Title: Can I sue an ex spouse for mortgage payments if they got the house, and divorce paperwork says they will indemnify me? (NY)

Question:
My ex can't refinance the mortgage on the house, so my name is stuck on the mortgage which is in foreclosure. The divorce paperwork says she is responsible for all costs associated with the residence, and that she will indemnify me for any damages I suffer associated with the mortgage. I know that doesn't give much protection from the mortgage company, but can I sue her for the amount of the mortgage payment each month to pay it on her behalf because it is ruining my credit and/or could lead to having my wages garnished?

Edit: thank you to everyone who gives input.

Answer: Sure....although you may fine that people who don't pay their mortgage don't have money.


Title: Neighbor has sign with profanity

Question:
I live at the end of a shared drive with eight neighbors. The neighbor at the top of the drive recently put up a sign that says, “Keep off the f***ing grass”, because I guess sometimes people go off the gravel drive into his grass (recently a tree was partially blocking the drive).

I, along with two of my other neighbors, have small children, and I really don’t want them seeing that sign every day. We asked him nicely to take it down or remove the f bomb, but he refused.

Is there anything further we can do? We live in Ohio.

Answer:
 Likely no. Freedom of speech likely protects them.

It is a word. Your children will see it and hear it anyway. So just explain to your children cuss words and not to use them.


Title: Massachusetts - Followup legal advice needed for the Kirby vacuum. Everyone had been such a help!

Question:
Previous post -  https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4koujt/massachusetts_found_out_my_grandparents_just_got/

Quick overview, grandparents bought a Kirby vacuum for $1200 from a door to door salesman that they really don't need. They want their money back.

So I followed everyone's advice last time and I sent a certified letter with receipt and it was post dated within 3 business days. I called and followed up but kept getting the run around "oh your independent contractor is not in today, you have to talk to her".  They also of course refuse to give me her phone number to get in touch with her.

On the contract they signed (picture included in original post) the name is listed as j hood associates, which is the company yet they claim I have to deal with the salesperson who sold the vacuum as they are an independent contractor. Is this correct? The name of the company appears on the contract. The guy(manager at j hood associates) has said he would show up on a certain day to return the vacuum but then failed to do so and we haven't heard from him since. I'm done calling them as I am getting nowhere and just getting the run around each time.

 Their 10 business days per the FTC cool off period law is up on Monday June 6th. Should I send them a Massachusetts 93A letter now? Should I just file for small claims court come Tuesday June 7th?

My grandparents can't vacuum as they took the other vacuum they owned as a trade in, and they can't use the Kirby as it has to be in the same condition as when it was dropped off. I just need advice as to what the best course of action is next.

Answer:
 When the 10-day period ends,  file a complaint with the FTC.

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

Call the salespeople again and let them know you're doing this.  Who knows,  maybe it will get them to move. Answer #2: Stop calling and go in there. With the vacuum. I would not leave there until there is a refund in my hand as well as my old vacuum. NAL


Title: [NYC], co-op residents: lady upstairs may be trying to have us evicted for smoking, but we've never smoked.

Question:
We're residents of a co-op in Brooklyn. Today we received a letter from the lawyer of tenant above us (an older woman alone, as we understand it) which claims that for the last three months, we've been "smoking chemical substances basically continuously day or night, no matter the time." Her lawyer claims that due to our "obnoxious and inconsiderate smoking habits," she will be depositing her monthly maintenance fees in escrow, and that she has "filed complaints with New York City." The closure is "Please also be advised that this letter constitutes notice that the warranty of habitability as conferred by the Proprietary Lease is being violated by this condition. Kindly respond as soon as possible as to what can be done to remedy this situation."

There are a few issues with that:

* Neither of us has ever smoked anything in our *lives.* Not even in college. We were very uncool.
* The building super can verify that he's been in our apartment several times and has never smelled smoke. We called him, and he was just in our apartment, and told us that she's insane and he's on our side.
* We had a friend visit from out of town who stayed in our apartment for two nights in May, and she could verify that we never smoked anything while she was there, nor did she smell any chemical odors.
* In the letter, her lawyer claims she's tried to contact us multiple times about this, but until today we've never received any correspondence, despite the fact that she obviously knows our address. More than a year ago, she came down to ask if we smoked anything, because she has asthma, we told her no, and we went our separate ways.
* Coincidentally-except-clearly-not, we've had a leak in our bathroom ceiling for weeks now, and the super has been trying to get her to make repairs to fix the source, and she's been dragging her feet. We've all been making allowances for her because she's old, but we legitimately have a hole in our bathroom ceiling that occasionally leaks and/or rains random building material debris down on us. It's just two adults living here, and we're not planning to entertain again any time soon, so we've just been very laid back about it. But if anyone's 'habitability' is being violated...

The super advised us to act fast and get a lawyer, but we don't want to spend our retirement fund fighting legal battles. Is there a faster way to make this go away? If it drags out, can we possibly recoup legal fees from her? Do her complaints to "the city" mean that we'll never get into another co-op again? Is there anything defamatory about this? What type of lawyer do we even need to get? Probably not the real estate lawyer who handled our paperwork when we got the place, right?

My fiance is the one whose name is on the lease, but he's in a state of shock right now. "There's no way she can just make things up and have it mean anything; this just can't be how things work." I'm in a panic, because despite the facts, she's been here for 11 years and we've been here for 2. I'm trying to get him to email a lawyer tonight so that we can speak to someone tomorrow, but he thinks I'm overreacting. He'll be following this post as well.

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Does fiancé own or rent?  That'll help dictate the best way to proceed.

Regardless, there is no way under NY co-op law for any tenant to evict any other tenant.  In fact, her withholding rent (maintenance?) is an excellent reason for the BoD to evict *her*.


Title: Girlfriend rear ended a car while bringing me my truck, other driver insisted no police report be filed and just took down info. Am I screwed? (Oklahoma)

Question:
So long story short I broke my leg away from home in several places while away at college. My parents come and pick me up to take me to a surgeon in a nearby large town, leaving my vehicle at my university. My girlfriend agrees to do me a favor and bring my truck and belongings back my hometown. On the way back a car slammed on their brakes infront of my girlfriend, my girlfriend rear ends their vehicle, smashing their back bumper and completely demolishing my truck. They say they don't need to call the police and just exchange info (my insurance card and my gf's ID). The other driver leaves and have to call a tow truck for my vehicle. No one admitted fault or anything like that and they were both alone in the cars.  Just to be clear, I have a really good insurance policy with comprehensive coverage and the other driver was also insured. How does this play out? Is this a good thing or bad thing for me that a report wasn't filed? What is to stop them from later saying they are hurt or claim additional damage on their vehicle?

Tldr; Gf rear ended an insured car while bringing me my insured truck, no police showed up or were called. Is this a good or bad thing for me? Can I protest damage claims, or protect myself from the other driver lying in any way?

This was in Oklahoma.

Answer:
 >How does this play out?

The other driver will either contact you with a demand or file a claim with your insurer.

>Is this a good thing or bad thing for me that a report wasn't filed?

A police report almost certainly would've found your girlfriend at fault for failing to maintain a safe following distance.  So the lack of an objective, third-party assessment of fault is actually a good thing.  That means the insurer will conduct its own investigation of the facts and come to its own conclusion of fault, so you could probably make a better case for some fault on behalf of the other driver.

>What is to stop them from later saying they are hurt or claim additional damage on their vehicle?

Nothing.


Title: Found a knife while fishing

Question: So as the title says, was fishing today and pulled up a knife with duct tape around the handle. I just kicked it off to the side and left it there. Should have I done something?

Answer:
 There is no reasonable possibility that usable print, blood, fiber, or DNA evidence could be found on something submerged in fresh or salt water for days, months, or years.

Had it been a firearm, well yes, that's worth taking to police.   But not a piece of cutlery that probably fell out of somebody else's tackle box while they were trying to cut bait.Answer #2: Besides throw it in the trash?


Title: [California] Do officers at checkpoint need to follow state laws regarding marijuana?

Question: My fried was crossing a checkpoint and an officer gave him some trouble. The dog sniffed marijuana in my friend's car so the officer started inspecting, asked him if he was planning to distribute, etc. My friend reminded that it's legal (to a point) and that they need to follow state laws but the officer was acting like he was on a power trip and seemed like he wasn't going to comply (according to my friend). My question is if you are crossing a checkpoint in California and you have weed in your car that is sealed, what can officers do and not do? What is legal?

Answer:
 >crossing a checkpoint

I presume that this was a checkpoint operated by the Border Patrol, which is a Federal agency that operates under Federal authority and generally enforces Federal laws.

This is one of those few cases where the popular /legaladvice refrain about Federal supremacy regarding marijuana is mostly correct.

The smell of marijuana does give a Federal officer probable cause for a search because they're operating under Federal law.   And yes, they could confiscate or even prosecute your friend for possession.


Title: Pennsylvania - neighbor kids wandered onto my property and unbeknownst to me, entered my hazard-filled garage while the mother stood there and did nothing

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 If kids are being neglected, call CPS

Next time, grow a polite spine and tell them to leave. That is the simplest way to avoid future problems. That and don't leave loaded guns out. That should be obvious. Answer #2: > and I was hoping she'd DO SOMETHING

You need to speak up. "MomOfKids, my garage isn't kid-proof. You need to collect up your kids and go back to your house. I'm closing up the garage as soon as you get your kids out. Thanks! :)"

Also, as has been pointed out already, y'all need a locked gun safe.


