2: Should you happen to feel a crisis of conscience, 1-888-373-7888
is the number for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center.  You can leave a tip with them (I'd assume anonymously).


Title: [CA] if I stall my car shortly after a green light and someone rear ends me who is at fault?

Answer: The person who hit a stationary objectAnswer #2: Generally fault goes to whoever did the rear-ending. Answer #3: Fault can be shared.  In general, the person who does the rear-ending is more at fault.  If your car is in poor mechanical condition, or you were otherwise driving poorly or recklessly, some of that could fall on you. Answer #4: The person who rear ended you. There is a thing called a safe following distance.


Title: A officer can shoot a dog if it barks at them now, do any of you know if it's a nation wide law?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >A officer can shoot a dog if it barks at them now

How did you come to this conclusion?


Title: [Virginia] My brother was arrested and charged with DUI Maiming with a BAC of .018

Question:
Several months ago, my brother (age 23) was involved in a collision at a stop light intersection. Both drivers insisted that their light was green and there were no witnesses or cameras at the intersection. All parties were taken to the hospital following the accident, but the other driver was on a motorcycle carrying a child on the back and my brother was driving a compact sedan so my brother’s injuries were not as severe as theirs were. The injuries to the people on the motorcycle were broken bones, but nothing life-threatening. At the scene of the accident, my brother was hysterical. He had never been in a bad accident before and was traumatized.

The police first interviewed my brother at the hospital and would not allow anyone from my family to be in the room when they spoke to him.  When we were allowed back in the room we discovered they charged my brother with a DUI based on my brother’s statement that he had one drink at a Mexican restaurant several hours prior. They ordered a blood test and we were told it would be several months before we received the results. We hired an attorney the next day to guide us through the process, but expected the case to be dropped once the blood results came back and proved he was not intoxicated. Over the next couple of weeks, we found out that the police found him at fault in the accident because he was under the influence.

Last week we received the blood results showing his BAC was .018, well below the legal limit for adults, and .00013 for marijuana, but no other substances. We thought this was good news, but the next day the police showed up at our house and arrested him. They charged him with two counts of DUI maiming. We were astonished. My brother lost his job following the accident and the initial charge and has already spent $10,000 in attorney fees. Fortunately, he was able to immediately find another job, but it has already set back his career significantly.

His attorney is supposed to be the best in town, but we have been disappointed in his responsiveness and he has dropped the ball several times. Thus far, it does not appear he has worked on my brother’s case at all. He did not even get the second sample of blood tested at a private lab as he said he would following the accident.

We are just shocked that the local law enforcement is crucifying my brother who did nothing wrong legally. Even if this whole thing is dismissed, they have significantly damaged his career, finances, and reputation. If he is found guilty, he will go to jail. How and why are they doing this?  Should we be concerned with his representation? Should we fire his attorney and hire someone else within a month of the trial?

Answer: You need to listen to your lawyer, and do what he says. If you disagree with how assessment or actions, get a second opinion or for him. Nothing you've posted sounds inappropriate. Two people both claim the light was green, one of them had drugs and alcohol in his system. The police are not going let you be in the room while they question a suspect, and you can be charged with DUI even if your BAC is under .08.Answer #2: Did nothing wrong legally???  He caused a car crash that caused significant injury, especially to a child.  His charges may get changed from a DUI to criminal vehicular operation since it caused significant injury to the other driver/passenger. It is possible to be charged with a DUI under the .08. That is just a legal standard.  It is up to the state to show how the alcohol had an effect on his driving conduct.


Title: Is it best financially for a man to get divorced or remain married?

Answer:
 Wow, the first double X today!

>❌ Call a [divorce] lawyer

>⭕ Call the police

>❌ Call a therapist


Title: Friend is scared, needs advice about a strange email from Google.

Question:
"Dear Google User,  Google received and responded to a legal process issued by the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Middle District Of Florida) compelling the release of information related to your Google account. A court order previously prohibited Google from notifying you of the legal process. We are now permitted to disclose the receipt of the legal process to you. The agency reference number or case number of the legal process is ICE-HSI-JX-2018-00246, 3:18-mj-1134-PDB"

My friend received this email tonight. In his own words, he said: "It said google was not in the position to provide legal help and it said please respond to this email.  This was an old Gmail account I used to look at the Darkweb so I didn't use my real one, but I haven't used the account in maybe over a year or two. Everything I'm reading is telling me about getting lawyers and stuff. I'm just a 19 year old "shut in" who is clueless and scared shitless over this email. Please, I need any help I can get with this.  Thank you."

Has anybody ever experienced this? Or does anyone know anything about it? We've been searching for awhile but cant seem to find, well, anything. Before tonight we both didnt even know what ICE is.

(Sorry if this isnt allowed, Im not exactly active on this sub-reddit)
Here is a screenshot he sent me through an imgur link if someone should need it or want to see the email.
[https://imgur.com/a/NwcwDJA](https://imgur.com/a/NwcwDJA)
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 I’d check the email headers (Show Original from a PC for Google) and see if it did come from Google.
Don’t reply until you verify it is legitimate.Answer #2: I did a little bit of looking into it.

- That is not a valid case number. Case numbers for ICE have 3 letters followed by 10 numbers.

- It also says to respond which, from what I have found from googles information about these emails, Google will never ask you to respond to them.

It’s most likely fake.Answer #3: Google doesn't send official emails from @gmail.com accounts. Official Google communication comes from Google accounts, like @accounts.google.com or similar. Anybody can sign up for a gmail account with any old name and say anything they like.

Report and disregard.Answer #4: What is the email it was sent from?Answer #5: You may want to post this over at r/scams as well. This looks like a scam attempt and a lot of people over there are familiar with the process and methods scammers use to try and get information or money


Title: Filing a civil lawsuit against CPS for violation of my 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination

Question:
Recently, I became involved with CPS in Williamson County, Texas after the police were called to the home of my husband, from whom I have been separated for several months, due to an unrelated incident, and it was discovered that he was growing marijuana in an empty upstairs bedroom. I had brought my children to visit him for the week, so CPS was called to investigate. Under the naive and completely incorrect assumption that CPS was only concerned with children who are actually being abused or neglected, I admitted to the investigating caseworker that I occasionally used marijuana, not in the presence of my children, but while they were in my care.

All drug tests that they have administered have been negative, no drugs were ever found on my person or in my home, where the children reside, yet I was found guilty of child neglect based solely upon the testimony I gave to the investigating caseworker.