Title: Adult vs minor assault (Canada)

Question: A few days ago my friends (7 guys and 4 girls 17 years old) and I were leaving a house party and as we were leaving a clearly intoxicated man started yelling at us. Before we could ask what was wrong he punched two of the guys leaving a broken nose on one and knocked out the other. Naturally, my friends and I tried to protect the girls and each other. I ended up fighting this guy and there is video evidence that we were fighting for self-defense. We ended up punching this guy quite a lot and he ended up breaking his ankle. The kid with the broken nose is pressing charges but I am wondering if we can get in trouble for beating him up so badly. Given we did stop once he was down we probably could have stopped a but earlier.

Answer: Yes it's possible for you to get in trouble.


Title: landlord acting greedy and push, need advice

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You informed him that you were leaving on 8/20, and he rented the unit to new tenants in reliance on that promise. Your tenancy was supposed to have ended on 8/20, and now you are essentially demanding an extension and plan to hold over when he is not required to allow it. Your continued presence is hindering this process, and complicating the new tenancy, because he may not be able to give the new tenants possession of the unit on time.

I have no idea why you agreed to pay all of August rent if you weren't going to be living there, but your agreement with landlord included that promise, as well. You could demand a return of the prorated rent, but the landlord has the right to demand double your daily rent for every day you are holding over so if he actually allowed the extension to 8/29, I'd comply and get out.


Title: Entire tax refund applied towards a debt that my husband's ex-wife acquired 8 years ago.

Question:
As a back story, my husband was in the Navy until Feb. 2006. Army and Airforce Exchange services offer a military credit card called a Star card. While in the Navy, him and his then wife had a joint account with this star card, but she had her card with her own limit and he had his. Upon being discharged, any balance owed on his side of the account was paid in full. April 2006, him and his then wife, divorce. The account was never closed for this Star card since she remained in the Navy, but his card was deactivated and the last name on her side of the account was changed back to her maiden name. Obviously, during the process, the Army and Airforce Exchange services office was notified of the divorce. Shortly after that, there was 6k worth of purchases made with this Star card by her. The debt was never paid and upon going to collections was reported to the credit bureaus as my husband's debt (we did not find this out until seeing that our entire tax refund was taken). Because the collection company did not have any contact info for him, this debt has accrued over $7k in interest and fees over the past 8 years. Also, there is a clause in his divorce decree that all debt acquired after the date of the divorce, is solely the responsibility of the individual that acquired it, even if the last name still appears the same on the debt.

This is the first year that my husband and I have filed as married filing jointly. We were not aware of any flags on his SSN for offsetting a debt. Although the Air Force and Army Exchange services seem to agree that this is not his debt, we are still being told by the collection company that we have to wait 30-45 days for a break down to be sent to us before we can file a dispute. The collection company will not provide us any info on the account over the phone. We've asked them to simply verify the name on the card used to make the purchases and they refuse. Every single time we try and tell them the situation, they become angry and start calling us lazy debtors that are just trying to pass the buck off on someone else.

The best part about all of this is that my husband is a stay at home dad and therefore all of the income reported on our taxes is mine. Is there anything more we can do to resolve this in a quicker fashion?

Edit: Forgot to mention, we are in Texas.

Answer:
 This might actually be a good question for /r/personalfinance.

I don't know how you get your refund back but you probably qualify for an [injured spouse allocation](https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/IRS-Tax-Forms/What-is-IRS-Form-8379--Injured-Spouse-Allocation/INF28069.html). You should look into that.

> Sometimes, a married couple's joint tax refund will be seized because of a debt for which only one spouse is responsible. When that happens, the other spouse is said to be "injured" and can file Form 8379 to get at least some of the refund.

Form 8379 instructions probably have more. I would do this quickly in case it can result in you getting your refund back. By my understanding, the portion allocated to you should be the entire refund, but I don't know at what point it can become unrecoverable.


Title: Home Damage While House/Pet Sitting

Question:
A friend of mine in California was housesitting for a family, as well as watching their dog while away on a 2 week vacation.

The family left instructions explicitly stating that on nights that it is raining, the dog may be left inside for the night in their living room. On one such rainy night, my friend let the dog out to go to the bathroom before bed (around 10 p.m.) and went to bed.

The next morning, their dog had urinated on their rug. My friend immediately placed towels on the wet spot, treated and dried it as fast as possible, and immediately emailed the family. She then purchased puppy break in pads, suspecting it was also an emotional thing with the dog being separated from the family. During the remained of her time house sitting, the dog used the pottle-pads another couple times, despite being let out regularly throughout the day to go to the bathroom.

Fast forward a few weeks and the family has returned, and are claiming extensive water damage to their wood flooring beneath the rug, and are threatening to withhold payment as well as charge for damages. Family friends who are contractors looked at the images of proof sent and suggest that the water damage present in the pictures looked much older and more extensive than a single pee accident that was cleaned up quickly afterward, and think this may be a recurring issue that they're trying to pin on my friend for "negligence".

What's the best course of action? I firmly believe my friend did everything in her power to correct the accident and prevent future occurrences. Is she best off just taking the hit and not taking payment for the services and hoping that will appease them and not having it escalate? What are her best options to protect herself legally from thousands or tens of thousands of claimed damage for something she had no control over? As far as I'm aware there were no signed contracts or any other form of legal agreement, which, in hind sight, seems like a bad scenario, but I was not a part of this agreement or situation.

Any advice is appreciated.

Edit: Flair Note: I put this under contracts, despite there not being one, as I'm not sure what category would fit it best. I'll change it as needed if an alternative is suggested.

Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 Dog Law specialist here.

Their dog peed on their rug. They're likely to have a rough time trying to pin this on your friend. Your friend went through a best – effort approach to mitigate the damage.


Title: Car accident and a "lesson" intended for the woman who hit me. (TX)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Yes, the legal owner of the vehicle can sign over the title to you (you'll probably have to pay sales tax on the market value of the car when you title it) and you can then enter into a payment contract with the woman.

Then you'll be the legal owner of a vehicle being driven by a stoner felon.

What do you think the odds are of her paying you, let alone not using your car in a way that makes you liable for the damage she does with it ?

In the galaxy of bad ideas, this one's a pulsar.


Title: (Kansas) My sister told me about an accident several years ago where someone accidentally died. I don't know if she/I have a legal obligation here.

Question:
I got recommended to come here after posting in r/relationships. The moderator said it was more appropriate for this sub, so hopefully I can find out at least what the first step is to approaching this. Basically for 5 years my sister has struggled and finally told me why a few days ago. This happened when she was 18. She's 23 now.

I cut out a lot of information from my post to that sub that concerned my sister's mental health state as it's less relevant here than the facts of the issue.

Her psychological problems all go back to one night a couple months before she graduated high school, she had just gotten her drivers license and was coming home from a friend's. She told me she pulled over to take some pictures of the sunset. When she opened her door, some guy on a bike rode right into it. She freaked out but soon realized he was dead, she doesn't know exactly how it happened but thinks he broke his neck with the way he fell when he flew off his bike and onto the road. She said he wasn't responding to anything. In a panic she drove away, came home and that began the entire five years or so of panic attacks and depression.

I am the only person she's ever told about this, no one else knows.

Possibly other relevant information from my original post:

She told me she obsessively checked our local news site afterwards finding a report in the police blotter then two longer articles about it. Apparently someone who came along after her found the guy and called it in, he was found dead at the scene, it was called a hit and run. The investigation didn't go anywhere. There weren't any witnesses (this is a rural stretch of road with no houses where it happened). The guy was identified, there was an obituary where my sister says his family was destroyed. He was married with kids.

She kept the guilt of what she did to herself. Over time it got worse. Her fear of telling the truth also got worse because the more time passed the worse it looked to come forward.

Also the reason she didn't report it is because she froze at the time and thought she'd ruined her life, and would be charged with murder.

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

Generic "what the fuck do I do?" question here. I'd truly appreciate any guidance or words of wisdom or practical steps to take, I'm pretty lost here and so is she.

Answer: You can tell her to consult with a lawyer, but the lawyer is probably going to say to do nothing. At the moment of this happening, she was legally obligated to stay at the scene. Answer #2: What is she contemplating doing?  Confessing?  To police? To the victim's family?  She definitely should not do any of those without speaking with an attorney first, as she could be opening herself up to serious criminal charges.  I am NAL, and someone who is can please help with this, but one of the r/relationships posters mentioned that an attorney might be obligated to break privilege and report her if she describes what happened.  Again, NAL, but I do not think that is correct.  If she discusses with her attorney a past crime, that is not something an attorney would generally be permitted/required to break privilege for, assuming she is not also discussing something like planning to perjure herself or to harm someone in the future.   I am sorry your sister (and you) are dealing with this; it's a very sad situation all around.


Title: (BC, canada) Arrested, given promise to appear. Showed up to court and charges were dropped. Explanation?

Question:
I never had to appear. Just showed up and I wasnt in the system. After a few phone calls they let me know they werent preceeding with charges. I never saw a judge. I didnt have a lawyer

So is this over or are they collecting evidence still and may still come arrest me? Should I hire a lawyer?

Answer: Crown decided not to proceed, as is their prerogative. You're free to go.


Title: Bought a $10K car 2 months ago. Turns out to have been written off and touched up. Are we stuck with an unusable car and -$10K? (AUS)

Question:
Bought a 2011 MY12 Honda Jazz for $9900 2-ish months ago from a private seller. We went into it with intentions to have the car checked by the RAC or a mechanic for any faults but didn't end up doing so (totally our screw-up here). The guy selling it was a soft-spoken, polite Taiwanese student. The car was in pristine condition (red flag, maybe?). Drove well, too. He showed us all of the papers and all of the services the car had apparently had. They were all regular and with Honda, except for the most recent one, which he said was because Honda servicing was getting too expensive. When we asked about any accidents the car had been in, he said that it had never been in an accident before. We took his word for it and bought the car from him. We also bought comprehensive insurance less than a week later.

The sellar had lost the spare key, so he had paid for another one to be done about 2-3 weeks later, which we met up for. This was not done at a Honda Centre, rather at a dodgy alleyway/back of an industrial building. This “repairs centre” was run by a Chinese man who replicated the fake Honda key using a very unorthodox method of aligning the key with the car computer with some machine. We didn't even think too much into it as we were glad that he was paying for it and TBH, we were just glad to get out of there.

Fast forward to a week ago (Sunday) – we were involved in an accident where the other driver was at fault. The driver was very apologetic and said he’d pay for everything without question. Went through my insurance and organised to take it in for repairs at a mechanic on Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, the mechanic pulled us aside and showed us some things that were very wrong with the car. The main thing being that the chassis wasn’t even welded together – there was a 15cm gap instead of a welded chassis! The whole front part was a mess which had been covered up by the rest of the engine and the light which the mechanic had simply had to unscrew and lift out to see. According the mechanic, at the level of impact of the accident, the airbags should have deployed, but didn't. He then showed us that at the very back of the engine, there were scratches and dents on the wheel arch, indicating that it had sustained a very large force before, in an unrelated accident.

A few days later, the car was sent back to us and deemed unfixable. They said that it had previously been written-off. We got $2000 from the other driver, but there was apparently nothing else they could do. The seller has since cancelled the phone number he gave us and has moved out of the address we picked the car up from.

Now, I understand that it was ultimately our fault for not checking the car out properly when we bought it and the seller wasn’t obliged to disclose any accidents, but given the terrible fix-up job and the fact that he did not give us all of the papers regarding the history of the car, is there a way that we can be compensated by the seller at all?

Answer:
 Have you contacted the police yet? I'm not Australian, but in my country this would be a pretty serious case of fraud that the police would want to look in to. Answer #2: Which state in Australia?

Was it sold registered or unregistered?

Was it sold with our without a safety certificate?


Title: Trying to move from NE to AZ, concerned about ability to register a car in new state.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You will not be able to register the car. You should contact VW and make arrangements to turn it over.


Title: [MN] Asbestos tiles and mastic throughout the entire "finished" basement of the house I just bought in November of 2018

Question:
Over the winter we had some leaking in the basement. There were some old tiles in a back, unfinished part of the basement that got damaged. When I lifted them up, I saw black mastic underneath. I did some research and sure enough, the tiles are 9x9 and the mastic is made of asbestos. I had an asbestos removal company come out and confirm and give me a quote: $7000. And that is just to remove the asbestos that is throughout the entire basement, not just in a visible area where the water damage happened. It is under the carpet in the living room, under a raised floor, and in the bedroom under the carpet. Once they are done with removal I will have to pay to get new carpet/tile installed.

I know that asbestos tile and mastic is common in my era of home, and that the previous owner does not technically have to disclose this to a buyer (at least this is what I have been told). But what about the inspection company that I paid to do a pre-purchase inspection? The tiles were blatantly visible and after learning myself what asbestos tiles/mastic looks like it would have been easy to identify, at the very least given a heads up that the tiles are "possibly" asbestos.

I poured over the report and there is zero mention of asbestos in the basement. Do I have any recourse with the company that did my inspection? I feel like this is a pretty obvious issue that they should have pointed out.

Answer: No, asbestos tile isn't really considered a hazard.Answer #2: Unless the asbestos is damaged and exposing you to particulates, it’s not a hazard.


Title: My 17 year old half-sister is being put in a mental institution against her will when she's not mentally ill. Is there anything I can do?

Question:
My narcissistic ex-step mom has a vendetta against my younger sister and has caught her smoking weed before and now wants to lock her away for no reason other than she doesn't feel like "dealing" with her. They don't see eye to eye. That's fine. What's not fine is that my ex-step mom has already had my sister committed to an institution for a week and she was released (because she's not crazy..). Now she is trying to do it again, this time for a month or more. Is there legally anything I can do here?

I live in Texas and I'm not sure if I can actually have any say in anything pertaining to this situation but she's in dire need of some help, so here I am. My dad could potentially help as well, but he doesn't have a steady place of employment (he changes jobs frequently due to the nature of his work) or a permanent home, so also not sure on that front.

If I need to provide more information, I will gladly do so.

Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer: You could report this to CPS, assuming it's accurate.  That's probably the best, first step.  I'd also suggest reaching out to the last hospital she was committed to.  They may be willing to communicate with other area hospitals about this.


Title: Wedding photographer moved states and is charging us the new state's sales tax. Is she paying the sales tax to the correct state?

Question:
Our photographer for our Maine wedding moved from Maine to California but is now charging us California sales tax. We signed the contract when she was still living in Maine (and the contract makes no mention of sales tax in any way). Should we contact her to correct this or is she acting correctly?

For reference: Maine's sales tax is 5.5%, California's is 7.25%.

Answer: I'd question why you are paying sales tax at all. Wedding photographers are providing a service. If they are providing prints you'd pay sales tax on those, but prints are a minimal cost, a majority of the cost should be labor.


Title: Improper rounding of hours in workplace

Question:
Workplace pays in 15 minute intervals, but they always round down. This sounded like bs so i did some searching and I think this is illegal. I'm currently gathering evidence to confront whoever is in charge, but everyone in the workplace agrees that this is in fact happening. At the moment I'm just cataloging all my out/in times and trying to get a few others to do the same.

&#x200B;

How should I go about confronting the company, or should I consult a lawyer before I do this? This is a factory job (temp) so it is a bit daunting, since they (factories in general) have a record of ignoring workers rights for long stretches of time without repercussion.

Answer: As to "rounding" practices, 29 C.F.R. 785.48(b) explains that rounding off work times to the nearest 5 minutes, one-tenth of an hour, or even quarter of an hour is permissible, as long as it works both ways, i.e., both to the advantage and disadvantage of the employee. That way, the system can be said to achieve a balance over time, and the employee is not suffering a detriment by virtue of a system that always rounds off in favor of the company.


Title: Can I be forced to pay child support?

Question: If I get a stranger pregnant (one night stand), can she persue me for child support? She doesnt know my identity or anything about me. All she has is my phone number.

Answer:
 Are you speaking in hypothetical tense or are you actually speaking in past tense? If you have gotten the girl pregnant then grab yourself a lawyer and hope you do not get reamed.

If you have not gotten a girl pregnant yet, there are these terrible things called condoms. Use them. Never not use them. Do not ever forget to use them. Keep them on you at all times and make sure you use them every single time. I know they dont feel right. I know they reduce sensation. I know they make sex slightly worse. But they cost around a dollar each. Babies cost around 18 years worth of destitution for the non financially prepared. Answer #2: If she can find you (which is not that hard), and a paternity test shows that you are the father, you will be obligated to support the child.Answer #3: > She doesnt know my identity or anything about me. All she has is my phone number.

I'd say she knows enough about you that it wouldn't be hard to find out lots more.


Title: PA couple. Pregnant. Boyfriend assaulted me. When to file for support

Question: My boyfriend assaulted me. I didn’t file a report but I did go to the ER to make sure the baby is okay. The assault was in his vehicle in front his and my son. I made the decision to leave him. I live in Pennsylvania and am only in the second trimester. I no longer want to be with him but do expect to receive financial support. (He is evasive when it comes to these things as he has two other children that he constantly falls behind on payments with) When would be the time to file? Should I file before giving birth? Is that possible? The only child that is his out of our relationship is the one I am currently carrying.

Answer: You cannot file for child support until the baby is born.


Title: What kind of lawyer am I looking for, and how much will I be paying?

Question:
My partner and I will be starting up a research chemical company and will need to be compliant with all required regulations/documentation as it pertains to the FDA,DEA, Department of Health, other agencies--all state and federal requirements. What kind of lawyer am I looking for? If you guys have any other general legal advice as we start up, please share! Thanks in advance, all!

Edit: Wisconsin!

Answer: Oh my. IANAL, but I've worked in cGMP labs before. There is A LOT to regulatory compliance that, to me, makes it seem like small start ups have almost insurmountable hurdles to overcome unless you have a background in such areas. Have you worked in a federally regulated lab before? Have you ever been present for an FDA compliance inspection? In addition to consulting with a lawyer, which I imagine will not be cheap, you may want to consider hiring a consultant who has on-the-ground experience in similarly regulated labs.


Title: My fiance and I are being stalked and harassed by his ex on Facebook. FB doesn't care. Looking for guidance on what to do next.

Question:
My fiance's ex (UK citizen) has been harassing both him and me on Facebook (me for over a month and him, apparently, for a YEAR).

To make everything very succinct, here is a list of what she's done:

- Created a "hate page" where she contacts his family, friends, etc and invites them to like to page, that consists of her spreading hate speech about him (saying he's HIV+, that he is cheating on me, that he stole from people, etc.)

- Hacked into his FB and started spreading the same crap on his own page

- Changed his personal FB information to say he was a prostitute and a pedophile

- Messaged him on WhatsApp and threatened his life (she said she would pay someone to kill him)

- Messaged me and said all of the above bullshit INCLUDING threatening his life to me

- After we locked her out of his account and deleted his FB and changed his phone number, she would create dummy accounts and harass me further on FB, now just telling me that she's in love with another man and that she's "over" my fiance and "done with him," but constantly saying that he's cheating on me, a horrible human, etc.