I have been researching the 5th Amendment, and reading up on Miranda warnings, and the only one of the six rules that do not actually apply to my particular case is the testimony's use in criminal proceedings. I did find something regarding the 5th Amendment that refers to the prohibition against self-incrimination in criminal proceedings or "the danger thereof". Since my admission to the caseworker, if it had been something more severe, may have led to criminal charges, I think that definition could include my situation.

Any advice or direction to resources as I pursue this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer:
 The real issue isn't that you confessed to doing drugs when taking care of children, but that you're doing drugs when you're taking care of children. Stop doing drugs when taking care of children. Answer #2: >I have been researching the 5th Amendment, and reading up on Miranda warnings, and the only one of the six rules that do not actually apply to my particular case is the testimony's use in criminal proceedings. I did find something regarding the 5th Amendment that refers to the prohibition against self-incrimination in criminal proceedings or "the danger thereof". Since my admission to the caseworker, if it had been something more severe, may have led to criminal charges, I think that definition could include my situation.

There is a only a two pronged test in regards to Miranda.

* Were you in custody?

* Were you being questioned?

Both must true for Miranda to apply.  That's it.  If you did this over the phone or willingly came to their office and answered their questions Miranda doesn't trigger.


Title: Last month, my drivers license was taken away because I forgot to pay a ticket last year. Now, after I've spent $1300 fixing my mistake, I received a piece of mail saying my license was suspended again.

Question:
This is in Colorado. Here's the timeline of events:
  Last October: I got a ticket and forgot to pay. This caused my license to be suspended, which I wasn't aware of.
  August: I got a ticket for driving 10 miles an hour over the speed limit. The officer apparently never checked my license, and at this point I still didn't know my license was suspended.
  September: I get pulled over for expired registration. The officer tells me my license was suspended, and takes away my license and my car. I spend over $1300 getting both back, and my ticket for driving with a suspended license was waived. I paid the ticket from August at this time too.
  Today:  I receive a letter in the mail saying my license is suspended again, for committing a traffic violation when my license was suspended, without mentioning the exact cause. It also says I can't drive for a year.
  They didn't tell me the cause of this second suspension, but I'm guessing they're trying to claim that my ticket in august was an offense while I was suspended.
  At this point, I'm incredibly confused and worried. I need my car for work, and I've already spend way too much money fixing this issue the first time.
  Does any body have advice on how to proceed with this?

Answer:
 Yeah, get an attorney.  The nuances of plausibly explaining to the court that you were’t aware of the fact that your license was suspended at the time of your second offense and therefore should not be punished are not something where you will have much luck on your own.

There’s some research to be done on discovering when the first notification of your license was (supposedly) sent to you. You might be able to attempt that on your own.

Good luck.


Title: Max Interest Rate on Car. (Washington State)

Question: So my car was around 12k and my interest rate is 25%. I heard that an interest rate this high was illegal. From looking at http://www.leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/Documents/rates.htm and http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=19.52.020 It looks to me that I am paying double the allowable interest rate. Is this correct? Can I get a second opinion. Thanks :)

Answer: The real question here is why did you sign something saying you'd be paying a 25% interest rate?


Title: Client signed agreement, now refuses to pay

Question:
Hello. I am a web designer based in Alberta, Canada. I have a lengthy web design agreement that all my clients sign before I start work, which lays out payment terms, termination, project abandonment, etc. It's very in-depth and I tell all my clients to read it fully before signing.

I have a client who hired me, signed the agreement and paid the 50% deposit on March 23. The agreement said the second payment of 25% would be due when I provided the website in the test environment or within two weeks (whichever came first). The test link was provided on March 30 and I requested for him to go through and make note of any changes he wanted to make. He replied back (in email) and told me the website looked great, he was happy and would have changes for me by the end of the weekend.

Come Monday, he told me something personal came up and he wanted to terminate the website. I pointed out the Project Abandonment and Termination clause, which said he owed me for the full amount if he cancelled the project for any reason other than me breaching the terms of the agreement.

He asked if we could continue on the same schedule and I sent him the invoice for Phase 2. That was April 6 and I didn't hear from him again.

Today, I sent him a polite reminder and he replied with, "what if I don't pay?" which led into a discussion about the agreement he signed, what his responsibilities were, etc etc. He brought up the termination clause and then when I explained it was only possible if I breached the agreement, he said he disliked the website and wanted to terminate for that reason.

I replied with screenshots of the emails where I asked for edits and he told me he liked everything. To this, he told me his lawyer said he could terminate the agreement.

I requested his lawyer's information so I could send it to mine. He dodged the question, and then started saying he didn't understand why I could send this to collections/involve a lawyer and he just wanted to end the agreement without paying me for my time. I told him it didn't work like that.

TL;DR - Client signed an agreement, I did the work as agreed and now he's claiming he doesn't like it to get out of paying despite telling me multiple times he loved it. Since he signed the agreement and I delivered what the agreement said I would, am I correct in assuming he has to pay the remaining amount?

Answer: Yes. Sue him if he doesn't pay.


Title: Car accident with unlicensed minor behind wheel(other party)

Question:
So the car is under mine and my wife’s insurance. We lent it to my SIL and she got into an accident with a pickup truck driven by an unlicensed minor carrying a minor as passenger. the cops came to take statements and the mother of the minors arrived at the scene and proceeded to say she was driving(not her child)
How it happened: pickup stopped abruptly in the middle of the road, SIL hit the brakes and swerved right but still hit the pickup. Minor damage to other party’s vehicle but ours is totaled.
How can we proceed To the fact the mother tried to claim fault to cover for her child? I’m also being told an injury claim was made against my insurance but nobody was injured.
(No party is at fault that I know of yet but so far my insurance is covering the costs of everything.)
Topic:
Insurance

Answer: Send the police report to your insurance company that's why you pay them it's their job to figure it out...


Title: Before the divorce! It’s her house!

Question:
In Michigan. A friend of mine is filing for divorce (has not done so yet) due to recently discovered infidelity and wants her husband to move out now. He’s traveling for work, and is refusing to move out when he gets home due to a party he has planned this upcoming weekend.

If my friend is the sole owner on the house (only her name on the deed), the financing for the house is solely in her name, but the house was purchased AFTER they were married, can she legally change the locks to enforce her wishes? Or involve the police, etc?

Her soon to be ex husband has places to go (his parents live nearby) and she would make sure to pack his stuff for him and leave it somewhere he could get it, without being destructive to his things.

What are her options? Thanks in advance!

Answer:
 > If my friend is the sole owner on the house (only her name on the deed),  the financing for the house is solely in her name, but the house was  purchased AFTER they were married, can she legally change the locks to  enforce her wishes?