I've reported everything to Facebook and they CLEARED the hate page, saying it did not violate their community standards. I've tried to contact them multiple times and they have not responded at all.

My question is - since she lives in the UK (also, she is a lawyer), is there ANYTHING I can do, short of deleting my Facebook account and starting a new one? Is a restraining order possible? I have all privacy settings on, but Facebook doesn't allow you to shut off messaging completely, and her messages still go to my "other inbox," meaning I receive a notification that she is trying to connect with me. Also, for reference, I live in NJ.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Have you considered leaving Facebook?Answer #2: NAL

You can send a Cease and Desist.

You also have the option of filing a complaint with her professional ethics board as her behaviour contravenes their code of conduct. The possibility of an investigation and sanctions should ensure she backs off very quickly.

If she is a solicitor, lodge a complaint [here](http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/sra-regulate/sra-regulate.page)

Is she is a barrister, lodge a complaint [here](https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/complaints-and-professional-conduct/)


Title: TX - child slip&fall at hotel - next steps?

Question:
Thanks in advance for the guidance!

My family stayed at major hotel chain location last summer, while on a weekend vacation.  Friday night we went down to the pool area, and the youngest child slipped on the cement (it was wet from pool splashing) and managed to catch himself on his arms.  No damage, no harm.  We stacked furniture around the slick spot (cement decking around the pool was well worn in a couple of spots, and very slick when wet.) to keep others away, and notified the outdoor bar staff.
Saturday afternoon, more pool time....Furniture had been moved off the slick spot, back to it's location.  i slipped this time, but didn't hit the ground...moved the furniture back, found a slippery when wet sign, complained to a maintence worker that was out there this time.  Another hotel guest in the pool/spa area tells us they slipped as well the night before.

Saturday night, older child slips getting out of pool, hits head on the cement.  Wife goes to front desk to bark at the hotel mgmt, I take kid to the room, where he vomits.  Dizzy, slurred speech as well. Rushed to the local Urgent care center, diagnosed with concussion.  We get home, take the kid to Dr., and then into a concussion protocol, including balance therapy, vision therapy, etc, for an entire year.  See Neurologist, Opthamologist, he's cleared for normal activity after about a year.
We submit all the details to the hotel, are referred out to their legal department that handles claims.  Their legal/claims dept. conduct their own investigation, and conclude there is no liability on the part of the hotel.
Other points:  There were posts on yelp from other hotel guests prior to our visit, complaining of the slippery surface.
We do not know if the pool decking has been resurfaced yet, we will find out soon.

Retain and attorney and file suit?  2 attorneys we've spoke with were hesitant to take the case.
Get the city to inspect the property?  Cement surface (tread) is covered under building codes.

We are about $9K out of pocket for medical bills, and if lost wages are included, we're up to about $25K.

Next steps?

Answer:
 Balance and vision therapy for a year? I have had quite a few concussions (seven, including one that rendered me unable to speak for multiple days) and I have never even heard of such a thing.

As for legal advice, you may be able to recoup the medical bills, but I doubt you'll be able to recoup lost wages. Answer #2: You're not likely to get your wages back, your best claim would be for your medical bills.

If two PI attorneys have told you it's wary, then you may not have much ground to stand on. You can continue to shop around and if you can find a PI attorney who will take it on contingency, go for it. Answer #3: Here's why they are probably hesitant to take your case. You acknowledge that you knew the the place was slippery and you proceeded to walk across the area not one but two times after. At some point, the negligence on your part is going to outweigh the negligence on the part of the property owner.

31k is steep damages for a slip and fall that could have been prevented by you. How are you calculating lost wages?Because that seems high. You have a duty to mitigate your damages. You aren't going to be able to recover those if someone else could take your child to their doctor visits for less or none at all.


Title: Kicked out of a community. Image within the community tarnished and other similar events are following suit.

Question:
I was kicked out of a community I had been a member of for many years. I was told that it was due to a policy violation however no specific details were given. I don't know who has accused me, or what others have been told.

However with the lack of information rumors have started to spread and think that I was kicked out for sexual assault. Other similar events are now not letting me into their events because I had been kicked out of the first event.

Reaching out to the organizer of the original event has been in vain, they have no interest in allowing me to try to right any wrongs, apologize, or even provide additional information. The official announcement had no details but was posted that I was no longer invited.

I am creating this thread to see if there are legal actions that can successfully be taken. For instance can I sue the organization for defamation of character?

Answer:
 Well A) You can’t sue to get your favorite furry convention to let you back in or whatever
B) You’re being exceptionally vague which leads me to believe there is substantially more to this than you’re letting on. If there really isn’t than you’ll have a hell of a time proving anything because these sorts of things generally are predicated on concrete evidence of damages.
Spoilers: if they think you’re a security risk, and they’re confident enough to inform other cons (this is a con thing, isn’t it?) or groups that you’re a security risk then I highly suspect there are previous incidents or altercations you aren’t disclosing to us.Answer #2: Based on your details nothing illegal has happened. Private clubs or businesses can ban you. The organization is actually being smart by not risking defamation, they simply said you are not invited.

If others are claiming something false then you may have a defamation claim against those individuals.Answer #3: You don't mention what kind of group, which generally matters, but if this is some type of private club or gaming org or something similar, they don't have to include everyone who wants to be included. You dont know what, if anything, this group has said to other events. Those other events are generally free to kick you out because you were kicked out somewhere else. Answer #4: Can you prove the organization has issued a statement regarding you that is false? Can you prove anyone has made false statements and presented them as fact?


Title: Is it legal to shoot a Hit and Run (vehicle vs vehicle) driver and/or vehicle if they are actively attempting to flee the scene of an accident.

Question:
Title says it all.
Scenario: I'm driving and guy hits me. I can't get any identification in that moment so quickly and he speeds off. If I am close enough to shoot his tires or disable his vehicle without endangering other people's lives or safety do I have that right. If not then what's the next best thing in that very moment.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Absolutely not.  You're just going to end up injuring or killing someone else. Even police don't do that. You can get their license plate number and call the police. Answer #2: No.  Deadly force is used to stop death or serious physical injury.  Guns are *always* deadly force.

A gun is not a magical bang-bang tool to be used to solve all your problems.  Do not carry a gun until you learn how to use it properly. Answer #3: I don't think you should be allowed to own a gun if you think you can kill somebody who attempts to "harm you in any way" Answer #4: If you shoot off a gun in a public street, then by definition you are already endangering other people's lives and safety.  So, the only time you should do that is to protect your own life.  Shooting the tires on a car driven by a hit-and-run driver is not protecting your own life.  So the answer is no, you should not be shooting the tires on a car driven by a hit-and-run driver.

Since you say this is a hypothetical situation, invest in a dash cam if you fear this scenario will occur to you.Answer #5: No, it is not legal to shoot toward a vehicle fleeing a hit and run.  Most likely reckless discharge of a firearm.   It takes between 1.5 and 2 seconds to remove a gun from its holster, raise it, and fire a shot toward a moving target that is most likely 3 to 4 car lengths away (60 to 80 feet).  Outside of movies, no one has that accuracy.  And FYI, shooting out a tire does not instantly stop that vehicle.

Use the time instead to take a picture of the license plate with your cell phone.


Title: Disabled friend(GA) being abused by husband.

Question:
She is an online friend of ours for 9 years. Through the years she has told us that she is disabled (lupus, seizures, heart failures) and is drawing SSI. Her husband is her medical power of attorney and rep payee on her SSI. She has claimed that he has been assaulting her on several occasions. It seems that no one is willing to help her, her brother and daughter included and the sheriff's office. She claims that she cannot go to a shelter because she lives in a 300 K house (per the Sheriff) My husband and I are willing to help her in anyway but finances. We can put her up in our house for a finite time, but I need a plan to get her self sufficient before I relocate her.

What are my options? What are her options to get some help in GA instead of me bringing her to NC?

Answer: I am not really sure I know what legal question you’re asking, but you can call adult protective services in her county and tell them what’s happening so they can investigate.


Title: [Philadelphia] Move-in date per signed contract was 7/1, but they're still building the apartment today (7/8) and won't be done next week (7/15)

Question:
This is for a new apartment complex in Francisville.

One of their towers was supposed to be ready for move-in by 7/1, but on 7/1 they said PECO (electricity) delays are preventing them from finishing their work. Construction manager said that all the remaining appliances will be installed on 7/3 and that we can move our furniture in and just wait for electricity to work out.

Today (7/8), some of the appliances like AC, gas range, and washer/dryer aren't there and one of the workers said it won't be ready next Saturday (7/15) either.

Is there anything that I can do? They even promised a free month rent with 12-month lease, and that's supposed to be the month of July (we're not getting a month value). We paid the security deposit at the contract signing ($1350).

Can I get out of this contract and get the deposit back since they breached the contract (move-in date)? They were firm on having the free month as July, regardless of actual move-in date. Garage and other towers seem far away from being done and I just want to move already and settle at a place.

Thank you!
Topic:
Removed - PII

Answer:
 Read your lease.  It usually has a section for what happens when the apartment isn't available at the start of the lease  There is usually a grace period that they have to deliver in.  However, they can't charge you rent for the days you can't move in.   Talk to the landlord and make sure your free month doesn't start until you can move in.

You can also try contact an tenant's union near you and see if they can help.