No, so long as they are married, it's still community property, and thus it's also his house. Locking him out without cause (such as a restraining order) may backfire on her when it comes time to split assets.


Title: [MI] Mechanic broke my car for handle while my car was in their shop. Wants me to pay.

Question:
I took my car (2011 Ford Focus) into the shop 12/26 for a free inspection. They recommended that I have the following done to my car: tie rod replacement and front end alignment.

**Fast forward to 12/28.** I bring my car in to be repaired. After 3 hours, I pick up my car from the shop. I walk in, pay at the register and walk to my car to discover the driver's door handle is clearly broken. I go back into the shop and they explain that it will be $40 for the part and $60 for labor.

Obviously this upset me. I explained to them that I am not going to pay for a part that they clearly broke on my car and didn't even tell me about.  They basically said that things happen and I'm going to have to pay up.  Is there anything I can do?

Answer: That depends on why the handle broke. If it broke from their abuse or misuse they should probably fix it. If it was already broken or failed from ordinary use with bad timing they would probably not be responsible.


Title: [Texas] I am a home owner and do not have dependents enrolled in public schools but pay a annual tax for public schools, is there an exception for which not to pay this public school tax?

Question:
As you know, in Texas if you are a home owner you have to pay a tax to support public schools in your district. I am old enough to pay this tax in four installments throughout the year.

If a person does not have the funds to pay it and is bankrupt, is there a way via form or tax procedure where this tax can be waived, as in not needed to be paid based on these circumstances?

Answer:
 No, you can't waive taxes just because yuo don't personally use it.

Inability to pay taxes is a different question, but the recourse is not that you pick and choose what to pay for buffet style.Answer #2: HAHAHAHAHA. No.

Just because you don't have kids in school doesn't make tax not apply to you.Answer #3: By this logic I should be able to opt out of having my taxes go to the military as I'm a pacifist. Hahahaha. Collective society is what it is - you can't avoid your social responsibilities.


Title: Someone at Canada Post forged my signature for a package and it has gone missing

Question:
A package I ordered showed as delivered on the tracking information even though I never received anything. Knowing that my package required a signature, I contacted Canada Post to view a copy to try and get to the bottom of where it was. I was told only the sender could do so. I contacted the sender and just got an email now  saying  what the signature read as. What they said my signature was written as is NOT how I write my signature nor have I ever written it as. I believe that someone who works at Canada post or possibly even my mail carrier has forged my signature and stollen my package. I had another package “go missing” only a few weeks ago aswell. I know that if I go through Canada post nothing will happen, as they will state that everything shows that it was delivered. Is there any grounds to contact the police? What actions should I take next?

tl;dr two of my packages have gone missing with one having a forged signature. What are my next legal steps to take?
Topic:
Canada

Answer: You can report it to Canada Post.  I would leave out your suspicions about who might have done it - theories aren't helpful.  Report only what you know to be fact - it was reported as delivered when it was not, the signature of the person who signed for it is not your own.  You can mention the other package that went missing if you want, but again, it won't be helpful to speculate about who might be responsible.Answer #2: This happened to me once with Canada Post. As soon as I called them and reported it missing they opened an investigation. Days later the package mysteriously showed up on my porch. So I was pretty sure it was an employee trying to avoid trouble.


Title: My criminal roommate let someone stay in my room and steal my property while I was away on break (TX)

Question:
What are my options for breaking the lease? There was no lock on my bedroom door and I came home after a month to find an ashtray and other clear signs that someone was living in my room while I was away.

The stolen property was up to $200 of nonperishable food that I had left in a common area. This roommate had been pilfering this food for a long time and we had had numerous conversations where I made it 100% clear that it was not his to take without my explicit permission.

Answer:
 Having a shitty roommate won't allow you to break the lease without penalty. The landlord would have had to have violated the lease in some way in order for you to break it.

You signed a lease with your roommate, the issue is between the two of you. File a police report regarding the theft.


Title: Roommate got attacked in a stabbing incident. Recovering from injuries, but he needs as much compensation as possible. Help?

Question:
The story is that my roommate (we'll call him K) got invited to this guy's place, who was a friend of a friend of his (we'll call him J). J and K were hanging out in town, and J invited K to his place to hit some some sort of drug. It was a type of tranquilizer, and K knew this, so he only had a bit, but J kept on trying to push it on him, which K kept refusing. Eventually, this girl came over and confronted J about something, and they argued in the other room, which apparently lead into J raping her. He came out, and started stabbing K in the back, saying something like "You're not better than me". K defends himself, which includes grabbing the knife from the blade end to try to get it out of J's hands. K finds and opening to escape, and he does, running to the nearby convenience store, where employees called the cops and an ambulance. Cops busted J 3 hours later, who got sent to the hospital first before getting transferred to jail (he was apparently on drugs the entire time, or at least after the incident). K was treated at the hospital, which included surgery on his hands to reattach the damaged tendons. His dominant hand is now wrapped in a cast, and will be for a while, and me and the other roommates have had to help him with his back wound, which wasn't ready to be sewn up yet.

Needless to say, K's gonna be out of work for a good while, and he'll also have the related medical bills to pay. He's already trying to apply for welfare and disability pay, but was having trouble getting a lawyer to help him sue J. J doesn't really have money to be sued out of, but I assume the state is supposed to cover the rest. He should also be able to get a lawyer provided to him if no one will take him on, right?

We in West Virginia, btw.

EDIT: And yeah, sorry I'm a bit clueless on the whole criminal vs. civil process. Thaaat would be why I came here. But why am I getting downvoted so much? I'm trying to get help, so isn't voting me down against the point of that?

Answer: No taxpayers don't have to pick up the tab when people make stupid decisions to use illegal drugs and get violent.   The taxpayers also don't pay for lawyers to sue people for damages.  There *may* be victims assistance available to him.


Title: I made a negative post to social media about BLM, disagreeing party makes compilation of comments, shares among their friends, which is subsequently emailed to former employer.

Question:
With the recent tensions going on in the country I made a post on social media post about my distaste with black lives matter and their planning to protest locally. In the comments my friends, along with myself begin to share our distaste with the people involved and the organization itself. Days later, I was tagged in a post by the other party along with their friends with image captures of my posts. Among being called many derogatory names multiple times, they threatened to send the images to a company I previously worked for. The thing is, I haven't worked for the company since November of 2015 and even let them know that I didn't work there anymore.

Less than 20 minutes ago my friend, who still works for the company, told me they received 5 emails with the screenshots of the post and comments which I'm sure were altered in their benefit, and that people in the company were upset with me. Unfortunately I have no way of seeing what was emailed but I do have screenshots of the intial posts targeting me, along with some of the comments made to me.