Title: My stepfather is being judged for the murder of my mother, should I worry ? [Murfreesboro, TN]

Question:
I am posting this from a throwaway account and through a VPN. My stepfather got drunk last Christmas. He killed my stepmother when he asked her to step besides the wall, claiming he had become a professional knife thrower. He claimed my stepmother asked him to do this if he loved her, he had to prove his love to her. He tried to hit an apple placed on her head, but, instead, he hit her with three knives in different spots of her abdomen.
In court, it was claimed the whole party drank 42 beers and 4 ounces of whiskey and cognac. This pitiful dick face claimed in court that he loved her and that he was deeply sorry. This is false, we acquired the police call made, in which he can he heard saying "tell them she fell on an axe". He also said many times previously when he was drunk that he would "murder" her while laughing. He's an asshat murderer.
I also heard him many time cuss out my mother out and abuse her. My mother believed all those claims were "jokes". His claim of an accident in court was not substantiated by any one present. He claimed he practiced knife throwing on their kitchen's wall, which had no signs of knife damage. Do I get to worked up about this ? What minimum sentences are allowed for premeditated dickfaced shit headed murderers ? Should I stand as a witness if I come to be called to testify against him?

Answer: Your post is unclear. Is he being tried for the crime, or has he been tried and it's now time for the sentence?Answer #2: If you haven't already, get in contact with the prosecutor, tell him what you just said, and offer to be a witness for him (if you want your stepfather behind bars, that is).


Title: My dad has cancer, and I just learned his live-in girlfriend has been stealing his pain medication. (CA)

Question: My dad just finished an aggressive chemo/radiation schedule to try to get rid of a rare cancer, and he is in significant pain. He was prescribed hydrocodone. After telling me a few times that his pharmacy had given him the wrong number of pills, we began to suspect his girlfriend was stealing them. After denying it several times, she just admitted she's been taking them herself. She lives in his house (she is not an owner of the house), she won't leave now, and he's too tired/sick to make her. I'd like to help him pursue whatever legal options are available to him. My question is: is it a crime in CA to take someone else's pain meds? My guess is that it is if it's a controlled substance, but I'm not quite sure where to start researching that. If it's not, would my next best option to get her out of the house be to serve her with an eviction notice? Thank you for any help/advice you have.

Answer:
 Go down to the police station and file a report for the theft of the pills. Since your father is effectively disabled there may be additional abuse charges that can be tacked on. See whether this qualifies for a restraining order in your state and if it does, help your father file for one, then help him start the eviction process.

For good measure, call adult protective services. Your father is a vulnerable adult and they have a ton of experience with getting rid of abusers. Even if the police are apathetic, there are good odds that APS can help.Answer #2: hydrocodone is a schedule 2 controlled substance. you need to call the police. stealing your father's medicine is very much against the law. you then need to give her a notice to vacate and if she doesn't leave by the end of the notice, then you can go to the court and begin the evection process. look up how long the notice to vacate is for crimes and legal issuesAnswer #3: Call the police immediately and file a report. It is absolutely against the law to steal another persons medications, especially pain medication. She needs to be removed from his home A.S.A.P.Answer #4: Cop here (CA as well)

File a report. Who did she admit to that she took the pills? Because they're going to be the linchpin witness at trial (if it goes that far). It would be nice if you could trick her into admitting to a cop she took the pills. Or somehow get her on camera admitting it.


Title: Being Held Hostage In a Lease by Roommate

Question:
I am currently residing in Florida

In April, I made the personal decision to leave my apartment due to personal conflicts with my roommate. We are both on the lease and I asked to either have my name removed from the lease, or to terminate all together. She refused to comply with either of those options out of spite. There is no contractual agreement between me and my roommate stating that we would pay our share of the rent, only a contract with the landlord(the lease). I have been paying the second half of the rent out of fear of what may happen if I choose to stop. From what I understand reading Florida law and finding bits and pieces, the landlord would undergo this process to collect rent: Once the rent is X amount of days late, the landlord will file a 3-Day eviction notice. The tenants will have 3 days to either pay the late rent, vacate the apartment, or fight the eviction in court. Now with that being said, having the eviction to my renter's history IS NOT A BOTHERSOME to me. I also understand the landlord may sue for missing rent. Being evicted and having to pay overdue rent for the month sounds like a better deal to me than continuing to pay rent for an apartment I'm not living in until December. My main concern is the retaliation of my roommate, and fact checking the eviction process. Is there anything legally she may pursue in a small claims court against me directly beings that there is no contractual agreement directly between the two of us, stating we would split the rent? Is there any actions that the landlord may take that is much more serve than eviction/suing for missing rent? Does my roommate have a case to fight the eviction in court?

Answer:
 If you had been paying half, then stopped because you moved out, and she had to pay it all to avoid an eviction, she would have an excellent case to sue you. And by the way being held to a contract you signed is not being "held hostage". Answer #2: That's some serious linguistic acrobatics.Answer #3: Your roommate has no ability to release you from the lease. Complying with the terms of the lease you signed is hardly 'being held hostage'.

If you choose to stop paying rent the eviction proceedings will be against both of you. She could sue you in small claims court.

I don't know why you wouldn't care that you'll have an eviction on your record, but you should. It's going to make renting anywhere else difficult, and the judgment will be on your credit report.


Title: [TX] Collections Company representing AMEX coming after me for a car accident no one was deemed at fault for.

Question:
Topic:
Insurance

Answer: Send that to your insurance company. Keep a copy. This is why you have insurance.  Your insurance will tell the collection agency where they can put their request.


Title: Minnesota, car repair shop put a new clutch, flywheel and other brand new parts in my car last year. Ford is replacing the motor under recall and they just found that the clutch was installed backwards. I have to get everything replaced.

Question:
Just like the subject line says. Last year my clutch, flywheel went out in my 2014 Ford Fiesta ST. I had the work done by a reputable car repair shop. Ford is putting a new engine in my 2014 Ford Fiesta ST under  a recall. They put the clutch in backwards and now I have to get a new clutch, flywheel and other parts that the repair shop replaced last year replaced again by Ford. The repair shop guaranteed the work for 1 year or 12,000 miles. The service advisor is documenting everything for me so I can get them to pay for the repair.

How do I not pay for the new clutch and flywheel repair? How do I get the repair shop to pay for the repair?
Topic:
Consumer Law

Answer: Generally speaking you can't put a clutch in backwards and still have it function.


Title: Unemployment benefits denied after I turned down a job I thought was unsuitable for me. Now I have to have a appeal hearing over the phone. What to expect?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: Be prepared for them to tell you none of those were reasons to deny a job when you're unemployed.


Title: Violation of Weingarten Rights

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > too afraid to come forward thinking it wasn't a big deal

One of these things is not like the other. He needs to contact his union officers and explain the situation.Answer #2: >  How does this process with unions go and could he receive any compensation if its determined his rights were in fact violated

So long as the write up gets thrown out I doubt anything will come of it. They tried to pull a fast one, got caught out on it. They'll have a little more of an uphill battle if they're hell-bent on writing your husband up still.

I've seen this right violated too many times to count, the main thing is once it's violated it usually invalidates whatever management is trying to do to the employee. Damages are zero.


Title: [U.K.] Eating banned in workplace

Question: I work in a dominos branch as a part time job,, recently the owner of the store has banned food from being eaten in the shop and we don't get set breaks. Is this legal?

Answer: No, this isn't legal at all. You need set breaks and you need to be able to eat. Answer #2: UK law gets you a break for every 4 hours of work, meaning you can even go outside for a break and eat out there, so what your boss is doing is illegal.


Title: I would like to create a company that would partner with the current company I work with, but not quit my job yet. Here are the details...

Question:
Ok so I sell software for a living. It can be very lucrative but also very stressful, as some deals can go south when they shouldn’t have to. Exhibit A... I’m working on closing what should be an easy deal. Customer loves us. Wants to buy software licenses but also needs professional services (sw development) immediately. My company sent people up to their office to get them started, but will not bring them to production. They’re just much more focused on new logos and license sales, less focused on services, which I understand. The problem is, we may lose the larger part of the deal because the customer really needs full production services.
My long term goal is to start a professional services company, where we send people to do software development portion of deals, just like this one. The company I work for now currently partners with all sorts of professional services companies. There are also a lot of lone soldiers out there doing contract work by themselves. If I started a company, I would hire these “lone soldiers.”
Would there be anything illegal about me saying, “oh you need services but my company won’t provide them? How about you just use these developers from my side gig?” I obviously can’t tell my company that I’m starting a professional services company. Anyone who works in sales knows their boss wants you 100% focused on quota. But there are tons of opportunities like this where I could capitalize and start building my business, which is my ultimate goal.

Answer:
 Illegal?  No

Possibly violate a confidentiality clause regarding use of info obtained in your current job? Yes

Get fired for competing with your current employer? Yup, even though CA doesn’t typically recognize non-compete clauses once you leave the company, nothing requires them to continue employing you.

So you can try this, but you could very well be fired and then you would lose your access to the confidential info that is allowing you to market in the first place.


Title: How do I get money out of a criminal scum that just stole my motorcycle?

Question:
My beautiful DRZ400sm that I customized was stolen, and recovered two days later. This dude rode off no helmet and I tracked him down to the general area. Detectives found him 1.5 days later! Kudos to those guys!

The bad news is that the front end needs to be rebuilt. I can do it all myself, so thats not the problem. It should cost under 1000$, which is the cash reward I was offering, but now I can use that money for parts. My question is: does pressing charges mean I can get money out of this criminal? Or do I have to get a lawyer involved to get the money for possibly a new bike? Can I also google the information and sue him myself due to the OVERWHELMING evidence against him?
Thanks /r/legaladvice !