My question is; is this grounds for legal action? I'm thinking defamation of character-libel.

Thank you for reading!

Answer: Maybe if it was altered enough and you didn't really say those things. But you shouldn't make posts online using your real name unless you are prepared for everybody to see them. Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from the consequences of what you say.  Why do you care what people at your old job think?


Title: What happens if a early voter dies?

Question: If someone were to vote (in the US) early through something like an absentee ballot or another form of early voting, submit it, and then die before election day what would happen to their vote? Would it be counted?

Answer: I would hope so.  They were alive and voted legally at a legal time, so it should count.  Plus, how would they track down the ballot, even if proof of death were delivered timely?


Title: UPDATE: I was wrongly accused of DUI and the police left my car on the side of the road and it was stolen (CA)

Question:
https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3r1bf5/i_was_wrongly_accused_of_dui_and_the_police_left/?

My car was definitely stolen, as it was not in any tow yard anywhere close to here and both the police and the towing company have no record of a tow truck ever being called to the scene. I filed a complaint with the police department after trying to take it up the chain of command and no one helped me. In response I received a letter saying I need to talk to my insurance company and that although it is "regrettable" what happened the police consider the matter closed and any more complaints by me about this will open me up to legal action against me and make me liable for costs paid to the police department.

I have spoken with over a dozen people at my insurance company and all of them tell me the same thing: to take it up with the police. They also won't let me cancel my insurance on the car and are threatening to send me collections if I don't keep paying them. Without a car I am losing so much money because I can't run my business properly. I have rented a car on few occasions (more money I've had to pay) or spent hours on public transit a few times trying to get where I need to go. I have also lost business because I couldn't get to my customers. I have a lawyer now because the police and the insurance company won't even talk to me now, so that's another expense for me. I'm hoping my lawyer gets results because if this keeps up I won't be able to afford my health insurance and rent anymore. I can't say more now that I have a lawyer but I did want to post an update and thank everyone for all the helpful advice. I'll post another update when (if) this gets resolved.

Answer:
 As a former P&C adjuster, though much of this is unnecessary advice as your attorney will be pursuing these avenues:

a. an immediate complaint to the state's DOI. bad faith claims against insurers are *not* taken lightly. not at all. at the two different carriers i worked at in the span of 5 years, i twice saw bad faith complaints come into the branch. it is a very big deal and it becomes all hands on deck with the senior adjuster(s) involved and supervisors and branch manager.

b. go public with the police department's handling of the situation. though sovereign immunity is a reality, oftentimes municipalities don't want to be dragged through the mud by the local and regional media affiliates and sometimes consider offering a settlement to avoid the backlash. hell, even go public with your insurer's handling. get some bad press out there.


Title: [NY] Landlord just told me that while I'll be on vacation, she will enter my room to do the floors.

Question:
She gave me notice by text that she'd want to do it Thursday, then said she wanted to wait until Saturday (yesterday). Saturday came and went and now she's said (via text) that she'll do it while I'm gone this coming week. I rent a room not the entire apartment.

I have nothing to hide, but I'd prefer it get done while I'm present. As far as I know this isn't an urgent thing that needs to be done. Do I have any legal standing to tell her to wait until I get back?

Answer:
 There is no law giving a tenant the right to demand repairs be done only when the tenant is present.

You could still trying asking, though.


Title: Square Reader Company withholding a combination of 33,000$ for much longer than 3 months and refuse to realise it to us.

Question:
Hey guys,

I wanted to know if I could get some advice with the issue that both I and my landlord have had with square. So I've had Square for a few months now and it was a good way to do charges on cards for my clients. Recently, square canceled my account and they had told me they are going to be holding my funds for 3 months. On top of that, my business land lord has had the same issue, they're withholding my rent from her. A combination from the two of us, square is withholding 33K give or take. After multiple calls to square, we were given faulty customer verification codes. Those codes are needed in order to contact customer support. This morning, my wife called the call center were a representative told me they would transfer me to an account specialist and then hung up the phone. Afterwards my wife made a co-owner account to call them back, and once again they hung up on me. Afterwards, I told my social media person to complain on twitter to see if they would respond. After countless private messages and asking them to address the issue on their twitter feed, they blocked my account. I have been dealing with this issue for months and it's affecting my business. They won't take my e-mails, calls, tweets, etc. How does a company jump through so many hoops to not talk to their customers? It doesn't help that NPR wrote an article about it. I've read forums of other small businesses dealing with the same thing, some never getting their money back. What are my options?

Edit: So I am getting a lot of hate and being called a liar? I think I need clear up perhaps why we have charge backs. A bigger portion of the money we get are from insurance companies direct deposit or checks, that would make up more than half of the way we make profit. The very small percent of the profit that comes from our clients who pay out of pocket. Some clients did the damage themselves, they don't want to report it, so they pay out of pocket. We write up the estimate with OEM parts rather than aftermarket. Sometimes, our clients funds aren't enough in middle of the repair process (yes, its a little frustrating) but we do accommodate them and adjust the price. However, those are not very common, also square is going to great lengths to ignore us, why?

Answer: What was their reason for cancelling your account and putting a hold on your funds?


Title: Can an employee by liable for losses incurred due to him quitting?

Question: Suppose Jack is working in a small company that is selling an IT product. Jack is the only experienced developer there who has an adequate knowledge of the system and is able to quickly fix problems with it, other devs are juniors with little experience and can't in general work unsupervised. Should Jack choose to quit, his boss (and company owner) Dave would be in deep trouble because it would take a long time to hire a replacement and have him be effective (not least because Dave isn't quite willing to pay adequate wages) and the functioning of the company would be severely impaired for months. Can Jack be held liable for these losses? (in the state of New York)

Answer:
 It's the company's responsibility to cross-train and have contingency plans. They knew Jack could quit (or get sick or get hit by a bus) at any time, yet they failed to prepare.Answer #2: Only if there is a written employment contract stipulating that he would be liable for such losses. Which wouldn't happen. In at-will, no contract scenarios, employers can fire employees for any reason that isn't illegally discriminatory, and employees can quit for any reason and leave with no obligations. Answer #3: > Jack is the only experienced developer there

That's his employer's problem not Jack's.  Jack should ask for a raise.Answer #4: Jack gets a job offer from another company.

Jack walks into Dave's office, demands raise, explains how everything goes to shit without him.

Jack gets raise. Answer #5: No.  Otherwise every employee ever would be liable for losses by their previous employers.


Title: I’m a Chemist working in Australia. I get paid 40% less than my fellow colleagues. We all do the exact same work. Yet I’m paid significantly less. Fellow workers won’t unionise with me to fight it because they think they will lose their higher salaries down inline with mine. What do I do?

Answer: Find another job that pays better.


Title: Dylann Roof "wanting to plead guilty" and the judge entering not guilty pleas when Roof's attorney refuses to enter guilty pleas (SC)

Question:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33737244

I see a lot of speculation and misinformation on social media relating to the explanations for what happened being presented in articles like this. Is this a routine occurrence? Logically, with no knowledge of the law, if the defendant refuses to enter a plea, it would seem the judge would *have* to enter a not guilty plea, as has happened in this case. However, the media is making a distinction in saying Roof himself "wanted to plead guilty" but his attorney "refused to enter guilty pleas," implying that Roof may have entered guilty pleas if not for his attorney. Does this give Roof any out down the road when he is ultimately found guilty, as people on Facebook are speculating?

Can the wise minds of /r/legaladvice clear up the misinformation surrounding this occurrence? Have you ever seen a defendant claim to want to plead guilty, but not enter pleas, and force a judge to enter not guilty pleas on their behalf because of their refusal to enter pleas? Does it make any difference if the defendant or his attorney enters or refuses to enter pleas?

Answer:
 >Does this give Roof any out down the road when he is ultimately found guilty, as people on Facebook are speculating?

No, of course not.  Answer #2: The lawyer is just trying to speak strategically, he's saying that his client wants to plea guilty and would likely do so as long as the jury doesn't seek the death penalty. I think he's trying to work for a deal for life in prison instead of the death penalty, not disrespecting his client's wishes.


Title: Wrongful Termination?

Question:
I created this throwaway account to maintain my main account's anonymity.

So a little background to start, I was recently fired from my job as a Site2Store associate at Walmart here in Colorado. My job was to handle all orders that came in from the Walmart website. If it's an item we had on the shelves, I was to run around the store collecting all items to fulfill the order. If it was something we did not have, the warehouse would fulfill the order sending everything to us, where it was checked in and waiting for the customer.

I was employed for just shy of a year and a half in this position. Over the course of my time there I admittedly did have some trouble maintaining my composure with certain customers.  As I am also going through a divorce and custody case with my ex, which did ultimately affected my performance at work.

So I did have a write-up on file for poor customer service. Walmart policy states I am allowed 2 coaching/write ups where the third results in termination. Though, the co-store manager, the one who fired me, wrote on my termination papers that I was on my third and final write which is why I was officially fired.

I don't know where to go from here. Is it possible to get my job back? Do I have a case for a lawsuit? Would pursing a lawsuit be advisable if applicable?

Any and all advice, suggestions and comforting words will be highly appreciated.

Answer:
 > Is it possible to get my job back?

Anything is possible but it is unlikely. Also not a legal issue.

> Do I have a case for a lawsuit?

No. Wrongful termination lawsuits are for when people are fired because of their gender, or race, or religion, things like that. Google "protected class."

> Would pursing a lawsuit be advisable if applicable?

Not in this case. File for unemployment and if it's initially denied, *make sure to appeal*. From what you wrote you should be eligible.


Title: Multiple witnesses at different occasions but no physical proof or recording. Ground for reasonable doubt?

Question: Can you accuse someone without physical proof or recording even if multiple people corroborate on the incidents?

Answer:
 You can accuse someone without any proof at all.

The police will generally only act on an accusation if there's at least some corroborating evidence. Multiple statements from multiple witnesses usually meets that bar.

The court is supposed to only convict if the totality of the evidence removes reasonable doubt about the charges. That can and does happen based on testimony alone, where the testimony is sufficiently convincing.

You can't be absolutely sure someone gets fair treatment, but the design of the justice system is intended to minimize the risk that someone is convicted wrongfully without being completely crippled by that.


Title: exotic dancer client claims gifts and tips were "loans" has forged document

Question: I worked as an exotic dancer in Pennsylvania for a short amount of time when I was in a really tough financial place. I had a client, older wealthy man (we'll call him joe), who was very interested in me. He would buy me gifts. For example, I'm a photographer and my equipment was stolen so he replaced it (camera, laptop). He also gave me money towards my apartment, in the form of a check. Fast forward several months later and my life is back on track, I'm able to quit the club and move on with me regular life. Joe didn't like this. He must have thought I was going to eventually be with him sexually, or maybe he's just old, miserable and wants to drag others down with him. Who knows, but he has been harassing me saying that I owe him money. What is really bothering me is the fact that he has a document that I've never seen before, with my name signed on the bottom. Its NOT notarized and is absolutely forged, perhaps from a former co-worker, but I don't want to take any chances with this shady business. This man is very wealthy and I know he is friends with a lot of judges and has great lawyers. I would like to know where I stand with this, if I need a lawyer, if my word will hold up against his, and if he can actually attack me like this.

Answer: Ignore him, block his number, and move on.


Title: Kid took my school issued iPad and threw it to the ground breaking it after I took the paper he was waving in my face away from him.

Question:
(High school) It was nearing the end of a class and I was sitting down while this kid who did not have a chair was at the end of the table where I was sitting. He finished a worksheet and was waving it in my face. I grabbed the paper out of his hands and he immediately picked up my IPad and threw it at the ground.

A whole classroom of 30+ students saw this and he was heard saying “I may have overreacted.” I immediately took my Ipad down to the office and told them what happened. They said they would schedule a meeting for later that day but it was moved to tomorrow. The charge is $250 for a broken ipad that is deliberately damaged.

Is there anything I have to worry about? If it helps he read me a note saying he was sorry and that he wanted me to claim it as an accidental breaking ($100) and said he would pay me back over time. I didn’t take this offer as I had no reason to believe he would pay me back and I had already turned the iPad in to the office. Any advice? Also sorry for the formatting on mobile.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 If they end up making you pay for it, and he refuses to, you/your parents can take him/his parents to small claims court. Honestly if there's a note saying he did it, and you have 30+ witnesses, I can't imagine you'll have a hard time getting the money back.Answer #2: Legally you can take him to small claims court if you have to pay the $250.

As someone who used to fix school iPads: Don't lie to get the lower fee. It's not accidental, and we would have been unhappy if someone lied to us about the repair type. These fees are typically part of an agreement with an insurance company which sometimes demand a different deductible for intentional damage, so don't be a party to possible insurance fraud. I would also be extremely surprised if you school administration didn't pass the fee onto the responsible party directly.

It's unclear if you are another student or staff. Either way, lying to us about how the iPad was damaged would lead to disciplinary action if we figured it out. And given that you mentioned there are witnesses, well... you'd be surprised how much we found out from other students about how our equipment was damaged. And how much we could tell from the way the equipment was damaged.