Bonus pic of the bike after the wreck :/. Its not bad. As long as the frame is good, I just need new forks and a triple tree http://imgur.com/5VLg7YU [2]

Edit- happened in NY, staten island to be precise. I live in NJ

Answer: You might be entitled to [restitution](http://www.victimsofcrime.org/help-for-crime-victims/get-help-bulletins-for-crime-victims/restitution), check with your local DA. Otherwise your recourse is to sue him in small claims court.


Title: I think my mom has been committing identity fraud against me since I was in high school and now my credit score is a 527. Do I have any options moving forward?

Question:
I hope I’m in the right place and I’m going to try to be as succinct as possible. The too long didn’t read version is that my mom is using my social/identity and justifies it so well that even when I see it before my very eyes I can't whole heartedly believe that she's committing fraud against me and I don't know what to do about it. From what I’ve read what she's doing is punishable by prison time and a huge fine. However, the idea of sending my mom to prison is obviously really hard, especially because I have three younger siblings and my dad at home (who is oblivious to all of what I’m about to explain). I apologize in advance for the length but I feel hopeless and confused and I really need some guidance on what to do to protect my future.

So the current situation is that I’m 22, working a full time decent job in Denver after graduating college in May of last year. I started school as a freshman right after high school when I turned 18 at a smaller college closer to my family and but I decided I wanted to go to a state university sophomore year so I pushed to make the switch. My family is lower-middle class, so this decision obviously cost my mom a lot of money because according to her, I couldn’t take out all the loans in my name and she had to help me with parent-plus loans. She didn’t really want me to go there because it was further away and a little more expensive but I applied and when I got accepted she eventually became more welcoming of the idea and decided to support me going there.

This is the aspect of my mom and I’s relationship that’s a little strange to explain. Ever since I was in high school, my mom has gotten agitated whenever I’ve had asked questions pertaining to making big decisions on my own like taking out loans, knowing how to build credit, knowing how to check it, etc. She would always act exasperated and say we can talk about things later, I don’t need to be worrying about it, etc. So when it came time to go to the bigger school and from the get go of college, my mom took the reins on filling out the FASFA, dealing with the loans, etc. As an 19 year old kid I guess I was just happy I was getting to go there and I was really thankful that my mom was somehow making it work for me so I went and didn’t really ask any questions.

Fast forward to about a year later when I was thirsty to be as independent and self-sufficient as possible. I always worked and paid my own rent and bills but I never really dealt with the finance side of my schooling, partly because I was naïve and partly because my mom would get defensive and evasive whenever I wanted to know what was going on financially. She never told me much but she did say that part of the loans were in my name and I could only take out a certain amount with each grade level so she would basically be forced to get the parent plus loan and whatever else to supplement it. I had a general idea of how much it cost to go there but I never knew for sure. But she always said that it was fine and told me to just do my best and get an education as the first person in our family to do so. So again, I never really asked too many questions, but I as time passed I naturally heard about credit scores, credit cards, loans and how all of that is tied back into your social…

At some point I realized that it was weird that my mom was being so secretive with things that I should know about my own life, especially when many of my peers knew exactly how much they owed, had started building credit scores (whether bad or good), etc. So I started doing research into my own background. I called the school and got numbers and specifics.I learned how to run a credit check and after almost not being able to verify myself based off of not knowing much of the security questions about my own identity, I did eventually get into the report. It turned out that my mom had taken out multiple credit cards and had been running up large amounts of money on them without my permission since high school. I also found out that I had $27,000 in student loans. It was shocking info and bitter sweet. I found out my mom had been using my social to open up stuff I didn’t want, but I also finally had some info about my loans. Still don’t know how she paid for the rest of my education or why.

When I asked her about it, she was furious. It was hands down one of the biggest fights/confrontations we've ever had. Regardless, I remember feeling guilty for finding it out, like I shouldn’t have been snooping so much. She explained it off as a way of building my credit saying that she was going to pay off these things and essentially leave me better off than most adults. I accepted that for the time being but this was the beginning of something between my mom and I that has never been resolved. Each passing month I find out something new about something she did or opened with my credit, I get calls from random people wanting money from me that I didn’t spend, etc. But there’s no talking to my mom when I ask her about what she is doing with my social security information and why she is taking out, running up, and not paying all these credit cards. She just gets mad and goes straight to screaming so loud you can’t even understand her. And then she always chills out and explains it away and explains it so well you’re left feeling sorry for her.

Perfect example: A few years ago I tried to take out a credit card at AAFES, a military store (my dad is a military veteran so we have always lived on army bases and what not). They denied me because I already had one apparently - - with $2200 rung up on it. I got questioned and so when I got home I was mad and questioned my mom. We fought but she eventually did pay it off and that was that. So a little while back I get an email about that account saying I could now get statements online and I got a funny feeling and checked it. Not to my surprise, it had $750 back on it. I called my mom absolutely furious – I mean final straw furious. But she explained that she didn’t have her debit card and was waiting on it in the mail and was just so desperate for money because it was my twin brothers birthday and by the time she got off work she couldn’t go to the bank and get an instant credit card. And then she goes into how my sister has been sick and all the stress at work and she apologizes profusely and says that it wouldn't happen again and that she will work to pay everything off and that it really will be fine if I just trust her. And by the end of it I felt guilty for screaming at her even though she put $750 back onto a card she already paid off when ALL THESE OTHER CARDS are still unpaid.

But then, when I finally thought that she was legitimately sorry and was going to fix everything, I got a DUI and totaled my car. This is a completely different story but to make a long story short, I went to a friend’s house for a graduation party the night after graduation, was drinking lightly, by all indications got drugged, and then I woke up in the mountains with the front of my car wrecked into a deep creek and (stupidly) didn't opt for the blood test when I got arrested because I didn't realize I needed it to prove that a drug was in my system. So all judgement aside, I was convicted and all this DUI stuff and the totaled car have cost a lot of money. I always supported myself throughout college but I didn’t have much money saved up and I was just about to start my big (current) job without much of a pad for an accident… And I suddenly needed help from mom. So mom borrowed money from a grandma on my dad's side and helped me with the lawyer and now I’ve been back on her hook emotionally even though she hasn't been helping me for a long time..

I want to believe that she will stop, but she has been doing this since I was in high school and also to other people (like my dad, my grandma, etc.) I think her intentions have always been good, but it just seems like she’s gotten herself into a constant game of borrowing money to accommodate for money she borrowed elsewhere to cover something. I want to believe it’s always for the family and it usually always is – like the $750 at that store was for my twin brothers birthdays. They got guitars because they’re basically musical geniuses. She gets stuff for our home (my childhood home), we have golden retrievers and a nice life. And actually to be fair she has been making payments on time on the majority of this stuff so that's a big reason why I've been letting this slide for so long. But then she goes and does stuff like put more money on one of my cards without asking after she’s already apologized and said she would stop doing it many times. That kind of thing. I feel like she is NEVER going to stop doing this to me. Her reasoning behind not telling me when I asked why she didn’t just ask to use the card when she didn’t have her debit was that “she thought I wouldn’t find out.” And I feel like that’s just not ok.

My credit score is a 527. I am terrified about what type of chance I have for anything that requires good credit (already having issues getting apartments because of it). On one hand I feel like a spoiled girl who got to go to the college I wanted and carelessly screwed up and totaled my car but on the other I don’t feel like that justifies having to share my identity with her for the rest of my life. I support myself 100% now and have been for 6+ months. Even typing this now I struggle with the guilt she makes me feel but for the most part I feel like it’s not a valid reason anymore. What can I do at this point? Do I have any options? Keep in mind if I tell on her I destroy my parents’ marriage (my dad doesn’t know the half of her secrets) and thus, my siblings lives..

Again, sorry for all this - just had to get It off my chest in part and hopefully also find some answers. Thank you for reading.

*Update: I just logged back into that account that my mom rung up $750 on and she put $1,000 more on it 5 days ago. I am going to tell my dad and tell him that my siblings need to have credit checks ran. I took my mom off of that account as a co user so she can't put anymore money on it but for now I'm going to get my credit report through the 3 credit beuros before doing anything else as many of you have suggested. I guess I will see what my dad says before I fill out the police report but it sounds like that's where this is going. I truly did not realize this was so serious - it's always seemed like a background issue. Now it feels like I HAVE to deal with it. Crazy. Thank you all for your responses.

Answer: There is no way for this to end with your mom not getting in trouble and the fraud being forgiven. You need to file a police report. Answer #2: The legal advice here is good but I think you should cross post this to /relationships. You seem to be struggling with the idea of getting your mom into big trouble (understandable) and weighing that against the impact on you. The good folks out there will help you gain more perspective.


Title: Terminated from job

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You weren't wrongfully terminated. Their letting you go was perfectly fine.

If it makes you feel better to report them for not giving you a letter or for health code violations, go ahead and do that. This does not get you your job back nor does it buy you more time with your mother.

I'd focus my efforts on helping your mom as much as possible and finding a full time job. Answer #2: If you, as an 18 year old, want to pursue a company for a very minute civil rights violation (in which you will likely receive nothing in return, and will likely cost you more than you have), then so be it.

You're fighting a battle that's not even close to being worth fighting.


Title: (CA) Is there a way to REVERSE a name change?

Question: Changed my last name a few years ago in Virginia. Currently reside in California and wondering if there's a painless way to resume using birth name. Social security, driver's license, etc. are all changed over but I still have original name birth cert, social, and license.

Answer:
 You can change your name back to the original. You will have to go through whatever process you went through the first time but under CA rules.

You can't say : oh wait I changed my mind, and simply go back to your original name without the court process.

TBH it's not illegal to simply say: I'm now going to be John Brown not John Smith unless you are attempting to deceive. But there isn't a "go back" option.


Title: [AK] Took over president of a student organization. The students in charge before me accidentally leaked the sensitive information of almost 200 engineering students. I was not responsible, but the complaints are now coming towards me. What do I do to cover my ass?

Question:
We've had several concerned and upset students come up to us (some of which who have yelled at us for 10+ minutes) and bring up an issue from last year's Society of Women Engineers Evening with Industry Dinner. At this dinner, we compiled resumes on a flash drive and informed the students attending the dinner that they would only be distributed to the companies in attendance. Unfortunately, some students were upset that someone apparently distributed their resume out to many students involved with ASCE without their permission. Many of these resumes contain sensitive information that other students don't want others to see. We're not exactly sure how this happened. However, SWE is the one getting the blame and dealing with the complaints.

This has caused a lot of drama across the college. Students are now stealing information from other students resumes and are now putting it on their resume. For example, one student had their fellowship word for word stolen from them, which of course caused issues. Other drama comes from other things such as students getting caught lying about holding certain officer positions in student organizations. As a result, some students have been cutting off relationships with the classmates in their own departments.

One concerned student who brought up this issue to me later informed me that someone decided to get the dean involved, some faculty members involved, and we may be getting in trouble on our part as this is a FERPA issue. Additionally, word of mouth has gotten back to me that this could have also directly contributed to an ongoing title IX case here on campus in which a student attending the dinner is now getting harassed by an abusive ex significant other because that student's confidential contact information got leaked after that student jumped through hoops to change their contact information to avoid that student. This student's address was apparently on their resume as well, which may be putting that student in danger.

Answer: You call the dean that supervises and you do exactly what they say. This is far above you, and while you're legally clear, you could accidentally walk into it. Answer #2: Your club should have a faculty advisor (i.e. a professor who is in charge of the club). Even if that person isn’t super involved in the club, they are still there to advise club leaders when problems arise. You should contact that person and ask for instructions about how to handle this situation. They will likely go up the chain and contact a dean or other administrator to get clarification on what to do. If the faculty advisor is unhelpful, you can escalate to the administrator who oversees student clubs at your school. That may be a dean or the person may have some other title. Answer #3: Your school should have legal aid offices, for student purposes and for the school's purposes. Start with the student one. You may not have liability but your organization might and as President, you need to have a defense and plan in place.


Title: Stayed at a hotel and because of a mixup housekeeping pickup all of my things while I wasn't there.

Question:
I stayed at the Weston Hotel in Cleveland, Oh last Friday. I was supposed to checkout that day but I called in the morning to extend my stay. They said fine and I could stay in the same room. I left my room in the morning and retuned at around 3pm. When I walked in all of my belongings where packed in bags (including all my toiletries). Someone from the hotel came in my room and packed all of my things (which means they went through them all) while I was away. They said they where sorry and the women who did it was a trainee and there was a mixup with housekeeping.

Can they do that? Come in and pack my things? Is that illegal?

Answer: They thought you had checked out and left a bunch of stuff. It was a mistake. Get over it.


Title: (CA) My friend has been getting abused by her father for years and she is too afraid to get help.

Question:
My friend, who we will call Jane, has recently opened up to me on her situation at home. Her father has done some terrible things to her such as hitting her, mentally and emotionally abusing her, and not treating her equal to his eldest daughter.

She says this has been going on since middle school and is still happening in high school. Jane has been crying and cutting her wrists and showing other suicidal tendencies because of her home situation and troubles at school as well.

As far as I know, Janes mother knows what is happening and how the father is abusive. For some reason, Janes mother does not want to divorce the father no matter how much Jane begs her to.

I constantly tell Jane to go to the school counselor and tell them about what is happening but she is too scared to. I decided to try my best and help her by posting her story here.

I believe she has mentioned trying to get help from police before but they didn't end up helping. She also is scared of calling child services because she is afraid of them taking her away from her mother and from the city where she lives.

If anybody knows how she or I could contact the right authorities to get her help please share.
Topic:
CPS and Dependency Law

Answer: Just contact CPS or the counselor your self. Put her in touch w/the suicide hotline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/


Title: Admitting to faking a sick day. Can I get into trouble?

Question: If I confess out of guilt that I faked a sick day because I wanted to attend an interview for another part-time job... could i get into any legal trouble? Here in Canada?

Answer: Not really, though your current employer may be inclined to write you up or just terminate your job.Answer #2: Like charged with a crime? No, but you could be in trouble at your job.


Title: Can a restraining order be reversed if new evidence is found?

Question:
 I'm going through a tough situation it's a long story but I found out my ex was cheating and when I called her out on it she left the next day with our newborn daughter. I did not have enough money to pay for a lawyer at the time and I waived my right to counsel because I thought I could just explain what happened but that was a mistake.
I have new evidence idk if I could bring to the court. That my ex had done some pretty petty things to rub salt in the wounds when the RO was still a temporary order. 2 weeks later after I was served and three days before the actual permanent hearing was to take place I found a envelope at my doorstep that said " before and after sex" with a USB inside. I plugged it in and it was video of my ex having sex with another guy. I was too embarrassed at first to bring this up in court. But now I realize I should have probably used that when I had the chance because the civil order could affect my custody hearing. Idk if it's even grounds to do anything with but it at least shows that she was not afraid of me right? I don't care about her anymore I just want my daughter and my name cleared..  Do I have any hope with this getting reversed or am I SOL like I have already been?

Answer:
 So you’re asking on the internet for legal advice about fixing a problem that occurred because you didn’t have a lawyer the first time around?

Stop.  Ignore any other responses here.  Call lawyer for consultation.Answer #2: Why would her having sex with another man be relevant to a restraining order against you?


Title: [CA] Scooter rider ran over by Uber driver

Question:
I was a car accident when an uber car hit me while I was crossing. The driver said he'll pay for the repairs to my scooter. I got his driver's license and insurance information and a video of him claiming responsibility. I did not file a police report.

However, after sending the scooter back to the manufacturer and getting a quote for the repairs and telling passing along that information to the driver. First he saids his insurance company will contact me soon, then he saids he'll give me a call, now he's completely non-reachable.

I've tried reaching out to UBER but haven't heard back from them. What are my options now? Thanks

EDIT : The accident occured on March 9th. Is it too late to file a report?

Answer:
 >First he saids his insurance company will contact me soon, then he saids he'll give me a call, now he's completely non-reachable.

This is why you **always** call the police and file a report immediately. Don't take someone at their word that they will be cooperative. You just learned a valuable life lesson in not getting ghosted.

Call the police's non-emergency line right away and file a report.


Title: [MN] Attempting to break my lease

Question:
Hello,

Last week my girlfriend and I found a bunching of tick hatchlings on the wall. Within 5 minutes left a voicemail for the office and sent an email as a backup letting them know of the situation. She and I collected the ticks we could using scotch tape and labeled them. We placed these sealed ticks into a ziploc bag and set it aside for ease of testing.

My apartment complex sent a pest inspector in who took my sample of the ticks for testing. The office of my apartment sent me a notice that they were 'probably brown dog ticks' which were 'probably' brought in by one of my dogs. They sent a follow up letter stating that the company wanted to heat treat the apartment in 4 days. I got a second opinion from another pest inspector in the area who said they would never heat treat for ticks.

I have proof that both of my dogs are, and always have been, up to date and covered by preventative tick medication.

The office has ordered us to pay 'around $1300' for the treatment they selected. The treatment calls for us to prepare our apartment by moving all furniture to the center of each room and turn it up onto its side. Clean all linens and loosely leave them in a laundry basket (it was noted on the prep sheet that the inspector may need to 'shuffle through' our items,...what?). We are to remove all food and anything that may melt. We are asked to unplug all electronics and place 'anything valuable or sentimental we are concerned may be ruined' into a plainly marked container outside our patio door. The temperature outside is below 0F.

I emailed the office and told them that their request for me to pay $1300 for the treatment they selected was unlawful (according to 504b.161, it must be willing, malicious, or through negligence) and i do not plan to pay it. I asked that they cancel said treatment.

Well after business hours last night, I received a warning of eviction on my door. They are saying that I have to assist in the completion of mandatory work whenever asked. This much I understand, but I had another inspector specifically indicate they would NEVER heat treat for ticks.

Unsure what to do at this point. I have read through the entirety of the city code and compiled a list of violations which I plan to have an inspector come out to confirm. I have submitted a document to management with specific incidences of interruption to the quiet enjoyment of our apartment. The manager said she had 'never heard of these complaints' when I have proof that they have a copy of those items in the file for my apartment unit.

I have video evidence that they operate machinery and collect trash well before 7am, which is another code violation that has cause substantial sleep loss for my girlfriend and I.

I think i've rambled on enough here. If you have any questions for me, please ask. Any advice is appreciated.

FINAL UPDATE: In case any of you care or receive notification. We allowed the treatment and it resulted in damaging much of our personal property. The heat treatment also caused bubbling in the paint and counter tops in the apartment as well as completely ruined the carpet. I told the complex they didn't have the legal right to charge me for the treatment since they couldn't prove it was through negligence, willful, or malicious intent. Since then I have received the key to have free access to the dog park on site and no request for payment from me has been made since.