Title: My wife is a schoolteacher and the school district withheld her paycheck.

Question:
My wife has been a schoolteacher for 19 years. The state requires that teaching credentials be renewed every 5 years. If a teacher has a clean record, the process literally consists of simply paying a renewal fee.

Last April, the school district called my wife's school and informed her that her credential should've been renewed a few days earlier. No problem. My wife logged online and paid immediately.

A few days later the county informed my wife that shed now be working under a temporary credential until the state approves her renewal. The state of California only issues and renews certificates four times a year. She was then told that her paycheck would be held until the next renewal meeting which was in two months!

She only gets paid once a month so this was a disaster. Can the county withhold a public employees paycheck like this? She still remained teaching in the classroom this whole time.

Answer:
 If your wife is a teacher, she belongs to the union.

Call the union rep to help straighten this out. Answer #2: >Can the county withhold a public employees paycheck like this? She still remained teaching in the classroom this whole time.

No. They could conceivably fire her for this, but they can't keep her working and not pay her.

It's unbelievable the union isn't helping her with this. You definitely need to go up the ladder.


Title: How is TX Penal Code Title 9 Ch. 42 constitutional?

Question:
Specifically section 42.01 a. (1) (I'm not sure how to correctly write this out, sorry).

Sec. 42.01.  DISORDERLY CONDUCT.  (a)  A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:uses abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place, and the language by its very utterance tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace;

I understand that you can't yell fire in a crowd but how is this in line with the 1st amendment? We had those idiot preachers come to our university and call people all kinds of names and say the craziest and most vulgar stuff, yet they were allowed to continue.

Can someone inform me of anything that had reached a higher court that has limited free speech?

Answer:
 > you can't yell fire in a crowd

Subsequent 1A analysis has significantly walked back that bit of Schenck v. United States, because it's an openly and obviously problematic analysis that would, if applied literally, make it substantially easier for the state to regulate speech. It is, in fact, legal to shout "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, under most circumstances, even though it would be incredibly unwise to do so and even though you may be liable for some or all of any subsequent injuries if you induce panic.

The incident you're thinking of, involving a truck with the legend "FUCK TRUMP and if you voted for him, fuck you too," is likely protected under the First Amendment. That doesn't mean he won't be prosecuted, but it should mean that he has a strong defence. The fact that he's been able to drive around with that legend visible on his trick for who knows how long is strong evidence that the words do not "tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace."


Title: My neighbor is trying to steal my dog

Question:
I’m in California. This is going to seem like a bizarre situation because it is. I got a puppy a few months ago, and my neighbor has been trying to get us to bring her over for a play date with her dog. We want nothing to do with these people, so we brushed her off. About a week ago, the neighbor egged her on to jump over the fence to come play with her dog. Didn’t ask us. So we go over to get our dog when we see her over there. Now our dog thinks she can go over whenever she wants. Our neighbor is super ok with it though. Doesn’t to tell us when she is over. We have been trying to reinforce the fence, but our puppy keeps finding ways to get through. We ordered some new metal fences, but there is still like 2 weeks till they arrive. It wasn’t a huge issue till last night. Our puppy went over and they tried to let us leave her there over night. Then when she went over again this morning, she said if we don’t want her she would gladly take her off our hands. This lady had absolutely no boundaries. Is there anything I can do legally about this? Or no because my dog is on their property? It’s gotten to the point where we aren’t letting our dog outside without supervision, and it’s frustrating that we have to take that freedom from our dog because our neighbor wants to get her hands on her. We can’t train her not to do it either because the neighbor encourages her jumping.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 You're failing to contain your dog. This is on you. Either watch your dog, or put it on a run until you can fix the fence.Answer #2: If they actually refuse to return the dog then call the police.

However, it is your responsibility to keep your dog contained regardless of the fence or Yoru neighbour's behaviour.


Title: Final court date next Friday to get my license back after three years but fighting a reckless driving and dui charge.

Question:
Edit: No idea how to format on my phone so apologies. And to clarify, three years ago is when it all happened and I'm just now in action taking care of this monkey on my back.

So three years ago my life went from everything to nothing in one night after getting a DUI. I lost my job, car, and house and pretty much became homeless so I was forced to move to Oklahoma from Arkansas just to have shelter.
    But living at peoples mercy, I've been unable to tend to my legal problems but finally got help and money together for a lawyer.
    This court date I'm hoping all goes well but there's a lot hindering me. In Arkansas, the minimum on a reckless driving charge is five days jail. That night after a few drinks with friends, I went down a one way lane as I was lost taking a backroad unfamiliar to me when I got popped.
    Police report indicates me heading the wrong direction and pulling into a church. My lawyer says reckless driving involves putting others in danger as in other cars pulling off and such but nowhere on the report does it state that and I don't recall other vehicles there.
    The DUI I'm not worried as I'm guilty of it as is and I have most of the funds saved for my fines and AA classes made. The point being is that I just want my license back and I'm not sure if they'll lift the FTA because I also have a past FTA too plus I hear they can force me to wait till I pay off everything. Also, I don't want to go to jail either.
    Being an old case I'm afraid of the full hammer. Hey also has a tape brought back to him for evidence but it's blocked from playback due to it being coded. I'm hoping we use that for leverage and the report to clear away the reckless charge. Any insight or advice would be much appreciated. I'm only 24 and this is my first lawyer but he doesn't really give me that assurance I'm looking for.
Topic:
DUI

Answer: OP you have a drinking problem. You have a DUI in 2 states and reckless driving in one, as well as Failure to Appear for the first DUI. You have not gone to AA. You have continued to show irresponsible behavior. I would not expect leniency. Get a lawyer and listen to him. He is your best hope to get out of this shitstorm you have created for yourself. If you avoid any jail I will be surprised. Please get help to get things under control. I don't want you to get hurt or hurt others.


Title: Selling my microbrewery shares, counter offer is too low?

Question:
Hi there,

long story short, I live in Canada, Ontario and had to quit my full-time position at the brewery where I own 25% of the shares since the other shareholder (75%) was not paying my dividends (salary) and the money I up-fronted in addition to my investment but was giving himself all the extra money. Company is making close to 800K(gross) a year. We did not evaluate the buisness but I asked for a little over 100k for my shares and he low balled me at 30k. what should I do next? what offer should I make?

thanks

Answer: Talk to your attorney and accountant, find read what the operating and partnership agreements say about leaving/dividends/salary


Title: USPS Suddenly Requires ID for Delivery

Question:
I received a notice from USPS that "...[my name] is not known at this address..." and they want me to show up with identification at the post office.  I've lived at and received mail at my current address for almost 3 years with no problems and received ~100 parcels over that time.

I live in an apartment and mail is delivered to a box on-site (keys controlled by USPS).  I'm not talking about certified mail or signature confirmation, etc.

Why is this happening all of a sudden and is it legal?  I've never had to verify my identity with USPS *EVER* in all the different places I've lived over the years.  I'd appreciate any ideas or links that I can use to educate myself.

UT, USA

Answer:
 Yes, it's legal.

1.1.5 Addressee Identification
If a person claiming to be the addressee of certain mail is unknown to the delivery employee, the mail may be withheld pending identification of the claimant.

See [here] (http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/508.pdf) and search for "identification."  It'll give you all of the instances where ID can be required.


Title: Quit my job, immediate resignation. Do I have to request my final paycheck for waiting time penalties to kick in?

Question: So I quit my job yesterday, handed in a letter of resignation, effective immediately, and asked to have my final check mailed to the address in the letter. We only get paid once per month - on the 1st, or whatever business day after that, for the previous month. I know in California when quitting without notice you must be paid within 72 hours or the employer is subject to pay waiting time penalties. Do I need to make a request for my paycheck in order for the waiting time counter to kick in, or is it automatic?

Answer: No, the employer is expected to know as something you just need to know if you do business in California.


Title: Uber and false advertising? [Oklahoma]

Question:
Original thread:  http://www.reddit.com/r/oklahoma/comments/2gm0he/i_no_longer_support_complete_deregulation_of_the/

Appropriate supporting text:

>Last Friday, Uber sent an email notification and began promotion ["Football Flat Rates."](http://blog.uber.com/uberXLOK)  I was stoked!  $40 for a ride from OKC to Norman for game days?!  Let's do this!  As you can see, there is no additional mention of additional fees or charges.   The blog post was identical to the email, and again there was no mention of additional charges.  I also followed up on twitter and saw [this post](http://i.imgur.com/qcGtXBB.png) mentioning a flat rate for rides to OKC, and that normal rates would still apply to rides in Norman.

>I ended up riding down to Norman for the game with a friend, and planned on taking an Uber back to take advantage of the promotion.  What they neglected to mention and make clear is that they were fully incapable of handling the demand, and that surge pricing is applicable to their "flat fee."  My $40 ride turned into a $121 ride, after waiting over an hour and a half to confirm a driver.  This is still *double* what a regular taxi would have cost.  If I had been aware, I would have made other arrangements.

>You see, Uber uses surge pricing as an incentive to get more drivers on the road.  On a Friday night that proves to be more busy than expected, sure - let's do it.  I've paid it before, and I've never complained because of the ease and convenience that Uber provides.  My issue is when you run a promotion for a time when there is easily an influx of 80,000 people in the city and are not equipped to handle the demand.  Do not pass this off to the customer.  This is not a simple lesson of supply and demand.  By offering the promotion, Uber has given the impression that they have analyzed the market and feel that they can offer this service at a discounted rate.  Instead, they offered a "discounted" rate and then ended up charging **three times** that amount.

I've been in touch with Uber regarding this dispute.  Their side is that surge pricing was pushed to the app, therefore making me aware.  My argument, which was ignored is:

* Promotion was ran as a flat rate.  Flat rate is defined as "a pricing scheme that is structured around a single, fixed fee for service *regardless of usage.*
*  There was no disclaimer on the promotion that the "flat rate" could/would be subject to additional charges.

For these reasons, I feel like it was a fair and reasonable assumption that the promotional fee would trump any additional charges.  Uber suggested that I should have inputted my final destination to assure myself of the charges.  Because I saw the exchange on Twitter saying that all regular rates would apply to rides staying in Norman, I was not necessarily surprised to see surge pricing.  If I had travelled in Norman, surge pricing would have been applicable. Although, I'm still not sure that its fair because...

* Surge pricing is fine (to an extent) when there are low numbers of drivers on the road at an *unexpected time.*  Charging 3x the amount following a football game with 80,000 attendants does not constitute, and is not reasonably assumed to be an unexpected time.

It was brought to my attention in the original thread that this may qualify as false advertising.  I'm looking for another opinion of the validity of that statement.  Additionally, while I have filed a complaint with Consumer Protection, do I have grounds to dispute this charge with my bank?

Answer:
 > Surge pricing is fine (to an extent) when there are low numbers of drivers on the road at an unexpected time. Charging 3x the amount following a football game with 80,000 attendants does not constitute, and is not reasonably assumed to be an unexpected time.

This isn't a legal argument.  In general, Uber is free to charge whatever they want for their service.  Economically, surge pricing also makes sense in times of high demand; that way, those who truly want a ride get one quickly, and those willing to take alternate methods can do so.

Anyhow, there's a couple issues here.  First, it's likely that the statement made on Twitter was not the full conditions of the offer.  For instance, the Twitter doesn't give a time limit(and neither does the site) but that doesn't mean you can claim that offer indefinitely.  Also, I don't see anywhere where they offer that same pricing **from** Norman **to** OKC.

Did anyone make a promise to you that *this* specific trip was flat rate?


Title: ESA reasonable accommodation question

Question: [deleted]

Answer: I have a cat. I dont open a window when cleaning cat litter. I have no idea why you would HAVE to do that. Answer #2: /u/locationbot recall


Title: [Oregon] A question regarding child abuse and digital media between a 17 y/o female and 19 y/o male

Question:
Hello Reddit,
I work with at-risk teens. I need to know if this situation constitutes as "child abuse" or not.

A 17 year old female requested a picture of a 19 year old male's penis. The male sent the picture through text message.

I responded to the child appropriately, but now my employer is saying I failed to report child abuse because I didn't call it in. Does this situation constitute child abuse? I can't find clear information online.

I've even found conflicting information online about whether or not Oregon has the "Romeo and Juliet" law.

I appreciate anyone's help on figuring this out. Thank you.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer: There's no Romeo and Juliet clause that I can find that would apply to [section 1(a)](https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/163.575) of Oregon's laws about endangering the welfare of a child, which is likely the relevant one. If you are a mandated reporter, you likely must report this.


Title: My Ex has my nudes from when I was 15

Question:
Recently I got in touch with my douche ex and I asked him if he still had my nudes back from when we used to date. At the time, he was 18 and I was 15. As far as I know, the relationship was legal.

I asked him to delete those photos but he refused. He didn't make a threat that he's going to release them, but I want them gone.

Can this be considered child pornography since he's 23 now and still has those pictures? What's the best way to approach this?