Thank you all for your insights and experience, I appreciate the range of perspectives I was offered here. Take care everyone.

Answer: Tick prevention isn't a magical forcefield. They can still ride around on fur and tails, or even you. Source: Dog owner.


Title: My parents old pastor has been hitting my mother up for methadone. I want to report him but am unsure of the legal ramifications that my mother might face. (Indiana)

Question:
The title pretty much sums it up. My parents old pastor has been hounding my mother for her vicodin and her methadone. He comes over a few times a month and he will not take no for an answer. He's even gone as far as tracking my mother down and going to her relative's house to get drugs. The worst part is that they're also renting from his family. So they're kind of stuck between a rock and an asshole.
Clearly he is in a position of power over my parents and this is a very clear abuse of that power. I want to report him after they move out because I don't want this to happen to anyone else, but I don't want my parents to get in trouble either.
tl;dr asshole pastor is using my mother for drugs and I need to know what kind of trouble my mom might run into if I report said asshole.

Answer: He has no power over your mother unless she gives him power. I suppose he could tell the magical man in the sky not to let your mother into paradise because she wouldn't give him illegal drugs. Although that would actually make about as much sense as all the other regular rules to get in there. Tell her to tell him to fuck off. The problem is that she is part of a crime too. So if you go to the police it's putting your mom at risk. Get a restraining order or something. Just don't pretend she's powerless against him.Answer #2: has she actually willingly given the drugs to him? Or does he just steal them?


Title: Arguing A Reduced Traffic Ticket

Question:
Coming back from a college trip in a school van I got pulled over for doing 85 in a 65. On the side of the road because it was my first ticket, it was reduced to a 1110A (carries fewer points). I was told that it wasn't a moving violation and that it didn't carry any points so I was excited I didn't get too messed up by the ticket. Upon inspection when I got home, I saw it was a $150 fine plus a $93 court fee (NY). The place I was stopped is close to my school and I'm just wondering if it's worth my time to go down and try and get it lowered/try and get it knocked down. I was reading some stuff online but it seemed hit or miss. Unfortunately, that's a good chunk of dough to a college student.
Thanks for the help!

Answer:
 They can still charge you for the 85 in the 65, which would cost you a lot more than $250.. you already got a break once, why do you think you should get another?

Ask if you can make payments.


Title: Guy buying my car disappeared after giving me half of money

Question:
I have an old car sitting in my parents driveway that I'm trying to get rid of because it's unused. I found a buyer that was incredibly excited about buying the car and all the various parts/tools I had for it.

When he came to look at the car I didn't have the title and was waiting for a new one to come in the mail.

We made a hand written contract agreeing that he would give me half the money then to hold the car, and the other half when I got the title and he picked it up.

I got the title in and let him know, then every weekend for a month he said he was going to come and get it and then the plan would fall through. Now it's been a month since I last heard from him and he's not responding to any of my calls or texts on the three different phones he's had.

I've even said I could meet him somewhere with the car because my parents really want it out of their driveway and I don't have room for it at my place.

&#x200B;

Can I legally sell the car to someone else and if he comes back just give him his money?

Or can I charge a storage fee if it's not written into the contract so that eventually I'm free from the hand-written contract?

Answer: You can't start charging fees that were never agreed upon. Document your efforts to contact him and then sell the car to somebody else. If he ever shows up just return his money. The most he could successfully sue you for would be what he paid you.


Title: Customer threatening legal action after I cleaned her cruel living space for her dog .

Question:
I’m a locksmith and I recently went on a job to rekey a customers house who wasn’t going to be on site while I performed the job. Upon entering I was immediately smacked with a horrible feces smell.
I found a corner and see a poor small Maltese poodle, covered in his own feces, sitting in a crate of at least 10-12 separate defecations. As an avid animal lover, and hopeful sanctuary operator, Instantly I was set on fire with anger. Instead of calling the customer, I opted instead to remove the poor pup, give him a bath, (in the home owners shower) and then take his crate outside to clean in my work van. I returned the pup, finished the job requested, and headed on my way.
Two days later, she’s threatening legal action if I am not fired for treating this animal like it deserves and using her home utilities without consent.
Does she have a leg to stand on? Should I worry? Help.

Answer:
 It doesn't sound like she's got any kind of viable lawsuit against you (what would her damages be?), but you can absolutely be terminated for going outside the scope of your job, and next time, you should probably just call animal control instead of taking matters into your own hands without permission.Answer #2: You should have immediately called the cops for animal neglect. I mean, she could try to sue I guess, for the whopping total of $5 in utilities.Answer #3: > Does she have a leg to stand on?

Yes. She has a slam-dunk case for trespass against both you *and* your employer.Answer #4: She can sue, but her damages would only amount to a few cents worth of water.  She won't get a lawyer willing to take the case, so she'd have to file in small claims.  If she's stupid enough to do that, you'll have to show up, but you have almost no chance of losing if you do.

Meanwhile, you should call animal control.  Chances are the dog will be in bad conditions again soon.


Title: Is it illegal to keep the whole class behind after school because of one person as a punishment?

Answer: Public school students are not technically considered "prisoners of war" under the Geneva Convention and are therefore not protected by international law.


Title: Girlfriends dad has been planning a big birthday surprise for his wife to go to vegas, but they wont let him through security.

Question:
Hi everyone. So my girlfriend's dad has been planning this birthday surprise for well over a month. It's a massive intricate web of secrets and tricks all to eventually get them to the airport today to surprise her with a trip to Vegas (we're Canadian, from Ontario). Any time we try to surprise her it gets ruined/spoiled somehow, usually by accident. Someone says something there not supposed to and what not. She was starting to get suspicious a week and a bit ago that something was going on but they made a crazy elaborate plan and somehow it all worked out.

They were supposed to go to a town a few hours away for a business trip. So she had packed all her clothes and things preparing for this trip and was ready to go. They got to the Toronto airport this morning. They recorded their arrival and it worked out perfectly. She was so surprised and she loved it. Shes been super stressed lately with business matters and she really wasnt expecting this. Everything was going wonderful. They already had all their tickets bought beforehand (I think there were 1 or 2 other people going with them as well). Then they got to the security gates. Everything was going fine, nothing unusual. They've been to the states (and other parts of the world like Greece) plenty of times. Then my girlfriend's dad tried to go through and they stopped him. He got a joyriding charge when he was 19 (almost 30 years ago. Somewhere from 27-30 ish). He spent a long time arguing and trying to figure it out and they eventually kicked him out of the airport and won't let him board the plane. They finally managed, after years and years of trying, to surprise her and make her happy for her birthday. And then it all came crashing down and it was ruined.

Can they not let him through because of a charge (which he payed the fine for at the time) that happened so long ago like that? Like I said, he's been in and out of the states countless times. He's been to Vegas on the same plane going to the same hotel and everything multiple times since then. What can we do??

Answer: If he is not an American citizen they can refuse him entry.Answer #2: Yes, The US can deny entry to foreigners who have any kind of criminal record.  If he ever wants to travel to the US again, he can try applying to the CBP for a [waiver](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/admission-forms#).  He can also apply for a [record suspension](https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/services/record-suspensions.html) from the Parole Board of Canada, but that's no guarantee that he'd be admitted to the US.Answer #3: He wasn't kicked out at security, because the Canadian government has no right to prevent him from flying. He was denied entry to the United States by CBP officers at Toronto Pearson Preclearance facility. He is lucky the airport had preclearance because if this happened at a US airport he would have been detained and deported. His previous admissions to the United States are irrelevant and do not create any right of continued entry. If it makes you feel any better, Canada would have done the same thing in a heartbeat if he was a US citizen.


Title: Is there such thing as justice or should I just suck it up and play it safe?

Question:
Texas, US.
I was involved in an auto accident. I was at a busy intersection where there were stop signs in the N/S direction I was headed, but the traffic going E/W had the right away (no stop sign, no light). I made a complete stop but and proceeded to move forward after I saw a break in traffic because of a light further down the road (after apprx. 3-5 minutes after stopping because it was rush hour). I was then hit by an uninsured motorist.

5 officers arrived on the scene and all took my information. The entire process of dealing with the tow truck and officers took right around an hour. I asked two officers if I could leave after they gave me back my insurance and driver's license. I was told by both that I could leave.

After that, I was running late for an appointment that was a block away, so I headed over there, where I was for about an hour and a half with my phone on silent. When I got out of my appointment, my ride handed me a ticket that said I had run a stop sign. A different officer called my secondary contact and said that I wasn't to leave until *he* said so, and handed my ride that ticket.

I did not run a stop sign, I did not say anything that would make anyone think I had run a stop sign, so I don't understand where that came from or even why an officer, that wasn't even there when the accident happened, would issue a ticket for it.

I went to court last night and explained to the judge about the situation, she set up a trial by jury.

My question is, is this even worth it? Yes, I wan to to go to court out of principle, becuase I 100% did not do what I was accused of, and I am extremely offended that I was ticketed when the other person was speeding, didn't have insurance and also didn't have her two kids (3 & 5) in booster seats. Where are her tickets?

So, I could go and explain and show my good driving record, etc, etc (though, I don't know if prior behavior is even admissible in this) and possibly lose, be found guilty and have super high insurance for being negligent and causing an accident.

Or I could just suck it up, take defensive driving and be done with the risk of paying more in the long run, even though I did not run a stop sign.

Answer: You stopped but did not yield at the stop sign. That means, yes, you did run a stop sign. That puts the primary responsibility on you. The officer is *not* required to write a ticket for any of those things that the other driver did.