Country: Serbia
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 Those pictures are absolutely child pornography.

Chances are you won't find anyone here who is an expert on Serbian law. You can contact a local organization that helps victims of domestic abuse and they may be able to advise you. A local attorney would likely also be able to let you know what your options are, but that may cost some money.


Title: Do deed restrictions apply to my lot?

Question:
Comal County, Texas, USA

Our deed restrictions clearly state they are for Neighborhood, Unit 1.   Our lot is located in Neighborhood Two as designated by the plat map registered with the county and as listed on our survery plat map.  (see imgur link for documents).

Our HOA is starting to get active after four years of silence and I'm not even sure if the restrictions apply to us.  We were told at closing there was no HOA and the county clerk told us the restrictions applied to Unit 1 and not Unit 2.

Are unit designations within a neighborhood seen as separate entities with regards to covenants and deed restrictions?

Am I easily in the clear or should I get a lawyer to review?  If lawyer reviews and I'm in the clear, do i just take the positition of 'sue me' with the HOA?

http://imgur.com/a/2LRBr

Answer:
 >  Am I easily in the clear or should I get a lawyer to review?

Get a lawyer to answer this now.  This shouldn't be an expensive question to get legal advice on.

>  If lawyer reviews and I'm in the clear, do i just take the positition of 'sue me' with the HOA?

That is a question best answered by the lawyer.


Title: UPDATE 2: (FL) Can my husbands ex-wife ban us from taking the kids to church?

Question:
https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/41xnxt/update_fl_can_my_husbands_exwife_ban_us_from/

My husbands 16 year old just called us, he took his bible with him since it's her weekend to have the kids. She tore it apart in front of him. We don't know if we should call the police since its theft and destruction of property.

She also claims to have found a lawyer yet no one by that name shows up on google.

Answer:
 Well, taking it away from him and denying his access to it during her parenting time is certainly allowed; but destroying it is a bridge too far. Children are still permitted to own their own seperate property and gifts; the the parental authority and discipline power doesn't cover wastage or spoliation of that property. Still, if you call the police they're just going to tell you to bring it up in family court when you make your motion.

Answer #2: Your husband can sue his ex-wife for the cost to replace the bible, and he can also report the destruction of his son's property to the police and request that they file criminal charges.  Answer #3: If you do call the police, make sure to look up the non emergency police number. Theyll probably be a lot more willing to work with you if you do that


Title: Massachusetts (Allston) - Are bedrooms legally required to have a window?

Question:
I just checked into a room that I rented for 1 month via AirBNB.  Upon arrival, I found that the bedroom which I rented has no window, and the smoke detector is hanging from wires in the ceiling and does not work.  As far as I know, these are both fire code violations, but I haven't been able to find any information to confirm this.  The reason that I'm asking is that I don't feel safe here, and would like to use these reasons to break the rental agreement and not be responsible for the fees (AirBNB specifies that I would still have to pay for 30 more days upon cancellation).

Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer:
 Landlord that occasionally works in MA. Nope nope nope. Call the fire marshal today. This is illegal as fuck, and will result in some nasty fines all the way up to possibly having the building condemned (unlikely but definitely possible, MA does not like this kind of stuff)

I see that you got out. That's good. If you hadn't, you could have easily taken pictures and issued a charge back for failure to provide a habitable dwelling. Might have gotten you blacklisted from AirBnB, but you would 100% have gotten your money back.


Title: (KS) Ex-Girlfriend Accused Me of Rape

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 as a purely female stand point, not a lawyer- I would say that I would probably feel the same way as her....

saying yes just to get the harrassment to stop is a thing, and its a shitty, shitty feeling at that.

Her taking off her pants herself just means that she wanted to get it over with and give her a feeling of control over the situation.

so yes, she does have a solid rape case. There has been many cases like this. Now, you need a lawyer on your case, make your case and you NEED to not talk to her, badgering the person that filed the charge isnt going to make you look too well....

take this as a lesson, no means no... Your side of the convo ends there. Answer #2: Enough for a rape *conviction?* Probably not. Enough to bring charges? Maybe, but unlikely-if the facts are presented exactly like you said.

21-5503. Rape. (a) Rape is:

(1) Knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse with a victim who does not consent to the sexual intercourse under any of the following circumstances:

(A) When the victim is overcome by force or fear; or

Arguably there was fear, but in the totality this case-if presented like you said-would be a very tough one for the DA to win. Unless you talk to someone, especially the police. So SHUT UP. AND DELETE THIS POST.

Do not talk to her. If the police ask to talk to you, tell them you will not answer any questions without a lawyer-don't even deny or respond-I won't talk to you without a lawyer is the **only** thing you say.

No talking to anyone about this at all. Nothing. Shut it.Answer #3: IANAL, but you should probably delete all of this.


Title: (NV) Tenant purposely sabotaging walk-throughs on home I'm trying to sell. What do I do?

Question:
Posting on a throwaway since my main account contains potentially identifying information.

I own a home in a relatively nice area of my city that I put up for sale 3 months ago since the renters 1-year contract had expired.
The realtor has told me several times now that potential clients have been disgusted when entering the home. The current renter has begun smoking inside when clients walk through, blasting loud music so that nobody can hear anything else when they enter, and left trash to pile up around the house. This only began very shortly after the home was put up for sale. I notified the renters at the end of their contract that I would be listing the home for sale, but agreed they can continue to live there though they would have to pay rent on a month-to-month basis now. They have consistently paid their rent and not missed a day, and since they're still honoring that I don't know what the legal procedure to stop them from sabotaging the sale of the home is. I don't entirely know if issuing an eviction notice because of this infriges on tenants rights since they're still paying rent and was also wondering if I should contact a lawyer before continuing any further with this.

Answer:
 > also wondering if I should contact a lawyer before continuing any further with this

Probably. And check you lease (do you allow smoking?) but more than anything, if they are on month-to-month, [just end their tenancy](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/nevada-notice-requirements-terminate-month-month-tenancy.html). You don't need a reason.


Title: My song cover got taken down due to copyright claim.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You don't have to monetize something to violate copyright. That isn't part of the laws


Title: Can I change my signature?

Question: I'm in college and have been signing with the same signature since I high school. I've already signed official documents with that signature but I feel it's too simple and easy to forge. Is it too late to change my signature?

Answer: There's no such thing as an "official signature" in the U.S. (if you're not stateside, specify where you are), so yes, you can simply start signing papers differently. However, you may have problems with the agencies where you've already signed documents, if they try to match your signature, so you'll want to revisit those institutions and give them a new reference signature.